The Christ of the Apocalypse: Overview

 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. Overview: The Christ of the Apocalypse.

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This series of talks is focused on the portrait of Jesus in the Book of Revelation. These reflections are based on my book, The Christ of the Apocalypse, Contemplating the Faces of Jesus in the Book of Revelation. Now, the fantastic, often bizarre images that fill the story world of the Book of Revelation have fascinated, perplexed, alarmed, and inspired successive generations of readers into our new millennium. At the same time, I don't think it is any exaggeration to say that no other book of the Bible has proven to be as difficult to understand. Do we interpret John literally? Is the apocalypse about the end of the world or the beginning of a new creation? Moreover, as history shows us, controversy has been the steady companion of the book of Revelation since it first appeared toward the end of the first century. In addition to visions of earthquakes and falling stars, images that have captured the imagination include the Four Horsemen, the Antichrist, the Number of the Beast, and the Battle of Armageddon. The basic facts about the Book of Revelation too often go unnoticed. For instance, in the very first sentence, we are told that this is an apocalypse or revelation of Jesus Christ. And indeed, upon closer examination, it becomes clear that beyond visions of the end of the world, we're presented with a rich, multifaceted portrait of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, that too often has gone unnoticed. In talk one of this series, this is an introduction to the faces of Christ, which is a message of hope in difficult times. In talk two, we begin by looking at the portraits of Jesus that emerge in the four Gospels. And as we shall see, although John's language is very rich and symbolic, what he's doing is consistent with what we find in the four gospels and indeed throughout the New Testament. Talk three provides an overview of the faces of Christ in the Book of Revelation and examines the details of the complex portrait of Jesus that emerges in the Book of Revelation and chapters one to three. The first face of Christ in the Book of Revelation is that of a glorified angel, and this is the focus of talk four. In the first few chapters of Revelation, Jesus appears to John, who is in exile on the island of Patmos in Greece, on account of his faithful witness to the gospel. It is in this time of crisis for John that Jesus appears to him in the form of a glorified angel, who in chapters two and three remains very close to the faithful. Our Lord continues to walk in their midst as he addresses a series of seven messages or letters to the faithful of the seven churches of Asia Minor in modern-day Turkey. In talk five of the series, we turn our attention to the image of the slain lion lamb of God, which proves to be the central figure or face of Christ in the apocalypse, beginning in chapter 5 through to chapter 22. In talk six, we will look at the striking figure of Christ returning in judgment and in glory at the end of time, accompanied by the angels of heaven. He appears as the rider on a white horse. In addition to these three faces of Jesus, Jesus in the form of a glorified angel, the slain lion lamb of God, and the striking figure of Christ returning in judgment as the rider on the white horse, a fourth face emerges for our reflection in talk seven. This is the face of the faithful or victorious witness, transformed by God's grace through the life of holiness and courageous witness to the gospel. Finally, talk eight offers some reflections on the relevance of John's message for us today. Join us now in this prayer as we begin our journey to discover the faces of Christ in the book of Revelation, which is taken from Psalm 46.

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God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore, we will not fear, though the earth should change, though the mountains shake in the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble with its tumult. The Lord tells us to be still and know that I am God. I am exalted among the nations. I am exalted in the earth.