The Sword Room

Remember the 1985 movie Cocoon where Don Ameche, Wilfred Brimley, and some other oldsters find the alien cocoons in the swimming pool and are strengthened and rejuvenated by the life force emanating from them? The upshot of the story is that some of the elderly humans accept an offer from the aliens to return with them to a planet where they will never get sick, age, or die. Sound pretty far-fetched?

When I was a boy growing up in the Lutheran church I thought if you made it to heaven you would spend eternity sitting on a cloud in a white robe endlessly praying and reading from the Bible and catechism. It would be like one monotonous eternal church service.  Well, the church I attended was sour and dour–droning pipe organ, dark wood pews that made your butt sore, dim lighting, red velvet offering bags, that dank churchy smell, stone-faced robed pastor with minimal communication skills, and snippy old women with bluish gray hair that looked like that stuff you see on Christmas trees. As I sat there in those services in my suit and tie and black wingtips, hair slicked back with Vitalis, I couldn’t help but think heaven would really suck.

But, oh well, it beat going to hell.

However as we see in the last two chapters of the Apocalypse, and actually throughout scripture, the eternal hope of the believer is a very earthy hope. As westerners we have been influenced by elements of Platonic dualistic (gnostic) philosophy that separates the spiritual from the physical into distinct compartments. But the Hebrew mindset out of which the language of the Bible flows is much more holistic than Greek philosophy. In eternity God brings His presence into a new heavens and earth where resurrected believers live forever in bodies–not as incorporeal spirits. There will be nothing boring, sour, dour, and monotonous about life in the eternal state. Let’s just take a few minutes, then, and look at some of the blessings mentioned in the final two chapters of Revelation and then make some applications.

The first three verses show the New Jerusalem descending to earth adorned as a bride. Later in the chapter we are told that the city in fact is the bride (vv. 9-10). In verse 3 we are told that God will dwell in the midst of this city–or with His people. The depiction of the city given throughout the rest of the chapter, with its gates, foundation stones, dimensions, and adornment of jewels and gold, speak of safety and security because God is in the midst.

We are told in Hebrews 11:9-10 that clear back when Abraham was living as a sojourner in tents he longed for a city with foundations whose builder and maker is God. That building is in fact what we see depicted here in symbol: the bride of Christ descending to earth with God dwelling within. Abraham’s vulnerability as a nomadic herdsman is a type of our earthly wandering. He wanted to live in his own walled city, where he would not need to sleep with one eye open all the time, lest predators attack his flocks or robbers pillage his family and goods.

Verses 25-26 of chapter 21 tell us the gates to this city are never shut. There is no need to worry about bad guys because there will be no devil and no sin. Here in our little town we went for years without locking the doors at night. Being right on the Canadian border we have the city, county, and state police in force, along with the border patrol, customs, FBI, and a half dozen other federal agencies. But in recent years even here we have started locking the doors. Some people go too far, though. I know this lady here who nagged her husband for months to install this beautiful antique wooden screen door that looks just like what we had on our front doors as kids–you know, the ones you used to get yelled at for when you let them slam? So we went over there last week on a warm sunny day and she had the front door shut and locked. When we asked her about this she said she leaves all the doors to the house shut and locked all the time for fear that someone might sneak in and steal something while she is out watering the flowers at the other end of the property. Well in the eternal state there will be no need for that.

Anyone who lives in a big city in this fallen world would be considered a moron if they did not worry about being attacked or ripped off. That is why you lock not only the doors to your house but also your vehicle. It is why people lock those club things on their steering wheels and take the face plate to their stereo into the house. Recently up here we have had thieves at the local parks breaking out car windows and snatching purses left on the seats. Just last week a local officer noticed an open car window with a purse inside, so he found the lady down on the beach and told her to put the purse in the trunk and lock her car doors.

When you get into the new heavens and earth you will be part of that holy city because you are part of the bride of Christ–which is God’s building and dwelling place. God’s glorious presence will be there, and there will be no sin or evil anymore. You will never have to worry about someone swiping anything from you (and I have had everything from tools to lawn mowers to cars stolen from my various residences). You will not have to worry about rapists, murderers, and child molesters. You ladies will not need to look behind you as you walk down the street or have your keys out and ready as you walk to your car in the dark parking lot at night. You will not wake up and wonder if that noise is just a tree brushing against the house in the wind or a burglar looking for a way in. All of these fears and anxieties which have become ingrained in our thoughts and behaviors in this fallen world will not enter your frame of reference ever again in the new heavens and earth.

There will be no sorrow and death in the world to come. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away (21:4).

I am really sore today. Two days ago I cut and ripped out an old floor that has been there for a hundred years. Last time I did something like this I ended up with a pulled groin. I am getting older and the carcass just doesn’t cooperate or bounce back like it used to. I am dying slowly, and so are you. It sucks, I know, but you are going to get sick and your body is going to wear out. Maybe your mind will go and you will forget things and talk to yourself as I do. Maybe you will make your exit via heart attack or cancer. In the meantime you will see others precede you in death, and you will shed tears when they suffer. You will mourn their loss and feel sad because you miss them. You will look at young people and realize that before they know it they will be like you, looking back over a life that flew by too quickly and saying with the writer of Ecclesiastes: Vanity of vanities; all is vanity under the sun.

And all that would be true if you did not have the truths of these last two chapters of Revelation to give you hope. In the eternal heavens and earth no one will get sick and die, and no one will pull muscles or forget that guy’s name who…

 Uh..where was I?

No cancer, heart disease, natural disasters, economic collapse, no fighting or war. Oh, and your dog will not get hit by a car and killed either. (And that goes also for the believer I know who recently mourned the death of his pet parakeet.) No reason for tears of anything but joy. Even if you have loved ones who rejected Christ, somehow God’s presence and blessing will displace any grief in your heart.

The only other thing I want to point out from chapter 22 is the part about the river and fruit trees. Trees planted by water are symbolic of spiritual life and fruitfulness (Psalm 1; John 4), and I am sure that is the primary meaning here. But is is also true that in the new heavens and earth even though eating will not be necessary for survival it will be possible for pleasure. Clear water will have never tasted so good. In fact every sensual experience of this life will magnified to the nth degree. The smells, tastes, sounds sights, and feel of things will be so much better. There might be colors we have never seen and music far beyond anything we have ever heard in terms of beauty. Imagine the smell of cut grass and flowers in the eternal state? You will not need to sleep in a resurrection body, but perhaps a liesurely nap might be one of the pleasurable experiences in that glorious eternal world.

Sexual expression as we know it might not be available, since there will apparently be no marriage in heaven. But who’s to say there might not be an experience that goes far beyond that in terms of pleasure and personal connection? My own belief is that when we get to the eternal state my wife will love me and I will love her. We will look back together over this journey we have taken and see the hand of God each step of the way. Don’t short sell any of this–for eye has not seen nor ear heard, nor has it entered into the heart of man those things the Lord has prepared for those who love Him.

You will have an entire universe to travel through and visit. You like trips and vacations? Well there will be no limit to the options available to you in that day.

Like animals? I believe there will be angelic beings and various animal species in the new heavens and earth. I am not sure your old dog Butch will be there but there will be animals for our pleasure and companionship. And while there will be no death there, which would preclude the slaughter of animals, who’s to say you will not be able to enjoy a nice steak or rack of ribs? If God was able to miraculously produce flour and oil in Elijah’s day, or fish and bread for five-thousand people, He will have no problem providing you with a fillet Mignon grilled to order.

There might be sports activities too, or recreational pursuits like fishing (catch and release, of course). I certainly hope to step to the plate in my resurrection body and knock one over the fence; and I definitley will want to watch good wrestling and even take to the mat myself.

So as you anticipate eternity rid your mind of these boorish images of sitting on a cloud in a white robe playing a harp. The entire creation is groaning for the redemption of the sons of God–and when it happens it will be great. We all agree on this, no matter what eschatological scheme we have adopted.

That concludes this series on Revelation. We of necessity got bogged down a little on details because we really had to as we plodded through the chapters. Please remember there really is no division between the doctrinal and the devotional. It is all profitable. My hope is that you have been edified spiritually and encouraged to dig deeper in God’s word. Thanks to all who have followed the posts and to those who took the time to comment–even those who disagree with my conclusions. I plan to take a couple days off now and return with something a little lighter. If there is any topic or portion of scripture you would like to see covered, or any question you would like to see addressed, please respond with a comment to that effect or use the contact link to send me a message.

No, this is not your best life now. The best is yet to come.

Time to bring out the heavy artillery now–I have saved the best for last. Today I will cover two key Pauline texts and tie them in with Revelation 20. Then I will present a possible end-time scenario. I say possible because I am aware of the scores of end-time scenarios that have proven false.

The first text we will examine is Romans 11:25-26:

For I do not desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be wise in your own opinion, that blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the gentiles has come in. And so all Israel will be saved.

In this chapter and surrounding context Paul has used the word Israel repeatedly with reference to  ethnic national Israel. In fact this is the undisputed meaning of the first usage in the above text. Chapters 9-11 are a parenthesis between chapters 8 and 12 designed to answer the question of what happened to Israel. It is true that in 9:6 Paul had said, they are not all Israel who are from Israel. There he was speaking of the believing remnant, or true spiritual Israel. But other than that throughout this section he uses the term Israel exclusively to denote national ethnic Israel. Again, the whole purpose of these three chapters is to address the question of where they fit into God’s program of salvation.

I mention this because there are some who insist that Paul’s meaning is that by means of bringing in the fullness of the gentiles God will save all spiritual Israel. But again, the apostle is not here speaking of spiritual but ethnic Israel. If you read all of chapter 11 you will see how he used the metaphor of the olive tree. He spoke of ethnic Israel being broken off as branches and replaced with the wild branches (gentile believers). At this time the body of Christ is predominantly gentile, but there is a remnant of Jews according to the election of grace (v. 5).

He tells the gentiles not to boast or become wise in their own eyes because the Lord can break them off and graft the Jews back into the tree. When we get to vv. 25-26 Paul tells us God plans to do this very thing at a future date. When the full number of gentile elect have been saved God will pull the blinders from the eyes of the Jews and they will be saved on a mass scale. When this happens I think we will see pretty much a reversal of the present complexion of the body of Christ. God will harden the gentiles and open the hearts of the Jews, so that the body of Christ on the earth will be predominantly Jewish, with a remnant of gentiles according to the election of grace.

When God saves all Israel He will do it in exactly the same way as with every other sinner. They will be grafted into the same tree as gentile believers–not a different one. They will not be a separate entity but members of the body of Christ just like you and me. There is no room in my scheme (or in scripture) for a restoration of the Levitical priesthood and bloody sacrifices. Let me tell you something; if you have spent much time around Jewish people you know that when they turn to Jesus they will be the most zealous and passionate gospel army you’ve ever seen. Once they see that Jesus is the fulfillment of the old obsolete types and shadows, they will have no desire to step backward into that system.

If you doubt this just look at the example of Paul and the other early Jewish believers. Paul was a pharisee. He had been trained in one of the finest rabbinic schools. He was a leader and trail-blazer and looked upon as blameless as per the requirements of the law. But once he was a Christian he jettisoned those worthless things which before had meant the world to him:

But what things were gain to me, I these I have counted loss for Christ. Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish (lit. dung) that I may gain Christ (Philippians 3:7-8).

His is not an isolated example. We might mention the other apostles and the writer of the epistle to the Hebrews. The question we must ask is: Why would it be any different for Jewish converts today?

The presentation thus far leads us to the second portion of scripture we will examine today. Actually it encompasses two entire epistles (Thessalonians). Throughout these epistles Paul makes reference to the coming of Christ, with no clues like we see in the Olivet Discourse or Apocalypse that a preterist understanding is intended. Here is where many preterists are highly inconsistent in their exegesis and strained in their attempts to avoid the obvious implications of scripture.

We start with 1 Thessalonians. In the first three chapters are as many references to the coming of Christ (1:10; 2:19; 3:13). There are no clues in the text which would suggest Paul is informing his gentile readers of a judgment coming in their own day, such as the siege of Jerusalem. When we get to 4:13-17 we read familiar words written as a comfort regarding the state of believers who have fallen asleep (died) in Jesus. Preterism will not work here because there is a specific reference to a resurrection (v. 16), followed by the translation of living believers (v. 17). This text must be understood futuristically as a reference to the second coming of Christ. A foundational principle of hermeneutics is that obscure passages must be interpreted in light of clear passages, so that the other references to the Lord’s coming in this epistle must be understood as pointing to His return at the end of the age. (See also: 5:2-4, 23).

In 2 Thessalonians the Lord’s return is mentioned in 1:6-10 in such a way that even most preterists cannot deny a futuristic understanding. There are no chapter and verse divisions in the original autographs, so that 2:1 is but a continuation of the flow of thought in the previous chapter. Here Paul mentions (vv.1-2) the coming of Christ, our gathering to Him, and the day of the Lord as though they were virtual synonyms. Again, the continuity of these verses with the material of the first Thessalonian epistle makes it hard to deny that the future return of Jesus at the end of the age is in view.

Here is where many preterists resort to exegetical sleight of hand and insist that the apostasy (2:3) is the Jewish rebellion against Rome of 66-70 AD, the man of sin is Nero, and the restrainer is Claudius, the emperor who preceded Nero. Even though every other coming of Christ mentioned in the Thessalonians epistles up to this point has been a clear reference to a future coming, here many preterists will insist the coming of 2:8 is a reference to the judgment of Nero and Rome.

Preterists like Kenneth Gentry will say the Thessalonian passage is extremely difficult, but to me it is difficult only if you refuse to accept what it says and try to force it into your system. Personally I believe, based on this passage, that there will be a falling away from the faith and a satanically inspired leader called the man of sin. I cannot give you much detail on this individual beyond what the text tells us–that he will be an adversary of God’s people.

So let’s connect some dots. First, there will be apostasy–or a falling away from the faith–at the end of the age just prior to the Lord’s return. We see this predicted in 2 Thessalonians 2:3 and also in passages like 1 Timothy 2:1-4 and 2 Timothy 3:1-5. Remember, Revelation 20 tells us that at the beginning of the church age Satan was bound so as not to deceive the gentiles as he had done in Old Testament times (20:1-3), and at the end of the age he will be loosed to deceive them once again (v. 7). All this dovetails with the material we discussed in Romans 9 about the gentile branches being broken off and the Jews being grafted back into the tree of salvation.

Paul predicted that God would send a deluding spirit out to deceive many (2 Thessalonians 2:11-12). From the looks of it many gentile nations are in a spiritual stupor already. Look at Egypt, Ethiopia, Libya, Syria, Turkey, Greece, Italy, France, Germany, England, Ireland, and Scotland. Some of these nations were the cradle of Christianity, and others were ablaze with faith during the Reformation. Now they are almost entirely apostate and the churches are empty. The gospel is having almost no impact in these countries–but the Muslims are flooding in like teeming swarms of rats. America is not far behind with its shallow plastic consumeristic materialistic narcissistic churchianity, shot through with Arminianism, pop-dispensationalism, psychobabble, spectator-ism, and emotionalism.

On the other hand the scripture seems to tell us we can look for a future revival among the Jews just before the Lord returns. In harmony with this theory we see a reference in Revelation 20:8-9 to the forces of Gog and Magog surrounding and besieging the camp of the saints and the beloved city. This is an unmistakable reference to Jerusalem, and it does no good to say the reference is figurative, for up to this point in the Apocalypse the other two cities mentioned were actual cities. The identity of Gog and Magog cannot be pinpointed with precision, but the consensus among scholars is that these nations would be in and around present-day Iran.

So the question is, why would these nations be surrounding Jerusalem just before the Lord’s return? And why would the man of sin–whoever he is–stand up in the temple of God and proclaim himself as God at that time (2 Thessalonians 2:4)? Here is my theory. At the end of history the gentile church will be in shambles, and the Jews will be turning to Christ by the millions. The gentile apostasy will open the door for worldwide domination by the Muslims, who are already ubiquitous, even in Asian countries like China. The Jewish revival will cause a mass migration back to Palestine. Now remember, the prediction of a temple in the Thessalonian passage does not necessarily imply sacrifices. For one thing Paul never uses the word temple to denote the physical structure, but rather the body of Christ. Moreover, the Jews could build a huge worship center in Jerusalem and call it a temple (lit. sanctuary) without a full-blown restored Levitical system.

Think about it. If you had this magnitude of apostasy and Muslim proliferation occurring in tandem with mass Jewish revival and migration, would that not be a recipe for World War III? Satan hates Jesus, and if the Jews turn to Jesus he will hate them more than he already does. The Muslims (Gog and Magog) would constitute his fighting force in the final battle of Revelation 20. Their destruction by fire (20:9) would occur when Christ returns and destroys them by the brightness of His appearing.

Beyond this synopsis I cannot try to add more detail, but I think in general it harmonizes with what I see in the prophetic scriptures. My understanding of these texts is what causes me to be an amillennialist rather than a postmillennialist. Postmillennialists believe that the gospel will go forth in the present age to where by the time of Christ’s coming the vast majority of the world’s population–Jew and gentile–will be converted to Christ. With all due respect to the many fine postmillennial believers I have met and read, I simply cannot see this scenario in God’s Word.

As we wind down this series we might want to quickly cover a few issues of eschatology. The purpose today is not to be exhaustive because that would take forever. Instead what I intend to do is summarize and give you some direction if you want to do further study.

One question you might have is: What do you do with all the Old Testament passages which seem to teach a golden age on earth? Some examples would be Isaiah 11:6-9 and 65:17-25. Most amillennialists would see the fulfillment of these two prophecies as occurring in the eternal state after the creation of the new heavens and earth. In fact the second passage says as much. There are many other Old Testament passages which dispensationalists relegate to a future tribulation and millennium which preterist amillennialists would see as having fulfillment when: (1) the Jews returned to the land beginning in 536 BC after the Babylonian captivity, (2) during the Maccabean revolt in about 165 BC, (3) in the church during the present age, or (4) in the eternal state. The best book I can recommend to you on this subject is titled Prophecy and the Church by Oswald T. Allis. The author examines every key Old Testament prophecy quoted in the New Testament. The crucial lesson I learned from this book many years ago is that you cannot study the prophecies of the OT in isolation from the NT because the latter reinterprets the former in ways which do not harmonize with the teachings of dispensationalism. If you are serious about this subject it would be worth your while to read Allis.

Two New Testament blocks of scripture often used in formulating eschatalogical systems are the Olivet Discourse (Matthew 24) and the Apocalypse. These are off the table in my system of end time prophecy because they both make the most sense in terms of preterism. We have already seen that Revelation gives us clues from the outset that it reveals things which must shortly take place from the perspective of the first recipients (1:1) and that the time of fulfillment was near (1:3). We further saw that the Apocalypse is all about the fall of Jerusalem and apostate Judaism and imperial Rome. We positively identified the beast as Nero and the false prophet as the representative of the emperor cult. The futurism does not begin until chapter twenty of the Apocalypse.

As to the Olivet Discourse, Jesus told His hearers emphatically that what He was predicting would happen in their generation (Matthew 23:26; 24:34). He told His disciples that the stones from the temple they pointed out to Him–Herod’s Temple, not a future temple–would be thrown down one-by-one in their lifetime. Up through verse 34 he gives numerous clues and signs whereby they might discern the coming of the great tribulation–which in the context denotes the Jewish War, not some mythical future 70th week. If you want something in-depth on this portion of Scripture I would recommend you read David Chilton’s The Great Tribulation because he shows how to understand the prophetic/apocalyptic language and figures of speech employed by the Lord.

The cutoff point between preterism and futurism in the Olivet Discourse is verses 35-36, where Jesus says, Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will by no means pass away. But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but my Father only. What day is unknown? The day when heaven and earth pass away. Up to this point He has been giving clues; but now He says there are no clues–no one knows the day or hour. During the siege of Jerusalem they were dying of starvation and thirst. They were killing and in some cases eating one another. It was not like the days of Noah. They were not marrying, giving in marriage, and partying. But this is how it will be on the day when the heavens and earth pass away.

According to 2 Peter 3:3-13 we are looking for a new heavens and earth (esp. v. 12), not a future Jewish millennium. Viewed this way eschatology is quite simple. Jesus returns–which includes the rapture and second coming as one, not two, events separated by seven years. There is one general resurrection and judgment, followed by the eternal state in the new heavens and earth. That’s it.

Compare this with the convoluted and bewildering scheme of  the dispensationalist. Jesus descends through the clouds into the atmosphere, where resurrected and raptured Christians meet Him in the air. The Lord then slams on the brakes, jams it into reverse, an high-tails it back to heaven for seven years during the tribulation. At this time the marriage supper of the Lamb and Bema Seat judgments are said to occur. At the conclusion of the tribulation Jesus returns for the second installment of His coming, where He defeats the forces of Satan and the so-called Antichrist (a complete misunderstanding of the term as used in 1 John). At this time there is a sheep and goats judgment, but it is not unto salvation or damnation. It is based on how the nations treated Israel as the deciding criterion of whether or not they will be allowed to enter the millennium. The rest of the unbelievers–Jew and Gentile–will be slaughtered. But there will also be mortal believers who will enter the millennium. These are the so-called tribulation saints, who were converted under the preaching of the 144,000 Jewish Billy Grahams and somehow escaped martyrdom. They are not members of the body of Christ, which was raptured before the tribulation. These were saved without the Holy Spirit and are said to be believers in the “Old Testament sense,” whatever that means. At the conclusion of the 1,000 years there will be another resurrection and white throne judgment, followed by the destruction of the old heavens and earth by fire and creation of the new.

In fairness it should be pointed out that there are many premillennialists who are not dispensationalists. The belief that after Jesus returns He will reign on earth a thousand years has been around since early in church history. In the early church those who held this view were called chiliasts (from the Greek chilia=1,000). Today we call them historic premillennialists, and except for their interpretation of Revelation 20, they are similar in many respects to amillennialists. When dispensationalism first appeared a whole new chiliastic system was born, one that because of its strict dichotomy of Israel and the church anticipates a Jewish millennium, complete with rebuilt temple and restored Levitical priesthood and sacrifices. All this despite the fact that God gave us an entire book of the Bible (Hebrews) to inform us that these obsolete types and shadows have forever been abolished by the once-for-all sacrifice of Christ.

Just imagine the scene in Jerusalem in the millennium of dispensationalism. The air filled with smoke and the smell of blood and roasting flesh, as sacrifices are offered for millions daily. Monolithic mounds of millennial mammal manure piled up everywhere, stinking, attracting flies, and causing disease. You think Iowa has a pig poop problem… Seriously, I have not seen a single dispy writer ever attempt to solve the conundrum of the chiliastic cow-pies. Perhaps the golden-age guano will be transported to the agricultural areas of Palestine as fertilizer, in fulfillment of those OT predictions that Israel will be breadbasket of the world. Your job during the millennium might well be running a gold-plated front-loader under the watchful eye of a Jewish supervisor.

So there you have it: the straight poop on dispensational premillennialism–a real crock of crap if there ever was one.

See you tomorrow for more.

Now for the answer to the question of where in the Apocalypse preterism gives way to futurism. For me the most plausible cutoff point is chapter twenty. Several factors lead me to this conclusion. First, there is the structure of the book of Revelation. The first three chapters are the prologue or introduction, and the judgments begin in 4:1. From this point through the end of chapter nineteen the focus is upon God’s judgments against the two satanically energized first-century enemies of the bond-servants of Jesus. Apostate Judaism is dealt a death blow culminating with the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD (chs. 4-11), and then Rome is the focus of God’s wrath for the next eight chapters (12-19).

By the end of chapter 19 the Apocalypse is technically over. The fourth kingdom of Daniel’s visions has been crushed to dust by the fifth and final empire–the kingdom of Jesus Christ. The beast and false prophet are gone forever, having been cast into the lake of fire. Jesus and his saints are now going forth in battle equipped with the sword of the Spirit, the word of God. In a real sense it was the gospel that ultimately conquered Rome.

The final three chapters form the epilogue or conclusion and answer the question: Now what? With the preterist portion of the book of Revelation  complete it is time to conclude with a broad sweep into the future. 20:1 is the natural place to begin. If this is the correct approach it means the so-called millennium does not follow the return of Christ (premillennialism), but rather precedes it (amillennialism and postmillennialism). I will be presenting the classic amillennial position here because it is the view I hold. But before I do, a word of caution. This is the only place in the entire Bible where a 1,000 year reign of Christ is mentioned; therefore we must be humble and gracious in our convictions.

The chapter begins with the binding of Satan. One key detail is that Satan is not cast into the lake of fire with the beast and false prophet–that must wait until the end of the 1,000 years (v. 10). Instead he is thrown into the abyss. This tells us that the binding is neither total nor permanent. He is said to be bound with a chain, but surely this must be a figurative expression, since a spirit being cannot be restrained with an iron chain. Further, the text tells us that Satan is bound with respect to one sphere of activity: that he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand years were finished. But after these things he must be released for a little while (v. 3). The word nations (Greek ethne) can also be translated gentiles. In Old Testament times the covenants and promises were restricted to a small ethnic group, and the nations walked in darkness. But in the present age the gospel goes forth to people of every nation. In fact the Great Commission commands us to make disciples of all the nations (Matthew 28:19-20). And Acts 1:8 predicted that the gospel witness would start in Jerusalem and spread outward to all Judea and Samaria, and then to the uttermost parts of the world.

Premillennialists object with verses warning us that Satan prowls around like a roaring lion (1 Peter 5:8) and that the whole world is under his power (1 John 5:19). In light of these verses is it not laughable to suggest that Satan is presently bound? Well, let’s look at the words of Christ in Matthew 12:28-29 in response to that question: But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you. Or how can one enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man? And then he will plunder his house.

Here the same Greek verb for binding is employed as in Revelation 20:2. Obviously the Lord is not saying that He has totally incapacitated the devil. The reference is to a partial binding. When we compare this Matthew passage with other statements about Satan being dealt a decisive defeat by the ministry of Christ (Luke 10:17-18; John 12:31-32), it is no stretch to think of Satan being bound so as to no longer deceive the nations as he did before the coming of Christ.

Satan is said to be bound for 1,000 years, a long and complete period of time which I believe refers to the present church age. At this time Satan is restricted from deceiving the nations as he did in the Old Testament, but at the end of the age he will be unbound and allowed to go on one brief and final rampage. After my exposition of Revelation 20 I will flesh out my basic eschatalogical framework with material from some other biblical passages. For now let’s just leave it at this: Revelation 20:2-3 describes a partial temporary binding of Satan with respect to his ability to restrict the gospel from going forth to the gentile nations.

Verse four is debated as to whom it depicts, but my view is that there are three classes of believers identified here. First there are those seated on thrones, which hearkens back to the various appearances in Revelation of the twenty four elders. These enthroned ones would describe believers generally–living and deceased–who are seated positionally in heaven and reigning with Christ (Ephesians 2:6). The second group is self explanatory: they are the souls of believers who were executed for their testimony. The third group might really be a more full description of the martyrs, but I am inclined to see them as believers who refused to worship the beast or receive his mark but somehow escaped martyrdom. At any rate what we see in this verse are two or three groups which encompass all believers. It is important to note also that the scene is not earth–a fact that is a real burr under the saddle of most dispys–but heaven. Disembodied souls are not earthly, and godly thrones in Revelation are always depicted as heavenly, whereas satanic thrones are earthly. 

Of these believers it is said that they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years, and that the rest of the dead did not live until the thousand years were completed. The living and reigning of the believers is called the first resurrection, which implies that the raising of the rest of the dead later is the second resurrection. In a nutshell: the first resurrection describes regeneration, or the new birth, which is depicted as a raising up in Christ (Ephesians 2:1, 5-6; Colossians 3:1). The second resurrection is a general bodily resurrection which accompanies the final general judgment.

Premillennialists argue that this rendering of the text is inconsistent because the verb live is the same in both cases. How can one resurrection be spiritual and the other physical? Wouldn’t consistency demand that they be either both spiritual or both physical? Not necessarily. In Revelation the expression the second death describes an eternal spiritual reality, and it also implies a first death, which we all know to be physical death. Apparently Jesus saw it this way too, for as John (same guy who wrote Revelation) records in his gospel, Jesus speaks of two deaths and two resurrections in the same context:

Most assuredly I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life. Most assuredly I say to you, the hour is coming and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God; and those who hear will live. For as the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted to the Son to have life in Himself, and has given Him authority to execute judgment also, because He is the Son of Man. Do not marvel at this, for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice and come forth–those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of condemnation (John 5:24-29).

In this text Jesus speaks of death and life in two different ways. In the first instance he is referring to spiritually dead sinners receiving spiritual life, and in the second instance he refers to physically dead sinners being physically raised unto judgment. So here in the Johanine passage we see the same two deaths and resurrections mentioned that are stated or implied in Revelation 20:4-6. The description is of believers reigning spiritually with Jesus during the 1,000 years (present age), followed by a general resurrection and judgment at the end of the age.

According to this interpretation there will be no future earthly Jewish Golden age, complete with restored Levitical sacrifices. The millennium is a present reality. The label amillennialism is really a misnomer because it literally means “no millennium.” A more accurate way to frame the issue would be realized versus unrealized millennialism. As to where the many Old Testament predictions of a future golden age fit into the puzzle let it just be said that the dispensational dumping ground of Revelation 20 is the wrong place. More on this later.

At the end of the thousand years Satan is turned loose to mount a final rebellion against God. He is defeated and cast into the lake of fire. Here is where I would place the second coming of Christ, even though it is not specifically mentioned in the text. Following the Lord’s return there will be a single general resurrection and judgment. Unbelievers will spend eternity in the lake of fire, and believers will enter the new heavens and earth. You can see that this scheme is much simpler than the bewildering maze of multiple resurrections and judgments through which the dispensationalist must grope his way.

In the next post I will flesh out this basic framework with information gleaned from a few other key end-times texts and details of Revelation 20 not covered here. Hold on to your hat because if I have been boring you thus far, things are about to get interesting.

In the book of Revelation just about everyone sees some preterism and some futurism. The real issue is: Where is the cutoff point? Dispensational premillennialists view most or all of the first three chapters as fulfilled, and for them the futurism begins at 4:1. Some preterists see the cutoff point at 19:1ff with the marriage supper and appearance of Christ on a white horse. It is difficult for most Christians to imagine how anyone could read this last passage and not see the second coming.

But many preterists do not believe the reference here is to the second coming–although they do believe in the future visible bodily return of Christ. One of their strongest objections is based on a clear narrative passage concerning the Lord’s return:

Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you have seen Him go into heaven (Acts 1:11).

Acts is a narrative book, which means that its intent is to present an accurate account in non-symbolic language. When Jesus ascended into the cloud and disappeared from their sight He was not riding a white horse, accompanied by heavenly armies. He was not wearing a robe dipped in blood, nor was there a sword protruding from His mouth. The depiction of Christ in Revelation 19 is completely unlike the scene in Acts 1, and some preterists would argue that this is because the two texts describe completely different events.

A second preterist argument is based on the established interpretation of the rest of the apocalypse up to chapter 19. The beast and false prophet are captured (19:20) and thrown into the lake of fire. If the beast is  ancient Rome collectively and the emperor Nero individually, and if the false prophet represents the emperor cult, then what is described here somehow symbolically describes their demise in the First Century. The only way around such a conclusion would be either to interpret the rest of the book futuristically or go the route of “double reference prophecy.”

A third argument used by preterists is that there are other “comings” of Yahweh and Jesus mentioned in the Bible, and these do not always refer to the second coming. Awhile back I mentioned Psalm 18, in which David described how the Lord came to his rescue when he was running from Saul. Yahweh is described there as a fire breathing warrior equipped with battle weapons and coming on the clouds of heaven. Obviously, such depictions–found throughout the Hebrew scriptures–are not literal. Pretersits argue that the depiction of Christ in Revelation 19 is reminiscent of an Old Testament judgment “coming” of the Lord. First Century readers familiar with the Septuagint Old Testament would readily understand this pericope as figurative.

Jesus promised that those living in His generation would live to see Him coming on the clouds of glory (Matthew 23:36; 24:34; 26:64). The reference here is not to the second coming but to the Son of Man coming on the clouds of glory to the throne of the Ancient of Days after His ascension to receive His kingdom (Daniel 7:14). When the armies of Rome destroyed Jerusalem in 70 AD the Jews realized that Jesus was in fact who He claimed to be and that His prediction had come true. Again, a judgment coming but not the second coming.

There are many other examples, but I will mention just two more. In John 14:1-3 Jesus promises that He will come and receive us to Himself, that we might abide with him in the dwelling places He has gone away to prepare. The passage is not specific and could refer either to the Lord’s second coming, to the Lord’s coming to receive the believer at death, or both. Then there is Jesus’ statement in 14:18 that, I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. In the context it appears that Jesus is referring to His “coming” to them in the person of the Holy Spirit. This might seem confusing, but there are other references in scripture to Jesus dwelling in the believer (Romans 8:10; Colossians 1:27). The point is that there are other “comings” of Jesus in scripture than His second coming, and one of them (according to some preterists) is found in Revelation 19. I happen to be leaning toward this view, but I hold the possibility open that even though the primary reference is not to the Lord’s parousia at the end of the age, it might be foreshadowed here in a general secondary sense. Again, let me reiterate: I do believe in the bodily second coming of Christ to the earth–so you dispys get a rag and wipe the foam from your lips.

But this leaves us with two questions. First, if the events of chapter 19 are not to be interpreted futuristically, what do they describe exactly? Second, if your futurism cutoff point is not 19:1, then where is it?

In answering the first of these two questions I am going to get lazy and quote another writer at length. His name is Jay Adams. I cite his work because he is well-known and respected in every quarter of evangelicalism. He is best known for his book on biblical counseling titled, Competent to Counsel. He has spoken at every major seminary in North America, and his books on counseling have been used as texts in most of those schools. He is a first-rate biblical scholar and has written a little commentary on the book of Revelation called, The Time is at Hand. This book is a concise defense of the preterist position. Here is what Adams has to say about the meaning of the nineteenth chapter of the Apocalypse (pp. 79-81):

Chapter 19 is the story of two suppers. They contrast sharply. One is a joyous marriage feast; the other the carnage of vultures. The chapter opens with praise because God has kept His promise to avenge the slain (vs. 2), and has established the fifth kingdom [of Daniel's visions] (vs. 6). The marriage supper of Christ and his bride is announced. The joy of the saints and the woes of the persecutors are thus predicted by great contrast.

Verses 11-21 concern the establishment of the kingdom of God, which Daniel promised would supplant the previous four world kingdoms at the overthrow of the Roman empire. This section is often mistaken for the second coming of Christ. But, in every significant feature, it is clearly differentiated from that event. This is important to an understanding of the twentieth chapter. Faulty understanding of the chronological structure of Revelation plus the mistaken idea that the nineteenth chapter describes the second advent, are two major reasons why the premillennial interpretation of the next chapter seems correct. This incorrect interpretation of chapter 19 gives support to the false notion that the millennium follows the coming of Christ.

How can one be sure of the import of the nineteenth chapter? If the previous analysis is correct in at least one point (namely, in identifying the Beast with the contemporary Roman empire), the nineteenth chapter must of necessity be interpreted not as the second advent, but the destruction of world empire by the word of God, and the establishment of the world-wide kingdom of God. Please note that in asserting that this chapter does not pertain to the second coming of Christ, the author has not denied the second coming itself. Many other Bible passages clearly teach this hope. But not this one. There is one basic fact which proves this contention: the beast and false prophet are the ones upon whom the judgment of Revelation 19 falls (vss. 19-21). These are the very same characters who previously have been shown to represent the contemporary Roman world empire and its religious agent.

This agrees perfectly with Daniel’s prophecy and those of the New Testament which represent the establishment of the world wide kingdom of God under the reign of Christ as contemporaneous with the overthrow of the fourth world kingdom.

The answer to the question of where we should place the cutoff between preterism and futurism will have to wait until the next post. Stay tuned.  

Some of you are starting to get on my nerves. You do not have the courage to come in here and post your disagreements so others can respond. Instead you sit back and lob bombs via private email. I am sick of you futurist dispensationalists accusing me of twisting scripture. I have tried to be as gracious to you and your position as I can possibly be, but you just cannot do the same. I have repeatedly emphasized the common ground we share as believers in one Lord, one faith, and one baptism. From the beginning I have presented textual and historical evidence to support a preterist understanding of the book of Revelation. If you don’t agree with me then present facts and data showing where I am going wrong. Personally I cannot understand for the life of me how you can possibly think your scheme of interpretation has more merit than what I have presented.

I would like to agree to disagree and leave it at that, but you started it and I’m going to finish it. I have a couple questions for you dogmatic dispys who see chapter 18 as a prediction of the downfall of a city that did not exist until thousands of years after the death of John and the first recipients of the Apocalypse. Look at vv. 12-13 of that chapter and tell me what modern city trades in the kinds of merchandise you see listed. That’s right–frankincense, chariots, and human slaves. Look at v. 22 and tell me when the last time was that you heard the sound of a millstone grinding in a modern city. Answer–you didn’t! That’s because they only existed in ancient cities, and that is what is being referred to here–not some mythological revived Rome in an imaginary future 70th week. Never mind that I have already shown you more than once that the city on seven hills is unmistakably ancient Rome and that Nero is the beast. You have offered no direct response because you have none. Just accusations of twisting scripture.

I suppose now you will say that the items mentioned above are symbolic of broad classes of merchandise. Well excuse me, but I thought you guys always interpreted the Bible literally. Who’s twisting the scripture now? You are wrong! Ancient Rome was a flourishing world trade center in the First Century, and every believer who originally heard the Apocalypse read in one of the seven churches would have connected the dots immediately. As for modern Rome, its main means of commerce are tourism and various service industries. Very little in the way of manufacturing, other than wine and olive oil.

Still not convinced? Fine, then; let me throw an indisputable factoid at you. Look at v.20 and see that this was a city that persecuted God’s holy apostles and prophets. Just who were these holy apostles and prophets? Check out this passage, where Paul speaks of the mystery of Gentiles being included alongside Jews in the body of Christ,

which in other ages was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to His holy apostles and prophets (Ephesians 3:5).

Earlier in the same epistle he had written about the household of God as

having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone (Ephesians 2:20).

Clearly these holy apostles and prophets lived and ministered in the New Testament era. In Revelation 18:20 we are told that their blood will be avenged through the judgment of ”Babylon the Great,” better known as ancient Rome. The only way one can make sense of these facts is to admit the soundness of a preterist rendering: The text describes the judgment, not of a future city, but of a city which existed in the days of the New Testament apostles and prophets. If language has any meaning this conclusion is inevitable.

But wait. Maybe in the nether world of futurist imagination there will be a revived Rome and additional apostles. Wrong again. When all has been said and done in human history, when the devil and all unbelievers have been cast into the lake of fire, and when the old heavens and earth are replaced with the new, the New Jerusalem will descend from heaven.

Now the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb (Revelation 21:14).

Not ten, not eleven, not thirteen nor twenty– but twelve. If you have an intelligent response to this then post your comments in here publicly and use your real name. But do not accuse me of twisting scripture or we will have some serious issues. I work very hard to handle scripture accurately. I might be guilty of many things, but a scripture twister I am not.

Enough said about that. I will address one last potential problem and that will be it for now. Some might object that the text describes a sudden and total destruction, and this does not fit the gradual and partial demise of ancient Rome. (Rome did not finally fall until 475 AD.) In response I would point out that the descriptions used here are taken almost verbatim from the Old Testament pronouncements against ancient Babylon. For example:

Move from the midst of Babylon, go out from the land of the Chaldeans… Flee from the midst of Babylon, and everyone save his life! Do not be cut off in her iniquity, for this is the time of the Lord’s vengeance; He shall recompense her… My people, go out of the midst of her! And let everyone deliver himself from the fierce anger of the Lord (Jeremiah 50:8; 51:6, 45).

Read through Jeremiah and you will see predictions of sudden and total destruction, leaving Babylon a haunt of jackals. But like Rome Babylon was not suddenly and totally destroyed. It is important to bear in mind that the material in Jeremiah as well as that in Revelation 18 is reminiscent of a funeral dirge. The language is clearly figurative and underscores the certainty of God’s judgment. Beyond this strict literalism is not intended or required.

That’s all for now. In closing I want to thank those few of you who do comment openly from time to time–Steve, Jim, Rich, Lucas, Len, David, and even Sophie. You know I don’t care if you disagree with me. In fact a little bit of debate makes you use your mind. Iron sharpens iron and all that.

Chapter seventeen opens with a description of the great harlot and her judgment. She is decked out like a whore (v. 4) and has brought the kings of the earth under the influence of her fornication (v. 2). She herself has become drunk with the blood of the martyrs (v. 6). The name of Babylon on her forehead (v. 5) and the fact that she is a harlot identify her as an apostate religious system. That she rides on the back of the beast (v. 3) tells us that she is supported and carried by the Roman emperor and empire. She is the religious arm of the state, and kills those who refuse to worship the beast and his image.

Here is another strong proof of the soundness of a preterist interpretation. Imagine you are a Christian in one of the churches where the Apocalypse was read. Believers all around you are dying for their testimony and their refusal to burn incense to the image of Nero. Your own life hangs by a slender thread. Do you honestly think you would understand the prophecy to be referring to events in a tribulation period in the distant future millennia after your death?

The identity of the beast is likewise clear. He has seven heads and ten horns. The ten horns are said to be kings (v. 12), a probable reference to the provincial governors. Five of the heads have come and gone and the sixth was on the scene at the time of the Apocalypse. Nero was the sixth and last king of the Julian line, and after his death Galba was assassinated shortly after he took power. The eighth might possibly have been Vespasian, but of this we cannot be sure. We have already explained how the Hebrew letters for the name Nero Caesar have the numerical value of 666. The beast, then, is the Roman empire collectively, and the Roman emperor individually. The harlot is the religious system of state mandated emperor worship, also referred to as the second beast or false prophet in chapter 13.

On the other hand, the mixing of the metaphors in this chapter can be confusing. The harlot is described with language suggesting she is a false religious system. But then in v. 18 she is said to be the great city (Rome) which reigns over the kings of the earth. Then again, she is said to sit on a beast with seven heads which are really seven hills (v. 9)–another unmistakable reference to the city of Rome. Even though she sits upon the beast, she is also said to sit upon many waters (v. 15), which are really peoples, multitudes, nations, and tongues. Such a mingling of symbols was not uncommon in the apocalyptic genre.

In fact, the looseness of the metaphors is a key to understanding this chapter. We are told that the ten horns will hate the harlot, make her desolate and naked, eat her flesh, and burn her with fire (v. 16). Here the reference is to the harlot as the city of Rome rather than the apostate religious system (v. 18). There are several ways to understand this, but the most plausible explanation would be that the reference here is to the short but intense period of civil war which commenced after the death of Nero (who had himself burned Rome and blamed the Christians). During this time of conflict the provinces were in chaos and fires were set throughout the city of Rome. When Vespasian restored order the provincial rulers once again gave their allegiance to the Emperor (v. 17). 

The short summary of the chapter I have just given you is the one which makes the most sense to me in terms of the context and historical situation of the original recipients. Of course, no interpretation of this material is free of difficulty, and I encourage you to study these things for yourself to see if you can come up with a more reasonable option than what I have given.

I will offer just two short words by way of application. History shows that any time the state gets into the religion business there will be trouble. Rome is one example, but we might also mention Medieval Catholicism, the evils perpetrated by the Church of England under the banner of the divine right of kings, and even the burning of Servetus at the stake in Geneva during the days of Calvin. We should be thankful that our founding fathers understood the impossibility of a theocracy this side of the new heavens and earth. The church needs to be free to worship according to the dictates of scripture. The civil government must not interfere with church polity unless the religious entity is in violation of civil law. Likewise the church should not attempt to run the country, although the civil magistrate should be informed by God’s law–for in reality there is no other legitimate law except that which ultimately issues forth from Him.

Lastly, all attempts to govern outside the parameters or framework of divine law are really tantamount to rebellion against God. The kings of the earth will attempt to do battle with the Lord (v. 14), but they will never conquer the Lamb or His people. It might appear in the moment that the forces of the world, flesh, and devil have the upper hand, but ultimately God’s kingdom will crush the kingdoms of men to dust. We know that in the end Jesus will return and render judgment. But in the meantime the kingdom of God advances as the Lord’s people submit to His rule and wage war with the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

Chapter sixteen contains all seven of the bowl judgments. These judgments are the third in a successive series beginning with the seven seals and then the seven trumpets. The seventh in each series introduces the next series, and the judgments seem to grow progressively worse in each case.

Here we see that the first bowl introduces a physical plague of boils reminiscent of the similar blight brought against the Egyptians in the days of Moses (Exodus 9:8-12). In Greek the boils are said to be literally bad and evil, an expression indicative of their foul and loathsome nature. That they are directed against those who had received the mark of the beast and worshipped his image would seem to indicate (at least to me) that whatever these boils represent, they speak primarily of some plague which infected the earth dwellers living in the First Century Roman Empire. This is not to say that God has not used similar forms of judgment against those who hate Him in subsequent generations; on the contrary, it rather suggests such a probability.

The second and third bowls unleash pollution into the salt and fresh water. The seas are turned to blood, killing all marine life; the freshwater rivers and spings are likewise turned to blood. This plague too reminds us of the Nile being turned to blood in the days of Moses (Exodus 7:14-25). We cannot find any literal counterpart in history for this judgment. I am inclined to think it is a symbolic reference designed to show that God is dealing with the beast and his kingdom in the same way that he struck Pharaoh and Egypt. The angel of the waters and heavenly altar respond in praise to God for this righteous act of holy wrath.

The fourth plague introduces a burning heat from the sun beating down on the unbelievers. Extreme heat is every bit as agonizing as freezing cold. At least with the cold the body eventually goes numb and the mind drifts into a euphoric stupor just before death. Often I go into the sauna after my workouts in the gym, especially during the cold winter months. Eventually my body’s internal thermostat tells me I have had enough, and I hit the showers. Prolonged exposure is a miserable experience. And yet these earth dwellers, even under such excruciating conditions, like Pharaoh harden their hearts and refuse to repent and glorify the only One with the authority to rein in the plagues.

The fifth bowl introduces the opposite extreme–total darkness, again reminiscent of the days just prior to the Exodus (Exodus 10:21-26). This judgment is hurled right at the beast’s throne, which is a slap in the face to his so-called authority. I would imagine that such prolonged darkness would result in unbearable cold as well. In any event the agony of the boils is aggravated to the point where men gnawed their tongues in pain. Here again we see that they refused to repent and even went as far as cursing the God of heaven, indicating that even though they do not worship Him they are not devoid of His knowledge.

I have often facetiously said that if you shove an atheist out of an airplane at 30,000 feet (and I would discourage it) he will do one of two things as he plummets earthward at 120 mph: he will either pray for God to save him, or he will curse God for allowing him to die. In other words, he knows God exists. He would not pray to some false God, like Allah, nor would he curse some smoldering stub like Deepak Chopra; for he knows the false God is not real, and he knows Deepak is not ultimately in control of squat. At the end of the day an atheist is just a theist in denial–he is lying to himself.

The sixth bowel speaks of armies coming across the dry Euphrates river bed from the rising of the sun (eastern horizon). Three demons in the form of unclean frogs deceive these kings into fighting against God. My understanding of this is that just like in the Old Testament, where God raised up nations like Babylon as instruments of judgment, and these nations ended up fighting against God and were overthrown by other pagan powers like the Medo-Persians, here in symbolic language we see a reference to the eventual overthrow of the Roman Empire by the dreaded nations of the east. And those nations themselves are under the thick blanket of demonic deception. Notice too the parallelism here between the fall of the capital city of the second enemy of God’s people (Rome) and the fall of Jerusalem, the capital city of the first enemy (11:13 and context). This parallelism reinforces the basic paradigm of interpretation presented in this series.

This rendering just given is what I see as the primary interpretation to the first recipients. I believe this is how they would have understood it. There is no reference here to a future battle at Armageddon or to a 200-million-man army of communist Chinese. By way of application I would say that pagan kings are ever prone to becoming drunk with power and self-worship and unwittingly becoming pawns in the hand of Satan. They get deceived and fight against God and His people; and without exception God brings their worldly empires to destruction at the hand of some other fighting force raised up by Him for that very purpose. In other words, when we see these kinds of regime changes taking place we should see the hand of God behind the scenes and realize that there is an unseen spiritual battle going on involving principalities and powers marshaled by Satan himself.

Nor do I see Jesus’ statement in verse 15 as primarily referring to His visible bodily second coming at the end of the age. The primary reference is to a coming of Christ which would occur in the historic time-frame of the first recipients but which might also foreshadow the Lord’s return. I will not spend undue time here on this, as we will discuss the subject of the second coming in more detail when we get to chapter nineteen. Suffice it here to say that not every coming of Jesus is a reference to His bodily visible return at the end of the age. As we will see, there are various cloud comings and judgment comings of the Lord depicted throughout scripture. I mention this in passing here to give you some advance warning. Whenever people see any reference to a coming of the Lord in the Bible they assume it is a reference to the final parousia; and anyone who says otherwise is viewed as a heretic who denies the Lord’s return. Beware of a hasty conclusion here, because there have been many godly men through the ages who were a lot smarter than you and me who have held to the position I have just claimed as my own.

The seventh and final bowl proleptically foreshadows the destruction of Rome and the nations within her orbit. Rome is referred to symbolically as Babylon to underscore her rebellion against God and devotion to demonic and occultic religious practices. She will drink deep from the cup of God’s wrath. The pronouncement of judgment is accompanied by a lightning and thunderstorm yielding 100-pound hailstones and an earthquake unprecedented in human history, which seems to cause all the islands of the sea to sink and vanish from sight. Again, all these expressions are examples of symbolism and imagery found throughout the Old Testament and extra-biblical apocalyptic literature. They are not meant to be understood in a strictly literal sense.

After all this judgment men persisted in cursing God and refusing to repent. How different from righteous Job, who refused to heed his wife’s foolish counsel to curse God and die after he lost his children and was smitten with a plague of boils. Unlike the unbeliever Job realized he was entitled to nothing but wrath and damnation from the hand of his Creator. So an application here is to be thankful for repentance. If when you sin you see the error of your ways and desire to turn to God, this is really a blessing which evidences the Holy Spirit’s work in your heart. When you take sick or sustain some injury, or your roof is torn apart by high winds, if instead of cursing or blaming God you recognize His sovereign hand, you have proof positive that you are numbered among His regenerate elect. It’s not that the pagan does not understand that God is sovereign–of course he does! His cursing of God shows he understands this; but the problem is, he does not want a sovereign God because he is committed to his own sovereignty and autonomy.

My dear grandma refused to trust Jesus, despite my many attempts to penetrate her heart with the simple gospel. She was trusting Saint Anthony and the Virgin Mary. She told me that if she had been Christ on the cross she would have come down from the cross and wiped out those who had condemned Him. She once told me that if God would give her some kind of concrete evidence for His existence, then she would trust in Him. I now realize He had given her plenty of proof, and that no matter what sign He might provide, she would still refuse to believe in Him. She was no different from any other unbelieving sinner: unless the Lord opens the heart it stays shut and calloused. I truly fear for the state of her eternal soul. She was so good to me, and I still love her very much.

When the dust settles it matters little whether you see the book of Revelation as I do. What matters is what you do with Jesus Christ. Please do not play the fool any longer if you are holding out on trusting Him and His work on the cross. Take Him as your Lord and Saviour now. Now is the accepted time; behold, today is the day of your salvation. If you don’t know how to be saved please view my video on how to know you have eternal life. Or use the contact link at the top right of the home page to contact me.

Chapter fifteen is another short one, and really it and the previous chapter form a kind of triumphant interlude before all heaven breaks loose in the form of the seven bowl judgments. In the last entry we saw the 144,000 standing on Mount Zion with the lamb. Now we see the gentile believers who overcame the beast by the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony, and they loved not their lives to the death (12:11). They are standing on the heaven-side of the crystal sea of glass–the barrier which decisively and permanently separates them from the horrors they faced at the hand of the beast (Roman emperor/empire).

The scene is one of victory, not unlike that in the book of Exodus after the Israelites had passed through the Red Sea and the waters had swallowed up the armies of Pharaoh (Exodus 14). In that chapter it tells us that the Lord saved Israel that day out of the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore (14:30). Exodus 15:1-18 records the Song of Moses that the Israelites sang in response to the mighty deliverance of Yahweh. Here in Revelation 15:3 it tells us that the overcomers sang this very song as they stood on the crystal sea in heaven. I have reproduced the entire song here because I think it contains lyrics we might not expect to hear rolling off the lips of a heavenly company of believers. I encourage you to read it now:

1 Then sang Moses and the children of Israel this song unto the LORD, and spake, saying, I will sing unto the LORD, for he hath triumphed gloriously: the horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea.

2 The LORD is my strength and song, and he is become my salvation: he is my God, and I will prepare him an habitation; my father’s God, and I will exalt him.

3 The LORD is a man of war: the LORD is his name.

4 Pharaoh’s chariots and his host hath he cast into the sea: his chosen captains also are drowned in the Red Sea.

5 The depths have covered them: they sank into the bottom as a stone.

6 Thy right hand, O LORD, is become glorious in power: thy right hand, O LORD, hath dashed in pieces the enemy.

7And in the greatness of thine excellency thou hast overthrown them that rose up against thee: thou sentest forth thy wrath, which consumed them as stubble.

8 And with the blast of thy nostrils the waters were gathered together, the floods stood upright as an heap, and the depths were congealed in the heart of the sea.

9 The enemy said, I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil; my lust shall be satisfied upon them; I will draw my sword, my hand shall destroy them.

10 Thou didst blow with thy wind, the sea covered them: they sank as lead in the mighty waters.

11 Who is like unto thee, O LORD, among the gods? who is like thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders?

12Thou stretchedst out thy right hand, the earth swallowed them.

13 Thou in thy mercy hast led forth the people which thou hast redeemed: thou hast guided them in thy strength unto thy holy habitation.

14The people shall hear, and be afraid: sorrow shall take hold on the inhabitants of Palestina.

15Then the princes of Edom shall be amazed; the mighty men of Moab, trembling shall take hold upon them; all the inhabitants of Canaan shall melt away.

16 Fear and dread shall fall upon them; by the greatness of thine arm they shall be as still as a stone; till thy people pass over, O LORD, till the people pass over, which thou hast purchased.

17 Thou shalt bring them in, and plant them in the mountain of thine inheritance, in the place, O LORD, which thou hast made for thee to dwell in, in the Sanctuary, O LORD, which thy hands have established.

18 The LORD shall reign for ever and ever.

Whereas the Israelites sang this song in response to God’s judgment of His enemies, the overcomers sing it in anticipation. God’s judgment is here viewed proleptically. Proleptic expressions are used in scripture to emphasize the certainty of the outcome.  We see another example in Romans 8:29-30 where Paul speaks of those whom God foreknew, predestined, called, justified, and glorified. Even though glorification is yet future, it is expressed–as are the four other verbs–with the Greek aorist tense, indicating past snapshot action. In other words if you have been foreknown, predestined, called, and justified, your future glorification is as good as done. Similarly, the overcomers here are able to sing of God’s judgment as a past event because it is imminent and inevitable. There is no stopping it now. It’s all over for the devil, beast, false prophet, and earth dwellers.

The tone is imprecatory. To imprecate means to call down judgment and destruction. In the Old Testament psalter there is an entire class of psalms whose purpose is imprecation; for example Psalm 137, which closes with this imprecatory word against Babylon: O daughter of Babylon, who are about to be destroyed, happy is the one who repays you as you have served us! Happy is the one who takes and dashes your little ones against the rock! (Psalm 137:8-9)

The overcomers have been subjected to unthinkable brutality because of their testimony. Their enemies have hated them, just as they hated their Lord and Savior; and now with righteous indignation they sing of the destruction of those enemies. We tend to think exclusively in terms of Paul’s directives to submit to our governing authorities (Romans 13:1ff) and to pray for the salvation of our civil rulers (1 Timothy 2:1-5). Ironically, these commands were written during the peaceful early years of Nero’s rule; but bear in mind that it was Nero who, as tradition tells us, had Paul beheaded in the Roman dungeon during the later years of his reign.

But these overcomers did not submit to the civil authorities, but rather rebelled against state-mandated emperor worship. And now they are not praying for the salvation of the civil rulers, but rather their annihilation. They wait anxiously for God to kick some serious butt.

They will wait no longer. The inner holy sanctuary of the heavenly tabernacle opens and out come the seven angels carrying the bowel judgments. These plagues come directly from the very dwelling place of God’s glory, and no one may enter this place until the bowel judgments are complete. In case you didn’t know it already, God is angry and fed up. His patience has run out and now the day of reckoning has come.

We modern Christians do not want to think of God in the way He is portrayed here. I heard a famous televangelist say once on a cable talk show that nothing bad ever comes from God. It is never God’s will for people to get sick or to be poor. When the host asked him why people suffer these things he blamed it on the devil, as if we lived in a dualistic kind of universe where Satan is on par with God in terms of his power and authority. I heard another famous Christian author say that natural disasters such as tsunamis do not issue from God, but from Mother Nature. Again, a dualism not taught in God’s word. Scripture teaches that God is absolutely sovereign over everything and everyone in His universe–the devil included, and evil included. Like it or lump it.

The encouraging thing is that if you are on Team Jesus you are on the winning side. You might suffer in this world just because it goes with the territory of living in a fallen creation; or, you might suffer ostracizing, economic sanction, ridicule, persecution, and even death for your testimony. But ultimately you cannot lose if you are in Christ. And, if you are not in Him you can’t win for losing, regardless of what the temporal circumstances might seem to say.

That is the message of this chapter we have discussed today.

Bible burnout. Every time I get to this point in my study of Revelation I hit a wall. My passion in life is the word of God, but I am not interested in gaining information as an end in itself. I want the Lord to grip my heart and mind through His word, and then I want Him to get a hold of you too. Groping my way through the maze of figures, symbols, and characters in the Apocalypse is labor intensive and exhausting mentally, but it is worth it if your appetite for this great book has been piqued.

Good news. chapter fourteen is an easy chapter exegetically speaking, and I hope you really get as blessed as I have.

The chapter begins with the reappearance of the 144,000 from chapter seven; but why are they mentioned again at this juncture? Let me try and use an analogy, albeit feeble, to explain it. You remember the desolation after the twin towers were hit back on 9-11-2001. The smoldering ruins were called ground zero, a grim reminder of that fateful day. Many who survived that day because they providentially missed work or somehow got out before the structures collapsed went back to visit the site.

The Jewish remnant had been sealed by God for protection. When the Roman armies surrounded Jerusalem, they heeded the warning given by Jesus decades earlier to flee. Now they return to Mount Zion–ground zero, if you will. The city has been reduced to rubble. The Lamb is there with them–bearing the marks of slaughter yet standing–and they follow him wherever He leads. They are safe and secure in Him. They have kept themselves pure from spiritual fornication–that is, they have not worshipped the beast or his image. (Sex per se is nowhere forbidden in scripture, so that the meaning here must be symbolic.) Their presence here introduces the stern warning against worshipping the beast and serves as an encouragement to the saints to persevere in the faith no matter what; and in the end they too will stand triumphant over the enemy.

Notice that they are called the firstfruits. This expression is used elsewhere to describe the first converts to Jesus in a given place.

Greet my beloved Epaenetus, who is the firstfruits of Achaia to Christ (Romans 16:5).

I urge you, brethren–you know know the household of Stephanas, that is, the firstfruits of Achaia, and that they have devoted themselves to the ministry of the saints (1 Corinthians 16:15).

The gospel harvest started in Jerusalem, and then spread to all Judea, Samaria, and to the uttermost parts of the known world (Acts 1:8). The church was exclusively Jewish in the years of its infancy. Thus this Jewish remnant is here called the firstfruits. Here is another clue that points to the soundness of a preterist position. If the 144,000 were really Jewish Billy Grahams yet to appear in a future great tribulation, they would more fittingly be referred to as the lastfruits. But I digress.

Imagery from the world of agriculture is found throughout the chapter in the form of three harvests. The firstfruits harvest has already been mentioned. The second harvest (vv. 14-16) is a depiction of Christ reaping the harvest of His elect through the spread of the gospel. In the gospels the Lord had described the growth of the kingdom in terms of a harvest:

The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest (Matthew 9:37-38).

Do you not say, “there are still four months, and then comes the harvest?” Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest (John 4:35).

The third harvest (vv. 17-20) is the gathering and crushing of the earth dwellers who worshipped the beast and received his mark. The order here is significant. In the ancient Near East the firstfruits of the grain harvest were gathered in early spring, followed by the harvest of ripe grain in the summer months. The grape harvest began in late summer and ran through the fall. Also of note is that the grape harvest is used in the Old Testament as a metaphor of judgment because the grapes are trampled and crushed, producing juice reminiscent of blood.

Why is your apparel red and your garments like one who treads in the winepress? I have trodden the winepress alone, and from the peoples no one was with me. I have trodden them in my anger and trampled them in my fury. Their blood is sprinkled upon my garments, and I have stained all my robes (Isaiah 63:2-3, c.f., Lamentations 1:15; Joel 3:13).

The warnings of vv. 6-13 are indeed sobering, but they are tempered with the promise of eternal life. A committed witness for Christ in the Days of the Apocalypse was not without cost. And yet the danger factor did not impede the progress of the gospel in the least. In fact those who died in the Lord were counted to be specially blessed.

All this makes me wonder if the freedoms we enjoy in this country are important to me just because they allow me to enjoy my comfort zone. Would I be willing to stand firm in the faith in the face of the kind of persecution the early believers faced? Well, I suppose those folks were really no different from me. What was different was the measure of grace given to them by God in their hour of need. It’s all about Him, and He gets all the glory.

I remember the days of the Jesus Movement when there was a great harvest of young souls. I pray for another in-gathering in this generation. Maybe for this to happen God will need to take us out of our comfort zone. If that’s His plan I want to be right in the middle of it.