The Christ of the Apocalypse: Talk 7

 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. Talk 7, a fourth face, the faithful transformed by God's grace.

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In the series of talks, we've looked at the three faces of Jesus that together form a very rich portrait of Christ in the book of Revelation. We've seen the angelic Jesus who walks in the midst of the churches of Asia Minor and speaks directly to the hearts of the faithful. Beginning in chapter 5, John describes the all-powerful slain lamb, this lion lamb of God who is worshipped by the choirs of angels alongside God the Father in heaven. Next we saw the divine warrior, the rider on the white horse, returning upon the clouds with the angels of heaven in glory and judgment at the end of time. But when we study the apocalypse carefully, we see that a fourth face emerges for our reflection. Here is the face of the faithful, brave witness, who's come to be transformed, can we say, angilified, by God's grace because of their courageous witness to the gospel. We've been contemplating the faces of Jesus, but in his spiritual canticle, St. John of the Cross offers us some insight into what happens when Jesus looks back at us, leading us to begin to contemplate this fourth face of Christ in the apocalypse.

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Scattering a thousand graces, Jesus passed through these groves in haste, and looking upon them as he went, left them by his glance alone, clothed with beauty.

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Saint John of the Cross helps us to meditate on the mystery of the transformation that comes about when Christ looks back at us, leaving us by his glance alone clothed in beauty. What is it to be clothed in the beauty of the Lord?

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St.

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John Chrysostom guides us as he writes.

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Certain signs and vague traces of this were graciously given by God, both in the Old and the New Testaments. There the face of Moses shone with such glory as the eyes of the Israelites could not bear, while in the New Testament the face of Christ shone with still greater light during the Transfiguration.

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As we reflect upon what happens when Jesus looks back at us, I'm reminded of Revelation chapter 5, verse 6, in the powerful image of the seven eyes of the Lamb, which John tells us are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. As I mentioned in my previous talk on the lion lamb of God, the eyes of Christ are a way of speaking of the Holy Spirit, which enables the faithful to contemplate the faces of Christ, to see with Christ's own eyes, to see through his eyes, and in so doing, to see ourselves as he sees us and also as he wants to see us. St. John shows us how the story of the arrival of a new heaven and a new earth is not complete without a vision of paradise regained for the human person, created in the image and likeness of our God, who is in the process of making all things new. John offers us a remarkable portrait of the human person, a fourth face, transformed by Christ and transformed into Christ, beginning in this world and in the next, as the lives of the saints show us.