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Day 364: Christ Suffered Once For All
Agape Bible Study Revelation 18 -20
Chapter 18
Babylon is Fallen!
Revelation 18:1-8 ~ The Announcement of the fall of "Babylon" and the Lament of the Heavenly Messenger:
In this chapter, the angel only identifies the "fallen city" by the symbolic name "Babylon." The reason is probably because Jerusalem no longer deserves the name Jirehsalem, which means "provides peace, " as Abraham renamed the city of Salem: Abraham called this place, "Yahweh provides," and hence the saying today "On the mountain Yahweh provides" (Gen 22:14; Josephus, Wars of the Jews, 7.10,1 [438]).
After the announcement in the last verses of Chapter 17 that the "Great City" will be consumed by fire like a sacrificial offering, John saw another angel/messenger "come down from heaven."
Question: What three statements does John make about this messenger?
Answer: 1) He comes from heaven, 2) he has great authority, and 3) the earth shines with his glory.
Question: Can you identify this messenger? Compare this description with the statements John made in his Gospel. Can you remember at least one other passage from Revelation Chapter 10 where a powerful angel has these attributes? Please consider:
1. He comes from heaven (John 3:13, 31; 6:38, 58)
2. The messenger has great authority (John 5:27; 10:18; 17:2)
3. He illuminates the earth with his glory (John 1:4-5, 9, 14; 8:12; 9:5; 11:9; 12:46)
Answer: The various passages in John's Gospel which describe Jesus Christ parallel the description of the messenger in 18:1, and the description of the messenger John saw in Revelation 10:1 ~ Then I saw another powerful angel coming down from heaven, wrapped in cloud, with a rainbow over his head; his face was like the sun, and his legs were pillars of fire.
The voice from Heaven continues: 7 "Every one of her pomps and orgies [glorified and luxuriated herself] is to be matched by a torture or an agony. I am enthroned as queen, she thinks; I am no widow and will never know bereavement. 8 For that, in one day, the plagues will fall on her: disease and mourning and famine. She will be burned to the ground. The Lord who has condemned her is mighty."
The New American translation of the beginning of verse 7 reads: In proportion to her boasting and sensuality, repay her in torment and grief. Since Jerusalem was Yahweh's holy city, her religious authorities believed they were untouchable. They obviously forgot the lesson of the Babylonian conquest and exile of 587/6 BC and the seventy-year exile judgment for apostasy against the covenant with Yahweh (Jer 25:11-12; 52:28-30).
7 Every one of her pomps and orgies [glorified and luxuriated herself] is to be matched by a torture or an agony. I am enthroned as queen, she thinks [Because she says in her heart I sit as a queen]; I am no widow and will never know bereavement.
The voice tells John that the city made two declarations about herself, and she used an interesting choice of words to begin her statement in verses 7b-8. The first statement announces her high rank among the nations of the world because God chose Israel as His holy nation. The second statement reflects her belief that she remains the covenant Bride of Yahweh.
The apostate city has, in effect, repeated the sin of Eve, who committed fornication with the Serpent in seeking to make herself equal with God in Genesis 3:5. When the city says, "I am," she contradicts the declaration of the One True God who said: "I even I am Yahweh; and there is no Savior besides Me" (Is 43:11). Just as the law condemned a priest's daughter who became a prostitute to death by fire, Jerusalem would suffer the same punishment in July of AD 70 (Lev 21:9).
Revelation 18:9-24 ~ The Second Voice From Heaven Continues the Lament
Verses 2-3 were the first of five laments sung over the burning city. See verses 2-3, 9-10, 11-13, 15-16, 17-19, and 20-24:
#1 by the heavenly messenger
#2 by kings
#3 by traders/merchants
#4 by ship owners and sailors of the whole world and in the 5th lament, the chapter will end with the Saint's song of doom. The last lament is prefaced in verse 21 by a powerful angel's symbolic action of throwing a large stone into the sea and announcing "Babylon's" destruction.
| 1. Revelation 18:2-3 | The messenger who illuminates the earth |
| 2. Revelation 18:9-10 | The kings of the earth |
| 3. Revelation 18:11-17a | The merchants of the earth |
| 4. Revelation 18:17b-19 | The seamen of the earth |
| 5. Revelation 18:20-24 | The Church in Heaven |
Question: In these passages, three classes of people will sing a song of lament for the destruction of the city. Who are they?
Answer:
1. The kings of the earth, who are the leaders of the nations of the Roman empire who conspired with the faithless Covenant people in their apostasy for God.
2. The traders or merchants of the land who will no longer share in the wealth promised Jerusalem in Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28.
3. Every shipmaster and everyone who sails and every sailor and man who makes his living by the sea. Judea had become one of the wealthiest trading centers in the Roman Empire but was no longer profitable after AD 70.
Verses 9-19 contain the triple lament of the people of the earth:
9 "There will be mourning and weeping for her by the kings of the earth who have prostituted themselves with her and held orgies with her. They see the smoke as she burns, 10 while they keep at a safe distance through fear of her anguish. They will say: Mourn, mourn for this great city, Babylon, so powerful a city, in one short hour your doom has come upon you."
Question: The kings who mourn see the smoke rising from the burning city, which is a symbol borrowed from the destruction of what Old Testament city? See Gen 19:28.
Answer: The city of Sodom.
Question: Each lament from the people of the earth ends in the same words; what are they? See 18:10, 16, and 19.
Answer: "Mourn, mourn (woe, woe) for this great city."
The Lament of the Church
Question: Who is speaking?
Answer: It is "another voice from heaven" from verse 4.
Question: Why do the Saints and Prophets celebrate? In Revelation 6:10, what petition did the Saints cry out to God?
Answer: They cried out: "Holy, true Master, how much longer will you wait before you pass sentence and take vengeance for our death on the inhabitants of (those who dwell on the land) the inhabitants of the earth?"
As you may recall, the formula "those who dwell on the land" appears twelve times in Revelation. Once for each of the twelve tribes of Israel, this formula statement refers to apostate Israel.
Question: Do you remember the statement Jesus made about judgment on Judea? See Matthew 23:33-36. What is the connection between Jesus' statement in Matthew 23 to Revelation 6:10? Jesus said: "and so you will draw down on yourselves the blood of every upright person that has been shed on earth....it will recoil on this generation." And in Revelation 6:10, They shouted in a loud voice, "Holy, true Master, how much longer will you wait before you pass sentence and take vengeance for our death on those who dwell on the land?"
Answer: Jesus' statement in Matthew is the judgment for which the Saints cried out in Revelation.
Question: Which city do you think Jesus and the Saints were referring to in Matthew 23:33-36 and Revelation 6:10? Is it Rome or Jerusalem? Which city was in a covenant relationship with Yahweh? What did the 1st century AD Christians want for Rome? Was it destruction or conversion?
Answer: The city was Jerusalem for destruction and Rome for conversion.
Question: Do you remember the judgment the Law demanded for a city of the covenant people that turned away from Yahweh? See Dt 13:12/13-16/17.
Answer: The judgment was destruction by fire.
Jerusalem burned to the ground in AD 70, but Rome was never entirely destroyed by fire. The key to understanding Revelation 18:20-21 lies in the cry of the Saints for justice and vengeance in Chapter 6 and at the same time in the song of lament in Chapter 18:22-23. Verses 20-21 are Yahweh's answer to the cries of the Saints for judgment and vengeance in Revelation 6:10.
Question: How is the angel identified in Revelation 18:21?
Answer: John identifies him as a "powerful angel."
Question: This is the third and final occurrence of the expression "a powerful angel" in Revelation. Do you recall the other two times this description appears for an angel, and in what context? See Rev 5:2; and 10:1
Answer:
#1 Revelation 5:2 when the powerful angel called for someone to open the scroll, declaring God's covenantal judgments on the "Great City."
#2 Revelation 10:1ff when the powerful angel is seen as the Witness to the New Creation and is holding the "little scroll," which speaks of the New Covenant and the Church's role in the history of redemption, in the plan of implementing in the "Last Days," and "the mystery of God" revealed to the prophets.
Revelation 18:21b, the great city...never to be seen again, causes some confusion. Of course, Rome was never wholly destroyed (although she was "ravaged" many times by invading barbarian tribes. Jerusalem suffered destruction about many times, historically. She was utterly destroyed in 587 BC, AD 70, and AD 135 after the Second Jewish Revolt when the Romans rebuilt her as Aelia Capitolina. Jerusalem was not any more destroyed "never to rise again" than Edom or Egypt. In Isaiah 34:9-10, the prophet, using evocative language, associates the destruction of Edom with Sodom and Gomorrah the same way the "Great City" is associated with those earlier disasters. In a literal and physical sense, the prophecy about Jerusalem's everlasting destruction was unfulfilled, but in the spiritual sense, concerning the old Sinai Covenant with Yahweh, that break was never repaired.
The destruction refers not to the physical city but instead to Israel (Judea) as the covenant people. That is the "forever" desolation of Jerusalem. The Old Covenant, having been fulfilled and being announced no longer valid, "will not be found any longer." No longer will Israel be a distinct, holy nation of special priests. They can join the saved multitude of the earth with no distinction between "Greek and Jew" as St. Paul writes in Galatians 3:28 (also in Ephesians 2:14), and as Isaiah prophesized in Isaiah 19:19-25. The New Israel has become the New Covenant Church, the Bride of Christ (see Gal 3:26-29 and Eph 2:11-22). There is no salvation outside of Christ and the New Covenant Kingdom of the Universal Church! See Acts 4:12, 9:14, James 2:7, and also CCC 432, 845-6, and 847-8 (for the salvation of those who never heard the gospel message).
21 Then a powerful angel picked up a boulder like a great millstone, and as he hurled it into the sea, he said, "That is how the great city of Babylon is going to be hurled down, never to be seen again. 22 Never again in you will be heard the song of harpists and minstrels, the music of flute and trumpet; never again will craftsmen of every skill be found in you or the sound of the handmill be heard; 23 never again will shine the light of the lamp in you, never again will be heard in you the voices of bridegroom and bride. Your traders were the princes of the earth, all the nations were led astray by your sorcery. 24 In her was found the blood of prophets and saints, and all the blood that was ever shed on earth.
Some commentators do not list this "song" as one of lament but instead as a shout of victory and praise. It is both. There seems to be great sadness and regret in this song of the heavenly assembly and also a connection between the five laments and the symbolic significance of the number 5 in Scripture. The number 5 is symbolic of the grace and power of God. Israel's destiny was to bring all nations of the earth into God's abundant grace.
Question: Looking at the lament of the Church, what five parts do you see in the song?
Answer: The loss of
1. Music: harpists, minstrels, flute players, trumpeters
2. The productivity of the people: craftsmen
3. The productivity of the land: millers
4. God's word: the light of the lamp in you
5. Covenantal union: the voice of the Bridegroom and the Bride
These five classifications correspond to the functions of the Temple in Jerusalem:
1. Music: The musicians of the Temple's Levitical orchestra and choir (1 Chron 25)
2. Craftsmen: Bezalel, Oholiab (Aholiab), and Hiram who were the craftsmen in charge of building the desert Sanctuary and the Temple (Ex 31:1-11; 35:34; 36:1-2; 38:23; 1 Kng 7:13, 40, 45)
3. Mill: The Temple built on an ancient threshing floor (see 2 Chron 3:1)
4. Lamp: The Lampstand(s) that symbolized the Presence of God in the desert Sanctuary and the Temple's Holy Place (Ex 25:31-40; 2 Chron 4:19-22)
5. Marriage: the covenant/marriage of Yahweh and Israel (Ez 16:1-14)
Revelation 18:24 is the final proof that this city is Jerusalem and John's final clue to the city's identity when the angel says, "In her was found the blood of prophets and saints, and all the blood that was ever shed on earth." This verse is the sum of Jesus' condemnation of Jerusalem at the close of His final Temple discourse before His passion: "Look, I am sending you prophets and wise men and scribes: some you will slaughter and crucify, some you will scourge in your synagogues and hunt from town to town; and so you will draw down on yourselves the blood of every upright person that has been shed on earth, from the blood of Abel the holy to the blood of Zechariah son of Barachiah whom you murdered between the sanctuary and the altar. In truth I tell you, it will all recoil on this generation. Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you that kill the prophets and stone those who are sent to you!" (Mt 23:34-37, bold added).
You must discern the identity of the city symbolically identified as Egypt, Sodom, and Babylon. This language cannot apply to Rome or any other city in the ancient or modern world. Only Jerusalem was guilty of all the righteous blood shed on earth (Jesus in Mt 23:33-36). Throughout Biblical history, it was always Jerusalem who became the great Harlot, the False Prophet, and the False Bride, continually falling into false teaching, apostasy, unfaithfulness to the covenant, and persecuting God's holy prophets (see Acts 7:51-52).
A passage from the Catechism of the Catholic Church is a fitting way to close this lesson. The quote refers to what Christ told John in Chapter 1: "The Revelation of what must soon take place,' the Apocalypse, is borne along by the songs of the heavenly liturgy but also by the intercession of the witnesses' (martyrs). The prophets and the saints, all those who were slain on earth for their witness to Jesus, the vast throng of those, who having come through the great tribulation, have gone before us into the Kingdom, all sing the praise and glory of Him who sits on the throne, and of the Lamb. In communion with them, the Church on earth also sings these songs with faith in the midst of trial. By means of petition and intercession, faith hopes against all hope and gives thanks to the Father of lights,' from whom every perfect gift' comes down. Thus, faith is pure praise" (CCC 2642).
Chapter 19
Revelation 19:1-10: The Songs of Victory for the Wedding Feast of the Lamb
Biblical scholars point to several similarities in language between Revelation 19:1-10 compared with Revelation 11:15-12:1. The second part of Revelation 11, as you may remember, is the seventh angel's announcement of the completion of "the Mystery of God," which was the opening of the Kingdom and the heavenly Temple to the whole world through the New Covenant in Christ. Notice the parallels between these two chapters, especially 12:1 and 19:8, that are the climax of each of the passages!
| Revelation 11:15-12:1 | Revelation 19:1-8 |
| 11:15 voices could be heard shouting in heaven, calling | 19:1 the great sound of a huge crowd in heaven, singing |
| 11:17 We give thanks to you Almighty Lord God ... for assuming your great power and beginning your reign. | 19:1, 7 Alleluia! Salvation and glory and power to our God!... the reign of our Lord, the God Almighty, has begun |
| 11:16 The twenty-four elders ... prostrated themselves and touched the ground with their foreheads worshipping God | 19:4 Then the twenty-four elders ... threw themselves down and worshipped God |
| 11:18 the time has come for your retribution, and for the dead to be judged, and for your servants the prophets, for the saints and ... to be rewarded | 18:24-19:2 In her was found the blood of prophets and saints, and all the blood that was ever shed on earth. He judges fairly, he punishes justly ... he has avenged the blood of his servants, which she shed. |
| 11:18 Your servants ... and those who fear your name, small and great alike | 19:5 you servants of his and those who fear him, small and great alike. |
| 11:19 Then there came flashes of lightning, peals of thunder | 19:6 And I heard what seemed to be the voices of a huge crowd, like the sound of the ocean or the great roar of thunder |
| 12:1 Now a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman robed with the sun | 19:8 His bride is ready, and she has been able to dress herself in dazzling white linen |
Chapter 19 is an expansion and completion of what the seventh angel announced in Chapter 11 and climaxes with the vision of the Bride prepared for her wedding feast in Revelation 19:8. John's vision of the Virgin Mary in Revelation 12:1, as the symbol of the Church who is both Virgin Bride and fruitful mother, foreshadows this passage in Revelation Chapter 19.
In Revelation 6:9-11, the prophets and Saints prayed for the "Great City's" destruction. In Chapter 19, they receive an answer to their prayers, and now the great multitude of the redeemed gathered around the throne of God cry out in antiphonal praise.
| Part 1 verses 1-2 | After this, I heard ... "Alleluia! ... he has avenged the blood of his servants, which she shed [by her hand]." |
| Part 2 verse 3 | And again, they sang, "Alleluia! The smoke of her will rise forever and ever." |
| Part 3 verse 4 | Then the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures threw themselves down and worshipped God seated on his throne, and they cried, "Amen, Alleluia." |
| Part 4 verse 5 | Then a voice came from the throne: it said, "Praise our God, you servants of his and those who fear him, small and great alike." |
| Part 5 verses 6-8 | And I heard what seemed to be the voices of a huge crowd, like the sound of the ocean [polus hydra = many waters] or the great roar of thunder, answering "Alleluia! The reign of the Lord our God Almighty has begun; 7 let us be glad and joyful and give glory to God because this is the time for the marriage of the Lamb. 8 His Bride is ready, and she has been able to dress herself in dazzling white linen, because her linen is made of the good deeds of the saints." |
The word "Alleluia" is Greek, but it is Halleluyah or Hallelujah in Hebrew. Most commentators translate this word as "praise God," but in Hebrew, the literal translation is "Praise God, Yahweh." The suffix "yah" or "jah" reflects God's covenant name, "Yahweh." The Hebrew word "el" means god as in false gods or God as in the One True God.
Question: In verse 1, how is the authority of God expressed in three words?
Answer: Salvation, power, and glory. These words express the fullness of God's power. Three is also the number of Trinity.
Question: In verse 2, why are God's judgments "true and righteous," and how has the petition of the Saints and Prophets been fulfilled? See Rev 6:10.
Answer: He has judged the Prostitute city, found her guilty and answered the prayers of the Saints who cried out for justice and vengeance: "Holy, true Master, how much longer will you wait before you pass sentence and take vengeance (retribution) for our death on the inhabitants of the earth (on those who dwell on the land)?"
In Revelation 19:2, there is also a connection to the Old Testament Queen Jezebel, who murdered God's prophets: and he has condemned the great prostitute who corrupted the earth with her prostitution; he has avenged the blood of his servants which she shed (by her hand). You may remember an earlier symbolic reference to a woman Jesus referred to symbolically as "Jezebel" in Revelation 2:20. Jezebel was a Sidonian Queen of Israel who persecuted and murdered God's faithful servants (1 Kng 18:4, 13), and she used false witnesses to slander them (1 Kng 21:1-16) just as the Jerusalem authorities used false witnesses to slander Christ (Mt 26:59-61). God's judgment on Jezebel came through his agent, Jebu. Revelation 19:2 echoes Jehu's judgment against Jezebel in 2 Kings 9:7 when he said, "that I may avenge the blood of my servants the prophets, and the blood of all the servants of Yahweh by the hand of Jezebel" compare with "he has avenged the blood of his servants which she shed (by her hand)."
Question: In the third division of the hymn (verse 4), who answers in response to the singing of the multitude?
Answer: The response is from the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures.
The twenty-four elders and four Living Creatures represent the Church in Heaven united with all earthly creation in offering worship to God. They fall on their knees or prostrate themselves in adoration before Him. Once again, John witnesses the expression of worship through the posture of the Saints and angels.
Is it essential in our liturgy that we observe a worshipful spiritual and physical attitude. Do you bless yourself with holy water before entering the Sanctuary as a reminder of your baptismal vows? Do you reverence God's holy altar and the Tabernacle if present upon entering? Do you maintain a worshipful and respectful attitude in God's presence by not letting your mind drift away from the liturgy of worship? Do you see the modern Church's casual approach to conforming to a spiritual as well as a physical expression of adoration for God as laziness or lack of formal training and catechesis? What has been your experience in the instruction of the correct posture?
5 Then a voice came from the throne; it said, "Praise our God, you servants of his and those who fear him, small and great alike."
Question: Whose voice do you think announces the 4th part of the liturgical hymn? From where does it come?
Answer: The voice is from the throne of God and, therefore, it is probably the voice of God the Father Himself or the Christ.
The voice could belong to Christ, who calls on the redeemed to praise God (see Rev 16:17; Rom 8:29; Heb 2:11-12). Most commentators favor the voice as Christ because it takes the part of the officiant in the liturgical assembly. The voice addresses the Church as a whole, His "servants, those who fear Him, the small and the great." Do you see any connection to the liturgy of the Mass here?
6 And I heard what seemed to be the voices of a huge crowd, like the sound of the ocean (polus hydra = many waters) or the great roar of thunder, answering, Alleluia! The reign of the Lord our God Almighty has begun; 7 let us be glad and joyful and give glory to God because this is the time for the marriage of the Lamb. 8 His bride is ready, and she has been able to dress herself in dazzling white linen because her linen is made of the good deeds of the saints.'
In this last part of the victory hymn, all Heaven responds to the officiant's invitation!
Question: What is the symbolic imagery in this passage?
Answer: The imagery identifies the Church as the Bride of Christ, the Bridegroom.
Question: How is the Bride dressed, and what is the symbolic significance?
Answer: Her wedding garment is white (the symbol of ritual purity), and the texture of her clothing is the good deeds of the saints. She is the sinless Bride of Christ, the sinless Bridegroom.
Notice the significance of the keywords and phrases: voices of a huge crowd (multitude) like the sound of the ocean (polus hydra), and the great roar of thunder. It is imagery associated with the Glory-Cloud that has assumed the Church/Bride into itself to consummate the marriage!
Did you notice that the True Bride does not appear for the marriage ceremony until the destruction of the False Bride? The appearance of the Bride ready for the marriage covenant is the "opening up" of the New Covenant Church. Under the Old Covenant, the people of God had no way opened for them to full union with the Father, but now, under the New Covenant, Christ Himself is the way to the Father, as He said in John 14:6 ~ "I AM the way; IAM Truth and Life. No one can come to the Father except through me." And we are told in the Letter to the Hebrews 10:19, We have then, brothers, complete confidence through the blood of Jesus in entering the sanctuary, by a new way which he has opened for us, a living opening through the curtain, that is to say, his flesh.
In Revelation 19:6-8, we have the fifth portion of the liturgy. The first Hallelujah of the great heavenly multitude (verse 1) praised God for His sovereignty in the judgment of the Great Prostitute City. Then, the "Alleluia/Hallelujah" of all the angels and saints praises God again for His sovereignty. However, this time the praise is for the marriage supper of the Lamb and His Bride, the New Covenant Church. Once again, this contrast only makes sense if the False Bride-Prostitute City is the Old Covenant Church. This action marks an entirely new epoch in Salvation History. God is not just taking Gentile believers into the Covenant (He did this even in the Old Covenant when Gentiles had the opportunity to convert and become active members of the Old Covenant Church), but now He is bringing in "the age/world to come" promised in the Letter to the Hebrews:
- It was not under angels that he put the world to come, about which we are speaking (Heb 2:5).
- As for those people who were once brought into the light, and tasted the gift from heaven, and received a share of the Holy Spirit, and tasted the goodness of God's message and the powers of the world to come (Heb 6:4-5).
8 His bride is ready, and she has been able to dress herself in dazzling white linen, because her linen is made of the good deeds of the saints.
The voice from the throne announces: "His Bride is ready." The Bride's linen gown is glowing white because the good deeds of the saints give glory to Christ and His Kingdom of the Church!
The greatest privilege of the Church in the past and today is her weekly celebration and participation in the Eucharistic meal, the Marriage Supper of the Lamb on earth and in Heaven. The heavenly assembly celebrates Eucharist as we join with them on earth in "lifting up our hearts." John's vision in Revelation Chapter 19 is the Eucharistic liturgy in Heaven!
Revelation 19:11-21 ~ The Beginning of the Last Seven Visions: Rider on the White Horse
Verse 11 begins the first of the final series of seven visions, each of which begins with the phrase kai eidon = and I saw:
| Vision #1 Rev 19:11 | And I saw heaven open and a white horse appear |
| Vision #2 Rev 19:17 | And I saw an angel standing in the sun |
| Vision #3 Rev 19:19 | And I saw the beast, with all the kings of the earth |
| Vision #4 Rev 20:1 | And I saw an angel come down from heaven with the key |
| Vision #5 Rev 20:4 | And I saw thrones, where they took their seats |
| Vision #6 Rev 20:11 | And I saw a great white throne |
| Vision #7 Rev 21:1 | And I saw a new heaven and a new earth |
Verse 11 introduces a pivotal moment in Salvation history. After receiving the revelation of the Marriage Supper of the Lamb (Most Holy Eucharist), John suddenly experiences Heaven opening wide and discovers that every barrier between Christ and himself removed. John sees Christ as the victorious King. His description of Christ in verse 11 recalls Revelation 1:5 and 3:14, and His eyes were flames of fire (verse 12) is the same description of Christ that John gave in Revelation 1:14. His many crowns further identify him as the sovereign ruler of the entire earth. John's invitation to Communion with Christ is the same invitation that we receive every Lord's Day when Heaven opens, and our Lord and Savior, the Divine Bridegroom, reveals Himself to us, the Bride.
Question: What are the two titles of Christ in 19:11? What is His mission, and what is the symbolism of the white horse? See Rev 3:14.
Answer:
- Christ is called "Trustworthy and True" (some translations will have "Trustworthy and Faithful").
- The white horse is symbolic of Christ's victory and dominion over the earth.
He rides forth to victory as "the faithful and true Witness," anticipated in Revelation 3:14, as He judges humanity and wages war against sin and Satan.
Revelation 19:17-21 ~ The Second Vision: The Scavenger's Feast
Verses 17-18 describe the second of the final seven visions. In this vision, an angel standing in the sun proclaims another "great feast." Like the "angel of the covenant" in Malachi Chapter 3, he stands in the reflected glory of God and calls out the Day of Yahweh: Look, I shall send my messenger to clear a way before me. And suddenly the Lord whom you seek will come to his Temple; yes, the angel of the covenant for whom you long, is on his way, says Yahweh Sabaoth. Who will be able to resist the day of his coming? Who will remain standing when he appears? For he will be like a refiner's fire, like fullers' alkai (Mal 3:1-2). Christ is the "Sun of Righteousness" whose face was like the sun shining with all its force (Rev 1:16). He called His Bride to the Eucharistic banquet and issues an invitation to all the birds that were flying high overhead in the sky, or more literally, "all the birds that fly in midheaven."
Now an angel invites the birds of prey to the "Great Supper of God" where they can glut themselves on the flesh of Christ's enemies.
Question: Who are the birds of prey invited to feast upon?
Answer: Kings, commanders, mighty men, horses and their riders, all men both free and slaves, and small and great. There are nine classifications; 9 is the number of judgment.
Revelation 19:19-21 ~ The Third Vision: The Destruction of the Beast
Verses 19-21 reveal the third of the seven last visions with the defeat of the mission of the Satan-inspired sea beast and the land beast known as the false prophet. Christ the King, together with His army of the Church glorified (in Heaven) and the Church militant (on earth) are in open warfare against Satan and his forces. The agents of Satan suffer defeat and are thrown into Gehenna, the Lake of Fire that is the Hell of the damned. Rome, the sea beast, the fourth Kingdom that devoured all other kingdoms (Dan 2:40), also falls under divine judgment. Like Sodom and Babylonia, pagan Rome and her vassal kings will one day be conquered and destroyed, and Israel/Judea, the false prophet, suffers the fate of the false prophets like Korah, Dathan, and Abiram (in Num 16:31-33) who were "swallowed up alive" when they stood in opposition to God's representatives (Moses and Aaron).
In the next chapter, we will be looking forward in time to the Second Advent of Christ. Chapter 20 is the most challenging chapter of the most difficult book in the Bible. Next week: The Thousand Year Reign of Christ!
Revelation 20:1-3 ~ The Fourth Vision: Binding of Satan
There is much speculation concerning the Abyss by Biblical scholars, but it does not appear to be the Hell of the Damned (Gehenna also called the Lake of Fire or the Pit), nor is it the abode of the dead (Sheol/Hades). Its description is not as a place of fiery judgment like the Hell of the Damned. It appears to be a separate realm filled with demons and appears nine times in the Greek text of Revelation (Rev 9:1, 2 (three times), 11; 11:7; 17:8; 20:1, 3). Abyss is from the Greek word Abyssos, meaning "bottomless," unfathomed," or "unfathomable deep." It is the same as the Hebrew tehom, "the deep" in the Hebrew Old Testament (i.e., Gen 1:2).
In the Old Testament, the Hebrew word satan always appears with the article "the" except in 1 Chronicles 21:1, where it is a proper name. In the Greek Septuagint (LXX), the word appears as diabolos (in English, "devil"); satan means "accuser," "adversary," or "slanderer." The basic reference to satan in Hebrew is an accuser in a court of law.
Satan in the New Testament:
- Jesus referred to Satan as "the strong one [man]" (Mt 12:29; Mk 3:27; Lk 11:21); the "evil one" (Mt 13:19); and "the prince of this world" (Jn 12:31).
- Satan even tried to tempt the Son of God (Mt 4:3-11; Mk 1:13ff; Lk 4:2ff).
- When St. Peter tried to dissuade Jesus from fulfilling His Passion, Jesus called Peter "satan" because his thoughts w human and not in accord with God's divine plan (Mt 16:23; Mk 8:33).
- Satan takes away the "seed" of the word of the Gospel from the mouth of those who receive it (Mt 13:19; Mk 4:15; Lk 8:12).
- He put the betrayal of Jesus into the heart of Judas (Jn 13:2), and then entered Judas for the consummation of the terrible deed (Lk 22:3; Jn 13:27).
- Satan tried to "sift the disciples like wheat" (Lk 22:31), and he filled the heart of Ananias with deceit (Acts 5:3).
- He tempts man with designs (1 Cor 7:5, 2 Cor 2:11), with wiles (Eph 6:11), and with snares (1 Tim 3:7; 2 Tim 2:26).
- He can disguise himself as an angel of light (2 Cor 11:14), and he can even seduce some of the faithful (1Tim 5:15).
- He is the enemy who is like a roaring lion seeking prey (1 Pt 5:8), and Christians should give him no room to attempt his wiles in their lives (Eph 4:27).
- As the prince of darkness, he can do physical harm (Lk 13:16; 1 Cor 5:5; 1 Tim 1:20) and has the power to kill (Heb 2:14).
- He has a house and a kingdom (Mt 12:26; Mk 3:23, 26; Lk 11:18), and before Christ's resurrection, he could claim that all the nations of the earth were in his power (Lk 4:6).
- He has sons and daughters: those who do not act in righteousness and do not love their brothers (1 Jn 3:8, 10).
- However, he is subject to the power of God, and Christ defeated him on the Cross!
The terms in Rev 20:2 identifying the "evil one" are throughout the Bible.
| Name | Revelation Reference |
| The Dragon | 12:3-4, 7, 9, 13, 16-17; 13:2, 4, 11; 20:2 |
| The Serpent | 9:19; 12:9, 14-15; 20:2 |
| The Devil | 2:10; 12:9, 12; 20:2 |
| The Deceiver | 2:20; 12:9; 13:14; 18:23; 19:20; 20:2 |
| Abaddon (Hebrew) | 9:11 |
| Apollyon (Greek) | 9:11 |
He is called the "destroyer" Abaddon (Hebrew) and Apollyon (Greek) in 9:11 when named as the "angel of the Abyss." But remember, powerful as this evil enemy may seem, he is no match for Jesus Christ!
Question: What action does Christ take against Satan in 20:2-3?
Answer: He throws him into the Abyss, chains him, and seals the opening.
The reason Christ locks Satan in the Abyss is so he can no longer prevent the spread of the Gospel by deceiving the nations. The length of his imprisonment is for a thousand years. That's the good news, but the bad news is his release at the end of the thousand years but only for a short time. The question is whether the thousand years literal or symbolic? A thousand is a multiple of the "perfect" number 10, which in Scripture is symbolic of the perfection of order in God's divine plan. Any multiple of a "perfect" number (3, 7, 10, and 12), represents a superabundance. One thousand is 10 x 10 x 10, a trinity of divine order! The number repeats six times in verses 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7. Notice that twice John mentions seeing Christ lock up the great enemy of humankind for a thousand years in the Abyss and seal it over him (verses 2 and 3). The question is, does this event take place in the future, or was this binding of Satan part of Christ's mission as the Messiah?
Before Christ could establish His Kingdom of the Church, he had to bind the one who claimed power over the earth and could lead the nations astray. Jesus declared His intention to "bind" Satan in His response to the accusation of the Pharisees that His power to drive out demons came from Satan when He said: "Now if Satan drives out Satan, he is divided against himself, so how can his kingdom last? And if it is through Beelzebub that I drive devils out, through whom do your own experts drive them out? They shall be your judges, then. But if it is through the Spirit of God that I drive out devils, then be sure that the kingdom of God has caught you unawares. Or again, how can anyone make his way into a strong man's house and plunder his property unless he has first tied up the strong man. Only then can he plunder his house" (Mt 12:26-29). And in the Gospel of Luke, He said: "So long as a strong man fully armed guards his own home, his goods are undisturbed; but when someone stronger than himself attacks and defeats him, the stronger man takes away all the weapons he relied on and shares out his spoil" (Lk 11:20-22).
Jesus defeated Satan in His death as the final sacrifice for sin on the altar of the Cross, followed by His glorious Resurrection. He unlocked the Abyss and used Satan and his forces to bring the end to the Old Covenant, but now He is binding Satan as He promised He would do and is returning him to the Abyss. Therefore, it is unlikely that this is a future action, but instead, it is the fulfillment of Jesus' earthly mission. With the defeat of death and Satan, Christ establishes His New Covenant Church and fulfills His mission as Messiah by binding the "strong man" as He promised in Luke 11:20-22. The binding of Satan is the final act of the drama, confirming that the great moment of salvation and the fulfillment of the promise of the Kingdom of God has indeed come. Paul wrote about this in his letter to the Roman Christians just a few years before the destruction of the Temple in AD 70: The God of peace will soon crush Satan under his feet (Rom 16:20). Remember, Paul made this statement more than 30 years after the Resurrection of Christ! The destruction of the Temple, which had become the "strong man's" (Satan's) house, is the final act that brought about the completion of the New Covenant and the binding of Satan.
But how long is Satan bound before his release? Most scholars agree that the unleashing of Satan from the Abyss will usher in the final eschatological battle at the End of Time. The only scholars who do not agree with this interpretation are those who think the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70 was the final "parousia" (presence or coming) of Christ. This interpretation, however, denies the Apostle's Creed that has come down to us from the Apostles. The Creed clearly states that "He [Jesus] will come again to judge the living and the dead." Looking at the next verse will help us tackle the issue of the "thousand-year reign" of Christ and the Church.
Revelation 20:4-10 ~ The Fifth Vision: The First Resurrection and the Last Battle
Question: How has the condition of the Old and New Testament saints changed with the resurrection of Christ and the fulfillment of the Old Covenant? Why?
Answer: They are no longer consigned to Sheol/Hades but now have access to the Kingdom of Heaven and the presence of God because Christ's sacrificial blood has cleansed them of all unrighteousness.
The holy dead now reign with Christ as priest/kings in the heavenly assembly while those of us still alive continue the battle against evil and to spread the Gospel of salvation here in Christ's earthly kingdom of the Universal Church, the Body of Christ. It is a war that will continue until Christ returns, and it is why the Church on earth is called the "Church militant."
Question: When are these two parts of Christ's kingdom joined as one?
Answer: In the liturgy of the Marriage Supper of the Lamb, the Holy Eucharist, when the faithful receive Christ Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity as the saints in Heaven celebrate with us.
From the earliest years of the Church, Christians are identified as the "Body of Christ" because they physically receive Christ into their bodies and are therefore united with Him in the Eucharist. We are what we eat!
With His death, resurrection, and ascension to His heavenly throne (Eph 1:20-22), Jesus began the inauguration of the Age of the Kingdom of God/Christ (Col 1:13) in which He invited all the nations of the earth to the Marriage Feast of the Lamb and His Bride with the prophets of the Old Covenant and the saints and Apostles of the New Covenant (Is 52:15; Lk 13:28-29, 22:29-30). In this "New Age" of the Kingdom, the Apostles reign and rule over the New Israel (CCC# 877). They are the foundation of the New Covenant Church (Eph 2:20), which is a kingdom of priest/kings by Christ's command, and their successors, the bishops, continue their rule and authority on earth. It is what John witnessed in this vision of the saints who sat on thrones and judged. It also parallels what he heard after the seventh trumpet angel blew his trumpet in the same passage when the twenty-four enthroned elders announced: and now the time has come for your retribution, and for the dead to be judged, and for your servants the prophets for the saints and for those who fear your name, small and great alike, to be rewarded. The time has come to destroy those who are destroying the earth (Rev 11:18). The phrase "small and great" is repeated five times in 11:18, 13:16, 19:5, 18, and 20:12.
The question that concerns us is when is the Millennium reign of Christ? Is it before Christ's glorious return in His Second Advent, or after? That issue is what separates the Pre from Post Millennialists. Then there are the Amillennialists who believe there is no millennium. All views hinge on when Christ returns related to the thousand-year reign and when the Great Tribulation occurs.
| Death Resurrection Ascension of Christ | Age of the Church in the spread of the Gospel | 2nd Advent of Christ | Millennial Reign of Christ | Final Judgment | Eternal Reign of Christ |
Historic Millennialists envision the spread of the Gospel through the world in the Age of the Church, followed by Christ's Second Advent at the time the Gospel has reached every corner of the earth, completing the Church Age. The Final Judgment comes after Christ's Second Advent and takes place before God's Great White Throne, followed by the destruction of death and the Hades and the gift of eternal life for the blessed. Generally (but not all), historic Millennialists do not envision a period of universal tribulation.
| Death/Resurrection/ Ascension of Christ | Ministry of Church culminates in a lengthy period of peace (millennium) and righteousness before Christ's return | Second Advent Final Judgment | Eternal Reign of Christ |
Postmillennialists expect Christ's visible return after the Millennium and that the Church Age is the ideal millennial period. They look for God to use the Church's teaching and preaching to usher in a lengthy period, which some interpret as a literal thousand years of peace and righteousness before Christ's return that will come at the end of the Church Age. Others, however, see the thousand years symbolically like the one hundred and forty-four thousand sealed souls in Revelation 7:4; 14:1, 3, and the cubits of the heavenly Temple in 21:17. So Postmills are divided into two groups: those who interpret the thousand years literally and those who see it as symbolic, but both believe Christ will return at the end of this period. Postmills are optimists and believe the world will get better as the Gospel spreads across the earth. Postmillennialists usually adopt the Historical or Preterist view of Revelation.
The Premillennial Views
Premillennialists believe that Christ will return before the Millennium, and His coming will usher in the Millennium. They interpret Revelation Chapter 20 literally and hold that Christ will reign on earth for a literal thousand years. Postmills are pessimists: they generally believe that things will get worse and worse, and then Christ will come again, bringing the Millennium reign, and things will be great. Most Protestant ministers, radio evangelists, and televangelists are Premills' (i.e., Charles Stanley, Pat Robertson, Billy Graham, etc.). Within this basic agreement, the most prevalent variations are the Premillennial-pre-tribulationalists and the Premillennial-post-tribulationalist views:
| Death/ Resurrection/ Ascension of Christ | Church Age | Rapture of the Church | Great Tribulation lasting 7 years | 2nd Advent of Christ | 1,000 year reign of Christ | Final Judgment | Eternal Reign of Christ |
The Premill/Pretrib scholars argue that there are two different peoples of God: Israel and the Church. They believe that these two groups have two different prophetic programs. According to this view, the Church will be "raptured" before a seven-year Great Tribulation. Some of these scholars support a Premill/Midtrib' position and believe the seven years divide into two 3 ½ year periods with a short period of 3 ½ years that the Church will suffer before being "raptured out" by Christ (not supported by Scripture). Following the tribulation, Christ will return to establish a thousand-year millennial kingdom centered in Jerusalem and which will involve the reinstitution of the Old Covenant sacrificial system (not supported anywhere in Scripture). In their view, the millennial kingdom will end with a rebellion by the forces of evil when Satan is unbound, after which will come the Final Judgment and beginning of the eternal reign of Christ. Hal Lindsey, the author of The Late Great Planet Earth, is a Premill/Pretrib. The Catholic Church rejects this theory.
| Death/ Resurrec-tion/ Ascension of Christ | Church Age | Great Tribula-tion of 7yrs | Second Advent of Christ | 1,000 reign of Christ | Final Judgment | Eternal Reign of Christ |
The Premillennial/Posttribulational scholars teach that Christ will return at the end of a seven-year Great Tribulation, which the whole Church experiences to establish a millennial kingdom. This kingdom will end with a rebellion lead by Satan, followed by the Final Judgment. This view often interprets prophecy in a non-literal way and does not usually view Israel and the New Covenant Church as under completely different divine historical plans. Instead, they see Israel and the Christian Church as one people of God. Many early Church Fathers held a view that was similar to the Premill/posttrib interpretation, but they did not hold with the heresy that may Premill/Pretribs hold today that the Millennium will be a resurrection of Old Covenant Israel. Premills (of both types) adopt the "Futurists" school of interpretation of Revelation.
| Death/ Resurrection/Ascension of Christ | The Church Age = continual growth and continual tribulation for the Church on earth | Second Advent/ Final Judgment | Eternal Reign of Christ |
The Amillennialists scholars interpret Christ's millennial reign in an ideal or spiritual sense, with the thousand years being a symbolic number signifying God's plan for the authority of the Church over the world. However, they believe in a literal Second Advent of Christ. Some Amill scholars assert that Christ's reign began during His earthly ministry or at the time of His resurrection. Others that His Millennium began with the glorious reign of the saints in Heaven or it describes the spiritual authority of the saints of the Church here on earth. Some Amills believe both views are correct: the heavenly glory of the resurrected saints and the authority of the Universal Church now on earth because we can bind Satan in the name of Jesus. As a proof-text, they cite St. Peter's declaration that Christ now rules from the right hand of God the Father (Acts 2:33-36). They view Israel and the Church as forming one covenant people of God since the Church is now the "new Israel" (CCC# 877). The Amill's approach usually involves an "idealist" view of the Book of Revelation as a whole.
Dr. Scott Hahn has a rather unconventional view of the Millennium/thousand-year rule. Dr. Hahn was influenced by the Catholic scholar Eugenio Corsini who sees the thousand years as corresponding to the establishment of the Davidic kingdom in approximately 1003 BC and lasting until the birth of Christ in 3/2 BC, which as you have noticed is a literal one thousand years. Dr. Hahn sees this period as God's preparation for ushering in the reign of Christ. It is easy to agree with the last statement, but difficult to see the thousand years from David to Christ as a triumphant reign of the saints. Judah fell into apostasy, and the Babylonians, as God's agents, destroyed the Temple of Solomon in 587BC. Just before the destruction of the Temple, the prophet Jeremiah removed and hid the Ark of the Covenant. The new Temple, rebuilt in 5l7 BC, did not contain the Ark of the Covenant in the Holy of Holies. Yahweh's Glory Cloud (symbol of the Holy Spirit) did not take possession of the Second Temple as He did Solomon's Temple (1 Kng 8:10-13), and Jesus called it an "empty house."
Saints Augustine and Jerome preferred to interpret the millennium of Revelation Chapter 20 as a symbolic reference to the age of the Church that spans the time between the First and Second Advents of Christ (St. Augustine's City of God, 20:7-8). Earlier, some theologians were "chiliasts" (from the Greek word chilioi, meaning "one thousand), and believed that Christ would return to inaugurate a literal thousand-year reign on earth for a golden age in human history marked by prosperity and peace, which St. Irenaeus (AD 130-202) denounced as heresy (Irenaeus, Against Heresies, 5.35). Most Catholic scholars ascribe to Augustine and Jerome's view, although the Catholic Church has not officially endorsed it or any other theory. However, the Church has decreed by the Holy Office in 1944 that millenarianism, understood as a future golden age kingdom on earth, could not safely be taught as authentic Christian doctrine (CCC# 676).
Since so many of John's numbers are symbolic in Revelation (remember Jesus told him from the beginning of his visions that this is a book of "signs"), it is reasonable that the thousand years represents the perfection of order of the number 10 multiplied by itself three times (10 x 10 x 10 = a trinity of the perfection of God's plan). In other words, the Millennium reign of the Church will last the perfect length of time, according to God's will. The number one thousand appears in other Scripture passages merely to imply fullness or immensity, such as Deuteronomy 7:9, Psalms 50:10, and 84:10.
The thousand-year "millennium" may be the symbolic reference to the period that runs from the Incarnation of Christ to the establishment of His Church, reigning with Him until the end of time. It is what Christ promised us. The Messianic Kingdom is, therefore, established in two stages:
- His First Advent in which Christ demonstrates His power over the devil and inaugurates the Kingdom of God, and
- His Second Advent at the end of time, with the Kingdom of Jesus Christ in its complete form as the heavenly Jerusalem.
In the first stage, Satan is bound, but that does not mean he does not have influence. We still must fight evil, but evil cannot overcome us during the Age of the Church. Many Catholic scholars believe the Great Tribulation will come at the end of this Great Age of the Church, Christ's Kingdom of Heaven on earth. Although the Church has suffered persecution down through the ages, it will be much more intense at the end when Satan's influence is no longer limited, and as his agent, the Antichrist will declare war on the Saints. The Catholic Church does not support a "Rapture" of Christians before or during the Tribulation. There is nothing in Scripture to support two Second Advents of Christ. A "Rapture," followed by another appearance of Christ to collect the rest of humanity, makes two Second Comings. Also, why should God spare the Church from tribulation when He did not spare His Son or His mother from suffering? The time of intense persecution will end in the showdown between the forces of Christ and those of Satan. We will, through Christ, be victorious, and He will destroy Satan and death to establish His new, heavenly Jerusalem (see CCC# 671-677).
The Catholic Church does not support the Postmills' view of a historic triumph of the Church, nor does she embrace a literal interpretation of millennium/thousand-year rule: "The Church will enter into the glory of the kingdom only through this final Passover when she follows her Lord in his death and Resurrection. The kingdom will be fulfilled, then, not by a historic triumph of the Church through a progressive ascendancy, but only by God's victory over the final unleashing of evil, which will cause His Bride to come down from heaven" (CCC# 677). If you would like to pursue these various theories, a resource to consider is the book, The Rapture Trap by Paul Thigpen, Ascension Press.
The Biblical scholar David Chilton offers an interesting point concerning the thousand years mentioned in Revelation 20 and the age of humanity in Scripture. He asks who are the men in the Bible who lived the longest and what were their ages? Adam lived for 930 years and Methuselah for 969 years. What is significant about their ages is that human life has never reached the "perfect" 1,000 years of age.
Question: Whose kingdom will last forever? See 2 Sam 7:8-29
Answer: God promised David an eternal kingdom that should have continued a thousand years until the birth of Christ.
David conquered Jerusalem circa 1000/1033 BC, and Jesus' birth was circa 3/2 BC (Luke records that He was thirty years old in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, which was 28 AD). But once again, humanity fell short. Only the Son of Man was able to bring in the thousand-year reign that as David's heir was His inheritance!
5 The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were over; this is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy are those who share in the first resurrection; the second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and reign with him for a thousand years.
The first line of verse 5 is a parenthetical statement separating "the rest of the dead" from the blessed.
Question: According to 20:5, where does this reign of the saints with Christ take place, in heaven or on earth or both? See Ephesians 2:4-6; Romans 5:10; 11:15.
Answer: Both. Those who reign with Christ are the ones He redeemed, whether now living or dead, and raised to a new life in Him in the Sacrament of Baptism.
- Ephesians 2:4-6, But God being rich in faithful love, through the great love with which he loves us, even when we were dead in our sins, brought us to life with Christ "it is through grace that you have been saved "and raised us up with him and gave us a place with him in heaven, in Christ Jesus."
Question: If "those who had been beheaded" in verse 4 are the Old Covenant faithful, who are "the rest of the dead" who did not come to life in verse 5?
Answer: It follows that they would be the Old Covenant unfaithful who are truly dead (physically and spiritually)!
The verse stresses the fact that the righteous dead believers of the Old Covenant are included in Christ's Ascension and glorious reign. They live!
Question: What is the "First Resurrection" as related to Jesus? See Acts 2:31-33 and Colossians 2:12
Answer: Christ's resurrection is the definitive resurrection that took place on Resurrection Sunday the 3rd day after His crucifixion (as 1st-century people counted) for the sins of the world.
Question: How do we participate in Christ's resurrection that is for us a "first resurrection"? See Romans 6:5-10
Answer: We partake of Christ's resurrection through the Sacrament of Baptism in which He raises us to "new life."
| Christ's crucifixion and death ==> | Christ's Resurrection ==> | Christ's glorified new life |
| Our crucifixion with Christ and our death to sin & self into the waters of baptism ==> | Our resurrection to new life through the power of the Holy Spirit = "born again" or "born from above" in the image of Christ "raised up" through the water of baptism ==> | Our final Resurrection and glorification in Christ's Second Advent |
The defeat of Jesus' Kingdom has been Satan's goal from the beginning. Do you remember the sudden concentration of demonic activity during Jesus' ministry in the New Testament? Satan knew he was facing the ultimate fight. But God used Satan to fulfill His plan by allowing Satan to engineer his own defeat at the cross! This last and final battle will be the sequel to the final attempt to defeat God's plans for humanity's salvation. Satan will be released to bring about the last rebellion.
In this "Last Battle" sequence, John uses vivid imagery from the book of the Prophet Ezekiel. In Ezekiel Chapters 38-39, the prophet is likely predicting the Greek invasion of Alexander the Great and the Maccabees' victory over the pagan Syrian-Greeks and the reestablishment of Judah as an independent nation in the 2nd century BC. Ezekiel writes about Gog and Magog, but, as mentioned previously, they are not the same Gog and Magog as Revelation Chapter 20. In Ezekiel, Gog is a chief ruler, and in Revelation, a nation. In Revelation, Gog and Magog become the standard expression for rebellious nations just as Jezebel (in Rev 2:20) is not the same woman as the harlot queen of Israel in the Book of 1 Kings. Instead, the Jezebel of Revelation 2:20 is a "type" of the previous Jezebel, just as Gog and Magog are a "type" of the rebellious nations under the influence of Satan in the Last Battle.
These rebellious nations, symbolized by Gog and Magog, are "from the four corners of the earth;" in other words, they are not centrally located. They are numbered "like the sands of the sea," which is hyperbolic imagery to express their great numbers (see Josh 11:4; Judg 7:12; 1 Sam 13:5; 2 Sam 17:11 1 Kng 4:20, 29; Job 6:3; Is 15:8; 33:22; Hos 1:10; etc.).
9 They came swarming over the entire country and besieged the camp of the saints, which is the beloved City. But fire rained down on them from heaven and consumed them. Then the devil, who led them astray, was hurled into the lake of fire and sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet are, and their torture will not come to an end, day or night, forever and ever.
John again writes in the imagery of Ezekiel Chapters 38-39, where Ezekiel described how the invaders advanced until they reached the mountains of Judah and the great city of Jerusalem. The reference to the "camp of saints" recalls the kahal or "called out" sacred assembly and the "camp of God" of the Sinai Covenant Church. When David took Jerusalem in 1003 BC, the city which became known as "will provide peace" in Hebrew, [yireh (jireh)-salem] became Jerusalem (in Hebrew, Yerusalem), the "holy camp of God."
Question: What is this beloved city? See Revelation 21:9; 22:5.
Answer: Jerusalem has become the symbol of the "beloved city" of the New Covenant Church.
Like Ezekiel's vision, the invasion is suddenly halted by the overwhelming power of God, who destroys the unbelievers with fire and condemns the devil to Hell and eternal torment. Satan's release from the Abyss was a trap intended to draw the forces of evil out into the open to bring about their destruction. Once again, Scripture teaches the everlasting duration of divine punishment (also see Mt 18:8; 25:41, 46; Mk 4:43, 48).
One point to note is that in the Premill view of a perfect Messianic kingdom before the Second Advent of Christ, how could Satan be successful in orchestrating such a defection and rebellion? However, if the thousand-year/Millennium rule is the Age of the Church, it is understandable that there would be those in the world who have not yielded themselves to Christ and therefore have yielded themselves to Satan.
Revelation 20:11-15 ~ The Sixth Vision: The Last Judgment
This is the seventh and eighth repeats of "kai edion" = "And I saw" in the sixth vision.
Question: What does this prophecy point to; is it something in the 1st century AD, or future events? See Mt 25:31-46.
Answer: It points to the future, Final Judgment of humanity.
However, you may have noticed that nothing is "simple" in the Book of Revelation. Don't forget that John is witnessing this vision in his present and our past. His vision may be the eternal future breaking into the historical past and introducing the theological principle of "compenetration." It is a principle that expresses the action of Biblical prophets who describe a present event (or an imminent event) in terms that transcend the events that are about to happen because they prefigure what will occur at the end of time. St. Paul wrote that all the events in the Old Testament happened for our benefit, so that we should never set our hearts, as they did, on evil things (1 Cor 10:6).
For example, what did the events that led to the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple in AD 70 signify or prefigure? The destruction of the world at the end of time. In this way, Israel's history in the Old Testament is a prototype of the history of all the Gentile nations that will receive the Word of God in the New Covenant Age. So Israel's conversion (at Sinai) and lapses and renewals and final fall into apostasy, which led to judgment and destruction, foreshadows the unfolding of salvation history in the other countries of the world. What happened to Israel will happen to all nations when they come into God's judgment. What John sees in Revelation 20:11-13 is the unfolding of the Final Judgment at the End of the Ages of the New Covenant.
Once the devil is thrown into the Lake of Fire (the Hell of the Damned), evil ceases to be a force in the world. In that eternal fire, the unbelievers who rejected Jesus' gift of eternal salvation whose names were not in the Book of Life, will suffer eternal punishment. For those who doubt the existence of Hell, this verse confirms that there is an everlasting duration of divine judgment. The teaching of the church affirms the existence of the Hell of the Damned and its eternity (CCC# 1035) but also teaches that God predestines no one to go the hell (CCC# 1037). Such a punishment is a willful turning away from God. The existence of Hell may be an uncomfortable thought, but it confirms the existence of a just God (also see Mt 18:8; 25:41, 46; Mk 4:43, 48 and CCC#1861; 633, 1035-7).
Let's unravel the mystery of the sixth vision verse by verse: 11[And I saw] Then I saw a great white throne and the One who was sitting on it. In his presence, earth and sky vanished, leaving no trace.
Who sits on the white throne? It is usually understood that God the Father sits on the throne in the heavenly assembly, but in this case, it may be God the Son that John sees. In Revelation 3:21, Christ says, "Anyone who proves victorious I will allow to share my throne, just as I have myself overcome and have taken my seat with my Father on his throne" (also see Mt 25:31-2 quoted in the introduction). That "the One" sits on a white throne may also help to identify Christ.
Everything transient disappears and is laid bare before the awesome Judge on the great white throne. Everything necessary is accomplished to prepare the way for the New Heavens and earth (Rev 21:1; 2 Pt 3:13; Rom 8:23).
12 [And I saw] I saw the dead, great and small alike, standing in front of his throne while the books lay open. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life, and the dead were judged from what was written in the books, as their deeds deserved.
Verse 12 had the seventh repetition of "kai edion" = "And I saw," but it is still part of Vision Six. There are seven visions, but "and I saw" appears eight times. Eight is the number of salvation, redemption, resurrection, and re-creation. It is the number of Jesus. The gematria (addition of the numerical value of the Greek letters) of Jesus' name is 888, a trinity of salvation and redemption.
15 This burning lake is the second death, and anybody whose name could not be found written in the book of life was hurled into the burning lake.
The "burning lake" is the Hell of the Dammed and the second death, the first being physical death. The Catholic Church teaches that the Last/Final Judgment is a truth of faith. This passage refutes the heresy of universalism, which proposes that all people will be redeemed, and no one will face eternal damnation. The Church, from its earliest years, has condemned this heresy. Pope Paul VI in Creed of the People of God wrote: "He ascended to heaven, and he will come again, this time in glory, to judge the living and the dead, each according to his merits; those who have responded to the love and compassion of God going to eternal life, those who have refused them to the end going to the fire that is not extinguished ... We believe in the life eternal. We believe that the souls of all those who die in the grace of Christ, whether they must still be purified in purgatory, or whether from the moment they leave their bodies Jesus takes them to paradise as he did for the Good Thief, are the people of God in the eternity beyond death, which will be finally conquered on the day of the Resurrection when these souls will be reunited with their bodies" (Creed of the People of God, 12 and 28).
We who have experienced the first resurrection in the Sacrament of Baptism can call on the promise of Christ that we need not fear the second death, for Emmanuel (God with us) always keeps His promises! Blessed and holy are those who share in the first resurrection; the second death has no power over them (Rev 20:6). In His love, Jesus assures His disciples in every generation: "And look, I am with you always; yes, to the end of time" (Mt 28:20).
Agape Bible Study Hebrews 9 - 10
Hebrews 9:6-10: The Limited Access to God Under the Law and Ritual the Old Covenant
The Levitical ministers and high priests continually ministered in the outer court and the Holy Place but because of the collective fall from grace in the sin of the Golden Calf, access to the presence of God was limited. The High Priest was the only person who could enter the Holy of Holies and only once a year [Exodus 30:10; Leviticus 16:1-2, 29, 34] to make atonement for his own sins, for the sins of his family members, and atonement for the covenant people as a whole. He first entered the Holy of Holies to sprinkle the sacrificed bull's blood on the Ark for his sins and the sins of his family [Leviticus 16:12-13]. He entered the Holy of Holies a second time with the goat's blood for the sins of the covenant people [Leviticus 16:15]. According to Philo in Gaius 307 and the Mishnah Yoma 5:1-7; 7:4 the High Priest may have entered this sacred space more than twice, everything associated with the sacrifices of the Feast of Atonement were accomplished on that single day and the Holy of Holies could not be entered for a year until the next Feast of Atonement. This was the only time the Ark of the Covenant functioned as an altar of sacrifice when the blood of the sacrificial victims of the Feast of Atonement was sprinkled on the eastern side of the Mercy Seat and sprinkled seven times in front of the Mercy Seat of the Ark of the Covenant [Leviticus 16:14-16]. The Altar of Incense also functioned as a sacrificial altar at this feast [Exodus 30:10-11].
Hebrews 9:8-9: 8 In this way the Holy Spirit shows that the way into the sanctuary had not yet been revealed while the outer tabernacle still had its place. 9 This was a symbol of the present time...
The use of the present tense in verse 9 suggests that the Temple in Jerusalem was still standing. The "present time" is the time this address is being given. The covenant people's limited access to the presence of God in the Holy of Holies through the ministry of the High Priest once a year at the Temple in Jerusalem was a symbol of "the present time" in the transition period between the end of the Old Covenant worship and the establishment that was on-going in the New. From the time of Jesus Ascension in 30AD to the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem by the Roman Army in 70AD was a 40 year transition period to allow the Old Covenant people time to accept the New Covenant in Jesus Christ. As long as "the old tent stood" the way into the "sanctuary" of the heavenly Holy of Holies was not complete, the Temple would have to fall. This is the prophecy Jesus made in Matthew 24:1-2; Mark 13:1-4; and Luke 21:5-7, that the Temple would be destroyed and not one stone would be left upon another. This prophecy was fulfilled in 70AD when, during the Roman army's assault on Jerusalem, the Temple was set afire. The gold from the roof of the Temple melted in the heat of the fire and flowed into the cracks of the stones. After the fire subsided the Roman soldiers poured water over the hot stones to break them apart and secure the gold. Not one stone was left standing upon another: He said to them in reply, 'You see all these? In truth I tell you, not a single stone here will be left on another; everything will be pulled down' [Matthew 24:2].
Hebrews 9:11-14: God Abolishes the First in Order to Establish the Second in the Atoning Death of Jesus Christ
Hebrews 9:11-12 is one long complex sentence in the Greek text and is the most powerful and significant statement in the entire text of the address. Jesus' arrival as the High Priest of the heavenly Sanctuary is the central point of the discourse, emphasizing His election by God's sworn oath. Jesus was called by God; He did not presume to aspire to His priestly prerogatives [Hebrews 5:4-5] but He entered the heavenly Sanctuary with the acceptable sacrifice of Himself as the perfect Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world [John 1:29].
Hebrews 9:19-21: 19 When every commandment has been proclaimed by Moses to all the people according to the law, he took the blood of calves [and goats], together with water and crimson wool and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book itself and all the people, 20 saying, "This is 'the blood of the covenant which God has enjoined upon you.'" 21 In the same way, he sprinkled also the tabernacle and all the vessels of worship with blood. According to the law almost everything is purified by blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.
Question: Why is it that God's forgiveness has always required the shedding of blood and why is it still a requirement now in the Last Age of Man in the New Covenant?
Answer: There is no greater symbol of life than the blood which flows through the veins of men and women, nourishing every cell in the human body. We can live without limbs and eyes but we cannot live without blood. The requirement of blood sacrifice is not an arbitrary demand of a vengeful and blood thirsty God, but it is the blood flowing through the human body that sustains the gift of life. Jesus' blood shed for us in sacrifice does for us what no animal could, His blood gives life and gives it more perfectly than any substitute, even human sacrifice. As true God as well as true man He is the author of life and He knows exactly what we need to sustain life, not just physically but spiritually. It is His blood that offers the kind of life for which we were intended: as immortal sinless human beings in full communion with God. It is His blood that pays the penalty for sins and restores us to new life in Christ through His resurrection with which we are united in Christian baptism.
Hebrews 9:22: According to the law almost everything is purified by blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.
Question: Was this statement true in the ages of the past covenants? Today in the New Covenant? See Leviticus 17:11; Exodus 12:7; 24:5-8; Luke 22:20; Romans 2:25; 5:9; Ephesians 1:7; Colossians 1:14, 20; 1 Peter 1:2, 18-19; 1 John 1:7.
Answer: Yes. Yes.
Hebrews 9:23-28: Jesus, Our One Perfect Sacrifice:
Hebrews 9:23-25: 23 Therefore, it was necessary for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified by these rites, but the heavenly things themselves by better sacrifices than these. 24 For Christ did not enter into a sanctuary made by hands, a copy of the true one, but heaven itself, that he might now appear before God on our behalf. 25 Not that he might offer himself repeatedly, as the high priest enters each year into the sanctuary with blood this is not his own;
Earthly things are not in themselves holy, they must be purified which made the Old Covenant purification rites necessary. Heavenly things, however, are already pure. From the time of the Fall of Adam the sacrificial blood of animals accompanied by confession and contrition became a cleansing and atoning symbol which foreshadowed Christ's one perfect sacrifice: Since the life of a living body is in its blood, I have made you put it on the altar, so that atonement may thereby be made for your own lives, because it is the blood, as the seat of life, that makes atonement [Leviticus 17:11]. But unlike the High Priest on the Day of Atonement, Jesus, our High Priest, did not offer blood that was not His own, He offered the one perfect sacrifice that would have the power to forgive sins, His own flesh and His own blood, fulfilling what had only been a symbol in past ages.
if that were so, he would have had to suffer repeatedly from the foundation of the world. But now once for all he has appeared at the end of the ages to take away sin by his sacrifice. What Jesus offers is one perfect but on-going sacrifice. He was selected before the foundation of the earth, according to St. Peter, to offer Himself in atonement for our sins [1 Peter 1:20-21].
In these passages from Hebrews 9:26-27 the inspired writer is again referring to the yearly sacrifices on the Feast of Atonement, known in Hebrew as Yom Kippur, "Day of Covering" referring to the sins of the covenant people being "covered" in a communal reconciliation sacrifice. Sirach 50:5-24 describes the dramatic events of the High Priest offering sacrifice for the atonement of sins for the people on the Feast of Atonement: How splendid he was as he appeared from the tent, as he came from within the veil! Like a star shining among the clouds, like the full moon at the holyday season; like the sun shining upon the temple, like the rainbow appearing in the cloudy sky; like the blossoms on the branches in springtime, like a lily on the banks of a stream; like the trees of Lebanon in summer, like the fire of incense at the sacrifice; like a vessel of beaten gold, studded with precious stones; lie a luxuriant olive tree thick with fruit, like cypress standing against the clouds; vested in his magnificent robes, and wearing his garments of splendor, as he ascended the glorious altar and lent majesty to the court of the sanctuary [Sirach 50:5-11]. This expression of the thankfulness of the people for the ministry of the High Priest whose service brings the covenant people atonement and restoration of communion with God should pale in comparison with our expressions thankfulness for the sacrifice of Jesus Christ in His ministry as our High Priest offering atonement for our sins in the heavenly Sanctuary!
After death there is individual judgment [see CCC# 1021- 22]. This completely eliminates any discussion of the theory of reincarnation for Christians [CCC# 1013]. For human life on earth death is the one time, unrepeatable act except in the case of Lazarus and others who were miraculously raised from death or in certain unique cases through the intervention of medical science [with the ascent of God] to live and die again [these exceptions, however are resuscitations not resurrections]. The Preface of Christian Death I in the Roman Missal reads: Lord, for your faithful people life is changed, not ended. When the body of our earthly dwelling lies in death we gain an everlasting dwelling place in heaven.
As death comes to most mortals as an unrepeatable act, so too Jesus' bloody death was an unrepeatable sacrifice that was offered once and for all time achieving atonement and redemption for mankind as a whole. All subsequent offering of His one unique sacrifice are therefore unbloody, as in the sacrifice of the Mass [see CCC# 1330 and the document "Is the Eucharist a True Sacrifice?"
In Hebrews 9:28 to take away the sins of many is a quote from Isaiah 53:12: Therefore I will give him his portion among the great, and he shall divide the spoils with the mighty, because he surrendered himself to death and was counted among the wicked; and he shall take away the sins of many, and win pardon for their offenses.. The Greek verb anaphero [an-af-er'-o] used in this phrase can mean either to "take away," "take up", or "to bear." The inspired writer is making use of the double meaning of this verb to convey that by His atoning death on the Cross Jesus both bore our sins and took them away. There is a similar word play used by St. John in the Gospel of John 1:29
There are 10 Old Testament references in this chapter:
Hebrews 10 | Old Testament References |
Psalm 40:6-8 [from the Septuagint 39:7-9] | |
1 Samuel 15:22 [from the Septuagint] | |
Psalm 110:1 [possibly from the Septuagint 109:1]* | |
Jeremiah 31:33-34 [from the Septuagint] | |
Isaiah 26:11 [from the Septuagint] | |
Deuteronomy 17:6 [possibly from the Septuagint]* | |
7. Hebrews10:29 | Exodus 24:8 [possibly from the Septuagint] |
8. Hebrews10:30 | Deuteronomy 32:35-42 [possibly from the Septuagint]* |
9. Hebrews 10:37a | Isaiah 26:20 [from the Septuagint] |
10. Hebrews 10:37b | Habakkuk 2:3-4 [from the Septuagint] |
* no variance between the Septuagint and Massoretic version in this passage
Hebrews 10:1-10: The Imperfection of Old Covenant Sacrifices
Question: In which verse does the inspired writer identify the imperfection of the Old Covenant sacrifices?
Answer: With the rhetorical question in verse 2. If the Old Covenant sacrifices were perfect and the worshipers were cleansed of sins there would be no necessity of continually repeating them.
Hebrews 10:11-18: The Efficacy of Jesus' One Perfect Sacrifice
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Hebrews 10:11-13: 11 Every priest stands daily at his ministry, offering frequently those same sacrifices that can never take away sins. 12 But this one offered one sacrifice for sins, and took his seat forever at the right hand of God; 13 now he waits until his enemies are made his footstool.
Priests offered their ministerial service while standing, as our priests also minister standing in the Mass. Old Covenant priests stood while sacrificing animals and offering grain and wine libations at the altar. They stood to lead the community in prayer and songs of praise.
Hebrews 10:19-25: Christian Entrance into the Heavenly Sanctuary
The sins of the people separated them from the presence of God. The visual representation of this separation was the "veil" that separated the Holy Place from the Holy of Holies in the Temple [Exodus 26:31-33]. Once a year the High Priest entered through the veil into the Holy of Holies to make expiation for the sins of the people [Leviticus 16:16, 34].
The inspired writer now gives an interesting warning: 23 Let us hold unwaveringly to our confession that gives us hope, for he who made the promise is trustworthy. 24 We must consider how to rouse one another to love and good works. 25 We should not stay away from our assembly, as is the custom of some, but encourage one another and this all the more as you see the day drawing near.
Question: What does he mean by "hold unwaveringly to our confession"?
Answer: The confession of faith at Baptism of belief in the death, burial, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus. It is this confession which identifies us as Christians and a confession we repeat in the Easter Sunday liturgy when the priest asks the congregation "Do you believe....?".
Hebrews 10:32-39: A Reminder of Past Faithfulness
In verse 32 the inspired writer reminds his Christian audience of their past faithfulness and endurance in time of suffering. He is undoubtedly referring to Jewish persecution of the fledgling Church. What has changed to make their suffering so much worse unless it is the increased suffering under Roman persecution? The Jews did not have the power to condemn Christians to death without Roman approval. In Jesus case they were successful but in St. Paul's case the Roman authorities protected Paul. Perhaps at the time this address is being delivered Roman persecution is causing much suffering and some have lost their faith. Persecution of Christians by the Roman state began in 64AD. The inspired writer alludes to the coming of Christ in verse 37 and by quoting from Isaiah chapter 26 a second time [see 10:27] he alludes to Isaiah's prophecies of judgment.
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