-- the surf at Coquina Beach south of Nags Head last Friday,
which seems to be a better way of thinking of the Apocalypse than
the usual rationalistic view of eschatology:
the seven seals of Revelation ought to be understood as "waves" in the spiritual realm
“Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding in his hand the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain. And he seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the Devil, Satan himself, and bound him for a thousand years, and threw him into the pit, and shut it and sealed it over him, that he should deceive the nations no more for a thousand years. After that he must be loosed a little. Then I saw thrones, and seated on them were those to whom judgment was committed. Also I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their testimony to Jesus and for the Word of God, and who had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life, and reigned with Christ a thousand years … This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he who shares in the first resurrection! Over such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and they shall reign with him a thousand years” (Revelation 20.1-6).
* * * * * * *
Obviously, this passage is about the Millennium (the Latin word for “thousand years”). Without going into what other people teach, Holy Orthodox Tradition teaches that we are in that thousand year period of time right now. The “thousand years,” like so many images in Revelations (and other books of the Bible), are not to be taken literally, but are to be interpreted in an “apocalyptic” sense (which, after all, is the real title of Revelation — the Apocalypse of St John). Thus, the Millennium is not taken to mean one thousand years on the calendar, but rather to be taken as a “time of reign” — that is, the duration of time from the Ascension of Christ and the Descent of the Holy Spirit, to the Last Day when Christ returns in glory, and the Holy Spirit transfigures all of Creation.
During this period, Christ is being enthroned, as He is seated at the right hand of God the Father. The Apostles and the Fathers recognized the promise of this truth in Psalm in Psalm 109: “The Lord [God the Father] said to my Lord [Christ]: sit at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool. The Lord shall send from Zion the scepter of your power: Have dominion in the midst of your enemies” (vss 1-2 LXX). This passage was quoted in Acts 2.34 by the Apostle Peter, by the Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 15.25, Ephesians 1.20 and Hebrews 1.3,13; and by Jesus Himself in Matthew 22.44.
It was understood, through the teaching of the Lord Himself, that David’s Psalm describes our present experience in the Millennium: Christ is enthroned, glorified at the right hand of the Father, but it is not a time of rest and “it’s over and done with.” Satan may be bound, but the spirit of the Antichrist — the demonic — is very much at work: “have dominion in the midst of your enemies … sit at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool.”
The Apostle Paul describes the Millennium this way: “Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet” (1 Corinthians 15.24-25).
Christ is now reigning spiritually — not at all in the way “rulership” and authority is understood in the world. Christ rules as minister, as servant and friend. He rules by pouring out himself to his Body, which is all of humanity, especially the Church. He pours out himself just as he does with the other two Persons of the Holy Trinity, just as he did on the Cross.
So the rulership of Christ is spiritual, and very much at odds with the violent, power-mad rulership of the world. He judges by restoring truth, mercy and equity. He judges by establishing justice, compassion, and sharing resources. He judges by saving the meek and gentle, by enriching the poor, by enfranchising the orphaned and widow and the “unviable” and “unwanted” — all the powerless and marginalized.
I mention this, because in Revelation 20.4, the Apostle John says that he saw seated on the thrones those “to whom judgment was committed.”
Let us recall the important meaning of “true judgment.” A “judge” in the Old Testament meant something more than, even very much different from, the shallow modern definition of judge — which is black-robed, armed with a gavel, and pronounces sentences in criminal courtroom proceedings. In the Old Testament, a “judge” (i.e., שׁוֹפֵט or “shophet”) was a representative of God who restored justice, established the sort of society that God structured in the Covenant, and more often than not was called upon to “rescue,” to deliver the people of God from evil, satanic oppression.
That is what “judgment” is in the Bible. And that is indeed how those “to whom judgment was committed” are judging right now in the Millennium.
Who are these? John identifies them as “those who had been beheaded for their testimony,” and “those who had not worshiped the beast.” This is to be understood as those who had been drawn to the Body of Christ in this life, and when they fell asleep in the Lord, they “came to life” (vs 4) and reigned with Christ in “the first resurrection” (vs 5).
So these are the saints. And thus it makes sense that various saints have been seen — in this life — over the centuries. St Nicholas has appeared many times, even during World War II and during the communist oppression of Russia. St Nectarios of Aegina in Greece reposed in the Lord on 8 November 1920, but he has been seen numerous times in cancer wards since.
That’s exactly how the saints of Christ reign with Him, that’s how they judge on the thrones in Revelation — through kenosis, the pouring out of self.
After all, there can never be henosis (i.e., communion) without kenosis. Even in the Trinity. Especially in this world.
During this time, we are constantly struggling with the spirit of Antichrist. This spirit is symbolized as various beasts, and as a dragon who pursued “the woman who had born the male child,” which is clearly the Virgin Mary and the Child Christ (Revelation 12.13). Those who followed the influence of the Anti-christ took his number on their forehead (symbolic of thought) and on their right hand (symbolic of action), and their city was called “Babylon” — which was the summary name of the city, in Jewish history, of all captivity, the center of all oppression.
So we fight, but not with the weapons of the world. We do not fight culture wars. The Christian Church is completely finished with worldly kingdoms, probably done with politics altogether. We fight with the weapons of servanthood and peace: The helmet of salvation. The shield of faith. The sword that is the Word of God. Feet shod with the preparation of the Gospel of peace (Ephesians 6). We practice for judging and reigning in the First Resurrection, because that will be our task after our repose.
Meantime, we are exiles from Babylon. We are always hanging our harps in the willows. We have no home city here, because our home is in the process of descending during the spiritual reign of Christ. Only after the Last Battle with Satan and the legions of hatred will Christ then deliver His Kingdom to the Father: “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away [because all evil had been consumed by the transfiguring fire] … And I saw the holy city, the New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband” (Revelation 21.1-2).
We are more than conquerors, St Paul says. Greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world, says St John. We are exiles with no city in the world, but all creation belongs to us, because Christ is King. We are like Abraham, who “looked forward to the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God” (Hebrews 11.10); and all those who “desired a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city” (Hebrews 11.16).
That city, of course, is the New Jerusalem, whose culture is only peace. There will be there, as David sings in Psalm 54 LXX, no strife, no sin-weaving language, no usury, no strife, and most egregious of all, no betrayal and breaking of friendship. There will be a complete cessation of lamentation and sorrow, a definitive "wiping away of every tear."
This is to be understood macroscopically -- in view of the entire human race -- and microscopically, in view of each person.
But even now we are able to feel it -- mystically, beautifully, in prayer and peace. We suffer the spirit of Antichrist, yes, and like David in the Psalms we frequently grieve over the ravages of ugly and leprous evil. But when we call out to God from the depths of our soul, and when we commune with Christ in the Eucharist — the Christ Who promised that he “will never leave us or forsake us,” then we are given a glimpse of just Whose we are, and Where we belong: “But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, and to the assembly of the first born who are enrolled in heaven … ” (Hebrews 12.22-23).
St Paul says this to all Millennial Christians (i.e., like you): “If then you have been raised with Christ, then seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth” (Colossians 3.1-2).
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