St. Methodius was a bishop who was martyred in the 4th century. Following are some interesting excerpts from his prophecy:

“A time will come when the enemies of Christ will boast: “We have subjected the earth and all its inhabitants, and the Christians cannot escape our hands.” Then a Roman Emperor will arise in great fury against them… Drawing his sword, he will fall upon the foes of Christianity and crush them. Then peace will reign on earth, and priests will be relieved of all their anxieties.

NOTE: Much like other prophecies, this one covers a broad period of time, predicting a holy Roman Catholic emperor who will bring the Church and Christianity to its rightful place among men, leading to a period of peace. Soon, however, people begin to become lax in their faith again…

“In the last period Christians will not appreciate the great grace of God who provided a monarch, a long duration of peace, a splendid fertility of the earth. They will be very ungrateful, lead a sinful life, in pride, vanity, unchastity, frivolity, hatred, avarice, gluttony, and many other vices, that the sins of men will stink more than a pestilence before God. Many will doubt whether the Catholic faith is the true and only saving one and whether the Jews are correct when they still expect the Messiah. Many will be the false teachings and resultant bewilderment. The just God will in consequence give Lucifer and all his devils power to come on earth and tempt his godless creatures…

NOTE: Other prophecies from popes and saints claim that the 20th century, and the beginning of the 21st century, was granted to Satan as a period to test the Church and the faithful.

“Egypt will be desolated, Arabia burned with fire, the land of Ausania burned, and the sea provinces pacified. The whole indignation and fury of the King of the Romans will blaze forth against those who deny the Lord Jesus Christ. Then the earth will sit in peace and there will be great peace and tranquility upon the earth such as has never been nor ever will be any more, since it is the final peace at the End of Time…

“After a week of years, when they have already captured the city of Jappa, the Lord will send one of the princes of his host and strike them down in a moment. After this the King of the Romans will go down and live in Jerusalem for seven and a half-seven times, i.e., years. When the ten and a half years are completed the Son of Perdition will appear.

NOTE: A common theme in Catholic end times prophecies is the following chain of events: great tribulation upon the earth and the persecution of Christians; the rise of a Holy Emperor who restores the faith; a period of blissful peace; culminating in the appearance of the Antichrist (Son of Perdition) and the final battle between good and evil.

“When the Son of Perdition appears, he will be of the tribe of Dan, according to the prophecy of Jacob. This enemy of religion will use a diabolic art to produce many false miracles, such as causing the blind to see, the lame to walk, and the deaf to hear. Those possessed with demons will be exorcised. He will deceive many and, if he could, as our Lord has said, even the faithful elect.

“Even the Antichrist will enter Jerusalem, where he will enthrone himself in the temple as a god (even though he will be an ordinary man of the tribe of Dan to which Judas Iscariot also belonged).

“In those days, the Antichrist will bring about many tribulation; but God will not allow those redeemed by the divine blood to be deceived. For that reason, he will send his two servants, Enoch and Elias, who will declare the prodigies of the Antichrist to be false, and

will denounce him as an impostor. After the death and ruin of many, he will leave the Temple in confusion; and many of his followers will forsake him to join the company of the righteous. The seducer, upon seeing himself reproached and scorned, will become enraged and will put to death those saints of God. It is then that there will appear the sign of the Son of Man, and he will come upon the clouds of heaven.”

NOTE: Some scholars believe that the Antichrist will come claiming he is the Jewish Messiah and that Christ was not the true Messiah. It would make sense then that after deceiving the people of Israel into making them think he is their deliverer, the Antichrist would enthrone himself in Jerusalem as this prophecy states.