Bible in One Year Day 360 (Revelation 4-7, Titus 1-3, Proverbs 31: 10-15)

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Day 360: Heavenly Worship 

Agape Bible Study Revelation 4 - 7 

Revelation 4:1-11 ~ The Heavenly Court Glorifies God on His Heavenly Throne

What John heard in his vision of the heavenly Sanctuary:

1. The same voice he heard in his first vision in Chapter 1, saying, "Come up here: I will show you what is to take place in the future."
2. peals of thunder
3. four creatures singing: "Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God, the Almighty; who was, and is, and is to come" 
4. the antiphonal response of the elders: "You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you made the whole universe; by you will, when it did not exist, it was created."

What John saw in his vision of the heavenly Sanctuary:

1. God sitting on a throne looking like a diamond and a ruby with flashes of lightning coming from the throne
2. a rainbow encircling the throne that looked like an emerald
3. twenty-four elders sitting on thrones dressed in white robes and wearing golden crowns
4. seven flaming lamps in front of the throne that were the seven Spirits of God
5. a transparent sea in front of the throne
6. four living creatures studded with eyes in front of the throne with faces like a lion, a bull, a human, and an eagle; they have six wings also studded with eyes
7. the twenty-four elders prostrating themselves before God's throne answering antiphonally to the hymn of the four creatures and throwing down their crowns

Question: What day of the week is it? 
Answer: It is Sunday, the Lord's Day.

Question: What was the first thing John saw?
Answer: He saw a door standing open in Heaven.

Question: When did the door to Heaven, closed since the fall of Adam, first begin to open? See Mt 3:14; Mk 1:10; Lk 3:21-22.
Answer: The door to Heaven opened at Jesus' baptism.

John's new vision is of a door opened to Heaven. Notice that he doesn't see it opening. The door is already open. Isn't it amazing to think that because of Jesus, our Redeemer, the passage into Heaven stands wide open waiting to receive us? 

John heard the voice like a trumpet (Rev 4:5) just as Moses and the children of Israel did at the Theophany on Mount Sinai (Ex 19:16-19). In this case, the trumpeting is the voice of God the Son, Jesus Christ (Rev 1:10, 17-20; 4:1). We have already seen the connection between God's voice and the sound of the shofar (ram's horn trumpet) in Chapter 1. 

What John saw was the vision of the glorified Christ (Chapter 1). What was presently happening was the condition of the seven churches (Chapters 2-3). Now we will see what is to happen in the future. The burning question for Biblical scholars is, "How far into the future?" If the answer is that these events "still to come" will take place 2,000 years in the future, it would have very little relevance for John's audience. If the John is writing in AD 96 during the reign of Roman Emperor Domitian, Christians have experienced relatively little persecution since the death of Nero in AD 68 and have enjoyed tolerance during the rule of the Flavian Roman Emperors Vespasian and Titus with only some hardships for influential Romans who converted during the reign of the last Flavian Emperor who was Domitian. However, for the next two hundred and forty years, persecution of Christians will sporadically experience periods of intense persecution followed by relatively minor suffering until one last surge of tribulation (AD 300-312) before the Church comes under the protection of the first Christian Roman Emperor, Constantine I.

But, if John is experiencing his vision in AD 68 or 69AD, the approaching disaster will be God's judgment on apostate Israel with four Roman legions advancing on Judah, the fall of the Jerusalem, and the destruction of the Temple which brings about the end of Old Covenant worship with much of the surviving population sold into slavery (see Jesus' prophecies of these events in Mt 24:1-22; Mk 13:1-23; Lk 2:17-24). After the disaster of the Jewish Revolt and the destruction of the Jerusalem Temple, the Jews will only have two choices: reformulate worship of Yahweh devoid of the Sinai Covenant (since the Temple no longer exists) or turn to the Church founded out of the fulfilled Old Covenant by Jesus the Messiah that is the New and Eternal Covenant of the new Israel promised by the prophet Jeremiah in the Book of Jeremiah (Jer 31:31-34; 32:40; 50:5) and announced as fulfilled in Christ by His apostles (Heb 12:24 and 13:20).

2 With that, I fell into ecstasy, and I saw a throne standing in Heaven
The first part of this verse is better translated, "Immediately I was in the Spirit." In Revelation 1:10, we noted that the expression "in the Spirit" is technical prophetic language that refers not to St. John's feelings but to his objective experience as an inspired receiver of divine revelation as God's holy prophet. To be "in the Spirit" was the unique privilege of God's prophets, but to be "caught up in the Spirit" was to be received into the heavenly assembly. Only a very few of God's prophets had the privilege of standing in the heavenly court to deliberate in the council of the angels. But now, with the coming of the New Covenant, what was at one time an exclusive prerogative of God's holy prophets has become the privilege of all of those who are washed in the blood of the Lamb and clothed in the white robes of divine grace. John is caught up before the heavenly assembly, and he sees God sitting on His throne.

3 and the One who was sitting on the throne, and the One sitting there looked like a diamond and a ruby. There was a rainbow encircling the throne, and this looked like an emerald. Notice in his description of God's heavenly sanctuary that John never describes God, only what surrounds God, and he gives a wonderfully vivid description of the Throne of God.

The Book of Revelation is very focused on thrones, especially God's throne mentioned in almost every chapter of Revelation. The word throne or thrones (thronos) appears 47 times in Revelation out of a total of 62 times the word appears in the entire New Testament. The next most frequent use of the word "throne" is in the Gospel of Matthew, where it occurs only four times. The Christian church in John's time was familiar with earthly thrones, and they were especially concerned about Caesar's throne and all it represented. John reminds the Christians of the Roman Empire that there is another throne that is above all earthly thrones!

Interestingly, John sees a seven hued rainbow around the Throne of God, which looked like an emerald. There is also mention of a rainbow/bow in Ezekiel 1:28, in Revelation 6:2 (as God's war bow) and 10:1.

In the text, John mentions three precious stones.
Question: What are the three stones John mentions?
Answer: The New Jerusalem translation names diamond, ruby, and emerald.

In John's vision (and in Ezekiel's; see 1:26-28), God is surrounded by a blaze of brilliant light.

The Four Living Creatures of Isaiah, Ezekiel, and John

ISAIAH 6:1-7	-Four Living Creatures
	-Called Seraphs, which means "the burning ones"
	p>-Six wings: two covered their faces, two their feet, two for flying
	-he couldn't see their faces; covered by their wings
	-They sing before the throne of God: "Holy, Holy, Holy"
	-One purified Isaiah with a burning coal
	-encircle the throne of God

There are no other references to Seraphs or Seraphim outside of Isaiah Chapter 6 except for a possible connection with the fiery serpents of Numbers 21:6,8 and Isaiah 14:29 (some scholars suggest a link). Hebrew = sarap, plural serapim. Etymology = fiery one

The Four Living Creatures of Isaiah, Ezekiel, and John

EZEKIEL 1:4-28 10:1-18	Four Living Creatures in what looked like fire
	They had four faces and four wings each face on four sides: man, lion, ox and eagle (Ez 1:10), or ox, man, lion, eagle (Ez 10:14)
	They had straight legs with feet like a calf, and hands like a man
	They are called cherubim (Chapter 10:20)
	Their bodies were full of eyes (10:12)
	They transport the fiery chariot of God (Ezekiel could see the throne above them in the throne room of God in 10:18; some translations vary on how they list this verse, but it comes after 10:17)

Both Ezekiel and John see a rainbow associated with God's throne (Ez 1:28; Rev 4:3 and 10:1).

Another parallel to Ezekiel's vision is that John also sees Four Living Creatures standing in the middle of the throne and around it as they supported the Chariot-Throne of God. See, for example, Psalms 18:9-10 ~ He parted the heavens and came down, a storm-cloud underneath His feet; riding one of the winged creatures, He flew, soaring on the wings of the wind. Notice the closeness of the Living Creatures to God's Chariot-Throne.

Question: What positions do they occupy near God's Throne?
Answer: Verse 6 places them in front and behind.

Other translations read "in the middle and around." The many eyes of the creatures symbolize that they are all-seeing; nothing escapes their gaze or God's ceaseless watch over every part of creation.

1. Genesis 3:24 ~ Cherubim with flaming swords guarded the Tree of Life.
2. Exodus 25:18-19; 37:8 ~ There were statues of two cherubim molded in pure gold on the Mercy Seat of the Ark of the Covenant.
3. 1 Kings 6:24-27 ~ There were two huge statues of cherubim in Solomon's Temple in the Holy of Holies from the floor to the ceiling and from wall to wall over the Ark of the Covenant.
4. Ezekiel 28:14-16 ~ Refers to Satan as a Living Creature (cherub) who guarded Eden.
5. Ezekiel 41:18-20 ~ Ezekiel's vision of the ideal "House of God" had carved winged creatures with faces.

The Living Creatures in Revelation Chapter 4

Four living creatures covered with eyes front and back

Faces like a lion, ox/bull, man, and eagle

Six wings; eyes front and back, inside and out

Sang Holy, Holy, Holy but with a different second verse than Isaiah 6:3

Stood around the throne of God

Comparing the descriptions in Isaiah Chapter 6 and Revelation Chapter 4, there appear to be two classifications of heavenly beings: Seraphs and Cherubs.
The Fathers of the Church saw these marvelous four living creatures as symbols of the four Gospels, however, they did not agree on which creature represented which Gospel.

Early Church Scholars	Creature with a human face	Creature with a lion face	Creature with the face of a bull/ox	Creature with an eagle face
St. Irenaeus of Lyons	Matthew	John	Luke	Mark
St. Augustine of Hippo	Mark	Matthew	Luke	John
Pseudo-Athanasius	Matthew	Luke	Mark	John
St. Jerome	Matthew	Mark	Luke	John

Question: How many times do the living creatures call out God's holiness, and what does this signify?

Answer: Three times HOLY! Three is the number of fullness and completion; it is also the number of the Most Holy Trinity.

In our liturgy of worship, after the response, "We lift up our hearts," we hear the priest say: "And so we join the angels and the saints in proclaiming your glory as we sing" and, as one voice, the congregations sing the Sanctus: "Holy, Holy, Holy Lord, God of power and might, heaven and earth are full of your glory. Hosanna in the highest. Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest." In the Sursum Corda, followed by the Sanctus, we are drawn up to join with heavenly worship just like St. John in the book of Revelation! There are three elements God has put in place in divine worship; the same three He installed in the ritualized worship set in place at the Sinai Covenant and to which we, in the New Covenant Church, are faithful. 

Question: Why do they throw down their crowns, and for what do they praise God?

Answer: When they cast their crowns before God's throne, they acknowledge that their authority and dominion come from God alone.

Revelation Chapter 4 introduced us to the heavenly liturgy. Our earthly liturgy of worship in the Mass is inspired by St. John's vision. Compare John's vision of heavenly worship with the celebration of the Catholic Mass in the chart below.

 

THE MASS IN THE REVELATION OF ST. JOHN
"the golden thread of liturgy is what holds together the apocalyptic pearls of John's Revelation."
Dr. Scott Hahn

Revelation	Revelation Scripture References	Celebration of the Mass
Introductory Rites "The Lord's Day" = Sunday Worship	1:10	Introductory Rites
High Priest Priesthood of the Faithful	1:13; 1:6; 20:6	Processional
Antiphonal chant	4:8-11; 5:9-14; 7:10-12; 18:1-8	Entrance Antiphon
Altar Incense Vestments Consecrated celibacy Lampstands (menorah)	6:9; 8:3-5; 9:13; 11:1; 14:18; 16:7 5:8; 8:3-5 1:12, 13; 2:5; 4:4; 6:11; 7:9; 15:6; 19:13-14; 14:4 14:4 1:13; 4:5	Priest reverences the altar by kissing it and with incense if celebrating a high Mass. He wears the appropriate vestments Celibate clergy Baptismal candle, Eucharistic candle, etc.
Sign of the Cross	7:3; 14:1; 22:4	Sign of the Cross and Greeting
Blessing	1:3; 14:13; 16:15; 19:9; 20:6	The Rite of Blessing
Penitence	Chapters 2 and 3	The Penitential Rite
Gloria	15:3-4	Gloria Opening Prayer

 

Revelation	Revelation Scripture References	Celebration of the Mass
Liturgy of the Word The prominence of the Virgin Mary	1:19 12:1-6; 12:13-17	Liturgy of the Word
Book or Scroll Readings from Scripture	5:1 Chapters 2-3, 5; 8:2-11	1st Reading, Responsorial Psalms, 2nd Reading
Alleluia	19:1, 3, 4, 6	Alleluia and Gospel
Intercession of angels and saints	5:8; 6:9-10; 8:3-4	Intercessions

 

Revelation	Revelation Scripture References	Celebration of the Mass
Liturgy of the Eucharist Eucharistic Host	2:17	Liturgy of the Eucharist
Chalices	15:7; Chapter16; 12:9	Preparation of the Gifts (the wine and bread)
Invitation to "Come up here!"	2:1 and 11:12	Eucharistic Prayer, intro dialog = Sursum Corda, "Lift up your hearts;"4 acclamation: "We lift them up to the Lord"
Holy, Holy, Holy Elders kneel before God	4:8 4:9-10	"Holy, Holy, Holy" (Sanctus) Kneel after the Sanctus
Great Amen	19:4; 22:21	The Great Amen Communion Rite
Lamb of God	5:6, 8, 12, 13; 6:1, 16; 7:9, 10, 14, 17; 12:11; 13:8, 11;14:1, 4 twice, 10; 15:3; 17:14twice; 19:7, 9; 21:14, 22, 23; 22:1, 2	"Lamb of God You take away the sins of the world"
Marriage Supper of the Lamb	19:1-10	"This is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. Happy are those who are called to his table"
Silent Contemplation	8:1	Silent Contemplation
Devotion to Archangel Michael Worldwide/universality (catholic) of the Church	12:7 7:9	Concluding Rites  Mass celebrated around the world

See CCC # 1090; 1137-1139; 2642

St. John's experience of entering the heavenly throne room is also our experience in the sacrifice of the Mass. When we come to the altar-table to receive the Eucharistic bread and wine which has become the glorified Body and Blood of the Savior, we, the faithful, are no longer inside time, but we momentarily enter an existence without time. As in St. John's experience, the division between heaven and earth becomes blurred when the voices of angels and saints join with ours in singing the Sanctus, the acclamation of praise to the Triune God (Isaiah 6:3; Revelation 4:8), and as we process forward to receive communion, like St. John in Revelation Chapters 4-6, we find ourselves standing in the presence of the Living God, in the midst of the heavenly liturgy, bearing witness to the victory of Jesus Christ in whom time as we know it is contained within His holy and redeeming sacrifice offered on the altar of the Cross in 30 AD!

The Scroll and the Lamb

Moses turned and came down the mountain with the two tablets of the Testimony in his hands, tablets inscribed on both sides, inscribed on the front and on the back. The tablets were the work of God and the writing on them was God's writing, engraved on the tablets.
Exodus 32:15-16

When I looked, there was a hand stretching out to me, holding a scroll. He unrolled it in front of me; it was written on front and back, on it was written lamentations, dirges, and cries of grief.
Ezekiel 2:9-10

Revelation 5:1-8 ~ The Scroll and the Standing Lamb (Arnion Hestekos)
1 I saw that in the right hand of the One sitting on the throne there was a scroll that was written on back and front and was sealed with seven seals. 2 Then I saw a powerful angel who called with a loud voice, "Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?" 

John was focused on the twenty-four elders as they prostrated themselves before the throne of God and responded to the hymn of the Four Living Creatures with antiphonal (responsive) praise themselves. Now he directs his attention to the One who sits on the throne, and John sees that He holds in his right hand (the hand of authority) a scroll. The word in Greek is biblion, the diminutive of biblos. It may have been either a rolled scroll (made of papyrus or leather and written only on one side) or a codex (the precursor to the modern bound book that was folded pages of parchment with writing on both sides) and denotes a book, document, letter, record, or statute.

Question: What two statements does John make about the condition of the biblion?
Answer: It has seven seals with writing on the back and front of the document.

The key to understanding the scroll John sees in God's right hand is in these two Old Testament passages: the Ezekiel passage recalling God's Covenant Lawsuit against an unrepentant Israel and the Exodus passage when God first established His covenant with Israel. But what about the importance of the two tablets of the Ten Commandments inscribed on both sides? Could it be that they were duplicate copies? We have already mentioned that the covenant treaty format of ancient Near Eastern nations is evident in the establishment of the Sinai Covenant. When a victorious king formed a treaty/covenant with a vassal (and all those under the vassal's authority), two copies of the covenant were drawn up (as in modern contracts). Each party placed his copy of the treaty in the house of his god, as a legal document testifying to the agreements and stipulations. In the case of Israel, of course, Yahweh was both the great king and God, so God commanded that both copies of the Covenant with Israel were placed in the Tabernacle; that is why it was called the Ark of the Covenant! 

The purpose of Israel's copy of the Covenant was as a documentary witness (Dt 31:26). The written tables served to remind Israel of the stipulations of the covenant, her covenant oath to Yahweh, and her obligations, which if executed faithfully, would result in blessings (Lev 26:1-3-13; Dt 28:1-14) but if violated would bring covenant curses (Lev 26:14-46; Dt 28:15-69). God commanded that the covenant stipulations were to be publicly proclaimed to every generation to teach the fear (spiritually healthy respect) of the Lord to all Israel, especially to the children .

Question: What purpose did God's copy of the covenant serve? Read Genesis 9:13-16.
Answer: Yahweh's duplicate tablet served the same purpose as that of the rainbow in His covenant with Noah in Genesis 9:13-16.

The tablet was the visible sign to link the oath God took to remember His people and faithfully keep the blessings He promised them for their obedience and the discipline He promised if they were unfaithful to bring them to repentance. All God's judgments are meant to be redemptive, to restore His people, of their own free will, to renewed fellowship with their God.

The scroll is the will and testament of the resurrected and ascended Jesus Christ. It is the covenant document of the New and eternal Covenant (Jer 31:31-34; 26:28; Lk 22:20; 1 Cor 11:25; Heb 13:20) and we, as His heirs, receive His inheritance (Rom 8:17; Gal 3:29; Tit 3:7; Heb 1:14; 6:17-20; Jam 2:5). But the fulfillment of the New Covenant requires the passing away of the Old Covenant; after all, there can only be One Church (Heb 8:6-7, 13; 9:15; 10:8-10). The Ten Commandments established the Old Covenant Church that consisted of only one nation, Israel, and Ezekiel's scroll announced a judgment on Old Covenant Israel. Jesus' testament, sealed with seven seals, is both a judgment on Old Covenant Israel and the establishment of the New Covenant Israel, the Holy Catholic (universal) Church. With the opening of each of the seals are opened, we will see the curse-judgments of the Covenant lawsuit against Israel unfold.

In grief, John began to cry because no one in all creation was able, or as the angel explains, worthy, to open the scroll of the New Covenant offered by the One sitting on the Throne. Without someone worthy to act on behalf of both God and man, the New Covenant cannot be ratified. One of the elders stepped forward to comfort John and to tell him to stop crying because, "the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed, and so He will open the scroll and its seven seals." It is significant that this message of comfort comes from an elder and not from the angel (heavenly messenger). It is the Church's mission to preach the Gospel ("good news"), and it appears that the elder is so excited that he blurts out the climax before he even explains who has conquered.

Question: In what two ways does the elder describe the One who has conquered?
Answer: He describes "the One" as the "Lion of the tribe of Judah" and "the Root of David." 

The lion is the most frequently mentioned animal in Sacred Scripture. He is the symbol of power and kingship.
Question: What Old Testament passages recall the title "Lion of Judah?" See Gen 49:9-10; 1 Chr 2:2-13; 1 Sam 16:1, 13; 2 Sam 4; 5:3-5. How is the title in the elder's statement fulfilled
Answer: The Elder's statement is the fulfillment of Jacob/Israel's death-bed prophecy for his fourth son, Judah, that kingship would become established in the tribe of Judah. It was the shepherd boy who became king, David, God's beloved (in Hebrew David's name means "beloved"), who became the king of Israel and the "Lion of Judah."

God desired to glorify Himself in Jesus Christ and to offer salvation to all humanity; therefore, He created Jesse and David, and all the other ancestors of Jesus' human nature to bring the Second Person of the Trinity, the Divine, and Eternal Son, into the world. 

Question: John "heard" the angel call out in a loud voice, and then, what does he "see?"
Answer: He sees the Lamb/Christ.

What John sees isn't a meek and humble lamb; this Lamb is the mighty King of Kings, the Lion of the Tribe of Judah. This passage is not a reference to Jesus in His human nature, but Christ as He works out our salvation. The Book of Revelation describes Jesus as:

1. One with a human form with burning eyes and a voice like a trumpet and thunder (1:10-15)
2. One who stands at the place of honor on the right side of God's throne (5:7).
3. He is divine but has human attributes: he comes from the tribe of Judah and is both the origin and sprig from the root of the great King David (5:5; 22:10).
4. He has the attributes of both a lion and a lamb (5:5-6).
5. He receives adoration (5:8).
6. Human rulers fear His wrath (6:16).
7. He is Savior, leader, shepherd (7:10, 17).
8. He stands on Mt. Zion, a symbol for the Church (14:1-5).
9. He engages war against evil and is victorious (17:14).
10. He is humanity's judge (13:8; 14:10; 20:11-15; 21:27; 22:12).
11. He is the Bridegroom of the Church (19:7-9; 21:9).
12. He shares God's throne (22:1, 3).
13. He is the King of kings and Lord of lords (15:3; 17:14; 19:16).
14. The One who has renewed creation with the gift of eternal life (21:1-7).

Question: What is curious about the way John describes the Lamb? Hint: think about how a sacrificed animal would be situated.
Answer: John describes the lamb as standing, but a sacrificed animal would be lying down, dead, and unable to stand.

So why is this Lamb standing The central work of history is the finished, sacrificial work of Christ who died once and for all time for our sins. CCC#1137 (quoting St. John Chrysostom's Liturgy on Revelation 5:5) "Christ crucified and risen, the one high priest of the true sanctuary, the same one who offers and is offered, who gives and is given." And Hebrews 7:27 ~ He has no need to offer sacrifices every day, as the high priests do, first for their own sins and only then for those of the people; this He did once and for all by offering himself. Although He suffered and died once and for all time, the sacrifice is ongoing. Christ continually offers Himself before the throne of God in sacrifice (as the "Lamb Standing") until such a time when sin no longer exists. His sacrifice is ongoing because sin and salvation are ongoing. Also see CCC #1330, 613-14, 1364-68, 2009, 2100. 

John saw that the Lamb had seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits that God has sent out over the whole world.

In addition to the seven horns, the Lamb has seven eyes: He is all-seeing, and nothing in creation escapes His gaze. All-seeing eyes in Scripture are symbols of knowledge. There is the symbolic image of the fullness and perfection of the Messiah's power (seven horns) and His knowledge (seven eyes). The seven eyes are the seven Spirits of God sent out into all the earth: God the Holy Spirit in His fullness of knowledge (symbolized by the eyes). But this passage may also refer to the first mention of God the Holy Spirit in Sacred Scripture: In the beginning God created heaven and earth. Now the earth was a formless void, there was darkness over the deep, with a divine wind sweeping over the waters (Gen 1:1-2). The "divine wind" in Hebrew is the ruah = God the Holy Spirit who is sent out over all the earth during the creation event. As creation continues, God the Holy Spirit enacted seven acts of "seeing" in the seven-fold Spirit's eyes.

God was not only creating; He was also judging the earth until the final judgment at the beginning of the seventh day. In the same way, the Lamb is the center of history, the conquering Lamb who opens the New Covenant and who serves both as Covenant creator and judge as He takes the book/scroll out of the right hand of God the Father. It is the new creation event/beginning of God's Covenant people!

In the sacred assembly of saints and angels, the Four Living Creatures kneel (or prostrate) in adoration before the Lamb as they worship Him, and each of the elders carried a harp and a golden bowl full of incense.

Question: What are the golden bowls of incense?
Answer: Prayers of the Saints.

Question: Can you think of a tradition in the Catholic Church that corresponds to this symbolic practice?
Answer: Lighting prayer candles, altar candles, and the incense burned at a high Mass.

The New Song

Revelation 5:9-14 ~ The New Hymn of the Twenty-four Elders and the Responsorial Anthem of the Angels and Saints

The heavenly assembly sings a "new hymn" in three parts as the Lamb takes the scroll. A New Covenant deserves a New Hymn! The "new song" is always mentioned in association with God's redemptive and creative acts in history. In the Old Testament references, the "new song" celebrates the creation of the Sinai Covenant and announces the promise that the Messiah will bring salvation to the nations (see Psalms 98:1-3 and Isaiah 42:10-13).

9 They sang a new hymn: "You are worthy to take the scroll and to break its seals, because you were sacrificed, and with your blood you bought people for God of every race, language, people and nation 10 and made them a line of kings and priests for God, to rule the world." 

Question: List the created things that join in the song as well as the enumerated items of praise.
Answer: Every created thing: (1) in heaven and (2) on the earth and (3) under the earth (Purgatory) and (4) in the sea join in the song of praise. The totality of all of creation becomes part of the cosmic chorus. They are singing to God the Father and God the Son: (1) praise, and (2) honor, and (3) glory, and (4) power, for eternity.

Revelation 6:1-8 ~ The Lamb Breaks the First Four of the Seven Seals

In Chapter 6, the Lamb begins to break open the seven seals, and there is a division between the opening for the first four and last three seals. The opening of the first four seals announces the beginning of a holy war because it introduces the struggle between two sovereign powers: earth and the ungodly and the godly of Heaven (c.f., 6:14-15). One of the four Living Creatures announces the opening of each of the first four seals with the command, "Come!" with a shout in a voice like thunder, and each time, a horse with a rider appears.

The events concerning the first four seals have riders on horses, while the Living Creatures do not announce the other seals. Also, each of the four seals has two verses, while the fifth seal has three verses, and the sixth has six but both without horses and riders. The Lamb will not open the seventh seal until Chapter 8.

The First Four of the Seven Seals

SEAL	SCRIPTURE PASSAGE
First seal: The rider on the white horse	Revelation 6:1-2
Second seal: The rider on the red horse	Revelation 6:3-4
Third seal: The rider on the black horse	Revelation 6:5-6
Fourth seal: The rider on the pale (green) horse	Revelation 6:7-8
The riders were "given authority over a quarter of the earth, to kill by the sword, by famine, by plague and through wild beasts." Revelation 6:8

IGod directs the activity of the holy war from His throne room in Heaven:

1. By the command of the Living creatures to "Come" (6:1, 3, 5, 7).
2. By the four-part repetition of the word edothe, meaning "it was granted/given" (6:2, 4, 8, 11).
3. By the phrase ho kathemenos, meaning "he who was seated on it," referring to the throne.
4. And, in the last part of the battle, the Word of God Himself fighting for the righteous (Chapter 19).

The Judgment on Jerusalem in the Synoptic Gospels Compared to the Book of Revelation
(see the more in-depth chart with Scripture quoted in handout 1)

REVELATION Chapter 6	MATTHEW Chapter 24	MARK Chapter 13	LUKE Chapter 21
1. Wars (Rev 6:2)	Wars (Mt 24:6)	Wars (Mk 13:7)	Wars (Lk 21:9, 20, 24)
2. International Strife (Rev 6:4)	International Strife (Mt 24:7a)	International Strife (Mk 13:8a)	International Strife (Lk 21:10)
3. Famine  (Rev 6:5b-6)	Famine (Mt 24:7b)	Famine (Mk 13:8b)	Famine (Lk 21:11b)
4. Disease/pestilence (Rev 6:8)			Disease/pestilence (Lk 21:11)
5. Persecution (Rev 6:9-11)	Persecution (Mt 24:9)	Persecution (Mk 13:9-13)	Persecution (Lk 21:12-19)
6. Earthquakes and cosmic chaos (Rev 6:12-17)	Earthquakes and cosmic chaos (Mt 24:7b, 29)	Earthquakes (Mk 13:8b, 24-25)	Earthquakes (Lk 21:11a, 25-26)
Michal Hunt © 2000 www.agapebiblestudy.com

The number of riders gives the key to understanding the symbolism of the horses.

Question: What does the number four represent symbolically in Scripture, and how does it relate to the vision of the four horsemen?
Answer: In Biblical symbolism, four represents the earth.

The number 4 not only represents the earth generally but specifically the Promised Land as God's four-cornered altar. Therefore, judgments that fall on the land are represented as four-part judgments. The four horsemen show us God's plan for executing His judgment on the disobedient nation of Israel/Judah.

Each of the four horsemen is a symbolic representation of the fourfold judgment that Jesus declared would be the "beginning of sorrows" in the desolation of Jerusalem in Matthew 24:6-7, Mark 13:8 and Luke 21:10-11, 20.
Question: What are the four judgments listed in those passages that correspond to the four horsemen?
Answer: The four judgments are wars, famines, pestilence, and earthquakes.

The Four Horsemen

Rider	Scripture Passage	Symbolic images associated with the riders
1. White Rider	Revelation 6:2	Bow, victor's crown
2. Red Rider	Revelation 6:3-4	Sword
3. Black Rider	Revelation 6:5-6	Scales
4. Green Rider	Revelation 6:7-8	Death

In verse 1, John hears one of the four Living Creatures call out, "Come!" The angel is not speaking to John but is instead calling forth the first of the four horsemen. The Living Creatures standing around the four corners of Yahweh's altar will call for God's righteous judgments to come and destroy the wicked. Once again, John hears, and then he sees.
Question: What does he see?
Answer: A white horse with its rider armed for battle, carrying a bow and wearing a crown.

Notice that the rider is already victorious; he is wearing the victor's crown. But even though he already has victory, he is still conquering (verse 2).

Who is the White Rider who wears the crown and carries the bow? Biblical scholars and commentators do not agree on the identity of the rider. Some say he is a prince of angles (the crown), other commentators (mainly Protestant dispensationalists) identify the rider of the white horse as the Antichrist. But other commentators identify the White Rider as the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. The rider cannot be the Antichrist because he rides a white horse, a sign of purity, and he is victorious (wears a crown).

Catholic scholars and commentators are divided in their opinions concerning the White Rider.There are several points about this victorious rider that demonstrate He is Jesus Christ:

1. He is riding a white horse: Revelation 14:14 identifies the White Rider as Christ ~ And now I saw heaven open, and a white horse appear; its rider was called Trustworthy and True; in uprightness He judges and makes war. The rider in this passage is clearly Christ, the victorious judge. He has the same title in Revelation 3:14 in the letter to Laodicea: Here is the message of the Amen, the trustworthy, the true witness.
   
   
2. He carries a bow: Just as the Zechariah passages are a key to understand Revelation Chapter 6, the Book of the prophet Habakkuk is also essential. In Habakkuk 3:8-9, God, coming in judgment, is riding on horses against His enemies and is armed with a bow: Yahweh, are you enraged with the rivers, are you angry with the sea, that you should mount your chargers, your rescuing chariots: You uncover your bow, and give the string its fill of arrows. In addition to the Habakkuk passage, Revelation 6:3's sword, a sign of war, is also referring to Psalms 45:3-6, one of the great prophecies of the Messiah's victory over His enemies: Warrior, strap your sword at your side, in your majesty and splendor advance, ride on in the cause of truth, gentleness, and uprightness. Stretch the bowstring tight, lending terror to your right hand. Your arrows are sharp, nations lie at your mercy, the king's enemies lose heart. Your divine throne, O God, is forever and ever, the scepter of your kingship a scepter of justice, you love uprightness and detest evil.
   
   A question we might also ask is, where did the rider on the white horse get the bow? As it is usually the case, the answer begins in Genesis. Read Genesis 8:20-21 and 9:8-17. After the flood, God made a covenant with Noah: "And this," God said, "is the sign of the covenant which I now make between myself and you and every living creature with you for all ages to come. I now set my bow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth" (Gen 9:12-13). God unstrung His war bow and hung it up in the cloud for all to see.
   
   
   
3. The White Rider wears a crown: John's 1^st century AD Christians would have immediately understood that the rider on the white horse was Jesus Christ based on the other points we have mentioned, but the wearing of the crown would have left no doubt. The rider is the King of Kings. It is an image of Christ that we know from Revelation, for example:
   1. And now I saw heaven open, and a white horse appear, its rider was called Trustworthy and True; in uprightness He judges and makes war. His eyes were flames of fire, and He was crowned with many coronets (Rev 14:14).
      
      
   2. [And] Now in my vision I saw a white cloud and sitting on it one like a son of man with a gold crown on His head and a sharp sickle in His hand (Rev 19:11-12).
4. The final point is the fact that the rider goes out conquering: Satan/the final Antichrist cannot conquer; he has been conquered by the resurrection of the Lamb. The Greek word for conquering is the same Greek word that appears in Christ's letters to the seven churches for overcoming or conquering, seven times in Revelation 2:7, 11, 17, 26; 3:5, 12, 21. Then too, the White Rider is not simply one of four riders; He is leading the others with His bow and His crown.

There are also a few problems with this interpretation: If we site Revelation 19:11-16 as a proof text that Christ is the White Rider, there is the problem that even though both the riders in Revelation 6 and 19 are riding white horses and are wearing "crowns," the passages use two different words in Greek for crown, and the riders carry different weapons: a bow in 6:2 and a sword in 19:15, both implements of war.

In Revelation 6:2, the word is stephanos, which would be a victor's wreath like Julius Caesar, and other Roman generals wore in their victory parades, while the Greek word for crown in Revelation 19:12 is diadema, like a King's crown. It can be argued that at first, Christ wears the victor's crown because He is in the act of conquering, while in Revelation Chapter 19, He wears a king's crown because He is the victorious King of Kings in the final battle. St. Victorinus, in his commentary on the Book of Revelation, saw the bow of the Holy Spirit delivering the arrows of the Gospel across the earth before the release of the other riders, while in Chapter 19, he sees Christ as leading the victorious army of God in a great battle.

The White Rider must be Christ, the conquering King, coming against His enemies in judgment. He already came to save/redeem, but now He is coming to bring judgment and to destroy, as He foretold in the Synoptic Gospels (Mt 24; Mk 13; Lk 21). The terrifying riders who will follow Him are His messengers of wrath, and the faithless of Old Covenant Israel, who rejected the Messiah, are doomed!

The red horse and its rider symbolize blood and war. Notice that God does not incite war. Instead, He simply orders His angels to take away the conditions of peace. God removes His hand of protection and the restraints on humanity's wickedness. In the Jewish revolt against Rome, which began in AD 66, the Jews not only fought the Romans, but they savagely fought and killed each other. The Jewish priest/historian, Flavius Josephus, wrote: "every city was divided into two armies encamped against one another, and the preservation of the one party was in the destruction of the other; so the day time was spent in the shedding of blood, and the night in fear.... It was then common to see cities filled with dead bodies, still lying unburied and those of old men, mixed with infants, all dead, and scattered about together; women also lay amongst them, without any covering for their nakedness; you might then see the whole province full of inexpressible calamities, while dread of still more barbarous practices which were threatened, was everywhere greater than what had been already perpetrated" (Josephus, The Jewish War, 2. 18.2).

Black is a color symbolizing mourning, affliction, or death. The Black Rider and the scales symbolize economic chaos and the rationing of food, which will lead to famine; see Ezekiel 4:10. Josephus, in The Jewish War, 5.10.2, described the famine before the fall of Jerusalem in AD 70. He writes that parents even killed and ate their children (as prophesied in Lev 26:29 and Dt 28:53-57).

The fourth seal sends forth the last Horseman of judgment who rides a green horse. The word in Greek is chloros, meaning "green," or "yellowish green." It appears two more times in Revelation (8:7 and 9:4) and once in Mark (6:39). Biblical translators purposely mistranslate the word as "pale" on the assumption that since there is no such thing as a green horse, John could not have seen one. It is an erroneous assumption and an example of translators interpreting instead of faithfully translating the sacred text. God can make a horse any color He wants! The green color is important because it is the color of decomposing corpses.

Question: What is the name for this rider, and who follows him? Hint: in New Testament Scripture, the Greek word Hades, Sheol in Hebrew, is the abode of the dead.
Answer: The Fourth Rider is Death, followed by Hades = the grave/Sheol/Hades.

Question: Who sets them loose? See Rev 1:18.
Answer: Jesus Christ set them loose; He used His keys as He said in Chapter 1: "I was dead and look, I am alive forever and ever, and I hold the keys of death and Hades" (Rev 1:18).

Look at the significance of Revelation 6:8 in the context of the temporal covenant curse-judgments of Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28. The housemen receive authority to bring four plagues upon the land, which is a summary of the all the covenantal curses in Leviticus 26:14-46 and Deuteronomy 28:15-68. It also parallels God's list of His four basic categories of curse-judgments with which He punishes the wicked and disobedient nations. 

Revelation 6:9-17 ~ The Lamb Breaks the Fifth and Sixth Seals, and the Blood of the Martyrs Avenged

SEAL	SCRIPTURE PASSAGE
Fifth seal: Martyred, white-robed saints (souls) under the altar	Revelation 6:9-11
Sixth seal: Judgment/de-creation	Revelation 6:12-17

The Christ/Lamb will not break the seventh seal until 8:1-13

9 When he broke the fifth seal, I saw underneath the altar the souls of all the people who had been killed on account of the Word of God, for witnessing to it.
The breaking of the fifth seal reveals a vision where the souls of those martyred because of their witness for Christ are underneath or around the base of the altar of God (which means the martyrs are very close to God). The heavenly altar is the prototype of the earthly altar. (c.f., Heb 8:5). It is also present in Revelation 8:3, 5; 9:13; 11:1; 14:18, and 16:7. The blood of the animals in the old sacrificial system was poured out of bowls/chalices onto the altar, ran in streams down the side, and formed into a pool around the base of the altar so that their life-force was "beneath the altar." In this passage, the death of these holy victims becomes a most acceptable sacrifice to God.

Notice that some of the events associated with seals five and six match the first four seal figures/riders and some events in the first four seal passages:

First Seal:	white horse	Fifth Seal:	white robes
Second Seal:	red horse	Sixth Seal:	moon like blood (red)
Third Seal:	black horse	Sixth Seal cont.	black sun
Fourth Seal:	green horse		decomposing corpses of the population

Revelation Chapter 7: The True Israel

Chapter 7 is an intermission or interlude between the breaking of the sixth and seventh seals of destruction. But in this interlude, there is another kind of seal, the Seal of the Living God. Its purpose is to secure the safety of God's people before the destruction the seventh seal unleashes. John's vision in Chapter 7 deals with the theme of salvation, which will continue in Chapters 12, 14, the end of 19, and in Chapter 21. John's vision in Chapter 7 has been and continues to be a vision of hope for suffering Christians down through the centuries.

Revelation 7:1-8 ~ God's Seal Upon the Faithful of the True Israel

Chapter 7 takes place in the interlude between opening the sixth and seventh seals and answers the question of the holy martyrs in 6:10 concerning the delay in delivering justice. Verses 1-8 are the first of two visions; the second is in verses 9-14.

1 Next I saw four angels, standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the world to keep them from blowing over the land or the sea or any tree.
The symbolism in verse 2:

1. four is the number of the earth (land and sea)
2. the "wind" symbolizes the coming of God with blessings or judgment
3. the "trees" are images of human beings

John sees four angels standing at the four corners of the world. Four is the number of the earth (four seasons, four cardinal directions, four winds). Yahweh commands the four angel-messengers to hold back His wrathful judgment, temporarily protecting the land, sea, and trees. The destruction for the four corners of the earth is reminiscent of Ezekiel 7:1-2 ~ The word of Yahweh was addressed to me as follows, "Son of man, say, "Lord Yahweh says this to the land of Israel: Finished! The end is coming for the four corners of the country."

While the words "land" and "sea" are in the genitive case, "trees" is in the accusative, indicating that St. John wishes to draw special attention to it. Throughout the Bible, trees are images of men; for example, see the parable in Judges 9:7b-15 that begins: Hear me, leaders of Shechem, so that God may also hear you! One day the trees went out to anoint a king to rule them. They said to the olive tree, "Be our king!" Usually, trees are symbols for the righteous people of God (see Ex 15:17; Ps 1:3; 92:12-14; Isaiah 61:3; Jeremiah 17:5-8 and Mk 8:24). In Jeremiah 17:7 the prophet says: "Blessed is anyone who trusts Yahweh, with Yahweh for his reliance. He is like a tree by the waterside that thrusts its roots to the stream: when the heat comes it has nothing to fear, its foliage stays green; untroubled in a year of drought, it never stops bearing fruit."

The wind in Scripture is often connected to the coming of God and the action of His angels in either giving blessings for obedience or curse-judgments for Covenant for disobedience (Gen 8:1; 41:27; Ex 10:13, 19; 14:21; 15:10; Num 11:31; Ps 18:10; 104:3-4; 107:25; 135:7; 147:18; 148:8; Hos 13:15-16; Jn 3:8; Acts 2:2). The four angels are holding back God's judgment on the land, sea, and humanity.

This powerful messenger coming for the rising sun is either a representative of Christ or, as some scholars suggest, Christ Himself. 

Question: On whom is the angel instructed to place God's seal, and why?
Answer: He is to seal all God's servants against the coming disaster.

Question:Are we also sealed as God's servants? See Ephesians 1:13-14.
Answer:Yes, in the Sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation, and Holy Orders.

We can summarize by saying that the messenger in verse 2:

1. Possesses the Spirit without measure 
2. He marks out the righteous as God's possession, and 
3. By his order, the judgments on the land are not fully implemented until the angel-messengers have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads!

Many commentators see the angel-messenger coming from the sunrise as Christ, who has sealed us in His blood as children of God.

Question: Why does the angel who carries the Seal tell the other angels to "wait" before they devastate the land? See Eph 1:13 and 4:30Answer:The Seal of the Holy Spirit covers the righteous before the applying of the Seals of wrath to the wicked: Pentecost precedes Holocaust!

The seal of God on their foreheads also has special Biblical significance:

1. A mark on the forehead is a symbol of humankind restored to fellowship with God by a symbol of God's protection. One example of this was the High Priest in the Old Covenant, who wore a gold plaque on his forehead marked with letters proclaiming that he was "Holy (or consecrated) to Yahweh" (Exodus 28:36).
2. In Deuteronomy 6:6-8, all God's people are sealed on the forehead and the hand with the law of God. They wore the first profession of faith, called the Shema, in little boxes attached to their foreheads and with leather straps on their right hands. These boxes called teffelim (Hebrew)or phylacteries (Greek) are worn by Orthodox Jews today. The act of wearing these devices symbolized a life characterized by faithful obedience in thought and action to every word of God.
3. A third example would be the mark that God placed on the forehead of Cain in Genesis 4:15 So Yahweh put a mark on Cain, so that no one coming across him would kill him.

For us, raised to renewed life in the New Covenant Sacrament of Holy Baptism, the seal of the Holy Spirit marks us as believers and as the covenant-keeping bond-servants of our God, who He will preserve from His wrath in the destruction of the ungodly. In our Revelation passage, the sealing of the faithful was not to save them from tribulation; just as in Ezekiel's time, the godly who were sealed still faced the exile to Babylon. God's messenger ordered the sealing of the faithful to preserve the True Israel of God as a holy seed, saved from apostate Israel to become the "firstfruits" of the New Covenant (see Rev 14:4). Even though the old Israel will perish, the new and Holy Israel, the catholic = universal Church, is to be chosen and sealed with the Spirit of the living God for eternity (CCC 877).

John hears that the 144,000 sealed are 12,000 from each of the twelve tribes of Israel. It is a symbolic number: 12 x 12 x 1000. 12 is the number of governmental perfection while 10, and its multiples, symbolize the perfection of divine order. It is unclear who the 144,000 represent. The elder tells John that they are collected from the twelve tribes of Israel and are specially marked/sealed by God, but this list differs from the others of the twelve tribes by including Levi and not naming Ephraim, but listing Joseph, and excluding Dan. The first tribe named is Judah, Jesus' ancestral tribe (c.f., Num 1:5-15, 20-43; 2:3-31). There are various interpretations concerning those who receive God's divine seal:

1. Some commentators believe they arethe New Israel of Gentiles and Jews baptized into the New Covenant, which Paul writes about in Galatians 6:15-16 ~ It is not being circumcised or uncircumcised that matters; but what matters is a new creation. Peace and mercy to all who follow this as their rule and to the Israel of God (also see Gal 3:6-9, 29; 4:21-31; Romans 9:6-8). 
2. Other commentators interpret them as being Christians of Jewish background or those Jews who will become Christians: the holy remnant of Israel who, as the descendants of Jacob, accepted the Messiah, inaugurated the New Israel and received the required Sacrament of Baptism (Is 4:2-4; Ez Chapter 9; Mk 16:16; Acts 2:37-39). 

However, these are not the only ones to receive salvation. Those who receive God's seal are probably also the ones Paul calls the "first-fruits" of the restoration in Romans 11:25-32. In John's next vision, the 144,000 are part of the great multitude "from all tribes, and peoples, and tongues," suggesting Jewish and Gentile Christians united in the family of God. The Gentiles who became Christians throughout history appear in the next vision.

In these verses (Rev 7:4-8), the names of twelve tribes listed hadn't existed as twelve since the destruction of the Northern Kingdom of Israel in 722 BC when the Assyrians dispersed the ten northern tribes of Israel into the Gentile world of the ancient Near East. The names are oddly manipulated to make twelve tribes. As mentioned above, the list omits the tribe of Dan, and the half tribes of Joseph (Manasseh and Ephraim) are manipulated to exclude Ephraim while listing both Joseph and his son Manasseh as tribes.

As mentioned, the symbolic number 144,000 makes use of the perfect number 12 = divine perfection in (governmental) order. 12, the number of Israel, is squared then multiplied by 1,000 (the number 10 and its multiples reflect divine perfection in cardinal order). Multiples of 10 always symbolize abundance in the perfection of divine order (c.f., Dt 1:11; 7:9; Ps 50:10; 68:17; 84:10; 90:4). In this symbolic number, the New Covenant Church becomes the ideal Israel. It is Israel as it was meant to be in all its perfection and completeness as the holy army of God when each of the twelve tribes can field twelve full divisions in a numerically perfect divine army of soldiers for Yahweh! The unit of a thousand was the basic military division of the camp of Israel (see Num 10:2-4, 35-36; 31:1-5, 48-54; 2 Sam 18:1; 1 Chron 12:20; 13:1; 15:25; 26:26; 27:1; 28:1; 29:6; 2 Chron 1:2; Ps 68:17).

In the Prophet Micah's prophecy of the birth of the Messiah in 5:1-15, he wrote that even though Bethlehem was too insignificant to be considered seriously in the nation's military strategy as counted "among the thousands of Judah," yet, he wrote: from you One will go forth for Me to be Ruler in Israel. It is a pattern repeated from the first destruction of Jerusalem in 587/6 BC when Isaiah prophesied that a "holy seed," a remnant, would be saved (Is 6:13; 10:21-23). Paul writes about the same remnant when he quotes the Isaiah Chapter 10 passage in Romans 9:27-28: And about Israel, this is what Isaiah cried out: Though the people of Israel are like the sand of the sea, only a remnant will be saved; for without hesitation or delay the Lord will execute His sentence on the earth. Paul continued in 11:5 ~ In the same way, then, in our own time, there is a remnant set aside by grace.

God will not destroy 1^st-century Jerusalem and make it desolate until He first chooses and seals a select number as the beginning of the redeemed New Israel. The New Israel (the Christian Church) is formed out of the chosen servants of God from the people He set aside as holy at Mt. Sinai, from the "twelve tribes of the dispersion." St James, bishop of Jerusalem, certainly saw the Christian Church this way as he wrote in his letter to the universal church before his death in AD 62: From James, servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ. Greetings to the twelve tribes of the Dispersion (Jam 1:1). James saw the universal New Covenant Church as the New Israel.

Question:After the first "Pentecost" at Mt Sinai, when God came down in fire on the mountain and established the Israel of the Sinai Covenant, how long did He give the Israelites to adjust to the laws of the covenant before taking possession of the promised land? See Josh 5:6.
Answer: 40 years.

Question:After the second great Pentecost in the Upper Room when God the Holy Spirit descended on the community in tongues of fire, how long did God give the New Covenant Israel before He removed the Temple in Jerusalem, which was the center of worship for the members of the Sinai Covenant? Hint: The Romans destroyed Jerusalem and the Temple in AD 70, and most Biblical scholars date Jesus' resurrection to circa AD 30. Do you think there is a connection between these two events?
Answer: 40 years for both generations cannot be a coincidence.

There are 40 days from Resurrection Sunday to the Ascension of Christ to the Father. There are 40 years from coming of the Holy Spirit on the second great Pentecost (50 days from the Resurrection) until the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple in AD 70 by the Roman Army.

Revelation 7:9-17 ~ The Reward of the Saints

Once again, John uses the literary device of hearing and then seeing. (1:10-13; 5:5-6; 6:1-8). In verse 4, John tells us, I heard the number of those who were sealed, then after these things, after hearing the number of the redeemed, I looked, and behold, a great multitude in verse 9. John has heard the "things that are," and now he sees "the things that are to come." In another sense, John has heard the people of God, who are definitely numbered; none of the elect is missing or unaccounted for, and the Church is perfectly symmetrical and whole. But now, from another standpoint, the Church is innumerable, a great multitude that no one could count. 

But why is it that only the 144,000 are to be "sealed"? That the 144,000 are actively being sealed is not to suggest that the multitude hasn't been. That is why most scholars believe that the second vision looks forward in time. In the earlier passage, it seems to be imperative that the faithful remnant receives God's protective seal because they are in imminent danger from the wrath that is shortly to come, just as the faithful remnant in the Ezekiel passage were in danger and must be sealed.

In verses 9-10, the multitude of saints is standing before the throne of God and before the Lamb in worship. They wear white robes symbolizing righteousness and carry palm branches, a symbol of the restoration of God's people to Paradise. In Revelation 7:9-10, the multitude/crowd of Saints shout "salvation" to God. Their shout is similar to the Jews on Palm Sunday, carrying palm branches and shouting "Hosanna," which in Hebrew/Aramaic means "Salvation" or "Save us!" (see Jn 12:13). 

11 And all the angels who were standing in a circle round the throne, surrounding the elders and the four living creatures, prostrated themselves before the throne, and touched the ground with their foreheads, worshipping God 12 with these words: "Amen. Praise and glory and wisdom, thanksgiving and honor and power and strength to our God forever and ever. Amen."
The proper position to honor God/Christ is on our knees. Platitudes like "it doesn't really matter if I kneel at the consecration or not, after all, it is what is in my heart that counts" are statements without substance or meaning. Our actions display the intentions of our hearts! 

From the beginning of humanity's fall into sin, blood was the means of atonement and restoration, beginning with the animal God sacrificed to clothe Adam and Eve's (Gen 3:21) naked condition that was a sign of their spiritual nakedness caused by their sin (no longer clothed in divine grace) as well as a symbol of providing atonement with the animal's life. God states His plan for the atonement quality of blood in Leviticus 17:11 ~ For the life of the creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you for performing the rite of expiation on the altar for your lives, for blood is what expiates for a life. The sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the altar of the Cross is the fulfillment of God's plan of expiation and atonement for humanity's sins.

In verse 14, blood is, therefore, the symbol of the effectiveness of the death of Jesus and the blood He shed to cleanse us of all sin (see Rom 3:25; 1 Cor 11:25; Eph 1:7; Heb 9:11-14), and here the martyred saints receive its effects. 

Question: What is the difference between the way the world sees the Christians who are suffering injustice, and the way God sees those persecuted for His sake?

Answer: God sees them as conquerors who have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. 

Christians persecuted to the point of death because of their faith are united with Christ and purified by His blood. They stand before God's throne clothed in the righteousness of Jesus Christ. The washing in blood to be made white in verse 14 is an ironic contrast. It is the promise e children, then we are heirs, heirs of God and joint-heirs with Christ, provided tha

The blessing in verses 15-16 recalls God's promise of restoration in Isaiah 49:10.
Question:What will be the result of the blessing? In verses 16-17, what are seven promises, and what is the message associated with them?
Answer: The promises are: 1. never hunger; 2. or thirst; 3. protection from the sun; 4. and wind; 5. the Lamb will be their shepherd (guide); 6. and give them springs of living water; 7. God will wipe away all their tears. In other words, in their resurrected bodies, they cannot suffer pain or discomfort of any kind.

The redeemed have what the catechism of St. Pius V calls "the gift of impassibility," the inability to suffer pain or suffering of any kind (c.f., St. Pius V Catechism, I, 12, 13). Also see CCC 1508 and 1521.

It was John's vision of victorious saints washed in the blood of Christ that would sustain Christians throughout their years of persecution. Peter and Paul suffered martyrdom under Roman Emperor Nero's orders in AD 67; Paul by beheading and Peter by crucifixion. Peter requested that the Roman soldiers crucify him upside down because he was not worthy to suffer crucifixion like his Lord. The Romans agreed to his request, and today an obelisk marks the place where Peter entered eternity. The beastly Roman Emperor Nero has long since passed to his eternal judgment, but the obelisk is still standing in the center of the great square in front of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. Chiseled on its base are words which from the martyrs' hymn of triumph inspired by Revelation 6:2: "Christus vincit, Christus regnat, Christus imperat" = Christ is conquering; Christ is reigning; Christ rules over all!

Agape Bible Study Titus 1 - 3 Chapter 1: Paul's Pastoral Charge:

Part I: Greeting and Ordaining Qualified Pastors
Titus 1:1-4 ~ Paul's Greeting to Titus

The first four verses that begin St. Paul's letter to Titus are one long sentence in the Greek text. As in Paul's other letters, once he is inspired by an idea, he runs with it, not bothering to shorten sentences. In the opening of his Letter to the Romans, for example, the first seven verses are one long sentence.

As in the greetings in most of his letters, Paul identifies himself as an "apostle;" someone Jesus Christ personally called to his mission to teach the Gospel of salvation (see Rom 1:1; 1 Cor 1:1; 2 Cor 1:1; Gal 1:1; Eph 1:1; Col 1:1; 1 and 2 Tim). Initially, only the Twelve men selected by Jesus for leadership roles were called "Apostles" (in Greek "one who is sent"). However, after Jesus' Ascension, the Apostles acting as the Church's hierarchy extended the title to other men they charged with the responsibility of going forth to teach the Gospel of salvation, men like Barnabas and Paul (Acts 14:14). It is a title Paul vigorously defended since he, like the first twelve, was also personally called by Christ in his conversion experience described in Acts 9:1-19 (1 Cor 9:1-2; 15).

Paul wrote that God repeated His promises to Abraham and the other patriarchs (Rom 4:13; 15:8; Gal 3:16), the same promises made "before the foundation of the world" and from all eternity (Jn 17:24; Eph 1:4). God the Son made the promise of eternal life in His Bread of Life Discourse in John 6:54. Jesus also spoke of His own being with Him forever in His High Priestly Prayer to the Father in John 17:24.

Paul's point is that our "hope" is not based on presumptions but on trusting what God has promised and what He has done in the past. God determined from all eternity to give the gift of eternal life to those who received the "good news" of Christ. His plan for humanity's salvation was always in His heart.

The Greek text of verse 2 reads: "on hope of eternal life which the God that does not lie promised before the eternal times." There is a wordplay on the "eternal times" of the divine promise and the "eternal life" that is the goal (Catholic Commentary on Scripture, First and Second Timothy and Titus, page 214).

Titus 1:5-9 ~ Paul's Pastoral Charge

In the Second Letter of St. John, John identified himself as "the Chief Presbyter/Chief Elder" (sumpresbuteros), and the Apostle Peter also referred to himself as a presbyter/elder in 1 Peter 5:1. The word "presbyter" is from the Greek term presbuteros, meaning "older man" or "elder," referring to one in charge of a clan or tribe and a term familiar to Greek-speaking Gentile converts. Jewish Christians would also have found the term "elder" a familiar designation for a leader in a Jewish community.

Question: In verses 6-9, what does Paul require of the men Titus appoints as leaders of the Christian communities on Crete? Name ten qualifications.

Answer: The men Titus appoints to be presbyters must have these qualities:

1. He must be of sound character.
2. He must be married only once.
3. He must have children who are Christians and of upright character themselves.
4. He cannot be arrogant.
5. He needs a mild disposition.
6. He cannot be a drunkard or materialistic.
7. He must be hospitable.
8. He must love goodness and justice.
9. He must be self-controlled.
10. He must adhere to the true message of the Gospel so he can both teach sound doctrine and refute those who teach falsely.

The seven positive qualities Paul lists for a bishop are hospitable, a lover of goodness, temperate, just, holy, self-controlled, and his ability to transmit faithfully the apostolic Tradition that has been handed on to him.

Part II: Rebuking False Teachers and Teaching Sound Doctrine
Titus 1:10-16 ~ Silencing the Deceivers

Question: What was it that Jewish Christians were probably teaching falsely that caused disharmony in the local mixed Jewish and Gentile churches? See Acts 15:1.

Answer: It is possible that they were telling Gentile Christians that they could not be saved unless they observed Mosaic law completely, including circumcision for male converts and obedience to ritual purity laws and the eating of certain animals. That being the case, Jewish Christians would have avoided contact with Gentile Christians causing a split in the community.
Verse 12 also suggests that Jewish Christians' prejudice against the Gentile-Christian Cretans was causing division.

In verse 13, Paul writes that the criticism of Cretans as liars and gluttons was true, although probably before their conversion. This negative view of Cretans was widely held. Roman statesman and philosopher Marcus Tullius Cicero (106 BC " 43 BC) wrote that Cretans had a reputation for greed and dishonesty (Republic 3.9.15). However, because of past defects, it was necessary to admonish any bad behavior of Cretan Christians "so that they may be sound in the faith."

14 instead of paying attention to Jewish myths and regulations of people who have repudiated the truth. 15 To the clean all things are clean, but to those who are defiled and unbelieving nothing is clean; in fact, both their minds and their consciences are tainted.
Paul is probably referring to the insistence of Jewish Christians on the observance of Jewish ceremonial practices of ritual laws and other regulations that Jesus condemned as "human precepts" in Mark 7:7 that they were trying to impose on Gentile Christians. However, he might also be referring to the "myth" that Jesus was not God enfleshed. In the First Letter of John, he refuted false doctrines and encouraged Christians to walk in the Light of Christ and the knowledge of Truth by avoiding false teachers who denied the reality of the Incarnation by saying that Jesus only appeared to have a human body (1 Jn 4:1-6). 

The Greek word translated as "clean" can also mean "pure" and recalls Jesus' sixth Beatitude that blessed the "pure in heart" (Mt 5:8), those who "attuned their intellects and wills to the demands of God's holiness" (CCC 2518).

Question: Why does Paul write that these teachings are wrong? See Acts 15:7-10,
Answer: For Jewish Christians to attempt to impose Jewish ritual requirements as necessary for salvation was to deny the freedom from the ritual laws Christ brought to Christians as reborn sons and daughters of God. It is the purity of minds and hearts that matters for the Christian, not abstaining from certain foods labeled as "unclean" or other ritual practices.

Chapter 2: The Good Christian Life Within and Outside the Community

Part III: Good Christian behavior (2:1-14)
Part IV: Maintaining good works and obedience to leaders (2:15-3:8)
Part V: Final words of advice and farewell (3:9-15)
In the last two sections of the letter, Paul urges Titus to be doctrinally orthodox, sincere in his actions, and upright in his conduct to counter the misdeeds of those who live at odds with what they profess to believe as Christians. The Second Vatican Council teaches that faith and righteous actions must shape the Christian's life: "Bishops should be especially concerned about catechetical instruction. Its function is to develop in men a living, explicit and active faith, enlightened by doctrine. It should be very carefully imparted, not only to children and adolescents but also to young people and even to adults. In imparting this instruction, the teachers must observe an order and method suited not only to the matter at hand but also to the character, the ability, the age, and the lifestyle of their audience. This instruction should be based on Holy Scripture, tradition, liturgy, and on the teaching authority and life of the Church" (Vatican II, Christus Dominus, 14).

Part III: Good Christian Behavior
Titus 2:1-14 ~ Living in the Image of Christ  

Paul reminds Titus about the obligations and virtues the members of the faith community must have depending on their age, social position, and station in life. What Paul writes is like the advice he gave Timothy in his first letter (see 1 Tim 5:1-6:2).

Part IV: Maintaining Good Works and Obedience to Leaders
Titus 2:11-15 ~ The Basis of the Christian's Transformed Moral Life

The "grace of God" who "has appeared for the salvation of all men" is Jesus Christ. He has called us to renounce the world and its disorder passions and to embrace right worship through godly lives dedicated to good deeds as we await the return of our Lord and Savior at the end of time. The Christian life of righteousness is the fruit of grace. God is the source of that grace, and salvation is the goal given to us through Christ Jesus. Divine grace, manifested in the Incarnation, is actively at work in redeeming each Christian. It is also the basis of our hope in the Second Coming of Christ (verse 13).

The word grace appears more than sixty times in Paul's letters. The Greek word translated "grace" is charis. Its counterpart in the Hebrew text of the Old Testament is the word hen (mercy, favor) or hesed, God's merciful, faithful love shown to His covenant people. For the Hellenistic Gentiles, the Greek word charis appears for favors granted by a king or the Roman emperor on the occasion of his visit to a city. The aorist tense of the verb "has appeared," epephane (related to the Greek term epiphanea or "epiphany" in English) points to a moment in the past. In this case, in verses 13-14, Paul is referring to the Incarnation of Jesus, His saving self-sacrifice on the cross, and the glory of the risen Savior that he witnessed in his conversion experience on the road to Damascus (Acts 9:3-6), Paul expresses all of these as one event of glorious revelation leading to God's infinite grace (Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture: First and Second Timothy, Titus, page 238).

Question: What is the difference between God's grace and the "favor" granted by the Roman Emperor?
Answer: The charis of a human leader is temporal, but the charis/grace God offers is eternal salvation.

Chapter 3: Sound Instruction and Paul's Farewell

Titus 3:1-8 ~ Instruction for Believers

Notice that Paul writes "God our Savior" in verse 4 and "Jesus Christ our Savior" in verse 6. They are one and the same God (Jn 10:30; 14:7, 9-10; 17:11, 21). The list of Christian duties continues from 2:9-10. In addition to obedience to Church leaders, Christians are to be good citizens who obey the civil laws of the Roman magistrates.

Question: What does Paul list in verses 1-2 as examples of good citizenship?
Answer: Christians should be obedient to local laws, ready to assist any good civil enterprise, not to engage in gossip or slander, to keep the peace, and practice kindness to everyone.

He also asks Titus to remind the Cretan Christians to be patient with their pagan neighbors because, before Christian conversion, Paul writes, we were all lost in foolish, disobedient, deluded, slaves to various desires and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful ourselves and hating one another. In other words, where our pagan neighbors are now, except for the grace of God calling us to salvation, we might also have found ourselves in their disgraceful state.

In verses 4-7, St. Paul lists the effects of Christian baptism as rebirth, the forgiveness of sins, reception of His Holy Spirit (Rom 5:5), and justification by grace so we can obtain the immediate enjoyment of all rights as heirs to eternal life (2 Cor 1:22).

Part V: Final Words of Advice and Farewell

Titus 3:8b-11 ~ Final Directives for Titus

Paul makes two final points to Titus concerning the Christians of Crete:

1. encouraging the Christian communities to devote themselves to good works
2. urging them to avoid useless arguments concerning genealogies, rivalries, and quarrels about Jewish law

This warning probably refers to Jewish Christians who want to dominate the community by using senseless disputes concerning Biblical genealogies and ritual purity laws that are no longer binding under New Covenant Law. These disputes were based on the unwillingness of some Jewish Christians to accept the Gentiles as Christian brethren. One such group was the Jewish Christian Ebionites (c.f., St. Irenaeus, Against Heresies, 3.11.7). They were in theological conflict with the Church in welcoming the conversion of Gentiles. They insisted on adherence to the Old Covenant rite of circumcision, Jewish dietary and religious laws, only used the Gospel of Matthew, and rejected the writings of St. Paul.

The ban of excommunication for someone who continues in a grievous sin may seem unkind to some. However, it is necessary to protect the Christian community from influences that could damage the Body of Christ by encouraging others to fall into sin or to accept heretical teachings. Persistent sin is as deadly to one's spiritual health as disease is to one's physical health. Such a ban is always meant to be redemptive, in pointing out to the person the grievous nature of his actions that could determine his eternal destiny.

Titus 3:12-15 ~ Paul's Farewell

In this passage, Paul names four Christians who are part of his missionary team:

1. Artemas
2. Tychicus
3. Zenas
4. Apollos

One of these two men named in verse 12 would serve as Titus' replacement so he could rejoin Paul at Nicopolis during the winter. Paul is probably referring to a city in the Roman Province of Epirus on the western coast of Greece whose name means "victory city."⁽²⁾ There is no additional information in the New Testament concerning Artemas. However, Tychicus accompanied Paul on his third missionary journey (Acts 20:4) and delivered Paul's letters to the Ephesians and Colossians (Eph 6:21-22; Col 4:7-9). Paul mentions him several times in his letters, calling Tychicus "my beloved brother, trustworthy minister and fellow slave in the Lord," who sometimes acted as Paul's emissary to Christian communities (Eph 6:21; Col 4:7; 2 Tim 4:12).

Zenas and Apollos probably delivered Paul's letter and remained for a short time to preach to the Cretan Christians. Zenas, the lawyer, is not mentioned again in the New Testament, but Apollos, a Jewish convert from Alexandria, Egypt, was a gifted Christian orator (Acts 18:24-28). He preached in Ephesus, where he met Paul's dear friends Pricilla and Aquila. At that time, Apollos only knew about St. John the Baptist's baptism of repentance, so Pricilla and Aquila schooled him in a complete understanding of the Gospel of Jesus Christ (Acts 18:25-26). Later he ministered in Corinth (Acts 18:24-28; 19:1; 1 Cor 1:12; 3:3-9; 4:6; 16:12).

Paul's instructions to Titus to show hospitality to the visitors highlights the importance of welcoming fellow Christians to the various faith communities. Paul wants Titus to be a model for others regarding help to those in the ministry and those in need. Concerning this passage, St. Thomas Aquinas wrote: "The people of God, the vineyard of the Lord, should yield not only spiritual fruit but also material fruit, and the latter it should use to meet needs as they arise; otherwise Christians would be unfruitful" (Aquinas, Commentary on Titus).

15 All who are with me send you greetings. Greet those who love us in the faith. Grace be with you all.
Paul ends his letter with greeting from those missionary associates who are with him, All who are with me send you greetings, and adds, Greet those who love us in the faith, referring to the Christians whose love for one another comes from God's love. Concerning this verse, St. Jerome wrote: "If anyone who loves loved in the faith, St. Paul would not have added faith to love; mothers love their children and are ready to give their lives for them, but that kind of love is not necessarily love in the faith; and wives love their husbands and often even die for them, yet that is not love in the faith. Only saints love in the faith, for their love embraces also unbelievers; indeed, they love even their enemies; that is love in the faith, for it is a love based on Him who has promised the reward to those who keep the new commandment" (Jerome, Commentary on Titus). The kind of love Paul and Jerome wrote about is the supernatural kind that comes from being washed with the love of grace that comes from the indwelling of the Most Holy Trinity, as Paul finished his letter with the blessing of God's Grace be with you all.

Paul intends the last part of his farewell for all the Cretan Christians to whom Titus will read his letter. After hearing Paul's instruction to Titus, the Christians on Crete will understand Paul has commissioned Titus to teach, organize, and provide discipline with his full authority and that of the Church.