book of Revelation 7:1–17 Catholic Bible study lesson 8

The Revelation of Jesus Christ:
The Faithful Witness

Lesson 8 Salvation Belongs to Our God
the book of Revelation 7:1–17

Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (RSVCE)*
New American Bible Revised Edition (NABRE)*
Catechism of the Catholic Church
ex libris (in our library)
glossary for the book of Revelation
cross references in the book of Revelation
chapter-by-chapter review
next lesson: Silence in Heaven

This material coordinates with Lesson 8 on pages 48–53 in The Revelation of Jesus Christ: The Faithful Witness.

“Great and wonderful are your deeds, O Lord God the Almighty! Just and true are your ways,
O King of the ages! Who shall not fear and glorify your name, O Lord? For you alone are holy.
All nations shall come and worship you, for your judgments have been revealed.”
—the book of Revelation 15:3–4

welcome to our in-depth study of the book of Revelation
We invite interested groups and individuals to check out the sample first lesson and video from this 23-lesson Turning to God’s Word Catholic Bible study. Our online pages link to the free lesson videos, a glossary, cross references in the biblical text, and a chapter-by-chapter review page—and they include as well illustrations, maps, additional commentary, and prayers based on the primary Scripture in each lesson. The Revelation of Jesus Christ: The Faithful Witness has been granted an imprimatur. It may be purchased from our website shop. If you have a Bible-study question or comment, click on the “ask us your question” or “what do you think” button on any study page.

open with prayer
It’s always wise to begin any Bible study with prayer, whether reading the Scriptures alone or meeting with others in a discussion study group. You can pray using your own words or use one of the opening prayers on our website. We especially like the following:

Lord Jesus, you promised to send your Holy Spirit
to teach us all things.
As we read and study your word today,
allow it to touch our hearts and change our lives. Amen.

let’s review—the book of Revelation 6:1–17
In Lesson 7 And Behold, a White Horse, John observes the Lamb beginning to open the seals on the scroll, the first four of which unleash four horsemen. The rider on the first horse has a bow, a crown, and is going out to conquer. The second rider has a sword to take peace from the earth. The third rider has a balance and his mission is to destroy the earth’s economic system. The fourth rider is Death, who with Hades has power to kill with sword, famine, and pestilence. When the Lamb opens the fifth seal an altar is seen with souls under it of people who have been slain for bearing witness to the word of God. Opening the sixth seal unleashes an earthquake, the sun becomes black, the moon becomes like blood, and stars fall to the earth.

a delay in the action
Just when we expect to learn what’s going to happen when the seventh seal on the scroll is opened, things grind to a halt while heaven pauses to praise God and the Lamb. What’s the mood of the people on earth who are described in the seventh chapter in the book of Revelation? Is this what’s to be expected after the previous chapter? What might be the main point of this portion of John’s apocalyptic vision? Consider whether his vision resembles the apocalyptic visions of the prophets or any events described in the Old Testament. Click on the image (far right) to enlarge Turning to God’s Word co-founder Tami Palladino’s illustration, which is on page 49 of The Revelation of Jesus Christ: The Faithful Witness. The map locating the seven early churches that receive dictated letters from Jesus is on page 51 and elsewhere in the study book; it can be enlarged by clicking on it.

who inherits the promise of God? (41:47)
In the seventh chapter in the book of Revelation is difficult even for people familiar with how the Old Covenant relates to Church teaching, and it’s frequently misinterpreted. A pause occurs at this point in the opening of the seals; what’s happening now differs from what’s been happening. The first six seals dealt with fixing things incompatible with God coming to earth, and this necessarily included destruction involving many people. Now the people who aren’t incompatible with God are being addressed, so no seals on the scroll are involved. In the video for this lesson, Turning to God’s Word author Matthew Phelps explains the key difference between the 144,000 who still need to be marked with the seal of God, and the great multitude standing before the throne of God. In context, it’s clear that the 144,000 (seen as a symbolic rather than an actual number) are located on earth—otherwise there would be no need to mark them to ensure that they aren’t harmed in the cataclysmic turmoil unleashed when the final seal on the scroll is opened. Because the great multitude are standing before the throne of God, it’s equally clear that these souls already are in heaven and so don’t need to be marked.

The Scripture ranges for the videos that accompany this Catholic Bible study match the Scripture ranges for the sets of questions in The Revelation of Jesus Christ: The Faithful Witness. You can follow along with the video overview as Turning to God’s Word author Matthew Phelps discusses Lesson 8, “Salvation Belongs to Our God,” on pages 48–53 in the study book.

what about the blood?
An intriguing image introduced in the seventh chapter in the book of Revelation is the idea of robes washed white in the blood of the Lamb. Anyone who’s ever done any laundry can immediately spot the problem with this image. Blood stains are among the most difficult of all to remove from fabric. Washing robes in blood for the purpose of making them white is counterintuitive. As with many images in the book of Revelation, on the face of it, this one doesn’t make any sense. And, as with other images in the book of Revelation, an intriguing explanation awaits those who look below the surface.

WHAT DO YOU THINK about blood as it’s used in Scripture?
The key to beginning to understand how blood can cleanse the robes of the great multitude in heavencan be traced to the Old Testament understanding of blood—and most especially the role of blood in Old Testament liturgical practices. Readers unfamiliar with this understanding about blood may want to review the ninth chapter in the Letter to the Hebrews and Lesson 10 Mediator of a New Covenant in The Turning to God’s Word Catholic Bible study The Letter to the Hebrews: An Explanation of the Mechanism of Our Salvation.

? What are some of the most famous examples of blood appearing in the Old Testament?
? How does blood figure into other books of the New Testament?
? Under what circumstances has blood appeared so far in our study of the book of Revelation?
? Are there any other biblical images that regularly appear with the image of blood in the book of Revelation?
? What might explain why God chooses to use blood to indicate cleansing and purification?
? What support can be found in Scripture for this idea?
? Consider how the blood of Jesus brings about the possibility of salvation for Christians.

don’t get bogged down by the tribes
Some readers not familiar with the 12 tribes of Israel are getting bogged down in the listing in the book of Revelation 7:4–8. It’s always tempting to try to slide over these long lists of names in the Bible. The same way that differences matter in the genealogies in the Gospel According to Matthew and the Gospel According to Luke, so the way that this listing in the book of Revelation differs from other listings of the 12 tribes provides clues about what the author of the book of Revelation considers to be important. (To learn more about some significant details in the Gospel genealogies, watch our video about The Bible as the Living Word of God, which also examines the principles of lectio divina, the ancient and traditional Catholic approach to reading and praying with Scripture.)

what do we already know about these 12 tribes?
The key thing to notice is that the list in the book of Revelation is unlike any other listing of the 12 tribes in Scripture. All of the biblical lists are based on the original 12 sons of Israel, although various changes occur here and there in the Old Testament. Joseph almost immediately drops out and is replaced by his sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, who usually are referred to as half-tribes to maintain 12 as the number of tribes. Still later, when the Israelites settle in the Promised Land after a long sojourn in Egypt, the Levites become priests and don’t inherit territory the same way as the other 10 tribes and two half-tribes, so they also usually drop out of listings of the 12 tribes—and Ephraim and Manasseh start to be called tribes instead of half-tribes, again to maintain 12 as the total number of tribes. Until the book of Revelation, biblical listings of the 12 tribes usually were listed as:

the original 12 sons of Jacob.
the original 12 sons of Jacob minus Joseph but including Joseph’s two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh—also called half-tribes so the math consistently adds to 12.
the original 12 sons of Jacob minus Joseph but including Ephraim and Manasseh while eliminating Levi. (Members of the Levitical priesthood didn’t inherit tribal territory in the Promised Land, and at the point in time where the Levites drop from the list, Ephraim and Manasseh apparently start to be considered full tribes for the sake of maintaining the math.)

why is the listing of the tribes so different in the book of Revelation?
What’s unusual in the book of Revelation is that description of the 12 tribes doesn’t match any of these somewhat logical biblical lists. Although the author claims to include “every tribe,” that doesn’t appear to be the case. The list in the book of Revelation includes Joseph and one but not both of his sons. It also includes Levi, but another of the original 12 sons of Jacob is left out. Any way you look at it, the book of Revelation presents an odd list, further complicated because it leads off with Judah, who isn’t the eldest of the 12 sons. The preeminence of Judah is easily explained, since that’s the tribe into which Jesus is born. It takes a little more detective work to chase down why Dan and Ephraim intentionally are omitted from the 144,000 in the book of Revelation. You can find one plausible explanation in “Every Tribe of the Sons of Israel” on page 52 of The Revelation of Jesus Christ: The Faithful Witness.

Q&A—who are these 144,000?
A leader in one of the groups studying The Revelation of Jesus Christ: The Faithful Witness has asked for clarification about the 144,000 described in the book of Revelation 7:4–8.

Q: The idea of there being a way into heaven that doesn’t include Jesus Christ disturbs me. Does your interpretation of Scripture that views the 144,000 being marked with the seal of God as practitioners of Judaism mean that Jews are going to see salvation despite not accepting Jesus?

A: Not exactly. The 144,00 mentioned in the book of Revelation can be understood to be the literal descendants of Jacob (Israel). It’s also possible, however, to look at the symbolic meaning of the author’s use of numbers—as well as at New Testament teaching—and see these 144,000 as representative of all those God considers members of his family—essentially anyone God wishes to include who hasn’t come in through the Christian sacrament of Baptism.

In the Old Testament, the tribes of Israel also are referred to as children of God. The book of Genesis indicates that Jacob is the grandson of Abraham, with whom God entered into covenant. The Jews at the time of Jesus were extremely proud of being able to trace their lineage to Abraham and thereby to claim relationship with God through God’s promises to their ancestor. The 28-lesson Turning to God’s Word Catholic Bible study In the Beginning: The Book of Genesis, which has been granted an imprimatur, delves more deeply into the significance of God’s covenant with Abraham. You can learn more in Lesson 10 God’s Covenant with Abraham in the Turning to God’s Word Catholic Bible study In the Beginning: The Book of Genesis.

In the Gospel According to Matthew 3:8–9, John the Baptist chastises the Pharisees and Sadducees for their attitude of exclusivity, saying: “Bear fruit that befits repentance, and do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father’; for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham.” John the Baptist’s warning points to our Christian understanding that membership in the family of God isn’t tied to genetics or even to our profession of faith, but rather to each individual’s decision to live in accordance with God’s commandments.

The 144,000 will reappear in the book of Revelation 14:1, and when they do we’ll discuss the makeup of that group again in Lesson 15 On Mount Zion Stood the Lamb. The book of Revelation 14:1 adds the information that when the 144,000 are standing on Mount Zion with the Lamb, they have the name of the Lamb as well as the name of God written on their foreheads. In the book of Revelation 7:4–8, the same group has not yet been marked as servants of God—let alone marked with the name of the Lamb (and there shouldn’t be any doubt that the Lamb is Jesus Christ)—and they are not yet standing on Mount Zion.

read the Catechism—things to remember about God & salvation
The New Covenant that forms the basis of Christianity is founded on the Old Covenant. The underlying spiritual law that governs both is the same: If you sin, you die. This doesn’t change in the New Testament. The sins of humanity continue to deserve death. It is only through the sacrificial death of Jesus, as a human person innocent of all sin who freely offered his life in reparation for the sins of the world, that Christians are able to claim the inheritance of heaven. In the sacrament of Baptism, we enter into death with Jesus and rise to new life in him. The preposition “in” is important. We’re able to enter heaven only in the body of Christ. Paragraph 1257 in the Catechism of the Catholic Church explains something that’s easy for Christians to overlook: Although we’re bound by the sacraments, God isn’t. Paragraph 61 further points to the idea that there are any number of key figures in Old Testament history that the present-day Christian Church honors as saints.

1257 The Lord himself affirms that Baptism is necessary for salvation. He also commands his disciples to proclaim the Gospel to all nations and to baptize them. Baptism is necessary for salvation for those to whom the Gospel has been proclaimed and who have had the possibility of asking for this sacrament. The Church does not know of any means other than Baptism that assures entry into eternal beatitude; this is why she takes care not to neglect the mission she has received from the Lord to see that all who can be baptized are “reborn of water and the Spirit.” God has bound salvation to the sacrament of Baptism, but he himself is not bound by his sacraments. [The italics appear in the Catechism entry.]

61 The patriarchs, prophets and certain other Old Testament figures have been and always will be honored as saints in all the Church’s liturgical traditions.

Q&A—so what does this sentence in the study book mean?
The same leader also has asked for clarification about specific commentary in Lesson 8 in The Revelation of Jesus Christ: The Faithful Witness.

Q: I’m having trouble understanding the final sentence in the commentary box “Who Really Is Saved & How?” on page 52 in Lesson 8 in The Revelation of Jesus Christ: The Faithful Witness. Can you shed some light on how the Old Covenant can be a valid way to enter heaven after Jesus Christ?

A: There isn’t a lot more we can write that isn’t covered in the Catechism references above, but in his First Letter to the Corinthians 2:16 Paul asks: “For who has known the mind of the Lord …?”—a question that emphasizes trying to figure out everything that God has in mind is beyond the scope of human thinking. As Catholics, we’re bound by the sacraments, especially by the sacrament of Baptism, and that’s the only way we know to gain salvation. The Catechism of the Catholic Church points out, however, that God isn’t bound by the same sacraments. We trust that Baptism does indeed bring about the possibility of our salvation. We can’t make a judgment about whether God will or won’t save any particular person or group of people who have no way of learning about Christ but who nevertheless follow God’s commandments—even in ignorance that these are from God. The Church’s teaching about Jesus harrowing hell after his Crucifixion reflects this idea that God can save anyone he wants any time he chooses. In the case of the harrowing of hell, the Church teaches that key figures in the Old Testament who’d displayed extraordinary holiness are saved retroactively by Jesus.

The final sentence of the commentary you cite is: “The distinction between the 144,000 and all others suggests that God seems to have made provisions for men and women to be saved through either the Old or the New Covenant.” We would like to point out our own ignorance here. The use of the word “suggests” in that sentence—and indeed elsewhere in Turning to God’s Word studies—is an indication that we’re well aware that what we’ve written isn’t verifiable truth. Because all of our studies are granted an imprimatur, that means it’s OK for you to agree with our commentary. The imprimatur guarantees that our studies don’t contradict Church teaching about faith and morals. Our studies also aren’t official Church teaching, so it’s equally OK for you to disagree with what we’ve written—with the caveat that it isn’t OK to disagree with Church teaching, which would be heresy. In disagreeing with any interpretation of Scripture, it’s vitally important to avoid ideas that may be heretical. The imprimatur guarantees that you’re not drifting into heretical territory if you decide our commentary about this makes sense. Even if you choose to disagree with us, it remains heretical to disagree with any Church teaching on which we’ve based any of our interpretations.

which interpretation do you prefer?
In addition to the 144,000 servants of God, the book of Revelation 7:9 introduces a great multitude “which no man could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and tongues.” The locations of each of these two groups seems important to the author of the book of Revelation. Keep your eyes peeled for future references to both, and try not to get derailed by linear thinking in regard to either time or space.

? How does your thinking about the 144,000 change depending on whether you look on them as direct descendants of Jacob or as servants of God who’ve been chosen because of their obedience to God’s laws?
? Which interpretation do you think is most compatible with the unusual scriptural listing of the 12 tribes in the book of Revelation?

perhaps the most important point in this chapter
Readers are given a clue about the significance of the great multitude when in the book of Revelation 7:13 one of the elders questions the author John to learn whether John understands their importance. Why might the elder want to validate that John gets what’s happening?

salvation—you could look it up in our archives
Understanding the word “salvation” can be of great help in figuring out what’s going on in this section of the book of Revelation. To learn more about how salvation is linked to safety, read Lost in Translation, an online column in which Turning to God’s Word author Matthew Phelps helps readers connect with ancient ideas expressed in the original 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.

patience is a virtue in Bible study
Beginning about now, images in the book of Revelation and the way they’re being used start to become a lot more challenging. It’s human nature to want to know exactly what the author is writing about and to want to understand everything clearly this very instant. This runs counter to the principles of lectio divina upon which Turning to God’s Word Bible studies are based, however. While it’s perfectly OK to consult outside commentaries and to read ahead in The Revelation of Jesus Christ: The Faithful Witness, make sure that you aren’t doing these things as a substitute for prayer and meditation. In our experience, most deep insights about the meaning of Scripture passages come after deep thought and deep prayer—and almost never immediately or “on demand.” If you’re struggling with a particular image in the book of Revelation, continue to pray for understanding. You might want to table an idea for a few lessons and see how the author of the book of Revelation develops it moving forward, a practice that we’ve found helpful when trying to understand difficult passages in this study.

God speaks to us through our questions
There are inherent dangers in seeking quick and definitive answers to every question. One of the primary ways in which God communicates with us is through Scripture. Other ways are through the sacraments, through prayer, and through interactions with other people and their ideas. The questions that we have when we read a Bible passage tell us what God is interested in talking about with us. If we close off any of the communication channels that we know God uses, or if we accept an unsatisfactory answer—one that doesn’t make sense to us, doesn’t make sense in the context of the rest of Scripture, or is in opposition to the teachings of the Church—we’re denying God the opportunity to share his love for us through the slow and gradual understanding that comes as a result of prayerful meditation. It can help to keep in mind that our faith is mysterious, and while we can gain knowledge and understanding about God, the mystery of God revealed in Scripture isn’t something we can expect to solve the same way that we might figure out clues about a crime in a detective novel.

who’s dead & who’s alive?
“Dead or Alive?” on page 50 of The Revelation of Jesus Christ: The Faithful Witness addresses an issue that becomes much more important as we move forward in this Bible study. The same commentary also offers one possible answer to the question about how it is that some souls have been able to enter heaven and other souls who appeared worthy still are waiting. There are other possibilities, however, if we can accept that the vision described in the book of Revelation occurs outside of time and space. When is it that these souls trapped under the altar are being given white robes? When is it that the great multitude appears before the throne in heaven? It’s at least worth considering that the souls under the altar have been joined by others and all now make up the great multitude.

Q&A—a question about numbers
Another study leader has asked for clarification about why the 144,000 and the great multitude both are interpreted as “too large to count.”

Q: Turning to God’s Word on page 157 [the two-page listing of “Numbers in Revelation”atthe back of The Revelation of Jesus Christ: The Faithful Witness] as well as other resources define the 144,000 as a symbolic number of God’s people too large to count. But the book of Revelation 7:9 describes another group as “a great multitude which no man could number.” I’m curious as to why one group is numbered and the other isn’t if they’re both too large to count.

A: Since the great multitude is defined in Scripture as being too large to number, the problem appears to be with the interpretation of the 144,000 as another number that’s too large to count. The 144,000 is indeed symbolic. The 144 is arrived at by multiplying 12 by 12. The number 12 is significant because it represents both the number of the tribes of Israel and the number of Jesus’ apostles. Then the 144,000 is arrived at by multiplying 144 by 1,000. The 1,000 is significant because it represents an extremely large but imprecise number. In ancient Greek (the original language in which the book of Revelation was written),1,000 is the largest number for which there’s a word—so anything multiplied by 1,000 would be innumerable. What this means is that we can’t accurately number this large group, but its members are defined in the book of Revelation 7:3–4 as “servants of God” who are coming out of “every tribe of the sons of Israel.”

By identifying that group with the number 144,000 the author of the book of Revelation is pointing out that although members of this group have been serving God, they may not beeasily identifiable as God’s people. One plausible reason for this is that they aren’t Christians and haven’t taken the name Jesus Christ. By identifying them with the 12 tribes of Israel, the author is associating them with the people who follow the Old Covenant. Although Christians are able to enter eternal life through the New Covenant, the Old Covenant remains in effect—it’s just much more difficult to live up to its terms. That doesn’t mean, however, that God can’t save anyone he wants, which is the point of Church teaching in paragraph 1257 in the Catechism of the Catholic Church: “God has bound salvation to the sacrament of Baptism, but he himself is not bound by his sacraments.” [The italics appear in the Catechism entry, which is linked here and also reprinted in full above under “Read the Catechism—Things to Remember about God & Salvation.”]

Because they still need to be sealed, at this point in John’s vision, these people still are on earth—and earth still is awaiting more destruction or there would be no need to seal people who might otherwise be mistaken as enemies of God. But as to the precise number in this group, the author of the book of Revelation is using numbers to tell us that’s impossible to know.

Q&A—so what constitutes the great multitude’s washing of their robes?
The same study group had difficulty figuring out what it means that the great multitude has washed their robes in the blood of the Lamb.

Q: In the book of Revelation 7:14, one of the elders explains to John who make up the great multitude now in heaven. What constitutes the washing? Did they die defending their belief in Christ, which would be a literal and obvious concept of picking up our own cross to suffer for Christ. Or are these souls who’ve died to themselves each time they choose to partake in the sacrament of the Eucharist, washing each time with the blood of the Lamb. You wrote on page 34 [“24 Elders with Front-Row Seats in Heaven”] about the elders: “… they are constantly relinquishing their own power in order to worship God.” Would this not pertain to all of us in our attempt in making ourselves compatible with God and consist of us washing our own robes?

A: This question gets to the heart of what it means to be Christian. It matters because we need to know what’s expected of us if we want to avail ourselves of the salvation offered by Jesus. That the great multitude is defined as having washed their robes in the blood of the Lamb clearly identifies them as Christians since the Lamb is one of the many images the author of the book of Revelation uses to represent Jesus. And because Scripture tells us they’re before the throne we know that they’re in heaven. Washing our robes to make them white in the blood of the Lamb obviously is what’s expected, but the question remains: What does John mean to tell us we need to be doing if we want to inherit eternal life?

That this group has made their robes white is significant. White is the color that represents purity, so washing our robes in the blood of the Lamb must symbolize purification. That’s about as much as can be directly interpreted from the biblical text. What kind of purification is going to be required of each individual Christian will vary. Some will be called to shed their blood, but there are other types of acceptable sacrifice. This is clearly seen by the number of canonized saints who were not killed as martyrs; they never the less sacrificed their lives in service to God. This is reflected in the letters of Paul, who repeatedly stresses the necessity of dying to self. The real questions about washing our robes in the blood of the Lamb is this: “What am I doing to die to self, and what else does God expect of me?” Every person will have a different answer, and our answers well might vary over time. As the saying goes, “It ain’t over til it’s over.” We are presented countless opportunities to demonstrate our love for God. It’s important to consider how we’re responding.

Q&A—what & when is the great tribulation?
And finally, the same study group was understandably confused about the great tribulation. Here are their leader’s questions.

Q: You provide lots of commentary on the great tribulation, but this is where we dugourselves deepest into the weeds. What is/was the great tribulation? When is/was it? (We know these are stupid questions in a book that is describing a vision outside of time and space.) So far nothing in the book of Revelation has specifically defined this event, yet here we have a great multitude that have come through it. Was it something that actually happened—the persecution of Christians by the Romans mentioned in “The Great Tribulation” on page 51 of the study book? Is it being alluded to having happened because of the four horsemen and what they were sent out to do? Or is it each one of us living through our own tribulation, battling the forces of sin and evil in our daily life that we commit to continually washing our robes in the blood of the Lamb? I contend that great tribulation is all of these things.

A: Bingo—we have a winner. The great tribulation is repeatedly prophesied in the Old Testament, though not given that label. Because it’s prophecy, it can manifest in multiple ways or be fulfilled in multiple ways. It’s a little too simple if we choose to view it as a single thing that already has happened, or even if we look for signs that it’s a single thing that remains in the future. As we have written in “The Great Tribulation” on page 51 of the study book: “The author of the book of Revelation more likely had in mind an extension of the period after Jesus’ Ascension but before the end of time—the current era of the Church.” This places the great tribulation in our own time, and that’s the manifestation of this prophecy that can have the most immediate impact on our lives—though only if we allow it.

The author of the book of Revelation is just getting warmed up, and we’re only now beginning to wrestle with some of the problems we’ll encounter trying to abandon linear thinking. Expecting the book of Revelation to follow a straightforward chronology will only muddy the waters if we want to know what the author is trying to tell us about God, Jesus, the end of time, and what’s expected of Christians in the here and now. But there’s no doubt that it’s difficult trying to access some of the ideas presented in the author’s vision. We would urge perseverance and patience—and it never hurts to pray and ask for understanding. Many of the things that are difficult to see now will come into better focus as we move forward.

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.

the book of Revelation 7:1–8—paragraph 1138
the book of Revelation 7:2–3—paragraph 1296
the book of Revelation 7:9—paragraphs 775, 1138
the book of Revelation 7:10–12—paragraph 2642

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 7:1–17 (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 blessing, glory, wisdom,
thanksgiving, honor, power, and might—
grant that we may be found worthy to wear white robes
and to worship at your throne in heaven.
We ask this in the name of your Son, Jesus Christ,
the Lamb you sent to shepherd your people. Amen.

Lesson 9 Silence in Heaven, the book of Revelation 8:1–13
Lesson 7 And Behold, a White Horse, the book of Revelation 6:1–17

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Jesus’ Passion: The Story of Redemptive Suffering is a five-lesson Catholic Bible study offering an in-depth look at the biblical foundations of the movie The Passion of the Christ. This revised study, which has been granted an imprimatur, contains all of the original material of the 2004 edition as well as many new features in an improved, reader-friendly format. Click on the book’s cover to view the introduction. Free digital lessons of Jesus’ Passion: The Story of Redemptive Suffering are available on the website during Lent.

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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.