Deeper Commentary
REVELATION
CHAPTER 1
The Nature
of Revelation
Revelation is full of visual images, borrowed from the Old Testament. But
it presents them as a kaleidoscope of images, overlaying each other,
relying upon other images for the final picture presented. As such, it
simply cannot be read as a chronological prediction of historical events.
The images presented of the new Jerusalem and God's ways are intended to
deconstruct the images of Babylon and her ways. In earlier application,
Christians living within the 'Babylon' of the Roman empire were subject to
her images, worldviews etc., and Revelation enabled them to re-imagine
life from God's perspective, thinking according to His images of the
world, seeing Babylon and the beast for who they are, and seeing ourselves
and God's people for who they are. This is of supreme practical value
today, as it has been in every age. But it will be of ultimate value for
those living under the domination of the beast entity in the land / earth
under the beast's domination in the brief period of tribulation before
Christ's return. A major theme of Revelation is of martyrdom and witness.
It is not God's pleasure to destroy the beast, and He expects His people
to make His final appeal and witness to the beast, even at the cost of
their lives, physically, economically and socially. The radical nature of
that call comes to each of His people over history, but it will be at its
most intense and acute in the last days. Another theme of Revelation is
the Lordship of Jesus; exalted titles are given to Him, and things stated
about God are stated about Him. This is not to say that He is God; rather
the intention and necessity of this message is that as strongly as the
beast insists that he is Lord, so we are to insist and proclaim
that Jesus is our Lord. The image of the slain lamb, the crucified
Jesus, hangs as a watermark image over the book of Revelation; and again,
that makes sense. For the community of the last days, under intense
physical and / or psychological oppression from the beast, will have the
image ever before them of Him in His time of suffering and dying.
A Futurist
Approach
I submit that in the last days, all God's prophetic word will come true.
All previous historical fulfilments of it were true and valid, but they
will be seen as but incipient fulfilments of the final and ultimate
fulfilling of God's word in the events of the last hour, and the final
triumph of the Lord Jesus Christ in His return to earth to judge the
enemies of His people. Rev. 1:1 opens Revelation by saying that the things
revealed or apocalypsed are to "shortly" come to pass, and the book ends
with the same statement (Rev. 22:6). The Greek can just as well mean that
these things will happen quickly, suddenly- rather than requiring that the
entire book had a fulfilment shortly after the time it was first given.
For clearly the events described in the book did not all happen 'shortly'
after John's time in the first century. That is a fact, and I would argue
that it leaves us little leeway in interpreting tachos as therefore
meaning that they will happen quickly, suddenly. The ultimate thrust of
their fulfilment, therefore, is not over an extended period of time from
John's time over the two millennia to the time of Christ's coming. The
same phrase is used by the Lord to the believers in Rev. 2:5,16 where He
warns them that He will come unto them “quickly”- the idea is that His
coming in judgment will be sudden unless they repent. The quickness
or suddenness of His coming is related to His wrath in judgment; if they
repent, then the coming will not be ‘sudden’ or ‘short’. He surely doesn’t
mean ‘If you don’t repent, then I will come back soon. If you do repent,
then I won’t come back soon’. He uses the same concept of suddenness and
unexpectedness, although without using tachos, in Rev. 3:3: “If you
shall not watch, I will come as a thief, and you shall not know what time
I will come upon you”.
Attention must be paid to Revelation especially in the last days because
“the time is at hand” (Rev. 1:3); but eggos means literally
‘squeezed’ or ‘throttled’- creating the idea that things are going to
happen very quickly at the end. The fulfilment of God’s word in this sense
will be ‘hastened’ (Is. 60:22; Jer. 1:12). And the world situation we are
in enables this to be the case as no other generation. The student of
Revelation, therefore, will not be caught by surprise by the speed of
events in the last days- that seems to be the idea.
This is not
to say that the prophecies did not have relevance to the historical
experience of God's people. The continual theme of persecution and comfort
of ultimate victory against the world was, of course, a powerful and
relevant message to God's persecuted people throughout history. But those
fulfilments were but shadow fulfilments of the final triumph and events
which the book describes. These are to happen quickly, suddenly, in a
short time space. This explains why each of the various visions, of seals,
trumpets, bowls etc. all end with the final victory of Christ's coming and
the establishment of God's Kingdom on earth. They can all be read as
having specific reference to the last days- whatever historical fulfilment
they may have had. To argue otherwise requires that these events had their
main fulfilment at some time in the last 2000 years, and then there is a
gap until their fulfilment in the coming of Christ. But the nature of the
language and arguments used hardly allows for that. At best it could be
that after each of those historical incidents there was the possibility of
Christ's return, but that didn't happen because other preconditions
weren't met. Therefore the prophecies were rescheduled and reapplied for
their main fulfilment in the events of the last days. This would explain
why some of the historical fulfilments suggested by expositors of the
continuous historical school appear to 'fit' better than others. But at
best, these were only incipient fulfilments- the final reality for each of
God's prophetic words must come in the last days, just as the image of
Daniel 2 had some continuous historical application, but the image must
stand erect and complete in the last days- and that is the main fulfilment
of the prophecy, whatever application it may have had in history.
1:1- see on
Dan. 10:21.
The
Revelation of Jesus Christ-
The Lord's second coming is called His "revelation" (s.w. 1 Pet. 1:7,13;
4:13 etc.), and so there is a play on ideas here. The things revealed by
the Lord in this book ultimately concern His second coming, whatever other
relevance they have had throughout history.
Which God
gave him to show to his servants the things which must shortly come to
pass-
A great
theme of Revelation is that "the time is near"- these things were about to
happen. This is a major theme (1:1,3; 2:16; 3:10,11; 22:6,7,10,12,20). The
relationship between the letters to the churches and the rest of
Revelation cannot be overlooked; what was to happen to them in judgment
was bound up with what was to come upon the land of Palestine in AD70. Mt.
21:40 parallels the coming of the Lord with the destruction of Jerusalem
in AD70. This is exactly the sequence of events we expect in the last
days, according to Zech. 14. There are many links between the trumpets,
seals and the Olivet prophecy; and also many links with Josephus'
descriptions of what came upon Palestine in AD66-70- e.g. 9:5 "inwardly
tormented" Gk. ebasanizonto is used in Josephus (Wars 5.1.5).
|
|
The Olivet
Prophecy |
|
6:1,2 |
Mt. 24:14 |
|
6:14 |
Mt. 24:35 |
|
6:3,4 |
Mt. 24:6,7 |
|
6:16 |
Lk. 23:30 |
|
6:5,6 |
Mt. 24:7 |
|
6:17 |
Lk. 21:36 |
|
6:7,8 |
Mt. 24:7 |
|
7:1 |
Mt. 24:31 |
|
6:9 |
Mt. 24:12 |
|
7:3 |
Lk.
21:18,28 |
|
6:11 |
Mt. 24:14 |
|
7:14 |
Mt.
24:19,21 |
|
6:12 |
Mt. 24:7 |
|
8:3 |
Lk. 21:36 |
|
6:13 |
Mt. 24:32 |
|
8:5 |
Mt. 24:27 |
It is clear
enough that the Olivet Prophecy has application both to the "last days" of
AD70 and also to our last days. Revelation is the Lord's expansion upon
His words on Olivet- and therefore we should use this as a framework for
interpreting the book. It applies to both AD70 and also our last days. The
following notes trace some leading features of the AD70 interpretation.
The most powerful proof is in private reading of Josephus' Wars of The
Jews- it reads like a running commentary on the seal and trumpet
judgments upon Israel.
Which he
sent and put into sign by his Angel to his servant John- This message was passed from the
Father to the Son to the Son's "angel" or messenger and thence to His
servant John. The "angel" may be a human messenger, but the Divine "Angel"
with whom John interrelates throughout the book is surely the "Angel"
referenced here. In this case, the Lord has a personal Angel who
represents Him, perhaps Gabriel.
1:2 Who testified of the word of God and of the testimony of Jesus
Christ, even of all things that he saw- The aorist suggests the
testimony was made once in the past; and John uses this idea of his
testimony about the Lord in explaining that his Gospel record is his
testimony about Him. In addition to that, he is testifying of the Lord's
testimony, which consists in all things he saw in the visions he is now
going to describe. This is in line with how the testimony of the
Comforter, the spirit of Christ, was the testimony of the believers who
had received that Spirit (Jn. 15:26,27). Here as a parade example of that,
John testifies of the Lord's testimony.
The apostles
bore witness to the Lord Jesus (e.g. Acts 26:22; 1 Cor. 15:15 s.w.), and
He in turn bore witness to the [preaching of] the word of his grace (Acts
15:8). In their witness lay His witness. Revelation begins with John
witnessing / testifying to the Word [made flesh, i.e. Jesus], and
concludes with Jesus testifying (1:2 cp. 22:20 s.w.).
Beholding the cross and the water and blood that flowed from it, John
struggled with the inadequacy of human language: “He that saw it bare
record, and his record is true: and he knoweth that he saith true” (Jn.
19:35). Years later he described himself, in allusion to this, as he “who
bare record [in the past tense] of the word of God, and of the testimony
of Jesus Christ” (Rev. 1:2). He had earlier commented that the Spirit,
water and blood of the cross bore witness (1 Jn. 5:8). John seems to be
saying that the Lord’s final death which he had witnessed was the word of
God, the testimony of Jesus Christ. And as he had been a faithful witness
to this, so now he would be of that further revelation he had now seen in
the Apocalypse. Because he had beheld the Lord’s witness on the cross, he
witnessed. For he was in Christ, part of Him, of His life and death. And
so are each of us. Paul puts our thesis in so many words, by saying that
his preaching to the Galatians had been a placarding forth of Christ
crucified before their eyes (Gal. 3:1 Gk.). His witness to them had been a
living out of the Lord in His time of dying.
1:3- see on Lk. 11:28.
Blessed is
he that reads, and they that hear the words of the prophecy, and keep the
things that are written therein-
This has been misread as meaning that blessing is related to 'correctly
understanding' the Revelation. The Greek word translated "reads" doesn't
have to mean 'correctly understands'. The obvious sense is to link it with
those who hear the words... the message is being sent by a
messenger, who was to read it out loud- as we know Paul's letters were
thus read to a largely illiterate brotherhood- and it was then heard
by the ecclesias. Both reader and hearer were blessed if they kept what
the prophecy implied- which was and is an awareness of God's claims upon
His people, their separation from this world, and an earnest readiness for
Christ's return. The 'blessing' is elsewhere applied not to those who
intellectually understand something but to those who are doing and living
and saying the right things at the return of Jesus. The same Greek word
for 'Blessed' is used of those who are ready at the Lord's return and
doing the right things (Mt. 24:46; Lk. 12:37,38,43). Rev. 22:7 links back
to 1:3, the epilogue interpreting the prologue: "Blessed is he who keeps
the logos of the prophecy of this book" - the essence / logos
/ underlying idea of it all, which is that God's persecuted people will
remain faithful to His word in Christ, will testify it to an unbelieving
world, and will live lives always prepared for their Lord's return. The
blessing is in the preparedness, not in the detailed understanding. If
blessing depends upon holding the continuous historic view of Revelation,
then the majority of God's servants aren't blessed- seeing that it
couldn't possibly have been understood throughout most of the time from
the first century until now.
For the time
is near- The
disciples expected the second coming within a generation of the Lord’s
death (Mt. 26:18; Lk. 21:32; Phil. 4:5; 2 Tim. 4:6; 1 Pet. 4:7; Rev. 1:3);
and note the use of words indicating imminence: ‘shortly’, ‘immediately’,
‘a little while’. Could it not be that if Israel had accepted Jesus as Son
of God, the Kingdom could have come then? Even after His death, had they
believed the witness of the apostles and repented for what they had done,
the Kingdom could have come then. Of course God foreknew this would not
happen; but the disciples looked forward to it as a distinct reality and
possibility. Revelation itself seems to read as if when "Babylon" was
judged and destroyed by the day of the Lord, then the Kingdom would be
established on earth. It seems that it was possible that the Roman empire
be destroyed by the Lord's return; but instead the prophecy was delayed,
and now "Babylon" must apply to some latter day system, which had an
earlier incarnation in the Roman empire which could have been its
final fulfilment but wasn't. In any case, we are to live as if the
second coming is imminent.
1:4 John
to the seven churches that are in Asia. Grace to you and peace, from Him
who is, and who was, and who is to come, and from the seven Spirits that
are before His throne- There were more than seven churches in Asia, so
this number is chosen to represent the complete churches. Their
experiences were to echo down the centuries in the various churches and
groups who experienced persecution. The sources and forms may have
changed, but the spiritual essence remained the same as they experienced.
Is, was and
is to come recalls the essence of the Yahweh Name. The God who had
ultimately preserved His Son and His disciples from their persecutions
["was"] would preserve the seven Asian churches in their current traumas
["is"]; and would ultimately preserve believers of all ages "to come". The
essential characteristics of the Yahweh Name would be manifested
consistently in whatever time and context. And in this consistency is the
power of history, as Biblically recorded. For as He acted in history, so
He shall act today and for all ages to come.
The
essential will of the Father and Son is grace and peace toward the
believers, despite all the twists and turns of history and current
experience. That will was operationalized through the seven spirits before
the throne in the court of Heaven. The seven spirits match the seven
churches; the entire Spirit of God ["seven"] will work in the lives of all
those in His community, represented by the seven churches.
1:5- see on Jn. 7:38.
And from
Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead and the
ruler of the kings of the earth. To him that loves us and freed us from
our sins by his blood- The Lord's faithful witness unto death is to be the pattern for all the
Lord's people. Although the kings of the earth persecute the Lord's
people, He is their ruler. Events have not get radically out of control;
all is under His rulership.
It will be
observed that Revelation frequently hints that it is a message
specifically addressed to those under persecution. Phrases like "Jesus
Christ the faithful witness" (:5) should be read in the context of
encouraging the readers to continue their witness, even on pain of
death, just as Jesus did (see too 13:8). For this reason, an understanding
of the book of Revelation is vital for those who will experience the
latter day tribulation, in whatever form we feel it will take.
"The kings
of the earth" is a phrase and idea which we will encounter later. If we
enquire what they refer to, it depends upon what scale we wish to
investigate at. The "earth" often refers to the land promised to Abraham,
and the futurist interpretation of the later chapters in Revelation must
bear that in view.
The love of
the Lord Jesus is again interpreted as specifically His death on the
cross, as often in the New Testament. His command to love as He loved us
means that we too are to love unto the death of a cross (Jn. 13:32). That
death means we are freed from our sins- despite being ruled over by the
kings of the earth / land. It is freedom from sin which is the ultimate
freedom rather than political freedom, which was always attractive to the
Jewish readership of the first century.
1:6 And who made us kings and priests to his God and Father; to him be
the glory and the dominion for ever and ever. Amen- Having spoken of
the kings of the earth, who will be portrayed later as dominating God's
people temporarily, we learn that in fact it is we who are freed from any
domination by sin who are the king-priests. Immediately we are introduced
to what shall be a major theme in the visions- that there are two spheres
of things. On the earthly level, the kings of the earth dominate us. But
on the spiritual, heavenly level, we are the kings, and are radically free
from all domination because of the freedom won for us on the cross. This
earthly-heavenly distinction is to be found throughout John's Gospel.
Things as they are in secular life only appear like that. For things are
radically different from God's perspective.
The Lord
"has made us kings and priests" in prospect, although we will only
exercise this power in the Kingdom. Frequently we read of the saints being
'made' things which we must still strive to attain (Rom. 5:19; 6:18,22;
8:2; 1 Cor. 12:13; Eph. 1:6; 2:13). God made the Lord a sin
offering, that we might be made the righteousness of God (2 Cor.
5:21), although our Lord still had to exercise freewill effort to be that
offering, as we must too. "God... saved us (in prospect)... that... we
should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life"
(Tit.3:5-7).
Note too
that the idea may well be of king-priests, after the order of Melchizedek,
seeing we are "in Christ" and all that is true of Him comes true for us.
So the idea is not that some will be kings and others priests.
1:7- see on
Jn. 1:14; 19:37.
Behold, he
comes with the clouds, and every eye shall see him, and they that pierced
him, and all the tribes of the earth shall mourn over him. So shall it be!
Amen- This
passage from Zechariah appears to be a prophecy of how Israel shall see
the Lord at His second coming, and that is the interpretation given here.
Those who crucified the Lord had this prophecy come true as they looked
upon and gloated over the pierced Lord Jesus on the cross (see on Jn.
19:37). But it shall come true again, when they are resurrected to
judgment at the last day, see His enthronement in glory ["he comes with
the clouds" is the language of Dan. 7 about this], realize from marks in
His body that this is the one whom they crucified, exclaim "Blessed is he
that comes in the name of the Lord!" (Mt. 23:39), but find they are not
able to be in His Kingdom. That bitter disappointment at the future they
have missed, that they now so want, with all the resulting self-anger, is
described as weeping and gnashing of teeth. That will be psychological
punishment enough for the rejected. "The tribes of the earth", every eye
of them, shall see the Lord in that moment. "The earth" refers to the
land, of Israel; all those who looked upon Him upon the cross, "every
eye", shall then be resurrected to see Him and mourn bitterly over what
they did. The "every eye" is I suggest unpacked and defined by "they that
pierced him" and "all the tribes of the land". The "and..." does not have
to mean 'in addition to'; it can be a device for defining the term which
has gone before it. As if to say 'Yes, even...'.
1:8 I am the Alpha and the Omega, says the Lord God- It has been oobserved by Trinitarians that the Lord Jesus says He is "the first and the last" (:17; 22:13), clearly alluding to Alpha and Omega, the beginning and end of the Greek alphabet. The Son of God shares the titles of God- although significantly here, that is expressed slightly differently ["Alpha and Omega" becomes "first and the last"]. This however is not to say that Jesus equals God. That is too primitive, and is to misunderstand the idea of sharing the same Name and title. Jesus is not God, but throughout Revelation [and in our own lives] He functions as God. But function is not the same as being one and the same. Trinitarians need to recognize this.
Who is and who was and who is
to come, the Almighty- The way God is outside of time as we know it,
existing in past, present and future simultaneously, is mentioned in
connection with the judgment upon those who pierced the Lord and who at
the resurrection to condemnation will remember what they did. They will
then realize that for God, what they did is actual and real as if they
were doing it right then. The passage of time does not blunt His awareness
of sin nor the implication of past actions. It does to us, with our fading
memories and ability to re-imagine and re-create the past according to our
own warped perceptions. This is why repentance at the time of sin is so
important; otherwise the passing of time results in our memories often
reshaping and rewriting the sin, writing down its significance.
1:9 I
John, your brother and partaker with you in tribulation and the kingdom
and patience of Jesus, was in the isle that is called Patmos, because of
the word of God and the testimony of Jesus- This language speaks of
another King and another Kingdom existing right then. This language and
implications of this sort had been enough to provide the technical reason
why the Lord was crucified; for Caesar and his kingdom were the only king
and kingdoms which could be spoken of within the Roman empire. John was
commanded to "write" these things, which as noted on :19 was going to be a
criminal act. John seems aware of this because he goes right on to mention
that he was, or had been, in exile on Patmos because of his testimony
about the Lord and "the word of God". This may be a reference to his being
arrested and punished for writing and distributing what we know as the
Gospel of John. See on :2.
John saw
himself as their partner rather than the one above them, partaking with
them of the same sufferings; repeatedly he describes himself and all
believers as fellow-slaves (Rev. 1:1; 2:20; 6:11; 7:4; 19:2,5; 22:3,6-
quite some emphasis). See on 3 Jn. 14,15.
It is significant that Revelation speaks more frequently than any other NT book of simply "Jesus". Without any title attached to Him. This is quite unusual especially when compared to the rest of the New Testament, where the risen Jesus is usually called "the Lord". We must remember that "Jesus" was one of the most common male names in first century Palestine. It's rather like talking about "Dave" or "Ronnie" without any title attached- when referring to the president of the nation. And yet as discussed on :8, we find here highly exalted language concerning the Lord Jesus. This kind of juxtaposition of His humanity and His exalted status is quite common. Hebrews 1 speaks of "God even your God" in relation to Jesus, adjacent to describing Him in very exalted language. This is simply because it was on account of His genuine humanity that He has been exalted to His high status. At times this is stated explicitly, but this literary device of placing His humanity next to His exaltation is another way of stating this.
1:10 I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and I heard behind me a
great voice, as of a trumpet, saying- The radical, heretical nature of
the book of Revelation needs to be appreciated against this background;
it's almost a polemic against the Caesars, and to speak in this way
against them was punishable by death. And Revelation speaks of the capital
of the beast system (Rome) as being in the wilderness, rather than as the
(perceived) centre of a cosmopolitan metropolis. And of course, Rome is
spoken of as a whore... the most abusive image possible! The whole vision
was given "on the Lord's day" (Rev. 1:10)- and this appears to be an
allusion to the way that there was "a day in the Roman calendar when all
the Roman citizens had to go to the local temple and declare 'Caesar is
Lord'". On that very day, when John was supposed to be worshipping Caesar
as Lord, he was given a vision outlining how Caesar was not in fact 'Lord'
at all. And yet the Lord's day is so often a reference to the second
coming. All in Revelation is to be understood in that context, which
creates a solid case for treating a futuristic interpretation as not only
possible but required. Although most parts of the book have discernible
application to the first century or other points in history, the essence
of it all will come true fully only in the last days.
Yet the
great voice he hears behind him is as of a trumpet; what he heard he was
to write (:11) and distribute. It was not a quiet, personal voice; but a
trumpet. His message was to be preached, and it was a radical polemic
against the Roman empire, the Jewish system in Jerusalem; just as in its
later applications, it was a radical polemic against every society in
which the Lord's people have lived. And that message is to be preached,
for the voice comes as a trumpet. The principles revealed in this book are
not to be quietly kept in our hearts; by their nature, they cannot be.
1:11- see on Acts 2:46.
What you
see, write in a book and send it to the seven churches. To Ephesus and to
Smyrna and to Pergamum and to Thyatira and to Sardis and to Philadelphia
and to Laodicea- For the
significance of placing all this in writing, see on :9 and :19. The
churches chosen are surely representative of all congregations over time.
Hence the number seven, suggesting completion. For there were other
churches in that area. The order of the churches is perhaps simply because
that is the order in which a messenger would have travelled in delivering
the letters, in a kind of circuit.
1:12 And
I turned to see the voice that spoke to me. And having turned I saw seven
golden candlesticks- "To see the voice" rather than "to see the person
that spoke" suggests that this personage is a word made flesh, a person
totally identified with their voice. And that is of course how John has
portrayed the Lord in Jn. 1:14.
Our covenant
relationship with God isn't just between Him and us. It demands that we
are in covenant with His people; we can't love Him that begat without
loving those others begotten by Him, as John puts it (1 Jn. 4:9). When
John later heard the voice of Jesus and turned to see Him, instead of
seeing Jesus in person as he expected, he saw instead the seven
candlesticks, symbolic of the ecclesias / body of Christ (Rev. 1:12).
Perhaps this was the idea behind the way that "Jehoiada made a covenant
between the Lord and the king and the people, that they should be the
Lord's people: between the king also and the people" (2 Kings 11:17).
1:13 And in the midst of the candlesticks- one like a Son of Man, dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest- The Lord being in midst of His churches [referring of course to the people within them] is a continuation of a major Johannine theme: that the Lord Jesus abides in the hearts of His people through the Spirit. The long robe and sash could possibly frame Him as a priest, working for us all in an ongoing sense, and identified with the churches. The same word for "robe" is used in the LXX of the High Priestly robe (Ex. 25:7; 28:4,31; 29:5; 35:9; Ez. 9:3; Zech. 3:4). The robe is described as coming down to the feet, which is exactly how Josephus describes the clothing of the High Priest in the first century [Antiquities of the Jews 3.153]. The "golden girdle" obviously recalls the sash or belt of the High Priest; although it is of gold and not blue, signalling to us that this High Priest is altogether superior to and different from the Mosaic High Priests. Typical of Revelation and the genre of apocayptic, the Lord Jesus is not specifically stated to be the High Priest; just as He is referred to later as "the lamb" rather than specifically named. But that is the message from the visual symbolism here; and we must ever remember that this is a vision, being related to an illiterate audience who would have interpreted the symbols they had portrayed to them. The whole image of a human figure moving amongst candlesticks would evoke associations with the priest in the temple / tabernacle, tending the lamps- which the letters to the churches will show are in a bad state, smouldering and about to go out. It could be that the visual associations of a High Priest appearing and speaking would have led the initial Jewish audience to understand this as a picture of the High Priest announcing forgiveness on the Day of Atonement. "The Lord's day" (Rev. 1:10) would have been understood by them as a Jewish feast day. The blowing of a trumpet (:10) also suggests the Day of Atonement, when the release was proclaimed to all the land. The description of the Lord's feet likewise makes no reference to shoes. And the High Priest was barefoot on the Day of Atonement, strictly following the commandments about his clothing, which said nothing about footwear. But this High Priest appears always like this; as if we live continually in the spirit of relief that the High Priest has pronounced the word of pardon, and we are continually released. This is an amazing idea. And it continues throughout Revelation- we will read of censors, incense etc., all associated with the High Priest on the Day of Atonement (Lev. 16:12,13), although there are clearly other Jewish feasts also alluded to.
So through all the pronounciations of judgment to come, we must remember they are being made by the High Priest who also stands there offering the word of ultimate pardon. Salvation of repentant sinners and judgment of impenitent sinners are two sides of the same coin- both aspects are necessary to bring about the Kingdom of God on earth. On the Day of Atonement, the high priest brought a “censer full of burning coals of fire” (Lev. 16:12) from the altar into the Most Holy Place. He then put the incense onto the firepan, creating a billowing of fragrant smoke. According to Lev. 16:13, that cloud of incense covered the mercy seat, the lid on the ark of the covenant, to as it were shield him from the presence of God. This imagery is all reapplied later in Revelation. But the ideas are there- connecting the judgments upon earth with the work of the Day of Atonement. All those judgments are progressing towards the ultimate pronouncing of forgiveness, which was the end product of the Day of Atonement rituals.
In fact, dress is a significant theme in Revelation. We are told what people or entities are clothed in. One of the difficulties in understanding Revelation is that we are reading a description of things which are primarily visual. And it's like trying to describe the Mona Lisa in words. We have to pay careful attention to the descriptions and visualize them in order to grasp the intended impression and message; this is an enterprise rather different to simply attaching meaning to symbols. Interpretation of symbolism, where symbol A [e.g. gold] has meaning B [e.g. faith], is not quite the same as getting the impression of a visual presentation which is being described in words. And often Revelation presents us with a kaleidoscope of images, which is quite different to simply interpreting symbols. Rather the art of interpretation is to grasp the overall impression being generated. For this is the genre of apocalyptic.
The various features of the vision of the High Priestly Jesus are repeated in the letters to the churches. This High Priest is presented as ultimately powerful and active. But that must be understood in connection with the fact He is the High Priest announcing atonement for His people. And that means our salvation. All His work in history is towards that end. He is powerful to save, to forgive, to atone. And all His work with men and nations in history is towards that end. "Eyes like a flame of fire" (Rev. 2:18), feet like burnished bronze" is repeated in the letter to Thyatira, holding seven stars (Rev. 2:1), sharp sword in hand (Rev. 2:12,16), the first and last (Rev. 2:8). The idea is that this glorified Jesus, before whom John fell in awe as if dead, is actually alive and involved amongst His people now. Despite all the weaknesses and failures revealed in the letters. The Jesus in Heavenly glory is here on earth with us, that is the idea. And the High Priest who appears and pronounces ultimate salvation is also the judge and critic of human sin and failure. This is why the Day of Atonement was known in Judaism as the day of judgment. So it is, as it were, in the same breath as profound pardon is announced, that we have the messages to the churches. This pardon is not some blanket statement. It is made knowing full well the weaknesses of God's people- and it is in the same breath that forgiveness is announced that repentance is appealed for. We cannot be passive to this amazing forgiveness- we are to respond in repentance. In this sense we repent because we have been forgiven, rather than God holding forgiveness as a prize to be given to the penitent. And this is to be the basis of our witness to the world. We are to “cry” unto Zion that “her iniquity is pardoned”, but we are also to ‘cry’ for her to repent, to be “made straight”, for the rough places to be ‘made plain’; to “cry aloud…lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and show my people their transgression (Is. 40:2-4; 58:1). It’s exactly because they have in prospect been forgiven that we are to call them to repent. The forgiveness has already been granted; iniquity has been pardoned. But We are to ‘cry’ out this fact; and also to ‘cry out’ for their repentance. But they have to respond to that.
We note that even
with Divine nature, the Lord's humanity is stressed. He is as a "son of
man". John's resurrection narratives stress the continued human aspect of
the exalted Lord Jesus; and He is called still "the man Christ Jesus" even
in His Heavenly glory (1 Tim. 2:5).
The vision
of Rev. 1 has close links with that of Dan. 10. If the Rev. 1 vision is
concerning the Angel, then so is that of Dan. 10. The context of the
Daniel vision is that he had been praying for the opposition to the
restoration to be overcome. He was therefore given this vision of the
mighty Angel who was going to answer his prayers; Daniel describes the
vision as being "of a certain man" (Dan. 10:5); when the Angel comes to
him to tell him that despite the opposition He was going to answer his
prayers, Daniel describes him as "one like the appearance of a man" (Dan.
10:18), or as is said here, "like a son of man". So the association with
Daniel 10 was a message that ultimately, the opposition would be overcome
on account of the glorious "son of man" who abides amongst the believers.
1:14 And
his head and his hair were white as white wool, white as snow, and his
eyes were as a flame of fire- The similarities with the visions of
Daniel signpost the basic message that opposition to God's people will be
finally overcome, even though they are currently in exile and under
Gentile power.
To a certain
degree, the acceptance or rejection which will be shown to us in the day
of judgment can be visited on us in this life, in accordance with our
actions. Thus the Lord Jesus appears here as the judge of the churches, in
that the description of him there being very similar to that in Dan. 7 and
10, where he is portrayed as the judge at the second coming. Asaph knew
that God now judges, and therefore asks God to arise and judge
openly in the earth according to those judgments (Ps. 82:1,8). His eyes
are as fire right now- He sees every aspect of our tribulations.
1:15- see on Jude 14.
And his feet
were like bronze refined in a furnace, and his voice was like the voice of
many waters- This voice of judgment is going forth now. The essence of judgment day
is now; see on :14. The connection is also with the vision of cherubim
given to Ezekiel; again, like Daniel, to encourage God's people who were
temporarily under Gentile power.
Ezekiel’s
cherubim refer to God's people, as well as the Angelic hosts and the hosts
of Babylon; perhaps the message was simply that God was awesomely
involved- as awesome as the cherubim vision- with His people on earth. The
same Angelic system that brought the hosts of Babylon upon Judah also went
with Judah into captivity, and would return from there with them- if they
still wished to be part of that Angelic system. And yet most of Judah
opted out of it, and remained in Babylon, just as we can opt out and
remain in Babylon today. In this context it's interesting that the vision
of Jesus as the Son of Man in Rev. 1 has similarities with the cherubim
vision of Ez. 1 (feet like brass, Ez. 1:7 = Rev. 1:15; shining face, Ez.
1:13 = Rev. 1:16; voice like many waters, Ez. 1:24= Rev. 1:15). Perhaps
this suggests that Israel's failure to identify with the cherubim led to a
refulfilment of the prophecy in the person of the Lord Jesus, who was in
person all that God intended Israel to have been. Thus the prophecies of
Israel as "the servant of Yahweh", given in the context of the
restoration, could have been fulfilled in the people of Israel, but were
reapplied and fulfilled in the person of the Lord Jesus.
The opening
vision of Rev. 1 presents the Lord in His post-resurrection glory; but
elements of that description occur throughout Revelation in portraying the
beasts. The point is, they are all false-Christ’s. The Lord has a voice as
the sound of many waters (Rev. 1:15), but the serpent, on the surface,
speaks with just the same voice (Rev. 12:15). The four empire-beasts of
Dan. 7, the kingdoms of this world, are a parody of the four living
creatures of the cherubim (Rev. 4:6). See on Acts 12:20.
1:16- see on
Lk. 12:49.
And he had
in his right hand seven stars-
Referring to the Angels of the seven churches, held
protectively in the Lord's hand, whatever persecution may come upon them.
See on :20.
And out of
his mouth proceeded a sharp two-edged sword, and his countenance was as
the sun shines in its strength- That same right hand was what touched John; see on :17. The idea of the
sun shining in its full strength is the picture of Divine judgment being
openly manifested (Jud. 5:31). The sharp two-edged sword has similar
associations (Ps. 149:6). But the Lord is presented as having those
judgment characteristics right now. This is typical of what we find in
Revelation; a kaleidoscope of images often paying no attention to time as
we know it. The encouragement is that even under the heat of Gentile
persecution, the Lord sees with eyes as of a flame of fire, and is giving
judgment right now. It's not that He is as it were looking the other way,
and shall open the books and review things at judgment day. See on 2:12.
1:17 And
when I saw him, I fell at his feet as one dead- As noted on :16, the
Lord appears in the form of His latter day judgments, although that day is
not yet in our kind of time. And so John goes through a symbolic death and
resurrection, as Daniel did when beholding a similar vision in Daniel 10.
And he laid
his right hand upon me, saying: Fear not. I am the first and the last- This is
quite some striking visual image: of the Lord with the stars in His hand
(:16,20) placing His hand upon John individually. The idea is that the
Lord can act for both the individual and the collective churches at one
and the same time. Quite how it all looked to John perhaps cannot be
imagined. But the great mystery would have been expressed, of the Lord's
individual and collective relationship to us at the same time.
"Fear not"
coming from the Lord is language to be associated with a calming of one
who feels spiritually unworthy. John writes in absolute terms of our
acceptance with the Lord and abiding in Him; but even he felt the tension
of his humanity when faced with the Lord.
"The first
and the last", the alpha and omega, the beginning and end of the alphabet,
is perhaps to get the idea over that time is not really as we see it. The
Lord is portrayed in the garb of how He will be at the final judgment; but
He is like that in essence right now.
1:18 The
living one; and I was dead, but behold, I am alive for always, and I have
the keys of Death and of Hades- As John lay 'dead' before the Lord
(:17), so the Lord reminds John that He too has passed through death and
is now alive.
Baptism
commits us to a life of sharing His death and resurrection. When John fell
at the Lord’s feet “as dead”, the Lord responded by saying: ‘I too was
dead, but no more; I’m alive for evermore, and as I died with you and for
you, so I live with you and for you, and you do the same for me’ (Rev.
1:17,18). The idea is 'I am living'. His ongoing living is manifest to us
in the gift of the Spirit, the Comforter, which would replace His physical
presence with the disciples on earth, making His presence and life just as
real to us as if He were literally present. And that promised gift of the
Spirit was to be with us "always" (Jn 14:16). In this sense He is "the
living one" right now and always. He is not passive, divided from us by
space and spirituality; He is alive and living through us.
The theme is
of persecution, of living locked up in life situations we feel trapped in.
But the Lord has the keys to death itself. The fact we are guaranteed to
overcome even death, which is completely in His power, means that no human
system or situation can ultimately trap us. And this has encouragement for
those who may not be politically persecuted, but feel locked up in
domestic and social situations.
1:19
Therefore write the things which you see, and the things which are, and
the things which shall hereafter come to pass- This command to "write"
was asking John to commit a seriously criminal offence. For within the
Roman empire, such application of emperor and kingdom language to another
king, the Lord Jesus, and articulating a plan for His Kingdom to come and
the destruction of earth's proud empires... all this meant that the
written form of the book of Revelation would have been forbidden
literature, and the writing and production of it was criminal and even a
capital offence. John's motivation was therefore in order to strengthen by
all means the believers with the hope of the Kingdom and ultimate victory
against all evil empires. He is encouraged to make this sacrifice and
"write" these things because the Lord has the keys of death itself
(:18). If even death itself is no barrier for us, and we are not finally
under the power of it; how much less are we under the power of all
structures which appear to lock us down in this life.
Unlike
Hebrew, the tenses in Greek are precise and have specific reference. Here
John was told to write down the things which he had seen, the things which
presently are, and the things which shall be “hereafter”. I suggest the
things he had seen were the things of the vision of the Son of Man; the
things which are refer to the messages to the seven churches; and “the
things which shall be hereafter” is a phrase developed in Rev. 4:1, where
John is bidden come and see “the things which must be hereafter”. The
things from then on all refer to the future, the last days and the coming
of Christ. The vision of the Heavenly throne room in chapters 4 and 5
therefore refers to how things are in the Heavenly court in the last
days. That is confirmed by comments on many of the verses in chapter
4.
1:20 This
is the mystery of the seven stars which you saw in my right hand, and the
seven golden candlesticks: The seven stars are the angels of the seven
churches, and the seven candlesticks are seven churches- As suggested
earlier, seven being the number of completeness, we are intended to
understand these churches as representative of all believers, over all
time and space. The same basic situations occur amongst all believers,
even if the form varies.
I suggest
the "angels" refer to both heavenly Angels in the throne room of God, and
to the leadership of the churches on earth which they represent before God
in Heaven. There appear to be guardian Angels not only for individuals but
also for groups of believers- e. g. Israel, or an ecclesia. The stars of
the ecclesias in Rev. 1:20 are defined as the Angels of the ecclesias. The
seven lamps are the seven spirits / Angels of God before His throne (Rev.
4:5)- yet they are clearly representative of the seven churches on earth
of which Revelation has earlier spoken. There seems no reason to doubt
that literal Angels are being referred to, especially as elsewhere Angels
are also likened to stars-e. g. Job 38:7; and the king of Babylon "exalted
(himself) above the stars" (Is. 14:13- referring to Israel and their
representative Angels). There seems no more symbolism attached to the
phrase "Angels" in Rev. 1, seeing it is in the context of the candlestick
parable being interpreted: "The seven stars are the Angels of the seven
churches". The apparent rebuke of the Angels is because they are so
closely associated with their charges. However, to some degree the words
of Jesus in the letters may also apply personally to the Angels- e. g. "I
will… remove your candlestick" (2:5) may imply God would take away the
Angel's charge from his care unless the Angel repented- i.e. changed his
way of dealing with the ecclesia. The frequent calls to "repent" in the
letters can easily apply to the Angels changing their mind or way of
dealing with the ecclesia. The word is not bound to have a moral
dimension. Thus 2:16: "I will come to you... and fight against
them"; or "unto you (the Angel)... I say and unto the rest"
(2:24). Similarly the command to "strengthen the things (the faithful
believers- strengthened spiritually by the Angel) which remain" (3:2)
cannot apply to a whole church which has many apostate members.
There are so
many links between the opening letters to the ecclesias, and the rest of
Revelation. The wording is so similar- the themes of persecution,
faithfulness, and the promised blessing of the faithful. The letters
aren't just 'tacked on' to the prophecy. The dramas which the ecclesias
were experiencing on earth are explained by the rest of the book, in its
first century, relevant-to-its-hearers level of interpretation. Jerusalem
was surrounded by her enemies, the temple was about to be destroyed. They
were being persecuted by Jewish and Roman powers, and we see in the rest
of the book how this looked from Heaven's perspective- the way the Angels
were orchestrating and yet also resisting all this, how God perceived the
Jewish and Roman authorities as dragons, whores etc., and how the traumas
of AD66-70 were in fact all in His plan and part of a larger picture. It's
like the book of Daniel. The book isn't just a life of Daniel with a few
prophecies thrown in. It's a life of Daniel, in captivity, awaiting
revival, longing for Messiah. And the prophecies give us Heaven's
perspective on it. However, Revelation has more relevance than to just the
first century hearers. Just as the events of AD66-70 are typical of the
last days, so Revelation likewise has its ultimate fulfilment [regardless
of any others it may have had over history] in the crisis of the last
days, in the final showdown between Babylon and Jerusalem, between the
true Christ and the anti-Christ. The book will speak to us in the final
tribulation as no other book can- because it's all about the last days.
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