Until The End Of The World

Hey gang, first time writer here.

A few insights maybe you haven't considered on this one.
1) Reference to the bride and groom is clearly a reference to the Church and Christ -- Ephesians, where Paul talks about the Church being the bride for Christ the groom. This makes sense as it was the Last Supper -- the institution of the great sacrament of the Church.

2) You miss too much these days if you stop to think. Judas, was the keeper of the purse according to the Scriptures (he also criticizes the woman who anoints the feet of Jesus as 'wasting money'). Those who are good with money are usually good with numbers -- and 'thinkers'. Judas was obviously a 'bright' guy in the worldly sense. But this 'brightness' is the same thing that kept him from seeing the Kingdom of Heaven. "Unless you become like a child, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven..."

Someone may have said this, but I didn't see it. A tart is a prostitute etymologically. In other words, Judas 'sold out' or 'prostituted' himself.

"You said you'd wait till the end of the world" certainly refers to the final judgment where all the nations of the world will be assembled and the shepherd will separate us as sheep and goats (why are the goats condemned? Because goats don't listen). According the book of Revelation there is a judgment when we die, but then a final judgment at 'the end of the world'.

The Catholic Church has never officially declared that even Judas is necessarily in hell.

"I spiked your drink" -- why spiked? What was the drink? His blood. What is a spike? A nail. He was part of nailing him (the passion). A brillant turn of a phrase by Bono (probably the best one in the song). This was obviously intentionally done. Peace this day.

Great song.

mishmeister the beauty of u2 is that bono writes songs so they can be interpreted in a variety of ways. This song is about Judas and Jesus but could to me, as i'm not religious is more about a relationship that wasn't so great at the beginning, and then after a while the people realized the loved they shared and things became good again.

This is my favorite U2 song and I've been a fan for quite some time. I'm an old lady. I know a lot of fans my age dropped off around the time of the Joshua Tree, but I stuck around for this album. I did know it was about Judas and Christ, but I love that it can be interpreted as someone talking about a messed up relationship. I love the guitar solo as well - the way it's mixed always makes me feel like I'm floating underwater, which goes with all the things drowning and flowing in the last verse. I think it's their most well-crafted song and it will always be my favorite.

It's interesting that this song is sung from Judas' perspective. There may or may not be hope for Judas. Jesus said of him, "The Son of Man goes as it is written of him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been better for that man if he had not been born." Although the betrayal was part of God's plan, Judas bore the responsibility for his actions.

But the song is also talking about us. If Jesus died, as he claimed, for the sins of the world, then each of us bears responsibility for his death. We all say that we respect the man Jesus Christ, but our actions betray our words. Honest hate is better than deceitful respect. When we honor Christ and then act wrongly, we give Him the kiss of betrayal. Those of us who go to church and take the Sacrament can even relate to the first verse, eating and drinking with Christ--then going and selling him out.

Jesus promises that those of us who come to him in repentance--no matter how many times we've betrayed him--will find forgiveness, because that's what he died to win for us. "I reach out to the one I tried to destroy" because all along he was doing it to forgive me.

wow!! this song could even be someones relationship!!

Multiple meanings, but only one theme...

I LOVE this song. I've always said there isn't enough insight into Judas Iscariot, and it always seems that he is overlooked by Christians. But the way I see it is, Jesus was destined to die, and one of those poor disciples had to betray him, unfortunatly for him, Judas was the unlucky one. This song is probably the only song that gives an effective insight into Judas. And I must admit, its a pretty believeable conversation, maybe just a little more...poetic. But Bono has a fantastic way with words and this song only goes to prove it. My favourite line from this song is

'In the garden I was playing the tart, I kissed your lips and broke your heart.'

is there proof that this is about Jesus and Judas... they didnt actually kiss on the lips like it says in the song did they..??

Maybe you're right that it's partly about Judas and Jesus, but I would like to remind you that it was the official score for a film by the same title: Until The End Of The World by Wim Wenders, and the lyrics also refer to the movie. If I remember well, the leading character played by Solveig Dommartin escaped from a car accident, then "took the money" from the bank robbers, got together with a man played by Sam Neill. There is also a deective whose drink was spiked by Dommartin. And the movie is somehow about the end of the world, etc, etc.

This song definitely has two story lines. It was written for the Wim Wenders movie of the same name. Some of the lyrics closely follow the plot of the movie which, if I remember, has two lovers and also has a device which allows people to see other peoples dreams. The song weaves back and forth between Jesus and Judas-- dealing with betrayal. and the movie, in which a characer betrarys another .. spikes their drink and stealing their money...

Incredible song, perhaps my favorite U2 song and definitely from my favorite album.

Hopefully, Edge's lyrical playing won't get lost in all this talk of Jesus and Judas. Excellent, excellent song.