The sanctifying grace of Jesus Christ has been gifted to us in the seven sacraments of the Catholic Church. They raise us to supernatural life and enable us to live as a royal priesthood of believers. As Jesus said, where I am going you know the way.
God designed the story of Exodus as a symbolic preview of the Redemption. What if that preview extended to the Apocalypse and the Second Coming of Christ? This is the question posed in this brief inquiry. This book is an inquiry because we do not have a complete answer, and the author seeks to find the truths in Scripture and Tradition that shed light upon this. Exodus does indeed foreshadow the coming of Christ, as written about at length in Burning Bush, Burning Hearts: Exodus as Paradigm of the Gospel. God embedded signs and symbols within Exodus that prefigured the Incarnation, Christ’s sacrifice on the Cross, and the New Covenant.
This book, however, seeks to understand solely the typologies of Exodus that prefigure the time of the Apocalypse. Three possible typologies from Exodus are explored in reference to the Apocalypse—the ten plagues upon Egypt, the two witnesses of Moses and Aaron before Pharaoh, and the Golden Calf incident. These three dramatic events in Exodus find their ultimate fulfillment in the Book of Revelation with the plagues and bowls of wrath, the return of Enoch and the prophet Elijah, and the false image of Antichrist and the Great Apostasy. This highly unique, speculative theological work links the events of Exodus to the Apocalypse and the writings of Moses to St. John the Apostle. Reading this will give you a glimpse into what has been foretold in Scripture concerning the climactic time of the End of the World.
In a posthumous letter revealed recently, the late Pope Benedict XVI lamented and warned that our times are one of ‘the expanding power of Antichrist.’ History will repeat itself again—this time not just upon Egypt in particular, but in this final epoch, it will be visited universally upon the world in whole.
January 6th is the traditional Feast Day of the Epiphany celebrating the nativity of our Lord Jesus Christ, his revelation to the Gentile world (i.e., the three Magi), and the twelve days of Christmas. Technically, the Feast was celebrated this year on Sunday January 3rd in order to foster greater participation, yet the 6th as the traditional and official date remains. Epiphany comes from the Greek epiphaneia meaning manifestation or appearance. The Epiphany, then, is the celebration of the appearance, or the manifestation, of Christ born into the flesh. St. Paul uses the word epiphaneia in regard to the Incarnation: “and now has manifested through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus.” (2 Tim. 1:10) Epiphaneia is also applied several times in reference to the Second Coming of Christ, for example: “And then the lawless one will be revealed, and the Lord Jesus will slay him with the breath of his mouth and destroy him by his appearing and his coming.” (2 Thess. 2:8) Jesus appears in his first epiphaneia in his First Coming in the Incarnation, and will appear again in his second epiphaneia in his Second Coming.
God originally manifests himself in the Old Testament with his appearing, or epiphaneia, at Mount Sinai to establish the Mosaic Covenant with the Israelites. This original manifestation of Yahweh at Mount Sinai is his Theophany to the world. In Exodus, Moses describes the scene at Mount Sinai: “Now the appearance of the glory of the Lord was like a devouring fire on the top of the mountain in the sight of the people of Israel.” (Ex. 24:17) The “appearance” (the Hebrew word umareh) at Mount Sinai can be linked exegetically to the epiphaneia of the Incarnation, and ultimately, to the Second Coming.
Certain despotic rulers have through out history tried to usurp the divine epiphaneia for themselves. The Seleucid king Antiochus IV Epiphanes claimed divinity for himself with the name (Epiphanes) “God Manifest.” He reigned in the second century B.C. and subjected Israel to tyrannical rule. In 167 B.C., he ended the daily whole burnt offering in the Temple, sacrificed a pig on the Temple altar, and erected a statue to the Greek god Zeus. This is considered a fulfillment to the desolating abomination foretold by the prophet Daniel that he “shall take away the continual burnt offering. And they shall set up the abomination that makes desolate.” (Dan. 11:31) Many consider him to be a forerunner and prefigurement to the Antichrist. It was the Maccabean Revolt led by Judah Maccabee who ultimately overthrew the tyrannical king and his forces. A reading of the conclusion of the successful Maccabean Revolt states that they “were greatly gladdened by God’s manifestation.” (2 Macc. 15:27) The Septuagint calls the term “God’s manifestation” by the Greek word, again, epiphaneia. The epiphaneia of God ultimately trumped the false-epiphaneia of a corrupt ruler.
Now, we enter the Epiphany of our Lord Jesus Christ in January 2021. The world, much like at the time of Christ, and at the time of the Maccabees, is in crisis. We are still encumbered under the weight of the Chinese COVID-19 virus and pandemic. The national lockdowns in the United States led to a series of disastrous novelties in the election system, namely, greatly expanded usage of mail-in ballots. These provisions have been severely abused and misused under this pretext by the Democratic Party leadership to fraudulently steal the presidential election by targeting swing states (i.e., PA, GA, WI, MI, AZ, NV, NM). The proof is nearly indisputable now. (See the Georgia State Farm Arena security video for “Exhibit A”). Perhaps Providentially, the contested election is coming to a head on the traditional Feast Day of the Epiphany, January 6th. This is the day specified Constitutionally for the counting of Electoral votes by Congress. The question, then, becomes will the Vice President and Congress accept the fraudulent Biden Electoral votes from the swing states, or will they object to, challenge, and reject them? What, or who, has the Constitutional powers to do so?
There are many more questions than good answers at the moment. No one knows exactly how this will play out on January 6th, or up to, or even through, the Inauguration date of January 20th. One thing that may happen is that it only takes one Representative and one Senator to object to a slate of Electors from a contested state and that will spark a two-hour debate in Congress per each objection. Congress will be allowed to air, presumably, on national television, and over the internet for the whole world to see, all, or at least, some of the evidence of voter fraud perpetrated in this election. This fraud will be shown potentially to the whole world. Or, in other words, there may be an “epiphany” regarding what really happened on November 3, 2020 and beyond. There likely will not be an Epiphany (with a capital “E”) of God made manifest, like at Mount Sinai or in the Incarnation, but there may very well be an epiphany (“a revealing”) of the electoral theft that was perpetrated.
As thousands upon thousands of “Magabees” gather in Washington, D.C. on January 6th, it will become increasingly evident which direction this country’s future is headed. Will the Constitution and the rule of law prevail, or will the stealing of an election and a fraudulent President be allowed to stand? Will it be the Great Awakening or the Great Socialist Reset? Pray. Pray, because this is a both temporal and a spiritual struggle, as St. Paul warned us:
“For we are not contending against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world rulers of this present darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.” (Eph. 6:12)
In humble recognition of the Savior’s Epiphany, pray very much that God will also have mercy upon the United States and that his divine grace will manifest (epiphaneia) among us.
Perpetual Light and The Bread of the Presence:
The Bread of the Presence (“the Showbread”) figures prominently in the Tabernacle. The holy bread is perpetually in the Lord’s presence. It too is a prefigurement to the Eucharist. It consists of 12 loaves of bread in two piles as part of a food offering. It shall be eaten by Aaron and his sons in the sacred space, as a type of prefiguring Communion. Similarly, the light of the golden lampstand must be perpetually lit, reflecting the eternal light. It is to use oil from “crushed olives.” We too are to be crushed, just as Jesus sacrificed Himself in the Garden of Gethsemane among the olive trees, so too, are we to be crushed to ourselves and burn with zeal for the Lord. We are to be lights for the world.
Lex Talionis (“Law of Retaliation”)::
These are the so-called “lex talionis” verses, or “eye for an eye, tooth for tooth!” (Lev. 24:20) Many atheists and critics of the Judeo-Christian worldview use these verses as a criticism of the Bible. However, these verses are not about barbaric literal, corresponding mutilation and revenge. It is about proportionality. It is about limiting revenge and giving matching compensation for an injury or action. There is a lot of latitude for handling judgment and restitution under the Mosaic system. The one exception is murder, where the punishment is likewise the death penalty.
The Sabbatical Year:
Concerning holy years and holy seasons, every 7 years is the Sabbatical Year, that is, the seventh year is to be observed as a Sabbath, on which no agricultural work was to be done. The Israelites were to take a solemn rest from their farming and tilling of the land every seventh year. (Lev. 25:1-7)
The Year of Jubilee:
After every seven cycles of Sabbatical Years, or 49 years, was to be followed by a Jubilee Year, or the 50th year. The same “rest” as the Sabbath was to be observed, but in addition, on the Day of Atonement, the ram’s horn trumpet blast was to be sounded to signal throughout the land that all debts were forgiven and all ancestral land was returned to the proper owner. This was an effective “reset button” or “reboot” for the economy and all impoverished peoples. All debts were forgiven and lands restored. The land belonged to Yahweh, and the Israelites could not do with it what they wanted. God is the real owner of the land. Yahweh renewed the lease of the land to the Israelites every fifty years, but also forgave all debts and gave back property to the rightful owners. Israelites were not to be divided into haves and have-nots forever. The Jubilee Year was meant to enforce this and break any cycle of poverty. This is the land and economy resets. Embedded in this Jubilee Year is the idea of the “kinsman-redeemer.” “The fiftieth year you shall make sacred by proclaiming liberty in the land for all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee for you, when every one of you shall return to his own property, every one to his own family estate.” (Lev. 25:10)
The Messianic Jubilee Liberator:
The Jubilee Year within priestly thought is linked to the Day of Atonement. The reset button of the Jubilee Year is like going back in time to the Garden of Eden. Everything is made right and perfect. Every man now dwells in the land with God, just like in the days of Eden. God again dwells with His people. It is an “Edenic Reset” or Restoration. Eden is back on Earth again. This harmonious idea always lurks in the background of Salvation History. The Jubilee Year abolishes selling land and field and debts. Corruption then is eliminated. Thus, in Leviticus, God proclaims “liberty in the land.” Liberty is given on the Day of Atonement in the Jubilee Year. This is the same day that the Azazel goat carries away the sins of the people. The nation is restored to the Edenic land. In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus quotes Isaiah 61 saying: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed,to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.” (Lk. 4:18-19) Isaiah 61 reads in part: “to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prisonto those who are bound;to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” (Is. 61:1-2) This language of “liberty” hearkens back to Leviticus 25 “proclaiming liberty in the land.” Jesus is the eschatological fulfillment of the “year of the Lord’s favor” or the Jubilee Year of Liberty.
Jesus as the Jubilee Liberator:
What has Jesus the Messiah come to liberate us from? Sin. Satan is the strongman who binds the nations, holds all in bondage and extorts harsh debts upon all mankind. The demonic forces are humanity’s overlords. Jesus declares that He has come to liberate the nations and reclaim them from the demonic fallen angels. Christ announces that the liberation has begun. Now is the acceptable year of the Lord. The Jubilee Reset has begun for the whole world to break the bonds of sin and corruption enslaving the whole world. Jesus’ Cross and Crucifixion and Resurrection has set in motion the worldwide Jubilee cycle. The Reset has begun. Jesus declares the Jubilee cycle has been set in motion, and it cannot be stopped. The Restoration is moving inexorably and relentlessly forward. Nothing can stop it now. Jesus inaugurates the Kingdom of God and the gates of hell cannot stop it. The kingdom is “already, but not yet.” The final consummation and judgment will not happen until Christ’s Second Coming (linked to the Day of Atonement), when the liberation process will be completed. Then, the final bonds and enslavement to sin will be broken forever, in an eschatological climax to the Jubilee Year. In the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Jubilee cycle is linked to the coming Messiah, who in effect, as a priest-king Melchizadek, will judge Satan and the fallen angels. The Book of Hebrews in fact explicitly links Jesus to Melchizadek and a priest forever according to the order of Melchizadek. The Jews of the first century had linked the coming of the Messiah to the Jubilee Cycle. In Luke 4, Jesus is in effect saying that He is the eschatological “Jubilee Liberator.” After Jesus read Isaiah 61 about the Jubilee Liberator: “And He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant, and sat down; and the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. And He began to say to them, “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” (Lk. 4:20-21) The Kingdom is “already, but not yet.” The final conquering of evil will come at Jesus’ Second Coming.
Feast Days / Festivals (Lev. 23):
Leviticus 23 deals with the Feast Days, Holy Days and the Festivals. From the Holiness Code, we move to time itself is holy. God’s calendar follows a liturgical cycle of holiness marked by Sabbaths and Feast Days, much like the Catholic liturgical calendar does today. The first is the Sabbath, the 7th day of the week when no work could be done. A day of rest dedicated to the Lord. There is no Near Eastern equivalent to the Sabbath in other cultures or religions. It is unique to the Israelites. Sabbath is originally in Genesis associated with God’s rest on the 7th day after creating everything. Now, here in Moses it is also associated with deliverance from the bondage of Egypt. Israel is made a “new creation” and can now rest from its bondage and servitude in Egypt. Next, Passover is the first Spring feast on the 14th of Nisan. Unleavened Bread is a 7-day festival associated with Passover, from 15th – 21st of Nisan. First Fruits is a harvest festival from 16th of Nisan or the first Sunday after the Passover Sabbath. Pentecost is the Grain Harvest Festival 7-weeks and one day (or, 50 days) after the First Fruits. The First Fall Festival begins with Rosh HaShanah, or New Year’s Day. This is the Feast of Trumpets or “Yom Teruah” on 1 Tishri. This is followed by Yom Kippur, or the Day of Atonement, on 10 Tishri. The final Fall Festival is the Feast of Booths or Tabernacles (“Sukkot”). This is the final fall harvest festival from 15-22 Tishri. Many associate the Spring Feasts as prophetic announcements and fulfillments about Jesus’ First Coming, already fulfilled. Similarly, the Fall Feasts are considered by many to be prophetic announcements of Jesus’ Second Coming, yet to be fulfilled. Thus, the Passover was fulfilled in Jesus’ death on the Cross. Unleavened Bread was fulfilled in the Eucharist and the Mass. The Jewish Pentecost was fulfilled in the Christian Pentecost with the Holy Spirit and the beginnings of the Church. The Fall Feasts will then be fulfilled the Feast of Trumpets (Jesus’ Second Coming), the Day of Atonement (Final Judgment), and Tabernacles (a new heaven and new earth into eternity).
