Revelation - Session 15

Revelation Class 15;  Heading to the Final Showdown
26 February 2025
Revelation, Chapter Twenty – Twenty-two

 

Andrew of Caesarea, Commentary on the Apocalypse, ed. David G. Hunter, trans. Eugenia Scarvelis Constantinou, vol. 123, The Fathers of the Church (Washington, DC: The Catholic University of America Press, 2011).

Fr. John Peck; Fr. Barnabas Powell. Rejecting RAPTUREMANIA: An Orthodox Look at a Dubious Doctrine (Function). Kindle Edition.

Patrick Henry Reardon, Revelation: A Liturgical Prophecy (Yonkers, NY: St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 2018).

Chapter Twenty

One thousand years.  

Andrew of Caesarea:  … The one thousand years, therefore, is the time from <the year of> the Incarnation of the Lord until the coming of the Antichrist.

Gog and Magog.

Fr. Patrick Reardon.  The name is not especially important for the identification of the invader; like the other names in these chapters of Ezekiel, it symbolizes evil realities much larger and more menacing than their historical references. Thus understood, Gog and his forces appear here in Revelation 20.

On Eternal Punishment

Andrew of Carsarea.  For also as there are “many mansions in my Father’s” <house> among those saved, thus, here too, there are different places and manners of punishments, those sharper and those milder, by which those not deemed worthy of the Book of Life will be tried.

Chapter Twenty-One

The End of Evil.

Fr. Patrick Reardon.  In this final vision, which lasts two chapters, John is aware that seven things are gone forever: the sea, death, grief, crying, pain, the curse, and the night (21:1, 4; 22:3, 5). Here we are dealing with the definitive abolition of conflict, the end of chaos. The first symbol of this chaos is the sea...

The New Eden.

Fr. Patrick Reardon.  John’s vision here, especially verses 19–21, is also related to Ezekiel 28:12–15, where we find joined the themes of the mountain and the precious stones, for this city is also the Garden of Eden, where those stones first grew (cf. Gen 2:10–12).

An Example of Symbolic Interpretation (the stones)

Andrew of Caesarea.  By the amethyst, being somehow fiery in appearance, I surmise Matthias is signified, having been deemed worthy of the divine fire in the distribution of tongues and filling again the place of the one who had fallen, with fiery yearning to be well pleasing to the One who had chosen <him>.

Chapter Twenty-Two

The Living Waters.

Fr. Patrick Reardon.  The theme of the living waters is very much central to the Johannine corpus (cf. Jn 4:7–15; 7:38; 19:34; 1 Jn 5:6–8).

The Seal/Name.

Fr. Patrick Reardon.  Heaven, portrayed here as vision and worship with the angels (verses 8–9), is for all those whose foreheads are sealed with the mark of the living God. This sealing, of course, stands in contrast to the mark of beast…

Blessed is the Kingdom…

Fr. Patrick Reardon.  In this book a great deal has been said about the worship in the heavenly sanctuary. Now we learn that Christians already share in the worship that the angels give to God (verses 8–9).

The End of Old Time

Fr. Patrick Reardon.  Verse 11 indicates a definite cut-off point in history, which is the final coming of Christ. Verse 12, which quotes Isaiah 40:10, promises the reward, which is access to the Holy City, eternal beatitude—the fullness of communion with God. In preparation for that reward, verses 14–16 are something of an altar call, an appeal for repentance, based on all that this book has said.

The Final Partition

Fr. Patrick Reardon.  In referring to those “outside” the City, John is relying on an ancient eucharistic discipline of the Church, called “excommunication,” which literally excluded the person from receiving holy communion. …

Some Terms

Chiliasm was (may have been?) renounced at the Second Ecumenical Council.  

The millennium is now.  The first resurrection confused people: it is the one to hades or the bosom of Abraham.

Pre-millennialism is very similar to chiliasm.  A literal reign.  It misunderstands the language.

About the Rapture

From Fr. John Peck and Fr. Barnabas Powell.  “There is no Rapture. It isn’t in the Bible. It was invented in the 19th century, and spread because of new religious groups, and the use of a specifically tailored study Bible. Believers will be present for the Great Tribulation to give their witness and glorify God, as the Bible says. There is no Third Coming of Christ. When Christ returns, that is the end of this world, and it will be unmistakable. There will be no doubt whatsoever.  Stop worrying about what you will do if Jesus comes back before you die. Instead, worry about what will happen if you die before Jesus comes back.”

From the OSB: Christ’s second coming will entail a sudden revelation of judgment.  One will be taken to heaven and the other left for eternal condemnation.  The separation of the saints from the wicked will occur on “the day when the Son of man is revealed” (v. 30) and not, as some speculate today, at an event that occurs before His return.

As for Preterism and Partial Preterism; the Orthodox Church does not look to the book of Revelation for specific data on the end times.  If you want to shoehorn it into this debate, it is partial-preterist.