Revealing Revelation - Double Trouble

As we continue our more in depth and passage related discussions of the outline and themes of the Book of Revelation, we turn to a proposed position that the book is, in fact, two separate prophecies. The two have the same function per se, but the second expands the judgments and the recipients of those judgment. The above also impacts the flow of the events and the interpretation of particular images presented in the text.

Most would recognize the first prophecy as starting with the unsealing of the scroll of the Lamb of God.

Rev 6:1 Now I watched when the Lamb opened one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures say with a voice like thunder,

This action on the part of the Lamb (Jesus Christ) sets in motion the events that are described. Whether actual events occur as the result of the unsealing is a discussion for a later post, but for now note that the unsealing causes or predicts future events or results of events. This scroll would contain through the unsealing and the following seven trumpets the first prophecy.

But where would one find the possibility of a second prophecy?

PROPHESY AGAIN

In Chapter 10 we see a vision of Jesus Christ descending and placing one foot on the land and one foot on the sea. This initial picture paints the idea that what is to come relates to both the Jews and the Gentiles as Christ, by placing his feet on the two different locations referring to Israel and the gentile nations respectively. shows His dominion over both.

John is then given instructions in regards to a small book that is in the hand of Christ.

Rev 10:8 Then the voice that I had heard from heaven spoke to me again, saying, “Go, take the scroll that is open in the hand of the angel who is standing on the sea and on the land.” 9So I went to the angel and told him to give me the little scroll. And he said to me, “Take and eat it; it will make your stomach bitter, but in your mouth it will be sweet as honey.” 10And I took the little scroll from the hand of the angel and ate it. It was sweet as honey in my mouth, but when I had eaten it my stomach was made bitter. 11And I was told, “You must again prophesy about many people and nations and languages and kings.”

The part about the eating of the book relates Isaiah and is not a topic of discussion here, but rather the final verse of this passage. John is instructed to prophesy again, but this time the prophecy would be related to many people, nations and kings. This would make one to believe that the first prophecy may have been exclusively related to one people and nation.

This does make sense as many have argued that the first scroll is actually a divorce document and only the apostate nation of Israel could receive a judgment of divorce or covenantal dissolution , where the remaining nations would suffer under a different judgment for their actions in relation to the persecution of the saints.

This also corresponds to the increase of the judgement results. By that I mean the bowls that arise from the second prophecy contain much more expansive devastation. Results expand from 1/4 to 1/3 to 1/2 of the population impacted as the prophesies continue. This would make sense in light of the expanded recipients of the judgments.

There also appears to be a geographical shift in the book as well following this vision. We are introduced to the beast that comes from the sea which we later discover is Rome, the city that sits on seven hills.

This does not eliminate the recipient of the first judgment, it simply expands the judgment to include the second persecutors of the Church. In a real historical setting this also corresponds with the events surrounding the fall of the city of Jerusalem and the turmoil following that in the nation of Rome.

The author here has shifted from previosuly viewing the book as exclusively related to a judgment against Israel to now accepting the above given proposal. The covenantal shift from a judgment of divorce against the Harlot to one that emphasizes Rome’s role in the death of Christ and persecution of the saints seems to best fit the form and theme of the book.

Revealing Revelation - A Three Act Play

We now will begin to dig a little deeper into the structure of the Book of Revelation. We will discover how the book is laid out and the way with which the information and visions are delivered. This directly impacts the subject matter of the book and it is with this that we look at the book of Revelation from the point of view of what it is going to be discussing.

THREE ACT PLAY

We are told from the outset how the book is to be divided.

Rev 1:19 Write therefore the things that you have seen, those that are and those that are to take place after this.

John is told from the outset to write of things of which he has seen, the things that currently are and those things that will take place after this. It is important to note at this point that in the very first verse we are told the things that are to take place will take place soon.

As an aside I would like to point out that these things are events or “things” that were to take place soon. To allegorize the entire book as is the want of many does a disservice to the introduction that declares that these things were to actually take place in real time and space.

But for our purposes here we want to limit the discussion to how the book claims it is to be divided. John is told to discuss things that he has seen, the things that are and the things that will take place after this. This means we need to see if there is a dividing point in the book itself.

THINGS THAT HAVE BEEN

The easiest point to note of division is the things that have been. Logically anything that John witnessed before the command to write down these visions would be considered that which he saw. This would include the risen Christ (vv 12-16) and the Seven Churches represented by the seven lampstands.

This makes for a very short first act, but note that there is quite a bit he has seen which includes the visible presence of the Son of Man. This powerful description is used for effect to make the reader aware of the Lord’s current place, position and prominence. This awesome description makes the point beyond the shadow of a doubt that the Lord Jesus lives and He reigns!

I should note that there are some places later in the book in which John refers to past events, but these are not things that he has “seen” in the past or since the vision began. One most notable would be the fall of Satan and the birth of Christ. These visions may be of past events but they are things he “saw” after the command to write. These events are also simply used to make obvious introduction and commentary as to who the characters are in the book. He wants at that point in the book for the reader to understand that the dragon that fell is the devil and the child that was born was Jesus Christ Christ. These are in the form of introduction and confirmation, not biography.

But where is the dividing line of the things that are and the things yet to be seen?

THE THINGS THAT ARE

Rev 4:1 After this I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven! And the first voice, which I had heard speaking to me like a trumpet, said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.”

So, beginning with chapter four we are introduced to the things that are to take place “after this.” That leaves the things that are the letters to the seven churches. The current reality of what was being faced by those in those churches and the Church universal that would also receive this letter was one of tribulation, doubt, struggle, persecution and multiple heresies.

This also hurts the “Church Age” view of many futurist. As discussed previously a very popular view is that each of the seven churches represent a different time in history for the Church Age, This is hurt, though, by the fact that Jesus declares and makes known that the letters to the Churches are clearly the things that “are.” This present reality demand of the passage greatly weakens the Church Ages view.

THE THINGS THAT TAKE PLACE AFTER THIS

As seen above the first verse of chapter four gives us the indicator that that things discussed after chapter 4, verse 1 are those things that must shortly take place. This includes chapters 4 through at least 19. The only place one could make a logical argument that a length of great time can be inserted would be the point at which we are introduced to the millennium. This, of course will be discussed in much great detail in future posts. For our purposes the point is the with chapter 4 we are shown the things that will take place after this.

I realize this was mentioned above but I simply cannot stress enough that John is writing things that actually take place! What those are may be open for debate, and debate we have gotten, but denying they are actual is quite troubling to the authenticity of the word.

In the following post we will look at the position some have postulated that there are actually two different prophecies given in Revelation. We will look at this view in the upcoming post.

Revealing Revelation - That Was On Purpose

It is with this post we will now make a decided change in focus from background information regarding themes and characteristics of the book of Revelation to a more concerted effort to discuss that actual themes presented, interpretive methods used and purpose of the book that is self testifying. We start here with a discussion of the primary purposes of the book. Why was it written and what internal evidences point to those purposes.

There will be some areas of disagreement among commentators that will be outlined, but it is at this point where the general ideas become more focused and the prejudices of the author will become more apparent. I will attempt to adequately present the opposing views for background information and critique, but since the major opposing view (Dispensational Futurism) has a firm grip on the psyche and ideological preferences of much of evangelicalism, there will less of an emphasis on those opposing views.

Also note that there are sub-themes that will not be discussed here, but will be tackled as we come against them in our journey through the book of Revelation.

So, what are the primary purposes of the book?

A BOOK OF REVEALING CHRIST

The book itself starts with this declaration.

Rev 1:1 The revelation of Jesus Christ

The book’s over arching theme and purpose is to reveal the Lord Jesus Christ. This work is a testimony to truth that resides in the person of Jesus Christ, that He is both Lord and Savior and that He lives, rules and reigns presently and forever!

This, in a sense, is an apologetic. The book attempts to make Christ real and prove that He is who He and others claim Him to be. This will be done by showing that His words were true and that His work was actual and authentic. He made certain promises regarding the Jews and His Church and this book will show the truth behind those claims.

It also reveals Christ to be God. This theme weaves itself throughout the book in great clarity.

There is a popularly held belief that this “revealing” actually means His “appearing” as in His Second Coming, but that is simply not what the word “apocalypto” means. The term by which the book gets it’s name is to reveal, unveil, make known or to affirm in an obvious manner. The context, along with the nature of the evidence, which includes the affirmation of His Church and destruction of the city and Temple, does not allow for the leap that this unveiling means “appearance.”

The primary point here is that the ultimate purpose of the book is to reveal Christ to the readers of the book. It is not meant to be a “veiling” or a “covering up” which appears to be the result to many readers. The attempts to shroud the book in mystery beyond it’s initial context and audience is to do a disservice to the primary focus and purpose of the book to begin with.

In other words, when the commentator makes the events more mysterious, the time texts more vague and the initial recipients completely inconsequential, they have, in a sense, veiled over the truths that the book is setting about to reveal! Now, it’s understandable why many would want to make the book more difficult to understand than the unique language and literary style may create of it”s own accord, but it may have more to do with the need to sell books then anything else.

How many books on the shelf of Christian bookstores claim to be the “key” to unlocking the mysteries that shroud the book of Revelation. These books claim great spiritual and Biblical insight that others missed and that it why purchasing their book will help the reader finally understand this enigmatic book filled with mystery and riddles. Only those prophetic prognosticators have the key that can “unlock” or, to use a more apropos term, “reveal” the truths hidden within it’s pages.

If the above is true than the title of the book is a lie! The book itself is a “revelation.” It is what it sets out to do! Reveal Christ! Any attempt to claim it is a veiling that needs to be unveiled in future generations is to deny the primary and initial purpose of the book!

So, how does the book go about revealing Christ?

There are four basic themes presented that go about to reveal the nature, person, purpose and position of Christ. Again, there are many other sub-theme present that will be dealt with in later posts. But foru our purposes here, the first of those four is also found in the first verse.

A BOOK OF PROPHECY

Rev 1:1 The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his servants the things that must soon take place.

The initial evidence to the claims of the deity of Christ and His current position as the one who rules and reigns over heaven and earth is that His words of events foretold will come true just as He said they would. These words given to John by Jesus of events that “would soon take place” would show beyond the shadow of a doubt that His words - all of them - are true.

For the commentator to miss this important fact is to miss the greatest apologetic of all time. Jesus said something would happen within a certain time frame and those things did happen. These are prophetic words. These words could not come the mind of a mere mortal in wishful thinking or guess work, they must come from a God that knows all and plans all, even to the slightest detail.

Christ is revealed as God when His words come true.

WARN OF PERSECUTION and DESTRUCTION

This dual purpose theme deals with the actual prophecies themselves. These events and actions detailed are of a dual nature. To the Church He is warning of a persecution that was coming that they would need to stand up against and that they would have to fight through to end. The Church would be warned regarding two major persecutors, one of which had a religious connotation while the other a secular government imagery. But both would be responsible for a great many deaths and intense persecution as the result of the faith of the Church.

John points to the present condition of persecution and also mentions that the seven Churches to whom the letter was sent would face even greater persecution to come.

Rev 1:9 I, John, your brother and partner in the tribulation

The warning of destruction is proclaimed against those two persecutors of the Church. Both the religious and secular government and those affiliated with them will see and partake in the destructive acts described. Both will be targeted for their destruction based on their soon coming (and even current) persecution against Jesus’ Church.

How this plays out is where great debate begins, but the truth remains that it is obvious from within the body of the text that those tribulational and destructive events are meted out against those who persecute the Church.

Rev 16:5 And I heard the angel in charge of the waters say,

“Just are you, O Holy One, who is and who was,
for you brought these judgments.
6For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets,
and you have given them blood to drink.
It is what they deserve!“

A BOOK OF ENCOURAGEMENT

Despite the tribulation, persecution and horrific images displayed, the book is a book of encouragement for those who are being persecuted. Christ is always shown as being victorious, in control and ruling over the events of man.

There is also a sense of encouragement that comes from the vengeance and vindication against Christ’s and the Churches enemies. We are told the Jesus will come and protect His Church. But we also see this sense of vengeance that is done to actually appease those who have been persecuted for His name’s sake.

In Revelation 6 we are shown a picture of the altar and under the altar those who had been killed for the sake of the Gospel. They cry out to be avenged. They are told to wait a little longer, but that they would be avenged. This picture is reassuring to a Church under persecution. Knowing that their Lord does hear their cries and that His promises to avenge them would be fulfilled.

A BOOK OF WORSHIP

Possibly the most overlooked theme that runs throughout the book of Revelation and is one of the primary and ultimate purposes of the book is to incite the worship of the one, true God revealed in Jesus Christ.

There are seven great scenes of worship depicted amongst the pages. Each has a different purpose to proclaim the awesome works and nature of the Lord. One great lesson is that His people must worship Him not just because of His rich blessings and the warm of fuzzy nature of modern worship tunes, but for His power, His acts of retribution, cursing of the wicked, destruction of the evil and triumph over His enemies.

Much worship music today misses the reasons why the angels and 24 elders proclaimed Holy, Holy, Holy. The Lord is worshiped not only for being who He is in majestic truth (Rev 4) but for destroying the enemies of the Church (Rev 18) and avenging His own (Rev 16).

It would do the Church a great service if she were to see the nature of worship found in Revelation. It may not make those who praise books like The Shack very comfortable to see the worship of a God that is represented in the way Jesus is worshiped and portrayed in Revelation, but it would be Biblically affirming and accurate. The Psalmist has no problem portraying God in such a way and it would behoove the Church to recognize this God we serve as seen in this amazing book filled with eternal and timeless worship!

So, Christ is revealed over and over again and in many different ways. This revealing must necessarily lead to worship if one loves the Jesus portrayed in the pages of this book. No other false portrayal will suffice and ultimately this should encourage the Church today just as it did the Church in John’s day!

Revealing Revelation - I'm Sorry...Come Again?

It is with this post that we will now turn our attention to one of the most difficult concepts found within the pages of the new testament, and especially here in the book of Revelation. The term “coming” is a consistent theme in the New testament and finds some of it’s most common references in the Book of revelation. the problem is that the term is used in many different context and setting s and can mean a different type of coming based on the picture in view and the context of the usage. This is no different than the terms usage in the rest of the New Testament.

In fact, there are 12 different proclamations of Jesus’ coming in the book of Revelation and with those come nine different “types” or results from those comings.

COMING IN FELLOWSHIP

Rev 3:20 Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.

Though quite a popular “salvation” verse this verse actually talks about a type of personal fellowship Jesus can and will have with the Church. The context is that of the Church needing to find it’s source of hope and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ rather than the possessions of this world. And in any case this coming is obviously not the Second coming despite the use of the term come or coming.

COMING TO JUDGE OR CHASTISE THE CHURCH

Rev 2:5 Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent.

Here the Lord declares that a Church would be the recipient of His “coming” in judgment or chastisement. This is not a physical coming by any means and all commentators would agree, but again, the term “come” is used though it in no way relates to the Second Coming.

COMING TO DEFEND

Rev 2:16 Therefore repent. If not, I will come to you soon and war against them with the sword of my mouth.

Here Jesus even uses the common time indicator of “soon” to show that first century Church that His coming was soon. But here again this coming is not related to the Second coming despite the popular phraseology. And even here it involves a coming to “war” with the enemies of the Church, which will show itself again later in Revelation (Rev 19).

COMING IN JUDGMENT

Rev 1:7 Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him.

As we have seen over and over again, the concept of the coming of God in the clouds is one that denotes a coming in judgment against those who will witness that coming. During our discussion of the Olivet Discourse we noted the countless times in the Old Testament where the Lord would judge and condemn a nation while coming or appearing in the clouds. This common language is best understood this way just as it is the Olivet Discourse, especially when considering the immediacy of the coming and who would see this coming.

COMING TO RECEIVE DOMINION

Rev 18:1 After this I saw another angel coming down from heaven, having great authority, and the earth was made bright with his glory.

Many commentators argue that this is a coming of Jesus in which He receives ultimate dominion over the earth. How this fits into the context of Revelation is a subject for a later post, but I note it here because few, if any, argue this is the Second Coming despite the similar and familiar language.

COMING TO BIND SATAN

Rev 20:1Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding in his hand the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain. 2And he seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years

Here we have a coming that many, possibly most attribute to Jesus in the binding of Satan. The similarity to the binding of the Strongman in Matt 12 has been dealt with previously, but our purpose here is to show that, once again, the term coming is used in a sense that is not related to the Second Coming.

COMING IN RETRIBUTION

Rev 22:12 “Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me, to repay everyone for what he has done

This is comparable to the coming in judgment previously, including the immediacy of the coming. But here the coming is for the purpose of retribution, recompense and repayment. This differs greatly from the either the “secret” coming of the Dispensationalist or even the Kingdom establishing coming of the Premillennialist. Either way, it appears this coming is unique and different from the rest of Scripture’s picture of the Second Coming.

So, what about the Second coming in the popular and literal sense. Is this something found in the book of Revelation?

Most definitely yes!

But that, of course, is for a different post.

Here the purpose is to show that one must always be a student and study the context of a passage to properly determine the kind of coming in question.

Revealing Revelation - Where Is What

In this post we further our discussion of the themes and characteristics found in the Book of Revelation. Here we now turn our attention to the “geography” of Revelation. We will be discussing both the actual locations of those places that are in focus in the book of Revelation as well as the use of landmarks as symbols within the book.

THE GREAT CITY

There is no denying that the primary geographical center of the book of Revelation is Jerusalem. It is called Egypt and Sodom as well as Babylon, but it is Jerusalem as the evidence points to. This includes naming it as the “great” city and the city in which the Lord was crucified.

This city also contains the Temple that John is told to measure. This Temple is located in area where Gentiles would be considered “outsiders” as the outer court is reserved for the Gentiles. This could only be Jerusalem.

This city is mentioned over 10 times and is the focus of the judgment and tribulation. It’s walls are torn down and it is overrun by the Gentiles for 3 1/2 years.

At the end of Revelation the earthly city of Jerusalem is contrasted with the heavenly city, then called the New Jerusalem.

ROME

The only other location named or hinted at would be Rome. We find this in Chapter 17 where we are told that the seven heads of the beast represent the seven hills on which it sits. This can only be Rome. The “great” city of Jerusalem is seen as whoring herself with this beast and so at times the imagers merge and blur.

We also know Rome is in view because the seven heads also represent seven king, the sixth of which was alive at the time of the writing of the book.

LAND and SEA

Popular Biblical imagery found throughout the Old Testament is that the “land” represents Israel while the “sea” represents the Gentile nations. This is seen as the Beast comes out of the “sea” while the second beast that has a religious affiliation comes from the land. The land is also seen in conjunction with the term tribes which nearly always be assigned to Israel.

The Greek word “ge” is used for land and it most often represent the “land” of Israel, even when it is translated earth as in the first chapter because of it’s connection to the word “tribes.” These translational issues can make things difficult and the student must be careful to read the contextual issues.

The above is in contrast the other Greek word for earth, “oikemene.” We have discussed this word in detail in previous posts dealing with the Olivet Discourse. I will review here. The term is not meant to be seen as the “entire planet,” but rather the “known” earth, or what we would refer to as the Roman Empire. This is the same word used in Luke 2 to describe the extent of the Roman census under emperor Augustus. We know those in the Philippines, Appalachian Mountains and Alaskan frontier were not taxed be the Romans.

This is simply meant to convey the whole known world at the time of the writing. If the totality of the world was meant to be in focus the author could have used the term “cosmos” which would be the entire world as in Genesis 1.

One other note in relation to the land and sea contrasting, there is one great picture sometimes overlooked. This is found in Revelation 10.

Rev 10:1 Then I saw another mighty angel coming down from heaven, wrapped in a cloud, with a rainbow over his head, and his face was like the sun, and his legs like pillars of fire. 2 He had a little scroll open in his hand. And he set his right foot on the sea, and his left foot on the land

This “angel” is obviously Jesus Christ as the description plainly points. Note where Jesus is standing? He has placed His feet on both the land and the sea showing His dominion and Lordship over both. This great and wonderful picture declares the complete reign of Christ over all things.

ARMAGEDDON

Since there has been a lengthy discussion regarding Armageddon in previous posts I will only state that here you have both a physical and symbolic option. The mention of this plain can simply refer to the actual place and a future or past battle, or it may be symbolic of the demise of Israel which has historic implications.

One note though is that the word for Armageddon is most commonly translated from the word Har-megeddo which would be hill or mountain of Megiddo. This actually may be related to Mt. Carmel. Either way, context must be king and the student must be diligent to discover the true import of the place.

Geography does play a major role in the book of Revelation. The student must always be aware, though, when the terms and locations and specified for actual physicality or when they are used for symbolic reference purposes. That, of course, is for a later post..

In the upcoming post we will discuss the “comings” of Jesus in the book of Revelation.

Revealing Revelation - What's New Is Old

In contrast to what we spoke about in the previous post regarding the use of Old Testament imagery and themes in the Book of Revelation, here we will begin a discussion on the use of New Testament imagery and themes in a book that is quite a lot like an Old Testament book itself.

The two major New testaments references are found in the Life of Christ and in the Olivet Discourse. That is where the bulk of our attention will be directed.

LIFE of CHRIST

The life of Christ is pictures, alluded to and directly referenced in several instances. We will walk through these below in a bullet format.

• Birth, death, resurrection and ascension are pictured, discussed or alluded to (Rev 1:18, 2:8, 5:6, 5:9, 12:10, etc)

• The ministry of the two witnesses lasts 3 ½ years which mirrors the time of the ministry of Christ

• Two witnesses are “slain” in the city “where our Lord was crucified” and are resurrected and ascend alluding to the life of Christ

• The binding of Satan (Matt 12, Rev 20)

• Seeing Satan fall (Luke 10, Rev 12)

Since the book itself is the “revealing” of Christ it would be apropos to have these important events in the life of Christ represented.

OLIVET DISCOURSE

Here we discuss a very important topic. This was also discussed briefly in the dating of the book of Revelation (Early date) discussion previously. Here we will look in more detail at the events described in the Olivet Discourse and how they mirror those events and images found in the book of Revelation.

• The persecuting city is smitten for the persecution (Rev 11:13)

In the Olivet Discourse we are given a picture of the events surrounding the destruction of the city and temple in 70AD. Jesus predicts these events would take place within a generation and that the Temple would be so destroyed that not one stone would be left upon another. This tribulation comes against the generation that would and did spill the blood of the Saints and the Lord Jesus Himself (Matt 23)

• The people call for the mountains to fall on them (Lk 23, Rev 6:16)

Luke 23:30 Then they will begin to say to the mountains, ‘Fall on us,’ and to the hills, ‘Cover us.

Revelation 6:16 calling to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb,

This shows an identical result of the forthcoming tribulation and how those alive would respond to the tribulation. Here it is with an identical plea!

• Events are said to happen soon and are “at hand” (Matt 24, Rev 1)

Both Jesus and John use identical language to denote the timing of these events. They were not far off, but both were seen to be happeing soon, at hand and were near. So, either both were right or both were wrong, but it cannot be one or the other. At hand cannot mean 40 years in one case and over 2,000 years in another.

• Similar plagues and cosmic disturbances

Matthew 24:29 “Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.

Revelation 8:12 The fourth angel blew his trumpet, and a third of the sun was struck, and a third of the moon, and a third of the stars, so that a third of their light might be darkened, and a third of the day might be kept from shining

Matt 24:7 Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places.

Luke 21:11 There will be great earthquakes, and in various places famines and pestilences. And there will be terrors and great signs from heaven.

Revelation 6:8 And I looked, and behold, a pale horse! And its rider’s name was Death, and Hades followed him. And they were given authority over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword and with famine and with pestilence and by wild beasts of the earth.

• Focus on tribulation, persecution and judgment

Both in the Olivet Discourse and in the book of revelation we find the bulk of the message is related to a soon coming destruction. This destruction comes in the form of a judgment against a people for their persecution of the people of God. This is mirrored in both the Olivet Discourse and in Revelation.

• The proclamation of the Gospel expands to all nations

Matt 24:14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come

Rev 14:6 Then I saw another angel flying directly overhead, with an eternal gospel to proclaim to those who dwell on earth, to every nation and tribe and language and people.

• Both mention a “coming” of Christ in judgment

This coming is one that takes place in the clouds and is seen through the destruction of the city and people the judgment is held up against. In both cases we see an identical theme. These comings cannot be the literal, physical Second Coming because that elsewhere in Scripture is coupled with His saints eternally existing with Him, not one that includes a tribulation like the coming listed in the Olivet Discourse and the book of Revelation. In an upcoming post we will deal with the different forms of coming the book of Revelation employs.

The fact that the Olivet Discourse and the book of Revelation mirror each other is unmistakable. As mentioned previously, this may also be why John’s Gospel does not contain the Olivet Discourse. Since he spent 22 Chapters dealing with the same subject there was no need to include it in his Gospel. Either way, the case remains that thse two passages are parallel.

So, the book of revelation, one that is quite like an Old Testament book is filled with images and themes found in the New Testament as well. Next we will discuss the Geography of Revelation. Where are thhe events discussed taking place and how are images of land, sea, mountains, etc used within the framework of the book.

Revealing Revelation - What's Old Is New

In this post we continue our discussion of themes and characteristics of the book of Revelation. Here we will discuss the use of the Old Testament in the book of Revelation. Despite not containing a single direct quote from the Old Testament one commentator has noted nearly 150 direct allusions to the Old Testament.

What that means is that the author borrowed images and symbols familiar to his readers and also relates Old Testament prophesies to the New testament events. This also means the book is very Jewish at it’s core. It is not a “Greek” book. This can also explain some of the difficulty in language and translation at times. The author is writing in Greek, but his thinking and the vision is quite Hebraic.

There are also prophesies from the Old Testament finding their fulfillment in the events described in the Revelation as well. We will look at different portions of the Old Testament here and see how they used in the book of Revelation.

DANIEL

We will look at three portions of the book of Daniel to discover how we find the fulfillment and the uses here in the book of Revelation, beginning with Daniel 2.

Dan 2:37 You, O king, the king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given the kingdom, the power, and the might, and the glory, 38and into whose hand he has given, wherever they dwell, the children of man, the beasts of the field, and the birds of the heavens, making you rule over them all-you are the head of gold. 39 Another kingdom inferior to you shall arise after you, and yet a third kingdom of bronze, which shall rule over all the earth. 40And there shall be a fourth kingdom, strong as iron, because iron breaks to pieces and shatters all things. And like iron that crushes, it shall break and crush all these. 41And as you saw the feet and toes, partly of potter’s clay and partly of iron, it shall be a divided kingdom, but some of the firmness of iron shall be in it, just as you saw iron mixed with the soft clay. 42And as the toes of the feet were partly iron and partly clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly brittle.

This is the first of the two “Four Kingdom” prophesies given in the book of Daniel. This prophesy includes Babylon, Syria, Medo-Persia and Rome. The fourth kingdom is the last of the world wide kingdom and is later destroyed by the rock formed by the hand of God (Christ’s Kingdom). The fourth is divided and unstable despite being the largest of all of the kingdoms. Ultimately it is destroyed by it’s instability and the Kingdom of God.

Revelation pictures this kingdom’s destruction at the hand of the Messiah in Revelation 19 when the “kings” gather for battle and are destroyed, not by weaponry, but by the sword that comes from the mouth of Jesus - His word.

We also find a similar description of four kingdoms in Daniel 7, this time a more direct allusion is seen in Revelation as we will note.

Dan 7:2 Daniel declared, “I saw in my vision by night, and behold, the four winds of heaven were stirring up the great sea. 3And four great beasts came up out of the sea, different from one another. 4The first was like a lion and had eagles’ wings. Then as I looked its wings were plucked off, and it was lifted up from the ground and made to stand on two feet like a man, and the mind of a man was given to it. 5And behold, another beast, a second one, like a bear. It was raised up on one side. It had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth; and it was told, ‘Arise, devour much flesh.’ 6After this I looked, and behold, another, like a leopard, with four wings of a bird on its back. And the beast had four heads, and dominion was given to it. 7After this I saw in the night visions, and behold, a fourth beast, terrifying and dreadful and exceedingly strong. It had great iron teeth; it devoured and broke in pieces and stamped what was left with its feet. It was different from all the beasts that were before it, and it had ten horns.

Here again we are given a picture of four beasts representing four nation. The last having ten horns. Compare this, then, with what we see in Revelation 13 Regarding what we discover later (Ch. 17) to be Rome.

Rev 13:1 And I saw a beast rising out of the sea, with ten horns and seven heads, with ten diadems on its horns and blasphemous names on its heads. 2And the beast that I saw was like a leopard; its feet were like a bear’s, and its mouth was like a lion’s mouth.

The comparison is not only striking, but painfully obvious. This fourth beast pictures in Daniel becomes Rome pictured in the book of Revelation. We also note that the horn from the fourth beast makes war with the saints, using the exact phrase in Revelation 13 regarding war against the saints.

Also in Daniel we see the Son of Man coming on the clouds…

Dan 7:13 and behold, with the clouds of heaven
there came one like a son of man,
and he came to the Ancient of Days

and in Revelation

⁷Behold,he is coming with the clouds,

This of course as discussed before also relates to two similar passages in Matthew (16 and 26), but that will be discussed later. Again, what is important here is noting the use of Old Testament language and imagery.

THE EXODUS

I am going to assume some familiarity on the readers part with the Exodus and Passover and will note the language and image uses in Revelation in a bullet point fashion.

• The evil persecuting power is called Egypt (Rev 11:8) this time relating to the Jews persecution of the Church

• Plagues include: darkness, hail, locust, boils, water turning to blood

• The persecuted are “freed by the blood” of a Lamb that was slain (Rev 1:5 & 5:9)

• The dragon recalls the image of Egypt (Eze 29 and Ps 74)

• The woman is nourished in the wilderness (Rev 12) as were the children of Israel

• The redeemed sing the “Song of Moses and the Lamb” (Rev 15)

Probably no other portion of the Old Testament is used as completely and often as the book of Exodus, for along with the above it should be noted the similarity between the images seen in Heaven and the Tabernacle of the Exodus.

• lampstands
• manna
• altar
• incense
• holy of holies
• the ark

This does coincide with the book of Hewbrews description of the heavenlies in relation to the Tabernacle as well, but the images are directly from the Old Testament

HOSEA

In the book of Hosea we are told the story of Hosea and Gomer, the prostitute. God commands Hosea to marry the prostitute and even after she leaves and continues her harlotry, Hosea is commanded to go buy her again and bring her home to be his wife. The picture of Israel’s Harlotry is not original to Hosea, though it is best and most obviously symbolized there. We find Israel depicted as a Harlot quite often in Old Testament literature.

Isaiah 1:21 How is the faithful city become an harlot! it was full of judgment; righteousness lodged in it; but now murderers.

Jeremiah 2:20 For of old time I have broken thy yoke, and burst thy bands; and thou saidst, I will not transgress; when upon every high hill and under every green tree thou wanderest, playing the harlot.

Jeremiah 3:1 They say, If a man put away his wife, and she go from him, and become another man’s, shall he return unto her again? shall not that land be greatly polluted? but thou hast played the harlot with many lovers; yet return again to me, saith the LORD.

Jeremiah 3:6 The LORD said also unto me in the days of Josiah the king, Hast thou seen that which backsliding Israel hath done? she is gone up upon every high mountain and under every green tree, and there hath played the harlot.

Jeremiah 3:8 And I saw, when for all the causes whereby backsliding Israel committed adultery I had put her away, and given her a bill of divorce; yet her treacherous sister Judah feared not, but went and played the harlot also.

Ezekiel 16:15 But thou didst trust in thine own beauty, and playedst the harlot because of thy renown, and pouredst out thy fornications on every one that passed by; his it was.

Ezekiel 16:28 Thou hast played the whore also with the Assyrians, because thou wast unsatiable; yea, thou hast played the harlot with them, and yet couldest not be satisfied.

And so on and so on and so on…

So, it should not be surprising when we are given a similar picture in Revelation.

Rev 17:5 And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.

BABYLON

The imagery and direct allusions to Babylon is quite obvious in the Revelation. Not only is the name directly used, but the way Babylon was overtaken is referenced.

Rev 16:12 The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up, to prepare the way for the kings from the east

This was, historically, how Babylon was defeated by the Syrians. The river was damned and the armies of Syria walked under the walls of the city where the river went through. This picture is a direct allusion to the historic events surrounding Babylon.

Though there is much more than could be discussed we will finish with the use of Old Testament enemy names to describe Jerusalem, including it’s most hated enemy, Babylon. First though one other enemy and the historically most wicked city is symbolically brought up to describe Jerusalem.

Revelation 11:8 and their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city that symbolically is called Sodom and Egypt, where their Lord was crucified.

This is obviously Jerusalem since the reference to the Lord’s crucifixion is included to describe the city. But as mentioned before, Babylon is also used.

Rev 17:5 And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.

Some argue that this reference to Babylon must be considered Rome since she is seated on the seven hills. But in actuality she is seated on the beast that is seated on the city of seven hills. This shows the harlotry relationship between the Jews and Rome in their persecution of the saints. But more importantly we are told that this “Babylon” is a harlot. Only one who has been covenanted to the Lord and then whored herself with others could be called a harlot. If one was never covenanted with God, their actions could be deemed evil , but not the actions of a harlot. This expression demands that at one time the woman was married or covenanted to someone and then became a harlot against Him. This can only be Jerusalem.

So, suffice it to say, the book of Revelation is ripe with images from the Old Testament. And it would be wise for the student to understand those images or risk the pitfalls many of the modern prophecy experts have fallen into by making the images say something they were never intended to say.

Revealing Revelation - I Think I've Heard This Before

Now that we have dealt with the issues surrounding the dating of the book of Revelation our attention will be turned toward the themes and characteristics found in the book itself. Rather than diving headlong into a difficult book filled with imagery, symbolism, visions and unusual language, it serves the reader to try and grasp the main themes explored and the stylistic techniques developed by the author.

In this post we will look at the authors use of repetition and parallelisms. There are several things that repeat themselves or run in parallels in previous sections of the book. This has caused many to believe and understand the books to be a book of “cycles” ever repeating and that it is simply a picture of the totality of history repeating itself. This is not necessary. The truth remains though that there are similarities and repetition devices used.

This is not an uncommon tactic in prophetic writing. Quite often two or more different prophesies or images may be employed to discuss the same events or subjects. One obvious repetitive prophecy is found in the book of Daniel where we are told in Chapter 2 about a statue that represents four different kingdoms. Later, in Daniel 7, we are told about four animals that also represents four different kingdoms. The latter may expound upon the former, but the subject matter stays the same.

The book of Revelation has been, by some, divided up into 7 repetitive cycles. Each cycle presents the “coming” of Christ in a different way and each cycle, it is argued, repeats the same information from a different angle. This has been the view popularized by many Amillennialist. This may not be the best way to read the book, but it is valid in many respects. It may also mean that the warnings become more severe as time progresses finishing with a flurry of judgment actions. Either way, one cannot deny the repetitions found in the book.

Below are a handful of things that show up again and again in the book.

• Worship at the Throne

• A Great Battle (Rev 16, 19 and 20)

• 3 ½ Years (Rev 11, 12, 13, 14, 16, 19, 20)

• The Beast (Rev 12, 13, 17)

• The “fall” of Babylon

The Trumpet and Bowl Judgments also show a repetitive nature.

• First affects the Earth (8:7, 16:2)

• Second affects the sea (8:8, 16:3)

• Third affects the rivers (8:10, 16:4)

• Fourth affects heavenly bodies (9:1, 16:10)

• Fifth affects men (9:1, 16:10)

• Sixth affects the river Euphrates (9:13, 16:12)

• Seventh announces the end (11:15, 16:17)

This may or may not mean that the same story is being told over and over again, but it must be considered a viable option when one looks at the evidence. What is most important here, though, is that something in the way of story telling demands that certain items be repeated for emphasis. This may relate to mankind’s inability to learn from the past or it may reflect the history of the Apostate Jews who time after time rejected the one who brought them out of Egypt.

Next we will consider the use of the Old and New Testaments in the book.

Revealing Revelation - The Early Date Theory Part 2

In the previous post we discussed the External Evidence and the first of the four Internal Evidence categories. We discovered that the external evidence is lacking. But we also found that the Internal Evidence is strong and will continue to discover this the more we examine the different categories of evidence within the internal evidence files.

The previous post discussed the Thematic Evidence found within the pages of the Revelation. The use of terms of imminence like soon, now, at hand and near, coupled with the “type” of coming (judgment) that is referenced. There was also the additional fact that the author proclaims that those alive at the time would see or perceive this “coming” and this included even those who pierced his side.

We took note that John was partner in the current tribulation and that it was imperative that his initial audience receive this witness of the vision as this message was directly for them. This initial Thematic Evidence points to events more closely resembling the events of the mid first first century than any time in history.

HISTORICAL EVIDENCE

In this section we will deal with events and persons described with the Revelation and try to discover at what point in history these events should occur. This is very strong evidence that points to the early dating of the book. The majority of the Historical Evidence is related to the Seven Headed Beast of Revelation 13 and 17.

THE SEVEN HEADED BEAST

We spent a great deal of time dealing with the individual and corporate nature of the Beast so I will not use up too much space dealing with that issue other than to say that the Beast is recognized as a a “nation” and as an individual The individual heads of the best represent seven individual kings while the entire beast represents the nation is symbolizes. The clues as to when the Revelation was written is found by an easy deciphering of the passage related to the Beast in Revelation 17. I will bullet point the issues below

• We are introduced to a seven headed beast in revelation 12 that represented Satan, the evil serpent of old, the dragon.
• Another similar appearing beast shows up in Revelation 13 representing a nation
• One of the beasts’ heads receives a mortal wound but the beast comes back to life

Then is Chpater 17 we are given the explaination of the Beast and our best clue at determining when the Revelation was witnessed and written.

Rev 17:9 This calls for a mind with wisdom: the seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman is seated; 10they are also seven kings, five of whom have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come, and when he does come he must remain only a little while.

The identity of the Beast, as previously mentioned, was dealt with in great detail previously, but to sum up…

• The city or nation on seven hills is Rome
• The seven heads also represent the first seven kings of Rome
• The 6th head - the one that “is” at the time of the writing - was Nero
• The 7th head or king was Galba who reigned for six months - or just a little while
• Nero died in June of 68AD
• If the 6th head (king) was around when John wrote the apocalypse then it had to have been written before June of 68AD

THE TEMPLE

In Revelation 11 we read about the Temple and how John was told to measure it…

Rev 11:1 Then I was given a measuring rod like a staff, and I was told, “Rise and measure the temple of God and the altar and those who worship there, 2but do not measure the court outside the temple; leave that out, for it is given over to the nations, and they will trample the holy city for forty-two months.

If this was seen and written about after 70 AD there would be no Temple for John to measure. The measuring points ultimately to the coming destruction of the Temple and City found in verse 2. But the point here is that John is told to measure a physically standing Temple.

Some have argued that John is told to measure a “spiritual” Temple like what is found in Ezekiel. There are a few difficulties that make that hypothesis troubling.

• In Ezekiel an angel is told to measure the Temple and here John, a human, is told to measure the Temple
• John does not question the command to measure the Temple. This is in stark contrast to other portions of Revelation in which questions what is happening. In this instance he simply does as commanded
• The context is the city of Jerusalem and her coming “trampling” at the hands of the Gentiles

Again, as the second point above notes John often struggled with the things he was seeing and would question the visions, even breaking down in tears at times. Here he is compliant and unquestioning. But more importantly, the Ezekiel Temple is a picture of a Temple that was to be built while the Temple John is measuring is one that was to be trodden under and destroyed. Why “spiritually” measure a temple fitted for destruction?

THE CITY

The entire book is filled with commentary about the “city” and what was happening and going to happen there. Here again John makes no comment nor does he question since in 95 AD the City of Jerusalem was a desolate, defeated and destroyed city with little or no inhabitants.

It would be more than odd for John to make no c0mment whatsoever that the city and temple was destroyed. Even the birth of Christ, the casting out of Satan and other historical events are considered and one would assume that something as terrific and horrific as the destruction of the city and Temple would be raised, especially considering how the location is the centerpiece of the book!

SYMBOLIC EVIDENCE

With symbolic evidence we must consider how the symbols of revelation are used and how the best fit into natural and physical history. This will not take much time, but will help in understanding how the symbolism employed must be best understood and then determine what the timing is. There is some overlap with the Thematic and Historical Evidence of these items

• City on Seven Hills - This clear representation of Rome should not be removed from the contemporary understanding of the first century reader who would recognize that symbol as representing the current (now historical) nation of Rome
• Seven Heads as Seven Kings - This was explored above
• 666 - This equals the spelling of NRWN QSR - Nero Caesar
• 616 (many translations) - this equals the spelling of NRW QSR
• The Temple - see above
• The Mark - The restrictions of buying and selling during the years preceding the destruction of the city were documented previously
• The Destructive Seals, Horns and Bowls - represent events that took place at Jerusalem’s demise (as also seen in the Olivet Discourse)

If the above symbols are accurately applied it leaves little doubt that they represent events that took place before 70 AD, making the writing of this prophetic something that had to take place before those events, probably no later than 68AD.

BIBLICAL SIMILARITY EVIDENCE

I really need to find a better term for this form of evidence. Within this category we will discover how similarly discussed events took place before 70AD. We will also note John’s discussion, or lack of it, in his Gospel.

THE GOSPEL OF JOHN

On a somewhat related side note, the reader may recall a discussion of the poor Greek grammar and language used in the Revelation in comparison to the more mature and refined Greek in John’s Gospel. It is true that it was quite possible that John used scribes and translators to write his Gospel while he had no such help available to him on the island of Patmos. There is another possibility worth considering as well.

It is also quite possible that John wrote the Gospel much later than the Revelation and by that time he would have improved steadily in thinking and writing in Greek. One other important fact should also be noted in relation to the timing of the authorship of the two different books. John’s is the only Gospel that does not include the Olivet Discourse.

There may be many reasons why John would exclude this important portion of Jesus’ ministry, but one worth considering is that since the Olivet Discourse and the book of Revelation deal with the same subject there was no need for John to include the lengthy teaching in his Gospel since he had dealt with it previously in the Revelation. This would also point to an earlier timing for the writing of Revelation.

THE OLIVET DISCOURSE

More than a handful of commentators on both sides of the theological spectrum had argued that the book of Revelation and the Olivet Discourse deal with the same subject matter and events. The similarities are not only vague and supposed, but in some instances quite stark. Not the identical messages below.

First off if you recall the judgment found in the Olivet Discourse is as the result of the Jews persecution of the Saints, Prophets and eventually the Son of God. This found in Matt 23. This was dealt with previously but fits here as well in understanding the similarity between the two passages.

Matt 23:34 Therefore I am sending you prophets and wise men and teachers. Some of them you will kill and crucify; others you will flog in your synagogues and pursue from town to town.35 And so upon you will come all the righteous blood that has been shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Berekiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. 36I tell you the truth, all this will come upon this generation.

Rev 16:6 for they have shed the blood of your saints and prophets,
and you have given them blood to drink as they deserve.”

So, now let us consider the Olivet Discourse and how it directly relates to the events described in Revelation.

Luke 23:30 Then they will begin to say to the mountains, ‘Fall on us,’ and to the hills, ‘Cover us.

Revelation 6:16 calling to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb,

Matthew 24:29 “Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.

Revelation 8:12 The fourth angel blew his trumpet, and a third of the sun was struck, and a third of the moon, and a third of the stars, so that a third of their light might be darkened, and a third of the day might be kept from shining

Matt 24:7 Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places.

Luke 21:11 There will be great earthquakes, and in various places famines and pestilences. And there will be terrors and great signs from heaven.

Revelation 6:8 And I looked, and behold, a pale horse! And its rider’s name was Death, and Hades followed him. And they were given authority over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword and with famine and with pestilence and by wild beasts of the earth.

Matt 24:30 “At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory.

Rev 1:7 Look, he is coming with the clouds,
and every eye will see him,
even those who pierced him;
and all the peoples of the earth will mourn because of him. So shall it be! Amen.

I could go on and on, but suffice it to say there is plenty of Biblical evidence that the book of Revelation and the Olivet Discourse are dealing with the same subject matter. We spent weeks walking through the Olivet Discourse discovering that as the result of the events and the time text demands the Olivet Discourse was clearly discussing events surrounding the destruction of the City and Temple in 70AD at the hands of the Roman army!

If this is true, then the events in Revelation are discussing those same events and therefore demands that the prophetic book of Revelation be written prior to those events.

For further study I will highly recommend the books listed in the previous post. This only scratches the surface, but does gie plenty of evidence that the Revelation was clearly seen and written before the fall of Jerusalem. At worst, the evidence demonstrates that the early date cannot be easily dismissed and must be given consideration when the issues of futurism and preterism is involved.

Next we will begin to examine the many theme and structural positions of the Revelation.

Revealing Revelation - The Early Date Theory Part 1

With this post we will turn our attention toward the Early Date proponents. This will take a couple posts because of the length needed for the argument. Since the early date does not have history on it’s side and is the minority position it will take some extra time and information to possibly convince the reader of it’s possibility and, at least, argue for it’s consideration.

Like the previously discussed Late Date theory, there will be a discussion of both Internal and External arguments. The change in topic will also cause a change in priority as the Early date theory places a majority of it’s argument within the Internal Evidence column and very little in the External Evidence department. This will also cause a shift in priority of discussion as well will start with the External Evidence before proceeding to the Internal Evidence arguments.

EXTERNAL EVIDENCE

JOSEPHUS

It is argued by same that there is some similarity in the writing’s of Josephus in his discussion of the Jewish Wars and the contents of the Book of Revelation. Though there are no direct quotes from one to the other the similarity in descriptions of events is uncanny.

THE SHEPHERD by HERMAS

A popular work of antiquity, the Shepard of Hermas he been dated as early as the 80’s AD and as late as mid 2nd century. There are many similarities between portions the the Shepherd and the Book of revelation. It was quite popular by the time of Ireneaus and so the earlier date is gaining in popularity, putting it some time in the mid-80’s AD. If the Shepherd was written 10 years before the revelation it would appear that John “borrowed” from the Shepherd, but if the revelation was written before 70AD then it would appear that the Shepherd of Hermas borrowed from the book of Revelation.

SECULAR HISTORIANS

This is a bit of ironic twisting. The fact that the liberal and secular historians believe that the Revelation was written at a much later date is that they consider the events described to be so obviously about the destruction of Jerusalem and about Nero’s Rome that it “had to be written” after those events took place.

Now understand that the liberal or secular historian rejects the concept of prophetic writing so they would have to assume it was written after the events described. But even the liberal or secular historian can plainly see the events described refer to the 70 AD destruction of Jerusalem. But for the the conservative evangelical that embraces a prophetic God, there is no trouble seeing this book as prophetic and therefore, it would be necessary for it to have been written before the events described in order to maintain it’s prophetic standard.

All of the External Evidences above are moderate at best, which means the Internal Evidence must be much stronger for that view to remain a viable possibility. This is now to where we will direct our attention. We will be dividing the Internal Arguments up into four basic Categories; The Thematic Evidence, Historical Evidence, Symbolic Evidence and Biblical Similarity Evidence.

THEMATIC EVIDENCE

With thematic evidence we will consider the major themes of the Revelation and where in history we can expect to find the most adequate fulfillment of the events and themes described. The first is the obvious demand for immediacy in the language used by the author.

John constantly used terms like “now,” “soon” and “at hand” to describe the coming events. This is found not only at the beginning of the Revelation, but is “bookended” as well.

Rev 1:1 The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his servants the things that must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, 2 who bore witness to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw. 3 Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written in it, for the time is near.

7Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. Even so. Amen.

9I, John, your brother and partner in the tribulation and the kingdom

19 Write therefore the things that you have seen, those that are and those that are to take place after this. 20As for the mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand, and the seven golden lampstands, the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches. 6And he said to me, “These words are trustworthy and true. And the Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, has sent his angel to show his servants what must soon take place.”

And then at the end of the book…

Rev 22:7 “And behold, I am coming soon. Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.”

10And he said to me, “Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is near.

12″Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me, to repay everyone for what he has done.

20He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!

Note the immediacy the book’s first chapter demands. John is given a vision of things that are “soon to take place” and is told to send this letter to seven contemporary Churches that were experiencing the exact same things he was going through as a “partner” in that current tribulation. These events must have some significance to the first century reader or else there was no need for the urgency of getting this message to those churches. Nothing in history can match the events with a soon expectation like those events surrounding the destruction of the city and temple in 70AD.

COMING

Another theme that is permeates the book is the concept of Jesus’ soon coming. But note in the passages below what “kind” of coming is in view. Again, note the similarity in the first and last chapter of the book.

Rev 1:7 Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. Even so. Amen.

12″Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me, to repay everyone for what he has done.

Note that this one directed at “those who pierced” him and that it involves his recompense, his retribution. One can stretch the meaning of those who pierced Him to be anyone sinner in history metaphorically, but the most obvious and “literal” rendering would be of those who physically put Him to death, which would be the Jews and Rome. This matches exactly the theme of coming in judgment found in the Olivet Discourse which has been previously discussed.

There is no mistaking to “soon” nature of the passages. Some have tried to argue that the phrase quickly” is in reference to when the events do start to happen that they will happen quickly. This does nothing to answer the immediacy of the expectation and those expected to be still alive when these events take place.

Also, it is quite ironic that those that want to argue that when Jesus said He was coming soon He really meant a long time, turn around and sell a book arguing that Jesus is coming “soon!” Why is that when today’s prophecy prognosticators use the terms “soon” and “quickly” they expect us to understand them to mean just that, but then they turn around and demand that when Jesus uses those terms we are supposed to think “far off” and “later?”

The most important thematic evidence is related to the type of coming discussed previously. This is obviously a coming in judgment and involves the Lord Jesus Christ bringing His recompense with Him. But how this helps determine the the timing of the writing is when we discover exactly who was the receiving party of His judgment. There are several clues throughout the Revelation and one that is often overlooked but is quite obvious. This was discussed perviously in our discussion of Armageddon and is found in Revelation 16.

4The third angel poured out his bowl into the rivers and the springs of water, and they became blood. 5And I heard the angel in charge of the waters[a] say,

“Just are you, O Holy One, who is and who was,
for you brought these judgments.
6For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets,
and you have given them blood to drink.
It is what they deserve!”

7And I heard the altar saying,

“Yes, Lord God the Almighty,
true and just are your judgments!”

So, who has shed the blood of saints and prophets? And who was told they would receive a judgment as a result? The answer lies in Matthew 23.

Matt 23:29 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets and decorate the monuments of the righteous, 30saying, ‘If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ 31Thus you witness against yourselves that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets. 32 Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers. 33You serpents, you brood of vipers, how are you to escape being sentenced to hell? 34 Therefore I send you prophets and wise men and scribes, some of whom you will kill and crucify, and some you will flog in your synagogues and persecute from town to town, 35so that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of innocent Abel to the blood of Zechariah the son of Barachiah, whom you murdered between the sanctuary and the altar. 36Truly, I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation.

Here we are shown who it is that is guilty of killing the saints and prophets and also who was to receive a just judgment as a result of those actions. Previous in Matthew we are told a parable about a man who sent his servants to invite others to a banquet. Those invited guest persecuted and even killed the messengers. We are also told of a vineyard owner whose workers killed his servants and even his own son that he sent to them. In both instances we are told the Jewish leaders realized He was talking about them!

This connection is clear. This righteous judgment is connected to the Lord’s coming in judgment and must refer to the events that unfolded in 70AD. This must place the dating of the writing of the book before those events!

In the next post we will deal with the other three forms of Internal Evidence.

• Historical Evidence
• Symbolic Evidence
• Biblical Similarity Evidence

Revealing Revelation - The Late Date Theory Part 2

Since we have already discussed the Internal Evidence in a previous post we will now turn our attention to the strongest and most popular argument for the Late Date theory. The date proposed by the late date advocates is usually around 95 AD during the reign of Emperor Domitian. This argument is based on External Evidence and it directly related to the tradition of the Church and an early Church leader named Ireneaus.

In fact, the totality of Church history’s argument for the later date stem directly from the writings of Ireneaus. It is argued that Ireneaus stated that John saw the vision during Domination’s reign. The argument then states that the majority of the Church history and historians agree that the date should be set at 95 AD under Domitian’s reign. That is a fact I have no problem conceding.

We will deal with the actual statement later in this post, but first let us examine the type of evidence this is and whether it can withstand the scrutiny of deeper reflection. This is a testimony of a Church Father and, a a result, should be dealt with in a respectful and serious tone, but at the same time the placement of one as a Church Father should no necessarily give automatic credence to all that is said. One must use Godly wisdom and a Biblical standard. One must also realize that everyone is a “man of their times” and certain issues will always creep up because of the culture in which someone lives.

Ireneaus lived and wrote in the mid to late 2nd century. He claimed to be a disciple of Polycarp, who was a disciple of John. He wrote his greatest and most famous work, Against Heresies, in the last 2nd century. This was a work primarily attacking the ideas and philosophy of the Gnostics. It is a truly great work and as a result is given quite a bit of credence when it discusses not only the issue of gnosticism, but other theological and historical issues as well.

Ireneaus put a great deal of emphasis on the deity of Christ, the inspiration of all four Gospels, the importance of Apostolic Teaching and the early discussion of the canonization of the Scriptures. He also, many have argued, claimed that Jesus lived to be about 50 years of age and probably mis-characterized the teachings of Gnostics in many areas, despite their horrific ideology.

POISONED BROOK THEORY

Whether or not Ireneaus actually claimed that John saw the vision of the revelation sometime during Domitian’s is up to debate and will be dealt with later in this post, but the fact remains that many, if not most, believe he makes that claim and that is where Church History and Tradition places the vision. But here tradition has the danger of falling into the “poisoned brook” fallacy.

What is the “poisoned brook” fallacy?

Picture something like the old children’s game “telephone.” The first person whispers a name or phrase into the ear of the person sitting next to to them. That person forwards the information, and so on until the original saying is completely different and quite often the opposite of what was originally stated. But what if the roles were reversed?

What if Ireneaus was wrong to begin with and everyone passed along “correctly” the misinformation. This is the poisoned brook fallacy. If someone places poison in a brook halfway or two-thirds of the way downstream the entire brook is not poisoned, just the from the point at which the poison is introduced. But what if the brook is poisoned at the starting point? Then the entire brook is poisoned and the we are guilty of drinking from a poisoned stream, even a 2,000 year old stream.

So, the first problem with the Ireneaus claim is whether the claim itself is accurate. Remember, as we discovered previously, there is little to no Internal Evidence in support of the later date, so the External Evidence must be even stronger to maintain the argument.

IRENEAUS’ QUOTE

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 the 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 should be noted up front that the Greek translation available is choppy at best and quite difficult to get a solid translation from. But even given that the grammatical question is in regards to “who” or “what” was seen? The answer in ambiguous at best. Was it John that was seen, the vision or the fulfillment of the vision?

Since the point of Ireneaus’ statement is in regards to the identity of the Antichrist. John would know the identity and Ireneaus states that John did not divulge the information even though either he or the vision was recently seen. So, how would the recency of the vision impact the necessity of divulging the identity of the beast? Could the “vision” give the information because of a closer proximity to Ireneaus’ time? Or is it better understand that John was around even up until the time of Domitians (close to Ireneaus’ time) and chose not to divulge the information (at least to Ireneaus’ knowledge).

The latter makes more sense since the vision itself could not divulge the information, only John could, especially since he lived so near to Ireneaus’ time. This is coupled with the fact that previously in the same statement Ireneaus’ refers to the “copies” of the revelation as “ancient.” He is not stating that the autographa (original) should be considered “ancient” and “reliable” but that the COPIES were to be considered ancient. This would lead one to believe those copies had to be more than just a couple decades old to be considered “ancient.”

This is by far the very best argument the late date proponent has. It is a good and reliable case, but not one that is iron clad. When you couple that with the very weak and limited Internal Evidence one must at least consider the opposing view before determining matter of factly to the better of the two arguments.

That is the direction to which we will next turn.

Revealing Revelation - The Late Date Theory Part 1

We will begin our examination of the dating of the book of Revelation with the common, traditional and most widely accepted view. The view is so commonly accepted that I would wager if you were to grab the nearest popular Study Bible and turn to the “dating” section of the book of Revelation it will state that the late date is simply the de facto view and little consideration will be given to the opposing proposition.

This has been the historic view of the Church since the early 300’s AD and has been the “popular” view. It should be noted that the view is not and was not exclusively held. There have always been those who have argued for the earlier date, but they have continued to be in the minority. It should also be noted that the late date, though remaining the primary view of scholars, has been losing influence and it does not maintain the overwhelming popularity it previously possessed.

This view places the dating of the book and John’s vision around 95AD under the reign of Domitian. As a result it places the events described into the future starting with 95AD and most would argue that those events are yet to be fulfilled. This is the view of nearly all futurist, especially Dispensationalist. It should be pointed out, though, that there many preterist who believe the book is primarily about the fall of Rome and maintain the late dating of the book as accurate.

INTERNAL EVIDENCE

There are four basic Internal Arguments used by the Late Date advocates. We will look at these four arguments and then give the critical response before moving on to the External Evidence arguments. This is because the reader will find that the Internal Evidence is rather weak while the External Evidence arguments is primarily the leg the chair rests upon.

• Late Date advocates argue that Emperor Worship at the magnitude described did not exist until the time of Domitian
• They note the spiritual decline of the churches in revelation and argue that the decline is too severe for such a short period of time.
• There is doubt whether there was even a church in Smyrna at the time of Nero’s reign. This comes as a result of a letter by Polycarp stating the Smyrnan’s did not know Paul or the Gospel in the 50’s AD.
• History does not appear to support a Neronic persecution of Christians beyond the city of Rome.

INTERNAL EVIDENCE CRITIQUE

EMPEROR WORSHIP

The first argument has been losing water for quite some time despite it still being employed. The reason being archaeological evidence now shows that Emperor Worship was clearly practiced well before the time of Domitian and began as early as Julius himself. Below is a review of some of the bullet points previously discussed on Emperor Worship.

• Emperor worship started as early as Julius Caesar - Jupiter Julius

• Augustus denied worship of himself in Rome but demanded it elsewhere

• 11 cities in Asia fought for the right to build a temple to Tiberius

• Gaius (Caligula) had his head placed on statues of Jupiter and demanded the same salute given to Jupiter to apply to him

• The senate voted Claudius a god, but Nero had it annulled

NERO

• Called himself Apollo at the urging of Seneca and had himself appear as Apollo on coins

• Suetonius claims Nero called himself Hercules

• Nero had a statue of himself placed in the Temple of Mars

• Carvings referring to Nero as “God and Savior” are found in Ephesus, Salamis and Cyprus

• Province governors were expected to bow before his statues and artistic renderings when they paraded before them

So, as can be seen, Emperor Worship was employed well before the time of Domitian.

SPIRITUAL DECLINE

I have always found this argument to be odd. Why should we doubt the great spiritual decline of the churches described in Revelation? Is it that hard to believe that in ten, fifteen or twenty years a church could experience the kind of decline pictured in the letters to the seven churches?

One should only take a look around their own community to see once vibrant churches that are now physically and spiritually dead. A debate over the kind of hymnal, color of the carpet and whether to have a video projector can cause a church split so why should the influences of first century troubles like the Judiazers, Gnostics and heretics infiltrating the early church be any less of a problem. This was also at a time when the amount of printed works were limited and teaching was constantly suspect. In fact, Scripture itself points out these very problems.

2 Corinthians 11:4 For if someone comes and proclaims another Jesus than the one we proclaimed, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or if you accept a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it readily enough.

Galatians 1:7 not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ

Galatians 1:6 I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel

It is by no means difficult to accept the fact that the Churches in question would be experiencing great decline. Paul’s letter to the Galatians was written soon after visiting the city and he writes that they had already deserted the faith!

SMRYNA

The issue with Smyrna is that Polycarp’s letter noted that they did not Paul or the Gospel. This was in the mid 50’s AD it is believed. But even the most ardent late date theorist admits that a church was founded in Smyrna by 64 AD at the very latest. It could have been earlier. Either way, note that Smyrna is not rebuked, but rather encouraged through her suffering as those around her slandered and persecuted her. This would make even more sense to a new Church where in Ephesus the charge is leaving her first love, a charge not unlike Paul’s charge leading Paul to leave Timothy in Ephesus to care and teach this struggling Church.

NERONIC PERSECUTION

It is argued that the persecution of Nero did not extend beyond the borders of the city or Rome and the outlining areas. There are two responses to this argument that must be noted.

• Like the book of Acts showed, the persecution of the early Church was not necessarily at the hands of the Roman government, but most often came at the hands of the Jews. If the book of Revelation is about the two great persecutors of the church it is no stretch to assume this includes the Jewish persecution as well.
• The Neronic persecution possibly described need not extend beyond Rome’s borders for the book to accurately describe the impact. The seven churches were facing persecution at the hands of the Jews and at the hands of the Roman government through the mandates determined in the city of Rome. We see this taking place even in Jerusalem as well as elsewhere when the hand of Rome extended through the work of the apostate Jews.

Acts 4:1-3 And as they were speaking to the people, the priests and the captain of the temple and the Sadducees came upon them…[3] And they arrested them and put them in custody

2 Cor. 11:24-25 Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one. [25] Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned…

Acts 5:17-18 But the high priest rose up, and all who were with him (that is, the party of the Sadducees), and filled with jealousy [18] they arrested the apostles and put them in the public prison.

Acts 12:1 About that time Herod the king laid violent hands on some who belonged to the church.

Even Herod was involved in this persecution. We are even told that when Herod saw the positive response he received from the Jews when he persecuted the early Christians he increased the level of persecution. The same is aid to have been the actions of Nero.

• Paul referred to being in his presence as “escaping the lions mouth”

• Clement l wrote in the first century that the Christians were “slain, tortured and suffered inhuman indignities”

• Eusubius declared “Nero was the first of the emperors to show himself an enemy of the divine religion”

• Severus claims Nero “was the first to try and abolish the name of Christian”

• Suetonius wrote that Nero “punished and afflicted the Christians…”

Tacitus listed the following punishments

• Wrapped in animal skins and ripped apart by dogs

• Lit on fire while crucified

• Drawn and quartered

• De-boweled while alive

• Impaled with a pole, tarred and lit on fire to light his garden parties

• Sawn in two with palm branches

• Blamed Rome’s fire on the Christians leading to intense persecution starting in late November 64 AD lasting to his death in early June 68 AD - 42 months

• Those directly impacted included Peter and Paul

• John was exiled, tarred and feathered and boiled in oil

So, suffice it to say that the Neronic persecution was both intense and widespread. This, coupled with the persecution at the hand of the Jews, makes this possibly the weakest of the four Internal Evidence arguments. One last note on this topic, it is now believed that the persecution under Domitian was actually quite limited and not severe in any way comparable, with banishment being the primary judgment.

Next we will look at the strongest argument for the Late Date advocates, the External Evidence of history and tradition.

Revealing Revelation - Mystery Date

Over the next couple posts we will deal with the very important detail of dating the time the book of Revelation was written. More than any other book in the Bible finding the date of Revelation’s writing has an incredible amount of impact. Views can be created, revised and eliminated just be discovering the time the book was written. Fortunately for the reader there are truly only two possible dates to consider, but the importance of those two dates is crucial to some understandings of the book itself.

The two dates in question are the “Late Date Theory” which dates the book around 95AD under the reign of Domitian and the “Early Date Theory” dated sometime in the mid-60’s AD under the reign of Nero.

Before we discuss the actual arguments for or against a particular date it would benefit us quite a bit to understand the impact the dating may have on particular views and the type of evidence that will be employed in our discussion. I will also include a handful of resources worthy of picking up for further study.

If the “Early Date” advocates are correct than the possibility that the events described are in relation to the destruction of Jerusalem and eventually the Roman Empire are greatly increased. The symbolism used can be determined to be related to our ancient past and those alive at the time of Jerusalem’s demise.

If the “Late date” advocates are correct the events described can only be related to the destruction of Jerusalem if the book was written as “history” rather than a prophecy which would call into question the veracity of the author, the vision and the word of God itself. That would leave only events related to the future beginning with the time of Domitian and increases the possibility the events are yet still future, but not necessarily so.

Though late Date futurist would like to argue that the late date secures the fact that the events foretell a yet future time, the truth is it only means that events described before 95 AD should be discounted. It does not eliminate the possibility that the events describe situation from the time of Domitian that have already occurred.

So, as can be seen, finding the accurate date can have a major impact on one’s view of the book and the events and characters described therein.

So, what exactly can be used as evidence to determine which of the two views is most accurate? There are two kinds of evidence readily available to the student. The first is “External Evidence” and the second is “Internal Evidence.”

External Evidence would include witnesses, historians or commentators that argue for or were a witness to the timing of the writing. This may also include Church History and tradition which should be weighted since it usually has a reason and purpose behind it. As we will see in the following posts it is initially apparent that the Late Date Theorist have the edge.

Internal Evidence is evidence derived from the book of Revelation itself. These would include the references, symbolism and state of these historical places described within the text and what we know is historically true about those times. Also, clues as to the dates, people, cities and nations around at the time of the writing.

One of the difficulties is that we have no clear idea when John was exiled to Patmos. Tradition has said it was under the reign of Domitian, but that is because tradition states that John wrote the Revelation under the reign of Domitian. It’s actually begging the question to assume one and determine the other when the initial is only assumed because of the tradition of the other.

As for the author I am firmly convinced that “Internal Evidence” should be weighted with more authority since the true author of the book never fails and His word should be always trusted, even up against the realms of Science, History and Philosophy. But over the next couple posts we will discuss both the arguments for and against both views and ultimately the reader must decide.

For further reference allow me to recommend four resources. On a side note I always try and list the most direct way to obtain the resource and if at all possible I will supply a link to the authors page for purchase of the book so that the greatest amount of your resource goes directly to the author with limited middlemen.

RECOMMENDED RESOURCES

The first of the four resources is Steven Gregg’s “Revelation, Four Views: A Parallel Commentary.” This wonderful commentary takes the four primary views of interpreting the book of Revelation and places them side by side in a very easy to read format. There is an excellent introduction that deals with the question at hand that is worth the price of the book. The author does not sell the book himself so I have included a link to the book at American Vision.

http://www.americanvision.com/revelationfourviews.aspx

The second is Ken “The Beast of Revelation.” This book is a two part book of sorts with one half dedicated to discussing the possible identity of the beast of revelation while the other half is a condensed version of a previous work of Dr. Gentry’s on the dating of the book of Revelation

https://www.kennethgentry.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=1&products_id=47&osCsid=aetb5nv98f4cvm4qrcs649aqr0

The third is Ken Gentry’s massive work on the dating of Revelation. Originally his Doctoral dissertation, this book really has yet to be refuted and properly critiqued. The updated version has his response to his critics as well. This would be a little advanced for many but it is the definitive work on the subject.

https://www.kennethgentry.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=1&products_id=37&osCsid=aetb5nv98f4cvm4qrcs649aqr0

Finally I would recommend Dr. Ralph E. Bass’ commentary on the book of Revelation. It has a very good introduction and written for the layperson. The book is entitled “Back to the Future” and is available as an ebook.

http://backtothefuture.livinghopepress.com/

We will next turn our attention to the two views under consideration.