A very hopeful book of the Bible

I was talking to my friend Crystal (the inspiration for many of my articles, Hi Crystal!), and I had mentioned that with a lot of my articles, a lot of people may come to the conclusion I’m depressed all the time. And, while I do have depression (and sometimes severe), I’m not depressed all the time. So, I want to talk about one of the most hopeful books of the Bible, Hebrews. I’m just kidding, we’re gonna talk about Revelation. “But Charlie”, you may say to me, “Isn’t the whole Bible “revelation”? Okay, fine, we’re going to talk about The Apocalypse. I can already hear my nieces and nephews “Uncle’s talking about The Apocalypse again”, because, see, I get to be the crazy uncle. I think, a lot of people, when they talk about the Book of Revelation, have apocalyptic images in mind. Well, yeah, the Book is literally called “The Apocalypse”. Maybe we should start using the word positively. “How are you today, Charlie”? “Apocalyptic”! So let’s get into it. You probably know the bad things that happen with modern day profits of doom (and no, that is not misspelled, I wanted an excuse to share this Type O Negative song, Peter Steele had already reverted to his childhood Catholic faith by the time this song was record, Rest in Peace, sir. Type O Negative - The Profit of Doom) But, possibly because it doesn’t sell tickets, stream on Netflix, or sell books, you don’t hear about these verses. So, I gathered just about every hopeful verse I could find in The Book of Revelation, we will be using the Douay Rheims version. Apocalypse 1:4-6, “John, to the seven churches which are in Asia, grace and peace be unto you, and peace from him that is, and that was, and that is to come, and from the seven spirits which are from before his throne, And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth, who hath loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, And hath made us a kingdom of priests to God and his Father and glory and empire for ever and ever, Amen.” 2:10, “Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer. Behold, the devil will cast some of you into prison that you may be tried: and you shall have tribulation ten days. Be thou faithful unto death; and I will give thee the crown of life.” 2:25-28- “Yet, that which you have, hold fast til I come. And he that shall overcome, and keep my works until the end, I will give him power over the nations. And he shall rule with a rod of iron, and as the vessel of a potter they shall be broken, As I have also received of my Father; and I will give him the morning star. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith to the churches.” 3:10, “Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I will also keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon the whole world to try them that dwell upon dry earth.” “He that shall overcome, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God; and he shall go out no more; and I will write upon him the name of my God, the new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven, and my new name.” 5:9-10, “And they sung a new canticle, saying: Thou art worthy, O Lord, to take the book, and to open the seals thereof; because thou wast slain, and has redeemed us to God, in thy blood, out of every tribe, and tongue, and people, And hast made us to our God a kingdom of priests, and we shall reign on the earth.” 7:9-17, “After this, I saw a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and tribes, and peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne of the Lamb, clothed in white robes, and palms in their hand: And they cried with a loud voice, saying: Salvation, to our God, who sitteth upon the throne, and to the Lamb. And to all the angels stood round about the throne, and the ancients, and the four living creatures; and they fell down before the throne upon their faces, and adored God, Saying: Amen, Benediction, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, honour, and power, and strength to Our God for ever and ever. Amen. And one of the ancients answered, and said to me: These that are clothed in white robes, who are they? And whence came they? And I said to him: My Lord, thou knowest. And he said to me: These are they who come out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and have made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore they are before the throne of God, and they serve him day and night in his temple: and he, that sitteth on the throne, shall dwell over them. They shall no more hunger, nor thirst, neither shall the sun fall on them, nor any heat. For the Lamb, which is in the midst of the throne, shall rule them, and shall lead them to the fountains of the waters of life, and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes”. 14:13, “And I heard a voice from heaven, saying to me: Write: Blessed are the dead, who die in the Lord. From henceforth now, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; for their works follow them.” 19:1, “After these things, I heard, as it were, the voice of much people in heaven, saying: Alleluia. Salvation, and glory, and power is to our God.” 19:6-9, “And I heard, as it were, the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of great thunders, saying Alleluia: For the Lord our God the almighty hath reigned. Let us be glad and rejoice, and give glory to him; for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath prepared herself. And it is granted her that she should cloth herself with fine linen, glittering and white. For the fine linen are the justification of saints. And he said to me: Write: Blessed are they that are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith to me: There words of God are true.” 20:6, “Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection. In these, the second death hath no power; but they shall be priests of God, and of Christ; and shall reign with him a thousand years.” 21:1-7 “And I saw a new heaven and a new earth. For the first heaven and the first earth was gone, and the sea is now no more. And I John saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice from the throne, saying: Behold the tabernacle of God with men, and he will dwell with them. And they shall be his people, and God himself with them shall be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes: and death shall be no more, nor mourning nor crying, nor sorrow shall be any more, for the former things are passed away” (by the way, Revelation 21:4 is my favourite Bible verse). And he that sat on the throne, said: Behold, I make all things new. And he said to me: Write, for these words are most faithful and true. And he said to me: It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. To him that thirsteth, I will give the fountain of the water of life, freely. He that shall overcome shall possess these things, and I will be his God; and he shall be my son.” 22:7, “And Behold, I come quickly. Blessed is he that keepeth the words of prophecy of this book.” 22:14, “Blessed are they that wash their robes in the blood of the Lamb; that they may have a right to the tree of life and may enter in by the gates of the city.” I know I missed some. So, it’s not an exhaustive list. It was, however, an exhausting list. I’m glad you’re reading this, and I’m glad to write it. Do share it, ignore the spelling and grammar mistakes.