The Book of Revelation

The Book of Revelation

(Intro to Scripture class with Fr. Manol SJ)

It is an apocalyptic literature that was present from 200 BC to 200 AD. Apocalyptic in Greek means ‘disclosure’ or ‘revelation’. This genre came out at the period when the believers were suffering terrible persecutions under the hands of the great world empire (Jews under the Greeks and the Christians under the Romans). So it was a response to this challenge encountered by God’s people. Its purpose was to encourage and support those undergoing persecution and suffering because of their faith.

Apocalyptic literature used a good deal of imagery and symbols to convey the message of encouragement and hope.

Examples: Daniel, IV Ezra, II Baruch (contemporary of Rev)

John Randall: “The Book of Rev is at least 95% concerned with the events of the 1st and 2nd centuries. So instead of being [a book for our times that outlines what the future will be], it is a book mostly about past history where we might see applications and parallels and learn a good deal for ourselves.”

Rev as a book has a prophetic element in the sense that it is speaking for God rather than predicting the future. It is written to console and encourage. The author in symbolism and imagery presents God as vindicator, as savior who will ultimately lead the persecuted and those who suffer to the freedom of a new life.

Rev are reflections on events of the times when believers were undergoing thru persecution and suffering because of their faith. Like any apocalyptic literature Rev makes use of end-of-time symbolism to describe what was taking place during Christianity’s 1st century existence. This called attention to now God will ultimately redeem His people who were unjustly persecuted.

The persecutors are described in symbols (usually fearful symbols) and so once they are understood properly, the book can be seen in its true light.

In Rev the persecutor is the pagan Roman empire that caused havoc to the young Church. The events and symbols described in the book happened for the most part in the 1st 200 years of Christianity. The ‘future’ predictions are actually the future in a very broad sense: evil and good will always be at war, but good will eventually conquer.

Unfortunately, many readers have forgotten the 1st century addressees and not knowing the nature of apocalyptic literature, they think that Rev is an exact prediction of the future, especially of the end of the world. Indeed, there will be an end to our present world somewhere in God’s plan (‘transformation is a better world). But the point is, no detailed outline can be found in Scripture, not in Rev.

Symbolism pervades the Bible; it is one of the media through which God conveys truth. Symbols serve as a vehicle for expressing depth of insight into realities difficult to describe in a more literal way (Good Shepherd to express God’s patient tender compassion and care).

Just about everything in life can be given a symbolic meaning, and that is just what the bible authors did. Throughout the Bible symbols are used to convey truth. Today, in order to understand the author’s meaning, readers must translate the symbols back into the mind of the author. Sometimes it is difficult to grasp the meaning of the symbol. The key to unlock the meaning of symbols lies most often in human understanding of the historical situation at the time the author wrote. Part of this understanding lies in grasping the common symbols used by people of Jewish times.

Numbers

One type of symbol that is common in the Bible is numbers. Scholars have discovered that numbers had a special meaning for the Jews: 7 meant totality or perfection; 6 meant imperfection; 12 meant Israel; 1000 meant immensity; 4 meant the world; 40 meant something like “sufficient for the purpose,” as in Acts 1,3 where 40-day period before Jesus’ ascension meant that he spent the ‘time needed’ to instruct his followers before his appearances stopped.

Another use the Israelites made of numbers is called Gematria—adding the numerical value of the letters that make up a name: e.g., a=1, b=2, etc. (AD 79 Pompeii, the lover hid the name of his loved one by giving the numerical value of the letters of her name. We will see how this Gematria helps us to understand the mysterious ‘666’ image of Rev 13,18.

The apocalyptic book of Daniel was written to encourage the Jewish people, who were on the verge of despair because of Antiochus IV. The 3 ½ years of persecution they underwent under this man caused them to use this number (3 ½ years, 1260 days, or 42 months) again and again as a symbol of any period of crisis.

Cosmic Imagery

Rev 6,12-17 is a dramatized portrayal of the end of the persecution. This is not the end of the world being described here. It is simply another example of what can be termed apocalyptic imagery: symbolic and colorful descriptions that are tools (not to be taken literally) used by the biblical author to dramatize the end of the persecution and the victory that will come over Rome itself.

In a sense it is the end of a world, i.e., the world of Rome and its misused of power and unjust persecution. The reference is only indirectly to the end of the world as we understand the world now. Additionally, these verses are to be taken only in the broad sense: at the end of time God will be clearly shown in His sovereignty and power as the forces of evil are finally silenced/overcome (Unfortunate misinterpretations).

Mark 13,32.

The Millennium

In Rev 20,1-6 John speaks of a thousand-year period or millennium. For some this is a precise period of time in the future in preparation for or immediately following the 2nd coming of Christ (Jehovah’s Witnesses believe that it was inaugurated with the ‘invisible’ return of Jesus to earth in 1914).

For us Catholics, we follow the meaning biblical scholars find in John’s own thoughts (literal meaning). For him, it was symbolic—not literal—period. Thousand in Scripture means fullness, completeness. It is the indefinite length of time that began with the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus and continues until his 2nd coming and the final judgment of humanity. It is synonymous with Christianity, that faith-experience that stretches through history and is now in its 2000th year.

End times and eschatology relate to the same period. History is perceived by Christians as a series of events leading eventually to the final event, the eschaton in which Parousia or 2nd coming of Christ will take place ‘to judge the living and the dead.’

The ‘end times’ are thus a combination of ‘already’ and ‘not yet’. ‘Already’ because the decisive victory over evil has already been accomplished by Christ; ‘not yet’ because its full realization in our lives and in creation is still not arrived yet.

With this scriptural understanding of ‘end times’ as something already upon us today, we can better understand many images in Revelation such as ‘Satan chained and released,’ ‘Gog and Magog’, ‘666 Beast,’ ‘Antichrist,’ and ‘Armageddon.’

Satan Chained and Released (20,7)

What does John mean when he says that at the end of the thousand years, Satan will be released after being chained for that time? Are we to believe that God will allow evil to run rampant again after Jesus conquered evil by his death and resurrection?

Perhaps the best answer we can give is to say that evil is stubborn and persistent. Evil still remains in our midst even though Jesus overcame it (Satan chained). It’s something like war: even after victory, there is still mopping up to be done. The same is true in our own lives. Although we’ve been converted to the Lord and really changed our former selves, we’re not perfect! Many effects of the evil we and others have done still remain. And if we’re not careful, evil can still pop up its ugly head, especially when our defenses are down.

Satan released is John’s way of describing this reality. He is not telling his readers that at some distant period in history God will set Satan free to mislead us on a grand scale. Rather, he is reminding us that evil can spring up once again in our lives if we’re not careful, and that despite all that Jesus has done for us, we can still finally be lost.

Gog and Magog (20,8)

John says that after one thousand years Gog and Magog will be permitted to attack the people of God. There was a time it was claimed by Hal Lindsey that Gog and Magog refer to the Soviet Union. However, scholars see them as simply ‘mythical summaries’ of evil.

The names come from the OT prophet Ezekiel 38-39. Genesis 10,2 lists Magog as a northern nation. They are for Ezekiel not really historical but personifications whose features are drawn from the kings who conquered Israel, often coming from the north. John simply borrows these images. They remind us, as above, that we must never let our spiritual defenses down. For the forces of evil will again play havoc in our lives just as they have done in the past.

The 666 Beast (13)

The beast and its 666 number have been in the past destructive of church unity. Critics of the Catholic Church tried to show how Italika Ecclesia (in Greek) meaning Italian Church, comes to 666 when the numerical value of all the letters (gematria) is added together. Catholics counter argued by showing the Greek for Luther, Loutherana and Saxoneios (Saxon, meaning Luther) also equals 666. Futhermore, Maometis (Mohammed) and Nabonaparti (Napoleon or Hitler) show the same result.

Going back to the historical setting of the book of Rev, one needs to identify the person referred to by the number 666 and must look to the contemporary time of the author. Who best summarizes in the late 1st century the evil reflected in the image of the beast? Who was responsible for the persecution of the Christians with which the book of Rev deals? As special person now comes to the fore: Emperor Nero!

In July 64 AD, a terrible fire broke out in Rome. It is said that Nero, seemingly a madman, started the fire. He blamed the Christians and a persecution began. During this 1st persecution of the Church, both Peter and Paul were executed. Bishop Eusebius, the 1st serious Christian historian, in his History of the Early Church (early 400’s) tells us: ‘It is recorded that in Nero’s reign Paul was beheaded in Rome itself, and that Peter likewise was crucified, and the record is confirmed…by a churchman named Gaius.’

The name of Nero totals 666. Cesar Nero is written in Hebrew KSR NRWN. Giving the proper gematria to these Hebrew letters (K=100, S=60, R=200, N=50, R=200, W=6, N=50) a total of 666. In his person, Nero represents all the evil of the Roman empire (the beast). He together with the pagan Rome is the infamous Antichrist!

Why does the author of Revelation speak in such hidden symbolism? It was not because he was referring to some mysterious person centuries away in history, but, according to one explanation, because of his fear of being accused of treason. If the material happened to fall into Roman hands, even sterner measures might be taken against the Church. However, recent scholarship suggests that hidden symbolism was not used to avoid persecution and detection, but that it was just part of the literary genre.