Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich on the Seven Churches

I've been meaning to find this quote for a while now. According to Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich who we know routinely had visions all her life, Jesus gave the Apostle John a little instruction at the Last Supper. Here is how she supposedly dictated it:

He {Jesus} spoke for some time to John alone {at the Last Supper}. Of this I remember only that Jesus told him that his life would be longer than that of the others, and that He said something about seven churches, something about crowns and angels and similar significant symbols by which, as well as I know, He designated certain epochs. The other Apostles felt slightly jealous at this special communication to John. (From the visions of Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich)

He Who Holds the Seven Stars

He holds the seven stars in his right hand. That is to say, Christ holds the Churches in his hand. The word for to hold is kratein, and it is a strong word. It means that Christ has complete controld over the Church. If the Church submits to that control, it will never go wrong; and more than that--our security lies in the fact that we are in the hand of Christ. "They shall never perish, and no one shall snatch them out of my hand" (John 10:28).

There is another point here which emerges only in the Greek. Kratein normally takes a genitive case after it (the case which in English we express the word of). Because, when we take hold of a thing, we seldom take hold of the whole of it but of part of it. When kratein takes an accusative after it, it means that the whole object is gripped within the hand. Here, kratein takes the accusative and that means that Christ clasps the whole of the seven stars in his hand. That means he holds the whole Church in his hand. 

 ---(from the Revelation of John Volume 1, William Barclay) p. 61

Insight into the First Three Churches of Asia from Revelation

This is a bit of a stretch but it is fascinating to note that the first three Churches addressed to in Revelation all had temples dedicated to Caesar in their literal cities whereas the others did not. Also the seven were all connected by a main Roman road. Boring mentions this in his book:

It is not clear why these seven were chosen to represent the whole church, though they are connected by being located on the main Roman road at intervals of about thirty or forty miles. Also, each of the cities named had a Roman law court, a location where Christians had been or could be charged with memebership in the Christian sect, which was suspected of being subversive; and at least the first three churches addressed were sites of temples dedicated to Caesar (Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum). (M. Eugene Boring, Revelation, p. 87)

So interpolating this information into my previous interpretations posted here at this blog I would say that this is significant. Jesus chose the specific names and cities with perfect clarity and foresight. The first three Churches, i.e. Ephesus, Smyrna and Pergamon are models representing the successive generations of Christians from the time from the ascension of Jesus to about the time of Charlemagne. Ephesus is from the Ascension to the martyrdom of Saints Peter and Paul. Smyrna is from the martyrdom of Peter and Paul to Constantine. Pergamon is from Constantine to Charlemagne. Of course within these generations the Roman Empire lasted up until the time of Pergamon. The last Roman Emperor or Caesar, so to speak, was Romulus Augustus in the second half of the 5th century. Beyond that there is no more Caesar.

That all seven cities, chosen by Jesus to prophetically model the Church, were all connected by a main Roman road is also of great significance. This signifies that the whole Church on Earth, passing from generation to generation is unified, connected, and continued without fail by the Bishop of Rome, the Successor of Saint Peter, the Pope.

Providence, Eschatology, and Apocalyptic from M. Eugene Boring's Revelation

A fine summary and set of definitions

Providence is the overarching biblical category within which eschatological and apocalyptic thought can best be understood. Our word "providence" comes to us from the Greek by way of two Latin words, "pro," which means "before," and "video," which means "see." "Providence," therefore, has to do with seeing what is before one, looking out ahead. To believe in the providence of God is to believe that not only our individual lives but history as a whole is under the sovereignty of One who is "looking out ahead," that Someone is in the driver's seat of history. The faith expressed in the doctrine of providence might be summed up in the words "God is guiding history."

"Eschatology" can be thought of as a particular kind of thought within the doctrine of providence. All eschatological thinking is providential, but not all providential thinking is eschatological. Eschaton is simply the Greek word for "end." It can be used for the last in a series, temporal or otherwise. In a narrative it is the conclusion, not simply the end. A damaged book from which the last chapter is missing has a last page, but still has no conclusion. In a story, a person's life, or the history of the world, the eschaton is the last scene, the conclusion of the story.

In theological terms the eschaton can be thought of individually (the meaning of a person's death, what happens to an individual after death), nationally (e.g. the "golden age" of the nation that is its destiny to come), or historically and cosmically. Since biblical theology is concerned with God as the Creator of the universe and Lord of history as a whole (not merely of individual souls or particular nations), most biblical eschatological thought is expressed within this cosmic framework.

Eschatological thought goes beyond general affirmation of the doctrine of providence, "God is guiding history," to a more specific statement: "God is guiding history to a final goal." The doctrine of providence, as such, affirms that history has a Lord, but not that history has an end. Providential thinking has no necessary place for thought about the "end of the world." It is concerned with the process, not the goal, of history. Eschatological thought, on the other hand, is the counterpart to the doctrine of creation: Just as the world and history have not always existed, but came into being by the act of the Creator, so this world and its history are not eternal, but will be brought to their goal by the God who declares not only that his is the Alpha but also the Omega of all that is (Rev 1:8; these are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet). Although "end of the world" thinking is often thought of as gloomy and pessimistic, we shall see that in the Bible generally and in Revelation in particular the doctrine of the end of the world is a joyous hope to be celebrated--and that not because of any negative view of the world and its values.

It may come as a surprise to learn that there is a considerable eschatological element in the Bible
. . .
Just as eschatology is a certain kind of thinking about God's providence, so for our purposes in understanding Revelation, apocalyptic may be thought of as a certain kind of thinking about eschatology. Apocalyptic thought, as represented in Revelation, affirms that God is guiding history to a final goal which God himself will bring about in the near future, in a particular way that is already revealed. 

---(From Revelation, M. Eugene Boring, p. 36-38)

Khakhi Banda (A Punjabi Poem)

A human made of clay
Goes around acting as if he’s as invincible as God
He’s lost himself completely to this ephemeral world
And does not ponder his relationship with his Lord

O human, leave off this battle for worldly possessions
Nothing here can ever truly belong to us
The glittering spectacle of this world lasts but a few days
And then everything turns to dust

You’ve filled your head with mere bookish knowledge
And smugly titled yourself a grand authority
You’ve done a round of Mecca and Medina
And smugly titled yourself a holy pilgrim

You are fooled by the bright spectacle of this world
Your proud willfulness is driven by nothing but conceit

Your never-ending religious debates failed to create a deeper understanding
You spread people into conflicting camps, but failed to spread real knowledge
All you did was sow seeds of dissension among friends and brothers

O human, don’t get caught up in worldly matters
Nothing here can ever truly belong to us
The glittering spectacle of this world lasts but a few days
And then everything turns to dust

False intentions, deceit, and duplicity
Can never win you sincere companions
All will change if you only change yourself
Slay your own base desires

You are fooled by the bright spectacle of this world
Your proud willfulness is driven by nothing but conceit
But your being is ephemeral
Come, follow the path of Love!

I’ve seen the sun that rises also set
I’ve seen flickering lamp blaze anew
The orphans who have no one left in this world
I’ve seen them also find the means to flourish
People say that success is beyond reach
But I have seen the impossible become possible

You are fooled by the bright spectacle of this world
Your proud willfulness is driven by nothing but conceit
But your being is ephemeral
Come, follow the path of Love!

You can gobble up pearls, diamonds, and all the riches of the world
You can construct grand mansions and adorn them beautifully
But true happiness is something difficult to buy
So spend your nights in solitary vigil, weeping for your Lord’s forgiveness

Those who live by dishonest means don’t hesitate to harm even their loved one
God in His infinite power is privy to all our secrets

You are fooled by the bright spectacle of this world
Your proud willfulness is driven by nothing but conceit
But your being is ephemeral
Come, follow the path of Love!

A mere human made of clay
A mere human made of clay
Goes around acting…

By Suja Haider
Translated by Zahra Sabri

Quotes on the Seven Letters to the Churches of Asia

I'm beefing up and refining my Seven Churches of Asia articles. Here are some interesting quotes from The Apocalypse, The Perennial Revelation of Jesus Christ by Eugenio Corsini:

It is important to see this connection between the vision of the Son of Man and the seven letters, as without it the most immediate point of referral to what is written in the letters is lost. The vision is then seen as some sort of inaugural vision, standing on its own, and the letters also remain somewhat of an enigma, whose presence in the overall structure and message of the book becomes almost impossible to decipher. Tying them together, I believe, helps one to explain the other. (The Apocalypse, The Perennial Revelation of Jesus Christ by Eugenio Corsini p. 81)

[The "Prophetic" Interpretation of the Letters] Reduced to its essentials, this method of interpreting the letters sees in them a prefiguring of various epochs in the history of the Church. It still has adherents, but it was particularly popular among the Fathers, and was continued to Bede the Venerable (7th to 8th Century) and then among various medieval and more recent commentators. (The Apocalypse, The Perennial Revelation of Jesus Christ by Eugenio Corsini, p. 103)

Blessed Anne: "I saw a man on a white horse."

This quote from Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich's private revelations basically supports my interpretation of The White Horse and Rider of Revelation (First Seal).

"When the Church had been for the most part de- stroyed, and when only the sanctuary and altar were still standing, I saw the wreckers enter the Church with the Beast. There, they met a Woman of noble carriage who seemed to be with child be- cause she walked slowly. At this sight, the enemies were terrorized, and the Beast could not take but another step forward. It projected its neck towards the Woman as if to devour her, but the Woman turned about and bowed down (towards the Altar), her head touching the ground. Thereupon, I saw the Beast taking to flight towards the sea again, and the ene- mies were fleeing in the greatest of confusion. Then, I saw in the distance great legions approaching. In the foreground I saw a man on a white horse. Prisoners were set free and joined them. All the enemies were pursued. Then, I saw that the Church was being promptly rebuilt, and she was more magnificent than ever before."