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From: Revelation 15:1-4

The Hymn of the Saved

[1] Then I saw another portent in heaven, great and wonderful, seven angels
with seven plagues, which are the last, for with them the wrath of God is ended.

[2] And I saw what appeared to be a sea of glass mingled with fire, and those
who had conquered the beast and its image and the number of its name, stan-
ding beside the sea of glass with harps of gold in their hands. [3] And they
sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying,
“Great and wonderful are thy deeds, O Lord God the Almighty! Just and true
are thy ways, O King of the ages! [4] Who shall not fear and glorify thy name,
O Lord? For thou alone art holy. All nations shall come and worship thee, for
thy judgments have been revealed.”

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Commentary:

1. The third portent (cf. the first two in 12:1, 3) is of special significance — it is
“great and wonderful” — for it heralds the final outcome of the contention between
the beasts and the followers of the Lamb, between the powers of evil and the
Church of Jesus Christ. That this is the denouement is shown by the use of the
figure seven for a third time, after the seven seals (5:1) and the seven trumpets
(cf. Rev 8:2). This is the last word: “the wrath of God is ended.”

As in the case of the two earlier groups of seven, the author first announces the
sevenfold nature of the sign. It consists of seven plagues — which immediately
recall the punishments God inflicted on Pharaoh in Egypt prior to the Exodus.
Then follows a very liturgical type of scene (15:2-8) which as it were encourages
and calls for the divine judgments which follow (cf. 16:1-17).

The last of these plagues acts as an introduction to the account of the last bat-
tles and total victory of the Church (cf. chaps. 17-22).

2-4. The image of the sea of glass mixed with fire is somewhat reminiscent of
the passage of the Red Sea during the Exodus. On that occasion, according to
the Book of Wisdom (cf. Wis 19:6-22), natural elements were changed to enable
the Israelites to walk on water: the water became as hard as glass for the Israe-

lites whereas for the Egyptians it was unable to protect them from the fire sent to
punish them. The sea of glass may also be evocative of the molten sea (used for
the cleansing of those going to take part in temple rites) which was positioned in
front of the Holy of Holies (cf. note on Rev 4:6-7). In any event, the author depicts
the saved as giving thanks and praising God while intoning a hymn which fuses
the salvation of the Israelites with the Redemption wrought by Christ. The latter
is the full realization of the former, and God’s plan is seen to embrace all men
and all nations (cf. v. 4; Eph 3:4-7). For this reason some early Christian writers
(Primasius, for example) interpret the sea of glass as a symbol of Baptism (pre-
figured in the Red Sea) which makes Christians pure and transparent. The refe-
rence to fire signifies the gift of the Holy Spirit (cf. “Commentariorum Super
Apoc.”, 15, 2).

Every saving action of God has ultimately a supernatural purpose, even though
it may include noble human aims, for when “God rescues his people from hard
economic, political and cultural slavery, he does so in order to make them,
through the Covenant on Sinai, ‘a kingdom of priests and a holy nation’ (Ex 19:
6). God wishes to be adored by people who are free. All the subsequent libe-
rations of the people of Israel help to lead them to this full liberty that they can
only find in communion with their God” (SCDF, “Libertatis Conscientia”, 44).

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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.

From: Luke 21:12-19

Discourse on the End of the World

[12] But before all this they will lay their hands on you and persecute you, deli-
vering you up to the synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before
kings and governors for My name’s sake. [13] This will be a time for you to bear
testimony. [14] Settle it therefore in your minds, not to meditate beforehand how
to answer; [15] for I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which none of your adver-
saries will be able to withstand or contradict. [16] You will be delivered up even
by parents and brothers and kinsmen and friends, and some of you they will put
to death; [17] you will be hated by all for My name’s sake. [18] But not a hair of
your head will perish. [19] By your endurance you will gain your lives.”

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Commentary:

5-36. The disciples are in awe of the magnificence of the temple, and Jesus uses
the occasion to give a long discourse, known as the “eschatological discourse”
because it has to do with the last days of the world. The account given here is
very similar to those in the other Synoptic Gospels (cf. Mt 24:1-51; Mk 13:1-37).
The discourse deals with three inter-connected subjects — the destruction of Je-
rusalem (which took place some forty years later), the end of the world, and the
second coming of Christ in glory and majesty. Jesus, who also predicts here the
persecution of the Church will experience, exhorts His disciples to be patient, to
pray and be watchful.

Our Lord speaks here in the style and language of prophecy, using images taken
from the Old Testament; also, in this discourse prophecies which are going to be
fulfilled very soon are mixed in with others which have to do with the end of the
world. It is not our Lord’s intention to satisfy people’s curiosity about future events,
but to protect them from being discouraged and scandalized about what is going
to happen in the days immediately ahead. This explains why He exhorts them:
“Take heed that you are not led astray” (v. 8); “do not be tempted” (v. 9); “watch
at all times” (v. 34).

19. Jesus foretells all kinds of persecution. Persecution itself is something inevi-
table: “all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted” (2 Ti-
mothy 3:12). His disciples will have need to remember the Lord’s warning at the
Last Supper: “A servant is not greater than his master. If they persecuted Me,
they will persecute you” (John 15:20). However, these persecutions are part of
God’s providence: they happen because He lets them happen, which He does in
order to draw greater good out of them. Persecution provides Christians with an
opportunity to bear witness to Christ; without it the blood of martyrs would not
adorn the Church. Moreover, our Lord promises to give special help to those who
suffer persecution, and He tells them not to be afraid: He will give them of His
own wisdom to enable them to defend themselves; He will not permit a hair of
their heads to perish, that is, even apparent misfortune and loss will be for them
a beginning of Heaven.

From Jesus’ words we can also deduce the obligation of every Christian to be
ready to lose life rather than offend God. Only those will attain salvation who per-
severe until the end in faithfulness to the Lord. The three Synoptic Gospels lo-
cate His exhortation to perseverance in this discourse (cf. Matthew 24:13; Mark
13:13) and St. Matthew gives it elsewhere (Matthew 10:22) as does St. Peter (1
Peter 5:9) — all of which underlines the importance for every Christian of this war-
ning from our Lord.

Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.