A question about reading Revelation

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Hello. Apologies if this should be in Sacred Scripture; it does deal somewhat with my scrupulosity, so I figured Moral Theology would be the best bet.

I enjoy reading the Bible out loud to my mother, and we’ve finished the entire New Testament up to Revelation. Now, my study Bible from a recent Confirmation class has what I’d call “headings”. For example, in Romans chapter 15, verse 22-33, just before verse 22, there is a bold heading that says “Paul’s Plan; Need for Prayers”. Additionally, in the same chapter, just before verse 14, it says “VII: Conclusion”, separate from the rest of the text, to help divide the book into several distinct parts. Are these headings and the “Conclusion” stuff actually included by the Church, or were they added to the study Bibles to make them easier to understand? Should I say them while reading Revelation aloud? I’ve been reading them aloud thus far, but I tend to be a little scrupulous when it comes to Revelation. I intend to talk to a priest about it, but thanks for any answers.
 
Squips said:
Hello. Apologies if this should be in Sacred Scripture; it does deal somewhat with my scrupulosity, so I figured Moral Theology would be the best bet.

I enjoy reading the Bible out loud to my mother, and we’ve finished the entire New Testament up to Revelation. Now, my study Bible from a recent Confirmation class has what I’d call “headings”. For example, in Romans chapter 15, verse 22-33, just before verse 22, there is a bold heading that says “Paul’s Plan; Need for Prayers”. Additionally, in the same chapter, just before verse 14, it says “VII: Conclusion”, separate from the rest of the text, to help divide the book into several distinct parts. Are these headings and the “Conclusion” stuff actually included by the Church, or were they added to the study Bibles to make them easier to understand? Should I say them while reading Revelation aloud? I’ve been reading them aloud thus far, but I tend to be a little scrupulous when it comes to Revelation. I intend to talk to a priest about it, but thanks for any answers.
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The headings are just there for your convenience, they’re not part of the original Hebrew or Greek text. They are provided by the translators. You can safely ignore them. I use them simply to orient my thoughts, but I don’t read them (silently or aloud) when I’m reading the Bible.

If this sort of thing bothers you, you might want to try reading a Douay-Rheims Bible, which has no subheadings except a short one under each chapter. 👍
 
RPRPsych said:
If this sort of thing bothers you, you might want to try reading a Douay-Rheims Bible, which has no subheadings except a short one under each chapter. 👍
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This. There are Bibles that do not have headings and footnotes and I find it much better personally to just have the word of God in front of me when reading the scriptures. If you are the same, there are translations (generally older translations) that will accommodate you.
 
Revelation pre-supposes an understanding of biblical theology. It’s not always in pure actuality but the essence is definitively awesome.
 
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