Faith

Worship God – Saturday, 34th Week in ordinary time – Revelation 22:1-7

The beast, an agent of Satan was branded on the right had or the forehead with his name and number, just like slaves were branded with the owner’s sign. This was a sign of ownership. The Beast is also identified with the enigmatic number 666, said to be the sum of the numeric value given to the Hebrew letters making up the name ‘Nero Caesar’.

You must remember that the book of Revelation was written during time of persecution. Many references in Revelation are thus expressed in a code which would only be understood by those within the persecuted community. The mark of the beast must be read only in the context it was written, no matter how ‘endearing’ the cause may seem by some to prove otherwise.

The followers of the Beast, who are branded with his name and number, are now contrasted with the followers of the Lamb marked with his name and the name of the Father. And just as there was a ‘remnant’ of Israel that returned to Jerusalem after the Babylonian exile, here we have the ‘remnant’ of the new Israel, the faithful Christians who have survived persecution and who will begin the restoration of God’s kingdom once its enemies have been destroyed.

In Revelation 22:1-11, John pictures a “river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb” (22:1). Along the banks of the river stands “the tree of life, bearing twelve kinds of fruits, yielding its fruit every month” (22:2). “There will be no curse any more” (22:3); meaning that the curse of the Garden of Eden has been removed. The faithful will see God’s face (22:4) unlike earlier times when God told Moses, “You cannot see my face, for man may not see me and live” (Exodus 33:20).

Overcome with this grand vision, John fell down in worship at the feet of the angel who had revealed these things. However, the angel replied, “See you don’t do it! I am a fellow bondservant with you and with your brothers, the prophets, and with those who keep the words of this book. Worship God” (22:9).

We come to the end of the Book of Revelation. The book underscores our need to carry with us a common-sense attitude whenever we read Scripture. If we don’t understand the word of God, that doesn’t mean there’s something wrong with the Bible. Instead, that’s an indication we need to pray and meditate more. There are many mysterious passages throughout the Bible, and it would be an arrogant person indeed who assumed to understand the word of God in its entirety. At the same time, the Scriptures are written for ordinary people, not scholars; and all of us are ordinary in God’s eyes.

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Arrested, bound and thrown into the pit – Friday, 34th Week in ordinary time – Revelation 20:1-4,11, 21:2

Babylon has fallen (Rev. 18:1) and with a mighty millstone an angel threw it in the sea. (Rev. 18:21). Alas for the great city, clothed in fine linen, in purple and scarlet, adorned with gold, with jewels and with pearls (Rev. 18:16). In chapter 18 the song of victory, the great Hallelujah is proclaimed four times in praise of God. Rome and its evil emperors who have persecuted the Christians in Rome and Asia Minor are defeated; so is Satan the tool and instrument of this neo-Babylonian nation. Now the millennial reign of God begins.

It has been evident that God’s judgments in this book are frequently carried out by some representative of the angelic host. Chapter 20 opens with the mention of an unnamed angel holding in his hand the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain. Satan who has been described by various names, such as, the dragon, the ancient serpent, and the Devil, is bound, thrown into the pit, and confined in this abyss for a thousand years. His power to deceive mankind is thus terminated, though the warning is added that, at the
end of the millennium, he is to be loosed for a little while.

Like the other numerical values in this book, the thousand years are not to be taken literally; they symbolize the long period of time between the chaining up of Satan (a symbol for Christ’s resurrection-victory over death and the forces of evil) and the end of the world. During this time God’s people share in the glorious reign of God that is present to them by virtue of their baptismal victory over death and sin; cf. Rom 6:1–8; Jn 5:24–25; 16:33; 1 Jn 3:14; Eph 2:1.

Chapter 20:11-15 also speak of the Last Judgment. After the intermediate reign of Christ, all the dead are raised and judged, thus inaugurating the new age. God alone is the judge. He sits on a great white throne, emblematic of his power and purity. All but the martyrs, who have been raised in the first resurrection (chapter7), all dead, both just and wicked, stand before the Judge. They are judged from the heavenly records that have been kept, the book of life for the faithful (Rev 3:5) and other books for the wicked and idolatrous. Their recorded works are the basis of their acceptance or rejection.

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Victory! – Thursday, 34th Week in ordinary time – Revelation 18:1-2, 21-23, 19:1-3, 9a

For someone who has just joined this set of teachings on Revelations, a recap will help you understand the “fall of Babylon” in chapter 18 and the text in Chapter 19.

By the time of the Roman emperor Nero, Christianity had spread and settled its roots in Rome and in Asia Minor (Modern day Western Turkey). Many Christians thought that, after the destruction of the Temple of Jerusalem (in the year 70), after which Judaism was no longer a threat of any kind, the Church would enter into an era of peace and tranquility; instead, they had to cope with new and very violent persecutions.

Inevitably they asked; when will our Lord show himself and come to the rescue of his own and establish his kingdom once and for all? In the book of Apocalypse, the author John, inspired by God, tries to answer this question. The first thing which God has given him to “see” is that the Redeemer is indeed triumphant and that the faithful are victors with him. But he also points out that the Church will be persecuted throughout its pilgrim way on earth, and the faithful will suffer the same lot, if they stay united to the Lamb. The powers of darkness will make war unceasingly against the Spouse of Christ and will try to undermine the faith of believers. But they should not be dismayed: The Church will always triumph over its persecutors, and in union with the Church the faithful who stay true to the end will also achieve victory.

John, therefore, identifies the prime enemy of the Church in his own time as the Roman empire whom he calls the beast. Then there is the tool of the beast, namely the Dragon or Satan. Because it has prostituted itself, Babylon, whom John uses as a nickname for Rome, cannot win. It will be completely overthrown, and the Church is sure to triumph.

The reading consists of relatively short extracts from chapter 18 and half of chapter 19. In the first part, John announces the coming fall of ‘Babylon’, i.e. Rome, the centre of the empire and the source of so much persecution for the Christians. This is followed by songs of victory in heaven.

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The tipping point – Wednesday, 34th Week in ordinary time – Revelation 15:1-4

So far we have seen the plague of the seven seals (6:1-8:1) and of the 7 trumpets (8:2-11:19). In chapter 16 we will hear of the seven angels with seven plagues or the seven bowls of wrath of God that are poured on those who bear the mark of the beast. The seven angels are no doubt the traditional 7 archangels of late Jewish angelology. In I Enoch (Enoch is an apocalyptic book popular before the time of Christ and for several centuries afterward. Its original language was likely Aramaic) they are listed as Uriel, Raphael, Raguel, Michael, Sariel, Gabriel, and Remiel. In Jewish literature they are often called the “angels of the presence.”

Chapter fifteen prepares us for the pouring out of the bowl of judgments that will take place in chapter sixteen. They are the last judgments because “they exhaust the anger of God”; with them God’s anger is satisfied. Like the earlier series of calamities, this too is a manifestation of the wrath of God on his enemies. God’s wrath is building to a grand climax.

Each set of calamities have been in sets of seven (seven seals and the seven trumpets) and now we have the last of the series of seven calamities seven bowls of wrath. However, the final destruction of Rome, the seat of the Roman Empire and the cause of the suffering to the early Christians is yet to come in chapter 17. The final judgment of the beast and the dragon will take place in Chapter 19:11- 20:10. A vision of the victorious martyrs precedes the vision of woe that will take place in Revelations 15:5–16:21

John, the author of the book, now sees a sea of glass. This sea of glass was mentioned in 4:6 but now a detail is added. It is mingled with fire. The saints who have triumphed over the beast are pictured as standing by the shore of this heavenly sea, holding harps of God. The harp or the lyre, as we have seen in 5:7-8, is a musical instrument used for the praise and worship of God.

The saints sing a hymn of praise to God for his mighty acts, anticipating the final victory and the execution of God’s righteous judgments. They now sing the Song of Moses, the servant of God. The Song of Moses may be an allusion to Exodus 15:1-18, where Moses and Israel sing a song of deliverance after having passed through the sea.

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The doom of the worshippers of the Beast – Tuesday, 34th Week in ordinary time – Revelation 14:14-19

The text of today forms the tail end of the central section of Revelation [12:1–14:20] and portrays the power of evil, represented by a dragon, in opposition to God and his people. Chapter 14 tells us that those who worship the beast (the Roman empire) will soon be doomed. God’s eternal purpose is to be fulfilled and judgment is at hand. It is for this reason that God the creator alone must be worshipped and not the Emperor.

Today’s passage, like much of revelation, seems puzzling at first. Using very graphic images, John describes the end of the world in terms of a harvest. It is a vision of gathering together the righteous and the good, followed by judgement on the wicked. The actual destruction of the wicked pagans will be treated more fully later on (19:11ff). This text is in line with what Jesus says in the Gospel about judgment day; how the sheep shall be separated from the goats.

Our reading today is based on a text from the prophet Joel based on the grain and grape harvests; “Put in the sickle for the harvest is ripe. Go in, tread, for the winepress is full. The vats overflow, for their wickedness is great” (Joel 4:13)

In his vision, John, sees “one like a son of man” sitting on a cloud. The “son of man” refers to Christ and the cloud indicates a divine presence; it is God’s throne. He wears a crown of gold on his head, representing a golden wreath of victory, his victory over death and sin. In his hand, he carries a sharp sickle. The sickle, used by the Israelites for cutting grain, consisted usually of a flint or iron blade attached to a curved handle of wood or bone. The sickle is the tool for harvesting and Christ as Judge comes to reap his harvest, gathering in, first of all, the elect, those who have been faithful to his Word. The reaping of the harvest symbolizes the gathering of the elect in the final judgment.

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