Themes From The Book Of Revelation

THEMES FROM THE BOOK OF REVELATION

A Paper presented to Dr. Gary Tuck Western Seminary San Jose

In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Course BLS 507S, New Testament Studies II

by Jason A. Clark June 2002

THEMES FROM THE BOOK OF REVELATION Most evangelicals today will readily agree that the apostle John’s Revelation of Jesus Christ describes events that are to take place in the future. But what does the Revelator say about the future? John’s message is that the Messiah of Israel, Jesus of Nazareth, will come again to conquer and judge His enemies. His people, then, Christian believers, are encouraged to be overcomers just the same, for they are privileged subjects of a powerful kingdom—one headed by the greatest King of all. These four themes, though distinct from each other, are woven closely together into the wondrous tapestry we know as the Apocalypse of John. The instruction given to John to “write what you saw, what is, and what will be after these things” (1:19) provides the interpreter with a clue to the overarching structure to the Book of Revelation. Chapter one, then, describes the revelation of Jesus that John saw; chapters two and three describe what is (the messages to seven, contemporary churches); and chapters four through twenty-two describe what will be. Within the third major section are found the heavenly presentation of the scroll (4:1—5:14); the seven seals and trumpets (6:1—11:19); the first sign in heaven (12:1—14:20); another sign in heaven, which is the seven bowls (15:1—16:17); the fall of Babylon the prostitute (17:1—19:4); and the second advent of Christ (19:5—22:21). The dominant theme of the Revelation of John is the Second Coming of Jesus the Messiah. This is the primary subject matter, and everything else is secondary to John’s message that He will return. Jesus Himself declares, “I am coming” seven times in the apocalypse (2:5, 16; 3:11; 16:15; 22:7, 12, 20), and forms of the word used (Gk. e;rcomai,) are found a total of thirty-six times. Often it is used to describe the Messiah’s coming, and nearly always it is used in reference to future events that are to herald His coming.

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John introduces this theme in the very first verse, when he writes that all of the things contained in his revelation “must happen very soon.” In his salutation he describes Jesus as the One “who is, and who was, and who is coming” (1:4) and uses this formula twice more in the book (1:8; 4:8; cf. 17:8ff.). He then exclaims that “He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him,” (1:7) an overt reference both to Dan. 7:13 and to Zech. 12:10. In the messages to the seven churches in chapters two and three, they are often reminded of His coming, usually in concert with a rebuke of their unfaithful actions. They are warned to repent, or He will come and pronounce judgment upon them. While this proposed judgment would take place before Messiah’s literal, physical return, it clearly illustrates the role of hope in the life of believers as distinct from faith and love (cf. 1 Cor. 13:13). The hope of Messiah’s coming is an effectual deterrent to sin and apostasy, for He comes with judgment. Messianic hope also serves as the impetus for evangelism, for destruction awaits those who are not His. The opening of the scroll and its seals signify the final drama that will occur directly before Jesus’ return. When the sixth seal is opened, all are said to cower in fear “of the one who is seated on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb, because the great day of their wrath has come” (6:16b-17a). After the sounding of the sixth trumpet, the two witnesses give their testimony. The description of them sounds conspicuously like the prophet Elijah (11:5-6), who readers familiar with the Old Testament knew was to appear “before the great and terrible day of the Lord comes” (Mal. 4:5b). When the seventh trumpet finally sounds, the hope of testaments old and new arrives: the Messiah of Israel (11:15-19). Daniel 7:13 is again echoed in a further description of the Second Coming of Christ, as “a white cloud appeared, and seated on the cloud was one like the son of man!” (14:14, cf. 16).

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After the seven bowls are poured out and the great city Babylon is destroyed, the climax of the book occurs when it is announced by the multitude that “the wedding celebration of the Lamb has come” (19:7, cf. 9). Then the Messiah arrives on a white horse to destroy His enemies and establish His millennial reign (19:11—20:6). From this point until the end of the book includes detailed description of the effects of the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. That Jesus will come to reign with His saints for a thousand years (20:2-6) implies that He is in fact a king. This is the subject of the next theme of Revelation: Jesus is the anointed “Christ,” the Davidic King of Israel, the King over all the kings and kingdoms of the earth—despite frequent, open challenges to His royal authority. This theme is strongly introduced in the salutation, where John calls Jesus “the ruler over the kings of the earth… [who] has appointed us as a kingdom” (1:5, 6). In verse eight, He is said to be “the All-Powerful” (“Almighty” in NAS, KJV [except 19:6: “omnipotent”], from Gk. pantokra,twr), a royal designation used often throughout the book (4:8;11:17; 15:3; 16:7; 16:14; 19:6, 15; 21:22). John next places himself and all of his brothers and sisters “in the persecution, kingdom, and endurance that are in Jesus” (1:9). His usage of the language “like a son of man” (1:13; cf. 1:7; 14:14-16) cued his readers to Daniel’s prophecy of the One who comes in the clouds to inherit an eternal kingdom over all the nations (Dan. 7:13-14). The appeal to Old Testament prophecies of the Messiah continues in the message to the church of Thyatira. To the overcomer, Jesus promises, “I will give him authority over the nations: He will rule them with an iron rod and like clay jars he will break them to pieces, just as I have received the right to rule from my Father” (2:26b-28a). This is a direct quotation of Psalm 2:9, and the imagery is repeated later in the apocalypse (12:5; 19:15).

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Jesus tells the church of Philadelphia that He will make their Jewish enemies from the synagogue of Satan “come and bow down at [their] feet” (3:9). Just as with the church of Thyatira, the Lord promises to use His royal authority to “grant the one who conquers permission to sit with me on my throne, just as I too conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne” (3:21). Elsewhere in the book it is demonstrated that the saints will rule in concert with their King (5:9b-10; 20:4, 6; 22:5). John next describes his experience of being caught up to the very throne of God, and the heavenly scene is rife with the splendor of thrones, precious jewels, crowns, and worshippers (4:1—5:12). In this majestic scene, the only One worthy to open the seals of the scroll is Jesus, the Lamb in the middle of the throne (5:5, 6, 9). As the seals are opened, the solemn drama begins. The question at hand is, “Who is the rightful king, who possesses ultimate authority on the earth?” The kings of the earth are shown to cower in fear before the King of Kings (6:15-17), but that does not stop them from positing their own authority throughout this epic struggle. Even demonic kings only exercise their authority at the behest of the Almighty, as with the example of Abaddon or Apollyon, the angel of the abyss who rules the locusts (9:11). God gives His two witnesses great authority to exercise power in the midst of the conflict (11:3-6), even power over death itself (11:11-12). When the seventh trumpet finally sounds, it heralds the institution of the Messianic kingdom on earth (11:15-19; cf. 12:10). Ultimate kingdom authority is implied the whole passage, for who else possesses this kind of power? There is a great conflict over the temple in Jerusalem, which is the seat of Yahweh, although an unworthy ruler has claimed it (11:1-2). When the Lord finally conquers this impostor, “the temple of God in heaven [is] opened and the ark of his covenant [is] visible within his temple” (11:19a). This struggle is shown in further detail in

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chapter thirteen, as the dragon and the beast exert their own kingly authority in defiance of God (vv. 4ff.). The beast-king has his own subjects—the whole world (save the remnant)—who swear allegiance to him through acceptance of his mark (13:3, 4, 8, 16). In so doing, their fates are forever intertwined, for good or ill (14:9, 11). The lyrics of the song of Moses and the Lamb are filled with royal exaltation (15:3-4). The King sends forth from His temple seven angels (15:5-8) with plagues of wrath over which He has authority (16:9). In spite of these judgments, the beast and the kings of the earth remain in solidarity against the Almighty (16:10, 14, 16). The great city symbolically called Babylon is understood to be idolatrous Jerusalem (cf. 11:8), Yahweh’s bride who has fornicated with the kings of the earth (17:2, 18) and makes herself out to be the supreme Queen who has no divine King (17:4; 18:7, 15). Her lovers are presented with her: both past, in the form of seven kings (17:9-10); and present, in the form of ten contemporary kings who rule with the eighth beast (17:11-13). To this final beast is applied an altered version of John’s Messianic formula, “was, and is not, but is to come,” illustrating that this beast will be a false Christ who “is not,” in contrast to the “I AM.” When John mistakenly attempts to worship God’s messenger angels, he is immediately informed that his worship and allegiance ought only to go to the true King (19:10; 22:8-9). In chapter nineteen, we discover the fate of the false king and his followers, who are met with the terrible judgment they deserve. The fact that it only takes one angel to do away with Satan proves that he is no king at all (20:2-3). What follows is a beautiful portrait of the glorious Messianic kingdom. Just as the King is triumphant over His enemies, so are His children victorious through Him. This theme of conquering begins with a mention of endurance (1:9), a crucial aspect of

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overcoming that is developed throughout the book (1:18; 2:2a, 3, 8, 10, 19; 3:10; 6:9; 7:13-17; 13:10; 14:12; 16:15; 20:4b). The seven churches are promised great rewards if they will only overcome (2:7, 11, 17, 26; 3:5, 12, 21). The Lion of Judah is worthy to take the scroll with the seals, because He has conquered (5:5). The first horseman is a conqueror (6:2), and the kings of the earth are the ones conquered with great humiliation (6:15-17). Throughout the entire book, it could be said that God conquers by means of the various judgments he sends upon His enemies. The two witnesses, through the power of God, conquer even the grip of mortality and the law of gravity as they ascend to heaven before their enemies’ eyes (11:11-12). The targets of the adversary’s accusations “overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives so much that they were afraid to die” (12:11). The grand chess game of chapter thirteen portrays a beast conquering the saints (v. 7), although those same saints are said to have “conquered the beast and his image and the number of his name” (15:2). The Lamb will conquer the ten kings and the beast himself (17:14) along with the great city of Babylon the harlot (18:1—19:4). The bride of Christ overcomes and receives her “bright, clean, fine linen” (19:8) for the marriage supper of the Lamb (v. 9). In the climactic account of the final battle, this is the apparel worn by the saints as they ride white horses and conquer as Christ’s army (19:14). That the victory is decisive is an understatement (19:19—20:3). The victorious saints then reign with their champion for a thousand years, possessing the earth as their spoil (20:4-6). At the end of the millennial reign, another rebellion is nary a threat to the Kingdom of Messiah (20:7-10), and the ones conquered suffer the second death, the lake of fire (20:15). The ones who conquered will inherit the new heaven, new earth, and New Jerusalem (21:7) vividly pictured at the end of the book.

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It is easy for one to see in Revelation the theme of judgment, for earthquakes, plagues, and torment often terrify the reader. The messages to five of the seven churches—Ephesus (2:4-5), Pergamum (2:16), Thyatira (2:22-23), Sardis (3:3), and Laodicea (3:16)—warn of impending judgment for continued unfaithfulness to Christ. Notably, Smyrna and Philadelphia are exempted. The seven seals contain the judgments of the four horsemen (6:4, 6, 8), and the fifth seal finds martyred souls crying out to the Lord for justice (6:10). In the sixth seal, the celestial bodies bear the effects of their Creator’s judgment, as do the people of earth (6:12-17). One of the elders informs John that the saints who have come out of the great tribulation “will never go hungry or be thirsty again, and the sun will not beat down on them, nor any burning heat” (7:16); that is, they will never again experience the effects of the judgments they have witnessed during the tribulation period. The seventh seal gives way to the seven trumpets, and they are inaugurated with “crashes of thunder, roaring, flashes of lightning, and an earthquake” (8:5b). The trumpets all describe great judgment from the Lord (8:7—9:21). The two witnesses appear on the scene dressed in prophetic sackcloth, consuming their enemies with fire (11:5). The drought of Elijah and the plagues of Moses are at their command (11:6), and a deadly earthquake marks the occasion of their resurrection and ascension (11:13). When the angel blows the seventh trumpet, the Lord brings wrath and destruction (11:18-19). The three angels of chapter fourteen bring messages of judgment for the whole earth (14:7), Babylon the great city (14:8), and the followers of the beast (14:9-11). A gory scene indeed is painted of “the great winepress of the wrath of God… blood poured out of the winepress up to the height of horses’ bridles for a distance of almost two hundred miles” (14:19b-20). The seven

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angels with bowls of plagues (15:1—16:17) are said to “complete” God’s anger (15:1). The harlot Babylon and her wicked suitors are judged with finality (17:1—19:2). In the climax of the book, the theme of judgment intertwines with the themes of Messiah’s coming, His kingdom, and His triumph through the events of the battle of Armageddon; the punishment of the dragon, beast, and false prophet; the battle of Gog and Magog; the Great White Throne judgment; the new heaven, earth, and Jerusalem; and the lake of fire (19:11—21:8). To be certain, colorful imagery and larger-than-life characters fill the grandiose epic known as the Revelation of John. Precise identification of the minutest detail may occupy one’s time, and the spiritualization of certain elements is an ever-present danger. However, if one takes a step back from the canvas and looks at the total landscape by considering the book’s unifying themes, he will discover the central message of the apocalypse: Jesus Christ, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, is coming again in the clouds of glory with His saints to conquer His enemies, to execute judgment, and to establish His eternal kingdom of peace.

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Bibliography

The Greek New Testament. 4th revised edition. Stuttgart: United Bible Societies/Deutsch Bibelgesellschaft, 1998.

The Holy Bible. The NET Bible (New English Translation). N.p.: Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C., 1999.

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