Voyage | Book of Revelation & Genesis | Shalom World

A beast with 7 heads and 10 horns is introduced in Chapter 13 of the Book of Revelation. Irish Scripture Scholar Frances Hogan explains that they are emperors who were seated on the dragon. They assumed titles that belonged to Christ; this explains the blasphemous titles on their heads. According to Hogan, here’s a list that fits the plot: Tiberias (14 AD - 37 AD) Caligula (37 AD - 41 AD) Claudius...

God sent His only begotten Son to the sons of God hoping that they would receive Him… Irish Scripture Scholar Frances Hogan tells us how they chose the Roman empire over the Son who knew how to set up the kingdom of the Father. The death of the Son was the first sign of the end times for them; it was followed by years of political chaos and false prophets. Chapter 13 introduces us to the terrible...

There is a pattern throughout the whole of the Scriptures: Irish Scripture Scholar Frances Hogan helps us understand this pattern so that we can interpret the Book of Revelation as St. John intended. All of God’s decisions are eternal; He knows everything is going to happen and He gives the same response every time.  God is even-handed with everyone; He is the Alpha and the Omega. If we look at th...

As soon as the devil was thrown down to the earth, he sprang in pursuit of the woman. Irish Scripture Scholar Frances Hogan expounds on Chapter 12 of the Book of Revelation. Our choice for the woman-church is to go the way of Eve and fall under the power of the dragon or to go the way of Mother Mary and take the wings of the eagle. We cannot be the harlot of Babylon and the bride of the Lamb; the...

St. John continues to give us a picture of the battle in Heaven and how satan and his angels are thrown out in Chapter 12 of the Book of Revelation. Irish Scripture Scholar Frances Hogan explains how St. Michael, the Archangel defends God’s people and satan accuses them; the greatest sinner before God accuses the weak ones. The woman-church has to trevail; it is the duty of the woman-church to ove...

We meet the enemy of the woman in Chapter 12 of the Book of Revelation. Irish Scripture Scholar Frances Hogan explains why St. John uses the image of a dragon, a monster of chaos and untamed human nature, to describe the enemy. The dragon represents all that is evil and all that opposes the people of God. The dragon was red/scarlet in color and in the apocalypse, the red color means sin and immora...

From Chapter 12 of the Book of Revelation, we see the second half where the drama begins. Irish Scripture Scholar Frances Hogan begins reading from Chapter 12 and explains why St. John wants to give us a full picture of the battle between God and satan before the final stages  St. John takes us to the beginning so that we can see the fall of Lucifer, he wants us to see the victory of Jesus on Calv...

There are two great witnesses that the Lord wants to raise up to help the church endure the chastisements of the end times; we see this in Chapter 11 of the Book of Revelation. In this episode, Irish Scripture Scholar Frances Hogan continues to explain details about the two witnesses. The two great witnesses have an enemy and it is the beast from the abyss. They do God’s will and they use God’s po...

Verse 1 of Chapter 11 in the Book of Revelation speaks about measuring God’s sanctuary; while this might seem ominous to us, it is a precursor to what is to come. Irish Scripture Scholar Frances Hogan continues the reflections on the Book of Revelation explaining what it means to measure the church. This is God’s way of asking the church: Are you persecution ready? Are you ready for martyrdom? Are...

In Chapter 10 of the Book of Revelation, we see a mighty angel that comes down from heaven; we are told in verses 5 and 6 that the angel stands on land and sea with his right hand raised to heaven in the act of swearing. Irish Scripture Scholar Frances Hogan explains that all the chastisement will begin to flow after the sounding of the 7th trumpet. The era of mercy is over and the era of justice...

We come to a section where there is another pause in the tribulation that is coming to the earth. Irish Scripture Scholar Frances Hogan explains that satan, an inverted imitation of God, tries to place himself above and before God everywhere. In the Book of Revelation, we are introduced to satan and hell in Chapter 9 before we see God. We are also introduced to the evil trinity which rules the ear...

The fifth trumpet, as revealed by St. John in Chapter 9 of the Book of Revelation, gives us an introduction to satan and hell on earth. Irish Scripture Scholar Frances Hogan explains the ruin that comes from the abyss through satan. Just as God uses people to be His trumpeters, priests, prophets, and family, so does satan; he is the imitation of God. Unfortunately, satan imitates God in an inverte...

Irish Scripture Scholar Frances Hogan continues her reflections on Chapter 8 of the Book of Revelation. At the sound of the third trumpet, a star named Wormwood falls from the sky; this means a leader of the church has fallen which will cause great destruction to the church. The result of the people’s rebellion against God is that they would no longer be able to feed from the Word of God. Judas wa...

As we go into the trumpets of Chapter 8 in the Book of Revelation, we see that St. John give us the tribulation in three waves with each wave being worse than the last. Irish Scripture Scholar explains that this is similar to what happened in Egypt. When we look at the Book of Exodus and the confrontation between God and the gods of Egypt, we see that St. John is making echoes of what happened the...

In Chapter 8 of the Book of Revelation, we see the second wave of tribulation. Irish Scripture Scholar Frances Hogan explains the message given to us through St. John. Salvation and judgment depend on the individual and the community. Seven trumpets are handed to the seven angels who will ensure that God’s will prevails. The trumpet sound is often associated with a warning sign; it was the war hor...

Chapter 7 of the Book of Revelation is a pause between the first wave of tribulation and the second; here Irish Scripture Scholar Frances Hogan looks deeper into the text about the sealing of the saints. Through this seal, they are protected from the tribulation that is yet to come. St. John uses the Old Testament to tell us about the realities of the current church.  The saints were standing in f...

When we read Chapter 6 of the Book of Revelations, it may seem like the end of the world but that is not true; there has to be another way to read the Book. In this episode, Irish Scripture Scholar, Frances Hogan, explains how St. John takes all his imagery from the Prophets of the Old Covenant.  Jesus prepared the church for the “Judas factor” - a defector who has all the graces from God and hold...

In this episode, Irish Scripture Scholar Frances Hogan continues to explain Chapter 6 of the Book of Revelation; here we read about the 6th seal that Jesus opens. Frances Hogan explains that the events following the opening of the seal is the justice that the martyrs are seeking. We begin to see the wrath of the Lamb which terrifies everybody. The Scriptures tell us that through the justice of God...

Frances Hogan, the Irish Scripture Scholar, continues to explain the representations of the four horsemen of the apocalypse and what it means. She suggests that the white horseman is a sign of deception because it is the very first sign that Jesus gives to us in Matthew 24.  The 20th century was a time of deception, a time of disinformation, and misinformation; lies about God and the Truth were al...

We look into Chapter 6 of the Book of Revelation with Irish Scripture Scholar Frances Hogan in this episode. Jesus begins opening the seals while He is being adored by all of creation at the Liturgy. When a seal is broken, the 4 animals call out to a horse who is then given a duty. The consequence of opening the seal is the action we witness in Chapter 6 of the Book of Revelation. We see a grim pi...

Irish Scripture Scholar Frances Hogan gives us an overview of the text in Chapters 4 and 5 of the Book of Revelation. She explains the symbols and imagery used by St. John in these chapters. In Chapter 4, we explored the worship of God the Father in eternity, and in Chapter 5, we saw the worship of Jesus, the Redeemer. There is a massive connection between the events here and the events in the Boo...

The future of the world is handed to the Lamb who was sacrificed. Irish Scripture Scholar Frances Hogan continues to explain Chapter 5 of the Book of Revelation where Jesus is given the scroll that contains the future of God’s creation. The Lamb that was sacrificed is an image of Jesus that is both priest and victim; it is symbolic of His worthiness and Kingship. A new song is sung to adore the Re...

The 24 elders worship the one who lives forever and ever! Irish Scripture Scholar Frances Hogan continues to explain the eternal worship of God as explained in Chapter 4 of the Book of Revelation by St. John. The elders throw their crown before Jesus because it came from Him and He paid for everything on the cross.  In Chapter 4, we saw the worship of God the Creator and in Chapter 5 of the Book o...

Irish Scripture Scholar Frances Hogan continues reflecting on Chapter 4 of the Book of Revelation in this episode. Through St. John, God is revealing Himself as the infinitely just and holy one. The Emerald is particularly emphasized here; it represents the tribe of Judah from which Jesus came. This could mean that a person from the tribe of Judah is going to reveal their true nature.  When combin...

In Chapter 4 of the Book of Revelation, we explore God’s Throne in Heaven. Irish Scripture Scholar Frances Hogan continues to explain St. John’s message to the people of the end times. We are told that the only way we can see reality is through God’s perspective - we are called to put our eternal destiny before our security now. St. John takes us to the “Palace” in Heaven and shows us that God rec...