FAQ

Since the Angel commanded the Evangelist John to conceal what the thunders said, he concealed it — and we do not know what they said. We must assume the Angel had his reasons…

It is probable that the matter is as follows: the thunders and the Angel declared to the Evangelist the mysteries of the age to come, speaking of what the world would be like after the victory of the Lamb. According to interpretations, in the voice of the thunders, something incomprehensible was revealed to the Evangelist, something that cannot be conveyed or explained in human language; it should be noted that the Apostle Paul spoke similarly about heavenly mysteries, referring to "inexpressible words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter" (Co2 12:4).

To speak of the incommunicable is futile — what use are words when they are powerless? Furthermore, in the 90s of the 1st century, when the Evangelist was recording the Revelation, the danger of Gnosticism was already clearly visible. Its adherents indulged in empty talk about the incomprehensible mysteries of the universe instead of following Christ. In this way, apparently, the Angel's command not to write down the words of the seven thunders can be explained. The Angel himself, in the sixth verse, speaks of the main and most striking difference between the world transformed by the victory of the Lamb of God and that which is accessible to our experience: "that there should be time no longer," he says. How can a man living in time understand and describe a world that exists outside of time? And the words of the thunders, apparently, referred precisely to this…

Be that as it may, the Evangelist records his spiritual experience, which is far deeper and more profound than that of most of us. It is not surprising that in his experience there are things not intended for all his readers. When the Church included his book in the canon of Holy Scripture, the argument for doing so was, firstly, the authenticity of this experience, secondly — its purity, and thirdly, the primary direct meaning of the book — the tidings of the coming victory of the Kingdom of Christ throughout the entire universe.