The Book of Revelation

Lately I’ve heard some people speculating about the “End Times.” There are wars, financial disaster, elections, etc., and all this leads some to speculate about a Left Behind kind of world. Well I don’t buy it. Not for one minute. There will be an end, that much we know, but we do not (emphasis on not) know much about that future other than this: God wins (and, in a very real way, already has).

 

Did you know, for example, that the word “Antichrist” is never, not once, mentioned in the book of Revelation? Did you know that the idea of a “rapture” was invented by humans around a hundred years ago? And long periods of time were often used as a stylistic literary device (with no specific meaning) in this type of literature so it is safe to conclude that there is no literal meaning to what has been called “the Millennium” and no real period of time often called “the Tribulation.” I would argue (strongly) that a Left Behind kind of theological framework is misguided and the result of human invention rather than the result of good Biblical Theology.

 

So I offer you my brief (though quite long for a blog post) take on the major themes and messages from the book of Revelation. I wrote this about four years ago and I still agree with myself (it was a good paper). I hope you take the time to read it. Revelation is one of my favorite books in the Bible. Here you go:

 

 

Introduction to the Questions and Method of this Paper

The book of Revelation is the subject of much intrigue and debate. It is seen sometimes to reveal secrets of the future, sometimes events of the past, and sometimes timeless mysteries. This paper seeks to describe the theology of the book as a whole. What are its main points? Why should we read it? How? And what good does it do the modern reader?  Does the theology of Revelation cross the lines of culture and time? These are some of the answers to be sought.

Revelation can be broken down by themes. These themes are best understood as being some kind of polemic related to first-century issues facing the seven churches of Asia Minor to whom the letter is addressed. If these themes are viewed in the light of their original context, then we can draw similar conclusions regarding our current situation as well as future events. In this way my approach is preterist, idealist, and futurist simultaneously.

A preterist approach is needed in as much as the original context is king. This is a real letter written by a real man to real people in real churches in a real country in real time. For correct understanding of this really cool book it is necessary to be a student of the first century context that this book was formed in. The images, symbols, allusions, lessons, and arguments are grounded in the first century. It was and is a book written for people thousands of years ago.

An idealist approach is needed in as much as Truth is timeless (evil also seems to span great amounts of time). The flow of good and evil, the great cosmic battle between God and Satan span the eons. It is natural to suppose that the underlying truth found in Revelation is an ideal type of truth that has been true in the deep past, was true in the first century, is true now, and will be true in whatever future materializes. It is a book of timeless truth.

A futurist approach is needed in as much as the book points and leans toward the consummation of all things. In Revelation the end is in clear sight: Evil disappears (and that has not happened yet), God’s universal rule is established (and that has not happened yet), and the resurrection, judgment, and rewarding of the dead occurs (none of which has happened yet). Because so much of Revelation is looking toward the future it is natural to see our real future (in some way) revealed. It is a book of things to come.

The themes to be addressed are not an exhaustive list. The following ideas will find attention here: (1) God and his character, (2) evil and its incarnations, and (3) victory over evil and how it is achieved.

 

God and His Character

In this paper, it is important to note, that the term God is used in the Trinitarian sense of the word: all of God – not simply one person of the Trinity. Therefore, this section will deal with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as they appear in Revelation.

The depth of creativity, beauty, and mystery with which Revelation portrays God is staggering. Understanding the cultural and religious background of the letter provides the reason for the need of such poetry. The Jews were staunchly monotheistic; the Romans obviously polytheistic. John would have gained nothing by saying “Jesus is God” because his entire Jewish audience would automatically tune out and the Romans in the audience would fail to notice what a big deal this was. The poetry of Revelation brings Jesus and the Spirit up to the same (and equal) level as God the Father – the Creator. The most important way that John equates God the Father with God the Son is by their self-declarations. Richard Bauckham notes “the remarkable fact that the one designation of God [the Father] which appears in Revelation as a self-designation by God [the Father] also appears as a self-designation by Christ.” (Richard Bauckham, The Theology of the Book of Revelation (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1993), 26) It is impressive to see how this plays out in the book:

Father: I am the Alpha and the Omega (1:8)

Jesus: I am the first and the Last (1:17)

Father: I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. (21:6)

Jesus: I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end. (22:13)

 

What a beautiful way to describe the equality of essence between the Father and Christ. The declarations go back and fourth. They parallel one another. Jesus, in 22:13, includes all of the pieces – all of the ways of saying the same thing – into one sentence. The Father and the Christ are clearly One.

The Spirit is brought into this mix in a few ways. One way is by the use of symbolic numbers. The number four represents the completeness of the Earth (i.e. the four corners of the world) and seven stands for completeness. The term “the seven Spirits” occurs four times, while “the Spirit” occurs seven times. The Lamb (Jesus) has “seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God” (5:6). So the Lamb contains the Spirit of the Father as part of his being. This is a strong link. It is not as strong as the Jesus/Father tie seen above. However, the Spirit of God is shared by both the Father and the Son and plays a vital role in the story of Revelation.

The question of the past, idealistic, or future orientation of this theme is unnecessary. With regard to the usefulness of this theme not enough can be said. This book reveals more strongly the Trinitarian nature of our God than any other. Even if we ignore the rest of the book and the multitude of other questions it raises, this one theme is outstanding. It is a wonder to ponder our God. It is beautiful to read about him in Revelation. It is comforting to know what kind of God he is. All of this can be gained or strengthened by studying the theology of Revelation.

 

 

Evil and its Incarnations

There are three major manifestations of evil in Revelation. The Dragon identified as Satan (12:9). The beast out of the sea identified as Rome (17:9). The Harlot is a second way of seeing the beast out of the sea and represents the temptations and sins of Rome (17:1-9). Both of these, the first beast and the harlot, represent different sides of Rome: the military power and the seductive side respectively. The third manifestation of evil is the second beast or the beast out of the land. This beast seems to be a false prophet: “He had two horns like a lamb, but he spoke like a dragon” (13:11). He entices the people of the earth to worship the first beast.

As mentioned above, each of these has grounding in the real-world of the first century Christians to whom the letter of Revelation was addressed. To bring those first century images into our day (and into the future) we need only to notice the underlying principles of what each evil represented then and what matches today (and into the future).

The Dragon will always be the ultimate source of evil. He was and will continue to be Satan. Perhaps this image of evil brings the futurist part of our theology into the clearest light. The Dragon has a clear destiny: destruction. We can count on that. God wins. Satan loses. No matter what we face now we can be sure that if we are on God’s side we are on the winning team.

The first beast, the one from the sea, is an evil world power. This power seeks worship. It operates under the authority of Satan. The past reveals times when this type of beastly empire has risen to power. Nazi Germany is a classic example. The evil type of empire that Rome was has happened before and will happen again. I cannot help but wonder to what extent the USA is a type of this beast. We, as a country, are so powerful and so huge. Perhaps we match more closely the Harlot side of the first beast. The USA is a seductive place. We are so free that we have lost most of our clothing and most of our morals. Maybe the internet is a type of Harlot. Maybe it is Western civilization in general. These kinds of questions do not need hard answers. What we need to do is recognize when some kind of world power, government, leader, technology, or system has become beastly (or harlot-like). These become the manifestation of evil against which we must struggle; the object of our conquest and victory.

The second beast is the false prophets of the world – defending and promoting false and evil systems. The underlying theology is that evil powers will have champions: there will be people (or things) that encourage us to participate in the evil system. For the first century folk it was the Nicolaitans (2:15), Jezebel (2:20), and the like. These were real-world sources of false (and evil) motivations. They were things that looked good, but sounded evil. Too often we human creatures are visual; trusting anything that looks good. Identify what those are in our day (and in the future) and we will find the second beast alive and well. We also look forward to this beast being destroyed: another certainty about the future. No longer will we face these evil sources of evil propaganda.

 

Victory Over Evil

The issue of how one is to overcome and defeat the evils of the world cannot be overstated. This dictates how the church and the individual Christian is to behave once the present day beasts are identified. Revelation is very clear about how this victory is achieved and we must adhere to its teaching.

The key verse to understanding the defeat of evil is 12:11, “They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death.” This provides the twofold way victory is achieved. The first and most important way that evil is defeated is by God, that is, by the blood of the Lamb. Jesus won the victory by his death and resurrection. Our part now is to participate in that life; to resist the enemy, but not by military strategy. Our weapon against evil is our testimony and holy lives to the point of death. The way victory is won is by perseverance and martyrdom (or at least the willingness to become a martyr). It is by the word of our testimony. It is by not shrinking from death. The evil forces may kill a Christian but when they do they simply strike their own death blow. What a seemingly backward way to fight a war! We are victorious in being good, saying good things, and getting killed for it!

 

Conclusions

The book of Revelation is a deep, complex, and astoundingly rich theological book. There has been little or nothing said about a great number of important topics. The judgment of the dead, the Millennium, issues related to dispensationalism, and details of the text itself have been neglected. If every point were discussed then I might write for years and never finish. My position, however, is that the three major themes that were discussed are the major pieces of the text. Revelation is about revealing God, exposing evil, and encouraging our active participation in the destruction of evil. The detail of the rest adds depth and nuance to these themes. The judgment, for example, helps demonstrate that the good guys not only win but are also rewarded while the wicked are punished. It highlights that what one does matters. Other detailed pieces similarly add to the discussion. The book’s main point is about good defeating evil. It is a book full of wonderful theology, but all that theology points to the simple, wonderful, and exciting fact that God (and what a God!) defeats evil. In the midst of that wonderful overarching thrust runs a ribbon calling you and me to participate. It is an active theology. Let’s get going.