Listen on Apple Podcasts Listen on Spotify Listen on SoundOn
Friday of the Thirty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time Revelation 20:1–4, 11–21:2
Yesterday, we heard about the fall of Babylon.
But evil is not yet fully defeated.
There is still the ancient serpent,
the one who lied in the garden,
the one Jesus calls a murderer
and the father of lies.
He lies about God.
He lies about freedom.
He lies about sin.
He lies about life.
In Revelation,
the serpent becomes the dragon.
He fights against heaven.
He is defeated by Saint Michael and the angels.
Then he turns his anger against the Church.
He uses power,
fear,
and deception.
But the followers of the Lamb
refuse to worship him.
Today Saint John sees an angel come down from heaven.
The angel binds Satan
and throws him into the abyss.
This image tells us:
evil is powerful,
but not almighty.
The devil can rage,
but he is not God.
His time is limited.
His defeat is certain.
The language of Revelation is symbolic.
It is not a timetable.
The Church teaches that the Kingdom of God
will not be built by political power.
The final victory belongs to Christ.
But before that victory,
there will be one last assault by the powers of evil.
Then comes judgment.
Saint John sees a great white throne.
The dead stand before God.
The books are opened.
Every life is brought into truth.
Nothing is hidden.
The victims of history are not forgotten.
The deeds of the wicked are not forgotten.
The faithfulness of the saints
is not forgotten.
There is also the book of life,
with the names of those who belong to the Lamb,
those redeemed by His blood,
those who accepted His Gospel.
Then death itself is judged.
Death is thrown into the lake of fire.
The last enemy is destroyed.
And then Saint John sees
a new heaven
and a new earth.
The holy city,
the new Jerusalem,
comes down from heaven,
prepared like a bride.
This is the hope at the end of the Bible.
Not escape from creation,
but creation made new.
Not death having the last word,
but life.
Not exile,
but home.
We do not know how all this will happen.
We do not know the day or the hour.
But we know this:
God is preparing a new dwelling place,
a new earth
where justice will live.
So today,
let us not believe the serpent’s lies.
Let us not fear the rage of evil.
Let us belong to the Lamb.
Death will fall.
Evil will pass.
And God will make all things new.
Biblical Reflections on the Gospel of Mark
Year of Mark - Get it from Amazon
Scripture Attribution
New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition,
copyright © 1989, 1993
the Division of Christian Education of the National Council
of the Churches of
Christ in the United States of America.
Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Content License
© 2025 Krakus.
Licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0
(Creative Commons Attribution–NonCommercial).