Revelation

Just as the interlude between the sixth and seventh seals assured the recipients of Revelation that the people of God are safe from the eternally destructive effects of God's wrath, so also between the sixth and seventh trumpets we are reminded of God's protective hand on His people. But in the trumpet interlude we also learn that God's protection during these days of tribulation does not mean isolation, for the people of God must bear a prophetic witness to the world.

In 10:1-11 John's call (after the pattern of Ezek. 2:13:11) is reaffirmed. He is told to eat a bittersweet book and "prophesy again about many peoples, nations, languages and kings." The note of protection and witness is again struck in 11:1-13, where the measuring of the temple of God alludes to God's protective hand upon His people during the hour of turmoil. These persecutions will last for forty-two months, but His people, the "holy city," will be neither destroyed nor silenced. For the "two witnesses" will bear witness during this time, also called "1,260 days," to the mercy and judgment of God. Note well: the "42 months" and the "1,260 days" refer to the same time period seen from different perspectives, for the days of witness are also days of opposition (11:2-7; 12:6,13-17). Negative references to persecution and the activity of Satan and the beasts are consistently called "42 months" (11:2; 13:5), whereas positive references to the sustaining hand of God or the prophetic testimony of His two witnesses are called "time, times and half a time" (12:14), or "1,260 days" (11:3; 12:6).

It seems unlikely that the "two witnesses" ("two" suggests a confirmed, legal testimony) are two individual persons, for they are also called "two lampstands," terminology already interpreted in 1:20 to mean the church. Also we must note that the "1,260 days" of the woman's flight and protection from Satan in 12:6 is as well a reference to the protection of God's people, though under a different image or symbol. Note, too, that in 13:5-7 the same beast from the abyss, who here in 11:7 attacks the two witnesses and overcomes them, is said in 13:7 to "make war against the saints" and "to conquer them."

Though engaged in great spiritual warfare, the church, like Moses and Elijah of old, must faithfully maintain a courageous and prophetic witness to the world, a witness even unto death. Although the earth rejoices that the testimony of the church is in the end apparently snuffed out, the temporary triumph of evil ("three and a half days") will turn to heavenly vindication as the two witnesses (the people of God) are raised from the dead. Though John was not yet ready to describe more fully the resurrection of Christ's followers and the bliss of heaven, we have in the resurrection of the two witnesses the depiction of the church's great hope: the resurrection of all those who hold to the testimony of Jesus (compare 11:7-11 with 13:15; 20:4-6).

The seventh trumpet (and third woe) again introduces the earthquake, lightning, and thunder. The end of history has come, the time for the dead to be judged and the saints to be rewarded. Clearly the very end has come, for the heavenly chorus now treats the coming of the reign of God (and Christ), as well as the day of judgment, as past events. The chorus sings, "The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our God and of his Christ, and he will reign for ever and ever."

John has again brought us to the point of our Lord's return and, indeed, has begun to describe the rejoicing that will accompany His return (19:1-10). But he is not yet ready to describe the actual coming of the King of kings and Lord of lords. There is (sadly) more to relate regarding "the beast that comes up from the Abyss" to make war with the two witnesses, the people of God. It is that awful forty-two months, the period of persecution (and protection/witness), that John must now unfold.

Chapter 12 is crucial for understanding John's view of the sequence of history. The number three and a half was associated by Christians and Jews with times of evil and judgment (see Luke 4:25). John variously referred to the three and a half years as either "42 months" (11:2; 13:5) or "1,260 days" (11:3; 12:6) or "a time, times and half a time." For John it was the period of time when the powers of evil will do their oppressive works. But during this time, God will protect His people while they both bear witness to their faith (11:3) and simultaneously suffer at the hands of these evil powers (11:2,7; 12:13-17; 13:5-7).

All commentators agree that this terrible period of tribulation will be brought to an end with the coming of the Lord. The critical question, however, is when the three-and-a-half-year period of persecution and witness begins. Though some scholars have relegated the three and a half years to some as-yet-unbegun moment in the future, chapter 12 unmistakably pinpoints its beginning with the ascension and enthronement of Christ. When the woman's (Israel's) offspring is "caught up to God and to His throne," there is war in heaven, and the dragon is cast down to the earth.

Heaven rejoices because it has been rescued from Satan, but the earth must now mourn because the devil has been cast down to earth, and his anger is great. He knows that he has been defeated by the enthronement of Christ and that he has but a short time. The woman, who (as Israel) brought forth the Christ and also other offspring (those who hold to the testimony of Jesus), now receives the brunt of the frustrated dragon's wrath. As the enraged dragon now seeks to vent his wrath upon the woman, she is nonetheless nourished and protected for "1,260 days," that is, for a "time, times and half a time."

John's altogether brief description of the life of Christ (only His birth and enthronement are here specifically referred to) should not mislead the reader into thinking that it is the infant child who is "caught up to God and to His throne." This passage does not have for its main purpose the telling of the life of Christ, for John knew his readers to be familiar with the decisive events in Christ's history. Rather, the passage seeks to show the continuity of persecution as inaugurated by Satan against the woman (Israel) and her child (Christ) and continued against the woman and the rest of her offspring (Christians).

It is, of course, the crucified and risen Lord who is enthroned and whose accession to the throne brings the defeat of the powers of darkness (see Eph. 1:19-23; 1 Pet. 3:22; see Rom. 1:4; Col. 1:15-20; 1 Tim. 3:16). The account of the dragon's defeat in, and expulsion from, heaven clearly commences with, and is caused by, the enthronement of the woman's offspring. Likewise, note well that the story of 12:6, where the woman flees to the wilderness and is protected by God for "1,260 days," has two unmistakable plot "links" in the developing story line of chapter 12. First, the woman's flight and the "1,260 days" of protection in 12:6 clearly commence with the enthronement of 12:5. But in 12:14-17 it is the persecution of the dragon, who has now been cast down from heaven to earth, that motivates the woman's flight to the wilderness. Thus what we have in 12:14-17 is the resumption and amplification of the woman's story which was begun in 12:6.

Note the parallel references in 12:6 and 12:14 to the "desert," nourishment, and "time, times and half a time," or it's equivalent, "1,260 days." This dual plot connection—where two events are seen in connection with the woman's flight—between the enthronement of the woman's offspring (Christ) and the dragon's pursuit of the woman is neither odd nor surprising. It is the enthronement that (virtually simultaneously) produces the war in heaven, which results in the dragon's expulsion and which then immediately causes the now-enraged dragon to persecute the woman and "the rest of her offspring." It is not only clear that the "1,260 days" of 12:6 is the equivalent of the "time, times and half a time" of 12:14 but that the one particular period of persecution/protection in question commences both with the enthronement of Christ and the sub-sequent—and, for all practical purposes, simultaneous—expulsion of the dragon from heaven.

The dragon then brings forth two henchmen (chap. 13) to help him in his pursuit of those who believe in Jesus. Satan is thus embodied in a political ruler, the beast from the sea (13:1), who will speak blasphemies for "forty-two months" and "make war against the saints," while the second beast (or "false prophet," 19:20), who comes up from the earth, seeks to deceive the earth so that its inhabitants worship the first beast.

Thus, in chapters 12-13 each of the various ways of referring to the three and a half years is a reference to a single period of time that began with the enthronement of Christ and will conclude with His return. The time period is not a literal three and a half years but the entire time between the ascension and the return of Christ, which will permit the dragon to execute his evil work upon the earth (see Gal. 1:4; Eph. 2:2). Almost two thousand years have elapsed since our Lord ascended to the right hand of God, but the evil period known as the three and a half years continues. Satan still rages, but his time is short, and his evil will cease at the return of Christ.

After the depressing news of the ongoing persecutions of God's people by the unholy trinity, John's readers need another word of encouragement and warning. Chapter 14 therefore employs seven "voices" to relate again the warnings and promises of heaven. First is another vision of the 144,000. The 144,000, as before, are the full number of the people of God. It is certainly a reference to Christians, for they "were purchased from among men and offered as firstfruits to God and the Lamb."

Using the common biblical imagery of sexual immorality as a reference to idolatry, John called these followers of the Lamb "blameless." That is, they did not "defile themselves" with the beast. They are the men and women who have been faithful in their worship of the one true God through Jesus Christ and have not been seduced by the Satanic deceptions of the first beast and his ally, the false prophet. They will be rescued and taken to heaven's throne, where with one voice they will sing a new song of salvation.

Another voice is heard, that of an angel announcing the eternal gospel and warning the earth of coming judgment. The remaining "voices" (or oracles) follow in rapid succession. The fall of "Babylon the Great" an Old Testament symbol for a nation opposed to the people of God, is announced. Then the people of God are warned not to follow the beast, and those who follow him are warned of the coming torments of their separation from God. After that a blessing is pronounced on those who remain faithful. Finally, two voices call for harvest. One calls upon the Son of man to reap the earth as a giant wheat harvest, while the last voice likens the reaping of the earth to a grape harvest, for the coming of the Lord will mean the treading of the winepress of the fierce wrath of God the Almighty.

Just as the seven seals and the seven trumpets depict different aspects of God's judgments through Christ, so now another dimension of His judgment must be revealed. The seven cups of wrath are similar to the seven trumpets and the seven seals, but they also are different; for there comes a time when the wrath of God is no longer partial or temporary but complete and everlasting. The outpouring of the seven cups of wrath means that God's judgment is also final and irrevocable. The partial judgment ("one-third") of the trumpets suggests that God uses the sufferings and evils of this life as a warning to draw humankind toward repentance and faith. But such tribulations also foreshadow the final hour of judgment, when God's wrath is finished and there is delay no longer.

The seven cups of wrath represent the judgments of the Lamb on the earth, especially on those who have received the mark of the beast. Between the sixth and seventh seals and the sixth and seventh trumpets we were told of God's protection of, and mission for, the people of God. But with the seven cups there is no break between the sixth and seventh outpourings of judgment. Now only wrath is left; there is no more delay. Babylon the Great, the symbol for all who have vaunted themselves against the Most High God, will fall. With the pouring out of the seventh cup of wrath, there is again the great earthquake accompanied by "flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder," for the end has come.

The notion of God's wrath is not always a welcome subject to the Bible reader, but its reality as a clear-cut teaching of both Old and New Testaments is inescapable. The reality of evil, the reality of human freedom, the righteousness of God, and the longing of God to have creatures, who though distinct from Him as real creatures nonetheless freely relate to Him in trust and love, make inevitable the notion and reality of God's wrath. A righteous God responds to those who persist in their evil refusal to acknowledge their rightful Lord.

God longs to see His rebellious children lay down their arms and come home to Him. God has mercifully acted by all possible means—even to the extent of taking to Himself, through His Only Begotten Son, the very penalty that He has prescribed for sin—to bring His wayward children home. Wrath brings grief even to the heart of God, but God will not coerce our love of Him. He has given His children their freedom, and He will not destroy their humanity by removing that freedom, even when His children stubbornly persist in using that freedom in rebellion against Him. Incredibly enough, in spite of the overwhelming mercies of God revealed through Jesus Christ, there will be those who refuse His mercies. In such cases the faithful God of creation and redemption will faithfully respond in keeping with His own nature and word by giving His rebellious sons and daughters what they have stubbornly insisted upon, namely, everlasting separation from Him. Surely, as God's wrath, this is the height of torment and misery—to be separated from the One who is the true source of life, to be cut off from one's merciful Creator and thus to experience everlastingly the eternal death that comes from the rejection of Him who is the source of everlasting life. But we must neither deny nor even lament the wisdom of God for His past or future assertions of wrath. Our God evidently loves righteousness, justice, and mercy to such an extent that He will not brook our cowardly tolerance of evil. We may not lightly dismiss the fact that heaven is neither silent nor embarrassed when evil is punished. Heaven rejoices at the justice and judgment of God (19:1-6).

Chapter 17 retells the sixth cup, the fall of Babylon the Great, and chapter 18 gives a moving lament for the great city. She has not fulfilled God's purposes for her. All of her mighty works, industry, craftsmanship, political power, and artistic skill are brought to nothing, for she has played the harlot and worshiped the beast rather than devoting her skills and energies to God and to the Lamb.

Heaven now begins to rejoice because Babylon the Great has fallen and it is time for the appearing of the Lamb's bride. The great marriage supper of salvation is ready to commence. Although he has withheld a description of the coming of the Lord on at least three earlier occasions, John is now prepared to describe the glories of the Lord's appearance.

All of heaven rejoices over the righteous judgment of God upon evil. The Lamb's bride, the people of God, has made herself ready by her faithfulness to her Lord through the hour of suffering. Therefore "it was given her" (salvation is always a gift of God) to clothe herself in fine linen, for "the wedding of the Lamb" has come.

Heaven is opened, and the One whose coming has been faithfully petitioned from ages past, the Word of God, the King of kings and Lord of lords, appears to battle the enemies of God in a conflict whose outcome is not in doubt. When the Lamb comes with His heavenly armies, the first beast and the second beast are thrown into the lake of fire from which there is no return. The dragon, who is the serpent of old, the devil and Satan, is cast into a hellish abyss that is shut and sealed for a thousand years. Since the powers of evil reigned for "three and a half years" (the period of time between the ascension and return of our Lord), Christ will reign for a "thousand years." The dead in Christ are raised to govern with Him, and God's rightful rule over the earth is vindicated.

This thousand-year reign is called the millennium. The term millennium is derived from the Latin ( mille, one thousand, annum, year) and means a period of one thousand years. The biblical words for thousand are eleph in Hebrew and chilioi in Greek. In multiple Old Testament instances the term is used in counting, even as it is in the New Testament (see Gen. 24:60; Luke 14:31). Occasionally the term is used to mean a large number without specific units being intended (see Mic. 5:2; 6:7; Rev. 5:11). The particular references used to establish a doctrine of a thousand years associated with Christ's final coming are found in Revelation 20:2-7.

The biblical materials do not present a systematic eschatology in which all of the diverse references about the end times are brought into one teaching. Therefore in Christian history differing strands of interpretation have emerged. Christian interpreters seeking a coherent systematic doctrine of the last things relate the apocalyptic elements of Old Testament prophecy (especially the Book of Daniel); the apocalyptic elements in the New Testament (especially Matt. 24-25; Mark 13; 2 Peter; Jude; and the Book of Revelation); Paul's writings about the final coming (especially 1 Thess. 4:13-18 and 2 Thess. 2:1-11—the man of lawlessness); Paul's views about the relationship of Jews and Gentiles (Rom. 9-11); and the references to antichrist(s) in 1 John.

Our concern with millennial issues, that is, whether the return of Christ is before the millennium (premillennialism) or after the millennium (as in either postmillennialism or amillennialism), is a concern whose significance is greatly exaggerated with respect to the interpretation of the Book of Revelation. What ultimately mattered for John is that the followers of Christ, those who have suffered the afflictions and persecutions of this present evil age, will one day be rescued and vindicated by the appearance of Christ, whose coming will destroy the powers of evil. It is abundantly clear in the New Testament that the shape and promise of the future hope should exert an influence upon our present behavior and moral devotion to Christ (see Rom. 8:18-25). Indeed, the very point of Revelation is to encourage Christian perseverance in the present in light of the coming triumph of God through Jesus Christ.

The interpretation of the relationship of the thousand-year kingdom to the return of Christ given in the commentary above could be called a form of premillennialism. Each of the views has something to commend it. Postmillennialism is wrong in its placement of the return of Christ at the conclusion of the thousand-year kingdom. Yet postmillennialism has accurately captured a significant motif in biblical prophecy in both the Old and New Testament. That is, we must live and preach in hope. We must preach the gospel not in the expectation that no one will believe, but we must proclaim the gospel to the ends of the earth, believing that God will somehow use our witness to His glorious salvation through the person of Jesus Christ to bring about a mighty triumph for the kingdom of God. Though we certainly cannot bring the kingdom of God on earth through human means, the preaching of the gospel does indeed offer hope for the transformation of life.

Amillennialism is to be commended for its emphasis upon the current reign of Jesus Christ. Indeed, the Book of Revelation makes abundantly clear (see the exposition above of chaps. 5 and 12) that Christ indeed has overcome and as such has been raised and exalted to the right hand of God. He is currently Lord of the churches. He is indeed currently Lord of the cosmos. He is the one into whose hands all power in heaven and on earth has been given. He has been raised far above all rule and authority and power and every name that is named (Eph. 1:19-21).

Still, only premillennialism can properly explain the episodic sequence of Revelation 19-20.

At the conclusion of the "thousand years," the dragon is to be released. He is permitted another brief time of deception, but his time is short-lived. Following this final episode of deception at the conclusion of the thousand years, the dragon is recaptured and this time cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, "where the beast and the false prophet are also." The fate given to the beast and the false prophet at the return of Christ is also finally meted out to the dragon at the close of the reign of Christ. Then the final judgment takes place, at which all not included in the Book of Life are thrown into the lake of fire.

Chapter 21 is often thought to refer to the period following the thousand-year reign, but it is more probably a retelling of the return of Christ from the viewpoint of the bride. Here we have clear-cut clues about the fact of a literary "retelling." Just as chapter 17 was a recapitulation of the seventh cup and the fall of the harlot, Babylon the Great (compare the language of 17:1-3, which clearly introduces a "retelling" with the language of 18:9-10), so chapter 21 recapitulates the glorification of the bride of the Lamb. Now the story is told with the focus upon the bride. To be the bride is to be the holy city, the New Jerusalem, to live in the presence of God and the Lamb, and to experience protection, joy, and the everlasting, life-giving light of God. The tree of life grows there, and there the river of the water of life flows. There will no longer be any night; there will no longer be any curse, for the throne of God and of the Lamb is there. And there His bond-servants will serve Him and reign with Him forever and ever.

John concluded his prophecy by declaring the utter faithfulness of his words. Those who heed his prophecy will receive the blessings of God. Those who ignore the warnings will be left outside the gates of God's presence. Solemnly and hopefully praying for the Lord to come, John closed his book. The churches must have ears to hear what the Spirit has said. Under the threat of an everlasting curse, the hearers are warned to protect John's sacred text: neither to add to nor to take away from the words of his prophecy. The people of God must, by His grace, persevere in the hour of tribulation, knowing that their enthroned Lord will soon return in triumph.

Theological Significance. It is extremely helpful to remember what the very first verse of the book says about this book. It is a revelation that God gives to His church, a revelation of Jesus Christ.

The greatest purpose of the book is to show us Jesus Christ. A suffering church does not need a detailed forecast of future events. It needs a vision of the exalted Christ to encourage the weary and persecuted believers. We see Jesus Christ standing in the midst of the churches. We see Him portrayed as the Lamb of God who died for the sins of the world. We see Him as one who rules and reigns. He is the one who takes His church to be with Him in the new heavens and the new earth, where we will worship Him forever and ever. Amen.

Beasley-Murray, George R. The Book of Revelation. New Century Bible. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1981.

Dockery, David S. Our Christian Hope: Bible Answers to Questions about the Future. Nashville: LifeWay, 1998.

Ladd, George E. A Commentary on the Revelation of John. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1972

Mounce, Robert H. The Book of Revelation. New International Commentary on the New Testament. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1977.

Newport, John P. The Lion and the Lamb: A Commentary on the Book of Revelation for Today. Nashville: Broadman, 1986.

Walvoord, John. The Revelation of Jesus Christ. Chicago: Moody, 1976.