Catholic lectionary for 29 November 2014

King James Version (en)

King James Version (en)

Revelations, Chapter 22, verses 1-7

¹ The river of the water of life, ² The tree of life, ⁵ The light of the city of God is himself

¹And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb.

²In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.

³And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him:

⁴And they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads.

⁵And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever.

⁶And he said unto me, These sayings are faithful and true: and the Lord God of the holy prophets sent his angel to shew unto his servants the things which must shortly be done.

⁷Behold, I come quickly: blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book.

Read more:Revelations, Chapter 22

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End of the World

Luke, Chapter 21, verses 34-36

³⁴ He exhorteth them to be watchful

³⁴And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares.

³⁵For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth.

³⁶Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.

Read more:Luke, Chapter 21

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NOTES

Against the backdrop of the terrible events of the apocalypse, when "people will faint from fear," amid wars and darkness, Christ's words sound paradoxical and astonishing...

John's vision ends with the words of God's messenger, who tells the apostle that everything he has seen must happen...

John's vision ends with the words of God's messenger, who tells the apostle that everything he has seen must happen "soon" (vv. 6-7). He insists that John not hide what has been revealed to him precisely because "the time is near" (v. 10). Of course, this is not about any specific dates, about which even Jesus Himself refused to speak, referring to the fact that they are known only to His heavenly Father (Matt. 24:36). The issue is different: the times have come when nothing separates us from the Kingdom. We live in the age of the coming Kingdom; the spiritual processes whose meaning was revealed to John, who saw their completion, are already going on in the world. After the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE, a historical stage began that can be considered the home stretch on the way to the Kingdom. Yet how long this home stretch will last is known to God alone, possibly also because its length is determined not only by Him but, to no lesser, if not greater, degree by people themselves. It depends on each person's choice how much time will be needed before the day comes when the final accounting can be made. It is no accident that Jesus again reminds His apostle of the choice between the path of righteousness and the path of sin, the choice that faces everyone and that now, in the age of the coming Kingdom, is no less important than before (vv. 11-17).

It is also no accident that the book says nothing should be added to it, just as nothing should be taken away from it (vv. 18-19). Indeed, everyone knows the numerous interpretations of the Book of Revelation that often only distort its spiritual meaning, reducing everything to "scare stories" in the spirit and style of the catastrophism so widespread today in literature and film. Literature of this kind, however, did not appear today or even yesterday; authors of earlier times also liked to frighten readers with terrifying "apocalyptic" pictures. Quite a lot of literature of this sort existed in the time when John received his revelation as well, which happened in the 80s or 90s of the first century CE. Meanwhile, such books do not help their readers spiritually prepare for the events spoken of in the Book of Revelation; they only agitate and frighten the reader.

John's main task in writing down what he saw was to give the faithful spiritual orientation and prepare them for the new challenges they would have to face in the times in which they were to live, the times of struggle and confrontation between the Kingdom and the forces of darkness. That struggle does not always look as spectacular as it is shown in mystical thrillers, but it does not become any less serious or frightening because of that. The Book of Revelation is not a "scare story"; it was written to become a map and compass for those for whom it is important not to lose the road leading to the Kingdom and not to be deceived about those who are trying to hinder the faithful from moving toward the goal.

The heavenly Jerusalem is shown to the apostle in a vision in considerable detail. And at the foundation of its architectural dimensions lies the number twelve, a number, of course, symbolic, connected both with the fullness of the people of God...

The heavenly Jerusalem is shown to the apostle in a vision in considerable detail. And at the foundation of its architectural dimensions lies the number twelve, a number, of course, symbolic, connected both with the fullness of the people of God, consisting of twelve tribes, and with the fullness of the messianic community, consisting of twelve apostles.

The fullness of the Church is shown to John as the unity of the fullness of the people of God and the fullness of the messianic apostolic community that grew out of it. There can be no doubt that the heavenly Jerusalem is an image of the heavenly Church: it is called "the bride of the Lamb," and in the New Testament books this is precisely what the Church of Christ is called. The precious stones mentioned in the book, with which the foundation of the city is adorned, are the same sacred stones used to adorn the Tabernacle: thus the whole city is revealed to the apostle as one great sanctuary.

The river of living water mentioned in the book recalls Ezekiel's vision, in which he sees this river flowing from under the foundation of the Temple; in John's vision it flows through the city, sanctifying it and giving it life. The trees along the riverbanks are the same as in Ezekiel's vision. There is no uncleanness, "nothing accursed," in the city: the Kingdom and abiding in it are incompatible with any evil and any sin.

But purification and transfiguration are possible for everyone who wants them, and only those who are "devoted to abomination and falsehood," who have chosen them and do not want to part with them, remain outside the Kingdom. As for the Temple, the sanctuary, there is no sanctuary in the earthly sense in the Kingdom; it is not needed there. The sanctuary of the Kingdom is that very Throne of glory which some saw in the Temple during worship as if from afar and through a barrier. Now there is no barrier, and the Throne of glory as the spiritual center of the Kingdom is open to everyone. In this way, in the form of the Throne, the point in creation where God's will meets the world created by God, determining its being, is revealed to the inhabitants of the Kingdom.

This point is the spiritual center not only of the Kingdom, but of the whole universe. And the King of God's Kingdom becomes the Messiah risen from the dead - now, at last, no longer hidden, but manifest to everyone. And the light of the heavenly Jerusalem is not the physical light of the untransformed world, but the light of God's presence, the very light that permeated the world on the first day of creation. The world regains the fullness of being and is transfigured by the breath of the Kingdom, which has become the center and meaning of its existence.

FAQ

Is it ultimately permissible to drink wine (for example) or not? After all, even Jesus Himself attended various feasts and drank wine.

First of all, of course, Jesus drank wine, and what the Lord Himself did cannot be a sin in and of itself. But pay attention to these last words, “in and of itself”: sin does not dwell in the action, but in the human heart; and the problem does not lie in the drinking of wine, but in what takes place within the person...

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