Wednesday Night Adult Bible Study 2012–13

Revelation
Background Resources

A “Wordle” showing the most frequently

used words in Revelation. (The larger the
word, the more often it’s used in the book.)
Produced at www.wordle.net

Pastor Bob Smallman

Bible Presbyterian Church • Merrill, Wisconsin
The Churches of Revelation

27º E 30º E

100 miles
100 kilometers BLACK SEA
N
Heraclea Byzantium Bosporus
Chalcedon
MARMARA Nicomedia
Samothrace
SEA
es Nicaea
n ell
da
ar Cyzicus THE SEVEN CHURCHES
Abydos Prusa
D

OF REVELATION
Lemnos Troy 1. Message to Ephesus:
MYSIA “You have left your first
Troas love” (2:4).
Assos 2. Message to Smyrna:
Adramyttium Cotiaeum
“Be faithful until death,
3
Lesbos Pergamos 4 ASIA and I will give you the
crown of life” (2:10).
39º N 3. Message to Pergamos:
Thyatira “I have a few things
AEGEAN 5 against you” (2:14).
4. Message to Thyatira:
2 Sardis “Hold fast what you have
Smyrna Philadelphia till I come” (2:25).
Chios
Tripolis 5. Message to Sardis:
LY D I A “You have a name that
Ephesus 6 Hierapolis you are alive, but you are
1
SEA Laodicea dead” (3:1).
Magnesia Tralles 7
6. Message to Philadelphia:
Ikaria Colossae “I have set before you an
open door” (3:8).
Miletus 7. Message to Laodicea:
Patmos CARIA “You are neither cold nor
hot” (3:15).
Halic
H c
Halicarnassus
Idyma
Cos
Co
Co Perga
Cnidus LY C I A
John received his vision and
wrote the Revelation while
in exile on this island in the Rhodes Xanthus
Aegean Sea (Rev. 1:1, 9).
Patara
Rhodes Myra
36º N

MEDITERRANEAN SEA

Reprinted from Nelson’s Complete Book of Bible Maps and 58 The Seven Churches
second proof 10/5/09
Charts, Third Edition. ©1996, 1993 by Thomas Nelson. Used
with permission.
The Message of
Revelation
by John Bright
S uffice it to say that Revelation is not a puzzle book
which, if only one can find the key, will furnish the
curious with the exact program which future events must
follow. That it tells of the drama of the end is true; that
it does this in the cryptic language of the Apocalyptic,
which needs considerable decoding, is also true. But
to seek from it an exact program, and even the date,
of the end of the world is to do it great violence. It is
also to exhibit an idle curiosity which borders on the
impudent; for Christ himself when on earth declared
that not even he knew such things (Matt. 24:36), and
that, furthermore, it was not man’s business to know
Revelation is a powerful summons to
Christians of all ages to stand firm in
the faith with utter confidence that the
triumph of God’s purpose is quite sure.
them (Acts 1:7). But if Revelation furnishes no libretto of
future events, it is nevertheless a powerful summons
to Christians of all ages to stand firm in the faith with
utter confidence that the triumph of God’s purpose
is quite sure. It is also a reminder to the Christian that
in the cosmic moral struggle there is no neutrality, that
in his every action he is to take sides—for the Kingdom
of God or against it.
Revelation presents a picture such as only the language
of Apocalypse could draw. Sober speech would never
have sufficed. On one side are arrayed that old dragon
Satan (20:2), his angels, and His Antichrist;1 all the powers
of Evil visible and invisible, on the earth and beyond it.
The evil powers of earth seem to be personified in the
figure of the unspeakable Nero, number 666 (13:18),2
the Beast. Yet it is not merely Nero, nor Domitian, nor yet
Hitler or Stalin that is in question. It is any of them, all
of them, none of them. It is all earthly powers, whoever
3
and however many they may be, that subserve the will
of the Adversary; that have made themselves antigod
and antichrist. It is, if you will, eternal Nero—Nero re-
divivus—who walks the earth in many incarnations. It
is the sum total of evil, and it launches a last demonic
assault upon the heavenly Kingdom: the Lamb, the Son
of Man, and him who sits upon the Throne. It vents its
wrath also with fiendish fury upon the saints of God
who live on earth. For them it is a time of decision: with
the revelation of Christ there has come also, as it must,
the revelation of Antichrist, and one must stand for one
side or the other.
It is a fearful struggle, a struggle that beggars the vo-
cabulary. There are portents in heaven, torment and
tribulation on earth, as evil hurls itself at the Kingdom
of the saints. But the writer gives us to understand one
thing: the issue is at no time in doubt. The battle has
already been won at Calvary by him who in sacrifice
had taken men out of every nation and made them
into the true people of God (5:9–10; cf. Exod. 19:5–6).
Meanwhile, let come what will; let the occupant of
Caesar’s throne—or of the Kremlin—do his utmost; this
one thing is sure: “The Lord God omnipotent reigneth”
(19:6 KJV). The powers of evil simply cannot win, they
have already been broken! The struggle may indeed be
severe, but it is, on the one hand, the thrashing death
agony of the Beast; on the other, it is the birth pangs of
a New Creation (cf. Mark 13:8: “this is but the beginning
of the sufferings”).
With that New Creation the vision ends (chs. 21–22),
and with it the New Testament canon. It is as if the seer
had been projected beyond the present trial and all the
woes and ills of this world, and had been permitted to
behold that yet unconsummated end-event, the victory
of the Kingdom of God. The power of Cosmic Evil is now
at length ended. The Devil and his minions, the Beast
and all that did his bidding, are consigned to the flames
(20:7–10), and the judgment books are opened before
him that sits on the Great While Throne. Then it is that
this old and weary creation is restored. New heavens are Revelation’s First Readers
there and a new earth (21:1–4; cf. Isa. 65:17–19); the very
City of God, the new Jerusalem, has come down from We must not think of it as a kind of intellectual puzzle
heaven to take its place among men. In it is ineffable (spot the meaning of this symbol!) sent to a relaxed
joy; all sorrow, all pain, all evil have vanished away. It is church with time on its hands and an inclination for
a joy such as fairly outstrips mortal vocabulary: no gem
solving mysteries. It was sent to a little, persecuted,
or precious stone too bright to describe it, no sun whose
light does not pale beside its glory! Joy is heaped upon frustrated church, one which did not know what to
joy in a mighty crescendo of language until language make of the situation in which it found itself. John
can bear no more and there arises, as it were, a grand writes to meet the needs of that church.
“Hallelujah Chorus”: “and they shall reign forever and
Leon Morris, The Revelation of St. John. Tyndale Bible
ever” (22:5)! It is the Kingdom of God triumphant and
Commentaries. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1969, p. 20.
eternal at history’s end. And toward that unseen City
and Kingdom the church turned longing eyes, and its
prayer went up (Rev. 22:20), “Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!”
Thus the Bible closes with an echo of the theme which
has been dominant in it from end to end: the coming
Kingdom of God.

1
The word “Antichrist” is not used in Revelation to denote the
earthly arch-enemy of Christ. In fact, it does not occur outside
of I and II John, where it is used both of the arch-enemy and of
false teachers who obey him (e.g., I John 2:18). But “Antichrist”
is only one of several names to express the same concept: e.g.,
the Beast (so in Rev.), the “man of lawlessness” ( II Thess. 2:3).
2
The number 666 appears to be achieved by taking the He-
brew letters used to write Nero Caesar (nrwn qsr, rsk norn)
and giving them their numerical value (the Hebrews used
letters of the alphabet for numerals also). The total would
be 666. The figure of 666 is thus a sort of Nero redivivus. The
practice of designating persons by numbers in this manner
was not unusual. A sentence scrawled on a wall at Pompeii
reads: “I love a girl whose number is 545.” Cf. M. Burrows,
What Mean These Stones? (New Haven: American Schools of
Oriental Research, 1941), p. 270.

John Bright, The Kingdom of God. Abingdon Press, 1953,
pp. 240–242.

4
The Theme and Development of

Revelation
by James Orr

T he theme of the book is the conflict of Christ and

His church with the anti-Christian powers, and
the ultimate and decisive defeat of the latter; its key-
by fresh apostasy, and the general resurrection and
judgment (ch. 20).
The symbolic numbers that chiefly rule in the book are
note is in the words, “Come, Lord Jesus” (22:20); but it is
“seven,” the number of completeness (7 spirits, seals,
to be noticed, as characteristic of the book, that while
trumpets, bowls, heads of beasts); “ten,” the number
this “coming” is represented as, in a manner, ever near,
of worldly power (10 horns); “four,” the earthly number
the end, as the crisis approaches, is again and again
(4 living creatures, corners of earth, winds, etc.); 3 1/2
always postponed by a fresh development of events.
years—42 months—“time, and times, and half a time”
Thus, under the 6th seal, the end seems reached (6:12– (12:14)=1,260 days, the period, borrowed from Daniel
17), but a pause ensues (ch. 7), and on the opening of the (7:25; 12:7), of anti-Christian ascendancy.
7th seal, a new series begins with the trumpets (8:2ff ).
Similarly, at the sounding of the 6th trumpet, the end
James Orr, “Revelation of John,” International Standard
seems at hand (9:12–21), but a new pause is introduced
Bible Encyclopaedia (1939 edition).

The theme of the book is the conflict

of Christ and His church with the anti-
Christian powers, and the ultimate and
decisive defeat of the latter.
before the last sounding takes place (11:15ff ). Then is
announced the final victory, but as yet only in summary.
A new series of visions begins, opening into large per-
spectives, till, after fresh interludes, and the pouring
out of 6 of the bowls of judgment, Armageddon itself
is reached; but though at the outpouring of the 7th
bowl, it is proclaimed, “It is done” (16:7), the end is again
held over till these final judgments are shown in detail.
At length, surely in ch. 19, with the appearance of the
white horseman—“The Word of God”—and the decisive
overthrow of all his adversaries (vs. 18–21), the climax
is reached; but, just then, to our surprise, intervenes
the announcements of the binding of Satan for 1,000
years, and the reign of Jesus and his saints, followed
Putting It All Together
God is on His throne (Revelation 4). Christ has won
the victory (Revelation 5). God is at work in the midst
of apparent chaos (seals, trumpets, and bowls). The
true victors are those called out in Christ from every
tongue, nation, and people (Revelation 5 and 20),
even though in this age it appears to be the people
of the earth (those living according to the moral
standards of this age) who are victorious. Though
God’s work in history has been hidden except to eyes
of faith, the final stanza will reveal that all history
has truly been His story (Revelation 19 and 20). The
victory won in history will be displayed in history, and
God will ultimately be revealed as all in all.
Douglas Ezell, Revelations on Revelation (Word
Publishers, pp. 22–23)

5
6
The Style and Language of
Revelation
by Harry R. Boer
R evelation belongs to that body of sacred Jewish
writings described as apocalyptic. To us Revelation
seems a strange, mysterious, peculiar kind of book. We
cannot associate it with the kinds of writing to which
we are accustomed. There was no well-informed Jew
who could say such a thing in A.D. 100. Not only was it
a well-known kind of writing, it was also very popular.
The word “apocalyptic” comes from the Greek word
apokalup­to, which means “I uncover, I reveal, I disclose.”
Apocalyptic literature is therefore revelation literature.
What does it reveal? The following are the main features
of apocalyptic writing:
To us Revelation seems a strange,
mysterious, peculiar kind of book.…
There was no well-informed Jew who
could say such a thing in A.D. 100. Not
only was ut a well-known kind of writing,
it was also very popular.
a. In it the universe is divided into two camps: that of
the good and that of the evil, personal forces and powers.
In Revelation the good forces are God, the World Ruler,
and Christ who is called the Lamb and the Rider on the
White Horse. The evil forces are the dragon (Satan) and
his two servants—the beast (the emperor-worshipping
state) and the false prophet (the political and religious
power of such a state). Below these are lesser powers
(angels and demons, good and evil men). These two
camps are engaged in a long and fearful struggle af-
fecting society and church, nations and history. The
final separation of the two is the meaning of judgment.
7
b. Apocalyptic literature is concerned with the end-
times (eschatology). Revelation presents its picture of
the End-time in a distinctive New Testament manner.
When the New Testament speaks of the End, it does not
have in mind simply the time immediately preceding the
final judgment. The End is that period of time between
the first and second coming of Christ. The birth of Jesus
introduced the End. Revelation is therefore concerned
with “what must soon take place” (1:1). This “soon” is not
clock time or calendar time, it is End­-time, God’s time.
The drama that unfolds in Revelation is now taking place.
c. Visions and symbols are characteristic of all apoca-
lyptic writing. So great and majestic are the visions of
the apocalyptic writers that they are unable to describe
them in the language of everyday life. They write in
such a manner that the reader seems to understand
what is written by feeling it rather than by intellectually
grasping it. Just as laughter, tears, a handshake, silence,
gestures often say things that words cannot express,
so the visions of apocalyptic writing say more than
words can carry.
Through such forms, pictures, shapes, figures, and sym-
bols, John speaks his message concerning the struggle
between light and darkness, life and death, good and
evil, the Church and the world, Christ and Satan. In it
all, and in a manner never equalled before or after, he
proclaims God’s cosmic judgment and salvation in the
time of the eschatos, the End-time.
Adapted from
Harry R. Boer, The Book of Revelation. Wm. B. Eerdmans
Publishing Co., 1979, pp. 12–15.
The Apocalyptic Style of Writing
While utterly strange (and perhaps incomprehen-
sible) to us, the apocalyptic style of writing was very
common in the first century and beyond. Indeed,
of all the styles of writing in the New Testament,
apocalyptic would have been the most familiar
to Revelation’s original readers. (Believe it or not,
the Gospels constituted the most original form of
writing in the New Testament!)
Scholars have collected dozens of apocalypses
from this period. Here is a brief sample from The
Apocalypse of Peter (though it was written later
than Peter’s time [around 135 a.d.?] by an unknown
author pretending to be the apostle):
A nd these things shall come to pass in the day of
judgment of those who have fallen away from
faith in God and have committed sin: cataracts of
fire shall be let loose; and obscurity and darkness shall
come up and cover and veil the entire world, and the
waters shall be changed and transformed into coals of
fire, and all that is in the earth shall burn and the
sea shall become fire; under the heaven there shall be
a fierce fire that shall not be put out and it flows for
the judgment of wrath. And the stars shall be melted
by flames of fire, as if they had not been created, and
the fastnesses of heaven shall pass away for want of
water and become as though they had not been created.
And the lightnings of heaven shall be no more and, by
their enchantment, they shall alarm the world. And the
spirits of the dead bodies shall be like to them and at
the command of God will become fire. And as soon as
the whole creation is dissolved, the men who are in the
east shall flee to the west and those in the west to the
east; those that are in the south shall flee to the north
and those in the north to the south, and everywhere
will the wrath of the fearful fire overtake them; and an
unquenchable flame shall drive them and bring them
8
to the judgment of wrath in the stream of unquenchable
fire which flows, flaming with fire, and when its waves
separate one from another, seething, there shall be much
gnashing of teeth among the children of men.
A nd all will see how I come upon an eternal shining
cloud, and the angels of God who will sit with
me on the throne of my glory at the right hand of my
heavenly Father. He will set a crown upon my head. As
soon as the nations see it, they will weep, each nation
for itself. And he shall command them to go into the
river of fire, while the deeds of each individual one of
them stand before them. Recompense shall be given to
each according to his work. As for the elect who have
done good, they will come to me and will not see death
by devouring fire. But the evil creatures, the sinners and
the hypocrites will stand in the depths of the darkness
that passes not away, and their punishment is the fire,
and angels bring forward their sins and prepare for them
a place wherein they shall be punished for ever, each
according to his offense. The angel of God, Uriel, brings
the souls of those sinners who perished in the flood, and
of all who dwell in all idols, in every molten image, in
every love and in paintings, and of them that dwell on
all hills and in stones and by the wayside, whom men
call gods: they shall be burned with them in eternal fire.
After all of them, with their dwelling places, have been
destroyed, they will be punished eternally.
A standard reference in English for these is Wilhelm
Schneelmelcher, ed., New Testament Apocrypha, vol.
2, “Writings Relating to the Apostles; Apocalypses
and Related Subjects” (Westminster/John Knox
Press, 1992). This excerpt is taken from pp. 627–628.
More on what is

Apocalyptic Lit?
by Mitchell G. Reddish

F irst, an apocalypse is revelatory literature — that is,

the author claims to have received a divine revela-
tion. This revelation is usually in the form of a dream or
vision and is mediated by or interpreted by an angel.
Second, the human recipient of the revelation is normally
presented as a famous hero of the past (Abraham, Enoch,
Daniel, Ezra, Adam, Elijah). In actuality, the author is a
much later individual who writes pseudonymously —
that is, in the name of some venerable figure from the
past. The technique of pseudonymity [claiming a “pen
name”] was used to lend authority to the writing, to
suggest that the work was not of recent origin but came
from a respected figure of ancient time.
Third, the content of apocalypses involves both horizon-
tal and vertical (or temporal and spatial) dimensions. The
horizontal dimension is the interest in salvation beyond
human history. This usually involves divine judgment in
the afterlife, followed by rewards or punishments. The
vertical, or spatial, dimension is seen in the descriptions
of otherworldly beings and otherworldly places: angels
and demons, places of eternal reward and punishment
(for example, heaven and hell), and the abode of God.
Apocalypses also can be divided into two major catego-
ries: those that contain an otherworldly journey and
those that contain no otherworldly journey. In the first
category, the author describes an experience of being
taken on a tour of otherworldly regions — heaven, hell,
Sheol, the outer boundaries of the earth. Vivid descrip-
tions are given of what the author has seen. Of particular
interest to these writers are descriptions of the abode of
the dead, the places of eternal reward and punishment,
the pain and torture inflicted upon the wicked, the dwell-
ing place of God, and the locations of the stars, planets,
and other heavenly bodies. Some of these apocalypses
focus on the heavenly ascent of the author, describing
in detail the ascent through the various levels of the
heavens and the contents of each heavenly realm. This
interest in the fixed series of heavens, and the concern
over the order and regularity of the heavenly bodies
found in some texts, served a practical purpose. The
order and stability of the universe was a sign that God
had all things under control. In spite of how events might
appear to those on earth, who were living in the midst
of chaos, destruction, and confusion, the universe was
not out of control. God had predetermined the nature
of the universe and the course of world history. At the
appropriate time — which was very soon — God would
bring history to a climax, and the rewards and punish-
ments seen by the writer would become reality.
Apocalypses of the second type contain no journeys
to otherworldly regions. Instead, revelation is given to
the apocalyptist in a dream or vision or is disclosed by
means of an angel who appears and converses with
the recipient of the revelation. Even in those cases in
which revelation comes by means of a dream or vi-
sion, an angelic figure usually appears to serve as an
interpreter of the revelation. Apocalypses that contain
no otherworldly journeys normally stress the temporal
elements more than the spatial, and therefore a major
concern is eschatological predictions. Especially impor-
tant are signs of the end time that are revealed to the
author. Individuals who are observant of these signs are
able to detect that the end is near and that the present
course of the world, in which history is dominated by
evil, is drawing to a close. Signs of the dying of this age
can be seen in events in nature (earthquakes; famines;
disturbances among the sun, moon, and stars; unnatural
births; destruction by fires) and among humanity (wars,
rampant evil, violence).
Another frequent type of eschatological prediction
involves descriptions of the final judgment. The last
judgment is the great day of reckoning, the time when

9
all will be judged according to their deeds — individuals,
nations, angels, and demons. The wrongs of the world
will be corrected, evil will be punished, and righteousness
will be rewarded. This eschatological judgment will be
God’s final act of retribution and justice. The true nature
of reality will then become evident. Whereas throughout
world history evil and wickedness might have appeared
dominant and superior, now that is seen as only false
appearance. In reality, God and God’s ways of justice and
righteousness ultimately prevail, and the last judgment
is proof of that reality. Descriptions of eternal rewards
and punishments frequently accompany scenes of the
last judgment.

“Introduction”to Apocalyptic Literature: a Reader, Mitch-

ell G. Reddish, ed. Abingdon Press (1990), pp. 21–22. This
is a good and relatively non-technical source for samples
of early Jewish and Christian apocalyptic writings. It has
been reprinted by Hendrickson Publishers and should
be available through Amazon’s used book section.

Older and newer

interpretations of
the Four Horsemen
of the Apocalypse.
Albrecht Durer did
a whole series of
engravings on the
Book of Revelation.

10
Appreciating the Art and Artistry of

Revelation
Left: “Cup of Cof-
fee with Saucer” by
Kathleen Patrick

Below: “Kick Start,”

photograph by
Matthew Bowden,
from StockXChng

T hese two pictures (and those on the next page) pur-

port to represent the same object or scene. Which
does it better? Why would someone find the abstract
pictures useful or attractive, since they don’t accurately
portray their subjects? What bearing might all this have
on our understanding of the Book of Revelation?

11
 “The Starry Night”
by Vincent Van
Gogh

“Starry, Starry
Night” by Chris
Perry, National
Geographic

12
Dr. Seuss and the Symbolism of

Revelation
by Gary Manning, Jr., PhD

A s the father of eight children, I have spent a lot

of time with Dr. Seuss. It’s scary that I can quote
pages of Cat in the Hat from memory. But my time in
college students, you might not recognize the symbol (or
know what the USSR was!). Most people today recognize
the swastika on the pig’s hat, but people from another
Dr. Seuss occasionally pays off when I study the Bible. time might not. Most people today would not recognize
You see, Dr. Seuss was a political cartoonist in the 1930s the chef as Joseph Stalin, but that was clear to Dr. Seuss’
and 40s, and political cartoons are ideal analogies for original audience. You have to know something about
understanding symbolism in Revelation (an idea that history to recognize that the cartoon represents Stalin-
I got from Dr. David Scholer, one of my doctoral advi- ist Russia’s defeat of Hitler’s army outside of Stalingrad
sors at Fuller). What is interesting, and what makes this in December of 1943 (notice the Christmas wreath on
relevant to the study of Revelation, is that Dr. Seuss’ Stalin’s arm).
cartoons were immediately obvious to readers when
Here’s another one that made immediate sense to the
they were printed, but are difficult to understand today
original readers. “Coughlin-ites” refers to followers of
unless we study history.
Charles Coughlin. Although he is obscure to us, Coughlin
Take a look at the cartoon below. If you are my age or
older, you can immediately recognize the hammer and
sickle in the chef’s hands as a symbol of Communism
or of the USSR — but if you are the age of many of my

was the most popular radio speaker in the US during

the 30s and early 40s (more than 40 million listeners,
according to the infallible Wikipedia entry). Saying
“Coughlin-ites”was something like saying“Ditto-heads”
or “Limbaugh-ites” today. But Coughlin was sadly an
anti-semitic Nazi sympathizer who blamed the escalat-
ing European conflict on England rather than Germany.

13
In this cartoon, labels help identify the topic. “Pearl
Harbor” and “Manila” on a couple of bricks show that
Dr. Seuss is talking about the Japanese attacks that

brought the US into World War II. Dr. Seuss, like others
from his time, clearly felt that Japan’s unannounced
and unprovoked attacks broke the rules of warfare —
and now it was time to take up some of the same dirty
tricks? There are only a few symbols here: the top hat
on an eagle as a symbol for the US and a swastika for
Hitler. Note another culturally-bound image: Hirohito
is portrayed in a manner many would now regard as
racist. But is Seuss racist? Reading his other cartoons
makes me think not — he was in favor of civil rights for
African Americans long before it was popular.
You can see the relevance for studying Revelation: we
The diagram on the next page —“Visions
are likely to misunderstand the meaning of symbols,
such as the beast, 666, Babylon, the two witnesses, or any of Daniel and John” — is an attempt by
others, unless we know how John’s audience perceived
some “Millerites” who lived in the 1800s to
those symbols in the first century. We also could easily
misread the impact of certain images. Just as we might prove that Christ was returning in 1844.
(mis)read Seuss as racist, rather than opposed to the ag-
gression of Japan, some scholars (mis)read Revelation
The specifics are not important, only the
as anti-semitic, rather than responding to first-century concept (still held by many today) that
Jewish-Christian tension.
Revelation gives us a definitive road map
of current events (in our case, of course,
http://www.thegoodbookblog.com/2011/mar/31/dr-
seuss-and-revelation/ meaning 20–21st century events).

14
15
16
The Use of

Standardized Images
in Modern Culture

Revelation borrows “standardized

images” from the Old Testament and
from first century culture — not to
conceal but to reveal ideas. Like the
Hebrew prophets, it uses satire and
exaggeration to make its point. Note
how these political cartoons from our
own culture use these same techniques.

17
18
 The Flow of

Revelation
Adapted from William Hendriksen

O ne must resist the temptation to “organize” Rev-

elation too tightly. In many ways it is a book to
be experienced more than analyzed. Nevertheless, its
repeating elements suggest that we are seeing roughly
the same story from varying vantage points.
The diagram below suggests that the book may be di-
vided into seven sections, each of which spans the time
between Christ’s first and second comings. However,
note that each section also gets progressively closer
to the end.

New Heavens and Earth

Christ’s Second Coming
The Church in the world (1–3) Lampstands
Christ’s First Coming

The Final Judgment

The Church suffering in the world (4–7) Seals

The Church avenged, protected, victorious (8–11) Trumpets

Christ opposed by dragon, helpers (12–14) Christ & the Dragon

God’s final wrath on the impenitent (15–16) Bowls

The fall of Babylon and the Beasts (17–19) Babylon

Dragon’s doom. Victory of Christ & Church (20–22) Consummation

Adapted from William Hendriksen, More Than Conquerors.

Baker Book House, 1967.

19
Viewing Revelation as a

Series of Spirals
Craig R. Koester

R eading Revelation as a whole shows that the book

moves in a non-linear way. This insight goes back
to the third century, when Victorinus wrote the earliest
existing commentary on Revelation, and many recent
interpreters have found this approach quite helpful.
An outline of the book looks like a spiral, with each
loop consisting of a series of visions: seven messages
to the churches (Rev. 1–3), seven seals (Rev. 4–7), seven
trumpets (Rev. 8–11), unnumbered visions (Rev. 12–15),
seven plagues (Rev. 15–19), and more unnumbered
visions (Rev. 19–22). Visions celebrating the triumph
of God occur at the end of each cycle (4:1–11; 7:1–17;
11:15–19; 15:1–4; 10:1–10; 21:1–22:5). This pattern …
looks something like this (A.Y. Collins, Apocalypse, ix–xiv):
Instant Replay?
Dr. Michael Kruger, president of Reformed Theo-
logical Seminary – Charlotte Campus, compares
the seven cycles of Revelation to seven replays of
an NFL touchdown.
If you didn’t know anything about football and
were watching a game on TV when a touchdown
was scored, you might assume that the team scored
seven straight touchdowns, one right after another,
because that’s the way it would look to a football
novice. But after you learn the game, you understand
that the TV director was actually showing you the
same play from seven different angles.

So, Revelation gives us seven “instant replays” of

the events occurring between the first and second
comings of Jesus. Each “replay” shows us different
things because it is taken from a different “camera”
Those who read Revelation as a whole encounter vi- angle — but each one covers the same period of
sions that alternately threaten and assure them. With time. However, a “Revelation novice,” unaware of
increasing intensity the visions at the bottom of the this literary technique, might think we were seeing
spiral threaten readers’ sense of security by confronting
seven different events.
them with horsemen that represent conquest, violence,
hardship, and death; by portents in heaven, earth, and The table on p. 21 shows some of these parallel
sea; and by seemingly insuperable adversaries who op- features.
pose those who worship God and Christ. Neverthless,
each time the clamor of conflict becomes unbearable,
listeners are transported into the presence of God, the
Lamb, and the heavenly chorus. These visions appear at
the top of the spiral. Threatening visions and assuring
visions function differently, but they serve the same
end, which is that listeners might continue to trust in Craig R. Koester, Revelation and the End of All Things, p.
God and remain faithful to God. 39.

20
 Literary Parallels in Revelation
Parallels in revelation
Passage Theme Physical Parallels Time Parallels Ending Parallels Other Parallels

Chapters 4–7 The Seals Silence in heaven (8:1)

 There is an interlude
 between #6 and #7

Chapters 8–11 The Trumpets #1 affects the earth Two witnesses speak  seals and bowls
The Kingdom is intro- 
#2 affects the sea
 for 42 months;
duced (11:15)
#3 affects the rivers 1,260 days (11:2–3)

#4 affects the sun
#5 affects the abyss/ “It is done;” God’s
 at Armageddon
Chapters 15–16 The Bowls throne of the beast wrath is poured out (16:14–16)
 Battle
#6 mentions Euphrates

21
 on “Babylon” (16:17ff)
#7 ends in judgment 
 Woman in desert for 
The harvest of the
Chapters 12–14 Christ and the 1,260 days (12:6) and
3 1/2 times (12:14) earth: judgment
Dragon (14:14ff) 
Beast blasphemes for
42 months (13:5) 
Chapters 17–19 The Fall of Wrath and judgment and kings of
Babylon (19:11–21)
 Beasts
earth gather to make
against Christ
 war
(19:19)

Chapters 20–22 The Consummation

 Nations of the earth
The bliss of the re-
deemed (22:1–6)  gather for the battle
(20:7ff)

22
Seven Propositions about

Revelation
Adapted from William Hendriksen

1. Revelation is rooted in the events and circumstances 5. The seven sections of Revelation are arranged in
occurring when it was written and its symbols should ascending, progressive order: the final judgment is first
be interpreted in light of its first readers. announced, then introduced, finally described. Similarly,
the new heavens and earth are described more fully in
the final section than in the preceding ones.

2. Revelation is also deeply rooted in the Old Testa-

ment and should be interpreted in harmony with it.
3. The book of Revelation consists of seven sections.
They are essentially parallel: each spans the period
from the first to the second coming of Christ. (See the
diagram on p. 19 and the articles on p. 20.)
6. Revelation consists of a series of seven“multi-media”
montages — or perhaps“dream-like”visions. The details
of each montage should be interpreted in harmony with
its central point. Ask, “What is the main idea this section
is trying to get across?” and “How does that fit into the
whole picture?”

7. The seals, trumpets, bowls, and similar symbols do

not refer to particular events in history, but to prin-
4. The seven sections may be grouped into two major ciples of human conduct and divine moral leadership
divisions. The first division (chapters 1–11) has three sec- that are operating in every age until Christ returns.
tions and reveals the church—indwelt by Christ—per-
secuted by the world. The church is avenged, protected
and victorious. The second division (chapters 12–22)
has four sections and reveals the deeper spiritual
background of this struggle. It is a conflict with the
dragon in which Christ—and therefore His church—is
victorious.

These are adap­ted from William Hendriksen, More Than

Conquerors, Baker Book House, 1967.

23
Major Old Testament

Allusions
from the Book of Revelation

CHAPTER OF REVELATION OLD TESTAMENT REFERENCE

1. Son of Man description Daniel 7:9ff; 10:5f; Ezekiel 1:7, 26ff; 43:2

2. Various Old Testament references Tree of life, paradise of God, Balaam and Balak, Jezebel,
etc.

3. Book of Life Exodus 32:33; Psalm 68:28; Malachi 3:16;

Key of David Isaiah 22:22

4. Throne set in heaven Isaiah 6:1; Ezekiel 1:26

Four living creatures Ezekiel 1:10; 10:14; Isaiah 6:1

5. Scroll Ezekiel 2:9; Zechariah 5:1–3

Lion of the tribe of Judah Genesis 49:9; Isaiah 11:10

6. Horses and their riders Psalm 45:3f; Zechariah 1:8; 6:3

7. Sealing Ezekiel 9:4

Blessedness of Redeemed Isaiah 49:10; 25:8; Jeremiah 2:13; 31:16;
Ezekiel 34:23
8, 9. Trumpets of judgment Exodus 7ff, the plagues

10. Angel swearing Daniel 12:7

The little book Ezekiel 2:9; 3:4

11. Measuring reed Ezekiel 40:3; Zechariah 2:1ff

12. Woman, child, dragon Genesis 3:15; Psalm 2:9; Genesis 37:4–10
Michael Daniel 10:13, 21

13. Beast out of the sea Daniel 7:2; 2:31

14. On a cloud like the son of man Daniel 7:13; 10:16

Winepress Isaiah 63:3

24
CHAPTER OF REVELATION OLD TESTAMENT REFERENCE
15. Song of Moses Exodus 15

16. Armageddon Judges 5; II Chronicles 35

17–19. Fall of Babylon Isaiah 13; 14; 21; 46–48; Jeremiah 25; 50–51;
Daniel 2:7
Invitation to the birds Ezekiel 39:17–20

20. Gog and Magog Genesis 10:2; Ezekiel 38–39

Books of judgment Daniel 7:10; 12:1; Psalm 69:28

21. New heavens and earth Isaiah 65:17ff; 66:22ff

New Jerusalem Ezekiel 48:30ff

22. River of life and tree of life Genesis 2; Ezekiel 47:1–12

Two witnesses Zechariah 4:2ff

“In Revelation there are no formal citations, but the

whole work is saturated with Old Testament allusions.
These are drawn from almost the entire range of the
Old Testament Canon, though Psalms, Isaiah, Ezekiel,
and Daniel contribute by far the largest number.”

A.R. Gordon, “Quotations,” Dictionary of the Apostolic

Church, vol. II.

25
Miscellaneous comments about
Revelation
by various authors
D oom sayers had a heyday. They predicted catastro-
phe and destruction. Experts on Bible prophecy
began to expound new theories about a coming Great
Tribulation and a terrible Apocalypse. Talk of the Last
Days and the End Times occupied the attention of Chris-
tians everywhere. Complex formulas were contrived
to prove that the Anti-Christ and False Prophet had
come and that the Great Whore of Babylon had been
revealed. Charts were drawn up to show the increasing
frequency and intensity of earthquakes, famines, and
plagues. The Signs of the Times seemed to indicate that
the countdown to Armageddon had actually begun.
[Written of 1453 A.D., following the fall of Constanti-
nople!]
George Grant, The Blood of the Moon, Brentwood, TN:
Wolgemuth & Hyatt, Publishers, Inc., 1991, p. 70.
F
or a full understanding of the early church we need
to read “the Acts of the Apostles” and “The Book of
Revelation” side by side. Both tell much the same tale
of the church and its experience of conflict, but from
a different perspective. Luke in Acts chronicles what
unfolded on the stage of history before the eyes of
observers; John in the Revelation enables us to see the
hidden forces at work.
In the Acts human beings oppose and undermine
the church; in the Revelation the curtain is lifted and
we see the hostility of the devil himself, depicted as
an enormous red dragon, aided and abetted by two
grotesque monsters and a lewd prostitute. Indeed the
Revelation is a vision of the age-long battle between
the Lamb and the dragon, Christ and Satan, Jerusalem
the holy city and Babylon the great city, the church and
the world. Moreover, it can hardly be a coincidence that
the symbolism of the dragon’s three allies in Revela-
tion corresponds to the devil’s three weapons wielded
26
against the church in the early chapters of Acts, that
is, persecution, moral compromise, and the danger of
exposure to false teaching when the apostles became
distracted from their chief responsibility, namely, “the
ministry of the Word and prayer.”
John R.W. Stott, The Message of Acts (Bible Speaks Today).
InterVarsity Press (1990), pp. 88–89.
I am convinced that the plot of the biblical Exodus
story provides a way to understand the plagues of
Revelation’s seven trumpets and seven bowls. Think of
Revelation as a retelling of Exodus. In that ancient story,
God threatened Egypt with ten plagues designed both
to show God’s power and to persuade Pharaoh to let
the people go free. Similarly, in the book of Revelation,
God hears the people’s cries and threatens new plagues
against Rome’s oppression as a part of the overall goal
of liberation from injustice.
In John’s view, God’s people were experiencing a new
Exodus, “not in Egypt but in the heart of the Roman
Empire,” suggests Pablo Richard. If Revelation is a new
Exodus, then Jesus is the new Moses, leading his follow-
ers out of captivity to death and into a new Promised
Land of life and healing. Christians are called to “come
out” of empire and injustice, just as the Israelites were
called to come out of slavery in Egypt.
The entire book of Revelation is full of Exodus imagery,
linking the Christian journey to the Israelites’ journey
out of Egypt. God’s people are not called to undertake
any violent action in the book of Revelation; the Exo-
dus connection underscores that. Rather, as in Exodus,
salvation comes only through God’s action and the
blood of the Lamb.
The Israelites sang a victory song after crossing the Red
Sea in the Exodus story. Similarly, in Revelation, God’s
people join in singing a song in praise of their deliver-
ance by God and the Lamb. Chapter 16 makes the link
explicit between Moses and the Lamb:
I saw what appeared to be a sea of glass mixed with fire,
and those who had conquered the beast and its image,
standing beside the sea of glass with harps of God in their
hands. And they sang the song of Moses, the servant of
God, and the song of the Lamb. (Rev 15:2–3)
Barbara R. Rossing, The Rapture Exposed: the Message of
Hope in the Book of Revelation. Westview Press (2004),
pp. 123–124.
1524–1526 - Muntzer, a leader of German peasants, an-
nounced the return of Christ was near and led them to a
terribly unsuccessful battle against government troops.
1666 - With 100,000 killed from the bubonic plague and
the Great Fire of London, it seemed obvious that this
year — ending with the number of the beast — would
mark the return of Christ!
1809 - Mary Bateman, a fortune-teller, had a magic
chicken that laid eggs with end-time messages on them.
She caused an uproar when one message said Christ was
coming. The uproar ended when an unannounced visitor

D
caught her forcing eggs into the poor chicken’s oviduct!
ate-setting (or guessing) though explicitly forbidden
by Jesus (Matthew 24:36) has been a favorite hobby 1843–1844 - William Miller, following a spectacular me-
of Christians through the centuries. Here are just a few: teor shower, announced the coming of Christ would be
in 1844 and then revised the date several times.
500 A.D. - A Roman priest living in the second century
predicted Christ would return in 500 A.D., based on the 1914 - Charles Russell, a student of Miller’s teachings,
dimensions of Noah’s ark. founded what became the Jehovah’s Witnesses and
predicted the second coming would occur in 1914. JW’s
1000 A.D. - Until the dawn of the second millennium (Y2K),
later set the date as 1941.
this was surely the most hysterical period of prediction:
worldly goods were sold and given to the poor, swarms 1976 - Evangelist Jack Van Impe predicted a commu-
of pilgrims headed for Jerusalem, buildings were left nist flag would fly over Philadelphia in 1976 as part of
unrepaired and crops unplanted. the Tribulation. Lately, he suggested 2011 (based on a
51-year “generation” after
Israel’s recapture of Jeru-
salem in 1967!). And still
more recently (with help
from the Mayan calendar)
he has suggested that 2012
may well be the year.
1988 - A number of peo-
ple (most famously Edgar
Whisenant) set this date
because it was a genera-
tion (40 years) after the re-
founding of Israel in 1948.
Hal Lindsey said, “I feel
certain that it will take place
before the year 2000.”
2000 - Countless!
For dozens more examples,
see the Date Setters Diary
at www.raptureready.com/
“Better take it to Mother — that stuff always confuses me.”
rr-date-setters.html.

27
28
A Biblical View of

Time And History

by Bob Smallman

J ewish interpreters during what Christians now call the

inter-testamental period (that is, the time between
the close of the Old Testament and the coming of Jesus)
believed history was divided into two epochs: the pres-
ent age and the age to come. These Jewish scholars
taught that when the longed-for Messiah would come,
the present age would abruptly end, and the age to
come would begin.

The Present Age The Age to Come

As New Testament scholar Craig Koester puts it, “In the
Present Age the powers of sin, evil and death are at
work. But in the Age to Come there will be only life and
righteousness. The classic scenarios expect God to act
in a definitive way to end the Present Age by defeating
the powers of evil. And they expect the New Age to
begin with the resurrection of the dead. In this scenario
there is a direct movement from one age to the next.”
(The Apocalypse, The Great Courses)
This was certainly the view that the disciples held be-
fore the ascension of Jesus and the outpouring out of
the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. So when they heard Jesus
talking about “the Kingdom of God,” they assumed that
He would be ushering in the “Age of Come,” and they
wanted to be a part of the reign of King Jesus over the
nations. This explains why they were so confused when
Jesus began to talk about His coming suffering and death
(in Matthew 16:21–28 and other places) — they were
anticipating glory not suffering, power not weakness.
That’s why — even as they gathered with the resur-
rected Jesus in Acts 1:6 — they asked, “Lord, are you at
this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” In other
words, “Has The Age to Come finally arrived?”They were
in a hurry to grasp the reins of kingdom power. But, of
course, Jesus promised them a different kind of power
— Holy Spirit power that would enable them not to rule
over the nations but to be witnesses to the nations of
the Good News of Jesus (Acts 1:8).
So the New Testament presents a slightly different pic-
ture of the two ages than that held by the Jewish sages.
There is an Age to Come, but the apostles soon realized
that the Age to Come had already begun in Jesus —
even though the Present Age had not yet ended. And
that Age to Come would not reach its fullness until
Christ returns. In other words — as the diagram on the
following page shows — the two ages overlap! We are
living in BOTH! In the “Already” and also in the “Not Yet.”
Keeping this model in mind will make much of the New
Testament come alive! Jesus’life, death, and resurrection
really had made a revolutionary change in the world, and
yet the powers of sin, death, and evil are still around. As
Koester puts it, “Jesus had already risen from the dead,
but they [the disciples] had not done so.” So Christians
are living between those great realities — the resurrec-
tion of Jesus that had already happened and their own
resurrection which was yet to occur. With the coming
of Jesus, the New Age had begun before the Old Age
had fully passed away.

29
 The Age to Come began when Jesus came the first time

The Age to Come

The Present Age

The Present Age will end when Jesus comes again

Jesus inspired this new way of thinking when He be- the truth that Christ “gave himself for our sins to rescue
gan His ministry by declaring, “The time has come. The us from the present evil age.…” (1:4) In other words,
Kingdom of God is near!” (Mark 1:15) When Jesus talked because we already live in the age to come, we can leave
about “the time” in this way, His disciples assumed He behind some of these trappings of the old age. (And,
was suggesting that one time period was ending and perhaps, as it dawns on us that we are already seated
another was beginning. with Christ in the heavenly realms — as we realize who
we already are in Christ — we will hold on to sin a little
Jesus also attributed His ability to drive out demons
less tightly.)
with the explanation that, “The Kingdom of God has
come upon you.” (Matthew 12:28) And yet He also said, So, what are some other practical implications of this
“For I tell you I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine idea of the “already … but not yet?” The Book of Acts
until the Kingdom of God comes.” (Luke 22:18) So, it HAD provides a helpful model. From the focus on the King-
come, but it was STILL COMING. Similarly, in His parable dom in the gospels, we might assume that we’re to wait
of the weeds He taught that the “good seed” and the around until God gathers in the believers at the end of
“weeds”would coexist in the world until the harvest [the the age (which presumably was near, as Jesus seemed
judgment] at the end of the age. (Matthew 13:24–30) to suggest). And yet as we move into Acts, we see the
Spirit sending believers out into the world to declare
Likewise, John declared, “NOW we are the children of God,
the Good News of King Jesus’ victory over sin and to
and what we WILL BE has not yet been made known.” (1
establish a gospel community in the world. Because
John 3:2) So we are already God’s children, but there is a
the two ages overlap, therefore, we’re not to abandon
“not yet”to our existence that is still coming. The Present
the world but infiltrate it. Thus, the final verse of Acts
Age and the Age to Come overlap. In an expression that
ends not with a triumphal end of the age but with
had always confused me, Paul wrote to the Ephesians
Paul in prison — but preaching about “the kingdom of
that Christ has “blessed us in the heavenly realms with
God” to all who come to see him (Acts 28:31). Even his
every spiritual blessing in Christ,” (1:3) and — even more
preaching transcends both ages: he’s suffering in jail,
— that “God raised us up with Christ and seated us with
but he’s declaring Christ’s Lordship!
him in the heavenly realms.…” (2:6) We are NOW seated
in heavenly realms. How so? If we understand that the
resurrection of Jesus (a sign of the Age to Come) signals
our own future resurrection, these passages begin to
make sense. Eternal life (in Greek, “the life of the age”)
is already ours in Jesus. We’re not waiting to receive
eternal life; it’s ours now! But we are waiting to receive
the fullness of the life to come.

And when he wrote to the Galatians about not continu-

ing the old Jewish rituals of circumcision, sabbath, and
dietary restrictions, Paul began his letter by appealing to

30
Revelation 3–5

Lamb Power
Leon Morris, Barbara Rossing, John Stott

C hapter 4 recorded a vision of God the Creator. Now

comes a vision of God the Redeemer, the Lamb who
has conquered through his death. The last chapter ended
sometimes taking in different features of the landscape.
Thus we may legitimately expect some things to recur
in the visions, but always new details will make their
with the worship of the Creator and this will end with appearance.
the worship of the Redeemer. These two chapters are Leon Morris, Revelation Revised Edition (Tyndale New
very important for an understanding of the message of Testament Commentaries), p. 91.
the book. There are mysteries in life. We feel ourselves
caught up in the world’s evil and misery and we cannot
break free. Some of us become rigid determinists and we
all, at times, feel a sense of hopelessness and helpless-
ness in the grip of forces stronger than we. The world’s
agony is real. And the world’s inability to break free from
the consequences of its guilt is real. This chapter with
its seals that no one can break stresses human inability.
But it does not stop there. More important is the fact
that through the Lamb the victory is won. The seals are
opened and God’s purpose is worked out.
This is the first of a series, each having seven symbolic
repre­sentations of plagues. Here it is seven seals; later
we have seven trumpets and seven bowls with the seven
last plagues. Some have held that the groups denote
separate and success­ive events. Since it is not possible
to recognize any one series in the descriptions of the
others this view must remain pos­sible. But it is perhaps
W e first meet Jesus as the Lamb quite unexpect-
edly in chapter 5 of Revelation, in the heavenly
vision that follows the seven opening letters of chapters
more likely that there is a unity. Kiddle aptly cites the
2 and 3. In keeping with the apocalyptic pattern of
reaction of Cortez and his men when from their peak
Revelation, the book takes us on a journey behind the
in Darien they surveyed the Pacific.
veil into heaven itself where we see God seated on a
Doubtless it was with ‘a wild surmise’, but doubtless beautiful throne. All creation is singing praise to God.
also their gaze shifted, now taking in the immediate Singing and worship are central to Revelation, a fact
foreground, now the middle dis­tance, but always often overlooked by people who see the book only as
returning to the great ocean which domi­nated the a system of end-times predictions and timetables. In
scene. Reve­lation we sing our way into God’s new vision for
our world, more than in any other book of the Bible.
For John, the End is the significant thing. He does not
take in the whole in any one vision or series of vis­ions. Seated on the throne in heaven, God holds a scroll sealed
He deals with different aspects, sometimes covering shut with seven seals that must be opened. But who is
the same ground from different points of view and worthy to open this scroll? God’s voice from the throne

31
tells John in chapter 5, “Do not weep, for the lion of the elders, who doubtless represent the twelve tribes of the
tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered so that Old Testament and the twelve apostles of the New, and
he can open the scroll and its seven seals.”Two words in so the completed and perfect church ... These chapters
this admonition — “lion” and “conquer” (nike in Greek) of the book of Revelation (4 to 7) leave us in no doubt
— lead us to expect that a fierce animal will appear to about the security of the people of God. The Eternal
open the scroll with its claws, like the conquering lions Father sits on his throne, surrounded by the worship-
in gladiatorial spectacles. A lion would be typical for an ping host of heaven. The Book of Destiny is in the hand
apocalypse; such fierce animals are often introduced to of Christ, and no calamity can befall humankind unless
advance the plot.… he breaks the seals of the book. Moreover the winds
of judgment are not permitted to blow upon those
But Revelation pulls an amazing surprise. In place of the
who have been sealed by the Holy Spirit. These are the
lion that we expect, comes a Lamb…. It is a complete
symbols of divine sovereignty. The church’s security is
reversal.… No other apocalypse ever pictures the divine
guaranteed by the Holy Trinity.
hero as a Lamb. The depiction of Jesus as a Lamb shows
him in the most vulnerable way possible, as a victim who
John Stott, What Christ Thinks of the Church (Milton
is slaughtered but standing — that is, crucified but risen Keynes: Word UK, 1990), p. 126.
to life.… Evil is defeated not by overwhelming force or
violence but by the Lamb’s suffering love on the cross.
The victim becomes the victor.
Lamb theology is what true victory or nike is. For we,
too, are “victors” or followers of the Lamb on whom the
term nike or conquering is bestowed. This is one of the
amazing features of the book. Much of Revelation can
sound so violent, but we have to look at the subversive
heart of the book — the redefinition of vic­tory and
“conquering” — to understand how Revelation sub-
verts vio­lence itself. Just like the Lamb, God’s people
are called to conquer not by fighting but by remaining
faithful, by testifying to God’s vic­tory in self-giving love.
This subversive power of Lamb theology throughout
the book of Revelation is what Left Behind and the dis­
pensationalists completely miss.

Barbara R. Rossing, The Rapture Exposed: The Message

of Hope in the Book of Revelation. (Westview Press), pp.
110–111.

A t the centre of the universe is a throne. From it the

wheeling planets receive their orders. To it gigantic
galaxies give their allegiance. In it the tiniest living organ-
ism finds its life. Before it angels and human beings and
all created things in heaven above and earth beneath
bow down and humbly worship. Encircling the throne
is the rainbow of God’s covenant, and surrounding it
are twenty-four other thrones, occupied by twenty-four

32
From All the Tribes of Israel
144,000
Alexander LaBrecque
T he 144,000 out of the twelve tribes of Israel” (7:4–8)
has been for many readers one of the most intrigu-
ing numbers in Revelation. Who is this mysterious group
with the “seal of God” on their foreheads? Christians
with futurist interpretations of Revelation regard it as
referring to a special group of literal Jews, often seeing
in this symbol some significance for the state of Israel
in modern Palestine. Sects like Jehovah’s Witnesses
and Seventh Day Adventists claim it refers exclusively
to an elite group adhering to their unique doctrines.
What these three interpretations hold in common—in
addition to overlooking the primary relevance of the
passage for John’s churches in the Roman empire—is
a sharp distinction between “the 144,000” of 7:4–8 and
“the great multitude” of 7:9–17.
The visions of chapter 7 answer the question that con-
cluded chapter 6,“the great day of God’s wrath has come,
and who can stand before it?” (6:17). Who can stand in
the day of judgment, when God’s righteous vengeance
will be poured out upon the earth and its inhabitants?
John was shown angels restraining destructive forces of
nature, as another angel commands them to do so until
God’s people have been marked to be spared from his
wrath (7:1–3). This sealing of the servants of God calls
to mind similar passages in the Old Testament where his
people are protectively marked prior to his judgments
(Ex. 12:23; Ezek. 9:1–11).
John was told that God’s servants will be sealed as be-
longing to him, and then he “heard the number of [note
that he did not see] the sealed, a hundred and forty-four
thousand sealed, out of every tribe of the sons of Israel,”
12,000 of the sealed being from each of the twelve tribes
(7:4–8). “After this I looked,” John says, “and behold, a
great multitude which no man could number, from
every nation, from all tribes and peoples and tongues,”
standing in the presence of God and Christ, having“come
out of the great tribulation” and now victorious over
33
their enemies because of the sacrifice of Jesus (7:9–14).
John heard the number of those sealed before God’s
judgments fell, then he saw them after they endured
persecution for Christ and were rejoicing in the glory
of God. In the Revelation it is not uncommon for what
John has first heard to be illuminated or explained by
what he then sees (e.g., 1:11ff; 5:5ff.).
There are several reasons why“the tribes of Israel”in Rev-
elation 7 should not be literalized. Apocalyptic symbols
in the vision of the 144,000 must not be literalized any
more than “four angels standing at the four corners of
the earth” (7:1) or the seven-headed beast (13:1). The
number 144,000 is itself a symbol, suggesting the full
number of God’s people. It is the result of multiplying
two perfect squares, 12 x 12 (12 taken from the number
of Israel’s tribes) and 10 x 10, for emphasis using two
numerical expressions of completeness or perfection.
Furthermore, the list given in 7:4–8 is not really that of
the twelve tribes of Israel, for one of the tribes, Dan, is
omitted and replaced by Manasseh, who was not one
of the twelve but belongs to Joseph; and since both
Manasseh and Joseph are listed, Manasseh is actually
included twice! This omission is best explained by the
fact that in Jewish though Dan had become associated
with idolatry (See Gen. 49:17; Judg. 18:30; I Ki 12:29;
Jer. 8:16). John’s list of the tribes may well have been
adapted from a Jewish source reflecting this apocalyptic
tradition, to symbolically portray that all God’s faithful
servants will be protected from his wrath.
Numbering God’s people here as “144,000” shows that
the full number of them will be safe, not one will be lost.
This is parallel to the intent of Jesus’ assurance to the
martyrs that “even the hairs of your head are all num-
bered” by our Father (Matt. 10:30). Describing them as
“the sons of Israel” identifies them as the heirs of God’s
promises to Abraham. So while in 7:4–8 God’s servants
are thus numbered by him, when John is actually shown
them in 7:9 he sees a great, innumerable multitude of
Abraham’s heirs, from all nations, both Jews and Gentiles
(see Gen. 13:16; 15:15).
To John’s fellow believers persecuted for their witness to
Christ, Revelation 7 gives two views of the church: 1) as
standing on the threshold of the day of judgment, but
spared from wrath (7:3–8); and 2) at the consummation,
having survived the tribulation by faithfully suffering
martyrdom for Christ (7:9–17).

The Church as the New Israel in the New Testament

T he church can be referred to as “the twelve tribes” (James 1:1; cf. Mt. 19:28, Lk. 22:30), and this is prob-
ably the thought when a letter is sent to “the Dispersion” (I Pet. 1:1, mg.). The Christian appears to be
the true Jew (Rom. 2:29) and the church “the Israel of God” (Gal. 6:16). Descriptions of the old Israel are piled
up and applied to the church (I Pet. 2:9f; cf. Eph. 1:11,14). It is the church which is God’s “peculiar people”
(Titus 2:14), and Christ’s own who are “Ab­raham’s seed” (Gal. 3:29) and “the circumcision” (Phil. 3:3). Many
hold that “Israel after the flesh” (I Cor. 10:18) implies an “Israel after the Spirit.”
The view is thus widespread. Nor is it alien to John. He expresses it by implication when he speaks of those
“which say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan” (2:9; cf. 3:9). He regards the new
Jerusalem as the spiritual home of Christians (21:2, etc.), and it has on its gates the names of the twelve
tribes (21:12). There is thus good reason for seeing a reference here to the church as the true Israel. Here it is
the church, sealed in view of the coming trials; later in the chapter it is the church triumphant and at peace.
Leon Morris, The Revelation of St. John. Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1969, p. 114.

N ew Testament writers assume that the story of Israel continues within the Christian community. Paul
pictures the people of God as an olive tree: non-Jews are grafted into the tree on the basis of their
faith in Christ, so that there remains just one tree (Rom. 11:13–24). In Christ, the wall dividing Jew from
Gentile is broken down, so that the two peoples are no longer separated on the basis of ethnicity or the
Law (Eph. 2:11–22). The term “Israel” is extended to include all who share in the blessings promised to
Abraham (Gal. 6:16).
Craig R. Koester, Revelation and the End of All Things. Wm. B. Eerdmans, 2001, p. 25.

34
Forty-Two Months, 1,260 Days …
Time, Times, Half a Time
Douglas Ezell
I f you wanted to draw together the themes of Moses
and the Exodus (the law and the pivotal event in the
history of Israel), Elijah (the father of the prophets), the
Christ-event, and the Antichrist motif, how would you
do it? That’s a real mind-bogler if ever there was one.
By using “42 months,”“1,260 days,”“time, and times, and
half a time,” John accomplishes that difficult task. Here
John shows the depth of his creative genius under the
leadership of the Spirit.
The “42 months” and “1,260 days” are equivalent rep-
resentations of the “time, two times and half a time” of
Daniel 7:25 and 12:7. An equivalent time designation is
recorded in Daniel 12:11. This allusion to Daniel is found
also in Revelation 12:6, 14 and 13:5. In Revelation 12, the
allusion is used to symbolize the period of protection
of the woman (the people of God) from the dragon.
John clearly shows the two symbols, 42 months and
1,260 days, to be equivalents for the same time period.
In Revelation 12:6, the symbol for the period of protec-
tion is 1,260 days and in verse 14 the same period is
designated as “time, and times, and half a time.”
Interestingly, the period spent in the wilderness by
the children of Israel after the Exodus was 42 years in
all. They had been two years in the wilderness before
they incurred the 40 years’ penalty. John, by adapting
a symbolic calendar year of 12 months of 30 days each,
could represent “the time, and times, and half a time” as
three and a half years, equals “42 months,” equals “1,260
days.” In this way, the “time, and times, and half a time”
could be employed to symbolize the time period of the
saints’ “wilderness experience.” The children of Israel
were in the wilderness 42 years. The new children of
Israel will experience their wandering as pilgrims for a
period picturesquely symbolized as 42 months.
The reference to “time, and times, and half a time” is
derived specifically from Daniel 7:25 and 12:7. The
broken week in Daniel 9:27 has also been understood
35
as a symbolic breaking of a three-and-a-half period of
the cession of sacrifice and offering of incense. But why
three and a half years? This symbol arose during the
abomination of Antiochus Epiphanes. His desecration
of the temple, which lasted almost exactly three and a
half years, became a symbol of national calamity and
ultimately the time of Antichrist.1
The expression,“time, and times, and half a time,”is used
in connection with the beast of Daniel and the tyranni-
cal figure of Daniel 11 and 12. The reference is derived
from the activity of Antiochus and a prototype of the
eschatological figure who would persecute God’s people
during the end time. The Jews and later the Christians
understood “the time, and times, and half a time” as
representative of national calamities and ultimately the
period of the Antichrist.
Digested from Douglas Ezell, Revelations on Revelation.
Word Books, 1977, pp. 68–80.
1“The greatest trial of the Jews came in the reign of
Antiochus IV, 175-163 B.C. In December 168 B.C. he des-
ecrated Jewish holy places, offered swine on the temple
altar, erected an image in the temple, and introduced
prostitutes into it. Under the leadership of seven broth-
ers called the Maccabees the Jews revolted and gained
their freedom. The period from the first desecration of
the temple to the restoration of worship in it was tra-
ditionally believed to be three and a half years. These
three and a half years of war and suffering made such
an impression of the Jews that they became for them a
symbol of the troubled time which, they believed, would
precede the End of all things. This figure John adopted
as his own.” Harry R. Boer, The Book of Revelation, p. 80.
Understanding Scripture’s Message to Its Original Readers

Traveling Instructions
Adapted from Dick Lucas, Proclamation Trust

The Biblical
Text

?
ers
ad
We must

l re
ina avoid the
temptation
g
ori

of asking
its

immediately,
to
ean

“What does
it m

this mean
did

for ME?”
at
Wh
1.

Original Readers Merrill, WI

2. What does it mean for me?

F irst we must ask, “What did this mean to the

original readers? How would they have probably
understood it?”
Only then should we ask, “How does this apply to my
life now?”
Many times, the answer to the first questions will be ob-
vious (and may not be any different from what it would
mean for us), but sometimes it takes some thought and
investigation.
Even if you don’t know all the details, just asking the
questions will force you to put yourself in the original
readers’ shoes.
As Dick Lucas might put it, we must travel to Corinth
before we can travel to Merrill.
John Stott:
“To discover the text’s meaning is of purely academic
interest unless we go on to discern its message for
today, or (as some theologians prefer to say) its
‘significance.’ But to search for its contemporary
message without first wrestling with its original
meaning is to attempt a forbidden short cut. It
dishonours God (disregarding his chosen way
of revealing himself in particular historical and
cultural contexts), it misuses his Word (treating
it like an almanac or book of magic spells) and it
misleads his people (confusing them about how
to interpret Scripture).”

36
The Battle of

Armageddon
William Barclay, William Hendriksen

M agedon or Maggedon may well be connected

with the name Megiddo. Megiddo is in the Plain
of Esdraelon, which was part of the great highway from
Egypt to Damascus. From the most ancient times to the Mt. Megiddo • • Valley of Jezreel
time of Napoleon it was one of the great battle-grounds
of the world. This was the plain where Barak and Debo-
rah overthrew Sisera and his chariots (Judges 5:19–21);
where Ahaziah died by the arrows of Jehu (2 Kings 9:27);
where the good Josiah perished in battle with Pharaoh
Necho (2 Kings 23:29,30), a tragedy which burned itself
into the Jewish mind and which the Jews never forgot
(Zechariah 12:11). It was a battle-ground, as H.B. Swete
says, “familiar to a student of Hebrew history.”
Armageddon would mean the city of Megiddo; Har-
magedon would mean the mountain of Megiddo. It
is most likely that the latter form is right, and yet the
plain seems a much more likely battle-ground than the
mountains. But there is another strand to add to this.
When Ezekiel was describing the last struggle with Gog
H ence, Har-Magedon is the symbol of every battle
in which, when the need is greatest and believers
are oppressed, the Lord suddenly reveals his power in
and Magog, he said that the final victory would be won
the interest of his distressed people and defeats the
in the mountains of Israel (Ezekiel 38:8, 21; 39:2, 4, 17). It
enemy.…
way well be that John spoke of the Mount of Megiddo
to bring his story into line with the ancient prophecy. But the real, the great, the final Har-Magedon coincides
with the time of Satan’s little season. See Revelation
By far the most likely view is that the word is Har-
11:7–11. When the world, under the leadership of Satan,
Magedon, and that it describes the region near Megiddo
antichristian government, antichristian religion—the
in the Plain of Esdraelon which was perhaps the most
dragon, the beast, the false prophet—is gathered
storied of all battle-grounds in Jewish history.
against the church for THE final battle, and the need
William Barclay, The Revelation of John, volume 2. Phila- is greatest; when God’s children, oppressed on every
delphia: The Westminster Press, 1976, pp. 132–133.
side, cry for help; then suddenly, dramatically, Christ will
appear to deliver his people. That final tribulation and
that appearance of Christ on clouds of glory to deliver
his people, that is Har-Magedon. It is for this reason
that Har-Magedon is the sixth bowl. The seventh is the
judgment-day.
William Hendriksen, More Than Conquerors, pp. 196–197.

37
38
Revelation 13:18
The Mark of the Beast
Various Authors
Since the identity of the “Mark of the Beast” has been
debated from the moment Revelation was written, it’s
unlikely we will solve it definitively now. But here are some
possibilities!
From John Bright, The Kingdom of God —
R evelation presents a picture such as only the lan-
guage of Apocalypse could draw. Sober speech
would never have sufficed. On one side are arrayed
that old dragon Satan (20:2), his angels, and His Anti-
christ; all the powers of Evil visible and invisible, on the
earth and beyond it. The evil powers of earth seem to
be personified in the figure of the unspeakable Nero,
number 666 (13:18),1 the Beast. Yet it is not merely
Nero, nor Domitian, nor yet Hitler or Stalin that is in
question. It is any of them, all of them, none of them. It
is all earthly powers, whoever and however many they
may be, that subserve the will of the Adversary; that
have made themselves antigod and antichrist. It is, if
you will, eternal Nero—Nero redivivus—who walks the
earth in many incarnations. It is the sum total of evil, and
it launches a last demonic assault upon the heavenly
Kingdom: the Lamb, the Son of Man, and him who sits
upon the Throne. It vents its wrath also with fiendish
fury upon the saints of God who live on earth. For them
it is a time of decision: with the revelation of Christ there
has come also, as it must, the revelation of Antichrist,
and one must stand for one side or the other.
1
The number 666 appears to be achieved by taking the Hebrew
letters used to write Nero Caesar (nrwn qsr, rsk norn) and giving
them their numerical value (the Hebrews used letters of the alpha-
bet for numerals also). The total would be 666. The figure of 666 is
thus a sort of Nero redivivus [Nero returned to life]. The practice of
designating persons by numbers in this manner was not unusual.
A sentence scrawled on a wall at Pompeii reads: “I love a girl whose
number is 545.”Cf. M. Burrows, What Mean These Stones? (New Haven:
American Schools of Oriental Research, 1941), p. 270.
39
From F.F. Bruce, Answers to Questions —
I
have no desire to add to the number of interpreta-
tions, which must considerably exceed six hundred
and sixty-six. One of the wisest remarks on the subject
was made by Provost George Salmon of Trinity College,
Dublin, who laid down “three rules by the help of which
I believe an ingenious man could find the required sum
in any given name. First, if the proper name by itself will
not yield it, add a title; secondly, if the sum cannot be
found in Greek, try Hebrew, or even Latin; thirdly, do
not be too particular about the spelling.” For my part, I
shall rest content (or nearly so) with “Nero Caesar” until
someone shows me a more convincing solution. The
question of whether any instance was known of “Nero
Caesar” being spelt in such a way as to yield an exact
numerical total of 666 was answered affirmatively in
the 1950s when the required spelling was found on
an Aramaic document of Nero’s reign from the Wadi
Murabba’at, west of the Dead Sea.
From Michael Wilcox, The Message of Revelation —
L et us therefore paraphrase the verse, as it might have
been read to those original hearers. “Let him who
has understanding work out a number for the beast
— a ‘human’ number, a code such as we already had
symbolizing the church [144,000] and the church age [3
1/2 years]. What might you suggest? “How about some-
thing which tries to look like truth but isn’t?”“A number
as close as may be to perfection, but not achieving it?”
“And if the symbol of basic truth is seven, how about
six for false religion?”“That would be very appropriate.
Actually, perhaps because the beast in all its activities is
persistently missing the mark, the number John writes
here is not just 6, but 666.” It may not have been exactly
like that. But such an approach seems more consistent
with Revelation’s general use of symbolism that do so
many other flights of fancy.

From Leon Morris, Revelation (Tyndale New Testament

Commentaries) —

I f we take the sum of the values represented by the

letters of the name Iesous, the Greek name “Jesus,” it
comes to 888; each digit is one more than seven, the
perfect number. But 666 yields the opposite phenom-
enon, for each digit falls short. The number may be
meant to indicate not an individual but a persistent
falling short. All the more is this likely to be correct if
we translate “it is the number of man” rather than “a
man.” John will then be saying that unregenerate man
is persistently evil. He bears the mark of the beast in all
he does. Civilization without Christ is necessarily under
the dominion of the evil one.

From Hal Lindsey, There’s a New World Coming —

S ince the number 6 in the Bible stands for human-

ity, I believe the meaning of 666 is man trying to
imitate the trinity of God (three sixes in one person).
Anyone who acknowledges this blasphemous trinity
by worshiping the 666 Beast will be separated forever
from the true triune God.

40
Revelation 20
The Millennium
Jay Adams
Adams uses the term, “realized millennialist” to refer to
interpreters who are most often called “amillennialists.”
Amillennialists do not look forward to a literal 1,000-year
reign of Christ in the future. They believe that Christ is
reigning now.
H aving prophesied the defeat of the two enemies
of the church, God now addresses himself to the
one remaining question: What of the dragon which in-
spired them? After all, he is the real enemy. Revelation
20 declares that he shall no longer deceive the nations
(Gentiles) as in the past. The reason is obvious when
the nineteenth chapter is related to the twentieth: the
King of kings has begun to reign over the nations (Rev.
19:15,16). It was predicted that Satan’s time would
be “short” (12:12), not thousands of years. Now it has
ended. The dragon is seized, cast into the abyss, and the
new era begins. The new kingdom of God began at the
death of Christ, when principalities and powers were
despoiled, but was fully realized only when the Roman
empire fell. The short time was that overlapping period
when Satan’s tottering world-kingdom co-existed with
the newborn world-kingdom of God.
Most premillennialists object violently when the real-
ized millennialist says the 1000 years began in early
New Testament times, and continue till the present. For
one thing, they have mistaken notions of the nature of
the millennium, expecting a semi-golden age. How-
ever, this is not the sole objection. Probably the most
frequent concerns the binding of Satan. The unrealized
millennialist triumphantly points to chapter 20 and says
something like this:“How could anyone be so blind as to
suppose that Satan is bound today? Look at the sin and
iniquity prevailing on every hand. Doesn’t the Scripture
warn that the Devil goes about as a roaring lion seeking
whom he may devour? Obviously realized millennialists
have no answer for this. This is one bedrock objection
upon which their system is shattered.”
41
Realized millennialists neither believe nor teach that the
binding of Satan means that all his activity is curtailed.
Of course this would be foolish. If “binding” means total
inability, then they are wrong. But so was Christ, when he
claimed to have bound the strong man (Satan)! While it
may be questionable whether the binding of which he
spoke (Matt. 12:29) is the same as the one mentioned
here, it is nevertheless quite important to note that
word “bind” may be used rightly with respect to Satan
apart from the idea of total restriction. A straw man is
built by those who wrongly assume that “binding” must
mean the cessation of all activity. This notion proves too
much, for if it were true, it would likewise prove Christ’s
words erroneous.
From Christ’s use of the terminology under discussion,
it is informative to learn that Satan may be bound in a
specific sense, while not restricting his activities in other
respects. This is way Paul wrote of the restraints of Satan
(II Thess. 2). This is precisely how realized millennialists
understand the “binding” in Revelation 20. They do not
teach (as is often alleged) that Satan is bound so as to
be rendered incapable of any activity at all during the
present age. Rather, they believe he was bound in but
one sense.
The specific intent of the binding is plainly defined in
the context. Satan is said to be bound “that he should
deceive the nations (or Gentiles) no more until the thou-
sand years should be fulfilled” (Rev. 20:3). This partial
binding is now in effect. From the beginning of pagan
world-empire, until New Testament times, the Gentiles
as a whole were under the sway of the deceptive prince
of darkness. Who will deny that this universal sway has
been shattered? Who will deny that the gospel has now
spread to many lands and peoples? Who will deny that
the great task of missions which the Savior set before
his church after his ascension was identical with this
purpose of freeing the Gentiles from the deception
of Satan? Who will deny that the means by which the
missionary endeavor is to be carried out is the Word of
God (as shown in Revelation 19)?
Satan is not allowed to reestablish his fallen world-
dominion until the thousand years are finished. What
believer will deny that ever since the fall of Rome,
there has been only one truly world-wide kingdom in
existence—the kingdom of God? It is not debatable
that in Old Testament times the Gentiles were without
the covenants and promises. Without the revelation of
the law and redemption, they continued in their own
natural state, unable and unwilling to free themselves
from the deceptive power of Satan. The kingdom of God
was then a small, localized society, identified almost
entirely with the believing portion of one nation. But
after the death and resurrection of Christ this situation
radically changed. He said, “All authority is given unto
me. Go ye therefore and make disciples of all nations”
(Matt. 28:18, 19). This new authority given him “to reign
over the Gentiles” is in harmony with Romans 15:12
and Revelation 19:15. He consequently instructed his
disciples to carry the message of salvation unto the
uttermost parts of the earth.
A word should be said about the millennium as a length
of time. The 1000 years is an “ideal” period meaning a
long time. It is set in contrast to the shorter designations
(three and a half years, 42 months, etc.) which describe
the time of intense suffering of the saints. In contrast
to these, it embraces the period of ascendancy for the
church, or kingdom of God. It is no more to be taken
literally (i.e., as an exact period) than the “ten days” of
persecution predicted in Revelation 2:10 or the“144,000”
sealed ones. These are numbers which create a picture
rather than give an exact sum. Already the “millennium”
has lasted almost two thousand years.
At the conclusion of the period during which Satan is
bound, he is released from prison. Like so many other
convicts, he returns to his old ways. He goes out to
deceive the Gentiles (nations) again. That a time is com-
ing when the nations as a whole will sink into the deep
darkness of religious ignorance and the truth will be so
completely repressed that the pre-advent world will
become similar to the “days of Noah” is the constant wit-
42
ness of the New Testament. II Thessalonians 2 describes
this period of apostasy, and the Savior characterized it
as an era in which it is necessary for him to ask whether
it is possible to find the faith on the earth.
Realized millennialists have the only adequate answer
for the radical change which is coming: Satan, the great
deceiver, will be loosed from his prison, and allowed to
deceive the nations once more. It is possible that during
this period, there will be a large turning of Hebrews to
faith in Christ, as Romans 11 may indicate. He gathers
the nations together against the camp of the saints in a
last attempt to destroy the kingdom of God and restore
his lost world dominion. But the Savior returns in flam-
ing fire, and instead destroys both him and his hosts. A
comparison of II Thessalonians 1 with Revelation 20:9,
10 shows that these are prophecies of the same event.
Here, in the twentieth chapter of Revelation, is where
the coming of Christ occurs. Christ’s coming follows the
millennium and immediately precedes the judgment.
It is not mentioned in great detail, since this is not the
subject of the book, which is concerned with things
which will shortly come to pass. The resurrection takes
place, the books are opened, and the sheep are sepa-
rated from the goats (Matthew 25 cannot be associated
with another event than that in Revelation 20:11–15).
The “little season” then conforms perfectly to the New
Testament picture of the close of this age.
Condensed from Jay E. Adams, The Time Is at Hand.
Nutely, NJ: Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Co.,
1970, pp. 83–87.
On “Gog and Magog” Three Millennial Viewpoints

H ere we come on a picture which etched itself

deeply, if mysteriously, on Jewish thought, the
picture of Gog and Magog. We find it first in Ezekiel 38
and 39. There Gog of the land of Magog, the chief prince
of Meshech and of Tubal, is to launch the great attack
upon Israel and is to be in the end utterly destroyed.
It may be that originally Gog was connected with the
Scythians whose invasions all men feared.
As time went on, in Jewish thought Gog and Magog
came to stand for everything that is against God. The
rabbis taught that Gog and Magog would assemble
themselves and their forces against Jerusalem, and
would fall by the hand of Messiah.
William Barclay, The Revelation of John, Vol. II, p. 194.
P re-millennialists hold that at Christ’s re-
turn the Christian dead will be raised, and believ-
ers still living on earth will be caught up to meet Him
in the air (I Thess. 4:17). They will reign on earth with
Christ for 1,000 years (the millennium). After this Satan
will be released for a time. This short period will be fol-
lowed by the raising of the rest of the dead. In this way
there is an explanation of the two resurrections. Finally
there comes the judgment of the great white throne.
Post-millennialists differ in seeing the return of Christ
as taking place after the millennium. Sometimes they
see the millennium as standing for the triumph of the
gospel in this present age, sometimes as a literal 1,000
years at the end of time.
A-millennialists [what Jay Adams calls “realized mil-
lennialists”] hold that there is no literal millennium. The
1,000-year period is symbolical. It stands for the whole
time between the life of Jesus on earth and His second
coming. They usually see the first resurrection as the
new birth of the believer, his rising from the death of sin.

Leon Morris, The Revelation of St. John, pp. 233–234.

Three Millennial
The Three MillennialPPositions
osiTions

The Rapture The Second

New Heaven and Earth

Coming
Christ’s First Coming

Satan’s Last
➠
➠

The Final Judgment

The Tribulation Armageddon The Millennium Rebellion

Pre–Millennialism
The Rapture and
Second Coming
➠

[The Millennium] [Tribulation/Armageddon]

A–Millennialism
The Rapture
and
Second Coming
➠

Tribulation The Millennium

Post–Millennialism

43
44
Revelation 20

A Pre-Mil, Pre-Trib View

George Miladin

Hal Lindsey, in his book, The Late Great Planet Earth,
popularized a view of the last days significantly different
from that proposed during our class. In the following ar-
ticle George Miladin summarizes Lindsey’s views. Though
Miladin himself takes a different approach, his summary
is a fair one.
first a southern confederation of Arab African nations
headed by Egypt, which launches an invasion against
Israel (Daniel 11:40a). But before the destination is
reached, Russia, enamored with the thought of an
easy conquest of mineral rich Israel who is resting in
the security of the political aspects of the covenant

A ccording to many dispensationalists, Israel has

now established itself in the land of Palestine as
foretold in the prophets (Isaiah 11:11–16, Jeremiah
with Anti-Christ, cuts off and militarily overwhelms
the southern confederation (Daniel 11:42–43). Like a
whirlwind Russia sweeps into Palestine (Daniel 11:40b,
23:5–8, Ezekiel 37:21–28). Therefore, we are told, we can Ezekiel 38), having established control over the entire
look for the soon rapture of the church (I Thessalonians middle east. In Palestine the Russian force establishes
4:14–18) and the last seven years of history which will command headquarters on Mt. Moriah (Daniel 11:45).
culminate in the Second Coming of Christ (II Thessalo- Not tolerant of this breach of world peace, the Roman
nians 1:7; 2:1,8). dictator mobilizes forces around the world, which causes
alarm to the Russians. However, the Russian commander
This seven year “final countdown,” characterized by
confidently prepares to meet the forces of the Roman
unprecedented evangelistic activity and success on the
leader, simultaneously seeking to eradicate the Jew-
one hand (Revelation 7:9–14), and incomparable per-
ish people (Daniel 11:45). It is during this assault that
secution and tribulation on the other (Matthew 24:21),
begins with the “Roman Dictator,” Anti-Christ, making
a religio-politico covenant with Jews in Jerusalem
(Daniel 9:27). This covenant promises the Jews protec-
tion and freedom to maintain their temple worship in
return for their allegiance. For three and one half years
remarkable progress is made under the leadership of
Anti-Christ with the world captivated by his ability to
maintain peace. Riding on the crest of world popularity,
he goes to Jerusalem where in the temple he proclaims
himself as “God” (II Thessalonians 2:4). This breaking of
the covenant (Daniel 9:27) is the sign for Jewish “believ-
ers” to flee to the mountains and canyons of Petra for
divine protection (Matthew 24:16), for war is now to be
unleashed upon the earth with the horrors of Revelation
6:19 played out on the stage of history.
With all eyes turned towards Palestine there develops

45
Israel experiences her greatest number of conversions
(Zechariah 13:8,9). The subsequent attack launched by
the Romans forces utterly demolishes the Russian army
(Ezekiel 39:3–5) while at the same time God himself sends
fire on Russian and various coastlands (Ezekiel 39:6).
Now there are only two great spheres of power left to
fight the climactic battle of “Armageddon” (Revelation
16); the combined forces of western civilization under
the Roman dictator and the 200 million Red Chinese are
designated in Revelation 16:12 as the Kings of the East.
(The dictator’s method of mobilizing a world force is to
send out a “demonically inspired” message promising
lasting peace once the last enemy—China—is van-
quished.) The battle is joined at Armageddon though A pre-millennial, pre-tribulational view of the end times
the most terrible fighting centers around Jerusalem
(Zechariah 12:2,3; 14:1–2). The shock wave emerging
from this conflict engulfs all nations and brings unprec-
Edgar Whisenant’s Certainty About the Return
edented destruction upon the great cities of the world,
of Christ in 1988:
total annihilation averted only by the Second Coming
of Christ who returns with his saints to establish his Reason #17
millennial reign in Jerusalem (Revelation 20). The Following is truly an amazing observation:
George C. Miladin, Is This Really the End? Cherry Hill, NJ: No other time in all history — past, present, or
Mack Publishing Co., 1972. pp. 5–7. future — will fit all the 886 end-time Bible proph-
ecies of the Old and New Testaments perfectly
to the very second of time as do the lunar dates
Hal Lindsey, in a book written in 1976, comes very close to of the Seven Feasts of Israel fit the Bible verses
“date setting,” as he declares that Jesus most likely would and the 70th week of Daniel years from Day of
come within the next 40 years (the generally accepted Atonement 1988 through to the Day of Atone-
definition of a “generation”): ment 1995 to verify that from 1988 to 1995 is
the 70th week of Daniel.
I t is my unwavering conviction that this is the Termi-
nal Generation. By this I mean that this generation
is witnessing the coming together of all the prophetic
Edgar C. Whisenant, 88 REASONS Why the Rapture
Could Be in 1988, p. 22.
signs into the exact pattern that Jesus and the other Note that Whisenant’s claim was identical to previ-
prophets predicted would immediately precede His ous predictors of Christ’s return in other centuries:
return… “Our time is the only time all these Biblical proph-
…today is different. We see the prophetic signs of the esies are being fulfilled!”
pattern of history which precedes the Second Coming, Even though he said in the title of his booklet, “…
and since we know that the Rapture occurs before that, the Rapture COULD Be in 1988,” Whisenant claims
we must conclude that it is most definitely the general throughout that, to use one example, “…this wicked
time of the Rapture. generation (1948–1988) will certainly not pass
Hal Lindsey, The Terminal Generation. New York: Bantam until all these things have happened.” (p. 10)
Books, 1976. pp. 185, 191. (Emphasis added)

46
 H arry Ironsides was a well-known Fundamentalist
preacher of the early 20th century. This was his
diagram representing a pre-millennial, pre-tribulational
view of Revelation.
Even though the title of the diagram is, “The Revelation
of Jesus Christ,”one must not assume that all this material
comes directly from the Book of Revelation. Indeed, this
particular approach to the end times requires something
of a “jigsaw puzzle” approach of pasting in verses from
all over the Bible — verses that in their own context
may not have anything to say about the return of Christ.

47
48
Four Approaches to Interpreting
the Book of

Revelation
W here you begin with Revelation determines where you will come out. Everything depends on your interpretive
“grid,” your assumptions about what the book is about and how to understand it.
If you believe that virtually everything is to be understood absolutely literally, you will read it differently from
someone who sees its pages filled with symbolism. (Though, to be fair, no one takes the whole book literally!)
Similarly, if you feel that Revelation has very little to do with the time in which it was written but is only about the
future, you will interpret it differently from someone who feels it applies to every age of the church — or that it
deals primarily with events in the first and early second centuries.
From the earliest days of the church this great book has inspired both admiration and confusion, and various in-
terpreters have explained it quite differently. So it should come as no surprise that the modern church is just as di-
vided over its meaning. Through the years four main schools of interpretation have arisen (with assorted variations
and combinations): Idealism, Preterism, Historicism, and Futurism. The following diagram (which draws heavily
upon but also freely adapts one developed by Doug Baumont at http://www.dougbeaumont.org/SoulDevice/proph_
revoutline.html) will show how each of these interpretive traditions understands the key passages of Revelation.
(The notes under “Idealism” often quote or summarize William Hendriksen, More Than Conquerors.)
While the pastor holds to a combination of the Idealist, Preterist and Futurist viewpoints, he primarily follows an
Idealist approach. However, because so many Bible-believing Christians differ over how to interpret Revelation, we
must always approach our work with great humility.
Basic Definitions
IDEALISM PRETERISM HISTORICISM FUTURISM

The book is primarily a re-
vealing of Jesus Christ as
He cares for His suffering
people from His ascension
until His return in glory.
Christ is showing John the
events that would occur at
and immediately follow-
ing the fall of Jerusalem
in AD 70. These events will
occur very soon after the
book is written.
John’s vision is of events
that would soon begin
to take place — and that
would continue to occur
throughout history until
Christ’s return. (Heavily
weighted against Roman
Catholicism.)
John is only being shown
events that would occur
immediately before the
second coming of Christ.
The events described in
the book all lie in the dis-
tant future from John.

The Seven Churches (Revelation 1–3)

IDEALISM PRETERISM HISTORICISM FUTURISM

These real churches also
typify all the congrega-
tions (good and bad) that
have existed throughout
the history of the church.
These are simply the
churches that existed un-
der these conditions in
Asia minor prior to the de-
struction of Jerusalem.
49
These churches were cho-
sen to represent seven
ages (or stages) of the
church in history. So, for
example, the seventh
church (Laodicea) repre-
sents the churches of the
twentieth and twenty-first
centuries. (See the follow-
ing chart.)
These are seven churches
of John’s day (“the things
which are”). Futurists differ
about whether they also
represent various church
ages or are representative
of churches that have al-
ways existed in every age.
 The Ages of the Church According to the Historicist Interpretation
1. Ephesus: (AD 34–95) The church from the Apostolic age until the end of
the first century
2. Smyrna: (AD 95–313) The church under Roman persecution
3. Pergamum: (AD 313–606) The church, now under Roman Catholic rule, in
political power
4. Thyatira: (AD 606–1517) The church under persecution by Roman Catholi-
cism
5. Sardis: (AD 1517–1793) The church of the Reformation
6. Philadelphia: (AD 1793 to Christ’s return) The “true church” from the Great
Awakening to the end
7. Laodicea: (Present day and into the future) The lukewarm church of the
last days

God on His throne (Revelation 4)

IDEALISM PRETERISM HISTORICISM FUTURISM

God is on His throne and in
control of all the events of
history, even though God’s
people on earth may be
suffering and experienc-
ing persecution for a while.
God is on His throne as
the Judge who is about to
vindicate the martyrs of all
time by destroying Jerusa-
lem.
God is sovereign over Having viewed the entire
all, and as such is about church age in the previ-
to show what will hap- ous chapters, we are now
pen shortly. The following shown what happens after
chapters show the con- the church age (dispensa-
quest of pagan Rome (6) tion). The following events
and the fall of the Roman are all in the future (even
Empire (8–11). of our own time). The com-
mand, “Come up here” of
4:1 represents the rapture
of the believers from the
earth.

The Twenty-Four Elders (Revelation 4:4, 10; 5:1–8)

IDEALISM PRETERISM HISTORICISM FUTURISM

These are or represent the
priestly function of the
church. Twelve tribes and
twelve apostles together
show the people of God
of the Old and New Testa-
ments serving God.
Some interpreters see no
particular significance to
them — only that they are
included to complete the
story. Others would agree
with one of the other
views.
The twenty-four elders They represent the saved
represent the church church, now in Heaven
which has replaced the following the (pre-tribula-
priesthood of the Old Tes- tion) rapture.
tament.

50
The scroll (Revelation 5)
IDEALISM PRETERISM HISTORICISM FUTURISM
The scroll is the redemp-
tive plan of God for salva-
tion or more generally the
history of the world that
only the Lamb is worthy to
unseal.
The Seals (Revelation 6)
IDEALISM PRETERISM HISTORICISM FUTURISM
The scrolls and seals do
not refer to specific events
but represent the continu-
ing cycle of God’s deal-
ings with mankind. In
each successive story that
unfolds we see how God
rules over kingdoms and
people — and how he will
judge them. The seals de-
scribe the persecution of the
church by the world.
Seal 1 (White horse)
IDEALISM PRETERISM HISTORICISM FUTURISM
Some say the white horse
represents the spread of
the gospel (and may rep-
resent Christ Himself ).
Others say this is conquest
in general that goes on
throughout history.
The scroll is the judgment The scroll is God’s plan for The scroll is the “deed” to
handed down on Jerusa- the future of the church. the earth. God is about
lem or the beginning of to reclaim that which was
the New Covenant. forfeited in the fall.
The scroll is God’s decree The unsealing of the scroll The scroll is the beginning
against Jerusalem. Open- is the beginning of the fall of the period of tribula-
ing the first four seals of the Roman empire. tion.
brought the Romans
against the city during the
Jewish war. The rest tell
the story of the beginning
of the siege against the
city.
This is the conqueror of This is the period of time This begins the period of
Jerusalem, perhaps the from AD 96–180, the tribulation. Most view the
general Titus or Vespasian. “Golden Age” of the Ro- rider as Antichrist or a rep-
Others believe the rider is man Empire. The five resentative of false Christs.
Christ, going forth in judg- emperors of this period
ment. The seals are gener- waged much war, con-
ally not seen as historically quering as they went.
sequential (in other words,
you don’t have to wait un-
til all the seals are broken
to open the scroll.) So the
seals basically introduce
the judgments that will
begin in chapter 8.
51
Seal 2 (Red horse)
IDEALISM PRETERISM HISTORICISM FUTURISM

This represents war in
general (especially as war
is seen as a manifestation
of God’s judgment). Some
say it is the persecution of
Christians as the gospel
spreads.
This is the peace taken
from Jerusalem, a result of
external (approaching Ro-
man armies) and internal
strife.
This is the period of civil
war within the Roman Em-
pire (AD 180–284).
This is the distress of na-
tions in the end time. As
tensions rise we will see
more and more wars.
Some say the red color
signifies Russia or nuclear
bombs.

Seal 3 (Black horse)

IDEALISM PRETERISM HISTORICISM FUTURISM

This is famine or (in mod-
ern terms) economic
recession that occurs
throughout history.
This is the incredible food
shortage that occurred in
Jerusalem because of the
Roman siege.
This is the time of heavy
taxation of the subjects
of the Roman Empire that
resulted in economic de-
pression.
Most see this as famine, a
consequence of the war-
fare of the previous seals.
Some say it is indicative of
the economic upheaval in
the tribulation period.

Seal 4 (Pale horse)

IDEALISM PRETERISM HISTORICISM FUTURISM

Deaths that occur
throughout history as a
result of God’s judgment
on sin (not death due to a
single particular calamity).
This pestilence would
come from the piles of
dead bodies within the
besieged Jerusalem. God
uses this fourth method to
judge Jerusalem much as
He did in Babylonian times
(Ezekiel 14:21).
Possibly the era between
AD 248 and 268 when
great numbers of people
were killed as a result of
invasions by hordes over-
running the Roman world.
Death is the result of the
previous seals, and now
we see its toll. Some place
this death within the Great
Tribulation (the last 31/2
years), others to the entire
period (seven years).

Seal 5 (The Martyrs)

IDEALISM PRETERISM HISTORICISM FUTURISM

A vision of the state of
God’s martyrs from any
age. They live and are
shown to be a type of self-
sacrifice to God. They will
be vindicated.
Jerusalem was identified This is the time of the Ro- These are the martyrs
by Christ of being guilty of man persecution of the killed since the beginning
the blood of the righteous. church (approximately AD of the Tribulation.
This vision shows John 270–304).
that while the martyr’s op-
pressors still live, they will
soon be judged (with the
destruction of Jerusalem).

52
Seal 6 (Earthquakes, etc.)
IDEALISM PRETERISM HISTORICISM FUTURISM

This is the culmination of
judgment — God’s special
intervention — the com-
ing of Christ. The seven
structures and seven class-
es of persons suggest the
judgment of all creation at
His coming.
The apocalyptic language
here, used elsewhere in re-
lation to God’s judgment
on a nation, shows that
this Day of the Lord is the
end of Jerusalem and the
end of the Jewish state.
Some say this is the fall of
paganism in Rome in AD
304 with the coming of
Constantine. Others that
it is the division of the Ro-
man Empire in AD 395.
Still others that it is the
invasion of the Goths and
Vandals between AD 376
and 418.
While many take this as
symbolic, most would say
that this is a literal event
announcing the begin-
ning of the tribulation to
those on earth who might
have questioned it before.
Some see nuclear war
here.

The 144,000 Sealed (Revelation 7:1–8)

IDEALISM PRETERISM HISTORICISM FUTURISM

The answer to the ques-
tion, “Who can stand?”
is answered here. These
were sealed before the
horsemen began to ride
(Zechariah 6:5). These are
the people of God, the
church, spiritual Israel,
who do not have to en-
dure God’s judgment.
These are the Jewish
Christians in Jerusalem
(the “first fruits” of 14:4)
who escaped the slaugh-
ter of AD 70. The number
144,000 is symbolic of the
complete group.
This is the church, spiritual
Israel. They are protected
from the hordes pictured
in the first four trumpets.
Or they symbolize the
Arian or Pelagian errors
beginning to enter the
church.
This is the “last days
church” in symbolic form.
Dispensationalists would
say that this is the godly
remnant of (physical) Is-
rael who will survive the
tribulation time to witness
to the rest of the world.

The Great Multitude (Revelation 7:9–17)

IDEALISM PRETERISM HISTORICISM FUTURISM

This is the glorified church
of all ages who have come
out of the suffering and tri-
als they have faced.
These are the glorified
saints in heaven who have
come out of the Great
Tribulation (= the destruc-
tion of Jerusalem and the
end of the Jewish age). The
result of this destruction
was God’s breaking off of
(physical) Israel (Romans
11:17) and the spread of
the gospel to all nations.
These are the glorified
Gentile believers of all
time.
These are the believers
who are saved during the
Great Tribulation (presum-
ably martyred). Dispensa-
tionalists would argue that
they are not the church
as such but some special
class of “tribulation saints”
who have responded to
the new “gospel of the
kingdom.” They will enter
the millennial kingdom
but are not in the same
class as the saints of “the
gospel of grace.”

53
Seal 7 (Silence in heaven - Revelation 8:1–5)
IDEALISM PRETERISM HISTORICISM FUTURISM

This is the “calm before the
storm,” the lull before the
rest of God’s judgments
begin (Habakkuk 2:20).
The expectation of what is
to come brings a stunned
silence to those in heaven.
The silence comes as the
martyrs are vindicated and
their cries silenced. It ends
when the prayers of the
saints begin anew as per-
secutions continue on the
earth.
This is the interval of seven
years (AD 324–395) before
the first barbarian horde
(the first trumpet) comes.
It may be the time dur-
ing which believers were
sealed.
This is a literal half hour
time period in which the
scroll (which contains the
trumpet and bowl judg-
ments) is now opened. The
expectation of what is to
come brings a stunned si-
lence to those in heaven.

The Trumpets (Revelation 8:6–9:21)

IDEALISM PRETERISM HISTORICISM FUTURISM

The seals of persecution
are followed by the trum-
pets that warn of com-
ing judgment. As with the
seals, the trumpets do not
refer to particular separate
events but to woes that
occur all the time in the
world that warn people of
coming judgment.
The first four trumpets are The trumpets are the in- The trumpets show the
the atrocities suffered by vasions of Rome by the judgments of God on the
the Jews at the hands of hordes, and, later, the fall earth during the Tribula-
the Romans during the of Constantinople. tion period.
Jewish War (AD 66–70).
The final ones refer to the
fall of Jerusalem.

Trumpet 1 (Hail and Fire Mixed with Blood)

IDEALISM PRETERISM HISTORICISM FUTURISM

The trumpets are an-
nouncements of greater
judgment to come. Like
the plagues of Egypt, they
are not for believers. They
are symbolic of events
common throughout his-
tory. The first four are spe-
cifically against things that
people usually rely on for
life.
The trumpets describe
the time leading up to Je-
rusalem’s destruction as
the land is ravaged by Ro-
man armies. They are also
pictures of the plagues
of Egypt. The events that
brought forth national Is-
rael will now destroy her
and bring spiritual Israel to
life (Exodus 15:26.
These are the four great
attacks upon the Roman
Empire (AD 400–476). The
Goth’s attack destroyed
much of the land. The 1⁄3 of
the earth is either the Ro-
man Empire (which was
1
⁄3 of the known earth) or
the western division of the
Empire.
Futurists are divided as to
how literally to take these
trumpets. Those who be-
lieve they are symbolic
suggest that the trees
represent leaders and the
grass people. Most dispen-
sationalists are literalists
and understand this to be
the effects of a comet or
meteor falling to the earth.
Others say it is nuclear war.

54
Trumpet 2 (Burning Mountain into the Sea)
IDEALISM PRETERISM HISTORICISM FUTURISM

This is a symbol (“what
looked like…”) of disasters
that occur on the sea that
should call people to re-
pentance.
Symbolically, if the moun-
tain is seen as God’s holy
mountain, its burning is
Rome’s siege, and being
thrown into the sea is its
being given to the Gentile
world. The sea turning to
blood is a literal descrip-
tion of the Sea of Galilee
when the Jews fled into
it to escape the Roman
armies who then cut them
down in the water.
The great mountain is the
great power of the Vandals
(AD 428–468), a great sea
power. They slaughtered
many people on land and
sea.
For those who interpret it
symbolically, the moun-
tain is a great power, per-
haps the revived Roman
Empire of the Antichrist,
and the waters are the
Gentiles. Others make this
the fall of spiritual Baby-
lon. Literalist interpreters
say it may be an asteroid
falling into the ocean or a
hydrogen bomb.

Trumpet 3 (Great Star Falling)

IDEALISM PRETERISM HISTORICISM FUTURISM

Environmental disasters
are also warning-voices of
God’s coming judgments.
The waters turned bitter
in Israel when the bod-
ies of the dead began to
decay. Symbolically, it is
the opposite of Moses’
tree thrown into the water
to make it pure (Exodus
15:25). God has sent the
plagues of Egypt upon Is-
rael, as He said He would.
This is the coming of Attila
the Hun. The Huns were
masters of river battle, and
the dead bodies in the riv-
ers polluted the water. The
star is a symbol of a prince,
Attila himself.
Symbolically this could be
the reign of the Antichrist.
Literalistic interpretations
usually center around a
meteor that breaks up as
it enters the atmosphere
and is distributed through
out the streams. Nuclear
fallout is also suggested.

Trumpet 4 (A Third of the Sun, Moon, Stars)

IDEALISM PRETERISM HISTORICISM FUTURISM

All evils that are due to the
abnormal functioning of
heavenly bodies through-
out this entire age. The en-
tire universe is used by the
Lord as a warning for those
who do not serve him and
who persecute His people.
The many kings and princ-
es who were killed during
the first century are the
“suns” and “stars.”
The darkness signifies the
Roman Empire now laid
waste (AD 476).
Symbolically this is the
dimming of the light of
truth during the tribula-
tion. Literally it is the ef-
fect on the atmosphere
or heavenly bodies that
either dims the light by 3⁄1or
makes a day 3⁄1 shorter. Oth-
ers see this as atmospheric
pollution caused by nucle-
ar fallout.

55
Trumpet 5 and First Woe
IDEALISM PRETERISM HISTORICISM FUTURISM
The falling star is Satan
(Luke 10:18). The locusts
symbolize the demonic
powers of hell operating in
the hearts of wicked peo-
ple; though not, of course,
in believers.
Trumpet 6 and Second Woe
IDEALISM PRETERISM HISTORICISM FUTURISM
All wars — past, pres-
ent, and future serve as
a punishment and warn-
ing voice for unbelievers.
Meanwhile, God’s people
pray.
The star is either a spirit
of a man, possibly Gessius
Florus who terrorized the
Jews for five months after
the slaughter of 3,600 in-
nocent citizens. The de-
mons could be the false
religious teachings that
resulted in the religious
apostasy evident in Jeru-
salem near the end. The
reference to faces like men
but hair like women could
be a description of trans-
vestism that was occurring
at the time.
These are the Roman
armies encamped along
the Euphrates River.
Though not a literal num-
ber, 200,000,000 shows
this to be an overwhelm-
ing army. Preterists who
view Revelation as only
concerning Jerusalem
place this at the onset of
the invasion. Those who
see the rest of the book
as dealing with the fall of
Rome see this as the final
push of the invasion that
destroyed the city.
56
The locusts are the Sara-
cens (Muslim Arabs) who
attacked the eastern Ro-
man Empire from AD
612–763. The fallen star is
Mohammed, a prince who
had lost his position in a
royal family. He command-
ed them in the Koran not
to harm vegetation. They
also wore turbans, had
long hair, and wore iron
breastplates. Their soldiers
were expert horsemen.
This is the destruction of
the eastern Roman Empire
from AD 1055–1453. The
horsemen are the Turkish
hordes that led this attack.
Even the more literal in-
terpreters see the star as a
person, most as Satan him-
self. (Hal Lindsey believes
it is some kind of nuclear
device.) The locusts are de-
mons who are allowed to
torment and even possess
all but the 144,000 sealed
by God. Some suggest the
locusts are an army. Lind-
sey suggests they are Co-
bra helicopters that spray
nerve gas from their tails.
Many futurists consider
the angels to be fallen
angels who control a
200,000,000 man (or de-
mon) army from the east
(Orient). Some see the
horses as references to
tanks and other military
materiel such as nuclear
warheads. Whatever the
case, by the end of this
judgment 1⁄2 of humankind
will have been killed since
the opening of the fourth
seal.
The Little Scroll (Revelation 10:1–11)
IDEALISM PRETERISM HISTORICISM FUTURISM

The scroll is the Word of
God, the gospel which is
sweet. But its proclama-
tion brings bitter persecu-
tion. On the other hand
the prohibition to write
what he had heard is a re-
minder that there is much
in history and in the future
which we cannot under-
stand.
For those who believe
Revelation only concerns
Jerusalem, this is the same
scroll we saw in chapter 5,
except that now it is nearly
finished. Others who see
in chapters 4–11 the de-
struction of Jerusalem
and who see in chapters
13–19 the fall of Rome,
this is a further prophecy
about Rome’s destruction.
The thunder’s message is
sealed because some of
these things are still future.
With the fall of the eastern
Roman Empire (Trumpet
6), we now move to de-
velopments in the west.
With the rise of the Refor-
mation, the Bible (the little
scroll) is being opened for
everyone. The seven thun-
ders may be the seven cru-
sades, seven battles before
the French Revolution, or
seven countries which em-
braced the Reformation.
Some see it as the portion
of the “title deed” to the
earth that Christ shares
with believers. Some say
it is judgment that believ-
ers need not know about
since Christ has born it
for us. Others say it is Old
Testament prophecies re-
garding Israel during the
tribulation. And still oth-
ers say it is simply to show
that God does not reveal
the entire future to us.

The Two Witnesses (Revelation 11:1–14)

IDEALISM PRETERISM HISTORICISM FUTURISM

The witnesses are the true
church bearing witness to
the gospel throughout the
present age.
Some say they represent
the church and govern-
ment (Zechariah 4:11–14).
Others that they are repre-
sentative of the prophetic
witness of the whole Old
Testament. One author be-
lieves they are Peter and
James.
There was always a faith-
ful remnant in the pre-
Reformation church. These
faithful groups, spread
over the 1,260 years of
Rome’s domination of the
church, are the witnesses.
Most futurists believe that
the two witnesses are ei-
ther Moses and Elijah or
Enoch and Elijah. One in-
terpreter speculates that
they are Elijah and John
himself (see John 21:22–
23).

Trumpet 7 and the Third Woe

IDEALISM PRETERISM HISTORICISM FUTURISM

The judgment is not de-
scribed but introduced.
This is the end of sin and
the display of God’s heav-
enly Kingdom. (See also
the Futurism description.)
Christ began to reign spiri-
tually on the cross. This
is his vindication, the de-
struction of the earthly
temple. Now His reign will
spread to the church and
throughout the world.
This is the French Revolu-
tion, introducing the bowl
judgments.
This is a picture of the end,
though not actually the
end. Post-tribulational fu-
tures (including many in
the Idealist school of inter-
pretation), who see Rev-
elation as a series of reca-
pitulating visions, see this
as the end of the world
(as they would the sev-
enth seal and the seventh
bowl).

57
The Woman (Revelation 12)
IDEALISM PRETERISM HISTORICISM FUTURISM

The woman is believing
Israel (the church – God’s
people). The child is Christ.
This is a picture of His birth,
life, death, and resurrec-
tion. It is a picture both of
what happened in history
and what shall happen as
God continues to protect
His people.
The woman is the believ-
ing remnant of Israel and
her child is Christ. The
flight of the woman is the
believing Jews who es-
caped the destruction of
Jerusalem.
The woman is the church
and her child is the church
in the world gradually
gaining political power.
The child being “caught
up” is a picture of Con-
stantine’s ascension to
the throne and his rule
through the church. Her
flight is the struggle by the
church of Constantine’s
day to bring down the
heathen forces (AD 324–
363 – against Julian).
The woman is Israel and
the child is Christ. Her
flight is that of the Jews
in the future as Jerusalem
lies under siege. Hal Lind-
sey says this may be an
American airlift (hence the
eagle’s wings — transport
planes).

The Dragon (Revelation 12)

IDEALISM PRETERISM HISTORICISM FUTURISM

The dragon is Satan, often
working through political
powers on earth.
The dragon is Satan work- The dragon is the Roman The dragon is Satan em-
ing through the great heathen attempting to de- powering a revived Roman
empires of the world that stroy Roman Christianity. Empire in the last days.
have come against Israel.
At the time of writing it is
the Roman Empire.

The Beast out of the Sea (Revelation 13:1–10)

IDEALISM PRETERISM HISTORICISM FUTURISM

This beast is worldly
governmental power di-
rected against the church
throughout the ages. It is
Satan in the guise of a po-
litical system.
This beast is the Roman
Empire, specifically Em-
peror Nero who killed him-
self, throwing the Empire
into turmoil, and yet it sur-
vived.
Generally, this beast is
seen as pagan Rome with
its ten subordinate king-
doms and the seven forms
of government Rome has
had.
The final deification of
worldly power, this is the
revived Roman Empire of
the last days. It is the king-
dom of the Antichrist and
also Antichrist himself.
The deadly wound may be
some sort of bodily resur-
rection that amazes the
world or simply the fact of
Rome’s revival.

58
The Beast out of the Earth (Revelation 13:11–18)
IDEALISM PRETERISM HISTORICISM FUTURISM

This is heathen religion
and heathen politics coop-
erating with one another
in their battle against the
church.
This is the cult of emperor
worship which was re-
quired in the first century
when bowing down to a
statue of the emperor was
used as a test of fidelity
to the state. As an historic
figure, this may have been
Gessius Florus, Roman
Procurator for Judea.
This beast is the Papacy,
the Roman priesthood.
This is the head that re-
ceived the wound and
was healed (Roman gov-
ernment moving into reli-
gious government).
This is the false prophet,
a religious figure who will
support the Antichrist (the
first beast) by proclaiming
him to be God and de-
manding his worship.

The Mark of the Beast – 666 (Revelation 13:16–18)

IDEALISM PRETERISM HISTORICISM FUTURISM

The number is that of a
man (6) in contrast to that
of perfection (7). This mark
represents the Christ-
rejecting, church-perse-
cuting spirit of Antichrist
whenever and wherever
it appears. It need not be
any more literal than the
“mark” of God in chapter 7.
This is a code number us-
ing Hebrew gematria (the
use of letters for numbers,
as in Roman numerals).
It is Nero’s title (Caesar
Neron – in Hebraic form:
50 + 200 + 6 + 50 + 100
+ 60 + 200 = 666). Boy-
cotts were implemented
against any who would
not bow to the emperor,
thus the inability to buy
or sell.
The earliest calculation
of this number is the
word lateinos which is the
Greek word for “Latin.” It
was the Latin world, king-
dom, church, language,
clergy, prayers, etc. that
“marked” the Roman Cath-
olic church. Later in the
1500s it was explained as
the number of the pope’s
title (Vicarius filii Dei, “Vicar
of the Son of God” – using
the Roman numeral count
of the letters).
Most see this mark as a
literal tattoo, bar code, or
computer chip that will be
used as a forced identifica-
tion with the Antichrist’s
cashless world economic
system. (The number 666
continues to be “found”
by some Bible teachers to-
day in countless places —
Social Security numbers,
license plates, etc.!)

Angelic Messengers and the Harvest (Revelation 14:6–20)

IDEALISM PRETERISM HISTORICISM FUTURISM

This is a picture of the
saints in heaven followed
by pronouncements
of various events: the
preaching of the gospel to
the world, the judgment of
false religion, and the sep-
aration of God’s elect from
His enemies.
This is a picture of the
events that will complete
what we have see so far.
God will continue to pro-
tect His elect, the gospel
will be preached in all the
land, Babylon (Jerusalem)
will fall, and the vine of
Israel will be cut off even
as God’s true people are
saved.
59
This is the missionary era
of the true church. This
section also pictures the
coming judgment of Papal
Rome in the French Revo-
lution.
This chapter is like a “table
of contents” of the end. The
everlasting gospel is seen
by some dispensational-
ists as distinct from the
current gospel, as it only
concerns those entering
the millennial kingdom.
Most, however, equate it
with the simple gospel.
The judgment of Babylon
is forecast, as is the rapture
of the elect and the judg-
ment of the wicked.
The Seven Angels with Seven Plagues or Bowls (Revelation 15:1–16:21)
IDEALISM PRETERISM HISTORICISM FUTURISM

These are the final out-
pourings of God’s wrath —
either in final judgment or
His continual judgments
as His patience with man-
kind runs out. (The trum-
pets warned of His wrath;
the bowls pour out His
wrath. Both occur simulta-
neously in history.)
The angels are giving As the seven trumpets The bowls mark the soon
seven chalices, showing symbolized the fall of pa- coming, and fast outpour-
the rejection of Jerusa- gan Rome, so now the ing, of the final stage of
lem’s seven sacraments. seven bowls show the fall God’s wrath on the earth
As Moses led the Jews out of Papal Rome. which culminates in the fi-
of Egypt through the Red nal battle at Christ’s return.
Sea, now Christ leads true
Israel through a red sea
of blood. The temple is
closed. No more interces-
sion will be accepted on
Jerusalem’s behalf.

Bowl 1 (Sores on Those with Mark of the Beast)

IDEALISM PRETERISM HISTORICISM FUTURISM

Clearly, these are based on
the Plagues of Egypt. This
one may represent actual
physical disease or “spiri-
tual sores” on an impure
world.
This plague (like that dur-
ing the Exodus in Egypt)
took place literally as sani-
tation within Jerusalem
had disappeared, leading
to disease and infection.
Counting forward 1,260
years from the installation
of the Bishop of Rome as
head over all the others in
533 AD, this bowl brings us
to the French Revolution
of 1793. France leads the
way in toppling Rome’s
power.
Just as this plague was
literal in Egypt, so it will
be literal at the end of the
world. These plagues will
occur at or very close to
the end of the world and
in rapid succession.

Bowl 2 (Sea Turns to blood)

IDEALISM PRETERISM HISTORICISM FUTURISM

God’s judgments may in-
clude weather, shipwrecks,
etc. The sea may also rep-
resent all people. It is also
a major source of food
supply. This bowl could
represent a calamity in-
volving any of these.
These are the aftereffects
of the second trumpet.
The water is now filled
with blood. This is a pic-
ture of the blood of the
bodies from the various
sea battles fought during
the Jewish War.
This bowl represents
the naval battles fought
against Rome’s fleet by na-
tions between 1793 and
1815.
This judgment should be
taken literally and includes
the entire earth in its
scope. A nuclear exchange,
killing all sea creatures, is a
possible explanation.

60
Bowl 3 (Fresh Water Turns to Blood)
IDEALISM PRETERISM HISTORICISM FUTURISM

This might include judg-
ments involving drown-
ing, flooding, water poi-
soning, etc.
In Jerusalem the polluted
waters had been mixed
with the blood of the
dead. This is God’s judg-
ment against the city re-
sponsible for the blood of
all the martyred prophets.
This bowl represents the
Napoleonic Wars fought
in the Rhine River valleys
where so many martyrs
were killed by Papal de-
cree.
This is yet another Egypt-
like judgment. This time,
however, it involves the
entire world.

Bowl 4 (The Scorching Sun)

IDEALISM PRETERISM HISTORICISM FUTURISM

Judgments involving ex-
posure, heat, dehydration,
perhaps even cancer. Be-
cause the sun, like the wa-
ters of the previous judg-
ments, is a major source of
life, judgment upon it is a
strike at humankind’s life
itself.
The sun here, as in other
verses, is a heavenly body
symbolizing a leader. Thus,
it could refer to the leaders
of the zealots in Jerusalem.
This is either a reference
to the diminishing power
of the Papacy or of Napo-
leon.
This refers to some kind of
atmospheric problem that
increases the heat of the
sun. It could be related to
ozone depletion or may
be the results of nuclear
fallout.

Bowl 5 (Darkness on the Beast and His Kingdom)

IDEALISM PRETERISM HISTORICISM FUTURISM

A fitting punishment for
those who love dark-
ness more than light. The
throne of this beast exists
anywhere that political
power is worshipped or
takes God’s place.
The throne of the beast
was Rome. When Nero
committed suicide in AD
68, it nearly tore the em-
pire apart. The heathen
who joined Israel in per-
secuting the church were
now included in judg-
ment.
This bowl shows the de-
struction of the Vatican
by the French upon their
entrance into Rome. The
blasphemies include de-
crees by the Papal church
during that time such as
the immaculate concep-
tion of Mary and the infal-
libility of the Pope when
speaking ex cathedra.
There will be a complete
blackout of the new Ro-
man empire, possibly al-
lowing time for the 200
million man army of the
east to move into position
for the next bowl.

61
Bowl 6 (Euphrates Dies Up; Armageddon)
IDEALISM PRETERISM HISTORICISM FUTURISM
Armageddon is the sym- In the ultimate irony, the
bol of every battle in great river that once pro-
which, when the need is tected Israel dries up to
the greatest and believers allow their destruction.
are oppressed, the Lord Now instead of a river dry-
suddenly reveals His pow- ing for them (e.g. the Red
er to help His people and Sea or the Jordan) the Eu-
defeats the enemy. phrates dies up and allows
their enemies to cross over
against them. Many of Ti-
tus’ troops were stationed
along the Euphrates. This
battle was not a world-
ending final battle. As Wa-
terloo was to the French,
so Armageddon is the
“place of defeat” for Israel.
Bowl 7 (“It Is Done”)
IDEALISM PRETERISM HISTORICISM FUTURISM
The final and complete Jerusalem was being shak-
exposure of God’s wrath en. As there was shaking
— so long restrained — during the giving of the
has come. This is the Day covenant to Israel at Sinai,
of Judgment from heaven so there was shaking at its
against the entire empire dissolution. As in Ezekiel’s
of evil. prophecy of Jerusalem’s
destruction by Babylon in
BC 586 (Ezekiel 5) where
the city was split into three
parts, so the city was divid-
ed into three warring fac-
tions among the Jews. The
hail could be a reference
to the catapult stones
used to smash the Jerusa-
lem by the Romans. This is
the end of Jerusalem.
62
The Euphrates refers to
the Turkish power, and
its drying up to its down-
fall as a world power. In
1917–1918 the British de-
feated the Turkish Empire
completely. Islam, Juda-
ism, and Communism (be-
ginning in 1917) are the
evil spirits that came out
of this.
Because this bowl has not
yet been poured out, it
is difficult to tell exactly
what it may refer to. What-
ever the exact cause (pos-
sibly the Gog invasion of
Russia), the result will be
the utter overthrow of Pa-
pal power.
This will be “World War
III.” The 200-million troop
army is probably an Ori-
ental coalition with China
or Japan in the lead. They
will literally converge on
the plain of Megiddo, ei-
ther in response to a call
from the beast to fight
against the coming Christ
or in rebellion against the
beast’s rule. However it
begins, it will end with the
world gathered for the fi-
nal slaughter. At this point
Christ will return quickly to
destroy His enemies once
and for all.
Literally, this will be the
end of civilization. This
plague again will mirror
the plagues of Egypt only
on a worldwide scale. All
that humankind could
possibly rely upon for
survival will be utterly
destroyed. And yet they
will die blaspheming their
own Creator in a final show
of their rebellion.
The Harlot Babylon (Revelation 18)
IDEALISM PRETERISM HISTORICISM FUTURISM

Babylon represents world
power as a usurper of reli-
gion. In John’s time it was
pictured as Rome. Today
it could be any institution
that seeks to replace God
with itself.
Babylon is Jerusalem, the
city responsible for all the
blood of the prophets,
spiritual Egypt. Once God’s
bride, she has made her-
self a whore in the fashion
of Babylon.
Babylon is the great city
of Rome and the false re-
ligion she espouses. She is
responsible for the blood
of more martyrs than
any other institution. She
wears gold and purple and
yet conceals abominations
within her golden cup.
She is corrupt religion and
idolatry, and she rides the
power of Rome.
Babylon as seen in her reli-
gious context is either Ro-
man Catholicism or some
form of one-world apos-
tate religion of the future
Antichrist whose seat is
Rome. Babylon in the con-
text of an actual city may
be symbolic of Rome or
may be the actual city of
Babylon rebuilt in the lat-
ter days.

The Fall of Babylon (Revelation 18:21–24)

IDEALISM PRETERISM HISTORICISM FUTURISM

When Babylon perishes,
the economic chaos is
complete. The world of
the unbeliever — that on
which he has pinned his
hopes — will collapse. This
is true of every “Babylon”
— whether literally Baby-
lon or Nineveh or Rome (or
any place that opposes the
worship of the true God. It
is especially true for the fi-
nal kingdom of Antichrist
as the close of history.
This is a recap of the fall
of the city of Jerusalem,
giving details not found
in prior announcements.
That Jerusalem fell in a
manner described here is
a matter of history,
This parenthetical section
is a preview of what the
Papacy’s fall will be like. It
provides details not found
earlier.
Many draw a distinction
between a political or re-
ligious Babylon in chapter
17 with the commercial
Babylon here. These two
chapters, then, record the
two stages of the fall of
political/commercial Bab-
ylon.

Christ’s Return (Revelation 19)

IDEALISM PRETERISM HISTORICISM FUTURISM

We hear the hallelujahs of
heaven when Christ comes
in glory to take His bride to
Himself. The betrothal oc-
curred at His first coming,
the dowry was paid at the
cross, and now, with the
time of preparation over,
Christ returns for His pure
and waiting bride — the
church.
This is the opening scene
of the New Covenant. God
has given physical Israel
her divorce certificate, and
now spiritual Israel — the
church — is claimed as His
bride.
With the downfall of the
Papacy, the true church is
seen as a pure virgin bride.
The marriage scene takes
place after the rapture.
Now Christ is coming with
His church to destroy His
enemies.

63
The understanding of chapter 20 cuts across the traditional interpretive categories that we have been using. The fol-
lowing chart shows the three primary views of the millennium.

The Thousand Year Reign (Revelation 20)

Amillennialism Postmillennialism Premillenialism

This chapter (like other divisions of
Revelation) symbolically refers to
the entire period between the first
and second comings of Christ. Sa-
tan was “bound” at the cross (in the
limited but significant sense that he
is unable to halt the gospel’s spread
throughout the world) but will be
briefly released at the end of the age
as evil intensifies. The glorious return
of Christ will be followed by a single,
general resurrection and judgment.
The church — through its success-
ful preaching of the gospel — brings
in a period of peace and the obser-
vance of Biblical law. At the end of
this period of peace (not necessarily
1,000 literal years) Christ will return,
followed by a single, general resur-
rection and judgment.
All the events of this chapter are in
the future. The binding of Satan and
the resurrection of believers will oc-
cur as Christ raptures the church
from the earth. There will be a “mil-
lennial” judgment of the sheep and
goats of the tribulation period to de-
termine who may enter the millen-
nial kingdom. A 1,000 year “dispen-
sation” of Christ’s earthly kingdom
will follow. At the end of this reign
of peace, Satan will be released, the
climactic battle of Armageddon will
ensue, Christ will return in power,
and He will initiate the final judg-
ment of unbelievers and Satan.

Again, as with the last chapter, the views of chapter 21 cross over among interpretive viewpoints. Most futurists
understand it completely literally. Those endorsing the other viewpoints hold a spectrum of viewpoints from purely
symbolic to fairly literal.

The New Jerusalem/The New Heavens and Earth (Revelation 21–22)

SPIRITUAL LITERAL

This imagery could refer to the eternal, heavenly state.
It may also refer to the condition of genuine believers in
any age. These are spiritual pictures using physical lan-
guage symbolizing the pure, holy, gracious character of
the fellowship between God and His people. In principle,
we enjoy it here and now; in perfection we shall enjoy it
for all eternity in heaven.
This is the brand new earth after the destruction of the
present earth, and new Jerusalem is the eternal dwelling
place of believers with God. Heaven (as God’s dwelling
place) and earth (man’s dwelling) have merged. It is a
return to a pre-fall Eden-like environment, free from the
curse that began at the fall of humankind.

64
Concluding Testimony of Christ (Revelation 22:7–21)
IDEALISM PRETERISM HISTORICISM FUTURISM

The time indicators here
are for every person on
earth (believer or unbe-
liever) living at any point in
history. God’s judgments
are always at hand for
those who rebel against
Him, and His blessings
(and protection from His
wrath) are always available
for His true worshipers.
Note that these things are This simply reaffirms the The warnings of the immi-
to take place soon. John is nearness of the events nence (potential immedia-
told not to seal the words that have been described, cy) of Christ’s return serve
of this prophecy (in con- showing that they would to remind Christians in all
trast to the command to begin very soon. ages that He could return
Daniel to do the opposite for them at any time.
(Daniel 12:4), for in Daniel’s
time the last days were still
far in the future, whereas
the events of John’s vision
were said to be “at hand.”

65
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