Revelation 4:1-22:5
New Catholic Bible
Celestial Visions about What Is To Come[a]
Christ, Lord of History[b]
Chapter 4
Vision of the Throne.[c]1 Following this, I had a vision of heaven with an open door, and I heard the voice like a trumpet that I had heard speaking to me before, saying, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.” 2 At once I was caught up in the spirit,[d] and there in heaven I beheld a throne. 3 Seated upon the throne was one whose appearance was similar to that of jasper and carnelian, and surrounding it was a rainbow that looked like an emerald.
4 Encircling the throne were twenty-four thrones, and seated on them were twenty-four elders,[e] dressed in white with gold crowns on their heads. 5 Emanating from the throne were flashes of lightning and rumblings and peals of thunder. Burning in front of the throne were seven flaming lamps, the seven spirits of God, 6 and in front of the throne there was something like a sea of glass as transparent as crystal.
In the center of the throne and around it there were four living creatures,[f] and they were covered with eyes in front and in back. 7 The first living creature resembled a lion, the second resembled an ox, the third had a human face, and the fourth resembled an eagle in flight. 8 Each of the four living creatures had six wings, and all of them were covered with eyes all around and underneath their wings. Day and night they never stop saying:
“Holy, holy, holy
is the Lord God, the Almighty,
who was, and who is, and who is to come.”
9 And whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to the one who sits on the throne, who lives forever and ever, 10 the twenty-four elders prostrate themselves before him who is seated on the throne and worship the one who lives forever and ever. As they lay down their crowns in front of the throne, they cry out:
11 “Worthy are you, O Lord our God,
to receive glory and honor and power,
for you created all things;
by your will they were created
and have their being.”
Chapter 5
Vision of the Lamb.[g] 1 Then I saw in the right hand of the one who was seated on the throne a scroll with writing on both sides and sealed with seven seals. 2 And I beheld a mighty angel who proclaimed in a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?” 3 But there was no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth who was able to open the scroll and examine it.
4 I began to weep bitterly because no one was found worthy to open the scroll and examine it. 5 Then one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep. The Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed, and thus has won the right to open the scroll and its seven seals.”
6 Then I saw, standing in the center of the throne, encircled by the four living creatures and the elders, a Lamb that had been slain. He had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent forth into the entire world. 7 He came forward and took the scroll from the right hand of the one who was seated on the throne.
8 When he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders prostrated themselves before the Lamb. Each of the elders was holding a harp, and they had gold bowls filled with incense, which are the prayers of the saints. 9 They sang a new song:[h]
“You are worthy to receive the scroll
and to open its seals,
for you were slain,
and with your blood you purchased for God
people of every tribe and language, nation and race.
10 You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God,
and they will reign on earth.”
11 In my vision, I heard the voices of a multitude of angels who surrounded the throne and the living creatures and the elders. These angels numbered thousands upon thousands and ten thousand times ten thousand of them. 12 And they cried out with a loud voice:
“Worthy is the Lamb that was sacrificed
to receive power and riches, wisdom and strength,
honor and glory and praise.”
13 Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying:
“To the one seated on the throne
and to the Lamb
be blessing and honor and glory and might
forever and ever.”
14 The four living creatures said, “Amen,” and the elders prostrated themselves in worship.
Prelude to the End of Times: Israel and the Church[i]
Chapter 6
The First Four Seals and the Horsemen.[j]1 Then, in my vision, I saw the Lamb break open the first of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures shout in a voice like thunder, “Come!” 2 I looked, and before my eyes I saw a white horse, and its rider was holding a bow. He was given a crown, and he rode forth as a victor to amass still further conquests.
3 When he broke open the second seal, I heard the second living creature shout, “Come!” 4 And another horse came forth; it was red. Its rider was empowered to take away peace from the earth so that people would slay each other. He was given a large sword.[k]
5 When he broke open the third seal, I heard the third living creature shout, “Come!” I looked, and there was a black horse, and its rider was holding a pair of scales[l] in his hand. 6 Then I heard what sounded like a voice emanating from the midst of the four living creatures, saying, “A quart of wheat costs a day’s wages, and three quarts of barley cost a day’s wages. But do not damage the olive oil or the wine.”
7 When he broke open the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature shout, “Come!” 8 I looked, and there was a pale green horse. Its rider was named Death, and Hades[m] followed close behind. They were given authority over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword, famine, and plague, and by means of wild beasts.
The Fifth Seal: Vision of the Martyrs.[n] 9 When he broke open the fifth seal, I saw underneath the altar the souls of those who had been slain on account of the word of God and for witnessing to it. 10 They shouted in a loud voice, “How long is it to be, holy and true Master, before you judge the inhabitants of the earth[o] and avenge our death?”
11 Each of them was given a white robe,[p] and they were instructed to be patient for a little longer until the roll was completed of their fellow servants and brethren who were still to be killed as they themselves had been.
12 The Sixth Seal: the Universe Disturbed.[q] In my vision, when he broke open the sixth seal, there was a violent earthquake. The sun turned as black as coarse sackcloth, the moon became as red as blood, 13 and the stars in the sky fell to earth like unripe figs dislodged from a tree when shaken by a strong wind. 14 The heavens were torn apart like a scroll being rolled up, and every mountain and island was dislodged from its place.
15 Then the kings of the earth, the nobles, and the commanders, the rich and the powerful, and the whole population, both slaves and free, hid themselves in caves and among the rocks of the mountains. 16 They shouted to the mountains and the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of the one who sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb. 17 For the great day of their wrath has come, and who can endure it?”
Chapter 7
An Immense Crowd before God’s Throne.[r] 1 After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth so that no wind could blow on land or on the sea or on any tree. 2 Then I saw another angel rising from the east, bearing the seal of the living God. He cried out in a loud voice to the four angels who had been given the power to ravage the land and the sea, 3 “Do not damage the land or the sea or the trees until we have set the seal on the foreheads of the servants of our God.”
4 Then I heard how many had been marked with the seal—one hundred and forty-four thousand from all the tribes of Israel:
5 From the tribe of Judah,[s] twelve thousand,
from the tribe of Reuben, twelve thousand,
from the tribe of Gad, twelve thousand,
6 from the tribe of Asher, twelve thousand,
from the tribe of Naphtali, twelve thousand,
from the tribe of Manasseh, twelve thousand,
7 from the tribe of Simeon, twelve thousand,
from the tribe of Levi, twelve thousand,
from the tribe of Issachar, twelve thousand,
8 from the tribe of Zebulun, twelve thousand,
from the tribe of Joseph, twelve thousand,
from the tribe of Benjamin, twelve thousand.
9 After this, in my vision, I witnessed a vast throng that no one could count, from every nation, race, people, and language. They were standing before the throne and before the Lamb, dressed in white robes and holding palm branches in their hands. 10 They cried out in a loud voice:
“Salvation belongs to our God,
who sits on the throne,
and to the Lamb.”
11 All the angels who were standing around the throne, and around the elders and the four living creatures, prostrated themselves before the throne and worshiped God, 12 saying:
“Amen. Praise and glory,
wisdom and thanksgiving,
honor and power and might,
be to our God forever and ever. Amen.”
13 Then one of the elders spoke to me and inquired, “Who are these people, all dressed in white robes, and where have they come from?” 14 I replied, “My lord, you are the one who knows.” Then he said to me, “These are the ones who have survived the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
15 “That is why they stand before the throne of God
and worship him day and night in his temple,
and the one who sits on the throne will shelter them.
16 They will never again experience hunger or thirst,
nor will the sun or any scorching heat cause them discomfort.
17 For the Lamb who is at the center of the throne
will be their shepherd.
He will guide them to springs of living water,[t]
and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”
Chapter 8
The Seventh Seal.[u] 1 When the Lamb broke open the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. 2 And I saw that seven trumpets were given to the seven angels who stand in the presence of God.
3 Another angel came forward with a gold censer and stood at the altar.[v] He was given a large quantity of incense to offer, with the prayers of all the saints, on the gold altar that stood before the throne.
4 The smoke of the incense together with the prayers of the saints rose before God from the hand of the angel. 5 Then the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar, and emptied it upon the earth. Immediately, there came peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning, and an earthquake.
6 The seven angels who held the seven trumpets now made ready to blow them.
The First Four Trumpets.[w] 7 When the first angel blew his trumpet, there was a storm of hail and fire, mixed with blood, and it fell upon the earth.[x] A third of the earth was burned up, as well as a third of the trees and all the green grass.
8 [y]When the second angel blew his trumpet, something that looked like a huge mountain ablaze with fire was hurled into the sea. A third of the sea turned into blood, 9 a third of the creatures living in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed.
10 When the third angel blew his trumpet, a great star fell from the sky, burning like a torch. It came down on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water. 11 This star was called “Wormwood,” and a third of the waters turned to wormwood.[z] Great numbers of people died from the waters that had become bitter.
12 When the fourth angel blew his trumpet, a third of the sun was struck, a third of the moon, and a third of the stars. As a result, a third of their light was darkened, and the day lost its illumination for a third of the time, and so did the night.[aa]
13 The Cry of the Eagle.[ab] In my vision, I heard an eagle cry out in a loud voice as it flew high overhead, “Woe! Woe! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth because of the other trumpet blasts that the three angels have not yet blown!”
Chapter 9
The Fifth Trumpet: the First Woe.[ac] 1 Then the fifth angel blew his trumpet, and I saw a star that had fallen from the sky to the earth. He was given the key to the shaft leading down to the abyss. 2 When he unlocked the shaft of the abyss, smoke rose up from the abyss like smoke from a huge furnace, so that the sun and the sky were darkened by the smoke from the abyss. 3 And out of the smoke locusts dropped down onto the earth, and they were given the same powers that scorpions have on the earth. 4 They were commanded not to damage the grass or the earth or any plant or tree, and they were told to attack only those people who did not have God’s seal on their foreheads.
5 They were given permission to torture these people for five months, but they were not allowed to kill them, and the torment they were to inflict was to be like that of a scorpion when it stings someone. 6 During that time, these people will seek death but will not find it; they will long to die, but death will elude them.
7 In appearance the locusts were like horses equipped for battle. On their heads they wore what appeared to be gold crowns. Their faces were like human faces, 8 and their hair was like women’s hair. Their teeth were like lions’ teeth, 9 and their chests were like iron breastplates. The sound of their wings was like the rumble of many horses and chariots rushing into battle.
10 These locusts had tails and stings like those of scorpions, and in their tails they had the power to torment people for five months. 11 They had as their king the angel of the abyss, whose name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in Greek, Apollyon.
12 The first woe has passed, but two more are still to come.
13 The Sixth Trumpet: the Second Woe.[ad] Then the sixth angel blew his trumpet, and I heard a voice[ae] emanating from the horns of the gold altar that stood in the presence of God. 14 It said to the sixth angel who was holding the trumpet, “Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates.”
15 And so the four angels, who had been held in readiness for this very hour, day, month, and year, were released to kill a third of mankind.[af] 16 The number of their cavalry troops was two hundred million. This was the number I heard.
17 This is how I saw the horses and their riders in my vision. The riders wore breastplates in shades of red, blue, and yellow. The heads of the horses were like heads of lions, and issuing forth from their mouths were fire, smoke, and sulfur. 18 By these three plagues of fire, smoke, and sulfur that poured forth from their mouths, a third of mankind was killed. 19 The power of the horses was in their mouths and in their tails. Their tails were like serpents, with heads that inflicted harm.
20 However, the rest of mankind who survived these plagues did not repent of the work of their hands or cease their worship of demons[ag] and of idols of gold, silver, bronze, stone, and wood, which can neither see nor hear nor walk. 21 Nor did they repent of their murders, their sorcery, their sexual immorality, or their thefts.
Chapter 10
A Small Scroll: Sweet and Bitter.[ah] 1 Then I saw another mighty angel coming down from heaven. He was wrapped in a cloud, with a rainbow over his head. His face was like the sun, his legs were like pillars of fire, 2 and his hand held a small scroll that had been opened.
Placing his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the land, 3 the angel gave forth a great shout like the roar of a lion. And when he shouted, the seven thunders spoke. 4 After the seven thunders had spoken, I was preparing to write when I heard a voice from heaven say, “Seal up what the seven thunders have spoken, but do not write it down.”
5 Then the angel whom I had seen standing on the sea and on the land raised his right hand to heaven 6 and swore by him who lives forever and ever and who created heaven and earth and the sea and everything that is in them: “There will be no further delay. 7 When the time comes for the seventh angel to sound his trumpet, the mysterious purpose of God[ai] will be fulfilled, just as he announced to his servants the Prophets.”
8 Then I again heard the voice that had spoken to me from heaven, and it said, “Go and take that open scroll from the hand of the angel who is standing on the sea and on the land.” 9 Therefore, I went to the angel and asked him to give me the small scroll. He replied, “Take it and eat it. It will turn your stomach sour, but in your mouth it will taste as sweet as honey.”
10 I took the small scroll from the angel’s hand and ate it. In my mouth it did taste as sweet as honey, but when I had eaten it my stomach turned sour. 11 Then I was told, “You must prophesy once again about many peoples, nations, languages, and kings.”
Chapter 11
The Two Witnesses and the Fate of Jerusalem.[aj] 1 I was next given a staff to use as a measuring rod, and I was told, “Go forth and measure the temple of God and the altar, and count the people who are worshiping there. 2 However, exclude the outer court of the temple from your measurements, because it has been handed over to the Gentiles and they will trample on the holy city for forty-two months.[ak] 3 I will grant my two witnesses authority to prophesy for those twelve hundred and sixty days, wearing sackcloth.”
4 These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand in the presence of the Lord of the earth. 5 If anyone tries to harm them, fire pours forth from their mouths and consumes their enemies. Anyone who attempts to harm them will surely be killed in this manner. 6 They have the power to shut up the sky so that it does not rain during the time they are prophesying. They also have the power to turn water into blood and to afflict the earth with every type of plague as often as they desire.
7 When they have completed their testimony, the beast that comes up from the abyss will wage war against them and overpower and kill them. 8 Their corpses will lie in the street of the great city, known by the symbolic names of Sodom and Egypt, where their Lord was crucified.
9 People of every race, tribe, nation, and language will gaze at their corpses for three and a half days and refuse to allow them to be buried. 10 The inhabitants of the earth will gloat over them as they celebrate and exchange gifts, because these two prophets had been a source of torment to them.
11 However, after the three and a half days, the breath of life from God entered them, and when they rose to their feet, great terror filled those who saw them. 12 Then I heard a loud voice from heaven say to them, “Come up here,” and while their enemies were watching, they went up to heaven in a cloud.
13 At that very hour there was a violent earthquake, and a tenth of the city was destroyed. Seven thousand people were killed during the earthquake. Those who survived were overcome with fear and gave glory to the God of heaven.
14 The second woe has passed, but the third will come quickly.
15 The Seventh Trumpet: the Third Woe.[al] The seventh angel blew his trumpet, and voices in heaven were heard crying loudly:
“The kingdom of the world belongs
to our Lord and his Messiah,
and he will reign forever and ever.”
16 Then the twenty-four elders who sit on their thrones in the presence of God prostrated themselves and worshiped God, 17 saying:
“We give you thanks, Lord God Almighty,
who are and who were.
For you have taken your great power
and have begun to reign.
18 The nations rose in rage,
but now your wrath has come.
It is the time for judging the dead
and for rewarding your servants the Prophets,
as well as the saints who revere your name,
both small and great,
and for destroying those who destroy the earth.”
19 Then God’s temple in heaven was opened, and the ark of his covenant[am] was seen within his temple. There followed flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, an earthquake, and a violent hailstorm.
Chapter 12
The Great Confrontation: Pagan Rome and the Church[an]
Two Signs in Heaven: the Woman and the Dragon.[ao] A great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon beneath her feet, and a crown of twelve stars on her head. 2 She was with child and about to give birth, crying aloud in the anguish of her labor.3 Then another sign appeared in heaven: a huge red dragon with seven heads and ten horns, and seven diadems crowning his heads. 4 His tail swept away a third of the stars in the sky and hurled them to the earth.
The dragon stood in front of the woman who was about to give birth, so that it might devour her child as soon as it was born. 5 She gave birth to a son, a male child who is destined to rule all the nations with an iron rod. And her child was taken up directly to God and to his throne. 6 The woman herself fled into the wilderness where she would be looked after for twelve hundred and sixty days[ap] in a place prepared for her by God.
7 Next, war broke out in heaven, with Michael[aq] and his angels in combat against the dragon. The dragon and his angels fought back, 8 but they were defeated, and they lost their place in heaven. 9 The great dragon—the ancient serpent who is called the devil, or Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—was hurled down to earth, and his angels were cast down with him.
10 Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say:
“Now have come the salvation and the power
and the kingdom of our God
and the authority of his Messiah.
For the accuser[ar] of our brethren has been cast out,
the one who accused them day and night before our God.
11 They have conquered him
by the blood of the Lamb
and by the word of their testimony;
even in the face of death
they did not cling to life.
12 Therefore rejoice, you heavens,
and you who dwell in them!
But woe to you, earth and sea,
because the devil has come down to you.
He is filled with rage,
for he knows that his time is short.”
13 When the dragon realized that he had been hurled down to earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child. 14 But the woman was given the two wings of the great eagle so that she could fly away from the serpent into the wilderness, to the place where she was to be looked after for a year, two years, and a half year.[as]
15 Then from his mouth the serpent spewed out water like a river after the woman to sweep her away with the flood. 16 However, the earth came to the rescue of the woman: it opened its mouth and swallowed the river spewed from the dragon’s mouth.
17 Then the dragon became enraged at the woman and went off to wage war on the rest of her offspring, those who keep God’s commandments and bear witness to Jesus.
18 A Beast Rises from the Sea.[at] Meanwhile, I took my position[au] on the seashore.
Chapter 13
1 Then I saw a beast rising out of the sea. It had ten horns and seven heads. On its horns were ten diadems, and on its heads were blasphemous names. 2 The beast that I saw resembled a leopard, but it had feet like those of a bear, and its mouth was like the mouth of a lion. The dragon conferred on the beast his own power and his throne, as well as great authority.
3 One of his heads appeared to me to have been mortally wounded, but its mortal wound had been healed. The whole world then became fascinated with the beast, 4 and they worshiped the dragon because he had conferred authority on the beast. They also worshiped the beast, saying, “Who can compare with the beast? Who can fight against it?”
5 It was allowed to mouth its haughty and blasphemous words, and it was granted permission to exercise its authority for forty-two months.[av] 6 It opened its mouth to utter blasphemies against God, as well as against his name and his dwelling and all those who live in heaven.
7 The beast was also allowed to wage war on the saints and conquer them, and it was given authority over every tribe, people, language, and nation. 8 All the inhabitants of the earth will worship it, all those whose names have not been written from the creation of the world[aw] in the book of life belonging to the Lamb who was slain.
9 Whoever has ears should listen to these words:
10 “If anyone is to go into captivity,
into captivity he will go.
If anyone is destined to be slain by the sword,
by the sword he must be slain.”
This demands patient endurance and faithfulness on the part of the saints.
11 A Beast Rises from the Earth.[ax] Then I saw another beast, this one rising up out of the earth. It had two horns like those of a lamb, but it spoke like a dragon. 12 It wielded all the authority of the first beast on its behalf, and it forced the earth and all its inhabitants to worship the first beast, whose mortal wound had been healed. 13 It performed great signs, even making fire come down from heaven to earth in the sight of all.
14 By the signs it was allowed to perform on behalf of the beast, it deceived the inhabitants of the earth, persuading them to erect an image for the beast that had been wounded by the sword and yet lived. 15 It was permitted to give life to the beast’s image so that it could even speak and cause all those to be put to death who would not worship the image of the beast.
16 It also forced all the people, both small and great, both rich and poor, both free and slave, to be branded on the right hand or on the forehead. 17 No one could buy or sell anything except one who has been branded with the name of the beast or with the number of its name.
18 There is wisdom here. Let anyone who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a person. The number is six hundred and sixty-six.
Chapter 14
The Song of the Martyrs.[ay] 1 Next in my vision, I saw the Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with him were one hundred and forty-four thousand[az] people who had his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads. 2 I heard a sound from heaven like that of a mighty torrent or a loud peal of thunder. It was like the sound of harpists playing their harps.
3 They were singing a new song[ba] before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders. No one could learn this song except the one hundred and forty-four thousand who had been redeemed from the earth. 4 These are the ones who have not defiled themselves with women.[bb] They are virgins, and they follow the Lamb wherever he goes. They have been redeemed as the firstfruits of mankind for God and for the Lamb. 5 No lie was found on their lips. They are irreproachable.
The Nearness of the Judgment.[bc] 6 Then I saw another angel flying in midair, with an eternal gospel to proclaim to all those who live on the earth, to every nation, race, language, and people. 7 He said in a loud voice, “Fear God and give him glory, for the time has come for his judgment. Worship him who made heaven and earth, the sea and the springs of water.”
8 A second angel followed him, saying:
“Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great.
She has made all the nations drink
the wine of the wrath of her immorality.”
9 A third angel followed them, crying out in a loud voice, “Anyone who worships the beast or its image and receives its mark on his forehead or hand 10 will also drink the wine of God’s wrath, poured undiluted into the cup of his wrath.[bd] Such people will be tormented in burning sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb. 11 The smoke of their torment will rise forever and ever. There will be no respite day or night for those who worship the beast or its image or for those who receive the mark of its name.”
12 This demands patient endurance on the part of the saints who keep the commandments of God and remain faithful to Jesus.
13 Then I heard a voice from heaven say, “Write: Blessed[be] are those who die in the Lord from now on.”
“Yes,” says the Spirit, “they will find rest from their labors, for their deeds go with them.”
14 One Like a Son of Man.[bf] Now in my vision, I saw a white cloud, and seated on the cloud was one “like a son of man,”[bg] with a gold crown on his head and a sharp sickle in his hand. 15 Another angel then came out of the temple and called out in a loud voice to the one seated on the cloud, “Use your sickle and reap, for the time to reap has come, because the harvest of the earth is fully ripe.” 16 So the one who was seated on the cloud swept over the earth with his sickle, and the earth was harvested.
17 Another angel came out of the temple in heaven, and he, too, had a sharp sickle. 18 Then from the altar came forth still another angel who was in charge of the fire, and he cried out in a loud voice to the one who had the sharp sickle, “Take your sharp sickle and gather the clusters from the vines of the earth, for her grapes are ripe.”
19 So the angel swung his sickle over the earth and gathered in its vintage, which he then cast into the great winepress of God’s wrath. 20 The winepress was trodden outside the city, and blood flowed from the winepress to the height of a horse’s bridle for a distance of two hundred miles.
Chapter 15
The Seven Angels and the Seven Plagues.[bh] 1 Then I saw in heaven another great and wondrous sign: seven angels with the seven plagues, the last plagues of all, for through them the wrath of God is completed.
The Song of Moses and the Song of the Lamb.[bi] 2 I saw something that looked like a sea of glass mixed with fire. Standing beside the sea of glass and holding the harps that God had given them were those who had been victorious over the beast and its image and over the number of its name. They were holding harps given them by God 3 and singing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb:
“How great and wonderful are your works,
Lord God Almighty!
Just and true are your ways,
O King of the nations!
4 Who shall not fear you, O Lord,
and bring glory to your name?
For you alone are holy.
All nations will come
and worship before you,
for your acts of justice have been revealed.”
The Justice and Triumph of God[bj]
Vision of the Temple. 5 After this, in my vision, the temple, that is, the tabernacle of the Testimony,[bk] was opened in heaven, 6 and from the temple emerged the seven angels with the seven plagues. They were robed in clean, shining linen, and breastplates of gold were fastened around their chests.
7 Then one of the four living creatures gave to the seven angels seven gold bowls full of the wrath of God, who lives forever and ever. 8 The temple was filled with the smoke from the glory of God and from his power, so that no one could enter the temple until the seven plagues of the seven angels were completed.
Chapter 16
The Seven Bowls of the Wrath of God.[bl] 1 Then I heard a loud voice from the temple say to the seven angels, “Go forth and pour out on the earth the seven bowls of the wrath of God.”
2 The first angel went forth and poured out his bowl on the earth. Immediately, foul and malignant sores broke out on those who had the mark of the beast and who worshiped its image.[bm]
3 [bn]The second angel poured out his bowl on the sea. It turned to blood, like the blood of a dead person, and every living thing in the sea died.
4 The third angel poured out his bowl on the rivers and the springs of water, and they turned to blood. 5 Then I heard the angel in charge of the waters say:
“You are just, O Holy One,
who are and who were,
in these your judgments.
6 For they have shed the blood
of the saints and the Prophets,
and you have given them blood to drink,
as they deserve.”
7 And I heard the altar respond:
“Yes, Lord God Almighty,
true and just are your judgments.”
8 The fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, and the sun was allowed to burn people with its flames. 9 They were scorched by the fierce heat, and they cursed the name of God who had the power to inflict those plagues, but they refused to repent and pay him homage.
10 The fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and its kingdom was plunged into darkness.[bo] People gnawed their tongues in agony 11 and cursed the God of heaven because of their pains and sores, instead of repenting for what they had done.
12 The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up to prepare the way for the kings from the East. 13 I saw three unclean spirits like frogs[bp] come forth from the mouth of the dragon, from the mouth of the beast, and from the mouth of the false prophet.
14 These are demonic spirits with the power to work miracles. They were sent to the kings of the entire world to assemble them for battle on the great day of God the Almighty.
15 [bq]“Behold, I am coming like a thief! Blessed is the one who stays awake and keeps his clothes close by so that he will not have to go naked and be exposed to shame.” 16 These spirits then assembled the kings at the place that in Hebrew is called Armageddon.[br]
17 The seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air, and a loud voice came out of the temple from the throne, saying, “It is done!” 18 Then there followed flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, and a violent earthquake—so violent that there has never been one like it since the human race has inhabited the earth.
19 The great city was split into three parts, and the cities of the nations collapsed in ruin. Babylon the Great was also remembered by God, as he made her drink the cup filled with the wine of his fury and wrath. 20 Every island vanished, and no mountains were to be found. 21 Huge hailstones, each weighing about one hundred pounds, fell from the sky on the people, and they cursed God on account of the plague of hail that turned out to be so terrible.
Chapter 17
Babylon the Great, the Infamous Harlot.[bs] 1 One of the seven angels who held the seven bowls approached me and said, “Come here and I will show you the judgment on the great harlot who is enthroned over many waters. 2 The kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the inhabitants of the earth have become drunk on the wine of her harlotry.”
3 Then he carried me away in the spirit[bt] into the wilderness, and I saw a woman seated on a scarlet beast that had seven heads and ten horns and was covered with blasphemous names. 4 The woman was clothed in purple and scarlet and adorned with gold and jewels and pearls. In her hand she held a gold cup filled with accursed things and the impurities of her harlotry.
5 On her forehead was written a mysterious name: “Babylon the Great, the mother of harlots and of every abomination on the earth.” 6 And I noticed that the woman was drunk with the blood of the saints and the blood of those who had borne witness to Jesus.
When I saw her, I was utterly astounded. 7 But the angel said to me, “Why are you astounded? I will explain to you the mystery of the woman and of the beast with the seven heads and the ten horns that carries her. 8 The beast that you saw was once alive but is now alive no longer. It is about to ascend from the abyss and go to its destruction. All the inhabitants of the earth whose names have not been written in the book of life since the foundation of the world will be astonished when they see the beast, because it was once alive but is now alive no longer, and yet it is still to come.
9 “This calls for a mind with wisdom. The seven heads represent seven hills upon which the woman is seated. They also represent seven kings. 10 Five have already fallen, one is still living, and the other has not yet come. When he does come, he must remain only for a short while. 11 As for the beast that was alive but is now alive no longer, it is at the same time the eighth and one of the seven, and it is headed for destruction.
12 “The ten horns that you saw are ten kings who have not yet begun to reign. They will have royal authority for only a single hour together with the beast. 13 They are all of the same mind and will confer their power and authority on the beast. 14 They will wage war against the Lamb, but because the Lamb is Lord of lords and King of kings,[bu] he will overcome them—he and those who are with him, the called, the chosen, and the faithful.”
15 The angel continued, “The waters that you saw, where the harlot sits, represent peoples, multitudes, nations, and languages. 16 The ten horns that you saw and the beast will hate the harlot. They will render her desolate and naked; after they devour her flesh, they will burn her up with fire.
17 “For God has influenced their hearts to carry out his purpose by agreeing to confer their royal powers upon the beast until the words of God will be fulfilled. 18 The woman you saw is the great city that has authority over the kings of the earth.”
Chapter 18
The Fall of Babylon the Great.[bv] 1 After this I saw another angel coming down from heaven. He had great authority, and his splendor illumined the earth. 2 He cried out in a mighty voice:
“Fallen, fallen is Babylon the Great!
She has become a dwelling place for demons,
a haunt for every unclean spirit
and for every filthy and loathsome bird.
3 For all the nations have drunk
the wine of the wrath of her harlotry.
The kings of the earth have committed fornication with her,
and the merchants of the earth have grown rich
from her wealth and luxury.”
4 Then I heard another voice from heaven saying:
“Depart from her, my people,
so that you will not take part in her sins
and share in her plagues.
5 For her sins are piled up as high as the heavens,
and God has remembered her crimes.
6 Pay her back as she has done to others,
and repay her double for her deeds;
mix her a double portion of her own poison.
7 Give her torment and grief
to equal the measure of her glory and luxury.
In her heart she says,
‘I rule as a queen.
I am not a widow,
and I will never experience grief.’
8 Therefore, in a single day
her plagues will come upon her:
pestilence and mourning and famine.
And she will be consumed by fire,
for mighty is the Lord God who judges her.
Funereal Ode over Rome.[bw] 9 “The kings of the earth who committed fornication with her and shared in her luxury will weep and mourn over her when they behold the smoke of her immolation. 10 In terror at her torment, they will keep their distance and say:
“ ‘Woe, woe, O great city,
mighty city of Babylon.
In one hour your judgment has come.’
11 “The merchants of the earth will weep and mourn over her, since no one buys their cargo anymore: 12 their cargo of gold, silver, precious stones, and pearls; purple and scarlet cloth, silks, and fine linens; all sorts of fragrant wood and all kinds of objects of ivory, all kinds of objects of expensive wood, bronze, iron, and marble; 13 cinnamon and spices; incense, myrrh, and frankincense; wine and olive oil; fine flour and wheat; cattle and sheep; horses and chariots; and slaves, that is, human lives. They will say:
14 “ ‘The fruit you longed for
is no longer available to you.
All your riches and splendor are gone,
and you will never find them again.’
15 “The merchants of these things who made a fortune from her will stand far off, weeping and mourning aloud, and terrified as they behold her torment:
16 “ ‘Woe, woe, O great city,
clothed in fine linen and purple and scarlet,
adorned with gold, jewels, and precious stones!
17 Within one hour
all this wealth has been destroyed.’
“All the ship captains and voyagers, all the sailors and those who make their living by trading upon the sea, will stand far off 18 and exclaim as they see the smoke caused by her immolation, ‘Has there ever been a city to compare with this great city?’ 19 Then they will throw dust on their heads and with mourning and weeping cry out:
“ ‘Woe, woe, O great city,
where all who had ships at sea
became rich through her wealth!
Within one hour
she has been brought to ruin.
20 Rejoice over her, O heaven,
you holy ones, apostles, and prophets!
For God has passed judgment on her for you.’ ”
21 Then a mighty angel picked up a stone the size of a large millstone and threw it into the sea, saying:
“This is how
the great city of Babylon will be thrown down,
never to be found again.
22 The sound of harpists and minstrels,
flute players and trumpeters,
will never be heard in you again.
Craftsmen of every trade
never will be found in you again.
The sound of a millstone
will never be heard in you again.
23 The light from a lamp
will never be seen in you again.
The voices of a bridegroom and bride
will never be heard in you again.
Since your merchants were the world’s great men,
all the nations were led astray by your enticements.
24 In you[bx] was found the blood of the Prophets,
of the saints,
and of all who have been slain on the earth.”
Chapter 19
Song of Victory and Wedding Day of the Lamb.[by] 1 After this I heard what sounded like the roar of a great multitude in heaven, shouting:
“Alleluia![bz]
Salvation and glory and power belong to our God,
2 for true and just are his judgments.
He has condemned the great harlot
who corrupted the earth with her harlotry.
And he has paid her back
for the blood of his servants.”
3 Once again they shouted:
“Alleluia!
Her smoke will rise
forever and ever.”
4 The twenty-four elders and the four living creatures threw themselves to the ground and worshiped God who was seated on the throne, and they cried:
“Amen. Alleluia!”
5 Then a voice came from the throne, saying:
“Praise our God,
all you his servants,
and all who fear him,
small and great alike.”
6 And I heard what seemed to be the sound of a vast multitude, like the sound of a torrential stream or of great peals of thunder, crying out:
“Alleluia.
The reign of the Lord our God,
the Almighty, has begun.
7 Let us rejoice and be glad
and give him glory.
For the wedding day of the Lamb has come,
and the bride has made herself ready.
8 She has been permitted to wear
a bright and clean garment of fine linen.”
(The fine linen represents the righteous deeds of the saints.)
9 Then the angel said to me, “Write: ‘Blessed[ca] are those who are invited to the wedding banquet of the Lamb.’ ” And he added, “These are the true words of God.”
10 I fell at his feet to worship him, but he said to me, “You must not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and with your brethren who have given witness to Jesus.[cb] Worship God! For the witness to Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.
Recapitulative Visions of the History of Salvation[cc]
11 The White Horse and the King of Kings.[cd] Now I saw heaven opened, and a white horse appeared. Its rider was called “Faithful and True,” for with righteousness he judges and wages war. 12 His eyes were like fiery flames, and on his head were many crowns. The name inscribed on him was known to no one but himself.
13 He was clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and he was known by the name The Word of God. 14 The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean.
15 Coming out of his mouth was a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. He will rule them with an iron scepter, and he will tread the winepress[ce] of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. 16 On his robe and on his thigh[cf] he had a name inscribed: “King of kings and Lord of lords.”
17 The Great Booty.[cg] Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and with a loud voice he cried out to all the birds flying in midair, “Come here! Gather together for the great supper of God, 18 to eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of commanders, and the flesh of warriors, the flesh of horses and their riders, the flesh of all, both free and slave, both small and great.”
19 The Beast and the False Prophet.[ch] Next I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies gathered together to wage war against the one upon the horse and against his army. 20 The beast was captured, and with it the false prophet who in its presence had performed the signs by which he had deluded those who had received the mark of the beast and those who had worshiped its image.
These two were thrown alive into the fiery lake of burning sulfur. 21 The rest were killed by the sword that came forth from the mouth of the rider on the horse, and all the birds gorged themselves on their flesh.
Chapter 20
The Dragon.[ci] 1 Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, with the key to the abyss and a great chain in his hand. 2 He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil, or Satan, and chained him up for a thousand years. 3 He threw him into the abyss and locked and sealed it over him, so that he would not again deceive the nations until the thousand years were ended. After that he must be released, but only for a short time.
The Reign of the Martyrs: Return and Destruction of Satan.[cj] 4 Next, I saw thrones on which were seated those who had been given the authority to judge. I also saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for bearing witness to Jesus and the word of God. They had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.[ck]
5 The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended. This is the first resurrection. 6 Blessed[cl] and holy are those who share in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them. They will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him for a thousand years.
7 When the thousand years are ended, Satan will be released from his prison 8 and will emerge to lead astray the nations in the four corners of the earth—Gog and Magog—in order to gather them for battle. They are as numerous as the sands of the sea.[cm]
9 They marched across the breadth of the earth[cn] and laid siege to the camp of the saints and the beloved city. However, fire came down from heaven and devoured them. 10 The devil who had led them astray was thrown into the fiery lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been flung to be tormented day and night forever and ever.
11 Preparation for the Judgment.[co] Then I saw a great white throne, and the one who was seated upon it. The earth and the sky fled so far from his presence that they could no longer be found.
12 The Resurrection and Judgment.[cp] And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and the scrolls were opened. Then another scroll was opened, the book of life, and the dead were judged according to their deeds, as were recorded in the scrolls.
13 The sea gave up all the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them. The dead were judged according to their deeds. 14 Then Death and Hades were hurled into the fiery lake. This fiery lake is the second death.[cq] 15 Anyone who was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the fiery lake.
The New Jerusalem A New World and a New People[cr]
Chapter 21
The New Heaven and the New Earth. 1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth. For the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea.[cs] 2 And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, like a bride adorned and ready for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice proclaim from the throne:
“Behold, God’s dwelling is with mankind;
he will dwell with them.
They will be his people,
and he will be their God,
God-with-them.[ct]
4 He will wipe every tear from their eyes,
and there will no longer be death.
Neither will there be any mourning or crying or pain,
for the old order has passed away.”
5 The one seated on the throne then said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” He also said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” 6 Then he said to me, “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End.[cu] To those who are thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the spring of life-giving water.
7 “The one who is victorious will inherit these things, and I will be his God and he will be my son.[cv] 8 But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the depraved, the murderers, the sexually immoral, the sorcerers, the idolaters, and liars of every kind, their place is the fiery lake of burning sulfur, which is the second death.”[cw]
The New Jerusalem. 9 One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls filled with the seven final plagues came forward and said to me, “Come, and I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.” 10 Then he carried me away in the spirit[cx] to the top of a very high mountain and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God. 11 It possessed the glory of God and had the radiance of some priceless jewel, like jasper, clear as crystal.
12 Its wall was of a great height, with twelve gates,[cy] and at the gates there were twelve angels. On the gates were written the names of the twelve tribes of Israel. 13 There were three gates to the east, three to the north, three to the south, and three to the west. 14 The city wall had twelve foundation stones, and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. 15 The angel who was speaking to me was carrying a gold measuring rod to measure the city,[cz] its gates, and its wall. 16 The city was laid out like a square, with its length and its width identical. He measured the city with his measuring rod: it was fifteen hundred miles[da] in length and width, and equal in height.
17 Then he measured its wall, and it was one hundred and forty-four cubits[db] high by human measurements, which the angel employed. 18 [dc]The wall was built of jasper, while the city itself was of pure gold, as bright as clear glass.
19 The foundations of the city wall were adorned with precious stones of every kind. The first of the foundation stones was jasper, the second sapphire, the third turquoise, the fourth emerald, 20 the fifth onyx, the sixth carnelian, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, and the twelfth amethyst. 21 The twelve gates were twelve pearls, each of the gates fashioned from a single pearl, and the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass.
22 I did not see any temple there, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. 23 And the city had no need for the sun or the moon to shine on it, for it was lit by the glory of God, and its lamp was the Lamb. 24 [dd]The nations will walk by its light, and to it the kings of the earth will bring their treasures.
25 The gates of the city will never be shut during the day—and there will be no night there. 26 The nations will come into it bringing their treasures and wealth. 27 However, nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does abominable or deceitful things, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life.[de]
Chapter 22
1 Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb[df] 2 down the middle of the street. On either side of the river was the tree of life[dg] with its twelve crops of fruit, yielding fruit each month. The leaves of the trees are for the healing of the nations.
3 Nothing accursed will be found there anymore. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him. 4 They will see his face,[dh] and his name will be on their foreheads. 5 And there will be no more night. They will have no need for light from a lamp or from the sun, for the Lord God will give them light, and they will reign[di] forever and ever.
Footnotes
- Revelation 4:1 In antiquity, books took the form of large scrolls. Thus, the most important and difficult part of the Book of Revelation is presented to us as a well-sealed scroll; the seals must be broken and, as they are, the visions unfold one after the other. In their main lines these visions intersect according to the classic plan of an apocalypse. After a grandiose inaugural vision (chs. 4 and 5), there is the prelude of events to come (Rev 6:1—11:9): it is the history of Israel, whose fall under the blows of the Roman armies is regarded as a judgment of God on his people. Then follow the trials and confrontations of the decisive moment (Rev 12:1—20:15): the nations come before us, slaves to the powers of evil that oppose the plan of God, who wants to save human beings. The Roman empire is certainly in the forefront. The Judgment will be even more terrible than that of Jerusalem if they remain hostile to Christ the Lord, to his Gospel, and to his Church. In any case, the great battle between God and the wicked powers will end with the extermination of these powers. Then, the drama can be resolved in the final accomplishment (Rev 21:1—22:15): God creates a new world reserved for his Elect.
But must we read, in this succession of numberless visions, the sketches of a mysterious calendar, a succession of events to come? The whole would then appears terribly supercharged, badly ordered, and—in a nutshell—incoherent. Doubtless, one can imagine that the elements of two different apocalypses—each redacted according to a similar movement—have been poorly coordinated, in a single book. But the author multiplies images and explanations to such an extent as to disconcert and baffle us. Yet, these events are described in such an ambiguous manner that they could be applied to all times. These things are always happening; we should always be ready for the end. - Revelation 4:1 This is a view of history imparted by faith. The Book suggests it by immediately transporting us to the throne of God where the destinies of the universe are decided. Images are multiplied to suggest in advance and to represent the hidden meaning of history. This inaugural vision places the readers in the worship of God; it confirms the role of Christ as Master of the history of the world.
- Revelation 4:1 Emperors are entertained like gods and are thought to have power over the world’s destiny. The truth is far different. Who indeed can open the door of the true God’s dwelling and express the greatness of his life and plan? Here are innumerable symbols orchestrated like a brilliant symphony. Everything is inaccessible greatness: the peace of the light, the dread of the All-powerful, the power that dominates the universe, the perfect knowledge of all things. All this is what is proclaimed in these images.
Already present around God are the fathers, those great ancestors whose sacred history faith proclaims (see Sir 44–50; Heb 10–12); for He is the God of the living and not of the dead, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, as Jesus attests in the Gospel (see Mk 12:26-27). The great manifestations (or epiphanies) of God depicted in the Old Testament are an invitation to adore God, and the author was inspired by them. We recognize the themes of Isaiah in the temple (see Isa 6) and especially the images of Ezekiel (see Ezek 1 and 10). In this way, the Jews were wont to express God’s domination over the universe.
Thus, the sea, always felt to be a savage and hostile power, was itself tamed by the all-powerful God. All the forces of heaven that can be imagined—for example, those to which are attributed the government of the seasons and the rhythm of time, the four living creatures that represent the best of creation—are at the service of God. All these symbols form a great hymn to the Creator. - Revelation 4:2 In the spirit: see note on Rev 1:10.
- Revelation 4:4 The elders exercise a priestly and royal role: they praise and adore God, offer him the prayers of the faithful, assist him in governing the world, and share in his power. The number twenty-four corresponds perhaps to the twenty-four classes or divisions of priests in 1 Chr 24:1-9, or to the twelve patriarchs plus the twelve apostles. They thus represent salvation history.
- Revelation 4:6 The four living creatures represent the created world that reveals God’s goodness and power. Their many eyes symbolize the universal knowledge and providence of God. They continue to give glory to God through their work in creation. Their forms (lion, ox, human, eagle) represent what is noblest, strongest, wisest, and most agile in the created world. Ever since St. Irenaeus, Christian tradition had seen in them symbols of the evangelists Mark, Luke, Matthew, and John, respectively.
- Revelation 5:1 As we have seen, the whole universe sings of the limitless power of the Creator. But he is also the Master of the universe, and the book he holds in his hand represents the destiny of the world. The book is held closed by seven seals, i.e., it contains the totality of the events of history, though in a hidden fashion, which no one can unveil.
However, a mediator of the Revelation does exist. He is the Messiah, who is designated here by the titles foretold of him in the Old Testament: the lion of Judah (see Gen 49:9) to whom victory is promised (see Isa 11:1, 10; see also 2 Sam 7), the Messiah King, shoot of the stock from which David was descended.
It is Christ in the power of his Resurrection who receives the mastery over the destinies of the entire universe. He is represented in his glory after the manner of a Lamb slain but standing (the figure of the Paschal Lamb is the main title for Christ in this Book, used twenty-eight times). This unusual expression is intended to recall Passover, the passover lamb, and the sacrificial Death of Christ for the redemption of the human race, but also to assert that he is ever living and the conqueror of death. The seven horns symbolize an infinite power.
The one with infinite power is the Redeemer who has acquired the people by his Blood. The Creator ratifies this and places in Christ’s hands the succession of events until their fulfillment. Then the angels, the elders, and all the great figures in heaven that can be imagined will each come in turn to render the worship due to the Master of time, and the entire universe unites to acclaim the risen one. Indeed, the coming of Christ is a capital turning point, and a new song is required to celebrate it (see Phil 2). - Revelation 5:9 New song: a song that celebrates a new act of divine deliverance (see Rev 14:3; Pss 33:3; 96:1; 144:9; Isa 42:10). With your blood you purchased for God people: the theme of Christ’s sacrificial Death (see Mk 10:45; 1 Cor 6:20).
- Revelation 6:1 The book of destiny is probably not a scroll in the classical sense. It is a document that is folded and then sealed, folded and sealed, etc., seven times. It resembles a Roman legal document. Thus, as each seal is broken, part of the document becomes legible. When the seventh seal is broken (Rev 8:1), the hour is going to sound; but we are still living in suspense: trumpets will sound, one after another until the seventh one; then the great act will be played out (Rev 11:15).
Nonetheless, the unfurling of the wrath is not described to frighten believers; the author wants to strengthen them, to announce to them that the destiny of the world has been turned around and God’s plan is on the way to being fulfilled. In accord with the perspectives of the prophecies and the Gospel, a Remnant will be saved, the community of Christ and the true People of God (Rev 7). All the chapters that follow seem to interpret the history of the world in the perspective of the destiny reserved for the Jewish people. Yet the end of Jerusalem and its destruction are not the end of history; they are only a turning point (Rev 10:1—11:13)—then the time of the nations can truly begin (Rev 12:1—19:10). - Revelation 6:1 The first secrets are unveiled. Already the images are terrifying. The colors of the horses suffice to create fright. Three horsemen sow war, famine, and pestilence, those great scourges in which the ancients see God’s judgment on proud and indifferent ages and on unjust people (see, e.g., Lev 26:21-26; Deut 32:34; Ezek 5:17; 6:11f; 7:14f; 12:16; 14:13-21; 33:27; Jer 15:2-4; Mt 24:6f). Hades follows in the wake of the last horseman to swallow the victims into its gloomy abode.
There is some doubt about the figure of the first horseman, crowned and mounted on a white horse. Is it Christ, or a false Messiah, or simply another scourge, the well-known scourge of the voracious beasts who decimate travelers? The allegory of the four horses and horsemen who ride out into the four quarters of the world is taken from Zechariah (1:8-10; 6:1-8). - Revelation 6:4 A large sword: symbol of war.
- Revelation 6:5 Scales: symbol of hunger: food is rationed and sold at very high prices. The rider with the scales probably represents social injustice. A day’s wages: literally, “a denarius.”
- Revelation 6:8 Hades: personification of the abode of the dead, i.e., the netherworld (see notes on Rev 1:9-20 and Mt 16:18).
- Revelation 6:9 Persecution is unleashed. The victims, as though immolated in sacrifice, are all reunited around God and already clothed in the garment of joy. This presence of the victims attests that oppression has been lifted on earth. For the people of the Bible possess too great a sense of justice to imagine that such violent injustices as persecutions constitute an indifferent thing in the eyes of God and that they can go unpunished forever. They are like a challenge to God (see Lk 18:7). God must intervene, and bloody persecutions are among the signs of the end (see Mk 13:9-13).
- Revelation 6:10 Inhabitants of the earth: i.e., humankind in its hostility to God (see Rev 3:10; 8:13; 11:10; 13:8, 12; 17:2, 8).
- Revelation 6:11 White robe: symbol of the joy and triumph of the Resurrection (see Rev 3:5, 18; 11:10; 13:8, 12; 17:2, 8). Until the roll was completed of their fellow servants and brethren who were still to be killed: there was an apocalyptic idea in the air—sparked by noncanonical literature—that God rules the world according to a predetermined time schedule (see 2 Esdras 4:35-37) and that the death of a certain number of the righteous must occur before the end takes place (see 1 Enoch 47:4).
- Revelation 6:12 The cosmic destruction announces the Day of the Lord (see Isa 34:4; Mk 13:6, 24f). It is an astonishing spectacle that this firmament will be rolled up like a large scroll. The cosmos enters a phase of distortion and convulsion. The threat hangs over everyone; no one escapes the paralyzing fear. The author uses to great advantage many of the images of the Old Testament (see Isa 2:10, 19; 34:4; Hos 10:8; Joel 2:11; 3:4).
- Revelation 7:1 In 587 B.C., on the eve of the destruction of Jerusalem, the survivors were, so to speak, marked to be preserved from the catastrophe (see Ezek 9). The great fear is not for the community of the persecuted. The calamities that will overtake the world will not touch them. Thus, God gathers together his Elect. They may go through the trial of the years A.D. 66 to 70 and finally the history of the world, which is that of the sufferings of the Church. But they will not fall prey to condemnation. This people that is gathered together is first of all the Remnant of Israel. From each of the twelve tribes there will be twelve thousand survivors: this is a symbolic number meaning fullness and perfection. Then the vision is enlarged: the Remnant becomes a multitude without number, gathered together from amid all the nations of the earth. From all sides come forth the martyrs and all those who endured trials: the whole Church. This is a grandiose celebration of happiness and triumph. In a striking foreshortening, the author sketches a tableau of the Church in the grip of tribulations and persecutions, assisted by Christ, her Shepherd, and led toward her heavenly victory, which anticipates the splendid final vision of the new Jerusalem (Rev 21:1—22:5).
- Revelation 7:5 Judah is placed first because of Christ, who is “the Lion of the tribe of Judah” (Rev 5:5). Manasseh: one of the two halves of the tribe of Joseph that are both cited (the other being Ephraim but called “Joseph” in v. 8)—doubtless in order to make up twelve tribes. Daniel is omitted probably because of a late tradition that the Antichrist was to arise from that tribe.
- Revelation 7:17 Springs of living water: i.e., the grace of God, which flows from Christ (see Rev 21:6; 22:1, 17; Jn 4:10, 14).
- Revelation 8:1 We are now at the great Day of God’s Coming. Everything is unmoving in a solemn silence. It is the hour when the prayer of those persecuted—which is symbolized by the incense—is going to be heard (see Rev 6:9-11). Calamities arise to jostle the earth. At the sound of the trumpets, which are part of the scene for the Coming of God (see 1 Thes 4:16), seven tableaus will pass before our eyes in a dramatization without letup.
- Revelation 8:3 The altar is the altar of incense in the Jewish sanctuary; the gold censer is the thurible or fire-shovel used to carry the burning coals from the altar of holocausts to the altar of incense.
- Revelation 8:7 The earth, sea, streams, sources, and stars—everything is disfigured. The universe becomes chaos and lays itself waste. The author amplifies images taken from the Book of Exodus (chs. 7–10).
- Revelation 8:7 See the seventh plague of Egypt (Ex 9:23f) and Joel 3:3.
- Revelation 8:8 See the first plague of Egypt (Ex 7:20f).
- Revelation 8:11 Wormwood: a bitter-tasting plant that is a metaphor for calamity, sorrow, and death (see Prov 5:3f; Jer 9:15; Lam 3:19).
- Revelation 8:12 See the darkness that occurred for three days during the ninth plague of Egypt (Ex 10:21-23).
- Revelation 8:13 After the universe, the human race will itself be struck. The eagle announces the three calamities.
- Revelation 9:1 A fallen star, doubtless Satan himself, opens the door of the abyss, which is regarded as the prison in which the evil spirits are held while awaiting their final punishment. An army of strange locusts escapes (see the eighth and ninth plagues of Egypt—Ex 10:12-15, 21-23—as well as the invasion of locusts in Joel 1:4—2:10). These do not devour the harvest, as one would expect, but attack humans. It is an invasion of a fierce army, led by a satanic being, whose name in Hebrew is Abaddon, meaning perdition or ruin, and in Greek Apollyon, meaning destroyer. The writer has not resisted the enticing pleasure of giving this being a name that is a caricature of the great Greek god Apollo. Job 3:21 is cited in v. 6.
- Revelation 9:13 These ancient monsters seem to have had an appointment to meet on the banks of the Euphrates, to be then unleashed as a savage horde on the people. The visionary is undoubtedly thinking of the four corps of the military that invaded Judea from Syria for the second phase of the Jewish War in an expedition that was particularly destructive and murderous. The event was always supposed to be a sign that jump-started consciences. Alas, it merely leads to bewilderment and decomposition!
- Revelation 9:13 I heard a voice: to show that the punishment inflicted on the pagans was the result of the prayer of the martyrs, described in Rev 6:9-10.
- Revelation 9:15 For the day of the divine wrath, see Rev 6:17.
- Revelation 9:20 Demons: spiritual beings allied with Satan and wielding an evil influence on human beings (see Deut 4:28; Ps 115:5-7; 1 Cor 10:20).
- Revelation 10:1 The large scroll, whose seven seals are being broken one after another, is said to contain the entire History of Salvation, which unfolds from Christ’s Death and Resurrection to the day of the final judgment. This history is brought to mind from the viewpoint of the destiny of the Jewish people, but the last episode in this history includes the judgment and salvation of the nations, which are here set forth.
An angel brings forth and unrolls another text; the messenger dominates heaven and the sea, i.e., his announcement concerns the whole universe. The scroll that the angel is holding here contains the story of clashes between the Church and the forces that control the pagan world. It is a small scroll, because the events told in it are connected with the history of Israel, in which the end of Jerusalem introduces the era of the nations.
There will be no more delay. Everything remains secret, yet everything will be played out between the sixth and the seventh trumpet. The scene of the scroll that is eaten was inspired by an account of Ezekiel (2:8—3:3). The revelation is sweet and bitter: sweet because it is a word of salvation and makes known the final triumph of Christ and his faithful; bitter because it announces the trials and tribulations that in so many texts of the Bible precede the judgment of God. The Gospel speaks of the joy of the woman giving birth in sorrow (Jn 16:21). - Revelation 10:7 The mysterious purpose of God: literally, “the mystery of God,” i.e., the end of the present age when the power of evil will be overcome (see Rev 17:1—19:4, 11-21; 20:7-10; Rom 16:25f; 2 Thes 2:6-12) and the Kingdom of God is established and all creation is renewed (see Rev 21:1—22:5).
- Revelation 11:1 The holy city is crushed under the blows of Titus, but in the Church, the new Israel, everything that the temple, the altar, and the worshipers represent will not cease; true worship will continue. In a hostile world, the witnesses of Christ will continue to spread the Word of God, despite persecutions, until the Second Coming.
Let us try to see a bit more clearly into the details of the symbols used by the author to impart this certitude to believers subjected to torture. Measuring Jerusalem calls to mind—since Ezekiel (40:3) and Zechariah (2:5-6)—protection and reconstruction. But only the reserved part of the temple is spared, i.e., while the Church will be persecuted and even give forth martyrs, the saints will never be harmed. While the bodies of the holy ones (represented by the exterior of the temple) are crushed, their souls (represented by the interior of the temple) are safe in God’s hands.
The two witnesses—perhaps Peter and Paul—combine the traits of several persons, especially Moses and Elijah (of whom Judaism of that time mentions the ascension: v. 11) and one of whom changed water into blood (Ex 7:17; 10:11), while the other predicted a drought (1 Kgs 17:1). The Gospel places both at the side of Christ during the Transfiguration (Mk 9:2-8). Next come two mysterious personalities who, according to Zechariah (4:3, 14) cited in v. 4 of our text, represent the priesthood and the Kingdom uniting their efforts to guide the people of God. These are also Christian figures, of Christ first and then of the apostles—tradition names Peter and Paul, the two champions of the early Church, who died at Rome under Nero in A.D. 64 or 67. Finally, these mysterious figures stand for the whole Church bearing witness to her faith and suffering for the sake of the Gospel even until martyrdom. It is not permitted to put their bones in the grave (v. 9), i.e., the testimony of the martyr Church cannot disappear into oblivion.
Just as the dry bones of the people of the Old Testament came to life in the eyes of the Prophet Ezekiel (37:5, 10), so the Christian martyrs are destined for resurrection and glorification.
The great city is symbolic of the high places of infidelity according to the Bible. In Rev 16:19; 17:18; 18:10, it is Rome; here, it is Rome or Jerusalem or any other city that makes itself omnipotent.
The beast cited in v. 7 (see Dan 7:21) represents the imperial power, destructive power, that claimed to be divine. Speaking of survivors (v. 13), the author thinks, perhaps, as did Paul (Rom 11:13-27), of a conversion of the Jewish people preceding Christ’s Return. - Revelation 11:2 Forty-two months . . . twelve hundred and sixty days . . . three and a half days . . . a year, two years, and a half year (12:14): symbolic durations, designating typical periods of persecution according to Dan 7:25.
- Revelation 11:15 The seventh trumpet sounds to announce the definitive restoration of the Kingdom of God and Christ. With the resurrection of the dead, Israel sees the completion of its promises of salvation: there will be reward for true worshipers and condemnation for rebels. The thanksgiving of the elders can rise before the throne of God.
According to a Jewish tradition, allusions to which are found in the Second Book of Maccabees (2:5-8), the Ark of the Covenant, which was destroyed by the fire in the temple in 587 B.C., was to reappear in the last times; the hour for this has come.
A new Sinai arises in heaven forever. The hour of judgment is, in the final analysis, the judgment of the definitive and perfect Covenant. Certainly, the earthly temple is destroyed, but the true and complete worship takes place in heaven. - Revelation 11:19 Ark of his covenant: the ark of the Old Testament was a chest of acacia wood (see Deut 10:1f) that symbolized God’s throne and his presence among his people. It was probably destroyed during Neburazadan’s destruction of the temple in Jerusalem (see 2 Ki 25:8-10). The New Testament writers use it to symbolize God’s faithfulness to the Covenant made with his people.
- Revelation 12:1 The animosity exhibited by the public authorities against Christian communities has become persecution. Now the grand declarations of loyalty toward the power are ended (see Rom 13:1-7; Tit 3:1; 1 Pet 2:13-17). The time has come, not to organize some armed defense or subversion but to resist every pressure and to stand fast in fidelity to Christ even to the shedding of blood. At this point, the Roman empire comes on the scene as the instrument used by all the forces hostile to Christ, his Kingdom, and his faithful. The Roman empire is a symbol of all earthly empires with their claim to impose their own ideas and purposes as a religion. The struggle will end with the victory of the risen Christ and those who have put their trust in him.
1
Here then is the time of the nations or the pagans. In the previous chapters, which envisaged the last times from the viewpoint of Israel’s destiny, its place had already been marked out in anticipation (Rev 10:1—11:13). This is the scene itself. The structure of the chapters that follow is less clear; however, we find once again the same procedure as in the seven visions and the seven bowls. - Revelation 12:1 Two types play a role in this inaugural vision. The ancient prophecy of Genesis (3:15) is fulfilled: a struggle in which there is no truce opposes the posterity of the chosen people and the forces of evil. The woman who gives birth personifies first of all the chosen people, from which the Messiah is to be born; there is certainly a reference to him in v. 5, which cites some classic Messianic texts: Isa 66:7 and Ps 2:9.
A long-standing Christian tradition also identifies the woman with the Virgin Mary, an exemplar of the chosen people. Modern exegetes rarely support so explicit an interpretation, but do not deny that the role of the one called “woman” in the fourth Gospel (Jn 2:4; 19:26) may have indirectly inspired, at least partially, this description in the Book of Revelation.
The dragon (see Dan 7; 8:10) has all the characteristics of the power that rises up against God: seven heads, ten horns, behavior capable of destroying the order of the universe (v. 4, citing Dan 8:10). The dragon is Satan, the eternal accuser of human beings before God (see Job 1:6-11; 2:1-10). After this “the rest of her [the woman’s] offspring” (v. 17)—i.e., the faithful followers of Christ—suffer a period of struggles and trials in “the wilderness” (v. 6), i.e., on the earthly journey of the Church. In these trials the Church will not lack the strength given by the manna (see v. 6), an evident reference to the Eucharist.
Hell can launch against the Church all the forces unleashed by the Roman political authorities. In this scene there is also a struggle between Michael and the dragon (v. 7), which illustrates the victory of Christ; the description draws its inspiration from the Book of Daniel. - Revelation 12:6 Twelve hundred and sixty days: see note on Rev 11:2-3, 11.
- Revelation 12:7 Michael: i.e., God’s champion according to Jewish tradition (see Dan 10:12-21; 12:1); his name means “Who can compare with God?”
- Revelation 12:10 Accuser: the translation for the Hebrew word “Satan” (see 1 Chr 21:1; Job 1–2; Zec 3:1). In Hebrew scripture, Satan is a type of district attorney who accuses people of their sins at the Last Judgment.
- Revelation 12:14 A year, two years, and a half year: see note on Rev 11:2.
- Revelation 12:18 This beast that is possessed of extraordinary power (seven heads and ten horns) personifies the Roman empire. Its historical success is a blasphemous parody of the Christian mystery; the emperors have themselves acclaimed with divine titles, while for Christians only God and the Lamb have a right to the title “Lord” (Kyrios). The head that was wounded and then healed probably refers to Nero who was forced to commit suicide (by pushing a sword into his head) and was said to have risen from the dead (again, a blasphemous parody of Jesus’ Death and Resurrection).
- Revelation 12:18 I took my position . . .: another translation is: “he took his position . . .”—which would join v. 18 to the preceding paragraph.
- Revelation 13:5 Forty-two months: see note on Rev 11:2-3, 11.
- Revelation 13:8 Written from the creation of the world: some place these words at the very end of the sentence (after the word “slain”). Book of life belonging to the Lamb: see note on Rev 3:5.
- Revelation 13:11 The beast comes probably from Asia, because it was the East that gave rise to so many religious currents of thought that promoted emperor worship. The time has come when pressures are brought to bear and people are seduced. This picture fits in very well with the reign of Domitian, who banished Christians from the empire for refusing to practice emperor worship, the new sign of civic submission. The majority of believers resist, despite pressures and seductions of every kind.
The number of the beast has always been a snare for those who seek, by way of abstruse calculations, to identify the Antichrist with some figure of their own time. The number probably conceals the name of some personage known to readers of that time; the letters of the Greek alphabet and those of the Hebrew alphabet also stood for numbers, as is still the case with the Roman alphabet to some extent. Using gematria, a procedure for interpreting numbers, it was certainly possible to discern in the number 666 the words “Emperor Nero” in Hebrew. If we read “616” instead of “666,” as some manuscripts do, it could be “Emperor Nero” in Greek. - Revelation 14:1 The great hopes of the Prophets (e.g., Isa 2:1-5) are here realized; the new chosen people, in a full and perfect number, gather at Zion, the mount of definitive encounter with God. The martyrs sing the new song of deliverance and victory (see Ex 15:1-18; Pss 33:1-3; 98:1). It expresses the virginal joy of those who have remained faithful to God, those who have not committed falsehood, adultery, and fornication—i.e., in the language of the Bible, those who have not succumbed to the worship of false gods. They have not followed the emperor but only Christ. They have been, as it were, espoused to Christ (see Rev 19:9; 21:2; 2 Cor 11:2).
- Revelation 14:1 One hundred and forty-four thousand: that is, twelve thousand from each tribe.
- Revelation 14:3 New song: see note on Rev 5:9.
- Revelation 14:4 The ones who have not defiled themselves with women: this probably refers to those who avoided defiling relationships with the pagan world. Follow the Lamb: as disciples (see Mt 19:21; Mk 8:34). Firstfruits: a word used to refer to the first converts in a region (see Rom 16:5) and the first to rise from the dead (see 1 Cor 15:20). The author of this Book regards believers as choice offerings to God and the Lamb.
- Revelation 14:6 In the Old Testament, Babylon had become a symbol of every empire that was hostile to the People of God.
- Revelation 14:10 Cup of his wrath: the Old Testament commonly portrays the wrath of God by a cup of wine to be drunk (see Ps 75:9; Isa 51:17; Jer 25:15). Burning sulfur: this figured prominently in the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah (see Gen 19:24), and Ps 11:6 speaks of a similar fate awaiting the wicked. The figure is also found elsewhere in the Old Testament and in the final chapters of Rev (19:20; 20:10; 21:8).
- Revelation 14:13 Blessed: the second beatitude (see note on Rev 1:3).
- Revelation 14:14 “You will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of the Power and coming with the clouds of heaven,” Jesus had declared in the presence of the high priest who condemned him (Mk 14:62, inspired by Dan 7:13). The Judgment is near; the time of vintage and harvest is its classic image in the Bible, evoking the reaping or storing of fruits as well as the harsh plundering of the terrain and the relentless gathering of the produce.
The winepress, in which the grapes are crushed, is an image of a battle aimed at savage extermination (see Isa 63:2-3); as such, it yields blood and not juice. Here the entire earth is involved; the two hundred miles, literally, “1600 stadia” (4 x 4 x 100), indicate this universality. The Judgment takes place outside Jerusalem—the author wants to indicate that those condemned are excluded from the assembly united around God. - Revelation 14:14 Son of man: see note on Mt 8:20.
- Revelation 15:1 These constitute the decisive sign of the Judgment, whose execution will be set forth later.
- Revelation 15:2 Those who have resisted are like the Hebrews after their crossing of the Red Sea. Here the mass of water, so terrifying to the ancients, seems marvelously tamed. It is the turn of the martyrs to chant the song of liberation (see Ex 15:1-8), playing on instruments far superior to any earthly musical instruments.
- Revelation 15:5 Will heaven be mute in the presence of oppression by political authorities or by a civilization that turns human beings into slaves and claims to pass as God? Are the sufferings and martyrdom of victims a cry that is perhaps useless and fades away in the history of the world? The conscience of believers protests against this possibility. But it is necessary to determine in what God’s Judgment consists: it will unmask the imposture and recognize the courage of those who have resisted this perversion. Here some scenes of this Judgment flash before our eyes.
- Revelation 15:5 The temple, that is, the tabernacle of the Testimony: i.e., the heavenly sanctuary. The phrase conflates the tabernacle of Moses and the temple of Solomon. The Old Testament had described in blazing images the God who mysteriously took possession of the temple. In the same images (see 1 Ki 8:10) we here contemplate the true temple of heaven, the manifestation of God. It is a description of the Judgment.
- Revelation 16:1 The story of the plagues in Egypt (Ex 7–12) remained deeply inscribed in the imagination of the Jews; once again, as in chapters 8–10 (vision of the trumpets), that story here inspires the description of the final cataclysm of the universe and of the lives of its peoples and nations. The desolating picture shows all the hostile forces united at Armageddon (the Megiddo of the Bible, where King Josiah died with his troops); it became a place of sinister memory, and an omen and symbol of military defeat and even annihilation (see 2 Ki 23:29-30; Zec 12:11). The great city Babylon, i.e., Rome, is collapsing.
- Revelation 16:2 Similar to the sixth plague of Egypt (see Ex 9:8-11).
- Revelation 16:3 Similar to the first plague of Egypt (see Ex 7:20f).
- Revelation 16:10 Similar to the ninth plague of Egypt (see Ex 10:21-23).
- Revelation 16:13 Frogs: an allusion to the second plague of Egypt (see Ex 7:26—8:11).
- Revelation 16:15 This verse interrupts the text. It fits in better in the literary atmosphere of the letters to the Churches, especially Rev 3:3-4, 18. Blessed: the third beatitude (see note on Rev 1:3).
- Revelation 16:16 Armageddon: i.e., the “mountain of Megiddo,” the site of many battles in antiquity (see Jdg 5:19f; 2 Ki 9:27; 2 Chr 35:20-24); it symbolized the final defeat of the powers of evil.
- Revelation 17:1 Harlot and mother of harlots: such is Babylon because it is the wellspring of idolatry, especially by imposing emperor worship; and for the people of the Bible an idol is an abomination, and idolatry is prostitution (Ezek, chs. 16 and 23). The woman on the beast is named Babylon, a name that stands for all oppressions and all sufferings; the real reference is to imperial Rome, the famous city on the seven hills (v. 9), the center of the great empire that has enslaved the peoples of the Mediterranean basin (vv. 1, 15). She will drink the blood of Christians, especially during the terrible persecutions of Nero and Domitian.
The beast that once was and now is not, but is returning—a parody of God who is described as “hIm who is, who was, and who is to come” (Rev 1:4)—is probably Nero (A.D. 54–68), whose resurrection was predicted in some popular legends. And if the seven kings need to be identified (vv. 9-11), the list is as follows: Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, Nero, Vespasian, and Titus (omitting Galba, Otho, and Vitellius, interim emperors, who ruled in quick succession in A.D. 68–69, after the death of Nero). The eighth emperor acts as people would expect Nero to act if he returned to life, i.e., as a beast; we can give him a name: Domitian (A.D. 81–96), during whose reign the Book of Revelation was probably composed. The other ten kings (v. 12) lead peoples subject to the empire. Empires and governors waste the political and cultural patrimony of Rome (v. 16): tyranny and bullying will be the cause of its destruction. - Revelation 17:3 In the spirit: see note on Rev 1:10.
- Revelation 17:14 Lord of lords and King of kings: a title that stresses the Lamb’s supreme sovereignty (see Deut 10:17; Ps 136:2-3; Dan 2:47; 1 Tim 6:15).
- Revelation 18:1 The fall of Rome is described as if the empire were already collapsing.
- Revelation 18:9 Drawing upon the laments of Ezekiel over the fall of Tyre (Ezek 26–28), the author greets the fall of Rome as already complete. This satire on the ruins of the empire also harbors, in its final lines, a tone of poignant complaint. The tableau nicely sketches the maritime grandeur of Rome, the development of commercial exchanges—without forgetting the traffic in slaves and prostitutes (v. 13)—and the extraordinary accumulation of riches.
- Revelation 18:24 You: the Greek has “her.”
- Revelation 19:1 No other image could better evoke the fulfillment of all the expectations of believers than this vast heavenly liturgy and the vision of the wedding feast (see Mt 22:1-14; 25:1-13).
The plea of the martyrs (see Rev 6:9) has been heard; the immense throng, along with the twenty-four elders and the four living beings, makes up the entire Church, reunited at last. The Kingdom of God reveals itself in all its reality. It is described as Christ’s marriage to the Church and as the complete manifestation of the Covenant, which is God’s ardent, jealous love for his people (see Isa 54:1-8; Hos 2:16-18) and Christ’s nuptial love for his Church (see Eph 5:23, 25, 32; see also Jn 3:29). - Revelation 19:1 Alleluia: an important exclamation of praise in the Psalms that is found only here in the New Testament. It is derived from two Hebrew words meaning “Praise the Lord.”
- Revelation 19:9 Blessed: the fourth beatitude (see note on Rev 1:3).
- Revelation 19:10 Witness to Jesus: the proclamation that the predictions of the Prophets have been truly fulfilled.
- Revelation 19:11 There now follows a new series of six tableaus, which the imagination projects onto the destiny of the world. Is it necessary then to foresee a new series of events in an ever more distant future? And is the history of God’s judgments something that is forever beginning again? The author has no intention of setting forth an indefinite series of calendars of the future. But before sketching the tableau of the new heaven and the new earth, he wishes one last time to interpret the drama of the world; for he has at hand other materials, some of which greatly resemble those that he has already used. He organizes them to compose this rapid sequence: a powerful summary of the whole History of Salvation. It begins with Jesus and takes us well beyond the fall of Rome to the resurrection of the dead and the last judgment—a kind of tragic prelude whose contrast heightens the dazzling joy that will later inform the grand symphony of the heavenly Jerusalem.
- Revelation 19:11 To describe the victory of Christ, the author uses the classic images of the warrior Messiah who establishes justice (Isa 11:4), annihilates hostile powers (Isa 63:3), subjects the nations (Ps 2:9), and traverses the world as the efficacious Word of God (see Wis 18:14-18). Through him justice reigns upon the world. He is the truthful and faithful one who fulfills God’s promise and makes his justice a reality.
- Revelation 19:15 Will tread the winepress: the image was commonplace in the Prophets for symbolizing God’s destruction of the enemies of his people on the great day of his wrath (see Gen 49:9-12; Isa 63:1-6; Jer 25:30; Joel 4:13); the wine is the blood of the enemies.
- Revelation 19:16 Thigh: this should probably be “standard”; the two words are quite similar in Hebrew and can be confused. King of kings and Lord of lords: see note on Rev 17:14.
- Revelation 19:17 In a final, gigantic combat, the forces of destruction will be annihilated (see Rev 14:6-13). This is the terrible sacrifice of which Ezekiel speaks (39:2, 17-20).
- Revelation 19:19 The beast and the false prophet are thrown into the fiery lake and destroyed. The vision sums up in a single scene all the tableaus of the fall of Rome, and corresponds to that in Rev 14:14-20. The beast, the false prophet, and the entire campaign aimed at imposing emperor worship are described in ch. 13.
- Revelation 20:1 The dragon is enchained for a thousand years in the abyss, the dwelling of the powers of evil (see Rev 9:2). This refers to Satan’s defeat when Jesus died and rose from the dead. The thousand year period means “for a long time.” Satan’s power is limited (as if he is imprisoned for a long time). Yet he still tempts the holy ones on the earth during this period.
- Revelation 20:4 While waiting for the History of Salvation to be completed, the witnesses to Christ’s love already reign with Jesus when they take up their crosses and follow Jesus. However, before the final triumph arrives—the great Judgment that one imagines must complete history—evil unleashes a last terrible assault on the Church, as envisaged by Ezekiel (chs. 36–39) and Paul (2 Thes 2). Then will be fulfilled the prophecy of Genesis (3:15) that in advance sketched the profound link of the drama of history and its end: the annihilation of the serpent, the personification of evil.
A reign of a thousand years? This passage has served as the basis of all the millenniarist interpretations, which await the coming of a political kingdom of Christ on earth. Must we at least imagine a first earthly accomplishment of the Kingdom of God before the final and eternal transformation? But the author does not speak of a return of Christ in earthly conditions. He wants to affirm above all that those who have died as witnesses of Jesus are not separated from him while awaiting the full resurrection (vv. 11-13); he also wishes to suggest that from now on believers have access to the tree of life in heaven—of which the figure “one thousand” may be a symbol—hence that they partake in the communion of God. In any case, the thousand-year reign is a symbolic representation, which thus prohibits all speculation. At best it evokes a length of time and a life of the Church beyond persecutions. But we must not forget that for God a thousand years are like one day (see Ps 90:4). - Revelation 20:4 A thousand years: early tradition took this verse literally: after a first real resurrection, that of the martyrs, Christ would return to earth and reign there for a thousand years. The Church has rejected this literal millenniarism.
- Revelation 20:6 Blessed: the fifth beatitude (see note on Rev 1:3). The second death: eternal death, or damnation, which cannot be followed by a resurrection.
- Revelation 20:8 Ezekiel speaks of “Gog, king of Magog.” Here the two names symbolize the pagan nations gathered together against the Church at the end of the world.
- Revelation 20:9 The earth is Palestine; the beloved city is Jerusalem, a symbol of the Church.
- Revelation 20:11 The earth and the sky disappear; the first creation is abolished. Human beings alone remain, responsible toward God.
- Revelation 20:12 This is a grandiose final sequence. As in Daniel (12:1-7) and Matthew (25:31-36), all human beings appear before the tribunal of God and are judged according to their choices and life commitments. (This principle of judgment according to one’s works is also found in Ps 62:12; Jer 17:10; Rom 2:6; 1 Pet 1:17 and elsewhere.) Everything is laid bare before the Lord—the same idea expressed in the symbol of books in Daniel (7:10). There is another book—that of Life; it contains the names of those who have resolutely chosen Christ in the face of idolatry and are now destined for glory (see Rev 13:8; 17:8). When one knows all that is represented by the concept of the netherworld, the sojourn of death and the power of death personified in the Bible, verse 14 announces the end of the anguish and fear that have weighed heavily on humankind throughout history.
- Revelation 20:14 The second death, in which death itself is swallowed up, is the definitive failure, the condemnation from which no resurrection can rescue (Rev 2:11; 20:6; 21:8).
- Revelation 21:1 A new city for human beings descends from heaven, as beautiful as a new bride; a new universe replaces the old; life gushes up in floods, and an endless feast begins. How can we interpret these marvelous images? We must let ourselves be captivated by the poetic evocation, by the incantation of this exciting symphony. We must project all the attention of people and the Church toward this meeting and this reconciliation, which we regard as the sole definitive condition for humankind—creating a mystical impetus toward Christ, a hope without frontiers.
Let us then strive to highlight some themes that this vision overlaps on one another. At the end of the work of salvation, it is a new creation that God accomplishes (v. 1), surpassing all the images of paradise. Gone are all things that constrained, all limits, imperfections, implacable necessities, evil: the sea, the sun and moon, and the night. Streams spring forth more attractive than those of Eden, for they are a share in the unfathomable life of God; the tree of life finds its power multiplied to infinity (Rev 22:2).
For human beings, this work of salvation is essentially the gathering of the People of God for a definitive Covenant with the Lord. It is presented as a wedding feast in which is realized—in unimaginable fullness—the love of God and human beings, of Christ and the Church, which in keeping with beautiful Biblical texts is expressed as a wedding (see Isa 54:5; 62:4; Mt 9:15; Jn 3:29; 2 Cor 11:2; Rev 19:1-10).
Dreams of the restoration of Jerusalem haunted the Jewish people, and the Prophets wrote about its spectacular resurrection like an image of the coming of God and the salvation of the people (see Ezek 40–48; Isa 65–66; Zec 14); the chant of Jerusalem is a crown-jewel in the Bible (see Pss 87; 122; 137; Isa 33:17-23). One day this movement finds its accomplishment far beyond all warrior or political images. We can think of inexpressible repatriation of human beings in the friendship of God, joy, and happiness. The future city of God’s elect is no longer built up by force of arms—it is a gift and grace coming from on high; it is nothing less than splendor (Rev 21:15-21).
There is no more need of institutions and signs for worship—the temple itself is surpassed: the risen Jesus is the sole place where may be found the joy of really and directly encountering God (see Heb 9:11; Jn 2:21). What extraordinary and joyous celebration in the eternal face-to-face vision of the Lord! - Revelation 21:1 The sea, the usual dwelling of the dragon and a symbol of evil, will disappear before the victorious march of the new Israel, as it did in the days of the Exodus, but this time for good.
- Revelation 21:3 This verse contains a combination of the classic formula of the Covenant (“You will be my people, and I will be your God”) and the name Immanuel (“God-with-us”), which was regarded as a name of the Messiah (Mt 1:23)—a fine assertion of the divinity of Christ, who is God and man. The complete and definitive Covenant between God and humankind will be accomplished at the end of time (see Isa 12:6; Joel 4:17, 21; Zep 3:15-17; Zec 2:14).
- Revelation 21:6 Alpha, Omega, Beginning, End: on these divine titles see note on Rev 1:4-8. Spring of life-giving water: see note on Rev 7:17.
- Revelation 21:7 He will be my son: this expression is reserved in the Old Testament for the King Messiah (2 Sam 7:14). Jesus reveals its full meaning by proclaiming his own divine sonship. Believers now share in this state of Christ.
- Revelation 21:8 Second death: see note on Rev 20:6.
- Revelation 21:10 In the spirit: see note on Rev 1:10.
- Revelation 21:12 Twelve gates: see Ezek 48:30-35. The number twelve here most likely stresses that the Church of the New Testament is a continuation of the People of God of the Old Testament. See v. 14, in which the twelve foundation stones bear the names of the twelve apostles.
- Revelation 21:15 Measure the city: see Ezek 40–41. The measuring in Rev 11 was to ensure protection; here it is done to indicate the size and symmetry of the eternal dwelling place of God’s people.
- Revelation 21:16 Fifteen hundred miles: literally, “twelve hundred stadia,” about twelve thousand furlongs. In the mind of the ancients the square was the perfect form. When the number twelve, which symbolizes the new Israel, is multiplied by 1000, it signifies supreme perfection. The city possesses the symmetrical dimensions of a perfect cube, which is akin to its earthly counterpart, the inner sanctuary in the tabernacle and temple (see 1 Ki 6:20).
- Revelation 21:17 One hundred and forty-four cubits: a cubit measured about eighteen inches in length.
- Revelation 21:18 The materials used show that this is not an earthly city. The twelve foundation stones of the wall are decorated with twelve precious stones, which correspond to the twelve stones on the high priest’s breastplate (see Ex 28:39). The gems form a magnificent kaleidoscope of colors symbolizing the ineffable glory of God.
- Revelation 21:24 The author is alluding to Isa 60:1-20, which foretells the entrance of the nations into the People of God. The open gates are a sign of an everlasting feast.
- Revelation 21:27 Book of life: see notes on Rev 3:5 and 20:12-15.
- Revelation 22:1 An allusion to the Trinity, since “the river of the water of life” symbolizes the Spirit (see Jn 7:37-39). See also note on Rev 7:17.
- Revelation 22:2 Tree of life: see Gen 2:9; 3:22; Ezek 47:12.
- Revelation 22:4 See his face: no human could see God’s face and live (Ex 33:20-23). This was in keeping with the custom in ancient times whereby criminals were banished from the king’s presence (see Est 7:8; see also 2 Sam 14:24). However, the residents of heaven will look on God without harm because they are now holy (see Mt 5:8; Jn 1:18; 1 Cor 13:12; 1 Tim 6:16; 1 Jn 3:2).
- Revelation 22:5 They will reign: see Rev 5:10; 20:6; Dan 7:18, 27.
