Final Judgment

Homily for Friday of the 34th Week in Ordinary Time

Today’s reading from the Book of Revelation is a composite of verses from both chapters twenty and twenty-one.

First, we hear a few verses about the imprisonment of Satan. An angel captures the Dragon, binds him with a chain, locks him in a pit, and seals the door behind him. The triple binding of the Dragon indicates the certainty of his imprisonment. During the time of his captivity, he will no longer be able to thwart the purposes of God. There are several ancient parallels to this scene. The clearest comes to us from the Hebrew Scriptures. In the book of Isaiah, chapter twenty-four, we read: “On that day the Lord will punish the host of heaven in heaven, and on earth the kings of the earth. They will be gathered together like prisoners in a pit; they will be shut up in a prison, and after many days they will be punished.” Even New Testament writers included this idea. In the second letter of Peter, we read, “God did not spare the angels when they sinned, but condemned them to the chains of Tartarus and handed them over to be kept for judgment.”

After Satan and has been imprisoned for one thousand years, those who have remained faithful are rewarded, particularly the martyrs who had been beheaded. This is a specific reference to citizens of the Roman Empire who had defied the emperor and refused to worship him. One thousand years is simply a symbolic number and is not to be taken literally.

By now, we should be familiar with the fact that the Book of Revelation speaks about God’s judgment on the world at the end of time. I will admit that the images that John uses are frightening. However, at the end of today’s reading, we are introduced to a beautiful image that gives us hope. John sees a new heaven and a new earth and assures us that the older heaven and old earth have passed away. To put an exclamation point on this image, he tells us that the sea was no more. When we remember that the sea is the image of chaos and destruction, we realize that this new heaven and new earth is a place where there is no more suffering, no more cause for alarm, no more persecution, and nothing to fear.

The Eucharist is our promise, handed on to us from Jesus himself, that though the future may bring frightening times and ordeals, we have nothing to fear if we hold firm to the hand that Jesus extends to all believers. As we receive his body, we receive the gift of peace and perfect happiness which we will realize when we are united with him in the throne room of heaven.