2024/07/01

150. Signals

Continuing from the previous article, we will discuss the Prophecy of the Spirituality of the Holy Spirit (Revelation 21-22) in the Prophetic Composition of the Book of Revelation (see diagram below). It is the last prophecy of Revelation. The signalling words that have supported and communicated the work of Revelation as a book of prophecy up to this point are gathering here.

The loud voice speaking to the author from the throne in Revelation 21:3 told him that all the toil, death, sorrow and lamentation leading up to the realisation of the Prophecy of the Completion of the Liturgy of the Mass (chapters 19-20) had passed away. That is the scene immediately after the completion of the Mass liturgy. So, "The one who sat on the throne said, 'Behold, I make all things new.' Then he said, 'Write these words down, for they are trustworthy and true.'" (Revelation 21:5).

Therefore, the "times of universal restoration" in Peter's sermon at the temple in the Book of Acts, "[Jesus,] whom heaven must receive until the times of universal restoration of which God spoke through the mouth of his holy prophets from of old" (Acts 3:21), is the time when the prophecy of the completion of the liturgy of the Mass is fulfilled in Revelation.

Hence, "the one who sat on the throne" continued to the author: "They are accomplished. I [am] the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give a gift from the spring of life-giving water. The victor will inherit these gifts, and I shall be his God, and he will be my son" (Revelation 21:6-7). He said this to the author because the author knew what "these gifts" were when he said, "The victor will inherit these gifts".

The author was inspired to write the Book of Revelation because the author was "caught up in spirit on the Lord's Day and heard behind me a voice as loud as a trumpet" (1:10). That voice commanded him to write what he had seen on a scroll and send it to the seven churches. Common to these seven letters were the gifts given to the "victors" (cf. 2:7, 2:11, 2:17, 2:26-28, 3:5, 3:12, 3:21).

Here, the gift in the last letter is described as follows: "I will give the victor the right to sit with me on my throne, as I myself first won the victory and sit with my Father on his throne" (3:21). This phrase is found to make sense in connection with that of chapter 21: "The victor will inherit these gifts, and I shall be his God, and he will be my son" (21:7). That is because the sender of the last letter is "the source of God’' creation" (3:14), and the theme matches the words mentioned above "The one who sat on the throne" (21:5).

Furthermore, the phrase in the last letter immediately before "I will give the victor the right to sit with me on my throne" is "Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, [then] I will enter his house and dine with him, and he with me" (3:20). He who "stand at the door and knock" is looking forward to the completion of a table fit for him to enter. That is because he is the Christ who said: "I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer, for, I tell you, I shall not eat it [again] until there is fulfilment in the kingdom of God" (Luke 22:15-16).

Hence, the "victor" in this case is the Christian who made the Mass liturgy completed. As shown in the diagram, the Prophetic Composition of the Book of Revelation, we can identify at least three essential requirements for the completion of the Mass liturgy. These have not yet been achieved or are still under discussion in the Church. Indeed, we are amid the Prophecy of the Fall of the Church.

The two phrases above for "victor" can be connected as follows. ''I will give the victor the right to sit with me on my throne, as I myself first won the victory and sit with my Father on his throne. I shall be his God, and he will be my son."

What is presented here is in line with what Jesus said at the Last Supper: "In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you" (John 14:20). The will of Jesus was to have Christians, whom he called "my brother, and sister, and mother, and my friends," become "my son."

Maria K. M.