THE NEW TESTAMENT

V. CATHOLIC LETTERS AND APOCALYPSE

November 3, 2005

Charles P. Poole, Jr.

1. Catholic Letters

2. Letters of James and Jude

3. Two Letters of Peter

4. Three Letters of John

5. Apocalyptic Writing

6. The Book of Revelation

7. Interpretations of Revelation

8. Symbolism of Revelation

9. Revelation and the Mass

10. Non-Canonical Books

11. Summing Up

12. Sources

1. CATHOLIC LETTERS

The seven non-Pauline letters have been called catholic, which means universal, since the end of the second century, probably because their themes were of interest toChristians in general, rather than merely to individual persons or communities. Actually James wrote to the “twelve tribes of the dispersion”, John addressed his second letter to “the chosen lady and her children”, and his third letter to an individual named Gaius. First Peter is addressed to “sojourners of the dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia.” Most of the Catholic Letters were assigned dates in the decade of the 90's, except First Peter which could have been written well over a decade earlier, while Second Peter and perhaps Jude were judged to be not that ancient. These epistles were probably not actually written by their designated authors. In describing the content of these various letters we usually refrain from commenting on the greeting and the friendly conclusion.

2. LETTERS OF JAMES AND JUDE

The letter of James begins “James, a slave of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ”, but his identity is not known. It discusses the value of trials and temptations [1:2-18], and then issues a number of exhortations and warnings [1:19 to 5:12]. It ends with the anointing of the sick [5:13-15], and an allusion to the power of prayer [5:15-18]. James emphasizes the necessity of good works in addition to faith [2:14-26], which provides a counterbalance to Paul’s emphasis on faith in Romans.

Jude wrote his letter to denounce false teachers who were threatening the Christian faith.

He condemned the immorality issuing from their presence that can lead to “a punishment of eternal fire” [7].

3. TWO LETTERS OF PETER

The first letter of Peter discusses the call of God to repentance [1:3 to 2:10], reflects on how a Christian lives in a hostile world [2:11 to 4:11], and offers advice to those who are persecuted [4:12 to 5:11]. It affirms that Christian readers constitute “a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation” [2:9], and it warns that “Your opponent the devil is prowling around like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour.” It is not clear that Peter is the author, but he mentions Silvanus as the scribe through whom it was written [5:12].

The author of the second letter ot Peter identifies himself as Symeon Peter at the start, and refers to this as his “second letter I am writing to you” [3:1]. The letter begins with an exhortation to virtue [1:3-21], continues with a condemnation of false teachers, and a delay of the Second Coming or Parousia [3:1-16].

4. THREE LETTERS OF JOHN

The three letters of John are written in the same style and express the same viewpoint as the Gospel of John, which strongly supports assigning their authorship to John the Apostle and Evangelist. The third letter probably came first in time. The three letters are very similar in their theme, as well as in their style and vocabulary. The first letter has a prologue on the Word of Life [1:1-4], a discussion of God as light [1:5 to 3:10], a very touching and much quoted section of love for one another, “Let us love not in word or speech, but in deed and truth” [3:11 to 5:12], and an epilogue of prayer for sinners [5:13-21]. The second much shorter letter provides practical advice based on the themes of truth and love [4-11]. The third equally short epistle introduced as by a Presbyter writing to”the beloved Gaius” makes allusions to some problem that exists, but the letter never addresses the problem. Thus the first letter is the really significant one.

5. APOCALYPTIC WRITING

For centuries Catholics had called the last book of the New Testament by its Greek title Apocalypse, and Protestants had referred to it by its Latin name Revelation. It is curious that Jerome’s Latin Vulgate assigns to it the Greek title “Apocalypse of Blessed John the Apostle” (Apocalypsis beati Joannis Apostoli). After the second Vatican Council Catholic bibles reverted to the Protestant terminology, presumably as an ecumenical gesture.

The adjective apocalyptic is derived from the noun apocalypse, and it refers to revelation of a mysterious nature that requires the mediation of a supernatural figure such as an angel. The one who receives the revelation is generally a well known person such as an apostle. An apocalypse reveals heavenly mysteries often involving a foreknowledge of the end times and the final judgment, and typically expressed in symbolic language. The two principal scriptures that constitute apocalypses are the Books of Daniel and Revelation. The latter is concerned with eschatology or the study of the end times, the four last things (the eschata) death, judgment, heaven and hell, as well as the second coming of Christ. Parts of Ezekiel, Isaiah [Ch. 24-27], Zechariah [Ch. 9-14], and perhaps Joel have apocalyptic passages in them.

The book of Revelation meets virtually all of these conditions. Many heavenly mysteries are discussed, the destruction of Rome (with the code name Babylon) is predicted, several aspects of the end times are commented upon, the language is very symbolic, and angels repeatedly play important roles such as blowing trumpets to induce plagues, and pouring out bowls of God’s fury on the earth. There are some scripture scholars who claim that Revelation was written by the apostle John while he was in exile in his old age on the island of Patmos in the Aegean Sea between Asia Minor and Greece, but most scholars believe that the author was another person named John.

6. THE BOOK OF REVELATION

The prologue of the Book of Revelation [1:1-3] begins: “The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave to him, to show his servants what must happen soon. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, who gives witness to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ by reporting what he saw.” The epilogue ends with the warning “Yes, I am coming soon” [22:20].

The author John initially has a vision [1:9-20] telling him to write on a scroll and send it to seven Churches in Asia (present day Turkey), namely: Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea [1:4 to 3;22]. Each letter is preceded by the commission “To the angel of the Church of Ephesus (Smyrna, etc.), write this” and ends with the exhortation “Whoever has ears ought to hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” This concluding comment suggests that the seven individual messages were all intended for distribution to the whole Church. The letters have some resemblance to those of Paul in the sense that they rebuke, they exhort, and they praise the various Christian communities, but of course they are very, very much shorter in length. There are allusions to the faithful few who persevere during temptation. At the end of Paul’s letter to the Colossians [4:16] he refers to a letter that he wrote to the church at Laodicea which has been lost.

This beginning of Revelation is followed by John mentioning God and the Lamb in heaven, the 24 elders [4:1-5], and the four living creatures covered with eyes resembling a winged lion, a winged calf or ox, a winged human being, and an eagle in flight [4:6-11]. These winged creatures, also mentioned by Ezekiel [1:5-9], have been considered as symbols for the four evangelists Mark, Luke, Matthew and John, respectively. Then came the scroll sealed with seven seals. The breaking open of the first four seals by the Lamb released the four horsemen riding white, red, black and green horses, the first three colors signifying victory, violence and death. The fourth horse had a rider named Death, was accompanied by Hades, and the rider had authority to devastate a quarter of the earth [4:1 to 6:8]. Breaking open the fifth seal revealed an altar and the souls of those who had been slaughtered because they bore witness to the word of God [6:9-11]. The opened sixth seal revealed the wrath of the Lord and the appearance of an earthquake [6:12-17], followed by putting the seal of the living God on the foreheads of the 144 thousand faithful, 1200 from each tribe of Israel [7;1-8]. The breaking open of the seventh and last seal released seven angels holding seven trumpets, the first six of which, when blown by an angel, produced a plague [8:1 to 9:21]. The blowing of the last trumpet brought forth the Kingdom of God [11:15-19].

The vision continued with the woman and the dragon [Chap. 12], the first and second beasts, the latter with the number 666 [Chap. 13], worshipers of the Lamb and three good angels [14:1-20], the seven last plagues [Chap 15], and the seven bowls of divine anger, each of which imposed a plague at a particular location [Chap. 16]. Then comes the scarlet beast and the harlot [Chap. 17], the fall of Babylon [18:1 to 19:4], the wedding feast of the Lamb [19:4-10], the king of kings [19:11-21], and the thousand year reign [Chap. 20]. Finally the new heaven and new earth [21:1-8], and the new Jerusalem [21:9-21] appear . The book ends with an epilogue [22:6-21].

7. INTERPRETATIONS OF REVELATION

From the first centuries down to the present day there have been a variety of approaches adopted for explaining the meaning of the book of Revelation, and we will comment on four of them: a) The simplistic viewpoint assumes that the author John is writing to fellow Christians at the end of the first century during their time of trial under the emperor Domitian who continued the ruthless persecutions carried out two decades earlier by Nero. John’s purpose is to console them during their present sufferings, and to encourage them with the hope that the persecutions will eventually come to an end with punishments for the oppressors; Christians are called upon to trust in the promise of Jesus; b) The eschatological approach maintains that Revelation is exclusively a premonition about the eschata or the end times; c) The prophetic approach holds that Revelation surveys various epochs of Church history, both past, present, and in the future, recounting events during which the power of Satan was unleashed, as well as those during which Satan was held in check, and righteousness was dominant. At the end of time Christ and his followers will triumph. The struggle between God and Satan is represented symbolically as a struggle between Jerusalem and Babylon; d) An eclectic approach proposed by some Fathers of the Church suggests that Revelation is an overall vision of a panorama of Church history. It refers both to events in the Church during the time of John, as well as to events of the last times which began with the birth of Christ and the establishment of his Church in the world. There is a continual struggle between good and evil, with the good triumphing in the end. I tend to feel that a combination of the simplistic and the eclectic approaches provides the most satisfactory understanding of the work. On the other hand, many proponents of the prophetic and eschatological approaches are firmly convinced of the truth of their viewpoints.

8. SYMBOLISM OF REVELATION

We will comment on some of the interesting symbolism. The angels that appeared acted as messengers, protectors of humans, and instruments for the punishment of evildoers. Chapter 6 introduces the four horsemen of the Apocalypse which symbolize war, slaughter, famine and pestilence. Chapter 7 discusses one hundred and forty four thousand people marked with the seal, twelve thousand from each tribe, with the Father’s name written on their foreheads [14:3], and who had been ransomed from the earth [14:3]. Chapter 12 tells about the “woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of 12 stars. She was with child.” Some say that she represents the Blessed Virgin Mary. “Another sign appeared in the sky; it was a huge scarlet dragon.” The woman gave birth to a male child and escaped the dragon. Various interpreters have identified the two beasts in Chap. 13 with historical personages such as Bismark, Hitler, Napoleon and Stalin. Chapter 16 predicts the fall of Babylon, a code word for Rome, followed by a thousand years of peace while the Dragon is tied up [20:1-6]. The whore of Babylon seated on a scarlet beast [17:3-7] has been identified with imperial Rome, and by some anti-Catholics with the See of Rome. Some talk about a Rapture or gathering up of the faithful at the Second Coming of Christ, although the work rapture itself does not appear in the Revelation. Finally comes a new heaven, a new earth, and a new Jerusalem [Chap. 21].

There is some numerology in Revelation. The number three represents the supernatural or the divine. The number seven that keeps recurring was considered the perfect number, representing fullness or completion. Number 12 also signifies fullness or completion. I never heard anyone mention this, but 1998 was the third anniversary year of the number of the second beast (666 x 3 = 1998).

In his 1999 book The Lamb’s Supper Scott Hahn points out that the Fourth Gospel and Revelation “share many theological concerns.” Both accurately portray the Temple of Jerusalem and its associated rituals, both present Jesus as the Lamb, the New Passover Sacrifice [Rev. 5:6; John 1:29, 36], both call Jesus the “Word of God” [Rev. 19:13; John 1:1], both categorize New Covenant worship as “in the spirit” [Rev. 1:10; John 4:23], and both associate living water with salvation [Rev. 21:6; John 4:13]. Hahn refers to Jerusalem as a Temple with a city built around it (p. 68).

9. REVELATION AND THE MASS

In this book Scott Hahn develops the theme (p. 4) that “The key to understanding the Mass is the Book of Revelation.” He claims that the first three chapters of Revelation reflect a sort of Penitential Rite in the contents of the seven letters to seven churches, and the first seven chapters, including these letters together with the opening of the scroll, correspond to themes in the Liturgy of the Word. He further claims that Part II of Revelation reflects themes from the Liturgy of the Eucharist (p. 121). Chapter 11 begins by describing events in God’s temple in heaven, discusses the pouring of the seven chalices ( bowls) [Chap 16], and ends with the Wedding Feast of the Lamb [19:5-10]. He further points out (pp. 66, 119, 120) that Revelation mentions Alleluia [19:1, 3,6], an altar [6:4, 8:3-4, 11:1, 14:18], the Blessed Virgin Mary praised [12:1-6], candles (i.e. lamp stands) [1:12], chalices (bowls) [15:17, Chap. 16], the Gloria [15:3-4], Holy, Holy, Holy [4:8], hymn singing [14;3], incense [5:8, 8:3], intercession of saints [8:4], Lamb of God [many times], the Lord’s Day [1:10], manna [2:17], priests (i.e. presbyters or elders) [11:15, 14:3, 19:4], Sign of the Cross (written on forehead) [14:1], and vestments [1:13, 4:4, 6:11, 7:9, 15:6, 19:13-14]. It seems to me that Scott Hahn oversimplifies things somewhat because many themes in Part II of Revelation are antithetical to the Mass, such as seven thousand people dying in the earthquake [11:13], the first beast uttering blasphemies [13:5], and putting to death everyone who did not worship the second beast [13:15]. In addition, it is not really appropriate to associate bowls pouring “God’s fury upon the earth” [16:1] with a chalice used during Mass. It would be more accurate to say that, if a number of passages were removed from Revelation, then the remainder would have some resemblance to the Mass.

10. NON-CANONICAL BOOKS

In these lectures we discussed the 27 canonical books of the New Testament. Several of these 27 were originally disputed, such as James, Jude, Second Peter, and 2,3 John, but were in the end included in the canon. There are other books of the first and second century that were under consideration but never made it into the official scriptures, such as the Didache or Teaching of the Twelve Apostles which dates from 95 to 110 AD, the early 2^nd century Shepherd of Hermas, the Epistle of Barnabas (139 AD), and the first (95 AD) and Second (ca. 150 AD) letters of Clement. The fourth century manuscript Codex Sinaiticus includes the entire New Testament, plus the Old Testament, the Epistle of Barnabas, and the Shepherd of Hermas. The decision of what to include in the official canon of the scriptures was made by the Church at the North African Councils of Hippo (393 AD) and Carthage (397 AD).

11. SUMMING UP

We have now completed our survey of the New Testament. At this point it may be useful to review the material that has been covered. There are 27 books in the New Testament which have the usual classification into four Gospels, one Acts of the Apostles, 21 epistles, and Revelation. The four Gospels are subdivided into three synoptic Gospels and the Gospel of John. The 21 Epistles are subdivided into fourteen Pauline and seven Catholic epistles. The 14 Pauline epistles are comprised of two Early Epistles, four Great Epistles, four Captivity Epistles, three Pastoral Epistles, and Hebrews. The seven Pastoral Epistles can be grouped by their four assigned authors. Finally there is Revelation which stands alone. These twenty one books can also be grouped by their alleged authorship as follows: James 1, John 5, Jude 1, Luke 2, Mark 1, Matthew 1, Paul 14 and Peter 2.

It might be of interest to list the books by their length, based on the number of pages (given in parentheses) in the Greek Nestle-Aland Bible cited below. The list is: 3 John (1), 2 John (2), Philemon (3), Jude (4), 2 Thess (4), Titus (4), 2 Timothy (6), 2 Peter (7), 1 Thess (7), Colossians (8), Philippians (8), 1 Timothy (8), Galatians (10), James (10), 1 John (10), 1 Peter (10), Ephesians (12), 2 Cor (21), Hebrews (25), 1 Cor (31), Romans (32), Revelation (49), Mark (62), John (73), Matthew (87). Acts (89), and Luke (97). This order is not precise for books assigned the same number of pages because their footnotes occupy different amounts of space, and I did not take this into account.

12. SOURCES.

A number of sources were consulted for the preparation of these five sets of notes, including: the Baltimore Catechism, Catechism of the Catholic Church, Catholic Study Bible (North American Bible), Collegeville Bible Commentary, Cruden’s Concordance, Encyclopoedia of Catholic History, Introduction to the Bible by Hauer and Young, Gospel Parallels by Throckmorton, Jerome Biblical Commentary. Jerusalem Bible, Nestle-Aland Novum Testamentum Graece et Latine, Oxford Bible Atlas, Synopsis of the Four Gospels edited by K. Aland, ed., and Who’s Who in the Bible. Information on the book of Revelation can be found in the two commentaries mentioned above, and the four books Apocalypse by S. C. Doyle, The Message of the Book of Revelation by C. T. Chapman, The Lamb’s Supper by S. Hahn, and the Navarre Bible volume entitled Revelation.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

I would like to thank Doris Christley for her critical reading of, and her thoughtful comments and recommendations concerning, the first draft of this work.