THE THIRD AND THE FOURTH WATCH
(Sometime in 2007 during Adoration) I heard within my interior, “You are in the third watch.”
(A friend told me, “The third watch is the midnight watch – it is before the dawn. Most of the time the enemy would attack then because most are asleep.”)
Shortly after this I was lead to read:
Exodus 14: Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the Lord swept the sea with a strong east wind….
The Egyptians followed in pursuit: all Pharaoh’s horses and chariots and charioteers went after them right into the midst of the sea. In the night watch just before dawn, the Lord cast through the column of the fiery cloud upon the Egyptian force a glance that threw it into a panic; and he so clogged their chariot wheels that they could hardly drive. With that, the Egyptians sounded the retreat before Israel, because the Lord was fighting for them against the Egyptians. Then the Lord told Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea that the water may flow back upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots and their charioteers.” So Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and at dawn the sea flowed back to its normal depth. The Egyptians were fleeing head on toward the sea, when the Lord hurled them into its midst. As the water flowed back, it covered the chariots and the charioteers of Pharaoh’s whole army which had followed the Israelites into the sea. Not a single one of them escaped. But the Israelites had marched on dry land through the midst of the sea, with the water like a wall to their right and to their left.
The Dawn
“To the Priests” from the Marian Movement of Priests, Our Lady says:
“I am the dawn which precedes the day.” (#252)
“I am the dawn which is arising to announce the great day of the Lord.” (#344)
“I am the daybreak which precedes the sun; I am the dawn which begins the new day.” (20)
From the Book of Heaven, The Divine King Appeals to His Children: “She (Our Lady) is traveling amongst the people of the Nations disposing and preparing them to receive the dominion of the Kingdom of My Will. It was She who prepared the people for Me so that I could descend from Heaven to earth. And now, I am entrusting to Her the task of disposing the souls of our people to receive a Gift so great.” (The Gift of living in the Divine Will)
Vol. 24 – May 26, 1928: “And just as the Holy Virgin put an end to the night hours of the patriarchs and prophets and formed the dawn to make the Sun of the Eternal Word rise, so will this one form the Dawn to make rise the Sun of the Fiat Voluntas Tua on earth as It is in Heaven.”
Vol. 35 – Sept. 26, 1937: “…just as nature has its day in human life, during which all the actions of life are performed, in the same way my Divine Will forms Its Day in the depth of the creature who lives in my Will. As the creature begins to form her acts in It, calling It to her as her own Life, she starts her day, forming a most shining Dawn in the depth of her soul. This Dawn gathers its Power, renewing in the creature the Power of the Father, the Wisdom of the Son, the Virtue and Love of the Holy Spirit. So she starts her Day together with the Most Holy Trinity, which descends in the most tiny acts and hiding places of the creature in order to live together with her, and to do whatever she does. This Dawn is the first rest of God within the room of the soul – it is the beginning of the eternal Day in which the Life of the Supreme Being starts together with the creature.”
The Sea and the Wall
Vol. 13 – July 20, 1921: “…when my love will make arise the Era of my Will – the new Era of maximum benefit for creatures – then will the seas and rivers of my Volition overflow; and as their gigantic waves rise, they will sweep everything into My Will – but no longer hiddenly; rather, Its roaring waves will make themselves seen by everyone and will touch everyone. And those who want to resist the current will run the risk of losing their lives.”
Vol. 7 – Feb. 12, 1906: “…but the wall of the soul who lives in the Will of God is a wall so high and deep that neither its depth nor its height can be found… since this wall is in the Divine Volition – that is, in God – God Himself keeps it, and there is no power that can defy God.”
Vol. 19 – Aug. 8, 1926: “It happens as between the sea and a little stream which is separated from the sea only by a wall; so much so, that if the wall were removed, the sea and the little stream would become one single sea… My daughter, the sea is God…the wall that separates them is the human nature, which makes one distinguish God and the creature, the overflowings, the waves which rise continuously to unload themselves into the little stream, are my Divine Will that wants to give so much to the creature, that the little stream, being filled and swelled up, may overflow, may form its waves, swollen by the wind of the Supreme Will, and may pour back into the Divine Sea, only to be filled again.”
Vol. 19 – Aug. 14, 1926: These knowledge’s will be an immensely high and strong wall, more than the terrestrial Eden, which will prevent the enemy from entering in order to molest those who, conquered by It, will pass to live in the Kingdom of My Will.”
Rev. 15:2: “And I saw what appeared to be a sea of glass mingled with fire, and those who had conquered the beast and its image and the number of its name, standing beside the sea of glass with harps of God in their hands. And they sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb…
Rev. 16:15: “Lo, I am coming like a thief! Blessed is he who is awake, keeping his garments that he may not go naked and be seen exposed!”
THE FOURTH WATCH (The new era – the era of peace)
MT 14:[21] And the number of them that did eat, was five thousand men, besides women and children. [22] And forthwith Jesus obliged his disciples to go up into the boat, and to go before him over the water, till he dismissed the people. [23] And having dismissed the multitude, he went into a mountain alone to pray. And when it was evening, he was there alone. [24] But the boat in the midst of the sea was tossed with the waves: for the wind was contrary. [25] And in the fourth watch of the night, he came to them walking upon the sea.
[26] And they seeing him walk upon the sea, were troubled, saying: It is an apparition. And they cried out for fear. [27] And immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying: Be of good heart: it is I, fear ye not. [28] And Peter making answer, said: Lord, if it be thou, bid me come to thee upon the waters. [29] And he said: Come. And Peter going down out of the boat, walked upon the water to come to Jesus. [30] But seeing the wind strong, he was afraid: and when he began to sink, he cried out, saying: Lord, save me.
[31] And immediately Jesus stretching forth his hand took hold of him, and said to him: O thou of little faith, why didst thou doubt? [32] And when they were come up into the boat, the wind ceased. [33] And they that were in the boat came and adored him, saying: Indeed thou art the Son of God.
The fourth watch – (the time following the third watch)
“Seeing Him…” “they cried out in fear…” - “It is an apparition”
“…when they were come up into the boat, the wind ceased. [33] And they that were in the boat came and adored him, saying: Indeed thou art the Son of God. (The boat – the Catholic Church John Bosco’s dream, the wind - persecution) Those who enter into the Catholic Church after the warning will come to believe and those who remain in the Church will adore Him.
“…seeing the wind strong, he was afraid: and when he began to sink, he cried out, saying: ‘Lord, save me.’” (persecution of the Church)
[31] And immediately Jesus stretching forth his hand took hold of him, and said to him: O thou of little faith, why didst thou doubt? [32] And when they were come up into the boat, the wind ceased. [33] And they that were in the boat came and adored him, saying: Indeed thou art the Son of God.
Book of Heaven, Vol. 13 – July 20, 1921: “…when my love will make arise the Era of my Will – the new Era of maximum benefit for creatures – then will the seas and rivers of my Volition overflow; and as their gigantic waves rise, they will sweep everything into My Will – but no longer hiddenly; rather, Its roaring waves will make themselves seen by everyone and will touch everyone. And those who want to resist the current will run the risk of losing their lives.”
Twelve-hour night time division
(Roman night watch division was adopted after Roman occupation began in 63 BC)
(Roman night watch division was adopted after Roman occupation began in 63 BC)
THE NIGHT WATCH IN THE 1ST CENTURY AD
Sundown to 9PM
|
First watch
|
9PM to midnight
|
Second watch
|
Midnight to 3AM
| |
3AM to sun rise
|
Fourth watch
|
So stay awake, because you do not know when the master of the house is coming: evening, midnight, cockcrow or dawn. Mark 13:35
Above taken from: http://www.agapebiblestudy.com/charts/jewishtimedivision.htm
Above added 10/20/15
Lynne BauerMore on the Fourth Watch from Msgr. Charles Pope:
Jan 09, 2014
Why Did Jesus “mean to pass by” his Disciples when He was walking on the water?
In the Gospel for daily Mass on this past Wednesday we read from Mark Chapter 6. It is the familiar story of Jesus walking on the water after having multiplied to loaves and fishes earlier that day.
There is to our modern ears an odd turn of phrase that takes place about midway through the gospel. It says: About the fourth watch of the night, [Jesus] came toward them, walking on the sea. He meant to pass by them… (Mark 6:48)
This seems odd. Why would Jesus approach them walking on the water, (astounding miracle that it is), and simply mean to pass on by?
The problem is, we think that it means that he will not to stop, but will keep walking passed them. But actually this is not what it means.
This expression of God “passing by” is common in the Theophanies of the Old Testament. For example, when Moses was up on the mountaintop, The text teaches us in Exodus, that he revealed himself to Moses by “passing by.” The text says:
Then Moses said, “Now show me your glory.” And the Lord said, “I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the Lord, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. But,” he said, “you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live.” Then the Lord said, “There is a place near me where you may stand on a rock. When my glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft in the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed by. Then I will remove my hand and you will see my back; but my face must not be seen.” (Exodus 33: 18-23)
Another example of this is in the appearance he made to Elijah who was hiding in a cave after his flight from Jezebel. At one point, God called him out of the cave so that he could “pass by” The text says,
The Lord said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.” Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave. (1 kings 19:11-13)
Some other example of this “passing by are:
When John the Baptist saw Jesus passing by, he said, “Look, the Lamb of God!” (Jn 1:36)- Now hearing a crowd going by, [the Blind Man] began to inquire what this was. They told him that Jesus of Nazareth was passing by. And he called out, saying, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”… (Lk 18:37-38)
Hence, for Jesus to “pass by” is not for him to walk past us in hiding. Rather, it is just the opposite, it is for him to reveal himself to us and summon us to Faith. This is also the case in the Old Testament texts where God “passes by” not to hide, but reveal himself and summon us to faith.
Some may argue that these phrases should be translated differently so that we can better grasp their meaning. Why not just say “He came toward them to reveal himself to them” ??
Perhaps there is some merit in this. But I would counter that more mileage is sometimes gained by the text causing us to ponder, and pray. Consider that in “decoding” this text we have looked at four other passages. Further, we have deepened our appreciation of what it means for God to “pass by.”
LB
LB
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