2025/06/02
198. The Testimony of Revelation, Which Sequentially Prophesied the Formation of the New Testament (Acts of the Apostles and Paul's Epistles)
Based on the idea that the scenes in Revelation where the seven seals are successively opened serve as prophecies of the formation of the New Testament, we have begun to examine each scene in detail. In the last issue, we saw that the scenes of opening the first four seals prophesy the four Gospels. This time, we will continue to examine the fifth and sixth seals.
The description of the breaking of the fifth seal is a prophecy of the Acts of the Apostles. That is because we can find the answer to the question raised by that description in Peter's sermon immediately after the descent of the Holy Spirit. Revelation reads, "When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the witness they had borne" (Rev 6:9). The phrase "the witness they had borne" refers to what happened at Jesus' last supper: "Peter said to him, 'Even if I must die with you, I will not deny you.' And so said all the disciples" (Mat 26:35). However, when Jesus was arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane because of Judas' betrayal, "all the disciples forsook him and fled" (26:56). After that, Peter followed Jesus at a distance into the courtyard of the high priest, but when he was recognised by a maid and accused of being with Jesus, he denied it, saying, "I do not know the man" (cf. 26:69-75). Although these events happened so that Jesus' words, "Of those whom thou gavest me I lost not one" (Jn 18:9), would be fulfilled, the disciples could not fulfil "the witness they had borne." It was not until the Holy Spirit descended that it was fulfilled. Therefore, the souls that the writer of Revelation "saw under the altar" were the souls of the Apostles. And "they cried out with a loud voice, 'O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before thou wilt judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell upon the earth?'" (Rev. 6:10). The answer to this question can be found in Peter's sermon immediately after the descent of the Holy Spirit in the Acts of the Apostles (cf. Acts 2:22-36). What had happened to Jesus would happen to them. They have "souls" because they are alive even though they were slain. Revelation continues, "Then they were each given a white robe and told to rest a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brethren should be complete, who were to be killed as they themselves had been" (Rev 6:11). They are waiting under the altar, looking at the priests, "their fellow servants and their brethren," celebrating the Mass today "for the word of God and for the witness they had borne," until the number of them will be complete just as they did. They are attending the Mass with us believers under the altar.
The scene of opening the sixth seal prophesies Paul's epistles. That is because the meaning of what is described in that scene is made clear by the Apostle Paul's Letter to the Romans. Revelation says, "When he opened the sixth seal, I looked, and behold, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth, the full moon became like blood, and the stars of the sky fell to the earth as the fig tree sheds its winter fruit when shaken by a gale; the sky vanished like a scroll that is rolled up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place" (Rev 6:12-14). This description is a metaphor for Paul's conversion. It happened in a way that was unimaginably intense for both him and the believers in Damascus (cf. Acts 9:1-9). Paul, who was converted to Jesus Christ, was just like "the sky vanished like a scroll that is rolled up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place" (cf. 9:10-20). With the help of Ananias, Paul was baptised and gained strength. He demonstrated that Jesus was the Messiah, causing the other people of Damascus to be confused. Eventually, they plotted to kill him. Paul recounted that incident as follows: "At Damascus, the governor under King Ar'etas guarded the city of Damascus in order to seize me, but I was let down in a basket through a window in the wall, and escaped his hands" (2 Cor 11:32–33). On the other hand, the Book of Revelation states: "Then the kings of the earth and the great men and the generals and the rich and the strong, and every one, slave and free, hid in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains, calling to the mountains and rocks, 'Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb; for the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand before it?'" (Rev 6:15-17). The cause of these tragedies described here is made clear by the following passage from Paul's Letter to the Romans, which we can link to this passage in Revelation through the expression "day of wrath." The expression "day of wrath" appears only in these two passages in the New Testament. "Therefore you have no excuse, O man, whoever you are, when you judge another; for in passing judgment upon him you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, are doing the very same things. We know that the judgment of God rightly falls upon those who do such things. Do you suppose, O man, that when you judge those who do such things and yet do them yourself, you will escape the judgment of God? Or do you presume upon the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience? Do you not know that God's kindness is meant to lead you to repentance? But by your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God's righteous judgment will be revealed" (Rom 2:1–5).
Maria K. M.
