Acts of the Apostles and Revelation

In Revelation what was a symbol for a chuch?

A lampstand

In Revelation what was the symbol for victory and purity?

White

In Revelation what was the symbol for a city oppressing the People of God?

Babylon

In Revelation what was the symbol for multitude innumerable quantity?

1,000

In Revelation what did did John’s vision take place?

Sunday

In Revelation we see the Ark of the Covenant in Heaven, how is this accomplished in the Church today?

the tabernacle

Revelation 2-3 (the messages to the churches) is connected to what part of the mass?

The Penitential Rite

The book of Revelation ends with…

a wedding

What rested on the Apostles during Pentecost?

tongues of fire

The Ascension is the fulfillment of which Jewish feast?

The Day of Atonement

Why do the Apostles want to find a replacement for Judas?

Because they recognized the Church as fulfilling the new eternal nation of Israel (God’s people)

There were 12 tribes of Israel and so there should be 12 leaders now to begin the new church

What were the qualifications for Judas’ replacement? Who is chosen as Jidas’ replacement? How were they chosen?

Had to be a follower of Jesus from the beginning (Baptism in the Jordan through the crucifixion), matthias, chosen through prayer and casting lots

“If they persecuted me, they will persecute you”, give examples of persecution the disciples faced in acts of the apostles

Peter and John brought before Sanhedrin
All apostles arrested, put in prison, and flogged

Stephen martyred

James beheaded by Herod

Peter arrested again (freed by angel)

Name 5 of the 6 ways Acts of the Apostles shows the primacy of Peter

Presides over Matthias being appointed
First to speak

Visits all the churches
First to convert a gentile
Delivers new church teaching
Always mentioned first

What holy day celebrates when the Holy Spirit descended like the sound of a strong driving wind and rested on the apostles as tongues of fire on their heads?

Pentecost

When arriving in a new community, where would Paul go first?

the Jewish people/synagogue

Tell me the story of Paul’s conversion

Saul persecuted Christians. On his way to Damascus to continue arresting Christians, Saul is blinded by Jesus and hears Jesus saying “Saul Saul why are you persecuting me?” After 3 days of blindness God send Ananias to restore his sight and baptize him

Tell me the story of Cornelius and Peter

Cornelis a Roman saw a vision and sent for Peter. Peter was in prayer and experienced a vision in which he was told “what God has made clean do not call profane” Peter went to Cornelius and realized God opened the faith to all people. Cornelius and family received the Holy Spirit and were baptized

Tell me about the council of Jerusalem, why was it significant? What was the debate about? What was the debate about? What was the end result?

1st church council, a debate arose in the church about whether new members needed to be circumcised. After discussion, Peter taught the people that God makes no distinction between Jew and Gentile, that all are saved through Jesus Christ and so circumcision is no longer necessary

Who was the first martyr of the church and how were they killed?

Stephen stoned to death

Where were the disciples first called Christians? Who founded the Church

Antioch, Paul and Barnabas

What was the significance of “Saul, Saul why are you persecuting me?” “I am Jesus who you are persecuting”

By persecuting the church, Saul is persecuting Jesus, the church is the body of Jesus

How far did Paul travel on his missionary journeys? How many churches did he form?

10,000 miles and formed at least 14 churches

In the story of Philip and the Ethiopian Eunuch, what would be surprising to Jewish readers? What key role of the church does the Eunuch recognize? What was he reading? What did this prepare him for?

Eunuch’s would not be allowed into the Jewish faith under the old laws, yet this man is God-fearing. The Eunuch recognizes a key truth that we need guidance to understand God’s word (a key role of the church) he was reading the book of Isaiah and it prepared his heart to receive God and be baptized

Who is the author of the book of Revelation?

The Apostle John

What do the seven heads of the beast represent?

The 7 hills of Rome

What does “I am the alpha and the omega” mean?

Alpha and omega are the first and last letters of the greek alphabet, God is the first and the last, in control of all of history from beginning to end

What is the theme of the book of Revelation?

Celebration of the mass (the Lamb’s Supper), it provided a message of hope to a church facing persecution and expresses belief in God’s victory over evil

Why is it important to read the old testament (especially at mass)? 3 reasons

1- the OT is fully revealed in the NT
2- we can all see ourselves in the nation of Israel and can see where we are meant to be through Jesus

3- shows us how Jesus is the fulfillment of all that was promised in the OT

When and where was Revelation written?

Around 95 AD on the Island of Patmos

What does the number 666 represent?

Total imperfection and complete failure

What is Jesus (not is the form of a lamb) seen wearing? What does this compare to in the Jewish faith and today the Catholic faith?

Christ is seen wearing an ankle-length robe, with a gold sash around it (what priests wore and continue to wear during worship)

Should Revelation be taken literally? Is it a scary book about the destruction of the world? Why is it written the way it is?

No! Early christians understood this was written symbolically the symbolic language allowed John to criticize the Roman empire without endangering the readers

What did we learn about the responsorial psalm? (3 things)

1- a common form of prayer for the Israelites

2-the pslams teach us to pray through doing

3- these pslams often give us a hint of how we should be responding to the readings of that mass

Who is the book of Revelation addressed to?

7 churches in Asia

What is the old testament place of sacrifice that is shown in John’s vision of heavenly worship and are in every catholic church today?

the altar

What did we learn about hot, cold, and lukewarm and behold, I stand at the door and knock?

God says he would prefer we be cold than lukewarm, he wants followers to be all in. God constantly pursues us and gives us free will whether or not we will open the door of our hearts to him

What do the 4 living creatures represent?

Represents the 4 evangelists
Matthew - the man
Mark - the lion
Luke - the ox
John - the eagle

Revelation 12 (the woman and the dragon) - who does the woman represent? What do we learn about her through this? What other vision in Catholic history is this similar to and how?

A vision of Mary and her important roll in God’s plan, our Lady of Guadalupe has many similarities to John’s vision (pregnant, clothed with the sun, moon under her feet, stars on her head)