The Book of Revelation was written around AD 95 by John the apostle who was at that time banished to the island of Patmos by Emperor Domitian. Written in an apocalyptic language, the book of Revelation hides many mysteries that would be opened as the time for their fulfilment approaches.
The apocalyptic language used, the complexity of subjects mentioned in it, and the long time period that it refers to, all make the interpretation of Revelation a difficult task. This in turn makes it easy for certain sects and breakaway groups to interpret it in their own way and thus mislead their followers. But the Catholic Church has been, for centuries, adopting a guarded view of the book of Revelation so as to avoid any chances of misinterpretation from within her ranks. It has worked for centuries, and by and large, the Catholic interpretation of the book of Revelation has been consistent, leaving not much room for personal interpretations.
But it is changing and voices from different quarters from within the Church have started to come up that would denigrate the Revelation and relegate it into a mere piece of writing having relevance for a certain period of time and a certain geographical area, both limited to the Roman empire. They argue that it was written with the sole purpose of strengthening the Christians under persecution in the empire. They posit that the beast rising out of the sea (Rev 13:1) is Nero, who reigned over the empire in the first century. They do not accept the universal message of the Revelation and deny that it has any eschatological meaning!
Such false teachings go to the extent of saying that the mark of the beast (Rev 13:16) is nothing to be worried about. They deny the chances of the implantable microchips being used as the mark of the beast. According to them the number 666 is the numerical value of the name ‘ Nero Caesar’ and there is no need to link it to the number of the Antichrist. They are convinced that the forty-two month period mentioned in Revelation (Rev 11:2) has no special significance, rather it denotes an undefined time period! According to them, if anyone links the present turmoil across the globe to the signs of our Lord’s return, they are extremists trying to mislead people.
What is the truth? Is there any substance in the arguments put forward by these false teachers? Let us examine them one by one. To start with, let us read from the preface to the book of Revelation from one of the most authentic Bible versions in the world with a history of universal acceptance of more than five centuries behind it. It is the Douay- Rheims version first published in AD 1582 (New Testament) and 1609 (Old Testament), the latest edition coming in 1899 with the imprimatur with the then Archbishop of Baltimore, James Cardinal Gibbons.
‘In the first, second, and third chapters of this Book are contained instructions and admonitions which St John was commanded to write to the seven bishops of the churches in Asia. And in the following chapters, to the end, are contained prophecies of things that are to come to pass in the Church of Christ, particularly towards the end of the world, in the time of Antichrist. It was written in Greek, in the island of Patmos, where St John was in banishment by order of the cruel emperor Domitian, about sixty-four years after our Lord’s ascension.’
So it is clear that the Church believed for centuries that Revelation consisted of two separate parts. The first three chapters address the seven churches in Asia and the remaining chapters address the universal church. The first three chapters were used to describe current events and the next nineteen chapters to describe future events. So Revelation has a clear eschatological message as it contains prophecies related to the time of the Antichrist.
It is true that the number 666 is the numerical value of ‘Nero Caeser’. But does it mean that it is limited to him alone? Nero being a prototype of the Antichrist, both could have names with identical numerical values. By the bye, why should John write about Nero who committed suicide in AD 68, that too, after three decades? It was Domitian who sent John to Patmos, and Domitian was equally cruel towards Christians. Why should John mention a number relating to an emperor who passed away long ago, especially when another emperor with all the traits of Nero was on the throne whose numerical value was totally different? It is to be noted here that speculations around the identity of the man with a numerical value of 666 started as early as the second century. It is in this backdrop that St Irenaeus (who himself proposed some names to match the number) warned the believers about drawing unwarranted conclusions in this
matter. Irenaeus stated that ‘it is more certain, and less hazardous, to await the fulfilment of the prophecy, than to be making surmises.’
The fact is that the first three chapters, though primarily addressed to seven specific churches in Asia, have a universal message across time periods. It is a warning to all churches in the whole world for all periods. Nero and Domitian are just symbols for future generations whose focus must be on the coming Antichrist.
It is strange that there are people who still doubt whether an implantable microchip could be used by the Antichrist to control masses. As the world is on the fast track to digitalize everything, their primary intention is to link all financial dealings to the personal identification number of each individual. It doesn’t need a second reading of Rev 13:16-18 to understand that the beast would use the ‘mark’ as a necessary pre-requirement for all financial transactions so as to control, track, and monitor individuals. Read with it what John said about the power of evil over this world. ‘The whole world lies under the power of the evil one’ (1 Jn 5:19).
For those who discount the forty- two month period (Rev 11:2) as insignificant, may understand that the Scripture mentions this time period (or its equivalent) not once but on other occasions also (Dan 12:7, 9:27, 12:11, Rev 11:3). It is the period of three and a half years ‘after the regular burnt offering is taken away and the abomination that desolates is set up’ (Dan 12:11) in the Church, denoting the period of great tribulation under the reign of Antichrist.
It is unfortunate that nowadays many Catholics are actively promoting a false narrative about the messages of Revelation. They argue that the book of Revelation need not be considered seriously. Those who follow such false teaching would end up happily accepting the mark of the beast. They would never agree that the unfolding one world government, one world religion, and one world currency are part of the grand plan of the Antichrist to mislead humanity towards error and damnation. So never go after new revelations from such false teachers. The book of Revelation contains everything that we must know in the end days, and the Church gives us everything that will guide us in interpreting its messages.
‘This calls for wisdom’ (Rev 13:18). May all those who read this be blessed with the wisdom to understand and appreciate the prophecies contained in
the book of Revelation in its true perspective, ‘for the time is near’ (Rev 22:10).
(www.v-catholic.com)
