Morning Prayer: 20 Sept – Revelation 7:9-17 ~ Bliss of the Redeemed

Morning Prayer

+ In the name of the Father and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen

Opening sentences

Lord, open my lips and my mouth will proclaim your praise.

I arise today, through God’s strength to pilot me:
God’s might to uphold me, God’s wisdom to guide me,
God’s eye to look before me, God’s ear to hear me,
God’s word to speak for me, God’s hand to guard me,
God’s way to lie before me, God’s shield to protect me,
God’s host to secure me: against snares of devils,
against temptations of vices, against inclinations of nature,
against everyone who shall wish me ill,
afar and anear, alone and in a crowd.

Revelation 7:9-17 (ESV) – to be read aloud

After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, 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 on the throne, and to the Lamb!” And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.”

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 the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

“Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple; and he who sits on the throne will shelter them with his presence.

They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any scorching heat.

For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”

Reflection

Holy Trinity Orthodox Christian Church (Serbian Orthodox Patriarchate) in Butte Montana.

Orthodox Church buildings today are full of icons, but the very architecture and layout of the buildings are themselves icons of the Church. In the ornamentation of the church, the various iconographical scenes and figures are not arranged by chance, but according to a definite theological scheme, so that the whole edifice forms one great image of the Kingdom of God.

The Orthodox faithful can feel the building open up to a time without end. They are surrounded by the images of Christ, the angels, and the saints, and are reminded of the invisible presence of the whole community of heaven at the Liturgy. Each local congregation, in their church building, can see that their Liturgy on earth is one and the same with the great Liturgy of heaven.

The building should help the faithful lay aside their earthly cares, as the Liturgy is celebrated, so that they, like the cherubim, may welcome the King of all .

Overview:

THE SECOND VISION – THE SEVEN SEALS

Interlude: Bliss of the Redeemed in Heaven (7:9-17)

The church is pictured a second time from an entirely different perspective… after the tribulation is over, saved in the Kingdom of God…. No longer on earth, they crowd the throne room of heaven wearing victors’ robes and bearing the emblem of festive joy. The new vision anticipates a glorious day yet future when those who are to pass through the final persecution will enter the blessedness of the eternal state.

The innumerable multitude includes far more than the 144,000 of the previous vision. All the faithful of every age are there. Some have been called upon to give their lives as martyrs. All have been prepared to pay the price of fidelity…. They stand before God in the righteousness of Christ. God blesses them with protection and freedom from want. The Lamb leads them to springs of joy, and the tears of earth’s sorrows are wiped away by God himself.

The purpose of the vision is to grant a glimpse of eternal blessedness to those about to enter the world’s darkest hour. For a brief period John is priviledged to look beyond this age to the hour of ultimate triumph…. Without a doubt it is one of the most exalted portrayals of the heavenly state to be found anywhere in Scripture. There are no less than three paeans of praise, and lyric prose of vv 15-17 is charged with a spiritual excitement that has caused the faithful of all ages to yearn for that final redemption. (Mounce, p.160-162)
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Canticle

Christ, as a light – illumine and guide me.
Christ, as a shield – overshadow me.
Christ under me; Christ over me; Christ beside me – on my left and my right.
This day be within and without me, lowly and meek, yet all-powerful.
Be in the heart of each to whom I speak; in the mouth of each who speaks unto me.
This day be within and without me, lowly and meek, yet all-powerful.
Christ as a light; Christ as a shield; Christ beside me – on my left and my right.

Blessing

May the peace of the Lord Christ go with you, wherever He may send you.
May He guide you through the wilderness, protect you through the storm.
May He bring you home rejoicing at the wonders He has shown you.
May He bring you home rejoicing once again into our doors.

+ In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen
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Peanut Gallery: In September, we will begin reading through the Book of Revelation (ESV). Our purpose will be devotional, i.e. to discover the word of blessing that God has for us in these troubled times… to find hope and help for our daily lives.

This will not be a Bible Study per se: we will not attempt to unravel the “mysteries” of Revelation… that is far beyond our abilities and is not our interest here. However, so as not to get too far afield, we will rely on three study resources: primary – A Commentary on the Revelation of John (George Elton Ladd); supplemental Revelation (Leon Morris) and The Book of Revelation (Robert H. Mounce).

The general format for Morning Prayer is adapted from the Northumbrian Community‘s Daily Office, as found in Celtic Daily Prayer (see online resources here.) On Sundays, we’ll return to the USCCB readings (see online resources here) and various liturgical resources in order to reflect the Church’s worship and concerns throughout the world. Photo illustrations and music videos, available online, are included as they illustrate or illuminate the readings. I will try to give credit and link to sources as best I can.

Morning Prayer: 19 Sept – Revelation 7:1-8 ~ security for God’s servants

Morning Prayer

+ In the name of the Father and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen

Opening sentences

Lord, open my lips and my mouth will proclaim your praise.

Revelation 7:1-8 (ESV) – to be read aloud

After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth, that no wind might blow on earth or sea or against any tree. Then I saw another angel ascending from the rising of the sun, with the seal of the living God, and he called with a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to harm earth and sea, saying, “Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees, until we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads.” And I heard the number of the sealed, 144,000, sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel:

12,000 from the tribe of Judah were sealed, 12,000 from the tribe of Reuben, 12,000 from the tribe of Gad, 12,000 from the tribe of Asher, 12,000 from the tribe of Naphtali, 12,000 from the tribe of Manasseh, 12,000 from the tribe of Simeon, 12,000 from the tribe of Levi, 12,000 from the tribe of Issachar, 12,000 from the tribe of Zebulun, 12,000 from the tribe of Joseph, 12,000 from the tribe of Benjamin were sealed.

Angels Holding the Four Winds / The Sealing of the 144,000, Revelation 7:1-8 Ottheinrich Bible (1530-1532) Bavarian State Library, Germany — Angels Holding the Four Winds / The Sealing of the 144,000, Revelation 7:1-8
Ottheinrich Bible (1530-1532)
Bavarian State Library, Munich

Reflection

Overview: Chapter 7 (consisting of two visions) serves as a dramatic interlude that delays for a brief moment the disclosure of that which is to take place when the seventh and final seal is removed from the scroll of destiny…. The position taken here is that in both visions the church is in view, but from different vantage points. Prior to the trumpet judgements the last generation of believers is sealed so as to be saved from the destruction coming upon the earth and to be brought safely into the heavenly kingdom. The second vision is anticipatory of the eternal blessedness of all believers when in the presence of God they realize the rewards of faithful endurance. The visions contrast the security and blessedness that await the faithful with the panic of a pagan world fleeing from judgement. (Mounce, p.154)

THE SECOND VISION – THE SEVEN SEALS

Interlude: Security of God’s Servants (7:1-8)

In apocalyptic thought the forces of nature are often pictured as under the charge of angels…. In this passage, the four winds are understood as destructive agents of God…. Another angel enters the vision… calling to the four restraining angels to hold back destruction until the servants of God are sealed…. It’s purpose is to designate God’s ownership and insure protection for the believers in the coming judgements.

The servants of God are not a select group singled out from among the rest to receive the seal of God. They are the full number of faithful believers alive when the event takes place.

The number 144,000 is symbolic… emphasizing completeness. Their being sealed does not protect them from physical death but insures entrance into the heavenly kingdom. It indicates that they will remain faithful in the coming persecution… the period of final testing. (Mounce, p.155-160)
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Canticle

Blessing

+ In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen
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Morning Prayer: 18 Sept – Revelation 6:12-17 ~ expect cosmic catastrophe

Morning Prayer

+ In the name of the Father and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen

Opening sentences

Lord, open my lips and my mouth will proclaim your praise.

Revelation 6:12-17 (ESV) – to be read aloud

When he opened the sixth seal, I looked, and behold, there was a great earthquake, and the sun became black as sackcloth, the full moon became like blood, and the stars of the sky fell to the earth as the fig tree sheds its winter fruit when shaken by a gale. The sky vanished like a scroll that is being rolled up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place. Then the kings of the earth and the great ones and the generals and the rich and the powerful, and everyone, slave and free, hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains, calling to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb, for the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?”

6th Seal: A Global Earthquake (The Trinity Apocalypse) c.1260AD

Reflection

Overview: The opening of the sixth seal answers the martyr’s question, “How long?” The answer is not given in terms of “when,” but conveys the certainty that their deaths will be vindicated. Great cosmic disturbances will come to pass and secular society, responsible for the lives of believers, will come to understand that God has already set into motion that chain of events by which his wrath will be fully carried out. (Mounce, p.150)

THE SECOND VISION – THE SEVEN SEALS

The Sixth Seal (6:12-17)

There is a profound theology underlying this language of cosmic catastrophe at the end of the age. It illustrates the transcendence of God and the dependence of his creation upon its creator…. It is the Bible’s picturesque way of describing the divine judgement falling on the world…. However, the language is not merely poetical or symbolic of spiritual realities but describes a real cosmic catastrophe whose character we cannot conceive. Out of the ruins of judgement will emerge a new redeemed order which John calls new heavens and a new earth (Rev.21:1)….

Those who experienced this catastrophe recognized it as the end of the world… and hid themselves (Isa 2:19)…. The expression “the day of the Lord” is an inclusive term, which can encompass the entire period that will end this age and inaugurate the age to come. It will be a day of judgement for the wicked – a day of wrath – but a day of redemption for the righteous…. The cosmic catastrophe convinces men that the day has come and the Lord is about to appear.

The sixth seal brings us to the threshold of the end; and then John stands back, as it were, to tell the story of the end in greater detail. The breaking of the seventh seal opens the book and begins the story of the events of the end time; this is the substance of the remainder of the Revelation. (Ladd, p.107-109)
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Canticle

Blessing

+ In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen
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Morning Prayer: 17 Sept – Revelation 6:9-11 ~ the martyrs’ cry

Morning Prayer

+ In the name of the Father and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen

Opening sentences

Lord, open my lips and my mouth will proclaim your praise.

Revelation 6:9-11 (ESV) – to be read aloud

When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the witness they had borne. They cried out with a loud voice, “O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” Then they were each given a white robe and told to rest a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brothers should be complete, who were to be killed as they themselves had been.

Reflection

Overview: The opening of the fifth seal reveals an altar in heaven under which are the souls of the faithful martyrs. If the first four seals portrayed the troubled times of the approaching consummation, the fifth supplies an interpretation of Christian martyrdom. The martyrs ask the crucial question, “How long…?” The clear answer is that it will get worse before it gets better. (Mounce, p.146)

"The Martyrdom of St Andrew" Bartolome Esteban Murillo (1675-82) Museo del Prado, Madrid, Spain. — “The Martyrdom of St Andrew”
Bartolome Esteban Murillo (1675-82)
Museo del Prado, Madrid, Spain.

THE SECOND VISION – THE SEVEN SEALS

The Fifth Seal (6:9-11)

The souls of martyrs are seen under the altar as though they had been sacrificed upon the altar and their blood poured out at its base. Christian thought often employs the language of sacrificial death (II Tim 4:6; Phil 2:17). Thus Christian martyrs are viewed as sacrifices offered to God. In fact, they were slain on earth and their blood wet the ground; but in Christian faith, the sacrifice was really made in heaven where their souls were offered at the heavenly altar. (Ladd, p.103)

When Jesus taught that a man to be his disciple must deny himself and take up his cross… he was not speaking of self-denial or the bearing of heavy burdens; he was speaking of willingness to suffer martyrdom. The cross is nothing else than an instrument of death. Every disciple of Jesus is in essence a martyr; and John has in view all believers who have so suffered. (Ladd, p.104)

The souls of these martyrs which rest under the altar lift a cry for vindication…. They pray that the divine vindication on wicked men who have slain the righteous, which is certain because God is the holy and true one, may also be speedy…. The souls of the martyrs are seen as still resting beneath the altar; they have not yet entered into the enjoyment of the full presence of God. The martyrs must rest a little longer until the consummation of their blessedness; but in the meantime, they are in a state of rest. (Ladd, p.106)
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On the Martyrdom of St Andrew (Wikipedia)

St Andrew the Apostle
Russian Icon

Andrew is said to have been martyred by crucifixion at the city of Patras in Achaea, on the northern coast of the Peloponnese. Early texts, such as the Acts of Andrew known to Gregory of Tours, describe Andrew as bound, not nailed, to a Latin cross of the kind on which Jesus is said to have been crucified; yet a tradition developed that Andrew had been crucified on a cross of the form called Crux decussata (X-shaped cross), now commonly known as a “Saint Andrew’s Cross” — supposedly at his own request, as he deemed himself unworthy to be crucified on the same type of cross as Jesus had been. “The familiar iconography of his martyrdom, showing the apostle bound to an X-shaped cross, does not seem to have been standardized before the later Middle Ages,” Judith Calvert concluded after re-examining the materials studied by Louis Réau.
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Canticle

Blessing

+ In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen
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Morning Prayer: 16 Sept – Revelation 6:3-8 ~ expect troubles

Morning Prayer

+ In the name of the Father and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen

Opening sentences

Lord, open my lips and my mouth will proclaim your praise.

I arise today, through God’s strength to pilot me:
God’s might to uphold me, God’s wisdom to guide me,
God’s eye to look before me, God’s ear to hear me,
God’s word to speak for me, God’s hand to guard me,
God’s way to lie before me, God’s shield to protect me,
God’s host to secure me:
against snares of devils, against temptations of vices,
against inclinations of nature, against everyone who shall wish me ill,
afar and anear, alone and in a crowd.

Revelation 6:3-8 (ESV) – to be read aloud

The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse from the Ottheinrich-Bibel (ca.1530-1532) illustrated by Matthias Gerung, Bayerische Staatsbibliothek — The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse
from the Ottheinrich-Bibel (ca.1530-1532) illustrated by Matthias Gerung, Bayerische Staatsbibliothek

When he opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, “Come!” And out came another horse, bright red. Its rider was permitted to take peace from the earth, so that people should slay one another, and he was given a great sword.

When he opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, “Come!” And I looked, and behold, a black horse! And its rider had a pair of scales in his hand. 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, and do not harm the oil and wine!”

When he opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, “Come!” And I looked, and behold, a pale horse! And its rider’s name was Death, and Hades followed him. And they were given authority over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword and with famine and with pestilence and by wild beasts of the earth.

Reflection

Overview: The significance of the second, third, and fourth horsemen is not in doubt. The second is war, the third is scarcity, the fourth is death in the form of pestilence and violence. (Ladd, p.97)

THE SECOND VISION – THE SEVEN SEALS

The Second Seal (6:3-4)

The red horse and rider is a symbol of warfare and bloodshed…. The great Pax Romana gave to the Mediterranean world several centuries of peace which the western world has never since experienced. However, it was a peace based on force, and the might of Rome was everywhere represented by the presence of her legions. In principle, warfare and conquest were the dominant policy and will remain so until the return of the Lord. (Ladd, p.100)

The Third Seal (6:5-6)

The black horse and rider carrying a set of scales represents scarcity…. The black horse represents a condition of dire want, but not of acute famine conditions. This is a situation which belongs… to the beginning of the great woes. (Ladd, p.101)

The Fourth Seal (6:7-8)

The pale horse represents death from famine, pestilence, and wild beasts…. Death by the sword differs from the plague of the second horseman, war, in that it can include all kinds of violent deaths by the sword, such as murder, as well as war…. The inclusion of famine… suggests that this plague… while similar to scarcity… is more intense. However, it is still of limited scope, for this rider is given power only over a fourth of the earth. (Ladd, p.101)
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Mid toil and tribulation, and tumult of her war, she waits the consummation of peace forevermore: till with the vision glorious her longing eyes are blest, and the great church victorious shall be the church at rest.
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Canticle

Blessing

+ In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen
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