The Apocalypse - Letter by Letter: Why We Pray for Jews to Convert
The Apocalypse - Letter by Letter
Blog to discuss the book "The Apocalypse - Letter by Letter: A Literary Analysis of the Book of Revelation" and current events that point to the events described therein.
Whether it is in the explicit form of the old Tridentine Mass or in the softer language of the NovusOrdo Mass, the spirit and intent is the same - to pray for the conversion of the Jews. Why? Because we love them as our elder brothers and as those whom Jesus loved first. And out heart aches for their long-suffering and the persecution they experience for being God's first chosen ones. And we also pray for them because revelation tells us our prayers will one day be effective. In The Apocalypse - Letter by Letter, by Steven Paul, their conversion is described as well as the place God has prepared for them in the "New Heaven and New Earth".
Some Passages From Chapter 24:
Note that the names of the twelve tribes are written on the "gates." This suggests a special honor will be bestowed upon the Jews, for they were God's chosen nation, his "gate," through which salvation came to the whole world. The text suggests that the leadership of the Church will be given to them, because they will "sell," i.e., renounce, all that they have, their worldly desires, to "buy" or obtain the "pearl," the wisdom of Christ. Christ was born of the house of David, and He meant exactly what he said, "the first shall be last, and the last shall be first.'
4 Behold I have given him for a witness to the people, for a leader and a master to the Gentiles. 5 Behold thou shalt call a nation, which thou knewest not: and the nations that knew not thee shall run to thee, because of the Lord thy God, and for the Holy One of Israel, for he hath glorified thee. [Is. 55:4-5].
The foundations of the "wall" are twelve, and each is adorned with a specific kind of "precious stone." The "jewels' are symbolic of spiritual things; three of them I have already explained in part two of this commentary. As for the others, I have not yet been able to find their precise meanings. I will neither opine nor speculate. If I find their meanings, I will inform you. Isaiah 54:11-12 contains a description, in part, similar to the one John gave.
Verses 22-27 allude to passages in the Old Testament, such as, Isaiah 60:3, which reads,
"Nations shall walk by your light, and kings by your shining radiance";
or 60:11, which reads,
"Your gates shall stand open constantly; day and night they shall not be closed, but shall admit to you the wealth of nations, and their kings, in the vanguard." [John does not mention "night" because the "millennium" will be unending "days," spiritually speaking]
There are too many to quote, and it is better for the reader to "browse among the lilies," so that he or she may judge how closely John has restated many of the prophecies in the Old Testament.
One fact is made perfectly clear: Israel shall be exalted and glorified in the "millennium," and Jerusalem, especially. It was impossible for me not to receive the impression that Jerusalem will be the center of the Church in the world during that time. The reader must keep before the mind that Chapter 21 describes Jerusalem, in particular, and the Church, in general, the former being understood as within the latter. Since Jerusalem will be the "crown" upon the "mountain," like the "crown" upon the "woman" in Chapter 12, I have concluded what I have concluded about Jerusalem and the Jewish people.
