Wednesday Night Adult Bible Study 2012–13

Revelation Background Resources

A “Wordle” showing the most frequently used words in Revelation. (The larger the word, the more often it’s used in the book.) Produced at www.wordle.net

Pastor Bob Smallman Bible Presbyterian Church • Merrill, Wisconsin

The Churches of Revelation 27º E

30º E 100 miles

BLACK SEA

100 kilometers

D

Samothrace

Lemnos

ar

n da

ell

MARMARA SEA

es

Troy

Assos

Prusa

Cotiaeum

Adramyttium 3

Lesbos

ASIA

4

Pergamos

39º N

Thyatira

AEGEAN

5 2

Sardis

Smyrna

Chios

Ikaria

Nicaea

MYSIA

Troas

SEA

Nicomedia

Cyzicus

Abydos

LY D I A Ephesus

1

Miletus

Patmos

John received his vision and wrote the Revelation while in exile on this island in the Aegean Sea (Rev. 1:1, 9).

6 7

Hierapolis Laodicea Colossae

CARIA

Halic H c Halicarnassus Cos Co Co

Philadelphia Tripolis

Tralles

Magnesia

N

Byzantium Bosporus Chalcedon

Heraclea

Cnidus Rhodes

THE SEVEN CHURCHES OF REVELATION 1. Message to Ephesus: “You have left your first love” (2:4). 2. Message to Smyrna: “Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life” (2:10). 3. Message to Pergamos: “I have a few things against you” (2:14). 4. Message to Thyatira: “Hold fast what you have till I come” (2:25). 5. Message to Sardis: “You have a name that you are alive, but you are dead” (3:1). 6. Message to Philadelphia: “I have set before you an open door” (3:8). 7. Message to Laodicea: “You are neither cold nor hot” (3:15).

Idyma Perga

LY C I A Xanthus

Rhodes

Patara Myra

36º N

MEDITERRANEAN SEA Reprinted from Nelson’s Complete Book of Bible Maps and Charts, Third Edition. ©1996, 1993 by Thomas Nelson. Used with permission.

58 The Seven Churches second proof 10/5/09

The Message of

Revelation by John Bright

S

uffice it to say that Revelation is not a puzzle book which, if only one can find the key, will furnish the curious with the exact program which future events must follow. That it tells of the drama of the end is true; that it does this in the cryptic language of the Apocalyptic, which needs considerable decoding, is also true. But to seek from it an exact program, and even the date, of the end of the world is to do it great violence. It is also to exhibit an idle curiosity which borders on the impudent; for Christ himself when on earth declared that not even he knew such things (Matt. 24:36), and that, furthermore, it was not man’s business to know

and however many they may be, that subserve the will of the Adversary; that have made themselves antigod and antichrist. It is, if you will, eternal Nero—Nero redivivus—who walks the earth in many incarnations. It is the sum total of evil, and it launches a last demonic assault upon the heavenly Kingdom: the Lamb, the Son of Man, and him who sits upon the Throne. It vents its wrath also with fiendish fury upon the saints of God who live on earth. For them it is a time of decision: with the revelation of Christ there has come also, as it must, the revelation of Antichrist, and one must stand for one side or the other. It is a fearful struggle, a struggle that beggars the vocabulary. There are portents in heaven, torment and tribulation on earth, as evil hurls itself at the Kingdom of the saints. But the writer gives us to understand one thing: the issue is at no time in doubt. The battle has already been won at Calvary by him who in sacrifice had taken men out of every nation and made them into the true people of God (5:9–10; cf. Exod. 19:5–6). Meanwhile, let come what will; let the occupant of Caesar’s throne—or of the Kremlin—do his utmost; this one thing is sure: “The Lord God omnipotent reigneth” (19:6 KJV). The powers of evil simply cannot win, they have already been broken! The struggle may indeed be severe, but it is, on the one hand, the thrashing death agony of the Beast; on the other, it is the birth pangs of a New Creation (cf. Mark 13:8: “this is but the beginning of the sufferings”).

Revelation is a powerful summons to Christians of all ages to stand firm in the faith with utter confidence that the triumph of God’s purpose is quite sure. them (Acts 1:7). But if Revelation furnishes no libretto of future events, it is nevertheless a powerful summons to Christians of all ages to stand firm in the faith with utter confidence that the triumph of God’s purpose is quite sure. It is also a reminder to the Christian that in the cosmic moral struggle there is no neutrality, that in his every action he is to take sides—for the Kingdom of God or against it. Revelation presents a picture such as only the language of Apocalypse could draw. Sober speech would never have sufficed. On one side are arrayed that old dragon Satan (20:2), his angels, and His Antichrist;1 all the powers of Evil visible and invisible, on the earth and beyond it. The evil powers of earth seem to be personified in the figure of the unspeakable Nero, number 666 (13:18),2 the Beast. Yet it is not merely Nero, nor Domitian, nor yet Hitler or Stalin that is in question. It is any of them, all of them, none of them. It is all earthly powers, whoever

With that New Creation the vision ends (chs. 21–22), and with it the New Testament canon. It is as if the seer had been projected beyond the present trial and all the woes and ills of this world, and had been permitted to behold that yet unconsummated end-event, the victory of the Kingdom of God. The power of Cosmic Evil is now at length ended. The Devil and his minions, the Beast and all that did his bidding, are consigned to the flames (20:7–10), and the judgment books are opened before 3

him that sits on the Great While Throne. Then it is that this old and weary creation is restored. New heavens are there and a new earth (21:1–4; cf. Isa. 65:17–19); the very City of God, the new Jerusalem, has come down from heaven to take its place among men. In it is ineffable joy; all sorrow, all pain, all evil have vanished away. It is a joy such as fairly outstrips mortal vocabulary: no gem or precious stone too bright to describe it, no sun whose light does not pale beside its glory! Joy is heaped upon joy in a mighty crescendo of language until language can bear no more and there arises, as it were, a grand “Hallelujah Chorus”: “and they shall reign forever and ever” (22:5)! It is the Kingdom of God triumphant and eternal at history’s end. And toward that unseen City and Kingdom the church turned longing eyes, and its prayer went up (Rev. 22:20), “Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!” Thus the Bible closes with an echo of the theme which has been dominant in it from end to end: the coming Kingdom of God.

Revelation’s First Readers We must not think of it as a kind of intellectual puzzle (spot the meaning of this symbol!) sent to a relaxed church with time on its hands and an inclination for solving mysteries. It was sent to a little, persecuted, frustrated church, one which did not know what to make of the situation in which it found itself. John writes to meet the needs of that church. Leon Morris, The Revelation of St. John. Tyndale Bible Commentaries. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1969, p. 20.



The word “Antichrist” is not used in Revelation to denote the earthly arch-enemy of Christ. In fact, it does not occur outside of I and II John, where it is used both of the arch-enemy and of false teachers who obey him (e.g., I John 2:18). But “Antichrist” is only one of several names to express the same concept: e.g., the Beast (so in Rev.), the “man of lawlessness” ( II Thess. 2:3).

1

The number 666 appears to be achieved by taking the Hebrew letters used to write Nero Caesar (nrwn qsr, rsk norn) and giving them their numerical value (the Hebrews used letters of the alphabet for numerals also). The total would be 666. The figure of 666 is thus a sort of Nero redivivus. The practice of designating persons by numbers in this manner was not unusual. A sentence scrawled on a wall at Pompeii reads: “I love a girl whose number is 545.” Cf. M. Burrows, What Mean These Stones? (New Haven: American Schools of Oriental Research, 1941), p. 270.

2



John Bright, The Kingdom of God. Abingdon Press, 1953, pp. 240–242.

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The Theme and Development of

Revelation by James Orr

T

he theme of the book is the conflict of Christ and His church with the anti-Christian powers, and the ultimate and decisive defeat of the latter; its keynote is in the words, “Come, Lord Jesus” (22:20); but it is to be noticed, as characteristic of the book, that while this “coming” is represented as, in a manner, ever near, the end, as the crisis approaches, is again and again always postponed by a fresh development of events.

by fresh apostasy, and the general resurrection and judgment (ch. 20). The symbolic numbers that chiefly rule in the book are “seven,” the number of completeness (7 spirits, seals, trumpets, bowls, heads of beasts); “ten,” the number of worldly power (10 horns); “four,” the earthly number (4 living creatures, corners of earth, winds, etc.); 3 1/2 years—42 months—“time, and times, and half a time” (12:14)=1,260 days, the period, borrowed from Daniel (7:25; 12:7), of anti-Christian ascendancy.

Thus, under the 6th seal, the end seems reached (6:12– 17), but a pause ensues (ch. 7), and on the opening of the 7th seal, a new series begins with the trumpets (8:2ff ). Similarly, at the sounding of the 6th trumpet, the end seems at hand (9:12–21), but a new pause is introduced

James Orr, “Revelation of John,” International Standard Bible Encyclopaedia (1939 edition).

The theme of the book is the conflict of Christ and His church with the anti-

Putting It All Together

Christian powers, and the ultimate and

God is on His throne (Revelation 4). Christ has won

decisive defeat of the latter.

the victory (Revelation 5). God is at work in the midst of apparent chaos (seals, trumpets, and bowls). The true victors are those called out in Christ from every

before the last sounding takes place (11:15ff ). Then is announced the final victory, but as yet only in summary.

tongue, nation, and people (Revelation 5 and 20), even though in this age it appears to be the people

A new series of visions begins, opening into large perspectives, till, after fresh interludes, and the pouring out of 6 of the bowls of judgment, Armageddon itself is reached; but though at the outpouring of the 7th bowl, it is proclaimed, “It is done” (16:7), the end is again held over till these final judgments are shown in detail.

of the earth (those living according to the moral standards of this age) who are victorious. Though God’s work in history has been hidden except to eyes of faith, the final stanza will reveal that all history has truly been His story (Revelation 19 and 20). The

At length, surely in ch. 19, with the appearance of the white horseman—“The Word of God”—and the decisive overthrow of all his adversaries (vs. 18–21), the climax is reached; but, just then, to our surprise, intervenes the announcements of the binding of Satan for 1,000 years, and the reign of Jesus and his saints, followed

victory won in history will be displayed in history, and God will ultimately be revealed as all in all. Douglas Ezell, Revelations on Revelation (Word Publishers, pp. 22–23)

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6

The Style and Language of

Revelation by Harry R. Boer

R

b. Apocalyptic literature is concerned with the endtimes (eschatology). Revelation presents its picture of the End-time in a distinctive New Testament manner. When the New Testament speaks of the End, it does not have in mind simply the time immediately preceding the final judgment. The End is that period of time between the first and second coming of Christ. The birth of Jesus introduced the End. Revelation is therefore concerned with “what must soon take place” (1:1). This “soon” is not clock time or calendar time, it is End­-time, God’s time. The drama that unfolds in Revelation is now taking place.

evelation belongs to that body of sacred Jewish writings described as apocalyptic. To us Revelation seems a strange, mysterious, peculiar kind of book. We cannot associate it with the kinds of writing to which we are accustomed. There was no well-informed Jew who could say such a thing in A.D. 100. Not only was it a well-known kind of writing, it was also very popular. The word “apocalyptic” comes from the Greek word apokalup­to, which means “I uncover, I reveal, I disclose.” Apocalyptic literature is therefore revelation literature. What does it reveal? The following are the main features of apocalyptic writing:

c. Visions and symbols are characteristic of all apocalyptic writing. So great and majestic are the visions of the apocalyptic writers that they are unable to describe them in the language of everyday life. They write in such a manner that the reader seems to understand what is written by feeling it rather than by intellectually grasping it. Just as laughter, tears, a handshake, silence, gestures often say things that words cannot express, so the visions of apocalyptic writing say more than words can carry.

To us Revelation seems a strange, mysterious, peculiar kind of book.… There was no well-informed Jew who could say such a thing in A.D. 100. Not only was ut a well-known kind of writing, it was also very popular.

Through such forms, pictures, shapes, figures, and symbols, John speaks his message concerning the struggle between light and darkness, life and death, good and evil, the Church and the world, Christ and Satan. In it all, and in a manner never equalled before or after, he proclaims God’s cosmic judgment and salvation in the time of the eschatos, the End-time.

a. In it the universe is divided into two camps: that of the good and that of the evil, personal forces and powers. In Revelation the good forces are God, the World Ruler, and Christ who is called the Lamb and the Rider on the White Horse. The evil forces are the dragon (Satan) and his two servants—the beast (the emperor-worshipping state) and the false prophet (the political and religious power of such a state). Below these are lesser powers (angels and demons, good and evil men). These two camps are engaged in a long and fearful struggle affecting society and church, nations and history. The final separation of the two is the meaning of judgment.

Adapted from Harry R. Boer, The Book of Revelation. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1979, pp. 12–15.

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to the judgment of wrath in the stream of unquenchable

The Apocalyptic Style of Writing

fire which flows, flaming with fire, and when its waves

While utterly strange (and perhaps incomprehensible) to us, the apocalyptic style of writing was very common in the first century and beyond. Indeed, of all the styles of writing in the New Testament, apocalyptic would have been the most familiar to Revelation’s original readers. (Believe it or not, the Gospels constituted the most original form of writing in the New Testament!)

separate one from another, seething, there shall be much gnashing of teeth among the children of men.

A

nd all will see how I come upon an eternal shining cloud, and the angels of God who will sit with

me on the throne of my glory at the right hand of my heavenly Father. He will set a crown upon my head. As

Scholars have collected dozens of apocalypses from this period. Here is a brief sample from The Apocalypse of Peter (though it was written later than Peter’s time [around 135 a.d.?] by an unknown author pretending to be the apostle):

soon as the nations see it, they will weep, each nation

nd these things shall come to pass in the day of

A

done good, they will come to me and will not see death

judgment of those who have fallen away from

by devouring fire. But the evil creatures, the sinners and

faith in God and have committed sin: cataracts of

the hypocrites will stand in the depths of the darkness

fire shall be let loose; and obscurity and darkness shall

that passes not away, and their punishment is the fire,

come up and cover and veil the entire world, and the

and angels bring forward their sins and prepare for them

waters shall be changed and transformed into coals of

a place wherein they shall be punished for ever, each

fire, and all that is in the earth shall burn and the

according to his offense. The angel of God, Uriel, brings

sea shall become fire; under the heaven there shall be

the souls of those sinners who perished in the flood, and

a fierce fire that shall not be put out and it flows for

of all who dwell in all idols, in every molten image, in

the judgment of wrath. And the stars shall be melted

every love and in paintings, and of them that dwell on

by flames of fire, as if they had not been created, and

all hills and in stones and by the wayside, whom men

the fastnesses of heaven shall pass away for want of

call gods: they shall be burned with them in eternal fire.

water and become as though they had not been created.

After all of them, with their dwelling places, have been

And the lightnings of heaven shall be no more and, by

destroyed, they will be punished eternally.

for itself. And he shall command them to go into the river of fire, while the deeds of each individual one of them stand before them. Recompense shall be given to each according to his work. As for the elect who have

their enchantment, they shall alarm the world. And the spirits of the dead bodies shall be like to them and at the command of God will become fire. And as soon as the whole creation is dissolved, the men who are in the east shall flee to the west and those in the west to the east; those that are in the south shall flee to the north

A standard reference in English for these is Wilhelm Schneelmelcher, ed., New Testament Apocrypha, vol. 2, “Writings Relating to the Apostles; Apocalypses and Related Subjects” (Westminster/John Knox Press, 1992). This excerpt is taken from pp. 627–628.

and those in the north to the south, and everywhere will the wrath of the fearful fire overtake them; and an unquenchable flame shall drive them and bring them

8

More on what is

Apocalyptic Lit? by Mitchell G. Reddish

F

irst, an apocalypse is revelatory literature — that is, the author claims to have received a divine revelation. This revelation is usually in the form of a dream or vision and is mediated by or interpreted by an angel.

heavens and the contents of each heavenly realm. This interest in the fixed series of heavens, and the concern over the order and regularity of the heavenly bodies found in some texts, served a practical purpose. The order and stability of the universe was a sign that God had all things under control. In spite of how events might appear to those on earth, who were living in the midst of chaos, destruction, and confusion, the universe was not out of control. God had predetermined the nature of the universe and the course of world history. At the appropriate time — which was very soon — God would bring history to a climax, and the rewards and punishments seen by the writer would become reality.

Second, the human recipient of the revelation is normally presented as a famous hero of the past (Abraham, Enoch, Daniel, Ezra, Adam, Elijah). In actuality, the author is a much later individual who writes pseudonymously — that is, in the name of some venerable figure from the past. The technique of pseudonymity [claiming a “pen name”] was used to lend authority to the writing, to suggest that the work was not of recent origin but came from a respected figure of ancient time.

Apocalypses of the second type contain no journeys to otherworldly regions. Instead, revelation is given to the apocalyptist in a dream or vision or is disclosed by means of an angel who appears and converses with the recipient of the revelation. Even in those cases in which revelation comes by means of a dream or vision, an angelic figure usually appears to serve as an interpreter of the revelation. Apocalypses that contain no otherworldly journeys normally stress the temporal elements more than the spatial, and therefore a major concern is eschatological predictions. Especially important are signs of the end time that are revealed to the author. Individuals who are observant of these signs are able to detect that the end is near and that the present course of the world, in which history is dominated by evil, is drawing to a close. Signs of the dying of this age can be seen in events in nature (earthquakes; famines; disturbances among the sun, moon, and stars; unnatural births; destruction by fires) and among humanity (wars, rampant evil, violence).

Third, the content of apocalypses involves both horizontal and vertical (or temporal and spatial) dimensions. The horizontal dimension is the interest in salvation beyond human history. This usually involves divine judgment in the afterlife, followed by rewards or punishments. The vertical, or spatial, dimension is seen in the descriptions of otherworldly beings and otherworldly places: angels and demons, places of eternal reward and punishment (for example, heaven and hell), and the abode of God. Apocalypses also can be divided into two major categories: those that contain an otherworldly journey and those that contain no otherworldly journey. In the first category, the author describes an experience of being taken on a tour of otherworldly regions — heaven, hell, Sheol, the outer boundaries of the earth. Vivid descriptions are given of what the author has seen. Of particular interest to these writers are descriptions of the abode of the dead, the places of eternal reward and punishment, the pain and torture inflicted upon the wicked, the dwelling place of God, and the locations of the stars, planets, and other heavenly bodies. Some of these apocalypses focus on the heavenly ascent of the author, describing in detail the ascent through the various levels of the

Another frequent type of eschatological prediction involves descriptions of the final judgment. The last judgment is the great day of reckoning, the time when 9

all will be judged according to their deeds — individuals, nations, angels, and demons. The wrongs of the world will be corrected, evil will be punished, and righteousness will be rewarded. This eschatological judgment will be God’s final act of retribution and justice. The true nature of reality will then become evident. Whereas throughout world history evil and wickedness might have appeared dominant and superior, now that is seen as only false appearance. In reality, God and God’s ways of justice and righteousness ultimately prevail, and the last judgment is proof of that reality. Descriptions of eternal rewards and punishments frequently accompany scenes of the last judgment. “Introduction”to Apocalyptic Literature: a Reader, Mitchell G. Reddish, ed. Abingdon Press (1990), pp. 21–22. This is a good and relatively non-technical source for samples of early Jewish and Christian apocalyptic writings. It has been reprinted by Hendrickson Publishers and should be available through Amazon’s used book section.

Older and newer interpretations of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. Albrecht Durer did a whole series of engravings on the Book of Revelation. 10

Appreciating the Art and Artistry of

Revelation Left: “Cup of Coffee with Saucer” by Kathleen Patrick

Below: “Kick Start,” photograph by Matthew Bowden, from StockXChng

T

hese two pictures (and those on the next page) purport to represent the same object or scene. Which does it better? Why would someone find the abstract pictures useful or attractive, since they don’t accurately portray their subjects? What bearing might all this have on our understanding of the Book of Revelation?

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“The Starry Night” by Vincent Van Gogh

“Starry, Starry Night” by Chris Perry, National Geographic

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Dr. Seuss and the Symbolism of

Revelation by Gary Manning, Jr., PhD

A

s the father of eight children, I have spent a lot of time with Dr. Seuss. It’s scary that I can quote pages of Cat in the Hat from memory. But my time in Dr. Seuss occasionally pays off when I study the Bible. You see, Dr. Seuss was a political cartoonist in the 1930s and 40s, and political cartoons are ideal analogies for understanding symbolism in Revelation (an idea that I got from Dr. David Scholer, one of my doctoral advisors at Fuller). What is interesting, and what makes this relevant to the study of Revelation, is that Dr. Seuss’ cartoons were immediately obvious to readers when they were printed, but are difficult to understand today unless we study history.

college students, you might not recognize the symbol (or know what the USSR was!). Most people today recognize the swastika on the pig’s hat, but people from another time might not. Most people today would not recognize the chef as Joseph Stalin, but that was clear to Dr. Seuss’ original audience. You have to know something about history to recognize that the cartoon represents Stalinist Russia’s defeat of Hitler’s army outside of Stalingrad in December of 1943 (notice the Christmas wreath on Stalin’s arm). Here’s another one that made immediate sense to the original readers. “Coughlin-ites” refers to followers of Charles Coughlin. Although he is obscure to us, Coughlin

Take a look at the cartoon below. If you are my age or older, you can immediately recognize the hammer and sickle in the chef’s hands as a symbol of Communism or of the USSR — but if you are the age of many of my

was the most popular radio speaker in the US during the 30s and early 40s (more than 40 million listeners, according to the infallible Wikipedia entry). Saying “Coughlin-ites”was something like saying“Ditto-heads” or “Limbaugh-ites” today. But Coughlin was sadly an anti-semitic Nazi sympathizer who blamed the escalating European conflict on England rather than Germany.

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In this cartoon, labels help identify the topic. “Pearl Harbor” and “Manila” on a couple of bricks show that Dr. Seuss is talking about the Japanese attacks that

brought the US into World War II. Dr. Seuss, like others from his time, clearly felt that Japan’s unannounced and unprovoked attacks broke the rules of warfare — and now it was time to take up some of the same dirty tricks? There are only a few symbols here: the top hat on an eagle as a symbol for the US and a swastika for Hitler. Note another culturally-bound image: Hirohito is portrayed in a manner many would now regard as racist. But is Seuss racist? Reading his other cartoons makes me think not — he was in favor of civil rights for African Americans long before it was popular. You can see the relevance for studying Revelation: we are likely to misunderstand the meaning of symbols, such as the beast, 666, Babylon, the two witnesses, or any others, unless we know how John’s audience perceived those symbols in the first century. We also could easily misread the impact of certain images. Just as we might (mis)read Seuss as racist, rather than opposed to the aggression of Japan, some scholars (mis)read Revelation as anti-semitic, rather than responding to first-century Jewish-Christian tension.

The diagram on the next page —“Visions of Daniel and John” — is an attempt by some “Millerites” who lived in the 1800s to prove that Christ was returning in 1844. The specifics are not important, only the concept (still held by many today) that Revelation gives us a definitive road map of current events (in our case, of course,

http://www.thegoodbookblog.com/2011/mar/31/drseuss-and-revelation/

meaning 20–21st century events).

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15

16

The Use of

Standardized Images in Modern Culture

Revelation borrows “standardized images” from the Old Testament and from first century culture — not to conceal but to reveal ideas. Like the Hebrew prophets, it uses satire and exaggeration to make its point. Note how these political cartoons from our own culture use these same techniques. 17

18

The Flow of

Revelation Adapted from William Hendriksen

O

ne must resist the temptation to “organize” Revelation too tightly. In many ways it is a book to be experienced more than analyzed. Nevertheless, its repeating elements suggest that we are seeing roughly the same story from varying vantage points.

The Church suffering in the world (4–7)

Seals

The Church avenged, protected, victorious (8–11)

Trumpets

Christ opposed by dragon, helpers (12–14) Christ & the Dragon

God’s final wrath on the impenitent (15–16)

The fall of Babylon and the Beasts (17–19)

Bowls

Babylon

Dragon’s doom. Victory of Christ & Church (20–22) Consummation

Adapted from William Hendriksen, More Than Conquerors. Baker Book House, 1967.

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New Heavens and Earth

Lampstands

The Final Judgment

Christ’s First Coming

The Church in the world (1–3)

Christ’s Second Coming

The diagram below suggests that the book may be divided into seven sections, each of which spans the time between Christ’s first and second comings. However, note that each section also gets progressively closer to the end.

Viewing Revelation as a

Series of Spirals Craig R. Koester

R

eading Revelation as a whole shows that the book moves in a non-linear way. This insight goes back to the third century, when Victorinus wrote the earliest existing commentary on Revelation, and many recent interpreters have found this approach quite helpful. An outline of the book looks like a spiral, with each loop consisting of a series of visions: seven messages to the churches (Rev. 1–3), seven seals (Rev. 4–7), seven trumpets (Rev. 8–11), unnumbered visions (Rev. 12–15), seven plagues (Rev. 15–19), and more unnumbered visions (Rev. 19–22). Visions celebrating the triumph of God occur at the end of each cycle (4:1–11; 7:1–17; 11:15–19; 15:1–4; 10:1–10; 21:1–22:5). This pattern … looks something like this (A.Y. Collins, Apocalypse, ix–xiv):

Instant Replay? Dr. Michael Kruger, president of Reformed Theological Seminary – Charlotte Campus, compares the seven cycles of Revelation to seven replays of an NFL touchdown. If you didn’t know anything about football and were watching a game on TV when a touchdown was scored, you might assume that the team scored seven straight touchdowns, one right after another, because that’s the way it would look to a football novice. But after you learn the game, you understand that the TV director was actually showing you the same play from seven different angles. So, Revelation gives us seven “instant replays” of the events occurring between the first and second comings of Jesus. Each “replay” shows us different things because it is taken from a different “camera” angle — but each one covers the same period of

Those who read Revelation as a whole encounter visions that alternately threaten and assure them. With increasing intensity the visions at the bottom of the spiral threaten readers’ sense of security by confronting them with horsemen that represent conquest, violence, hardship, and death; by portents in heaven, earth, and sea; and by seemingly insuperable adversaries who oppose those who worship God and Christ. Neverthless, each time the clamor of conflict becomes unbearable, listeners are transported into the presence of God, the Lamb, and the heavenly chorus. These visions appear at the top of the spiral. Threatening visions and assuring visions function differently, but they serve the same end, which is that listeners might continue to trust in God and remain faithful to God.

time. However, a “Revelation novice,” unaware of this literary technique, might think we were seeing seven different events. The table on p. 21 shows some of these parallel features.

Craig R. Koester, Revelation and the End of All Things, p. 39. 20

21 The Fall of Babylon

The Consummation

Chapters 20–22

The Bowls

Chapters 15–16

Chapters 17–19

The Trumpets

Chapters 8–11

Christ and the Dragon

The Seals

Chapters 4–7

Chapters 12–14

Theme

Passage

    

Time Parallels

Woman in desert for 1,260 days (12:6) and 3 1/2 times (12:14) Beast blasphemes for 42 months (13:5)

#1 affects the earth Two witnesses speak #2 affects the sea for 42 months; 1,260 days (11:2–3) #3 affects the rivers #4 affects the sun #5 affects the abyss/ throne of the beast #6 mentions Euphrates #7 ends in judgment

Physical Parallels

The bliss of the redeemed (22:1–6)

Wrath and judgment (19:11–21)

The harvest of the earth: judgment (14:14ff)

“It is done;” God’s wrath is poured out on “Babylon” (16:17ff)

The Kingdom is introduced (11:15)

Silence in heaven (8:1)

Ending Parallels

Parallels in revelation

Literary Parallels in Revelation

at Armageddon  Battle (16:14–16)     and kings of  Beasts earth gather to make against Christ  war (19:19)  Nations of the earth for the battle  gather (20:7ff) 

 There is an interlude  between #6 and #7   seals and bowls 

Other Parallels

22

Seven Propositions about

Revelation Adapted from William Hendriksen

1. Revelation is rooted in the events and circumstances 5. The seven sections of Revelation are arranged in

ascending, progressive order: the final judgment is first announced, then introduced, finally described. Similarly, the new heavens and earth are described more fully in the final section than in the preceding ones.

occurring when it was written and its symbols should be interpreted in light of its first readers.

2. Revelation is also deeply rooted in the Old Testament and should be interpreted in harmony with it.

6. Revelation consists of a series of seven“multi-media” montages — or perhaps“dream-like”visions. The details of each montage should be interpreted in harmony with its central point. Ask, “What is the main idea this section is trying to get across?” and “How does that fit into the whole picture?”

3. The book of Revelation consists of seven sections.

They are essentially parallel: each spans the period from the first to the second coming of Christ. (See the diagram on p. 19 and the articles on p. 20.)

7.

The seals, trumpets, bowls, and similar symbols do not refer to particular events in history, but to principles of human conduct and divine moral leadership that are operating in every age until Christ returns.

4. The seven sections may be grouped into two major

divisions. The first division (chapters 1–11) has three sections and reveals the church—indwelt by Christ—persecuted by the world. The church is avenged, protected and victorious. The second division (chapters 12–22) has four sections and reveals the deeper spiritual background of this struggle. It is a conflict with the dragon in which Christ—and therefore His church—is victorious.

These are adap­ted from William Hendriksen, More Than Conquerors, Baker Book House, 1967. 23

Major Old Testament

Allusions from the Book of Revelation

CHAPTER OF REVELATION

OLD TESTAMENT REFERENCE

1.

Son of Man description

Daniel 7:9ff; 10:5f; Ezekiel 1:7, 26ff; 43:2

2.

Various Old Testament references

Tree of life, paradise of God, Balaam and Balak, Jezebel, etc.

3.

Book of Life Key of David

Exodus 32:33; Psalm 68:28; Malachi 3:16; Isaiah 22:22

4.

Throne set in heaven Four living creatures

Isaiah 6:1; Ezekiel 1:26 Ezekiel 1:10; 10:14; Isaiah 6:1

5.

Scroll

Ezekiel 2:9; Zechariah 5:1–3



Lion of the tribe of Judah

Genesis 49:9; Isaiah 11:10

6.

Horses and their riders

Psalm 45:3f; Zechariah 1:8; 6:3

7. Sealing Blessedness of Redeemed 8, 9. Trumpets of judgment

Ezekiel 9:4 Isaiah 49:10; 25:8; Jeremiah 2:13; 31:16; Ezekiel 34:23 Exodus 7ff, the plagues

10.

Angel swearing The little book

Daniel 12:7 Ezekiel 2:9; 3:4

11.

Measuring reed

Ezekiel 40:3; Zechariah 2:1ff

12.

Woman, child, dragon Michael

Genesis 3:15; Psalm 2:9; Genesis 37:4–10 Daniel 10:13, 21

13.

Beast out of the sea

Daniel 7:2; 2:31

14.

On a cloud like the son of man Winepress

Daniel 7:13; 10:16 Isaiah 63:3

24

CHAPTER OF REVELATION

OLD TESTAMENT REFERENCE

15.

Song of Moses

Exodus 15

16.

Armageddon

Judges 5; II Chronicles 35

17–19. Fall of Babylon Invitation to the birds

Isaiah 13; 14; 21; 46–48; Jeremiah 25; 50–51; Daniel 2:7 Ezekiel 39:17–20

20.

Gog and Magog Books of judgment

Genesis 10:2; Ezekiel 38–39 Daniel 7:10; 12:1; Psalm 69:28

21.

New heavens and earth New Jerusalem

Isaiah 65:17ff; 66:22ff Ezekiel 48:30ff

22.

River of life and tree of life Two witnesses

Genesis 2; Ezekiel 47:1–12 Zechariah 4:2ff

“In Revelation there are no formal citations, but the whole work is saturated with Old Testament allusions. These are drawn from almost the entire range of the Old Testament Canon, though Psalms, Isaiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel contribute by far the largest number.” A.R. Gordon, “Quotations,” Dictionary of the Apostolic Church, vol. II.

25

Miscellaneous comments about

Revelation by various authors

D

oom sayers had a heyday. They predicted catastrophe and destruction. Experts on Bible prophecy began to expound new theories about a coming Great Tribulation and a terrible Apocalypse. Talk of the Last Days and the End Times occupied the attention of Christians everywhere. Complex formulas were contrived to prove that the Anti-Christ and False Prophet had come and that the Great Whore of Babylon had been revealed. Charts were drawn up to show the increasing frequency and intensity of earthquakes, famines, and plagues. The Signs of the Times seemed to indicate that the countdown to Armageddon had actually begun.

against the church in the early chapters of Acts, that is, persecution, moral compromise, and the danger of exposure to false teaching when the apostles became distracted from their chief responsibility, namely, “the ministry of the Word and prayer.” John R.W. Stott, The Message of Acts (Bible Speaks Today). InterVarsity Press (1990), pp. 88–89.

I

am convinced that the plot of the biblical Exodus story provides a way to understand the plagues of Revelation’s seven trumpets and seven bowls. Think of Revelation as a retelling of Exodus. In that ancient story, God threatened Egypt with ten plagues designed both to show God’s power and to persuade Pharaoh to let the people go free. Similarly, in the book of Revelation, God hears the people’s cries and threatens new plagues against Rome’s oppression as a part of the overall goal of liberation from injustice.

[Written of 1453 A.D., following the fall of Constantinople!] George Grant, The Blood of the Moon, Brentwood, TN: Wolgemuth & Hyatt, Publishers, Inc., 1991, p. 70.

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or a full understanding of the early church we need to read “the Acts of the Apostles” and “The Book of Revelation” side by side. Both tell much the same tale of the church and its experience of conflict, but from a different perspective. Luke in Acts chronicles what unfolded on the stage of history before the eyes of observers; John in the Revelation enables us to see the hidden forces at work.

In John’s view, God’s people were experiencing a new Exodus, “not in Egypt but in the heart of the Roman Empire,” suggests Pablo Richard. If Revelation is a new Exodus, then Jesus is the new Moses, leading his followers out of captivity to death and into a new Promised Land of life and healing. Christians are called to “come out” of empire and injustice, just as the Israelites were called to come out of slavery in Egypt.

In the Acts human beings oppose and undermine the church; in the Revelation the curtain is lifted and we see the hostility of the devil himself, depicted as an enormous red dragon, aided and abetted by two grotesque monsters and a lewd prostitute. Indeed the Revelation is a vision of the age-long battle between the Lamb and the dragon, Christ and Satan, Jerusalem the holy city and Babylon the great city, the church and the world. Moreover, it can hardly be a coincidence that the symbolism of the dragon’s three allies in Revelation corresponds to the devil’s three weapons wielded

The entire book of Revelation is full of Exodus imagery, linking the Christian journey to the Israelites’ journey out of Egypt. God’s people are not called to undertake any violent action in the book of Revelation; the Exodus connection underscores that. Rather, as in Exodus, salvation comes only through God’s action and the blood of the Lamb. The Israelites sang a victory song after crossing the Red Sea in the Exodus story. Similarly, in Revelation, God’s people join in singing a song in praise of their deliver26

1524–1526 - Muntzer, a leader of German peasants, announced the return of Christ was near and led them to a terribly unsuccessful battle against government troops.

ance by God and the Lamb. Chapter 16 makes the link explicit between Moses and the Lamb: I saw what appeared to be a sea of glass mixed with fire, and those who had conquered the beast and its image, standing beside the sea of glass with harps of God in their hands. And they sang the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb. (Rev 15:2–3)

1666 - With 100,000 killed from the bubonic plague and the Great Fire of London, it seemed obvious that this year — ending with the number of the beast — would mark the return of Christ! 1809 - Mary Bateman, a fortune-teller, had a magic chicken that laid eggs with end-time messages on them. She caused an uproar when one message said Christ was coming. The uproar ended when an unannounced visitor caught her forcing eggs into the poor chicken’s oviduct!

Barbara R. Rossing, The Rapture Exposed: the Message of Hope in the Book of Revelation. Westview Press (2004), pp. 123–124.

D

ate-setting (or guessing) though explicitly forbidden by Jesus (Matthew 24:36) has been a favorite hobby of Christians through the centuries. Here are just a few:

1843–1844 - William Miller, following a spectacular meteor shower, announced the coming of Christ would be in 1844 and then revised the date several times.

500 A.D. - A Roman priest living in the second century predicted Christ would return in 500 A.D., based on the dimensions of Noah’s ark.

1914 - Charles Russell, a student of Miller’s teachings, founded what became the Jehovah’s Witnesses and predicted the second coming would occur in 1914. JW’s later set the date as 1941.

1000 A.D. - Until the dawn of the second millennium (Y2K), this was surely the most hysterical period of prediction: worldly goods were sold and given to the poor, swarms of pilgrims headed for Jerusalem, buildings were left unrepaired and crops unplanted.

1976 - Evangelist Jack Van Impe predicted a communist flag would fly over Philadelphia in 1976 as part of the Tribulation. Lately, he suggested 2011 (based on a 51-year “generation” after Israel’s recapture of Jerusalem in 1967!). And still more recently (with help from the Mayan calendar) he has suggested that 2012 may well be the year. 1988 - A number of people (most famously Edgar Whisenant) set this date because it was a generation (40 years) after the refounding of Israel in 1948. Hal Lindsey said, “I feel certain that it will take place before the year 2000.” 2000 - Countless!

“Better take it to Mother — that stuff always confuses me.” 27

For dozens more examples, see the Date Setters Diary at www.raptureready.com/ rr-date-setters.html.

28

A Biblical View of

Time And History by Bob Smallman

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ewish interpreters during what Christians now call the inter-testamental period (that is, the time between the close of the Old Testament and the coming of Jesus) believed history was divided into two epochs: the present age and the age to come. These Jewish scholars taught that when the longed-for Messiah would come, the present age would abruptly end, and the age to come would begin.

The Present Age

The Age to Come

As New Testament scholar Craig Koester puts it, “In the Present Age the powers of sin, evil and death are at work. But in the Age to Come there will be only life and righteousness. The classic scenarios expect God to act in a definitive way to end the Present Age by defeating the powers of evil. And they expect the New Age to begin with the resurrection of the dead. In this scenario there is a direct movement from one age to the next.” (The Apocalypse, The Great Courses) This was certainly the view that the disciples held before the ascension of Jesus and the outpouring out of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. So when they heard Jesus talking about “the Kingdom of God,” they assumed that He would be ushering in the “Age of Come,” and they wanted to be a part of the reign of King Jesus over the nations. This explains why they were so confused when Jesus began to talk about His coming suffering and death (in Matthew 16:21–28 and other places) — they were anticipating glory not suffering, power not weakness.

course, Jesus promised them a different kind of power — Holy Spirit power that would enable them not to rule over the nations but to be witnesses to the nations of the Good News of Jesus (Acts 1:8). So the New Testament presents a slightly different picture of the two ages than that held by the Jewish sages. There is an Age to Come, but the apostles soon realized that the Age to Come had already begun in Jesus — even though the Present Age had not yet ended. And that Age to Come would not reach its fullness until Christ returns. In other words — as the diagram on the following page shows — the two ages overlap! We are living in BOTH! In the “Already” and also in the “Not Yet.” Keeping this model in mind will make much of the New Testament come alive! Jesus’life, death, and resurrection really had made a revolutionary change in the world, and yet the powers of sin, death, and evil are still around. As Koester puts it, “Jesus had already risen from the dead, but they [the disciples] had not done so.” So Christians are living between those great realities — the resurrection of Jesus that had already happened and their own resurrection which was yet to occur. With the coming of Jesus, the New Age had begun before the Old Age had fully passed away.

That’s why — even as they gathered with the resurrected Jesus in Acts 1:6 — they asked, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” In other words, “Has The Age to Come finally arrived?”They were in a hurry to grasp the reins of kingdom power. But, of 29

The Age to Come began when Jesus came the first time

The Age to Come The Present Age The Present Age will end when Jesus comes again

the truth that Christ “gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age.…” (1:4) In other words, because we already live in the age to come, we can leave behind some of these trappings of the old age. (And, perhaps, as it dawns on us that we are already seated with Christ in the heavenly realms — as we realize who we already are in Christ — we will hold on to sin a little less tightly.)

Jesus inspired this new way of thinking when He began His ministry by declaring, “The time has come. The Kingdom of God is near!” (Mark 1:15) When Jesus talked about “the time” in this way, His disciples assumed He was suggesting that one time period was ending and another was beginning. Jesus also attributed His ability to drive out demons with the explanation that, “The Kingdom of God has come upon you.” (Matthew 12:28) And yet He also said, “For I tell you I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until the Kingdom of God comes.” (Luke 22:18) So, it HAD come, but it was STILL COMING. Similarly, in His parable of the weeds He taught that the “good seed” and the “weeds”would coexist in the world until the harvest [the judgment] at the end of the age. (Matthew 13:24–30)

So, what are some other practical implications of this idea of the “already … but not yet?” The Book of Acts provides a helpful model. From the focus on the Kingdom in the gospels, we might assume that we’re to wait around until God gathers in the believers at the end of the age (which presumably was near, as Jesus seemed to suggest). And yet as we move into Acts, we see the Spirit sending believers out into the world to declare the Good News of King Jesus’ victory over sin and to establish a gospel community in the world. Because the two ages overlap, therefore, we’re not to abandon the world but infiltrate it. Thus, the final verse of Acts ends not with a triumphal end of the age but with Paul in prison — but preaching about “the kingdom of God” to all who come to see him (Acts 28:31). Even his preaching transcends both ages: he’s suffering in jail, but he’s declaring Christ’s Lordship!

Likewise, John declared, “NOW we are the children of God, and what we WILL BE has not yet been made known.” (1 John 3:2) So we are already God’s children, but there is a “not yet”to our existence that is still coming. The Present Age and the Age to Come overlap. In an expression that had always confused me, Paul wrote to the Ephesians that Christ has “blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ,” (1:3) and — even more — that “God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms.…” (2:6) We are NOW seated in heavenly realms. How so? If we understand that the resurrection of Jesus (a sign of the Age to Come) signals our own future resurrection, these passages begin to make sense. Eternal life (in Greek, “the life of the age”) is already ours in Jesus. We’re not waiting to receive eternal life; it’s ours now! But we are waiting to receive the fullness of the life to come. And when he wrote to the Galatians about not continuing the old Jewish rituals of circumcision, sabbath, and dietary restrictions, Paul began his letter by appealing to 30

Revelation 3–5

Lamb Power Leon Morris, Barbara Rossing, John Stott

C

hapter 4 recorded a vision of God the Creator. Now comes a vision of God the Redeemer, the Lamb who has conquered through his death. The last chapter ended with the worship of the Creator and this will end with the worship of the Redeemer. These two chapters are very important for an understanding of the message of the book. There are mysteries in life. We feel ourselves caught up in the world’s evil and misery and we cannot break free. Some of us become rigid determinists and we all, at times, feel a sense of hopelessness and helplessness in the grip of forces stronger than we. The world’s agony is real. And the world’s inability to break free from the consequences of its guilt is real. This chapter with its seals that no one can break stresses human inability. But it does not stop there. More important is the fact that through the Lamb the victory is won. The seals are opened and God’s purpose is worked out.

sometimes taking in different features of the landscape. Thus we may legitimately expect some things to recur in the visions, but always new details will make their appearance. Leon Morris, Revelation Revised Edition (Tyndale New Testament Commentaries), p. 91.

This is the first of a series, each having seven symbolic repre­sentations of plagues. Here it is seven seals; later we have seven trumpets and seven bowls with the seven last plagues. Some have held that the groups denote separate and success­ive events. Since it is not possible to recognize any one series in the descriptions of the others this view must remain pos­sible. But it is perhaps more likely that there is a unity. Kiddle aptly cites the reaction of Cortez and his men when from their peak in Darien they surveyed the Pacific.

W

e first meet Jesus as the Lamb quite unexpectedly in chapter 5 of Revelation, in the heavenly vision that follows the seven opening letters of chapters 2 and 3. In keeping with the apocalyptic pattern of Revelation, the book takes us on a journey behind the veil into heaven itself where we see God seated on a beautiful throne. All creation is singing praise to God. Singing and worship are central to Revelation, a fact often overlooked by people who see the book only as a system of end-times predictions and timetables. In Reve­lation we sing our way into God’s new vision for our world, more than in any other book of the Bible.

Doubtless it was with ‘a wild surmise’, but doubtless also their gaze shifted, now taking in the immediate foreground, now the middle dis­tance, but always returning to the great ocean which domi­nated the scene. For John, the End is the significant thing. He does not take in the whole in any one vision or series of vis­ions. He deals with different aspects, sometimes covering the same ground from different points of view and

Seated on the throne in heaven, God holds a scroll sealed shut with seven seals that must be opened. But who is worthy to open this scroll? God’s voice from the throne 31

tells John in chapter 5, “Do not weep, for the lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals.”Two words in this admonition — “lion” and “conquer” (nike in Greek) — lead us to expect that a fierce animal will appear to open the scroll with its claws, like the conquering lions in gladiatorial spectacles. A lion would be typical for an apocalypse; such fierce animals are often introduced to advance the plot.…

elders, who doubtless represent the twelve tribes of the Old Testament and the twelve apostles of the New, and so the completed and perfect church ... These chapters of the book of Revelation (4 to 7) leave us in no doubt about the security of the people of God. The Eternal Father sits on his throne, surrounded by the worshipping host of heaven. The Book of Destiny is in the hand of Christ, and no calamity can befall humankind unless he breaks the seals of the book. Moreover the winds of judgment are not permitted to blow upon those who have been sealed by the Holy Spirit. These are the symbols of divine sovereignty. The church’s security is guaranteed by the Holy Trinity.

But Revelation pulls an amazing surprise. In place of the lion that we expect, comes a Lamb…. It is a complete reversal.… No other apocalypse ever pictures the divine hero as a Lamb. The depiction of Jesus as a Lamb shows him in the most vulnerable way possible, as a victim who is slaughtered but standing — that is, crucified but risen to life.… Evil is defeated not by overwhelming force or violence but by the Lamb’s suffering love on the cross. The victim becomes the victor.

John Stott, What Christ Thinks of the Church (Milton Keynes: Word UK, 1990), p. 126.

Lamb theology is what true victory or nike is. For we, too, are “victors” or followers of the Lamb on whom the term nike or conquering is bestowed. This is one of the amazing features of the book. Much of Revelation can sound so violent, but we have to look at the subversive heart of the book — the redefinition of vic­tory and “conquering” — to understand how Revelation subverts vio­lence itself. Just like the Lamb, God’s people are called to conquer not by fighting but by remaining faithful, by testifying to God’s vic­tory in self-giving love. This subversive power of Lamb theology throughout the book of Revelation is what Left Behind and the dis­ pensationalists completely miss. Barbara R. Rossing, The Rapture Exposed: The Message of Hope in the Book of Revelation. (Westview Press), pp. 110–111.

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t the centre of the universe is a throne. From it the wheeling planets receive their orders. To it gigantic galaxies give their allegiance. In it the tiniest living organism finds its life. Before it angels and human beings and all created things in heaven above and earth beneath bow down and humbly worship. Encircling the throne is the rainbow of God’s covenant, and surrounding it are twenty-four other thrones, occupied by twenty-four 32

From All the Tribes of Israel

144,000 Alexander LaBrecque

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he 144,000 out of the twelve tribes of Israel” (7:4–8) has been for many readers one of the most intriguing numbers in Revelation. Who is this mysterious group with the “seal of God” on their foreheads? Christians with futurist interpretations of Revelation regard it as referring to a special group of literal Jews, often seeing in this symbol some significance for the state of Israel in modern Palestine. Sects like Jehovah’s Witnesses and Seventh Day Adventists claim it refers exclusively to an elite group adhering to their unique doctrines. What these three interpretations hold in common—in addition to overlooking the primary relevance of the passage for John’s churches in the Roman empire—is a sharp distinction between “the 144,000” of 7:4–8 and “the great multitude” of 7:9–17.

their enemies because of the sacrifice of Jesus (7:9–14). John heard the number of those sealed before God’s judgments fell, then he saw them after they endured persecution for Christ and were rejoicing in the glory of God. In the Revelation it is not uncommon for what John has first heard to be illuminated or explained by what he then sees (e.g., 1:11ff; 5:5ff.).

The visions of chapter 7 answer the question that concluded chapter 6,“the great day of God’s wrath has come, and who can stand before it?” (6:17). Who can stand in the day of judgment, when God’s righteous vengeance will be poured out upon the earth and its inhabitants? John was shown angels restraining destructive forces of nature, as another angel commands them to do so until God’s people have been marked to be spared from his wrath (7:1–3). This sealing of the servants of God calls to mind similar passages in the Old Testament where his people are protectively marked prior to his judgments (Ex. 12:23; Ezek. 9:1–11). John was told that God’s servants will be sealed as belonging to him, and then he “heard the number of [note that he did not see] the sealed, a hundred and forty-four thousand sealed, out of every tribe of the sons of Israel,” 12,000 of the sealed being from each of the twelve tribes (7:4–8). “After this I looked,” John says, “and behold, a great multitude which no man could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and tongues,” standing in the presence of God and Christ, having“come out of the great tribulation” and now victorious over 33

There are several reasons why“the tribes of Israel”in Revelation 7 should not be literalized. Apocalyptic symbols in the vision of the 144,000 must not be literalized any more than “four angels standing at the four corners of the earth” (7:1) or the seven-headed beast (13:1). The number 144,000 is itself a symbol, suggesting the full number of God’s people. It is the result of multiplying two perfect squares, 12 x 12 (12 taken from the number of Israel’s tribes) and 10 x 10, for emphasis using two numerical expressions of completeness or perfection. Furthermore, the list given in 7:4–8 is not really that of the twelve tribes of Israel, for one of the tribes, Dan, is omitted and replaced by Manasseh, who was not one of the twelve but belongs to Joseph; and since both Manasseh and Joseph are listed, Manasseh is actually included twice! This omission is best explained by the fact that in Jewish though Dan had become associated with idolatry (See Gen. 49:17; Judg. 18:30; I Ki 12:29; Jer. 8:16). John’s list of the tribes may well have been adapted from a Jewish source reflecting this apocalyptic tradition, to symbolically portray that all God’s faithful servants will be protected from his wrath. Numbering God’s people here as “144,000” shows that the full number of them will be safe, not one will be lost. This is parallel to the intent of Jesus’ assurance to the martyrs that “even the hairs of your head are all numbered” by our Father (Matt. 10:30). Describing them as “the sons of Israel” identifies them as the heirs of God’s promises to Abraham. So while in 7:4–8 God’s servants are thus numbered by him, when John is actually shown

them in 7:9 he sees a great, innumerable multitude of Abraham’s heirs, from all nations, both Jews and Gentiles (see Gen. 13:16; 15:15). To John’s fellow believers persecuted for their witness to Christ, Revelation 7 gives two views of the church: 1) as standing on the threshold of the day of judgment, but spared from wrath (7:3–8); and 2) at the consummation, having survived the tribulation by faithfully suffering martyrdom for Christ (7:9–17).

The Church as the New Israel in the New Testament

T

he church can be referred to as “the twelve tribes” (James 1:1; cf. Mt. 19:28, Lk. 22:30), and this is probably the thought when a letter is sent to “the Dispersion” (I Pet. 1:1, mg.). The Christian appears to be the true Jew (Rom. 2:29) and the church “the Israel of God” (Gal. 6:16). Descriptions of the old Israel are piled up and applied to the church (I Pet. 2:9f; cf. Eph. 1:11,14). It is the church which is God’s “peculiar people” (Titus 2:14), and Christ’s own who are “Ab­raham’s seed” (Gal. 3:29) and “the circumcision” (Phil. 3:3). Many hold that “Israel after the flesh” (I Cor. 10:18) implies an “Israel after the Spirit.” The view is thus widespread. Nor is it alien to John. He expresses it by implication when he speaks of those “which say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan” (2:9; cf. 3:9). He regards the new Jerusalem as the spiritual home of Christians (21:2, etc.), and it has on its gates the names of the twelve tribes (21:12). There is thus good reason for seeing a reference here to the church as the true Israel. Here it is the church, sealed in view of the coming trials; later in the chapter it is the church triumphant and at peace. Leon Morris, The Revelation of St. John. Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1969, p. 114.

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ew Testament writers assume that the story of Israel continues within the Christian community. Paul pictures the people of God as an olive tree: non-Jews are grafted into the tree on the basis of their faith in Christ, so that there remains just one tree (Rom. 11:13–24). In Christ, the wall dividing Jew from Gentile is broken down, so that the two peoples are no longer separated on the basis of ethnicity or the Law (Eph. 2:11–22). The term “Israel” is extended to include all who share in the blessings promised to Abraham (Gal. 6:16). Craig R. Koester, Revelation and the End of All Things. Wm. B. Eerdmans, 2001, p. 25.

34

Forty-Two Months, 1,260 Days …

Time, Times, Half a Time Douglas Ezell

I

f you wanted to draw together the themes of Moses and the Exodus (the law and the pivotal event in the history of Israel), Elijah (the father of the prophets), the Christ-event, and the Antichrist motif, how would you do it? That’s a real mind-bogler if ever there was one. By using “42 months,”“1,260 days,”“time, and times, and half a time,” John accomplishes that difficult task. Here John shows the depth of his creative genius under the leadership of the Spirit.

as a symbolic breaking of a three-and-a-half period of the cession of sacrifice and offering of incense. But why three and a half years? This symbol arose during the abomination of Antiochus Epiphanes. His desecration of the temple, which lasted almost exactly three and a half years, became a symbol of national calamity and ultimately the time of Antichrist.1 The expression,“time, and times, and half a time,”is used in connection with the beast of Daniel and the tyrannical figure of Daniel 11 and 12. The reference is derived from the activity of Antiochus and a prototype of the eschatological figure who would persecute God’s people during the end time. The Jews and later the Christians understood “the time, and times, and half a time” as representative of national calamities and ultimately the period of the Antichrist.

The “42 months” and “1,260 days” are equivalent representations of the “time, two times and half a time” of Daniel 7:25 and 12:7. An equivalent time designation is recorded in Daniel 12:11. This allusion to Daniel is found also in Revelation 12:6, 14 and 13:5. In Revelation 12, the allusion is used to symbolize the period of protection of the woman (the people of God) from the dragon. John clearly shows the two symbols, 42 months and 1,260 days, to be equivalents for the same time period. In Revelation 12:6, the symbol for the period of protection is 1,260 days and in verse 14 the same period is designated as “time, and times, and half a time.”

Digested from Douglas Ezell, Revelations on Revelation. Word Books, 1977, pp. 68–80.

Interestingly, the period spent in the wilderness by the children of Israel after the Exodus was 42 years in all. They had been two years in the wilderness before they incurred the 40 years’ penalty. John, by adapting a symbolic calendar year of 12 months of 30 days each, could represent “the time, and times, and half a time” as three and a half years, equals “42 months,” equals “1,260 days.” In this way, the “time, and times, and half a time” could be employed to symbolize the time period of the saints’ “wilderness experience.” The children of Israel were in the wilderness 42 years. The new children of Israel will experience their wandering as pilgrims for a period picturesquely symbolized as 42 months. The reference to “time, and times, and half a time” is derived specifically from Daniel 7:25 and 12:7. The broken week in Daniel 9:27 has also been understood 35

1“The greatest trial of the Jews came in the reign of Antiochus IV, 175-163 B.C. In December 168 B.C. he desecrated Jewish holy places, offered swine on the temple altar, erected an image in the temple, and introduced prostitutes into it. Under the leadership of seven brothers called the Maccabees the Jews revolted and gained their freedom. The period from the first desecration of the temple to the restoration of worship in it was traditionally believed to be three and a half years. These three and a half years of war and suffering made such an impression of the Jews that they became for them a symbol of the troubled time which, they believed, would precede the End of all things. This figure John adopted as his own.” Harry R. Boer, The Book of Revelation, p. 80.

Understanding Scripture’s Message to Its Original Readers

Traveling Instructions Adapted from Dick Lucas, Proclamation Trust

l re ad

ers ?

The Biblical Text

1.

Wh

at

did

it m

ean

to

its

ori g

ina

We must avoid the temptation of asking immediately, “What does this mean for ME?”

Original Readers

Merrill, WI

2. What does it mean for me?

F

irst we must ask, “What did this mean to the original readers? How would they have probably understood it?”

John Stott: “To discover the text’s meaning is of purely academic interest unless we go on to discern its message for

Only then should we ask, “How does this apply to my life now?”

today, or (as some theologians prefer to say) its ‘significance.’ But to search for its contemporary

Many times, the answer to the first questions will be obvious (and may not be any different from what it would mean for us), but sometimes it takes some thought and investigation.

message without first wrestling with its original meaning is to attempt a forbidden short cut. It dishonours God (disregarding his chosen way

Even if you don’t know all the details, just asking the questions will force you to put yourself in the original readers’ shoes.

of revealing himself in particular historical and cultural contexts), it misuses his Word (treating it like an almanac or book of magic spells) and it

As Dick Lucas might put it, we must travel to Corinth before we can travel to Merrill.

misleads his people (confusing them about how to interpret Scripture).”

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The Battle of

Armageddon William Barclay, William Hendriksen

M

agedon or Maggedon may well be connected with the name Megiddo. Megiddo is in the Plain of Esdraelon, which was part of the great highway from Egypt to Damascus. From the most ancient times to the time of Napoleon it was one of the great battle-grounds of the world. This was the plain where Barak and Deborah overthrew Sisera and his chariots (Judges 5:19–21); where Ahaziah died by the arrows of Jehu (2 Kings 9:27); where the good Josiah perished in battle with Pharaoh Necho (2 Kings 23:29,30), a tragedy which burned itself into the Jewish mind and which the Jews never forgot (Zechariah 12:11). It was a battle-ground, as H.B. Swete says, “familiar to a student of Hebrew history.”

Mt. Megiddo • • Valley of Jezreel

Armageddon would mean the city of Megiddo; Harmagedon would mean the mountain of Megiddo. It is most likely that the latter form is right, and yet the plain seems a much more likely battle-ground than the mountains. But there is another strand to add to this. When Ezekiel was describing the last struggle with Gog and Magog, he said that the final victory would be won in the mountains of Israel (Ezekiel 38:8, 21; 39:2, 4, 17). It way well be that John spoke of the Mount of Megiddo to bring his story into line with the ancient prophecy.

H

ence, Har-Magedon is the symbol of every battle in which, when the need is greatest and believers are oppressed, the Lord suddenly reveals his power in the interest of his distressed people and defeats the enemy.… But the real, the great, the final Har-Magedon coincides with the time of Satan’s little season. See Revelation 11:7–11. When the world, under the leadership of Satan, antichristian government, antichristian religion—the dragon, the beast, the false prophet—is gathered against the church for THE final battle, and the need is greatest; when God’s children, oppressed on every side, cry for help; then suddenly, dramatically, Christ will appear to deliver his people. That final tribulation and that appearance of Christ on clouds of glory to deliver his people, that is Har-Magedon. It is for this reason that Har-Magedon is the sixth bowl. The seventh is the judgment-day.

By far the most likely view is that the word is HarMagedon, and that it describes the region near Megiddo in the Plain of Esdraelon which was perhaps the most storied of all battle-grounds in Jewish history. William Barclay, The Revelation of John, volume 2. Philadelphia: The Westminster Press, 1976, pp. 132–133.

William Hendriksen, More Than Conquerors, pp. 196–197.

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Revelation 13:18

The Mark of the Beast Various Authors

Since the identity of the “Mark of the Beast” has been debated from the moment Revelation was written, it’s unlikely we will solve it definitively now. But here are some possibilities!

From F.F. Bruce, Answers to Questions —

I

have no desire to add to the number of interpretations, which must considerably exceed six hundred and sixty-six. One of the wisest remarks on the subject was made by Provost George Salmon of Trinity College, Dublin, who laid down “three rules by the help of which I believe an ingenious man could find the required sum in any given name. First, if the proper name by itself will not yield it, add a title; secondly, if the sum cannot be found in Greek, try Hebrew, or even Latin; thirdly, do not be too particular about the spelling.” For my part, I shall rest content (or nearly so) with “Nero Caesar” until someone shows me a more convincing solution. The question of whether any instance was known of “Nero Caesar” being spelt in such a way as to yield an exact numerical total of 666 was answered affirmatively in the 1950s when the required spelling was found on an Aramaic document of Nero’s reign from the Wadi Murabba’at, west of the Dead Sea.

From John Bright, The Kingdom of God —

R

evelation presents a picture such as only the language of Apocalypse could draw. Sober speech would never have sufficed. On one side are arrayed that old dragon Satan (20:2), his angels, and His Antichrist; all the powers of Evil visible and invisible, on the earth and beyond it. The evil powers of earth seem to be personified in the figure of the unspeakable Nero, number 666 (13:18),1 the Beast. Yet it is not merely Nero, nor Domitian, nor yet Hitler or Stalin that is in question. It is any of them, all of them, none of them. It is all earthly powers, whoever and however many they may be, that subserve the will of the Adversary; that have made themselves antigod and antichrist. It is, if you will, eternal Nero—Nero redivivus—who walks the earth in many incarnations. It is the sum total of evil, and it launches a last demonic assault upon the heavenly Kingdom: the Lamb, the Son of Man, and him who sits upon the Throne. It vents its wrath also with fiendish fury upon the saints of God who live on earth. For them it is a time of decision: with the revelation of Christ there has come also, as it must, the revelation of Antichrist, and one must stand for one side or the other.

From Michael Wilcox, The Message of Revelation —

L

et us therefore paraphrase the verse, as it might have been read to those original hearers. “Let him who has understanding work out a number for the beast — a ‘human’ number, a code such as we already had symbolizing the church [144,000] and the church age [3 1/2 years]. What might you suggest? “How about something which tries to look like truth but isn’t?”“A number as close as may be to perfection, but not achieving it?” “And if the symbol of basic truth is seven, how about six for false religion?”“That would be very appropriate. Actually, perhaps because the beast in all its activities is persistently missing the mark, the number John writes here is not just 6, but 666.” It may not have been exactly like that. But such an approach seems more consistent

The number 666 appears to be achieved by taking the Hebrew letters used to write Nero Caesar (nrwn qsr, rsk norn) and giving them their numerical value (the Hebrews used letters of the alphabet for numerals also). The total would be 666. The figure of 666 is thus a sort of Nero redivivus [Nero returned to life]. The practice of designating persons by numbers in this manner was not unusual. A sentence scrawled on a wall at Pompeii reads: “I love a girl whose number is 545.”Cf. M. Burrows, What Mean These Stones? (New Haven: American Schools of Oriental Research, 1941), p. 270.

1

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with Revelation’s general use of symbolism that do so many other flights of fancy. From Leon Morris, Revelation (Tyndale New Testament Commentaries) —

I

f we take the sum of the values represented by the letters of the name Iesous, the Greek name “Jesus,” it comes to 888; each digit is one more than seven, the perfect number. But 666 yields the opposite phenomenon, for each digit falls short. The number may be meant to indicate not an individual but a persistent falling short. All the more is this likely to be correct if we translate “it is the number of man” rather than “a man.” John will then be saying that unregenerate man is persistently evil. He bears the mark of the beast in all he does. Civilization without Christ is necessarily under the dominion of the evil one. From Hal Lindsey, There’s a New World Coming —

S

ince the number 6 in the Bible stands for humanity, I believe the meaning of 666 is man trying to imitate the trinity of God (three sixes in one person). Anyone who acknowledges this blasphemous trinity by worshiping the 666 Beast will be separated forever from the true triune God.

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Revelation 20

The Millennium Jay Adams

Adams uses the term, “realized millennialist” to refer to interpreters who are most often called “amillennialists.” Amillennialists do not look forward to a literal 1,000-year reign of Christ in the future. They believe that Christ is reigning now.

Realized millennialists neither believe nor teach that the binding of Satan means that all his activity is curtailed. Of course this would be foolish. If “binding” means total inability, then they are wrong. But so was Christ, when he claimed to have bound the strong man (Satan)! While it may be questionable whether the binding of which he spoke (Matt. 12:29) is the same as the one mentioned here, it is nevertheless quite important to note that word “bind” may be used rightly with respect to Satan apart from the idea of total restriction. A straw man is built by those who wrongly assume that “binding” must mean the cessation of all activity. This notion proves too much, for if it were true, it would likewise prove Christ’s words erroneous.

H

aving prophesied the defeat of the two enemies of the church, God now addresses himself to the one remaining question: What of the dragon which inspired them? After all, he is the real enemy. Revelation 20 declares that he shall no longer deceive the nations (Gentiles) as in the past. The reason is obvious when the nineteenth chapter is related to the twentieth: the King of kings has begun to reign over the nations (Rev. 19:15,16). It was predicted that Satan’s time would be “short” (12:12), not thousands of years. Now it has ended. The dragon is seized, cast into the abyss, and the new era begins. The new kingdom of God began at the death of Christ, when principalities and powers were despoiled, but was fully realized only when the Roman empire fell. The short time was that overlapping period when Satan’s tottering world-kingdom co-existed with the newborn world-kingdom of God.

From Christ’s use of the terminology under discussion, it is informative to learn that Satan may be bound in a specific sense, while not restricting his activities in other respects. This is way Paul wrote of the restraints of Satan (II Thess. 2). This is precisely how realized millennialists understand the “binding” in Revelation 20. They do not teach (as is often alleged) that Satan is bound so as to be rendered incapable of any activity at all during the present age. Rather, they believe he was bound in but one sense.

Most premillennialists object violently when the realized millennialist says the 1000 years began in early New Testament times, and continue till the present. For one thing, they have mistaken notions of the nature of the millennium, expecting a semi-golden age. However, this is not the sole objection. Probably the most frequent concerns the binding of Satan. The unrealized millennialist triumphantly points to chapter 20 and says something like this:“How could anyone be so blind as to suppose that Satan is bound today? Look at the sin and iniquity prevailing on every hand. Doesn’t the Scripture warn that the Devil goes about as a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour? Obviously realized millennialists have no answer for this. This is one bedrock objection upon which their system is shattered.”

The specific intent of the binding is plainly defined in the context. Satan is said to be bound “that he should deceive the nations (or Gentiles) no more until the thousand years should be fulfilled” (Rev. 20:3). This partial binding is now in effect. From the beginning of pagan world-empire, until New Testament times, the Gentiles as a whole were under the sway of the deceptive prince of darkness. Who will deny that this universal sway has been shattered? Who will deny that the gospel has now spread to many lands and peoples? Who will deny that the great task of missions which the Savior set before his church after his ascension was identical with this

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purpose of freeing the Gentiles from the deception of Satan? Who will deny that the means by which the missionary endeavor is to be carried out is the Word of God (as shown in Revelation 19)?

ness of the New Testament. II Thessalonians 2 describes this period of apostasy, and the Savior characterized it as an era in which it is necessary for him to ask whether it is possible to find the faith on the earth.

Satan is not allowed to reestablish his fallen worlddominion until the thousand years are finished. What believer will deny that ever since the fall of Rome, there has been only one truly world-wide kingdom in existence—the kingdom of God? It is not debatable that in Old Testament times the Gentiles were without the covenants and promises. Without the revelation of the law and redemption, they continued in their own natural state, unable and unwilling to free themselves from the deceptive power of Satan. The kingdom of God was then a small, localized society, identified almost entirely with the believing portion of one nation. But after the death and resurrection of Christ this situation radically changed. He said, “All authority is given unto me. Go ye therefore and make disciples of all nations” (Matt. 28:18, 19). This new authority given him “to reign over the Gentiles” is in harmony with Romans 15:12 and Revelation 19:15. He consequently instructed his disciples to carry the message of salvation unto the uttermost parts of the earth.

Realized millennialists have the only adequate answer for the radical change which is coming: Satan, the great deceiver, will be loosed from his prison, and allowed to deceive the nations once more. It is possible that during this period, there will be a large turning of Hebrews to faith in Christ, as Romans 11 may indicate. He gathers the nations together against the camp of the saints in a last attempt to destroy the kingdom of God and restore his lost world dominion. But the Savior returns in flaming fire, and instead destroys both him and his hosts. A comparison of II Thessalonians 1 with Revelation 20:9, 10 shows that these are prophecies of the same event. Here, in the twentieth chapter of Revelation, is where the coming of Christ occurs. Christ’s coming follows the millennium and immediately precedes the judgment. It is not mentioned in great detail, since this is not the subject of the book, which is concerned with things which will shortly come to pass. The resurrection takes place, the books are opened, and the sheep are separated from the goats (Matthew 25 cannot be associated with another event than that in Revelation 20:11–15). The “little season” then conforms perfectly to the New Testament picture of the close of this age.

A word should be said about the millennium as a length of time. The 1000 years is an “ideal” period meaning a long time. It is set in contrast to the shorter designations (three and a half years, 42 months, etc.) which describe the time of intense suffering of the saints. In contrast to these, it embraces the period of ascendancy for the church, or kingdom of God. It is no more to be taken literally (i.e., as an exact period) than the “ten days” of persecution predicted in Revelation 2:10 or the“144,000” sealed ones. These are numbers which create a picture rather than give an exact sum. Already the “millennium” has lasted almost two thousand years. At the conclusion of the period during which Satan is bound, he is released from prison. Like so many other convicts, he returns to his old ways. He goes out to deceive the Gentiles (nations) again. That a time is coming when the nations as a whole will sink into the deep darkness of religious ignorance and the truth will be so completely repressed that the pre-advent world will become similar to the “days of Noah” is the constant wit-

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Condensed from Jay E. Adams, The Time Is at Hand. Nutely, NJ: Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Co., 1970, pp. 83–87.

On “Gog and Magog”

Three Millennial Viewpoints

H

P

ere we come on a picture which etched itself deeply, if mysteriously, on Jewish thought, the picture of Gog and Magog. We find it first in Ezekiel 38 and 39. There Gog of the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and of Tubal, is to launch the great attack upon Israel and is to be in the end utterly destroyed. It may be that originally Gog was connected with the Scythians whose invasions all men feared.

re-millennialists hold that at Christ’s return the Christian dead will be raised, and believers still living on earth will be caught up to meet Him in the air (I Thess. 4:17). They will reign on earth with Christ for 1,000 years (the millennium). After this Satan will be released for a time. This short period will be followed by the raising of the rest of the dead. In this way there is an explanation of the two resurrections. Finally there comes the judgment of the great white throne.

As time went on, in Jewish thought Gog and Magog came to stand for everything that is against God. The rabbis taught that Gog and Magog would assemble themselves and their forces against Jerusalem, and would fall by the hand of Messiah.

Post-millennialists differ in seeing the return of Christ as taking place after the millennium. Sometimes they see the millennium as standing for the triumph of the gospel in this present age, sometimes as a literal 1,000 years at the end of time.

William Barclay, The Revelation of John, Vol. II, p. 194.

A-millennialists [what Jay Adams calls “realized millennialists”] hold that there is no literal millennium. The 1,000-year period is symbolical. It stands for the whole time between the life of Jesus on earth and His second coming. They usually see the first resurrection as the new birth of the believer, his rising from the death of sin. Leon Morris, The Revelation of St. John, pp. 233–234.

➠

The Tribulation

Armageddon

The Millennium

The Final Judgment New Heaven and Earth

The Second Coming

The Rapture

➠

Christ’s First Coming

The Three MillennialPPositions Three Millennial osiTions Satan’s Last Rebellion

Pre–Millennialism

The Rapture and Second Coming

➠

[Tribulation/Armageddon]

[The Millennium]

A–Millennialism

The Rapture and Second Coming The Millennium

Post–Millennialism

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➠

Tribulation

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Revelation 20

A Pre-Mil, Pre-Trib View George Miladin

Hal Lindsey, in his book, The Late Great Planet Earth, popularized a view of the last days significantly different from that proposed during our class. In the following article George Miladin summarizes Lindsey’s views. Though Miladin himself takes a different approach, his summary is a fair one.

first a southern confederation of Arab African nations headed by Egypt, which launches an invasion against Israel (Daniel 11:40a). But before the destination is reached, Russia, enamored with the thought of an easy conquest of mineral rich Israel who is resting in the security of the political aspects of the covenant with Anti-Christ, cuts off and militarily overwhelms the southern confederation (Daniel 11:42–43). Like a whirlwind Russia sweeps into Palestine (Daniel 11:40b, Ezekiel 38), having established control over the entire middle east. In Palestine the Russian force establishes command headquarters on Mt. Moriah (Daniel 11:45). Not tolerant of this breach of world peace, the Roman dictator mobilizes forces around the world, which causes alarm to the Russians. However, the Russian commander confidently prepares to meet the forces of the Roman leader, simultaneously seeking to eradicate the Jewish people (Daniel 11:45). It is during this assault that

A

ccording to many dispensationalists, Israel has now established itself in the land of Palestine as foretold in the prophets (Isaiah 11:11–16, Jeremiah 23:5–8, Ezekiel 37:21–28). Therefore, we are told, we can look for the soon rapture of the church (I Thessalonians 4:14–18) and the last seven years of history which will culminate in the Second Coming of Christ (II Thessalonians 1:7; 2:1,8). This seven year “final countdown,” characterized by unprecedented evangelistic activity and success on the one hand (Revelation 7:9–14), and incomparable persecution and tribulation on the other (Matthew 24:21), begins with the “Roman Dictator,” Anti-Christ, making a religio-politico covenant with Jews in Jerusalem (Daniel 9:27). This covenant promises the Jews protection and freedom to maintain their temple worship in return for their allegiance. For three and one half years remarkable progress is made under the leadership of Anti-Christ with the world captivated by his ability to maintain peace. Riding on the crest of world popularity, he goes to Jerusalem where in the temple he proclaims himself as “God” (II Thessalonians 2:4). This breaking of the covenant (Daniel 9:27) is the sign for Jewish “believers” to flee to the mountains and canyons of Petra for divine protection (Matthew 24:16), for war is now to be unleashed upon the earth with the horrors of Revelation 6:19 played out on the stage of history. With all eyes turned towards Palestine there develops 45

Israel experiences her greatest number of conversions (Zechariah 13:8,9). The subsequent attack launched by the Romans forces utterly demolishes the Russian army (Ezekiel 39:3–5) while at the same time God himself sends fire on Russian and various coastlands (Ezekiel 39:6). Now there are only two great spheres of power left to fight the climactic battle of “Armageddon” (Revelation 16); the combined forces of western civilization under the Roman dictator and the 200 million Red Chinese are designated in Revelation 16:12 as the Kings of the East. (The dictator’s method of mobilizing a world force is to send out a “demonically inspired” message promising lasting peace once the last enemy—China—is vanquished.) The battle is joined at Armageddon though the most terrible fighting centers around Jerusalem (Zechariah 12:2,3; 14:1–2). The shock wave emerging from this conflict engulfs all nations and brings unprecedented destruction upon the great cities of the world, total annihilation averted only by the Second Coming of Christ who returns with his saints to establish his millennial reign in Jerusalem (Revelation 20).

A pre-millennial, pre-tribulational view of the end times

Edgar Whisenant’s Certainty About the Return of Christ in 1988: Reason #17 The Following is truly an amazing observation:

George C. Miladin, Is This Really the End? Cherry Hill, NJ: Mack Publishing Co., 1972. pp. 5–7.

No other time in all history — past, present, or future — will fit all the 886 end-time Bible prophecies of the Old and New Testaments perfectly to the very second of time as do the lunar dates of the Seven Feasts of Israel fit the Bible verses and the 70th week of Daniel years from Day of Atonement 1988 through to the Day of Atonement 1995 to verify that from 1988 to 1995 is the 70th week of Daniel.

Hal Lindsey, in a book written in 1976, comes very close to “date setting,” as he declares that Jesus most likely would come within the next 40 years (the generally accepted definition of a “generation”):

I

t is my unwavering conviction that this is the Terminal Generation. By this I mean that this generation is witnessing the coming together of all the prophetic signs into the exact pattern that Jesus and the other prophets predicted would immediately precede His return…

Edgar C. Whisenant, 88 REASONS Why the Rapture Could Be in 1988, p. 22. Note that Whisenant’s claim was identical to previous predictors of Christ’s return in other centuries: “Our time is the only time all these Biblical prophesies are being fulfilled!”

…today is different. We see the prophetic signs of the pattern of history which precedes the Second Coming, and since we know that the Rapture occurs before that, we must conclude that it is most definitely the general time of the Rapture.

Even though he said in the title of his booklet, “… the Rapture COULD Be in 1988,” Whisenant claims throughout that, to use one example, “…this wicked generation (1948–1988) will certainly not pass until all these things have happened.” (p. 10)

Hal Lindsey, The Terminal Generation. New York: Bantam Books, 1976. pp. 185, 191. (Emphasis added) 46

H

arry Ironsides was a well-known Fundamentalist preacher of the early 20th century. This was his diagram representing a pre-millennial, pre-tribulational view of Revelation. Even though the title of the diagram is, “The Revelation of Jesus Christ,”one must not assume that all this material comes directly from the Book of Revelation. Indeed, this particular approach to the end times requires something of a “jigsaw puzzle” approach of pasting in verses from all over the Bible — verses that in their own context may not have anything to say about the return of Christ.

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Four Approaches to Interpreting the Book of

Revelation W

here you begin with Revelation determines where you will come out. Everything depends on your interpretive “grid,” your assumptions about what the book is about and how to understand it.

If you believe that virtually everything is to be understood absolutely literally, you will read it differently from someone who sees its pages filled with symbolism. (Though, to be fair, no one takes the whole book literally!) Similarly, if you feel that Revelation has very little to do with the time in which it was written but is only about the future, you will interpret it differently from someone who feels it applies to every age of the church — or that it deals primarily with events in the first and early second centuries. From the earliest days of the church this great book has inspired both admiration and confusion, and various interpreters have explained it quite differently. So it should come as no surprise that the modern church is just as divided over its meaning. Through the years four main schools of interpretation have arisen (with assorted variations and combinations): Idealism, Preterism, Historicism, and Futurism. The following diagram (which draws heavily upon but also freely adapts one developed by Doug Baumont at http://www.dougbeaumont.org/SoulDevice/proph_ revoutline.html) will show how each of these interpretive traditions understands the key passages of Revelation. (The notes under “Idealism” often quote or summarize William Hendriksen, More Than Conquerors.) While the pastor holds to a combination of the Idealist, Preterist and Futurist viewpoints, he primarily follows an Idealist approach. However, because so many Bible-believing Christians differ over how to interpret Revelation, we must always approach our work with great humility. Basic Definitions



IDEALISM

The book is primarily a revealing of Jesus Christ as He cares for His suffering people from His ascension until His return in glory.

PRETERISM Christ is showing John the events that would occur at and immediately following the fall of Jerusalem in AD 70. These events will occur very soon after the book is written.

HISTORICISM

FUTURISM

John’s vision is of events that would soon begin to take place — and that would continue to occur throughout history until Christ’s return. (Heavily weighted against Roman Catholicism.)

John is only being shown events that would occur immediately before the second coming of Christ. The events described in the book all lie in the distant future from John.

HISTORICISM

FUTURISM

These churches were chosen to represent seven ages (or stages) of the church in history. So, for example, the seventh church (Laodicea) represents the churches of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. (See the following chart.)

These are seven churches of John’s day (“the things which are”). Futurists differ about whether they also represent various church ages or are representative of churches that have always existed in every age.

The Seven Churches (Revelation 1–3)



IDEALISM

These real churches also typify all the congregations (good and bad) that have existed throughout the history of the church.

PRETERISM These are simply the churches that existed under these conditions in Asia minor prior to the destruction of Jerusalem.

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The Ages of the Church According to the Historicist Interpretation 1. Ephesus: (AD 34–95) The church from the Apostolic age until the end of the first century 2. Smyrna: (AD 95–313) The church under Roman persecution 3. Pergamum: (AD 313–606) The church, now under Roman Catholic rule, in political power 4. Thyatira: (AD 606–1517) The church under persecution by Roman Catholicism 5. Sardis: (AD 1517–1793) The church of the Reformation 6. Philadelphia: (AD 1793 to Christ’s return) The “true church” from the Great Awakening to the end 7. Laodicea: (Present day and into the future) The lukewarm church of the last days

God on His throne (Revelation 4)



IDEALISM

God is on His throne and in control of all the events of history, even though God’s people on earth may be suffering and experiencing persecution for a while.

PRETERISM God is on His throne as the Judge who is about to vindicate the martyrs of all time by destroying Jerusalem.

HISTORICISM

FUTURISM

God is sovereign over all, and as such is about to show what will happen shortly. The following chapters show the conquest of pagan Rome (6) and the fall of the Roman Empire (8–11).

Having viewed the entire church age in the previous chapters, we are now shown what happens after the church age (dispensation). The following events are all in the future (even of our own time). The command, “Come up here” of 4:1 represents the rapture of the believers from the earth.

HISTORICISM

FUTURISM

The twenty-four elders represent the church which has replaced the priesthood of the Old Testament.

They represent the saved church, now in Heaven following the (pre-tribulation) rapture.

The Twenty-Four Elders (Revelation 4:4, 10; 5:1–8)



IDEALISM

These are or represent the priestly function of the church. Twelve tribes and twelve apostles together show the people of God of the Old and New Testaments serving God.

PRETERISM Some interpreters see no particular significance to them — only that they are included to complete the story. Others would agree with one of the other views.

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The scroll (Revelation 5)



IDEALISM

The scroll is the redemptive plan of God for salvation or more generally the history of the world that only the Lamb is worthy to unseal.

PRETERISM The scroll is the judgment handed down on Jerusalem or the beginning of the New Covenant.

HISTORICISM

FUTURISM

The scroll is God’s plan for the future of the church.

The scroll is the “deed” to the earth. God is about to reclaim that which was forfeited in the fall.

HISTORICISM

FUTURISM

The unsealing of the scroll is the beginning of the fall of the Roman empire.

The scroll is the beginning of the period of tribulation.

HISTORICISM

FUTURISM

This is the period of time from AD 96–180, the “Golden Age” of the Roman Empire. The five emperors of this period waged much war, conquering as they went.

This begins the period of tribulation. Most view the rider as Antichrist or a representative of false Christs.

The Seals (Revelation 6)



IDEALISM

The scrolls and seals do not refer to specific events but represent the continuing cycle of God’s dealings with mankind. In each successive story that unfolds we see how God rules over kingdoms and people — and how he will judge them. The seals describe the persecution of the church by the world.

PRETERISM The scroll is God’s decree against Jerusalem. Opening the first four seals brought the Romans against the city during the Jewish war. The rest tell the story of the beginning of the siege against the city.

Seal 1 (White horse)



IDEALISM

Some say the white horse represents the spread of the gospel (and may represent Christ Himself ). Others say this is conquest in general that goes on throughout history.

PRETERISM This is the conqueror of Jerusalem, perhaps the general Titus or Vespasian. Others believe the rider is Christ, going forth in judgment. The seals are generally not seen as historically sequential (in other words, you don’t have to wait until all the seals are broken to open the scroll.) So the seals basically introduce the judgments that will begin in chapter 8.

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Seal 2 (Red horse)



IDEALISM

This represents war in general (especially as war is seen as a manifestation of God’s judgment). Some say it is the persecution of Christians as the gospel spreads.

PRETERISM This is the peace taken from Jerusalem, a result of external (approaching Roman armies) and internal strife.

HISTORICISM

FUTURISM

This is the period of civil war within the Roman Empire (AD 180–284).

This is the distress of nations in the end time. As tensions rise we will see more and more wars. Some say the red color signifies Russia or nuclear bombs.

HISTORICISM

FUTURISM

This is the time of heavy taxation of the subjects of the Roman Empire that resulted in economic depression.

Most see this as famine, a consequence of the warfare of the previous seals. Some say it is indicative of the economic upheaval in the tribulation period.

HISTORICISM

FUTURISM

Possibly the era between AD 248 and 268 when great numbers of people were killed as a result of invasions by hordes overrunning the Roman world.

Death is the result of the previous seals, and now we see its toll. Some place this death within the Great Tribulation (the last 31/2 years), others to the entire period (seven years).

Seal 3 (Black horse)



IDEALISM

This is famine or (in modern terms) economic recession that occurs throughout history.

PRETERISM This is the incredible food shortage that occurred in Jerusalem because of the Roman siege.

Seal 4 (Pale horse)



IDEALISM

Deaths that occur throughout history as a result of God’s judgment on sin (not death due to a single particular calamity).

PRETERISM This pestilence would come from the piles of dead bodies within the besieged Jerusalem. God uses this fourth method to judge Jerusalem much as He did in Babylonian times (Ezekiel 14:21).

Seal 5 (The Martyrs)



IDEALISM

A vision of the state of God’s martyrs from any age. They live and are shown to be a type of selfsacrifice to God. They will be vindicated.

PRETERISM Jerusalem was identified by Christ of being guilty of the blood of the righteous. This vision shows John that while the martyr’s oppressors still live, they will soon be judged (with the destruction of Jerusalem).

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HISTORICISM

FUTURISM

This is the time of the Roman persecution of the church (approximately AD 270–304).

These are the martyrs killed since the beginning of the Tribulation.

Seal 6 (Earthquakes, etc.)



IDEALISM

This is the culmination of judgment — God’s special intervention — the coming of Christ. The seven structures and seven classes of persons suggest the judgment of all creation at His coming.

PRETERISM The apocalyptic language here, used elsewhere in relation to God’s judgment on a nation, shows that this Day of the Lord is the end of Jerusalem and the end of the Jewish state.

HISTORICISM

FUTURISM

Some say this is the fall of paganism in Rome in AD 304 with the coming of Constantine. Others that it is the division of the Roman Empire in AD 395. Still others that it is the invasion of the Goths and Vandals between AD 376 and 418.

While many take this as symbolic, most would say that this is a literal event announcing the beginning of the tribulation to those on earth who might have questioned it before. Some see nuclear war here.

HISTORICISM

FUTURISM

This is the church, spiritual Israel. They are protected from the hordes pictured in the first four trumpets. Or they symbolize the Arian or Pelagian errors beginning to enter the church.

This is the “last days church” in symbolic form. Dispensationalists would say that this is the godly remnant of (physical) Israel who will survive the tribulation time to witness to the rest of the world.

HISTORICISM

FUTURISM

These are the glorified Gentile believers of all time.

These are the believers who are saved during the Great Tribulation (presumably martyred). Dispensationalists would argue that they are not the church as such but some special class of “tribulation saints” who have responded to the new “gospel of the kingdom.” They will enter the millennial kingdom but are not in the same class as the saints of “the gospel of grace.”

The 144,000 Sealed (Revelation 7:1–8)



IDEALISM

The answer to the question, “Who can stand?” is answered here. These were sealed before the horsemen began to ride (Zechariah 6:5). These are the people of God, the church, spiritual Israel, who do not have to endure God’s judgment.

PRETERISM These are the Jewish Christians in Jerusalem (the “first fruits” of 14:4) who escaped the slaughter of AD 70. The number 144,000 is symbolic of the complete group.

The Great Multitude (Revelation 7:9–17)



IDEALISM

This is the glorified church of all ages who have come out of the suffering and trials they have faced.

PRETERISM These are the glorified saints in heaven who have come out of the Great Tribulation (= the destruction of Jerusalem and the end of the Jewish age). The result of this destruction was God’s breaking off of (physical) Israel (Romans 11:17) and the spread of the gospel to all nations.

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Seal 7 (Silence in heaven - Revelation 8:1–5)



IDEALISM

This is the “calm before the storm,” the lull before the rest of God’s judgments begin (Habakkuk 2:20). The expectation of what is to come brings a stunned silence to those in heaven.

PRETERISM The silence comes as the martyrs are vindicated and their cries silenced. It ends when the prayers of the saints begin anew as persecutions continue on the earth.

HISTORICISM

FUTURISM

This is the interval of seven years (AD 324–395) before the first barbarian horde (the first trumpet) comes. It may be the time during which believers were sealed.

This is a literal half hour time period in which the scroll (which contains the trumpet and bowl judgments) is now opened. The expectation of what is to come brings a stunned silence to those in heaven.

HISTORICISM

FUTURISM

The trumpets are the invasions of Rome by the hordes, and, later, the fall of Constantinople.

The trumpets show the judgments of God on the earth during the Tribulation period.

The Trumpets (Revelation 8:6–9:21)



IDEALISM

The seals of persecution are followed by the trumpets that warn of coming judgment. As with the seals, the trumpets do not refer to particular separate events but to woes that occur all the time in the world that warn people of coming judgment.

PRETERISM The first four trumpets are the atrocities suffered by the Jews at the hands of the Romans during the Jewish War (AD 66–70). The final ones refer to the fall of Jerusalem.

Trumpet 1 (Hail and Fire Mixed with Blood)



IDEALISM

The trumpets are announcements of greater judgment to come. Like the plagues of Egypt, they are not for believers. They are symbolic of events common throughout history. The first four are specifically against things that people usually rely on for life.

PRETERISM The trumpets describe the time leading up to Jerusalem’s destruction as the land is ravaged by Roman armies. They are also pictures of the plagues of Egypt. The events that brought forth national Israel will now destroy her and bring spiritual Israel to life (Exodus 15:26.

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HISTORICISM

FUTURISM

These are the four great attacks upon the Roman Empire (AD 400–476). The Goth’s attack destroyed much of the land. The 1⁄3 of the earth is either the Roman Empire (which was 1 ⁄3 of the known earth) or the western division of the Empire.

Futurists are divided as to how literally to take these trumpets. Those who believe they are symbolic suggest that the trees represent leaders and the grass people. Most dispensationalists are literalists and understand this to be the effects of a comet or meteor falling to the earth. Others say it is nuclear war.

Trumpet 2 (Burning Mountain into the Sea)



IDEALISM

This is a symbol (“what looked like…”) of disasters that occur on the sea that should call people to repentance.

PRETERISM Symbolically, if the mountain is seen as God’s holy mountain, its burning is Rome’s siege, and being thrown into the sea is its being given to the Gentile world. The sea turning to blood is a literal description of the Sea of Galilee when the Jews fled into it to escape the Roman armies who then cut them down in the water.

HISTORICISM

FUTURISM

The great mountain is the great power of the Vandals (AD 428–468), a great sea power. They slaughtered many people on land and sea.

For those who interpret it symbolically, the mountain is a great power, perhaps the revived Roman Empire of the Antichrist, and the waters are the Gentiles. Others make this the fall of spiritual Babylon. Literalist interpreters say it may be an asteroid falling into the ocean or a hydrogen bomb.

HISTORICISM

FUTURISM

This is the coming of Attila the Hun. The Huns were masters of river battle, and the dead bodies in the rivers polluted the water. The star is a symbol of a prince, Attila himself.

Symbolically this could be the reign of the Antichrist. Literalistic interpretations usually center around a meteor that breaks up as it enters the atmosphere and is distributed through out the streams. Nuclear fallout is also suggested.

Trumpet 3 (Great Star Falling)



IDEALISM

Environmental disasters are also warning-voices of God’s coming judgments.

PRETERISM The waters turned bitter in Israel when the bodies of the dead began to decay. Symbolically, it is the opposite of Moses’ tree thrown into the water to make it pure (Exodus 15:25). God has sent the plagues of Egypt upon Israel, as He said He would.

Trumpet 4 (A Third of the Sun, Moon, Stars)



IDEALISM

All evils that are due to the abnormal functioning of heavenly bodies throughout this entire age. The entire universe is used by the Lord as a warning for those who do not serve him and who persecute His people.

PRETERISM The many kings and princes who were killed during the first century are the “suns” and “stars.”

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HISTORICISM

FUTURISM

The darkness signifies the Roman Empire now laid waste (AD 476).

Symbolically this is the dimming of the light of truth during the tribulation. Literally it is the effect on the atmosphere or heavenly bodies that either dims the light by 3⁄1or makes a day 3⁄1 shorter. Others see this as atmospheric pollution caused by nuclear fallout.

Trumpet 5 and First Woe



IDEALISM

The falling star is Satan (Luke 10:18). The locusts symbolize the demonic powers of hell operating in the hearts of wicked people; though not, of course, in believers.

PRETERISM The star is either a spirit of a man, possibly Gessius Florus who terrorized the Jews for five months after the slaughter of 3,600 innocent citizens. The demons could be the false religious teachings that resulted in the religious apostasy evident in Jerusalem near the end. The reference to faces like men but hair like women could be a description of transvestism that was occurring at the time.

HISTORICISM

FUTURISM

The locusts are the Saracens (Muslim Arabs) who attacked the eastern Roman Empire from AD 612–763. The fallen star is Mohammed, a prince who had lost his position in a royal family. He commanded them in the Koran not to harm vegetation. They also wore turbans, had long hair, and wore iron breastplates. Their soldiers were expert horsemen.

Even the more literal interpreters see the star as a person, most as Satan himself. (Hal Lindsey believes it is some kind of nuclear device.) The locusts are demons who are allowed to torment and even possess all but the 144,000 sealed by God. Some suggest the locusts are an army. Lindsey suggests they are Cobra helicopters that spray nerve gas from their tails.

HISTORICISM

FUTURISM

This is the destruction of the eastern Roman Empire from AD 1055–1453. The horsemen are the Turkish hordes that led this attack.

Many futurists consider the angels to be fallen angels who control a 200,000,000 man (or demon) army from the east (Orient). Some see the horses as references to tanks and other military materiel such as nuclear warheads. Whatever the case, by the end of this judgment 1⁄2 of humankind will have been killed since the opening of the fourth seal.

Trumpet 6 and Second Woe



IDEALISM

All wars — past, present, and future serve as a punishment and warning voice for unbelievers. Meanwhile, God’s people pray.

PRETERISM These are the Roman armies encamped along the Euphrates River. Though not a literal number, 200,000,000 shows this to be an overwhelming army. Preterists who view Revelation as only concerning Jerusalem place this at the onset of the invasion. Those who see the rest of the book as dealing with the fall of Rome see this as the final push of the invasion that destroyed the city.

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The Little Scroll (Revelation 10:1–11)



IDEALISM

The scroll is the Word of God, the gospel which is sweet. But its proclamation brings bitter persecution. On the other hand the prohibition to write what he had heard is a reminder that there is much in history and in the future which we cannot understand.

PRETERISM For those who believe Revelation only concerns Jerusalem, this is the same scroll we saw in chapter 5, except that now it is nearly finished. Others who see in chapters 4–11 the destruction of Jerusalem and who see in chapters 13–19 the fall of Rome, this is a further prophecy about Rome’s destruction. The thunder’s message is sealed because some of these things are still future.

HISTORICISM

FUTURISM

With the fall of the eastern Roman Empire (Trumpet 6), we now move to developments in the west. With the rise of the Reformation, the Bible (the little scroll) is being opened for everyone. The seven thunders may be the seven crusades, seven battles before the French Revolution, or seven countries which embraced the Reformation.

Some see it as the portion of the “title deed” to the earth that Christ shares with believers. Some say it is judgment that believers need not know about since Christ has born it for us. Others say it is Old Testament prophecies regarding Israel during the tribulation. And still others say it is simply to show that God does not reveal the entire future to us.

HISTORICISM

FUTURISM

There was always a faithful remnant in the preReformation church. These faithful groups, spread over the 1,260 years of Rome’s domination of the church, are the witnesses.

Most futurists believe that the two witnesses are either Moses and Elijah or Enoch and Elijah. One interpreter speculates that they are Elijah and John himself (see John 21:22– 23).

HISTORICISM

FUTURISM

This is the French Revolution, introducing the bowl judgments.

This is a picture of the end, though not actually the end. Post-tribulational futures (including many in the Idealist school of interpretation), who see Revelation as a series of recapitulating visions, see this as the end of the world (as they would the seventh seal and the seventh bowl).

The Two Witnesses (Revelation 11:1–14)



IDEALISM

The witnesses are the true church bearing witness to the gospel throughout the present age.

PRETERISM Some say they represent the church and government (Zechariah 4:11–14). Others that they are representative of the prophetic witness of the whole Old Testament. One author believes they are Peter and James.

Trumpet 7 and the Third Woe



IDEALISM

The judgment is not described but introduced. This is the end of sin and the display of God’s heavenly Kingdom. (See also the Futurism description.)

PRETERISM Christ began to reign spiritually on the cross. This is his vindication, the destruction of the earthly temple. Now His reign will spread to the church and throughout the world.

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The Woman (Revelation 12)



IDEALISM

The woman is believing Israel (the church – God’s people). The child is Christ. This is a picture of His birth, life, death, and resurrection. It is a picture both of what happened in history and what shall happen as God continues to protect His people.

PRETERISM The woman is the believing remnant of Israel and her child is Christ. The flight of the woman is the believing Jews who escaped the destruction of Jerusalem.

HISTORICISM

FUTURISM

The woman is the church and her child is the church in the world gradually gaining political power. The child being “caught up” is a picture of Constantine’s ascension to the throne and his rule through the church. Her flight is the struggle by the church of Constantine’s day to bring down the heathen forces (AD 324– 363 – against Julian).

The woman is Israel and the child is Christ. Her flight is that of the Jews in the future as Jerusalem lies under siege. Hal Lindsey says this may be an American airlift (hence the eagle’s wings — transport planes).

The Dragon (Revelation 12)



IDEALISM

The dragon is Satan, often working through political powers on earth.

PRETERISM The dragon is Satan working through the great empires of the world that have come against Israel. At the time of writing it is the Roman Empire.

HISTORICISM

FUTURISM

The dragon is the Roman heathen attempting to destroy Roman Christianity.

The dragon is Satan empowering a revived Roman Empire in the last days.

HISTORICISM

FUTURISM

Generally, this beast is seen as pagan Rome with its ten subordinate kingdoms and the seven forms of government Rome has had.

The final deification of worldly power, this is the revived Roman Empire of the last days. It is the kingdom of the Antichrist and also Antichrist himself. The deadly wound may be some sort of bodily resurrection that amazes the world or simply the fact of Rome’s revival.

The Beast out of the Sea (Revelation 13:1–10)



IDEALISM

This beast is worldly governmental power directed against the church throughout the ages. It is Satan in the guise of a political system.

PRETERISM This beast is the Roman Empire, specifically Emperor Nero who killed himself, throwing the Empire into turmoil, and yet it survived.

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The Beast out of the Earth (Revelation 13:11–18)



IDEALISM

This is heathen religion and heathen politics cooperating with one another in their battle against the church.

PRETERISM This is the cult of emperor worship which was required in the first century when bowing down to a statue of the emperor was used as a test of fidelity to the state. As an historic figure, this may have been Gessius Florus, Roman Procurator for Judea.

HISTORICISM

FUTURISM

This beast is the Papacy, the Roman priesthood. This is the head that received the wound and was healed (Roman government moving into religious government).

This is the false prophet, a religious figure who will support the Antichrist (the first beast) by proclaiming him to be God and demanding his worship.

The Mark of the Beast – 666 (Revelation 13:16–18)



IDEALISM

The number is that of a man (6) in contrast to that of perfection (7). This mark represents the Christrejecting, church-persecuting spirit of Antichrist whenever and wherever it appears. It need not be any more literal than the “mark” of God in chapter 7.

PRETERISM This is a code number using Hebrew gematria (the use of letters for numbers, as in Roman numerals). It is Nero’s title (Caesar Neron – in Hebraic form: 50 + 200 + 6 + 50 + 100 + 60 + 200 = 666). Boycotts were implemented against any who would not bow to the emperor, thus the inability to buy or sell.

HISTORICISM

FUTURISM

The earliest calculation of this number is the word lateinos which is the Greek word for “Latin.” It was the Latin world, kingdom, church, language, clergy, prayers, etc. that “marked” the Roman Catholic church. Later in the 1500s it was explained as the number of the pope’s title (Vicarius filii Dei, “Vicar of the Son of God” – using the Roman numeral count of the letters).

Most see this mark as a literal tattoo, bar code, or computer chip that will be used as a forced identification with the Antichrist’s cashless world economic system. (The number 666 continues to be “found” by some Bible teachers today in countless places — Social Security numbers, license plates, etc.!)

Angelic Messengers and the Harvest (Revelation 14:6–20)



IDEALISM

This is a picture of the saints in heaven followed by pronouncements of various events: the preaching of the gospel to the world, the judgment of false religion, and the separation of God’s elect from His enemies.

PRETERISM This is a picture of the events that will complete what we have see so far. God will continue to protect His elect, the gospel will be preached in all the land, Babylon (Jerusalem) will fall, and the vine of Israel will be cut off even as God’s true people are saved.

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HISTORICISM

FUTURISM

This is the missionary era of the true church. This section also pictures the coming judgment of Papal Rome in the French Revolution.

This chapter is like a “table of contents” of the end. The everlasting gospel is seen by some dispensationalists as distinct from the current gospel, as it only concerns those entering the millennial kingdom. Most, however, equate it with the simple gospel. The judgment of Babylon is forecast, as is the rapture of the elect and the judgment of the wicked.

The Seven Angels with Seven Plagues or Bowls (Revelation 15:1–16:21)



IDEALISM

These are the final outpourings of God’s wrath — either in final judgment or His continual judgments as His patience with mankind runs out. (The trumpets warned of His wrath; the bowls pour out His wrath. Both occur simultaneously in history.)

PRETERISM The angels are giving seven chalices, showing the rejection of Jerusalem’s seven sacraments. As Moses led the Jews out of Egypt through the Red Sea, now Christ leads true Israel through a red sea of blood. The temple is closed. No more intercession will be accepted on Jerusalem’s behalf.

HISTORICISM

FUTURISM

As the seven trumpets symbolized the fall of pagan Rome, so now the seven bowls show the fall of Papal Rome.

The bowls mark the soon coming, and fast outpouring, of the final stage of God’s wrath on the earth which culminates in the final battle at Christ’s return.

Bowl 1 (Sores on Those with Mark of the Beast)



IDEALISM

Clearly, these are based on the Plagues of Egypt. This one may represent actual physical disease or “spiritual sores” on an impure world.

PRETERISM This plague (like that during the Exodus in Egypt) took place literally as sanitation within Jerusalem had disappeared, leading to disease and infection.

HISTORICISM

FUTURISM

Counting forward 1,260 years from the installation of the Bishop of Rome as head over all the others in 533 AD, this bowl brings us to the French Revolution of 1793. France leads the way in toppling Rome’s power.

Just as this plague was literal in Egypt, so it will be literal at the end of the world. These plagues will occur at or very close to the end of the world and in rapid succession.

HISTORICISM

FUTURISM

This bowl represents the naval battles fought against Rome’s fleet by nations between 1793 and 1815.

This judgment should be taken literally and includes the entire earth in its scope. A nuclear exchange, killing all sea creatures, is a possible explanation.

Bowl 2 (Sea Turns to blood)



IDEALISM

God’s judgments may include weather, shipwrecks, etc. The sea may also represent all people. It is also a major source of food supply. This bowl could represent a calamity involving any of these.

PRETERISM These are the aftereffects of the second trumpet. The water is now filled with blood. This is a picture of the blood of the bodies from the various sea battles fought during the Jewish War.

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Bowl 3 (Fresh Water Turns to Blood)



IDEALISM

This might include judgments involving drowning, flooding, water poisoning, etc.

PRETERISM In Jerusalem the polluted waters had been mixed with the blood of the dead. This is God’s judgment against the city responsible for the blood of all the martyred prophets.

HISTORICISM

FUTURISM

This bowl represents the Napoleonic Wars fought in the Rhine River valleys where so many martyrs were killed by Papal decree.

This is yet another Egyptlike judgment. This time, however, it involves the entire world.

HISTORICISM

FUTURISM

This is either a reference to the diminishing power of the Papacy or of Napoleon.

This refers to some kind of atmospheric problem that increases the heat of the sun. It could be related to ozone depletion or may be the results of nuclear fallout.

HISTORICISM

FUTURISM

This bowl shows the destruction of the Vatican by the French upon their entrance into Rome. The blasphemies include decrees by the Papal church during that time such as the immaculate conception of Mary and the infallibility of the Pope when speaking ex cathedra.

There will be a complete blackout of the new Roman empire, possibly allowing time for the 200 million man army of the east to move into position for the next bowl.

Bowl 4 (The Scorching Sun)



IDEALISM

Judgments involving exposure, heat, dehydration, perhaps even cancer. Because the sun, like the waters of the previous judgments, is a major source of life, judgment upon it is a strike at humankind’s life itself.

PRETERISM The sun here, as in other verses, is a heavenly body symbolizing a leader. Thus, it could refer to the leaders of the zealots in Jerusalem.

Bowl 5 (Darkness on the Beast and His Kingdom)



IDEALISM

A fitting punishment for those who love darkness more than light. The throne of this beast exists anywhere that political power is worshipped or takes God’s place.

PRETERISM The throne of the beast was Rome. When Nero committed suicide in AD 68, it nearly tore the empire apart. The heathen who joined Israel in persecuting the church were now included in judgment.

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Bowl 6 (Euphrates Dies Up; Armageddon)



IDEALISM

Armageddon is the symbol of every battle in which, when the need is the greatest and believers are oppressed, the Lord suddenly reveals His power to help His people and defeats the enemy.

PRETERISM In the ultimate irony, the great river that once protected Israel dries up to allow their destruction. Now instead of a river drying for them (e.g. the Red Sea or the Jordan) the Euphrates dies up and allows their enemies to cross over against them. Many of Titus’ troops were stationed along the Euphrates. This battle was not a worldending final battle. As Waterloo was to the French, so Armageddon is the “place of defeat” for Israel.

HISTORICISM

FUTURISM

The Euphrates refers to the Turkish power, and its drying up to its downfall as a world power. In 1917–1918 the British defeated the Turkish Empire completely. Islam, Judaism, and Communism (beginning in 1917) are the evil spirits that came out of this.

This will be “World War III.” The 200-million troop army is probably an Oriental coalition with China or Japan in the lead. They will literally converge on the plain of Megiddo, either in response to a call from the beast to fight against the coming Christ or in rebellion against the beast’s rule. However it begins, it will end with the world gathered for the final slaughter. At this point Christ will return quickly to destroy His enemies once and for all.

HISTORICISM

FUTURISM

Because this bowl has not yet been poured out, it is difficult to tell exactly what it may refer to. Whatever the exact cause (possibly the Gog invasion of Russia), the result will be the utter overthrow of Papal power.

Literally, this will be the end of civilization. This plague again will mirror the plagues of Egypt only on a worldwide scale. All that humankind could possibly rely upon for survival will be utterly destroyed. And yet they will die blaspheming their own Creator in a final show of their rebellion.

Bowl 7 (“It Is Done”)



IDEALISM

The final and complete exposure of God’s wrath — so long restrained — has come. This is the Day of Judgment from heaven against the entire empire of evil.

PRETERISM Jerusalem was being shaken. As there was shaking during the giving of the covenant to Israel at Sinai, so there was shaking at its dissolution. As in Ezekiel’s prophecy of Jerusalem’s destruction by Babylon in BC 586 (Ezekiel 5) where the city was split into three parts, so the city was divided into three warring factions among the Jews. The hail could be a reference to the catapult stones used to smash the Jerusalem by the Romans. This is the end of Jerusalem.

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The Harlot Babylon (Revelation 18)



IDEALISM

Babylon represents world power as a usurper of religion. In John’s time it was pictured as Rome. Today it could be any institution that seeks to replace God with itself.

PRETERISM Babylon is Jerusalem, the city responsible for all the blood of the prophets, spiritual Egypt. Once God’s bride, she has made herself a whore in the fashion of Babylon.

HISTORICISM

FUTURISM

Babylon is the great city of Rome and the false religion she espouses. She is responsible for the blood of more martyrs than any other institution. She wears gold and purple and yet conceals abominations within her golden cup. She is corrupt religion and idolatry, and she rides the power of Rome.

Babylon as seen in her religious context is either Roman Catholicism or some form of one-world apostate religion of the future Antichrist whose seat is Rome. Babylon in the context of an actual city may be symbolic of Rome or may be the actual city of Babylon rebuilt in the latter days.

The Fall of Babylon (Revelation 18:21–24)



IDEALISM

When Babylon perishes, the economic chaos is complete. The world of the unbeliever — that on which he has pinned his hopes — will collapse. This is true of every “Babylon” — whether literally Babylon or Nineveh or Rome (or any place that opposes the worship of the true God. It is especially true for the final kingdom of Antichrist as the close of history.

PRETERISM This is a recap of the fall of the city of Jerusalem, giving details not found in prior announcements. That Jerusalem fell in a manner described here is a matter of history,

HISTORICISM

FUTURISM

This parenthetical section is a preview of what the Papacy’s fall will be like. It provides details not found earlier.

Many draw a distinction between a political or religious Babylon in chapter 17 with the commercial Babylon here. These two chapters, then, record the two stages of the fall of political/commercial Babylon.

HISTORICISM

FUTURISM

With the downfall of the Papacy, the true church is seen as a pure virgin bride.

The marriage scene takes place after the rapture. Now Christ is coming with His church to destroy His enemies.

Christ’s Return (Revelation 19)



IDEALISM

We hear the hallelujahs of heaven when Christ comes in glory to take His bride to Himself. The betrothal occurred at His first coming, the dowry was paid at the cross, and now, with the time of preparation over, Christ returns for His pure and waiting bride — the church.

PRETERISM This is the opening scene of the New Covenant. God has given physical Israel her divorce certificate, and now spiritual Israel — the church — is claimed as His bride.

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The understanding of chapter 20 cuts across the traditional interpretive categories that we have been using. The following chart shows the three primary views of the millennium.

The Thousand Year Reign (Revelation 20)



Amillennialism

This chapter (like other divisions of Revelation) symbolically refers to the entire period between the first and second comings of Christ. Satan was “bound” at the cross (in the limited but significant sense that he is unable to halt the gospel’s spread throughout the world) but will be briefly released at the end of the age as evil intensifies. The glorious return of Christ will be followed by a single, general resurrection and judgment.

Postmillennialism

Premillenialism

The church — through its successful preaching of the gospel — brings in a period of peace and the observance of Biblical law. At the end of this period of peace (not necessarily 1,000 literal years) Christ will return, followed by a single, general resurrection and judgment.

All the events of this chapter are in the future. The binding of Satan and the resurrection of believers will occur as Christ raptures the church from the earth. There will be a “millennial” judgment of the sheep and goats of the tribulation period to determine who may enter the millennial kingdom. A 1,000 year “dispensation” of Christ’s earthly kingdom will follow. At the end of this reign of peace, Satan will be released, the climactic battle of Armageddon will ensue, Christ will return in power, and He will initiate the final judgment of unbelievers and Satan.

Again, as with the last chapter, the views of chapter 21 cross over among interpretive viewpoints. Most futurists understand it completely literally. Those endorsing the other viewpoints hold a spectrum of viewpoints from purely symbolic to fairly literal.

The New Jerusalem/The New Heavens and Earth (Revelation 21–22)



SPIRITUAL

LITERAL

This imagery could refer to the eternal, heavenly state. It may also refer to the condition of genuine believers in any age. These are spiritual pictures using physical language symbolizing the pure, holy, gracious character of the fellowship between God and His people. In principle, we enjoy it here and now; in perfection we shall enjoy it for all eternity in heaven.

This is the brand new earth after the destruction of the present earth, and new Jerusalem is the eternal dwelling place of believers with God. Heaven (as God’s dwelling place) and earth (man’s dwelling) have merged. It is a return to a pre-fall Eden-like environment, free from the curse that began at the fall of humankind.

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Concluding Testimony of Christ (Revelation 22:7–21)



IDEALISM

The time indicators here are for every person on earth (believer or unbeliever) living at any point in history. God’s judgments are always at hand for those who rebel against Him, and His blessings (and protection from His wrath) are always available for His true worshipers.

PRETERISM Note that these things are to take place soon. John is told not to seal the words of this prophecy (in contrast to the command to Daniel to do the opposite (Daniel 12:4), for in Daniel’s time the last days were still far in the future, whereas the events of John’s vision were said to be “at hand.”

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HISTORICISM

FUTURISM

This simply reaffirms the nearness of the events that have been described, showing that they would begin very soon.

The warnings of the imminence (potential immediacy) of Christ’s return serve to remind Christians in all ages that He could return for them at any time.

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