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Anchored Bible Conference: Finding Consolation in the Book of Revelation
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In this episode, we explore the often misunderstood Book of Revelation, revealing its message of hope and consolation during times of persecution and suffering. Drawing insights from the commentary of German New Testament scholar and Bishop Edward Schick, we uncover a Catholic perspective that provides powerful insights into the present state of the church and the world.
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Thank you. I'm very grateful for this opportunity to share with you the consolation that I find in the Book of Revelation. Consolation might be the last word you would ordinarily associate with the Book of Revelation, and yet it is exactly what the Holy Spirit intends to give us through this last book of the Bible. The reflections which I am about to share with you rely heavily on a commentary by the German New Testament scholarly and later Bishop of Fulda, Eduard Schick. He gives us a thoroughly Catholic perspective on the Book of Revelation that yields powerful insights into the present situation of both the Church and the world. The Book of Revelation was given to the Church at a time of great persecution, that is towards the end of the first century, when the Roman emperors had declared themselves divine and all the subjects of the Roman Empire had the choice between either worshipping the Emperor's image or being put to death. It was clear to the Christians that emperor worship was idol worship and would constitute a direct breach of the First Commandment. Many of the early Christians preferred death to apostasy and shed their blood in faithful witness to Jesus Christ. Yet the whole situation of death and suffering was of course, very confusing to the Christians. Why? One can imagine them asking, and honestly, we're still asking the same question today. Why is it that the evil one still has so much power over the world? If, as we confess, Jesus has overcome sin, death and Satan through His own death and resurrection? The monstrosity of evil that perdures in world history constitutes an enormous temptation for the faithful of every generation to doubt that God is really all powerful, all knowing and all loving. Why does he permit so much evil and suffering in response? God has given us the precious Book of Revelation. It constitutes an antidote to the temptation to confusion and doubt. Its symbolic language makes it very clear that the situation of those suffering Christians under the hostile Roman Empire typifies the situation of all Christians of all times, as the title of the book Revelation illustrates so nicely. In this book, Jesus takes away the veil that covers the mystery of history and allows us to see it from a heavenly perspective, from the perspective of his and our final victory. It is a revelation that God the Father has given to Jesus to be revealed to His Church through the prophet John. From a heavenly perspective, it gives us a synopsis of the battle between good and evil from before the foundation of the world, that is, from the fall of the angels until the second coming of Christ and the final consummation of the world. Unlike the case of a novel where the reader is held in suspense as who the winner will be. The Book of Revelation makes it clear from the very outset who the winner Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God and those who belong to him. Through this book, Jesus himself speaks to us with the same words addressed to the prophet and visionary St. John. He commands, fear not. I am the first and the last and the living one. I died and behold, I am alive forevermore and I have the key to death and Hades. If Jesus has the key to death and Hades, then it follows logically that death and Hades have no more power. However, we live in a world which still seems to be under the almost total control of the evil one. Death is powerfully at work, both through the enemies of the church, be they religious fanatics like Isis or political leaders, as well as through natural powers like the pandemic of the coronavirus, which is currently holding the entire world in its grip. Wherever we look, we see the footprint of death and Hades. And that is exactly why God has given us the consolation of this book's revelation in the face of persecution, war, famines, natural catastrophes and plagues. Jesus wants us to know that although it might look as if the powers of evil were stronger than God, in reality they have already been brought to naught. Whatever havoc they are still creating on earth, nothing, absolutely nothing, is happening without God's permission. Contrary to what it looks like from an earthly position, God is not indifferent to the fate of his creation, abandoning it to let things take their own course. Rather, He God is the primary actor of history, acting with humanity and, if need be, even against it, to bring creation to its final destination. God wants us to know and understand that everything that is happening is under his control, and that all the evil which he permits us to suffer has a purpose, is part of a divine plan, and will contribute to the bringing about of a new creation in which death shall be no more. Neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain. As Revelation 21:4 so beautifully says, God wants us to be assured of the final victory, so that, comforted and encouraged by our sharing in God's heavenly perspective, we will not be afraid to participate in the battle in which we all play a vital role, and will not shrink from what we will have yet to suffer. 2:10 this is illustrated in the following way. In chapter one, John describes the vision of the risen Lord who is standing in the midst of seven golden lampstands with holding seven stars in his hands. Jesus himself explains that the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches. The number seven which is the scriptural number of perfection signifies that these seven churches represent the Church of all times and all places. Christ is standing in the midst of the lampstands. This signifies his presence in the midst of His Church. He is holding their angels, that is, their bishops, firmly in his hands. In other words, Christ Himself is guiding the church and holding her securely. Even though some of the churches are in urgent need of conversion, as John's letters make very clear, Christ gives them time to do so. We are still in the time of mercy in chapter four, St. John and the reader with him is taken up into heaven because the Lord wants us to know what must take place. Revelation 4:1 God wants us to view the unfolding of history from his divine perspective. That is why the vision begins in the heavenly throne room. God's throne and the one who sits upon it are seen at the center not only of heaven, but of the entire cosmos, symbolized by the four living creatures. Here with God is the fullness of power in heaven and on earth. It is not the laws of nature nor blind fate, but the will of the one sitting on the throne that determines everything that will take place. The rainbow which arches over the throne of God serves to recall the sign of peace between God and humanity and to remind us that God has a plan of salvation and hope for the world before the Lamb will unfold the frightening history of the world before our eyes. The whole vision of the heavenly court reassures us that the almighty and merciful God definitively wants the world's salvation, even if the way leads through catastrophes that, though caused by the wickedness of man, serve both the wicked and the good as chastisements for salvation. To the right of the Father's throne, a scroll is visible. Written with enat on the back, it symbolizes the book which contains the entire course of world and church history as the salvation history of God. No one in heaven or on earth can break open its seals except for the lion of Judah, the root of David, because he has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals. And he the Lamb went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who was seated on the throne. This describes the Lamb's accession to the throne and the handing over of all power to him by the Almighty Father. Everything that the book of Revelation will report from now on is written in this book and is both made known and realized by the one who proclaims it. No one, whether angel, man, or devil, has insight into God's secret plan for the world. Much Less has the capacity to bring it about. Except the Son of God, who became man, was crucified like a sacrificial lamb for our sins, rose triumphantly from the dead and ascended into heaven, where all the power in heaven and on earth was given to him. The fate of everyone in heaven, on earth and under the earth thus lies in the hands of Jesus until the end of the world, when he will subject himself and all of creation back to the Father. This knowledge must give any Christian living in the time in between Christ's ascension into heaven and his second coming a supernatural trust in divine providence among the calamities of this present age. From chapter six onwards, we witness the unfolding of world history as the Lamb opens one seal after the other. Upon the breaking open of the seventh seal and last seal, seven angels appear blowing seven trumpets, and eventually seven angels holding seven bowls with the seven last plagues through which God's wrath is accomplished. Chapter 15, verse 1. Neither the seals, the trumpets or bowels follow an exact chronological order of events, as if we could calculate the time of Christ's return by correlating the current events of history with one of the scenes described in the Book of Revelation. Rather, the events revealed by the breaking open of the seals and their contents are to be read as happening contemporaneously throughout the history of the world. They thus give us an understanding of the universal situation of the Church in the world up to the time of the Last Judgment. The time between the resurrection and the second coming of Christ is marked, as Jesus had already warned us in the Gospels. See, for example, Matthew, chapter 24, marked by wars between nations, civil wars, economic crisis, death through sword, famine, plagues and the beasts of the earth, and fierce persecution of the Christians. There will also be natural calamities, such as devastating hailstorms, lightning causing wildfires, meteorites and earthquakes, and even the elements of the cosmos will turn against man. The first four seals form a group. Each time the Lamb breaks open a seal, one of the four living creatures commands a horse and its rider to to come and bring destruction over the earth in the form of war, civil war, famine and plagues. The fact that it is the four living creatures who call these riders signifies that although all of this happens with the permission of God, the calamities do not come from God, but from the sphere of creation. By saying its rider was permitted to take peace away from the earth, which is technically called a divine passive, meaning that God is the subject who gives the power to take away the peace. By saying it in this way, God's permissive will is expressed. That is to say, that the powers of evil can do nothing on their own accord, but only what God allows them to do. In fact, it is our own human wickedness, political and economical greed for power, hatred, jealousy, depravity and immorality that empower them. The cosmic number four indicates that these disasters accompany the history of the Church and of the world from the Lord's ascension into heaven until his second coming. The fifth seal reveals the fate of the Christian martyrs, those who have been slaughtered because of the witness they bore to the word of God. They are underneath the altar, which is the heavenly counterpart of the altar of holocaust in the Temple of Jerusalem. That means their lives have become a sacrifice. In perfect imitation of Christ. They have offered up their lives to the Father. That is why they are now in the heavenly sanctuary. Just like the Lamb of God himself. They have been given white robes, and they ask the question which all of us, O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood? How much longer will you watch the slaughtering of your beloved sons and daughters? The answer is a little while longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brothers should be complete, who were to be killed as they themselves had been. 6, 11. The predestined number of martyrs must be completed. The calamities of the first seven seals were restricted to human beings. Now the vision of the sixth seal reveals a disturbance of nature and the cosmos that will precede the final judgment. On the verge of its last day, the day which it calls the wrath of the Lamb, the earth begins to quake. The sun turns black. The moon becomes like blood. Stars fall from the sky like unripe figs. These are images that symbolize the end of the world. The cosmos seems to fall apart, while the earth is thrown into such a chaos that it becomes almost unrecognizable. The dissolution of any order confronts humanity with the chaos of doom and gives it a presentiment of the world's destruction. In reaction to this dissolution of the cosmic order, godless men are thrown into panic. They try to flee, but there is nowhere to hide from their guilty conscience and from the Lamb who has appeared for judgment. The day of the Lamb's wrath will reveal that the Savior of the world is also its judge. Faced with the wrath of the Lamb, the godless ask who can withstand it? The answer is given in another. The terror and despair of those wicked are contrasted with the preservation of the servants of God. During the great tribulations they will experience God's special protection and will be guided through the turmoil of this life towards their final goal, which is the throne of God. See Catechism number 1296. This is shown in two images. One is an image of the Church militant in the midst of earthly chaos, and the other shows us the Church triumphant. Those who have already reached God's peace in eternity. Four angels are holding back four winds of destruction that will complete the devastation of the world. Before they are allowed to do so, however, the servants of God are marked with a seal on their forehead. This seal, a symbol of baptism, marks the elect as God's own property. The seal is not a pledge of preservation from the mighty winds that will damage the land and the sea. Rather, it is a promise that the faithful will be preserved in these storms and saved through them. Their number is 144,000, which is a symbolic number for the uncountable multitude of people who have already been and will still be saved. This vision is a preview of what can be seen only at the end. The multitude of those who have been saved, who have washed their robes in the blood of the Lamb and are standing before the throne of God and of the Lamb. These, we learn, shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore. The sun shall not strike them, nor any scorching heat. For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to the springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes. Chapter 7, verses 16:17. This heavenly vision of those who are already saved serves as a massive encouragement for those who, like John and ourselves, remain on earth, faced with persecution for the sake of our faith and suffering. The cosmic consequences of humanity's rebellion against God. God is telling. Do not fear. Fight courageously. If you persevere, you will be saved. And I, your God, will let you drink from the fountain of eternal life and will wipe away every tear of yours. One would expect the seventh seal to herald the end of God's plan of salvation. Instead, another seven plagues unfold. We are shown seven visions of seven angels blowing seven trumpets. This is followed by another seven angels holding seven golden bowls filled with the wrath of God. The last seven plagues. As I said, we must not view them as taking place chronologically after the day of God's wrath. Rather, the book goes back and forth between two on the one hand, visions of the end, which are meant to encourage us and give us perseverance in view of our heavenly reward, and on the other hand, the description of the plagues and which Man's obstinate unwillingness to repent call down on humanity. Thus, even when these plagues have already turned the earth into an almost uninhabitable environment, people still blaspheme the name of God, who had power over these plagues. But they did not repent or give him the glory. We try to give calamities like the coronavirus, droughts, famine, wildfires, climate change, a scientific explanation, but God makes it crystal clear that the real root of all these natural catastrophes lies in our own sinfulness, which causes the powers of nature themselves to turn against man. To use a famous expression of the doctor of the church, St. Hildegard. Not only does nature turn against man, converting this world from paradise to hell, but the wickedness of man also gives demonic powers an increasing influence over the world. Thus the fifth trumpet describes how a fallen angel is allowed to open the shaft of the bottomless pit, and demons, in the form of locusts, with the symbolic power of scorpions, are let loose to torment all those who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads. In other words, those who are not baptized at the sixth trumpet, similar forces of evil, millions of cavalry troops, looking like monsters, who had been prepared for the hour, the day, the month and the year, were released to kill a third of mankind. With regard to this demonic chastisement, it is important to see that while the baptized were not spared the natural catastrophes, but saved through them, they are indeed preserved from the power of the demons. These have no permission to cause the baptized any harm. This is a very powerful testimony to the power of the sacraments. They do not take us out from this world, and thus we suffer what the world has to suffer. But if we do not break our baptismal seal by mortal sin, we are indeed preserved from the evil one, just as Jesus prayed in John 17:5, 15. The same applies to the Church as a whole, as the frightening prophecy of the sixth trumpet makes clear. The prophet is sent to measure the temple of God and the altar and those who worship there. But he is to exclude the outer court of the temple. He is not to measure it, for it has been handed over to the Gentiles, who will trample the holy city for 42 months. 42 months are three and a half years. The same time as the beast of the Antichrist is given authority over the inhabitants of the world. The According to chapter 13, verse 5, three and a half is half of seven, which is the symbolic number of perfection. Three and a half thus stands for a limited, imperfect time. It is the limited time allotted by God to the power of the Evil One. During this time, the Evil One is even allowed to trample the outer court of the Temple. This symbolizes the extremely delicate situation of the Church in the world. Only her innermost sanctuary is spared, which is to say the essence of the Church in her faith and cult. The fact that the outer court is not protected shows that only a remnant of those who persevere in faith and adoration of God will endure the demonic attacks even the Church is not exempt from. The fact that the entire holy city is given over to the Gentiles means that the Church will entirely lose her cultural profane position in the world. But the consolation is that in spite of interior and exterior afflictions during this apocalyptic time, the Church will indeed be praying, preserved in her innermost being. The vision is a warning against all who are tempted to compromise with the spirit of the world in order to make the Church more culturally relevant. Those who are thus tempted to leave the innermost sanctuary, that is the faith and cult of the Church, will not be able to resist the destructive powers of Hell. However, the enigmatic vision of the two witnesses who die and rise on the third day, a possible image of the royal and prophetic priesthood of the Church pointing to her almost total extinction, does end with the conversion of many who were terrified and gave glory to the God of Heaven. Thus, not everyone who is currently outside the Church's sanctuary will be eternally lost. With the blowing of the seventh trumpet, we are once again shown a heavenly vision of the victorious end. A voice in heaven acclaims that the kingdom of the world now belongs to our Lord and to his Christ, who will reign forever and ever. Chapter 11, verses 15 to 18. However, instead of the judgment which is announced, we are permitted a glimpse into the heavenly temple where the Ark of the Covenant appears, which then transforms into a woman clothed with the sun, the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of 12 stars. Revelation 12:1. And now, finally, both the origin of evil and suffering, and the reason for God's ongoing permission of it all is revealed. We see the woman in labor pains giving birth to the Messiah. She symbolizes the old covenant people, I.e. israel, the church, and by extension, Mary. Then a dragon appears in the sky, who is identified as being the ancient serpent, who is called the devil, and Satan, who deceive the whole world. And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she bore her child, she might devour it. She gave birth to a male child, one who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron. But her child was caught up to God and his throne. This is a terse description of the center of history, the incarnation of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, his birth, his death, and his ascension into heaven, whence he now reigns the nations with an iron rod. Thereupon the vision goes back even further in time, or rather outside time, and relates the fall of Satan and his angels, who, wanting to be like God, lost his position in heaven and was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. There he deceived the whole world, beginning with our first parents and now, not resting until this very day. The entire mystery of the church and her life is encapsulated in this chapter. The vision of these two signs in the sky, the woman with child and the dragon, harkens, of course, back to the Proto gospel. In Genesis 3:15, after the fall of our first parents, God had cursed the serpent. I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring. He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel. Genesis 3:15. There, in Genesis, God had already made the promise that just as a woman was first to be deceived by Satan, so also it would be a woman who would give birth to the one who would overcome the devil. When the devil realized that he could no longer harm Jesus, he turned to persecute the woman, that is the church. However, she, like the people of Israel under Pharaoh, is taken up by eagle's wings and carried into the desert, where she is taken care of for a period of 12, 60 days or three and a half years, which is the same time span. Then the serpent poured water like a river out of his mouth after the woman to sweep her away with a flood. But the earth came to the help of the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed the river that the dragon had poured from his mouth. One is reminded here of Christ's promise that the gates of hell will not prevail against his church, Seeing that he could do nothing against the church in her holy essence, the dragon became furious with the woman and went off to make war on the rest of her offspring. On those who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus. This scene is the key to understanding why we constantly find ourselves in conflict with the Evil One and his machinations. God could have overcome the devil all by himself, and he did. However, just as it was man who handed the world over to Satan and his armies, so also God wanted man to resubmit it to him. And just as the first Adam was given a woman at his side as head over the old creation, so also the new Adam, Jesus Christ, wanted to bring about and rule the new creation together with his bride, the new Eve. Yes, Christ, the lion of the tribe of Judah, the root of David, has triumphed over death and Satan. But he wants to share this victory with us, who by the grace of baptism, belong to his bride, the Church. This means, however, that each and every one of us will need to pass through the same temptations as Jesus, and will ultimately have to choose between whether to bend his knees before Satan and his agents or before God alone, a decision which may very well cost us our earthly lives, but will make us partakers of the tree of life in the world to come. The reality of this terrible choice is powerfully envisioned in chapter 13, which describes Satan's reign on earth by means of different political powers. The description of the Roman Empire and its demand to worship the Emperor serves here as a typological symbol for any absolute and tyrannical political system that arrogates divine rights to itself. Throughout the history of the Church, her children will find themselves living in political systems that will either persecute them outright, as is happening in some communist regimes or Islamic countries, or some Islamic countries, right? Or force them to act against their Christian conscience, as we see happening in many of the secular Western states at the present day. Metaphorically speaking, no one can buy or sell in these countries unless he has the mark that is the name of the beast or the number of its name. Reading these pages of Holy Scripture, one might be shocked to see how much authority and power God has granted to the devil. Not only is the dragon allowed to make war on the holy ones and conquer them, he is even granted permission to damage the Church, as the Book explains in chapter 13, verse 10. It is here that the faith and the endurance of the holy ones are made manifest. Meanwhile, the inhabitants of the earth, whose names were not written before the foundation of the world in the Book of Life, are fascinated by the beast and worship the dragon because it gave its authority to the beast. This, of course, implies their sinful passions, the work of their hands to give worship to demons and idols made from gold, silver, bronze, stones and wood which cannot see or hear or walk. Their murders, their magic potions, their unchastities and their robberies. Chapter 9, verse 20. You can easily translate this list into our modern sins. They are contrasted with the behavior of those ransomed, those having the name of the Lamb and his Father written on their foreheads, those who have not defiled themselves with women, for they are virgins. It is these who follow the Lamb wherever he goes. And in their mouth was found no lie, for they are unblemished. The virginity here probably refers to those who did not commit adultery by worshipping idols. So it's our virginity in faith. This is the background against which we have to read the breaking open of the seven seals, the trumpets and the plagues that now follow. Just as in the Old Testament, for example, powerfully in the book of Exodus or Amos, God mercifully allows humanity to reap the fruits of its own sinfulness. As a last resort of a Father's love. He allows the above described calamities and plagues to befall his creation in the hope of bringing us to conversion. Again, the calamities of history do not have their source in God, but he uses them for his merciful judgments, which come from the depth of a Father's heart in order to bring those back to him who would otherwise be eternally lost. Of course, as fellow citizens in this world, God's servants are also struck by these chastisements. But because of their innocence, their sufferings are joined to the sufferings of Christ and thus contribute as an atoning offering to the salvation of the world, as is made clear in the heavenly vision of Revelation, chapter 6, verse 10, and then 8, 3, 5. Their sufferings rise like incense on the gold altar that is before the throne of God and hasten the consummation of history towards the final coming of Christ, when all things will be made new. Yes, by the blood of the Lamb which is shed in the death of a martyr and the word of their testimony, Christians are actively conquering Satan. This means that if we are faithful to the grace received in our baptism and persevere in the observance of his commandments, not compromising with the spirit of the world and the apparent advantages the agents of the beast have to offer. None of our sufferings will be in vain or lost. Rather, every innocent pain that we suffer in union with Christ will hasten the coming of God's kingdom, will bring salvation to the world, and will contribute to the conquering of the ancient serpent who is called the devil or Satan. It is our own blood, mingled with the blood of the Lamb and the faithful word of our testimony that will bring about the final defeat of humanity's arch enemy. Three and a half years is the limited time span God has allotted to Satan to seduce humanity. A time of grace during which God does not cease to call his children to conversion. And we are well advised to be aware of that. The time of mercy will also come to an end. Though we have to refrain from reading these catastrophic events in a chronological order, revelation does make it clear that they intensify with the drawing near of Christ. While this time might seem exceedingly long to us, Satan knows that he has but a short time. Indeed, as we saw before, we already know the outcome of the battle. Yes, it is not for us to know the times or seasons that the Father has fixed in his own authority. Acts, chapter one, verse seven. Very important. But we are to know with absolute certainty that the victory is already won and that the demise of Satan's earthly reign, symbolized by the whore of Babylon, is already decreed. The day will come when the devil and his retinue will be thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur. There they will be tormented day and night, forever and ever. But to the one who conquers and who keeps my works until the end, to Him I will give authority over the nations, and he will rule them with an iron rod, even as I myself have received authority from my Father. Jesus promises that if we follow his example on this earth by humbling ourselves and becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross, he will make us partakers of his kingship, sharing even his own throne with us. Yes, as our lady said to Bernadette of Lourdes, we are not assured of happiness or victory in this life, but certainly in the next. If we conquer Satan by the blood of the Lamb and the word of our testimony, suffering silently and united to Jesus, we will be clothed in white garments and our names will never be blotted out of the Book of Life. We shall be granted to eat from the Tree of Life, receive the crown of Life, and called to participate in the unending wedding feast of the Lamb and his bride. This knowledge of victory and salvation is the consolation that God is offering us through the Book of Revelation. I thank you for your attention. Let's pray, hope and battle together. God bless you. Sa.