The Love of God Toward Humanity
Saint John the Evangelist on Patmos — Titian (1490–1576)
“The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show to His servants the things that must soon take place. He made it known by sending His angel to His servant John, who bore witness to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw. Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written in it, for the time is near.”
(Apocalypse of Jesus, according to John,1:1-3)
As I said in my previous article, let’s begin by entering into a study about the Love of God and see Its presence, especially, in the Apocalypse of Jesus. Yes! It’s not from John, the Evangelist and Prophet, although without him we wouldn’t be talking about it, but — as Brother Paiva Netto explains (the main author that we will reference to discuss the Book of Revelation) —, usually we confuse the authorship of it with the Evangelists just like in the Gospels. They are both from Jesus Christ. If not, we would have to change the authorship of the quotes of other thinkers, like Socrates, he wasn’t t the one who wrote, it was Plato. The Evangelists were the narrators of the life of Jesus and also the scribes of His speech.
You may ask yourself: “Alright! What does that have to do with the Apocalypse, wasn’t it a vision or a dream?”
True, but it doesn't deny the authorship of Jesus. Aren’t all the narrators and scribes writers from a vision they are witnessing? Either something that is happening right in front of them or a dream they witness and want to share? I’m not here stating that the Apocalypse is a dream of John, it isn’t and we can delve deeper into that in the upcoming articles. What I want to focus here is on the fact that the Last Book of the Holy Bible is of Jesus. And the evidence is right in front of us: “The Revelation of Jesus Christ” (1:1).
Now, here is the connection with the title, it’s a message that He received from God: “which God gave Him to show to His servants the things that must soon take place” (1:1). But how to explain that this comes from God’s Love towards humanity? That, I’ll let for Brother Paiva Netto to explain in his ebook Hope Never Dies (2021):
Beacon of Hope to Humankind
(...) Focusing our attention particularly on the Last Book of the Holy Bible, I would like to ask: What is its great message? Without prior knowledge, many would hastily reply: “It is a message of terror!” However, its main assertion is Hope! The Apocalypse is a friendly letter from the Supreme Ruler of planet Earth, Jesus, to all, warning us about the dangers and the traps along the way peoples have stubbornly trodden, as well as the consequences of our actions. Therefore, it also provides the mechanisms for full remission based on the Good Deeds we practice, inspired by the most important news of all times:
12 Jesus repeated: Behold, I am returning soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to each person according to what they have done.
13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the Beginning and the End.
14 Blessed are those who wash their robes in the blood of the Lamb of God, that they may have the right to the Tree of Eternal Life and may go through the gates into the city.
(The Apocalypse 22:12-14)
In As Profecias sem Mistério [The Prophecies Without Mystery] (1998), I wrote:
The Apocalypse does not close the salvation door to anyone. Karma is not more powerful than true Love and Faith, for at the right time they may change karma, since it implies cause and effect. Well, after the cause is changed, the effect is corrected. Nothing more, nothing less. The Book of Final Prophecies simply gives a warning, through eloquent prophetic language, about the ethical and spiritual clothing human beings are not supposed to wear so as to avoid harmful results.
May we start reading the Apocalypse of Jesus as a Friend’s Letter to all of us, without distinction and judgment, but in Spirit and Truth, under the light of the New Commandment of Christ (John, 13:34 and 35).
