I once heard the Book of Revelation, the last book of the New Testament therefore the last book of the Bible if you read in chronological order, to be a “very dangerous book.”
Well, if that’s true, then this week of daily liturgies should be one to tread through carefully. Each day this week, our first reading for Mass is taken from the Book of Revelation. All those readings would be far too long to post here but if you have the mind to do so, here are the Chapters and verses for this week:
Revelation 1: 1-4, 2: 1-5; 3: 1-6, 14-22; 4: 1-11; 5: 1-10; 10: 8-11
Here is the one for Thursday, the 18th. It is filled with hopeful and rich images of triumph, of "The lion of the tribe of Judah . . ." Christ Jesus. In these darker days of late Fall as we approach Winter, such readings bring us light:
Rev 5: 1-10
I, John, saw a scroll in the right hand of the one who sat on the throne.
It had writing on both sides and was sealed with seven seals.
Then I saw a mighty angel who proclaimed in a loud voice,
“Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?”
But no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth
was able to open the scroll or to examine it.
I shed many tears because no one was found worthy
to open the scroll or to examine it.
One of the elders said to me, “Do not weep.
The lion of the tribe of Judah, the root of David, has triumphed,
enabling him to open the scroll with its seven seals.”
Then I saw standing in the midst of the throne
and the four living creatures and the elders
a Lamb that seemed to have been slain.
He had seven horns and seven eyes;
these are the seven spirits of God sent out into the whole world.
He came and received the scroll from the right hand
of the one who sat on the throne.
When he took it,
the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders
fell down before the Lamb.
Each of the elders held a harp and gold bowls filled with incense,
which are the prayers of the holy ones.
They sang a new hymn:
“Worthy are you to receive the scroll
and break open its seals,
for you were slain and with your Blood you purchased for God
those from every tribe and tongue, people and nation.
You made them a kingdom and priests for our God,
and they will reign on earth.”
However, if you just read this book on face value, you had better tighten your seat belt and hold on for a bumpy ride! They sound more like a bad Star Wars movie or computerized imagery’s magical special effects than inspired Scripture. This may be why this strange and often misunderstood book of the Bible is called “dangerous.” The danger is that we will misquote and misinterpret its meaning. God knows it has not been used in the best way by some well meaning but over zealous Christians.
It is not a book to strike fear in the hearts of its readers but a book in which to find hope. That Jesus Christ, the “Lamb who was slain,” has triumphed over all evil both in our personal lives and ultimately in all of creation and in the end will bring final victory over all that is sinful and dark. But, it is more than the end – it is also hope for the present, for every age in which humankind finds itself. Christ is victorious for all time and eternity; his death and resurrection transformed everything.
Be careful when reading this book because, as the Jerusalem Bible Commentary states: “The language of apocalyptic writing is richly symbolic, and the importance of the visions which are described is never in their immediate literal meaning . . . Every element has symbolic value – persons, places, animals, actions, objects, parts of the body, numbers and measurements, stars, constellations, colors and garments . . .”
Why the secret code? The book was written during a period of intense suffering for the early Christians around the end of the first century A.D. through revelations to St. John the Apostle on the island of Patmos (Asia Minor). By this time, eleven of the Apostles are gone – all of them martyred, likely St. Paul as well, and only St. John remains. New leaders have arisen in the Church to take their place and Christians now face a formidable enemy – the pagan emperors of Rome.
The names of Emperors Nero (1st century) and Diocletian (4th century)are legendary. The rounding up of Christians for sport to witness their savage and brutal death was a not uncommon experience. If that was the result of believing in Jesus, that my life would be filled with threat and danger as I witnessed members of my family taken off to martyrdom, than I had better find someone or something to give me hope that my new faith was not in vain.
Thus, the Book of Revelation, written in this historical context and a coded language of imagery that non-believers may have no knowledge of, became a testimony to God’s consistency. To die for Jesus as Jesus did was the great honor of martyrdom. Only a strong spirit and a heroic faith could have sustained the courage of thousands of un-named Christian martyrs; “Those in white garments holding palm branches” as Revelation refers to them.
This Book, the “Revelation of John,” as both weird and wonderful as it is, should be read with courage, hope, and an open heart and mind. It confirms that God promises to be with his people just as he promised in the desert with Moses and as Jesus himself walked in our midst. As the Jerusalem Bible Commentary further states: “Whatever evils the Church may undergo, its confidence in God’s faithfulness remains unshaken . . . Revelation is an epic of Christian hope, the victory song of the persecuted Church.”
Wow! Read the earlier named passages in their full chapters and remember you are reading symbols and metaphors meant to reassure and sustain hope. If you dare to dive in the deep end here do so with a heart of gratitude and a good Catholic Bible Commentary.
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