The Apocalypse: Understanding the Book of Revelation and the End of the World

"The Apocalypse" provides a helpful introduction to this most difficult to understand book of the Bible. Author George Montague, S.M. places The Apocalypse in its historic and literary form while making it relevant to the contemporary reader. Each section begins with a reading from the Scripture, presented in order, followed by an explanation, so far as one is possible, of the section just read. Where meanings are obscure, Fr. Montague recognizes the uncertainty and does not try to fill in the blanks. Through the pages of this book the reader goes through the whole Apocalypse and gains an understanding of it as he progresses. Fr. Montague views the Apocalypse as written to give encouragement to the Christians of the time in which it was written. He does an excellent job of placing the book and its images in the culture of its time. He makes it clear that this book is about its own era and not about specific prophecies of the past or future. Before beginning this I understood very little about the last book of the Bible. I still have much to lean, but have a good start. I no longer find it to be intimidating, but now hope for other ways to learn more about it. This book may have started something.

Finally, I have encountered a book that approaches the Revelation of St. John of Patmos in a calm, systematic, meticulously logical, historically literate, yet reverent way. Montague starts off by emphasizing the centrality of Christ in all scripture, and the very real quality of this being a message of not only love but hope--- from Christ Himself, ultimately. He then shows that he appreciates the importance of the "audience"---the people in the seven churches in Asia Minor to whom this letter from the visionary saint was addressed. This is of no small importance, for the prophetic content of the book of Revelation is shown (beginning here) to be of mostly intended for the Christians of his time and those of the near future. Next, he demonstrates that part of the story of Revelation concerns what is going on in heaven. The alternation back and forth between the two spheres of existence---earthly and heavenly---is the first century literary equivalent of the filmmaker's "split-screen" technique. The next thing discussed is the specter of war, violence, and chaos, and the redemptive power of the cross (not just that of Jesus, but those of his martyred and suffering believers as well) in the face of all these, and a glimpse of the scene in heaven that awaits these martyrs after the tribulation. Obviously, Montague will have no truck with the notion of a Rapture, and considers it unbiblical. What is then shown is the mitigating power of prayer and penance on the bitter and violent upheavals that often accompany the unfoldment of God's plan for the triumph of the good, the righteous, the truthful, the life affirmative, and the beautiful. More of the tribulation and its sufferings are covered next, with the beatific insight that all this is neither God's fault, nor his will: "...neither God in His providence nor Christians in their prayers, are violent or destructive. The sins of the inhabitants of the earth have filled the cosmos with a toxic element that will eventually rain back upon them. Christians under persecution praying 'Thy kingdom come' simply ask that God, who continues to restrain the deadly effects in the hope of wider conversions, will move his plan ahead." The symbolic meanings of the woman and the dragon and what they mean for the future sufferings of the Church and the immanency of the victory of Christ and his followers is discussed. The meanings of the beasts and the Lamb comes next, followed by the bowls of wrath. Then the fall of spiritual Babylon and her faithless allies. The basis of belief in chiliasm, or millenialism, is examined next, and refuted. The victory of Christ and the saints and effects of their victory on earth are shown to be the real meaning of the millenium, which is obviously not literally a one thousand-year period. The final judgment and new creation are shown in light of this. Revelation's final message is shown to be the "rehearsive," proleptic nature of time and hist