Interpretation of the Prophet Jeremiah

The FIRST state of the age shone forth from Abraham, whose initiation was from Adam, and whose end was in Christ.

The second state shone forth from Zechariah, the father of John, in whom the priesthood of the Law became silent original: "obmutuit," a reference to Zechariah being struck dumb in the Temple (Luke 1:20) as the old era ended, whose initiation was from Uzziah, King of Judah, and it shall extend until the year 1260.

The third state is to shine forth from our own days, whose initiation was from Blessed Benedict Joachim identifies St. Benedict, the founder of Western monasticism, as the spiritual seed of the Third Age, and it shall receive its end at the consummation of the age. Truly, Antiochus—the root of sin, having come out of the land of Kittim original: "Cethym", usually referring to Greece or Macedonia in this context, that is, Greece—shall bring an end to the first state. To the second state, that planting of the roots of Frederick original: "Federici." A reference to the Hohenstaufen dynasty, particularly Frederick II, whom many medieval thinkers identified as a persecutor of the Church shall bring an end; his sprout or the arms coming forth from him shall occupy the summits of the prefectures, as is read in the Book of Maccabees. It says: "They each placed diadems upon their heads—those to whom the land was freely divided after the leader of the Macedonians Alexander the Great—and evils were multiplied upon the earth." But to the third state, the prophet who teaches lies—the Antichrist—shall give the end, as if in the tail of the dragon; though he is to reign for a short space of time, he shall nevertheless devastate all things beyond what can be believed. Hence Joel says: A devouring fire is before his face, and behind him the solitude of a desert. And Job: The earth, from which bread arose in its place, has been overturned by fire. For although Christ, born from the Synagogue In Joachim's theology, the "Synagogue" represents the Jewish roots from which the "Bread of Life" emerged, is the true bread and always flows from the Roman Church through doctrine, she nevertheless seethes with great fevers of avarice; and therefore let her take heed, lest her Lord subvert her in the tribulation now near at hand. Those who entered Egypt signify the apostles.

Those who were chosen in the desert signify those upon whom Paul laid his hands.