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.
From THE CONGREGATION FOR THE DOCTRINE OF THE FAITH:
Second Question: What is the meaning of the affirmation that the Church of Christ subsists in the Catholic Church?
Response: Christ "established here on earth" only one Church and instituted it as a "visible and spiritual community"5, that from its beginning and throughout the centuries has always existed and will always exist, and in which alone are found all the elements that Christ himself instituted.6 "This one Church of Christ, which we confess in the Creed as one, holy, catholic and apostolic […]. This Church, constituted and organised in this world as a society, subsists in the Catholic Church, governed by the successor of Peter and the Bishops in communion with him"7.
In number 8 of the Dogmatic Constitution Lumen Gentium "subsistence" means this perduring, historical continuity and the permanence of all the elements instituted by Christ in the Catholic Church8, in which the Church of Christ is concretely found on this earth.
It is possible, according to Catholic doctrine, to affirm correctly that the Church of Christ is present and operative in the churches and ecclesial Communities not yet fully in communion with the Catholic Church, on account of the elements of sanctification and truth that are present in them.9 Nevertheless, the word "subsists" can only be attributed to the Catholic Church alone precisely because it refers to the mark of unity that we profess in the symbols of the faith (I believe... in the "one" Church); and this "one" Church subsists in the Catholic Church.10
From Apocalypse - Letter by Letter:
The bride is clothed in "bright, clean linen," and the "linen" is the righteous deeds of the saints; ergo, the saints, collectively, are the bride of the Little Lamb, Jesus Christ. Clearly, the saints are the Church, the mystical body of Christ, the bride, as St. Paul repeats what Christ said,
"For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two will become one flesh." This is a great mystery, and I am applying it to Christ and his Church. [Eph. 5:31-32]
Again, St. Paul indicated that the bride of Christ is the members of the Church, For I am jealous with God's jealousy toward you, for I promised you to one husband, to be presented as a chaste virgin to Christ. [2 Cor. 11:2]
As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, even to the end of the world, Christ cannot have more than one bride, lest he commit the sin of adultery; and yet, in this last year of the twentieth century, some 2500 denominations individually aver, "I am the bride of Christ!"
Judge for yourselves, ye Friends, the signs of these times, when hundreds and hundreds of millions testify, "You, Jesus Christ, are a fornicator, like us!" Contemplate earnestly, therefore,what is coming, and make ready.
Consider 19:14, which reads,
And the armies the ones in the heaven follow him [the Word of the God] upon white horses [,] wearing white, clean linen.
The armies mentioned here are "wearing white, clean linen"; this unmistakably alludes to the "bright, clean linen" of the saints in 19:8. Obviously, not every individual member of the whole Church will be in those armies. Hence, to indicate the whole of the Church, the term "the heaven" is used; and to indicate a part of the Church, the phrase, "in the heaven," is used.
Numbers seemingly play an important role in prophesy and God's Mysterious Plan. But just when you think one of those numbers has come up, the day passes with nary a whimper. Such was the case for 07/07/07, like the year 2000 and even 1000 before it. So what about numbers?
From The Apocalypse - Letter by Letter:
Let me here interpolate an explanation of the symbolic number "seven". Seven is the sum of three plus four, the number of the Holy Trinity plus the visible creation. This sacred number expresses the perfection and universality in the dealings of God with men. It also expresses the idea of "indefiniteness in such things as time, quantity, etc." Hence, the length of time to actualize the purpose of the visible creation, namely, man, is expressed as SEVEN days. God's purpose for man shall continue until He brings it to fulfillment. The number SEVEN, thus, sums up all God's revelations.
The Apocalypse tells about the evolvement and consummation of God's purpose, and that is why it is addressed to SEVEN bishops and their SEVEN congregations. Indeed, the contents of the whole book [epistle] can be put into a series of SEVENS. It doesn't take much intellectual talent to get the hint: the Apocalypse is Jesus Christ's final message to the whole Church throughout all the ages, even to the end of human history. For Jesus Christ is Immanuel, God with us, for every step and second of the journey.
Before showing the next approximate date, a few symbolical numbers need explanation. The number ONE THOUSAND in John's day signified perfection, although it was not necessarily connected with the concept of totality. The world's number of completion or perfection is TEN, a round number that denotes the completion or perfection is not total, but nearly so. The number symbolizing God's completion or perfection in his dealings with the world is TWELVE, which is obtained by multiplying THREE times FOUR, the number of the Holy Trinity times the concept of totality. FOUR usually symbolizes universality, like the four main points of the compass, the four winds, or the Four Corners of the earth; but, totality is the more accurate concept.
For example, there were TWELVE tribes of ancient Israel, because the Savior of the whole world was to come from the Jews. However, God gave them through Moses TEN COMMANDMENTS, because the message and the law were not totally perfect or complete. Jesus Christ, being the fullness of the Truth and the fulfillment of the law, chose TWELVE Apostles to teach the good news to the whole world. As for the number TEN, you will meet it in Chapters 12 and 13. So I hope you all had a complete and fulfilling 07/07/07.
In other words, Jesus will expel the lukewarm from his body, the Church. The homosexuality scandal in the Church has led to a widespread expulsion of the lukewarm. With homosexuality reaching to the highest levels in the hierarchy, it is true that many have clung to power but they are gradually being found out and removed, one way or another.
It has been observed that where the homosexual has been found, so have many other grave evils. The sinner who uses deceit to hide his sin is least likely to speak out on other grave sins - like abortion, artificial contraception, infidelity, divorce and remarriage, etc.
But Jesus Christ knew this would happen and in the 7 letters to the 7 bishops in Revelation, he warned against it. In numerous New Testament letters, the apostles also prophesied that an apostasy would precede the final battle between good and evil. Might we be in the birth pangs now?
Read Apocalypse - Letter by Letter and you will better understand the times we are in and more importantly, the times that are coming soon.
On this fourth of July, America, the greatest nation on earth, celebrates its founding. Though a non-Catholic country, it remains a mostly Christian one and Christian principles still are valued.
In the Book of Revelation, Chapter 12, a woman is forced to flee to the wilderness. She is aided by the two wings of the eagle, the great one. Providence ensured that the national symbol of the United States of America would feature a great eagle. In the Bible, the eagle is used in prophetic writings to symbolize a nation. And as explained in a previous post, the woman is the Church, the Roman Catholic Church.
The Eagle will come to the aid of the woman because they share common history and values, as well as a common enemy.
At times, it seems as if all goodness is being sucked out of our great nation. But Providence has made it that the United States will come to the aid of a persecuted Church hierarchy and evacuate Rome using two military transports - the two wings of the great eagle.
This is all explained further (and better) in The Apocalypse - Letter by Letter. All that remains to be seen is if enough good people will be left in government to do the right thing when the time comes.
Who cares? Well in Chapter 12 of Revelation, there is a scene described as "The Great Sign". In it a woman clothed with the sun is in great travail to bring forth a son. A dragon is depicted as sweeping away 1/3 of the stars with his tail. In Apocalypse - Letter by Letter, the author claims that the "woman" is the Church and the tail of the dragon is the False Prophet that will cause many in the Church to apostatize. The third of the stars is one third of the episcopate. God will allow one third of the College of Cardinals to throw in with the False Prophet but will never let enough of them be able to control a papal election.
Pope Benedict, by reestablishing the 2/3 majority rule, sets the stage for the final battle, and the Great Sign, a papal election.
