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By a “remarkable coincidence”, I am taking up the Book of Revelation as the final topic in my series on the books of the Bible. The coincidence is that this book, also called The Apocalypse, is of course the last book written that is the revealed Word of God. Penned by St. John near the end of his life, it is the final piece of Divine Revelation, which closed with the death of this last of the apostles. As the name suggests, this revelation to St. John for the Church concerns itself with the consummation of all things, including the end of the world. It is therefore a prolonged exhortation to prepare for God’s judgment.
The book is written in the striking symbolic imagery of the apocalyptic genre, which we have already seen, for example, in the Book of Daniel. There is no reason to question the authorship: It was written by St. John, shortly before his death near the end of the first century, to convey revelations of the end times which he received in visions.
However, the Book of Revelation is so difficult to understand that it will do little good to attempt to summarize it in a single installment. Perhaps the most helpful thing the reader can do for personal study is to get a copy of The Navarre Bible’s volume on Revelation, which in the space of 125 pages provides the English text (RSV), the Latin text (New Vulgate) and a very intelligible same-page commentary throughout. There is also a 15-page introduction which orients you to the book as a whole. For the very affordable paperback edition, see:
The Letters to the Churches
Continued below.
https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/apocalypse-now-book-revelation-part-1/
The book is written in the striking symbolic imagery of the apocalyptic genre, which we have already seen, for example, in the Book of Daniel. There is no reason to question the authorship: It was written by St. John, shortly before his death near the end of the first century, to convey revelations of the end times which he received in visions.
However, the Book of Revelation is so difficult to understand that it will do little good to attempt to summarize it in a single installment. Perhaps the most helpful thing the reader can do for personal study is to get a copy of The Navarre Bible’s volume on Revelation, which in the space of 125 pages provides the English text (RSV), the Latin text (New Vulgate) and a very intelligible same-page commentary throughout. There is also a 15-page introduction which orients you to the book as a whole. For the very affordable paperback edition, see:
- United States: https://scepterpublishers.org/products/the-navarre-bible-revelation
- Elsewhere: https://www.fourcourtspress.ie/books/navarre-bible/revelation/
The Letters to the Churches
Continued below.
https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/apocalypse-now-book-revelation-part-1/
