THE BOOK OF REVELATION
Introduction to the Book
1. Interpreting Revelation
2. John or Jesus?
3. Date of writing
4. A ‘behind the scenes’ look
Chapter 1 - Introduction
Chapters 2-3 - The seven churches
1. Why these seven churches?
2. Why write the letters in this order?
3. Prophetic messages?
Chapters 4-5 - Who is worthy?
Chapters 6-8:1 - The end of the age
1. The first five seals
2. The sixth seal
3. The seventh seal
Where do we go from here?
Chapters 8:2-11:19 - The seven trumpets and three woes
Chapters 12:1-14:20 - A great portent
1. The dragon and the two beasts
2. Other visions
3. The mark of the beast
Chapters 15:1-16:20 - The seven bowls containing the plagues of God’s wrath
1. The final outworking of God’s wrath
2. Armageddon
Chapters 17:1-19:10 - The judgment of Babylon
1. The beast
2. Babylon
a. Babylon and the beast
b. Babylon in the Old and New Testaments
i. Prophecy in the OT
ii. The condition for the destruction of Babylon
iii. Prophecy in the NT
c. Babylon’s fall
3. Rejoicing
Chapters 19:11-20:15 - The final battle
1. The final battle of the age
2. The Millennium
3. Mopping up after the battle
4. The final, final battle
Chapters 21:1-22:5 - A new Heaven and a new earth
1. When is John talking about?
2. Comments on some of the statements
Chapters 22:6-21 - Concluding words
References and sources
I would love to write a commentary on the Book of Revelation.
However, I don’t think that I ever will do simply because there’s a great amount of it which I simply don’t understand. I may be able to tell you what some of the symbols are meant to represent and be certain as to what certain passages are all about but, to write a commentary, I feel that you have to be fairly certain what the text actually means and there are large parts of the writing which I freely confess are confusing.
That’s not to say that I think the Book should be considered as non-authoritative (even though even some of the Reformers could be found in this camp) - I’m quite willing to accept the entire work as inspired by God and infallible - but it’s that I just haven’t come to an acceptable understanding of parts which need to be understood correctly and in context.
So, why this web page?
Very simply, I believe that there are certain passages which are so straightforward in their interpretation that they need to be stated as such. For example, the entire opening from Rev 1:1-8:1 is plain and obvious - and yet we still seem to stumble over a simple interpretation.
Other passages - such as the notes about the mark of the beast (Rev 13:11-18) - would have been better interpreted in the words of John - that is, with ‘wisdom’ (Rev 13:18). I felt that it’s time to commit to record what appears to be the most simple and obvious interpretation of these types of passages and to pull away from the scares which have dogged the Church in times past. Not that I expect a large population of the Church to move over to a more simplistic interpretation - if prophetic interpretations have taught me one thing, it’s that the more complex the theory, the more adherence there appears to be.
The reader will find very large chunks of the Book of Revelation undealt with - and, even the passages that I have decided to comment on, I’ve taken the decision not to attempt an identification or interpretation of each and every item being mentioned.
And, even when I’ve dealt with certain verses or sections, I’ve tried to restrict my comments to as minimal a space as possible with little or no reference to other commentators and works.
I trust that the reader will appreciate that this page is simply a starting point - perhaps just my own personal notes that I should have kept to myself for a later time. But there are some things that we can know about and it’s these with which I’ll try and deal.
Introduction to the Book
Much of this material is adapted from here
1. Interpreting Revelation
John records at the very beginning of his work that he was writing (Rev 1:4)
‘...to the seven churches that are in Asia’
and many commentators have accepted the first three chapters of Revelation as being the fulfilment of his introduction. However, Jesus said (Rev 1:11 - my italics) that he was to
‘...write what you see in a book and send it to the seven churches...’
when He could only have been referring mainly to the apocalyptic material which John saw commencing with chapter 4. I would venture to suggest, therefore, that unlike every commentator that I have ever read, the entire Book of Revelation needs to be interpreted in the context of Asia Minor and the events surrounding that area when the letter was given to them.
That may sound revolutionary but it will make the interpretation of the Book no less easy! What it does mean, however, is that unless we get the interpretation of the letters to the seven churches correct, and then manage to go on and re-introduce the vision into its first century setting, we have little chance of succeeding in correctly understanding the entire Book as it was originally meant to be.
I noted, as I’ve searched the generally accepted authentic writings of Ignatius, the Bishop of Antioch (written somewhere around the close of the first century AD), who was travelling westward towards Rome to be martyred that, as he passed through this area where you would expect him to draw the church’s attention to John’s words to them, he doesn’t so much as mention the individual save once, let alone the writing called ‘The Book of Revelation’.
But he does extensively mention both Paul and quote from him (Ephesians 4, 6, 11, 12 [twice], 14, 15, Philadelphians 4, 7, Magnesians 10, Romans 4 [twice], Tarsians 2, 4 [where we learn that John was banished to Patmos, the only mention of the apostle in his letters and good evidence for the authorship of Revelation being none other than John, one of the original twelve disciples - see Rev 1:9] - all mentioning Paul - and Ephesians 6, 10, Philippians 1, Tarsians 3 - all quoting Paul. NB - I have scanned only those letters that are usually accepted as being authentic Ignatian letters).
I may be wrong and have overlooked some quotes - and I have no problem if I have done this with removing what I’m about to tentatively write - but it seems to me that, initially, Revelation was a localised scroll for the benefit of the churches in Asia Minor alone (as Rev 3:11) and that it was not spread throughout the Church as, say, Paul’s writings were - at least, not until a much later date than the travelling Ignatius.
Some commentators talk about the Book being extensively read and distributed throughout the Church almost as soon as it was written (notably Gentry who brings together numerous of these types of quotes) but, when one gets down to the evidence of such an assertion, there’s very little which seems to be able to be substantiated from any writing dated before the beginning of the second century.
So, what I’m suggesting here is that Revelation was given to the church in Asia Minor initially and that, though we look for context within the land of Israel, the first and initial context should be of those believers resident within the land to which the scroll was given. It’s to them that it was given and to them that it had particular relevance. It was they who could have understood it - not us - because Jesus spoke into their situation and addressed the problems which they were experiencing.
The scroll will relate to Israel and the return of the Lord there if it speaks of this time period - but the interpretation of it must be seen as being rooted in the context of the circumstances of Asia Minor. Yes, there will be Hebraisms in the text - not least because the John who wrote the Revelation was most likely to have been one of the original twelve disciples, himself a Jew, but also because many of the believers in the local churches were Jews also. But there will be many ‘Asia Minorisms’ too which may, if ignored, confuse our interpretation.
Even if my suggestion that Revelation did not gain a wide readership until much later on is not accepted, the fact remains that the entire Book was written specifically for the church of Asia Minor and it is only in this context that it can be fully understood and interpreted.
In my experience of the Church’s interpretation of the entire Book of Revelation, we seem to have divided the content up into three distinct divisions which we interpret separately. Firstly, the preamble (chapter 1), then the letters to the churches (chapters 2-3) - though these two are often brought together as one, seeing as some of the description used by Jesus Himself in the latter section is outlined in the former. Then, for no apparent reason, we treat chapters 4-22 as one unit but devoid of any real reference to either the letters of chapters 2-3 or the context of what the Church to whom the letter was addressed was experiencing.
Our expositions have been full of references to Jewish idioms and the current Israelite nation and has been clinically removed from much of its original context. I don’t doubt that there are references to Jerusalem and the Israelite nation within the text but it’s only as we understand the reference in the context of the life and times of the first century in Asia Minor that we can possibly interpret it correctly (and that, of course, only through the revelation and illumination of the Holy Spirit!).
I think it certain, then, that the key to our understanding of what the seven letters meant to the individual churches must be settled by recourse to the events that were taking place within the respective fellowships and cities that they were addressed to. And, simply because we cannot possibly know the intricate details, neither can we speak with any great certainty on numerous passages unless historical pointers can be found from that time.
While this is impossible to determine in a great many places - there are some pointers from the archaeological and historical sources that seem to bear directly on the Book’s interpretation, especially when the seven personal letters to the churches are considered. But, as the reader makes his way through the text, the lack of a solid basis for interpretation may be opposed but the variety of interpretations which are offered by commentators shows that, if such a thing really did exist, it seems to have been totally ignored.
The bottom line is this - if we want to know what the Book of Revelation means, we have to be prepared to know what it meant to the people to whom it was written. The prophet Daniel was told (Dan 8:26) that he was to
‘...seal up the vision, for it pertains to many days hence’
but John, differently, was commanded (Rev 22:10 - I will speak briefly about the expected imminency of the fulfilment of the prophecy when I deal with chapter 1).
‘Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is near’
In other words, though the meaning of the prophetic visions that were given to Daniel were expected to remain concealed, those given to John were expected to be understood. It’s not right that we should find trouble in our understanding of Revelation and so consign the meaning to something which was to remain hidden until the days in which we now live.
Rather, it was to be understandable to the people to whom it was sent and, to be honest, our various interpretations of the text in the present day are almost certain pointers to the probability that it remains closed to us. In other words, we may claim enlightenment but we’re more likely to be fumbling towards a correct grasp of the truth than the first century’s believers ever were.
2. John or Jesus?
Commentators repeatedly speak of ‘what John wrote’ to the seven churches of Asia and are often seemingly unaware that the seven letters were spoken directly by Jesus through John to them. When we come to the beginning of chapter 4, however, Jesus’ words in Rev 1:11 are probably more applicable where He commands John to
‘Write what you see in a book...’
for this naturally seems to have to relate to the final 19 chapters of visions. Even so, as we noted above, Jesus immediately links the need for the recording of the visions because they need to be sent to the seven churches of Asia Minor and not because they are to be distributed throughout the believers world-wide.
These points are quite important to note for we’re not looking at an earthly origin for the inspiration of the work but an initial dictation (it would seem) for the seven individual letters, followed by the commitment to writing as the events were transpiring. This last statement may appear to be a somewhat strange one to make but Rev 10:4 records that
‘...when the seven thunders had sounded, I was about to write, but I heard a voice from heaven saying “Seal up what the seven thunders have said, and do not write it down”’
Clearly, there appears to be the implication that John didn’t experience the contents of all 19 chapters (Revelation chapters 4-22) without making at least some notes as to what was happening. The accuracy of what is being recorded is also being proclaimed, therefore, and the charge that the author might have interpreted what he experienced after the event seems to be unwarranted.
John’s authorship of the letter, therefore, has to be used with a fair degree of constraint for, while it’s unquestionable that he committed what he both heard and saw to writing, there’s never an attempt made to assert that what is being circulated in Asia Minor was ever considered to be his own work.
3. Date of writing
Although this is the right place to consider briefly the possibilities of the date of ‘composition’, some would think that such considerations bear little or no relevance to the context of the Book. But this is incorrect for how can we know whether, for example, it’s to the pre-70AD or post-70AD people of Asia Minor that we should be primarily be referring it to?
The date has often been tied up with statements in the Book regarding how quickly the signs were to be fulfilled in the recipients’ own experience or by the circumstances in which the Church seems to have been existing but these matters can be deceptive.
It’s possible - and fairly certain - that if we accept the testimony of the Book itself, there is no other date which can be placed on it than before the death of Nero in 68AD.
I don’t believe that a definitive and totally acceptable date for the composition of Revelation will ever be arrived at by believers in the Church and most believers have no problem with accepting a first century date either before the Fall of Jerusalem c.70AD or afterwards. But there are a number of pointers in the text which would persuade one for an earlier date and the testimony of those believers who wrote years after the first century also testify to specific dates which seem to be in contradiction to the internal witness.
However, no real purpose seems to gained by stabbing at a date blindly but it is important because we must try and place the Book into the context of the events which were transpiring in Asia Minor.
First and foremost, we must note that John expected his readers to expect an imminent fulfilment. He speaks (or, rather, the author of the introduction) of what God had given him (Rev 1:1)
‘...to show His servants what must soon take place...’
and (Rev 1:3 Pp 22:10) that
‘...the time is near’
In conclusion, John also is informed by Jesus that the purpose of God (Rev 22:6) is to
‘...show His servants what must soon take place’
and (Rev 22:7 Pp 22:12) that
‘...I am coming soon’
which seems only to be taken within the same time scale as the other statements. Commentators have often struggled with these statements and, because it’s obvious that Jesus didn’t return within the first few years of the giving of the prophecy, it’s generally reasoned from II Peter 3:8 (whether stated clearly or not) that when God speaks about something happening ‘soon’, He rarely, if ever, means to be taken seriously (that’s my interpretation of their words, of course - they wouldn’t ever say such a thing).
Such a distortion of the plain and simple words recorded not only here but in other Biblical passages is based upon the premise that
‘prophecy is pre-written history’
and that what’s spoken as about to take place must happen regardless of the reactions of the people to whom it came. As I showed on my web page which dealt with Matthew chapter 24, there are numerous times in the Bible where what God said would happen never did and that the reason for it can often be tied down to the reaction of the people who received the prophetic word.
Realising that when God said that what he was showing John would soon take place, He was to be taken literally and, accepting that the events didn’t wholly find their fulfilment in the immediate history following their circulation, they're not self-contradictory pieces of information. They don’t undermine the authority of the Book of Revelation because it’s not for the commentator to make subsequent history fit the details recorded.
And it becomes extremely liberating when a date is proposed because the commentator has no need to offer up a date based upon an expected fulfilment.
I am of the opinion that Matthew chapter 24 would have been fulfilled in the events surrounding the advance of the Roman military forces upon Jerusalem from 67AD onwards had the Word of God been received with a positive response in the lives of those to whom it came (see my notes previously cited for an explanation of why Jesus didn’t return within the forty year period in which He indicated He would).
If we were to accept a pre-66AD date of composition, we see that the Revelation was given to the churches in Asia Minor as a confirmation of Matthew chapter 24 (if they had those Scriptures in their possession - as would seem likely) and a further expansion of those days which were to soon come upon them. It may come as a surprise to many but the entire Jewish ‘rebellion’ took the best part of 7 years from c.66-73AD (6 full years and two parts of two others), with the Romans arriving in the land in 67AD, Jerusalem falling 70AD and Masada hanging on until 73AD.
The significance of the ‘end times’ being viewed as a literal seven years is, perhaps, more significant when it’s viewed this way than would at first meet the eye if the end of the rebellion is seen to be concluded with the fall of Jerusalem in 70AD. Also, Rev 11:2 speaks of the ‘holy city’ (a label for Jerusalem it seems certain) being downtrodden for 42 months (or three and a half years) and the time between the fall of Jerusalem in 70AD to that of Masada in 73AD seems to also mirror this time period. The existence of a Temple is also assumed (Rev 11:1-2), something that a pre-67AD date is only able to be relevant to.
If, on the other hand, a post-70AD date is accepted, we see the purpose of Jesus to be a reassertion that the events surrounding Matthew chapter 24 were still relevant to the immediate future and that what they knew of the invasion of Israel and the destruction of Jerusalem weren’t meant to bring doubt to the truth of what they thought should have happened.
Again, interestingly, the Bar Kochba rebellion which commenced in 132AD is within the realms, I believe, of the statements concerning ‘what soon must take place’ if this later date of composition is accepted. The rebellion seems to have taken about three years to deal with.
Personally, from this line of argument, I think that a pre-66AD date is the more likely for the simple reason that there’s no indication or reference made to a previous prophecy that had been called into question and which, ultimately, was needing to be renewed. A pre-66AD date is also needed when one realises that the letters to each of the churches were expected to have their full effect first before the visions were to be fulfilled (Rev 4:1) and time would have been needed for this to occur.
In that case, the Book of Revelation was a special illumination and revealing of further events which were to surround the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ and of the establishing of the full and final Kingdom of Heaven on earth.
As the reader continues through these notes, they’ll see that the context of the visions recorded by John also seems to fit extremely neatly into a time prior to the date of the death of the Emperor Nero so that, even though a post-70AD date of composition might be asserted (normally tied in with the reign of emperor Domitian), there seems to be no possibility that such a date is allowable on the internal evidence that can be paralleled with certainty into the first century world - for example, the Book assumes the existence of a Temple in Jerusalem (Rev 11:1-2) which, if it didn’t exist, would lack sense (see Gentry’s detailed comments at this point).
Moreover, the great persecution which befell the Church under Nero (64-68AD) and the civil wars which raged within the Roman Empire following Nero’s death (June 68-December 69AD) are equally relevant ‘backdrops’ that seem to be spoken of in the text as shortly to take place in the context of Jesus’ return (I will deal with the identity of the ‘sixth king’ when we get to the discussion headed ‘The beast’ and will show there that it serves us as a positive indicator of the time at which John was given the visions contained in the Book of Revelation).
Most of the weight of such a late date comes from the statements of Irenaeus c.180AD regarding what he believed the apostle John to have said shortly before the close of the first century (most of the other church fathers seem to have relied upon this testimony for their own dating - we’ll look at this in a moment) and, perhaps even more illuminating, that it’s not generally accepted that prophecy could be given before a period in which it finds fulfilment (the ‘liberal’ view) - but the context of the Book as having to take place ‘soon’ seems to be without a secure foundation if pushed towards the end of the reign of the Emperor Domitian.
Affirmation that the early Church believed that the fulfilment of the Book of Revelation hadn’t yet come appears from the testimony of Irenaeus in his ‘Against Heresies’ Book 5 Chapter 30, although it seems to have been overlooked by Gentry who reassesses his statement in support of a pre-70AD date. The reason for this oversight - although not deliberate - would be to show that any thought that the events mentioned in Revelation had been fulfilled in the historical facts known about the fall of Jerusalem weren’t accepted by the early Church who, by the close of the first century, were still continuing to think upon who might be represented by the number 666.
To follow Gentry’s reasoning is worthwhile even though there’s unlikely ever going to be a conclusive statement for dating Revelation which will be able to be proven. He uses the Greek of Eusebius’ quotation in his Ecclesiastical History 3:18:3 (because Irenaeus has come down to us only as a poor translation into Latin according to many. Judging by some of the other alleged ‘quotes’ by Eusebius, however, it has to be noted that he was rather loose in his copying of the original texts) and renders Irenaeus as writing (my italics)
‘We will not, however, incur the risk of pronouncing positively as to the name of antichrist [who Irenaeus equated as being the same as that of the beast of Revelation]; for if it were necessary that his name should be distinctly revealed in this present time, it would have been announced by him who beheld the apocalyptic vision. For that was seen no very long time since, but almost in our day, towards the end of Domitian’s reign’
It certainly appears that the earliest attestation to the date of the Book’s authorship was ‘towards the end of Domitian’ (though quite how Irenaeus could imagine that the date of the writing of Revelation here given as c.95AD could ever be construed as ‘almost in our day’ when it was begun c.180AD is a little unnerving) but the italicised words are far from conclusive as Gentry has discussed.
It’s not important for our brief comments at this point to go into the arguments (and, besides, being a consideration of the Greek words, I’m not qualified to do just that) but the Greek could equally well be rendered ‘For he was seen’ referring to the apostle John.
This would have the effect of unfixing the date of Revelation’s authorship and Irenaeus would only be thought of as noting that John was approached towards the end of the first century and questioned as to the identity of the antichrist, at which time he confessed that it was still unknown.
Gentry’s arguments for a re-interpretation of this passage are well structured and worth reading and, as I’ve already noted, a pre-66AD date for the vision is much to be preferred than one which is post-70AD. But the real strength of Irenaeus’ statement for me is neither the dispute over whether the person or the vision is being referred to, nor that the author states with certainty that the apostle John was known to have been the author but, rather, that the early Church didn’t believe that the vision had been fulfilled in their own time.
Against Heresies 5.30 is an interesting passage because it deals with the subject of the number of the beast which has dogged scholars and commentators down through the ages. It shows us that, even at that early point in Church history, there were still certain passages which were held up as being more intriguing than others.
Irenaeus begins (5.30.1) by griping at the division which existed amongst believers as to the number which was original, the choices being either 666 or 616 and assessing the latter’s appearance in the manuscripts of his day as being due, possibly, to a copyist’s error. He also points out that many had insisted upon 616 as original simply because it served them better in their assessment of who the antichrist would be - note that he doesn’t say that it gives them illumination as to who it was but as to who it would be.
Then he goes on (5.30.2) to urge upon the dissenters patience in waiting for the fulfilment of the matter. He writes
‘...let them await, in the first place, the division of the kingdom into ten; then, in the next place, when these kings are reigning, and beginning to set their affairs in order, and advance their kingdom, [let them learn] to acknowledge that he who shall come claiming the kingdom for himself, and shall terrify those men of whom we have been speaking, having a name containing the aforesaid number, is truly the abomination of desolation’
Again, Irenaeus makes no bones about stating unequivocally that the time of the final rebellion still lay a way into the future (even if he might have believed that it was to occur within his own generation) and even goes on to identify the beast as being of Jewish origin and coming from the tribe of Dan (which we’ll say more about in a later section).
In 5.30.5, he also states that
‘It is...more certain, and less hazardous, to await the fulfilment of the prophecy, than to be making surmises, and casting about for any names that may present themselves, inasmuch as many names can be found possessing the number mentioned’
something which not only shows the generally accepted non-fulfilment of the Book but equally should have served as a warning to all who have come after him. After going on to discuss the various fulfilments of 666 in the names of his own day, Irenaeus concludes that
‘We will not, however, incur the risk of pronouncing positively as to the name of antichrist; for if it were necessary that his name should be distinctly revealed in this present time, it would have been announced by him who beheld the apocalyptic vision. For that was seen [or ‘For he was seen’] no very long time since, but almost in our day, towards the end of Domitian’s reign’
Again, towards the end of Domitian’s reign - that is, towards the end of the first century AD - even the author was unknowing as to the positive identification of who the number 666 referred to. Whether we accept the testimony of Irenaeus as to John’s testimony here or not is not too important - what is important, however, is that it was accepted that the fulfilment of the prophetic vision had not yet taken place so that, whether we propose a pre-66AD or post-70AD date, the early Church didn’t see it’s fulfilment in the time which had been assigned to them by the vision itself (Rev 22:6 - see also my comments on Rev 22:6-21 where I’ve shown that the passage is full of references to the imminency of the vision).
Finally, 5.30.4 also states the basis of non-fulfilment, concluding that the name has not been made known because the beast, being known, might not then come (not bad logic, I guess - if people know who the beast is, why would he come to that generation? Therefore the number was given that his identity might be disguised until the moment necessary when a positive identification is needed by the Church).
Present day scholars and believers would probably take exception to a lot of Irenaeus’ exposition of Scripture - and, judging by some of the things which he writes, we’d be fairly justified. After all, he consigns the fulfilment of the Book of Revelation to a yet future time even though John writes plainly that those things written down were for a fulfilment ‘soon’.
Nevertheless, his testimony is certain enough that, even by c.180AD, the Church didn’t believe that the Book had as of yet been fulfilled and the indication is that, if the record of John’s comments on the number of the beast is even half true, neither did the original author.
Those who would tie in the Book of Revelation to a pre-66AD date and then look to a fulfilment of it in the events of the first Jewish rebellion of 66-73AD have to deny the fact that the early Church didn’t view it as such. On the one hand, we have the clear statement that the events were to take place imminently and, on the other, that they were not considered to have taken place by the close of the first century.
It seems to be with some justification, therefore, that we consider the prophecy of Revelation to have been conditional which, in reality, is nothing short of what all other prophetic statements are (whether they can be indefinitely or temporarily postponed or abandoned totally).
4. A ‘behind the scenes’ look
The word ‘Revelation’ (Strongs Greek number 602) is not an unusual word in the NT even though it’s certainly not one of the most common. There’s no doubt that, in the context in which it’s used, the idea is that something which has remained hidden is about to be made known to the people to whom the letter comes.
We would have done well, however, had we carefully considered the position of John as he committed to writing those things which he was observing.
We can accept that Revelation 1:1-3:22 - that is, the first three chapters in their entirety - not only occurred ‘on earth’ but that they were also recorded there as well. But the author changes position with the advent of Rev 4:1 and the commentator often misses the implication which lies behind it.
The voice of Jesus commands John to
‘Come up hither [into Heaven] and I will show you what must take place after this’
so that, from Rev 4:2 onwards, John is observing events often as they’re transpiring on earth but as they appear to an observer who’s sat in Heaven. It’s something like the difference in observation one would have if one was sat in an audience watching a stage show and then were to go back stage and watch the entire performance over again from a totally different position.
As part of the audience, you’d see a man fly across the stage on steel wires which would probably blend into the background so much that you’d think he had real wings. Back stage, however, all you’d see is a few stagehands pull on some wires and then set them down after a few moments.
Watching the play, you’d see the characters enter the stage and deliver their lines - back stage, you’d only see them exiting the stage and the dialogue which might be overheard would be totally different from that which the audience would hear.
It has to be realised, therefore, that what John sees and records might not be accurate descriptions of literal reality as it will appear on earth even though it’s a truthful representation of those things which he witnessed from Heaven’s perspective.
One wonders, therefore, if anyone should ever attempt a commentary on the Book for there are a great many problems with an interpretation which seem not to be able to be adequately dealt with as one approaches each Scripture. Even the plain statement concerning the cross (Rev 5:3 - see a future section) is often missed by readers and one wonders if such a simple observation as this fails to be perceived then what chance do any of us have with the rest of the not-too-easy passages?
From Rev 4:1, therefore, until the end of the Book, the commentator must walk a minefield - and it’s probably the clearest reason why anyone who writes a commentary on the Book of Revelation can be guaranteed to be more wrong than right in what he commits to writing before he ever begins.
Chapter 1
The introduction
I risk calling chapter 1 ‘The Introduction’ because it conjures in the mind the idea of something which can be skimmed over to get to the real meat of the piece. I know that, when my wife and I first married, I used to emphasise repeatedly the introduction of books that she was reading so that she could get a better understanding of the reasons for its writing and the course that the writer was likely to take through the information that he’d researched to present in the book.
I don’t say that by way of criticism, of course, only to point out that, unless one reads every bit of the book, one can think that it’s often unbalanced because it deals with certain issues at the expense of others.
This would be going too far when we turn to the Scriptures and even a brief glimpse at the contents of chapter 1 is enough to make us realise that a lot of what occurs here is repeated in later chapters - especially the descriptions of the glorified Jesus Christ which find their way into most of the letters of chapters 2 and 3.
All of these begin with a description of Jesus, most drawing on the description given us in Rev 1:12-20 though this is by no means exclusively true. Both Philadelphia and Laodicea at the end use none of this imagery (even though a ‘key’ is mentioned in the former of these two letters).
Various other sources are taken for the descriptions - even earlier verses in chapter 1. Many have specific relevance to the type of message that Jesus is bringing to them and it’s important that, wherever possible, we incorporate the reason for their use into an interpretation of the passage - they aren’t ‘little extras’ added to make the letters more colourful but integrated descriptions which enforce and back up the words of Christ which follow.
The introductory chapter 1, therefore, mustn’t be ignored. Although I’ve dealt with a few of the statements in this chapter within my previous introduction to the entire Book, there are still a number of observations which need to be made. We’re still on earth at this stage, though, and the interpretation of the passage is as straightforward as one would have expected.
The reader only needs to exit from this web page and read the chapter to see what I mean - while we may not fully understand each and every description of Jesus, for instance (Rev 1:12-16), there’s no doubt about what’s going on in broad terms. John simply introduces himself to the churches to whom he’s writing (Rev 1:4-7) and then begins with how the work began for him also - a visitation from Jesus Christ and the commission to write what he saw (Rev 1:9-20).
But, we’re going too fast for we’ve missed out the opening few words. It seems likely that these first three verses weren’t written by John at all - indeed, it seems more than likely that, at a very early date, these words were written to accompany the scroll on its rounds or, perhaps better, as an explanation for the person who unrolled it to know what the contents were. There’s a routeway being mentioned here if one reads carefully the words for it appears that the origin and destination are both recorded.
The Father is spoken of as giving the revelation to Jesus who, passing it on to the angel, made it known to John. John was then commanded to declare the words to the seven churches of Asia Minor and, ultimately, the author of the first three verses now finds the scroll in his hand - as the copyist who’s faithfully recording what has been written. The path of revelation, then, is accurately recorded as
God (the Father) -› Jesus -› Angel -› John -› Seven Churches -› Me
where ‘Me’ is the copyist as representative of all who read it. In this series of baton changes, the reader is given all he needs to know about both the origin and transmission of the work being started. We noted above, however, that the ‘Me’ seems to have been limited to the localised area of Asia Minor until quite late on if we’re right in taking the lack of comment on the Book from the writings of Ignatius.
From Rev 1:4, however, the words are all John’s and would appear to be the original work which lacked the explanatory prefix. This would appear to be how John first distributed it or had it distributed amongst the seven churches.
There’s nothing in these opening verses which appear to demand an interpretation that would otherwise cause the entire passage to withhold its meaning. Sure, we may not comprehend what the ‘seven spirits’ are (Rev 1:4), not yet have fully grasped what ‘the first born of the dead’ means (Rev 1:5 Pp Col 1:18) or we might even argue about whether we should read (Rev 1:6) that believers are
‘...a kingdom, priests to...God’
or
‘...a kingdom of priests to...God’
but there doesn’t appear to be too much which would push us from a simple interpretation.
One final point needs to be made here as it has been the bane of a great many fellowships that I’ve been involved in. Rev 1:10 states that John was
‘...in the Spirit on the Lord’s day...’
the latter phrase being accurately explained by Ozanne as meaning ‘the day of the Lord’ as spoken of in the OT - a day on which God would act in earth history, whether on behalf of His people in some localised judgment and vindication or, as is more often the case in the NT, at the final consummation of the age when all things will once more be brought under His controlling rule and sovereignty. As Ozanne comments
‘The Lord’s day is the subject of the book of Revelation and John accordingly was transported into it at the outset of his visionary experiences’
It isn’t, therefore, that John is being simply asked to record what he’s being told and neither that scenes are being played out before him that are for him and him alone. Rather, what he’s experiencing is a foretaste of the reality of that final time when God exercises His power on earth to defeat everything that’s set in opposition to His will.
However, the phrase ‘the Lord’s day’ is often taken to be an early reference to Sunday (as Hughes, Morris and Mounce) - so early, in fact, that there are no other contemporary records which show that, by the time of writing, the early Church had renamed that day of the week. The identification is erroneous, of course, and is the snare of taking what we presently experience and of applying it to those things which happened long before our own society was in existence.
The same is true of the word ‘baptism’ as I showed on another web page - today, we have differing concepts of the word and imagine that the content of the present day word is in line with the ancient one when, in fact, we’ve changed the meaning to bring it in line with what we want to believe.
As I see it, the only problem against accepting John’s phrase as meaning ‘the Day of the Lord’ is that the use of ‘Lord’ as an adjective is the only occurrence known in the NT. However, as there isn’t so much as a scrap of evidence that the early Church named Sunday as ‘the Lord’s day’ and, even though some make a great deal of the comments that the early Church met on the first day of the week (Acts 20:7, I Cor 16:2) and assert that it had become the christian ‘sabbath’, the most logical explanation in context is that John was carried ‘in the Spirit’ to the time of the end - in much the same way as Ezekiel was taken by the Spirit and brought, in visions, to Jerusalem (Ezek 8:3 Pp Ezek 11:24 [to Chaldea], 37:1 [the valley of bones] 43:5 [the inner court of the Temple]. See also Ezek 3:12,14,24, 11:1).
There’s purpose in seeing John’s reference as being to Sunday, of course, because it begins to elevate one day of the week as of greater importance for holding services to God than others, something which was never meant to become an article of faith. As Paul wrote concerning weak and strong believers (Rom 14:5-6)
‘One man esteems one day as better than another, while another man esteems all days alike. Let every one be fully convinced in his own mind’
and, stronger than this, Paul commends (Col 2:16) that
‘...no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a sabbath’
To the Galatians, he even comments that the observance of special days is actually a denial of their relationship with Christ based on the bestowal of God’s grace and received by faith (Gal 4:10-11). An interpretation that John here means to relate to his recipients that the visions were received on Sunday hinder more than help the believer and it still seems the simplest to accept that John’s statement is one to summarise his experiences as being one who tasted of the final years immediately before Jesus’ return when judgment is to be poured out upon the earth and when everything that’s in rebellion to the will of the Father will begin to be brought back under His control.
Chapter 2-3
The seven churches
Much of this material is adapted from here
Teachers and preachers alike have often taken the record of the words directed to the seven churches in Revelation chapters 2 and 3 and forgotten to place them as an introductory word which precedes the main body of the visions from Rev 4:1 onwards. This is quite necessary - after all, we’ve pigeon-holed the letters to the seven churches until they’ve become a quite distinct section apart from the Scriptures which follow them even though the entire and complete Book was written for the Church of Asia Minor.
In that sense, the first three chapters should serve all readers with a fitting backdrop and Introduction to the entire Book of Revelation - not an after-thought and neither a little bit stuck on at the beginning that are only personal messages. But neither should we rip chapter 1 away from chapters 2 and 3. In my notes on the seven churches (see below for the links), I took time to show how the description of Jesus was woven into the messages which were being dictated (presumably) by Jesus to His servant John.
Finally - and this is a point that I want to emphasise a few times so you won’t fail to miss it - don’t forget that chapters 1 through 3 are an integral part of Jesus’ message to His Church in Asia Minor and that, before we try and apply any of the verses throughout Revelation to present day situations (for example, the number of the beast in Rev 13:18) we must understand them in their first century, Asia Minor, context - not in the context of the Roman Empire (except where it is relevant to the area in question) and neither to Israel (except where obvious and necessary).
1. Why these seven churches?
Firstly, Jesus’ command in Rev 1:11 that John is to
‘Write what you see in a book and send it to the seven churches...’
need not be taken with the emphasis that I’ve placed upon it here. The Greek does not force the point that, in English, we may read the words as implying that there are just seven churches situated in Asia Minor.
Besides, it’s fairly certain that there were other churches in the area that were continuing to maintain a witness for the Lord. Col 4:13 notes Hierapolis as having a christian community at the time of Paul and the existence of the letter from which it comes is evidence enough that there was also a fellowship at Colossae.
When Ignatius travelled through this area at the time of the close of the first century, he wrote to a church at Magnesia - also in Asia Minor - whose origin could be reasonably considered to be before the writing of the Revelation.
Therefore, though there were certainly other fellowships in various cities within the region, why did Jesus only choose these seven? Is the number seven purely symbolic as is used throughout Revelation for various other items and occurrences?
We could conjecture many things but, very simply, we don’t know. Perhaps these seven churches were the only ones that Jesus wanted to say anything to?
Perhaps they were considered to be the seven most important churches in the area by Jesus (notice that Jesus speaks of them and not John who is usually attributed with being the overseer of the work of Christ in this area)? Perhaps, amongst the Asia Minor church, this list of seven were the ones who were considered to be representative of the whole or that each one had jurisdiction over an area that was specifically defined in which they were to spread the Gospel?
All or none of these could be correct - but the seven would probably have had some specific significance of which we, nineteen centuries on, are unaware.
2. Why write the letters in this order?
There are some things that can be said about the order and some other things that are best left unsaid. Commentators normally point out that the writing of the letters is in the most logical order if one were to travel round them starting at Ephesus - though that is partly true, it isn’t an absolute.
Firstly, John (whoever this John may be - church tradition holds that it was the John who was one of the original twelve disciples of Jesus who is regarded as having the oversight of the move of God in the area of Asia Minor) indicates that he was on the island of Patmos (Rev 1:9), possibly imprisoned within the penal colony located some 60 miles or so south-west of the city of Ephesus in the Aegean Sea. What John actually writes (‘[I] was on...’) could indicate that, although he received the Revelation while on the island, he was recording it having now left - church tradition, however, normally sees John as having both received and written it while exiled away from Asia Minor.
Zondervan describes Patmos as
‘...a mountainous island of irregular outline, measuring approximately six by ten miles’
before contrasting ancient reports which speak of it both as a dry and desolate area and as an island covered with palm trees or terebinth.
If one was to travel from Patmos on a tour of the seven churches mentioned in Revelation chapters 2 and 3, the most logical first port of call would be Ephesus. True, one could sail directly from Patmos to Miletus and then overland to either Ephesus or Laodicea but, if time was of the essence, a direct voyage to Ephesus would be the most logical. Smyrna, the other port on the western coast of Asia Minor, lay to the north round a headland which jutted out into the sea some sixty miles west of a line drawn between the two cities, thus hindering a quick and easy voyage.
So, we can be certain that Ephesus would necessarily be the first church to have been reached if a journey was to be undertaken. But the decision as to which church was to be second cannot be answered by reference to the theory that the churches were visited in the most logical order.
From Ephesus, there were two main roads that could have been used to provide an easy ‘circuit’ - either the one which headed almost due north towards Smyrna (the route that Jesus uses in His dictation) or the one which headed almost due east, up the Maeander valley, to arrive at Laodicea, Colossae and Hierapolis (see on Laodicea for the significance of these three cities in the interpretation of the letter).
Both routes appear to be logical and I can see no reason why one should have been preferred above the others apart from, perhaps, by arriving at Laodicea last, it was possible to gain access into the interior of Asia Minor and then beyond, ultimately arriving in Israel. The alternative route not chosen by Jesus would finish the journey in Smyrna, a port from which a ship could be hired to sail to just about anywhere from Athens to farther afield places such as Rome (the explanation which offers that it was done logically in a clockwise direction is a bit of a misnomer as there was no ‘clockwise’ until much later!!!).
So, although the first church visited is logical, the second and seventh do not appear to have anything that indicates to us why Jesus chose one route above the other. However, that He did choose a route is significant in that He’s not listing the fellowships in order of importance in His mention of them. Above that, there doesn’t appear very much we can adequately say about the route chosen.
3. Prophetic messages?
There are various different ‘systems’ (for want of a better word) that are employed when the letters to the seven churches are interpreted. While I don’t intend going in to these structures, it has to be pointed out that the most important thing for a commentator to do is to attempt to come to terms with the messages as written to the respective churches of their day and not with any other hidden agenda at the back of their minds.
Many have tried to interpret them in the light of subsequent Church history, following the different ages of the Church through to correspond with the characteristics of the letters in the order they were written - but this does pull away from a plain and simple interpretation and it denies that, when Jesus said (Rev 1:11)
‘Write what you see in a book and send it to the seven churches...’
He actually meant them to understand something relevant to their own plight and situation.
If there is a secondary meaning then let us hope that we don’t miss out on what ‘the Spirit is saying to the churches’ but, primarily, we would be doing an injustice to the text if we failed to apply Jesus’ words to the fellowship of its time.
Therefore, when I studied these letters, I totally removed any concept in my own viewpoint that would see them as futuristic prophecies in order that I might try and arrive at what they originally meant for the people of their time.
For those interested, my commentaries on the letters can be found in the following places:
Ephesus
Smyrna
Pergamum
Thyatira
Sardis
Philadelphia
Laodicea
Chapters 4-5
Who is worthy?
The scene changes - from what was earthly and straightforward to heavenly and viewed through the eyes of an observer who sees what Heaven sees. This is the most important crux of the Book of Revelation - though the previous words have been concerned with a Heavenly message spoken to a recipient on earth, it now changes to one spoken to a recipient in Heaven.
What John sees, therefore, is not necessarily what those on earth will see - indeed, it’s not at all what earth will see even though many commentators have taken what’s now recorded as more literal than either symbolic or inexplicable.
I don’t believe that the churches to whom this message came were completely dumbfounded by the contents of what was being brought to them, otherwise why would Jesus command the letter to be written for the benefit of His followers? Nevertheless, because we’re so far removed from the context of first century Asia Minor, much of the text will become inexplicable, I believe.
Not so, though, the passage which begins here with Rev 4:1 and which continues until Rev 8:1. Even though it’s a record of something which was witnessed in Heaven, the broad interpretation of the contents seems to be far from hidden.
I said at the beginning that I don’t want to get hung up on minute details - so I’ll neglect from attempting an interpretation of the twenty-four thrones and elders (Rev 4:4), the sea of glass (Rev 4:6) and the four living creatures which stand on each side of the Throne of God (Rev 4:6-8), the latter of which was taken by the early Celtic Church to be representative of the four Gospels.
These things, though important, are not necessary to a broad overview of the Book. We can summarise Revelation chapter 4, then, as simply a setting of the scene for John, as a revelation of what it’s like in Heaven where God declares His will and sees it done by those who serve Him.
Chapter 5, though, gets to the bottom of why John’s been invited there, for the dilemma which faces God Himself at its outset is to find a satisfactory answer to the question (Rev 5:2)
‘Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?’
God, then, is looking for a man who’s worthy to end the world and to bring to a conclusion all that has been pointed towards. The reader will, perhaps, consider my assertions to be going a little too far for nowhere in the text do we read of the detail as to what the scroll contains or of what each of the seals is meant to do.
But the breaking open of the seals in Rev 6:1-8:1 will be shown in the next section to be closely paralleled in the statements of Jesus concerning the end of the age (Matthew chapter 24). Because Rev 8:1 is the conclusion of the ‘end game’, the one who opens the seals is also the One who is in control of God’s final ‘play’ in which He brings all Creation back under His sovereign control.
Just as God created the world and crowned it with mankind (Gen 1:26-28) so now also He has determined to bring it to a conclusion through the agency of man and crown it with the one Man who will have everything in subjection to Him (I Cor 15:24-28, Heb 2:8-9).
Therefore, God is looking for a man and, initially, He finds no one...or does He? There’s a deliberate cryptic reference in Rev 5:3 to an event in world history that often goes unnoticed.
Many years ago, I was working on a series of meetings with a fellow worker and were taking breakfast with the Pentecostal minister who’d been invited to speak. He posed us a conundrum which had both myself and my friend totally stumped.
He asked us to read Rev 5:2-4 out which we did. For those of you who don’t have a Bible handy, it runs
‘...I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice “Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?”. And no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or to look into it and I wept much that no one was found worthy to open the scroll or to look into it’
Then he asked us a question. He said
‘You agree that the One who’s found to be worthy to open the scroll is Jesus?’
We both nodded our agreement. After all, we both knew the Scripture which immediately followed which said that
‘...the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that He can open the scroll and its seven seals’
and the identification of Jesus as the Lion and the Root were beyond dispute. Then he continued
‘Now, if Jesus has always existed even before time began - and, being God, there was never a time when He wasn’t in existence - what happened to Him when it says that He couldn’t be found either in heaven, on earth or under the earth?’
Well, it left us speechless. We thought about it but couldn’t fathom the answer. After all, if they’d looked for Jesus everywhere but couldn’t find Him, didn’t that mean that He wasn’t anywhere? And did that mean that this Pentecostal minister was saying that there was a time when Jesus was not?
Thankfully, he explained himself after we’d looked totally bewildered. He pointed out that the Scripture didn’t actually say that they’d looked everywhere. It said that they’d looked on earth, under the earth and in Heaven - but they’d not looked between Heaven and earth, the very place that Jesus was suspended when He hung on the cross to die for the sins of His people.
(The minister then went on, I recall, to ask us which man in the Bible is recorded as having no father. Thinking that this was another great revelation, we thought long and hard, offered a couple of names and then were told that we were both wrong. It was Joshua, he said, because he was recorded as being the ‘son of Nun (none)’. Needlesstosay, it didn’t undermine the truth of his first conundrum.)
In other words, the cross was the place where Jesus won the right as a Man to be able to take the scroll from the hand of the Father and to open it to bring the age to its fulfilment in Him. Therefore one of the elders urges John not to cry because Jesus has been found because He has conquered (Rev 5:5) and that, when He appears (Rev 5:6), He’s seen in the form of
‘...a Lamb...as though it had been slain...’
both of which are descriptions of the work of the cross. And, more than this, when He takes the scroll from the hand of the Father, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders proclaim Him worthy to take it and to break the seals (Rev 5:9) because
‘...Thou wast slain and by Thy blood didst ransom men for God...’
All that John is witnessing, then, is the selection of the One who’s worthy to bring to a conclusion the Father’s plan and that His worthiness is based squarely upon the offering of Himself up to God in self-sacrifice. As such, Revelation chapters 4 and 5 are pivotal in the outworking of what will immediately follow for the reader isn’t left to think that God is, somehow, acting impersonally by His power but that He’s chosen mankind’s representative to conclude the history of the people of whom He’s an integral part and by whom He also brought into existence them all at the very beginning of time.
It’s very easy for us to get side-tracked into minor issues and to over-interpret those items which seem to us strange or fanciful - but all that’s contained within the two chapters is only there to assert that God has found Someone to act on His behalf to bring world history to an end.
Chapters 6-8:1
The end of the age
Much of this material is adapted from here
In the RSV, Rev 6:1 is separated from the conclusion of chapter 5 by an empty line which gives the reader the impression that the writer is beginning once again on a new theme - but this is far from the truth. The unity with what’s preceded it is assured when we read John’s opening words (Rev 6:1) that continue by announcing that he
‘...saw when the Lamb opened one of the seven seals...’
What John had witnessed as the ‘selection process’ in chapters 4 and 5 now begins to be outworked in the opening of the seven seals which reaches its climax with Rev 8:1. These seals seem to be a concise clock of the last few years of fallen mankind’s control of the earth and the parallels with Matthew chapter 24 are seemingly close enough to pull away from the assertion that they’re passages which refer to two totally separate and distinct series of events.
The seven seals, then, are the ‘countdown’ to the end of the age at which time the visible Kingdom of God and of His Christ will be fully and finally established on earth, but they don’t appear to be events which are necessarily equally spaced. Besides, as we read them, it seems more logical to see them as covering a significant length of time as some of the seals appear to be the consequence of the ones that precede and time is needed for the effect to ‘cut in’.
1. The first five seals
Rev 6:1-11
The first seal (Rev 6:1-2) releases one on the earth whose desire is for world dominion. There’s nothing like this in Matthew chapter 24 but it adds to the picture of world unrest by noting that it isn’t to be thought of in terms of naturally occurring trouble - rather, there’s a specific cause which lies behind it. Whether we’re to think of one human individual as being responsible or whether the rider is meant to symbolise a spirit which incites world-wide unrest is unclear. This isn’t the point, however - what’s important to grasp is that there’s an impulse and motivation which comes upon the inhabitants of the earth which propels them to give up what peace they had and to exchange it for conquest.
It could be levelled that the two verses actually say nothing about war but the interpretation that this is what’s being conveyed seems to come from the seals which follow as a natural consequence.
The second seal (Rev 6:3-4) speaks of peace being withdrawn from the earth so that war follows (the vision, therefore, speaks of something universal rather than limited to just Asia Minor where the churches were established) - either a result of seal 1 or one that is to go hand in hand with it. Not only is the impulse to wage war given, but the restrictions placed upon men is also removed. Mtw 24:6-7 is the parallel passage but it has to be noted that Jesus stated that these ‘signs’ were, in effect, no signs at all because
‘...the end is not yet’
But the burden of Jesus’ words is to make the disciples aware that there will always be wars so that, when another begins, they aren’t to think of it as something unusual and an indication that Jesus is about to return. There will be trouble at the end, of course, and the seals describe the need for such a time.
The third seal (Rev 6:5-6) brings famine - a result of seals 1 and 2 (Mtw 24:7) while the fourth heralds great numbers of dead (Rev 6:7-8) - a result of seals 1, 2 and 3.
The fifth seal (Rev 6:9-11) describes the martyrs crying out for God to execute vengeance for the shedding of their blood, paralleled in Mtw 24:9. Jesus used the events occurring within the Church as the one true sign that the end was near - that is (Mtw 24:14 - my italics), the
‘...gospel of the Kingdom will be preached throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations; and then the end will come’
This is to be accompanied by great persecution in which many believers will not only be put to death but will be hated by all the nations because of their association with Jesus Christ (Mtw 24:9). Rev 6:9-11 refers to the ‘other side’ of the grave, therefore, where those slain on account of the Gospel cry out for their lives to be avenged. They’re told that there are numerous believers still to be martyred (Rev 6:11) and to be patient until the full number has come in.
2. The sixth seal
Rev 6:12-7:17
The sixth seal represents the culmination of the plans of God on earth (Rev 6:12-17). The Great Day of the wrath of the Lamb has come in which the prayers of the martyred saints find their answer (therefore, there must be a significant time between the fifth and sixth seals for the words to be fulfilled).
Here we see the return of the Messiah - Mtw 24:29-31 is the parallel passage and there are five specific similarities which demonstrate that these two are to be considered as describing one and the same event.
Firstly, Revelation speaks of ‘a great earthquake’ while Matthew says that ‘the powers of the heavens will be shaken’; Revelation says that ‘the sun became black’ while Matthew says that ‘the sun will be darkened’; Revelation says that ‘the full moon became like blood’ while Matthew that ‘the moon will not give its light’; Revelation records for us that ‘the stars of the sky fell to earth’ and, in Matthew, that ‘the stars will fall from heaven’; and, finally, Revelation speaks of the nations of the earth being terrified by the return of the Lord when it says that they cry out ‘fall on us’ to the mountains and rocks and Matthew tells us that ‘all the tribes of the earth will mourn’.
It may not be very satisfying to the commentator to have to interpret this passage as declaring Jesus’ return at this point in the narrative because there are still almost 14 chapters of visions to go after the seventh seal is opened - but, if we’re honest to the obvious interpretation, there seems to be very little that these verses can be taken to represent other than what we’ve previously read in Matthew chapter 24.
Before the seventh seal is opened (Rev 8:1), two major events take place preceded by the command not to judge the earth (Rev 7:1-3). This opening observation is somewhat puzzling only because it has to be understood whether it might be a reference to the problems which are experienced on earth that are outlined from Rev 8:2 onwards. These four angels are never again mentioned even though Rev 9:14-15 does speak of four angels which are positioned at the Euphrates and who are given power to kill a third of mankind. These seem to be different, however, for the angels there are told to harm mankind whereas those in Rev 7:1-3 are told not to harm the earth.
Those in our current passage seem to be concerned with judgment following the return of Jesus to earth and, although we would expect them to be released to do what they have been instructed to after the sealing of God’s servants, they’re never returned to - the reader has to assume that they fulfil their commission once the brakes have been removed.
The other possibility is that the four angels of Rev 7:1 are meant to be taken as different to the ones mentioned in Rev 7:2-3 who are given power to harm the earth. In that case, Rev 7:1 would be paralleled directly by Mtw 24:31 where Jesus is said to
‘...send out His angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other’
This is certainly what transpires in the two main events of Revelation chapter 7 but the exposition of the first few verses is a little strained to make it fit.
The first main event seems to be the sealing of a saved remnant of natural Israel (Rev 7:1-8 - the 144,000) - by ‘natural Israel’ I mean Jews who have faith in Jesus Christ. The number is probably symbolic being the sum of the groups of 12,000 from the twelve tribes of Israel (and not anything to do with twelve being squared as some commentators maintain).
Identification with this number as being a sum of natural Israel, however, isn’t without its difficulties and commentators point towards the tribal names as being symbolic only, representing the true Israel descended by faith from Jesus Christ - that is, the Church, whether naturally Jews or Gentiles. However, if we accept the Book as being primarily relevant for the first century believers of Asia Minor and due to be fulfilled imminently as we’ve previously asserted and observed, a literal 144,000 becomes a distinct possibility while the multitude contrasted with them (Rev 7:9) shows the overwhelming response of the Gentiles to the Gospel when compared to the Jews.
Even the names identified pose difficulties too, for the twelve mentioned are, in order, Judah, Reuben, Gad, Asher, Naphtali, Manasseh, Simeon, Levi, Issachar, Zebulun, Joseph and Benjamin. Questions abound here - why is Levi mentioned when they weren’t counted among the tribes? Where is the tribe of Dan? Why does Ephraim seem to be replaced by Joseph, his father? Perhaps the simplest way of noting the strange compilation of names is to take the original twelve sons (Genesis chapter 46) and to assert simply that Dan is removed and replaced by Joseph - but that still doesn’t help explain Dan’s removal.
In the early days of being a believer, I met up with a brother who’d been thinking along the very same lines and we’d both noticed that the prophetic word for Dan in Gen 49:16-18 first mentioned the tribes’ future use as judges in Israel before going on rather enigmatically to state that
‘Dan shall be a serpent in the way, a viper by the path, that bites the horse’s heels so that his rider falls backward. I wait for Thy salvation, O YHWH’
Paralleling this with the record of the Fall as being through the agency of the serpent and also noting that, about that time, the Ethiopian Jews were being repatriated back into Israel and these were declaring their ancestry as traceable back to Dan, we came to the tentative belief that somehow the tribe Dan might be used in opposition to the outworking of the purpose of God at the end of the age in a way which debarred them from being numbered among God’s people.
Just recently, confirmation of this position was discovered by myself in Irenaeus’ Against Heresies (5.30.2) who, although he uses a somewhat strange passage to identify the antichrist which he equates as being the same as the beast (Jer 8:16 - it appears to be a passage which dealt with the overthrow of Judah and the advance of the army which would overcome the city of Jerusalem), it does show that the idea of his origin was associated with Dan even that early in the Church’s history.
Irenaeus writes that
‘...Jeremiah does not merely point out his sudden coming, but he even indicates the tribe from which he shall come, where he says, “We shall hear the voice of his swift horses from Dan; the whole earth shall be moved by the voice of the neighing of his galloping horses: he shall also come and devour the earth, and the fulness thereof, the city also, and they that dwell therein”. This, too, is the reason that this tribe is not reckoned in the Apocalypse along with those which are saved’
This doesn’t prove anything, of course - but it does remain interesting seeing as both of us who stumbled into these types of thoughts had no idea whatsoever that just such a position existed in the early Church fathers (some 100 years after the destruction of the Temple in 70AD).
Whether this is actually the case or not, I have no idea - indeed, the more I think about it, the more that our exposition seems somewhat strained. Nevertheless, I’m not aware of any person who’s successfully explained the missing tribe of Dan from the list.
To try and establish that the first century Church of Asia Minor looked to an individual to arise from the tribe of Dan as the anti-christ is impossible, however, and the above is no more than a wild conjecture.
But what does this ‘sealing’ actually mean in real terms? Are we thinking about the resurrection from the dead (which is the obvious interpretation of Rev 7:9-12)? Or of a guard being placed upon them for the judgments which are about to be poured out upon the earth?
It seems preferable to interpret the ‘sealing’ as a means whereby they’re protected from what’s about to occur. The reader should notice that John, standing in heaven, at no time states that he sees this number but only that he hears what the number is (Rev 7:4) so that this total of people is more likely to be those who are still left on the earth and who are there while the judgment takes place. Rev 9:3-4 also speaks about locusts who were to harm all of mankind except those who had the seal of God upon their foreheads (Pp Rev 7:3) and the identification of them as the ones here being mentioned is more than likely.
The judgment which will now fall may be thought to last an extensive amount of time and, as I’ve previously mentioned, we shouldn’t think that these seals which are opened in quick succession in Heaven occur with the same speed on earth. It seems more likely that there can be very great time periods between any two events that goes unrecorded for John because he’s witnessing a compressing of the events into a relatively short timespan.
In contrast with the 144,000 never being seen, the great multitude of Rev 7:9 is seen as being in Heaven and are stated as having come out from the great tribulation (Rev 7:14) which takes place on earth. The judgment which the four angels are told to withhold for a short time (Rev 7:3) is more reasonably applied to the time immediately following the sealing. It’s possible that the sealing is simply the first stage of the resurrection from the dead and that, being symbolic, their number is meant to be included in the following multitude that find themselves in Heaven (if not, we might expect there to have been two resurrections of the righteous rather than one).
Even though there’s a further mention of 144,000 (Rev 14:1-5), it’s by no means certain that they’re expected to be taken as one and the same group of people and the reader is left to hold on to the interpretation rather loosely until the time might come when its fulfilment gives it sense (I’ll comment on their inter-relationship when we arrive at the second passage). Even a positive identification with natural Israel is by no means certain.
The second event which takes place before the seventh seal is opened is John’s testimony to the Gentiles who are before the Throne, presumably gathered from all ages (Rev 7:9-17). This may not, at first, seem warranted because Rev 7:14 states these people as being
‘...they who have come out of the great tribulation’
but, as their bodies are sown in the world and reaped from it at the time of the resurrection of the dead, there doesn’t appear to be a problem. Paul noted in I Thess 4:16-17 the order of the resurrection as
‘...the dead in Christ will rise first; then we who are alive, who are left, shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air’
If, therefore, these are those who have been gathered out of the tribulation, the dead in Christ must already have risen. The total number which are now seen in Heaven, then, constitute the total number of believers from all points in man’s history. Jesus has returned to judge the world and establish His Kingdom and, even though the judgment is skipped over, it should be expected to be proceeding while John is distracted to witness the scene before him.
When I mentioned this passage in my notes on the Feast of Tabernacles, it was because Rev 7:9-17 fits in very well with the final outworking and fulfilment of the festival which is expected to be completed upon Jesus’ return (the reader should access that web page to get the full background to the following brief notes as it’s not fitting that I should include the entire study here just to prove the point of what I’m stating). There are three (perhaps four) similarities between Rev 7:9-10 and the festival. The great multitudes have
‘...palm branches in their hands...’
which is the lulav that’s used in the celebrations at the festival. At the festival itself, the Jews proclaim both
‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord’
and
‘Save us now!/Hoshi’ah na’
while they shake them in the Temple courts. But, here, the great multitudes proclaim with a loud voice
‘Salvation...’
instead of the more usual plea for salvation to be granted them immediately, as it’s in the earthly celebration - the reason being that the redeemed of the Lord have received salvation (the Hebrew phrase ‘Hoshi’ah na’ is that which is used to convey the idea of ‘salvation’). The multitudes that John witnesses in Heaven are acknowledging that it isn’t theirs by self-effort but that it’s a gift from God.
Here, then, is a celebration of rejoicing such as never was seen before on earth at the Feast of Tabernacles (Deut 16:13-15) and in fulfilment of the command to rejoice at the earthly celebration of the festival. It will also echo as a fulfilment of the festival for all God’s redeemed.
In Rev 7:17, it also speaks of Jesus leading His own to
‘...springs of living water...’
which is possibly a reference to one of the ceremonies (see John 7:37-39 and the relevant section on the web page linked above). As I’ve shown in my studies on the Festivals as a whole, the Feast of Tabernacles is to be fulfilled in the resurrection of the dead at the close of the age - that John sees the fulfilment in Heaven means that we’re to take it that the event has already taken place and, therefore, that Jesus must have returned.
3. The seventh seal
Rev 8:1
Finally, to conclude the passage, John records (Rev 8:1) that
‘When the Lamb opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour’
I remember a Dutch believer in my early days as a believer coming to chat with myself and a young lady at the close of a meeting and the conversation got onto the subject of the afterlife and the resurrection. With an air of authority, he announced
‘And of course, there aren’t any women in Heaven’
While the lady looked horrified, I began smiling and thinking that this was some sort of wind up but, seeing both our reactions, he continued
‘No, honestly. It’s in the Bible’
and he gave me the reference of Rev 8:1. I hurriedly flicked through to it and read aloud, just as he was beginning to smile his mirth
‘...there was silence in heaven for about half an hour’
Of course, he wasn’t serious - and that’s not what the Scripture actually means. Rather, it’s more likely to indicate that everything has come to a fitting conclusion so that nothing further needs to be added to it, the age having drawn to a close and Jesus having now been established as Sovereign over the earth (Hab 2:20).
The silence is a mark of completion and of awe before the One who has subjected all things back under His own sovereignty. So, from scenes of loud praise and rejoicing (Rev 7:9-12), Heaven falls silent to the extent that you could hear a pin drop.
Where do we go from here?
As I’ve said above, the reader might find it disconcerting that the end of the age seems to have arrived by Rev 8:1 even though there are still almost 14 chapters of visions to go. But it appears that, to keep the visions together, Jesus revealed them to John in a sequence which would be easier to be remembered. After all, if the seventh seal was opened in Rev 21:1, it would expect much more of the reader to remember what they were all about than if the sixth one was opened towards the end of chapter 6.
There appears to be a deliberate attempt on the part of God, then, to make what is otherwise a confusing series of visions into smaller chunks which can be understood with greater ease. Although it appears to be almost impossible to be able to piece the sections together into a whole, chronological series of events, it doesn’t appear to be too much of a problem to draw the line under certain places so that they can be considered on their own.
The ‘problem’ of Rev 8:2-22:21 hasn’t raised its head until this point for the Book has been laid out logically and, even though there have been places where an interpretation has been difficult, the overall thrust of the message has been straightforward. It’s only when the reader finds the mention of Jesus’ second coming and of the close of the age that the problem raises its head.
Our western minds hinder us in an interpretation by being too logical - we naturally expect a series of events to be written in chronological order or, at the very least, that the reader would be told when certain aspects of the record are to be taken as out of order. The Biblical writers felt no such constraint, however, even if we could determine that they knew the order in which those things which they saw were about to take place. Rather, John records the order in which he sees the visions in Heaven and puts them down as accurately as he can for those to whom he has been told to write.
Neither is the timescale within which John may have experienced the visions meant to be a clear indication that they’ll take place at that speed. So, for example, Rev 6:3-4 may have taken less than thirty seconds to see along with Rev 6:5-6 but, if we’ve understood correctly that the second is the consequence of the first, between the two earthly events there may have been a great many days.
To mention but the briefest of evidence for such a position of seeing the Book repeating time periods at different junctures, I should note the references to the second coming of Christ which occur scattered throughout the book. We’ve already noted the plain description of the event in Rev 6:12-17 and of the resurrection from the dead which accompanies it in Rev 7:9-17 - but there are three specific places after Rev 8:1 which point towards the same event.
Rev 11:15-19 speaks of the establishing of the Kingdom of Christ on earth, an event which is expected to take place on the day of the return of Jesus Christ (Zech 14:3-5,9). Rev 14:14-17 speaks of the fulfilment of the parable of the tares and the wheat (Mtw 13:24-30,37-43) where the two halves of what appears to be one vision should be taken to represent two separate events. Again, this takes place specifically upon Jesus’ return (Mtw 25:31). Finally, Rev 19:7-8 announces that the marriage of the Lamb has come which continues into Rev 20:4-6 where the resurrection from the dead takes place, an event which occurs when Jesus returns at the second coming for His own and to judge the earth.
I should also point out that Babylon falls in Rev 14:8 but descriptions of Babylon - and the details of how it falls - are written down from the beginning of chapter 17 - that is, after the event has already been recorded as having taken place.
I would tentatively suggest, therefore, that the sections which deal with the time of the end of the age (and, it may appear, into a period which is extended a great distance into the future after Jesus’ return) should be divided into seven (not because seven is the perfect number, however, but only because this appears to be the least number of sections needed where ground is covered a second time with different details and applications).
These are 4:1-8:1, 8:2-11:19, 12:1-14:20, 15:1-16:20, 17:1-19:10, 19:11-20:15, 21:1-22:5 and, the conclusion which isn’t so much a vision as a rounding up of the Book’s contents, 22:6-21. The reader may feel that I’ve got the divisions wrong - and, come a few months’ time, I may agree! But they will serve us as a guideline at the very least which can be used to think about the contents and how they might interrelate with and bleed over into other passages.
My initial observations about the work being meant for the churches of Asia Minor and, therefore, to be in need of being placed back into the first century setting of that area is difficult - if not impossible. But, even though the Book might seem closed to us, all which follows was meant to be understood by those who were to receive it.
It may be only me but I find the subsequent visions from Rev 8:2 somewhat difficult - I would rather John have been transported back to earth after Rev 8:1 and given what concludes the Book from Rev 22:6 onwards so that I could say that I had, at least, come to terms with a great amount of the prophecy.
Therefore, my observations on the following sections must be as brief as possible and are meant only to attempt a summary of their content. There are one or two detailed points, however, that need to be made.
Chapters 8:2-11:19
The seven trumpets and three woes
I’ve seen some strange films in my day and read some equally weird books - but if they ever made the Book of Revelation into a film and were as faithful as they could be to what’s describe there, it would immediately be boycotted by the vast majority of people but critically acclaimed by most movie critics (am I being too cynical?!).
Let’s face it - the descriptions of what John sees are just downright weird. We may be able to comprehend the general flow of the seven trumpets that follow one after the other but what are we to make of the locusts with a tail and sting like a scorpions (Rev 9:1-6,10) which are like horses lined up for battle (Rev 9:7) with crowns, human faces, women’s hair and lion’s teeth (Rev 9:7-8)? Or of the riders on horses coloured sapphire, sulphur and ‘fire’ with smoke billowing from out of their mouths and bearing tails like serpents (Rev 9:17-19)?
If it wasn’t for the plain statements both at the beginning and end of this Book, one would assume that the descriptions were only there to ‘seal’ the Book so that it’s message couldn’t be ascertained.
Then there are the more natural descriptions of events that have been paralleled by an expectation that they may occur as literally as they’re described. For example, the star called Wormwood (Rev 8:10-11) which falls to earth and infects a third of earth’s waters was taken quite literally to mean that a meteor of some description will collide with the earth, it’s debris cascading into the rivers and seas of earth and making the waters undrinkable.
One could readily accept such an interpretation because it appears less than fanciful until one reads of the other star of Rev 9:1 which could be taken equally as literally until one notes that John speaks of the star as a living being who
‘...was given the key of the shaft of the bottomless pit...’
Is Wormwood meant to be taken as the name of an angel, therefore, for it certainly isn’t without justification that we might interpret it to be something which remains invisible to the earth’s inhabitants but which will have dramatic earthly consequences?
And, again, when the nuclear reactor in Chernobyl first went critical (though, from what I understand of the place, the reactor was never fully stable), it was pointed out by a great many christians that the translation of the name gave us the name of the star which falls to Heaven. Many surmised, therefore, that the star ‘falling’ was only a result of the explosion which had, firstly, sent radioactive particles into the air so that, as they settled back down, they would contaminate the area in which they settled.
While it shouldn’t be said with any great certainty either that the nuclear incident was what was prophesied or that a future accident there will be the fulfilment of the Scripture, incidents like these in our own time show us clearly how easily and unexpectedly the fulfilment of the prophetic passages could come about even when we had no idea what they actually meant a few hours before their fulfilment.
We should continually remind ourselves, therefore, that what appears to us to be straightforward now and understood by recourse to our own culture may, in fact, be totally abstract from the actual truth of the matter. Besides, as I’ve previously noted, what John sees happening is witnessed while he’s standing in heaven and not as it might appear to an observer on earth.
That’s why it seems almost impossible to ever conceive of myself writing a commentary on this Book from cover to cover for one is either constrained to stick rigidly to the text which has been committed to writing (which, therefore, means that it isn’t a commentary) or interpretation has to be placed upon the text which explains what it was that John saw and which, in itself, would obscure realising a fulfilment of the Scripture when it actually takes place.
Hence my reluctance to say much more than point at a few places which seem to warrant a comment. Without further ado, then, let me do just that.
We may give the trumpets a concept name such as the outpouring of the wrath of God but, to be honest, there’s no descriptor given to us throughout this passage which seems safe to use. In Rev 15:1 we read of the seven plagues which are poured out from bowls (Rev 16:1) and these are said to be the final outworking of God’s wrath so such an identification isn’t without warrant. Trumpets were used with a great many purposes in the OT but their specific significance to first century Asia Minor may have been slightly different. However, the idea of a proclamation or announcement being declared is surely not too far from the reason why they were chosen by God as symbols of what was happening on the earth.
What they actually announce, therefore, could be not only the return of Jesus Christ but of the inadequacy of mankind to live righteously before Him - if the events are considered to be judgments upon human civilisation. They certainly don’t appear to be natural consequences of earthly events and also seem to be prompted by the prayers of the saints (Rev 8:3) so that it may not be going too far to see in their outworking a response to the call from the saints to judge the earth for its rebellion against the One who they serve.
We can’t go much beyond this, however.
Whether the thunder, voices, lightning and earthquake are meant to be taken literally (Rev 8:5) are doubtful, in my opinion, but they may simply be a symbol of the fact that what has just happened has radically changed the outworking of earth history. As I’ve said above, the contents of this section are best assumed to fit into the framework of Rev 6:1-8:1 so that events described occur either simultaneously or closely followed by all the events described in the Book. Where to insert this passage is impossible to be certain about but if it’s accepted that Revelation refers to the last seven year period of earth history before Jesus’ return, there should be enough time to fit all the Book’s events into that time period.
After the fourth trumpet, John sees an eagle announcing
‘Woe, woe, woe to those who dwell on the earth, at the blasts of the other trumpets which the three angels are about to blow!’
a statement which parallels Rev 9:12 that the first woe has passed (after the fifth trumpet has been blown) and Rev 11:14 that the second has been and gone (after the sixth trumpet). As there’s no mention of a third ‘woe’, it seems logical to assume that the seventh trumpet is meant to be taken as the outworking of the third and final one (which I’ll comment on shortly).
The repeated ‘woe, woe, woe’, then, isn’t a dramatic or poetic tool but is used to indicate that there are three woes which are about to follow. Had there not been an explanation of the statement, one could very easily have thought of the eagle’s pronouncement as very little more than a way to draw John’s attention before the content of the message was proclaimed. It also serves us as a warning that, where an interpretation isn’t recorded, we may miss God’s intention to convey a truth.
The sealed of God are mentioned during the fifth trumpet/first woe (Rev 9:4) and, if they’re taken to be referring to those who were sealed in Rev 7:1-8, we would be right in ‘pinning’ this trumpet into the framework of Rev 6:1-8:1 shortly after that point and before the conclusion of Rev 8:1.
There are numerous insertions into a quick outworking of the final trumpet once the sixth trumpet/second woe is described - some of these are quite puzzling. The command not to write the words of the seven thunders is somewhat frustrating (Rev 10:4) though, perhaps, the reason for such a command may not have been, as I heard one preacher say, that it would have revealed too much - it could equally have been that it would have confused the recipients of the vision, even though I prefer the former interpretation.
For our purpose, however, the command to ‘seal’ the message is a good indication that the command not to seal the contents of the entire Book (Rev 22:10) is designed that it could be understood more easily than we can in the twenty-first century.
The statement by the angel (Rev 10:7) that
‘...in the days of the trumpet call to be sounded by the seventh angel, the mystery of God, as he announced to his servants the prophets, should be fulfilled’
points us towards the return of Jesus Christ to earth and to the resurrection of the dead which will accompany His return.
Rev 11:1-13 seems to necessarily be describing what’s going on in the earthly city of Jerusalem though certain qualifying statements need to be made. The opening two verses are strange from the point of view that John is expected to ‘measure the temple’ especially when we are given no dimensions and, indeed, we never learn if he completes his task (an angel does measure the New Jerusalem in Rev 21:15-17 and it may have been intended that the two were to serve as a comparison or contrast).
If taken literally, the Temple still appears to be in the possession of the Jews during this three and a half year period while the city outside the walls are in the possession of the non-Jews. Josephus records for us the fact that the Temple was the last stronghold in the city and that those who were resisting the Roman army garrisoned themselves up within its walls for a length of time that ran only to a few weeks.
If the Book had been written retrospectively of the events of 70AD, it seems strange that the author would have got such a fact so wrong when there would have been plenty of eye-witness reports.
The passage concerning God’s two witnesses is somewhat strange (Rev 11:4-13) though it’s normally taken to be referring to a fully literal event. Part of the problem is that commentators assume that both messengers or prophets perform their signs in the city of Jerusalem. The assumption appears to be based on the description of where their bodies are laid out when dead, for John describes it (Rev 11:8) as
‘...Sodom and Egypt where their Lord was crucified’
There’s no doubting the identification, the description of it as being both Sodom and Egypt surely points towards the interpretation that the inhabitants of the city are considered to be apostate during the final few years immediately before Jesus’ return - something which may be a bone of contention amongst many believers (it’s possible, however, that they’re laid out in the area controlled by the Gentiles while the believing Jews are described as holding on to the Temple area).
But, I digress. The two prophets’ ministry is taken to be within the city of Jerusalem because of this description but there are descriptions in the passage which may indicate otherwise. For example, they’re described as being able (Rev 11:6) to
‘...smite the earth...’
that those who rejoice over their death (Rev 11:9) will be
‘...from the peoples and tribes and tongues and nations...’
(something which, admittedly, could be a reference to the Gentiles who are in control of the city) but that they had been (Rev 11:10)
‘...a torment to those who dwell on the earth’
We may assume (though this could be totally wrong) that it is easier to lay out their bodies where they were killed than to bring them to Jerusalem from somewhere else in the world - but what we shouldn’t do is to think that their ministry is restricted to Israel but it is, rather, universal in scope. Their resuscitation causes a judgment to be poured out upon the city, too.
This event seems literal - or, perhaps better, half-literal. It’s difficult to know just how literal it’s meant to be simply because, as I’ve said time and time again, John is watching events on earth from the perspective of Heaven.
Finally, the seventh trumpet is blown which, as I commented above, should also be taken as the third woe (Rev 11:15-19 - see Rev 11:14). The contents of the trumpet should make us sit up and take notice but we often gloss over the description and fail to notice that, when it’s compared with the first six trumpets and first two woes, it’s wholly dissimilar.
The trumpets are described as plagues (Rev 9:18,20 - perhaps a more restricted interpretation is necessary which sees the word linked only to a proportion of the events) and, as we noted above, they’re also best understood to be judgments which come about as a result of the prayers of the saints (Rev 8:3-4). The last three trumpets are also known as ‘woes’ but none of these three descriptions, I feel, are obviously relevant to what now transpires.
John writes that there were loud voices in heaven (Rev 11:15 Pp Zech 14:9) announcing that
‘The kingdom [which appears to be singular where a plural might have been expected] of the world has become the Kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign for ever and ever’
where it seems necessary to understand that what’s transpiring is the return of Jesus Christ to set up the visible Kingdom of God on earth with everything that will accompany that event such as the resurrection from the dead, the rewarding of the saints and the judgment of those opposed to God (Rev 11:18). This seventh trumpet, then, ties in with the event which happens after the opening of the sixth seal (Rev 7:9-12) but the problem which presents itself to the reader is that those who are sealed (Rev 7:1-8) are mentioned in the middle of the two passages about Jesus’ return (Rev 6:12-17 and 7:9-17) whereas the sealed remnant (Rev 9:4) occur a while before the event (Rev 11:15-18) in the current passage.
There are a few explanations although I don’t intend going into them here - this isn’t meant to be so much a commentary as some pointers to a general overview - but it may have been incorrect of us to identify the ‘sealed’ in the two passages as being one and the same or Rev 7:1-8 might not be meant to have been taken as chronologically as it appears.
I noted above that neither ‘woe’ nor ‘judgment’ easily interprets the description of this event but, when thought about, one realises that, to those who are left on the earth and who are continuing to live in opposition to the will of God, the return of God’s King and of the setting up of His Kingdom isn’t going to be a joyous event. Rather, it will be expressed by attitudes of grief when the realisation that the wrath of God is fully and finally coming upon them (Rev 6:16-17) even though the events which have preceded the return could also be considered as outpourings of judgment and wrath.
Finally, the description of Rev 10:7 that
‘...in the days of the trumpet call to be sounded by the seventh angel, the mystery of God, as He announced to His servants the prophets, should be fulfilled’
seems to be described in Rev 11:19 when John witnesses God’s Heavenly Temple being opened (that is, what was once hidden from mankind now becomes made known to them openly) and the
‘...Ark of His covenant was seen within His temple; and there were flashes of lightning, voices, peals of thunder, an earthquake, and heavy hail’
It’s unlikely that a real and tangible Ark is meant to be understood at this point as being seen by those on earth (God’s Temple and the Ark aren’t mentioned as being visible from earth anyway) - though we can’t be certain, of course - but the symbolism seems to be that the dwelling place of God is now re-established on earth as it was in the beginning when there was no restriction placed upon mankind’s access into God’s presence.
The last four climactic events are the same as those which occur in Rev 8:5 where I noted that it was more likely that they weren’t meant to be taken literally but as an indication that what has just taken place has radically changed the outworking of earth history.
Concluding, we should note that there is little which would persuade us otherwise than that the seven trumpets should be considered to be fully integrated into the previous passage which described the seven seals. Just where they ‘fit’ is open to conjecture, of course, though the final event (the sixth seal and the seventh trumpet) seem to be able to be tied together with certainty.
Chapters 12:1-14:20
A great portent
Rev 12:1 throws us into an even more surreal scenario. John, in Heaven, speaks about a great portent appearing ‘in Heaven’. But haven’t we already been standing in Heaven and watching events unfold (Rev 11:16)? The most logical interpretation seems to be that John is conveying to the reader that what he sees shouldn’t be thought of as being ‘on earth’ - the scene changes in Rev 12:13 to events on earth but, for now, the writer is reminding us of where the vision is taking place.
It might also be not too unreasonable to think that John looks ‘up’ to see the event above him (simply because ‘Heaven’ can be taken to mean this - looking towards Heaven can imply simply that a person is looking towards the skies. Morris understands the words this way) and this appears likely when he continues by writing about the dragon being thrown ‘down’ (Rev 12:13).
We should, therefore, understand John to still be standing in Heaven but that the great ‘sign’ (RSV’s ‘portent’) opens up above him and is then played out below on earth at the appropriate point. The writer calls the reader’s attention to it by his initial description of it as ‘great’ and we should, therefore, place a fair amount of emphasis upon it - perhaps even more so than what’s preceded it.
1. The dragon and the two beasts
Revelation chapters 12 and 13
There are a diversity of opinions when it comes to a positive identification of the ‘woman clothed with the sun’ (Rev 12:1) and, dependent upon that assertion, come various understandings of those items which are used in John’s description of her.
Aune lists six interpretations beginning with Mary, the mother of Jesus which, he writes, was often that accepted
‘...in the patristic and medieval periods...’
thus tempting the reader to accept the earliest recorded understanding over and above what appears to be the most likely meaning. His other five possibilities are the Church (as Hughes - who states that what follows proves the identification), the bride of Christ (which he explains as the heavenly Jerusalem which isn’t necessarily a provable equation), the persecuted people of God, an uncertain representation of an astrological figure or Isis, the queen of heaven.
To this list, Mounce adds the idea that she represents ‘the ideal Israel’ though I can’t understand what that actually means in real terms. Morris prefers an interpretation of ‘Israel, the chosen people of God’ which, I presume, is meant to be taken as the nation as a whole rather than only the servants of God within that nation.
I can’t help but think that the identification - and the comment on what follows - is largely tied up with an understanding of what transpired in the following two millennia of Church and world history since the time of the Revelation’s writing. But, as I’ve repeatedly stated above, John was told to commit to writing what was soon to take place and, therefore, what the recipients of the letter should have expected to have witnessed in the majority of their lifetimes.
And it’s to this context that the passage demands to be interpreted. The simplest interpretation here, then, is to see the opening of chapter 12 to be history which forms the basis of the visions which are about to follow for, while it might be accepted (Rev 12:13) that the dragon
‘...had been thrown down to the earth...’
the reason for why this was so is also being described. This means that the situation that exists from Rev 12:7 onwards is the very same one in which the churches of Asia Minor were living. But we’re moving too fast - we need to start from the beginning.
The woman seems to necessarily refer to natural Israel. With this interpretation, Morris then interprets the twelve stars to be
‘...the twelve patriarchs or the tribes which descended from them’
I’m persuaded that this is the correct understanding but, because of the unwarranted detail that most commentators have thrown onto the passages in this Book and which have confused the issues at hand, it seems best to concentrate solely on the main characters and pay little regard to some of the more minor incidentals.
The woman’s travail in childbirth may well also be a reference to the anguish felt by the nation under Roman occupation but the major significance is the birth of the child (simply because travail in childbirth is what would be expected to accompany every woman giving birth) which is taken to refer to Jesus the Messiah.
The text spans both the birth and ascension of Jesus in one short sentence (Rev 12:5) and the identification is all the more certain because of the description that the child
‘...is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron...’
The dragon isn’t, at first, identified but the story continues as centred upon that character from Rev 12:7 and he’s there called (Rev 12:9)
‘...the devil and satan, the deceiver of the whole world...’
His appearance (Rev 12:3) as having
‘...seven heads and ten horns and seven diadems upon his heads’
may well have given the first century reader more of an understanding about his character than twenty-first century man - it may even have been culturally relevant to the authority structure of Asia Minor in that day but, if we stick to a simple interpretation of the dragon, we won’t stray into unnecessary information (Rev 2:13 also notes that one of the churches was sited where satan dwells). A similar description will also be returned to in Rev 17:3,7.
Although I’d certainly expect the features to deserve relevant comment, the fact that commentators are somewhat divided on their meaning should warn us against being too dogmatic with our statements concerning them. But the description is paralleled (but not identical - the number of diadems are different) in Rev 13:1 so that the origin of the beast there mentioned is easily identified.
Before we move on to the second section, we should note that natural Israel is spoken of as fleeing into the wilderness (Rev 12:6) where
‘...she has a place prepared by God in which to be nourished for one thousand two hundred and sixty days’
the last time period being three and a half years which seems to occur in the Book with a fair degree of regularity. Whether this is meant to be a literal time period is doubtful, however, simply because it begins with the ascension of Christ to the Throne of the Father. The Jews of the first century world were certainly under Roman protection even though there were persecutions which befell them (as they have done throughout history) and the majority of them remained in a spiritual wilderness away from the purposes of God in Jesus Christ.
It was the Church and not natural Israel, however, which came under the attentions of the authorities - including the Jewish leaders - and it’s to this that John’s attention is directed from Rev 12:7. He witnesses a great battle in Heaven as the effect of the cross and ascension is applied to the heavenly places where satan had his seat.
So the proclamation that his defeat is an outworking of God’s salvation is a relevant comment on the war (Rev 12:10) but also serves as a fitting record and warning for the present state of the Church on earth who are exhorted to remember that overcoming his work is not only through holding fast the confession of the Gospel but of being unconcerned with the continued possession of their own earthly life (Rev 12:11-12).
John is then shown the anger of satan in suffering defeat by giving his attention to destroy natural Israel, something that he’s unable to do (Rev 12:13-16). Seeing that nothing can come of his initial will to pursue them, he turns his attention towards all those who have also been birthed from the nation (Rev 12:17) where John notes that it concerns
‘...those who keep the commandments of God and bear testimony to Jesus’
It may be reasoned that the vast majority of believers are birthed from the Church or from the Christ but very few could be considered to have come from the nation of Israel. But the Church was born out of natural Israel after the death, resurrection and ascension of the Messiah and so can be considered to be the root from which it’s been formed. As Paul noted (Rom 9:4-5), it was to the Jew that the promises were to be fulfilled but it was to the Gentiles that it fell through their rejection of the purposes of God.
The phrase has particular relevance for the believer of the first century because they would have seen themselves as direct descendants of the believing nation following the general rejection of the Messiah by the Jews then alive.
This, therefore, explains the position in which the church of Asia Minor found itself - with persecution being poured out upon it and yet, all the while, resisting the temptation to deny the One who’d died for them (Rev 1:9, 2:3,9-10,13,19, 3:8). Therefore, the exhortation to ‘overcome’ found repeatedly in the personal messages to the seven churches is here spelt out (Rev 2:7,11,17,26, 3:5,12,21 Cp Rev 12:11).
Chapter 12 concludes (though there were no chapter divisions in the original, of course) with a picture of satan standing
‘...on the sand of the sea’
which is probably best understood to be a picture of his influence being exerted over the peoples of the world, the sand being indicative of multitudes of people (but, having said that, we’re going a bit too far astray from a simple interpretation).
Chapter 13 opens with a beast rising out from the sea, with a description of its external appearance which matches that of the dragon in a particularly relevant way (Rev 12:3, 13:1) so that the reader is in no doubt as to its satanic origin. The logical inference of Rev 13:2-4 seems to be that a world figure is meant to be understood but, if the horns, heads and diadems are meant to be taken as a reference to an organisation, there may have been something particularly relevant to the Asia Minor church which they could have readily understood by them.
Personally, it seems as if the three characteristics are only shown to John so that he’s able to positively identify its origin as being that of satan and may have little or no intended interpretation - so, too, the identical description is offered of the beast upon which Babylon is personified (Rev 17:3). However, it’s clear from this latter verse that there’s something more to be understood from the description (Rev 17:9-14) and that, even though satan has his origin from ancient times, there’s a specific symbolic description which is illuminative for the believer in the imminent future (we’ll consider this passage when we arrive at it in this brief commentary).
Taking the individual as being a real person on earth rather than a spiritual force or organisation (though there are enough hints in the text that an organisation might have been initially in mind), it might not be going too far to expect that such a person was expected to rise out from the cauldron of Asia Minor - or why else would Jesus have sent John to those churches to speak to them and them only?
I offer this only as speculation but, even though news from one end of the Empire could be brought speedily to the other by Roman internal communications, the fact that it’s Asia Minor who are warned concerning this figure may indicate that they were initially to witness the coming of satan’s man of choice before other areas of the Empire were to - and that Jesus refers to Pergamum as being sited where satan dwelt (Rev 2:13) also lends the theory credence.
Whether there’s an era in Asia Minor during the first century that causes the text to sit comfortably, I have no idea. But, even though we know about certain aspects of the area, the descriptions used and how the believers would have understood them to apply may well not be found in the little we know.
The head which had a mortal wound and which had been healed (Rev 13:3) could be taken as a reference to many concepts and commentators have often thought of it in earthly terms - especially as John will go on later to describe the beast (Rev 13:14) as
‘...wounded by the sword and yet lived’
It’s equally possible, though, that it could simply refer to the defeat by Heaven’s armies already mentioned (Rev 12:7-12) and that satan has regrouped his masses for one final assault against mankind. However, the repeat of the observation that the ‘mortal wound was healed’ (Rev 13:12) seems to be underscoring the importance of that piece of information.
It is, perhaps, necessary to think of the verse as being further explained in Rev 17:11 where we learn that the beast is none other than one of the line of seven kings who’s returned - if this is the case (and it’s by no means certain), then the wound would be indicative of having died and risen.
Again, though, this may have had particular relevance for Asia Minor in the first century. If it has any relevance for us in the twenty-first century then speculation of a positive identification would be unwarranted until it becomes obvious as to what Jesus was trying to show John. We appear to be a fair way away from that position, however.
The description of the beast is far from pleasing - especially to the people of God (Rev 13:4-10) - and world dominion seems to be indicated by the passage. His (or her) universal actions against the Church is only an outworking of the power of his source (Rev 12:17), being satan himself, and whether the forty-two months is meant to be taken as literal is uncertain but quite possible (Rev 13:5).
Then another beast is witnessed by John but, this time, it rises out from the earth (Rev 13:11). Whether anything significant is meant to be taken from its different source is uncertain (the second beast comes from the sea while this one arises out from the earth) but partially significant is the description of it having
‘...two horns like a lamb and it spoke like a dragon’
How John could identify the beast as speaking ‘like a dragon’ is an unusual turn of phrase if one thinks that he must be saying that dragons were a part of everyday first century life! Rather, the description seems to warrant an explanation that it ties in this beast with the two which have preceded it.
It would be tempting to identify this beast as the ‘anti-Christ’ described elsewhere in the NT and highly popularised amongst both the Church and secular society but it’s best that we refrain from such a dogmatic identification. Rather, we need to be sure as to what can be definitely gleaned from the words which John records.
This beast, then, appears on the world scene in the form of a prophet to the beast which rises out of the sea. It doesn’t receive worship itself but points towards the one who’s preceded it (Rev 13:12,14-15) with a supernatural demonstration of power derived, one assumes, from satan himself. In this sense, therefore, it’s wholly unlike the anti-Christ who one would expect, by the name, to elevate himself to be the one who’s the saviour of the world.
If we take Rev 16:13 as being a further definition and description of the three creatures or beings from chapters 12 and 13 then the third of these is labelled with the words ‘false prophet’ - an adequate description of the ministry which has been described.
It moves in the same authority as the beast of Rev 13:1 but it appears to be the more dynamic mover of the arrangement even to the point that it commands that no one is able to trade unless they can be identified as receiving the specific mark upon their hands or foreheads which shows their allegiance. I’ll deal with this statement in one of the next sections but, for now, we need only to note what John states as having seen.
To summarise and apply the above to chapters 12 and 13, then, John witnesses events which impinge upon both his readers past, present and future experience.
In the past - but part of the believer’s knowledge - satan had been after destroying Jesus Christ who had been naturally birthed from out of the nation of Israel (Rev 12:1-6). However, through the cross, resurrection and ascension, Jesus had won the victory over all the enemies of mankind, including satan, and, when the victory of the cross was applied to the heavenly places, satan was cast down to earth (Rev 12:7-9), it becoming necessary that the Church should overcome him not only by the victory of the cross but by the determined opposition of their will even to the point of the shedding of their own blood (Rev 12:8-12).
The nation of Israel was also being protected by God through the natural agency of the Roman Empire which was continuing even to the present day of writing (Rev 12:13-16). The present experience of the Church was that satan had now turned his attention to their own number - that is, those who had been spiritually birthed from the nation (Rev 12:17). This was the current position of the Church not only in Asia Minor but throughout the world - under persecution but still victorious through their opposition to satan’s will even to the laying down of their own lives.
What was about to happen in the near future, however, was that one was to arise who would make war upon the saints and kill them (Rev 13:1-10) even though they would still be victorious spiritually by refusing to bow the knee to him. A false prophet was also to be raised up who was to point to the beast by all manner of miraculous signs, causing only those who were in agreement with his will to be able to trade and eke out a living (Rev 13:11-18).
2. Other visions
Revelation chapter 14
Abruptly, the scene changes - we’re not told of the outcome of the first dragon or of the following two beasts that have been described though a future section will tie in more information to the description that the reader has here been given. God’s reason for doing this is uncertain for He seems to cut directly across the interest that’s been generated in the last two chapters but, nevertheless, John begins once more with what seems to be an unrelated vision.
Rev 14:1-5 presents the reader with a few problems but the main effort of the reader should be to try and understand the passage in the context of what’s preceded it.
Firstly, the 144,000 mentioned here could be taken to be a reference to the same number who have been previously described in Rev 7:1-8 who are sealed by God with a mark before the time of great trouble is to descend upon the earth. They would, then, stand in marked contrast to the rest of the world who have received the beast’s mark, having themselves received the Divine mark (Rev 14:1) - and both sets of people are mentioned as being marked on the forehead, though the first group might also have it upon their hands.
It’s interesting to note that their voice comes to John ‘from Heaven’ (Rev 14:2) and that they’re described as having been ‘redeemed from the earth’ (Rev 14:3) even though the mention of Mount Zion would naturally direct the reader’s attention to that place on earth within Jerusalem. For this reason, it may appear that the two places where the number is mentioned should be understood to be representative of different groups of believers but, perhaps better, it could be taken as a reference to the same group of believers but which are observed at different times at the end of the age.
That the number in Rev 7:1-8 are specifically sealed on earth whereas those here are observed as speaking from Heaven, is also indicative of this latter possibility but this might be no more than a description of where their worship is being offered rather than a statement about their temporal location - after all, John records that they follow Jesus wherever He goes (Rev 14:4).
This latter passage, then, can be considered to be mentioning the number described in the former.
The description of the number as being chaste (Rev 14:4) has also caused problems and there are many who would take the description as literal. The Greek here which is translated ‘chaste’ by the RSV (Strongs Greek number 3933) is that which more literally means ‘female virgins’, an unusual description to use. In the light of the spiritual adultery of the rest of the world’s inhabitants, however (Rev 13:5-15), it seems to be readily understood as indicative of spiritual chastity, of sole commitment to Jesus Christ in the face of a great time of trial.
The next vision is of an angel in midheaven (Rev 14:6-7) who carries with Him the Gospel - except that the content of His message is far from the typical call to salvation that the Church bears. For this reason, one should think of the single verse message as a summation which counters the declaration of the third beast (Rev 13:11-16) who has torn away at the fear of the one true God for the worship of the beast which rose out from the sea.
Another angel follows the first announcing the falling of Babylon (Rev 14:8) - dealt with in much more detail in a subsequent vision (Rev 17:1-18:24) and which we’ll deal with at that time. Here, though, it’s fall is announced, presumably, in the chronological order of what’s being described.
A third angel appears (Rev 14:9-12) with a pronouncement of the judgment which will be poured out upon those who receive the beast’s mark. This statement is never proclaimed to those on the earth and it seems, rather, to serve as an explanation to John of the severity of being allied to the dragon’s authority. The warning is spelt out in Rev 14:12 (which seems to be John’s own explanation) while a voice is affirmed by the Spirit from Heaven (Rev 14:13) as speaking about the death of the saints in the context of resting from their earthly works.
Finally, Rev 14:14-20 is seen by John which appears to be a parallel passage to Jesus’ parable of the sheep and the goats (Mtw 25:31-46) or, perhaps, the tares and wheat (Mtw 13:24-30,36-43). The first harvest (Rev 14:14-16) - although not spelt out as such - should be taken to be of the righteous, while the second (Rev 14:17-20) of the unrighteous.
We shouldn’t necessarily think of this as being a description of the resurrection from the dead but it’s definitely linked by Jesus with something that occurs upon His return (Mtw 25:31). In the context in which the passage is placed, however, we might think that these two ‘harvests’ represent the fate, on the one hand, of the 144,000 who have remained faithful to Jesus and, on the other, the rest of the world who have sold themselves over into the service of the beast and of his prophet (the reader should note, however, that my interpretation given here is somewhat different to my notes on the Matthean passage found here) - whatever the precise interpretation, these two passages appear to both need the context of Jesus’ return to give them sense.