Revelation and Liturgy

Many people see the events of the Book of Revelation as predictions of future events. However, in order to fully understand these events, you need to look at the 1st century Fathers, and how Revelation was speaking about the revelation of God in Catholic liturgy.

The Fathers of the Church frequently referred to liturgy. The ancient liturgy of the Church incorporates many small details of the Apocalypse in a context in which they made sense.

Revelation did not mean some prediction of a future event. If you go to the Greek origin of the word Apocolyptos, it means a revealing, like peeling back the layers of an onion and revealing what is inside. That is the true meaning of Revelation.

There is an explicit connection between Liturgy & the Book of Revelation
For most early Christians, the Book of Revelation was incomprehensible apart from liturgy. In liturgy many parts of the puzzling book suddenly fall into place.

When Revelation is understood in the context of liturgy you see Sunday worship 1:10; high priest 1:13; altar 8:3-4, 11:1, 14:18; priest 4:4, 11:15, 14:13, 19:4, Vestments 1:13, 4:14, 6:11, 7:9, 15:6, 19:13-14; consecrated celibacy 14:4; lamp stands 1:12, 2:5, Penitence 2, 3; incense 5:8, 8:3-5; book/scroll 5:1; Sunday worship (1:10); Manna (2:17); the Eucharistic Host 2:17; chalices 15:7, 16, 21:9, the Sign of the Cross 7:3, 14:1, 22:4; Gloria 15:3-4; Alleluia 19:1, 3, 4, 6; Holy Holy Holy 4:8, Amen 19:4, 22:21; the Lamb of God 5:6, (and 27 other references in Revelation); the Blessed Virgin Mary 12:1-6, 13-17; intercession by angels & saints 5:8, 6:9-10, 8:3-4, St Michael 12:7; antiphonal chant 4:8-11, 5:9-14, 7:10-12; 18:1-8, Scripture reading 2-3, 5, 8:2-11; the priesthood of the faithful 1:6, 20:6; Catholicity/universality 7:9; silent contemplation 8:1; marriage supper of the Lamb 19:9, 17; and the Lamb of God, specifically 28 references.

These elements comprise much of the Apocalypse & most of the liturgy.

Angels & Christ pronounce blessings using standard liturgical format: Blessed is he who…
Liturgy not just in selected details. It is in the grand scheme too.

These are not interpretations/incidental details. They are the very stuff of the Apocalypse.

Revelations is not warning about 21st century geopolitics, or an encoded history of 1st century Roman Empire, or an instruction book on end times. It was about the very Eucharistic Sacrament which was beginning to draw Christians into the fullness of Catholic faith.

Jerusalem was supremely important for John’s readers. You should imagine a modern city with the combined importance of Washington DC, Wall Street, Oxford, and the Vatican. Within Jerusalem was the deepest affection to Temple. We can recognize the Temple in Revelation’s description of heaven:

7 golden lamp stands (1:12), altar of incense (8:3-5) before the Holy of Holies,
24 elders/presbyteroi/priests (4:4), sea of glass like crystal (4:6) pool of polished bronze held water. In the Center was the Ark of the Covenant (11:19).

The Temple and its trappings pointed to higher realities- it was to be modeled according to court of Heaven. David received the plan from God. Worship in the Temple mirrored worship of the angels in the eternal liturgy in heaven.

Revelation is something more than that. Israel prayed in the imitation of angels. The Church of the Apocalypse worshipped together with the angels (19:10). In Jerusalem only the priests went into Holy of Holies. In Revelation we hear of the nation of priests (5:10) in the presence of God.

No longer is there a heavenly archetype along with an earthly imitation. Revelation revealed one worship shared by men & angels.

John describes the passing away of the old world, old Jerusalem (which happened in 70AD), old Covenant, & the creation ‘new world, a new Jerusalem, a New Covenant.

We read Jn 2:19: Destroy this temple and in 3 days I will raise it up. Also in Jn 4: 21, 23: The hour is coming neither on mountain/Jerusalem will you worship the Father.

In the Apocalypse these predictions are fulfilled. A new Temple is revealed to be Christ’s mystical body, the Church. And worship in the Spirit takes place in a new & heavenly Jerusalem.

The torn Temple veil is significant: God made sure we would know the veil is removed from the Temple at Christ’s death. Now everyone could enter His presence on the Lord’s Day.

The word “Parousia” has been interpreted as the second coming of Christ. However, the end times are not the primary meaning of this word, if we look at the original Greek. Parousia meant the real, personal living active presence. A coming that takes place now, whenever Christians celebrate the Eucharist.

Liturgy is heaven on earth: We participate in the liturgy of heaven when we participate in Catholic liturgy. Liturgy on earth is a foretaste of the heavenly liturgy, a Revelation of what must soon take place born along by songs of the heavenly liturgy.

Lord Jesus Come in Glory: makes sense of the Apocalypse if we read this with a sacramental orientation. Look with eyes of faith and we, as the 1st Century Christians, and we can easily see the glory revealed in the Sunday Liturgy:

The Apocalypse is divides in half: Chapters 1-11 tell of the proclamation of letters to the 7 churches. This is the opening of the scroll, the Liturgy of the Word, the 1st half of the Catholic Liturgy.

The 2nd half begins in ch 11, the opening of God’s temple in heaven, and culminates in the pouring of 7 chalices & the marriage supper of the Lamb. Early Christians would have no trouble in identifying this as the Liturgy of the Eucharist.

for this posting.

I had always believed that Revelations was alegory for the finitness of our physical world, which at the time was the Roman Empire.

Also, the second coming of Christ. I have pretty much ignored that subject all together because I never heard a decent explanation. Understanding that Christ is in our midst during the celebration of the Eucharist and is the 2nd coming does make perfect sense.

Thanks,
Stihl

You've made want to re-read Revelations!