The Most Foundational Catholic Apologetic of All

The Most Foundational Catholic Apologetic of All

“The earth is the Lord’s and all it holds, the world and those who dwell in it.” (Ps. 24:1)

Shortly before Thanksgiving, Hartford, Connecticut’s newly appointed archbishop, Christopher Coyne, caused a bit of a stir during a local television interview. In it, he suggested that Pope Francis move the Church’s headquarters out of Rome. “I’d say get it out of Italy. Get it out of Rome. Put it wherever you need to. It’s too Roman.” “Because it’s Roman … it’s inbred in terms of the culture of that community there. [Pope Francis has] tried, and tried, and tried, to change the Roman ways, but you hit the Roman ways that have been a part of the tradition of the Church for years.”

Indeed, “Roman ways” have been a part of the Church since its inception. But this is not by accident. There was a good reason Sts. Bridget and Catherine spent more than 20 collective years trying to convince the popes of their day to return to Rome after Pope Clement V had decided to set up shop in Avignon, France in the 1300’s. 

As a newly enlightened Catholic, it was 30 years ago that I first encountered Catholic apologetics. In the decades since, I’ve seen many very compelling arguments for the faith and, for that reason, am a stronger Catholic today than ever before. But there is one argument I have yet to see ever from anyone, and Im not entirely sure of why. It is, after all, the most foundational Catholic apologetic of them all.

Living about 600 years prior to Christ, the prophet Daniel relays a dramatic prophetic dream he had one night of four strange beasts. “The first was like a lion and had eagles’ wings,” he says in chapter 7, verse 4. He describes the second beast as being “like a bear” (v. 5) and the third “like a leopard, with four wings of a bird on its back; and the beast had four heads; and dominion was given to it.” (v. 6) 

Daniel goes on to say:

“After this I saw in the night visions, and behold, a fourth beast, terrible and dreadful and exceedingly strong; and it had great iron teeth; it devoured and broke in pieces, and stamped the residue with its feet. It was different from all the beasts that were before it; and it had ten horns. I considered the horns, and behold, there came up among them another horn, a little one, before which three of the first horns were plucked up by the roots; and behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking great things.” (v. 7-8)

Understandably unsettled by the dramatic nature of what he’s seeing, Daniel asks someone in verse 16 what it all means and is informed, “These four great beasts stand for four kingdoms which shall arise out of the earth.” (v. 17) Bible scholars identify the winged lion in verse 4 as the Babylonian empire, circa 1894 B.C. to 539 B.C., which would have been coming to an end (after more than a thousand years) right about the time Daniel did. In verse 5, the bear is said to represent the Median empire (700 to 550 B.C.) which existed concurrently with the end of the Babylonian empire. The leopard in verse 6 represents the Persian empire which rose at about the time the Babylonian and Median empires fell. And then the Persian empire itself fell a couple hundred years later to the fourth and final beast, the Greco-Roman empire in 330 B.C.

Scary to see all these beasts but for the fact that, in between the revelation of the fourth beast and Daniel’s inquiry into what it all means, the Lord assures the audience that He is watching all this unfold. And He will not be moved by it. It does not unsettle Him in any way. In fact, quite the opposite: “While I was watching,” Daniel says in verse 9, “thrones were set in place and the Ancient One sat on his throne.” At this point in the dream, God reveals that He was preparing to “hold court” over these four antichrist-style beasts and to do something definitive about their recurring power. 

In the dream, the prophet then sees Jesus, presumably after His Ascension, appear before God the Father, “And to him was given dominion and glory and kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed.” (v. 14) 

The world would try to build its own godless empire early in human history with the tower of Babel and God quickly saw fit to put this rebellion down. (cf. Gen 11:1-9) But with future “antichrist” kingdoms, He would be more patient - for a season. And when that season ended, it would be time for His kingdom to reign on Earth. And of His kingdom, there would be no end. (cf. Luke 1:33)

God has a habit of getting right to the heart of the matter when dealing with grave problems, not setting up opposition from a distance, but facing them head on. (See Num 21:4-9 and Christ taking on human flesh and being crucified in order to negate death for some classic examples.) Not only would His kingdom come to the Earth, but it would take direct aim at the reigning kingdom of antichrist and be born right in the middle of it, beginning to progressively override Rome’s worldly power and grow “until His enemies are made His footstool.” (Heb 10:13)

It wasn’t in the time of the Babylonians that God decided to intervene, nor in the time of the Medes, nor the Persians. Nor did God wait for the British empire or any others. He acted when the kingdom opposed to Him was headquartered in Rome and then dropped the Uno “reverse” card, as it were, taking that kingdom’s power away and giving it to the saints, exactly as Daniel had prophesied 500 years prior that He would. (cf. Dan. 7:18)

In Rome, the keys of God’s kingdom will always necessarily remain.