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Giving the wrong impression
Your few words about The Apocalypse in the November edition could so easily give readers the wrong impression* about the book. The implication might have been given that only the seven letters are important and that we can ignore the "dramatic symbolic language" that follows.

The "dramatic symbolic language" of The Apocalypse highlights what is a feature of the entire New Testament. These books are first century writings and even when the meaning might seem clear and obvious to us at first glance, much work is necessary if we are to really understand them. That is true of the Gospels just as much as of The Apocalypse, even though more work may be needed for the latter.

The Apocalypse highlights another feature of the New Testament: the inspiration for much of the book comes from reflections on the Old Testament. If we really knew the Old Testament well, then we would be much better equipped for reading the New Testament as a whole and The Apocalypse in particular. (I might add that The Apocalypse often explains its symbols — the seven candlesticks are the seven churches in chapter 1 for example.)

As the last book in the New Testament and the Bible as a whole. The Apocalypse is by its own description, Prophecy, pointing to the Second Coming of Christ: Come, Lord Jesus. In the same way the prophets are placed at the end of our Christian Old Testament because they pointed to the first coming of Christ. Prophecy in the Bible though is about the present time as much as the future, it is a call to live faithfully for God here and now. The letters to the seven Churches in the Apocalypse detailing the situations of the seven Churches (and seven as a number means wholeness so the message is for the whole Church) introduce the visions that follow and are the anchor for them. These visions which come to a climax with the heavenly Jerusalem gave encouragement and hope to the Church in difficult times. Just like our own age, in fact.
Patrick Fitzgerald Lombard O. Carm
Blackpool

*ED: We are grateful for Fr Patrick’s scholarly observations. We would like to hear from any of our readers who were indeed given a false impression by our introduction to the pilgrimage account on pages 6 & 7 of the November Voice.