The Third Part of Revelation - Bible Overview

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Bible Overview is a wonderful resource for anyone interested in Bible study. Each month we feature a book of the Bible (in order) by Bible scholar and lecturer, Mary Jane Chaignot.

This month we will be tackling the third part of Revelation. These chapters describe the events that must occur before God’s kingdom will be established, and as such, they include some of the most difficult images in the New Testament. There is no consensus on the boundaries of this third section. Some scholars conclude with chapter 16, which ends with the revelation of the seals, trumpets, and bowls. Other scholars include chapters 17 and 18, which describe the destruction of the great city, leaving the last four chapters to describe the final victory. We will be following the latter plan. If you want to read some of the history previous to this selection, you can find the earlier books in our archives.

The Bible Time-Line is another quick reference for locating individuals or specific books. We encourage readers to share their Bible study success stories on this site. Email us at overview@biblewise.com to be included on next month's site.

Revelation (Part 3)

Think in terms of the calm before the storm. John was writing to churches who believed the end was near; it had not yet arrived, but it was close at hand. This third section of Revelation is an attempt to describe what would be happening before that final moment, the one in which all time would cease, when the world as it is known, would end

It all begins with John going up to the throne room in heaven. Before the throne are seven torches, four living creatures, and 24 elders. In this realm of heavenly worship appears a Lamb, who takes a scroll from the one sitting on the throne. Needless to say, every aspect of this scene has symbolic implications – though scholars do not always agree on what is meant. Obviously, God is on the throne, and the Lamb is Christ. This means that God gives Christ the authority to execute God’s ultimate plan of judgment and salvation.

The scroll is sealed with seven seals, which only the Lamb is qualified to open. As he does so, we are given a glimpse of the destruction, catastrophes, and cosmic upheavals that await. The opening of the first four seals usher in the four horsemen of the apocalypse, images borrowed from Zechariah. By the end of the sixth seal, it appears that everything is poised for destruction, but it all stops while God “seals” his own people to protect them from annihilation. These people will be given the “seal” of God on their foreheads, followed by words of praise and worship. The seventh seal isn’t opened until chapter 8, and instead of the conflagration that was expected, there is a moment of silence.

It only lasts for half an hour, though, at which point seven angels are given trumpets that announce more eschatological judgments, loosely based on the ten plagues of Exodus. Prior to the blowing of the seventh trumpet are two more interludes. One describes an angel with a little scroll who commissions John to prophesy while the other describes two mysterious witnesses. After prophesying for three and a half years, these witnesses are killed -- for three and a half days. Then they are raised up and taken up into heaven, -- an act that strikes terror into the hearts of their enemies. Then we hear about the seventh trumpet, which again announces a throne room scene where God is worshiped.

It would seem that this would again anticipate the actual end. But such is not the case. There is another interlude that describes the war between God and the dragon, and the Lamb and the beast. Some scholars see this as the heart of the book, because this is what it is all about. Every culture seems to have some sort of combat myth describing these opposing forces. Here, we meet a pregnant woman pursued by the dragon, but rescued by God. Those who are in heaven rejoice over that victory, but the dragon becomes ever more enraged and goes to earth for revenge. He then commissions the ten-headed beast from the sea. This is quickly followed by the introduction of a second beast whose only task is to promote worship of the first one. Lest one think he was completely successful, 144,000 faithful are identified as choosing the mark of God over the mark of the beast.

Just when everything is once again poised for the great conflict, three angels provide one more opportunity for repentance. Their job is to announce that the great city (Babylon) will indeed fall and those who follow the beast will be destined for eternal torment. This is also seen as a call for endurance among the faithful culminating with graphic descriptions of the harvest of both the righteous and the sinful. Once all the choices have been made between following God and following the beast, the only thing left to do is to unleash the actual judgment.

Seven angels are given seven bowls containing the wrath of God. These seven bowls are often referred to as the seven last plagues. It is no accident that just as God’s story of salvation history began with plagues (in Exodus), it will now end with plagues (in Revelation). These plagues comprise the final judgment. Time and time again, God has invited the nations to turn to Him and repent. They have refused and have chosen to follow the beast, cursing and blaspheming God in the process. In a sense, the plagues record the undoing of creation to the point where the “eschaton” or the end of time arrives.

The only element that remains is to chronicle the destruction of “Babylon,” the great city. This, of course, is done in a very imaginative way with a description of the great prostitute, clothed in luxury and filled with depravity. As a euphemism for the godless city of Babylon/Rome, she sits on the scarlet beast and fornicates with the kings of the earth. She is drunk with the blood of the saints. Her arrogance and impunity are quite short-lived, however, for soon the beast and the kings of the earth join forces to devour her. Reactions to the fall of Babylon/Rome are recorded by three groups directly affected – the kings, the merchants, and those who trade on the sea. They lament the loss of their livelihoods. The faithful are called to come out of her, as life in the city stops. Life as it is known is over. This is symbolized by the throwing of a big boulder into the sea – it is utter and total destruction, accompanied by a reminder as to why this was all necessary. God’s judgments are complete and just. The primary point of these chapters is divine justice.

There are multiple ways to divide these chapters. We will choose the following seven groupings: 4:1-5:14 – The vision of the throne room; 6:1-17 – The opening of the seals; 7:1-17 – Interlude before the opening of seventh seal; 8:1-9:21 – the Seventh seal – The Seven angels with seven trumpets; 10:1-11:19 – Interlude of the angel and two witnesses -- The Seventh trumpet; 12:1-16:21 – The Great Conflict between God and the Forces of Evil; 17:1-19:1 – Destruction of Babylon the Great.


I -- 4:1-5:14 – The vision of the throne room

4:1-11		It all begins “After these things…” Only John is invited to enter (Think Jesus’ sermon about the narrow gate) “One who sits on the throne” = God So “God’s throne” refers to the one who really rules 24 elders might refer to 24 lectors who surrounded Domitian May also be a reference to 12 disciples and 12 tribes of Israel The fact that they have crowns and white robes signifies authority Flashes of light, peals of thunder evoke images of Mount Sinai The Book – eschatological events will happen as the seals are broken This could be a reference to the scroll of the Law; book of prophets; Ezekiel’s scroll; tablets of destiny – Babylonian imagery; book of life – Daniel; heavenly books of deeds; last will and testament Seven seals – personal imprint, signet ring Four living creatures represent all of created life Lion = wild animals; ox = domestic animals; man; birds Man is not crown of creation, but a part of creation These four participate in God’s creation, have some responsibility over it Yet, they are themselves creatures and praise God

5:1-7		As John looks at the scroll, an angel asks who can open it Apparently no one can, John bursts into tears thinking the future is sealed Angel announces that the Lion from Judah, the Root of David is qualified Yet when John looks towards the lion, all he sees is the slaughtered lamb The Lamb takes the scroll and puts it into effect This is really a scene of worship – spoken during a worship service

II -- 6:1-17 – The opening of the seals

6:1-8		First four seals – four horsemen of apocalypse The beginning of the End is the eruption of conquest, war, plague, death Four horsemen represent God’s judgment on human arrogance and rebellion as shown in the Roman power White horse and archer – specific, dreaded threat – The Parthians Red horse – anarchic internal violence Black horseman – describes the effects of war – sorrow and mourning Pale green horseman – death – Hades These four horsemen have apocalyptic significance These four horsemen are permitted by Christ/God to act They are used as agents of divine judgment

6:9-11		Fifth seal – cry of heavenly martyrs This is viewed from a heavenly perspective May represent the Christians involved in persecutions These Christians are already in heaven – through suffering and death These would be Christians who refused to sacrifice to image of emperor They have become the sacrifice Those who have died are concerned for those left behind They ask “How long?” They are told “a little longer”

6:12-17		Sixth seal – cosmic changes at God’s approach The structure of the universe breaks up This involves the convulsions of the cosmos The small and great of the earth flee in terror – try to hide in the day of wrath The world as we know it will be destroyed as God comes in judgment God’s kingdom will be established Transformation of the world – all self-justifying confidence is removed

III -- 7:1-17 – Interlude before the opening of seventh seal

7:1-8		John provides a vision of church Four angels stand on four corners of the earth They restrain the four destructive winds that threaten to continue God’s judgment of rebellious earth Sealing of God’s servants reflects Ezekiel’s mark of God on foreheads This means they are preserved during not from the persecutions “Sealing” also has NT imagery – baptism: marked the Christian belonging to God Later in Revelation, John will talk about the beast leaving a special mark on his followers – will be seen as a parody of lamb’s activities 144,000 – 12,000 from every tribe Surely not intended to be limited to Jewish Christians “Israel” as a tribal nation no longer existed at this time “Tribes” therefore, must be seen as symbolic 144,000 is also a complete number – 12x12 – Twelve tribes and disciples Number represents the “whole People of God” God has sealed his people through baptism, will bring them all through the ordeal Even though some of them will die The picture here is one of the militant church, active in its earthly struggle

7:9-17		The triumphant Church John never describes the actual martyrdom of Christians The first part (7:1-8) presents the church in military form, ready for battle 7:9-17 presents the church after the battle, triumphant in heaven This presents a host of people from every nation worshiping God These are the people who’ve been through the great persecution They are dressed in the white robes of the victors This is like looking at martyrdom from the vantage point of heaven From heaven’s point of view, they have won; from earth’s, they are dead They sing with a great voice in the praise of God’s salvation Crowds and angels alike are worshiping God (no mention of the Lamb doing so) Question from the elder allows explanation John sees a glimpse of those who made it through persecution Persecution resulted from their refusal to conform to pressures of Babylon Washing of robes in blood to make them white is oxymoron (Much like the lion who turns out to be a lamb) They stand before the throne as a testament to their perseverance They “serve” God day and night – it is a priestly image God “hovers” over them, just as God has hovered over Jesus God will sustain and enable them to continue to witness to the Christ

IV -- 8:1-9:21 – The Seventh seal and The Seven angels with seven trumpets

8:1-5		When the seventh seal is opened, the End is expected Instead there is silence for ½ an hour Silence is the appropriate response in the light of this coming of God in wrath This will be the beginning of another series of woes – the seven trumpets It is all set within the context of heavenly worship

8:6-12		The first four trumpets The sound of trumpets is typically a call to festive assembly or battle Trumpets would announce warning and victory, kings, theophanies These will be the last trumpets – are sounded by seven angels Imagery moves between seven spirits, eyes, stars, angels These are all representations of God’s omnipresent power God communicates and rules the world – signified by “it is given” These are not a prediction of future events, but part of the apocalyptic woes that must happen before God’s victory at the End This is best viewed not as additions to the seals, but as an intensification of them There are some symbolic connections to Exodus’ plagues This connection reminds people of God’s judgment (on Pharaoh), but also God’s liberating actions (Israelites) These plagues will usher in the ultimate deliverance Seven angels are given seven trumpets Before any can be blown, another angel stands at the altar holding a censer This angel offers the prayers, along with the smoke, towards the divine presence The angel takes the censer, fills it with fire from the altar, hurls it towards the earth Result: thunder, lightning, earthquake First trumpet blast – brings hail mixed with blood Second trumpet – a great, fiery mountain is cast into the sea Third trumpet – star burning like a torch Fourth trumpet – sun is struck – 1/3 of it is lost

9:1-21		Fifth trumpet – another star falls, this one has a key to the Abyss The fifth and sixth trumpet blasts again intensify the first four, which are complete Opening the abyss lets loose a swarm of demon locusts They are led by their leader, the angel of the abyss – named Abaddon (Destroyer) Abaddon is another name for Sheol, the place of the dead He opens the bottomless pit – smoke ascends (in contrast to smoke of censer) This smoke darkens the sun, pollutes the earth The terror of locusts becomes the image whereby John portrays demonic terror Unlike previous locusts, these have no interest in vegetation, but attack people Time period is five months – they will be tormented, but not killed Time could refer to normal lifespan of a locust or the length of time during the dry season – between the early and late rains The point is that the time of testing is limited Description of locusts is parody of divine authority They have gold crowns on their heads, and teeth like lions Through it all, those who bear God’s mark are preserved (not spared) Sixth trumpet – Vision of the final devastation A voice is heard – “Loose the angels that are bound at the Euphrates” Once again chaos reigns; these angels have been waiting a long time Still, they can only kill 1/3 of humanity John “hears” the enormous number of horsemen 200 million demonic cavalry come into the civilized world These horses are wearing colorful breastplates, with heads like lions They breathe fire and smoke Their strength is in their mouths and tails And given all this, people are still unwilling to repent Obviously, things are out of control, but they refuse and dig their heels in further Though attacked by beastly hordes, they live ungodly lives, worship demonic images

V -- 10:1-11 – Interlude of angel and two witnesses -- The Seventh trumpet

10:1-4		Eating of the scroll We’ve already heard about a scroll in 5:2ff – no one was able to open it Another mighty angel holds this scroll, open in his hand He is clothed in a cloud, rainbow on his head, face like the sun, and legs like fiery pillars Angel represents God’s glory and mercy, herald of Christ, and deliverer of God’s people The scroll in 5 held the secrets for the ending of the age The purpose of this scroll is to show how the end relates to the saints on earth

10:5-7		Angel makes an oath Standing on the sea and land emphasizes the idea of sovereignty He swears by “him who lives forever and ever” – common form The one who swears places himself under God’s power and judgment God is recognized as witness for validity of promise It also recognizes God as creator – He made everything

10:8-11		John is commissioned to prophesy John is now told to take the scroll from the hand of the mighty angel (just like the Lamb in chapter 5) An open scroll means its message is open to believers This is God’s plan that has been revealed He is told to “eat” it; “eating” it means to take its message to heart, to internalize prophesy, to put it into practice in one’s life Then he is to proclaim the contents of it The point of the trumpets was to call people to repentance John’s prophesy reiterates that, possibly with both hope and consequences Basic point is that this is a warning against those who stand against God On what basis do they think they can resist God These images reflect both Daniel and Ezekiel, neither of whom knew what they really meant or when they would happen – John does The angel really said, the delay is over

11:1-2		Measuring the temple He was told to measure the temple, excluding the “outside” court In Ezekiel, this means that God owns and protects his people He is present with them and they belong to him In Zech 2:1-5, a man with a measuring rod measures Jerusalem This indicates God’s protection of the holy city This might be done for the protection of the saints in the coming persecution John is to measure three things: the temple, the altar, and the worshipers This temple is not the real building – had been destroyed in 70CE This means the Christian community who worship God It basically means that God will protect these individuals This is not to keep them safe from the persecution, but to help them through it The faithful will be trampled by paganism for 42 months 42 months is also referred to as “a time, times, and half a time” (12:14) This refers to the time under Antiochus Epiphanes in 167-164 BCE It became symbolic of the time evil runs rampant

11:3-6		The Two Witnesses Witnesses are modeled after Moses and Elijah Elijah used fire, shut up the skies Moses turned water into blood, struck the earth with many plagues The expectation was that these two would return at the end of time God will give power to them – sovereignty issue Always need to have two witnesses Bottom line: Church is given over to trampling, but there will be witnesses to its survival It will be a time when the Antichrist will conquer the church and in so doing will be conquered by it If anyone tries to kill these witnesses, they will be killed instead Fire will come out of their mouths and devour their enemies Fire from their mouths is a metaphor for proclaiming the word of God Until their work is done, no one can stop them God is sovereign, all opposition is futile

11:7-10		Death, apparent defeat After these two witnesses have accomplished their mission, it will look like evil will defeat them When they are finished, the “beast” will attack them John will identify this as the Antichrist later on (13:1) This is the one who ascends out of the abyss, at the least this is a demonic figure It will look like the beast will wage war and win! But he does so only because God allows it Still, he will have his moment of triumph What looks like bad news for God’s followers is only temporary This really won’t be a war at all; it will only be a temporary moment of defiance The death of the witnesses is actually their moment of triumph Once dead, the corpse of these two witnesses will be left to lie in the streets To not be properly buried was considered the great curse of all times Here, terrible scorn will be heaped upon them Non-believers will look upon these bodies and rejoice People from every nation will look upon them and celebrate They will do this for 3 ½ days – (the witnesses had prophesied for 3 ½ years) The inhabitants of the earth have no use for the things of God They live only for the life they have here and the gods they can see The reason for their joy is that these witnesses had tormented them

11:11-12		The Resurrection After celebrating for 3 ½ days, their celebration is cut short by God Breath entered the witnesses, and they came to life and stood on their feet Needless to say, this brought the celebrations to a screeching halt Their joy turned to great fear – this is not the reverence kind, but the terror kind This word is used in the Psalms to describe how other nations felt when the Israelites had been delivered out of Egypt It’s the way people feel in the presence of God – when they’ve been bad The two witnesses are immediately taken up into heaven Those who are left hear a loud voice from heaven – could be angel, Christ, John The voice invites (commands) the witnesses to “Come up here” And they do so in a cloud As the witnesses ascend, their enemies watch God’s power demonstrated This is followed by an earthquake – God’s destructive power Many actually convert at this point – after a tenth of the city is destroyed

11:13		Judgment and Repentance A tenth of the “great city” – combination of Jerusalem and Rome – is destroyed If Jerusalem had roughly 70,000 people, then 7,000 is also a tenth of its people Point is still that judgment is limited And in fact, many people gave glory to God Don’t know if this is true repentance or moment of concession of defeat Sometimes people acknowledge God’s power and control, yet do not accept it This might not mean that their death and resurrection resulted in mass conversions

11:14-18		The Seventh Trumpet The second woe is over, the third is on horizon What is the second woe? -- The interlude of what’s happened It suggests that the second woe can only be understood when it’s finished This includes the period when God’s witnesses have been persecuted and vindicated Another heavenly voice announces We expect the third woe, instead we get a prayer from a heavenly choir They announce victory and celebrate with a refrain This is similar to the seventh seal, which when opened was followed by silence This seventh trumpet declares that the kingdom has arrived! It includes a change in perspective from what’s been happening on earth to heaven They sing about the reversal of the tragic earthly situation during the age of sin This has now been replaced by the divine kingdom This kingdom is not of “this world” but is “of the Lord” This highlights a major difference in perspective from the earth to spirituality Basically, the heavenly kingdom is the new reality and it will be eternal And the best news is that at the end of time, this will be the only reality All the human posturing was temporary; what’s eternal is God’s reality The 24 elders sing a hymn The joy of this trumpet allows for the coming of the Day of the Lord

11:19		Cosmic Events heralding the End We began this section with a measuring of the temple – symbol of protection Now the temple is opened – the end has arrived The Holy of Holies is opened Ark of the Covenant was symbol of God’s presence – God’s mercy seat The Ark that was so closed off was now available to everyone Then there are more thunderings, lightnings – both symbols of God’s majesty

VI -- 12:1-16:21 – The Great Conflict between God and the Forces of Evil

12:1-14:20		The great Conflict described – Another interlude This one focuses on the false trinity – dragon, beast, false prophets Dragon has already been defeated; it’s very angry, expresses hatred of God Everything he does is a parody of what God has already done Lot of the faithful is suffering, but in their suffering is victory

		12:1-13:8 Conflict between the Dragon and God as well as his people 12:1-6 The Woman and the Dragon Story of the woman, pregnant, pursued, rescued, delivered occurs in Egyptian, Ugaritic, Mesopotamian, Greco-Roman myth What Greeks have known as myth is given historicity Description is of the woman clothed with sun and moon, crown of twelve stars – Gen 37:1-9 Twelve stars generally represents Israel Therefore, the woman represents Israel, the people of God, the persecuted church Word for dragon is serpent, or sea monster– usually connected with demonic powers Universally known in every culture Always a symbol of the struggle between good and evil, order and chaos Lived in the sea, representative of all the terrors of the sea – life and death This dragon is red – both in Egyptian and Babylonian lore Seven heads – great pretender of sovereignty with seven crowns Horns symbolize strength, generally of military variety When the dragon goes to war, he uses his tail, often a weapon, to wipe out 1/3 of the stars Then he waits for the child to be born He intends to kill the Messiah God delivers the Child and the woman As the dragon moved in for the kill, the child was snatched up God, of course, is doing the snatching – strong verb Since the child was out of play, the dragon turned his attention toward the woman If the woman represents church, it means Satan is leading the final persecution Yet, God prepared a safe place, and gave them nourishment 12:7-12 The War in Heaven Michael and his angels initiated the war Satan fought back Battle is between Satan and Michael, not Satan and God There is no equality between Satan and God – wouldn’t be a fair fight As it is, the archangel, Michael, is the stronger of the two For all his blustering, Satan is defeated and doomed His defeat of the “saints” is the destruction of their physical bodies Their destruction seals his fate As a result of its defeat in heaven, there was no longer a place for him there So the great dragon was cast out of heaven (another divine passive) Both Satan and his angels were cast down to earth 12:10-12 Heavenly victory hymn The “loud voice” in heaven is possibly the 24 elders They are celebrating the arrival of the messianic kingdom of God God has defeated Satan and delivered his people Satan’s power has been defeated; God’s power prevailed The rejoicing comes because Satan has been cast out of heaven The irony is that those who were accused have conquered Satan Satan may prevail over earthly beings temporarily But the victory in heaven is final and eternal Satan has been cast out, but now he “goes down” And he goes in “great wrath”; he is upset over having been defeated No doubt, he plans to take out his great wrath on the inhabitants of earth Also, he knows that his time is short; therefore, he must make the best of it He wants to wreak as much havoc as possible in the short time left 12:13-17 War on earth Dragon goes after the woman, who flees to the desert He tries to drown her by spewing forth a flood God rescues her by opening the earth, which swallows the flood Having been thwarted from harming the woman, Satan turns his attention to her offspring 12:18-13:10 The Antichrist, the beast from the sea As dragon stands on the shore, a beast rises from the sea It has ten horns and seven heads; the image is once again one of power Dragon gave him his power, throne, and authority This beast parodies Christ’s passion Though people worship this beast, he is under God’s authority God gave it a mouth, allowing it to blaspheme and slander God gave it power to wage war God gave it authority over every tribe and nation God allows earth-dwellers to worship the beast The faithful are to watch and understand

		13:11-18 The beast from the earth Another beast rises from the earth; its job is to perform counterfeit miracles Because of his work, many will follow the beast and the dragon He will intentionally deceive others He will also place the mark of the beast on their foreheads Anyone who wanted to engage in trade would have to have the mark on them The name of the beast (or the number of his name) was 666 Let the reader understand -- “This demands wisdom” 14:1-5 Song of the 144,000 We’ve just heard about the beast having the mark on his followers The Lamb’s followers also have the mark on them The purpose of a mark is to signify ownership and security God will protect those who bear his stamp (mark, name) They are his people God’s saints sing a new song It is very loud – described in three ways: sound of many waters, peal of thunder, harpist playing harps The content of the song is to praise the Lamb It celebrates the God of creation who has redeemed his people Song is sung before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders This is now the highest worship in heaven Only the 144,000 will be able to learn it The song celebrates the Lamb’s emancipation of the believers from slavery Spiritual character of the redeemed is both a model and a warning to Christians in 7 churches – besieged by persecution and false teachers Qualities are in three pairs They refused to defile themselves with women; they are virgins This is perhaps a figurative reference to refusing to participate in general immorality The next quality is that the 144,000 follow the Lamb wherever he goes Following Christ is at the heart of discipleship; this could lead to suffering and death To follow means to adhere to Jesus’ teachings and to promote his gospel They were also purchased from humanity as “firstfruits” for God This is redemption language; it describes Christ’s death as payment for sin The third quality is that no lie is found in their mouths; they are blameless The saints remain a true witness for God 14:6-13 Message of three angels We’ve already had 7 angels carrying out God’s judgments This one is flying through the air and speaks with a loud voice This angel is carrying the eternal gospel This gospel states they are to fear God and give him glory Since this is an eternal gospel, its message is everlasting – just like God himself This is a summons to honor God and his commandments, to give him the exclusive worship that is his due The second Angel predicts destruction “Fallen, fallen” stresses the absolute certainty of the coming destruction The reason for this judgment is the ancient empire “made all the nations drink of the wine that leads to passion for her immorality” The third angel pronounces judgment on those who follow the beast This angel begins with the reason for judgment, then gives the judgment Those who drink the cup of immorality will drink the cup of God’s wrath God’s wrath is defined as eternal torment – with fire and sulfur The Jewish thought was that those in hell would be able to see those in heaven That would make their suffering even more unbearable This would occur in the presence of both the angels and the Lamb The irony is profound – they tried to destroy the Lamb but now have to watch him being victorious Then John repeats his call to his readers for endurance They are to keep the commandments of God In light of the judgment to come, the saints must persevere In a sense, endurance means keeping God’s commands, to guard the truth in a world that prefers darkness They must also have faith in Christ Those who are faithful will be blessed To the earth-dwellers who follow the beast, they will get eternal punishment To the heaven-dwellers who follow Christ, they will end in eternal bliss 14:14-20 Harvest of the Earth The judgement that has been alluded to is now described Images are from Joel 3:13 – swing the sickle, for the harvest is ripe Come, trample the grapes, for the winepress is full – great is their wickedness Grain harvest (harvest of mercy for believers) One sitting on the cloud was like a son of man – Jesus or angel? This Son of man is like a sovereign, about to judge his world This sovereign judge has a sickle in his hand Sickle always stands for judgement of God in the final harvest That it is sharp emphasizes its finality and power No suggestion of destruction of this harvest The Grape harvest Another angel has a sickle and the second harvest begins Yet another angel comes, this one with fire This judgment, then, is an answer to the prayers of the saints for vengeance Just like Christ, the angel follows orders and casts his sickle down The angel cuts down the vine and casts it into the great winepress of God As the grapes are trampled, an outpouring of blood ensues It flows out of God’s winepress and rises as high as a horse’s bridle This is from 1 Enoch – describes the final war The slaughter will be of exceptional proportions This bloodbath flowed for 1600 stadia – 184 miles! This is about the length of Palestine from Syrian border in north to Egyptian border in south That would mean the entire holy land would be covered in blood

VI -- 15:1-16:21 – The Great Conflict

15:1-8		Introduction of the bowls – Angels with the final plagues These are the “last plagues” of the three judgment septets We’ve already had the seals and trumpets; these are the bowls Obviously, there is a strong connection here to the Egyptian plagues Those plagues were a sign of God’s power in judgment and God’s mercy to Israel – to say nothing of Israel’s deliverance These bowls are not just the last of the series, they are the last of history With them, the “wrath of God is complete” Song of the victorious saints They are standing beside something “like a sea of glass mixed with fire” They have emerged victorious out of the conflict with the beast, his image, and the number of his name The beast thought he conquered people by killing them, but in so doing he was conquered Their death is their final victory! The saints will rejoice in their victory and inherit the new heaven and new earth John sees in the next vision the opening of the temple Generally, the reader would expect this would be it – the final moment Here, it leads to the final set of judgments Seven angels emerge carrying seven plagues (in bowls) These definitely refer to God’s sovereignty and are a call for repentance Golden bowls have been filled with incense and the prayers of the saints (5:8) Golden bowls link prayer to divine retribution These bowls, however, are filled with the wrath of God Once these angels are commissioned, the temple fills with smoke The smoke comes from the glory of God and from his power This signifies his majesty and sovereign omnipotence Smoke generally signifies the awesome presence of God The combination of smoke, glory, and power make this an act of worship This brings God’s plan for the eschaton to its final stage

16:1-14		Seven Last Bowl Judgments The total destruction of the empire is envisioned here There is again a “loud voice” from the temple The voice commands the angels to pour out the seven bowls containing the wrath of God upon the earth The first Bowl – terrible sores All those who have the mark of the beast are affected The second bowl – sea turns to blood Think of the importance of the sea in Roman culture The third bowl -- inland waters turn to blood This is followed by a hymn on Divine Justice “God’s divine punishment is just, for the following reasons….” The fourth judgment – The sun scorches people The literal image is not one of sunburn, but of little fiery tongues burning people Their response is to blaspheme the name of God The fifth bowl – plunging of the beast’s throne into darkness and pain The message is clear – the beast’s authority is limited; his throne is temporary Darkness had meaning in ancient world – sin, ignorance, danger, judgment, death The people respond by not only cursing God but by also refusing to repent The sixth bowl – Preparation for final war First the River Euphrates dries up Kings from the east become kings of the whole world It is time to prepare for Armageddon Natural barriers between nations and tribes are disappearing In this final battle saints will be attacked, not delivered The false Trinity gathers kings for the final battle The three are combined for the first time The purpose of these three is to mimic the divine trinity Out of their mouths – come three unclean spirits like frogs! The mouth symbolized royal proclamation These false spirits have a deceptive message Their main purpose now is to gather them for the final battle – cosmic war The war – namely, Armageddon End of world battle has been predicted by Ezek, Zech, Joel, 1 Enoch It is described as “the great day of God Almighty”

16:15		Interlude – warning from Christ

16:16		Kings gathered to Armageddon Northern Palestine – Megiddo is an ancient city It was the site of many famous battles through the ages (Deborah, Pharaoh, Saul and the Philistines, Josiah died there) Armageddon should mean “mountain” There is no mountain at Megiddo

16:17-21		Seventh bowl – Cosmic Judgment This section is the end to God’s judgment 16:17 concludes the judgment that begins the eschaton, 21:6 concludes the eschaton Creation trembles and flees from the presence of God coming in wrath to judgment The reason for all this is that God “remembered” Babylon’s crimes The effects of the judgment include storm and earthquake and hail Every island fled and the mountains disappeared These hailstones weigh about a hundred pounds, are 17 ½ inches in diameter Still, in light of all this, earth-dwellers refuse to repent Instead, they once again curse God There are no more opportunities to repent after this

VII -- 17:1-19:5 – Destruction of Babylon the Great Chapter 17 focuses on Rome as the ‘great prostitute’ who is drunk with the blood of the saints Chapter 18 looks at Rome as ‘the great city’ destroyed

17:1-6a		The Great Prostitute on the Scarlet Beast Here Babylon/Rome has become a harlot, leading other nations to destruction Scholars think this might be a reference to goddess Roma – coin minted in 71 AD She is depicted atop Rome’s seven hills in all her alluring depravity This prostitute sits on many waters – allusion to Babylon’s river Euphrates The kings of the earth committed adultery with this prostitute The rulers have led the people astray, but they all participated in it The people of the earth have joined the rulers in their actual and religious adultery John is taken to the desert where he sees a woman sitting on a scarlet beast The woman is described in terms of incredible luxury and moral corruption She has a gold cup filled with abominations, namely, the impurities of her immorality The wealth of the great prostitute intoxicates the people of the earth but leads them to the wrath of God The woman has a “name” on her forehead Her name is “Mystery” and represents the empire of the beast She is also described as the mother of prostitutes and of the earth’s abominations

17:6b-14		Angel interprets vision He begins to explain the beast with seven heads, ten horns Interpretation of the beast He is a parody of Christ – false resurrection He will assume power and take upon himself divine attributes – opposite of Christ Interpretation of seven heads Seven heads = seven mountains – Rome was built on seven hills Interpretation of the Ten Horns Rome had ten provinces, some think it refers to ten governors Probably refers to client kings in controlled territories So far we have four groups: the Antichrist, the earth-dwellers who worship him, the ten kings who join him, the rest of the kings of the earth The whole point of this is to “make war against the Lamb”

17: 15-18		Civil war and the destruction of the prostitute The beasts turn upon the harlot and destroy her Satan has no love for humans; after all, they are made in God’s image Kings and the beast “hate” her All of this is under God’s control Their wicked plan is really God’s purpose This will be the fulfillment of God’s word The woman is the Great city Rome is symbolic for centers of power

18:1-24		The Fall of Babylon 4 parts: Descending angel, voice from heaven, voice describes funeral laments, destruction is symbolically depicted

18:1-3		Angel announces the fall of Babylon It is a deserted city, inhabited by demons, unclean birds

18:4-8		The heavenly voice commands believers to leave

18:9-19		Three laments over Babylon the Great These three groups are the ones who profited most from Rome’s largesse They weep, stand far off so they aren’t too close to judgment Basically, they all desert her in her time of trouble What they mourn is the loss of their lifestyle, not their sins Lament of the kings Lament of the merchants Lament of sea captains and sailors

18:20		Call for the Heavens and Saints to rejoice These are God’s faithful – God has triumphed, his people have been vindicated Apostles and prophets are the leaders of the faithful It is the justice that is being celebrated, not the punishment itself Babylon condemned the saints in their courtrooms, now they have been condemned in God’s courtroom

18:21-24		The destruction of Babylon This last “mighty angel” in the book picks up a millstone and throws it into the sea The big rock sinks to the bottom “never to be found again” There will be no more harpists, musicians – people to brighten everyday life No craftsmen – guilds had excluded Christians – this means no economy No food – grinding of the millstone will stop No light – lamps in their homes will be gone – an aspect of normal existence No marriages – weddings are used as an example of joy These are all aspects of life that make it worth living Reasons for all this: sins are made known Crimes are read as the sentence is carried out Three sins: economic tyranny, sorcery, and murder Rome not only dominated, but exploited the rest of the Empire for its own benefit They did all this without serving God; they served themselves instead Primary thrust of these chapters is divine justice

At the end of these chapters, the city that was once so vibrant and alive is eerily silent – and gone! John does not call on Christians to in any way participate in this destruction. This is God’s plan and God’s execution of his plan. Going against Rome would have been futile in their day and, at the very least, would have indicated a lack of trust in God’s plan. This does not mean, however, that Christians had no part to play. They were called upon to endure and to be faithful, and in the end, to rejoice. Considering all they witnessed, that was no small task. Nor is this the end of the story. All that is good waits to be redeemed in the creation of the new heaven and the new earth yet to come.

Bibliography

Aune, David, E. “Revelation.” Word Biblical Commentary. Dallas, TX: Word Books,
1997.

Barclay, William. “Revelation.” Daily Study Bible. Philadelphia, PA: Westminster
Press. 1975.

Boring, M. Eugene. “Revelation.” Interpretation. Louisville, KY: John Knox Press.
1989.

Gaebelein, Frank. “Revelation.” Expositor’s Bible Commentary. Grand Rapids, MI:
Zondervan Publishing. 1985.

Keck, Leander. “Revelation.” New Interpreter’s Bible. Nashville, TN: Abingdon
Press. 1995.

Osborne, Grant. “Revelation.” Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic. 2002.