The End of the World (2026)
One
Full Number of Gentiles
In the Creed, we profess that Jesus will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead. We don’t know when this will be, but Jesus did tell us the five things that will happen before the end of the world and the Last Judgment. These things are explained in the Catechism in paragraphs 673-682.
The first thing that must take place before the end of the world is that the Good News of Jesus Christ must be proclaimed to the whole world, and the full number of Gentiles (non-Jews) will become Christians. (CCC 674) Jesus said, “This gospel of the kingdom will be preached throughout the whole world as a testimony to all the Gentiles; and then the end will come.” Mt 24:14
What is the full number of Gentiles? Only God knows. Jesus gives a clue to know when we are getting close. He said, “Jerusalem will be trodden down (that is, under the control) of the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are finished.” Luke 21:24
Jerusalem was destroyed, and the Jews were removed from Palestine in the year 70 and again in 132 AD. In AD 638, Palestine came under Muslim rule. It remained so until the end of WWI, when it fell under British control. Finally, in 1948, the State of Israel was established. And now the Jews have control of both Israel and the West Bank territories.
So, for the first time since 66 AD, Jerusalem is no longer under the control of the Gentiles, which Jesus said is the sign that step one is drawing to a completion. We don’t know how long this will take, but it should give us something to think about…
Two
The Full Inclusion of the Jews
The second thing that will occur before the end of the world is that after the full number of Gentiles enter the covenant with God, the Jews will recognize Jesus as the Messiah and become Christians. CCC 674 The "full inclusion" of the Jews in the Messiah's salvation, in the wake of "the full number of the Gentiles", will enable the People of God to achieve "the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ", in which "God may be all in all".
In Romans 11:25-26, Paul writes, “One section of Israel has become blind, but this will last only until the whole Gentile world has entered, and then after this the rest of Israel will be saved as well.” However, the conversion of the Jews is delayed because the full number of Gentiles has not entered the covenant. And why not?
Because we are not living our primary mission to go and make disciples of all nations. At the end of every Mass, we are dismissed with the word “Go!” We are supposed to be the missionaries who go back to our homes and out into the world to spread the Gospel. But we have created a Catholic Welfare State. We have become passive recipients of benefits. There are too few workers in the vineyard. But I think there is a simple way of life to correct this: Meditate on the Word of God in the Rosary and have a daily resolution seven days a week. Experience the healing and mercy of God once a month in Confession as Our Lady asked at Fatima and Medjugorje. Build a bridge of friendship with your family and friends. Do this, and you will be doing your part!
Three
The Antichrist and the Great Apostasy
The third step before the end of the world is the rise of the Antichrist and the great apostasy. Jesus said, “Many will fall away; men will betray one another and hate one another. Many false prophets will arise; they will deceive many, and with the increase of lawlessness, love in most men will grow cold.” And “When the Son of Man comes, will he find any faith on earth?” (Matthew 24:12 and Luke 18:8)
The Catechism (675) tells us, “Before Christ’s second coming, the Church must pass through a final trial that will shake the faith of many believers.” The Antichrist will unleash the ultimate deception: a seductive promise to solve all our problems, offering peace, security, and happiness, on one condition: that we reject Christ and His Church.
This deception is already at work. Every time we place our ultimate hope in science, technology, medicine, politics, or economics, in anything other than God, we take a step toward the lie. (cf. CCC 676) But only Jesus Christ can satisfy the deepest hunger of the human heart. Only in Him do we find the perfect and lasting happiness we were made for. Everything else will pass away. So, we are called to a deep attachment to God and a proper detachment from everything else.
St. Nicholas of Flue prays, “My Lord and my God, take from me everything that distances me from you. My Lord and my God, give me everything that brings me closer to you. My Lord and my God, detach me from myself to give my all to you.”
Four
The Second Coming of Jesus
The Fourth Step before the end of the world, Jesus will come again in power and glory. 1 Thessalonians 4:16 Paul tells us, “For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the archangels call, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.”
Jesus said, “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, escorted by all the angels, he will sit upon his throne of glory, and all the nations will be assembled before him.”
We will be there. Every person who has ever lived will be there. And Christ will separate us as a shepherd separates sheep from goats. To those on His right, He will say, “Come, inherit the kingdom prepared for you. For I was hungry and you gave me food; thirsty and you gave me drink; a stranger and you welcomed me; naked and you clothed me; sick and in prison and you visited me.” And they will ask, “Lord, when did we see you?” He will answer, “Whatever you did to one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did to me.” Then He will say to those on His left, “Go away from me. For I was hungry and you gave me no food; thirsty and you gave me no drink; a stranger and you did not welcome me; naked and you did not clothe me; sick and in prison and you did not visit me.”
And they, too, will ask, “Lord, when did we see you and fail to help you?” He will answer, “Whatever you neglected to do to one of the least of these, you neglected to do to me.”
And Jesus concludes, “They will go away to eternal punishment, and the virtuous to eternal life.”
Five
The Resurrection from the Dead
The Fifth and final step before the Last Judgment and the end of the world is the Resurrection of all the dead. Who will rise? Everyone. Jesus said, “Those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of judgment.” How will we rise? St. Paul says Christ, “will change our lowly body to be like his glorious body.”
The Resurrection of the Body means not only that the immortal soul lives on after death, but also that our “mortal body” will come to life again. What will we be like with a resurrected body? Through His own resurrected body, Jesus gives us a glimpse of what our bodies will be like. His body was not bound by time or space. He could go wherever and whenever He willed. He could pass through locked doors. He could change forms and not be recognized. Yet He could still eat and drink with the Apostles.
Like the Risen Body of Jesus, our new body will be immortal. We will no longer be subject to sickness, injury, death, or decay. We will have indestructible life. We will have the ability to go anywhere in the world we choose at any moment, simply by an act of the will or choice. We will not need to breathe, or eat, or drink, or sleep; yet we will be able if we want to. In Heaven, we will live by the principle of “Freedom from need.”
In this life, we were subject to the laws of nature. In Heaven, in our resurrected glorified bodies, the laws of nature will be subject to us. We will be truly super-human in heaven b/c we will share in the very nature of God!
Three resolutions that flow naturally from this meditation:
1. Today I will do one concrete act of mercy for “the least of these.” I will feed, visit, encourage, call, forgive, welcome, or help one person in need, and I will do it consciously as an act of love for Jesus, because He said, “Whatever you did to one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did to me.”
2. Today, I will build one bridge of friendship for the sake of someone’s salvation. I will reach out to one family member or friend, ask a real question, listen well, and look for a simple opening to bring them one step closer to God, because we are not meant to be passive Catholics, but missionaries sent to “go” and help make disciples.
3. Today, I will pray the prayer of detachment and surrender one false security. I will name one thing I am tempted to trust more than God, politics, money, technology, health, control, comfort, or my own plans, and pray, “My Lord and my God, take from me everything that distances me from you…detach me from myself to give my all to you.”