What I Think I Know About Rev 17: 6) While Revelation 17 takes a global approach to the end-times, The Great Controversy approaches the same events from a local perspective.

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Revelation’s global (world-wide) approach to the final events of earth’s history is evident in the description of the major players. The secular/political entity of Revelation 17 involves “the kings of the earth” and “the inhabitants of the earth” (Rev 17:2), and “the kings of the whole inhabited world” (Rev 16:14). When “the cities of the nations fell” every mountain and island was affected, also a very global picture. The beast is venerated by “those who live on the earth” (Rev 17:8). The waters of 17:1 are “peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and languages” (Rev 17:15).

Babylon is likewise global in scope. It is “the great city that rules over the kings of the earth”. It rides the beast, which represents the people and kings of the earth. So the interaction between Babylon and the beast, including Babylon’s destruction by the ten kings, is portrayed in world-wide, global terms. The experience of the saints at this time, therefore, is also seen in terms of the world-wide situation (Rev 17:6).

In the final crisis of earth’s history (as portrayed in Revelation 17) Babylon, which represents a worldwide alliance of religious institutions, controls the beast, which represents a worldwide alliance of secular, political, military institutions. Like the papacy in the Middle Ages, Babylon dominates “the kings of the earth” for a short time. But when the kings of the earth realize that in joining Babylon they have ended up on the losing side (Rev 17:14), they take out their frustration on the religious alliance that led them astray (Rev 17:16).

In sharp contrast, Ellen White, in the book The Great Controversy, approaches the same events from a local perspective. She begins her account of the final events with the close of probation, which she describes as “Christ ceasing His intercession in the sanctuary” (GC 627.3—this parallels Revelation 15:5-8). On page 628 of GC, she then describes the first four plagues of Revelation 16 with appropriate citations. She then pauses to describe the physical and emotional trauma that both God’s people and their opponents will experience during the plagues (GC 628-634). She also describes God’s efforts to help and encourage the saints during that time when some are in prison cells, and others are hidden in solitary retreats in the forests and the mountains (GC 635). She sees companies of armed men approaching these solitary groups to execute the death decree (Rev 13:15—GC 640). To human sight it appears that they are about to die (GC 630).

She then resumes her midrash on the seven bowl-plagues on page 636. God intervenes with a dense blackness, deeper than the darkness of the night (corresponding to the fifth bowl-plague (Rev 16:10-11). God then stops the angry multitudes in their tracks with a shining token of His approval of the huddled and praying saints. The angry mobs realize they have been deceived. This corresponds to the sixth bowl-plague, with its drying up of the Euphrates and its elaboration in 17:14-16. She then quotes portions of the seventh bowl-plague to describe the terror of the unsaved at many heavenly and earthly signs (GC 636-640).

Ellen White then returns to the forest scene where God’s people were suddenly delivered from the angry mobs (GC 640). She notes that the enemies of God’s law include from the ministers (religious leaders) down to the least among them (the followers). They find out “they have been fighting against God. Religious teachers have led souls to perdition while professing to guide them to the gates of Paradise” (still GC 640). Local religious leaders are the equivalent of Babylon in Revelation 17. The people who follow the religious leaders are the local equivalent of the beast and its ten horns. The angry mobs’ change of heart (GC 640) is the local equivalent of the drying up of the Euphrates. And the focus of God’s regard in this whole account is groups of faithful ones in prison or in hiding. These are the equivalent of the “saints” in Revelation 17:6. So while Revelation 17 takes a global approach to the end-times, The Great Controversy approaches the same events from a local perspective.

What I Think I Know About Rev 17: 5) The vision of Babylon in Revelation 17:1 to 19:10 is strongly parallel to the vision of the New Jerusalem in 21:9 – 22:5.

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In the latter part of the book of Revelation, the New Jerusalem as the bride of the Lamb is set off in contrast to Babylon the prostitute. This parallel is tipped off by the opening lines of 17:1 and 21:9. Each verse begins with “One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and spoke with me” (Greek of 17:1: kai ēlthen eis ek tōn hepta angelōn tōn echontōn tas hepta phialas kai elalēsen met emou; Greek of 21:9: kai ēlthen eis ek tōn hepta angelōn tōn echontōn tas hepta phialas . . . kai elalēsen met emou). The Greek of the two verses is identical with the exception that in 21:9 there is an explanatory insertion “which are filled with the seven last plagues” (Greek: tōn gemontōn tōn hepta plēgōn tōn eschatōn). This is way too many words in common to be an accident. The bowl angel of chapter 17 and the bowl angel of chapter 21 are one and the same.

The speech that follows in each case opens in the same way. “Come, I will show you” (Greek: deuro, deixō soi). In 17:1 the angel shows John the judgment of the great prostitute. In 21:9 the angel shows John the bride, the wife of the lamb, which is the New Jerusalem (21:9-11). The comparison between Babylon and the New Jerusalem could not be any clearer. The New Jerusalem comes down from heaven and settles on the ruins of Babylon (Robert Badenas, “New Jerusalem—The Holy City”, in Symposium on Revelation—Book II, edited by Frank B. Holbrook [Silver Spring, MD: Biblical Research Institute, 1992], 255-257).

There are numerous parallels that flow from this double introduction. In each case John is carried away in the Spirit (17:3; 21:10). He sees the great city Babylon (17:5, 18) and the holy city Jerusalem (21:10). The prostitute sits on many waters and the beast (17:1, 3), the New Jerusalem comes down out of heaven from God (21:10). Both “women” are covered with previous jewels (17:4; 21:11). One city is the dwelling place of demons (18:2), the other is the dwelling place of God and His people (21:3). One is filled with unclean spirits, the other is empty of anything unclean (18:2; 21:27). The inhabitants of Babylon do not have their names written in the Book of Life (17:8), the inhabitants of Jerusalem do (21:27). The kings of the earth give their power to the beast (17:12-15), they bring glory and honor into the New Jerusalem (21:24).

The fates of the two cities are also in strong comparison and contrast. The fate of both cities is introduced with “It is done” (16:17; 21:6). Babylon receives the wine of God’s wrath (16:19), Jerusalem is for those who desire the water of life (21:6). The plagues of Babylon result in death (18:8), the New Jerusalem is a place where there is no more death (21:4). In Babylon the lamps go dark (18:23), in the New Jerusalem, the Lamb is its lamp, it is brightly lit (21:23, 25, 22:5). Babylon is thrown down with violence (18:23), the inhabitants of the New Jerusalem reign forever and ever (22:5). Underlying this whole contrast is the imagery of a prostitute (unfaithfulness to God) and the image of a bride (faithfulness to God). Human beings get to decide which city to live in and which fate will be theirs. So I think I know that the Babylon of Revelation 17 is strongly parallel to the New Jerusalem of 21-22.

What I Think I Know About Rev 17: 4) Revelation 17 divides into two main parts, a vision (17:3-6a) and an angelic explanation of the vision (17:7-18).

This distinction has important implications for interpreting the heads of the beast in this chapter. Like Daniel 2 and 7, Revelation 17 contains a clearly defined contrast between vision and explanation. The first two verses of the chapter are an extension of the vision in chapter 16. They serve duodirectionally, looking back to the bowl-plagues and looking forward to the vision of the woman riding on the beast (Rev 17:3-6a). The prophet’s reaction to the vision is given at the end of verse six (Revelation 17:6b). The rest of the chapter (Rev 17:7-18) involves an angel interpreting the audition and vision of the first six verses to John. In the vision, John is carried to the time of the seven last plagues. In the explanation, he is addressed in terms of his own time and place.

This means that in assessing Revelation 17, distinction must be made between the time of the vision and the time of its interpretation. Within a vision, the prophet can travel from earth to heaven and range back and forth from time past to the end of time. Apocalyptic visions are not necessarily located in the prophet’s time and place. But when a vision is explained to the prophet afterward, the explanation always comes in the time, place and circumstances of the visionary.

For example, in Daniel 2 the vision of the statue carries Nebuchadnezzar down a sequence of time to end of earth’s history (Dan 2:31-35). The explanation of the vision by Daniel, however, is firmly grounded in the time and place of Nebuchadnezzar. The interpretation begins with a straightforward, unambiguous assertion, “You are that head of gold (Dan 2:38).” Nebuchadnezzar is then told that the series of kingdoms that follow are “after you” (2:39) in point of time.

As was the case with Daniel 2, the apocalyptic prophecy of Dan 7 is divided into two parts; a description of the vision, in which the prophet is transported through time and space (Dan 7:2-14), and an explanation of the vision, given in the language, time and place of the prophet (Dan 7:15-27). So whenever vision moves to interpretation, the principle of “God meets people where they are” must be applied to the explanations given. This has profound implications for the interpretation of difficult apocalyptic texts like Rev 17:7-11.

After the vision of the woman and the beast in Revelation 17: 3-6a, John’s interpreting angel comes to explain the vision. Among other things, he tells John that the seven heads of beast “are also seven kings. Five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come. . . .” (Rev 17:10). The crucial question is how to interpret the sequence of the seven heads of the beast (Rev 17:10). When is the time of the “one is,” the head that comes between the five that are fallen and the one that is “not yet come?” Is it the time of John, who received the vision, or is it the time of the vision itself, which is an addendum to the bowl-plagues? In Scripture, visionary explanations like this are always given in the time, place and language of the one receiving the vision.

If the explanation comes in the time and place of John, the five kings that “are fallen” are already in the past when John writes the book of Revelation. These were probably to be understood as the five Old Testament superpowers that oppressed the people of God; Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Persia and Greece. The one that “is” would be the empire of pagan Rome, which dominated the world of John’s day. The one yet to come would exist between John’s time and the very final events in which the beast becomes an “eighth” (Rev 17:11), which is “of the seven”. In other words, I think I know that the apocalyptic pattern of vision and explanation gives us the key to understanding the sequence of kings represented by the seven heads of the beast.

What I Think I Know About Rev 17: 3) When you apply the previous principle to Revelation 17, it becomes evident that there are three main entities being described in the chapter.

What I Think I Know About Rev 17:
3) When you apply the previous principle to Revelation 17, it becomes evident that there are three main entities being described in the chapter.

The confluence of symbols in Revelation 17 lead me to believe that three main entities are in view. The first entity is Babylon, represented as a woman/prostitute in Revelation 17 and as a great city in Revelation 18. I understand Babylon to be a worldwide alliance of religion that rises and falls in the context of the final events of earth’s history. This alliance is named by many names in Revelation: Babylon (17:5, etc.), the great city (18:9-19), the great prostitute (17:1), and the woman who rides the beast. That Babylon is a religious entity seems evident for a number of reasons. For one thing, the woman appears in the desert (17:3), which recalls the final appearance of the woman of Revelation 12, who clearly represents the people of God (cf. especially 12:14-16). As such Babylon is also parallel to Jezebel in 2:20 and in contrast with the bride of the Lamb, the New Jerusalem (19:7-8; 21:9-10). All the women of Revelation are religious figures, two in relationship with God and two in opposition. Babylon is also a persecuting power that turns the “saints” into the “martyrs of Jesus” (17:6). This suggests a focus on religion.

Many scholars have also noticed that the description of the woman/Babylon in 17:4 is highly reminiscent of Israel’s High Priest. The High Priest’s ephod contained purple, scarlet and gold (Exod 28:5-6). The ephod and breast plate contained precious stones (Exodus 28:9-13 and 17-21). The cup in this case may represent the drink offerings of the sanctuary (Exodus 29:40-41 and 30:9; Leviticus 23:13, 18, and 37); and, the forehead inscription resembles the title HOLY TO THE LORD on the High Priest’s miter (Exodus 28:36-38). If Babylon is the sum total of the unholy trinity of Revelation 13 (cf. Rev 16:13, 19), I think I know that she represents worldwide religious authority in opposition to God and His people.

The second main entity is symbolized by the beast upon which the woman rides (17:3). In Revelation 17:1, prostitute Babylon is sitting on “many waters”. We have noted that the waters of Babylon are the Euphrates River (Rev 16:12) and that these are defined later in the chapter as “peoples and multitudes and nations and languages” (Rev 17:15). The waters of Babylon represent the civil and secular powers of this world that support the end-time religious alliance. They are, therefore, parallel to the “kings of the earth” and “inhabitants of the earth” that commit fornication with the prostitute in verse 2. The scarlet beast of verse 3 reminds us of the sea beast of Revelation 13, a counterfeit of the work of Jesus Christ. But while the scarlet beast wears the names of blasphemy, it primarily represents another way of describing the worldwide political confederacy. This becomes clear from the explanation of the vision offered in Rev 17:7-18. The scarlet beast has seven heads and ten horns. The seven heads represent seven kings (Rev 17:9-10). The ten horns represent ten kings (Rev 17:12). So the beast itself is the sum total of political and military power in the world (Rev 17:12-13). The Euphrates River and the scarlet beast are two different ways of describing the same thing. The blasphemy in which this beast engages occurs as part of its union with the aims and activities of Babylon.

The relationship between the prostitute and the political confederacy is a central feature of Revelation 17. She commits adultery with the kings of the earth. She intoxicates their citizens with the wine of her adulteries (17:2). The purpose of the union between the prostitute and the kings of the earth is worldwide dominance and control. This union is also illustrated by the image of the woman riding the beast (17:3, 7). There is a short period in the last days where worldwide religious authority dominates the political landscape of the world. Aspects of this relationship are also seen in the sixth and seventh bowl-plagues. The dragon, beast and false prophet (the unholy trinity of Revelation 13 that unites together in the end-time to become Babylon, cf. 13:15, 16:19) send out demonic frogs to gather the kings of the whole inhabited world for the battle of Armageddon (16:14-16). Then, when Babylon splits into three parts, the cities of the nations also fall (16:19). So the two entities, secular and religious, are anticipated in chapter 16. They unite in opposition to the third worldwide alliance in Revelation 17.

There is also a worldwide unity of the “saints” in Revelation. That alliance makes no appearance in Revelation 17:1-3, but it is visible elsewhere in Revelation. It comes into view in verse 6, where Babylon is described as drunk with the blood of the “saints” and of the “martyrs of Jesus”. Those “with the Lamb” are described as the “called, chosen and faithful” in verse 14. In Revelation 16:15, the faithful are called those who keep watch and hang on to their garments. The people of God in Revelation are elsewhere called the 144,000 (Rev 7:4; 14:1), the great multitude (7:9; 19:1), the remnant (12:17), those who follow the Lamb (14:4), and the saints (14:12). These are not discreet titles, but that they are many ways to talk about the one end-time people of God.

So according to Revelation 17, there will be three, great, worldwide alliances in the world at the very End, the alliance of the saints, an alliance of religious institutions, and an alliance of worldwide secular and political power. (1) The confederacy of the saints will probably not be organized in institutional terms. It is likely that any religious institutions which are truly faithful to God will be destroyed in the run-up to the battle of Armageddon. (2) The confederacy of religion is a worldwide alliance of religious authority. While the pope would be the logical choice to head such a confederacy, Babylon will in fact be much bigger than any single religion (Rev 16:13, 19). The union of religious institutions will occur out of a need to co-ordinate spiritual effort in the face of the significant challenges described in the first five plagues (Rev 16:1-11). (3) Events of the end-time will be such that the confederacy of secular and political power will arise and work with Babylon in a fruitless attempt to overcome the environmental and other challenges that the world faces as it approaches the End. For a short time, the worldwide political alliance places its power and resources in the service of the great religious alliance. The final outcome of this grand alliance is addressed in Revelation 17:16. So I think I know that Revelation 17 outlines three worldwide alliances as the human race approaches the End.

What I Think I Know About Rev 17: 2) Multiple symbols can represent the same entity in reality.

This principle is stated explicitly in Revelation 17:9-10, ESV: “. . . the seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman is seated, they are also seven kings. . . .” Revelation 17 can be totally bewildering if each symbol is treated as a unique entity. But the chapter simplifies quite a bit when you realize that the same entity in reality can be represented by more than one symbol in Revelation. For example, Jesus is represented in Revelation as a son of man, a Lamb, as a male child, and as simply Jesus Christ. The end-time people of God are represented by the woman of Revelation 12, the 144,000, the great multitude, the saints, and the remnant.

This principle can be seen at work in the first three verses of Revelation 17. In 17:1 a prostitute sits on many waters. In 17:2 she commits adultery with the kings of the earth. In 17:3 a woman sits on a beast. That woman is called both prostitute and Babylon in verse 5. So it is clear that the prostitute of verses 1 and 2 is the same entity as the woman of verse 3 and Babylon; a worldwide unity of religion in opposition to God and His people. Similarly, the waters of verse 1 (defined as the political powers of the world in verse 15), the kings of the earth in verse 2, and the beast of verse 3 all represent the same entity: The secular, political powers of the world who support Babylon for a time but then destroy her at the End (17:16). So I think I know that multiple symbols in Revelation can represent a single entity in real life. The enemies of God at the End are not multiple in the chapter, they are two in number (more on this later), Babylon and the beast.

Revelation 17 as a whole is an elaboration of the sixth and seventh bowl-plagues (Rev 16:12-21)

This connection (between Rev 17 and 16:12-21) is signaled in the very first verse of chapter 17, ESV: “Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and said to me. . . .” This is a clear connection between chapter 17 and the content of chapter 16. But the question remains: Which of the seven bowl angels is interacting the Seer of Patmos here? A clue to the answer lies in the fact that the angel’s message has something to do with water: “Come, I will show you the judgment of the great prostitute, who is seated on many waters” (Rev 17:1, ESV). Three of the bowl-plagues have something to do with water. The second bowl falls on the sea (Rev 16:3), the third bowl falls on the rivers and springs (Rev 16:4-7), and the sixth bowl falls on the Euphrates River (16:12). Which of the three bowl-angels is the one we encounter in Revelation 17? Since the waters of verse 1 are associated with the great prostitute, and she is later defined as Babylon the great (Rev 17:5), the angel of the sixth bowl (the one associated with the drying up of the Euphrates River) is the one in view when you get to 17:1.

This makes sense in light of the Old Testament background to Revelation 17. The “many waters” is a striking verbal parallel to Jeremiah 51:13. There, Babylon is addressed as “you who dwell by many waters”. Ancient Babylon was a twin city located in the midst of an extremely dry desert. Its “many waters”, therefore, can only be a reference to the mighty Euphrates River, that passed through the very center of the ancient city (cf. Jer 50:33-38; 51:36). So I think I know that Revelation 17 is closely related to the sixth bowl-plague, in which the Euphrates River is dried up.

The parallel with Revelation 16 is also extend to the seventh bowl plague (Rev 16:17-21). The immediate introduction to the Babylon visions of chapters 17 and 18 is in 16:19: “God remembered Babylon the Great.” The details of what happens when God “remembers” Babylon are found in Revelation 17 and 18. In addition, the battle of Armageddon in 16:16 finds its counterpart in Revelation 17:14, where the ten horns, the counterpart to the “kings of the whole world” (Rev 16:14, ESV), make war with the Lamb. So I think I know that Revelation 17 is an elaboration of the sixth and seventh bowl-plagues in chapter 16.

What I Think I Know About Rev 17

Revelation 17 is one of the most difficult parts of the Bible to interpret, particularly verses 7-11. When I was teaching at Andrews University, therefore, I decided to make Revelation 17:7-11 the topic of a PhD seminar class. Five PhD students signed up for the class. For the first fifteen hours of class time, I offered guidance from my experience in handling difficult Bible texts, and a basic overview of Revelation 15-18. I also led the students through the Greek of Revelation 17, word by word and sentence by sentence. The five doctoral students then selected topics related to portions of Revelation 17:7-11, after which they researched and wrote 40-60 page papers on their respective portions of the passage. Each student then took a three-hour segment of the class to share their paper and lead out in the discussion on that topic. The last class session we debriefed on what we had all learned from our intensive engagement with the passage. We all concluded that we were less certain about the meaning of Revelation 17:7-11 than we had been when the class began.

I take some implications from that experience: 1) My definition of a “problem text” is one where it is ten times easier to shoot down someone else’s interpretation of the passage than to create a compelling one yourself. 2) The more time you spend on Revelation 17 the more challenges you see in the text. 3) If the result of group study on a passage results in a total lack of consensus on the meaning of the chapter, that group has probably done their work well.

But let’s not linger on that negative note. I thought it might be helpful to point to several things in this chapter that can be stated with some confidence. Hence the title: What I Think I Know About Revelation 17. I share this as a culmination of more than 40 years of specialized study.

Rev 13:11– (The Identity of the Land Beast)

While preterist interpreters seek meaning for the land beast in the contemporary Roman context (see, for example, Aune, Revelation, 756-757), the movement of the text from Revelation 12 to 13 argues for a future power not yet in existence when Revelation was written. As we have seen, this power arises in the context of the shift from the sea beast’s reign of 42 months to its actions in the end-time context. What power arose in the world at that time (around 1800 A.D. if one applies the year-day equation to the 42 months) that could fit all the designations? The common historical interpretation a hundred years ago would still seem to be the best one now. The United States of America was founded by persecuted Christians who came from Europe to America looking for religious freedom. It arose in a part of the world that was relatively uninhabited, and was unknown in the ancient Euro-Asian context (it has no background in Daniel 7, for example). It was a young nation, a relatively new power on the world’s stage. Its governing principles were more positive than those of most nations in the course of history (principles of liberty, equality, and human rights empowered by the people). It rose up around the end of the 1260 years (1798). The land beast had no crowns. The United States was a nation without a king and its main churches had no pope. It arose from obscurity to become a major world power–there is no nation in the world today more dominant than the United States of America.

One could argue that the USA has “spoken like a dragon” from the very beginning of its history, in the subjugation of native Americans and the very early institution of slavery in the southern states. But I think all would agree that the “speaking like a dragon” has accelerated through America’s history and has reached a new level in the events since September 11. Perhaps a better way to look at this is the increasing divide between America’s ideals and its military and political actions toward those who differ.

This historical connection between the USA and the beast from the earth does not seem quite as clear or convincing as the connections between the beast from the sea and the medieval papal system. But if there is a historical focus to this text, and I think there is, and if we are anywhere close to the end of history; a connection between this beast and the United States of America is the only one that makes sense. Other major powers have come and gone over the last two hundred years. All of them have arisen from the Eurasian/African landmass (represented by the sea?), which has been the focus of Bible prophecy all the way until now. The USA has been a significant world power for more than a hundred years, and during that time its relative dominance in the world has only been increasing. And it is the first world power that centers outside the land mass that includes Europe, Asia and the Mediterranean coast of Africa (Egypt was certainly a “world power” in its time and North Africa was a major part of the Roman Empire).

But the strong religious tone of the land beast’s actions (Rev 13:12-15) suggests that if the United States is the power intended in these texts, it is its religious character that is particularly in view. America was historically a Protestant Christian nation, so supporting a “beast” in the heritage of the medieval papacy would be a dramatic shift in religious perspective for Nineteenth Century America. Since the United States is no longer a protestant-dominated nation (though some would like to restore that), exactly how this would happen today is not clear. Having said that, in today’s world the USA is the center of gravity for world Christianity as much or more than Rome, and it is in this religious role that its actions in the latter part of this chapter are particularly to be seen. The United States has been admired for its freedom. Americans are willing to tolerate violence and crime as long as their freedom is not jeopardized. If the main thing you want is to have a low crime rate, you can accomplish that with brute force as occurred in Soviet Russia. When the people of the United States are more concerned with safety and security than they are with freedom, Americans will find tyranny the best of bad options. An American move toward tyranny would be the adoption of the dragon’s methods as portrayed in this part of Revelation.

Ellen White and (Un)Fulfilled Prophecy

Finally, from an Adventist perspective, there is the example of Ellen G. White. Many Adventists have assumed that Ellen White’s words were more directly chosen by God, that she saw clear pictures of actual events in her future. But even with Ellen White the descriptions of the future came in the language of her past. What was the language of her past? The English language of 19th Century America. God met her where she was and worked within that framework.

While Ellen White clearly addressed the future, you will not find a single statement in all of her writings that clearly describes anything that is unique to the 20th Century or beyond. You will look in vain for a description of computers, nuclear war, space travel, the internet, or any explicit description of the details of World War II in her writings. When she describes events that lie ahead of her times, she does so in language that is firmly rooted in her time and place. For example, when she describes the police forces of the world moving in to attack the saints at the very end of time, what weapons do those police carry in their hands? Swords! An 1847 statement on the second coming of Jesus describes the reactions of slaves and their masters at Jesus’ return. These descriptions were appropriate in the middle of the 19th Century, but no longer in today’s world.

I was once challenged on this point. A person stood up and reminded me of Ellen White’s comments regarding balls of fire falling on New York City at the end. He suggested that this could be a description of nuclear war in our future. I thought for a moment, and then asked if he was familiar with the song, “And the rockets’ red glare, the bombs bursting in air, gave proof through the night that our flag was still there!” He indicated that he knew the American national anthem.
I asked him, “Do you know when that song was written?”
He thought for a moment, “1814?”
“Right,” I said, “Even the language of the fireballs, whatever that will mean when the time comes, is consistent with the language of Ellen White’s past.” So our knowledge of a more contemporary prophet confirms the evidence collected from our survey of fulfilled prophecies throughout the Bible.

In conclusion, I’d like to share a few practical cautions about prophetic interpretation: 1) I think Christians in general and Adventists in particular tend to be a little too certain that we understand exactly what God intends to do before He does it. Perhaps it arises out of the human temptation to play God, Who alone knows the future. But the history of people’s interpretations of Revelation ought to be a warning to us. Time and again, interpretations that made perfect sense at one point in time proved to be dead wrong when the actual fulfillment came. We should not expect point by point correspondence in all details between prophecy and fulfillment. Fulfillments are best recognized when they occur and not before.

2) The primary purpose of prophecy is not to satisfy our curiosity about the future, but to teach us how to live today. God uses a vision of the future to encourage and motivate real people in the real circumstances of everyday life. Although prophecy is predictive, its primary purpose is to teach us something about God and change the way we live long before the fulfillment comes.

3) We tend to read Revelation as though it was written to our own time, place and circumstances. We bring to our reading associations and concepts that would never have occurred to John or His contemporaries. Such readings almost inevitably leads to a distortion of the text and of its original intention. The language of Revelation is the language of John’s past not ours.

But if Revelation was written in the language of another time and place, it raises an important question. How can study of Revelation be relevant to us in our time and place when it was written for people in another time and place? How can we bridge the gap between their day and ours? How can we safely find a word from the Lord for today in the writings of those who lived and wrote in the distant past? By reading these predictions in the light of the fulfilled prophecies in the Bible. This is what I seek to do throughout my commentary on Revelation published at Ministry4Thinking and Thebattleofarmageddon web sites.

Fulfilled Prophecy in The New Testament

A look at the messianic prophecies in the Old Testament leads us to a seventh important principle of Bible prophecy, stated a couple of times by Jesus: “I have told you now before it happens, so that when it does happen you will believe.” (John 14:29; cf. 13:19) Did Jesus say, “I’ll tell you ahead of time so that you will know the future in advance? I’ll help you make a chart where all the events are lined up so that you can spot your place in history at all times?”
No He did not. He was saying that if you pay careful attention to His words, you will recognize the time of fulfillment when it comes, not before. When the prophesied events occur, you will recognize them and the fulfillment will be clear. It was clear that Jesus was the fulfillment of the messianic prophecies once His life was lived out. But the prophecies did not allow people to predict the exact course of His life in advance. God is not predictable. That means that prophetic fulfillments are best recognized after they occur, not before.

When it comes to unfulfilled prophecy, a little tentativeness is advisable. It was the lack of such tentativeness that led David Koresh to destruction. He thought he knew exactly what God wanted him to do and exactly how to bring about the result that God had in mind. But he was wrong. It is critical that we search the Word to gain an understanding of unfulfilled prophecy. At the same time we need to maintain a sanctified tentativeness about our conclusions. We must leave God the freedom to be God.

The book of Revelation continues the pattern we have seen all the way back to the book of Genesis. When John wrote the book the events described in it were almost entirely future. Yet the basic language of the book of Revelation is the language of John’s past. Revelation is filled with the Old Testament. For example, notice the latter part of Revelation 13:
“And he performed great and miraculous signs, even causing fire to come down from heaven to earth in full view of men. Because of the signs he was given power to do on behalf of the first beast, he deceived the inhabitants of the earth.”
Rev 13:13-14

At the time of the Exodus Pharaoh’s magicians deceived him by using magical arts. In Revelation 13 the magical art is to bring fire down from heaven to earth as Elijah did on Mount Carmel.
He ordered them to set up an image in honor of the beast who was wounded by the sword and yet lived. He was given power to give breath to the image of the first beast, so that it could speak and cause all who refused to worship the image to be killed.
Rev 13:14-15

This is a reminder of Daniel 3 where Nebuchadnezzar set up an image and threatened to kill anyone who refused to bow down and worship it.
He also forced everyone small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on his right hand or on his forehead, so that no one could buy or sell unless he had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of his name.
Rev 13:16-17

This phrase has a history too. In Deuteronomy 6, the Ten Commandments were to be worn on the forehead and the hand. So the mark is in some way a counterfeit of the Ten Commandments. In order to understand the mark of the beast, you have to understand the Old Testament background–the language of the past that John was using.
This calls for wisdom. If anyone has insight, let him calculate the number of the beast, for it is man’s number. His number is 666.
Rev 13:18

The number 666 also has an Old Testament past. The image of Daniel 3 was 60 cubits high, 6 cubits wide and (presumably) 6 cubits deep–666. 666 is also the amount of income Solomon received in the year he turned away from the Lord (1 Kings 10:14). To the Hebrew mind set, the number 666 could be a pointer to the apostasy of Solomon, the son of David.

So when it comes to the book of Revelation we have to understand that God meets people where they are. He gives prophets lessons about the future in the language of the past. The book of Revelation, like other books of the Bible, comes in the language, culture, and historical setting of the inspired writer.