Homilies on the Books of Holy Scripture
The Apocalypse of John
By Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos and Agiou Vlasiou
(Sunday, August 31, 2025)
The Apocalypse of John
By Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos and Agiou Vlasiou
(Sunday, August 31, 2025)
So far, in the sermons for the months of July and August, a brief presentation has been made of the books of the Old and New Testaments, which are called the Holy Scriptures or the Bible, and now reference will be made to the last book of the Holy Scriptures, which is called the Apocalypse of John (or the Book of Revelation), with which the entire Holy Scripture ends. The first book of the Holy Bible, as we have seen, is the book called Genesis, in which the revelation of God to the Prophet Moses is recorded, and He revealed to him how the world and man were created, and how man sinned and left Paradise, and his life was difficult. The last book of the Holy Bible, titled the Apocalypse of John, records the journey of the Church towards the Kingdom of God, towards the end of the world and the beginning of new life, the Heavenly Kingdom. Therefore, we have the beginning and the end of the world, but also the beginning and endless life in the Kingdom of God.
The book is titled “Apocalypse” or "Revelation" because that is what the Evangelist John himself called it, who saw these apocalyptic events. It is characterized as “Revelation” (Rev. 1:1), “words of prophecy” (Rev. 1:3), “words of the prophecy of this book” (Rev. 22:7, 9). At the beginning of the book, he himself gives us both the content of Revelation and the way it was given: “I John, your brother and companion in the tribulation and kingdom and patience in Jesus Christ, was on the island called Patmos for the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ. I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet saying, 'What you see, write in a book and send it to the seven churches'” (Rev. 1:9-11).
This means that Saint John the Theologian saw the Revelation through the Holy Spirit on a Sunday, on Patmos where he was exiled, because he was preaching the word of God and for the testimony he gave about Jesus Christ, and he received a command to write what he saw in a book and send it to the seven Churches of Asia Minor, namely Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea.
The Revelation, as the word indicates, is a revelation of those things that were hidden. It is as if we have some objects covered with a cloth, and when we remove the cloth, then they are revealed-manifested, according to Saint Andrew of Caesarea: “Revelation is the declaration of hidden mysteries.” And he continues that this occurs with the illumination of the hegemonic part of the soul, of the nous, either through divine dreams, or when the person is awake, or by a divine radiance. In this case, the last two apply, that is, Saint John the Theologian was awake and received radiance from God and saw all these events. The interpretation of the Revelation of John is not easy, which is why few Fathers and interpreters have dealt with its interpretation. And this is because they did not want to excite the imagination of Christians about the future, but to catechize them to live according to Christ in their lives, healing their passions, so that, when they meet Christ at His Second Coming, it will become for them a light (Paradise) and not a fire (Hell).
The Fathers selectively used and interpreted some passages of the Sacred Apocalypse, and only three analyzed the book in a very careful and discerning manner, namely Andrew, Archbishop of Caesarea (563-637), Arethas, Archbishop of Caesarea (850-935), and Anthimos, Patriarch of Jerusalem (1717-1808).
The diagram of the Revelation of John is as follows:
In the prologue, the time and place of all that was to be described are set forth, as well as the astonishing vision of the Lord clothed in a long robe, standing in the midst of seven golden lampstands, which are the seven Churches of Asia Minor. This vision is magnificent. Then, in the first part of the book, Saint John the Theologian receives a command from the Lord to send specific messages to the Bishops of these seven Churches, which were mentioned previously. The main part of the book presents heaven, where the throne of God is, the twenty-four elders, the book sealed with seven seals, the Lamb, who is the crucified and resurrected Christ, who is on the throne among the four creatures, who are the Evangelists, during the Heavenly Liturgy.
Then follow the sufferings that come from the opening of the seven seals, the seven trumpets, the persecution of the woman by the dragon, the appearance of the two beasts, the appearance of seven angels. Then, thousands of saints appear standing with the Lamb, the vials are emptied, the fall of Babylon is proclaimed, and the secret marriage and supper of the Lamb appear, the binding of Satan and the new heaven and the new earth, the upper Jerusalem. And the Book of Revelation ends with the affirmation of Christ: “Yes, I am coming quickly” and the answer of John: “Yes, come, Lord Jesus.” And the conclusion is: “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with all the saints. Amen.”
When one carefully reads the Book of Revelation of John the Theologian, one has the feeling that from the beginning the uncreated Temple is presented in the Kingdom of God, where the uncreated Divine Liturgy takes place with the holy Throne, the Lamb of God, the saints and angels praising God, the altar with the souls of the holy martyrs who bore witness to Christ and suffered martyrdom out of love for Him.
At the same time, he sees the people on earth, who follow the Lamb, who have the name of the Lamb and His Father written on their foreheads, who are marching to participate in the secret marriage of the Heavenly Kingdom, in this Heavenly Divine Liturgy in the uncreated heaven. Outside of this triumphal procession that they are already enjoying and are marching in their full participation in the Heavenly Divine Liturgy, there is also the “paraliturgy” of the people who have been sealed with the seal of the beast and are being tortured in various ways.
However, despite the problems created by the “paraliturgy” of the Beast/Antichrist, the Church on earth is marching towards the Heavenly Divine Liturgy. However, all those who participate in this journey have been properly prepared, have acquired the appropriate conditions, and finally participate in the marriage supper of the Lamb in the new Jerusalem, and the devil, the beast and the false prophet are defeated. Then the saints do not see a temple, because the temple is God the Almighty and the Lamb and they will worship Him. What Saint John the Theologian saw was magnificent, he saw the Heavenly Divine Liturgy, and he heard a voice from Jesus Christ that He is the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end, and blessed are those who keep His commandments, for they will have power to eat of the tree of life.
It is characteristic that the first book of Holy Scripture, Genesis, describes how the First-Created ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and here in the last book of Holy Scripture it is presented how the righteous, those who have on their foreheads the name of the Lamb and His Father, will eat from the tree of life, which the First-Created missed the opportunity to eat. Saint John the Theologian saw this Heavenly Church and the Divine Liturgy, as he also saw many people, the members of the Church, marching to participate in this Heavenly Divine Liturgy. At the end of history, the Lamb will defeat the Beast and another history will begin, the history of the Heavenly Divine Liturgy, which will extend throughout the centuries.
This is the desire of Christ’s disciples and believers, which is why churches were designed based on this vision, and even the arrangement of the Divine Liturgy has this perspective. May we move from the fallen life presented by the Old Testament, living with the mysteries and asceticism, as described in the New Testament, to walk and pass into the “lost Paradise,” the Heavenly Divine Liturgy, as presented in the Book of Revelation of John.
Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos.
