How can we tell whether an image that appears in the final book of Revelation represents Jesus? In the video overview for this lesson, Matthew suggests that the first thing we should consider when we encounter a new image is whether it might be Jesus. In what ways does the image resemble Jesus, and what information about Jesus might the author be emphasizing with the image? It’s also useful to keep in mind that prophecy is fulfilled in more than one way. The things described in the book of Revelation already have happened in the Old Testament and they’ll happen again in a more complete way. They describe the establishment of the Church and also the Final Judgment toward which all of Creation is advancing. The most valuable questions we can ask as we move through the book of Revelation are 1) Who is this section of John’s vision about? and 2) When are these events in the vision?

what’s going on with the angel’s authority?
A tip-off to the identity of the mighty angel described in the tenth chapter in the book of Revelation can be seen in the amount of authority that he wields. To learn more about the word “authority” and how such authority can be understood to relate to Jesus, read Lost in Translation, an online column in which Turning to God’s Word author Matthew Phelps helps readers connect with ideas expressed in the original languages of the Scriptures. New Lost in Translation entries are posted on Mondays, and past entries are archived on our website. Contact us if you’d like to receive Lost in Translation by email every week.

Q&A—there’s a lot of blood in heaven
A participant has asked the following question pertaining to the large amounts of blood that appears to be present in heaven.

Q: Where is the blood coming from that rains down on the earth with fire and hail when the angel in heaven blows the first trumpet in the book of Revelation 8:7?

A: This is a great question, and one that didn’t come up in any of our pilot studies. No one can offer a definitive answer to where the blood is coming from, but there are a couple of ways to look at the image that make sense. What doesn’t make much sense is the idea of any ongoing slaughter occurring in heaven. The only place we’ve seen any evidence of blood in heaven is perhaps the Lamb standing as though slain, who appears in the book of Revelation 5:6. At that point, however, Scripture makes no mention of the Lamb’s blood. It’s first mentioned later in the book of Revelation 7:14, when an elder explains how the great multitude wearing white robes and holding palm branches arrived in heaven: “These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.” That passage strongly suggests that this washing occurred during the tribulation. It’s almost a certainty that such a tribulation happened on the earth prior to the multitude gaining admittance into heaven.

another mysterious appearance of blood in the Bible
A more satisfactory answer perhaps is one that relies on maintaining a sense of the awesome power of God to act in supernatural ways—a clear theme throughout the book of Revelation. There’s a strong connection between the various actions that occur on earth as a result of the events taking place in heaven, and the Old Testament plagues against Egypt that also occur at God’s bidding. Just as it’s uncertain where the blood comes from in the book of Exodus 7:14–21 when God turns the waters in Egypt to blood, it’s unclear how God manages to mix blood into the fire and hail raining down on the earth in the book of Revelation 8:7. In both cases, the blood is present to serve a special purpose in a supernatural event orchestrated by God. Where precisely it comes from isn’t exactly the point. It’s blood, and it’s coming to earth because God has ordained that to happen. It may be more to the point to ask what purpose God has in using blood to get our attention in this fashion. (As an aside, the timing of the two events—the waters turned to blood in the first plague against Egypt, and then blood raining down on the earth when the first trumpet is blown in heaven—also may be significant.)

what does blood symbolize?
It’s easy for us to associate blood with the idea of death and destruction, but in the Old Testament it’s associated with God’s absolute authority over life.

?  What Old Testament passages point to God’s firm control over all life?
?  How is blood used in the New Testament to symbolize life?
?  Consider how viewing blood as something associated with life instead of as an indicator of death might change how the blood that rains down from heaven is viewed.

an interesting temporal situation
“God Rested on the Seventh Day” on page 67 of The Revelation of Jesus Christ: The Faithful Witness contains important information about the temporal situation in this final book of the New Testament. “Three Realms Begin to Merge” on the same page addresses the spatial situation.

WHAT DO YOU THINK about the author as a participant in the action?
As we move forward in our Bible study, pay special attention to how the author’s role changes. Early in the book of Revelation, John was charged with taking dictation for letters to be sent to the seven churches. Since then he’s apparently continued to write what he sees. In this section of the book of Revelation, John moves from being an observer to being a participant in what’s occurring in his vision. The practical application for Christians is that, like the author of the book of Revelation, we’re intended to change as a result of absorbing Scripture. The word of God is intended to transform us, but we don’t get to decide when the change will happen. The best we can do is work to understand what God is saying to us and pray for a transformation in our own lives.

?  Now in the tenth chapter in the book of Revelation, John is instructed not to write what he hears the seven thunders saying. What might explain why this information isn’t to be recorded?
?  What’s John told to do instead of write?
?  No longer a scribe merely recording the events unfolding in front of him, the author now becomes a participant in what’s happening in heaven. What’s his new role?
?  Why is John’s new role important?
?  What indicates that the author of the book of Revelation expects his audience to identify with him?
?  Why might God want men and women to acts as participants rather than observers of what’s happening leading to Final Judgment?
?  What might be the significance of this change in the author’s role in the book of Revelation occurring before the blowing of the seventh trumpet?

the best Catholic commentary about Scripture
To find out more about how Church teaching is supported by Scripture passages in The Revelation of Jesus Christ: The Faithful Witness, check out the Index of Citations in the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Links (Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition [RSVCE*]) to the primary Scripture passages in the lesson and relevant paragraphs in the Catechism are provided here. Not every passage in the biblical text for this Catholic Bible study is referenced in a Catechism paragraph, however, including the passage in this lesson from the book of Revelation 10:1–11.

ways our glossary might prove helpful
In addition to providing extra information about geographical locations, our glossary also points out persons and places mentioned in the biblical text under multiple names or spellings. If you can remember a name but aren’t sure in which lesson it shows up, you can find it in the glossary, which lists every proper noun in the primary biblical text for The Revelation of Jesus Christ: The Faithful Witness.

to learn more, read more Scripture
If you’re having difficulty with a passage of Scripture, it can be helpful to read the cross references pertaining to it—but looking these up can take time. To make that easier, we’ve compiled the cross references from the Revised Standard Version Second Catholic Edition (RSV2CE)—the translation that we reprint in our study books. That list can be found at the top of every online study page, and it includes links to cross references in the primary biblical text for The Revelation of Jesus Christ: The Faithful Witness.

review previous lessons
As we progress through the book of Revelation, the images become more complex, increasing the potential for confusion. To help participants in our study keep track of what’s happening in the Scripture, we’ve prepared a chapter-by-chapter review of key events and images in the book of Revelation. A link can be found at the top of every online study page that accompanies The Revelation of Jesus Christ: The Faithful Witness.

don’t forget about our indexes & extra online material
If you’re trying to locate information about a specific Scripture passage, you can look it up in the index at the back of the study book or sample lesson. If you want to find a particular commentary, you can look up its title in the topics index. To learn more about another book of the Bible for which there’s a Turning to God’s Word study, visit the online study directories to read the commentaries and watch any accompanying videos. Finally, if you have a question or would like to make a comment about any of our studies, you can use one of the “ask us your question” or “what do you think” buttons to email our authors.

ex libris—Church documents & books about religious topics
You can find links to magisterial documents referred to in Turning to God’s Word Catholic Bible studies at ex libris—magisterial documents. This page includes a listing of significant recent encyclicals as well as a number of historical Church documents. Recommended books related to Scripture study can be found at ex libris—main bookshelf.

wondering how to pronounce some of these words?
The following link is to a reading from the New International Version (NIV) Bible. To listen, click on the audio icon above the printed text. Although not taken from the translations used in our study materials, the NIV reading provides an audio guide to pronunciation of words in this lesson’s primary biblical text. A close online version of the translation of the Bible used in Catholic liturgy in the United States as well as an audio guide for daily Mass readings for the current month can be found on the website of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB).

the book of Revelation 10:1–11 (NIV)

close with Bible-based prayer related to this lesson
Many of our Catholic study groups like to conclude their discussions with a prayer based on the scriptural focus of their lesson, and some participants include Scripture-specific prayer in their individual study. If you’re uncomfortable composing your own Bible-based prayers, you can follow our four easy steps. If you prefer, you can use the following short prayer based on this lesson’s text from the book of Revelation.

O God of heaven,
you urge us to overcome our fear of just retribution,
to repent of our sins,
and to amend our lives.
Help us to trust in your mercy and love 
that we may remain firm in our desire to do your will.
We ask this through our devotion to your Son, Jesus Christ,
in whose name we pray. Amen.

Lesson 12 I Will Grant My Two Witnesses Power, the book of Revelation 11:1–19
Lesson 10 So the Four Angels Were Released, the book of Revelation 9:1–21

you also may like our study of the Gospel According to John
The Gospel According to John: An Encounter with Grace & Truth, a 25-lesson Catholic Bible study with an imprimatur, examines the Fourth Gospel’s view of Jesus Christ as the Son of God, with special emphasis on the institution of the sacraments of the Church as the means by which Christians are purified and made holy. This recently revised study includes maps and additional commentary, and takes a closer look at the way in which Jesus relates to individual men and women. Click on the book’s cover to view a sample lesson.

start a Turning to God’s Word Bible study
Thank you for your interest in The Revelation of Jesus Christ: The Faithful Witness. Information about beginning a Turning to God’s Word Bible study can be found at start a Bible study. Tami, Matthew, and I are available to answer questions and offer support. Contact us if you’d like to start one of our studies or have your schedule listed with other TtGW study groups on our website. —Jennifer

*There are seven deuterocanonical books in the Old Testament—the Books of Tobit, Judith, Wisdom, Sirach, Baruch, and First and Second Maccabees, as well as some passages in the Books of Esther and Daniel. Protestants usually refer to these works as “apocryphal,” a word that means “outside the (Protestant) canon” because they’re excluded from most Protestant Bibles. The word “deuterocanonical” means “second canon”; Catholics use that word to refer to any section of the Catholic Old Testament for which there are no extant, or existing, Hebrew manuscripts. All of the deuterocanonical books appear in the Septuagint, the earliest remaining versions of which date to the 1st century B.C. This Greek translation of the Old Testament was in common use by Jews at the time of Jesus—but the same books aren’t found in existing Hebrew manuscripts, which aren’t as old as the oldest version of the Septuagint. Learn more by reading How Do Catholic & Protestant Bibles Differ?

Turning to God’s Word printed Bible studies use the 2006 Revised Standard Version Second Catholic Edition (RSV2CE) translation for all Scripture references except those to the Psalms, which are taken from The Abbey Psalms and Canticles, prepared by the Benedictine monks of Conception Abbey and published in 2020 by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). All Scripture links for the online pages of The Revelation of Jesus Christ: The Faithful Witness are to the 1966 Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (RSVCE) translation. The New International Version (NIV) audio recordings follow the same chapter and verse numbering as the RSV Catholic translations, but the NIV translation doesn’t include the deuterocanonical books and passages.

The 1966 RSVCE uses archaic pronouns and verb forms such as “thee,” “thou,” “didst” in the Psalms and in direct quotations attributed to God. The 2006 RSV2CE replaces those with more accessible English. The few significant translation changes in the RSV2CE include rendering almah as “virgin” in the Book of Isaiah 7:14 and restoring the term “begotten” in the Gospel According to John 3:16.

Numbering varies for some passages in this Bible study. Turning to God’s Word studies (print and digital) follow the numbering in the Revised Standard Version Catholic translations (RSV2CE and RSVCE). Discrepancies in the New American Bible Revised Edition (NABRE) are noted in the Index of Scripture Citations in the study book and the online sample.

You can learn more about the Psalms by viewing a sample lesson from the Turning to God’s Word Catholic Bible study Sing a New Psalm: Communicating with God Through the Prayers of the Church—Volume I: Lauds & Vespers. The second part of that study, Sing a New Psalm: Communicating with God Through the Prayers of the Church—Volume II: Vigils, Day Prayer & Compline, is scheduled for publication in 2025. Some verse numbers may vary in different translations of the Psalms.