Rev 6:9
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CHRISTIAN PRAYER: Monday, Evening Prayer, Week I: READING: Col 1: 9b-13 (emphasis added, with commentary)
May you attain full knowledge of God’s Will through perfect wisdom and spiritual insight. Then you will lead a life worthy of the Lord and pleasing to Him in every way.
You will multiply good works of every sort and grow in the knowledge of God. By the Might of His Glory you will be endowed with the strength needed to stand fast, even to endure joyfully whatever may come, giving thanks to the Father for having made you worthy to share the lot of the saints in light.
He rescued us from the power of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of His Beloved Son.
Why would anyone choose anything LESS?!
The Word of the Lord … Thanks be to God!
THE ANGEL AND THE SCROLL
Love this pic!
Revelation 10:1 “Then I saw another mighty angel coming down from heaven, [1] wrapped in a cloud, with [2] a rainbow over his head, and his [3] face was like the sun, and his [4] legs like pillars of fire… and called out with a loud voice, [5] like a lion roaring.”
With this verse we make a full circle back to the beginning of John’s book and his first encounter with this very important angel…
“The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to His servants what must soon take place; and He made it known by sending His angel to His servant John…” (Rev 1:1, emphasis added)
Which then indicates that this angel is more than just your average angel, this is…
“Christ’s own angel through whom His revelation is given…” (Barber, 134, emphasis added)
If you look again at the underlined description above to match up with the numbered passages below, you’ll see they describe elements that are in relation to Christ, and that His angel has in common with Him:
[1] Dan 7:13; [2] Rev 4:3; [3] Rev 1:16; [4] recall God’s presence in the wilderness Ex 12: 21-22; 14: 19, 24; [5] Rev 10:3; 5:5. (Ibid.)
Now here is a most important voice… one that SPEAKS DIRECTLY to us today…
Revelation 10:2 “He had a little scroll open in his hand. And he set his right foot on the sea, and his left foot on the land… And the angel whom I saw standing on sea AND land lifted up his right hand to heaven and swore by Him who lives forever and ever, who created heaven and what is in it, the earth and what is in it, and the sea and what is in it, that there should be no more delay… ”
Recall earlier when it was reminded that the “Land” always meant Israel in Old Testament terms, while the “Sea” refers to the Gentile nations.
Thus the “angel’s stance on the ‘land’ and on the ‘sea’ refers to his authority over Israel…and the nations.” (Barber, 134)
Which further tells us that the judgment coming upon Jerusalem in 70AD, WILL ALSO come upon THE WHOLE WORLD at the time appointed for judgment, yet not without HOPE.
Revelation 10:7 “…but that in the days of the trumpet call to be sounded by the seventh angel, the Mystery of God, as He announced to His servants the prophets, should be fulfilled.”
“The days are coming, says the Lord…”
What is this HOPE? “He had a little scroll open in his hand…” What is the FULFILLMENT of this promise announced to the prophets? Think back to the prophets Jeremiah, Isaiah, and Hosea and listen to the words of Jeremiah…
“Behold the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel [northern kingdom] and the house of Judah [southern kingdom].” (Jer 31:31)
Or in other words, the restoration of the full House of Israel that includes the Gentile nations, as Israel was spread among them at the Assyrian conquest.
The small scroll was open but then sealed, “Seal up what the seven thunders have said, and do not write it down.” And John was instructed to eat it, “Take it and eat; it will be bitter to your stomach, but sweet as honey in your mouth.” (Rev 10: 4b, 9b)
Bitter because Jerusalem was soon to be destroyed, sweet because the promise that God made through the prophets is fulfilled in Christ. Or as St. Paul puts it…
“When you read this you can perceive my insight into the Mystery of Christ…that is, how the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same Body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the Gospel.” (Eph3:4)
“So that MYSTERY is to bring back the lost nation [remember the 144,000?] of Israel as well as the gentiles who are called to believe in the Gospel message of Christ coming [in the flesh] also into the full redemption of His sacrificial LOVE.” (St. Clement I, Pope and Martyr, Letter to the Corinthians, Office of Readings, Christian Prayer, p2021)
Woe! That’s deep, man…
ANOTHER THOUGHT…
InOD… The notion of tasting sweet in the mouth but becoming bitter in the stomach brings to mind the falling into Apostasy – that which is occurring as we speak… gay marriage, killing of children, man is a god…oh sorry, man is god…yeah right…
“Before Christ’s second coming the Church must pass through a final trial that will shake the faith of many believers. The persecution that accompanies her pilgrimage on earth will unveil the “mystery of iniquity“ in the form of a religious deception offering men an apparent solution to their problems at the price of apostasy from the truth. The supreme religious deception is that of the Antichrist, a pseudo messianism by which man glorifies himself in place of God and of His Messiah come in the flesh.” ~CCC§675 (emphasis added)
This falling away from the faith may be received as enticing to the ears of those who ear it, sweet tasting as it seems to solve men’s problems. But in the end it will only produce bitterness, especially when those deceived realize too late their mistake, and they are thrown out into the outer darkness. They will wail and gnash their teeth in their anger. (cf. Mt 25:30; 22:13)
A re-echoing of the WARNING given in Revelation 9: 20-21 and all that followed in this study to this point. Take heed, if that point is reached, you will not know it. The delusion over you being complete.
“The coming of the lawless one by the activity of Satan will be with all power…with all wicked deception for those who are to perish, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. Therefore God sends upon them a strong delusion, to make them believe what is false, so that all may be condemned who did not believe the TRUTH but had pleasure in unrighteousness.” (2Thess 2: 9, 10-12)
NOW is the time for REPENTANCE… NOW is the time to “clean your house” in order to prevent something far worse from befalling upon you (cf. John 5:14).
The Days that are here and are still to come are VERY DARK indeed. Only one in the LIFE of CHRIST will make it through them – whether physically (remnant) or spiritually (martyrs of Christ).
There are only TWO CHOICES in ETERNITY… HEAVEN or HELL… Which do you choose?
REPENT the days are waning fast!
The Heart of a New Revolution – Mark Mallett
COUNTING THE DAYS…
I reiterate…
“Before Christ’s second coming the Church must pass through a final trial that will shake the faith of many believers. The persecution that accompanies her pilgrimage on earth will unveil the “mystery of iniquity“ in the form of a religious deception offering men an apparent solution to their problems at the price of apostasy from the truth. The supreme religious deception is that of the Antichrist, a pseudo messianism by which man glorifies himself in place of God and of His Messiah come in the flesh.” ~CCC§675 (emphasis added)
Why am I restating this? What’s the significance here? Plenty! Let’s look at our passage…
Revelation 11:1 “I was given a measuring rod like a staff, and I was told: ‘Rise and measure the temple of God and the altar and those who worship there, but do not measure the court outside the temple; leave that out, for it is given over to the nations, and they will trample over the holy city for forty-two months…”
This very passage has not only historical significance but spiritual significance that applies throughout the ages, but most especially to our age.
THE HISTORICAL
As we all know by now, the Roman soldiers destroyed the Temple in 70AD and literally “trampled over the holy city for [approximately] forty-two months” or 3 ½ years.
It was also an alluding to the prophecy found in “Daniel 7:25, where the fourth beast will persecute the righteous for ‘a time, two times, and half a time’. Closely related to this is Daniel 12:7, which uses the same time frame.” (Barber, 137)
The Jews of John’s time recognized this as “something that has happened before”, since Daniel’s prophecy was largely connected to the “desecration of the temple by Antiochus Epiphanes, who persecuted the Jews for three and a half years.” (Barber, 137-38.)
So they would have realized that history was about to repeat itself. Giving the Christians who left even more confirmation that Jerusalem’s destruction was well on its way.
THE SPIRITUAL
How this will apply to Christ’s Church today should also be just as obvious.
“…persecution that accompanies her pilgrimage…”
Will lead to a desecration of the faith and undoubtedly its sanctuaries as…
“…the form of a religious deception…” offers to all men “…an apparent solution to their problems…” but with the cost of “…apostasy from the truth…”
This comes from the rise of our fourth beast, the Antichrist, who will claim to be a “Christ” – show many signs and wonders – not for the purpose of salvation but for the enslavement of mankind.
“So when you see the desolating sacrilege spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand)…false Christs and false prophets will arise and show great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect…I have told you beforehand…do not believe it.” (Mt. 24:15, 24-25a, 26c)
Think you’ve got it? Wanna escape falling for the deception? REPENT! and BELIEVE! in the Gospel. (cf. Mt 4:17)
Rev 11: 4-6
Revelation 11:3 “And I will grant my two witnesses power to prophesy for one thousand two hundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth.”
The reappearance of the forty-four months, or 1, 260 days, or 3 ½ years appears again and will reappear four more times in the following chapters…
Revelation 11:9, 11:11, 12:6, 13:5 – these are “numbers [that] serve as a WARNING of the coming judgment on the [earthly] temple.” (Barber, 138)
TWO WITNESSES…
The “two witnesses” have a different significance for John than they may have for us in our day…
Revelation 11:4 “These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands which stand before the Lord of the earth. And if anyone would harm them, fire pours out from their mouth and consumes their foes; if anyone would harm them, thus he is doomed to be killed. They have power to shut the sky, that no rain may fall during the days of their prophesying, and they have power over the waters to turn them into blood, and to smite the earth with every plague, as often as they desire.”
A quick biblical quiz… Who in the Old Testament was able to prevent the rain from falling?
Answer: Elijah the prophet – see 1Kings 17:1
Okay, now, who in the Old Testament was able to not only turn water to blood but call upon plagues of judgment?
Answer: Moses – See Ex 7:17, 19 (and the surrounding verses regarding the other plagues.)
Did you know that each of these great men experienced a fire that came down from heaven to consume their enemies? See Num 16:35 & 2Kings 1:12.
So for John, these “two witnesses” were symbolic to the words of judgment that will speak loudly against the religious rulers of Jerusalem…
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees…for you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous saying, ‘If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ Thus you witness against yourselves, that you are the sons of those who murdered the prophets…that upon you may come all the righteous blood shed on the earth…Truly I say to you, all this will come upon this generation.” (Mt 23:29, 30-32, 35, 36, emphasis added)
***Can anything less be said of us who have not spoken out against the killing of the innocent among us in Abortion, Euthanasia, and Assisted Suicide?***
“Together, Moses and Elijah symbolize the two major parts of the Old Testament – the Law and the Prophets…These two witnesses continually bear witness against the city…[as] ‘sackcloth’ (v. 3) is worn in the Bible as a sign of repentance, especially in the face of coming judgment.” (Barber, 139)
This is My Beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased. Listen to Him.
Perhaps this is why, when Jesus was transfigured on Mt. Tabor, “there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with Him”. As if in anticipation for the time of fulfillment, of Jesus’ death and resurrection, and the completion of the Father’s plan of salvation… something to ponder…
WITNESSES IN OUR DAY???
Have we not already had many who have spoken loudly about the iniquities of this age? Many of those voices have been “silenced” by death, but their voices still ring loud and clear though others who have continued the proclamation?
Will there physically be two witnesses that will prophesize during the time of the Beast and his rule of three and a half years? No one can say… unless you’re a fiction writer, but then they can only speculate.
WHAT’S TRULY IMPORTANT HERE is not that we need to wait for the appearance of two witnesses, BUT RATHER that we should HEED THE CRY COMING FORTH from those who are paying attention to the signs of the times, and are calling for REPENTANCE and RENEWAL while there is still a little time left. The greatest sign and wonder you can give is YOUR CONVERSION, your turning away from sin.
“We must constantly detach ourselves from worldliness and set our sights on heavenly realities…”
We are a pilgrim church on a journey to our homeland, therefore we must keep our…
“…‘pilgrim’ status in mind, the Church must always focus on her heavenly calling. [We] must learn to prioritize [our] lives. A good job MUST be turned down IF it endangers one’s spiritual life. An old friend must be scorned IF [they lead] us away from the Lord. If even the holy city of Jerusalem can become an obstacle in God’s plan – [then] NOTHING on this planet is safe from being corruptible.” (Barber, 143, 44, emphasis added)
The Seventh Trumpet – God’s Victory & The Woman Clothed with the Sun
Recommended Reading:
What Does it Mean to be Reconciled? –Need Forgiveness? This is the place to start!
Three Days of Darkness – Mark Mallett
Turing Away From Sin – Mark Mallett
The Heart of a New Revolution – Mark Mallett
The Pope: Thermometer of Apostasy – Mark Mallett – A MUST READ!
A Black Pope? – Mark Mallett- A MUST READ!
The Hour of the Laity – Mark Mallett
Book Study
Chapter 8, Part I, Part II, Part III
Chapter 4: Part I: Revealing the Son of Man
Chapter 4: Part II: Coming on the Clouds
Chapter 3: Heavenly Liturgy and the Holy Mass
Living in the Two Hearts 
