The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Day 364: Christ's Sacrifice Once for All (2024)
Sun, 29 Dec 2024
Fr. Mike dives into the fall of Babylon described in Revelation 18, pointing out how several images and expressions of this key chapter are taken from the judgmental oracles in the old testament, particularly those from the prophet Jeremiah. Fr. Mike also emphasizes the reality of God’s judgment, the resurrection of the dead, and how Christ’s sacrifice is presented to God in the heavenly sanctuary once and for all. Today we read Revelation 18-20, Hebrews 9-10, and Proverbs 31:26-29. 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.
I'm Father Mark Mary Ames with the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal. My brothers and sisters, at the service of becoming saints and falling in love with Jesus and Mary and the Most Holy Rosary, the team here at Ascension Press have put together the Rosary in a Year podcast. Each day, we're going to have a 10 to 15 minute episode where we're just going to work through the basics of the Rosary.
Who is Jesus? How do we encounter Jesus? Who is Our Lady? What does it mean for us to be in relationship to her? We're going to go through the Hail Mary, the Our Father, each of the different mysteries. Then we're going to bring in some saint writings on the mysteries and some sacred art that speaks on the mysteries and all of this.
to help enrich our prayer, to renew our prayer, to help us fall in love with Jesus and Mary and to fall in love with the rosary again. If you want to join us in this journey, you can begin by going to ascensionpress.com forward slash rosary in a year to download the prayer plan and by listening and praying with us through the rosary in a year podcast.
All right, look forward to the journey with you.
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 364. And there are 364 unbirthdays. We're reading the Revelation of John, chapter 18, 19, and 20.
Hebrews, the letter to the Hebrews, chapters 9 and 10, as well as the book of Proverbs, chapter 31, verses 26 through 29. As always, the Bible translation I'm reading from 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, maybe for the next trip, visit ascensionpress.com slash Bible in a year. You can also... You can also subscribe to this podcast by clicking on subscribe, receiving daily episodes and daily updates. It is day 364.
We are reading Revelation 2 John chapter 18, 19, and 20, the letter to the Hebrews chapters 9 and 10, as well as Proverbs chapter 31 verses 26 through 29. The Revelation to John chapter 18, the fall of Babylon. After this, I saw another angel coming down from heaven, having great authority, and the earth was made bright with his splendor.
And he called out with a mighty voice, Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great. It has become a dwelling place of demons, a haunt of every foul spirit, a haunt of every foul and hateful bird. for all nations have drunk the wine of her impure passion. And the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth have grown rich with the wealth of her wantonness.
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. For her sins are heaped high as heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities. Rendered to her as she herself has rendered, and repay her double for her deeds. Mix a double draft for her in the cup she mixed, as she glorified herself and played the wanton.
So give her a like measure of torment and mourning, since in her heart she says, A queen I sit, I am no widow, mourning I shall never see. So shall her plagues come in a single day, pestilence and mourning and famine, and she shall be burned with fire. For mighty is the Lord God who judges her.
And the kings of the earth, who committed fornication and were wanton with her, will weep and wail over her when they see the smoke of her burning. They will stand far off in fear of her torment and say, Alas, alas, you great city, you mighty city Babylon. In one hour has your judgment come. And the merchants of the earth weep and mourn for her, since no one buys their cargo anymore.
Cargo of gold, silver, jewels and pearls, fine linen, purple, silk and scarlet, all kinds of scented wood, all articles of ivory, all articles of costly wood, bronze, iron and marble, cinnamon, spice, incense, myrrh, frankincense, wine, oil, fine flour and wheat, cattle and sheep, horses and chariots and slaves, that is, human souls.
the fruit for which your soul longed has gone from you and all your delicacies and your splendor are lost to you never to be found again the merchants of these wares who gained wealth from her will stand far off in fear of her torment weeping and mourning aloud alas alas for the great city that was clothed in fine linen in purple and scarlet adorned with gold with jewels and with pearls
In one hour, all this wealth has been laid waste. And all shipmasters and seafaring men, sailors and all whose trade is on the sea, stood far off and cried out as they saw the smoke of her burning, what city was like the great city? And they threw dust on their heads as they wept and mourned, crying out, alas, alas for the great city, where all who had ships at sea grew rich by her wealth.
In one hour she has been laid waste. Rejoice over her, O heaven, O saints and apostles and prophets, for God has given judgment for you against her.
Then a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone and threw it into the sea, saying, So shall Babylon the great city be thrown down with violence and shall be found no more, and the sound of harpists and minstrels, of flute players and trumpeters shall be heard in you no more. And the craftsmen of any craft shall be found in you no more.
And the sound of the millstone shall be heard in you no more. And the light of a lamp shall shine in you no more. And the voice of the bridegroom and bride shall be heard in you no more. For your merchants were the great men of the earth, and all nations were deceived by your sorcery. And in her was found the blood of prophets and saints, and of all who have been slain on earth.
Chapter 19 The Rejoicing in Heaven After this, I heard what seemed to be the mighty voice of a great multitude in heaven crying, "'Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God, for his judgments are true and just. He has judged the great harlot who corrupted the earth with her fornication, and he has avenged on her the blood of his servants.' Once more they cried, "'Hallelujah!
The smoke from her goes up forever and ever.' And the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshipped God, who is seated on the throne, saying, Amen, Hallelujah. And from the throne came a voice, crying, Praise our God, all you his servants, you who fear him small and great.
Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the sound of many waters, and like the sound of mighty thunder peals, crying, Hallelujah! For the Lord our God, the Almighty, reigns. Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready.
It was granted her to be clothed with fine linen, bright and pure, for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints. And the angel said to me, Write this, Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he said to me, These are true words of God. Then I fell down at his feet to worship him, but he said to me, You must not do that.
I am a fellow servant with you and your brethren who hold the testimony of Jesus. Worship God. For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. The Rider on the White Horse Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. He who sat upon it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war.
His eyes are like flames of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name inscribed which no one knows but himself. He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God. And the armies of heaven, wearing fine linen, white and pure, followed him on white horses.
From his mouth issues a sharp sword with which to strike the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has a name inscribed, King of Kings and Lord of Lords. the beast and its armies defeated.
Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and with a loud voice he called to all the birds that fly in midheaven, Come, gather for the great supper of God, to eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and their riders, and the flesh of all men, both free and slave, both small and great.
And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth with their armies gathered to make war against him who sits upon the horse and against his army. and the beast was captured, and with it the false prophet who in its presence had worked the signs by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and who worshipped its image.
These two were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with brimstone, and the rest were slain by the sword of him who sits upon the horse, the sword that issues from his mouth, and all the birds were gorged with their flesh. Chapter 20, The Thousand Years Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding in his hand the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain.
And he seized the dragon, that ancient serpent who is called the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years, and threw him into the pit, and shut it, and sealed it over him, that he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand years were ended. After that he must be let out for a little while. Then I saw thrones, and seated on them were those to whom judgment was committed.
Also, I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their testimony to Jesus and for the word of God. and who had not worshipped the beast or its image, and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life, and reigned with Christ a thousand years. The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended. This is the first resurrection.
Blessed and holy is he who shares in the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and they shall reign with him a thousand years. Satan's doom.
And when the thousand years are ended, Satan will be released from his prison and will come out to deceive the nations which are at the four corners of the earth, that is Gog and Magog, to gather them for battle. Their number is like the sand of the sea, and they marched up over the broad earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city.
But fire came down from heaven and consumed them, and the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night, forever and ever. The dead are judged. Then I saw a white throne and him who sat upon it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them.
And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Also another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, by what they had done. And the sea gave up the dead in it. Death and Hades gave up the dead in them, and all were judged by what they had done.
Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
The Letter to the Hebrews, Chapter 9.
The Earthly and the Heavenly Sanctuary. Now, even the first covenant had regulations for worship and an earthly sanctuary. For a tent was prepared, the outer one, in which were the lampstand and the table and the bread of offering. It is called the holy place.
Behind the second curtain stood a tent called the holy of holies, having the golden altar of incense and the ark of the covenant covered on all sides with gold, which contained a golden urn holding the manna and Aaron's rod that budded and the tables of the covenant. Above it were the cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy seat. Of these things we cannot now speak in detail.
These preparations having thus been made, the priests go continually into the outer tent, performing their ritual duties. But into the second only the high priest goes, and he but once a year, and not without taking blood which he offers for himself and for the errors of the people.
By this, the Holy Spirit indicates that the way into the sanctuary is not yet opened as long as the outer tent is still standing, which is symbolic for the present age.
According to this arrangement, gifts and sacrifices are offered which cannot perfect the conscience of the worshiper, but deal only with food and drink and various baptisms, regulations for the body imposed until the time of reformation.
but when christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come then through the greater and more perfect tent not made with hands that is not of this creation he entered once for all into the holy place taking not the blood of goats and calves but his own blood thus securing an eternal redemption
For if the sprinkling of defiled persons with the blood of goats and bulls and with the ashes of a heifer sanctifies for the purification of the flesh, how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?
Therefore he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, since a death has occurred which redeems them from the transgressions under the first covenant." For where a will is involved, the death of the one who made it is established.
For a will takes effect only at death, since it is not in force as long as the one who made it is alive. Hence, even the first covenant was not ratified without blood.
For when every commandment of the law had been declared by Moses to all the people, he took the blood of calves and goats with water and scarlet wool and hyssop and sprinkled both the book itself and all the people saying, this is the blood of the covenant which God commanded you. And in the same way, he sprinkled with the blood both the tent and all the vessels used in worship.
Indeed, under the law, almost everything is purified with blood. And without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of sins. Christ's sacrifice takes away sin. Thus, it was necessary for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified with these rites. but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.
For Christ has entered, not into a sanctuary made with hands, a copy of the true one, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf. nor was it to offer himself repeatedly as the high priest enters the holy place yearly with blood not his own, for then he would have to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world.
But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the age to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. and just as it is appointed for men to die once and after that comes judgment so christ having been offered once to bear the sins of many will appear a second time not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him
Chapter 10, Christ's Sacrifice Once for All For since the law has but a shadow of the good things to come instead of the true form of these realities, it can never, by the same sacrifices which are continually offered year after year, make perfect those who draw near. Otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered?
If the worshippers had once been cleansed, they would no longer have any consciousness of sin. But in these sacrifices, there is a reminder of sin year after year. for it is impossible that the blood of bulls and goats should take away sins. Consequently, when Christ came into the world, he said, Sacrifices and offerings you have not desired, but a body you have prepared for me.
In burnt offerings and sin offerings you have taken no pleasure. Then I said, Behold, I have come to do your will, O God. as it is written of me in the roll of the book. When he said above, you have neither desired nor taken pleasure in sacrifices and offerings and burnt offerings and sin offerings. These are offered according to the law. Then he added, behold, I have come to do your will.
He abolishes the first in order to establish the second. And by that will, we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins.
But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, then to wait until his enemies should be made a stool for his feet. For by a single offering, he has perfected for all time those who are sanctified. And the Holy Spirit also bears witness to us.
For after saying, this is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the Lord, I will put my laws on their hearts and write them on their minds. Then he adds, I will remember their sins and their misdeeds no more. Where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer any offering for sin. a call to persevere.
Therefore, brethren, since we have confidence to enter the sanctuary by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way which he opened for us through the curtain that is through his flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.
Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the day drawing near.
For if we sin deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a fearful prospect of judgment, and a fury of fire which will consume the adversaries. A man who has violated the law of Moses dies without mercy at the testimony of two or three witnesses.
How much worse punishment do you think will be deserved by the man who has spurned the Son of God and profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified and outraged the Spirit of grace? For we know him who said, Vengeance is mine, I will repay. And again, the Lord will judge his people. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
But recall the former days when after you were enlightened, you endured a hard struggle with sufferings, sometimes being publicly exposed to abuse and affliction, and sometimes being partners with those so treated. For you had compassion on the prisoners, and you joyfully accepted the plundering of your property since you knew that you yourselves had a better possession and an abiding one.
Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that you may do the will of God and receive what is promised. For yet a little while, and the coming one shall come and shall not tarry. But my righteous one shall live by faith, and if he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him.
But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and keep their souls.
The book of Proverbs chapter 31 verses 26 through 29.
She opens her mouth with wisdom and her teaching of kindness is on her tongue. She looks well to the ways of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness. Her children rise up and call her blessed, her husband also, and he praises her. Many women have done exceedingly, but you surpass them all.
Father in heaven, we give you praise and glory.
We thank you for 364 days of hearing your word and letting ourselves be shaped by your word. Thank you for speaking to us. Thank you for continuing to call us your children. Thank you for even speaking to us of judgment that is coming. We ask you, Lord, please help us always, always to repent of our sins, to come back to you. Help us always, always.
to not rely on our own faithfulness because Lord God, we know that we are not, we're not faithful, but you are faithful. And so please help us to belong to you, help us to be faithful to you. Even when we sin, help us to rely upon the right sacrifice of your son, the blood that takes away sins because Lord God, when your son has offered himself, he offered himself to you for us.
So please receive the sacrifice of your son and Once again, bestow that mercy upon us. In Jesus' name we pray, amen. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, amen. Okay, so Revelation's getting intense, obviously. Getting really intense. Chapters 18, 19, and 20 here. One of the things that comes up is the fall of Babylon, chapter 18.
And the term Babylon is used obviously a bunch of times. And so I'm just going to offer, you know, these books are so rich. They're so deep that 10 minutes of commentary is not enough. Obviously. Um, there's some incredible, uh, incredible commentary books that are around. In fact, there's, there's one book of commentary called, uh, the Ignatius Catholic study Bible, new Testament.
It's the second Catholic edition, you know, so that's good. But, uh, It's really good because it has all the details, all the little notes can be so incredibly important and helpful, but they have a longer note about Babylon and what Babylon is.
In fact, one of the interesting notes they have when it comes to chapter 18 in the fall of Babylon is they know the several images and expressions in this chapter, chapter 18 here, are taken from the judgmental oracles of the prophets, especially Jeremiah's condemnation of ancient Babylon. from Jeremiah 50 and 51.
So if you remember, and you do, the history of Babylon and the history of the Babylonian exile and evil Babylon, there's all these connections with what happens here in chapter 18 and what Jeremiah had prophesied back in the book of the prophet Jeremiah, which is remarkable. Now, another guy, St. Caesarius of Arles, he once said this. He said,
Babylon and the harlot, whose smoke goes up forever, are none other than the lustful, the adulterous, and the arrogant. So he was saying, he was making a point, like in a sermon, right, in a homily, that he was saying that it doesn't have to be a place, right? It doesn't have to be a city I'm talking about.
Now, John, in Revelation, is likely talking about a specific city, which we'll talk about in just a second. But here is St. Caesarea of Arles, who is saying that, listen, this can be in our own hearts. Babylon and the harlot, he says, whose smoke goes up forever are none other than the lustful, the adulterous and the arrogant.
So if you wish to escape such punishments, have no desire to commit such grave sins. For in the present age, Babylon is always going to destruction and burning up in part. And that's this. That's really interesting and fascinating. Now, question, of course, who or what is Babylon? There are many theories, obviously.
And the two primary theories are that Babylon is a symbol of Rome or Babylon is a symbol of Jerusalem. And there's an ancient, I mean, gosh, and there's so much evidence that it could be either. And that's the crazy part is that here is Rome. I mean, think about all of the blood of the martyrs that the Roman Empire shed in those first centuries of Christianity and the first decades of Christianity.
And at the same time, remember, in the Old Testament, here is the way in which the prophets spoke about Jerusalem as being unfaithful, as being unresponsive to God's promises. And there are a number of reasons that you could make a case for Rome being the Babylon or Jerusalem being Babylon. And what that ultimately means, though, for us is it's important, right?
Obviously, it matters whether this is Rome or Jerusalem. In some ways, you could say it could be both. But what we're really talking about when you and I are reading Revelation, yes, we're reading something from the past. We're reading about the revelation of John of this judgment that came upon the ancient peoples. But we're also reading about our own lives. That's why St.
Caesarius of Arles had his words about pointing out that, One of the reminders of Revelation is for us is that sense of, am I being faithful? Am I walking in the Lord? Because God will judge us, right? And yes, he's merciful. He's also just. And we're going to hear tomorrow in our conclusion that God at some point will set everything right. And we want to be the people that he vindicates, right?
That he sets right. And so there's this praise of God and rejoicing in heaven in chapter 19. And that rejoicing where they say hallelujah and that hallelujah literally means praise the Lord. You want to be among those people who are able to praise the Lord.
You know, and there's the, as I said, you know, there's the thousand years and Satan's locked up and then he's released for a little bit of time. And those are very important things. But ultimately we have this, this, and the end of chapter 20, the dead are judged as it says, and there's a resurrection from the dead.
If those who are first resurrected are those who are martyrs and, and they get to reign with the Lord and they get to serve as priests with the Lord. And then everyone else, everyone else who's died is resurrected. Yeah, I don't know if you know this, you're getting your body back.
That is the ancient Christian belief is that in the resurrection, you get your body back, whether your body is restored to you for glory or whether it's restored to you for shame, you know, whether it's restored to you for the praise of God or whether it's restored for the sake of destruction in hell, everyone gets their body back.
and there's that second death lake of fire if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life he was thrown into the lake of fire remember it says multiple times they'll be judged by what they've done in chapter 20 verse 12 and 13 it says and i saw the dead great and small standing before the throne as the end books were opened also another book was opened which is the book of life and the dead were judged by what was written in the books by what they had done
And the sea gave up the dead in it. Death and Hades gave up the dead in them and all were judged by what they had done. And that's the reality is that our decisions matter. Our decisions make a difference. They don't just echo in time. They also echo in eternity. And so we say, Lord, for all those things that I've done, where I failed you, please cover me with your blood. And that is Hebrews.
Oh my gosh. How incredible is this? How incredible is it? That yes, there's judgment, but here in the letter to the Hebrews, we have this absolute declaration that Christ's blood takes away our sins. Now here's an interesting part. That's just, I don't know if you've ever noticed this. We have the celebration of Christmas, obviously the incarnation, Jesus Christ becomes one of us.
We have the celebration of the passion. and Easter. So you have Good Friday and Holy Saturday and Easter Sunday. It's the passion, death, and resurrection of Jesus, which is incredible. And just here's God's love for us. But we also have the Feast of the Ascension. And so many of us, we underestimate the Ascension. And yet here's what the Hebrews is all about.
It talks about the old covenant, right? And here's the old temple. And here's what the priests would do. Once a year, they would go in to the temple. And in that place, they would offer up the sacrifice of blood and goats, bulls and goats, that kind of thing. But here is this absolute key in chapter 9, verse 11. It says, What he just described there. Oh my gosh, is the ascension.
I sometimes get lost in the ascension as being, here's Jesus ascending to heaven and telling the disciples, the apostles, hey, wait for the promised Holy Spirit and that'll come upon you. And that's it, he's just leaving. But he wasn't just leaving. What was he doing? He was entering into the sanctuary.
He was entering into heaven with the sacrifice of himself presented before God for the, oh my gosh, this is insane. Just like the priest would go into the Holy of Holies As Jesus ascends into heaven, he is the great high priest entering into the actual holy of holies. Remember, the temple was made as a copy, as a foreshadow of what actually exists in reality in heaven.
When the high priest goes into that copy, he's bringing with him something that's limited. But when Jesus Christ, the great high priest entered into heaven, he brought a sacrifice that is unlimited. His one sacrifice once for all. Hopefully that makes sense. It is remarkable and incredible. And we get to conclude our story tomorrow. It has been an incredible journey to be able to walk with you.
So please know that this journey is not over because we can continue to walk with each other, not just tomorrow, but even the day after tomorrow and the day after that and the day after that, because I will be praying for you. I am praying for you. Please pray for me. My name is Father Mike. I cannot wait to see you tomorrow. God bless.