The First Part of the Tribulation

A. Three Blessings on the World to prepare for the End Times:
* The Warning of Garabandal – Good Friday
* The Consolation – Easter Sunday
* The Miracle of Garabandal – May 12th, in the evening, Garabandal time

If 2022 is the year of these three blessings, then the Warning will occur on Good Friday, the Consolation on Easter Sunday, and the Miracle will occur on May 12th, all during 2022. I have been mistaken about the dates for these events and for the initial events of the tribulation in the past. Dates are not certain. So while eschatology as a field is highly speculative, the dating of events is least certain, while the order and nature of events are somewhat less so.

B. The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse

The first four Seals of the Seven Seals are the same as the four horsemen of the apocalypse. These are symbols representing sets of events.

1. World War 3 — the war of the Arab Muslim nations of the Middle East and northern Africa, led by extremists, against the U.S., Europe and Allies. This war will include the use of at least two nuclear weapons.

I have speculated for many years that World War 3 might begin with a nuclear bomb attack on New York City. NYC is the location of the U.N., which made Israel a nation and which has issued sanctions on Iran. NYC has the highest population of Jews outside Israel. NYC is an economic capital of the West and of the U.S. So the extremists, being consumed with hatred and violence, would likely choose New York City as the place of first attack, beginning the War.

2. Severe Civil Unrest — a sharp increase in violent crimes, especially to obtain food, money, and goods, as well as crimes of violence against persons. Many will die as a result of this civil unrest. Law and order will break down. Police will not have the resources and personnel to respond well.

3. Famine — there will be food shortages, high prices, low supply, food rationing, and outright famine, and this will affect the wealthy developed nations more so than the developing nations. Developed nations have long complex supply chains for food, with many inter-dependencies (meaning that lack of one essential element causes the production or distribution of food to fail). Developing nations tend to produce their food close to where it is used, with less processing and shorter simpler supply chains. Famine will be worst in Europe, where the War will be.

4. Death — death from a variety of causes, including war, civil unrest, famine, and diseases; this affliction includes the effect that the fear of death has on society. We saw how disruptive Covid-19 was to society, and that was before the End Times (i.e. the tribulation). So the effects of the above events will be even more disruptive to society as the fear of death grips the world. The Warning causes fear, so does the start of World War 3.

C. The Occupation and Persecution

The Muslim extremists win World War 3 and occupy Europe and a vast territory. They persecute the occupied nations, especially Christians and Jews. They close all Christian churches and Jewish synagogues and all other religious houses, except mosques. The try to force the ways of Islam upon everyone. Those who resist are persecuted. As time passes under the occupation, the persecution becomes a massacre of Christians. This Christian holocaust is the Fifth Seal.

A new leader of the extremists rises to power during the occupation; he is the fourth leader of Iran, counting the leader who initiates World War 3 as the first (Daniel 11:2). He does not share power with another leader. He thinks to force the whole world to accept the extremist version of Islam. He obtains control over many nuclear missiles (ICBMs), and so he threatens to destroy those nations which refuse to accept his authority over them and which refuse to accept Islam. He plans to wipe all other religions and all dissenters from the face of the earth.

The U.S. and the other free nations, as well as the European governments in exile, decide to attack first. An all-out nuclear war occurs; this is the Sixth Seal, World War 4.

D. At the end of World War 4, the holy Angels are sent out to give the Seal of the Living God to holy persons throughout the world. These are the 144,000 (a symbolic number) who are mentioned in Revelation chapter 7. They will have a literal symbol on their foreheads. They will receive great interior spiritual gifts, each according to what is fitting in the plan of God. They will help the Church guide humanity during the difficult events ahead.

E. The First Six Trumpets of the Seventh Seal

The seventh Seal is divided into seven trumpets. Only the first six trumpets are for this generation. As with the horsemen, these Seals and Trumpets are symbolic; they represent sets of events during the End Times.

1. pieces of a broken comet fall to earth, burning up a third of the earth’s surface, and killing vast numbers of persons.

2. one large piece of the same comet plummets into the ocean, causing earthquakes and mega tidal waves worldwide.

3. nuclear fallout from World War 4 falls to earth and poisons a third of the drinking water supply, and also afflicts many persons with radiation poisoning.

4. nuclear winter caused by World War 4 and also caused by the fires from the comet pieces darkens the sky and reduces the amount of sunlight. Growing crops becomes impossible.

5. The event of the fifth trumpet is supernatural (or preternatural, referring to angels). Something that resembles locusts torments sinners around the world, unless they either have the Seal of the living God, or unless they pray the Rosary. These torments last 153 days.

6. the Three Days of Darkness afflicts the whole world, and kills a vast number of human persons.

This supernatural event is three days of literal darkness worldwide, day and night. Anyone who goes outside or is caught outside when this begins will be killed by angels. Nothing electric will work. Only blessed candles will give light. The unrepentant sinners will be terrified. This event alone will kill about one third of humanity. This is the last event of the first part of the tribulation. Afterwards, there will be peace and holiness on earth.

The Inter-Tribulation Period

When the Three Days of Darkness end, the people of the world who are left alive will find that the world has been healed miraculously. The nuclear winter, radiation, and other harm to the environment will be gone, and the climate will be mild, and the earth will easily produce abundant harvests. At that time, after the Three Days of Darkness, there will be only three religions remaining in the world: Catholic Christianity, Judaism, and devout peaceful Islam.

This time of peace will last about 25 years, and then serious sins will gradually resume, and will worsen. Along with greater sin will come greater disorders in society and various afflictions.

The great Catholic monarch will rule during those 25 years, then he will resign, and his kingdom will be divided. Subsequently, various groups of nations, in succession, will dominate the world. But no one ruler or nation or group of nations will control the whole world, until the Antichrist in the 2400s (25th century).

In the 2300s, the nations of the world will be reorganized, by a series of small wars, coups, and negotiations, into ten groups of nations, that is, ten kingdoms, each with one ruler, the ten kings. These ten kings will rule the whole world, as every nation will be part of one or another of the ten kingdoms. But they will not be united. The ten kings will have animosity toward one another.

The Second Part of the Tribulation

In the 2400s, the Antichrist will rise to power as one of the ten kings. He will defeat three other kings, so that he then controls four of the ten kingdoms. These are the four kingdoms with the most powerful militaries. And then the rest of the world will submit to his power and authority. So the Antichrist becomes the ruler of the whole world by taking control of the ten kingdoms. He rules beginning sometime during 2431 and ending sometime during 2437, for a total of less than seven years. The last half of his rule is the time of the greatest persecution and suffering for the Catholic Church.

After the end of the Antichrist’s reign, Jesus Christ returns and brings an end to the afflictions and the tribulation.

Ronald L. Conte Jr.

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Please note that my predictions are speculative and fallible, and that my writings on the future have erred many times in the past. My eschatology is presented for the readers’ consideration, and should not be treated as certain or absolute.