Question about Revelations

[eleusis]

Fellow Catholics,
I am a former apostate who left the Church in rebellion of my parents in my teens and returned in my mid 20’s. During my “baptist years” I was heavily steeped in End-time prophecy and tribulations/rapture theory ect ect. Can anyone suggest some good books on the Catholic view and or some good links to bring myself up to date on this topic?

In advance,
Many thanks,

 

[Fidelis]

It is only the last two chapters of Revelation that are concerned at all with the “End Times.” Many Catholics these days have got caught up in the silly prognosticating of Protestant Dispensationalists where they erroneously try to find “clues” in Revelation and other prophetic books like they are not prophecy, but puzzles, that anyone can figure out.

To get a proper Catholic understanding of Biblical prophecy, I recommend the following resources:

Online Articles:
catholic.com/library/Rapture.asp
catholic.com/thisrock/1995/9510ntg.asp
catholic.com/thisrock/2002/0209fea5.asp
catholic.com/thisrock/1998/9812chap.asp
catholic.com/thisrock/1997/9705chap.asp

Other Resources (except as noted, available at your local Catholic bookstore or amazon.com:

“Introduction to Prophecy,” CD series by Steve Wood
familylifecenter.net/
(HIGHLY recommended!)

“Rapture: The End Times Error That Leaves The Truth Behind,” by David Curie

“The Rapture Trap,” by Paul Thigpen (study guide available)

The Navarre Bible Commentary On The Book of Revelation

“The End: The Book of Revelation,” tape/CD series by Scott Hahn (study guide available)
saintjoe.com/

“Will Catholics Be Left Behind?” by Carl Olsen

“Coming Soon, Unlocking the Book of Revelation”, by Michael Barber

 

[anawim]

eleusis:

Fellow Catholics,
I am a former apostate who left the Church in rebellion of my parents in my teens and returned in my mid 20’s. During my “baptist years” I was heavily steeped in End-time prophecy and tribulations/rapture theory ect ect. Can anyone suggest some good books on the Catholic view and or some good links to bring myself up to date on this topic?

In advance,
Many thanks,

David Currie’s “The Rapture: the End Times Error that Leaves the Bible Behind”.

amazon.com/gp/product/1928832725/002-0631948-8591223?v=glance&n=283155

If you’re not a book worm, but rather a tape worm, his 6-tape serires entitled, “Rapture: Ruse or Reality” is excellent:

catholiccompany.com/product_detail.cfm?ID=3706

 

[Steven_Merten]

Hello Eleusis,

I do not have a link or a source to give you but I do have a homily, that I have remembered for decades, which is dear to me.

The homilist was telling of a priest addressed by a Baptist minister. The priest was on a bus wearing his collar. The Baptist minister, recognizing the Catholic priest collar, decided to sit down beside him and put him to the test. The Baptist minister asked the priest, "If you absolutely knew that the world was coming to an end in a week, how would that effect your life and your ministry?’ The Priest replied, “I would go on preaching the words of Jesus Christ. I would continue to tell people what Jesus tells us to do to go to heaven. I would continue to provide the sacraments to Christ’s flock. I would continue to do all the things I have done for decades since the day of my ordination.” The Baptist minister looked back at the Priest and said, “You Catholics just don’t get it!”

I think the moral of the story is that one should be preparing for the end of time all one’s life regardles of when the end comes, for the individual or for the entire world.

Peace in Christ,
Steven Merten

 

[NotWorthy]

Steve, good story! That makes a lot of sense!

Great tape series on EWTN (FREE!) by Scott Hahn - “The Lamb’s Supper”. Of course, his book on it is also great.

Michael Barber’s book, “Coming Soon” - Unlocking the Book of Revelations has been a thoroughly enjoyable books thus far, that is hard to put down.

Good Luck!

Notworthy

 

[awalt]

Read Scott Hahn’s Book

   [The Lamb's Supper: The Mass as Heaven on Earth](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0385496591/sr=8-1/qid=1141349397/ref=sr_1_1/102-8517209-5667304?%5Fencoding=UTF8)

it will give you a totally different view of Revelation!

 

[Daniel_Marsh]

over at newadvent there is an online commentary on revelation too.

 

[spauline]

Fidelis:

It is only the last two chapters of Revelation that are concerned at all with the “End Times.”

On one layer of meaning, ie, preterism, this might be true. But there are other layers. In other layers, the beast can not only be a symbol of Rome but also of apostasy, such as our modern age (which is, according to best analysis of mystics, merely the Minor Apostasy), or the Great Apostasy at the end. JPII talked of the modern False Prophet as materialism. The fifth trumpet can be the five month war in the fall of Jerusalem in the beginning of Church history, and it has been seen by some Catholics as the Protestant Rebellion. Honestly, the Book of Rev is far too multilayered and multidimensional to be confined merely mostly to the Early Church. This article expresses my sentiments quite well.

 

[Fidelis]

spauline:

On one layer of meaning, ie, preterism, this might be true. But there are other layers. In other layers, the beast can not only be a symbol of Rome but also of apostasy, such as our modern age (which is, according to best analysis of mystics, merely the Minor Apostasy), or the Great Apostasy at the end. JPII talked of the modern False Prophet as materialism. The fifth trumpet can be the five month war in the fall of Jerusalem in the beginning of Church history, and it has been seen by some Catholics as the Protestant Rebellion. Honestly, the Book of Rev is far too multilayered and multidimensional to be confined merely mostly to the Early Church. This article expresses my sentiments quite well.

It is true that Scripture is multi-layered and can have a number of moral and allegorical meanings. However, Scripture can have only one* literal * meaning and, when it comes to the Book of Revelation, the preterist view most closely refelects this. Anything else is pious speculation – which is not without value, but is not definitive.

Where people get into trouble is by taking these pious speculations as definitive and building a whole theology around it. This is where we get the “Left Behind” type of Dispensationalist errors. Whenever one builds a theology, it is only natural to conform one’s life to it, but when the theology is flawed, so will be the spiritual life one builds upon it.

Honestly, the Book of Rev is far too multilayered and multidimensional to be confined merely mostly to the Early Church.

Actually, the message of Revelation is for Christians of all times. It was written for and aimed at the Early Church, but the message for them is the same for us – there will be persecution and trial in this life, but Christ has already won the victory.

I think is a vanity on our part to think that the book of Revelation was written as some sort of “time capsule” code that was only dimly understood by the first 2000 years of Christianity and was being preserved for us chosen few in 2006. Yet this is the presumption behind “Left Behind” and similar theories.