Apocalypse Now?
The liturgical year that is coming to an end reminds us of the final events in the history of salvation, of the end of this world, the Last Judgment and the second coming of Christ. How should these announcements be understood today? In many of us, they evoke unambiguously negative imaginations: we imagine some tragic events, catastrophes on a global scale, and above all we feel fear of them. Is that right?
Well, but when?
The atmosphere of fear is heated by the media, publishing on average once every few years the date of the end of the world. According to predictions based on the Mayan calendar, it was to take place in 2012. Something, however, did not work out, because this world is still going on.
At a time when we so often hear news about cataclysms and the end of the world, it is very necessary to present a clear and precise presentation of Catholic teaching on this subject, ordering and explaining many of the issues so often raised, and for a Catholic the source of knowledge should be the Bible. For the man of faith, the answer must be obvious: "But no one knows about that day and hour, not even the angels of heaven, but the Father himself" (Mt 24:36; cf. Mk 13:32). Reading the Holy Scriptures, we come across texts called apocalypses in biblical studies, which deal with the subject of the end times. In the Old Testament, this is the Book of Daniel. Similar texts also appear in fragments of prophetic books. In the New Testament, everyone is familiar with the Apocalypse of St. John. It describes many formidable events, cataclysms that bring destruction. The apocalyptic style is also present in the Gospels (e.g., Mk 13) and the Apostolic Letters (e.g. 1 Thessalonians 4:13-5:11; 2 Thessalonians 1:3-2:12 or 2 Pet 3:1-13). But will we really find in the Bible the answer to the question of what the end of this world will look like and when this will happen?
Scripture "deals with" God, not the world. The Bible is not a lecture on history, much less a projection of the future. Broadly understood prophecies, which humanity has been nourished by for millennia, are the fruits of our curiosity and anxiety. God wants to tell us that we live in this world only for a limited time, that "there is another world." It would be good to ask ourselves how to live so as not to waste the time that has been given to us, and what the gift of eternity will be. Curiosity gets in the way of focusing on what really matters. The multiplicity of images or languages with which The Scriptures describe the end of the world makes none of them privileged or realistic.
Apocalypse of St. John - a book of consolation
How, then, should we read one of the most famous "predictions" of the end of the world, the Apocalypse of St. John? - Like any poetry. The Apocalypse should be read literally in the sense that attention must be paid to every word. However, such a reading of poetry is not enough to grasp its meaning and message. The Apocalypse is a poetic vision, which does not mean that it is the result of the free play of imagination. We must remember that this is a text whose recipients lived in a specific cultural situation: they cared about specific problems, they spoke in a specific way. It is therefore necessary to enter their world in order to listen with understanding to what the author says. Readers or listeners of the Apocalypse, since it was intended rather for common reading at the liturgical assembly, had two basic points of reference. The first was their faith in Jesus Christ, the Son of God and the judge of the world. The second is the richness of the religious texts that Judaism gave birth to, from which Christianity grew. The author of the Apocalypse wanted to show his audience that the sacred writings of Judaism have not lost their value, but only in relation to Jesus Christ can they be properly understood.
Theologians and biblical scholars emphasize that the Apocalypse of St. John provokes different reactions of those who take it in hand. Sometimes we feel horror when we read about the strangest cosmic disturbances, and angels and demons move before the eyes of our imagination, taking on the most diverse shapes and fighting an irreconcilable battle among themselves. Many of us are afraid of this book. The very name "apocalypse" will sound terrible to some. Yet this is not the message of John's closing text of the Bible. This Book is in it to comfort us! Yes! The Apocalypse is a book of consolation that comforts struggling Christians. Why don't we see it? Why does it seem so terrible? Perhaps because we do not understand it. It's a simple mechanism: if something is unknown, alien and difficult for us to comprehend - it scares us. And yet this was not the case when the Book of Revelation was read by its first recipients. They were much more familiar with the symbols, the signs, the whole concept of this sacred text.
Fear the end?
Will we really learn from the Apocalypse of St. John what the end of the world will look like? The details of the breakthrough, after which there is no history, are marginal. The visionary of Patmos focuses more on man's experience of divine reality, including his own, than on "acquired" information and explanation of what is to happen. He says as little as possible. Is the fear of the end of the world justified?
What are we afraid of? If we are afraid of losing this world we live in, then we should be afraid because it is passing away. The world of my childhood no longer exists. It was built up with other buildings, planted with other trees. Other people live there. Is that wrong? It would probably be bad if it remained as it was 68 years ago. This, too, could be feared. What is transient, passes. We have to deal with it somehow, because we will not change the nature of the world with any tricks, just as the progress of medicine will not give man immortality, and therefore will not free him from the fear of death. The fear that the fact of passing away arouses in us can be pushed out of our consciousness. And yet we can face it and ask ourselves what are the sources of hope for us in a passing world, what is the meaning of our existence, which sooner or later will come to an end. Religious faith is not an escape from this fear and does not protect against it, but helps to seek hope and meaning in a passing temporality.
Until Tomorow
fr. george