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The Book of Revelations in the Coptic Church

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Mina Morkous Morkous 1
Mr. Donald Delo
AP English Language and Composition
February 21, 2013 The Coptic Orthodox Church’s Interpretation of the Signs in The Book of Revelations * The biggest question man asks is: “Where am I going in the after life?” From a Christian perspective, they wish to be saved in the Second Coming in order to reach the Kingdom of Heaven. This can be traced back to the Book of Revelation written by John the Beloved, a disciple of Jesus Christ. According to many Christian dogmas, The Book of Revelation is regarded as an interesting, complex, and a controversial book. Through this book, the reader sees a joyous picture; an open gate in heaven. Revelation means revealing the divine mysteries to mankind. It is a very difficult, symbolic book to understand. It is the only prophetic book of
the New Testament, which holds facts beyond human understanding. The book’s use of numbers, symbols, colors, and similes resulted in a unique interpretation from the Coptic Orthodox Church. 0 In the beginning of the book, John explains that his days are near. He visions a shining Jesus, surrounded by seven stars and seven golden lamp-stands. In 2:1–3:22, John is given orders to deliver a message to each of the churches, addressing specific strengths and failings of each church, providing encouragement to some and driving others to repent before Judgment Day. God holds a scroll sealed with seven seals, and nobody is worthy of breaking the seals except Jesus. The second half of Revelation begins with the opening of God’s sanctuary in heaven. A false prophet, “the Anti-Christ,” arises and convinces people to worship him. (13:11). The prophet sees Jesus and his 144,000 righteous followers on Mount Zion in Jerusalem. Seven angels then empty seven bowls of plagues across the Earth, bringing suffering and destruction to the wicked. John is then shown a vision of the Whore of Babylon, who symbolizes the Roman Empire. God warns his faithful to abandon Rome, or else they be punished together with the wicked. In the final battle, Jesus leads the hosts of heaven in a war against the beast and they prevail. On Judgment Day, everyone is resurrected and judged according to their works and God will reward the righteous and punish the wicked. Although the complete explanation of the 7 seals is beyond human ability, the Coptic Orthodox Church provides a detailed explanation. According to Dr. William A. Hanna, a Coptic Orthodox deacon: “The Seven seals are symbolic of seven periods covering the time from Jesus’ resurrection and ascension to the time he comes back in his second coming to judge the living and the dead according to his deeds.” (Hanna 6). The First Seal describes a white horse and how the Lord will ride in it victoriously. Many theologians believe that the first seal was opened when Jesus Christ ascended to heaven after his resurrection. The Second Seal dated from 35-301 AD and was labeled by The Red Horse, which symbolized the age of martyrs. Red represents blood, in which martyrs are people who shed their blood for Christ. The Coptic Calendar is marked by the beginning of the rule of the Roman Emperor Diocletian who reigned on Sept. 11, 281. This was a difficult time for the Coptic people because Diocletian savagely created a Christian genocide. According to Dr. Ayad: “He declared that he will kill and torture until
the blood of the Christians reaches the belies of his soldier's horses.” (Ayad 8) The Third Seal represents The Black Horse or the Age of Heresies that lasted from 301-650 AD. There were many arguments about Jesus’ nature; whether if he was God or he was the Son of God. This altercation split the Orthodox Church into the Eastern and Oriental Orthodox Churches. The Fourth Seal lasted from 650-1600 AD and it was The Pale Horse, which represented The Age of Spiritual Death. In the middle of the 7th century, Egypt population was 100% Christian. However, Islam spread through Egypt by the power of the sword, which stagnated Egypt’s Christian population. Not only that, there was corruption in the Catholic Church because of the indulgences, which led to the revolt of Martin Luther (Protestantism). The Fifth Seal lasted from 1600-1900 AD, which signified The Renaissance. Man was starting to learn how to live in harmony with others accepting different beliefs, different rules, and styles, which was completely against the Coptic Orthodox Church. The Sixth Seal is from 1900-present. In this century, man was been through 2 World Wars, which resulted in 100 million deaths, atomic energy, chemical and biological weapons, and other weapons of mass destruction. These represent locus and scorpions, in which represented war and evil. The 7th Seal is in the future. The future can be any moment, a week, next month, or years to come. After the Seals, God then warned about the four trumpets that will cause destruction. The first trumpet says that hail and fire mingled with blood, and are to be thrown to the earth; and a third of the trees are going to be burned up, and all green grass are going to be burned up. (Malaty 117) The second trumpet says that the mountain will be burned and thrown into the sea and 1/3 of the sea creatures all perished. The third trumpet says that a star will fall from heaven and it fell on a 1/3 of the rivers and seas. The seas and rivers turned into wormwood, in which those who drink from it will die from bitterness. The fourth trumpet then sounded and a 1/3 of the sun and moon were struck. Therefore, the earth will be in utter darkness. These signs give the signal for the Antichrist to come and deceive the people. The Antichrist will create war between humans, in which nation will turn against nation. However, those who believe in God in the end will be saved and will enter the paradise. Humans are hesitant about the afterlife. The Christians have the Book of Revelation, which is the most difficult book to be understood. Coptic Orthodox Theologians have tried as much to clarify the similes, signs, and numbers expressed in this book. Although many Christian sects have their interpretations, the Coptic Orthodox Church has illuminated the most difficult signs. The Book of Revelations is so scary, that not even man can create and scarier one than this.

Morkous 5
Works Cited
Ayad, Daniel. "Daniel Ayad's Blog on Coptic Orthodoxy." Rev. of The Book of Revelation. Web log post. Daniel Ayads Blog on Coptic Orthodoxy. N.p., 29 May 2010. Web. 17 Feb. 2013.
Hanna, William A. "A Brief Commentary on The Book of Revelation." Http://www.stmary-church.com. St. Mary's Coptic Orthodox Church, 14 July 1994. Web. 13 Feb. 2013.
Malaty, Tadros Y. The Book of Revelation. 1996 (English) ed. Alexandria: St. George's Coptic Orthodox Church, 1996. Print.

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