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Revelation 6:10-12
New Catholic Bible
Revelation 6:10-12
New Catholic Bible
10 They shouted in a loud voice, “How long is it to be, holy and true Master, before you judge the inhabitants of the earth[a] and avenge our death?”
11 Each of them was given a white robe,[b] and they were instructed to be patient for a little longer until the roll was completed of their fellow servants and brethren who were still to be killed as they themselves had been.
12 The Sixth Seal: the Universe Disturbed.[c] In my vision, when he broke open the sixth seal, there was a violent earthquake. The sun turned as black as coarse sackcloth, the moon became as red as blood,
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Revelation 6:10 Inhabitants of the earth: i.e., humankind in its hostility to God (see Rev 3:10; 8:13; 11:10; 13:8, 12; 17:2, 8).
- Revelation 6:11 White robe: symbol of the joy and triumph of the Resurrection (see Rev 3:5, 18; 11:10; 13:8, 12; 17:2, 8). Until the roll was completed of their fellow servants and brethren who were still to be killed: there was an apocalyptic idea in the air—sparked by noncanonical literature—that God rules the world according to a predetermined time schedule (see 2 Esdras 4:35-37) and that the death of a certain number of the righteous must occur before the end takes place (see 1 Enoch 47:4).
- Revelation 6:12 The cosmic destruction announces the Day of the Lord (see Isa 34:4; Mk 13:6, 24f). It is an astonishing spectacle that this firmament will be rolled up like a large scroll. The cosmos enters a phase of distortion and convulsion. The threat hangs over everyone; no one escapes the paralyzing fear. The author uses to great advantage many of the images of the Old Testament (see Isa 2:10, 19; 34:4; Hos 10:8; Joel 2:11; 3:4).
