68    The Bible and the Future of the World 

Jesus Falls While Carrying His Cross 

    Jesus fell seven times while carrying His Cross, as was foretold in the 

book of Proverbs:  for a righteous man falls seven times, and rises again  

(Proverbs 24:16). According to Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich, who 

describes each of these seven falls,

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 on one of the falls Jesus was supported 

by Simon of Cyrene and prevented from falling all the way to the ground.

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The nearly seven falls of Jesus while He was carrying the Cross represent the 

nearly seven years of the Church's great suffering, a suffering which closely 

imitates the sufferings of Jesus Christ. 

Simon of Cyrene (Mt 27:32) 

     As they were marching out, they came upon a man of Cyrene, Simon by 

name; this man they compelled to carry his cross.  (Mt 27:32). 

    Simon of Cyrene was a foreigner, neither a Jew nor a disciple of Jesus, yet 

he shared in Jesus' sufferings and helped Jesus to carry the Cross of our 

salvation. Blessed Anne Catherine says that he was a pagan who, after 

helping Jesus carry the Cross, joined the disciples and became a Christian.

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    Simon's assistance to Jesus in carrying the Cross foreshadows the help 

that some non Christians will give to the Church during the years of the 

Church's great suffering. Some non Christians will suffer with the Church 

and will later be converted, just as Simon was. 

Wine Mixed with Gall (Mt 27:33 34) 

     And when they came to a place called Golgotha (which means the place 

of a skull), they offered him wine to drink, mingled with gall; but when he 

tasted it, he would not drink it.  (Mt 27:33 34). 

    The wine mixed with gall is a prophetic symbol of the abomination 

spoken of by Daniel (Dan 9:27, 11:31, 12:11) and by Jesus (Mark 13:14; Mt 

24:15). Jesus is given the wine mixed with gall just before He is crucified. So 

also will the Church be offered the abomination, that desolating sacrilege, 

prior to the 3  years of the Church's Crucifixion. The abomination is a sign 

that the Crucifixion of the Church is imminent. 

    The abomination is first seen in holy places  just before the beginning of 

the nearly seven years of the Church's Passion and Crucifixion (Dan 9:27). 

It is in the year 2430 that the abomination begins. During the last 3  years 

of the Antichrist's reign,  i.e.  during the Church's Crucifixion, the Holy 

Eucharist will be taken away from almost every place on earth and will be