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.
Recall the symbolical description at the beginning of Chapter 4. John saw an opened door in the heaven, and a voice commanded him, 'Come up here..." [literally, "Ascend hither..."]. The wordage implies that there is a wall separating the [naos] from the [aulë], and that the [naos] is higher up, i.e., spiritually superior.
The reason for these symbolical expressions is that the "temple" stands atop the "mountain," God's "holy mountain." The intimation is that the [naos], with its surrounding wall, will become the city called the New Jerusalem described in Chapter 21, verses 9-27.
Those who wear white robes have "conquered" or "overcome," for the color "white" symbolizes victory. They shall inherit the "kingdom of the heaven" in the Millennium, and they shall inherit also the earth.
Consider what Christ said, in 3:15-17, to the bishop at Laodicea,
"I know your works [,] that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were cold or hot. So, because you are lukewarm and neither hot nor cold, I am about to vomit you out of my mouth. For you say that 'I am rich and I have prospered and I have need of nothing', and you do not know that you are the one wretched and pitiable and poor and blind and naked..."
In ancient times, the [aulë] was where the beasts were kept at night. Beasts do not wear clothes. From Christ's point of view, the bishop at Laodicea is spiritually naked because he, like the bishop at Ephesus, no longer keeps the first great commandment: to love God with all one's heart and all one's soul and all one's mind. Half-heartedness will not do. Moreover, a human being, by means of self alone, cannot keep the first great commandment, and, consequently, not the second, a point pellucidly made in the citation from Chapter 7,
"...they washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Little Lamb."
The individual must become clothed in the new creation, clothed most of all with love [as St. Paul wrote], in order to be properly attired for the sanctuary, in the presence of the God on his throne, where one may come to God's table, the altar, to partake of the Eucharistic Christ. Strictly speaking, the lukewarm are still within the Church, but their position is perilous; for Christ warned in strong, blunt language,
"I am about to vomit you out of my mouth."
This means He will expel them from his body, that is, He will cast them out of his Church. In other symbolic terms, they will be cast out of "the heaven" and fall onto the earth. This symbolism should be familiar to more than a few, for, historically, it is long from new; indeed, the very first violation by man against the first great commandment has always been called--the Fall.
From The Apocalypse - Letter by Letter: A Literary Analysis of the Book of Revelation
That the Ten Kings GIVE their kingdom to the Beast is impressive testimony as to how extraordinary a person the Beast will be, even before he becomes the Antichrist; and that Satan also gives his own power and throne and great authority to him implies not only the Beast's qualification of malice, but also Satan's, toward Christ and his Church: for Satan so hates them, that he is willing to put himself at the beck and call of a mere man, an inversion of the scale of being comparable to a man's subserving a slug. Thus, by having a visible head, can Satan deceive a greater number of souls to annihilation.
Contrary to the opinion asserted about twenty-five years ago in The Late Great Planet Earth, by Hal Lindsay, the Ten Kings will not have their confederation in Europe, but in southwest Asia, the region that includes the lands around the Black Sea and the Caspian, and those of Iran, Oman, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia; this region holds 70% of the world's known oil reserves and is predominantly Islamic. That the Confederation of the Ten Kings will not arise in Europe is shown by one salient fact: the Great Harlot will have dominion over "the earth" until the Beast annexes it to his "many waters," and, thereafter, the False Prophet will be the subordinate ruler of it, not the Ten Kings.
Verse 12 states that the Ten Kings...
"...did not yet receive a kingdom, but authority as kings for one hour they will receive together with the beast."
The angel is referring to the global empire that will be given to the Beast when he begins ascending from the abyss, also. Since the historical count of the seven evil empires is both literal and exact, I suspect that the count of the Ten Kings, who are contemporaries of the Beast, will also be literal and exact. This does not mean the number "ten" is not symbolical here; it is a round or rough number connoting that the global empire will not be total, but nearly so. Chapter 12 corroborates this view in verse 14,
But the woman was given the two wings of/from the eagle the great one, so that she could fly unto the wilderness, to her place where she is nourished for a time and times and half a time.
It should be obvious to all, that the "wilderness," in her case, will not be the symbolical "wilderness" where John was taken "in spirit" to see the Great Harlot and the Beast; if it were, then, she would be jumping from the frying pan into the fire.
One of the customs of ancient Greece, in the days of Simonides, Sophocles, Socrates, Democritus, Aristophanes, Aristotle, and Alexander, was to be generally known by ONE NAME. Hence, the available evidence favors the suspicion that the Beast will use only one name. The use of the number 666, instead of the Beast's name, implies something yet more appalling: either the general Christian population, especially, Europe, shall have become ignorant of the number's significance or, if not ignorant, completely complicitous with the Beast and False Prophet, out of cowardice or malice. John's words probably impute both motives,
"And it [the Beast from the Earth] makes all...so that they give [to] themselves a mark..." [Apoc. 13:16]
No, I have not erred in translation,
As for the mark of the number, there are two possibilities: either it will be the Arabic numerals "666", or the Greek letters for numbers, "XES" [majuscules], but, most likely, "xes" [miniscules]. To keep aesthetical consistency, the anti-Christians will most likely choose the latter in miniscules.
[Editorial note: In the book, a Greek font is used. Blogger does not have this font so I used S when the actual letter is not an S. If you get the book, you will see the actual letter. Also, XES is only an example and is not to be taken as a statement of the actual name of the beast.]
On three occasions, Mark Mallett, Catholic author, artist and musician has referenced "The Apocalypse - Letter by Letter: A Literary Analysis of the Book of Revelation" in his blog. His writings on revelation and the times we are in are poignant and remind me of the time when I asked Steven Paul to write this book.
I had so much swirling around me then - a diagnosis of MS, friend dying from ALS, Father-in-law dying, brother-in-law (Steven Paul) with cancer, and this strange set of coincidences that landed me and my family in Medjugorje. I was gripped with the feeling that the time of preparation was accelerating and that i had to amend my ways as well as lead my family to Christ in His Church. And along the way, I met many people experiencing the same thing. I call us searchers.
We are ordinary people in all professions, all countries and we all are feeling that the world is poised for a major change. Some see gloom and doom, the end times. Some see a time of grace. Many are seeking answers from visionaries, priests, prophets, scholars, or almost anyone who seems to "get it". Mark Mallett seems to be one who is especially in tune with what's coming.
Where it all will lead is for God to know. As for me, I believe that Steven Paul was inspired and had special insight into the Bible and the meaning of Revelation. And I was compelled to bring his work to light. Where it will go I haven't any idea. But some folks seem to be getting something out of it.
"There are lies, damn lies and statistics" - Mark Twain
But sometimes statistics can be very compelling. Still, one must be careful to correlate trends with causes and complex systems can confound data. But in this article, the data confirms what common sense already informs. Vatican II has led to the greatest apostasy in the history of the Church. Is it the apostasy foretold in Revelation and the gospels? Time will tell.
UVA Interviews Ken Jones, Author of Index of Leading Catholic Indicators
What is your verdict?
I can only agree with what Cardinal Ratzinger said: "We find ourselves faced with a progressive process of decadence. ... It is incontrovertible that this period has definitely been unfavorable for the Catholic Church." Since Cardinal Ratzinger made these remarks in 1984, the crisis in the Church has accelerated. In every area that is statistically verifiable - for example, the number of priests, seminarians, priestless parishes, nuns, Mass attendance, converts and annulments - the "process of decadence" is undeniable.
