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.
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.
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.)
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.
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| 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.
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