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.