The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Day 361: Judgment and Repentance (2024)
Thu, 26 Dec 2024
Fr. Mike summarizes and contextualizes the book of Philemon, addressing the tension of slavery addressed in the Bible. He provides an explanation on the continued destruction depicted in Revelation as the visions of the apostle John, holding it up to the light of the Gospel. Today’s readings are Revelation 8-11, Philemon, and Proverbs 31:16-18. For the complete reading plan, visit ascensionpress.com/bibleinayear. Please note: The Bible contains adult themes that may not be suitable for children - parental discretion is advised.
Chapter 1: What readings are covered on Day 361?
Hi, my name is Father Mike Schmitz, and you're listening to the Bible in a Year podcast, where we encounter God's voice and live life through the lens of Scripture. The Bible in a Year podcast is brought to you by Ascension.
Using the Great Adventure Bible Timeline, we'll read all the way from Genesis to Revelation, discovering how the story of salvation unfolds and how we fit into that story today. It is day 361. We are reading Revelations chapters 8, 9, 10, and 11, as well as the entire book of Philemon, or Philemon, depending on how you like to say it. I like to say Philemon because...
I don't know, that's the way I first heard it. And we're also reading Proverbs chapter 31, verses 16 through 18. The Bible translation I'm reading from, as always, is the Revised Standard Version, Second Catholic Edition. I'm using the Great Adventure Bible from Ascension.
If you want to download your own Bible in a Year reading plan for these last five days, you can visit ascensionpress.com slash Bible in a Year. Maybe you'd be preparing for the next trip around these 365 days of scripture by getting the Bible in your reading plan. You can also subscribe to this podcast by clicking on subscribe and receiving daily episodes and daily updates. It is day 361.
We're reading revelations chapters eight, nine, 10 and 11, as well as Philemon and Proverbs 31 verses 16 through 18. The revelation to John chapter eight, the seventh seal and the golden censer. When the Lamb opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. Then I saw the seven angels who stand before God and seven trumpets were given to them.
And another angel came and stood at the altar with a golden censer. And he was given much incense to mingle with the prayers of all the saints upon the golden altar before the throne. And the smoke of the incense rose with the prayers of the saints from the hand of the angel before God. Then the angel took the censer and filled it with fire from the altar and threw it on the earth.
And there were peals of thunder, loud noises, flashes of lightning and an earthquake. the seven angels and seven trumpets. Now the seven angels who had the seven trumpets made ready to blow them. The first angel blew his trumpet and there followed hail and fire mixed with blood, which fell on the earth.
And a third of the earth was burnt up and a third of the trees were burnt up and all the green grass was burnt up. The second angel blew his trumpet and something like a great mountain burning with fire was thrown into the sea and a third of the sea became blood. A third of the living creatures in the sea died and a third of the ships were destroyed.
The third angel blew his trumpet and a great star fell from heaven, blazing like a torch, and it fell on a third of the rivers and on the fountains of water. The name of the star is Wormwood. A third of the waters became Wormwood and many men died of the water because it was made bitter.
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Chapter 2: What does Revelation teach us about judgment?
Went to the angel, told him to give me the little scroll. He said, take it and eat it. It will be bitter to your stomach, but sweet as honey to your mouth. And there's this moment of, I would say even compassion on John. At the same time, this scroll that's bitter to his stomach but sweet to his taste, it relates both the sufferings and the victories of Christ's church.
He's given both a taste of the desolation and a taste of the consolation before he has to prophesy again about many peoples and nations and tongues and kings. Now, this is just, again, it's fascinating. Let's go back. I keep jumping back and forth, but we're going back to chapter 9, verse 20. It says, the rest of mankind, this is after the horns were blown.
It says, the rest of mankind who were not killed by these plagues did not repent of the works of their hands, nor give up worshiping demons and idols of gold and silver and bronze and stone and wood, which cannot either see or hear or walk, nor did they repent of their murders or their sorceries or their immorality or their thefts.
I think it's important for us to recognize, yes, this is judgment coming upon the world, but this is judgment meant to be oriented towards repentance. This is so important for all of us. I mean, even right. Peter said this. He said, when you're considering the Lord's return delay, it's not delay. It's he's God's being patient. He's being patient.
So you can actually turn back to him at some point though. I'm not going to say God's patient runs out. That's not true. God doesn't run out of patience. God is long suffering. He endures so much, but at some point, the time, the opportunity runs out. And this is one of the messages of Revelation. It's one of the messages of the Bible is that here is God who loves you so much. He loves me so much.
He loves all of us so much, every single person. And at some point, the time is going to run out. Again, it's not God's love that runs out. It's not his patience that runs out. It is just the time. At some point, we get what we've chosen. And even after some of these plagues and after some of these devastating things happening upon the earth, there are those who will continue to choose themselves.
They'll continue to choose anything but God. In chapter 11, we have these two witnesses. And in these two witnesses, it's very, very... the mysterious, who they are. They could simply be, you know, two Christian prophets in this context.
But at the same time, it talks about how they have power, and this is chapter 11, verse 6, says that they have power to shut the sky, that no rain may fall during the days of the prophesying, and they have power over the water to turn them into blood. and to afflict the earth with every plague as often as they desire.
That kind of sounds a little bit like two people we encountered in the Old Testament. Who was an Old Testament person who had power to shut the sky so that no rain fell for, I think it was three years. His name was Elijah. Who was the prophet who turned waters into blood and had every plague afflict the earth? Well, that was Moses. So it could be possible in some ways that this is...
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Chapter 4: What is the significance of the Two Witnesses in Revelation?
They were told not to harm the grass of the earth or any green growth or any tree, but only those of mankind who have not the seal of God upon their foreheads. They were allowed to torture them for five months, but not to kill them. And their torture was like the torture of a scorpion when it stings a man. In those days, men will seek death and not find it.
They will long to die and death will fly from them. In appearance, the locusts were like horses arrayed for battle. On their heads were what looked like crowns of gold. Their faces were like human faces, their hair like women's hair, and their teeth like lion's teeth.
They had scales like iron breastplates, and the noise of their wings was like the noise of many chariots with horses rushing into battle. They have tails like scorpions and stings, and their power of herding men for five months lies in their tails. They have as a king over them the angel of the bottomless pit, his name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in Greek he is called Apollyon.
The first woe has passed. Behold, two woes are still to come. Then the sixth angel blew his trumpet, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar before God saying to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates.
So the four angels were released, who had been held ready for the hour, the day, the month, and the year to kill a third of mankind. The number of the troops of cavalry was twice ten thousand times ten thousand. I heard their number. And this is how I saw the horses in my vision.
The riders wore breastplates the color of fire and of sapphire and of sulfur, and the heads of the horses were like lion's heads, and fire and smoke and sulfur issued from their mouths. By these three plagues, a third of mankind was killed by the fire and smoke and sulfur issuing from their mouths. For the power of the horses is in their mouths and in their tails.
Their tails are like serpents with heads, and by means of them they wound. The rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands, nor give up worshipping demons and idols of gold and silver and bronze and stone and wood, which cannot either see or hear or walk.
Nor did they repent of their murders or their sorceries or their immorality or their thefts. Chapter 10 The Angel with the Little Scroll Then I saw another mighty angel coming down from heaven, wrapped in a cloud with a rainbow over his head and his face was like the sun and his legs like pillars of fire.
He had a little scroll open in his hand and he set his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the land and called out with a loud voice like a lion roaring. When he called out, the seven thunders sounded. And when the seven thunders had sounded, I was about to write, but I heard a voice from heaven saying, seal up what the seven thunders have said and do not write it down.
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