The Christ of the Apocalypse: Talk 1

 In these talks based on my book The Christ of the Apocalypse: Contemplating the Faces of Jesus in the Book of Revelation, I focus on the portrait of Jesus Christ in the Book of Revelation. St. John offers us a message of hope in difficult times, and his language is rich and symbolic: • How do we interpret the Apocalypse? • Do we interpret St. John literally? • Is the Apocalypse about the end of the world? • Or is it about the beginning of a new creation? Images that have captured the imagination include: the Four Horsemen, the Antichrist, the Number of the Beast, and the Battle of Armageddon. Yet the basic facts about the Book often go unnoticed: that the Apocalypse is – from start to finish – a Revelation of Jesus Christ, who will return in glory at the end of time to usher in a new heaven and a new earth. Finally, I offer some reflections on the relevance of John’s message of hope in our postmodern, post-truth world and post-human world. With the rise of artificial intelligence, and as the universe gives way to the metaverse, John calls us to give brave witness to the truth of the Gospel and so begin now to become a new creation in Christ. - Monsignor A. Robert Nusca OVERVIEW: Introduction to the Talks Talk 1: The Apocalypse of John: A Message of Hope in Difficult Times Talk 2: The Faces of Jesus in the Gospels: The Portraits of Jesus that Emerge in the Four Gospels Talk 3: The Faces of Christ: Jesus in the Book of Revelation Talk 4: Jesus Walks among the Seven Churches: Christ as Glorified Angel Talk 5: The Visions of the Lamb of God: We Examine the Image of the Slain Lion/Lamb of God. Talk 6: The Divine Warrior-The Rider on a White Horse: Christ Returns in Judgement & Glory at the End of Time. Talk 7: A Fourth Face: The Faithful Transformed by God’s Grace Talk 8: The Promises to the Victors: What does Jesus Promise to those who give Faithful Witness to the Gospel? Epilogue: The New Jerusalem: John's Message for us Today! Quotes referenced in these talks, can be found here https://arnusca.substack.com/p/references-for-the-faces-of-jesus To sign up for free to Msgr. Nusca's website, please see arnusca.substack.com to receive ongoing articles as they are published. 

Transcript

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Through the kindness of our donors, the National Catholic Broadcasting Council presents Let Us Learn Together. Please join Monsignor Robert Nuska for The Christ of the Apocalypse. Talk 1. The Apocalypse of John. I, John, your brother, who share with you in Jesus the persecution and the kingdom and the patient endurance, was on the island called Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus.

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When we study the book of Revelation, it helps to bear in mind that the world in which John writes toward the end of the first century was for Christians a time of crisis, time of persecution. Whatever else the book may be about, St. John offers us a great message of hope in a difficult time, time of danger. His message inspires hope and confidence in God's own power to renew the world. John has been banished to a Greek island called Patmos for his witness to the gospel. Facing a terrible situation and concern for the faith communities to whom he writes, his visions serve to draw our attention upward to God and the presence of Christ in our midst. In this time of crisis, it is given to John through the power of the Holy Spirit to draw back a veil for his churches, hence the name Apocalypse, from the Greek apocalypsis, a disclosure, an unveiling, or revelation. We think of a curtain being lifted up on a stage. Not only is John permitted to see what he is describing, but those who listen to his message are invited to look with him through the open door that looks into heaven. Not unlike Jacob in the book of Genesis, who is given a vision of a stairway leading up into heaven, John is granted visions of God and of Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, together with the angels in heaven. Throughout the audience is urged to join their voices to those of the angels, to worship God, to worship God alone, to pray at all times, to remain steadfast in their faith, to recognize the beast behind the beauty of Greco-Roman culture, in the words of one commentator. And again, to give courageous witness to the truth of the gospel before a disbelieving world. Ultimately, John wants to show us that the destiny of the world is in the hands of God and of the Lamb. Good will triumph, sin and evil will come to an end, the old order will pass away, as all things are made new in Christ. Then as now the faithful are invited to begin without delay to prepare to enter this new creation, which is already in the process of arriving through the life of prayer and the power of the Holy Spirit. John leads us to consider our own attitudes toward the political, economic, social, and technological forces that shape our globalized postmodern world, the post-truth empire in which we live. In talk two, we will turn our focus to the remarkable portrait of Christ in the book of Revelation by first considering briefly the portraits of Jesus in the four Gospels.