The idea of this essay is to provide a basis for a clearer understanding of the Book of Revelation, a structure on which it is hoped that the student will by his study continue to build.
It will be admitted on all sides that the Apocalypse (Greek for Revelation) is a difficult book, and so many are the interpretations that they have had to be grouped into general types. It is proposed in this article to do very little in interpretation, but to try to put ourselves in John’s position and ask ourselves the question, What did John see?
Many have preconceived ideas on the interpretation of the book, but it is asked that we try to look afresh at the subject without bias and if we arrive at our original viewpoint we shall be the more satisfied, and if not we shall have learned something. When the writer first looked at the book of Revelation he tried to run before he could walk and felt he must learn and remember what these things mean. How useless this attitude is! Let us not believe anything unless it is quite clear to us even if it means we can only understand 1% of the book. In any case it is quite certain that no one understands the whole of it correctly.
Let us first read the Apocalypse, preferably at no more than two or three sittings, which will enable us to see the book as a whole.
In his prologue John first states that the Revelation was given by God to Jesus and it was sent by an angel to John, whose commission it was to deliver it to the seven Churches. This message no doubt had a special significance for the particular seven Churches in the first and second century. However, they are also typical of Christ’s Church generally, and we are counselled to learn by the experience of each of the seven Churches thus:
“He that hath an ear let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the Churches.”
The message virtually opens with what has been described as the motif of the book: “Behold he comes” . . . The return of Jesus has been the hope of Christians under persecution through all generations.
We come to the circumstances in which John received the vision on Patmos. He was “in the spirit”. That is the condition to receive divine revelation, and it was the Lord’s Day, that is Sunday. There is a danger here of assuming that the Lord’s Day is the -Day of the Lord”, or the time of the second coming of Christ, but this is unnecessary and quite out of harmony with the context. It would be inappropriate and indeed useless to be transported in time to the end to give messages to Churches of the first and second century. The word “Lord’s” is only once again used in scripture, when it refers to the Lord’s Supper (1 Cor. 11. 20), a supper peculiarly be longing to Jesus. The early fathers of the Church referred to Sunday as the Lord’s Day, no doubt because it was the day of his resurrection and the day on which they celebrated the Lord’s Supper. This same thought is contained in our hymn, “Again the Lord’s Own Day is here”.
John’s attention is suddenly awakened by a great voice like a trumpet which tells him to write what he hears in a book and to send it to the seven Churches, and turning to see where the voice comes from he sees seven golden candlesticks and one like a man clothed in a golden girdle glistening in dazzling brightness and walking among the candlesticks, and in his right hand seven stars, and out of his mouth a two-edged sword. Fortunately in this vision most of the symbols are either explained or are quite apparent. The one like a man is Christ, that is, the one who “was dead” and is “alive for evermore” (1. 18). The candlesticks are the Churches and the stars the angels of the Churches. We thus have a beautiful picture of the risen glorified Christ walking among his Churches. But we also notice that he has a sword in his mouth, and we turn to a Messianic prophecy in Isaiah for the answer to its significance:
“He hath made my mouth like a sharp sword I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles that thou mayest be my salvation unto the ends of the earth” (Isaiah 49. 26).
We shall find that John uses the symbolism of the Old Testament frequently and, by and large, it is not an over-statement to say that the key to the Apocalypse is in the margin—ready to hand in the references to the rest of the Bible, particularly the Old Testament.
After the messages have been delivered to the Churches, a change in the scene occurs and John is summoned to heaven for the next vision and as Joseph Mede observes in his commentary on the Apocalypse, this Chapter 4 describes the stage on which the rest of the visions of the books are enacted. It is in fact a vision of a heavenly temple, based on the model of the Tabernacle, which was a prototype of all the Temples of God. Thus there are “seven lamps of fire” (4. 5), an altar (6. 9), an Altar of Incense (8. 5). These two altars might be the same. There is constant reference to this temple throughout the book1 until we come to the post—millennial times, when there is no temple, for “God Almighty and the Lamb are the Temple” (21. 22). Passages in chapter seven help us with identification. Here in v. 15 we are told it is a temple—God’s throne is there, the Lamb is there. Verse 10 tells us it is God2, that sits upon the throne, not, as is sometimes supposed, Jesus. This would be impossible because the Lamb is clearly Jesus and it is he who takes the sealed book out of the right hand of him who sitteth upon the throne (Chapter 5). Around the throne are a great multitude arrayed in white, clearly the redeemed saints, who cry with a loud voice, “Salvation to our God that sitteth upon the throne and unto the Lamb” (7. 10 ).
How fitting, then, for a persecuted church to have before them a vision of “the end” with the saints triumphant, as a background to their lives. Really the original tabernacle was also just such a representation. The Holy of Holies—the presence of God; the Mercy Seat—the Lamb; the Cherubim—the Four Living Creatures; the Priests—the 24 Elders; the twelve tribes pitched around the the Tabernacle — the redeemed. In both cases it is a representation of the Kingdom of God.
But, although it is a vision of the Kingdom of God, it does not mean that John was transported to the time of the end. The vision was ever before him, as a backcloth of a stage and the first scene he sees enacted on this stage is the entrance of a Lamb, “as though it had been slain”, taking the seven sealed book from the right hand of him that sitteth upon the throne. The Lamb (chapter 6) opens the seals one by one and with each seal appears a vision. When the sixth seal is opened we are told “the sun becomes as sack-cloth of hair”, and our references take us to Matthew 24, 29, the Olivet Prophecy and the time of the end, that is “The great day of their (the Lamb and God’s) wrath is come, and who is able to stand” (Rev. 6. 17 R.V.). In fact we should find that the seals follow the Olivet Prophecy. Our margin, in reference to “hid themselves in the dens”, refers us to Isaiah 2. 19-21, which would also appear to be a description relating to the time of the end.
When the seventh seal is opened the seven angels appear and in order sound their trumpets. The last announces the establishment of the Kingdom of God, the resurrection of the dead and the judgment of the nations:
“The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ and he shall reign for ever and ever” (Rev. 11. 15).
It will be noted that in chapter 16 seven angels pour out their vials of wrath, and with the seventh we are told that the judgments of Babylon are finished: “It is done”.
Chapters 17 and 18 are a parenthesis giving details of this judgement and again the establishment of the Millenial Kingdom of God in the 20th chapter of Revelation. It would appear, therefore, that the 6th seal, the 7th trumpet and the 7th vial finish together. We might say, surely symmetry demands that it should be the 7th seal, not the 6th, that brings us to the beginning of the Millenial Kingdom. But we must not let our desire for a pattern over-influence us, and consideration will make it clear that everything revealed to John had to be contained in the sealed book. In fact a reference appears to be made to this in Revelation 22. 7. “Blessed is he that keepeth the sayings . . . of this book” is a more natural interpretation of the words of Christ than that of taking the “Book” to be that which John subsequently wrote.
It would be going too deeply into interpretation to decide when the trumpets and vials started, but it is pertinent to the structure of the book to note a sequence of seals to the 6th, the 7th revealing a sequence of trumpets. If it is right to assume that the 6th seal is the final judgement of the nations, then the seven trumpets will be the seven phases of the last judgement. We must also note that the seven vials are also referred to as last judgements of God (15. 1). If we compare the two series there are many similarities in their symbology.
As we have observed, the end of chapter 11 brings us to the beginning of the Millennium. When we look at chapter 12 we find we are back to the beginning.
Without going into detail, the Sun, Moon and 12 stars call to mind Joseph’s dream —a symbol of the Jewish nation. The woman, the dragon (e.g. identified with the serpent 12. 9), and her seed reminds us of Genesis 3. 15. The seed, or man child, is clearly Christ because (12. 5), “He is to rule all nations with a rod of iron” (c.f. 19. 13), and, like Christ, is caught up to the throne of God.
The woman, then, is the Church, first Jewish then Christian. She is persecuted for a symbolic time of 1,260 days, or “time, times and half time” (360+ 720+180=1,260). This is the same period as that of the witnessing of God’s two witnesses (11. 3), and the treading down of the Holy City (11. 2) 42 months (30X 42=1,260) . For this treading down period the margin again refers us to the Olivet Prophecy, Luke 21. 24:
If Christ’s friends are truly remembering Him it will show in their faces. Disposition and mode of living are often apparent from facial expression. Those persons, who in this era are in their daily lives living images of Jesus, will show it in their outlook on life, being living memorials of Him in faith and works, seen and known to all.
elected—J. J. Morgan
“And they shall fall by the edge of the sword ands all be led away captive unto all nations nd Jerusalem shall be trodden down df the Gentiles until the times of Gentiles be fulfilled.”
This period we generally refer to as the “time of the Gentiles” and is thus the symbolic period of 1,260 days. We need not therefore try to fit it into any exact period of history. It is the time from the end of the Jewish dispensation to the end of Gentile domination, or the beginning of the Kingdom of God.
It is suggested therefore that we have broadly two parts. The first containing the seals and trumpets and generally dealing with political and national events, and the second part particularly dealing with the Church, both true and false. Both of these sections finish together with the return of Christ and unite in the Millennial Reign, and after. This division is only a broad one and overlapping is inevitable. The first section does have some matters affecting true members of the Church, the sealing of the saints, and the second section has its connections with the fall of the nations, but generally the division seems a valid one.
Having established that the Woman is the Church and Christ the manchild, we note next that the woman flees into the wilderness for 1,260 days (12. 6).
The next vision that John witnesses is the overthrow and casting down to the earth of the dragon], which we are told is the Devil, by Michael and his angels. After this it persecutes the church for the same period, that is, the “times of the Gentiles”. Indeed the margin refers us to Luke 10. 18: the occasion when the 70 disciples came back rejoicing that the devils were subject to them in Christ’s name and Jesus says, “He beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven”, surely indicating victory of the cross over evil—the seed of the woman bruising the head of the serpent.
In chapter 13 John witnesses the beast with seven heads and ten horns, diadems on the horns and names of blasphemy on the heads. To this beast the dragon gives his power. He is given a mouth which speaks blasphemies and he continues for 42 months, the “times of the Gentiles”, and wars with the saints.
Then (v. 11) John sees a beast with two horns like a lamb which speaks like a dragon and he exercises the power of the first beast and commands that an image should be made of the first beast that should speak and be worshipped and the name of the beast was the number “666”.
Another vision is seen in chapter 14, still with the same backcloth of the Kingdom, “before God’s throne” (v. 3). John sees the lamb on Mount Zion and with him the 144,000 that had been sealed as a protection against the judgments of God.
An angel announces the hour of judgment has come, a second that Babylon has fallen, and a third threatening terrible judgment on those who still worship the beast, or his image.
The one like a man, with a crown on his head and a sickle in his hand, rides on a cloud and reaps the harvest of the earth.
Then another angel comes and gathers the vintage of the earth and casts it into the wine press for judgment.
John now beholds the seven angels with the seven judgment “bowls of wrath” to be poured out on the earth, rivers, sea, sun, throne of the beast, River Euphrates and the air. None escapes, and a voice says, “It is done”. It would appear that the 7th “bowl” is poured out upon Babylon, which is judged.
The 17th chapter enlarges on Babylon and her judgment. She is seen as a woman riding a scarlet coloured beast with seven heads and ten horns. She is drunk with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus. John is told that the seven heads are seven mountains—identifying the beast with Rome. We are told that the horns are ten kings, which have not yet received their kingdom. In the end the beast and the horns turn against the woman and destroy her.
As a result of this judgment, the saints in symbol rejoice and worship God on the throne saying, “Hallelujah”. A voice is heard proclaiming, “Hallelujah, for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth”, and “Rejoice . . . for the marriage of the Lamb is come and his bride has prepared herself”. We are clearly told the bride represents the saints, which indeed is a familiar figure from Paul’s writings.
The Word of God (Christ) is revealed on a white horse, prepared to rule the nations with a rod of iron. The beast and the kings of the earth attack him that sitteth upon the horse and we have a description of the last great conflict before the Millennium, resulting in the destruction of the Beast and the False Prophet, who is identified with the beast with two horns of chapter 13 (19. 20 ) .
Satan is now bound for 1,000 years and John sees the resurrected saints sitting on the throne reigning with Christ for this period. A blessing is proclaimed on those who have been raised in the first resurrection. At the end of the 1,000 years we have the revolt of Gog and Magog who are destroyed and cast into the Lake of Fire. This is followed by the picture of the final judgment, those rejected being cast into the Lake of Fire, which we are told represents the second death.
We now come to perhaps the most beautiful and sublime picture which has given hope to Christ’s Saints throughout all generations and which must have particularly sustained them in times of persecution. John sees the new Heaven and the new Earth and the bride, the Lamb’s wife, now complete and resplendent as the Holy City, new Jerusalem, coming down from God and lightened by the Glory of God, who dwells in her midst—all tears are wiped away and there is no more sorrow, or death.
The picture concludes with the assurance of the fulfilment by God of all these things and particularly of the promise by Christ of his certain return to vindicate his saints:
“Behold I come quickly—even so come, Lord Jesus”.
References
1—7. 11; 11. 1 , 19; 14. 7; 15. 5; 16. 1, 17
2—Really he “Glory of God” as no man hath seen God at any time. Compare Ez. 1. 25
Daniel The Prophet – (Part 3)