CCC Cross Reference:
Rv 20:12 677; Rv 21:1-22:5 117; Rv 21:1-2 756; Rv 21:1 1043; Rv 21:2-4 677; Rv 21:2 757, 1045, 2016
Ps 84:3 1770
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Reading 1
Rv 20:1-4, 11—21:2
I, John, saw an angel come down from heaven,
holding in his hand the key to the abyss and a heavy chain.
He seized the dragon, the ancient serpent,
which is the Devil or Satan,
and tied it up for a thousand years and threw it into the abyss,
which he locked over it and sealed,
so that it could no longer lead the nations astray
until the thousand years are completed.
After this, it is to be released for a short time.
Then I saw thrones; those who sat on them were entrusted with judgment.
I also saw the souls of those who had been beheaded
for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God,
and who had not worshiped the beast or its image
nor had accepted its mark on their foreheads or hands.
They came to life and they reigned with Christ for a thousand years.
Next I saw a large white throne and the one who was sitting on it.
The earth and the sky fled from his presence
and there was no place for them.
I saw the dead, the great and the lowly, standing before the throne,
and scrolls were opened.
Then another scroll was opened, the book of life.
The dead were judged according to their deeds,
by what was written in the scrolls.
The sea gave up its dead;
then Death and Hades gave up their dead.
All the dead were judged according to their deeds.
Then Death and Hades were thrown into the pool of fire.
(This pool of fire is the second death.)
Anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life
was thrown into the pool of fire.
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth.
The former heaven and the former earth had passed away,
and the sea was no more.
I also saw the holy city, a new Jerusalem,
coming down out of heaven from God,
prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
Responsorial Psalm
Ps 84:3, 4, 5-6a and 8a
R. (Rev. 21:3b) Here God lives among his people.
My soul yearns and pines
for the courts of the LORD.
My heart and my flesh
cry out for the living God.
R. Here God lives among his people.
Even the sparrow finds a home,
and the swallow a nest
in which she puts her young–
Your altars, O LORD of hosts,
my king and my God!
R. Here God lives among his people.
Blessed they who dwell in your house!
continually they praise you.
Blessed the men whose strength you are!
They go from strength to strength.
R. Here God lives among his people.
Gospel
Lk 21:29-33
Jesus told his disciples a parable.
“Consider the fig tree and all the other trees.
When their buds burst open,
you see for yourselves and know that summer is now near;
in the same way, when you see these things happening,
know that the Kingdom of God is near.
Amen, I say to you, this generation will not pass away
until all these things have taken place.
Heaven and earth will pass away,
but my words will not pass away.”
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible
First reading Apocalypse 20:1-4,11-21:2
I, John, saw an angel come down from heaven with the key of the Abyss in his hand and an enormous chain. He overpowered the dragon, that primeval serpent which is the devil and Satan, and chained him up for a thousand years. He threw him into the Abyss, and shut the entrance and sealed it over him, to make sure he would not deceive the nations again until the thousand years had passed. At the end of that time he must be released, but only for a short while.
Then I saw some thrones, and I saw those who are given the power to be judges take their seats on them. I saw the souls of all who had been beheaded for having witnessed for Jesus and for having preached God’s word, and those who refused to worship the beast or his statue and would not have the brand-mark on their foreheads or hands; they came to life, and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. Then I saw a great white throne and the One who was sitting on it. In his presence, earth and sky vanished, leaving no trace. I saw the dead, both great and small, standing in front of his throne, while the book of life was opened, and other books opened which were the record of what they had done in their lives, by which the dead were judged.
The sea gave up all the dead who were in it; Death and Hades were emptied of the dead that were in them; and every one was judged according to the way in which he had lived. Then Death and Hades were thrown into the burning lake. This burning lake is the second death; and anybody whose name could not be found written in the book of life was thrown into the burning lake.
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; the first heaven and the first earth had disappeared now, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the holy city, and the new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, as beautiful as a bride all dressed for her husband.
Psalm: Psalm 83:3-6,8
Here God lives among men.
My soul is longing and yearning,
is yearning for the courts of the Lord.
My heart and my soul ring out their joy
to God, the living God.
Here God lives among men.
The sparrow herself finds a home
and the swallow a nest for her brood;
she lays her young by your altars,
Lord of hosts, my king and my God.
Here God lives among men.
They are happy, who dwell in your house,
for ever singing your praise.
They are happy, whose strength is in you:
they walk with ever-growing strength.
Here God lives among men.
Gospel Luke 21:29-33
Jesus told his disciples a parable: ‘Think of the fig tree and indeed every tree. As soon as you see them bud, you know that summer is now near. So with you when you see these things happening: know that the kingdom of God is near. I tell you solemnly, before this generation has passed away all will have taken place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.’
Readings and Commentary from the Navarre Bible
Friday of the 34th Week in Ordinary Time
From: Revelation 20:1-4, 11-21:2
The Thousand-Year Reign of Christ and His People
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[1] Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding in his hand the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain. [2] And he seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years, [3] and threw him into the pit, and shut it and sealed it over him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years were ended. After that he must be loosed for a little while.
[4] Then I saw thrones, and seated on them were those to whom judgment was committed. Also I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their testimony to Jesus and for the word of God, and who had not worshipped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life, and reigned with Christ a thousand years.
The Last Judgment of the Living and Dead
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[11] Then I saw a great white throne and him who sat upon it; from his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them. [12] And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Also another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, by what they had done. [13] And the sea gave up the dead in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead in them, and all were judged by what they had done. [14] Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire; [15] and if any one's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
A New World Comes into Being. The New Jerusalem
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[1] Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. [2] And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
Commentary:
1-3. The victory of the Lamb is manifested by the fact that Rome, the great harlot, has been destroyed (chap. 18); then the beast and its prophet are overcome (chap. 19); there remains the dragon whom we saw in chapter 12 and whose defeat marks the final outcome of the war referred to in that chapter.
The battle between Satan and God is described in two scenes; the first tells of how Satan is brought under control and deprived of his power for a time (vv. 1-3); the second describes his last assault on the Church and what happens to him in the end (vv. 7-10). Between these two scenes comes the reign of Christ and his followers for a thousand years (vv. 4-6). At the end of the second scene comes the General Judgment, with the reprobate being damned (vv. 11-18) and a new world coming into being (21:1-8).
The bottomless pit, or abyss, refers to a mysterious place, different from the lake of fire, or hell. Satan is also called the "ancient serpent" because it was he who seduced our first parents at the dawn of history (cf. Gen 3:1-19).
The period during which Satan is held captive coincides with the reign of Christ and his saints -- one thousand years (cf. v. 4) -- and contrasts with the "little while" during which he is given further scope to act. This contrast is very significant and it may simply be a symbolic way of showing that Christ's power is vastly greater than Satan's and that the devil's power is doomed to perish even though on occasions it may emerge with unsuspected force.
11-15. Now that the devil, the root of all evil, is removed from the scene, we are shown (as we were after the previous battle) the resurrection of the dead and the General Judgment. The white throne symbolizes the power of God, who judges the living and the dead. Other New Testament texts tell us that the supreme Judge is Christ, who has been charged with this task by the Father (cf., e.g., Mt 16:27; 25:31-46; Acts 17:31; 2 Cor 5:10). The "flight of earth and sky" mean that they disappear (for even non-rational created things have been contaminated by sin: cf. Rom 8:19ff) to make way for a new heaven and a new earth (21:1; cf. 2 Pet 3:13; Rom 8:23).
The author then turns his attention to the resurrection, when all men will be judged according to their works. He describes this by using the metaphor of two books. One of these records the actions of men (as in Daniel 7:10 and other passages of the Old Testament, cf., e.g., Is 65: 6; Jer 22:30). The second book contains the names of those predestined to eternal life (an idea inspired by Daniel 12:1; cf. also, e.g., Ex 32: 32). This is a way of showing that man cannot attain salvation by his own efforts alone: it is God who saves him; however, he needs to act in such a way that he responds to the destiny God has marked out for him; if he fails to do that he runs the risk of having his name blotted out of the book of life (cf. Rev 3:5), that is, of being damned. By using this metaphor, the author of Revelation is teaching us two truths which are always mysteriously connected -- 1) that we are free and 2) that there is a grace of predestination.
Regarding Hades or hell, it should be pointed out that this does not refer to hell in the strict sense, but to "Sheol", the name the Jews gave to the gloomy abode of the dead.
The Last Judgment is a truth of faith concerning which Paul VI says: "He ascended to heaven, and he will come again, this time in glory, to judge the living and the dead each according to his merits; those who have responded to the love and compassion of God going to eternal life, those who have refused them to the end going to the fire that is not extinguished [...]. We believe in the life eternal. We believe that the souls of all those who die in the grace of Christ, whether they must still be purified in purgatory, or whether from the moment they leave their bodies Jesus takes them to paradise as he did for the Good Thief, are the people of God in the eternity beyond death, which will be finally conquered on the day of the Resurrection when these souls will be reunited with their bodies" ("Creed of the People of God", 12 and 28).
21:1 - 22:15. Now that all the forces of evil, including death, have been vanquished the author turns to contemplate the establishment of the Kingdom of God in all its fullness. Thus, the climax of the book shows a new world inhabited by a new race -- the new Jerusalem (cf. 21: 1-4); a world guaranteed by the eternal and almighty Word of God to last forever (cf. 21:5-8).
The focus of attention now becomes the people of God; the new Jerusalem is portrayed as the Bride of the Lamb; a detailed description shows it to be a wonderful city of great beauty ruled over by God the Father and Christ (21:9-2:6). The contrast between this and the pilgrim Church in its present circumstances is so great that the new city can be discerned only if one puts one's faith in what God's messengers reveal (cf. 22:6-9). Faith is also an effective stimulus to the Christian
to continue to strive for holiness and the reward of eternal life (cf. 22: 10-15).
1-4. The prophet Isaiah depicted the messianic times as a radical change in the fortunes of the people of Israel -- so radical that, as he put it, God was going to create new heavens and a new earth, a new Jerusalem full of joy, where the sound of weeping would never more be heard, where God would make himself plain for all to see and where everything would be as it was in paradise before sin (cf. Is 65:12-25). The author of the Apocalypse uses this same format to describe the future Kingdom of God. The imagery of a new heaven and a new earth (taken in a physical sense) was very much in vogue in Jewish writing around the time of the Apocalypse (cf. 1 Enoch 72:1; 91:16), and is probably reflected also in 2 Peter 3:10-13 and Matthew 19:28. Scripture nowhere indicates what form the new heaven and the new earth will take. However, what is clear is that there will be a radical "renewal" of the present cosmos, contaminated as it is by the sin of man and the powers of evil (cf. Gen 2:8-3:24: Rom 8:9-13): through this renewal all creation will be "recapitulated" in Christ (cf. Eph 1:10; Col 1:16:20). No reference is made to the sea, probably because in Jewish literature it symbolized the abyss, the abode of demonic powers hostile to God.
Those who will inhabit this new world (symbolized by the Holy City, the new Jerusalem) are the entire assembly of the saved, the entire people of God (cf. vv. 12-14) -- a holy people disposed to live in loving communion with God (as reflected by the image of the adorned bride: cf. vv. 2, 9). The promise of a new covenant (Ezek 37:27) will be fulfilled to the letter: God will see to it that none of the evil, suffering or pain found in this world will find its way into the new world.
This passage of the Book of Revelation strengthens the faith and hope of the Church -- not only St John's own generation but all generations down the ages for as long as the Church makes its way through this valley of tears. The Second Vatican Council says: "We know neither the moment of the consummation of the earth and of man nor the way the universe will be transformed. The form of this world, distorted by sin, is passing away and we are taught that God is preparing a new dwelling and a new earth in which righteousness dwells, whose happiness will fill and surpass all the desires of peace arising in the hearts of men. Then with death conquered the children of God will be raised in Christ and what was sown in weakness and dishonor will put on the imperishable: charity and its works will remain, and all of creation, which God made for man, will be set free from its bondage to decay" ("Gaudium Et Spes", 39).
From: Luke 21:29-33
Discourse on the Destruction of Jerusalem and the End of the World
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[29] And He (Jesus) told them a parable: "Look at the fig tree, and all the trees; [30] as soon as they come out in leaf, you see for yourselves and know that the summer is already near. [31] So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that the Kingdom of God is near. [32] Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away till all has taken place. [33] Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away."
Commentary:
31. The Kingdom of God, announced by John the Baptist (cf. Matthew 3:2) and described by our Lord in so many parables (cf. Matthew 13; Luke 13:18-20), is already present among the Apostles (Luke 17:20-21), but it is not yet fully manifest. Jesus here describes what it will be like when the Kingdom comes in all its fullness, and He invites us to pray for this very event in the Our Father: "Thy Kingdom come." "The Kingdom of God, which had its beginnings here on earth in the Church of Christ, is not of this world, whose form is passing, and its authentic development cannot be measured by the progress of civilization, of science and of technology. The true growth of the Kingdom of God consists in an ever deepening knowledge of the unfathomable riches of Christ, in an ever stronger hope in eternal blessings, in an ever more fervent response to the love of God, and in an ever more generous acceptance of grace and holiness by men" ("Creed of the People of God", 27). At the end of the world everything will be subjected to Christ and God will reign for ever more (cf. 1 Corinthians 15:24, 28).
32. Everything referring to the destruction of Jerusalem was fulfilled some forty years after our Lord's death -- which meant that Jesus' contemporaries would be able to verify the truth of this prophecy. But the destruction of Jerusalem is a symbol of the end of the world; therefore, it can be said that the generation to which our Lord refers did see the end of the world, in a symbolic way. This verse can also be taken to refer to the generation of believers, that is, not just the particular generation of those Jesus was addressing (cf. note on Matthew 24:32-35).
[The note on Matthew 24:32-35 states:
32-35. Seeing in the destruction of Jerusalem a symbol of the end of the world, St. John Chrysostom applies to it this parable of the fig tree: "Here He also foretells a spiritual spring and a calm which, after the storm of the present life, the righteous will experience; whereas for sinners there will be a winter after the spring they have had [...]. But this was not the only reason why He put before them the parable of the fig tree, to tell them of the interval before His coming; He wanted to show them that His word would assuredly come true. As sure as the coming of spring is the coming of the Son of Man" ("Hom. on St. Matthew", 77).
"This generation": this verse is a clear example of what we say in the note on Matthew 24:1 about the destruction of Jerusalem being itself a symbol. "This generation" refers firstly to the people alive at the time of the destruction of Jerusalem. But, since that event is symbolic of the end of the world, we can say with St. John Chrysostom that "the Lord was speaking not only of the generation then living, but also of the generation of the believers; for He knows that a generation is distinguished not only by time but also by its mode of religious worship and practice: this is what the Psalmist means when he says that 'such is the generation of those who seek Him' (Psalm 24:6)" ("Hom. on St. Matthew", 77).]
Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.
Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and by Scepter Publishers in the United States. We encourage readers to purchase The Navarre Bible for personal study. See Scepter Publishers for details.
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