2025/11/24

223. The Three Eagles and the Priesthood of the New Covenant

Beginning with the words "The revelation of Jesus Christ" (Rev 1:1), the Book of Revelation clearly shows its intention by its unique structure. The Book of Revelation, which consists of seven prophecies, is divided into two main parts: the first half (first to third prophecies, chapters 1-11) is a prophecy towards the establishment of the New Testament, and the second half (fourth to seventh prophecies, chapters 12-22) is a prophecy towards the completion of the Liturgy of the Mass and the spirituality of the Holy Spirit. Three eagles appear in Revelation. The first one appears as an eagle-like "fourth creature" in the description of the four living creatures and represents the Gospel of John (cf. 4:7). 

Then, seven seals are opened one after the other, which represent the seven books of the New Testament (the Catholic Epistles are excluded, cf. Rev 10:4). When the last seal, which alludes to the Book of Revelation, is opened, a scene unfolds in which seven angels blow seven trumpets one after the other. They are again likened to the seven books of the New Testament. When the fourth trumpet, which is likened to the Gospel of John, is blown, it says: "Then I looked, and I heard an eagle crying with a loud voice, as it flew in midheaven" (8:13). This is the appearance of the second eagle. 

After that, the "priesthood of the New Covenant" appeared as a sign in the following chapter 12: "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). That is the "priesthood of the New Covenant" that Jesus instituted in the scene of the institution of the Eucharist in the Synoptic Gospels as inextricably linked to the Eucharist and inseparable from the Apostles, saying, "Do this in remembrance of me" (Lk 22:19). Then, it reads, "She [the woman] was with child and she cried out in her pangs of birth, in anguish for delivery" (12:2). The woman here represents the Apostles who received the "priesthood of the New Covenant", and the child the body of Christ. The persecutors attempted to uncover the secret, but they could not (cf. 12:3-4), because the Eucharist was hidden in God, and the "priesthood of the New Covenant" in the memory of the Apostles (cf. 12:5-6). 

The hand of persecution extended further towards them. But it says: "They loved not their lives even unto death" (Rev 12:11). It was necessary to make the memory of the Apostles tangible before it was lost. That was the Gospel. Revelation reads: "The woman was given the two wings of the great eagle that she might fly from the serpent into the wilderness " (12:14). Here, the final eagle appeared to suggest that the "priesthood of the New Covenant" was hidden in the Gospel of John. 

The Gospel of John is about the "priesthood of the New Covenant". However, to ensure that those who pick up this Gospel do not immediately notice it, John's Gospel did not use the word "apostle" and did not depict the scene of the institution of the Eucharist. Instead, by depicting the scene in which Jesus unites his mother and one of the Apostles in a parent-child bond on the cross (cf. Jn 19:26-27), John's Gospel publicly announced the "priesthood of the New Covenant". Having received the "priesthood of the New Covenant", the Apostles are filled with the Holy Spirit and, though male, become mothers for the Eucharist to be born. They were the ones who asked the Father in Jesus' name for the birth of the Eucharist, were given it, and were filled with joy (cf. 16:20-24). 

Previously, we saw that in the Gospel of John, John the Baptist prophesied about the "priesthood of the New Covenant", comparing it to a "bride". This time, we saw that Revelation also suggests that the theme of John's Gospel is the "priesthood of the New Covenant". In our next article, we will review the Gospel of John with this in mind.

Maria K. M.