2025/07/21

205. Issues raised in the Letter to the Hebrews (Chapters 1-2)

The writer of the Letter to the Hebrews, who was in an age when the New Testament had not yet been compiled into a systematic whole, seems to be trying to somehow explain theoretically Jesus Christ as seen through the eyes of faith and the new covenant, based on what he had heard, using the Old Testament. The text contains a separate thread from the topic of priesthood, which we discussed last time, in which the writer develops a remarkable reflection on the theme of faith. So, I would like to pick the issues the writer would have faced in leading his community, and finally, I will try to present the solutions to them. 

The writer first clarifies who Jesus, the Son of God, is (cf. Heb 1:1-3), and then explains the difference between the Son and the angels (cf. 1:4-14). The writer is very concerned with the theme of angels. That is because, just as it was an angel who announced the coming of the Son of God to Joseph and Mary, the Hebrews of that time generally believed that angels were intermediaries between God and humans, and that God's revelations were communicated through angels. Therefore, the writer had to carefully argue that Jesus Christ, fully God and fully man, was essentially superior to angels, despite appearing to be less than an angel. The Book of Revelation begins with the words, "The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his servants what must soon take place; and he made it known by sending his angel to his servant John" (Rev 1:1), which also shows the importance of showing Christ's superiority to angels clearly. 

In addition, the writer of the Letter to the Hebrews says, "Are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to serve, for the sake of those who are to obtain salvation?" (Heb 1:14), which is consistent with what the angel himself says in Revelation: "I am a fellow servant with you and your brethren who hold the testimony of Jesus" (Rev 19:10) and "I am a fellow servant with you and your brethren the prophets, and with those who keep the words of this book" (22:9). However, as the writer of the Letter to the Hebrews urges self-control, continuing, "Therefore we must pay the closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it" (Heb 2:1), people have a strong tendency to revert to habitual ways of thinking instilled in them by their upbringing. 

Considering this, we can well sympathize with the sentiment of the writer when he wrote, "[H]ow shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation?" (Heb 2:3). That is because this salvation was declared not by angels but "at first by the Lord, and it was attested to us by those who heard him, while God also bore witness by signs and wonders and various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his own will" (2:3-4). 

Therefore, as the writer says, "For it was fitting that he, for whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory, should make the pioneer of their salvation perfect through suffering" (Heb 2:10), it was only through Jesus, the Son of God, showing himself fulfilling God's will completely through various sufferings before us humans that people, created by God, would be able to accept the fact that they had been made after the likeness of the one "for whom and by whom all things exist," i.e., after God's likeness. 

Considering the above, we can say one of the issues that the writer would have faced in leading his community is that people have a strong tendency to revert to habitual ways of thinking instilled in them by their upbringing. Amid this problem, believers "neglect such a great salvation." That is the first issue influencing the Church community. 

Maria K.M.

 2025/07/14

204. Revelation and the Letter to the Hebrews

In the latter half of Revelation, the priesthood appears at its beginning symbolically in the form of a woman crowned with twelve stars (cf. Rev. 12:1-2). The Letter to the Hebrews, quoting Genesis 14, develops the theme: "Thou art a priest for ever, after the order of Melchiz'edek" (Heb 5:6, etc.). As discussed in the previous article, "Mel-chiz'edek king of Salem ... priest of God Most High," who brought out bread and wine to Abraham after his victory in battle (cf. Gen 14:1-18), symbolises the priesthood of the New Covenant that Jesus showed to the Apostles, who had prepared bread and wine at his last Passover meal, which means that at that time, Jesus was in the position of Abraham in the scene in Genesis. By conferring the priesthood on the Apostles at the same time as instituting the Eucharist, Jesus established the eternal priesthood. 

Just as Jesus said to the Samaritan woman at Jacob's well, "Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father" (Jn 4:21), this priesthood was of a completely different concept from the priesthood of the Old Covenant. In the Letter to the Hebrews, its author emphasises the priesthood of Melchizedek, writing, "He is without father or mother or genealogy, and has neither beginning of days nor end of life, but resembling the Son of God he continues a priest for ever" (Heb 7:3). That must be because he was longing for a perfect priest transcending the boundaries of the Law, that is Jesus Christ, for both the Gentile community and the Jewish community. 

In Genesis, after the scene of Abraham's encounter with Melchizedek, a story begins with "After these things ..." (Gen 15:1), in which Abraham, following God's command, brings a three-year-old heifer, a three-year-old female goat, a three-year-old ram, a turtledove, and a young pigeon to God (cf. 15:9). This scene is reminiscent of the people who came by Jesus' cross in the Gospel of John (cf. Jn 19:25-26). The three-year-old heifer corresponds to Mary, the wife of Clopas; the three-year-old female goat to Mary Magdalene; the three-year-old ram to the beloved disciple; and the turtledove and the young pigeon to Jesus' mother. That is because Jesus' mother, together with her husband Joseph, took Jesus to Jerusalem on the day of his presentation "to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the law of the Lord, 'a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons'" (Lk 2:24). The similarity of these two scenes also tells us that Jesus was in the position of Abraham. 

In the scene at Jacob's well, Jesus continued to the Samaritan woman, "You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews" (Jn 4:22). Jesus was connected to the priesthood of the Old Covenant. That is because it contains the plan of God, who created human beings, and the prophecies. That is also the reason why Jesus' mother had to be a relative of the priest Zechariah and his wife Elizabeth, who was from the daughters of Aaron (cf. Lk 1:5). 

Jesus explains why it was necessary to give the priesthood to human beings: "But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for such the Father seeks to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth" (Jn 4:23-24). God the Father desires that those who seek the truth worship him in cooperation with the Holy Spirit. That is the very image of the priest of the New Covenant, who celebrates the Mass. The words "now is" indicate that Jesus, who is to be worshipped in this way, is here. 

From the above considerations, we can see that the author of the Letter to the Hebrews attempted to position Jesus Christ, the Son f God, who is now seated at the right hand of the Father, as the eternal priest of the Church community. It is supposed that under his focus on Melchizedek’s priesthood lay his expectation for the "priesthood" (cf. Heb 7:11-12) that the Church community at that time and everyone who would accept the Gospel could be satisfied. However, that is not all. This letter also contains another thread that expands on the theme of faith. Next time, we will focus on that. 

Maria K. M.

 2025/07/07

203. The Ark of the Covenant was Seen within the Temple of God in Heaven

"Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet" (Rev 11:15). At the end of Revelation 11, all the books of the New Testament were present. The Acts of the Apostles and the Epistles of Paul, which contain specific instructions to believers, are given a place to work fully alongside the four Gospels. The second half of Revelation is coming. "[T]here were loud voices in heaven, saying, 'The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign for ever and ever.'" (Ibid.). The Lord's reign means that the time has come for Jesus to achieve what he could not while he lived as a man on earth even though he was fully God. That includes judging the dead, rewarding God's servants, prophets, saints, and all who fear his name, and destroying the destroyers of the earth (cf. 11:18). These events first occur in the world of the Book of Revelation, which is a book of prophecy (cf. 1:3, 22:19). 

Revelation reads, "Then God's temple in heaven was opened, and the ark of his covenant was seen within his temple; and there were flashes of lightning, voices, peals of thunder, an earthquake, and heavy hail" (Rev 11:19). "God's temple in heaven" is the body of Christ, as written in the Gospel of John: "But he spoke of the temple of his body" (Jn 2:21). What is the "ark of his covenant" within it? 

As the Gospel of Matthew writes, "The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham" (Mat 1:1), and as Jesus himself said, "Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am" (Jn 8:58), his lineage is from David, a descendent of Abraham, that is, from the tribe of Judah. 

On the other hand, as the angel who visited Mary told her (cf. Lk 1:36), Mary was a relative of the priest Zechariah and his wife Elizabeth, who was from the daughters of Aaron (cf. 1:5), which means she, Jesus' mother, was of the tribe of Levi. In fact, Mary visited Elizabeth, who was pregnant, and stayed for three months to help Elizabeth, which shows how close they were. So, we can take that Jesus, who was born as her son, also had the blood of the tribe of Levi. 

Indeed, the "ark of his covenant" represented the Levite blood in Jesus' body, that is, the priesthood. Revelation describes the priesthood as follows, with the image of Jesus' mother: "And a great portent appeared in heaven, a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars" (Rev 12:1). 

The Letter to the Hebrews asserts that Jesus' priesthood transcends the "Levit'ical priesthood" (Heb 7:11) of the Old Testament, quoting Genesis 14 and using the phrase "a priest for ever, after the order of Melchiz'edek" (5:6, etc.) as a key phrase. When Abraham was still called Abram, he defeated the kings who had taken his nephew Lot captive and rescued him. The king of Sodom went out to meet Abram. At that time, Melchizedek, king of Salem, who was priest of God Most High, also came with bread and wine (cf. Gen 14:1-18). Melchizedek blessed Abram, and Abram gave him a tenth of everything (cf. 14:19-20). 

This episode can be contrasted with the events of Jesus' last Passover meal, based on the image of "bread and wine." At that time, Jesus commanded Peter and John to prepare the meal (cf. Lk 22:7). It is natural to think that they were the ones who brought "bread and wine." In Genesis, it was "Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of God Most High," who brought "bread and wine," while in the Gospel, it was the disciples whom Jesus had chosen and named Apostles (cf. Lk 6:12-16) who brought them. Jesus placed himself in the position of Abram, who gave Melchizedek a tenth of everything, and gave his body and blood to the Apostles, who had prepared the bread and wine. That is to say, Jesus gave everything he had to his Apostles. 

Furthermore, on the cross, Jesus publicly conferred the priesthood on the Apostles by binding an Apostle to his mother, who was to be the only one to fully share in his birth and death, with the bond of parenthood (cf. Jn 19:26-27). Mary, the mother of Jesus, is the source of the experience of priests, who bring forth the Eucharist, sharing in its birth and death, cooperating with the Holy Spirit. Jesus commanded the Apostles to ask anything of the Father in his name (cf. 16:23-24). Therefor, priests ask especially that bread and wine become the body and blood of Christ. This is modelled on the attitude of Jesus' mother when Jesus performed the sign of turning water into wine (cf. 2:1-12). In this way, the Apostles were bound to Jesus' priesthood with an unbreakable bond. 

All above is prophesied at the beginning of Revelation: "Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before his throne, and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the first-born of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen" (Rev 1:4-6) 

Maria K. M.

 2025/06/30

202. The Beast That Ascends from the Bottomless Pit Will Make War Upon Them and Conquer Them and Kill Them

The two witnesses appearing in Revelation 11 represent the Acts of the Apostles and the letters of Paul. When these two books have finished their testimony, "the beast that ascends from the bottomless pit will make war upon them and conquer them and kill them, and their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city which is allegorically called Sodom and Egypt, where their Lord was crucified" (Rev 11:7-8). This is a prophecy that people will use the knowledge of the past, or the "bottomless pit," to interpret these two books, distort the truth they convey, and even interpret the teachings of the Lord's crucifixion with the knowledge of the past. Furthermore, it foretells a future in which, as a result, people on earth will pursue money and wealth, and power and authority will be bought and sold. This "beast" is a foreshadowing of the phenomenon that will occur when the beast "rising out of the sea" (13:1) and the beast that "rose out of the earth" (13:11) in Revelation 13 are intertwined in history. 

The phrase "rising out of the sea" reminds us of the Israelites, who crossed the Red Sea in the time of Moses. It is written, "One of its heads seemed to have a mortal wound, but its mortal wound was healed, and the whole earth followed the beast with wonder" (Rev 13:3). The "mortal wound" refers to the fact, despite God's promise to David, regarding his son Solomon, "I will be his father, and he shall be my son" (2 Sam 7:14), Solomon turned away from God, failing this promise to be fulfilled (cf. 1 King 11:1-10). The Israelites failed to get the chance to become the one who was equal to God by establishing the relationship of father and son with God. Thus, a beast arose from their history, that is, a theology that likens the relationship between God and His people to marriage. Thanks to this illusion, the mortal wound was healed, and the people surrendered themselves to this theology. However, the wound remained. That is why the Jews, filled with intense jealousy toward Jesus, who called God his Father, all the more sought to kill him (cf. Jn 5:17-18). 

In his letter to the Philippians, Paul writes, "circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew born of Hebrews; as to the law a Pharisee, as to zeal a persecutor of the church, as to righteousness under the law blameless. But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ" (Phil 3:5-7). And he continues, "Indeed I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as refuse, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him " (3:8-9). In these words, we find a man who has regained the relationship between God and people as father and son, God and son (cf. Jn 1:12, Rom 8:14-17, Gal 4:6-7, and Rev 21:7). 

On the other hand, the beast that "rose out of the earth" refers to Greek philosophy, which pursued earthly matters. The "two horns" in the description: "[I]t had two horns like a lamb and it spoke like a dragon" (Rev 13:11), likely refer to the philosophies of Plato (427-347 BC) and Aristotle (384-322 BC), which had a significant influence on Christianity. In his letter to the Colossians, Paul writes, "See to it that no one makes a prey of you by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the universe, and not according to Christ" (Col 2:8). The following words give us an image of the Eucharist, which is the body of Christ: "For in him the whole fulness of deity dwells bodily, and you have come to fulness of life in him, who is the head of all rule and authority" (2:9-10). 

For Paul, who desired to "attain the resurrection from the dead" (Phil 3:11), there was nothing else to do but to "press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus" (3:14). However, he also encouraged people, saying, "If in anything you are otherwise minded, God will reveal that also to you" (3:15). Nevertheless, he hopes that everyone will move forward based on what he has achieved, and strongly urges them, "Brethren, join in imitating me" (3:17). That is because he says, "For many, of whom I have often told you and now tell you even with tears, live as enemies of the cross of Christ" (3:18). There are still believers who aim for self-realisation, making their belly their God, glorying in their shame, with minds set on earthly things, not knowing where they will end up (cf. 3:19). Despite being baptised, they are also those who have been marked with the name of "the beast" (cf. Rev 13:16). 

However, Paul was not afraid of them because he was convinced that Jesus Christ "will change our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power which enables him even to subject all things to himself" (Phil 3:21). At the beginning of the latter half of Revelation, "the power which enables him even to subject all things to himself" is revealed as follows: "And a great portent appeared in heaven, a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars" (Rev 12:1). Therefore, Paul strongly encourages us saying, "Therefore, my brethren, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm thus in the Lord, my beloved" (Phil 4:1). 

Maria K. M.

 2025/06/23

201. Revelation 7 and 11

Revelation prophecies that the Acts of the Apostles and Paul's epistles will be included in the New Testament, in addition to the four Gospels, which describe up to the ascension of the Lord. We will examine Chapter 7, which explains its reason and Chapter 11, which describes the details of how these two books were taken up into heaven.

Chapter 7 begins: "After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth, that no wind might blow on earth or sea or against any tree" (Rev 7:1). The phrase "four corners" that appears twice here alludes to the "four corners" that also appears twice in the Acts of the Apostles (cf. Acts 10:11, 11:5), appearing nowhere else in the New Testament. It appears in a vision that Peter had while praying in the town of Joppa. Peter understood the meaning of the vision from his encounter with the Gentiles, whom the Holy Spirit had worked upon (cf. 10:1-48). When he returned to the church in Jerusalem and reported this experience (cf. 11:1-17), people who heard it "glorified God, saying, 'Then to the Gentiles also God has granted repentance unto life' "(11:18). Taking this as an opportunity, the church in Jerusalem began to preach to the Gentiles. This policy change is the "four winds of the earth."

The reason why the four angels were holding back the four winds of the earth was to wait for Barnabas to find Paul, who had gone to Tarsus after his conversion, before beginning their mission to the Gentiles (cf. Acts 11:19-26). The Lord said to Ananias, who had assisted Paul's conversion, "Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel" (9:15). Also, before setting sail for Rome, Paul spoke to King Agrippa and testified, "Wherefore, O King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision, but declared first to those at Damascus, then at Jerusalem and throughout all the country of Judea, and also to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God and perform deeds worthy of their repentance" (26:19-20). These episodes demonstrate that Paul was commissioned not only to preach the name of Jesus to the Gentiles but also to the children of Israel.

Looking at Revelation, we see that Paul's mission was to choose 144,000 people out of every tribe of the sons of Israel to be sealed with the seal of God (cf. Rev 7:2-4) and to enable "a great multitude which no man could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and tongues" (7:9) to stand "before the throne and before the Lamb" (ibid.). These circumstances explain why, at the beginning of chapter 11, the writer of Revelation was given a measuring rod like a staff and commanded to "[r]ise and measure the temple of God and the altar and those who worship there" (11:1). That was to choose those who would be sealed from among all the tribes of the children of Israel.

The prophecy continues, "[B]ut do not measure the court outside the temple; leave that out, for it is given over to the nations, and they will trample over the holy city for forty-two months" (Rev 11:2), which suggests Jesus' prophecy about the destruction of Jerusalem (cf. Lk 13:34-35). So, it continues, "'And I will grant my two witnesses power to prophesy for one thousand two hundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth.' These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands which stand before the Lord of the earth" (Rev 11:3–4). The expression "clothed in sackcloth" suggests that "my two witnesses" are books or letters. The phrase "I will grant my two witnesses power to prophesy for one thousand two hundred and sixty days" implies that this prophecy will be fulfilled in the Roman Empire, which will "trample over the holy city for forty-two months." These two expressions of time represent the time of God's patience.

Furthermore, "the two olive trees and the two lampstands" allude to the two churches likened to the "wild olive tree" and the "cultivated olive tree" in Paul's Epistle to the Romans (cf. Rom 11:24), namely, the Jewish Christian and Gentile Christian communities, because "lampstands" refer to churches in Revelation (cf. Rev 1:20). Then, Revelation testifies that the Acts of the Apostles and Paul's epistles, which support these two churches, "stand before the Lord of the earth," that is, they are already acknowledged by the Holy Spirit sent to earth in the name of Jesus. Therefore, anyone who harms these two books, which have great effectiveness, will be considered an enemy of God (cf. Rev 11:5-6).

Then, "when they have finished their testimony, the beast that ascends from the bottomless pit will make war upon them and conquer them and kill them" (Rev 11:7). When these two books are made public, a "beast" will interpret them using knowledge of the past world, i.e., the "bottomless pit," and falsify the truth they convey. Then, as it is written, "[T]heir dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city which is allegorically called Sodom and Egypt, where their Lord was crucified" (11:8), the "beast" will interpret even the teachings of the Cross of the Lord with knowledge of the past. That is because, regarding Paul's writings, "[t]here are some things in them hard to understand" (2 Pet 3:16) and they "had been a torment to those who dwell on the earth" (Rev 11:10).

However, those who have realised the truth from these two books and been saved, who are in heaven (cf. Rev 7:9-17), watch over these events for "three and a half days" (11:9) and pray and support that the power to convey the truth of the two books will not be buried in the tomb. On the other hand, the people on the earth rejoice greatly at the falsification carried out by the "beast." As it says that they will "exchange presents" (11:10), Revelation foretells a future in which people will exchange money and wealth and buy and sell power and authority as a result of these interpretations. Then, it says, "But after the three and a half days a breath of life from God entered them, and they stood up on their feet, and great fear fell on those who saw them" (11:11). The expression "three and a half days" here also refers to God's time of patience.

Then, it says, "Then they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, 'Come up hither!' And in the sight of their foes they went up to heaven in a cloud" (Rev 11:12), which prophesies that the day will come when these writings will be linked to the four Gospels and interpreted correctly by all people. That is because the training of the first half of Revelation begins to create the tacit knowledge of the New Testament in trainees' memories.

Maria K. M.

 2025/06/16

200. The Testimony of Revelation, Which Sequentially Prophesied the Formation of the New Testament (the Book of Revelation)

Among the seven prophecies that comprise the Book of Revelation, the third prophecy is the "Prophecy of the Establishment of the New Testament" (chapters 4–11). The seven seals mentioned there represent the books of the New Testament. The final seventh seal represents Revelation itself. When it opened, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour, and seven angels were given seven trumpets. Another angel stood beside the altar, holding a golden censer. And the smoke of the incense rose with the prayers of the saints from the hand of the angel before God. Then the angel took the censer and filled it with fire from the altar and threw it on the earth. And there were peals of thunder, voices, flashes of lightning, and an earthquake (cf. Rev 8:1–5). This description recalls the phenomena that happened immediately after Jesus breathed his last on the cross (cf. Mt 27:51–52). Such phenomena occur six times in Revelation, three of which when the Book of Revelation itself appears (Rev 8:5, 11:19, 16:18). The Book of Revelation has a unique mission. 

The description of the seven angels blowing the seven trumpets symbolises the various "woes" that occur when the New Testament is revealed to the world, that is, the effects of the New Testament (cf. Rev 8:6–9:21, 11:15–19). We can see from small clues that these seven trumpets that the angels blow one after another are arranged in the order of the New Testament. The first four trumpets can be thought to correspond to the four Gospels, as an eagle appears immediately after the blast of the fourth trumpet. The fifth trumpet is the Acts of the Apostles. Revelation says when the fifth angel sounded his trumpet, a star fell from the sky, and "he was given the key of the shaft of the bottomless pit; he opened the shaft of the bottomless pit" (9:1-2). This description is linked to a scene in the Acts of the Apostles, in which the Apostles were imprisoned, and an angel of the Lord opened the prison doors at night, bringing them out, although the prison was securely locked (cf. Acts 5:19–23). That is because in Revelation, "stars" represent angels (cf. Rev 1:20). The sixth trumpet focuses on the theme of worshipping idols (cf. 9:20) and thus represents the epistles of Paul, which devote much attention to this theme. Accordingly, the final seventh trumpet corresponds to the Book of Revelation. 

Revelation also refers to the catholic epistles using the metaphor of seven thunders (cf. Rev 10:1-4). Here, the entire New Testament has been prophesied. After that, it says that its writer took a little scroll from an angel's hand and ate it (cf. 10:5-10). It represents the New Testament, which is relatively little compared to the Old Testament. To "take and eat" the New Testament means to voluntarily undergo the training of Revelation, which is connected to the New Testament like the two sides of a coin, thereby imprinting the tacit knowledge of the New Testament into one's memory. Revelation reads, "[I]t was sweet as honey in my mouth, but when I had eaten it my stomach was made bitter" (10:10). "[I]t was sweet as honey in my mouth" means that the training of Revelation is easy to begin. It is not difficult to continue reading aloud and listening to Revelation, even if it is only one sentence a day (cf. 1:3). However, as it says, "when I had eaten it my stomach was made bitter," having the tacit knowledge of the New Testament often affects as bitter medicine for the stomach that ponders various things. You will understand that if you continue to eat it. 

At the beginning of the third prophecy, "The Prophecy of the Formation of the New Testament," the four Gospels, symbolised by four living creatures, were around the throne of God in heaven (cf. Rev 4:6-8). That means that including the four Gospels in the New Testament was decided relatively early. In addition to the four Gospels, which describe events up to the descent of the Holy Spirit, the Acts of the Apostles and the Epistles of Paul needed to be raised to heaven for use. The events inserted into Chapter 7, before the seventh seal is opened and the Book of Revelation appears, explain the reason for these two being raised to heaven. Its details are described in Chapter 11, just before the seventh angel blows the trumpet. In the next issue, we will examine these points and discuss the effects of the Book of Revelation after the seventh angel blows his trumpet. After that, we will prepare for the second half of Revelation. The second half of the Book of Revelation is a prophecy, leading to the completion of the Mass liturgy and the spirituality of the Holy Spirit, creating tacit knowledge of the New Testament in believers to help them overcome the many difficulties they may encounter in their daily lives as they move toward those goals. 

Maria K. M.

 2025/06/09

199. The Book of Revelation and the New Testament, Part 2

The Book of Revelation is composed of seven prophecies but is divided into two major sections. The first half (the first three prophecies, chapters 1–11) serves as prophecy leading to the New Testament. The second half (the fourth to seventh prophecies, chapters 12–22) functions as prophecy leading toward the completion of the Mass liturgy and the spirituality of the Holy Spirit. As we examined in the previous two issues, the sixth chapter of Revelation, where the first to sixth seals are opened one after another in the third prophecy, prophesies the six books of the New Testament in the same order as they appear today. From this, we confirmed that the third prophecy is indeed a prophecy of the New Testament. Once the seventh seal, which represents Revelation, is opened, its singularity is revealed. Before delving into Revelation, let us review the characteristics of each prophecy we have understood so far, starting with the first one, to better understand the unique features of Revelation. 

The First Prophecy (Chapter 1): The Prophecy of Jesus Christ with the Church

As it says, "Blessed is he who reads aloud the words of the prophecy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written therein; for the time is near" (Rev 1:3), Revelation, which is linked to the other books of the New Testament, generates the implicit knowledge of the New Testament through one's five senses, using the intuitive sense of one's own voice. To be saved in the name of Jesus and to believe that Jesus is the Son of God are to cognise these facts. Cognition occurs when the information received agrees with the memories one already has. Therefore, to grow in faith in Jesus, when receiving the words of the New Testament, one needs to have memories that agree with them. That is what Revelation creates. The reason why Revelation is written in words that are difficult to grasp intuitively and understand is to create that memory as tacit knowledge, even connecting it to the New Testament, without making us conscious of the fact. Eventually, believers will intuitively cognise the Word without being aware of any complex procedure. And that tacit knowledge will self-organise and grow in the memories of believers who take in the words of Revelation every day through their five senses. 

The Second Prophecy (Chapters 2-3): The Prophecy of the Problems Faced by the Church Community and Their Solutions

In this prophecy, letters addressed to the seven angels of the seven churches are introduced. These seven angels are the seven Apostles who encountered the risen Jesus in the Gospel of John, and they were all fishermen. That is because their intuitive nature, which was essential for their profession, was crucial. Their intuitive cognitive abilities were the result of acquiring the complex procedures of fishing through their senses in their experiences and transforming them into tacit knowledge. The exchanges in Luke's Gospel where Jesus tells Peter, "Henceforth you will be catching men" (Lk 5:10), testifies to this. Having seen Jesus and heard his teachings in his voice (cf. 5:3), and then been called in that way, they cognised his words based on the intuition they had honed as fishermen. After believing in Jesus and following him in this way, the many things they had experienced with him became their new tacit knowledge (cf. John 21:25). Eventually, they would begin to hear the voice of the Holy Spirit and cognise it intuitively. That must have made them strongly recognise the necessity of the New Testament. The contents of the seven letters in Revelation are arranged in chronological order from the future to the near future and the present, leading to the solution, i.e., the establishment of the New Testament, the third prophecy. The words "To him who conquers" and "He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches" at the end of all the letters indicate that these letters are addressed to all believers. 

The Third Prophecy (Chapters 4–11): The Prophecy of the Establishment of the New Testament (Up to the Book of Revelation)

The door described as "in heaven an open door" (Rev 4:1) is the door that was left open because the Holy Spirit descended after Jesus had come down from heaven and ascended back to heaven (cf. John 3:13). Jesus came down from heaven to become the bread of God that gives life to the world (cf. 6:33). And he departed to send the Holy Spirit (cf. 16:7). The "one seated on the throne" mentioned in "a throne stood in heaven, with one seated on the throne" (Rev 4:2) is the Father and the Son (cf. 3:21). The eyes mentioned in the passage, "And round the throne, on each side of the throne, are four living creatures, full of eyes in front and behind" (4:6), symbolise God's knowledge. And they had "full of eyes in front and behind" so that the knowledge of God in the four Gospels could become one and deal with all events. That is because they work in conjunction with the "Lamb standing, as though it had been slain" (5:6), which has seven horns (complete authority) and seven eyes (complete knowledge). The expression "as though it had been slain" indicates that the lamb represents the Holy Spirit sent in the name of Jesus. 

Maria K. M.