Transcript

Okay.

So let's go ahead and pick back up with by invoking the presence of the Holy Spirit.

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

Amen.

Amen.

Simply repeat after me.

Oh, Holy Spirit

Oh, Holy Spirit

Soul of my soul

Soul of my soul

I worship and I adore you.

I worship and I adore you.

Enlighten and guide

Enlighten and guide

Strengthen and console me.

Strengthen and console me.

Tell me what I ought to do

Tell me what I ought to do

and command me to do it.

and command me to do it.

I promise to be submissive

I promise to be submissive

to Thy divine will

to Thy divine will

In Jesus's name, Amen.

In Jesus's name, Amen.

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

Amen.

Okay, so we're gonna pick back up with looking at two major themes that run throughout the Book of Revelation, primarily the theme of judgment and the theme of liturgy.

As I mentioned, we already saw a few indications of judgment, particularly in regard to those pieces of evidence that suggest the judgment on Jerusalem in Revelation 11, where the nations shall trample the great city where our Lord was crucified for 42 months.

But there are other details that can sort of give us sort of an introduction to the theme of judgment that runs throughout the Book of Revelation.

Three specific clues that I wanna share with you for this particular section.

The first clue is, uh, the motif of Jesus's coming.

In Revelation chapter 22 verse 20, among many others, we have the example of, uh, Jesus saying, Behold, I am coming.

And we find this in other places as well, where it speaks of Jesus will come very soon.

Now, uh, in order to see how this motif of Jesus's coming suggests judgment, we need to look at it in light of the Old Testament tradition, as well as the tradition of Jesus's teaching and public ministry itself.

So we look at the Old Testament.

A possible Old Testament background for Jesus's coming, uh, is found in Jeremiah 4:11-13, where God's coming is associated with judgment.

We read, Now it is I who speak in judgment upon them.

Behold, he comes up like clouds.

His chariots like the whirlwind.

His horses are swifter than eagles.

Woe to us, for we were ruined.

Close quote.

So this is in Jeremiah, like Ezekiel that we saw earlier, Jeremiah's prophesying about the impending destruction on Jerusalem in 587 BC.

And associated with that judgment is God coming, on the clouds even, right?

We're gonna come back to that imagery as well at other points in our seminar.

And notice there at the end, Woe to us, for we were ruined.

So there you have, uh, the imagery of destruction.

So in the Old Testament, judgment is associated with God coming.

Now, we look in the New Testament tradition.

Jesus actually associates his coming with judgment, and in particular, judgment on Jerusalem.

Because what we see in Jesus's Olivet Discourse in Matthew 24 is sort of a mini summary, a mini prophecy, of what John writes a whole book about, mkay?

So let's read Jesus's prophecy about his coming on the clouds, right?

And along with cataclysmic imagery, and then we'll give reasons why we know Jesus is prophesying about the impending destruction on Jerusalem in 70 AD, and you'll see the similarities between Jesus's prophecy and John's vision, thus indicating the theme of judgment on Jerusalem in particular.

So in Matthew 24, we've Start with verse 29.

Here are the excerpts here.

Immediately after the tribulation of those days, the sun will be darkened.

Wait a minute, Jesus is talking about using this cataclysmic imagery here.

Is he talking about the end of the world?

Well, let's see.

Those days, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, right?

And the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.

Then will appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven, and then all the tribes of the Earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.

So you have all of the cataclysmic, catastrophic imagery.

Jesus is coming on the clouds.

Then we pick up, And he will send out his angel with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather the elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away till all these things take place.

Close quote.

So notice how Jesus associates his coming with some sort of judgment indicated by the cataclysmic imagery.

How do we know this is judgment, and in particular, judgment on Jerusalem?

Well, the first reason why we know is, as we stated already, the cataclysmic imagery of the sun being darkened, the moon not giving its light, the stars falling from heaven, it's imagery that's used in the tradition of the Jewish prophets that references the end and the fall of a particular kingdom or a world order to signify that that particular kingdom's time is up, right?

So it doesn't necessarily refer to the end of the world, but the end of a world.

Now, how do we know this is in particularly a judgment a prophetical a prophecy of judgment on Jerusalem?

Well, all we have to do is look at the context .

of Jesus' prophecy here, and the context is about the destruction of the Temple.

In Matthew 24:1-4, we read that Jesus left the temple and was going away when his disciples came to point out to him the buildings of the temple.

But he answered him He he answered them, You see all these, do you not?

Truly I say to you, there will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down, close quote.

So, the context of Jesus's prophecy of judgment and cataclysmic imagery in his coming on the clouds, the context of that prophetical judgment is the destruction of the temple.

Which would seem to indicate that Jesus' Olivet Discourse is all about the destruction of Jeru of Jerusalem that would come about in 70 A.D.

And then the third reason why we know that the Des Jesus was prophesying about the destruction of Jerusalem is because in Matthew 24:34, he tells us that all of these things would take place within what?

A generation.

And a generation in the Jewish tradition, my dear friends, was 40 years.

And 40 years, and and according to the s the scholarly evidence, uh, Jesus, the the the last year of his ministry would have been 30 A.D.

We normally associate it with 33 A.D., but according to scholarly evidence there, uh, the the monk who gave us our calendar was about five or six years off with the birth of Christ.

So, it actually puts Jesus' ministry beginning at 27 A.D.

and the end of his ministry, which was three years, right, public ministry being at 30 A.D.

Now that's a whole no Uh, it takes an hour to explain all of that scholarly evidence, okay?

So just take my word on it.

But Jesus began his ministry around 27 A.D.

The end of his ministry would have been 30 A.D.

Jesus said, Within a generation.

This generation would not pass away until these things take place.

40 years later in 70 A.D.

what takes place?

Exactly what Jesus said.

Not a stone of this temple will be left standing.

You see?

Now, why is this so important?

Well, first of all, we see that Jesus is prophesying about the impending destruction on Jerusalem using imagery that w- we find in John's revelation, right?

So John's revelation and his prophecy is about judgment and also about judgment on Jerusalem.

Because in the Old Testament it talks about God coming, associated with judgment.

Jesus associates his coming with judgment on Jerusalem.

John says Jesus is coming, so what is John telling us?

Judgment on Jerusalem.

You follow that line of reasoning there?

Now as a side note, check this out.

Why is it so important that we know Jesus' prophecy in the Olivet Discourse is for the destruction of Jerusalem and not the end of the world?

I'll tell you why.

There are many critics to Christianity in the universities.

Even unfortunately in Catholic seminaries, there are professors who will say, Well, Jesus here in Matthew 24 prophesied about the end of the world.

Sun being dark and moon not giving us light, stars falling from the sky.

And he said that the end of the world would take place when?

Within a generation.

Did the world end within a generation?

No, so Jesus must've been mistaken.

Jesus made an error.

And if Jesus made an error, guess what ?

He's not God.

He's not divine.

He made a mistake.

My dear friends, that is a common view among many on the catechetical level of the parish level, all the way up to the seminary and Catholic universities.

This view is prevalent within Catholic circles, unfortunately.

But if we come to know and see Jesus' prophecy, as well as St. John's prophecy in the Book of Revelation, in light of the Jewish tradition, we're able to see that Jesus wasn't prophesying about the end of the world, he was prophesying about the destruction of Jerusalem.

And thus his prophecy comes to fruition to the T. Jesus knows how to cross his Ts and dot his Is, amen?

Amen.

Okay, so this is extremely important to understand, uh, the the methodology with which we read the words and deeds of Jesus, as well as the words of deeds of Jesus in and through the Book of Revelation, uh, that St. John gives us.

Yes, question.

What do the seminaries and all the rest of them want to prove Jesus wrong?

Wha- wha- what-

The The que- The question is what do all these professors in the seminaries and universities want to prove Jesus wrong for?

Well, pre- precisely because there's a whole background to that.

It's called rationalism, uh, that came to fruition with the Enlightenment, which actually said that the only th Everything that's supernatural, like miracles, Jesus being God, cannot be accepted.

The only thing that exists that which we can know by reason alone, all right?

And so only that which is natural can exist.

Supernatural stuff cannot exist.

So the fact that Jesus performed miracles, what do the rationalists do?

And this rationalism influenced, uh, the seminaries over the over many years.

And so what we find is that scholars trying to explain away the miracles of Jesus, like when he multiplied bread, they try to say, Well, the real miracle is that he got everybody to share.

That comes from a rationalistic world view that presupposes miracles can't happen, so when we read about a miracle in the text, we have to explain it away.

Let's not the Let's not let the evidence get in the way, okay?

Of our theory, you see?

Uh, so what what That has also influenced their perspective of Jesus.

Jesus can't be God because that's a uh, a supernatural thing.

God becoming man.

I mean, come on, that can't Reason can't come to know that, so therefore it can't be true, right?And so, Jesus can't be God.

He must be only a man, and so we're gonna find all of the little details that can prove that he's not God, and – but he's only a man.

So it's this whole world view that has, um, invaded and is prevalent within many, uh, people's minds, uh, many theologians, uh, within the seminaries and universities, et cetera.

But we're doing better now.

We're, we're starting to weed out that rationalistic world view, and faith is starting to be front and center, with reason, within the theological training among many.

Okay?

All right, so our first clue for the theme of judgment was Jesus' coming.

All right?

We looked at that.

The second clue for Jesus' coming is the Lord's day.

Right there in Revelation 1:10, St. John tells us he was taken up on the Lord's day.

Now, for us as Christians, we know primarily first level interpretation, Jesus was Excuse me, John was taken up in the spirit having the vision on Sunday.

All right?

Which is the Lord's day.

We'll come back to the, to that in a minute when we look at the liturgical details.

But the Lord's day also calls to mind from the Jewish tradition the theme of judgment.

Why?

Because for example, in Isaiah 13:6-9, we read the following.

Wail for the day of the Lord.

The Lord's day, right?

The day of the Lord is near.

As destruction from the Almighty, it will come.

Behold, the day of the Lord comes.

Cruel with wrath and fierce anger to make the earth a desolation and to destroy its sinners from it.

Close quote.

So what is the Lord's day associated with in the Jewish tradition?

Judgment.

God coming in wrath on the unfaithful to the covenant.

So we come back to John's vision.

He speaks of having a vision on the Lord's day, the day of the Lord, first level of meaning, indeed Sunday.

But there can also be a polyvalent meaning, a second level of meaning signifying that the vision he is going to receive is a vision of judgment upon what he tells us this great city where our Lord was crucified.

Finally, the third clue for judgment, the trumpet.

Recall, uh, in Revelation 1:10, if you check it out, John sees Jesus and he hears the trumpet, right?

Well, in the Jewish tradition coming from the Old Testament, trumpets call to mind judgment.

For example, in Zephaniah 1:14-16, uh, we ha- we find these words.

Quote, The great day of the Lord There's the day of the Lord again, right?

There's that imagery.

The great day of the Lord is near.

Near and hastening fast.

A day of trumpet blast and battle cry against the fortified cities.

Close quote.

So coming from the Jewish tradition, trumpets are associated with judgment.

John hears trumpets when he sees Jesus, therefore calling to mind the theme of judgment.

So these are just a few clues.

We find many all throughout the book of Revelation that suggest judgment, and we're gonna look at those details for the remaining five weeks that call to mind the theme of judgment and see how that judgment is applied to Jerusalem in 70 A.D.

So that's the theme of judgment.

Now, we get to the fun stuff, the theme of liturgy.

My dear friends, if there's not anything that you take aw- that If there's n- one thing that you take away with you tonight about the Book of Revelation, it is this.

That the Book of Revelation is all about the liturgy.

The mass, right?

Theme of judgment?

Indeed.

But even more so, the liturgy.

And we're gonna see in a moment how the two go hand in hand.

So the way I wanna share this theme with you and look at this theme is we're gonna look at it in two sections.

We're gonna see the theme of liturgy by the various details that are present throughout the Book of Revelation, and then we can see the theme of liturgy even by looking at the whole scheme of the Book of Revelation being divided in two major halves that actually correlate and correspond to the two divisions of Catholic worship, the Liturgy of the Word and the Liturgy of the Eucharist.

So let's look at the liturgical details first and see that the Book of Revelation is all about the heavenly liturgy.

For example, in Revelation 1:10 we mentioned already that St. John says he was taken up in the spirit on the Lord's day.

So it's Sunday and the angel is saying, Hey John, come on up here and see how we worship on Sunday up in heaven.

Right?

Okay.

You're on the island of Patmos, John.

You can't go to mass, so I'm gonna take you to mass in heaven, and let me show you how it's done.

Right?

Okay.

So here we go.

Revelation 1:10 as well as 8:2, John says, I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet.

Now, the trumpet not only calls to mind judgment, but it also calls to mind liturgy.

If you read Ezra 3:10, this is just one example among many.

Uh, when they're consecrating that second temple, when they rebuilt the temple after the return from Babylonian exile, came back to Jerusalem, the southern Israelites rebuilt Jerusalem, they rebuilt the temple.

Well, when they're consecrating the second temple of Judaism in Ezra 3:10, they blow the trumpets and they play the trumpets within this liturgical celebration.

Right?

Think of the fall of Jericho.

What did they do on the seventh day after they marched seven times around the city of Jericho with the Arc of the Covenant in front?

What did they do?

What did the Levitical priests do?

Blow the trumpets.

They blew the trumpets.

Who blew the trumpets?

The priests.

Trumpets are associated with liturgy, liturgical settings.

John hears a trumpet in the heavenly vision, so it suggests a liturgical setting.

Thirdly, he ʻf- he writes how he saw seven golden lampstands.

I saw seven golden lampstands.

For a Jew, what would that call to mind? the seven branched candlestick, the menorah, that was located where?

In the temple.

In the holy place.

So John has a vision of heaven, he sees this seven branched candlestick, or seven golden lamp stands.

What does that suggest to us?

John, who would have been familiar with what's in the temple on Earth, is now given a vision of the heavenly temple.

In Revelation 1:13, he describes Jesus as wearing high priestly vestments.

And in the midst of the lamp stands So lamp stands in the temple.

I saw one like a son of man clothed with a long robe and with a golden girdle around his breast.

The long robe and the golden girdle, according to Exodus chapter 28 and 29, are the same type of garments that Moses commanded to be made for Aaron and his sons, who would function with those garments on as high priest.

So for John to describe Jesus like this suggests that he sees him as a high priest.

Well, that fits perfectly.

If he's dressed like a high priest, he's among the seven gold- golden candlesticks, that tells us Jesus is the high priest ministering where?

In the heavenly temple.

Just like the earthly priest would go in the temple, in the midst of the golden candlestick, the menorah, and minister as priest, Jesus is the high priest ministering in the heavenly temple, you see?

And that's what the Book of Hebrews is all about.

So the Book of Hebrews ties into John's revelation as revealed in the Book of Revelation.

Moving on, in Revelation 8:3-4, uh, St. John writes about how there's an altar at which an angel ministers with a golden censer.

Okay?

Well, what would that call to mind?

The altar of incense in the earthly temple, in the holy place, at which the Levitical priest would offer incense.

So this s- suggests to us, once again, John's getting a vision of the heavenly temple.

The angels are ministering at the altar, therefore suggesting that the angels are serving, um, uh have a priestly function in this heavenly liturgy.

In Revelation 4:4, we read about priests.

St. John tells us that around the throne were 24 Around the throne of the lamb were 24 thrones.

Seated on the thrones were 24 elders clad in white garments with golden crowns upon their heads.

Okay?

Check this out.

The Greek word for elders is presbyteroi.

It doesn't suggest a bunch of old guys, okay?

Presbyteroi is a Greek word that's used in the New Testament in reference to a distinct order of men who function and minister in the New Testament church.

And the functions that they exercise are priestly in nature.

And I have a whole two-hour talk back there for sale of the Bible blueprint for the priesthood, where I go into more detail on that.

So we see these presbyters.

John sees these presbyters surrounding the throne of the lamb, and notice, what do they have on?

White garments, calling to mind the garments of the priesthood of old.

And then they have a golden crown.

You know what the priest would wear in the Old Testament?

S- something that was akin to the bishop's miter.

You ever wonder why the bishops wear these big hats, right, the miter?

Well, it comes from the Jewish tradition, because the priests back then in the old covenant wore these hats, these, um kind of look like a crown almost sometimes.

And so for John to describe these presbyters as having golden crowns suggests that they are priests.

So John sees priests.

Not only the high priest, Jesus, but ministerial priests who serve with the high priest in the heavenly sanctuary.

You see?

We read about incense in Revelation 5:8.

The 24 presbyters, right, fell down before the lamb, each g- holding a harp, which would call to mind liturgy as well, with golden bowls full of incense.

They're offering incense.

That would o- obviously call to mind the ministry of the priests in the earthly temple, who would minister at the altar of incense.

We In Revelation 5:1, St. John describes a scroll.

I saw in the right hand of him who was seated on the throne a scroll written within and on the back, sealed with seven seals.

Well, what would that correspond to within the liturgical system of the Jews?

Well, the Jews didn't only have temple liturgy, they also had liturgy of the word, basically.

They had the synagogue, where the scrolls would be read, right?

So you had sacrificial liturgy, but you also had liturgy of the word with the synagogue.

So John's describing s- temple liturgy with all of the other images, then he talks about a scroll, which would correspond to the liturgical system of the synagogue.

What does that correspond for us as Catholics?

What does that correspond to for us as Catholics?

The liturgy of the word, the mass.

We have the liturgy of the Eucharist corresponding to the temple liturgy, liturgy of the word corresponding to the liturgy of the synagogue.

In Revelation 2:17, St. John says therein, um, To him Jesus says, To him who conquers, I will give some of the hidden manna.

Okay?

Well, how does this call to mind liturgy?

Well, in light of the Jewish tradition, what was in the Ark of the Covenant, which was in the Holy of Holies of the temple?

Manna.

The manna.

Some of the manna.

So for John to talk about manna, and Jesus to be talking about giving manna in the heavenly vision signifies that he's having a tour of the heavenly temple.

But what is that new manna?

It's the Eucharist, right?

It's the flesh of Jesus Christ, which he tells us in the bread of life discourse, The bread that I will give for the life of the world, the true bread that comes down from heaven is my flesh.

Revelation 15:7, we read about seven golden bowls that are being poured out, which is really the wrath of God, okay?

But the Greek word for bowls is actually a It can be, uh, translated as a cup.

And the, the setting of the seven cups is liturgy.So it suggests that the seven golden bowls are seven golden liturgical cups, like seven golden chalices is what we call them, right?

Now, this calls to mind temple liturgy and the Jewish tradition because in the temple liturgy, the priest, there was what is called the libation ceremony.

The priest, there was two types of libation ceremony: libation ceremony of wine, the pouring out of wine from a liturgical cup, but also the pouring out of blood.

When they would sacrifice the animal, they would catch the blood in these golden liturgical cups or bowls, and they would pour out that blood as a libation ceremony.

So for John to be describing seven golden liturgical cups being poured out, right, would signify liturgy.

Uh, in Revelation 14:2, we read about the harps once again.

I heard a voice from heaven.

The voice I heard was like the sound of harpers playing on their harps.

Well, once again, like trumpets, harps are liturgical instruments in the Jewish tradition.

In fact, when David reconstitutes the function of the Levitical priesthood, uh, in the Book of Chronicles, I think it's 1 Chronicles chapters 24 and 25 perhaps, when David reconstitutes their functions, he des- he ascribes to the Levitical priesthood to go into the temple and actually play liturgical hymns in praise of God in the presence of the Ark of the Covenant.

And harps and were, were one of the instruments that they would play, uh, to offer praise to God, right?

So harps are liturgical instruments.

In Revelation 19, uh, we hear the Hallelujah four times in nine different verses.

Uh, the Heavenly Hosts are singing, Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah.

This is liturgical prayer.

Why?

Because the Hallelujahs come from Psalms 113 to 118, which are known as the Hallel Psalms, from Hallelujah, right?

Well, these psalms were and still are prayed within the Passover liturgy.

So for John to be hearing the prayer of Hallelujah in the heavenly vision suggests that it's a new Passover going on, and we're gonna get to that in future sessions when we look at the wedding supper of the lamb.

So another liturgical detail.

Revelation 4:8, this ought to sound familiar for us as Catholics.

Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was and who is and who is to come.

The Sanctus, right?

St. John describes the four living creatures which are known as four angels, praying the Sanctus over and over and over again.

This is exactly what we do in the mass.

We pray with the Heavenly Hosts.

Why?

Because as the Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches in its section on the liturgy, our earthly liturgy is a mystical participation in the heavenly liturgy.

We pray with the Heavenly Hosts.

What we do on Earth with signs and symbols, they do in heaven without signs and symbols.

So when we pray the Sanctus, the angels are praying it with us, or should I say, we're praying it with them.

Amen?

Uh, two more details here.

Revelation 5:6, we read about Jesus being the lamb of God.

And I know I'm kinda going back and forth.

My chapters are not succinctly in order here.

I'm gonna have to work on that for the next time.

Uh, but in Revelation 5:6, St. John describes Jesus as the lamb of God, right?

Well, what would that call to mind?

The Passover liturgy, right?

The Passover lamb.

Jesus is the new Passover lamb, the true Passover lamb, whose flesh we must eat in order for the angel of supernatural death to pass over us.

And we can be set free, not from the slavery in Egypt, but from the slavery of sin.

Not from the tyranny of Pharaoh, but from the tyranny of the devil, you see?

So for John to describe Jesus as a lamb calls to mind liturgy.

The lamb that would be offered where on the great feast of Passover?

Where would the lamb be taken to?

The temple, and it would be in the temple that the lamb would be slaughtered.

Well, John described Jesus appearing as a lamb that is slain but standing, suggesting that Jesus' crucified body, right, Jesus' crucifixion on the cross, and this is a whole nother theological topic, but the cross of Christ transcends time and is made present in the heavenly realm in an unbloody manner, forever present before the Father.

But it's the resurrected Christ who bears the wounds of his cross.

So the sacrifice of Christ is offered before the Father for an eternity, and it is that sacrifice that's made present in the mass behind signs and symbols.

And finally, in Revelation 19:9, uh, 1 through 9, also verse 17, what do we read?

We read about the marriage supper of the lamb.

Write this, John receives the instruction.

Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the lamb.

Right?

My dear friends, that's liturgy, and that corresponds to the mass for us as Catholics when Father holds up the sacred host Jesus himself and says, Behold the lamb of God.

Happy are those who are called to the supper of the lamb.

It comes straight from the Bible, friends.

Why does Holy Mother Church give us that?

Why does Holy Mother Church take these words of the heavenly vision of John and put them in the liturgy on Earth?

Because it's, she- she's trying to teach us that what we're doing on Earth is a participation in what they're doing in heaven.

And so as some biblical scholars will say, the mass is heaven on Earth.

Nevertheless, with signs and symbols.

We have the veil of the senses, but the beings in heaven with the beatific vision participate and sh- oh, and they don't participate, we participate with them.

But they are experiencing the same reality without the signs and symbols .

that reality that we experience with signs and symbols.

So, that's the beauty of the mass.

It is heaven on Earth.

It's the heavenly liturgy or the participation in the heavenly liturgy.

And that's the significance of all of these liturgical details that John sees in his vision.

So, as the angel said in Revelation 1:10, Hey, John?

Come on up here on Sunday and let us show you how we worship in heaven.

And John would've been going around saying, Wow, we do the same thing on Earth, but with, uh, less glory than what they do in heaven, right?

So, next time that homily is boring or that choir is not good or you're bored out of your mind, just try to remember heaven is here, okay?

And hopefully that will stir the emotions a bit.

Okay, now, so that's the liturgical details.

We also see the theme of liturgy when we look at the Book of Revelation, uh, as a whole from sort of a, the grand, the grand scheme of the Book of Revelation.

Uh, scholars see this twofold division of the Book of Revelation that would seem to correspond for the Jewish tradition to the liturgy of the word in the synagogue and in the temple liturgy.

And for us as Catholics, the liturgy of the word, the liturgy of the Eucharist.

Uh, scholars see in chapters one through 11, uh, that which would correspond to the liturgy of the word.

Why?

Well, in Revelations chapters two through three, we have the writing of the seven letters, right?

There are these seven letters that are written that are to be read within the liturgical assemblies of those local churches in Asia Minor.

So, you have the idea of instruction, reading God's word, because these are the words of Jesus being given to those local churches, so this would correspond to the liturgy of the word.

In Revelation 1:3, we read, Blessed is he who reads aloud the words of the prophecy.

That is the very prophecy John's receiving.

And blessed are those who hear and who keep what is written therein, for the time is near.

So, notice how the very prophecy that John is receiving and putting down in writing is meant to be read aloud in the liturgical assembly, in the churches.

So, this would correspond to the liturgy of the word.

And then finally, in Revelation 5, as we mentioned already, John sees the scroll, right?

And the scroll is sealed with these seven seals, and only Jesus the Lamb can open the seals.

And as each seal is opened, the covenantal document, the scroll, is read aloud.

And we see all of these, um, things taking place, which all points to judgment.

We'll, but we'll get to that in future sessions.

So, we see, uh, the seven letters, uh, the very prophecy of John himself, and, and the scroll all being read, which would seem to correspond the liturgy of the synagogue for the Jews, reading the scrolls, reading the words of God, and the liturgy of the word for us as Catholics.

The, the reading of the Old Testament, the Psalm, a New Testament epistle or a letter, and the gospel itself, right?

And then, as, as the scholars see at the end of chapter 11 on through 22 referring to the liturgy of the Eucharist.

And for the Jewish tradition, the temple liturgy.

How so?

Well, in Revelation 11:19, the very last verse, John says, Then God's temple in heaven was opened, and the Ark of His covenant was seen within His temple.

So, John uses the imagery of temple and the Ark of the Covenant, which would call to mind for the Jews the temple itself and the Holy of Holies in which the Ark of the Covenant resides.

In Revelation 16:1-7, I mentioned this already, you have the seven chalices, right?

Or the seven liturgical cups being poured out like a libation ceremony, which would call to mind the temple liturgy, uh, for the Jews.

This corresponds to the liturgy of the Eucharist obviously for us as Catholics because we have the cup of salvation, right?

The, the, the cup in which Jesus' blood is contained.

And then finally in Revelation 19:9, eh, we talk about the marriage Uh, we read about the marriage supper of the Lamb.

And this obviously corresponds for us as Catholics with the, with the Eucharist.

And for the Jews, it would call to mind temple liturgy as well because the Passover lamb was taken to the temple to be slain, to be sacrificed.

So, we have the theme of judgment and we have the theme of liturgy running all throughout the Book of Revelation, all right?

Now, at the end of tonight's session, we're gonna answer the question, why?

What is the significance of liturgy and judgment?

And one thing, I'll give you a sneak preview, just a hint here.

One thing we're gonna see as we go throughout the Book of Revelation, what I've just done as I showed you these details in a sporadic manner, but as we go on for the succeeding weeks, we're gonna see a pattern emerge.

Four, I think it's four different times throughout the whole Book of Revelation we find sections that pertain to liturgy, and immediately following the liturgy section we have a section about judgment.

Liturgy, then judgment.

Liturgy, then judgment.

Liturgy, then judgment.

And at the end of tonight's session, I'll a- I'll answer the question, why?

But before we do that, I wanna, I wanna sh- share with you in our last section the revelation of the identity of Jesus in chapter one, okay?

And this is, uh, uh, this is very significant.

As some scholars preface the study of chapter one, uh, very often, often within a modern Christianity, there's this common view of Jesus that sort of emphasizes Jesus as brother and as friend, and as gentle, loving Jesus .

to the exclusion of Jesus as judge, right?

As Jesus as God, right?

As Jesus as one who will, um, en- communicate and inflict wrath upon the enemies of himself and the enemies of his people.

All right?

Now, there's nothing wrong with Jesus as brother, Jesus as gentle, loving, kind Jesus.

Nothing wrong with that.

But unfortunately, the other aspect, the other part of Jesus' identity as being God, as law giver, as judge, right, has been neglected.

And so consequently, people will only associate with Jesus as friend, as brother, as gentle, the type of Jesus who's not gonna challenge you, right?

The type of Jesus who would just, you know, let you continue in your own faults and not call you to repentance, et cetera.

Uh, that Jesus is very prevalent, that idea of Jesus is prevalent within many circles of Christianity.

And the majesty of Jesus, the grandeur of Jesus has been lost, okay?

The fear of the Lord has been lost.

And what we see here in chapter one of the Book of Revelation is it seems to go directly against this prevalent idea of Jesus being simply only gentle, loving, kind Jesus, I'm not gonna, um, challenge you in your faults, right?

So let's see what chapter one of the Book of Revelation reveals about Jesus.

First, Jesus is God.

He is Yahweh made flesh.

He's not just, although he is our brother, he is our friend, he's not just our friend, he is Almighty God, right, who, who deserves our worship, who deserves our very lives to be given over to him.

He is majestic.

He is almighty.

What is our clue?

Now, keep in mind, this is very good for when that Jehovah Witness comes knocking on your door.

Right?

Could we come in and share the good news about Jesus with you?

Come on in!

Right?

I just had a couple of women come about a month ago to my house, and we had a good little discussion, we had some fun.

And, and, and so what we see here is evidence that, uh, an implicit hint to Jesus being God.

Here's our first clue.

In Revelation 1:1, we read, The revelation of Jesus Christ, he made it known by sending his angel to his servant John.

Notice, this is in reference to Jesus, the revelation of Jesus.

Jesus sends his angel.

Why is th- how is that a clue that would suggest Jesus is God?

Well, in the Old Testament, to whom do the angels belong?

God.

God.

Yahweh.

And it's Yahweh, God, that sends his angels.

And it is God who actually communicates and speaks through his angel.

For example, in Exodus 3, when we read about Moses at the Burning Bush, right?

Here's what we read.

Inter- normally we think of like it was God directly talking to Moses.

But check this out.

In Exodus 3:2, The angel of the Lord appeared to Moses.

And that's within the context of the Burning Bush.

And then it goes on to say, And he said, 'I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.

So, God is the one speaking, but it's through the mediation of the angel.

And we find this all throughout salvation history, where the angels mediate God's messages, okay?

That God will speak through the angel, okay?

So, if the angels belong to God in the Old Testament tradition, and it is God who sends his angel, and it is against that backdrop that we come to John's revelation of Jesus sending his angel, well then, folks, that's a hint that Jesus is Almighty God.

The angels belong to him.

And you can actually go to Hebrews 1, and we find the same motif.

In Hebrews 1, the author of Hebrews tells us that Jesus is far superior to the angels, which would actually contradict the Jehovah Witness position that Jesus is an angel.

St. Michael, really, in a visible form, that's what they assert.

But in Hebrews 1, it says Jesus is above the angels, and the angels worship him.

Folks, the angels only worship God.

But the author of Hebrews tells us the angels worship Jesus.

Why?

Because they belong to him, as we see revealed here in Revelation 1. The second clue from chapter one of John's revelation that Jesus is God, Jesus refers to him as the f- refers to himself as the first and the last.

In Revelation 1:17 you'll find this.

My dear friends, who is the first and the last?

To whom does that title belong?

It belongs to Almighty God.

In Isaiah 44:6, Thus says the Lord, the king of Israel, and his redeemer, the Lord of Hosts, 'I am the first and I am the last.

Besides me there is no God.' So according to Isaiah 44, that title, first and last, signifies the u- absolute uniqueness of Almighty God, that there is no other God besides him.

And so it's against that backdrop that Jesus in Revelation 1:17 says, I am the first and the last.

Them are fightin' words in first century Judaism, folks.

For Jesus to be saying, I am the first and the last, he's saying, I am God.

I am equal to the Father.

And then finally, clue number three.

In Revel- if you read Revelation 1:8 and then look at verse 12, what we find is that Jesus is actually referred to as the Lord God Almighty.

Okay?

Because here's what John tells us.

John tells us the Lord God Almighty said, I am the Alpha and the Omega.

Okay?

So John's saying The Almighty, the Lord God says, I am the Alpha and the Omega.

Now, John is hearing this voice, right?

Saying, I am the Alpha and the Omega.

John says, Hey, that's the Lord God.

When Verse 12, do you know what John says?

The voice that I heard was Jesus' voice.

So the voice in Revelation Chapter 1 is Jesus, amen.

We know that in Revelation 1:12.

Well it is that voice that says, I am the Alpha and the Omega, and John says, That's the Lord God that said that.

So what is John calling Jesus?

The Lord God.

So, if a Jehovah Witness ever comes to your house and says, You know, many folks think that, think that we are not Christians.

How do you respond to that?

Okay, well, let's look to the Bible and see what did the first Christians believe, and let's see if you are indeed Christians.

Well, according to John, he was a Christian in the first century, he called Jesus the Lord God.

Do you call Jesus the Lord God?

No, they don't.

And so they were not Christians, my dear friends.

They were not Christians primarily 'cause they're not baptized, number one.

But secondly, they don't believe that Jesus is God as the first century Christian church did, you see?

So anyway, so we see these clues that suggest Jesus is Almighty God, the Majestic Almighty, and John affirms that.

The second thing we learn about Jesus in Chapter 1, Jesus is a new Adam, or I should say The New Adam, okay?

What's our first clue?

Well, in Revelation 1:5, John tells us that Jesus is a fa- is the faithful witness.

The faithful witness.

Now, the Greek word for witness is martyrroy, from which we get the English word-

Martyr.

martyr, okay?

Martyr in the Greek, martyrroy, simply means a witness, okay?

So John is telling us that Jesus is the faithful martyr, that is through His death and the giving of Himself on the cross, He is the true martyr.

Now, how does this detail reveal that Jesus is the New Adam?

Well, my dear friends, if we look at the creation story, one thing that we discover is that Adam was called to die as a martyr.

So we get a little creation catechesis here in the creation story.

Uh, scholars point out how there are several details that Adam, uh, was called to be a martyr.

He was called, he was His test, Adam's test of love was to lay down his life to guard the garden and his bride, Eve.

How so?

Well, in, in Genesis 2:15, remember God tells Adam to, In keep the garden?

Well, the Greek word for, uh, excuse me, the Hebrew word for keep is litera- it's, um, let me see, ʿanā šəḇḇôṯ šā·mår, šā·mår, which literally means to guard, okay?

So Adam was given this command to guard the garden, amen?

Now, guard the garden from what?

If he has to guard the gorven- garden, that would imply some sort of evil threat, amen?

Now we, looking back, we know who the evil threat is, right?

It's who?

The devil, it's Satan, okay?

But when you read the text itself, it's the serpent.

Now notice this, the text never tells us it's Satan.

The only reason why we know the serpent is Satan is from the tradition, from John in Revelation Chapter 12, okay?

But besides the point, besides the fact, the Hebrew word for the serpent, the serpent that comes into the garden, the Hebrew word for the serpent is nahash, which in Hebrew connotes not a slithery serpent on the ground, this sort of non-threatening creature.

Nahash in Hebrew suggests a ferocious beast-like figure.

Because in Leviticus, uh, excuse me, in Isaiah Chapter 27 Verse 1, the same Hebrew word is used for Leviathan the sea serpent, right?

And in Revelation Chapter 12, when John has this heavenly vision, we'll get there, what does he see in Chapter 12?

A great red dragon.

And you know what John tells us?

That great red dragon was the serpent of old, okay?

So in light of this, it is suggested that Satan would have manifested himself to Adam in a life-threatening manner.

Have you ever wondered why Adam didn't guard the garden?

I mean, he was given this command to guard the garden.

Why didn't he?

Did the devil enter into the garden?

Yeah.

But Adam failed to guard the garden.

Why?

Perhaps because he saw Satan in this ferocious like beast form and saw it as a life threat.

And consequently failed to lay down his life and guard the garden from the nahash, from the beast.

So Adam fails to guard the garden because of this life-threatening manifestation of Satan.

Could you imagine, I mean, little old Adam and this ferocious beast, breathing down at him, you know?

This great red dragon.

I mean, I would've been pretty shaken in my boots, too.

I mean, I don't know if I, would I have cowered, right?

I may have said, Mm, come on in.

So, so we see that Adam fails.

Now, secondly, we also see a hint that perhaps Adam failed to lay down his life, not only because of the life-threatening manner in which Satan manifested himself, but also due to the life threat.

Recall the story of how, uh, the creation account says how the serpent, the Nahash, the ferocious beast, is dialoguing with Eve, right?

Now, keep in mind, the text suggests that Adam was right there all alone.

Adam was right there, because when you read the story closely, when Eve took of the fruit, it says she turned and gave it to her husband, Adam.

Adam was right there the whole time the Nahash was dialoguing with Eve.

Did he ever say anything?

No, he was silent.

Why?

'Cause he was a coward.

He didn't stand in between the Nahash and his bride, Eve, and he cowered.

W- why?

Possibly why?

Well, some scholar Remember, recall the story, the Nahash says to Eve, um, Did God say you would die if you eat of the fruit?

And she said, Yes, God said, 'Lest we touch it, we shall die.' And remember, God never said, Lest you, if you touch it you will die.

God said, If you eat of the fruit But that's a whole 'nother story.

But anyway, then Satan says, the Nahash says, Surely, you will not die.

Right?

If you eat of the fruit, you will not die.

In other words, if you disobey God, you will not die.

Scholars see in that statement an implied death threat.

How so?

Well, by saying, If you disobey God, you will not die, what's the implication?

If you don't disobey God, I'll kill you.

Take for example Nero, right?

Nero has Christians in the, in the Coliseum, and Nero says to the Christian, Deny Jesus Christ as your God, and you will not die.

What is the implication?

If you don't deny Jesus, I'm gonna kill you.

And so some scholars see in Nahash's statement, Surely if you eat of the fruit, you will not die, an implication that if they don't eat of the fruit and obey God, the Nahash will take their life, the Nahash will kill them.

And so some scholars suggest that in light of the life-threatening manifestation of the Nahash, Satan, and the possible death threat, that Adam cowered and chose his natural life over and above the supernatural life, which was God's life in his soul, which God said would cease to exist if he disobeyed God, because God said, If you eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you will die.

Right?

Well, the original Hebrew text says, You will die, die.

There's a twofold die there.

There's a repetition of die.

Why?

Because in Hebrew culture, they didn't have the superlative like, uh, good, uh, greater, the best, right?

So in order to emphasize greatness, they would use repetition.

So for God to tell Adam, You will die, die suggests he will die the greatest death.

What's the greatest death?

The death of the supernatural life, the death of the greatest life, that is God's life in the soul, which Adam and Eve had when God created them.

And so Adam chose his natural life over and above the supernatural life.

Adam failed to lay down his life as a martyr, as a faithful witness to God and as a martyr for his bride.

You see?

And so folks, it's against that backdrop that we come to John's vision, and John calls Jesus the faithful martyrroy.

Jesus is the ultimate martyr.

Why did Jesus have to go all the way to the cross and die a martyr's death to save the world when he could've just snapped his fingers and redeemed the whole human race?

I'll tell you why.

Because he had to make right what Adam failed to do.

Adam failed to be a martyr.

And so consequently, Jesus, as the new Adam, to rectify what Adam disordered, Jesus has to go all the way to the cross and die as a faithful martyr, as the new Adam.

So where Adam failed in this, in the area of martyrdom, Jesus succeeds, and thus redeems the human race, and he dies for his bride, the people of God.

You see?

Clue number two that Jesus is the new Adam.

Saint John in Revelation 1:5 refers to Jesus as the first born.

In other words, Jesus is a priest, okay?

How so?

Well, before the Aaronic and Levitical priesthood in the Old Testament, the priesthood was reserved to the fathers and to the firstborn sons coming from the Adamic priesthood, because Adam was actually revealed in Genesis in the creation story to be a priest.

When Remember when God gave Adam the command to till and keep the garden, the Hebrew words is, uh, ʿabadah and shamar.

Let me make sure I got that right.

Yeah, ʿabadah and shamar.

When those two words are combined together in Numbers chapters 3, 8, and 18, it's always in reference to the duties of the Levitical priest, guess what, who would guard the tabernacle in the wilderness from anybody who would come to profane the tabernacle.

If anybody would come and try to go into the tabernacle in the wilderness, you know, the Holy Tent of Meeting, the Levitical priests would usher them out .

with a sword.

Literally, usher them out of this life, okay?

And so these two words, Ɣēdāḇ and shəmōḇ are associated with duties of priest.

These are the same words used for Adam, okay?

So Adam is revealed to be a priest.

And from Adam, all of the firstborn sons, fathers, and firstborn sons would be the priesthood all throughout the, the Age of the Patriarchs, all of the time span up until Moses, Aaron, and the Levitical priests.

It was the priesthood of the firstborn.

You see?

And so for John to tell, to tell us that Jesus is the firstborn signifies that he is restoring the Adamic priesthood.

You see?

He's restore He's going back before the advent of the Aaronic and Levitical priesthood, which remember, Aaron and the Levites were priests because of the sins of Israel.

That priesthood came into existence only because of the sins of the people of Israel.

Before that, you had the priesthood of the firstborn and the fathers coming from Adam.

So if Jesus is the new Adam, he's restoring and transfiguring and elevating that Adamic priesthood, okay?

And finally, John tells us that Jesus, uh, in Revelation 1:5, Jesus is the ruler of kings, okay?

Jesus, ruler of the kings of the Earth.

How does that suggest that he is a new Adam?

Well, guess what Adam's vocation was in the Old Testament?

He was to be a king.

Not only was he a priest, but he was a priest king.

Revelation 1:5, uh, excuse me, Genesis 1:26, we're told that Adam was to have dominion over the earth, suggesting his kingship.

So we see that Jesus is God in Chapter 1 of Revelation.

We see that Jesus is a new Adam, restoring everything that Adam messed up, okay?

So Jesus is redeeming, uh, uh, the whole of the world.

And finally, we see Jesus as high priest, as we mentioned already.

The clue is that he's wearing the long robe and the golden girdle in Revelation 1:13.

Uh, in the Old Testament, in Exodus 28 verse 4, we read the following.

These are the garments which they shall make.

That is for Aaron and his sons.

A breastpiece, an ephod, a robe, a coat of checker work, a turban, and a girdle.

They shall make holy garments for Aaron, your brother, and his sons to serve me as priests.

So notice how there's a girdle and an ephod.

An ephod being this long robe, okay?

So these garments are associated with the high priesthood.

So for John to see Jesus wearing those same type of garments would suggest that John sees Jesus as a high priest.

Wow, it's already past eight o'clock.

I can't believe this.

I totally thought I was doing good on time.

Okay?

Uh, and then finally, I'll close with this.

The last thing that we see is, uh, John reveals to us that Jesus is a divine warrior executing judgment, okay?

So I'm not gonna read through the Old Testament text, but I'll just cite them for you.

Uh, the first clue that Jesus is this divine warrior, in Revelation 1:7, John describes Jesus as coming on the clouds, right?

We already talked about this.

Well, the imagery of coming on the clouds signifies judgment, first of all, because in Jeremiah 4 and Daniel 7, guess who is coming on the clouds in judgment?

Almighty God.

So the motif or the imagery of coming on the clouds is associated with God coming in judgment in the prophets of old.

John describes Jesus coming on the clouds, signifying judgment.

What did Jo- what did Jesus say in Matthew 24?

Behold, the son of man will come on the clouds, right?

What was he talking about?

Destruction on Jerusalem.

Temple being destroyed.

Okay?

So in Revelation 1, Jesus's coming on the clouds calls to mind judgment.

Secondly, the very appearance of the son of man signifies and calls to mind that Jesus is this divine warrior coming in on judgment.

How so?

Well, the first image, we see that John describes Jesus wearing a golden girdle and having eyes of fire, right?

Okay?

Well, if you check out Daniel chapter 10 verses 5 through 6 and verse 20, what you'll discover is that e- there's a similar description of this sort of divine warrior that Daniel's prophesying about coming to destroy the Prince of Persia.

And the same imagery is used.

It talks about his eyes like flaming torches, okay?

So in Daniel's prophecy of a divine warrior coming to execute judgment, his eyes are flaming torches.

John describes Jesus as eyes like fire, right?

So what does that tell us?

Jesus is like this divine warrior coming to execute judgment, also signified by him coming on the clouds, right?

Secondly, John describes in chapter one that Jesus is this divine warrior with a two-edged sword coming out of his mouth, right?

Well, John seems to be pulling together two Old Testament prophecies.

In Isaiah chapter 11 verse 4, Jon- uh, Isaiah prophesized how the Messiah will come to judge the enemies of God's people, w- and he describes it in this manner.

With the rod of his mouth, okay?

With the rod of his mouth.

Now, in Leviticus chapter 26 verse 25, God's covenantal judgment is described as God will bring a sword upon the enemies of God's people, okay?

So Isaiah talks about the Messiah coming in judgment with a rod out of the, out of his mouth, Leviticus 26 talks about God coming in judgment on the enemies of God's people with a sword.

So in chapter one of Revelation, those two prophecies seem to be merged together.

That John sees Jesus with a two-edged sword coming out of his mouth, thus calling to mind he is the Messiah, rod out of the mouth, right?

And he is coming with a sword to execute covenantal judgment on those who are being unfaithful to the covenant, which is one of the curses of the covenant that Moses prophesied about way long, long, long ago.Amen.

Okay.

So hopefully you can see the dots connected on that one.

So finally, okay, what is the significance of the Revelation of Jesus being this divine warrior within a liturgical context?

You have this theme of judgment and liturgy going hand in hand.

What's the deal here?

I'll quote to you from Dr. Michael Barber in his book, Coming Soon, which is a study on the Book of Revelation d- uh, verse by verse.

Much of the stuff that I'm sharing with you in this seminar, I've pulled from Dr. Michael Barber in his book.

And here's what he writes.

Quote, All the events in John's vision, from the pestilence and famine to the final destruction of the city, begin with some liturgical prayer or action of the angels and saints in heaven.

The saints worship God, and the consequences are earth-shattering.

We conquer through the liturgy, he goes on to write, through which history is affected and directed.

Close quote.

Bottom line, liturgy is warfare.

Now, I know that's sort of like just doesn't r- That's We're not used to hearing that , right?

Okay.

That doesn't quite ring with us because we've never heard that before.

But what we see in the Book of Revelation is that there's sections of liturgy and then earth-shattering consequences where God comes in judgment.

And the idea is this, folks.

We fight our battles in and through the liturgy, through prayer and with God.

Remember the, the scene of Jericho.

How did the Israelites take the city of Jericho, their enemy?

Through liturgical means.

Through liturgy.

Through prayer.

So too we, folks, fight our battles through the liturgy, both on a natural level and a spiritual level, and this has played out through history.

Whenever there was earthly battles to be won, Battle of Lepanto one example, right?

As well as all other battles both in the Old and in the New, we find that battles are won by getting on our knees through prayer.

We have this upcoming election, right?

We are at war.

The war against the unborn where 50 plus million babies are slaughtered, have been slaughtered, right?

Millions of babies slaughtered every year.

There is a war on the unborn.

There is a war on marriage and the dignity of marriage.

There is a war on the Catholic Church, where our religious liberty is being taken away from us, okay?

And so how do we fight this?

Do we take up guns and go after them?

Well, no.

Some people might want to do that, but the way Jesus teaches us through the Book of Revelation is that we fight these battles through prayer.

These are the natural battles, but my dear friends, the primary battle is not against flesh and blood, but as Saint Paul says in Ephesians chapter six, Against principalities and powers in heavenly places, which are names for the angels and the demons, right?

That is the angelic world.

We fight against Our true battle is against the true enemy, Satan and his demonic forces.

And how ultimately do we fight Satan?

Through the liturgy, through the holy sacrifice of the Mass.

And through that participation in the heavenly liturgy, the consequences of that, my dear friends, were earth-shattering.

That is, we are victors over Satan and his demonic forces through the liturgy.

We come out victorious through prayer with Christ.

Amen?

Amen.

Let's close with a prayer.

In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, amen.

Heavenly Father, uh, we ask and we pray that we may always be in a state of grace so that whenever you come for us, particularly at our particular judgment, that your coming will not be a wrathful coming, but will be a blessing for us.

We pray that when you come for us, particularly at our particular judgment and at death, when we're on our death bed, your coming will not be a curse, but that your coming will be a blessing.

And we know that it will be a blessing for us if we die in friendship with you, with the supernatural life dwelling in our soul.

We pray that we w- we may never, ever be in a state without the life of God in our soul, to where your coming would be a curse.

We pray always that your coming will be a blessing and a source of joy and consolation for us, and we offer up this prayer to you, Heavenly Father, that we may always remain close to you.

In Jesus' name we pray, amen.

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, amen.