(LifeSiteNews) — Exorcist Father Chad Ripperger warned in an interview published on Thursday that the stage is almost completely set for the arrival of the Antichrist.
While we ultimately cannot be certain about when the Antichrist will publicly appear, the situation needed for his arrival “is just about present,” Fr. Ripperger told podcaster and former U.S. Navy SEAL Shawn Ryan.
The Church Fathers say there will be a “worldwide implosion of people’s morality” before the Antichrist arrives, which we have seen since the 1950s, noted Fr. Ripperger. There has been a widespread defiance of the laws of God and natural law.
Another condition for his rule is the “unification of the worldwide economy,” said the exorcist, because it is through the economy that the Antichrist will control people, although “he’ll have control of governments too.”
Fr. Ripperger said such a worldwide unification of economies appears to be “a little bit down the road.”
“So I don’t think he is immediately around the corner, but I could be wrong,” he added.
Fr. Ripperger also points to Catholic prophecies, like the one given by Our Lady of La Salette, which say there will be a chastisement involving a war, which will be “brutal even for those of us who are good and who are prepped for it.”
Regarding the Mark of the Beast, Fr. Ripperger said, “We’re almost there.”
“They could literally just decide, unless you decide to sign off on certain things, you’re not going to have access to the digital currency that [they’re] going to enact worldwide,” he said.
“I think that’s one of the ways he’s going to control people, through digital currencies,” he continued, noting that these currencies can be used to shut people out of access to goods and services.
“And that’s how they’ll basically starve people out if they’re not willing to sign off on the Antichrist’s rule,” said Fr. Ripperger, affirming to Ryan that this would or could be enacted like a social credit score.
Ryan asked Fr. Ripperger what people should do once the Mark of the Beast is ushered in. “What are we supposed to do if we can’t eat, take care of ourselves, provide for families?”
The priest highlighted the nature of the mark, which he said will be “something in our bodies that will give us access” to goods, like an RFID chip that can be scanned, or involve a device similar to Neuralink.
“The Fathers of the Church say you’re not going to be able to get that chip without some type of renunciation of Christ,” Fr. Ripperger said. This means people must accept something they “know is contrary to the will of God and to the will of Christ.”
Ultimately, to refuse the mark, we “have to be willing to sacrifice the lesser good in order to achieve the greater good.”
However, he pointed out that God can help people survive without the mark.
“God will very often provide for people. If it’s His will that people survive that time frame, He’ll make it possible,” said Fr. Ripperger.
He advised that people “have to be smart about it and learn basic survival skills and learn how to fend for themselves.”
Fr. Ripperger added, however, that it is “going to be extraordinarily difficult to even be able to evade detection,” given the current level of technology.
During his interview, he highlighted the opinion of the Church Fathers – that he is familiar with – that the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem will never be rebuilt.
Scripture’s reference to the “abomination of desolation” standing the in the holy place “is actually a reference to the Catholic Church” suffering desecration, according to the Church Fathers.
This means the Catholic Church would “become compromised in that process.”
During his four hour-long interview with Ryan, Fr. Ripperger also discussed different levels of spiritual warfare, Satanism and the occult, exorcism, demonic hierarchies and manifestations, spiritual defense, and more.
