Day 360: Heavenly Worship

Revelation 4:1-8 The vision of the throne recalls the prophecies of Isaiah (cf. Is 6) and Ezekiel (cf. Ez 1:26-28), while the four living creatures are reminiscent of the four angels who drove the Lord's chariot (cf. Ez 10:8-15). The rainbow signifies God's covenant with Noah (cf. Gn 9:8-17), and the imagery of thunder and lightning recall the presence of God on Mt. Sinai (cf. Ex 19:16) and the Mosaic Covenant. The twenty-four elders probably represent the Twelve Tribes of Israel and the Twelve Apostles, the Israel of old and the New Israel. It has been suggested that the imagery describes the interior of Solomon's Temple; if so, it strongly ties in the earthly worship of the Old Covenant with the heavenly liturgy of the New Covenant. (CCC 1137-1139) 

Ch 4:5 Seven torches: These symbolize the Holy Spirit and his seven gifts; it also recalls the Spirit who maintained the seven flames of a lampstand (cf. Zec 4:1-6). (CCC 1831) 

Ch 4:7 The early Church Fathers associated the four living creatures with the four Gospel writers. The creature with the man's face is associated with Matthew, who begins his Gospel with a genealogy of Christ; the lion-faced creature indicates Mark, whose story begins with a voice calling out in the wilderness; the face of the ox points to Luke, since the ox is associated with Temple sacrifice and Luke begins his Gospel with the Temple sacrifice of Zechariah; and the flying eagle refers to John, whose developed and poetic theology of the Word of God took the Church's reflection on Christ's divinity to new heights. 

Ch 4:8 Holy, holy, holy: The threefold repetition indicates unsurpassed holiness. This phrase, derived from Isaiah 6:3, is repeated at every Mass in the Sanctus at the beginning of the Eucharistic Prayer. The triple repetition of the word "Holy" also points to the Trinity: one God in three Persons. (CCC 559) 

Ch 4:9-11 The singing of the living creatures represents the worship of the Pilgrim Church on earth, which is united to the worship of the elders, representing the just souls in the Church in Heaven. The celebration of the Eucharist, though celebrated here on earth, includes the saints in Heaven where Christ reigns with the Father. (CCC 293, 662, 2642) 

Ch 4:11 God created all things by an act of his will because he desired us to have a share in his life by showing forth his wisdom and goodness. 

Glory and honor and power: This recalls the doxology following the Lord's Prayer at Mass: "For the kingdom, / the power and the glory are yours / now and forever." This doxology aptly restates the first three petitions of the Lord's Prayer-"hallowed be thy name," "thy kingdom come," "thy will be done." (CCC 287-289, 293-295, 2855) 

Ch 5:1-5 The sacred scroll contains the details of God's plan, which will be unveiled slowly in the next chapters of Revelation. Only Christ described here as the Lion of Judah and the Root of David—is worthy to open and reveal its contents. For this reason, the scroll may be a type (TYPOLOGY!!), or figure, of Scripture, which is fully revealed only in Christ, who indeed is the fullness of God's Revelation to the world. (CCC 663) 

Ch 5:6-14 Christ is the Lamb of the New Passover who has been sacrificed but is alive again, risen from the dead to ransom all people through his Blood. His seven horns and eyes signify his omnipotence and omniscience. The song of the elders and the four living creatures attests to Christ's act of redemption, offered for the entire human race, and speaks of his priestly people, formed through Baptism and consecrated to God for his kingdom. This is the first of twenty-nine references to Christ as a Lamb in the Book of Revelation. (CCC 608, 1137, 1546, 1656-1657) 

Ch 5:8 The harp represents liturgical song, and the bowls of incense represent the prayers of the saints and martyrs, who intercede for the faithful on earth (cf. Ps 141:2; Rev 8:3-4). 

Ch 5:12-14 The angels praise Christ (the Lamb) for the glory of his divinity. The hymn of all creatures that follows praises both Christ and God the Father ("him who sits upon the throne") in similar terms that affirm the co-equality of the First and Second Persons of the Trinity. (CCC 328-336, 449, 2642, 2855) 

Ch 6:1-17 As the first six of the seven seals are opened one by one, we witness a panorama of human history, and more specifically of salvation history. The "four horsemen of the Apocalypse" appear as the first four seals are opened, symbolizing conquest, war, famine, and pestilence; some commentators believe the first horse indicates Christ, who ultimately will conquer the other three. This scenario resembles the terror that took place in Jerusalem around the time of the destruction of the Temple AD 70. The fifth seal brings forth the martyrs, who are told that their numbers will swell further before final justice takes place; the terrifying upheaval of the universe with the opening of the sixth seal reveals that no one will be spared God's judgment. The martyrs are memorialized in the liturgy of the Church and in her liturgical calendar. (CCC 1173, 1195, 2474) 

Ch 6:6 Denarius: This unit of money was equivalent to a day's wages for a laborer. Here it buys very little, perhaps a day's worth of food, the kind of inflated prices typical in time of famine. 

Oil and wine: Olives and grapes, from which these products are derived, are harvested late in the season and are to be reserved for later use so the famine does not become devastating. 

Ch 6:9-11 The martyrs are not vengeful but seek the complete conquest of evil. The white robes symbolize both purity and the final victory to come. (CCC 1138, 1370-1372, 2642, 2817) 

Ch 6:16-17 To "stand" before the judgment seat implies acquittal. No one who is steeped in sin can thus stand before the face of God and avoid his just judgment. In the Sacrament of Penance, the faithful can seek the forgiveness of sins and reconciliation with God in anticipation of the Final Judgment. (CCC 1470) 

Ch 7:1-17 Before the seventh seal is opened, a great multitude dressed in white comes before the throne to worship God. These are the faithful who remain in a state of grace during the trials and tribulations of the end times. The figure of 144,000 is not literal but symbolic; it is the number twelve squared multiplied by 1000. Twelve represents the Twelve Tribes of Israel and the Twelve Apostles, denoting the Church; the number 1000 signifies completeness or a great multitude. Taken together, the number and description refer to all the spiritual progeny of Abraham, who God promised would become the father of a great nation, i.e., the new People of God united in Christ. (CCC 775, 1138, 1296) 

Ch 7:3 Reminiscent of Ezekiel 9:4-6, the elect are sealed on the forehead. This represents those who have been baptized and sealed by the Holy Spirit. The Sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation, and Holy Orders bestow an indelible seal, or character, on the recipient. In Hebrew, the seal is represented by the letter tav (tau in Greek), which was shaped like a T and, therefore, was a type (TYPOLOGY!!), or figure, of the future Cross of Christ. Since the first years of Christianity, Christians have traced the Sign of the Cross on themselves as a blessing. (CCC 1235) 

Ch 7:9-14 The multitude of faithful from every nation that converges to worship God is the realization of God's will that all become one in Christ. The Blood of Christ forgives the sins of those who accept Christ's Redemption in faith. Washing in the Blood of the Lamb refers to the Sacrament of Baptism as well as those who suffer martyrdom for Christ. (CCC 2642)

(*The Didache Bible RSV-CE Ignatius Edition, 2006)

THE LETTER OF PAUL TO TITUS 

 AUTHOR: 

• As in the case of the other "pastoral Epistles," St. Paul was universally regarded as the author of Titus until the nineteenth century, when some scholars began to argue for a later authorship by one of St. Paul's disciples. 

DATE: 

• Titus is very similar in style and content to the First Epistle to Timothy and may have been written around the same time.

• If written by St. Paul, it dates between AD 63 and 66, after his first Roman imprisonment and before his death by martyrdom. 

• The Epistle seems to indicate a fourth missionary journey of St. Paul's after his initial house arrest, and it may be during this journey that he wrote it; however, if a disciple authored it, the Epistle could date much later, between AD 80 and 110. 

AUDIENCE: 

• The Epistle is addressed to St. Titus, who had accompanied St. Paul on one of his missionary tours. 

• They had preached together on the island of Crete, and St. Paul had left St. Titus behind to help organize the church there and to appoint elders, or presbyters (priests), to manage its various communities as they were formed. 

• Like the First Epistle to Timothy, this Epistle is meant to encourage St. Paul's delegate to stand firm in teaching the doctrines of the Faith as he continued to build up this local church. 

MAIN THEMES: 

• As in the other pastoral Epistles, St. Paul stressed the need for sound doctrine and strong leadership to overcome the errors being spread by false teachers (cf. 1:5-16). 

• He instructed St. Titus to ordain good men to be elders, or priests, in each community where they would serve as shepherds to the faithful. 

• These men were to have depth of faith, to show evidence of living their faith in their pious practices and family life, and to be proven as good teachers. 

• The obligation of serving as a good example extends to all Christians, who must always act in a manner consistent with their faith or lose credibility in the eyes of others. 

• Temperance, love for others, and good works are the sign of a true Christian, and it is by our charitable acts and right living that we bear witness to our faith and give glory to God (cf. 2:1—3:14).

(*The Didache Bible RSV-CE Ignatius Edition, 2006)

Titus 1:1-4 In this personal letter to one of his co-workers, Paul expounded upon his qualifications to preach the Gospel and of his mission as an Apostle of Christ. Paul addressed Titus with paternal affection as"my true child in a common faith." His spiritual fatherhood in this case was probably due to having either baptized Titus or perhaps having ordained him to the episcopate or presbyterate (priesthood). (CCC 815) 

Ch 1:5-9 The role that Paul assigned to Titus, a Gentile convert, was to oversee the Church in Crete and to serve as its ordinary in the establishment of its hierarchy. Paul related the personal qualities required for those receiving Holy Orders variously called elders (presbyters) and bishops, although the distinction between the two is unclear. He emphasized the need for the Church's ordained ministers to have exemplary character, strong virtue, and sound pastoral abilities. The fact that Titus was given this duty suggests episcopal jurisdiction over this nascent Christian community. (CCC 938-939, 1554, 1573, 1576-1577, 1590) 

Ch 1:6 Husband of one wife: As was the case for bishops and deacons (cf. 1 Tm 3:2, 12), it was a requirement that a presbyter not be married more than once. If his spouse were to die, he was not permitted to remarry. While many in the ordained ministry practiced celibacy in the early Church, it was not yet a universal requirement for bishops and priests. (CCC 1599) 

Ch 1:10-14 As was often the case, Paul had to deal with false teachers, including some of the "circumcision party," those Judaizers who wished to impose circumcision upon Gentile converts. Paul advised Titus not to argue or dialogue with these people but simply to correct them with authority. (CCC 904, 2104) 

Ch 1:12 The quotation is from Epimenides, a sixth-century BC Cretan poet. Cretans did indeed have a reputation for lying, something that Paul himself evidently had witnessed. 

Ch 1:15-16 Purity of heart and mind fosters external purity. On the other hand, impure actions arise from impure thoughts and desires. Paul also addressed purity in another sense: The external, ritual "purity" of the Old Law did nothing to bring about internal purity, whereas internal purity effected by Baptism negates the need for the Jewish laws of purity. These external rites involving ritual cleansing foreshadow the Sacrament of Baptism, which affects a true internal washing away of sins. 

Their very minds and consciences are corrupted: Although we are capable of deriving knowledge of the natural law through reason alone, our minds can be clouded due to Original Sin. The faithful are obliged to develop and maintain a well-formed conscience. They profess... by their deeds: Faith requires a response to God's Revelation, expressed by a sincere effort to keep the Commandments and to live according to the will of God. (CCC 26-30, 37, 1795-1802, 2518) 

Ch 2:1-10 Faith must go hand in hand with the exercise of virtue. Faith is meaningless without obedience to the moral law and the practice of charity. Our good acts and virtuous lives not only express our faith but also serve as a witness to draw others closer to Christ. This effort constitutes a lifelong task. (CCC 1838, 2342) 

Ch 2:9 Slavery was institutionalized in ancient Rome. Paul did not condemn it, but he did encourage masters to treat their slaves with dignity, particularly when both embraced the Christian Faith. 

Ch 2:11-15 The grace obtained by Christ's Redemption brings us into a new life in Christ and assists us to grow in holiness. Grace merited by Christ brings about—in addition to remission of sin—a participation in the divine life manifested by the infused theological virtues and the moral virtues. (CCC 2, 802, 868-870, 1774, 1809) 

Ch 2:11 For the salvation of all: It is God's will that all people be saved. The universal call to holiness is his invitation to accept this salvation. (CCC 1719) 

Ch 2:13-14 Our blessed hope: A reference to the Second Coming of Christ, when he will appear in glory to judge the living and the dead. Through the Sacraments he instituted and entrusted to the Church, we look confidently to eternal life that begins albeit in an imperfect and limited way during our sojourn on earth. Christ's Redemption purifies us and forms us into a new People of God, the Mystical Body of Christ. (CCC 449, 1041, 1130, 1404) 

Ch 3:1-2 Christians are expected to be good citizens, obedient to secular authority except when its dictates conflict with the moral law or the dignity of the human person. Our conduct must always be virtuous in our relationships with believers and unbelievers alike. (CCC 564, 2238-2242) 

Ch 3:3-11 Conversion from sin involves embracing the grace of Christ and committing ourselves to a life of holiness in such a way that others are also moved to conversion. Our salvation in Christ obliges us to spread the news of that salvation to others. For the sake of unity and the edification of others, mindless quarrels and trifles should be avoided. However, anyone who would disrupt the unity of the Church with heretical claims and does not respond to gentle persuasion should be shunned so other believers are not led into heresy. (CCC 853) 

Ch 3:5 Not because of deeds: Salvation is an act of God's mercy apart from any effort of our own, and a life of faith is the proper response to this gratuitous grace of God received in Baptism. An increase of grace can be merited through acts of faith expressed in good words. 

By the washing... Holy Spirit: Baptism signifies and causes a rebirth by water and the Holy Spirit, which is essential for entrance into eternal life. (CCC 1215, 1996-2002) 

Ch 3:7 Justified: Freed from sin and endowed with righteousness from God's perspective. Through grace we are justified and adopted as God's children and have hope of eternal life in Heaven. Our union with God the Father through God the Son by the power of God the Holy Spirit gives a foretaste of eternal life. (CCC 1817) 

Ch 3:12-15 Those who love us in the faith: Fellow Christians, whose identity in faith ought to be evident from their love and peace with one another. (CCC 25)

Proverbs 31:10-31 This book closes on a high note with the description of the ideal woman. "Far from representing an unattainable model, she is a concrete image born from the experience of women of great value," said St. John Paul II. The wisdom literature, he added, "sees in woman's fidelity to the divine covenant the culmination of her abilities and the greatest source of admiration. Indeed, although she can sometimes disappoint, woman transcends all expectations when her heart is faithful to God" (General Audience, April 10, 1996).

(*The Didache Bible RSV-CE Ignatius Edition, 2006)

• Ok so we have the Letter of Paul to Titus which is brief, only 3 chapters

• Let’s highlight one piece

• St. Paul is writing to Titus in Crete

• Titus 1:12, “One of themselves, a prophet of their own, said, ‘Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.’ This testimony is true..”

• So Paul is basically like, “I agree. Those Cretans…YEESH!!”

• BUT…

• Paul is pointing out that a lot of these Cretans, who had converted to Christianity, are not necessarily living CONVERTED LIVES

• So Paul talks about, “Have the older women live like this…have the older men live like this…have the younger women and younger men live like this…if you are a slave live like this…”

• The reason is because Christianity has to become CREDIBLE

• The Gospel has to become CREDIBLE

• At this point, we realize that if Christians are living among the world and in the world

• And they are living NO DIFFERENTLY than anyone else

• THAT IS A PROBLEM

• Paul is saying, “You are bearing witness to Jesus or you are bearing witness to the ineffectiveness of the Gospel if you are no different than the people around you.”

• So the upshot of this particular Letter of St. Paul to Titus is that we give witness to the power of the Gospel

• OR…

• We give witness to the impotence of the Gospel by our lives

• If we live like everyone else, then the Gospel is POWERLESS

• If we live differently, live lives that are changed, then we bear witness that the Gospel has POWER TO CHANGE OUR LIVES AND THE PEOPLES LIVES AMONG WHOM WE LIVE

• BUT…

• You aren’t waiting for Titus!!

• You’re waiting for The Book of Revelation, The Apocalypse of John!!

• OH GOSH!!

• Hopefully some of this imagery will be COMPLETELY FAMILIAR to you

• Revelation 4:1, “After this I looked…”

• Remember we ended yesterday with the messages to the churches on earth

• Ch 4 starts like this

• Revelation 4:1-2, “After this I looked, and behold, in heaven an open door! And the first voice, which I had heard speaking to me like a trumpet, said, ‘Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.’ At once I was in the Spirit, and behold, a throne stood in heaven, with one seated on the throne!”

• THIS IS SO IMPORTANT!!

• The next number of chapters are about John in Heaven

• John is relating to us what he SAW in Heaven

• THIS IS BANANAS!!

• THIS IS INCREDIBLE!!

• He sees the one on the throne

• Revelation 4:4, “Round the throne were twenty-four thrones, and seated on the thrones were twenty-four elders, clothed in white garments, with golden crowns upon their heads.”

• Now think about this in Verse 5

• Revelation 4:5, “From the throne issue flashes of lightning, and voices and peals of thunder…”

• What does that sound like?

• That sounds like Mt. Sinai!!

• Also, these twenty-four elders are both kings AND priests

• THIS IS GOING TO BE ABSOLUTELY CRITICAL TO NOTICE

• They have CROWNS like KINGS

• AND…

• They WORSHIP like PRIESTS!!

• BANANAS AGAIN!!

• We have the four living creatures

• The Lion

• The Ox

• The Creature with the face of a man

• The Flying Eagle

• So all of these creatures, what do they never cease to sing?

• Revelation 4:8, “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!”

• If you’ve ever been to a Catholic Mass, you know that is what we sing

• It is called the SANCTUS, the Holy Holy Holy

• EVERYTIME you go to Mass, this is what is happening

• You are being brought up, like John, into the Heavenly Throne Room

• You are bring brought up, like John, into HEAVENLY WORSHIP

• That is THE SECRET of The Book of Revelation

• Whenever we walk into Mass, we are THERE

• We are in the place that we just heard described in Chs 4-5 and following

• THIS IS INCREDIBLE!!

• Revelation 4:9-11, “And whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to him who is seated on the throne, who lives forever and ever, the twenty-four elders fall down before him who is seated on the throne and worship him who lives forever and ever; they cast their crowns before the throne, singing, ‘Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.’”

• THIS IS INCREDIBLE!!

• THAT IS THIS WORSHIP!!

• Now onto Ch 5 and the Scroll with seven seals

• Fr. Mike heard someone describe it like this…

• “Don’t picture a scroll with seven seals in terms of seven seals along one edge.”

• If you can picture a paper rolled up and with seals on the one edge

• “Now imagine it rolled tightly. With every roll, there is another seal.”

• The seventh seal would be the one in the center of the scrolls rolled up, the last one to be broken

• The first seal would be on the outside, right?

• But if you crack that first one you can read that first message

• But maybe the next message wasn’t for you, so you crack the next one and the message is for someone else who can now read YOUR FIRST MESSAGE and THEIR SECOND MESSAGE

• But the third message isn’t for you, so the third person cracks the third seal and now the third person can read all three messages

• Does that make sense? (I’m getting dizzy…🥴)

• So it’s an UNROLLING of a scroll

• Hopefully that helps visually

• Because we first see the LAMENT

• The lament is that there is NO ONE WORTHY to open the scroll and break open their seals

• John himself begins to weep

• Revelation 5:5, “Then one of the elders said to me, ‘ Weep not; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals,’...I saw a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain, with seven horns and with seven eyes…”

• Numbers of the Covenant maybe? Possibly?

• These SEVEN HORNS AND SEVEN EYES represent Christ’s FULL POWER and FULL KNOWLEDGE

• Horns are a symbol of power

• Eyes are a symbol of knowledge

• So 7 & 7 (Not the cocktail!! 🤪)

• Right?

• That number of COVENANT

• FULL POWER 

• FULL KNOWLEDGE

• JESUS CHRIST HIMSELF

• THE ONE WHO IS LIVING FOREVER

• So what happens?

• Jesus opens the Scroll

• Revelation 5:8-9, “And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and with golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints; and they sang a new song…”

• Now the PRAYERS OF THE SAINTS right there in Ch 5 are one of the reasons why we Catholics believe that those holy ones on earth, Christians around the world send up prayers and the Saints in Heaven are lifting up the prayers of the saints on earth 

• We see that is for the prayers of the saints here, the golden bowls full of incense

• Revelation 5:9-10, “And they sang a new song, saying, ‘Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain and by your blood you ransomed men for God from every tribe and tongue and people and nation, and have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on earth.”

• And then…BAM

• There is this MASSIVE praising of God by everyone

• Then in Revelation 5:14, “And the four living creatures said, ‘Amen!’ and the elders fell down and worshiped.”

• This is the picture of HEAVENLY WORSHIP

• Worshiping not only the one on the THRONE

• BUT…

• Also worshiping the LAMB who was slain and lives forever

• AND THEN…

• The Lamb opens one of the seven seals in Ch 6

• Then there is this succession of hard times coming upon the earth

• We have The First Horseman of the Apocalypse in Revelation 6:2, “...a white house, and its rider had a bow; and a crown was given to him, and he went out conquering and to conquer.”

• The Second Horseman of the Apocalypse in Revelation 6:4, “And out came another horse, bright red; its rider was permitted to take peace from the earth, so that men should slay one another…”

• The Third Horseman of the Apocalypse in Revelation 6:5, “A black horse, and its rider had a balance in his hand…”

• This is an interesting thing to note

• Revelation 6:6, “And I heard what seemed to be a voice in the midst of the four living creatures saying, ‘A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius; but do not harm oil and wine!’”

• Fr. Mike read a commentary that talked about his

• It highlighted the fact that the time for the olive oil harvest was a different time of year than for wheat and barley

• So this proclamation could be saying that this was a TEMPORARY AFFLICTION

• Right?

• This was not complete destruction for an entire year, but only for a season

• So that makes sense, right?

• Wheat is down and wheat is up and barley is up

• The oil hasn’t been damaged because it wasn’t around for that time

• If that makes any sense (I gotta admit, my brain hurts today 🤯)

• The Fourth Horsemen of the Apocalypse, the pale horse

• IN FACT…

• Some translations say, “sickly green color”

• Revelation 6:7, “A pale horse, and its rider’s name was Death, and Hades followed him; and they were given power over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword and with famine and with pestilence and by wild beasts of the earth.”

• The next two opened seals bring destruction and pestilence upon the earth

• Now on to Ch 7 which is the Seventh Seal

• Now this is REALLY FASCINATING

• We have the 144,000

• What is that?

• 12 x 12 x 1000 = 144,000

• So essentially it is the Twelve Tribes of Israel named here in Ch 7

• So  you have 12,000 people from those 12 Tribes and they are being brought back and restored in God’s presence

• It is REALLY IMPORTANT to understand 

• Why 144,000?

• Because 12 x 12,000

• 12 is the number of tribes in Israel

• 12 is a very powerful and complete number and God wants to restore Israel

• You could also say that God is trying to restore the NEW ISRAEL

• God wants to restore Christians, those who belong to him

• Again, there are different scholars who say different things

• BUT…

• What is VERY CLEAR is that this is the RESTORATION of the Kingdom of God in the Old Covenant

• He even names every one of the 12 Tribes of Israel

• THIS IS VERY VERY IMPORTANT!!

• Sometimes people can think that the New Testament can be antisemitic

• BUT…

• It’s not when you realize that the people who wrote the New Testament were Jews

• Not only that…

• But here in Ch 7, we have 144,000

• This the prophecy of the restoration of the people of Israel

• But then after that in Revelation 7:9, “After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no man could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, ‘Salvation belongs to our God who sits upon the throne, and to the Lamb!”

• EVERYONE is worshiping!!

• THIS IS INCREDIBLE!!

• Not only were the Jewish people and the kingdom of Israel meant to be RESTORED

• BUT…

• Gentiles, who belong to the Lord God, get to participate in Heavenly Worship

• Revelation 7:13-14, “Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, ‘Who are these, clothed in white robes, and from where have they come?’ I said to him, ‘Sir, you know.’ And he said to me, ‘These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.’”

• THESE ARE THE MARTYRS!!

• The martyrs have a special place

• THIS IS INCREDIBLE!!

• Right?

• Now go read Revelation 7:9 again up there

• These are the ones who have come out of the GREAT TRIBULATION

• They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb

• They have a special place

• Some people have a special place in Heaven

• And that’s ok because EVERYONE is loved

• BUT…

• There are those who have borne witness to the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord WITH THEIR VERY LIVES

• Remember at one point Peter says to Jesus, “Lord, we have given up everything to follow you. What did we get?”

• Jesus said, “You’ll get blessings in this life and persecutions and you’ll get Eternal Life and blessing in Heaven.”

• BUT…

• What we do on earth MAKES A DIFFERENCE in how we LIVE IN HEAVEN 

• The more righteous we live on earth

• The more we cooperate with God on earth

• The more we say YES to Jesus on earth

• THEN THE MORE GLORY HE GETS IN HEAVEN

• THAT IS THE HEART OF EVERYTHING

• We will talk more about this in the chapters to come as John learns more and more about Heavenly worship

• One of the things that SEEMS to get revealed, perhaps this is just Fr. Mike’s interpretation, is how we live on earth, those righteous deeds, they AMPLIFY

• They GLORIFY

• They EXALT the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit for ETERNITY

• Don’t we want God to receive the MAXIMUM amount of glory through our lives on earth and throughout eternity in Heaven?

• Not just about making it to Heaven

• BUT…

• Living in such a way on earth that God is glorified EVEN MORE with every passing breath

• With every passing moment in Heaven

• Fr. Mike doesn’t know (And neither do I!!!! 🥴)

• It’s one of those things that lights a fire under him so he wanted to pass it on to us

• Of course, EVERYONE is loved by God

• He will NEVER stop loving you

• He has NEVER STOPPED loving you

• He WILL NEVER STOP loving you

• The question is, “Will I let God love me? Will I say yes to him today?”

• Fr. Mike is praying that you do, he does, and that all of us can be in that number of people that are worshiping the Lord in this world in the Mass, but also in Eternity in Heaven

• FR. MIKE IS PRAYING FOR YOU!!

• PRAY FOR FR. MIKE

• PRAY FOR EACH OTHER

Prayer by Fr. Mike: “Father in Heaven we give you praise and glory. We thank you so much for bringing us, once again, to this DAY 360. We ask that you please continue to walk with us. Continue to journey with us. Above all, we ask you Lord to please continue to guide us because without your guidance, without your Word, without your direction, we are completely lost. Help us to be yours this day and every day. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.”