Demonic Invasion
Revelation chapter 9 is what most folks think of when they think of the book of Revelation—violent, wild imagery— and it is terrifying.
9 And the fifth angel blew his trumpet, and I saw a star fallen from heaven to earth, and he was given the key to the shaft of the bottomless pit. 2 He opened the shaft of the bottomless pit, and from the shaft rose smoke like the smoke of a great furnace, and the sun and the air were darkened with the smoke from the shaft. 3 Then from the smoke came locusts on the earth, and they were given power like the power of scorpions of the earth. 4 They were told not to harm the grass of the earth or any green plant or any tree, but only those people who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads. 5 They were allowed to torment them for five months, but not to kill them, and their torment was like the torment of a scorpion when it stings someone. 6 And in those days people will seek death and will not find it. They will long to die, but death will flee from them.
7 In appearance the locusts were like horses prepared for battle: on their heads were what looked like crowns of gold; their faces were like human faces, 8 their hair like women's hair, and their teeth like lions' teeth; 9 they had breastplates like breastplates of iron, and the noise of their wings was like the noise of many chariots with horses rushing into battle. 10 They have tails and stings like scorpions, and their power to hurt people for five months is in their tails. 11 They have as king over them the angel of the bottomless pit. His name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in Greek he is called Apollyon.
12 The first woe has passed; behold, two woes are still to come.
13 Then the sixth angel blew his trumpet, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar before God, 14 saying to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, “Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates.” 15 So the four angels, who had been prepared for the hour, the day, the month, and the year, were released to kill a third of mankind. 16 The number of mounted troops was twice ten thousand times ten thousand; I heard their number. 17 And this is how I saw the horses in my vision and those who rode them: they wore breastplates the color of fire and of sapphire and of sulfur, and the heads of the horses were like lions' heads, and fire and smoke and sulfur came out of their mouths. 18 By these three plagues a third of mankind was killed, by the fire and smoke and sulfur coming out of their mouths. 19 For the power of the horses is in their mouths and in their tails, for their tails are like serpents with heads, and by means of them they wound.
The Jews thought of the Abyss as a place of evil, and when the fifth angel blows his trumpet, an army of locusts is allowed to invade the earth from the Abyss. Invasion is the key theme of the fifth and sixth trumpets.
Whether the army is meant to be a human army that is exaggerated with demonic features or an actual demonic army with human features is not relevant—the point is that God has permitted violent invasion as a warning judgment on the earth.
The people of the eastern Roman Empire in John’s day feared invasion from the wild and violent Parthians from beyond the Euphrates, and the sixth trumpet plays on this fear, in the same way that Americans in the 80s feared invasion from the Soviets, a la Red Dawn.
The overwhelming picture is one of terror and violence.
And yet look at how the chapter closes….
20 The rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands nor give up worshiping demons and idols of gold and silver and bronze and stone and wood, which cannot see or hear or walk, 21 nor did they repent of their murders or their sorceries or their sexual immorality or their thefts.
The plagues here are meant to also invoke ideas of the Egyptian plagues, and just as with Pharaoh, the people here do not repent even after seeing God’s judgment firsthand.
Terrifying and so obviously true. Warning judgments don’t cause most people to repent.
What will lead people to repentance, then?
Keep reading….
The Seven Trumpets
Revelation chapter 8 begins with an arresting verse:
8:1 When the Lamb opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour.
I think the simplest meaning here is probably the most likely: there is silent awe in heaven at God’s judgment.
And at what is going to happen next.
2 Then I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and seven trumpets were given to them. 3 And another angel came and stood at the altar with a golden censer, and he was given much incense to offer with the prayers of all the saints on the golden altar before the throne, 4 and the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, rose before God from the hand of the angel. 5 Then the angel took the censer and filled it with fire from the altar and threw it on the earth, and there were peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning, and an earthquake.
John sees into what is a heavenly temple—the censer and the altar are the key images. The smoke of the incense in heaven are the prayers of God’s people, billowing from the censer the angel holds in its hand.
Look what happens next!
5 Then the angel took the censer and filled it with fire from the altar and threw it on the earth, and there were peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning, and an earthquake.
The prayers of God’s people—many of them the anguished prayers of the martyrs—result in judgment on earth!
Prayer changes things!
6 Now the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared to blow them.
7 The first angel blew his trumpet, and there followed hail and fire, mixed with blood, and these were thrown upon the earth. And a third of the earth was burned up, and a third of the trees were burned up, and all green grass was burned up.
8 The second angel blew his trumpet, and something like a great mountain, burning with fire, was thrown into the sea, and a third of the sea became blood. 9 A third of the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed.
10 The third angel blew his trumpet, and a great star fell from heaven, blazing like a torch, and it fell on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water. 11 The name of the star is Wormwood. A third of the waters became wormwood, and many people died from the water, because it had been made bitter.
12 The fourth angel blew his trumpet, and a third of the sun was struck, and a third of the moon, and a third of the stars, so that a third of their light might be darkened, and a third of the day might be kept from shining, and likewise a third of the night.
13 Then I looked, and I heard an eagle crying with a loud voice as it flew directly overhead, “Woe, woe, woe to those who dwell on the earth, at the blasts of the other trumpets that the three angels are about to blow!”
There is a series of 3 sets of 7 judgments in Revelation:
7 seals;
7 trumpets;
7 bowls.
Each series brings judgment on the earth. Most commentators (and I agree) believe that John’s vision is moving in a circle at this point, with each set of 7 telling the same account in a different (and increasingly intense) way.
1st seal=1st trumpet=1st bowl
2nd seal=2nd trumpet=2nd bowl
etc.
Here, the 7 trumpets (or at least the first 4 trumpets in the series, which are all that chapter 8 contains) lead to judgments on earth that are modeled on the Egyptian plagues: hail, blood, darkness, etc.
Just as with the seals, the judgments of the trumpets raise an important question:
If these cataclysmic judgments do not cause humanity to repent, then what will cause humanity to repent?
Read on, dear reader.
The 144,000
Revelation 7 is an interlude between the breaking of the 6th and the 7th seals in John’s vision. John is allowed to see God’s plan to involve his people in the fight between good and evil.
The judgments seem overwhelming, but God has a role for his people in the midst of the judgments, and John sees that they will not be overcome by the judgments so that they can fulfill their role.
The 144,000? It’s a holy army waging holy war; it is the church’s role in the outworking of history. Let me explain.
7:1 After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth to prevent any wind from blowing on the land or on the sea or on any tree.
The four angels mean that God is sovereign over the four corners of the earth.
2 Then I saw another angel coming up from the east, having the seal of the living God. He called out in a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to harm the land and the sea: 3 “Do not harm the land or the sea or the trees until we put a seal on the foreheads of the servants of our God.”
God holds back the judgments until his servants are set apart. But, who are the servants?
4 Then I heard the number of those who were sealed: 144,000 from all the tribes of Israel.
5 From the tribe of Judah 12,000 were sealed,
from the tribe of Reuben 12,000,
from the tribe of Gad 12,000,
6 from the tribe of Asher 12,000,
from the tribe of Naphtali 12,000,
from the tribe of Manasseh 12,000,
7 from the tribe of Simeon 12,000,
from the tribe of Levi 12,000,
from the tribe of Issachar 12,000,
8 from the tribe of Zebulun 12,000,
from the tribe of Joseph 12,000,
from the tribe of Benjamin 12,000.
John hears the identity of God’s servants: 144,000. (12 squared times 10 cubed—a number that shows the fullness of the Twelve Tribes of Israel.)
In the Old Testament, every time a census is taken it is for military purposes. The 12,000 that are listed come from each of the 12 tribes (though the list is slightly peculiar, a detail I do not have space to discuss at the moment).
The 144,000 are a holy army, ready for holy war.
BUT….
9 After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands.
John hears about 144,000 from Israel, but he sees an uncountable number from every nation. In Revelation, the contrast between what John hears and sees is important. In 5:5, he hears of the “Lion of Judah”—a Messianic, conquering imagine; in 5:6, however, he sees “a" Lamb standing, as though it had been slain". The same contrast is at work here. What John sees reinterprets what he hears: the Messianic holy army of Israel is actually an uncountable number from every ethnicity.
The white robes and the palm branches are the sign of military victory. (Think of Palm Sunday—the Jewish pilgrims are using a Maccabean sign of victory.)
10 And they cried out in a loud voice:
“Salvation belongs to our God,
who sits on the throne,
and to the Lamb.”11 All the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures. They fell down on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, 12 saying:
“Amen!
Praise and glory
and wisdom and thanks and honor
and power and strength
be to our God for ever and ever.
Amen!”13 Then one of the elders asked me, “These in white robes—who are they, and where did they come from?”
14 I answered, “Sir, you know.”
And he said, “These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. 15 Therefore,
“they are before the throne of God
and serve him day and night in his temple;
and he who sits on the throne
will shelter them with his presence.
16 ‘Never again will they hunger;
never again will they thirst.
The sun will not beat down on them,’
nor any scorching heat.
17 For the Lamb at the center of the throne
will be their shepherd;
‘he will lead them to springs of living water.’
‘And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.’”
As with 5:13, the future has come into the present, and time has collapsed—John, in heaven, sees the victory of God’s army as complete. This is a victory celebration.
How did they win the victory? The rest of Revelation will explain in greater detail, but here the angel explains it to John:
13 Then one of the elders asked me, “These in white robes—who are they, and where did they come from?”
14 I answered, “Sir, you know.”
And he said, “These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
They have conquered by their faithful witness to Jesus, in whose sacrificial and triumphant death they participate by their faithfulness.
In other words, God is creating a holy army—the church—which will win victory not by killing but by martyrdom.
We’ll have to read on to see what role this spiritual army will play.
The Four Horsemen
Remember, John is in the heavenly throne room and has seen the Lamb take the scroll with the seven seals. The scroll is God’s plan for history. This is what happens next: Revelation chapter 6.
“6:1 Now I watched when the Lamb opened one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures say with a voice like thunder, “Come!”
The seals on the scroll have to be broken before the scroll’s contents can be read. The breaking of each seal brings judgment on the earth.
Judgment is meant to cause rebellious humanity to repent. Think of the Egyptian plagues—their purpose is to convince Pharaoh to turn back from his destructive path before it is too late. Unfortunately, Pharaoh chooses to ignore the warnings, and the same thing happens here: the cataclysmic effects of the opening of each seal in turn does not bring humanity back to God.
“2 And I looked, and behold, a white horse! And its rider had a bow, and a crown was given to him, and he came out conquering, and to conquer.”
The first seal is broken, and the judgment that comes is the first of the so-called Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.
The first horseman brings war.
“3 When he opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, “Come!” 4 And out came another horse, bright red. Its rider was permitted to take peace from the earth, so that people should slay one another, and he was given a great sword.”
The second seal is opened, and the judgment that comes is the bright red horse (the color of blood).
The second horseman brings bloodshed, which makes sense, since bloodshed follows war.
“5 When he opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, “Come!” And I looked, and behold, a black horse! And its rider had a pair of scales in his hand. 6 And I heard what seemed to be a voice in the midst of the four living creatures, saying, “A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius, and do not harm the oil and wine!”
The Lamb opens the third seal, and the black horse and its rider bring the judgment of economic disruption and famine. The scales in the rider’s hand would have been used in the marketplace, but the prices for basic staples—wheat and barley—are many times too expensive for the working class. Luxury goods, however—oil and wine—are still available for the wealthy.
Economic disruption and famine follow after war and bloodshed.
“7 When he opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, “Come!” 8 And I looked, and behold, a pale horse! And its rider's name was Death, and Hades followed him. And they were given authority over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword and with famine and with pestilence and by wild beasts of the earth.”
The breaking of the fourth seal brings a sickly pale horse and its rider Death, closely followed by Hades. Death follows after war and bloodshed and famine.
9 When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the witness they had borne. 10 They cried out with a loud voice, “O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” 11 Then they were each given a white robe and told to rest a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brothers should be complete, who were to be killed as they themselves had been.
As the Lamb opens the fifth seal, John’s perspective changes from earth back into heaven and he sees the martyrs crowded under the heavenly altar, where the blood of the sacrifice would have been in the Old Testament sacrificial system. The martyrs cry out for vengeance, but they are told that the story isn’t yet over.
God has a plan to vindicate the faithful, but its time has not yet come.
“12 When he opened the sixth seal, I looked, and behold, there was a great earthquake, and the sun became black as sackcloth, the full moon became like blood, 13 and the stars of the sky fell to the earth as the fig tree sheds its winter fruit when shaken by a gale. 14 The sky vanished like a scroll that is being rolled up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place. 15 Then the kings of the earth and the great ones and the generals and the rich and the powerful, and everyone, slave and free, hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains, 16 calling to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb,17 for the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?””
The opening of the sixth seal brings with it the final judgment—the End. We can see this because the world itself is shaken; even the very stars begin to fall.
Still, humanity does not repent and turn toward God but merely wants to be protected from God’s judgment.
The message of the seals is that rebellious humanity is so hard-hearted that even death and cataclysm will not be enough to have people turn back to God.
Is John describing what has happened or what will happen?
I think the answer is “Yes.”
Since the time of Jesus, there have been war and violence and pestilence on the earth, and yet humanity has not turned back to God. There will be more and greater judgments in the future, and they will have the same result.
If judgment doesn’t bring about repentance, then what will?
This is what the message of the scroll will explain.
The Lamb
Today’s reading (day 10 of 30):
Revelation chapter 5.
I’m actually preaching on this passage on Sunday, so you’ll have to wait until then to hear my thoughts on this chapter!
The Portal
In Revelation 1, John explains how he was given his vision.
In Revelation 2-3, John reports what Jesus had to say to the 7 churches.
In Revelation 4 (today’s reading), the vision proper begins. Let’s look at it.
4:1 After this I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven! And the first voice, which I had heard speaking to me like a trumpet, said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.”
An apocalypse is an unveiling or a revealing, and here we have it happening: a door opens into heaven.
2 At once I was in the Spirit, and behold, a throne stood in heaven, with one seated on the throne.
In his vision, John is taken into the heavenly throne room. Note that John never really names nor describes “the one seated on the throne.” Why is that? Because God is too holy to be described.
3 And he who sat there had the appearance of jasper and carnelian, and around the throne was a rainbow that had the appearance of an emerald.
John describes how the glory around God shines and shimmers like precious stones, but never describes God himself.
4 Around the throne were twenty-four thrones, and seated on the thrones were twenty-four elders, clothed in white garments, with golden crowns on their heads.
Around God’s throne are the thrones of “twenty-four elders”. Who are they? They are some kind of angelic rulers—the divine council—whom God created to rule over parts of Creation. One of the major themes of the Bible is how God delegates authority. Even you and I have authority—we call it free will, and no one but I can use it. These angels are created beings to whom God has given authority. (We don’t really know much more than that.)
5 From the throne came flashes of lightning, and rumblings and peals of thunder, and before the throne were burning seven torches of fire, which are the seven spirits of God, 6 and before the throne there was as it were a sea of glass, like crystal.
All throughout the Bible, when people have an experience of God—the fancy word is a “theophany”—it’s like there is always thunder and lightning, and it’s not different here.
The number seven means fullness or completeness; the “seven spirits of God” is another way of saying the fullness of God’s Spirit, i.e., the Holy Spirit.
The glass sea reflects God’s glory. Remember that sea is the symbol of chaos and entropy (see my sermon from 10/11 for more on this), and in heaven it’s been turned into something beautiful that enhances the glory of God.
And around the throne, on each side of the throne, are four living creatures, full of eyes in front and behind: 7 the first living creature like a lion, the second living creature like an ox, the third living creature with the face of a man, and the fourth living creature like an eagle in flight. 8 And the four living creatures, each of them with six wings, are full of eyes all around and within, and day and night they never cease to say,
“Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty,
who was and is and is to come!”
These mysterious four living creatures are found in Old Testament heavenly visions (e.g., Isaiah 6 and Ezekiel 1). They are some kind of heavenly creature that just praises God, and all the eyes around them mean that, from a heavenly perspective, there is nothing hidden.
9 And whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to him who is seated on the throne, who lives forever and ever, 10 the twenty-four elders fall down before him who is seated on the throne and worship him who lives forever and ever. They cast their crowns before the throne, saying,
11 “Worthy are you, our Lord and God,
to receive glory and honor and power,
for you created all things,
and by your will they existed and were created.”
How cool is that? These heavenly rulers—over what they are reigning the Bible doesn’t tell us (solar systems? universes? time? light?)—these angelic heavenly rulers are immensely powerful. In fact, later in the book, John will twice make the mistake of trying to worship an angelic messenger. These are powerful, glorious creatures. And yet that’s the point—they are creatures, not the Creator. And they get off their thrones and cast their crowns before the throne to show that any authority and glory they have is merely given to them by God. They are creatures, and so they worship the Creator.
We’ll see as the vision unfolds that one of the marks of the Beast is that it claims worship for itself, but only God is worthy of worship. This is one of the reasons John knows the Beast is evil.
Spit
“Laodicea lacked its own water supply, having no direct access to the cold water of the mountains or the hot water of the nearby springs in Hierapolis to the north. In contrast to its claims of self-sufficiency (3:17), it had to pipe in its water…. This water had grown lukewarm by the time of its arrival.
“The point of lukewarm water is simply that it is disgusting….
“Jesus thus finds the church in Laodicea to be other than what he desires. In today’s English, he is telling the self-satisfied church in Laodicea: ‘I want water that will refresh me, but you remind me instead of the water you always complain about. You make me want to puke.’”
—Craig Keener, Revelation
Let us not make the mistake of being prideful or thinking we are self-sufficient today.
Today’s Revelation reading (day 08 of 30):
Revelation 3:14-22
Protected *Through* Not Protected *From*
As we will see as we continue to read through Revelation, the message of Jesus to the churches is NOT that they will be protected from difficulties, but that they will be protected through difficulties.
In light of that truth, how will you react today to the inevitable problems that come across your path?
Today’s Revelation Reading (day 07 of 30):
Revelation 3:7-13
Successful but Spiritually Dead
Unlike some of the other churches Jesus addresses in Revelation, the church in Sardis appears to have been relatively well-off and accepted in that city. Unfortunately, they were also (almost) spiritually dead.
That’s the way it so often is in this world, isn’t it? Wealth and comfort make us think (erroneously) that we are self-sufficient, that we don’t need God. And that way lies spiritual death.
I mean that literally—I think Hell is made up of folks who are too proud to admit that they need God’s mercy.
Problems and poverty and persecution can bring out the best in us, though no one actually wants those things in his or her life. Still, problems can cause us to turn to God and admit that we can’t make it on our own.
Today, when you face a problem, consider it an opportunity to humbly ask for God’s help.
Today’s Revelation Reading (day 06 of 30): Revelation 3:1-6.
Balaam and Jezebel?
My apologies for missing yesterday’s post and in posting this a bit later that normal.
What I want to do today is show you how the Old Testament is the key for understanding Revelation.
Yesterday’s Reading (day 04 of 30): Revelation 2:12-17.
Today’s Reading (day 05 of 30): Revelation 2:18-29.
(Remember, there are no readings on weekends.)
At the beginning of Revelation there is a brief message from Jesus to each of the seven churches to whom John is sending his vision.
In both Pergamum and Thyatira, Jesus warns the churches to stop having contact with false teachers, whom he calls “Balaam” in Pergamum and “Jezebel” in Thyatira.
Balaam was an enemy prophet of Israel who tried to lead the Children of Israel astray as they made their way into the Promised Land; Jezebel was a wicked pagan queen of an Israelite king who had God’s prophets murdered. The names are meant to show the Christians in Pergamum and Thyatira that the people they are listening to are false teachers.
The connection with the Old Testament makes the warnings obvious, but if you don’t know those Old Testament stories, you’ll miss the point. The entire rest of Revelation does the same thing constantly—uses Old Testament imagery to “reveal” the truth about history.
A few more points:
“Satan’s throne” in Pergamum refers to the pagan worship that was happening there, either of the imperial cult (worship of the emperor) or of Greek religion (worship of Zeus the Savior).
We don’t know who the Nicolaitans are, other than some kind of false sect.
In the Old Testament, idolatry is often described as sexual immorality—committing adultery on God. So, it’s not clear in Thyatira if “Jezebel” is literally encouraging sexual immorality or just figuratively doing so because she is encoring idolatry. Either way, it’s a problem. The punishment that Jesus is sending on her and her followers is some kind of sickness or pestilence.
These are harsh messages because the truth matters. But, they are also an opportunity for repentance and an invitation of grace—it’s not too late for the wayward Christians in Pergamum and Thyatira to turn back.
The same goes for every one one of us, and every one one we’ll see today—as long as we are breathing, it’s not too late for any of us.
What falsehood do you need to turn from today?
How can you help someone else turn from falsehood today?
Seven Questions and Answers About the Book of Revelation
I did an online Bible study last night as an overview to the Book of Revelation. (My notes are below.)
(I’ll cover today’s and tomorrow’s readings tomorrow, Friday.)
[If the above video doesn’t come through, you can find it here.]
Andrew Forrest
10/14/2020
Seven Questions and Answers About Revelation
What Does Apocalypse Mean?
An apocalypse is an unveiling.
What Is the Book of Revelation?
Revelation is the literary account of a vision given to a Jewish Christian prophet named John near the end of the first century.
The book takes the form of a circular letter sent among the churches of Asia Minor, meant to answer this question: What is the church’s role in God’s plan?
How Should We Interpret It?
The key to understanding Revelation is not today’s newspaper but the Old Testament. If you use the newspaper to interpret Revelation, you’ll get it wrong. If you use Revelation to interpret the newspaper, you’ll do what John wanted you to do: see reality from God’s perspective.
Revelation is the culmination of Old Testament prophecy. Every image in it is somehow connected to the Old Testament.
What’s the Point of Revelation?
The Purpose of the Letter is To Tell The Churches of Asia Their Role in God’s Plan
Revelation discloses that the Church will conquer by being a faithful witness to Jesus, even unto death. (See Revelation 11.)
The key passage of the entire book in Revelation 11, the account of the two witnesses.
Does the Vision Proceed Linearly?
No. The vision proceeds cyclically and not linearly, in that the judgment section is telling the same thing in 3 different ways.
The book’s plot doesn’t play out linearly, but circularly: the 7 seals, 7 judgments, and 7 trumpets are making the same point, namely that the nations are not responding to judgment by repenting
The judgments are like Russian nesting dolls, with each 7th one opening up the next ones.
Each judgment gets worse
o The seals destroy a quarter of the earth (6:8);
o The trumpets a third (8:7-12, 9:18);
o The bowls the entire thing.
Who or What do the Monsters Symbolize?
The Beast (or earth-monster) is Roman imperial power, based on violent conquest. Chapter 13 is thus about political power. The Beast seems inevitable (13:3).
Babylon or the great whore/harlot of Babylon is Roman economic wealth, commercial success, and materialism, derived from exploitation and conquest. Chapters 17-18 are thus about economic power.
The harlot rides the Beast (17:3) because Roman wealth comes from Roman military conquest; economic power comes from war.
The harlot offers beautiful things (17:4), but they are actually morally disgusting and filthy.
The dragon/serpent is Evil itself, the chaotic destructive power opposed to God.
The wounded head is Nero (13:14) after his death there was civil war and the year of 4 Emperors, but then Flavius consolidated power and the beast went on.
The beast thinks of itself as god, but we are willing slaves (13:3-4).
The second beast or earth-monster probably represents the imperial priesthood in Asia.
The beast is totalitarian (13:16-17) and demands complete allegiance.
If Christians oppose it, they will be martyred.
Why Does John’s Vision Begin in the Heavenly Throne Room?
· On earth as it already is in heaven—that’s what the throne scene tells us.
· Either you worship God (and are set free) or you worship the Beast (and are enslaved).
· It’s about true and false worship.
"Synagogue of Satan"?!
The whole of Revelation was meant to be a circular letter among the seven churches of Asia Minor; as the letter begins, there is a short message from Jesus to each of the churches in turn. Today we look at the second message, to the church in Smyrna (Revelation 2:8-11).
Today’s Reading: Revelation 2:8-11 (day 03 of 30)
8 “And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write: ‘The words of the first and the last, who died and came to life.
Jesus introduces and identifies himself in a different way in each of the short messages to the seven churches. Here’s the key to understanding the point of each respective message: use the description of Jesus to underscore the point he is making.
So here, Jesus stresses his Resurrection. As we’ll see, the message to the church in Smyrna is: be faithful, even if it costs you your life.
9 “‘I know your tribulation and your poverty (but you are rich) and the slander of those who say that they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan.
The early Christians were all Jews; in fact, the early Christians thought of themselves as Jews who followed Jesus as Messiah. There were synagogues in many of the cities around the Mediterranean, and in Smyrna it seems that the non-Christian Jews had collaborated with the Roman authorities to persecute the followers of Jesus. That’s why John calls them “Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan.” John saw these Jews as doing the work of Satan.
At this time, the Christians in Smyrna were a tiny, poor minority without social standing or power. Over the centuries, of course, Christians would become the dominant force in Europe, and we all are aware of the ugly and shameful history of European Christian anti-semitism. Here, however, those words don’t apply.
10 Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and for ten days you will have tribulation. Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life. 11 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who conquers will not be hurt by the second death.’
The church in Smyrna is poor and persecuted, but Jesus is pleased with them and encourages them not to give up. In fact, the way they will “conquer” is precisely by not giving in, even if it costs them their lives.
In the same way, that’s how we will conquer: by remaining faithful even to the point of death. What looks like losing—martyrdom and weakness—is actually strong because of the Resurrection.
Don’t be afraid today—every courageous, faithful step you take is a step toward victory, no matter what it looks like today.
Zombie Church
The entire text of Revelation is a circular letter shared among seven churches located in separate cities in the Roman province of Asia Minor (which is modern-day western Turkey).
But at the beginning of the letter there is a specific message from Jesus to each of the seven churches in turn.
Today we begin with the message to Ephesus. And that message is:
Beware lest you become a zombie church.
Today’s Reading (day 02 of 30): Revelation 2:1-7
2:1 “To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: ‘The words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand, who walks among the seven golden lampstands.
Ephesus was the greatest city in the Roman province of Asia, and one of the places Paul lived during his apostolic ministry.
The one with the seven stars and seven lampstands is Jesus (see chapter 1). He is walking among the churches (we learn in chapter 1 that the lampstands represent churches), which means he knows them intimately, both their good and their bad.
2 “‘I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance, and how you cannot bear with those who are evil, but have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not, and found them to be false.
One of the major themes of Revelation is truth, and Jesus commends the Ephesians for their hard work and their commitment to truth. Apparently, there were people who claimed to be apostles but were charlatan, and the Ephesians correctly identified them as such.. The way one discerns between true and false teachers in the church hasn’t changed: true teachers teach in accordance with the faith that’s been delivered to us from the true apostles; false teachers invent new teachings and doctrines. Always test everything you hear in church by comparing it with the vast, ancient body of Christian teaching.
3 I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up for my name's sake, and you have not grown weary. 4 But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first.
Though the Ephesians are courageously bearing witness for Christ in a hostile culture, nevertheless they have ceased to love each other in the way they did at first.
Truth is important, but true doctrines are nothing if they are not joined with loving hearts. To love is to will the good of the other.
5 Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent.
What does it mean for the Lord to remove the lampstand of the Ephesian church if they don’t repent? I think it means that they would become a zombie church. In other words, they might not literally cease to exist as an organization, but because of their unfaithfulness, the life-giving Spirit would leave.
How many churches do you know that fit that description?
6 Yet this you have: you hate the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. 7 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.’
I’ll say more about the Nicolaitans on Thursday. As to what it means to “conquer", this is actually the central message of Revelation to the churches—what it will look like for them to “win”. We’re getting ahead of ourselves, but let me say that to conquer in Revelation means bearing true witness to the truth of Jesus.
Anyway, I think the idea of the Spirit being removed from an unfaithful church is a convicting idea. Such a church would have “the form of religion, but none of the power.” A zombie church, in other words: one that looks alive, but is actually dead.
Lord, save us from such a fate.
Apocalypse Now
Today, we begin to read and study the last book of the bible, Revelation.
We’ll read through it over the next 6 weeks, with readings assigned Monday-Friday; we’ll finish on the Friday before Thanksgiving.
Feel free to share with anyone who might be interested. As always, the daily article will go live at 3:30 AM and will be emailed to anyone on my email list at 4:00 AM.
(If you haven’t yet picked up your Revelation book and bookmark, there are available for free at Munger; if you don’t live in Dallas, you can also order one for yourself here.)
Apocalypse is a Greek word that means “uncovering” or “disclosure” or “revealing” (from which we get our English word revelation). John is on the Mediterranean island of Patmos on a Sunday when he receives an apocalyptic vision which he later writes down and circulates among the churches of the wealthy Roman province of Asia Minor (the western part of modern-day Turkey).
The book of Revelation is that letter.
The difficulty of Revelation comes from the fact that John is writing as a Jewish-Christian prophet and sees his vision as the culmination of the entire tradition of biblical prophecy; this means his vision is replete with allusions to and images from the Old Testament, allusions and images with which we are not familiar.
The good news is that once you see that the key to John’s letter lies in understanding how he connects his vision to the Old Testament, it begins to actually make sense!
Today’s reading (day 01 of 30): Revelation 1.
John hears a voice, turns, and this is what he sees as his vision begins:
12 Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking to me, and on turning I saw seven golden lampstands, 13 and in the midst of the lampstands one like a son of man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash around his chest. 14 The hairs of his head were white, like white wool, like snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire, 15 his feet were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace, and his voice was like the roar of many waters. 16 In his right hand he held seven stars, from his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining in full strength.
17 When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand on me, saying, “Fear not, I am the first and the last, 18 and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades. 19 Write therefore the things that you have seen, those that are and those that are to take place after this. 20 As for the mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand, and the seven golden lampstands, the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.
The lampstands are the clue. Lampstands were meant to be used in the Temple; the lampstands here tell us that John’s vision has taken him to a version of the Temple, where heaven and earth meet. He sees Jesus in a robe—like a priest—but he is majestic and transfigured, so majestic and transfigured that John falls down upon seeing him as though dead!
Jesus graciously puts his hand on John’s shoulder and tells him not to be afraid and that his task is to write down the content of the vision and share it with the seven churches in Asia. Since seven is the number of completeness, the letter is actually for every church, and not just for the seven historical churches mentioned.
What All This Means
The churches are symbolized by the seven lampstands that Jesus is holding in his hand.
The lampstand is imagery from the Old Testament Temple (which had been completely destroyed by the Romans in AD 70 by the time John has his vision). The Temple was supposed to be where heaven and earth came together; the Temple was supposed to be a new Eden. This means that, just as with the physical Temple before it was destroyed, the church is now the place where heaven and earth come together. Every church is meant to be Eden! What can you do to help make your church more like a Paradise for anyone who comes in contact with it?
The lampstands are in the hand of the Lord! This means that, despite historical persecution or other challenges, the church can be confident that we are exactly where Jesus wants us to be today.
P.S. Bonus Content
The more familiar we are with the Old Testament, the more John’s vision will make sense. Here’s one quick example.
The prophet Zechariah was active in Jerusalem at the time that the first wave of exiles (led by Zerubabbel) returned in 538 BC from Babylonian captivity. Zechariah had his own apocalyptic vision, and this is part of it:
4 And the angel who talked with me came again and woke me, like a man who is awakened out of his sleep. 2 And he said to me, “What do you see?” I said, “I see, and behold, a lampstand all of gold, with a bowl on the top of it, and seven lamps on it, with seven lips on each of the lamps that are on the top of it. 3 And there are two olive trees by it, one on the right of the bowl and the other on its left.” 4 And I said to the angel who talked with me, “What are these, my lord?” 5 Then the angel who talked with me answered and said to me, “Do you not know what these are?” I said, “No, my lord.” 6 Then he said to me, “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of hosts. 7 Who are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain. And he shall bring forward the top stone amid shouts of ‘Grace, grace to it!’”
Zechariah 4:1-7
Sound familiar? It’s the background for the initial part of John’s vision, above.
As we will see, this part of Zechariah’s vision is very important to John because of what the angel tells Zechariah: it is not human power but the Spirit of God that will win the victory. More to come on this fourth chapter of Zechariah later, especially when we get to Revelation 11.
Nehemiah's End + Housekeeping Notes
Today is the last day of our Nehemiah reading; the book ends not with a bang but with a whimper.
Instead of ending with the victorious and thrilling celebration that Nehemiah leads after the completion of the walls (our reading for yesterday about which I didn’t write because I didn’t have anything interesting to say!), the book ends instead with proof that Nehemiah’s great leadership has not actually changed the people.
What does that mean?
Short answer: we cannot save ourselves, because the problem is within every human heart.
Long answer: you’ll need to watch my sermon for this Sunday. I recorded it last night and I think it would be better for you to watch it than for me to try to summarize it here. Sermon will be available at mungerplace.org and via podcast starting at 6 AM Sunday.
Revelation Comes Next!
We are going to start reading Revelation together on Monday, October 12. More details to follow.
At Munger, we are handing out Revelation booklets. If you don’t live in Dallas but want to follow along, you can buy one for yourself here.
The Past Was Real!
Nehemiah 11:1-12:26 is a list of names of the people who moved into Jerusalem after the walls were finished, including a list of the people who worked in the Temple. Not the most exciting reading.
But to me this list is important because it’s a glimpse into another world, the world of the past. The past really happened—these people really lived, same as you and me!
“We will not neglect the house of our God.”
I can’t win.
If I talk about tithing—giving 10% of whatever comes in to the ministry of Christ’s church—folks will just say, “Of course you say that. You’re not a disinterested party, and you just want our money.”
If I do NOT talk about tithing, then folks will never understand that it’s important!
In our reading today from Nehemiah 10, we see that Nehemiah and Ezra have the people pledge to give a tenth part of their income to the ministry of the newly-rebuilt Temple. This is an important part of what repentance looks like—to commit to living the right way.
It’s really that simple. If you are a follower of Jesus, you need to be a tither—whatever comes in the door, give 10% of it to your local church.
If you think I’m just after your money, then I’ll call your bluff: if Munger is your local church, then just find another local church and give it there. That’s how much I believe in tithing.
American Confession, or If I Were President
It strikes me that we—as Americans—have never really reckoned as a people with our history of slavery and its terrible consequences. Yes, of course, many individuals and politicians have given speeches lamenting our original sin and promising to do better, but to my knowledge as a nation we have never confessed, asked for the Lord’s mercy, and promised to move forward with repentance.
Reading Nehemiah 9 has made me think that now is the time for a national prayer of confession.
Nehemiah is a story of rebuilding. 140 years after Jerusalem was destroyed by the Babylonians and its citizens taken off into exile (586 BC), Nehemiah leads a group of returning Jews back to the city of their fathers to begin to rebuild (446 BC). He starts with the walls around Jerusalem, which—due to his remarkable leadership and the Lord’s favor—they miraculously rebuild in only 52 days.
After that, Nehemiah (the governor) and Ezra (the leading priest and reformer) lead a covenant renewal ceremony with all the people gathered. The reason that Jerusalem was destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 was because the Israelites had forsaken the covenant and sinned—generation after generation—against the Lord. Actions have consequences, and the Lord won’t hold back judgment forever, and finally the doom came down on the stiff-necked Israelites.
Now, Nehemiah and Ezra are beginning again, and in a remarkable worship service (narrated in Nehemiah 9), the people pray an agonizing prayer of confession and repentance that is worth reading in full:
“Stand up and praise the Lord your God, who is from everlasting to everlasting.”
“Blessed be your glorious name, and may it be exalted above all blessing and praise. 6 You alone are the Lord. You made the heavens, even the highest heavens, and all their starry host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them. You give life to everything, and the multitudes of heaven worship you.
7 “You are the Lord God, who chose Abram and brought him out of Ur of the Chaldeans and named him Abraham. 8 You found his heart faithful to you, and you made a covenant with him to give to his descendants the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Jebusites and Girgashites. You have kept your promise because you are righteous.
9 “You saw the suffering of our ancestors in Egypt; you heard their cry at the Red Sea. 10 You sent signs and wonders against Pharaoh, against all his officials and all the people of his land, for you knew how arrogantly the Egyptians treated them. You made a name for yourself, which remains to this day. 11 You divided the sea before them, so that they passed through it on dry ground, but you hurled their pursuers into the depths, like a stone into mighty waters. 12 By day you led them with a pillar of cloud, and by night with a pillar of fire to give them light on the way they were to take.
13 “You came down on Mount Sinai; you spoke to them from heaven. You gave them regulations and laws that are just and right, and decrees and commands that are good. 14 You made known to them your holy Sabbath and gave them commands, decrees and laws through your servant Moses. 15 In their hunger you gave them bread from heaven and in their thirst you brought them water from the rock; you told them to go in and take possession of the land you had sworn with uplifted hand to give them.
16 “But they, our ancestors, became arrogant and stiff-necked, and they did not obey your commands. 17 They refused to listen and failed to remember the miracles you performed among them. They became stiff-necked and in their rebellion appointed a leader in order to return to their slavery. But you are a forgiving God, gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love. Therefore you did not desert them, 18 even when they cast for themselves an image of a calf and said, ‘This is your god, who brought you up out of Egypt,’ or when they committed awful blasphemies.
19 “Because of your great compassion you did not abandon them in the wilderness. By day the pillar of cloud did not fail to guide them on their path, nor the pillar of fire by night to shine on the way they were to take. 20 You gave your good Spirit to instruct them. You did not withhold your manna from their mouths, and you gave them water for their thirst.21 For forty years you sustained them in the wilderness; they lacked nothing, their clothes did not wear out nor did their feet become swollen.
22 “You gave them kingdoms and nations, allotting to them even the remotest frontiers. They took over the country of Sihon king of Heshbon and the country of Og king of Bashan. 23 You made their children as numerous as the stars in the sky, and you brought them into the land that you told their parents to enter and possess. 24 Their children went in and took possession of the land. You subdued before them the Canaanites, who lived in the land; you gave the Canaanites into their hands, along with their kings and the peoples of the land, to deal with them as they pleased. 25 They captured fortified cities and fertile land; they took possession of houses filled with all kinds of good things, wells already dug, vineyards, olive groves and fruit trees in abundance. They ate to the full and were well-nourished; they reveled in your great goodness.
26 “But they were disobedient and rebelled against you; they turned their backs on your law. They killed your prophets, who had warned them in order to turn them back to you; they committed awful blasphemies. 27 So you delivered them into the hands of their enemies, who oppressed them. But when they were oppressed they cried out to you. From heaven you heard them, and in your great compassion you gave them deliverers, who rescued them from the hand of their enemies.
28 “But as soon as they were at rest, they again did what was evil in your sight. Then you abandoned them to the hand of their enemies so that they ruled over them. And when they cried out to you again, you heard from heaven, and in your compassion you delivered them time after time.
29 “You warned them in order to turn them back to your law, but they became arrogant and disobeyed your commands. They sinned against your ordinances, of which you said, ‘The person who obeys them will live by them.’ Stubbornly they turned their backs on you, became stiff-necked and refused to listen. 30 For many years you were patient with them. By your Spirit you warned them through your prophets. Yet they paid no attention, so you gave them into the hands of the neighboring peoples. 31 But in your great mercy you did not put an end to them or abandon them, for you are a gracious and merciful God.
32 “Now therefore, our God, the great God, mighty and awesome, who keeps his covenant of love, do not let all this hardship seem trifling in your eyes—the hardship that has come on us, on our kings and leaders, on our priests and prophets, on our ancestors and all your people, from the days of the kings of Assyria until today. 33 In all that has happened to us, you have remained righteous; you have acted faithfully, while we acted wickedly. 34 Our kings, our leaders, our priests and our ancestors did not follow your law; they did not pay attention to your commands or the statutes you warned them to keep. 35 Even while they were in their kingdom, enjoying your great goodness to them in the spacious and fertile land you gave them, they did not serve you or turn from their evil ways.
36 “But see, we are slaves today, slaves in the land you gave our ancestors so they could eat its fruit and the other good things it produces. 37 Because of our sins, its abundant harvest goes to the kings you have placed over us. They rule over our bodies and our cattle as they please. We are in great distress.
The Agreement of the People
38 “In view of all this, we are making a binding agreement, putting it in writing, and our leaders, our Levites and our priests are affixing their seals to it.”
[Nehemiah 9:5-38.]
One of the reasons we have so much racial division in our country is because as a people we’ve never confessed our corporate sin. All of us who are Americans today are inheritors of both the blessings left by the Americans who came before us, and the burdens of the sins they committed. The only way for the cycle of sin and hatred to be broken is through the grace of God, which—by definition—we do not deserve and have no right to receive.
And yet the Lord is a merciful God, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. God is eager to hear the prayers of a contrite heart.
I believe the heartrending prayer in Nehemiah 9 offers us a way forward. It is time for national repentance.
National repentance requires national leadership. The only person who can speak for the entire nation is the President of these United States. Not as a candidate or member of a particular party, but as the representative of the entire people.
If I were President—God help us all—if I were President, I would pick a date on the calendar and begin to call our nation to participate in a national prayer of confession and repentance. The militant atheists wouldn’t like the mention of God—what else is new?—but even some people with no faith could observe some minutes of silence.
The thought if it stops the breath. Think of the image of the President on his or her knees in a place of national significance—Gettysburg or the Capitol or Arlington—leading the nation in prayer and asking for the Lord’s mercy. It is only then that we could begin
“to bind up the nation’s wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan, to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations.”
Until a national confession, I don’t see us moving forward freely into that future. As a nation, we have no right to be forgiven, and yet the Lord delights in showing mercy to the humble and penitent.
All we need to do is ask.
Until that day comes, may Christ have mercy on us all.
The Feast is the Point
Continued from our previous episode:
Nehemiah—feeling prompted from the Lord—has gathered the people for a census.
While they are all gathered, Ezra—who is a priest and a scribe, and who hasn’t yet appeared in Nehemiah’s memoir—stands up on the platform and begins to read from “the Law”, i.e., the first 5 books of the Bible, Genesis-Deuteronomy. (He’s probably reading Deuteronomy.)
While he reads, some of the other priests make their way around the crowd and explain the scripture to the people:
5 And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people, for he was above all the people, and as he opened it all the people stood. 6 And Ezra blessed the Lord, the great God, and all the people answered, “Amen, Amen,” lifting up their hands. And they bowed their heads and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground. 7 Also Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodiah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, Pelaiah, the Levites, helped the people to understand the Law, while the people remained in their places. 8 They read from the book, from the Law of God, clearly, and they gave the sense, so that the people understood the reading. [Nehemiah 8:5-8]
In other words, it’s not just you who needs help understanding the Bible—so did the ancient Jews! The Bible requires learning to fully appreciate, just like everything else in life.
And then an extraordinary thing happens. The people, whose ancestors had ignored the Law and so had eventually been conquered by the Babylonians, these same people start to weep with guilt at their sins and rebellion against the Lord! In Christian language, we’d say that a spiritual revival started as Ezra read from the Law.
And it all began with Nehemiah following the Lord’s prompting to assemble the people for a census.
It is good for God’s people to feel guilt at our sins, but it is not good for us to remain in a state of despair, because the Lord offers forgiveness to us. So, as the people are weeping over their sins, Nehemiah goes around and tells them that JOY is where the Lord wants to leave them.
The same is true for us. The goal is always joy. Confession of sin—thanks be to God—is a means to an end.
Or, as Nehemiah so memorably puts is:
Then he said to them, “Go your way. Eat the fat and drink sweet wine and send portions to anyone who has nothing ready, for this day is holy to our Lord. And do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”
I hope you can feast today.
Today’s Nehemiah Reading: Nehemiah 8:1-12.