For example, Chapter 17 of the Apocalypse makes mention “of the great harlot” (Apocalypse 17:1) called “Babylon”  (Apocalypse 17:5) who sits on the city of the 7 hills (Apocalypse 17:9) from where anti-Christ and its 10 world leaders “shall fight with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them, because He is Lord of lords, and King of kings, and they that are with Him are called, and elect, and faithful” (Apocalypse 17:14).

What is “the great city” of Apocalypse Chapter16, Verse 19 and Chapter 17, Verse18 which Saint John the Apostle identifies as “Babylon” in Apocalypse 16:19 and which he also calls “the great harlot” in Apocalypse 17:1 and 19:2 and also the “seven mountains”, which are actually the 7 hills of 17:9 of “the great city”?

Saint Peter the Apostle provides part of the answer in chapter 5, verse 13 of his first Epistle which Scripture scholars claim he wrote at Rome which city he figuratively calls “Babylon” where he writes in part: “The church that is in Babylon... saluteth you” (1 Peter 5:13).

In other words, Church History does NOT record Saint Peter ever being in the actual ancient city called Babylon which is not in Italy but instead is on the left bank of the Euphrates River, just a few miles south of Baghdad, Iraq. Babylon was excavated between 1899 A.D. and 1917 A.D. by Koldewey.

But the Apocalypse itself provides the remaining part of the answer because the Babylon of the Apocalypse is the city of the “seven mountains” 17:9, by which 7 hills are understood.

But geographically, this would have to be the city of the Rome which is situated on 7 hills.  Why is it not ancient Babylon?  It is not ancient Babylon because, geographically, the ancient city called Babylon, is NOT situated on even one mountain and NOT even on one hill because the ancient city of Babylon sits on a broad alluvial plain formed by river silt - in other words, the ancient city of Babylon sits on silted flat land just like the city of New Orleans which, in all my visits there to offer Mass and administer the Sacraments, I can personally attest does not have either lofty mountains or high hills!

But this prophecy, as well as some others in the Apocalypse, will be fulfilled when the Lamb of God “shall overcome them, because He is Lord of lords, and King of kings”.  Why?  Because “all things” are subjected “under” the “feet” of Jesus Christ, Who is the “Lord of lords, and King of kings” because God the Father “hath made Him head over all the church, which is His [Mystical] Body” (Ephesians 1:22-23).

God the Holy Ghost, through the pen of Saint Paul, also writes in another Epistle, which is in the Epistle for the Mass today, how Jesus Christ, the “King of kings and Lord of lords” “is the head of the Body, the Church, Who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things He may hold the PRIMACY:   Because in Him, it hath well pleased the Father, that all fullness should dwell” (Colossians 1:18-19).

So, the primary reasons for this prophecized victory are due to the character of the Lamb of God which includes these facts:

1) that the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ, is “the firstborn from the dead”;

2) that Jesus Christ “is the head of the [Mystical] Body, [which is] the Church”;

3) that Jesus Christ, Who is the “Lord of lords, and King of kings” holds “the PRIMACY” in virtue of being the actual “head of the [Mystical] Body, [which is] the Church”.

N.B.  God the Holy Ghost, through the pen of His inspired writer, the Apostle, choose to use the word PRIMACY.   Not only that, but He specifically says, in regard to this PRIMACY  "that in all things He may hold the PRIMACY".

For what reasons does Jesus Christ, the Eternal Divine Logos - Word of God - hold the PRIMACY?

Jesus Christ - and no one else - EXCLUSIVELY holds the PRIMACY because:

1)  Because in Him - in Jesus Christ - NOT in anyone else, NOT in Saint Peter, NOT in Saint Paul, etc., etc., it hath well pleased the Father, that all fullness should dwell.

2) Because it is ONLY through Him - ONLY through or by Jesus Christ - NOT through or by Saint Peter or Saint Paul or some other Holy Saint - that the task to reconcile all things unto Himself has been given because it is ONLY Jesus Christ Who is the Savior.  This means that the Savior is NOT anyone else - the Savior is NOT Saint Peter, NOT Saint Paul, NOT anyone else - EXCLUSIVELY and ONLY is Jesus Christ, the Second Person of the Most Blessed Trinity, the ONE and ONLY Savior of the human race.

3)  Because it was ONLY by Jesus Christ making peace through the Blood of His cross, i.e. ONLY by the Divine Redeemer, Jesus Christ, was peace able to be made on behalf of the human race with God through His Infinite Act of Redemption.  Because God, the Infinite, had been offened by Original Sin and the Gates of Heaven had been slammed shut by Original Sin, and because only Infinite God has the ability to appease Infinite God, it was necessary that the Redeemer be Infinite God.  Clearly, this requirement of a Divine Redeemer automatically excludes all finite creatures, including Saint Peter.

4)  Because only Jesus Christ, as Infinite God, Infinite Redeemer could restore, by His act of Divine Victimhood, the things that are on earth.

5)  Because only Jesus Christ, as Infinite God, Infinite Redeemer could restore, by His act of Divine Victimhood, the things that are in Heaven and thus reopen the Gates of Heaven and heal the breach between Infinite God and finite mankind that had been caused by Original Sin.

Therefore, this is what holding the PRIMACY actually means in plain English!

In other words, the PRIMACY  can only be held - by its very nature - by its very ontological essence (that which makes a thing to be what it is) and by its very metaphysical essence (that which the ontological essence does - the act of the ontological essence [this obfuscates what is call potentia - posssible or potential acts which are acts which may or may not happen or exist in actu - in act - in the real world]) - by Infinite God.

The bottom line here is that no finite creature, no matter how Holy, by both the ontological essence and by the metaphysical essence of the finiteness of the creature - in this case a human being, e.g. Saint Peter - has the ability, by his limited nature, to hold the PRIMACY.

IF this seems to be an insufficient reason, then one is required to also acknowledge the fact that the Redeemer is required to be without any stain of sin - and this includes Original Sin.

Yet this requirement does not apply to Saint Peter because he, like all other human beings (except the Blessed Virgin Mary because of her Holy Office of Theotokos - Mother of God - in virtue of her Immaculate Conception), was born with Original Sin on his soul.

Therefore, it is impossible for Saint Peter to hold the PRIMACY because he was not, and could never be, an Infinite Redeemer whose Infinite Sacrifice on the Cross redeemed the entire human race.

Put another way, Saint Peter is NOT the Lamb of God Who takest away the sins of the world.  On the contrary, under the inspiration of God the Holy Ghost, Saint John the Baptist said of Christ - not of Saint Peter:

"Behold the Lamb of God, behold Him who taketh away the sin of the world" (John 1:29).

Lest some take the position that all of this is contrary to the teachings of the Catholic Church, consider this teaching by the Teacher of the Doctor of Grace whose teachings have been accepted by the Catholic Church:

He [i.e. Peter],... exercised his primacy, that is, the primacy of confession, not of honor; the primacy of belief, not of rank (Patriarch Saint Ambrose [b. in Gaul, possibly at Trier, Arles, or Lyons in 340 A.D. - d. at Milan, Italy on Friday, April 4, 397 A.D.] Patriarch of Milan [374 A.D. - Friday, April 4, 397 A.D.], Father and Doctor of the Catholic Church, The Sacrament of the Incarnation of Our Lord, Chapter 4, ¶ 27-33).

But is not Saint Peter the "rock" and hence holds the Primacy in this way?  On the contrary, the Doctor of Grace, whose teachings have also been accepted by the Catholic Church, teaches:

"The Rock (Petra) made Peter true, for the Rock was Christ" (Bishop Saint Augustine, a.k.a. Aurelius Augustinus [b. Tagaste, Africa, Saturday, November 13, 354 A.D. - d. Hippo Regia, Africa, Wednesday, August 28, 430 A.D.], Bishop of Hippo Regia, Father and Doctor of the Catholic Church, the Doctor of Grace, a protégé of Patriarch Saint Ambrose, Sermon XCVII, [CXLVII. Benedictine Edition.], On the Same Words of the Gospel of John XXI. 15, “Simon, Son of John, Lovest Thou Me More than These?” etc.; emphasis added).

The secondary reason for this prophecized victory is due to the character of the followers of the “Lord of lords, and King of kings” because “they that are with Him are called, and elect, and faithful”.  What does this mean?

The followers of the “King of kings and Lord of lords” are soldiers of Jesus Christ who have received Confirmation and are mustered out  to join their Commander-in-Chief in this warfare against anti-Christ and its millions upon millions of followers.  The victory of this army is described in Apocalypse 19:11-16:

“And I saw heaven [i.e. the Catholic Church] opened, and behold a white horse; and He that sat upon him was called faithful and true, and with justice doth He judge and fight.  And His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on His head were many diadems, and He had a name written, which no man knoweth but Himself.  And He was clothed with a garment sprinkled with blood; and His name is called, THE WORD OF GOD.  And the armies that are in heaven [i.e. the soldiers of Jesus Christ] followed Him on white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean.  And out of His mouth proceedeth a sharp two edged sword; that with it He may strike the nations.  And He shall rule them with a rod of iron; and He treadeth the winepress of the fierceness of the wrath of God the Almighty. And He hath on His garment, and on His thigh written:  KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS” (Apocalypse 19:11-16).

Pilate questioned Christ to try to find out if He is the long expected Messias, the King of the Jews.  But Christ answered Pilate’s question with another question, not for the purpose of evading Pilate’s question, but rather to require Pilate to consider what he was doing: “Sayest thou this thing of thyself” (John 18:34) from a suspicion you have, “or have others told it thee of Me?”, i.e. do you ask this question only to oblige them?

You may remember how Pilate “went out again to the Jews, and saith to them:  I find no cause in Him” (John 18:38)  and then had Christ scourged only to discover this was not enough because the Jews still demanded that Christ be crucified “because He made himself the Son of God” (John 19:7).

After Pilate again questioned Christ and then told the Jews that he still wanted to free Christ, and the Jews again “cried out: ... crucify Him.  Pilate saith to them:  Shall I crucify your King?  The chief priests answered:  We have no king but Caesar”(John 19:15).

Finally, when Christ was crucified, perhaps it was to mock the Jews for rejecting their King, that:

“Pilate wrote a title also, and he put it upon the cross.  And the writing was:  JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS... written in Hebrew, in Greek, and in Latin” (John 19:19-20).

For our Resolutions, beginning right now, get into the habit of giving thanks and expressing gratitude to God, Our Infinite Creator, for having not only created YOU, but redeemed YOU to make it possible for YOU to one day enter into the eternal joys of Heaven.

Also, frequently thank the good God for all of the many Graces and Blessings He has given to you and to your family, including the Grace of your Holy Catholic Faith which includes today’s glorious Feast Day of Christ the King by which the Catholic Church anticipates the total victory of Jesus Christ, the Divine “King of kings and Lord of lords”, over the Beast, anti-Christ.

Thank the “King of kings and Lord of lords” today for what He will do “tomorrow”, namely to “cast alive into the pool of fire, burning with brimstone” (Apocalypse 19:20) that false king, that false lord, that false christ, called anti-Christ, and its false prophet.

“And the rest were slain by the sword of Him that sitteth upon the horse, which proceedeth out of His mouth” (Apocalypse 19:21).  “Amen.  Come, Lord Jesus” (Apocalypse 22:20).

Think how happy you will be when, in the next life, God shows you all of the Souls you helped to save by helping our Apostolates, including this Sermon web site, because "he who causeth a sinner to be converted from the error of his way, shall save his soul from death, and shall cover a multitude of sins" (James 5:20).

“And in doing good, let us not fail.  For in due time we shall reap, not failing.  Therefore, whilst we have time, let us work good to all men, but especially to those who are of the household of the faith” (Galatians  6:9-10).

“Pilate therefore said to Him:  Art Thou a king then?  Jesus answered:  Thou sayest that I am a king.  For this was I born, and for this came I into the world; that I should give testimony to the Truth” (GOSPEL, John 18:37).

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