Tag Archives: Revelation

The Heavenly Vision of Revelation 4 and 5 (Enthronement 1)

The vision of Revelation 4-5 neatly divides into two parts. First, there is a general description of heavenly worship directed to the one sitting on the throne, God the Father (Rev. 4:1-11). Second, there is a moment of crisis in the heavenly throne room that is resolved by the appearance of the Lamb, Jesus Christ (Rev 5:1-14).

At the beginning of chapter four John is invited up to heaven for the first time (4:1). Chapter four is a general description of the continual worship of heaven, in which God the Father is worshiped on account of creation (Rev. 4:11). But chapter five is a one-time crisis event in heaven. A problem is presented that seems so large that even God cannot solve it (Rev. 5:1-4). But the matter is resolved by the appearance of the Lamb, the God-man Jesus Christ (see theme 5 below). He is worshiped because He was slain and this fact resolves the crisis in the universe (Rev. 5:5-14).

The vision of Revelation 4 and 5 introduces the following themes:

1. Is Revelation 4 a General Description of Heavenly Worship or a One-Time Event? The details of the text answer this question in a future blog.
2. The Biblical Concept of Worship. Worship is not about us, our feelings, or our duties. Worship is a recital of what God has done.
3. The Identity of the Twenty-Four Elders. The elders are not an angelic group, they represent the totality of God’s people.
4. The Meaning of the Sealed Scroll. The sealed scroll represents God’s plan of salvation.
5. The Worthiness of the Lamb. The Lamb is uniquely worthy to open the scroll because of His combination of humanity and divinity.
6. The Progression of the Five Hymns (Rev. 4:8, 11; 5:9-10, 12, 13) Underlines the Divinity of the Lamb.
7. The Cosmic Conflict Is the Unspoken Backdrop to this Heavenly Scene.

Laodicea and the Adventist Church (Churches 8)

How should Seventh-day Adventists apply the message of Revelation 3:18-21 to themselves? What is there in the text that could be applied to all Christians in every age? Gold can express the value we have in God’s eyes. There are three key symbols in the passage that form the core of the counsel that Jesus gives to Laodicea. 1) Gold can express the value we have in God’s eyes. Although Jesus Christ is the creator of the entire universe (John 1:3), He would have died just for one human being. That places an infinite value on each one of us. 2) White raiment would most naturally seem to represent the righteousness of Christ that is available to all who trust in Him. 3) Eye salve represents the spiritual discernment that helps us clearly see our need for Christ.

The core issue of Laodicea seems to be a lack of authenticity. What Laodicea claims about herself and what she actually is are two completely different things (Rev. 3:17). Hence Jesus’ diagnosis that Laodicea is repulsively lukewarm. Her claim to have the riches of Christ heads her in the right direction, but in reality the claim is proved to be false. The spiritual life that she claims isn’t real. In place of her failure to see the truth about herself, Laodicea is invited to use the recommended eye salve. In place of her satisfaction with a righteousness of her own making, she is invited to put on the righteousness of Christ. In place of her self-esteem based on the worthless riches she claims, Jesus offers a self-worth grounded in the value that he sees in her.

The Seventh-day Adventist Church from the beginning has struggled over its identity. On the one hand, there is the perception of its vast importance as the end-time people of God with a unique mission to fulfill. This can easily lead fallible humans to spiritual pride and inauthenticity. To a people who are called to present Jesus’ last message of mercy to the world, Jesus gives the warning that she herself can lose her way (see 1 Corinthians 9:24-27). She needs to see her condition and danger clearly, and take hold of the gospel for herself, before she can be effective in delivering the final gospel message to the world. In the words of a perceptive analogy, God’s evangelists are simply beggars telling all the other beggars where they can find bread. They cannot give what they do not have.

Although Jesus disciplines his church as needed (Rev. 3:19), He never forces anyone to follow Him. He gently invites us to “open the door” receive Him (3:20). That “door” has a latch only on the inside. But while the decision is ours to make, there is a powerful incentive to make that choice. Jesus holds out the promise to end all promises to Laodicea. If we identify with His death and resurrection (Rev. 3:21; 5:5-6), we will participate in His throne. As expressed by the gold tried in the fire, God sees infinite value in every human being, whether or not they have responded to Him. In a sense, he has chosen all to be saved (Eph. 1:3-14). But there is no compulsion in the gospel. God will never force anyone to love and trust Him. The invitation to receive Him, however, remains open. But if Laodicea is the final church of earth’s history, the door will not remain open forever. “Today, if you will hear His voice. . .” Psalm 95:7-8.

We can all take courage in the awareness that many ancient Christians remained faithful to God in the midst of godless cities. We today have been given the means to do the same.

The Women of Revelation (Churches 7)

There are four women portrayed in the visions of the book of Revelation. Two of them are positive figures and two of them are negative. The first of the four women is Jezebel, the leader of the church of Thyatira who is in opposition to the faithful ones there (Rev. 2:20-23). It is not clear from the text whether “Jezebel” is a symbol that refers to a specific leader of the local church (who could be either male or female), or represents the larger faction of the church as a whole.

The second woman of Revelation is the godly woman of Revelation 12 (Rev. 12:1-2, 5-6, 14-17). She seems to represent Israel as a whole, both Old Testament Israel and Judah (theocratic nation-states) and New Testament Israel (the church). The third woman of Revelation is prostitute Babylon (Rev. 17:1-7, 16). She is the counterpart of Jezebel, representing end-time opposition to God and His people. The Christian origin of Babylon is represented in the dress of prostitute Babylon, she is dressed like the High Priest of the Old Testament sanctuary system (Rev 17:4). The fourth woman of Revelation is the bride of the Lamb (Rev. 19:7-8). She represents the faithful people of God at the close of earth’s history.

All four women in the visions of Revelation are ultimately associated with the church, either positively or negatively. If the first part of the message to Thyatira represents the medieval church, then the two images are very closely related. Opposition to Christ often wears a Christian face, and is prophesied to do so again in the period leading up to the Second Coming of Jesus (Rev 19:11-1). Similarly, the woman of Revelation 12 represents the faithful people of God throughout history. The bride of the Lamb (Rev. 19), on the other hand, represents the faithful people of God at the very end of history. So it stands to reason that Babylon (Rev. 17-18) represents opposition to God from within the church as a whole at the end of time. “Woman” in Revelation represents both the best and the worst of human interaction with God.

Laodicea and the Final Era of Earth’s History (Churches 6)

Seventh-day Adventists have often seen the message to Laodicea as applying particularly to the church at the end of time. This connection was based largely on two things. 1) The belief that the seven churches represent stages of the Christian church from the time of John to the Second Coming of Jesus. 2) Laodicea is the seventh and last of the churches, thus must represent what the church would be like in the time just before the Second Coming of Jesus. But since there is no overwhelming evidence that the primary purpose of the seven churches is as a prophecy of Christian history, it would be helpful to discover some exegetical indications that the church of Laodicea is truly the last church of the Christian era.

I was excited, therefore, to discover the striking parallel between Revelation 3:18 and Revelation 16:15. These are the only two texts in the Bible that contain four major and unusual words in combination. Both verses have the Greek words for “seeing” (Greek: blepô), “clothing” (Greek: himation), “shame” (Greek: aischunê, aschêmosunê) and “nakedness” (Greek: gumnotês, gumnos). This parallel is quite striking in the original language. There is an intention link between the core of the Laodicean message and the primary message in the midst of the Battle of Armageddon.

In the midst of the battle of Armageddon (Rev. 16:14-16) there is a call to end-time watchfulness that echos the language of several New Testament texts that emphasize the importance of readiness for the Second Coming of Jesus (Matt 24:42; Luke 12;37-40; 1 Thess 5:2). But Revelation 16:15 also echos the language of Laodicea (cf. 3:18). In the midst of the final battle of earth’s history, there is a call to get ready for the Second Coming of Jesus in the language of the message to Laodicea. This is striking evidence that Laodicea represents the final church of earth’s history.

Christianity’s Greatest Advance and Its Contemporary Consequences (Churches 4)

Seventh-day Adventists and many others in the course of Christian history have applied the message to Philadelphia to the great revival of Protestantism during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. This great revival motivated the church to carry the gospel to the whole world. It resulted in the greatest expansion of Christianity throughout the world since the time of Pentecost.

But there was a dark side to this expansion which has become evident today. Missionary endeavors in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries too often rode on the back of the West’s colonial expansion in the economic and political realms. The wealth and educational advantages that came along with co-operation with the colonial powers created a major temporal advantage for Christian mission. Resisting Christian evangelism under those circumstances was like trying to swim against the tide.

As a result, many non-Christian peoples today see Christianity as a self-serving tool of Western imperialism rather than a humble, self-effacing movement that seeks to improve the lives of others. This attitude is increasingly found even in the more “Christian” parts of the world. Christianity as a whole is on the defensive today. In this context manipulation or political involvement of any kind on the part of the church plays into the negative stereotypes that have arisen. The gospel message can no longer rely on political, economic or social support for its success. It has been thrown back to Jesus’ original plan of “power made perfect in weakness” (2 Cor 12:9).

John’s Own Outline of Revelation (Vision 4)

The author of Revelation often embeds clues about the organization and key ideas of the book in the transition texts. One of those transition texts is Revelation 1:19. In this text he lays out the plan of the whole book. It begins, “Write, therefore, what you have seen” (my translation). This sentence parallels verse 11, “Write what you see.” Verse 11 is present tense and verse 19 is past tense (Greek aorist indicative). This means the entire vision of Revelation was seen by John between the command in verse 11 and the command in verse 19. Having seen the vision, he is told to write it out and begins that process in verse 19.

What has John seen? Two things: “The things which are” and “the things which are about to happen after these things” (Rev. 1:19, my translation). So the book of Revelation will include both things current at the time of the seven churches, and things which were yet to come from their perspective. One part of John’s vision focuses particularly on the time in which John lived, and one part focuses on events that will follow after John’s time. For our purposes, the key question is, How do we know when John is addressing his time and place and when he is addressing the things which would happen after his day?

In Revelation 4:1 (my translation) Jesus says to John, “Come up here, and I will show you the things which these things must happen after.” This is a nearly exact parallel to Revelation 1:19. So beginning with Revelation 4:1, the rest of Revelation focuses primarily on John’s future. While there are flashbacks to the cross (Rev 5:6; 12:11), to the enthronement of Jesus (Rev. 5:6-14), and even events before creation (Rev. 12:4), the primary focus from chapter four to the end of the book on is events future from John’s day.

What, then, are “the things which are” in Revelation 1:19? Evidently, everything between 1:19 and 4:1, namely the messages to the seven churches. While the seven messages have powerful implications for the whole Christian era, their primary focus is on the situation of those seven churches, and on the messages that Jesus brings to them. Unlike most of the book of Revelation, the messages to the seven churches are not an apocalyptic prediction of future events, they read more like the letters of Paul or Matthew 24. As such they are applicable directly to the original readers and also to readers throughout the Christian era (see Rev. 1:3). As such, they can also be applied to the various eras of church history, with which they fit fairly well.

Careful attention to Revelation 1:19 shows how key texts of Revelation can help readers see the structure in John’s mind and in the mind of the One who gave him the vision.

Jesus Meets the Churches Where They Are (Vision 3)

Jesus appears on the scene of Revelation in spectacular fashion (Rev. 1:12-20). The same Jesus is in close relationship with the seven churches (1:20). He knows each of them intimately (Rev. 2:2, 9, 13, 19; 3:1, 8, 15). And He introduces Himself to each church with one, two or three characteristics from the earlier vision.

The message to Ephesus (Rev. 2:1), for example, describes Jesus as the one who holds the seven stars in His hand (Rev. 1:20) and walks among the seven golden lampstands (1:12-13). In the message to Smyrna (2:8), Jesus is the first and the last, the one who died came to life (1:17-18). In the letter to Pergamum, He approaches with a sharp, two-edged sword (1:16). So it goes throughout the seven church letters.

Here’s the interesting thing. Jesus presents Himself differently to each of the seven churches. No two churches get the same picture of Jesus. Each church gets only a portion of the many characteristics in chapter one. He knows each church intimately and on that basis meets each church where they are. No individual church, therefore, has the full picture of Jesus. He is able to adapt to each church’s particular needs and circumstances. And if no church and no Christian has the full picture of Jesus, then we all have reason to be humble. We are all learners. And we all have something to teach each other.

There is a corollary to this observation. If one were to ask which of the seven churches has the RIGHT picture of Jesus, how would you answer? It is a trick question. It is Jesus who presents Himself to each church. Each church has a true or right picture of Jesus. That means that there is more than one RIGHT way to think. Each of the churches knows something right about Jesus, but they all need each other in order to have the full picture.

This doesn’t mean that all pictures of Jesus or God are right. There is such a thing as a wrong picture, a deceptive picture of Jesus. But just because two people disagree about Jesus doesn’t by itself prove that one or both of them are wrong. They may simply be seeing from a different angle or their perception of truth is limited by their training and experience up to that point.

Many church fights are grounded in the perception that there is only ONE right way to think. If that is true and I am right, then you must be wrong! But when godly people study the Word and listen to the Spirit, they come to a perception of the truth. It may be limited and expressed in their own language and culture, but it expresses a facet of truth that others need to hear. Witnessing should not be limited to outsiders, we all need to hear one another to learn and to grow. When you realize that there is more than one right way to think, it makes you more open to the work of the Spirit in others.

The Lord’s Day (Vision 2)

The introductory vision of Revelation (Rev. 1:12-18) centers on a glorious picture of Jesus. He is the Son of Man (1:13), the one who died and is alive forevermore (1:18). Based on Daniel 10:5-6 and a number of other OT texts, this vision portrays the kind of Jesus who was seen only at the Transfiguration during His earthly ministry. The characteristics of Jesus in the vision are repeated throughout the seven messages of chapters two and three. The vision is like the stage backdrop to the first act of a play. The envelope of verses 11 and 19 make it clear that John received the vision of the entire book between those two verses.

In addition to the vision of Jesus (1:12-18) this section of Revelation also addresses the location and time when John received the vision (1:9-11). John received the vision on “the Lord’s Day.” That phrase has received a lot of attention from scholars of Revelation.

The most popular view of Revelation 1:10 among commentators is that the “Lord’s Day” of Revelation 1:10 is Sunday, the first day of the week. The strength of this view is that later Church Fathers used the phrase with reference to Sunday, and the Latin equivalent, dominus dies, became one of the names for Sunday in the Latin Church. But all clear references to Sunday as “the Lord’s Day” are much later than Revelation and thus cannot serve as evidence for the meaning when John wrote.

The best explanation for the Lord’s Day in Revelation 1:10 is that John was referring to the seventh-day Sabbath. While the exact phrase “the Lord’s Day” (kuriakê hemêra) is never used elsewhere in the New Testament or in the Greek translation of the Old Testament, many strong equivalents refer to the seventh-day Sabbath. The seventh day is “a Sabbath to the Lord (kuriô) your God” (Exod 20:10; Deut 5:14). “The Lord” (kurios) often refers to the seventh day as “my Sabbath” (ta sabbata mou– Exod 31:12-13; Lev 19:3, 30; 26:2; Isa 56:4-6; Ezek 20:12-13, 16, 20-21, 24; 22:3-8; 23:36-38; 44:12-24). In the Hebrew of Isaiah 58:13 Yahweh calls the Sabbath “My holy day.” And finally, all three Synoptic Gospels (Matt 12:8; Mark 2:27-28; Luke 6:5) quote Jesus as saying “The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath (kurios tou sabbatou). It would be strange, therefore, if John used the phrase “the Lord’s Day” for any other day of the week than the one we call Saturday.

A Vision of Christ (Vision 1)

Introduction: Revelation 1:9-20 provides the backdrop for the messages to the seven churches in chapters two and three. Aspects of the glorious vision of Christ provide the unique setting for each of the seven messages. Jesus knows each of the seven churches and meets them where they are.

At least three important themes emerge from a careful look at this opening vision:
1. The Identity of the Lord’s Day in Revelation 1:10. The Sabbath is the most likely option for John’s understanding of the Lord’s Day.
2. Jesus Meets the Churches Where They Are. Jesus approaches each of the seven churches with different characteristics drawn from the introductory vision (Rev. 1:9-20).
3. John’s Basic Outline of Revelation (based on Revelation 1:19). In Revelation 1:19 John summarizes the whole vision as concerning the things which are and the things which will happen after these things. Revelation 4:1 shows that much of Revelation focuses on John’s future.

Looking at the vision as a whole, it is fascinating to see that Jesus is presented in 1:12-16 in a rather frightening manner. John reacts to this presentation in a predictable way, falling down in front of Jesus like a dead man (1:17). But Jesus offers a gracious and comforting response to John in 1:17-18. This vision fits a biblical pattern in which God sometimes “raises His voice” to get our attention or to impress on us His power and glorious being. But after we are suitably humbled by the presence of a powerful God, He can approach us in the way He truly wishes, with gracious kindness. God is infinitely powerful, but He is also infinitely gracious. That means He is powerful enough to accomplish His purpose and meet our need, yet we don’t need to be afraid of Him. He longs for us to receive Him as a friend (John 15:13).

Applying the Lessons of the Prologue (Prologue 1:8)

For Seventh-day Adventists, the Prologue of Revelation brings out two things that might seem in tension with each other: a) the centrality of Jesus Christ in the book of Revelation, and b) the value added of a Seventh-day Adventist, historicist (apocalyptic sequences of history) reading of Revelation. What value does the unique SDA approach offer in today’s world? How do you keep a balance between articulating the historical details of the SDA reading of Revelation and uplifting Jesus Christ as the center of all hope?

What is the value of an SDA approach to Revelation today? Among other things, I would suggest the following. 1) The SDA view answers the three great philosophical questions of human existence. These are, in principle: Who am I? Where did I come from? and Where am I going? Who am I? A being made in the image of a loving, gracious and self-sacrificing God who prizes freedom so much that He has even given us power to create little people like ourselves. Where did I come from? I am not here as a result of random chance, but I am the result of a loving, creative purpose. That means that my life has meaning and purpose even when it is not appreciated by those around. It means that my life has infinite value in the eyes of the most important Person in the universe. Where am I going? Life in this universe will not end with a bang or a whimper. It will not end in primeval silence. It will end in an eternity of meaning, purpose and ever-deepening relationships.

2) The SDA approach to Revelation helps us see the hand of God in history. In our daily experience, it is often difficult to know what God wants us to do and just where God is leading in the major events around us. Apocalyptic prophecies like Daniel 2 and Revelation 12 affirm the giant principles upon which God bases His interaction with this world and the universe. As we see prophecy’s interpretation of the past, we have a clearer picture of what God is doing today and what He is likely to do in the future.

3) The SDA approach to Revelation gives us confidence in the midst of chaos that God is still in control of history. Events in the world seem increasingly out of control, but apocalyptic prophecy assures us that this is nothing out of the ordinary and God is well able to manage today’s governmental chaos just as he managed the many “beasts” of the past.

4) The SDA approach to Revelation gives us confidence that since God has been active in creation and throughout history, the hope that we have for the future is also real. Things will not always be as they are now. God is still working toward the ultimate fulfillment of His purpose and ours. We may not know just when the climax of history will occur, but we know that the outcome is assured and God’s faithful people, both living and dead, will participate in that outcome.