"Little children, it is the last time; and…" — St. John Henry Newman (#c828)

Card #c828IR // #c828Synthesis

Little children, it is the last time; and as ye have heard that the Antichrist shall come, even now are there many Antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time. Antichrist was come, and was not come; it was, and it was not the last time.

— In our words · Source: The Patristical Idea of Antichrist (St. John Henry Newman)

[Use when]

Use when the signs are real but the conclusion is premature. Use when someone is either asleep or panicked — the text holds both truths at once.

[Why it matters]

Newman holds the paradox St. John forces on every generation: the spirit is already at work — the mystery of iniquity doth already work — and yet the final form is still future. This kills both errors at once: the complacency that says nothing is happening, and the date-setting that says it is happening now. Every age lives in the overlap.

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