The End Times Revelation continued

End Times Continued

Book of Revelation 

Our destiny in this life is the worship of God throughout eternity. How do you visualize heaven? Would you paint a picture, write a song, or a poem to help others imagine heaven? In chapter 4 of the Book of Revelation St. John describes the vision of heaven that was given to him.

He does not name God for in Jewish tradition God’s name is never spoken for it is too holy. Not like today when His name is used as profanity. Neither does John attempt a description of God for it would be totally inadequate. However, he describes 24 elders surrounding the throne of God. These elders represent the 12 tribes of Israel and the 12 Apostles. They appear to be wearing priestly garb, ornately decorated and worthy of the status they have achieved to even be in heaven. He hears them praising God singing Holy, holy, holy.

To the right of the one on the throne is a lamb holding a scroll bearing seven seals. Again, we hear the number 7 designating completeness. The question is posed, “Who is worthy to open the seals and read what is written?” Well, there seems to be no one except the Lion of Judah.  However, standing amid the elders and apostles is the Lamb (Christ) who seems to have been slain or sacrificed. He has seven horns (power) and 7 eyes (all knowing). He has received the scroll. He alone is worthy to open and read it. All in the throne room fall to their knees singing “Worthy is the Lamb” because power and knowledge belong to him who has shed his blood. The imagery may resemble a grand concelebrated Mass with 24 priestly elders around the throne of the Lamb of God singing His praises.

What follows is a reading from each of the scrolls which are bound with seals. The First seal reveals 4 horsemen of different colors. The first is a white horse with conquering powers. It represents the advent of the Messiah. The second horse is red foretelling a bloody war taking away the peace. A black horse is behind the third seal holding a scale weighing the scarcity of food as famine and death arrive. The last horse is not good news either. It reveals a green horse with a sword of widespread famine and death. It is given authority over one fourth of the earth. The fifth seal shifts to the martyrs sheltered under the altar who have been witnesses before God and given a white robe washed in the blood of the lamb.  The sixth seal displays powerful earthquakes that can move mountains, darken the sun and moon and even the stars will fall from the sky around the blood moon.

There seems to be an intermission before the last seal is revealed. All of creation is hiding from God’s judgement. Solemnly a voice speaks to the angels at the four corners of the earth commanding them to do no damage until the seal of God’s servants has been placed on their foreheads. When the seventh seal is opened there is a great silence before the trumpets blow forth their messages. The author is told to eat the small scroll which tastes sweet on the lips but turns sour in the stomach. Sweet because it predicts a final victory and sour because it predicts suffering.

Note that some inhabitants of the earth have been marked with Satan’s seal and others with God’s seal. No mystery there! Except asking ourselves which seal we shall wear. Jesus spoke once of separating the sheep from the goats. There will surely be a sorting of good and evil souls. The seals describe what the four horsemen will deliver.

The final group of prophetic happenings are the seven trumpet blasts with more harsh suffering to come. The first blasts are predictions of hail, fire, and blood while the second reveals that one third of the earth is destroyed as large burning mountain is hurled into the sea. The third trumpet brings a fiery torch from the sky and a third of the rivers become like wormwood, which is known for its bitterness.  The fourth trumpet predicts that a third of the sun, moon and stars will be struck dark.  The next trumpet exposes a key to the abyss releasing smoke from a passage from which locusts harass the living like scorpions (but not the plants). This plague will last five months! From the sixth trumpet emerges a voice from the horns of the altar ordering the death of one third of humanity!

 Before this final trumpet sounds, however, there appears a mighty angel with a small scroll. He is awesome to behold and stands straddling both land and sea. His voice resounded with a fearsome roar and seven Thunders also rolled their voices. Next, he is ordered to measure the Temple which represents the new Israel and the worshipping Christians. God will preserve a faithful remnant.

The author is ordered to seal up what was said by the seven thunders. These messages we do not learn about. The first angel then announces the final trumpet, which says that now the Kingdom belongs to Our Lord and his anointed ones. The mysterious plan of God to cleanse the earth has been fulfilled and the presence of his Ark can be seen in the temple.

In the end, the outer court of the Temple will be trampled by the gentiles, non-believers, for 42 months. Two witnesses (which may represent St. Peter and St. Paul or Moses and Elijah) are commissioned and given power. After three and a half days they will be called to Heaven and one tenth of the city will collapse. After the witnesses have finished, a beast will arise from the abyss to war against them.

 Next comes the woman and the dragon.