The Final Defeat of Evil and the Dawn of the New Creation
November 29, 2024 - Friday of the Thirty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time
Revelation 20:1-4, 11—21:2
The fall of Babylon that we heard about yesterday does not end the ongoing battle against evil. The Lord still has to deal with the ancient serpent, who first appears in the Book of Genesis, leading humanity away from obedience to God's command (see Gen. 3). In the Gospel of John, Jesus calls the devil a murderer and a liar. The New International Version of the Bible renders Jesus' words in an impactful way: "When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies" (John 8:44). Lying is the native language of the ancient serpent. He lied to Eve, and he continues to lie to all of us. Now, the time has come to deal with this father of lies.
In the Book of Revelation, the ancient serpent appears in chapter 12, attempting a coup in the heavenly realm. Fortunately, he is defeated by God's angelic forces under the command of Saint Michael. He falls from heaven to earth and directs his anger against the Church. With the help of two beasts (see chapter 13), through lies and deceit, he gains control over the world, but the followers of Jesus refuse to submit to him. This infuriates him, and he makes it his aim to wipe them from the earth.
The binding of Satan reminds me of Jesus' parable about the binding of "a strong man": "No one can enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods unless he first binds the strong man" (Mark 3:27). In a dramatic scene, John lets us see an angel coming from heaven, binding the devil "for a thousand years" and throwing him into the abyss (see Rev. 20:1-3). The mention of "a thousand years" has created, and still creates, much speculation and various misinterpretations. The fact that Satan will be released after "a thousand years" to stage an attack on God's people makes the interpretation even more complicated.
The apocalyptic language of John should never be taken literally, and even when applying symbolic interpretation, we must be very careful. The Church has rejected interpretations that view this passage as the establishment of Christ's kingdom on earth for a literal thousand years. It also rejects any political interpretation that sees this as a realization of God's kingdom in human history (see CCC, 675-676). What the Church upholds is the truth that "the triumph of Christ's kingdom will not come about without one last assault by the powers of evil" (CCC, 680).
In the Book of Revelation, the final defeat of Satan and the two beasts that served him is followed by the last judgment. All the dead stand before the throne, and the judgment is based on the records written in scrolls, which contain a divine account of their deeds. There is also another scroll, called "the book of life," which contains the names of those who were ransomed, chosen, and accepted the Gospel of Christ (see Rev. 5:9; 13:8). Finally, both death and the realm of Death (Hades) are dealt with. Now, everything is ready for the revelation of "a new heaven and a new earth" and the coming down from heaven of "the holy city, a new Jerusalem" (Rev. 21:1-2).
Although "we do not know the time for the consummation of the earth and of humanity, nor do we know how all things will be transformed," John's vision of a creation restored to its original state gives us the assurance that "God is preparing a new dwelling place and a new earth where justice will abide, and whose blessedness will answer and surpass all the longings for peace which spring up in the human heart" (Gaudium et Spes, 39).