2023/11/27

119. Prophetic Composition of Revelation 2/3

The figure above shows the prophetic structure of the Book of Revelation. The first prophecy, "Prophecy about Jesus Christ, who is with the Church" (chapter 1), and the second prophecy, "Prophecy about the problems faced by the Church community and their solutions" (chapters 2-3), lead us to the third prophecy, "Prophecy of the establishment of the New Testament" (chapters 4-11). From the prophecy of the establishment of the New Testament on, after undergoing the fourth prophecy, "Prophecy of the fate of the Church with the priesthood and the Sacrament of the Eucharist hidden in the wilderness and heaven" (chapters 12-16), and the fifth prophecy, "Prophecy of the fall of the Church" (chapters 17-18), we reach the sixth prophecy, "Prophecy of the completion of the liturgy of the Mass" (chapters 19-20), and then enter the midst of the seventh prophecy, "Prophecy of the spirituality of the Holy Spirit" (chapters 21-22). 

As shown in the figure above, 'Babylon the great' appears in the fourth and fifth prophecies. In the fifth prophecy, 'Babylon the great' is depicted as follows: "On her forehead was written a name of mystery: 'Babylon the great, mother of harlots and of earth's abominations'" (Revelation 17:5); "It has become a dwelling place of demons, a haunt of every foul spirit, a haunt of every foul and hateful bird" (18:2). As we have examined, these are the pictures of the Church as it has been demonstrated in history. 

On the other hand, the 'Babylon the great' in the fourth prophecy is the city, "she who made all nations drink the wine of her impure passion" (14:8). This blog has focused on the images and traditions held by the people waiting for the saviour in the time Jesus lived. At the time, they had an image of the saviour as a king with the power to free his people from Roman rule. They also had an epithalamium tradition that interpreted the relationship between God and his people through the allegory of marriage, even though they knew that God wanted to establish a parent-child relationship with his people (cf. blog № 43). When the disciples who had been trained directly by Jesus Christ died, a current arose in the Church that incorporated this tradition into its theology. That is the 'Babylon the great' of the fourth prophecy. 

The 'seven bowls' of the fourth prophecy, shown in the above figure, are said to be "seven golden bowls full of the wrath of God who lives for ever and ever" (15:7) and signify the potency of the New Testament, which was established just at that era. This power, while compelling the Church to go through an agonising time, drives her towards the perfection of the liturgy of the Mass. 

Maria K. M.