Tuesday, September 27, 2011

The Whore of Babylon and the Book of Revelation

DEFENDING THE BRIDE


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Dr. Scott Hahn in his tapes THE END on the book of Revelation argues for the position, that the Whore of Babylon is not Rome, which persecuted the Catholic Church, but instead is the apostate, worldly Jerusalem which rejected the Messiah and persecuted the early Christians. He concedes that this is the minority position but the Biblical evidence that he gives is overwhelming.
 
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Sections DISCLAIMER BABYLON - JERUSALEM SEVEN HILLS CODE NAME “BABYLON” IS CALLED THE GREAT CITY “BABYLON” AND THE DEATHS OF THE PROPHETS A CITY WITH FINE CLOTHING AND PRECIOUS STONES DESTROYED WITH FIRE HARLOT ASSOCIATED WITH THE SCARLET BEAST LIVED NEAR THE MANY WATERS “BABYLON” HAS SOVEREIGNTY OVER THE NATIONS MY PEOPLE CONCLUSION
 
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DISCLAIMER by John Hellmann The words that Jesus used to condemn the Jewish leaders of his day apply to those specific individuals. Jesus did not reject the Jewish people as a whole, and this can in no way justify anti-Semitism. Jesus was Jewish, His Mother was Jewish, as were all his disciples. The Jews, as the God’s first born son, represent to all of us how God will deal with us individually. The Israelites, and especially city of Jerusalem, represents all mankind. This is because they are God’s firstborn. They were called by God to be the light to the nations to reveal God’s plan of salvation. Their history represents the two paths, both the good and the bad. So, in Revelation you find the Heavenly Jerusalem, and Babylon Jerusalem, the two paths for mankind. In the Jewish Scriptures [the First, or Old Testament in the Christian Bible] we find the theme of two sons, one good and one bad, e.g. Cain and Abel, Jacob and Esau, etc. It is the job of the good son, the one that is blessed by God, to go help the other one be reconciled back to the family. Cf. Luke 15: 11-31. If we look at a crucifix and say, "If I was alive at the time of Christ, I would never have cooperated with his Crucifixion, we then are guilty of the very sin that Christ condemned in Matthew 23:29-31 "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous, saying, ‘If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ Thus you witness against yourselves, that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets." RSV Mark 2:17 "Jesus heard this and said to them (that), ‘Those who are well do not need a physician, but the sick do. I did not come to call the righteous but sinners.’ " NAB The proper Catholic response is one of humility. One that responds, "If I had been there, and unless God aided me to do better with His grace, then I would have done just as bad if not worse than those who killed Christ." Christ died because of our sins and the Crucifix is to remind ourselves of the price of our sin and how very deeply God loves us even though we are sinners. By acknowledging our sinfulness and our dependence on God we can humbly open ourselves up to His Grace, the gift of Himself. If we are proud like the Devil then we close off the channel of grace. Catholicism teaches that anti-Semitism is a sin. If a Jew accepts Christianity he does not stop being a Jew, rather he becomes a completed Jew, one who has found his Jewish Messiah. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Most of the Scripture verses below were taken from Dr. Scott Hahn's tapes. Listening to Dr. Hahn's tapes, and trying to catch all the deep truths that he brings out of Sacred Scripture, can be like standing under a waterfall on a hot summer day - a lot of it will pass a person by, but he still gets very wet and refreshed. If you want to hear all the beautiful insights you will have to buy the tapes. They can be ordered from Saint Joseph Communications Phone : 1-800-526-2151. (Oh, how the virtue of humility and a love for the Truth have moved me to love playing his tapes over and over. The joy of Christ is certainly communicated to those who have faith by means of these tapes.) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Babylon - Jerusalem In Revelation we find references to both Heavenly Jerusalem, and Babylon Jerusalem, which represent the two paths for mankind. The Book of Revelation is highly symbolic. So, it is best for a person to familiarize oneself with the rest of Sacred Scriptures, the Bible, because it is there that Saint John would be able to draw upon meanings that he knew his readers would be able to pick up on. These clues clearly point to Babylon as being a code name for the corrupt city of Jerusalem, possibly just before 70 AD. Those who contend that Babylon is Rome must ignore all the Biblical evidence to the contrary and interject non-biblical suppositions which are usually based on preconceived notions. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SEVEN HILLS Revelation 17:9-10 “Here is a clue for one who has wisdom. The seven heads represent seven hills upon which the woman sits. They also represent seven kings: five have already fallen, one still lives, and the last has not yet come, and when he comes he must remain only a short while.” Some have tried to claim that the Roman Catholic Church is the Whore of Babylon by pointing out that Rome has been referred to as a city on seven hills. The Seven Hills of Rome are; the Palatine, Aventine, Capitoline, Quirinal, Viminal, Esquiline, and the Caelian Hill. However, Saint Peter’s Basilica was built on Vatican Hill, Collis Vaticanus, which is on the other side of the Tiber River and is not one of these Seven Hills. St. Peter Basilica’s high altar was built directly on top of Saint Peter’s grave which was outside of the city and across the river. [See the book The Bones of St. Peter by John Evangelist Walsh] The reference to the seven hills does fit in regards to Jerusalem. Jerusalem was a large city spreading beyond the walls of the fort and onto the seven hills there during the time of Jesus and the Apostles. It’s seven hills are; 1.) Mount Gared; 2.) Mount Goath; 3.) Mount Acra; 4.) Mount Bezetha; 5.) Mount Moriah; 6.) Mount Ophel; 7.) Mount Zion. Sometimes, some will substitute the first four with the Mount of Olives, Mount of Offence, Mount of Evil Counsel, and Mount Calvary. Mount Calvary is presently leveled for the most part. It was a major quarry that was used for the building of the city. As the quarrymen cut into the stone layer by layer they discovered a section that was flawed. A crack in that section made it unusable so they cut around it. As they cut and cleared away the stone slabs from around the flawed section it left an outcropping rising thirty feet from the floor of the quarry to where the top of the hill had once been. It was into this flawed crack that the Roman’s placed the upright beam of the cross of the criminals that they crucified to place fear into their subjects. And it was here that our Savior gave his life for our salvation. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CODE NAME Revelation 17:5-6 "On her forehead was written a name, which is a mystery, ‘Babylon the great, the mother of harlots and of the abominations of the earth.’ I saw that the woman was drunk on the blood of the holy ones and on the blood of the witnesses to Jesus. When I saw her I was greatly amazed." Babylon was a code name, a "mystery." Compare how Jerusalem is referred to similar code names such as Sodom, Gomorrah, and Egypt. All of these, Sodom, Gomorrah, Egypt, and Babylon are all notorious enemies of God’s people. Isaiah 1: 1, 9-10 "The vision which Isaiah, son of Amoz, had concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, kings of Judah. …9 Unless the LORD of hosts had left us a scanty remnant, We had become as Sodom, we should be like Gomorrah. Hear the word of the LORD, princes of Sodom! Listen to the instruction of our God, people of Gomorrah !" Moses warns the Jews how God will punish them and destroy their land if they forsake the covenant. Deuteronomy 29: 22-24 "…all its soil being nothing but sulphur and salt, a burnt-out waste, unsown and unfruitful, without a blade of grass, destroyed like Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboiim, which the LORD overthrew in his furious wrath— they and all the nations will ask, ‘Why has the LORD dealt thus with this land? Why this fierce outburst of wrath?’ And the answer will be, ‘Because they forsook the covenant which the LORD, the God of their fathers, had made with them when he brought them out of the land of Egypt…" Jeremiah 23:14 "But among Jerusalem’s prophets I saw deeds still more shocking: Adultery, living in lies, siding with the wicked, so that no one turns from evil; To me they are all like Sodom, its citizens like Gomorrah." Romans 9:27-29 "And Isaiah cries out concerning Israel, ‘Though the number of the Israelites were like the sand of the sea, only a remnant will be saved; for decisively and quickly will the Lord execute sentence upon the earth.’ And as Isaiah predicted: ‘Unless the Lord of hosts had left us descendants, we would have become like Sodom and have been made like Gomorrah.’ " NAB John in his Book of Revelation continues this use of code names for the "great city." He is using symbolism to refer to people who had betrayed God’s people. Revelation 11:8 "Their corpses will lie in the main street of the great city, which has the symbolic names ‘Sodom’ and ‘Egypt,’ where indeed their Lord was crucified." This passage in Revelation 11: 8 is most important because it clues us in as to where this "great city" is. It is "where indeed their Lord was crucified." It is Jerusalem. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "BABYLON" IS CALLED THE GREAT CITY Revelation 18:10 "They will keep their distance for fear of the torment inflicted on her, and they will say: ‘Alas, alas, great city, Babylon, mighty city. In one hour your judgment has come.’ " NAB Jerusalem is also called the great city. Jeremiah 22:4-8 "If you carry out these commands, kings who succeed to the throne of David will continue to enter the gates of this palace, riding in chariots or mounted on horses, with their ministers, and their people. But if you do not obey these commands, I swear by myself, says the LORD: this palace shall become rubble. For thus says the LORD concerning the palace of the king of Judah: Though you be to me like Gilead, like the peak of Lebanon, I will turn you into a waste, a city uninhabited. Against you I will send destroyers, each with his axe: They shall cut down your choice cedars, and cast them into the fire. Many people will pass by this city and ask one another: ‘Why has the LORD done this to so great a city ?’ " -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "BABYLON" AND THE DEATHS OF THE PROPHETS Revelation 17:5-6 "On her forehead was written a name, which is a mystery, ‘Babylon the great, the mother of harlots and of the abominations of the earth.’ I saw that the woman was drunk on the blood of the holy ones and on the blood of the witnesses to Jesus. When I saw her I was greatly amazed." Revelation 18:24 24 In her was found the blood of prophets and holy ones and all who have been slain on the earth." NAB Compare them with these statements about Jerusalem Luke 11:47-51 "Woe to you! You build the memorials of the prophets whom your ancestors killed. Consequently, you bear witness and give consent to the deeds of your ancestors, for they killed them and you do the building. Therefore, the wisdom of God said, ‘I will send to them prophets and apostles; some of them they will kill and persecute’ in order that this generation might be charged with the blood of all the prophets shed since the foundation of the world, from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah who died between the altar and the temple building. Yes, I tell you, this generation will be charged with their blood !" Luke 13:31-34 "At that time some Pharisees came to him and said, ‘Go away, leave this area because Herod wants to kill you.’ … Yet I must continue on my way today, tomorrow, and the following day, for it is impossible that a prophet should die outside of Jerusalem.’ ‘Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how many times I yearned to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, but you were unwilling !’ " Matthew 23:29-36; " ‘Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the memorials of the righteous, and you say, "If we had lived in the days of our ancestors, we would not have joined them in shedding the prophets’ blood." Thus you bear witness against yourselves that you are the children of those who murdered the prophets; now fill up what your ancestors measured out ! You serpents, you brood of vipers, how can you flee from the judgment of Gehenna ? Therefore, behold, I send to you prophets and wise men and scribes; some of them you will kill and crucify, some of them you will scourge in your synagogues and pursue from town to town, so that there may come upon you all the righteous blood shed upon earth, from the righteous blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, the son of Barachiah, whom you murdered between the sanctuary and the altar. Amen, I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation.’ " 24:34 "Amen, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things have taken place." -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A CITY WITH FINE CLOTHING AND PRECIOUS STONES Revelation 18:16-17 "…Alas, alas, great city, wearing fine linen, purple and scarlet, adorned (in) gold, precious stones, and pearls. In one hour this great wealth has been ruined." Exodus 35: 30 - 36: 1 "Moses said to the Israelites, ‘See, the LORD has chosen Bezalel… of the tribe of Judah, and has filled him with a divine spirit of skill and understanding and knowledge in every craft: in the production of embroidery, in making things of gold, silver or bronze, in cutting and mounting precious stones, in carving wood, and in every other craft. …He has endowed them with skill to execute all types of work: engraving, embroidering, the making of variegated cloth of violet, purple and scarlet yarn and fine linen thread, weaving, and all other arts and crafts. ‘Bezalel, therefore, will set to work with Oholiab and with all the experts whom the LORD has endowed with skill and understanding in knowing how to execute all the work for the service of the sanctuary, just as the LORD has commanded.’ " Exodus 39: 1-2, 8-14 "With violet, purple and scarlet yarn were woven the service cloths for use in the sanctuary, as well as the sacred vestments for Aaron, as the LORD had commanded Moses. The ephod was woven of gold thread and of violet, purple and scarlet yarn and of fine linen twined… (8) The breastpiece was embroidered like the ephod, with gold thread and violet, purple and scarlet yarn on cloth of fine linen twined. … Four rows of precious stones were mounted on it: in the first row a carnelian, a topaz and an emerald; in the second row, a garnet, a sapphire and a beryl; in the third row a jacinth, an agate and an amethyst; in the fourth row a chrysolite, an onyx and a jasper. They were mounted in gold filigree work. These stones were twelve, to match the names of the sons of Israel, and each stone was engraved like a seal with the name of one of the twelve tribes." -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- DESTROYED WITH FIRE God had promised blessings to the Jews if they obeyed, Deut 28: 8 and seven curses if they disobeyed, verses 15 -20. God’s Covenant is effected by His Oath. The word "oath" is based on the word "seven." And so the number "seven" represents the Covenant. In Leviticus he threatens to punish the Jews with fire if they break the Covenant. Leviticus 26: 15-16, 27- 28 "…if you reject my precepts and spurn my decrees, refusing to obey all my commandments and breaking my covenant, then I… (27) If, despite all this, you still persist in disobeying and defying me, I, also, will meet you with fiery defiance and will chastise you with sevenfold fiercer punishment for your sins…" (emphasis added) It also had been prophesied that Jerusalem would be destroyed by fire in the following passages. Ezekiel 16: 2-3, 35, 38, 41 " Son of man, make known to Jerusalem her abominations. Thus says the Lord GOD to Jerusalem … 35 Therefore, harlot, hear the word of the LORD! … 38 I will inflict on you the sentence of adulteresses and murderesses; I will wreak fury and jealousy upon you. … 41 They shall burn your apartments with fire and inflict punishments on you while many women look on. Thus I will put an end to your harlotry, and you shall never again give payment." NAB (emphasis added) Ezekiel 23: 2-4, 17-19, 22-25, 44-47 " Son of man, there were two women, daughters of the same mother, who even as young girls played the harlot in Egypt. … (As for their names: Samaria is Oholah, and Jerusalem is Oholibah.) … 22 Therefore, Oholibah, thus says the Lord GOD: … 25 … They shall take away your sons and daughters, and what is left of you shall be devoured by fire. … 44 And indeed they did come to her as men come to a harlot. Thus they came to Oholah and Oholibah, the lewd women. 45 But just men shall punish them with the sentence meted out to adulteresses and murderesses, for they have committed adultery, and blood is on their hands. … 47 The assembly shall stone them and hack them to pieces with their swords. They shall slay their sons and daughters, and burn their houses with fire." NAB (emphasis added) Also see Lamentations 2:4, and 4:11. Ezekiel 19:12, 21:2-3, 22:19-21, In John's prophetic vision "Babylon" is also to be destroyed by fire. Revelation 18: 8, 17 "Therefore, her plagues will come in one day, pestilence, grief, and famine;… she will be consumed by fire. For mighty is the Lord God who judges her… (17) In one hour this great wealth has been ruined." Every captain of a ship, every traveler at sea, sailors, and seafaring merchants stood at a distance…" Jerusalem had been a center for commercial trade. Jewish maps even depict it as the center of the world, but true to prophecy it had been completely destroyed by fire in 70 AD, whereas, Rome was only partially burned by Nero. The burning of Jerusalem by fire also had theological significance. The City of Jerusalem is often referred to as a daughter. Lamentations 2:15-18 " … They hiss and wag their heads over daughter Jerusalem: ‘Is this the all-beautiful city, the joy of the whole earth?’ …The LORD has done as he decreed: he has fulfilled the threat He set forth from days of old; he has destroyed and had no pity, …Cry out to the Lord; moan, O daughter Zion!" NAB Unfaithfulness to God is frequently compared to sexual immorality. The penalty for fornication by the daughter of the priest called for a special punishment. It was to be burned to death. Leviticus 21:9 "A priest’s daughter who loses her honor by committing fornication and thereby dishonors her father also, shall be burned to death." NAB So, when Jerusalem was offered the grace to accept Christ, but instead rejected Him, she is referred to as the "Whore of Babylon" who is subsequently burnt to death. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- HARLOT Just as "Babylon" is referred to as a whore, a harlot. Jerusalem is also called a harlot. Revelation 17:1 "Then one of the seven angels who were holding the seven bowls came and said to me, ‘Come here. I will show you the judgment on the great harlot…" Ezekiel 16: 1-3, 26 "Thus the word of the LORD came to me: Son of man, make known to Jerusalem her abominations. Thus says the Lord GOD to Jerusalem: By origin and birth you are of the land of Canaan; your father was an Amorite and your mother a Hittite… (26) You played the harlot with the Egyptians, your lustful neighbors, so many times that I was provoked to anger." Jeremiah 2:1-2, 17-20 "This word of the LORD came to me: Go, cry out this message for Jerusalem to hear! … (17) Has not the forsaking of the LORD, your God, done this to you ? And now, why go to Egypt, to drink the waters of the Nile? Why go to Assyria, to drink the waters of the Euphrates ? Your own wickedness chastises you, your own infidelities punish you. Know then, and see, how evil and bitter is your forsaking the LORD, your God, And showing no fear of me, says the Lord, the GOD of hosts. Long ago you broke your yoke, you tore off your bonds. ‘I will not serve,’ you said. On every high hill, under every green tree, you gave yourself to harlotry." Isaiah 1:1, 21 "The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah… (21) How the faithful city has become a harlot, she that was full of justice! Righteousness lodged in her, but now murderers." RSV Jeremiah 3:1-2,6-8 " ‘If a man divorces his wife and she goes from him and becomes another man’s wife, will he return to her ? Would not that land be greatly polluted ? You have played the harlot with many lovers; and would you return to me ? says the Lord. Lift up your eyes to the bare heights, and see ! Where have you not been lain with ? By the waysides you have sat awaiting lovers like an Arab in the wilderness. You have polluted the land with your vile harlotry…’ (6) The Lord said to me in the days of King Josiah: ‘Have you seen what she did, that faithless one, Israel, how she went up on every high hill and under every green tree, and there played the harlot ? And I thought, "After she has done all this she will return to me;" but she did not return, and her false sister Judah saw it. She saw that for all the adulteries of that faithless one, Israel, I had sent her away with a decree of divorce; yet her false sister Judah did not fear, but she too went and played the harlot.’ " RSV Jeremiah 5:1, 5-7 "Run to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem, look and take note ! Search her squares to see if you can find a man, one who does justice and seeks truth; that I may pardon her… (5) I will go to the great, and will speak to them; for they know the way of the Lord, the law of their God." But they all alike had broken the yoke, they had burst the bonds. Therefore a lion from the forest shall slay them, a wolf from the desert shall destroy them. A leopard is watching against their cities, every one who goes out of them shall be torn in pieces; because their transgressions are many, their apostasies are great. ‘How can I pardon you ? Your children have forsaken me, and have sworn by those who are no gods. When I fed them to the full, they committed adultery and trooped to the houses of harlots.’ " RSV Ezekiel 23:1-5, 11, 17-19 "The word of the Lord came to me: ‘Son of man, there were two women, the daughters of one mother… Oholah was the name of the elder and Oholibah the name of her sister. They became mine, and they bore sons and daughters. As for their names, Oholah is Samaria, and Oholibah is Jerusalem. Oholah played the harlot while she was mine; and she doted on her lovers the Assyrians… (11) Her sister Oholibah saw this, yet she was more corrupt than she in her doting and in her harlotry, which was worse than that of her sister… (17) And the Babylonians came to her into the bed of love, and they defiled her with their lust; and after she was polluted by them, she turned from them in disgust. When she carried on her harlotry so openly and flaunted her nakedness, I turned in disgust from her, as I had turned from her sister. Yet she increased her harlotry, remembering the days of her youth, when she played the harlot in the land of Egypt.’ " RSV -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ASSOCIATED WITH THE SCARLET BEAST Compare the following verses. King Herod the Edomite, had falsely claimed to be King David’s successor. "Edom" means red, [ it referred to Esau’s successors. ] And not so coincidentally the beast in Revelation 17 is scarlet. Revelation 17:1-3 "Then one of the seven angels who were holding the seven bowls came and said to me, ‘Come here. I will show you the judgment on the great harlot … Then he carried me away in spirit to a deserted place where I saw a woman seated on a scarlet beast that was covered with blasphemous names, with seven heads and ten horns." We see an evil relationship between the harlot, apostate Jerusalem, and the scarlet beast, King Herod, on whom she is seated. This evil alliance is confirmed in the Book of Acts. Acts 4:26-28 " ‘The kings of the earth took their stand and the princes gathered together against the Lord and against his anointed.’ Indeed they gathered in this city against your holy servant Jesus whom you anointed, Herod and Pontius Pilate, together with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, to do what your hand and (your) will had long ago planned to take place." Acts 12:1-3, 19, 21-23 "About that time King Herod laid hands upon some members of the church to harm them. He had James, the brother of John, killed by the sword, and when he saw that this was pleasing to the Jews he proceeded to arrest Peter also. (It was (the) feast of Unleavened Bread.) … (19) Herod, after instituting a search but not finding him, ordered the guards tried and executed. Then he left Judea to spend some time in Caesarea… (21) On an appointed day, Herod, attired in royal robes, (and) seated on the rostrum, addressed them publicly. The assembled crowd cried out, ‘This is the voice of a god, not of a man.’ At once the angel of the Lord struck him down because he did not ascribe the honor to God, and he was eaten by worms and breathed his last." A reading of the Book of Acts will show many examples of the particular Jewish leaders of that time attacking the Christians. For example, Acts 7: 54 -60, 14: 4-6, 19 and 17: 5 -7. Jesus had prophesied in John 16:2 that His followers would be kicked out of the synagogue. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- LIVED NEAR THE MANY WATERS The harlot is said to live near the many waters. Revelation 17:1-3 "Then one of the seven angels who were holding the seven bowls came and said to me, ‘Come here. I will show you the judgment on the great harlot who lives near the many waters. The kings of the earth have had intercourse with her, and the inhabitants of the earth became drunk on the wine of her harlotry.’ Then he carried me away in spirit to a deserted place where I saw a woman seated on a scarlet beast that was covered with blasphemous names, with seven heads and ten horns." First Figurative Meaning: Revelation 17:15 “And he said to me, “The waters that you saw, where the harlot is seated, are peoples and multitudes and nations and tongues.” Second Figurative Meaning: Jesus had been crucified just outside the city of Jerusalem. When His side was pierced with the sword out flowed water and blood. The water represents the waters of Baptism, through which God gives us saving grace and eternal life. The blood which flowed from His side is a reference to the Blood that He offered at the Last Supper, the Eucharist. Cf. John 6: 54 John 7:37-38 "… Jesus stood up and exclaimed, ‘Let anyone who thirsts come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as scripture says: "Rivers of living water will flow from within him." ’ " Literal meaning: Some individuals try to associate the phrase, "lives near the many waters" in Revelation 17 with the city of Rome by pointing out that Jerusalem was not on the coast. However, neither is the city of Rome on the coast. The "lives near the many waters" could also have a literal reference to the fact that within Palestine, and not to far from Jerusalem, Herod had built the man made port of Caesarea and dedicated it to the Caesar. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "BABYLON" HAS SOVEREIGNTY OVER THE NATIONS Revelation 17:18 "The woman whom you saw represents the great city that has sovereignty over the kings of the earth." Jerusalem, who had the role to bring God’s law to the rest of the nations, had a spiritual sovereignty over all the nations. Psalm 2:6-9 " ‘I myself have installed my king on Zion, my holy mountain.’ I will proclaim the decree of the LORD, who said to me, ‘You are my son; today I am your father. Only ask it of me, and I will make your inheritance the nations, your possession the ends of the earth. With an iron rod you shall shepherd them, like a clay pot you will shatter them.’ " -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MY PEOPLE And a very important verse is Revelation 18: 4 Revelation 18:4 "Then I heard another voice from heaven saying, ‘Come out of her, my people, lest you take part in her sins, lest you share in her plagues ...’ " God said, "Come out of her, my people …" Who does "my people" refer to and where are they at ? These are the important questions. The term "my people" is the key. Jeremiah 31:31-33 The days are coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah. .. .. .. I will be their God, and they shall be my people. The term "my people" is covenant language. It is a reference of people who were in a covenant relationship with God. This becomes even more evident when we examine just what it means to be in a covenant. A covenant is very different than a contract. A covenant is as different from a contract as marriage is different from prostitution. In a contract two people exchanges goods and services. "This becomes yours and that becomes mine," or "I will do this for you and you will do that for me." However, contracts can be broken. A covenant is an exchange of persons. "I will become yours and you will become mine." Ezekiel 37: 26-27 "I will make a covenant of peace with them; it shall be an everlasting covenant with them; and I will bless them and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in the midst of them for evermore. My dwelling place shall be with them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people." The important question here is, where were many of God’s people when John wrote this Book ? They were still in the Old Covenant, in old worldly Jerusalem and God wanted them to leave that and come into the New Covenant. God could refer to them as "my people" because they were in His Old Covenant. The good becomes the enemy of the best if it causes you to reject the best. Hebrews 13:12-14 "Therefore, Jesus also suffered outside the gate, to consecrate the people by his own blood. Let us then go to him outside the camp, bearing the reproach that he bore. For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the one that is to come." NAB -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CONCLUSION The descendants of Abraham through Isaac and Jacob [Israel] are God's chosen people. He has chosen to reveal Himself through them and through the Jewish Messiah that was born to Mary, Jesus. By the covenants that God has made with this chosen race He has made them His “firstborn,” and through them God's plan for salvation is made known. [Cf. Psalm 89:28, John 4:22] They illustrate the two paths that mankind can choose, good and evil. There are many examples in this chosen race of holy faith and virtuous living made possible by the grace of God that are revealed for us to emulate. And there are examples of mankind at his worst that are also revealed to us as a warning. One such example is the Jewish leaders of 33 - 70 AD who rejected Truth, Beauty, Love, that is, God Himself. And so, the Whore of Babylon is a code name for the corrupt Jerusalem of the 33 - 70 AD time period, upon whom God's judgment fell. As a side note: a significant number of the Jews in Jerusalem had converted to Christianity. However, when 2.1 million Jews were slaughtered in Jerusalem in 70 AD none of the Christians that had lived there were killed. They had escaped by leaving Jerusalem before the Romans came. They had been forewarned in the Bible to get out of there.



Monday, September 26, 2011

Saint Michael the Archangel Defend Us




Prayer to Saint Michael

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Pope Leo XIII
 added it in 1886[1] to the Leonine Prayers, which he had directed to be said after Low Mass two years earlier.[2] The practice of reciting these prayers after Mass was suppressed in 1964. However, Pope John Paul II referred to the St Michael prayer in hisRegina Coeli address of 24 April 1994 as follows:The Prayer to Saint Michael is a prayer, used mainly by Catholics, which is addressed toMichael the archangel.
"May prayer strengthen us for the spiritual battle that the Letter to the Ephesians speaks of: 'Be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might' (Ephesians 6:10). The Book of Revelation refers to this same battle, recalling before our eyes the image of St Michael the Archangel (cf. Revelation 12:7). Pope Leo XIII certainly had this picture in mind when, at the end of the last century, he brought in, throughout the Church, a special prayer to St Michael: 'Saint Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle. Be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil...' Although this prayer is no longer recited at the end of Mass, I ask everyone not to forget it and to recite it to obtain help in the battle against the forces of darkness and against the spirit of this world."[3]


Sancte Michael Archangele,
defende nos in proelio;
contra nequitiam et insidias diaboli esto praesidium.
Imperet illi Deus, supplices deprecamur:
tuque, Princeps militiae Caelestis,
satanam aliosque spiritus malignos,
qui ad perditionem animarum pervagantur in mundo,
divina virtute in infernum detrude.
Amen.[4]
Saint Michael the Archangel,
defend us in battle;
be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil.
May God rebuke him, we humbly pray:
and do thou, O Prince of the heavenly host,
by the power of God,
thrust into hell Satan and all the evil spirits
who prowl about the world seeking the ruin of souls.
Amen.[5][6][7][8]
The Prayer

The English translations used in various countries differ slightly.

[edit]History

This problem was resolved in 1929 by the creation of the State of Vatican City, and in the following year, Pope Pius XI ordered that the intention for which these prayers should from then on be offered was "to permit tranquillity and freedom to profess the faith to be restored to the afflicted people of Russia".[9]This prayer, whose opening words are similar to the Alleluia verse for Saint Michael’s feasts on 8 May and 29 September in the Roman Missal of the time (which ran, "Sancte Michael, defende nos in proelio ut non pereamus in tremendo iudicio"), was added in 1886 to the Leonine Prayers that in 1884Pope Leo XIII ordered to be said after Low Mass, for the intention of obtaining a satisfactory solution to the problem that the loss of the Pope's temporal sovereignty caused in depriving him of the evident independence required for effective use of his spiritual authority.[2]
The Leonine Prayers were officially suppressed by the 26 September 1964 Instruction Inter Oecumenici, 48 j which came into effect on 7 March 1965.[10]
The opening words of the prayer ("St. Michael, defend us in battle") are sometimes used as an independent prayer, a short invocation, not as a fragment of the longer prayer.


Another prayer to St. Michael


O glorious Archangel St. Michael, Prince of the heavenly host, defend us in battle, and in the struggle which is ours against the principalities and Powers, against the rulers of this world of darkness, against spirits of evil in high places (Eph 6:12). Come to the aid of men, whom God created immortal, made in his own image and likeness, and redeemed at a great price from the tyranny of the devil (Wis 2:23-241 Cor 6:20).
On 18 May 1890, twenty years after the Capture of Romehad deprived the Pope of the last vestige of his temporal sovereignty, and the papal residence at the Quirinal Palace had been converted into that of theKing of Italy, a much longer prayer to St. Michael, quite distinct from that in the Leonine Prayers, was approved for use:
Fight this day the battle of the Lord, together with the holy angels, as already thou hast fought the leader of the proud angels, Lucifer, and his apostate host, who were powerless to resist thee, nor was there place for them any longer in Heaven. But that cruel, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil or Satan, who seduces the whole world, was cast into the abyss with all his angels (Rev 12:7-9).
Behold, this primeval enemy and slayer of man has taken courage, Transformed into an angel of light, he wanders about with all the multitude of wicked spirits, invading the earth in order to blot out the name of God and of his Christ, to seize upon, slay and cast into eternal perdition souls destined for the crown of eternal glory. This wicked dragon pours out, as a most impure flood, the venom of his malice on men of depraved mind and corrupt heart, the spirit of lying, of impiety, of blasphemy, and the pestilent breath of impurity, and of every vice and iniquity.
These most crafty enemies have filled and inebriated with gall and bitterness the Church, the spouse of the Immaculate Lamb, and have laid impious hands on her most sacred possessions (Lam 3:15).
In the Holy Place itself, where has been set up the See of the most holy Peter and the Chair of Truth for the light of the world, they have raised the throne of their abominable impiety, with the iniquitous design that when the Pastor has been struck, the sheep may be scattered.
Arise then, O invincible prince, bring help against the attacks of the lost spirits to the people of God, and bring them the victory.
The Church venerates thee as protector and patron; in thee holy Church glories as her defense against the malicious powers of this world and of hell; to thee has God entrusted the souls of men to be established in heavenly beatitude.
Oh, pray to the God of peace that He may put Satan under our feet, so far conquered that he may no longer be able to hold men in captivity and harm the Church. Offer our prayers in the sight of the Most High, so that they may quickly conciliate the mercies of the Lord; and beating down the dragon, the ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, do thou again make him captive in the abyss, that he may no longer seduce the nations.
This prayer was replaced in 1902, a year and a half before the death of Pope Leo XIII, by a much shortened prayer:
O glorious Archangel St. Michael, Prince of the heavenly host, defend us in battle, and in the struggle which is ours against the principalities and Powers, against the rulers of this world of darkness, against spirits of evil in high places (Eph 6:12). Come to the aid of men, whom God created immortal, made in his own image and likeness, and redeemed at a great price from the tyranny of the devil (Wis 2:23-24,1 Cor 6:20).
The Church venerates thee as protector and patron; to thee has God entrusted the souls of men to be established in heavenly beatitude.
Oh, pray to the God of peace that He may put Satan under our feet, so far conquered that he may no longer be able to hold men in captivity and harm the Church. Offer our prayers in the sight of the Most High, so that they may quickly conciliate the mercies of the Lord; and beating down the dragon, the ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, do thou again make him captive in the abyss, that he may no longer seduce the nations.
In 1890, the longer form of this prayer was included as a sort of preface to a series of prayers of exorcism that was included in the Roman Ritual.[11]


Speculation about the origin of the prayers

"I do not remember the exact year. One morning the great Pope Leo XIII had celebrated aMass and, as usual, was attending a Mass of thanksgiving. Suddenly, we saw him raise his head and stare at something above the celebrant's head. He was staring motionlessly, without batting an eye. His expression was one of horror and awe; the colour and look on his face changing rapidly. Something unusual and grave was happening in him.An article in the Roman journal Ephemerides Liturgicae (V. LXIX, pages 54–60) in 1955 gave an account in Latin and Italian of how the St. Michael prayer developed. Footnote nine of this account quotes an article in another Italian journal called La Settimana del Clero in 1947 by Fr. Domenico Pechenino who worked at the Vatican during the time of Leo XIII, in which he stated:
"Finally, as though coming to his senses, he lightly but firmly tapped his hand and rose to his feet. He headed for his private office. His retinue followed anxiously and solicitously, whispering: 'Holy Father, are you not feeling well? Do you need anything?' He answered: 'Nothing, nothing.' About half an hour later, he called for the Secretary of the Congregation of Rites and, handing him a sheet of paper, requested that it be printed and sent to all the ordinaries around the world. What was that paper? It was the prayer that we recite with the people at the end of every Mass. It is the plea to Mary and the passionate request to the Prince of the heavenly host, (St. Michael: Saint Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle) beseeching God to send Satan back to hell."
According to the same article in Ephemerides Liturgicae,[12] Cardinal Giovanni Nasalli Rocca di Corneliano wrote in his Litteris Pastoralibus pro Quadragesima (Pastoral Letters for Lent) that "the sentence 'The evil spirits who wander through the world for the ruin of souls' has a historical explanation that was many times repeated by his private secretary, Monsignor Rinaldo Angeli. Leo XIII truly saw, in a vision, demonic spirits who were congregating on the Eternal City (Rome). The prayer that he asked all the Church to recite was the fruit of that experience. He would recite that prayer with strong, powerful voice: we heard it many a time in the Vatican Basilica. Leo XIII also personally wrote an exorcism that is included in the Roman Ritual. He recommended that bishops and priests read these exorcisms often in their dioceses and parishes. He himself would recite them often throughout the day."[13]
In the late twentieth century, more vivid stories circulated among traditionalist Catholics, according to which in that century Satan would be particularly powerful. They recounted that Pope Leo XIII was climbing the steps to the altar when he suddenly stopped, stared fixedly at something in the air and with a terrible look on his face, collapsed to the floor (some accounts say he fell shrieking). The Pope was carried off by those around him to another room where he came around. As one rendition of the story tells it:
"When asked what had happened, he explained that, as he was about to leave the foot of the altar, he suddenly heard voices - two voices, one kind and gentle, the other guttural and harsh. They seemed to come from near the tabernacle. As he listened, he heard the following conversation:
The guttural voice, the voice of Satan in his pride, boasted to Our Lord: "I can destroy your Church."
The gentle voice of Our Lord: "You can? Then go ahead and do so."
Satan: "To do so, I need more time and more power."
Our Lord: "How much time? How much power?"
Satan: "75 to 100 years, and a greater power over those who will give themselves over to my service."
Our Lord: "You have the time, you will have the power. Do with them what you will."[14][15][16]
A variant of the story of the vision of Leo XIII was given by Father William Saunders in the Arlington Catholic Herald of 2 October 2003: "Pope Leo XIII (d. 1903) had a prophetic vision of the coming century of sorrow and war. After celebrating Mass, the Holy Father was conferring with his cardinals. Suddenly, he fell to the floor. The cardinals immediately called for a doctor. No pulse was detected, and the Holy Father was feared dead. Just as suddenly, Pope Leo awoke and said, 'What a horrible picture I was permitted to see!' In this vision, God gave Satan the choice of one century in which to do his worst work against the Church. The devil chose the 20th century. So moved was the Holy Father from this vision that he composed the prayer to St. Michael the Archangel.[17]
The first variant of the story to appear in print was that in a 1933 German Sunday newspaper article, which stated that, as a result of the vision, Leo XIII, shortly after 1880, ordered the prayer to Saint Michael to be recited. In reality, it was only in 1884 that the Pope instituted the Leonine Prayers, still at that time without the prayer to Saint Michael.[18]
In 1934, a year after the appearance of the earliest printed version of the story, a German writer, Father Bers, tried to trace the origin of the story and declared that, though the story was widespread, nowhere could he find a trace of proof. Sources close to the institution of the prayer in 1886, including an account of a conversation with Pope Leo XIII about his decision, say nothing of the alleged vision. Father Bers concluded that the story was a later invention that was spreading like a virus.[19]
The story is also found in Carl Vogl's 1935 Begone Satan: A Soul-Stirring Account of Diabolical Possession in Iowa[20]
In a later version the vision is said to have occurred on 13 October 1884,[21] the year in which the Leonine Prayers were instituted without the prayer to Saint Michael. And yet another date, 25 September 1888, two years after Pope Leo XIII had added the prayer to the Leonine Prayers, was given in a 1991 version.[22]



References

  1. ^ Irish Ecclesiastical Review 7 (1886),1050
  2. a b Decree Iam inde ab anno of the Sacred Congregation of Rites of 6 January 1884, published in Acta Sanctae Sedis 16 (1884), pages 249–250
  3. ^ Regina Coeli address; cf. Prayer to St MichaelMary Serves Cause of Life
  4. ^ [1]
  5. ^ Raccolta Manual of Indulgences Published by St Athanasius Press, 2003 ISBN 0-9706526-6-6 page 340
  6. ^ Prayer to Holy Michael the Archangel
  7. ^ Common Catholic Prayers
  8. ^ Rev. Alfred Boeddekker, Our Guardian Angels
  9. ^ Allocution Indictam ante of 30 June 1930, in Acta Apostolicae Sedis 22 (1930), page 301
  10. ^ Inter Oecumenici, 48 j
  11. ^ Rituale Romanum, 6th ed. post typicam, (Ratisbon: Pustet 1898), 163*ff.
  12. ^ p.58-59, footnote nine
  13. ^ This account, which speaks not of the prayer but of the exorcisms for which the prayer served as a sort of preface, claims that the Pope recommended bishops and priests to perform exorcisms often in their dioceses and parishes, and that he himself acted as exorcist often throughout the day.
  14. ^ The Religious Congregation of Mary Immaculate Queen
  15. ^ Knights of La Salette
  16. ^ Our Lady of the Roses
  17. ^ Arlington Catholic Herald
  18. ^ "Nachdem Leo XIII. eines Morgens die heilige Messe zelebriert hatte, begab er sich zu einer Besprechung mit den Kardinälen. Aber plötzlich sank er in Ohnmacht zusammen. Die herbeigeeilten Arzte fanden keinen Grund zu dieser Ohnmacht, obwohl der Pulsschlag fast aufhörte. Plötzlich erwachte er wieder und war frisch wie zuvor. Er erzählte dann, er hätte ein furchtbares Bild gesehen. Er durfte die Verführungskünste und das Wüten der Teufel der kommenden Zeiten in allen Ländern sehen. In dieser Not erschien St. Michael, der Erzengel, und warf den Satan mit allen seinen Teufeln in den höllischen Abgrund zurück. Daraufhin ordnete Leo XIII. kurz nach 1880 das allgemeine Gebet zum heiligen Michael an." Hg. Schnell in the Konnersreuther Sonntagsblattes (1933), no. 39, quoted in Bers “Die Gebete nach der hl. Messe”, Theol-Prakt. Quartalschrift 87 (1934), 161.
  19. ^ "Like a perpetual sickness" – "Die Gebete nach der hl. Messe", Theol-Prakt. Quartalschrift 87 (1934), 162-163
  20. ^ Reprinted by TAN Books (Rockford IL) in 1973, the year in which the film The Exorcist (film) appeared.
  21. ^ Arthur H. Durand, "Satan's Hundred Year War", The Remnant (15 January 1984), 9–10
  22. ^ Gary Giuffré, "Exile of the Pope-Elect, Part VII: Warnings from Heaven Suppressed", Sangre de Cristo Newsnotes 69–70 (1991), 4


External links




"AT THE HOUR OF OUR LAST WARFARE,
CALL ON ST. MICHAEL THE ARCHANGEL"
By Fr. Jojo Zerrudo - 24 September 2001 - "Ala-Ala Walang Hanggan" Radio Veritas
On Sept. 29, the whole Church will be celebrating the feast of the angels St. Michael, St. Raphael, and St. Gabriel. These three chosen angels were named in the Holy Book. And out of the multitudes of angels in heaven, they are the only ones we know by name.
The name ‘Michael’ is from the Hebrew ‘Mikhael’, which means ‘who is like God’. This name is a war cry, a shield and a spear in battle, and the never-ending memory of the victory of God. Being an unusual name for an archangel, the name ‘Michael’ first appeared in the book of the Prophet Daniel where he was called ‘Michael’, one of the leading princes (Daniel 10:13). And again on the following verse "At that time there shall arise Michael, the great prince, guardian of your people" (Daniel 12:1). In the letter of St. Jude, Michael became known as an archangel. He wrote: "Even the Archangel Michael, when he fought the devil over the body of Moses, did not dare blaspheme. He said: ‘You will be punished by God’."
St. Michael gained greatness and power over and above that possessed by any other heavenly spirit because of his zeal for the glory of God and the safety of the other angels when Lucifer rebelled against God. St. Michael is truly the prince of the heavenly army. He is known as a warrior angel. He fought Satan and all the rebel angels from the very beginning up to the present against all the enemies of the people of God. He was the defender of Israel in the Old Testament. He is also the defender of the Catholic Church today.


In the book of Revelations, St. John had a vision in heaven of a pregnant woman clothed by the sun who later gave birth to a baby boy who would be king of the universe. A red dragon lurked nearby waiting to devour the child to be born of the woman. As Catholics we understand this to be the Blessed Virgin Mary. However, this woman also represents Israel and the Catholic Church, the new people of God. The woman saved the child and the woman was taken to a remote place where she remained hidden. According to the book of Revelations: "Then war broke out in heaven; Michael and his angels battled against the dragon. Although the dragon and his angels fought back, they were overpowered and lost their place in heaven. The huge dragon, the ancient serpent known as the devil or satan, the seducer of the whole world, was driven out; he was hurled down to earth and his minions with him." (Apocalypse 12:7-9)
St. Michael is not just a warrior angel. In the liturgy of the Church, he accompanies the souls of the departed into the kingdom of light. The old song in the Christian burial mass states:

"O Lord, Jesus Christ, King of Glory, deliver the souls of all the faithful departed from the pains of hell and from the deep pit. Deliver them from the lion’s mouth that hell may not swallow them up; and may they not fall into darkness, but may the holy standard bearer, Michael, lead them into the holy light which You promised Abraham and to his seed of old."

At that moment of our greatest need, at the hour of our last warfare, the hour of our last breath, the great archangel will come to our rescue. He will take along his angels who will fight for the safety of our souls. He will defend us through his shield and he will save us from damnation at the hands of the enemies of our souls. It is good to call on St. Michael at the hour of our death because many have experienced his help at that hour.
From the writings of St. Alphonsus Ligouri one finds the story of how St. Michael helps at the hour of death. A man from Poland lived a life of sin over a span of many years. When the hour of his death came, fear and hopelessness over his sinful ways overwhelmed him. However, there was a time when he was still strong, he had a devotion to St. Michael and, at the mercy of God, St. Michael was given permission to give succor to this man at the hour of his last battle. St. Michael persuaded him to have a change of heart because he requested that this man be given enough time to straighten up the state of his soul. Thereafter, two Dominican priests arrived at his house. They said an unknown gentleman sent them there. The dying man knew it was St. Michael so he confessed his sins, received holy communion, and died reconciled with the Lord. As Cardinal Newman’s prayer goes:

"Thee, Michael thee, when sight and breathing fail, the disembodied soul shall see, the pardoned souls with solemn joys shall hail, when holiest rites are spent and tears no more avail."

The Church places the souls of her faithful children in the hands of St. Michael to accompany them into the kingdom of eternal light. If St. Michael cares for the salvation of the souls of the living and at the hour of death, we can be sure St. Michael is a good friend of the souls in purgatory. In the book of Revelations, it is written: "Another angel carrying an incense of gold came in. He took his place at the altar of incense and was given large amounts of incense to deposit on the altar of gold in front of the throne, together with the prayers of all God’s holy ones. (Apocalypse 8:3-4)
In the prayers of the Church, this angel is none other than St. Michael. In the old way of saying mass while the priest is preparing the chalice, he recites this prayer: "May the Lord be pleased to bless this incense and to receive its sweet fragrance through the intercession of the Blessed Archangel Michael who stands at the right hand of the altar of incense and of His chosen ones, through Christ our Lord. Amen.

"Tirelessly You gathered Your people from dawn until the setting of the sun so that a clean offering can be given to praise Your Name. And in every mass there are the angels, especially St. Michael, to lift up on the altar of God the holy offering. Almighty God, we implore You to allow Your holy angel to take these offerings on the altar in front of You."

This is where St. Michael becomes a good friend of the holy souls. Through his hands pass all our supplications for the release of the souls from purgatory. He brings virtue to the holy sacrifices to set free the souls from imprisonment from that place of suffering and purification.

A monk appeared before his priest friend after his death. He told the priest that he can be released from purgatory if during mass the priest will call on St. Michael for his intercession. The priest acceded to the request of the soul and, at that hour, he saw the Archangel escorting his friend into heaven. For this reason we should not ignore the important role that St. Michael plays. Let us call on him in life and in death. Let us always ask for his help, especially for the souls in purgatory. At the moment of our battle against the forces of evil, let us pray that he fights for us.
"St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in the day of battle, be our safeguard against the wickedness and the snares of the devil. May God rebuke him, we humbly pray, and do thou, O prince of the heavenly host, by the power of God, thrust into hell Satan and all wicked spirits who wander through the world seeking the ruin of souls. Amen."
-o0o-

CLOSING PRAYER: Lord Jesus Christ, King of Glory, release all the souls from purgatory, relieve them of their suffering, defend them from the lion’s mouth so that they will not be swallowed in hell, so they don’t fall into darkness. Send St. Michael, Your archangel, to accompany them to the holy light that You promised Abraham and his seeds. We offer You, Lord, all the sacrifices and prayers. Receive these for the souls that we are remembering. Grant them, Lord, to cross from death to life eternal, the life that You promised Abraham and all generations after him forever. Amen.

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