Rebuilding the Temple

Modern "end times" scenarios suggest that the temple in Jerusalem must be rebuilt and will be one of the definitive signs that Jesus' return is near.

Premillennial dispensationalists (or "Left Behinders") argue that "the abomination that causes desolation" mentioned in both Daniel 9:27 and Matthew 24:15 is the antichrist setting himself up as God in a rebuilt temple in Jerusalem, a direct reference to how the gentiles will trample the temple in Revelation 11.

However, while Revelation certainly pulls upon imagery from Daniel, Johannine literature's overarching understanding of "the temple" suggests the "temple" may represent something other than a brick and mortar structure.

Gospel of John and the Temple

Temple imagery for John begins in 1:14 of the Gospel, when he states: "And the Word became flesh and lived among us." Literally in Greek, the word for "lived" (eskenosen, 3rd person aorist of skenoo) actually means "to spread a tent" or "tabernacled."

Thus a more apt translation would be the Word "tabernacled among us." The tabernacle was the precursor to the temple. It was the portable tent the Israelites used in the wilderness as the dwelling place of God among the people of Israel. The "structure" where God dwelt has now shifted from tent/building to person.

John continues this shift in temple imagery from structure to person in chapter two when Jesus drives out the money changers in the temple and states that if they tear the temple down, he will rebuild it in three days. John then clarifies what Jesus meant by this by stating "he was speaking of the temple of his body." John's understanding of the incarnation is that the Jerusalem temple has ceased to be the location of worship, but that God is now among His people in a more corporeal sense.

Revelation and the Temple

In Revelation 11, John is told to measure the "temple." However, earlier in Revelation 3:12, the church in Philadelphia is told, "If you conquer, I will make you a pillar in the temple of my God." Becoming a pillar in the temple of God means that the temple is made out of people, not brick and mortar. Thus, when John begins to speak of the temple being trampled later on, it is reasonable to conclude that it is the people of God who are being attacked and trampled.

The inner court of a temple is representative of an inner sanctuary, or a community where true worship continues. When the outer court is given over to the nations, it is a warning that God will allow a part of the community to come under the sway of the pagan world (as the seven churches being addressed have become well aware of).

Further evidence that the temple is made up of people is that the "lampstands" that are mentioned are items that are found within the temple of God in the Old Testament. John informs readers that these lampstands represent the two witnesses. If the lampstands are not literal lampstands, then it stands to reason that the temple they reside within is also not a literal "temple" but encompasses the larger body of God's people.

Additonally, Revelation 1:6 and 5:10 remind readers that anyone who has been cleansed by the blood of the lamb is a priest - and priests serve within the "temple." A Christian understanding of this "temple" imagery is that the "priests" serve among the people of God - not in a structure.

Paul also picks up on this "bodily temple" idea in 1 Corinthians 6:19 when he states: "do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you..."

Daniel 9:27 and Matthew 24:15

So how should one deal with Daniel 9:27 and Matthew 24:15 and their references to the "desolating sacrilige standing in the holy place"? If one reads the Daniel reference in light of the Matthew reference, one simply needs to go back a few verses and listen to Jesus' statement that all these signs are but "birth pangs."

Birth pangs, as any woman who has had a child knows, are not constant, but rather a series of painful "pangs" that steadily increase in their intensity as the actual birth draws near. But there are long periods in between the "birth pangs" until the very end when the pangs become more rapid, intense, and constant. At what point within the "birth pangs" the desolation occurs is not clear.

However, most scholars have concluded the "abomination" occurred when the temple was destroyed in 70 AD by the Roman General Titus (who would later become Emperor of the Roman Empire), and placed an idol on the site of the burned down temple. Jesus' description of what would happen to those left in Judea also aptly describes what occurred in Jerusalem during the Roman siege according to the writings of the Jewish historian Josephus.

Additionally, the reference to the "holy place," while traditionally understood as the "temple" takes on new significance in the New Testament as the temple image shifts from structure to person. Bodies have now become "holy places" or temples of God's spirit. The "desolation" if applied to Johannine understandings of the "temple" suggests that it is a community or people who will be made desolate and will embody the "abomination" that forces the Spirit of God to be replaced by something else.

Why Does it Matter?

Some may think it doesn't matter how one interprets this temple imagery. Unfortunately, in this day and age, it has become a matter of life and death in the Middle East. Furthering the belief that a brick and mortar temple must be rebuilt in order for it to be desecrated in Jerusalem provokes only further violence and bloodshed between Israelis and Palestinians.

Attempts by American Christians to help bring this literal temple about have caused many of their fellow Palestinian Christians to be uprooted and killed in this "holy battle" to regain the Old Testament understanding of the Promised Land.

"All of Israel" & Christian Zionism

In addition to the rapture, another particular "end-times" understanding of the "script" sits outside the realm of  the pages of Revelation. It involves the nation-state of Israel and the Christian-Zionist belief that the modern state of Israel is fulfillment of God's promises to the Israelites in Ezekiel 36.

“‘But you, mountains of Israel, will produce branches and fruit for my people Israel, for they will soon come home. I am concerned for you and will look on you with favor; you will be plowed and sown, and I will cause many people to live on you—yes, all of Israel. The towns will be inhabited and the ruins rebuilt. I will increase the number of people and animals living on you, and they will be fruitful and become numerous. I will settle people on you as in the past and will make you prosper more than before. Then you will know that I am the Lord. I will cause people, my people Israel, to live on you. They will possess you, and you will be their inheritance; you will never again deprive them of their children."

The question Christians must ask upon reading such passages, is to whom is God referring? How do we, as Christians, followers of God's promised Messiah, understand the promises made to "Israel"? What are these promises and who are they being made to ultimately?

It is extremely important that we answer and understand this question, because the answer has massive world-wide repercussions and dictates not only American foreign policy, but how the Middle East as a whole is understood by Christians. It has become a life and death issue in our world. Many Christians are using their interpretation of Revelation to sway politics and foreign policy. In an already volatile Middle East, Biblical interpretation regarding the return of the Messiah is sparking one of the most dangerous debates and battles for land in the regions of Israel and Palestine. Certain segments of Christians who believe that the temple must be rebuilt and that the “nation of Israel” must reclaim all the land in order for Christ to return are not only provoking more violence and bloodshed in this region, but are ignoring their fellow Christian brothers and sisters that live in the Palestinian areas of the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Once a thriving community of Christians, our Christian brothers and sisters have dwindled over the past several decades from 25% to a meager 2% of the population in Palestinian territories, but those who remain are being uprooted and caught in the middle of this violence as well. The Christians in Palestine are caught between two different kinds of persecution. The Muslim majority in Palestine will not allow them to have jobs there, and the Jewish majority in Israel will not allow them jobs in Israel either. Yet the plight of our fellow Christians is seemingly forgotten by the vast majority of Christians who follow this dispensationalist system.  However, Christians are the very ones who are in need of the words of hope Revelation inspires for those persecuted for their faith.

"All of Israel"
Let's start with who "all of Israel" means. The statement itself is confusing because elsewhere in scripture, God declares only a remnant will be saved (Isaiah 10). Paul picks up on this statement as well in his letter to the Romans, chapters 9-11. So which is it? A remnant, or all of Israel? Many current end-times theologies interpret this statement to mean God has a separate and special plan for the Jews, citing Paul's discourse regarding why so many Jews have "stumbled" and not accepted Jesus as the Messiah.

The problems inherent in interpreting this passage in this way is that it totally negates the previous eight chapters of Romans, where Paul has been arguing that it is through "faith alone" that one is saved, not by heritage.

Paul spends a lot of time telling the Jews not to boast about being Jews, because they can be cut off just like the Gentiles had been cut off for so long. Then he admonishes the Gentiles, telling them not to think that just because many Jews have rejected Jesus that they are somehow "superior" to the Jews - because it was through the Jews that God's Messiah and plan for salvation came about to begin with.

Neither should boast, because they are all included by the same thing: faith. So why then a few chapters later does Paul make the statement, "So then, all Israel will be saved"?

"Jews" vs. "Israel"
While it would take too much space to go into all the different uses and meanings of "Jew," suffice it to say, the term "Jew" in both today's context and the Biblical context can refer to several different groups of people. Briefly, there are Rabbinic Jews, second temple Jews, ethnic Jews, secular Jews, and then John's "Jews" who represented the religious leadership that rejected Jesus.

To complicate matters further, the term Israel is a much broader term than just "Jew." While it was with "Israel" that God made his covenant, elsewhere in the bible "Israel" is referred to as the Northern Kingdom as opposed to "Judah," the Southern Kingdom (where the term "Jew" originates).

After the ninth chapter of Romans, Paul ceases to use the term "Jew" and uses only the term "Israel," and earlier makes the statement that while all Jews are Israelites (according to the flesh) not all Israelites are Jews (according to the flesh). Case in point, the Samaritans, considered "unclean" by the "Jews" were technically Israelites as they were the remaining remnant left over from the Northern Tribes that were defeated by the Assyrians. Yet, when modern Christian Zionists speak of "Israel," they do not consider the some one thousand Samaritans that still reside in the Holy Land as a part of "Israel" despite the fact that Jesus made it clear in his conversation with the Samaritan woman, his healing of a Samaritan who returned to praise God, and his parable regarding the Good Samaritan, that the Samaritans, though enemies of the Jews, were being reclaimed by God as part of His people. A remnant of Israel, they make up part of "all Israel."

Thus, when Paul shifts his language and refrains from saying "Jew" and talks about "Israel," this seems significant. Paul sets about redefining what he means by "Jew" by stating one is only a "true Jew" if they are a Jew inwardly (2:28-29), and states that to be a descendant of Abraham is far more encompassing than just "the Jews" - as Abraham was the father of many nations, including many "Gentile" nations through Hagar and his second wife, Keturah (4:16-18).

Additionally, Paul makes it clear in other letters (Galatians 3) that one is a descendant of Abraham's through faith, not heritage. To clarify further what is meant by "Israel," Paul states in Romans 9 that not all Israelites belong to Israel and not all of Abraham's children are his true descendants.

Therefore, it seems odd that Paul would make the statement in chapter 9 that only a remnant of Israel will be saved, but then says "all Israel" will be saved two chapters later. The first key is understanding that the context is Paul is admonishing the Gentiles not to think they are wiser than they are, because he believed that God rejoices when Jews come to faith in Christ. The Messiah is not the Messiah for only Gentiles, but for Jews first, then Gentiles.

Second, the real crux of the statement "so all Israel" will be saved winds up being a translational issue. In the Greek, the word "so" (kai outws) is usually translated as simply "so" in the NIV, NRSV and KJV versions of the Bible. Yet, this term also means "in this way."

Many interpret the "so" to be a temporal "when" all Israel will be saved--once all the Gentiles have been brought in. However, "in this way" denotes the manner through which God is saving "all Israel" - through a hardening on a part of the unbelieving Jews so that Gentiles may be brought in, and it is in this way that "all Israel" - both Jew and Gentile - will be saved, because both are heirs through faith.

As he quotes in Romans 10:12, "Everyone who calls on the Lord shall be saved." This makes his comment regarding "on account of the patriarchs" make more sense - God is not writing them off. He loves them and desires them to come to faith.

Paul's "Mystery"
Paul states that he wants people to understand "this mystery." He talks about this same "mystery" in Ephesians 3 and Colossians 2. In those instances, the great "mystery" is that Gentiles have become "fellow heirs" through faith in Christ. Indeed, God elected the Jews to be the line through which his Messiah would come, and in that regard, they are beloved by God, his holy people, and why God desires they turn to him in faith.

God therefore is saving Jew and Gentile not by two different tracks, but in the way that he promised throughout all of the Old Testament. The Messiah of the Gentiles was first, and foremost, the Messiah promised to "Israel." Any Jew can still be grafted back in as though they had never been cut off if they do not remain in unbelief. After all, Paul himself was a Jew, so there were definitely Jews among those who believed.

Yet, Paul is also points out "God will have mercy on whom he will have mercy." Thus it is not for society, but only for God, to determine the fate of everyone on this planet and thus worshipers should take a lesson from first century Gentile friends and take Paul's words to heart - don't boast about what one has received.

The Promised Land and Israel

As we've looked at Revelation, we've come to understand something about God. God's promises are never not fulfilled - but - they are many times fulfilled differently than expected, and in most cases above and beyond that expectation. Ezekiel makes promises about Israel's restoration. But this restoration speaks of a day that claims when they return, it will be with a new heart and they will be cleansed, sprinkled clean and "I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh." He makes this promise in both Ezekiel 36 & 37.

And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. 28 Then you will live in the land I gave your ancestors; you will be my people, and I will be your God. (Ez. 36:26-27)

They will no longer defile themselves with their idols and vile images or with any of their offenses, for I will save them from all their sinful backsliding, and I will cleanse them. They will be my people, and I will be their God. (Ezekiel 37:23)

This is not the only place God makes such a promise. Jeremiah 31:33 states, "And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you." Jeremiah finishes that verse by stating, "I will be your God, and you will be my people." Revelation picks up that same promise in Revelation 21. "“Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them." 

One of the cornerstones of Christian teaching is the understanding that this "new heart" and this "cleansing" comes through the cleansing blood of Christ. The "Promised Land" of God's New Heaven and New Earth aligns with a multitude of Old Testament promises of gathering His people back to Himself.

Clearly, John envisioned the promises of Ezekiel and Jeremiah as promises made to the entire breadth of God's people. Furthermore, the founding of modern Israel has not "cleansed' them or created some event that has restored their good fortune. The land has not returned to becoming like "the garden of Eden" as promised in Ezekiel 36:35. Nor has the resurrection occurred in Ezekiel 37, that his servant David will reign over them. The restoration of Israel clearly also ushers in the time of the Messianic reign.

When comparing the founding of modern Israel with the passages of Ezekiel 36 and 37, the parallel falls woefully short. No cleansing, no King, no long lives, no healing. Ezekiel 37 also claims that the Northern Tribes of Ephraim will be joined back together with the Southern Tribes of Judah to form one nation. The Northern Tribes have long disappeared - scattered and assimilated into their surrounding cultures, destroyed by the Assyrians, never to return. The modern nation state of Israel continues to define itself as "Jewish," the descendants of Judah, the southern kingdom which was dispersed by the Babylonians, brought back, then dispersed again by the Romans. These Jews, an incomplete representation of "all Israel" has formed its own state, but Israel has hardly been restored to its fullness.

Yet, when Ezekiel's vision is compared and contrasted with John's view of the New Jerusalem descending out of heaven, we see all these promises being brought to fruition.

Therefore, a militant, violent vision of Jerusalem triumphing stands in stark contrast to the ultimate vision God has for Jerusalem throughout the Old Testament and at the end of Revelation. Jerusalem is a city that the prophets state all nations will one day stream to. Rather than destruction of the nations, all nations will turn to Jerusalem. and revere God. Revelation claims that its open gates welcome the nations so that they may be healed by the leaves of the Tree of Life. This picks up on Isaiah 2's promises of the Mountain of God:

In the last days the mountain of the Lord’s temple will be established as the highest of the mountains; it will be exalted above the hills, and all nations will stream to it. Many peoples will come and say, “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the temple of the God of Jacob. He will teach us his ways, so that we may walk in his paths. The law will go out from Zion, the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. He will judge between the nations and will settle disputes for many peoples. They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore.

As it stands now, rather than nations streaming to Israel and God's Holy Mountain for instruction, modern Israel builds walls and checkpoints, limiting people access and denying the nations the ability to freely worship and praise God in His Holy City. They threaten nuclear destruction upon each other, lobbing bombs at each other on a daily basis. The restoration of Israel has had some serious set-backs if this was how it was supposed to come about.

For thousands of years, Christians have understood the Old Testament promises of "Israel's restoration" not to be the founding of a nation state, but rather the ushering in of God's kingdom where Gentiles and Jews were enfolded, together, into the promises of God. The restoration of Israel meant the establishment of God's Kingdom on Earth. 

Have thousands of years worth of Christians simply misunderstood God's promises - that they weren't really for them, but were for a nation-state that would be established in 1948? If so, this misunderstanding extends to many of the authors of the New Testament, who wrote after the fall of Jerusalem, and spoke of their expectation that Jesus would return at any time with no stipulation that a Jewish nation-state must first be re-established. In fact, most Christians saw the destruction of Jerusalem as God moving beyond the confines of Judaism and Jerusalem, spreading across the world - just as Jesus told the Samaritan woman it would and just as he told his disciples it would before his ascension. While he was here, Jesus warned of Jerusalem's destruction with no hint that it would need to be rebuilt before his return. In fact, when he spoke of the Temple destruction, he pointed to Himself as the rebuilding of the Temple - He was the Temple (John 2). His spirit would now reside inside people, not a structure. "For do you not know your body is a temple of the holy spirit?" (1 Corinthians 6:19) (I will write more regarding the Temple issue in another posting)

Ezekiel's River & The River of Life
When one reads through Revelation, they easily pick up on the fact that while John picks up on a multitude of Old Testament promises, he never quotes them exactly. The promises of the Old Testament for John take on new twists and extend beyond its original understanding. In Ezekiel 47, there is a river described streaming from the Temple of God, and on either side of it are trees that provide healing for Israel.

In Revelation's vision, the River of Life flows from the throne of God and the trees on either side provide healing for ALL nations, not just Israel. Revelation takes the Old Testament promise and makes it bigger and grander than it was originally.

"By the river on its bank, on one side and on the other, will grow all kinds of trees for food. Their leaves will not wither and their fruit will not fail. They will bear every month because their water flows from the sanctuary, and their fruit will be for food and their leaves for healing." (Ezekiel 47:12)

"Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever." (Revelation 22:1-5)

Other Old Testament Promises Fulfilled in Revelation 21
John continues to take these Old Testament promises and applies them to the vision of the New Heaven and the New Earth. The opening chapter of Revelation 21 is like a "who's who" of prophetic promises.

Revelation 21:1 - "Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea."

Isaiah 65:17 - "For I am about to create new heavens and a new earth. The former things shall not be remembered."

Revelation: 21:2 - "I saw the Holy City, the New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her bridegroom."

Isaiah 61:10 - "I delight greatly in the Lord; my soul rejoices in my God. For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of his righteousness, as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels."

Revelation 21:3 - "And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God."

Ezekiel 37:27 - "My dwelling place will be with them; I will be their God, and they will be my people."

Zechariah 21:10 - “Shout and be glad, Daughter Zion. For I am coming, and I will live among you,” declares the Lord. "Many nations will be joined with the Lord in that day and will become my people. I will live among you and you will know that the Lord Almighty has sent me to you."

Revelation 21:4 - "‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”

Isaiah 25:8 - "He will swallow up death forever. The Sovereign Lord will wipe away the tears from all faces; he will remove his people’s disgrace from all the earth. The Lord has spoken."

Isaiah 65:19 - "I will rejoice over Jerusalem and take delight in my people; the sound of weeping and of crying will be heard in it no more.

Revelation 21:5 - "I am making everything new!"

Isaiah 43:19 - "I am about to do a new thing."

Revelation 21:1a - "I am the alpha and the omega, the beginning and the end."

Isaiah 4:6 - "I am the first and I am the last, before me there is no God."

Revelation 21:1b - To him who is thirsty I will give drink without cost from the spring of the water of life.

Isaiah 55:1 - "Ho everyone who thirsts, come to the waters, and you that have no money, come buy and eat!"

The promises to Israel in the Old Testament find their new fulfillment and meaning in the promises of Revelation through Christ's kingdom. Again - it is not a matter of if God keeps His promises, but how. Like the 144,000, the promises God has made regarding Israel now transcend and encompass every language, people and nation. It exceeds the expectation. The promises are all-encompassing of all God's people.

Revelation's Imagery

The imagery of Revelation to one unaccustomed to apocalyptic literature can seem confusing and daunting. For many, it's so outside the realm of understanding that people avoid it all together. However, imagery and symbolism is nothing new when it comes to the Bible, and is especially common with the other writings of John, in particular, the Gospel of John.

Some say that John used such obscure language because he was trying to conceal his message from the Romans. But does this make sense? Many of the symbols and imagery he used would have easily been understood by Romans as well as Christians. It was no secret that the "city on seven hills" referred to Rome. And, as identified earlier, Revelation was written as a letter. What is the function of a letter? A letter is used to communicate a message to a specific group of people. Would John have written a letter, addressed it to the churches in Asia, then proceeded to write down a bunch of information that could not be deciphered for 2000 more years, and they were just to hold on to it for us until we could figure it out? That’s highly unlikely.

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, and apparently, John thought so as well. John knew that images tend to say more about the nature of something than just outright stating what it is. In fact, he took his cue from Jesus, who frequently used parables with metaphors and images to convey the meaning of his teachings regarding God, the Kingdom of God, and the nature of God.

In Revelation, we know that both the images of the 'lion' and the 'lamb' stand for Jesus, but the images of a lion and a lamb evoke thoughts and feelings about the nature of each of these creatures. Lions evoke associations with a kingly and fierce animal, while lambs evoke feelings of gentleness and sacrifice. Both images tell us more about the nature of Jesus than if he were to just say "Jesus." The "lamb who was slain" also evokes recollections of "the lamb of God" from John's Gospel.

The following are some of the more "famous" images and symbols of Revelation broken down.

The Four Horsemen
In John's day, horsemen represented the biggest threat to the Roman Empire: the horse-riding, bow-bearing Parthians that were constantly attacking the eastern borders of the empire. It was a constant reminder that no matter how powerful the Roman Empire may have seemed, security was never guaranteed. Thus, John draws upon this powerful image to remind his readers that putting trust and security in anything other than God, especially a government, is not true security. Conquest, war, economic instability, plague, famine, and ultimately death are all threats we face. Any trust or security we feel in these areas, the horsemen remind us that they can all be ripped away. These threats were true threats in John's day, and remain constant threats in our world today. Have the horsemen been unleashed? Indeed. They were released the day Adam and Eve took a bit of the apple and were ejected from the Garden of Eden. These are not threats that are relegated to any singular time and place.

The 144,000
People have gone a lot of different places with the meaning of the 144,000. Dispensationalists believe it represents the number of Jews that will convert after the rapture. Jehovah's Witnesses claim it is the number of people who will be resurrected into eternity (which is somewhat problematic when you consider there are over 2 million Jehovah's Witnesses).

Perhaps the key to understanding this number lies in how Revelation teaches us to understand its symbolism. Earlier, the lion and lamb were utilized to illustrate the nature of how images are used in Revelation. However, the passages that talk of the lion and lamb are also helpful in understanding the nature and intent of the 144,000. John heard the promise of the lion, but what he saw as fulfillment of that promise instead was the lamb. The 144,000 work in much the same way. John hears that God promises 144,000 from the tribes of Israel will be saved. But what John actually sees are a multitude that no one can count from every nation, tribe, people and language. He is following the same pattern here that he started when he heard about the Lion of Judah, but saw the lamb who had been slain. He hears the promise, sees the fulfillment. God's promise is fulfilled over and above the expectation. It’s not a question of whether or not God keeps His promises, but how he keeps them.

As for the number itself, it is most likely a representation of the completeness of all God’s faithful…  12 x 12,000.  12 equals the Church/God's faithful people, (the 12 apostles, 12 tribes) multiplied by one thousand, which has been representative throughout the Old Testament as being a number of spiritual completion in quantity.

The Beast
The beast is like the dragon - or Satan - wearing a bad disguise. One of the differences, however, is he has 10 crowns now instead of 7, which is indicative that his desire to gain sovereignty has only increased since his expulsion. As Christ’s counterpart, he is the great imitator of God and Christ. The beast shares the power, throne and authority of Satan just as Christ shares the power, throne and authority of God. His head has been “slaughtered” yet lives—something of an imitation of Christ in that he seemed dead, but isn’t really. But Satan has been delivered a death blow, so while it seemed like he was killed at the crucifixion, he’s still in his death throes and hasn’t quite conceded that defeat yet. We read later on about how he had been injured by the sword. Throughout Revelation, swords have been indicative of the Word of God. So what gave him the mortal wound? The Word of God.

The beast bears the attributes of the leopard, bear, dragon and lion, a compilation of the animals in Daniel that represent oppressive empires. Here they have been combined to form a "super-beast." The four empires are all part of one over-arching threat--oppressive governments and rulers. The beast evokes an image of a blood-thirsty, violent, raging animal that seeks to destroy. It is evil incarnate that rages against the world like an animal that has been cornered.

It's also interesting to note that in John’s day, this fit Nero as well. Nero had been rumored to have been slain…yet, suddenly, there were Nero sightings all over the place. Despite the Nero reference in John’s day, this goes above and beyond just Nero—it’s any ruler that seeks to oppress and bring destruction upon God’s people. For today’s context, it would be like us looking at someone like Bashar al-Assad, the President of Syria, and saying “It’s Hitler all over again.” John is working “types”. Someone LIKE Nero is going to do these things.

The outcome of Christ’s work is people worship God the creator. The outcome of the Beast’s work is people worship Satan the destroyer. So neutrality is not possible…you either choose God or the Devil.

When the people look at the beast, they ask the question “Who is like the beast? Who can stand against him?” When you get up in the mornings, don’t you sometimes feel like evil is just so prevalent you can never win? Can never stand against it? So why bother? That’s what evil wants you to do. It wants you to think it’s winning. (John answers the question of "who can stand against the beast" with the vision of the Lamb and the 144,000. Christ and His Church can stand against the beast.)

The Harlot & Bride
Great cities were frequently depicted in the ancient world as a woman riding her noble steed. The Harlot is like a satirical representation of that woman and utilizes a familiar Old Testament depiction of cities that were enemies of Israel. Instead of noble and true, she's a slobbering, drunk prostitute, a fitting companion for the beast she rides. She is contrasted sharply with the other woman of Revelation: the persecuted bride. The bride (associated with Jerusalem) is pursued by a seven-headed monster while the harlot happily rides her seven-headed beastie while drinking the blood of the saints.

Israel’s relationship to God was frequently referred to as a marriage in scripture (see the entire book of Hosea as an example). People violating that marriage covenant assume the role of a prostitute. Cities described as prostitutes in the Old Testament include Tyre (Ezekial 27:3; Isa. 23:17), Ninevah (Nahum 3:4), and Babylon (Jeremiah 51:7; 25:15-16) Babylon in particular was known for the destruction of the temple and as the great oppressor nation, and was sometimes pictured as the great prostitute.

When one reads about the Bride and the Harlot, they are faced with a choice: ally oneself with the bride or get in bed with the harlot. John draws such a striking distinction between the two not because the choice was so clear, but because the choice was not so clear. Satire seeks to show readers something they might not otherwise see. It's humorous elements contribute to its persuasive power. If people can be persuaded to realize that what seems impressive is actually ridiculous, what looks glamorous is actually garish, what appears desirable is actually ludicrous, resisting it will be much easier. The major character flaw of the harlot and the beast ultimately, however, is how self-destructive they are. The beast winds up devouring the harlot, giving us a glimpse of the self-destructive nature of evil and oppression.

In Revelation, the harlot is seen lounging on seven hills, which everyone in John’s day knew the city on seven hills represented Rome. John brings in images from both the Old Testament and his own time. It's tyranny that is real now, as it has been in the past, and is symbolic of all tyrannical governments and nations. In fact, a coin from the reign of the Emperor Vespasian depicts the goddess Roma with one foot in the Tiber River as she reclines on the seven hills of Rome.

The Goddess Roma sitting atop the 7 hills of Rome (71 AD)

From a distance, the harlot appears very haughty and sensuous, but John has revealed she’s nothing but a prostitute, drinking from a goblet filled with the blood of the saints, making her drunk. Being drunk, she’s numb to violence, obsessed with greed, indifferent, and anti-religious. Jeremiah said Babylon “was a golden cup in the Lord’s hand, making all the earth drunken.” (Jer. 5:1-7; Jer. 25:15)

The harlot is also pictured sitting atop the beast - the great imitator of Christ. Christ “was and is and is to come.” Likewise, the beast is described as “was and is not and is to ascend from the bottomless pit.”

The Mark of the Beast: 666
Speculation has abounded over the years regarding this enigmatic figure. From a tattoo (like in the Omen) to a bar code on our skin, to the number of letters in a person's name, people have been trying to figure out this "wisdom." Jewish numerology contains one clue. Six was the number of mankind, of "imperfection." (Also note the sixth seal, trumpet and bowl are all destruction and judgment oriented.) Three was the number that represented the spiritual realm. Thus, three sixes is representative of a complete spiritual imperfection. The number which is branded on the forehead and hand is like the seal of God that is put on his own followers. Again - it's a distinction between the followers of God and the followers of the beast.

While granted, names can add up to 666, (graffiti in Pompeii reveals that numbers for names were frequently used to identify people) and Nero's name when added up equaled 666, trying to find "the" beast through this number raises some problems. After all, "Cute Purple Dinosaur" can add up to 666 as can the pope's miter which reads "Vicarius Filii Dei.". Again, it's more likely that John is trying to attribute a "Nero-type" quality to the beast (given Nero was already dead by the time Revelation was authored).

Essentially, all these images and numbers are being utilized for one reason: to ask the question, "who do you belong to?" The lamb who was slain and his bride, or the beastly systems and harlots of the world?

While the images draw upon symbols and figures that were common in John's day, their meaning carries as much truth and reality today as it did then. They cannot be contained by one particular time and place and John doesn't mean for them to be. It is why he pulls upon both ancient imagery as well as current (for him) imagery. He does not intend for us to pinpoint a singular period of time and instead resists such an interpretation. It had meaning two thousand years ago to the readers of his letter - and it has meaning and significance to us today as well. We see the beast at work. We see the enemies of God at work in our world seeking to destroy faith and eliminate hope. 

The End-Times Script and The Rapture

Most people think when they read books like "Left Behind," they're getting a blow-by-blow description of Revelation. This, however, is not the case. They're following a "system" that has been developed by taking various parts of scripture, and plugging them into a "script" regarding how the end-times will unfold.

The Script
The script was developed by a man named John Nelson Darby in the early 1890’s and is known today as the father of modern day fundamentalism. He was on track to become a successful lawyer when he began a spiritual struggle and became an ordained priest in the Anglican Church in 1826. Troubled by the condition of the established church, however, he began what is known as the Plymouth Brethren, a ministry based on the call of Christ rather than the ordination of men. Obsessed with prophesy, Darby began delving into Revelation and came up with the idea of the rapture, where all of Christ’s faithful will be snatched from the earth, a seven year tribulation followed by the thousand year reign of Christ on earth.

Darby’s ideas were brought to America shortly after the time of the American Civil War, and became extremely popular. During such a dark period in our country’s history, it’s easy to understand why this idea of being spared the “really bad stuff” was so appealing. Nearly one-fourth of the male population in the South was killed off during the American Civil war and while we think September 11th was the bloodiest day on American soil, it doesn’t compare with the 15,000 that died in a single battle during the war between the states. So this idea of being spared a time of intense tribulation caught on like wild fire and quickly spread across America.

In the early 1900’s, a man named Cyrus Scofield, a layman with no theological training, took Darby’s initial system and expanded upon it and broke the Bible up into seven different “dispensations” of history:

1. Innocence (Genesis 1:28-3:6)
2. Conscience or Moral Responsibility (Genesis 4:1 – 8:14)
3. Human Government (Genesis 8:15 – 11:32)
4. The Law (Exodus 19:3 – Acts 1:26)
5. Promise (Genesis 12:1 – Exodus 18:27)
6. The Church (Acts 2:1 – Revelation 19)
7. The Millennial Kingdom (Revelation 20)

Scofield then wrote the “Scofield Reference Bible,” which was published in 1909 and Dispensationalism was born. These dispensations were then combined with Darby’s premillennialism to bring about our current “system” which gives us a timeline of events to follow throughout the end of time.

A key text for this scenario is Daniel 9:20-27, which describes a period of seventy weeks of years that will pass before the end comes (a “week” of years equals seven years). According to Darby/Scofield, all but one of these seven year periods elapsed prior to the time of Christ. After the Jews rejected Christ, God stopped the clock with just one seven-year period remaining, much as a referee might stop a football game with seven seconds left on the clock. For the past two thousand years, people have gone about their activities, as the players and spectators do during a time-out, waiting for the clock to start again so that the game can be played out. Thus, all of the time from the first century to the present lies in the gap between 9:26 and 9:27.

The “signal” that God’s clock is about to begin ticking again is expected to be the rapture of faithful Christians. The term “rapture” refers to believers being caught up to meet the Lord in the air, as Paul said in 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17. Since the first century, Christians have usually understood that Paul was referring to Christ’s second coming at the end of time. However, since Darby some have taken Paul to mean that the faithful will be snatched from the earth to spare them from the tribulation that is to occur before Christ’s second coming, much to the astonishment of the half-hearted Christians and unbelievers who will face the horrors of the tribulation.

Those who are "left behind" to suffer through the tribulation will go through this 7 year time period where a world leader known as the "Antichrist" (1 John 2:18) or "the Man of Lawlessness" (2 Thessalonians 2:3-4) and the beast (Revelation 13:18) forms a single world government comprised of ten nations (from the 10 crowns on the beast's 7 heads). The beast's supporters are expected to use computers to control the global economy forcing people to accept the "mark of the beast" (Rev. 13:18) - perhaps a social security or credit card number. The beast now promotes a new "global religion," pictured as the "harlot" (Rev. 17:1-18). During this time, a group of 144,000 Jews will convert to Christianity and bring others to the faith.

During the first half of this Great Tribulation, Israel will make a diplomatic pact with the Antichrist, thinking this will secure for them the peace and security needed to rebuild the temple so the sacrificial system can be reinstated. While there is no direct mention in the Bible of this temple being rebuilt, it is assumed it must be rebuilt so that the Antichrist can defile it and the Gentiles trample it. (Daniel 9:27, Matthew 24:15, Revelation 11) This is the "time of trouble for Jacob" (Jer. 30:7). Then comes Armageddon - the cataclysmic conflicts that are expected to occur a the end of the tribulation (Rev. 16:16). A common scenario involves Russia (Gog - Ezekiel 38-39) and the "king of the north" (Daniel 11) attacking Israel in order to gain control of the Middle East. This conflict escalates into global war when the Russians are joined by the kings of the South (an Arab confederacy) and the kings of the east, usually thought to be China (Rev. 9:13-19; 16:12). The battle culminates when Christ returns and defeats his enemies in Jordan (Isa. 63:1-6) at Megiddo (Rev. 16:12-16) in the Valley of Jehosaphat (Joel 3:1-2, 9-17), and at Jerusalem (Zech. 12:1-9) leaving behind the carnage described in Ezekiel 39:18). This ushers in the Millennial Reign, where Satan is bound for a thousand years (Rev. 20:1-6) and is thought to be when many of the Old Testament prophesies will be fulfilled. After the thousand years are over, Satan is released for a time only to be summarily destroyed, at which time eternity will begin.

Essentially, what premillennial dispensationalism does is it treats the Bible like a jigsaw puzzle, weaving together pieces of Revelation with other parts of scripture.

Authors like Hal Lindsey and Jerry Jenkins/Tim LaHaye ran with this idea, and wrote their books outlining a frightening vision of end-time events.

Problems With The Script
This script, however, is fraught with all kinds of difficulty and problems. First, what if one of these “pieces” of the puzzle isn’t in the right order? Then the “scenario” of events looks very different. Current dispensationalists are already facing problems with the script as they watch current events that aren't supposed to happen until the time of tribulation. The attack on the World Trade Center has frequently been referred to as the fall of Babylon. Yet, the fall of Babylon doesn't occur until Revelation 19 - well past the time when all the Christians should have been raptured from the earth.

Furthermore, Revelation itself defies a chronological reading. In one series of plagues and cataclysms, celestial orbs are displaced and portions of the earth destroyed, only to have them reappear unscathed in another round of plagues to be destroyed all over again. In Revelation 19 & 20, John describes almost the exact same scene as Ezekiel 38 & 39, but in the opposite order. John's feasting on the slain (Ezekiel 39:17-20; Revelation 19) occurs prior to the Millennial Reign,  but envisions Gog and Magog's attack on the saints (Ezekiel 38:1-16; 39:5) and their destruction after the Millennium (Rev. 20).

Another “piece of the puzzle” that this system leaves out as well is the Christian life as a whole. The Left Behinders hide out in bunkers and retreat from the world as much as possible, rather than being in the world, helping the needy, the poor, and the suffering. All of these messages are completely forgotten in this end-times scenario. Spending money on large SUV's and not worrying about our planet because “it’s all going to get destroyed anyway” is contradictory to the vast majority of what God has commissioned humanity to do: care for his creation.

The Rapture
Until Darby, the "rapture" was an unknown concept within Christianity. In fact, "the rapture" is not even mentioned within the pages of Revelation. The only place in Revelation that even remotely passed for "the rapture" was in Revelation 11, where the two witnesses are killed and then raised from the dead, and like Christ, then ascend to heaven.

Hal Lindsey attempts to argue that when John is told to "Come!" in Revelation 4, that is when the rapture of the church occurs since the word "church" is not utilized again and it is the command utilized to call the two witnesses out of the grave and into heaven. However, this argument falls apart on a few levels. First, the word "saints," a frequent description of the faithful utilized throughout the New Testament to describe "the church," is mentioned throughout Revelation. Second, if the "rapture" of the two witnesses is to be used as a model, then the members of the church must first be killed in order to be raptured up to heaven.

As pointed out earlier, to find the so-called "rapture" one must go outside Revelation, to scripture references like Matthew 24 and 1 Thessalonians 4.

"But about that day and hour no one knows, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. For as the days of Noah were, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day Noah entered the ark, and they knew nothing until the flood came and swept them all away, so too will be the coming of the Son of Man. Then two will be in the field; one will be taken and one will be left. Two women will be grinding meal together; one will be taken and one will be left. Keep awake therefore, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. But understand this: if the owner of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour. (Matt. 24:36-44)

For the Lord himself, with a cry of command, with the archangel's call and with the sound of God's trumpet, will descend from heaven, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up in the clouds together with them to meet the Lord in the air; and so we will be with the Lord forever.  (1 Thessalonians 4:16)

When plopped into the "system" that had been developed and told that they are speaking of the rapture - one might buy into it. The problem? That's not what these passages are talking about if read in their full context. Or in the case of the 1 Thessalonians text, if you just read it closely there are huge flaws with their idea.


In the Matthew text, what Left Behinders do not realize is that in Jesus' day - to be "taken" or "swept away" was not a good thing. First, to be "taken" would bring up reminders of how people just 'disappeared' when the Roman army would come and take them away (similar to how people just 'disappeared' in Nazi Germany when the Gestapo came calling). They were being taken to be imprisoned or executed. Second, the people who were "swept away" and "taken" were those who were taken by the flood and being taken in judgment.

As for the 1 Thessalonians text - well one just has to actually read it in order to see the problems inherent in applying it as a proof-text for the rapture. Paul states: "The dead in Christ will rise first." The resurrection precedes the "rapture" of being caught in the air. And when put back into the context of the rest of the letter, Paul is trying to give edification to those who have been worried about those who have died prior to Christ's coming. Paul is saying, "Don't worry - the dead will rise first and get to see Jesus even before you do!" Additionally, the rapture "system" states there will be 7 years of tribulation following this rapture.

Yet, such an idea is foreign to Paul and absent from any of his writings and instead implies an almost immediate series of events that starts with the resurrection of the dead and the living being joined with those who have been resurrected. And instead of warning about there being a time of increased tumultuousness in the lives of believers, Paul warns that people need to be wary of being lulled into a sense of complacency, stating in 1 Thessalonians 5:1-5:

"Now, brothers, about times and dates we do not need to write to you, for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying, "Peace and safety," destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. But you, brothers, are not in darkness so that this day should surprise you like a thief. You are all sons of the light and sons of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness."

Paul here is speaking for people to remain alert and awake, to not fall asleep in their faith, to not be lulled into thinking that peace and security can come through any other means other than Christ. Especially given they lived in the midst of the Roman Empire, where peace and security was offered to all those under Roman rule... at a very violent price. His warning here is for Christians not to become too complacent under the comforts offered by the Roman Empire, for Christ may return at any moment.

Revelation also speaks to a similar audience - though in John's case, the Christians he spoke to were a diverse group of seven different communities facing a variety of problems: persecution, complacency and assimilation. If we turn our attention to those seven churches and the book of Revelation for a moment, we will see that much like Paul, John is offering up both a warning and a promise to these communities.

Most Left Behind/Dispensationalist proponents like to skip the first five chapters of Revelation, jumping straight into chapter six and the four horsemen, but the first five chapters lay down the groundwork for what Revelation is all about. It identifies for us the problems the churches were facing, and when we understand their challenges, we understand more readily how Revelation would have been understood by the people it was originally written to.

About the only part of the first five chapters that Left Behind/Dispensiationalists like to use is in chapter three, where the church in Philadelphia is being addressed and told that it will be spared the coming tribulation. In defiance of their usual "literal" reading, they choose to view the promises made to the church in Philadelphia as describing the "future" church that will be raptured, not the church that was present in John's day and facing persecution, having held fast to the word of God despite the affliction that they had come under.

Yet, apparently, no such luck for the church in Smyrna. Another faithful church that stayed true to the word of God, but they were going to come under the sway of these persecutions and would not be protected like the church in Philadelphia. Left Behinders conveniently ignore the plight of the church in Smyrna and don't apply the same futuristic promise to this congregation.

The other churches John was writing to faced problems other than persecution. They were struggling to figure out how much compromise was too much compromise in the midst of their very pagan culture. How separate and diverse did they need to keep themselves? What practices were abhorrent to God and which weren't? Many times, the answers to those questions had serious economic and social ramifications. For instance, in Thyatira, if you wanted to be a successful merchant you had to join the merchant's trade guild. Unfortunately for Christians, one of the requirements of membership within the guild was that you had to sacrifice to and worship the pagan gods of Rome. By not doing so denied Christians access to the trade guild, and thus made buying and selling wares extremely difficult unless they compromised their beliefs.

Ultimately, the idea of Christians being "raptured" so that they can escape persecution or a coming time of "tribulation" is extremely Amero-centric and contradicts the historical and Biblical plight of the Christian calling. All around the world, Christians are being persecuted in larger numbers than any other time in history. 500 million people around the world suffer from poverty and famine. If anything, Americans should be wary of the "coming wrath," given the luxury and prosperity that has been afforded to us, many times at the expense of our poorer and less fortunate neighbor. We should perhaps take heed of the warnings sent to the five other churches in the first three chapters of Revelation and discover where we are guilty.

What Are We Reading?

First and foremost, what exactly are we dealing with when we read Revelation? A road-map to the future, or a timeless truth/reality? Is Revelation describing modern 21st century technology, or utilizing symbolic imagery to reveal the true nature of worldly realities that were true both today and in John's day?

Additionally, identifying the type of literature we are dealing with in regards to Revelation is crucial in how we go about interpreting it. When you read poetry, you read it a certain way. You don't read it the same as a history book. You don't read a newspaper like you read a crime novel. The Bible is constructed of a variety of different literary types. Narrative, history, poetry, lament, letters, prophecies, and apocalypses. (Noting that "apocalypse" in Greek simply means "to reveal." Thus, Revelation is about pulling back the curtain and revealing something that had been previously hidden.)

An "Apocalypse"
Revelation is written in what is called "apocalyptic" style - a type of writing that was utilized roughly 100 years prior and 100 years after the death of Christ. Typified by the sweeping cosmic battle between God and his Messiah against Satan and the forces of evil, apocalyptic writing utilized symbolic images of celestial bodies, animals, numbers and figures, in order to edify and give hope to those living under persecution. Its purpose was to give hope to those who struggled on account of their faith while simultaneously warning those who acquiesced too much to worldly temptations. When compared and contrasted with other apocalyptic writings of its day (most notably works such as 2 Esdras/4 Ezra, Enoch, etc.), the main images and figures of Revelation are oddly familiar.

Authorship
That said, Revelation stands alone amidst other apocalyptic writing. Unlike most apocalyptic literature, which usually claimed to be written by some hero of the faith (Abraham, Enoch, Ezra, to name a few), Revelation's author identifies himself simply as "John." It also claims certain elements that are absent from most other apocalyptic writing - such as being a letter written to specific congregations as well as a prophecy.

Congregational Letter
Therefore when reading Revelation, we must keep all these issues in mind. It is a letter that had a specific audience, addressing specific issues that its original hearers/readers would have found value and meaning. Like the epistles of Paul and other New Testament writings, letters were usually written to inform congregations about pressing matters that existed in their day and time.

A Prophecy
At the same time, the author identifies the letter to also be a prophecy, following in the footsteps of the tradition and practice of prophets that had come before. Prophecy in the Old Testament style was never mere "fortune telling." It served to both give a warning to its hearers so they would repent from whatever self-destructive path they had ventured down, and offered a promise for those who heeded the warning. Revelation acts no differently. Rather than "fortune telling," Revelation is a call for change and repentance.

The prophets that most think of when they think of "prophets" (Hosea, Amos, Ezekiel, Isaiah, etc) were raised up in reaction to something that was going on within the Israelite culture at the time. These prophets called upon Israel to change its ways, to live the way in which God had commanded them to live - with justice, mercy and humbleness. They were advocates for the poor and the oppressed, seeking justice in the midst of injustice. The warning was if they were going to persist in their "ungodly" ways of oppression and unfaithfulness, destruction would surely come upon them.

The destructive warnings that were given were given for a purpose - not that the destruction couldn't usually be averted, but was telling people that if they continued on their current path, destruction would be the result. Yet hope still remained that repentance would occur and judgment would be averted.

Despite the coming destruction, God promises not to abandon his beloved people. Remnants will be saved, a messiah shall come and deliver them. Relationship will be restored. These words of promise were always delivered alongside the harsh words of warning and judgment. The warnings and promises in Revelation are no different.

Contrary to most modern understandings, God's ultimate way of dealing with the world in Revelation is not by destroying it. Rather, God destroys "those who destroy the earth," (11:18) and those who make war with Christ and his followers (19:18). While the earth itself undergoes affliction, ultimately, God recognizes that destruction is not how repentance will be brought about. Destruction is not what brings people to faith but rather faithful witness. (This will be discussed more in depth later.)

In the face of affliction people are given the promise of Christ, who triumphs over the oppressors of this world, of the evil and the wicked.

Thus Revelation's prophecy serves not as a set-in-stone road map to destruction, but instead as a warning to people that living in rebellion to God leads to conquest, war, strife, economic upheaval, suffering, oppression and death. In the face of that destruction, however, stands God's ultimate promise of Christ, of redemption and triumph of God's word over the destructive forces in the world. Readers discover promises of God's kingdom coming to earth and dwelling on earth (Revelation 21); life together in a renewed world, not a destroyed world.

As with the prophets of the Old Testament, ultimately God's promises in the Messiah/Christ are what prevail, not terror and destruction.

The Cycles of Revelation

As a form of apocalyptic writing, it would stand to reason, like other apocalyptic writing, Revelation would not be chronological, but rather is a series of different visions, telling the same basic story from different perspectives, bringing out different elements with each “loop,” if you will. When reading Revelation, you see this pattern emerging—a series of loops, where John starts out in the heavenly realms, then tells a story of horrible things happening on earth, then brings us back up to the heavenly throne room. We see a series of plagues and hardships, then a celebration of the triumph of God at the end of each “loop” or cycle.

But even within the loops, we know there is no chronological order. How? Well, for example, in the Trumpets, the first trumpet blows and all the grass of the earth is burned up. However, by the fifth trumpet, the demonic locusts are unleashed and told not to harm the grass. Well, if it’s just been burned up in trumpet one, how is it available for the locusts to eat in trumpet five? And at the end of the sixth seal, the sun has been blotted out, and the stars have all fallen to the earth, yet, by the trumpets, they’re back in their celestial orbits, business as usual so something bad can happen to them again. As I point out in another section, John flip-flops the events of Ezekiel 38 & 39 in his re-telling, making it clear his intent is not to try and follow any sort of chronology. So we see a certain repetition of some events occurring over and over again, to further make the case that these are not chronological events that you can pinpoint on a timeline.

The cycles of Revelation are designed to both threaten and reassure. Every time the vision spirals down to the earthly realm, the visions threaten our security by challenging us with images of horsemen, plagues, violence, hardship, persecution and death. Yet as soon as the mayhem and destruction seems like it's about to reach a cataclysmic crescendo, we're transported back up to the heavenly throne room, where we experience not only a reprieve from the disasters, but we are placed in the presence of God, the lamb, and the heavenly chorus that continually reminds us this is where God is wanting to bring us - into his presence. The threats and the assurances both serve their own purposes, and depending on which of the seven churches you identify with will dictate how you read revelation. If you've been complacent and compromising with the forces of evil in the world that oppress and act violently, the bottom loops of the visions should make you feel a bit unsettled and disturbed. If you're one of the churches undergoing persecution, however, the heavenly visions bring you great comfort and hope.

In this way, Revelation seeks to strip away any false senses of security we might have when it comes to the worldly realm while continually pointing us to the festive and joyous scenes of the heavenly throne room. Peace and security lies with the lamb, not with the earthly beasts. 

While we seek to keep the images and events in their proper context, knowing that it had meaning and significance to first century readers, that does not mean that Revelation is contained safely in the annals of history. Instead, modern readers should recognize that the book is intended to communicate a message to everyone who reads it - no matter when or where they live. But by addressing how the original audience would have heard it helps us to better understand how it addresses our modern situations. Like in John's day, there are a wide spectrum of readers - from those who live rather comfortably in America to those who live under intense persecution in the Middle East, China, etc. Where you are coming from will determine how its message is received.

Revelation and History

The earliest attempts to interpret Revelation's meaning go back as far as Justin Martyr (circa 100-160 AD). Since that time, the understandings and interpretations have been as varied and convoluted as the visions themselves. Yet even the earliest interpretations, such as Justin Martyr's, are fraught with inconsistencies and problems. For example, Justin Martyr believed that Isaiah's prophetic vision of a future where people put aside violence, lived long lives, dwelt in houses, etc. described the Millennial Reign of Revelation. Yet, Isaiah's description coincides more with Revelation's vision of the New Heaven and New Earth than the Millennial Reign. After that came the likes of Montanus, a gnostic cultist that insisted the end was near based on his interpretations of Revelation.

Probably one of the more helpful insights into Revelation, however, came from Victorinus (d. 304), a bishop of Patteau (Slovenia) who was martyred during Diocletian's great persecution. Victorinus noted the similarity of the plagues in Revelation to those of Egypt, and their repetitive nature throughout the book, thus resisting a chronological reading.

Jerome supported Victorinus' non-chronological ordering, but being a monastic, viewed the promises not as earthly material realities but strictly spiritual.

Even Martin Luther, after initially dismissing Revelation as being too convoluted to be of any value, eventually interpreted the events of Revelation as being played out in his own time, describing the Black Death as it swept across Europe multiple times, killing off over half the continent's population. Luther also identified the Roman Pope as the anti-Christ (though Revelation itself does not actually utilize the term "anti-Christ" - the term is used solely in 1 & 2 John and references the existence of many different anti-Christs.)

End-times predictions continued into the founding of America, which was even referred to as "the new world." In the late 1700's and early 1800's, movements such as the Millerites (which eventually became the Seventh-Day Adventists) made bold predictions about the time and date of Christ's return, only to have the dates come and go. Such Revelation-based prediction-making has been integral in the formation of the Jehovah's witnesses, the Branch Davidians, Strong City, and even modern-day Evangelical leaders, such as Harold Camping and Hal Lindsey.

Central to modern American end-times interpretations was Plymouth Brethern's founder John Nelson Darby in the 1800's. Darby studied Biblical prophecy and developed an "end-times script" that pieced together bits and pieces of Old Testament prophecy with Revelation like a scriptural jigsaw puzzle to produce a timeline of prophetic history that mapped out world events from the time of creation to Christ's return. A prominent new idea that emerged was the idea of the "rapture," which promoted the belief that Christians would be swept up into heaven and spared the most horrific parts of Revelation. (This will be discussed more in depth in a subsequent posting). Darby's ideas were spread by a man named Cyrus Scofield (1909) in "The Scofield Reference Bible" and expanded upon by breaking history up into several different "dispensations" of Biblical time.

In more recent decades, Darby and Scofield's ideas have been re-imagined to understand Revelation's cosmic imagery as describing modern helicopters and tanks that John simply lacked the language and knowledge to describe. Books like "Left Behind" have capitalized off this relatively new, distinctly American understanding, placing the events of Revelation in the near future.

Revelation has thus been a disturbing book that has great influence on the church, culture, and even had political ramifications throughout the millennia. These previous understandings challenge our own interpretations and force us to ask pressing questions about how this provocative piece of literature informs our own culture and lives.

Its promises and warnings transcend time and relay timeless truths for the faithful of God. While it indeed points to the ultimate triumph of God, to a vision and a future for God's people, it also speaks to the here and now with both warning and promise. It is a book to neither be relegated to the annals of history nor thrust into some distant future.

As Jesus said over and over, "the Kingdom of God is near." It has both already come in Christ and is yet to come in its full glory. Revelation brings into focus for us the very real and present threats of our world while simultaneously offering up a vision and hope for our future. It is both now - and not yet. It speaks of things that have happened, and things that are yet to come. Christians are called to heed its warnings and hope in its promises.