Overview:
Revelation is the last book of the Christian Bible, and one of the last to be accepted as canonical. The book is also known as the Apocalypse, which is the Greek word for “revelation” or “unveiling.” The book claims to present a vision of future events, including the catastrophic end of the world and ultimate victory of God over the forces of evil. One might ask what is the difference between such a vision on the one hand and a dream or a hallucination on the other, but that discussion would take us away from the primary focus of our commentary. We will recall however, that Thomas Hobbes once observed that if I say God spoke to me in a dream, that is no different from saying that I dreamed God spoke to me.
After most of the New Testament books had been generally accepted throughout Christendom as holy scripture, the book of Revelation continued to spark debate and doubt. As late as 350 A.D., the church at Jerusalem still did not accept it as part of the New Testament. (Bruce Metzger, The Canon of the New Testament, pp.209-210.) Much of the controversy centered on whether the book was actually written by the apostle John. The belief that it was of apostolic origin contributed to its initial acceptance. But in the third century, Dionysius – the bishop of Alexandria – concluded from a “careful study of language, style, and thought” that Revelation could not have been written by the same author as the Gospel of John. (Raymond E. Brown, An Introduction to the New Testament, p.803.) “The result of Dionysius’ work was that the canonical authority of Revelation was greatly weakened in the East,” and it was “definitively rejected by the Eastern Syrian Church.” (Anchor Bible Dictionary, vol.5, p.695) Throughout the succeeding centuries, Revelation continued to have many doubters in the eastern churches, although it was generally well-received in the west (i.e., Rome).
1:1 In this opening passage, it is not Jesus Christ who is being revealed, but rather he is the one who is doing the revealing. This is how we should understand “the revelation of Jesus Christ.” According to this verse, the revelation comes first from God, to Jesus Christ, to an angel (i.e., messenger), and finally to John.
There is little disagreement among present-day scholars that Revelation was indeed written by someone named John. But he is not to be identified with any of the following: John the son of Zebedee (one of the twelve disciples), the author of the gospel of John, or the author(s) of the epistles of John. (Brown, An Introduction to the New Testament, p.774.) John was a very common name in antiquity, and it would not be at all remarkable for the author of Revelation to be a person named John who is otherwise unknown to us.
Many Christians do not consider the visions of Revelation to be literal predictions of how the world will end, but numerous fundamentalists still hold this view. For those literalists, this opening verse presents a difficulty, as it promises that the events depicted in the vision will take place “soon.” Whatever definition of “soon” one adopts, it cannot plausibly be argued that “soon” has any meaning if it includes a period lasting more than 2000 years. “Soon” must be understood in relation to the author’s own time, not ours.
Once again, the word translated here into English as “servant” is in fact the Greek word for “slave.” As we have seen throughout the books of the New Testament, translators have opted for the milder term “servant” in order to avoid the harsh connotations associated with “slave.” In doing so, they have departed from the literal meaning of the text.
1:3 The author once again warns that “the time is near,” i.e., the time in which the events about to be revealed will actually occur. They have not occurred yet, so the literalists are once again faced with the dilemma of how to reconcile “soon” and “near” with a time span of 2000 years (and counting).
1:4 It is remarkable that a vision which reveals the imminent fate of the entire world would be addressed only to seven churches in Asia. They are identified in 1:11 as the congregations at Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea. The sweeping language gives the impression that the vision is being broadcast far and wide to the four corners of the earth, or at least the Christianized portion of it. But all these cities are located within the narrow confines of what is now western Turkey. So not only is Revelation not addressed to modern readers of the 21st century, it is not even addressed to the majority of Christian churches existing at the time it was written. Those at Rome, Corinth, Jerusalem, Antioch, Philippi, and others are not included in the intended audience.
Considering the violent images which follow, it is ironic that this greeting wishes “peace” for the readers.
1:5 Acts 26:23 also identifies Christ as the first to rise from the dead, but both Acts and this verse in Revelation are contradicted by other passages that show Christ was not the first to rise from the dead. According to the gospels, Lazarus (John 11:43-44), the ruler’s little girl (Matthew 9:18, 23-25), and the widow’s son (Luke 7:12-15) already were raised from the dead before Jesus. And in the Old Testament both Elijah (1 Kings 17:17-23) and Elisha (2 Kings 4:32-35) are reported to have raised children from the dead.
1:7 When he comes with the clouds, all those who have “pierced him” will see Christ. One gets the impression that this is a lot of people, but according to the gospel of John, only one soldier pierced Jesus as he hung on the cross. (John 19:34)
1:8 Alpha and Omega are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet, symbolizing the scope of God’s power and authority.
1:9 Patmos is an island off the coast of Asia Minor (modern Turkey). The author may have written Revelation while in exile on Patmos, as he says he was on the island “on account of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus.” (RSV) For a discussion of this possibility, see the Anchor Bible Dictionary, vol.5, p.701.
1:10-11 In one of the many absurd similes to be found in the book, we are told here that the voice sounded like a trumpet, yet it was able to articulate instructions in Greek, which trumpets are not known to do.
As noted earlier (1:4), this list of churches is quite limited, and omits many prominent Christian congregations known to exist at the time.
1:13 In case there is any doubt about this vision being Jesus Christ, verse 18 confirms his identity. Note that John does not say he saw the son of man, but one like a son of man. In the Old Testament the phrase “son of man” was used to designate simply “a man,” i.e., a human being. (e.g., Numbers 23:19; Job 25:6; Psalm 8:4) It is used in Daniel 7:13 in connection with the vision of a heavenly figure, but here again the phrase is “like a son of man,” i.e., having the appearance of a human being. Daniel is the source for the use of the term as denoting a heavenly messiah who will arrive on clouds of glory. But the only use of the phrase as a title in the book of Daniel is in 8:17 where Daniel himself, as the recipient of the vision, is addressed by the angel as “son of man.” Jesus referred to himself as the “son of man” without ever explaining what he meant by the term.
Although 1:1 stated that the vision would be communicated to John via an angel, here it comes directly from the Christ figure to John, without any angelic intermediary.
1:14-16 Note how the author’s images are limited by the knowledge of the times. Fire, lustrous bronze, roaring waters, and sharp swords are all things which would have been familiar to anyone living at the time Revelation was written. This would indicate that the author is making this all up out of his own imagination. If the vision of Jesus had laser eyes, instead of fire, and the voice was as loud as dynamite, instead of roaring water, and his mouth held machine guns instead of swords, then the vision would be much more convincing as prophecy, because there’s no way the author could have imagined these things on his own. There are no doubt some apologists who would argue that these images would have been unintelligible to readers of the time, but the whole book is essentially unintelligible anyway, so nothing would have been lost by revealing these modern images to John. After all, it is not really a revelation if the only things revealed are those that the reader is already familiar with.
1:18 The reference in this verse is to Hades and not “hell,” as the KJV would have it. The two are not identical. “Hades, the Greek equivalent of the Hebrew Sheol, was not for John a place of punishment, but was the temporary abode in the lower world of the souls of the dead, both good and evil.” (The Interpreter’s Bible, vol.12, p.377-378.)
1:19 If Christ is going to all the trouble of conjuring up this vision, and ordering John to write down what he sees, it seems he could have granted John a better command of the language to write it in. According to Raymond E. Brown, the Greek of Revelation is “the poorest in the NT to the point of being ungrammatical.” (An Introduction to the New Testament, p.803.)
2:1 Christ dictates a letter to the church at Ephesus for John to write down. This is, of course, not the only letter to the Ephesians in the New Testament. The epistle to the Ephesians, allegedly written by Paul, was addressed to the same location.
We may wonder how Christ could dictate these letters while holding a sword in his mouth (1:16), but we would no doubt be told that with God all things are possible.
2:2 Christ praises the Ephesians for testing those who claim to be apostles. But how did Jesus react when this practice was applied to him? The scribes and Pharisees tested Jesus by asking him for a sign to show that he really was from God, but Jesus refused. (Mark 8:11-12)
Christ also praises the Ephesians because they “cannot bear those who are evil.” But again the Jesus of the gospels taught a different doctrine. In his Sermon on the Plain, Jesus taught that God “is kind to ungrateful and evil men.” (Luke 6:35, NASB) (Note that the RSV translation has “selfish” in place of “evil” in this verse, but “evil” is the literal translation of the Greek word poneirous.)
Given that this vision of Christ speaks so differently from the Jesus of the gospels, perhaps John should have tested him before writing down the vision. How else could he know whether this figure is the real Christ or an impostor?
2:3 The patient endurance which this Christ attributes to the Ephesians seems to have escaped the notice of writer of the epistle to the Ephesians. The latter author felt it necessary to order the Ephesian Christians to stop living as the Gentiles do, and to put off their old nature in favor of the new nature in the image of God. (Ephesians 4:17, 22) There would have been no need for this advice if the Ephesians were indeed as well-behaved as the Christ figure in Revelation implies. The apologists cannot explain this difference by arguing that the epistle to the Ephesians and the Revelation to John were directed to different groups of Ephesian Christians at different times, because the evidence indicates that Ephesians and Revelation were both written at about the same time, i.e., in the early to mid 90s. (Brown, An Introduction to the New Testament, pp.621, 774.)
2:5 The threat to “remove your lampstand” sounds harmless enough, until we recall the explanation in 1:20, that the lampstands symbolize the churches. So to “remove your lampstand” can only mean that the church of Ephesus would be wiped out, or at the very least, rejected by Christ and no longer eligible for heavenly benefits when the final judgment comes.
2:6 Again we have a statement by this cosmic Christ figure that clashes with the Jesus we are familiar with from the gospels. Here he praises the Ephesians for hating the Nicolaitans. We do not know who the Nicolaitans were, but that is of less importance than the fact that this Christ encourages his followers to hate them. Jesus, on the other hand, expressly taught his followers not to hate their enemies. (Matthew 5:43-44) (Apparently it was all right to hate your own family members, though, according to Luke 14:26.)
2:7 “He who has an ear” might have it plugged up by God and be unable to hear. Paul reports that it is God who puts people into a stupor and gives them ears which cannot hear. (Romans 11:8. See also Deuteronomy 29:4.)
2:10-11 Christ does not explain why he is going to allow his followers to suffer through this torture from the devil, instead of protecting them from it. It is a totally cruel and perverse concept, that one’s lord and protector allows one to be tortured by the enemy for the purpose of being “tested.”
2:13 This Antipas should not be confused with Herod Antipas, son of Herod the Great, and ruler of Galilee during Jesus’s lifetime. (See the comments to Luke 3:1; 9:7-9.) The Antipas referred to here is not otherwise known, but was apparently a Christian, known to John, who was executed for his Christian beliefs and practices. Pergamum was a center of state religion, and John’s “throne of Satan” may refer to the religious sites devoted to worship of the emperor, who at the time of writing would have been Domitian. Much of the symbolism of Revelation is thought to equate Satan and the forces of evil with the Empire and its religious practices.
2:14 The problem here is that someone has been teaching the Christians of Pergamum that it is permissible to eat food offered to idols (i.e., pagan gods). Could this teaching have come from Paul? Paul wrote that there is no such thing as food offered to idols, because idols have no real existence. However, since some Christians do not understand this, he advised that it may be better from a practical standpoint to abstain from such food simply because it might lead fellow Christians into a belief in the reality of other gods. (1 Corinthians 8:4-13) But Paul’s basic rule for one’s own consumption of meat was “don’t ask, don’t tell.” In other words, one could eat anything sold in the meat market, or anything put on the table at an unbeliever’s house, without asking any questions as to its origin. (1 Corinthians 10:25-27)
The words of Christ here in Revelation contradict Paul’s teaching with regard to the food laws, but are in line with that of James and the Jerusalem Christians, as reported in Acts 21:25, highlighting again the split between Paul and the original followers of Jesus.
2:15 Here again we encounter the Nicolaitans, without learning who they were or what they taught, or why their teaching was objectionable. Apparently this information was known to the intended audience, but if Revelation was intended as a message for all Christians in all times, it seems that more would have been revealed about this mysterious group, which Christ hates (2:6). Their teaching is not necessarily to be identified with that of the Balaamites mentioned in v.14, although both groups are equally vile in John’s eyes.
2:20 This “Jezebel” seems to be a woman living at the time Revelation was written, active in the Christian community at Thyatira, and teaching a doctrine of which John disapproves. It is likely that Jezebel is not her real name, but a symbolic name for her, recalling the Old Testament Jezebel who married the Israelite king Ahab in a dynastic marriage, and who introduced the Israelites to the worship of her native Phoenician gods, including Baal. Yahweh’s response to this was to command that “the dogs shall eat Jezebel in the territory of Jezreel, and none shall bury her. . . . And the corpse of Jezebel shall be as dung upon the face of the field.” (2 Kings 9:10, 37 RSV)
2:23 Again the Jesus of the gospels clashes with the Christ of Revelation. This Christ promises to “kill her [Jezebel’s] children with death.” But Jesus taught that the kingdom of God belongs to the children. (Mark 10:14; Luke 18:16)
Christ here promises to “give to every one of you according to your works.” This puts him firmly into the camp of James’ salvation by works doctrine (James 2:14, 24) as against Paul’s salvation by grace (Galatians 2:16; Romans 3:28). For a discussion of this conflict, and a refutation of Christian attempts to resolve it, see the comment to James 2:14-26.
2:26-27 Christ promises that those who endure in the face of persecution will be given power over the nations and will rule them with “a rod of iron.” “This is a rather free quotation of Ps. 2:8-9, a psalm which presents the concept of a warrior-king, considered as Yahweh’s anointed, or Messiah, who will vanquish the enemies of his people.” (The Interpreter’s Bible, vol.12, p.389.) However, later in Revelation (19:15) it is Christ himself who will rule with a rod of iron, not the Christians addressed in the letters to the churches.
2:28 Not only will the faithful followers of Christ be given power over earthly nations, they will also be given the “morning star.” Today we know the morning star to be the planet Venus, but in 22:16 Christ himself claims to be the morning star. So if the symbolism is kept consistent, John is saying here in 2:28 that Christ (“the morning star” of 22:16) will be given to those who remain true to the faith.
Astronomy is not one of the Bible’s strong subjects. Although Venus as the morning star (also the evening star!) appears to be the third brightest object in the sky (after the sun and moon), as a planet it is much inferior to the stars in inherent brightness. The exalted place given to the morning star is due to the limited perspective from earth, and not to any real knowledge of the heavenly bodies on the part of the author. A revelation coming from God should have cleared up any misunderstanding arising from this limited viewpoint.
3:1 Christ accuses the Sardis congregation of being Christian in name only. Unlike the four previous churches, this Christ figure has nothing positive to say about Sardis.
3:2 Insisting on perfection may seem like a rather harsh standard, but the Jesus of the gospels was equally demanding. (“Be ye therefore perfect” – Matthew 5:48)
3:3 To come “like a thief” means without warning. Paul, too, wrote that “the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.” (1 Thessalonians 5:2, RSV) Jesus conveys the same element of surprise in Matthew 24:37-39. The day will come when no one expects it. But the author of 2 Thessalonians tries to tamp down the expectations of his readers by assuring them that the day of the Lord will not arrive anytime soon, at least not until after several other events take place – first the rebellion, then the man of lawlessness who must be destroyed. (2 Thessalonians 2:1-10).
3:4 If soiling one’s garments was such a problem in Sardis, perhaps white was not the best choice of color for their wardrobe.
“From other sources we learn not only that the white garments are the symbol of righteousness and immortality, but that they replace the mortal body and constitute the immortal body of the saved.” (The Interpreter’s Bible, vol.12, p.391.)
3:7 The reference here is to Isaiah 22:22, with rather embarrassing consequences for the author’s purpose. First of all, the phrase “he that is holy, he that is true” does not appear in the Isaiah passage. Secondly, the Isaiah passage refers not to Christ, but to Eliakim (Isaiah 22:20), a royal official. Finally, and most awkward of all, this Eliakim failed in his duty, and was cut off from God’s favor (Isaiah 22:24-25). So if John is trying to suggest that Isaiah foretold the rise of Jesus as the messiah in this passage, his argument is unconvincing. This is not uncommon in the New Testament, where authors take Old Testament passages out of context and use them to suggest that the coming of Jesus Christ was foretold in them.
3:11 Another indication that the return of Jesus is expected soon. “Soon” would have been in the timeframe of the book’s composition – not “soon” to those reading it in the 21st century. Some naïve readers forget that the Bible was not written expressly for modern day readers, but for Christians living at the time the books were composed. As noted before, “soon” loses all meaning for human readers if it can be construed to encompass a period of two thousand years.
3:12 Those who conquer (i.e., remain steadfast in their faith) will become pillars of the temple of God. The temple sounds more like a prison, however, because those who are put there “will not go out from it anymore.” (NASB)
Not only will the faithful be imprisoned in this temple, they will be written on by Christ. On them will be written God’s name (i.e., Yahweh), the name of God’s city (i.e., the New Jerusalem), and Christ’s own new name. It is not clear what Christ’s new name is to be, since he does not reveal it here. In 19:16 Christ as the Word of God is inscribed with the name “King of Kings and Lord of Lords.” Oddly, he has this name inscribed on his thigh – which must have been exposed, or else John would not have been able to see it. But Deuteronomy 10:17 has God himself named as “Lord of lords,” so it is still not clear whether this is the new name for Christ referred to in 3:12.
3:15 As with Sardis, Christ has nothing good to say about the congregation at Laodicea.
3:19 This is an odd way to treat those whom one loves. See the comment to Hebrews 12:6-7, which also expresses the view that God disciplines those he loves.
3:20 Again indicating that the return of Jesus is close. Matthew 24:33 uses a similar image to suggest the imminent coming of the Son of Man.
3:21 Here Christ promises an exalted place on the throne to those who “conquer.” But in Mark 10:40 he denies that he has the power to grant such an honor.
4:1 Here we are reminded that the preceding section of the seven letters to seven churches took place not in heaven, but on earth, on the island of Patmos where John was in exile. Recall that 1:10 places the voice behind John, and when he turned to see, it was the Christ figure that he saw. Now, John is invited to “come up hither” after the door to heaven opens. The vision which follows is intended to be prophetic, showing John the “things which must be hereafter.”
4:2 Here, as in 1:10, John tells us that he was “in the Spirit” when these visions appeared to him. He relates that he saw God upon his throne, even though “No man has seen God at any time,” according to John 1:18.
4:3 Emeralds are green. Rainbows are a multi-colored spectrum. How a rainbow could look “like an emerald” is indeed a mystery.
4:5 Again we suspect that John is making up all this out of his own imagination, since lightning, thunder, and fire were all familiar forces to an ancient writer who might want to portray images of power and awe. But one who could see into the real powers of the universe could no doubt have come up with something much more impressive. As we noted previously, what’s the point of prophecy if it only reveals what one is already familiar with?
4:7 These creatures are similar to those described in Ezekiel 1:10, except that Ezekiel reports that each creature had all four faces – human in front, a lion’s face on the right side of the head, the face of an ox on the left, and the eagle’s face behind. Here in Revelation, John describes four different types of creatures: one like a lion, one like an ox, one like a man, and the fourth like an eagle. Are we to understand that these descriptions refer to different types of heavenly species? Or are Ezekiel and John trying to describe the same beings?
4:8 To continuously sing the same two verses over and over hardly sounds like paradise. What must these creatures have done to deserve this fate?
4:11 The order of the last verse of this hymn seems odd. “They existed and were created,” implies that they may have existed first and been created later. If John has in mind a Platonic view of reality, this may explain the order. The ideas or patterns existed first in the mind of God, which is the true reality, and then were created – i.e., given tangible existence in the material world. But this may be going too far in trying to explain the sequencing here. Some manuscripts have this line as “they exist [present tense] and were created,” as translated in the KJV.
5:1 If the scroll was rolled up and sealed, how could John have known that it was written on both sides? He would not have been able to see the inside (front of the manuscript) at all, and the back (outside) would only have had a small part exposed. But there must not have been any writing exposed on the back either, because John says in v.3 that no one was able to look into the scroll. So the question remains: how could he see that it was written on both front and back, if he was not able to look into it?
5:5 Contrary to the words of the elder, the “Lion of the tribe of Judah, the root of David” – i.e., the Jewish messiah – has not conquered. There has indeed been no messiah – ever – who has rallied the Jewish people to throw off the yoke of their oppressors and to establish a powerful kingdom of Israel. The messiah is entirely a mythological figure, unrealized in history.
5:6 Dead lamb standing? A lamb “standing as though it had been slain” (RSV) is a curiously incoherent simile. Slain lambs do not stand.
Symbols, of course, can stand for anything one wants them to stand for. But the symbolism here keeps shifting. In the previous verse, the Lion symbolized Jesus as the messiah. Now we have him represented by a lamb. In 1:13 he had human form, but with fiery eyes and bronzed feet. This procession of changing symbols is no doubt intended to establish an atmosphere of mystery and wonder. But it does nothing to advance the theological point, if there is one.
The seven eyes of the standing dead lamb are the “seven spirits of God sent forth into all the earth.” But in the rest of the New Testament there is only one holy spirit, not seven. The term never appears in the plural, but is always the “holy spirit.” By contrast, the term “holy spirit” never appears in Revelation.
5:8 This is the only instance in the New Testament where the harp is mentioned as a heavenly accessory. In the Old Testament, David was a skilled harpist, and in the Psalms the harp was an instrument expressing praise to God. (Psalm 144:9; 150:3)
5:9 In case there was any doubt about the lamb’s identity, this hymn confirms that it is intended to represent Jesus.
5:11 This heavenly court where there is a supreme God attended by throusands of other immortal beings hardly sounds different from the polytheistic pantheons of the pagans. How can Christianity claim to be monotheistic when God has so many heavenly companions?
5:12 If Jesus Christ, represented by the lamb, is to “receive” all these powers and honors, then he must not have had them before. Thus, the implication is that Jesus Christ did not always exist alongside God, or at least not with his full divine power, which he only received later.
But why would Christ be praised as worthy to receive wealth? Jesus taught that you cannot serve both God and wealth. (Matthew 6:24) And for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God was not an easy thing to do. (Mark 10:25)
6:1 The lamb now begins to open the seven seals.
6:2 The white horse and rider have been said to symbolize “a conquering power that none can resist.” (The New Oxford Annotated Bible, 1973 ed., p.1498, n.) But the rider is armed only with a bow. Since God himself was unable to conquer the warriors of the plain because of their iron chariots (Judges 1:19), what would this lone rider and his bow be able to accomplish against a modern force of tanks, artillery, and cruise missiles? Again, the writer has conjured up images out of his own imagination, and had no idea that 2000 years later his powerful bowman would seem so puny.
6:4 Again, a sword would not be of much use against a modern assault rifle or machine gun. But why is this rider permitted to induce men to murder one another? The sixth commandment forbids killing. (Exodus 20:13) Is God then encouraging sin by inciting this slaughter among his creatures? He is called the “God of Peace” in Hebrews 13:20, Romans 15:33, Philippians 4:9 and elsewhere, but apparently that is not a permanent feature of his nature.
6:8 Death and Hades are again together, as in 1:18. Hades is the name both of the underworld where the souls of the dead reside, and the god who rules it. In this image, Hades is said to follow Death, but it is not clear whether Hades has a horse of his own, or if we’re supposed to imagine Death and Hades riding on the same horse. As noted in the comment to 1:18, Hades, as the Greek underworld, is not to be confused with the Christian concept of hell as a place of punishment.
Again, there is no explanation of why all this carnage and destruction are being unleashed upon the earth and its inhabitants. The faithful servants of God, introduced in 7:3, have not yet been identified or marked with the seal or otherwise separated out from the rest of mankind, so it’s not clear how or whether they escape the bloodbath unleashed by the horsemen.
6:10 The martyred Christians cry out for revenge against their persecutors, forgetting the words of Jesus: “If you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions.” (Matthew 6:15, NASB)
6:11 Apparently God has a quota of Christians who must be killed before he takes vengeance upon their killers. These saints who are impatient for revenge cannot be among the 144,000 numbered in 7:4, because the 144,000 are still upon the earth, while the martyred saints have already been slain.
6:12-14 The opening of the sixth seal is attended by various astronomical catastrophes. Remember that these events are all supposed to be visions of what is to come (1:19), so are not merely symbolic representations of something else. But if the sun became black, how did John see any of these happenings? And the moon would not have been visible, not even in the color of blood, if the sun had been extinguished. Perhaps God created a little light just for the benefit of the seer. But the falling of the stars to earth is truly absurd, because the stars are much bigger than the earth, and in any collision would simply have swallowed the earth up. Will God suddenly shrink the stars so they can fall to earth as this prophecy predicts? And we know now that the sky is not a surface that can be rolled up like a scroll. The primitive astronomical beliefs of the author reveal not heavenly truths, but his own ignorance. The most plausible explanation is once again that John is making up a fantasy based on what he is familiar with, but is not revealing anything to us that really is, or is to be.
7:1 Any prophet who was actually observing heavenly truths would have seen that the earth does not have corners. “According to a cosmology probably derived from the Babylonians, the earth was considered to be a square, with an angelic watcher of each of the four winds stationed at each corner.” (The Interpreter’s Bible, vol.12, p.417.) The only thing revealed by this image of the earth having four corners is the author’s ignorance of physical reality.
7:2-3 God delays the destruction of his creation a little longer, while his slaves are identified and marked. Yes, the word is “slave” (Greek doulos) and reveals what sort of existence awaits the Christians when they get to heaven. The substitution of “servant” for “slave” is common throughout the English translations of the New Testament. It is not merely a substitution of words, but a change in the essential relationship. In ancient times, slaves were considered the property of their owners. But the word “servant” conjures up the feudal relationship of lord and vassal, which characterized the society of medieval Europe. “Servant” in these verses is not only a mistranslation, but an anachronism as well.
7:4 As noted in the comment to 6:11, the martyrs who have already died would not need to be sealed, since they are no longer living on the earth and would not be subject to the destruction of the four winds. Thus, the 144,000 must all be separate from the pre-deceased martyrs, and currently living upon the earth at the time John is writing.
But the truly amazing claim here is that all these slaves of God are members of the tribes of Israel. In other words, they are all Jews. This, of course, will not do. What about the many non-Jews who have died for the cause? The simple solution, which Christians have adopted, is to consider all followers of Christ as honorary Jews. Thus, we get the concept of the “true Israel,” which means nothing more than the “non-Israel.” The identification of Gentile Christians with the twelve tribes of Israel is nothing more than a sleight of hand to escape the very embarrassing fact that verses such as these only apply to the Jews.
7:5 In verse 4, the author declared that the sealed slaves of God would be from every tribe of Israel. He would very much like the number of tribes to be twelve, because twelve, like seven, is a favorite number of biblical writers. However, there were not twelve tribes of Israel, but thirteen. John’s list here omits the tribe of Dan, so his listing that follows does not include “every tribe of the sons of Israel.”
Dan is included in the listing of tribes in Numbers 13:4-15. The Numbers list also has an omission, however. It does not include the tribe of Levi, which is included in the list here in Revelation. Every list of the “twelve tribes of Israel” leaves out one of the thirteen tribes. The tribes represent the twelve sons of Jacob, but as Jacob was dying he blessed two of his grandchildren – Manasseh and Ephraim (who were sons of Joseph) and elevated them to the status of his other eleven sons. Thus the thirteen tribes of Israel were: Judah, Reuben, Gad, Asher, Naphtali, Manasseh, Simeon, Levi, Issachar, Zebulun, Benjamin, Ephraim, and Dan. The “tribe of Joseph” is actually two tribes: Manasseh and Ephraim. Its inclusion here in Revelation is obviously intended to represent Ephraim, because Manasseh is listed separately. But then there is no room for Dan.
So not only is the author wrong when he promises to include all the tribes of Israel, the nice symmetric number of 144,000 (12 times 12,000) should actually be 156,000 (13 times 12,000). Or maybe 169,000 (13 times 13,000).
7:9 We have already been introduced to the dead saints crying for revenge, and to the 144,000 (or 156,000 or 169,000) slaves of God from the twelve (or thirteen) tribes of Israel. Now we have yet another crowd of Christians introduced, and these are so vast that no one can count them, and they hail from every nation. Can these possibly be the same as the two groups we have already met? Obviously not, because John himself cannot identify them. In verse 13 he is asked who they are and he is not able to answer. The elder who posed the question to him goes on to say in verse 14 that they are those who came out of the “great tribulation.” Commentators interpret this group to be the “total group of martyrs whose predestined number is to be completed in the last and greatest persecution.” (The Interpreter’s Bible, vol.12, p.421.) But they cannot represent a predetermined number if they are so numerous that no one can count them (v.9).
Raymond Brown recognizes the ambiguity and offers several possible explanations of what these groups represent, but the explanations are entirely based on speculation. (Brown, An Introduction to the New Testament, pp.787-788.)
7:15 As befits their status, these Christians serve God day and night. This is hardly the vision of heaven that is popular among average Christians. And it certainly does not sound like the “rest” that was promised in Hebrews 4:9-10. To serve a master night and day forever is poor compensation for the trials Christians are expected to endure.
Although these worshipers are serving God “in his temple,” we are told later that the heavenly city of the new Jerusalem has no temple (21:22).
8:1 Given that many theologians, including Saint Augustine, have believed that God exists “outside of time in eternity,” we must wonder what “half an hour” in heaven could possibly mean, or how it could even be measured. (Augustine quotation is from Book XI of his Confessions, as quoted in Garrett DeWeese, God and the Nature of Time, p.113. Available as a Google book.)
8:2 Although they may seem familiar amid all the heavenly hubbub, this is the first mention of these “seven angels.” There is no reason to think that they are the “seven spirits” spoken of in 1:4; 3:1; 4:5; and 5:6. Angels (literally, “messengers”) are not typically identified with spirits in the New Testament, and several verses explicitly contrast these two types of beings. (e.g., Acts 23:8-9)
8:7 We are told here that all the green grass was burned up. But later, in 9:4, the cloud of locusts was ordered not to harm the grass of the earth. What grass could there have been to harm, if it was already burned up?
8:8-9 If something the size of a mountain were thrown into the sea, it would very likely have brought about as much destruction to the land - by means of immense tidal waves - as it would to the sea. Yet our author makes no mention of any consequences to the land or its living creatures.
8:10 Once again, the author’s embarrassing ignorance of astronomical reality shows itself. As we have already commented in the note to 6:12-14, stars - being much larger than the earth – cannot possibly land on the earth, and the assertion here that a “large” star fell on a third of the rivers, without touching the other two-thirds, is utter fantasy, showing the entire vision to be nothing more than a product of the author’s vivid imagination, limited by the primitive knowledge of the era in which he lived.
8:12 Here we must offer another scientific tutorial to our unfortunate author. The moon, of course has no light of its own, but only reflects the light of the sun. Even if a third of the sun were removed, and a third of the moon's reflective surface, the reduction of light would not be one third of the normal moonlight, as John claims. The reduction would be more than that (assuming a full moon), because two-thirds of the sun’s normal light would be reflected by only two-thirds of the moon’s normal surface, with the multiplicative effect resulting in a reduction of more than half the normal reflected light. Of course the moon does not shine every night even in normal times, but waxes and wanes as it follows its orbit around the earth. So for the moon to lose a third of its light, is not such an unusual occurrence after all.
9:1 Here we have another star falling to the earth, which would already have been destroyed if the previous falling stars had landed on it. This one, however, is personified, and is given a key to release a plague of locusts. This image reflects a popular ancient superstition: that stars were, or had been, living creatures – even angels. The New Oxford Annotated Bible speculates that this particular falling star may represent Satan himself. (1973 ed., p.1501)
9:4 As we noted previously, all the grass was burned up in 8:7, so it is not clear how any grass would have been available to harm, and why this instruction to the locusts was even necessary.
9:5 Those who had not the seal of God on their foreheads were mercilessly tortured. Recall from 7:4 that the number of those receiving the seal was only 144,000. This no doubt sounded like a large number to the author, but he did not reckon with the immense increase in the world’s population over the next 20 centuries. The result is that the earth’s inhabitants currently number just short of 7 billion, nearly all of whom are to be cruelly tortured for five months, if not eternally, according to the author of Revelation. Ironically, the God who orders this torture is described as “rich in mercy” in Ephesians 2:4.
9:7 Of course, “horses prepared for battle” would impress our ancient author, but as an image of military might these horses pale in comparison to the destructive power of the weapons conjured up by human ingenuity during the 20th century.
9:9 The reference to chariots recalls God’s embarrassing defeat by the people of the valley because they had iron chariots. (Judges 1:19) However, God must have learned from the experience, because in Judges 4:15, God routs Sisera and his army of iron chariots.
9:11 “Abaddon is an OT term for the underworld, sometimes personified (Job 28:22). It means ‘destruction.’” (The Oxford Bible Commentary, p.1295) The Greek equivalent “Apollyon” is derived from the Greek verb for “destruction.” However, we should not see this as a reference to the god Apollo, nor as a slight on the emperors who aligned themselves with Apollo, because Apollyon (Abaddon) here in Revelation is working for the Christian god, not against him.
9:14-15 The four angels who were bound at the Euphrates are now released to wreak their murderous havoc upon mankind. It does not seem that these could be the same four angels who were held back in 7:3, because those angels were stationed at the four corners of the earth (7:1), not at the Euphrates. However, we cannot rule out that they are meant to be the same angels, since “a small detail such as the change in locality to the Euphrates would present no difficulties to John.” (The Interpreter’s Bible, vol.12, p.435.)
9:18 The mission of the deadly angels is accomplished. A third of mankind is killed off, which at today’s population would amount to about 2 billion people. No doubt the angels would justify their actions by pointing out that they were merely following orders.
9:20 The implication here is that, other than the 144,000 who were sealed, all the rest of mankind are depraved reprobates who not only deserve to die, but to be tortured first. Thus, God’s great project, undertaken with the creation of Adam in Genesis and ending with this mass slaughter, amounts to a total failure.
10:1 Note that this angel is not yet the seventh angel, who will blow the final trumpet in 11:15. This verse thus introduces an interlude between the sixth and seventh trumpets. During this interlude we will note several instances where the author John copies images from other biblical apocalypses, such as Ezekiel and Daniel. Such copying of descriptions and images is common throughout the book of Revelation, but it would be overkill to point out all such examples of what we today would call plagiarism. For anyone who still thinks that John is describing an actual vision of heaven and the ultimate fate of mankind, the fact that other seers have claimed similar visions, but with different outcomes, should raise suspicion. Here in 10:1, for example, the angel with a rainbow over his head and legs like pillars of fire, is similar to the description of Yahweh on his heavenly throne in Ezekiel 1:27-28.
10:2 In Ezekiel 2:9, Yahweh also had in his hand a scroll, which he displayed before the prophet. The scroll in Ezekiel also had writing on the front and back, as did the scroll in Revelation 5:1. However, the author of Revelation added the sealing of the scroll in 5:1, forgetting that by sealing it up, no one would have been able to see whether it was written on both sides.
10:3 God’s voice is also described as like a lion roaring in Amos 3:8. However, Proverbs 28:15 is somewhat off message in likening the roaring of a lion to a wicked ruler oppressing a poor people. Many of the images used throughout Revelation are quite versatile (we might even say “common”), and are by no means restricted to visions of the apocalyptic future.
10:4 For some reason, the seven thunders were allowed to speak, but John was not allowed to write down what they said. Did God change his mind? Did the thunders speak out of turn, or convey the wrong message? We will never know, but if God is controlling the show, there’s no plausible reason for him to suddenly change his mind about who should do the speaking.
10:6 This swearing angel obviously either did not know of Jesus’s command to “swear not at all” (Matthew 5:34) or else he thought it did not apply to him. Unfortunately Peter, the head of the disciples, must not have thought Jesus’s words applied to him either, because he cursed and swore when he denied Jesus. (Mark 14:71; Matthew 26:74)
If God really did create everything in heaven and earth and the sea, as claimed here, then he created sin, evil, Satan, and mankind. How could he possibly have expected his creation to turn out well if he’s throwing all these negative influences into the mix?
10:7 The “mystery of God,” which is to be fulfilled with the blowing of the seventh trumpet, is not revealed. The trumpet is blown in 11:15, but there is no description of any “mystery.” The mystery of God’s plan is supposedly, according to many apologists, the justification for all the suffering that God’s wretched creatures have to endure, and it might have been of some small comfort to at least know what the point of it all is. But despite the title of the book, Revelation does not reveal the mysterious plan that underlies the whole scheme.
10:8 The author once again borrows from Ezekiel, where the prophet also eats the scroll which God has given him and finds its taste to be as “sweet as honey.” (Ezekiel 3:1-3)
10:11 These prophecies of “peoples and nations and tongues and kings” comprise most of the second half of the book, beginning with chapter 12. They are primarily directed against Rome.
11:1 Ezekiel’s vision also included the measuring of God’s temple, but in much more detail. See Ezekiel chapters 40-42.
11:2 The area outside the temple will be given over to the nations – i.e., to the non-Jews, specifically here to the Romans and their empire. “They will trample over the holy city for forty-two months.” (RSV) Forty-two months is three-and-a-half years. Presumably, after this period of time, the end will come. But in fact, Roman rule over Jerusalem extended for much longer than three-and-a-half years. After the destruction of the city in 70 A.D., it was partially repopulated and the Jewish inhabitants again rebelled (unsuccessfully) against Rome from 132 to 135 A.D. This is already forty years after John wrote the book of Revelation, so the time period prophesied for the end turns out to be false. Jerusalem continued under the rule of the eastern Empire, even after Rome fell, and the city was once again destroyed in 614 A.D., this time by the invading Persians. (Encyclopedia Brittanica)
11:3 These two witnesses will be granted the power of prophesy for 1,260 days. Apparently this is supposed to be equivalent to the 42 months, and it is if you assume each month lasting 30 days, and a year of 360 days. In that case, the prophesied period is exactly 3.5 years. However, the Julian calendar, in use by the Romans at the time, had months with the same length in days as our current calendar, resulting in a year of 365 days. So 1,260 days would not have been exactly 42 months, nor would it have been exactly 3.5 years.
11:4 Lampstands and olive trees also figure in the vision of Zechariah as reported in Zechariah 4:2-3.
11:5 This verse renders the olive tree image absurd, because trees have no mouth from which this fire could come forth.
11:6 Based on these powers, and allusions to the Old Testament, “it has usually been considered that these witnesses are Elijah and Moses returned to earth.” (The Interpreter’s Bible, vol.12, p.445.)
11:8 There is no need to identify this “great city” with any particular city. “It is every city in which the church bears suffering witness.” (The Oxford Bible Commentary, p.1296.)
11:13 No doubt we are expected to be awestruck by this display of God’s power, as well as the others described throughout the book. But any reasonable person will see only mindless destruction and cruelty in this display of divine carnage.
11:15-19 This is it – the transition that all creation has been building to since God first said “Let there be light.” The kingdom of the world has passed away and the kingdom of God is established. We may ask, How is this kingdom of God different from the world which has passed away? Based on the details given here, the answer is “not by much.” The twenty-four elders continue to recite their praises to God as they did in 4:10-11, and there is lightning, thunder, hail, and an earthquake. There was already an earthquake in 11:13, before the transition to the kingdom of God. But an earthquake presupposes the existence of an earth, so we must conclude that even after the kingdom of the world has passed away, there would still be a physical earth that could quake every now and then. If the author John had been living in the southern United States, he no doubt would have thrown in a tornado for good measure, but these storms were apparently not part of his apocalyptic vocabulary, given his location off the coast of Turkey.
12:1-2 This episode with the heavenly female figure who gives birth to a male child is very enigmatic. Who does the woman represent? There is a strand of Christian theology that identifies her as Mary, the mother of Jesus. (See Raymond E. Brown, An Introduction to the New Testament, p.790, n.32.) But other commentators find this unconvincing. “Since according to astral thinking everything occurring on earth has previously happened in heaven, this is not an allegorical depiction of the earthly birth of Jesus to Mary. Instead, it relates the birth of the heavenly Messiah to a celestial mother, possibly before creation began.” (The Interpreter’s Bible, vol.12, pp.452-453.) “Jesus’ mother Mary is scarcely in view in the symbolic, not historical, account of his birth and immediate rapture to heaven.” (The Oxford Bible Commentary, p.1296.) Another interpretation is that the woman represents the nation of Israel, from whom the messiah is to be born. Later, in 12:17, the woman seems to be equated with the Christian church, whose “offspring” are those who follow God’s commandments and worship Jesus.
12:3 The dragon was a common symbol of the forces of evil throughout the ancient world, and its use here is another instance of John’s borrowing images already familiar to readers of his time. A parallel to this episode is seen in the Greek myth of Apollo slaying the serpent Python, who lay in wait for Apollo to be born, as the dragon here in Revelation waits for the male child to be born of the heavenly woman.
Whatever its origin, Christians must certainly admit that the dragon, and all the evil it represents, were created by God himself, since God created everything in the earth and in heaven. (10:6; See also Isaiah 44:24 and Ecclesiastes 11:5.)
There is a very fundamental contradiction between the view of God as the maker of all things, and the dualistic view of a world caught in the struggle of two great cosmic forces for good on the one hand, and evil on the other. At the time Revelation was written, the dualistic view was common among Christians and others throughout the Hellenistic world. But it is impossible to harmonize this outlook with the earlier writings of the Old Testament, which clearly consider God as the source of all that exists. Evil and suffering in the world can be explained if we postulate two opposite cosmic forces of roughly equal strength. But it presents a severe theological difficulty if we assume instead that one all-powerful God is in charge of the whole show, and responsible for both good and evil.
12:5 There is general agreement that this child is intended to represent the messiah, however that title is to be understood. But the truth is that neither Jesus nor anyone else from the nation of Israel has ever ruled over all the nations, either with or without a “rod of iron.” As a prophecy, this vision is decidedly false. As history, it is pure fiction.
12:7 It must strike Christian readers as very odd that this heavenly war against Satan is led not by Christ, but by the archangel Michael. This lends credence to to the theory that Revelation was not originally written as a Christian work, but was a Jewish apocalyptic writing which was adapted for Christian purposes through the insertion of some Christian passages. Even the authors of the Catholic Encyclopedia do not dismiss this theory out of hand, noting that “The Apocalypse abounds in passages which bear no specific Christian character but, on the contrary, show a decidedly Jewish complexion.” (See “Apocalypse” in Catholic Encyclopedia online.)
12:10 It is very difficult, if not impossible, to determine when this action is supposed to be taking place. The arrival of the power and kingdom of God sounds very much like what already occurred in 11:15 with the blowing of the seventh trumpet, which was portrayed as the final victory of God and Christ. But here, the arrival of God’s kingdom is followed by the dragon being thrown down to earth, where he torments the followers of God and Christ. Perhaps this is intended to represent the origin of Satan’s influence on earth, as a result of his expulsion from heaven, but in that case “the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ” (RSV) have not come. That this expulsion of Satan from heaven is to be understood as a past event, and not as a prophecy, is supported by Luke 10:18, where Jesus says “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.” (RSV)
12:13 Satan pursues the woman after he is thrown down to the earth. But why is the woman on earth? Was she cast out of heaven as well? If expelling Satan from heaven was his punishment, how are we to understand the heavenly woman’s presence on earth?
12:15-16 The TIB notes a similarity between this tale and a story about the Egyptian goddess Isis, who was saved from the flooding Nile (represented by an evil crocodile) when the earth swallowed up the river’s water. (The Interpreter’s Bible, vol.12, p.459.)
12:17 At this point the woman has morphed into the Christian church, whose “offspring” are the members of the Christian community.
13:1 Like the red dragon of 12:3, this new monster also has ten horns and seven heads. But while the red dragon had crowns upon its heads, the monster of chapter 13 has them on its horns. As we will learn later (17:10-11) the seven heads represent the emperors of Rome.
13:2 We are told that this new beast was like a leopard, but none of its characteristics are those of a leopard: Its feet were those of a bear, and its mouth was that of a lion. And leopards do not even have one horn, much less ten.
For the dragon to give its authority to the beast from the sea is an allegation on the part of John that the Roman empire (represented by the sea monster) is under the command of Satan. This is not a controversial interpretation, but it does clash with the attitude of Paul toward the empire and earthly authority in general. In Romans 13:1, Paul wrote that all earthly authority comes from God, and in Romans 13:6 that the rulers are servants of God. John’s position, identifying the Roman emperors as doing the work of Satan, is diametrically opposed to that of Paul and impossible to reconcile with it. Also weighing in on the side of Paul is the author of 1 Peter, who wrote: “Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human institution.” (1 Peter 2:13)
There is yet further embarrassment for John on this topic. Writing around 95 A.D., he naturally had no inkling that the Roman empire would eventually turn Christian. Of course, it took another 300 years for it to do so. But it seems that a seer who is able to discern the future fate of the world would have known that the empire which supposedly served Satan would one day be on the side of Christ and God.
13:4 The allusion here is to the imperial cult, in which the Roman emperors were worshiped as gods.
13:5 The beast which represents Rome will be allowed to exercise its power for 42 months, which is roughly three-and-a-half years, depending on how many days you count for each month. (See the comment to 11:3.) Unfortunately for John’s reputation as a prophet, the Roman empire continued for centuries after he wrote Revelation, and although Rome fell in 476 A.D., the eastern portion of the empire survived another thousand years until Constantinople fell to the Turks in 1453. Whether we consider Rome itself, or the remnant of the empire in the east, the duration was much longer than the prophesied three-and-a-half years.
13:7-8 John exaggerates the extent of Roman rule. There was never a time that Rome ruled over “every tribe and people and tongue and nation.” Germany east of the Rhine and north of the Danube, Scandinavia, China, India, and Africa were never brought within the empire’s boundaries. Nor did “all who dwell on earth” ever worship it. Even within the empire, the Jews did not participate in the worship of the emperor. (The Interpreter’s Bible, vol.12, p.463.)
Note that only those whose names are written in the book of life will escape the empire’s evil influence. This reminds us once again that under Christian theology, no one can bring about his own salvation, because the names of all the saved are written in the book of life long before we are born. Predestination is a theme that runs throughout the New Testament, not just in Revelation. See, for example, Romans 8:29-30; Ephesians 1:4-5; 1 Peter 1:2; and Galatians 1:15.
13:10 Recalling Jesus’s words in Matthew 26:52, that “those who take up the sword shall perish by the sword.” Yet in Luke 22:36 Jesus ordered his disciples to sell their coats and buy swords.
13:11 A second beast appears, this one coming from out of the earth. It is often supposed that this beast represents the priesthood of the imperial cult (The Oxford Bible Commentary, pp.1297-1298.) Some observers, less well-versed in history, have seen it as the Antichrist. It is common in the popular Christian imagination to believe that the book of Revelation portrays the Antichrist as the leader of the forces of evil which are arrayed against Christ and his army. However, the word “antichrist” is nowhere found in Revelation. In fact, it is nowhere found in the Bible at all except in the epistles of John. (1 John 2:18; 2:22; 4:3; 2 John 1:7) Each of these references speaks of the antichrist as already being present in the world, and 1 John 2:18 speaks of “antichrists” in the plural. So the only times “antichrist” is actually mentioned in the Bible, the meaning is nowhere near what Revelation is describing. (Remember the John who wrote Revelation is generally not thought to be the same person who wrote the epistles of “John.”)
As for the popular conception of Antichrist in Revelation, Christians themselves cannot agree on which of the horrid beasts described in the book is actually supposed to be the Antichrist. “Nearly all commentators find Antichrist mentioned in the Apocalypse, but they do not agree as to the particular chapter of the Book in which the mention occurs.” (“Antichrist” in Catholic Encyclopedia online.)
13:13 This beast performs “great signs” (i.e., miracles) to deceive mankind. Jesus foretold that “false Christs and false prophets will arise and will show signs and wonders.” (Mark 13:22) The author of 2 Thessalonians also warned against the signs and wonders to be practiced by the “lawless one.” (2 Thessalonians 2:9-10). Thus, performing miraculous feats is no indication of divinity or righteousness. This obviously means that Jesus’s own miracles cannot be taken as evidence of his being the son of God. Even if Jesus actually had done the miracles attributed to him, how are we to know whether he’s the real thing, or just another false prophet? In Luke 9:54 Jesus’s own disciples sought to bring down fire from heaven to strike down the Samaritan villagers who refused to receive him. This is the very sign mentioned here as coming from the evil beast.
13:18 The famous number 666 as the sign of the beast derives from the ancient practice of using letters of the alphabet to stand for numbers. Thus, any word has a corresponding number which it represents. This verse tells us that it is the “number of a person.” The question is, what name corresponds to the number 666? The most plausible explanation is that it refers to the emperor Nero, who carried out the first wave of persecutions against the Christians following the great fire of Rome in 64 A.D. If the name Neron Caesar is transliterated into Hebrew, and the numerical equivalents substituted for the letters, the result is 666. If the final “n” is omitted from “Neron,” then the number is 616, which is found in some manuscript variants. (The Interpreter’s Bible, vol.12, p.466.) It had been a popular rumor that Nero, who committed suicide in 68 A.D., would return from the dead to reclaim his imperial authority.
14:1 These are the 144,000 of verse 7:4, twelve thousand for each tribe of Israel, except for the tribe of Dan, which is ignored, as we previously noted.
14:2 In this totally implausible simile, the voice is described as being like the sound of water, the sound of thunder, and the sound of harps. It is hard to imagine what such a voice would sound like. Perhaps it resembled an outdoor chamber music concert during a thunderstorm.
14:4-5 The 144,000 – identified in 7:3 as the “slaves of God” - are obviously all male, and all virgins. They “have not defiled themselves with women.” (RSV) It is not clear at all whether these are intended to represent the entire total of saved Christians, or only a portion of them. (See the comment to 7:9.) They are described as being “without blemish” as Christ himself was reputed to be. (Hebrews 9:14) But how could they have been without blemish (or “blameless”) if “all have sinned and come short of the glory of God”? (Romans 3:23)
14:7 This angel commands those on earth to “fear God.” This is a common expression in the Bible, but spending an eternity with a feared autocrat hardly seems like a fitting reward for a life well-lived.
14:8 Here again is a reference to Rome, symbolized by the ancient city of Babylon. The name of Babylon evoked bitter memories for the Jews, because of the destruction and pillage of Jerusalem by the Babylonian army in 586 B.C., and the exile of its inhabitants.
14:9-11 This is a threat to any who might be tempted to collaborate with the imperial government. Not only will they be tormented with fire and sulphur, but the holy angels and Jesus himself will have the pleasure of watching the spectacle, much as the citizens of Rome enjoyed watching the violent massacres in the Colosseum.
14:14-15 Here we have another image taken from the book of Daniel. (Daniel 7:13) A similar image is used by Jesus in Mark 13:26 to describe his future return. Although Revelation follows Daniel in portraying one “like” a son of man, there can be no doubt that the figure on the cloud is to be understood as Christ. The same image used in 1:13 suggests the same interpretation. This makes it even more striking when the angel appears in v.15 and gives orders to Christ – telling him to strike with his sickle because the hour to reap has come. In Matthew 24:36 Jesus taught that neither he nor the angels knew when the hour would come, but only God knew. Given the chain of communication here in Revelation, we must conclude that God decided on the hour, and sent the angel with a message to Christ. Why Christ would not have known this already, if he is a part of the divine essence, is truly a mystery. If the doctrine of the trinity is correct, we have here one part of the divine being sending a message to another part of his own being by means of an outside emissary.
14:20 The city where the blood will flow is not named, but the scene exceeds even the butchery in revolutionary Paris when the gutters flowed with the blood of victims during the prison massacres of September 1792. Who would want to spend eternity with a God who instigates and enjoys such carnage?
15:1 Another series of plagues is about to be unleashed upon the earth and its inhabitants, after which the fury of God will finally be satiated.
15:2 This “sea of glass mingled with fire” is symbolic of the Red Sea. In Exodus 14:21-29, Yahweh parted the Red Sea to allow the Israelites to escape the pursuing Egyptians, who were drowned when Yahweh allowed the sea to come together again. This heavenly Red Sea in Revelation is a sign that those who have conquered the beast and remained true to God, have now reached safety.
15:3 This “song of Moses” is apparently supposed to be the song that Moses and the Israelites sang in praise of God for safely delivering them from the Egyptians in crossing the Red Sea. It is found in Exodus 15:1-18, but the song here in Revelation is nothing like the one in Exodus. The song of Moses in Exodus is a taunting victory song that celebrates Yahweh’s power, and takes pleasure in the terror that other peoples will experience at the hands of the invading Israelites. The song given in Revelation tones down the blatant tribalism, and also ignores the embarrassing polytheistic reference in Exodus 15:11, where the singers ask, “Who is like thee, O LORD, among the gods?”
15:4 The line “all nations shall come and worship before thee” is “thoroughly out of harmony with the belief rather consistently expressed throughout the rest of Revelation that the nations will stubbornly refuse to repent, but will go on their reckless, idolatrous, persecuting way to destruction.” (The Interpreter’s Bible, vol.12, p.479.)
16:2 This plague and the ones that follow resemble the ones inflicted upon the Egyptians when Moses was trying to persuade Pharaoh to let the Hebrews emigrate. (Exodus ch. 7-11) However, in Exodus, the plagues at least were intended for some purpose, namely, the liberation of the Hebrews from Egypt, which was finally achieved in the crossing of the Red Sea. Here in Revelation, the symbolic heavenly Red Sea has already been crossed. The followers of Christ are safely ensconced in heaven. So these plagues which are about to be inflicted on the rest of mankind are nothing more than gratuitous violence, serving no purpose other than satisfying the revenge of the saved Christians, who have been clamoring for vengeance since their outcry in 6:9-11.
16:5 We are introduced here to the “angel of water.” We have also met the angel of fire (14:18) and angels with power over the winds. (7:1) How is this any different from polytheism? The angels are immortal, so might just as well be called the god of water, the god of fire and the gods of the four winds. The charge of polytheism cannot be answered by saying that God (Yahweh) is the one supreme god over these minor deities. Such was the case in Greek polytheism as well, where Zeus reigned as the supreme god over many minor ones.
16:6 Christian forgiveness is nowhere to be found in this passage, where retribution and judgment are given free reign. Those who have presecuted the Christians are given the fate which is their due. In fact, the word “forgive” does not appear anywhere in the book of Revelation. Neither does the word “grace” except in the opening and closing formulas to the reader. The absence of these basic Christian theological concepts again suggests to us that Revelation was written by a Jewish writer who believed that Jesus was the messiah prophesied by the Jewish scriptures, and that the Pauline concepts of grace and forgiveness of sins were not part of his theological vocabulary. For an extended discussion of the Jewishness of the book of Revelation, see “Revelation” in the Jewish Encyclopedia online.
16:9 Given his character and his actions, it is not at all surprising that God would be cursed by his tortured victims.
16:14 As was noted earlier in the comment to 13:13, the fact that these demonic forces can perform signs (i.e., miracles) shows that performing miracles is no guarantee that a person is on the side of God. Thus, the alleged miracles of Jesus say nothing about his divine status. He might just as easily be a false prophet for all we know.
These demonic spirits prepare to assemble the kings of the world for the final battle against the forces of God.
16:16 This is the only mention of the place called Armageddon, which in the popular Christian imagination is where the great final battle will take place. The name “means ‘mountain of Megiddo(n)’, but is problematic since, although Megiddo is a town mentioned often in the OT, there is no ‘mountain of Megiddo’.” (The Oxford Bible Commentary, p.1299.)
16:21 One can hardly blame the remaining people for cursing God, given his behavior toward them. Whatever the actions of mankind may have been, this destructive action of God is out of all proportion to whatever real or imagined sins may have been committed.
17:1 The “great harlot” is the city of Rome, portrayed as a woman after the goddess Roma, who personified the city and who was worshiped by many of the cities allied with Rome during its rise to power. (The Interpreter’s Bible, vol.12, pp.488-489.)
17:3 This seven-headed ten-horned beast is the one we met in 13:1, symbolizing the imperial power of Rome. Throughout this tirade against Rome, we must again keep in mind that the empire eventually became Christian under the emperor Constantine, a fact that John’s prophecy strangely ignores.
17:4 Purple was the imperial color. The gold and jewels represent the wealth of the empire.
17:5 To say that the name is a “mystery” indicates that the name given, Babylon, is not to be understood literally, but instead is a symbol for another city. Rome, of course, is the city in question.
17:8 Those who are saved are those whose names were “written in the book of life from the foundation of the world.” (RSV) Predestination thus determines who is saved and who is lost. The individual’s own behavior or belief have nothing to do with his ultimate fate. See also the comment to 13:7-8.
17:9-11 Rome is the city on seven hills. The seven kings represent seven Roman emperors, but it is difficult to match this number with the actual emperors who reigned. If Revelation was written around 95 A.D., as most scholars believe, then the emperors could be counted as follows: Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, Nero, Vespasian, Titus, Domitian. This comes to eight, not seven, but the popular expectation that Nero would rise from the dead gave rise to the rumor that Domitian was Nero reincarnated. So by this account, Nero would be number five and eight, thus he would be the “eighth [which] belongs to the seven.” However, this method of counting leaves out three emperors who reigned briefly in 68-69 A.D. (Galba, Otho, and Vitellius) There are other proposed methods of counting that vary depending on which emperors are included and what criteria are used for counting them. For an extended discussion, see The Interpreter’s Bible, vol.12, pp.494-495.
17:12-13 These ten kings will serve under the beast during the final battle against the forces of the Lamb. As noted in the comment to 13:11, the beast is popularly viewed as the antichrist, although the word “antichrist” does not appear anywhere in the book of Revelation.
17:18 In case there was any doubt, the identity of the city is now explained. There is no city that fits this description other than Rome.
18:1-2 This angel announces that Rome, symbolized by Babylon, has fallen. As a prophecy, this announcement is suspect at best, wrong at worst. In one sense, the city of Rome has never fallen. It has continued to exist until the present day. But if the fall of the empire is meant, then that event is generally dated at 476 A.D., when the western half of the empire was taken over by the Germanic invaders. But as we have already noted, when the western empire fell, both the empire and the city of Rome were Christian, and could not by any means be accurately described as the “dwelling place of demons.”
We are not told what these “unclean and hateful bird[s]” are, but given the similarities between this scene in Revelation and the corresponding description of deserted Babylon in the book of Jeremiah, we may surmise that John has in mind the vile and dreaded ostrich of Jeremiah 50:39.
18:4 It is not clear who this voice belongs to. Given that it addresses “my people,” we would naturally assume that it is God himself, or perhaps Christ, who is speaking. The warning to leave the city once again recalls a similar passage in Jeremiah, where at the fall of Babylon, God warns, “Go out of the midst of her, my people! Let every man save his life from the fierce anger of the LORD!” (Jeremiah 51:45)
The existence of so many parallels between Revelation and the Old Testament prophets reminds us that there is nothing particularly original about Revelation. It is essentially the same apocalyptic genre that Jewish writers had been using for centuries to foretell the eventual victory of Yahweh and his people. The only difference is that in Revelation the Christians are substituted for Israel and the Jews.
18:6 Rome will be repaid double for her sins. So instead of the Old Testament rule of an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth (Exodus 21:24), it will be two eyes for an eye and two teeth for a tooth.
18:8 As a prophecy, this prediction of Rome burning comes a bit late. The great fire of Rome had already occurred in 64 A.D, under the emperor Nero, some thirty years before Revelation was written.
18:13 The word translated here as “slaves” is not the usual Greek word for “slave” (doulos) but is literally “bodies.” We must not imagine that any disapproval is meant toward the slave trade, however, because the Bible elsewhere approves of slavery, and even encourages slaves to obey their masters. (Ephesians 6:5; Colossians 3:22; Titus 2:9; 1 Timothy 6:1-2)
18:17-19 This “vision” of the lamenting sailors is anticipated by the similar scene in Ezekiel 27:29-30, where the sailors and traders bemoan the destruction of Tyre.
18:21 Another false prophecy. It is not true that Rome was “thrown down” and “found no more at all.” It is easily found even today. And the lamps still shine (v.23) in Rome. The prophecy is not even true of Babylon, which although it is no longer populated, is also easily found, and in 2009 has re-opened as a tourist site following the Iraq war.
19:1 “Hallelujah” is Hebrew for “Praise the LORD.” In the New Testament it is found only here in the 19th chapter of Revelation. The Hallelujah chorus of Handel’s oratorio “Messiah” is loosely based on these passages.
19:2 The Greek word translated as “servants” is once again literally “slaves.” Throughout the New Testament translators of all the popular English versions have taken the liberty of substituting the harmless sounding “servant” for the politically incorrect “slave.” Yet, the relationship between believer and Christ is clearly one of ownership, and not equality. As Paul writes to the Corinthians, “You belong to Christ.” (1 Corinthians 3:23)
19:3 The heavenly host continue to celebrate the destruction of Rome. But how can the smoke from her ruins rise “forever and ever” if the earth itself is soon to pass away? (20:11; 21:1)
19:5 Again, “servants” is the translation, in place of the more literal and correct “slaves.”
19:7 This bizarre image of the Lamb preparing to marry has parallels in the Old Testament, where the nation of Israel is portrayed as the bride of Yahweh. (E.g., Hosea 2:16-20; Isaiah 54:5-6.) Paul takes up the same theme in 2 Corinthians 11:2. The symbolism is confusing, however, because it is not clear who is getting married to whom. In the Old Testament it is Israel betrothed to Yahweh. In Paul it is the Christian congregation betrothed to Christ. And here in Revelation it is the holy city of the new Jerusalem betrothed to the Lamb as a symbol for Christ. (21:9-10) And if the new Jerusalem and the Christian church are considered to be one and the same, then who is left over to be the invited guests mentioned in 19:9?
19:12 It is certainly obvious to us who this rider is supposed to represent, but he has a secret name which no one knows but himself. He is obviously Christ who, as the Lamb, had his name written on the foreheads of the 144,000 saints in 14:1. So how could his name be known to no one but himself when it has already been revealed to thousands?
19:13 The name by which he is called is “the Word of God,” but this is only what he is called, and is not necessarily the secret name. He has other names as well: “Faithful and True” (v.11) and “King of Kings and Lord of Lords” (v.16) are some of them.
19:19 Forces gather for the great battle between the armies of God and those of Satan. Again, the sequence is confusing. Is this the same battle that we saw in 12:7-10? After that battle it was announced that the kingdom of God had come, but Satan continued to prowl the earth and pursue the followers of Christ. (12:13) If that was not the final battle, why was Satan released to do more mischief? If it was the final battle, why were God’s forces led by Michael in chapter 12, but by Christ here in chapter 19?
19:20 The author does not allow any suspense to build up, nor does he describe the course of battle. Apparently it was conducted on horseback, indicating again that John had no insight into future developments in military technology. Note that this passage does not describe the fire as eternal, nor does it say that the two beasts will live forever to be tormented in it, although Satan is said to suffer eternal torment there when he finally arrives a thousand years later. (20:10)
20:1-3 This episode raises several troublesome theological questions. Why was not Satan thrown into the fiery lake with the other two beasts? And more importantly, why will he be released yet again after a thousand years? Is God a slow learner? Does he not realize that if Satan is allowed to keep escaping he will just continue to lead more of God’s people into sin and destruction?
20:4 This thousand-year reign of Christ is only to be shared by the martyrs – but not even all the martyrs. Apparently it is only those who were beheaded that will share the millenium with Christ. Those who were eaten by lions, or crucified, or run through with swords will have to wait until the thousand years have passed before joining their colleagues in heavenly bliss.
A question that remains unanswered throughout Revelation is whether John considered the martyrs to be the entire population of Christians. It often appears that he did, and if he was writing to congregations who expected to be persecuted, it would perhaps be comforting to assure them that they would share the millenium with Christ himself and with the other martyrs. It is not likely that John knew what the Christian population of the empire was at the time he was writing, but 144,000 may have seemed a large enough number to encompass them all.
20:5-6 This sequence of events is not at all like Paul’s expectation of the return of Jesus. Paul wrote that Christians who are living at the time of Christ’s return would be caught up in the air with him (the rapture) after those who had already died had risen. (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17) Paul did not envision any separate resurrection just for the martyrs.
20:8 Who are these “nations” that Satan is going to deceive after he is loosed from his thousand year captivity? No one was around during the millenium except Christ and the martyrs.
The reference to “Gog and Magog” would appear to indicate that these are two of the aforementioned nations. But these names come from Ezekiel 38-39, in which God enticed Gog, of the land of Magog (Ezekiel 38:2), to attack the peaceful and defenseless villages of the Israelites (much as the Israelites themselves had done to the similarly situated people of Canaan, according to the book of Joshua). God then destroyed Gog’s forces with rain and hail and fire and brimstone. (Ezekiel 38:22; 39:6) So the correct phrasing is “Gog, of the land of Magog,” not “Gog and Magog.” Magog does appear as a person’s name in an unrelated passage, where he is one of the sons of Japheth. (Genesis 10:2; 1 Chronicles 1:5)
20:9-10 Here we have yet another “final” battle, in which Satan is cast into the same fiery lake that consumed the two beasts a thousand years before in 19:20. Why Satan was not also dealt with at that time is not explained. There is also no way of knowing for sure whether Satan will not escape again and return to wreak havoc in the New Jerusalem. After all, he is not destroyed. He will apparently live forever to suffer in the lake of fire. Thus, the villain is not killed off, and John leaves open the possibility of a sequel.
20:11 With the earth and heaven gone, it is not clear where this throne sits. The Greek word for “sky” and “heaven” are the same, so the alternative translations “sky” (RSV,NIV) and “heaven” (NASB, KJV) amount to the same thing.
The end of the world here seems a bit anticlimatic. Earth and heaven have simply “fled away.” The predicted end was much more dramatic in 2 Peter 3:10-13, where the earth was to be burned up in a great fire before the new heaven and earth would arise. In contradiction to 2 Peter, Revelation has no such all-consuming fire to mark the end of the present age.
20:12 At the end of the day, the dead are to be judged "according to their works.” (KJV) This should finally settle the question of whether Christians are saved by faith or by works. See an extended discussion of the issue in the comment to James 2:14-26.
20:15 Apparently, neither faith nor works are sufficient to save one from the lake of fire, if one’s name has not previously been written in the book of life.
21:1 It is clear that in John’s view, the old earth was imperfect, and the new one that replaces it will be free of the sin and suffering of the old. This view of the present world as imperfect is not unique with Revelation. We see it also in 1 John 5:19 and Galatians 1:4. But the old earth, and all that was in it, were created by God himself (Isaiah 44:24). So God’s original work was imperfect, according to the view of Revelation, which contradicts Deuteronomy 32:4. (“His work is perfect.”) And if God is capable of creating a perfect new heaven and earth, why didn’t he do it the first time?
21:3 That God should dwell with his people is nothing new. In the Old Testament he was said to dwell among the sons of Israel (Numbers 35:34) and in Jerusalem (1 Chronicles 23:25). See also Genesis 3:8; Exodus 24:10-12.
21:8 Who could these murderers, fornicators, liars and idolaters possibly be? Are there such reprobates in the new earth? Weren’t they all dealt with when Satan’s forces were defeated? If there is no longer any Satan, how can there be all these sinners? Whatever the answer, it appears that the lake of fire had not been part of the old earth or the old heaven, since it is still around to deal with such backsliders.
21:12 The author continues to cling to twelve as the number of tribes of Israel. As we have noted in the comment to 7:5, there were thirteen tribes of Israel, not twelve.
21:14 John does not identify the twelve apostles whose names were written on the city wall’s foundations. Would the name of Judas Iscariot have appeared? In Acts 1:23-26 a new apostle, Matthias, was chosen to replace Judas, but this was after Jesus’s crucifixion. And would the names include Thaddeus, as in Matthew 10:2-4 and Mark 3:16-19, or another Judas, son of James, who replaces Thaddeus on the list of the twelve in Luke 6:14-16?
21:16 A stadion was about 600 feet long. Twelve thousand stadia would equal approximately 1500 miles (2250 km). Since the length, breadth, and height are equal, the city is in the shape of a giant cube. The measurement of the wall is 144 cubits (about 216 feet) but it is not specified whether this is the wall’s thickness or its height. So a 1500 mile tall city is surrounded by either a tiny 216-foot wall, or by a 1500-mile wall which is 216-feet in thickness. A wall of such height would make it impossible to ever view a sunset, or even see the horizon.
21:21 Although it may seem that transparent gold is a scientific anomaly, gold is so soft and malleable that it can be pounded into sheets of such thinness that light can pass through them. But sheets of such thinness would not be practical to use as a street. Of course, if one allows new physical principles in the new Jerusalem, anything might be possible.
21:22 Although there is no temple in the new Jerusalem, there were earlier references to God’s temple in heaven (3:12; 7:15; 11:1-2,19, etc.) None of these earlier references indicated that the temple was only confined to the old heaven.
21:23 Since there is no sun, our earlier concern about viewing the sunset over the gigantic walls (21:16) is moot. The entire city will be bathed in (fluorescent?) light from the glory of God. There will be no night (v.25), so there will be no point in looking up at the stars or moon. Perhaps there will be no sleep either. Perhaps living in this city is better than burning in a lake of fire, but is hardly how most people would picture their ideal abode for all eternity.
22:3 The fate of the saved is now clear. They are to be God’s slaves (not “servants”) for ever and ever.
22:4 God’s slaves will be marked with the name of their owner, as cattle are branded.
22:5 Keeping prisoners in a cell with constant light and depriving them of sleep is generally considered a form of torture. Apparently, there are some who consider it heavenly bliss.
22:7 Although not identified, this can only be Christ who tells John that he is coming “soon” or “quickly.” The promise is repeated in v.12. It is not likely that those to whom John wrote would have considered 2000 years and counting as “soon,” so this is another failed prediction of Jesus’s return. See also the comments to Matthew 24:34; Mark 13:30.
22:12 Again we are told that everyone will be paid according to his work, not according to his faith or belief in Christ. See the comments to 2:23 and 20:12.
22:14 “Blessed are those who wash their robes.” Perhaps this is because of all the blood spilled in cleansing the earth of God’s opponents.
The KJV has instead, “Blessed are they that do his commandments.” The reason for this discrepancy is that the KJV translators relied on a manuscript that was much later than the ones we now have access to, and in the course of centuries of copying, changes were introduced that strayed away from what the earliest manuscripts contained. RSV, NASB, and NIV all use the earlier text and translate as “wash their robes.”
22:16 If Jesus is the root and offspring of David, then he cannot have been born of a virgin, as the gospels of Matthew and Luke claim. Paul agrees with the Davidic ancestry of Jesus, saying that Jesus was “born of the seed of David, according to the flesh.” (Romans 1:3)
22:18-19 This warning is a reference to the common practice in ancient times of scribes adding to or changing the words of the texts they copied. Note that the warning only applies to the book of Revelation, of which John is the author. It does not refer to the Bible as a whole. At the time John was writing, there was no such thing as the “Bible” as Christians currently are familiar with it. The writings which eventually became the New Testament had not yet been collected into a single volume, and some (e.g., 2 Peter) had not yet been written.
22:20 “Surely I am coming quickly.” Still waiting . . .