The Tribulation

In my previous blog post I stated that “the great tribulation” John alluded to in Rev. 7:14 is a tribulation (we could say a pressing in on people of trials and persecution) that spans the entire church age, from the first coming of Christ to his second coming, rather than alluding to a brief period of time (three and a half years or seven years) at the end of this age. Because the view of the tribulation I am setting forth is different than what many of us have heard and previously been taught, I want to defend this understanding in this post.

So, my task in this post is simple. I will set forth the following eleven reasons why I believe the tribulation spans the entire church age and is not merely a brief time at the end of this age. My goal is to help you see that my understanding emerges from the text of Revelation and from the text of the rest of Scripture and is not forced upon it, and then also to see why our grasp of this view of the tribulation is significant.

1. Because we have already seen that the book of Revelation signifies with a great amount of symbolism its message (1:1), we should not be surprised that the tribulation would have a symbolic nature to it—especially when it comes to those times when the numbers that so often stand behind the Tribulation (e.g. three and a half years) are used.

2. Because we have already seen that the book of Revelation has a tendency to use numbers symbolically (e.g. 1:4; 4:5; 5:6; 7:4-8), we should not be surprised that the numbers used in reference to the tribulation (e.g. forty-two months [11:2], 1,260 days [11:3], or time, times, and half a time [3.5 years, in 12:14]) are used symbolically.

3. Because we have already seen strong evidence in Revelation (from the statements in 1:3, 19 that suggest that Revelation is displaying the unfolding of the events of this current age foretold in Daniel and from the recapitulating nature of the book) that its material covers the entire church age and does not focus primarily upon a brief time at the end of this age and then beyond, it makes sense that the tribulation spoken of in Revelation covers this entire age.

4. One of the reasons that some read Revelation in a manner that tribulation deals only with trials, persecution, discipline, and judgment (the latter on unbelievers) at a brief time toward the end of this age is that they believe the church has been removed from the earth after the material of chapter 3 and so all the subsequent chapters must deal with events in the future, after a future secret rapture of the church. However, as we just demonstrated in our treatment of Revelation 7, this chapter makes the point that the true people of God (the Church!) now consists of Jew and Gentile who believe in Christ. We see this same truth over and over again throughout Revelation 6-20 and so conclude the church is still present on earth. In fact, in this present context of Revelation, what John sees in Revelation 7 precedes the final judgment (and thus the second coming of Christ), which is covered in 8:1-5. It is fallacious to read all the material of Revelation 4-20 as being sometime in the future and focusing only upon a brief time at the end of this age and beyond.

5. All of the references to tribulation in Revelation, if read in context, are spanning the entire age of the church. We have already demonstrated this for the reference in Rev. 7:14. Let’s look at the rest:

a. The word “tribulation” is used five times in Revelation (7:14 being the fifth and final use). In its first four uses, the word clearly refers to trials, discipline, persecution, judgment (the latter on unbelievers) during this entire age. In the introduction to the chapter one vision of Jesus that John received, the apostle said of his original readers that he is a partner with them in tribulation (1:9). In other words, he assumes that these seven churches (representing the church throughout the ages!) experience tribulation currently in this broken and sin-cursed world.[1] Similarly, in the messages to the seven churches in chapters 2-3, John affirms that churches currently experience tribulation, which includes trials and persecution (2:9, 10), as well as discipline and judgment (2:22). “But,” some might argue, “in Revelation 7:14 we read of ‘the great tribulation.’ Doesn’t the presence of ‘the’ and ‘great’ mark this tribulation off as being something different and worse than what the church experiences throughout most of this age?” No it does not.

To begin, in Rev. 2:22 the discipline and/or judgment threatened against a false prophetess and her followers in Thyatira is spoken of as “great tribulation.” But, again, some might respond, “But this could refer to a ‘great tribulation,’ and still not be ‘the great’ or ‘the greatest tribulation.’”

This is true, but when we go to Jesus’ words in the Olivet Discourse, where he talks about what this age will be like from his first coming to his second coming, he makes it clear that believers should expect to experience tribulation now (Mt. 24:9), which in context, speaks of various kinds of trials and suffering (natural disasters, wars, famine) and also persecution. He does go on to suggest that during this period there will be “great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be” (Mt. 24:21; Mk. 13:19 [Mark does not include the word “great”]).

So, certainly, there is a great tribulation, an intensified tribulation. But when does it happen according to Jesus? The careful reader of the Olivet Discourse (Mt. 24; Mk. 13; Lk. 21) will grasp that the events Jesus speaks of occur from right away in reference to the days of himself and his disciples and span to the point just before his second coming (“immediately after the tribulation of those days”: Mt. 24:29; Mk. 13:24). There is nothing in the Olivet Discourse that locates tribulation or even a great tribulation only at the very end of this age (even though room is left for tribulation to escalate during this age, as Revelation teaches). In fact, Jesus locates “the abomination of desolation” (Mt. 24:15) that Daniel spoke of (Dan. 9:27) and which, as will be seen, forms part of the background to tribulation language during the time of the disciples to whom he is talking. This strongly suggests the tribulation begins after the death and resurrection of Jesus and spans until his second coming. There is nothing, then, about the language of “the great tribulation” that would lead us to believe it must refer only to a short period of time at the end of this age and just before or after the second coming of Jesus Christ.[2]

b. In Revelation 11:2 we find the period of “forty-two months” of suffering and persecution for the church at the hands of the unbelieving nations, which is another way of talking about a figurative three and a half years of tribulation, which finds its background in Daniel 7:25; 9:27; 12:7, 11, 12. Most likely Daniel has some reference in these passages to persecution of Jews at the hands of Antiochus IV Epiphanes (Greek king of the Seleucid Empire) in the early half of the second century, B.C. This persecution that lasted about 3.5 years was some of the worst the Jewish people ever faced and so 3.5 years became synonymous with great persecution that God also would bring to an end, as he did with that period. The persecution and destruction by Antiochus IV also prefigured what would happen in the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70 (cf. Mt. 24:15), which itself was a harbinger of more tribulation to come throughout the church age. What we need to see about Revelation 11:2 is that it is found in an interlude between the sixth and seventh trumpets (which is parallel to the interlude between the sixth and seventh seals). This, coupled with the vast amount of material in Rev. 11 that suggests what we are seeing in that chapter is a figurative depiction of the church during this age on mission, strongly suggests that the forty-two months is to be taken figuratively as a period of significant suffering and persecution through which God will protect his people in the ultimate sense and which he will eventually end. It is the same span of time as we see in the Chapter 7 interlude (v. 14).

c. We also see a reference to “forty-two months” of suffering and persecution in Rev. 13:5, at the hands of the beastly world-system, which wields the authority of and represents Satan himself. Again, when we get to that chapter we will discover strong evidence it is speaking of this entire age. But additionally, the reference to “forty-two months,” as we saw in 11:2 is most likely intended to make the reader equate the two references as the same period.

d. In Rev. 11:3 we find a reference to 1,260 days, which is three and a half years as calculated with a 360 day year (which many in that day and time used). In this verse the point is that the two witnesses (representing the church in this age) will prophesy (most likely the sense is tell forth God’s Word, the gospel) for that period. The background of Daniel, Antiochus IV, and the close proximity to the “forty-two months” of 11:2 strongly suggest that the period spans the entire church age.

e. In Revelation 12:6 we find another reference to 1,260 days, a period of time the people of God, those who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus (12:17) are in the wilderness of this world and face persecution at the hands of the dragon, i.e. Satan, and his evil spirits (cf. 12:3, 8-10, 12, 15, 17). This chapter clearly spans the entire church age and it is another demonstration that the 1,260 days is meant to be taken figuratively to speak of a significant period of great tribulation for God’s people.

f. In Revelation 12:14 we find another way to speak of the three and a half years: “a time, times, and half a time,” which is evidently to be taken as the same as the 1,260 days in 12:6. The background for “a time, times, and a half times,” is Daniel 7:25; 12:7. Based on that background the figure is that of three and a half years that symbolizes great suffering for God’s people.

g. So, in summary, all the uses of tribulational language in Revelation seem to support my assertion that what it symbolizes is the entire span of the church age, along with the trials, suffering, discipline, persecution, and judgment (for unbelievers) that takes place.

6. The use of “tribulation” elsewhere (especially in Mt. 24; Mk. 13) supports it spanning the entire church age. Since we dealt with this thoroughly in the previous point, we need not say more here.

7. As we have already explained, the use of language that speaks of three and a half years (in all its forms), makes us lean in the direction that what is being symbolized by it is a time of suffering and persecution for the people of God, a time that is not intended as a literal three and a half year period of time. 

8. The astute reader will insert somewhere in this discussion, “Ok, if most of the tribulational numerical language speaks of three and a half years, how Christians come up with the idea of seven years for the full tribulational time?  The answer to that comes from Daniel 9:24-27. We want briefly to look at this passage since it not only provides the foundation for the idea of a seven year tribulation that consists of 2 three and a half year periods, but a proper understanding of it also supports the assertion that the tribulation is to be taken figuratively to refer to the entire span of the church age.[3] In Daniel 9:24-27, as part of the angel Gabriel’s answer to the question of Daniel regarding Jeremiah’s prophecy of seventy years of captivity for Judah (and so when will the people of God be restored? See Dan. 9:2), we read the following: 

Seventy weeks are decreed about your people and your holy city, to finish the transgression, to put an end to sin, and to atone for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal both vision and prophet, and to anoint a most holy place. 25 Know therefore and understand that from the going out of the word to restore and build Jerusalem to the coming of an anointed one, a prince, there shall be seven weeks. Then for sixty-two weeks it shall be built again with squares and moat, but in a troubled time. 26 And after the sixty-two weeks, an anointed one shall be cut off and shall have nothing. And the people of the prince who is to come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. Its end shall come with a flood, and to the end there shall be war. Desolations are decreed. 27 And he shall make a strong covenant with many for one week, and for half of the week he shall put an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations shall come one who makes desolate, until the decreed end is poured out on the desolator.”

Though there are many interpretations of this passage that seek to calculate the number of years and a specific timing of what Gabriel communicates (suggesting a more literal understanding), I believe the best way to understand this passage is figuratively. After all, it is found in the second half of Daniel and in the midst of apocalyptic literature that is steeped in symbolism. Since Daniel has asked about the fulfillment of Jeremiah’s prophecy (see Jeremiah 25:12) of a seventy year captivity and judgment for sin and when would Judah be restored, Gabriel offers an answer that builds off of that seventy years and also communicates something that goes well beyond merely a return to their land, but also is meant to show God’s larger purposes: “to finish the transgression, to put an end to sin, and atone for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness” (Dan. 9:24).

In other words, in this answer that includes the “seventy weeks,” each week envisioned as seven years (so 490 years), is meant somehow to focus upon Jesus Christ and the ultimate salvation, forgiveness, righteousness, and transformation he brings—which accomplishes what Israel never could on their own. The seventy weeks are divided up as follows: seven weeks until the decree to rebuild the temple and Jerusalem (v. 25), which deals with Daniel’s original question; sixty-two weeks that span that rebuilt city and temple—leading to a time that the city and temple are destroyed again (vv. 25-26); and then finally one week during which time an anointed one (Christ) will make a strong covenant with many, i.e. the Church, which is divided into two segements (v. 27). It is the dividing of this last week (that is seven years) into two segments that forms the foundation for seeing the tribulation as envisioning a seven year period, made up of 2 three and a half year time spans.

It appears as a strong possibility that the reason “70 weeks” (or 490 years) was chosen as the whole period is that 490 years=10 jubilee periods. In Leviticus 25:8-55 we learn that Israel at the end of every sabbath of years (7x7 years or 49 years) was to recognize a year of jubiliee in which all debts were cancelled and slaves freed. What the angel Gabriel appears to be communicating to Daniel is that not only will God restore Judah to their land after seventy years of captivity, but he will someday bring about through a special anointed one (the Christ) the ultimate and eternal jubilee—the ultimate freedom, cancellation of debts, restortion, and transformation.

I take all this to mean that the years are not to be calculated in a manner in which we are asking exactly when does this set of years start and when exactly does it end? Rather, we are to look at the overall picture focusing upon the idea of the ultimate jubilee in Christ.

If this is a correct assessment, then the New Testament Church is currently in the last week of the seventy weeks—and so exists in this long tribulation period. Most likely from this text, the intent is that the first three and a half years lasted until the destruction of Jerusalem and the second three and a half years lasts for the remainder of the church age. Not only has Christ brought freedom and the cancellation of our debts, but someday all of this will be fully consummated in the new heaven and new earth, in our eternal reward (our eternal jubilee)!

9. The ninth reason for seeing the tribulation as spanning the entire church age has to do with a follow-up on #8. If we understand the entire message of the book of Daniel, it supports the understanding of Daniel 9:24-27 I just set forth and so provides another reason for seeing the tribulation as I have explained it.

In the book of Daniel the faithful Israelites serve as a type of the ultimate faithful man/person of God who trusts him, follows him, and remains faithful even in the face of great evil and suffering. As such, they form types of Christ (even to the point of Daniel being sealed for a time in the lion’s pit, i.e. in the realm of death, and being raised and vindicated out of that [ch. 6]), foreshadowing the death and resurrection of Christ. As such, the book of Daniel depicts the faithful as suffering for a time and then being raised and vindicated (see 12:2-3). Such a paradigm looks forward to Christ, the coming Son of Man (cf. 7:13-14), with whom will come “an end to sin,” and who will “atone for iniquity” (9:24). The sense seems to be, however, that all who truly come to God in faith and who seek to follow the Son of Man’s example of living redemptively will suffer, yet will be vindicated in the future through resurrection. What this means is that the suffering of the Jews under Antiochus IV Epiphanes (the little penultimate horn [8:9]) is a type of, i.e. it looks forward to more ultimate suffering of an ultimate horn or opposition to God that precedes the end of the end (cf. 7:24-26). The fact that the saints will be given into the hands of the horn “a time, times, and half a time” (Dan. 7:25 [see also 12:7, 11-12]), most likely is paradigmatic (see also Hos. 6:2)—looking forwad to the ultimate suffering of the Son of Man in behalf of the people of God (cf. 1 Cor. 15:4), who would be under the power of death for this time, before vindication. As such, the 3 ½ times x 2 (cf. Mt. 24:21; Rev. 7:14; 11:2, 9 [3.5 days—see Hos. 6:2]; 12:6, 14; 13:5-7) most likely depicts a long time of suffering and desolation—reminiscent of the typological tribulation under Antiocus Epiphanes, as well as the fall of Jerusalem under the Roman, Titus, in AD 70 and following. All of this language, then, suggests that Jesus Christ is the ultimate fulfillment of the suffering Son of Man, the Son of God, who will be vindicated and those who are united to him also will suffer and be vindicated! Such is especially supported by the same language of Daniel being found in Revelation—to refer to times, time, and half a time, etc. When the best understanding of Daniel 9:20-27 is set forth, it also is seen that the Church is currently in the last three and a half year period of suffering, trials, discipline, and persecution.    

10. Given the ground we have covered, we also can say there is an historical reason for using three and a half years (or 3.5 x 2) to speak of tribulation. New Testament scholar, D. A. Carson explains: 

In Israel, the period of time with…mythic power was three and a half years. Two centuries before Christ, there arose one of the most grisly episodes in Jewish history, an episode foreseen by Daniel. In the book of Revelation, the crucial period of time is indicated by four synonymous expressions: forty-two months (based on the ideal month of thirty days), 1,260 days, three and a half years, and time…times…, and a half a time…. For Jewish Christian readers in the first century, this period of immense suffering instantly calls to mind the wretched reign of Antiochus IV Epiphanes…. Because that three-and-a-half-year period was such a burning memory in the Jews’ mind from that point on (and they understood it in connection with their interpretation of Daniel), they came to think of three and a half years as a time of severe testing, opposition, and tribulation before God himself gave his people rest again.

And so what three and a half years would conjure up in the minds of readers steeped in the Old Testament and/or Jewish history, was something akin to our saying of someone experiencing great loss today, “This was his 9/11 moment!” We all would understand what this signifies in light of the horrific events of September 11, 2001.

11. The final reason given for seeing the tribulation in the manner I have explained in this post has to do with answering another objection by some, who have concluded the tribulation period is primarily a time in which God works with ethnic Jews, to bring them to their true Messiah. They point to Jeremiah 30:7 as proof. This verse is found in a section of Jeremiah that is promising future restoration for Israel and Judah. The verse reads: “Alas!  That day is so great there is none like it; it is a time of distress for Jacob; yet he shall be saved out of it.” The argument from some is that “a time of distress for Jacob” refers ultimately to the tribulation and, if taken literally, would suggest strongly that the tribulation is a time in which God is focusing upon ethnic Israel—and once the church is removed from the earth. The fact that the verse goes on to read, “yet he shall be saved out of it,” leaves room for the tribulation to be a time in which the distress works to bring many in Israel to trust in Jesus Christ.

Even if we agree that this verse has reference to the future time of tribulation we are addressing in this blog post, there is no reason at all to see this reference as dealing only with ethnic Israel. After all, in Jeremiah 31:31-34, where God promises to make a new covenant with “the house of Israel and the house of Judah,” this has a larger pattern of meaning than referring merely to ethnic Israel, as the New Testament clarifies (Luke 22:20; Heb. 8:8-13). It refers to all who will be part of the true Israel and Judah, be they ethnic Jews or Gentiles! So, there is no reason to think of the tribulation as having to be merely a time of focus upon ethnic Jews.

Some of you might think, “Tom, why does this really matter? After all, as long as we know Jesus is returning, that is the main thing!” There is some truth to that statement. However, for some people, especially Americans who have experienced a significant level of wealth and comfort in a reasonably friendly environment over the past sixty to seventy years, it has been easy to conclude, “God would surely not let us go through the kind of suffering we read of connected to tribulational texts in particular and Revelation 6-20 in general.” This thinking has been the soil in which another conviction has been planted and grown, namely that if we are engaging in fruitful and effective ministry, we will have positive results almost always, and people (including the world) will like us since we are being loving and positive in our approach.

Now, what this thinking does is to skew the church in an imbalanced direction when it comes to setting out our ministry approach and philosophy. We believe we need to be so positive that all we can do is speak of God’s love, his redemption of our brokenness, and we can never (or rarely) speak of judgment, sin, church discipline, the need for correction, the need to avoid idolatry, or the need to oppose false teaching. So, on the one hand, we avoid conflict and being at odds with others. And, on the other hand, if we find that others are opposing us, we decide we need to change our ministry philosophy and approach, because we have not been “successful.”

This culture that the American church has formed has not only led to preaching a different and diluted gospel, it has also led to a weak and anemic church that is little different than unbelievers around us. And for those who have sought to remain faithful to Scripture and the undiluted gospel, it has resulted in a great wrestling match. After all, such persons can often feel they may be wrong and everyone else who remains inordinately positive and encouraging is right.

Please do not misunderstand me. I am not saying that everyone who believes in a tribulation in the future (be it literally seven years long or not) and/or those who believe the church will be removed before it, falls prey to this. They don’t. I am simply saying in its worst version it has contributed to the formation of a way of thinking that does not appear to square with Scripture.

I believe Christians should be as winsome as we can and think hard about the best ways to teach biblical truth and the undiluted gospel. Yet, the reality is that if we are not sometimes experiencing at least push-back to our teaching and proclamation, we are probably not teaching the right gospel (or at least not the whole gospel). And, as changes take place in our society and in our own community (and they will likely continue to change), the reality of push-back and even persecution for doing the most loving thing in the world—sharing the undiluted gospel so people can know and follow Jesus—will increase. Keep in mind that the most loving and the only sinless, perfect person who ever lived in this world was rejected by most, beaten, ridiculed, vilified, and nailed to a cross!  Why do we believe that as we live by, for, and like him it will all be always positive, encouraging, and easy for us?

This is much of what the book of Revelation is about:  How to remain faithful and joyful followers of Jesus, those who live on mission, in the face of the hostile cultures around us.

This is why I have taken the time through three blog posts so we can understand Revelation 7. We need to be aware of the challenges and dangers we face. Yet, we must also be aware of the glorious promises God has made to us as well, so we can face these with courage and boldness.

Living Joyfully, Boldly, And Courageously In Tribulation With You,

Tom 

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[1] Consider also what Jesus told his disciples and subsequent readers about what our experience would be in this age (John 16:33): “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”

[2] In fact, based upon the Olivet Discourse (esp. the versions in Mt. 24 and Mk. 13) it is very difficult to place a coming of Christ and resurrection of the Church before the tribulation. It goes against the very clear language we find!

[3] For the following summary discussion of Daniel 9:24-27 I am dependent upon Meredith Kline, “The Covenant Of The Seventieth Week,” in The Law And The Prophets: OT Studies In Honor of Oswald T. Allis, ed. John H. Skilton (Nutley, NJ: Presbyterian And Reformed, 1974), 452-469, and also Sam Storms, Kingdom Come: The Amillennial Alternative (Christian Focus, Ross-Shire, Scotland, 2013), ch. 3.

Secure In Christ, Part 2

In the last blog post we looked at Revelation 7:1-8 where we learned that though the New Testament Church faces great hostility and persecution in this age, we are preserved by God from falling and failing in the ultimate way. The true Church is pictured in that passage as the true Israel (people of God) who, like the remnant of Judah in Ezekiel 9, do not give into idolatry, but remain faithful to God.

After this powerful message, the scene turns to a multitude of people before the throne in heaven. This is where we will pick up our discussion in this post.

The Great Multitude From Every Nation Before The Heavenly Throne. 7:9-12

In 7:9a the vision switches from emphasizing the full number of the people of God in this age, as was the case in 7:1-8, to emphasizing the large number of the saved people of God in this age: “After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number….” This part of the vision is very encouraging, for it unveils for us that there will be no small number of those whom God saves. They will be so many that no one can count them.

In 7:9b the vision emphasizes the diversity of the saved: “from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages….” This same set of terms is used in different order in Rev. 5:9 also to speak of the redeemed from all over the world and from among all kinds of people.[1]  We also see the same terms used in Rev. 11:9 to speak of people from all over the world and from all kinds of people who look upon slain Christian witnesses and most likely are among those who are judged for their opposition to Christ.[2] The point here is that God has redeemed and will bring to him all kinds of people from all over the world.

In 7:9c-12 we discover what this innumerable multitude is doing. They are standing before the throne of God in heaven and before the Lamb and they are worshiping: 

…standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, 10 and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” 11 And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, 12 saying, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.

There are a number of more specific things we learn about this multitude of saints as they worship. To begin, the most obvious is that they have died and are in heaven (9c).[3] As we affirmed in our last blog, these saints are also the 144,000 alluded to in 7:1-8.[4] What this means is that God has protected and preserved them so that they did not fail and fall in the ultimate way. This view, then, of the saints is the outcome, the culmination of God’s promised sealing and protection of them in 7:1-8.

What is more, they are “clothed in white robes” (9d), which elsewhere in Revelation is a picture of right standing with God.[5] It is a picture of those who have washed their robes (i.e. they have been forgiven of sins and a righteous standing with God has been imputed to them) in the blood of the Lamb, that is, they have rested upon the substitutionary atoning death of Christ (7:13-14) and so they have been given salvation that is accomplished and applied by Jesus Christ and cannot be earned by them (3:18, understood in context). The result of their being genuinely clothed in the righteousness of Christ is they desire to and can live a persevering life of practical righteousness so that they can enjoy the reward of full eternal life (3:4-5; 6:11; 19:8; 22:14). The picture we have here, then, is of persevering saints who have been saved and preserved by Jesus Christ.[6]

Additionally, we see that these saints are depicted “with palm branches in their hands” (9e). Palm branches were used in the Israelite celebration of the feast of tabernacles (Leviticus 23:40-43), a feast that commenorates the divine protection of Israel as they wandered in the wilderness. This picture, then, of saints “from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages” who are also pictured as celebrating the ultimate protection by God through wilderness wanderings (the ultimate fulfillment of the feast of tabernacles) communicates at least three truths: (1) These saints from among all peoples in the world are now seen as the true Israel, a reality that fits with the picture in 7:1-8 and elsewhere in Revelation (e.g. 19:6; 21:1-2). (2) God has protected and preserved these saints and brought them into the ultimate promised land, that is, their eternal reward. (3) What they have come out of is pictured as wilderness wanderings with all its trials, discipline, and judgment (for those not true believers). This suggests the difficulty of life in this current age within a broken and sin-cursed world.

Finally, in verses 10-12 we read of what these saints in heaven are exclaiming as they praise God the Father and God the Son (the Lamb), accompanied also by the angelic ministers (the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders) who represent the church and intensify the picture of praise and worship coming to God for who he is and what he has done.

More specifically, in these three verses we see the saints and angelic beings praising God the Father and Son because “salvation belongs to [them].” Elsewhere the Bible affirms that God and God alone saves (Exodus 14:3; 15:2; Joshua 24:1-13; Psalms 37:39; 51:14; 68:19; 98:2-3; 118:21; Isaiah 12:2; 25:9b; 33:22; 43:11; 45:18-25; Hosea 13:4; Jonah 2:9). Here, these saints affirm that God and God alone saves, but they include the Father and the Son/Lamb, for the Father saves in and through the Son (see elsewhere for example John 3:16; Romans 3:21-26). They affirm that the Son/Lamb, then, is God and that only God can save. This salvation, in context, not only means their being initially declared righteous, forgiven, and adopted into the family of God, but also the subsequent and ongoing sanctification, perseverance, and their final perfection. They praise God for he has saved them from beginning to end!

In verse 12 the angelic beings agree with the saints (“Amen!”) and add that it should be recognized that for all eternity praise belongs to our God (in context probably Father and Son), he should be seen fully for how magnificant he is (he has “glory”), he should be acknowledged as knowing how to bring about his purposes and good ends (he has “wisdom”), he should be thanked, honored, and it should be acknowledged that ultimate power and might (especially to redeem mankind and all else) belong to him! There is no question that in this full and rich praise initial, ongoing, and ultimate salvation is attributed to the Father and Son. It is not man’s doing, nor does man add to it. It is God’s work alone (see John 1:12-13; 3:1-8; 1 Cor. 1:18-2:16; Ephesians 2:8-10).

Revelation 7:9-12 not only promises that God will preserve and make secure his true followers, his elect (cf. Rom. 8:28-39), but it also gives a wonderful example of how we should worship God and view salvation. It is his work and he deserves the glory!

In the remainder of this interlude we discover even more about who this multitude is and the world out of which they have been saved.

The More Detailed Identity Of This Multitude. 7:13-17

What John experiences next in this vision is that one of the twenty-four elders asks him a question so that the answer can be revealed to and through John The question and answer have to do with revealing a more detailed description of this multitude in heaven, just who they are, and what they have experienced. Here is what we read in 7:13-14: “Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, ‘Who are these, clothed in white robes, and from where have they come?’ I said to him, ‘Sir, you know.’ And he said to me, ‘These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.’”

It should be clear from the near context and the larger context of Revelation (especially in light of all the ground we have covered in these first seven chapters) that “the great tribulation” of which John speaks is not merely a period at the very end of this age, but instead covers this entire age.  Since in other places the tribulation is spoken of as a three and a half year period or two periods of three and a half years, and since the most popular end-times understanding in our lifetime has seen the tribulation as a literal seven year period at the very end of the this age, I will blog on this subject in my next post and explain more fully how we know the numbers are intended to be read figuratively and thus the tribulation is a time that spans this entire age.[7]

What we want to see in verses 13-14 for now, however,  are two important points: (1) This multitude has received and rested upon Christ and his life, substitutionary atoning death, and his resurrection for eternal life and forgiveness and, as such, they have been able to persevere and enter into their eternal reward. (2) Over and over again in the book of Revelation it is assumed and taught directly that the Church in this current age experiences trials, persecution, and discipline, and so they go through tribulation (see especially 2:10, 22; 3:10; 16:1-21). In my estimation it has been a dangerously mistaken teaching in the church to suggest that the Christian life now can be lived free or mostly free of tribulation and that such pressing pain and difficulty are only or mainly for a future time. It has warped our expectations for the Christian life now and opened up the door for us to equate the “American dream” or the “good life” with the Christian life. As a result, it also has warped our view of what our mission in the world will look like. In fact it has contributed to a false assumption that it is fine to be a Christian and yet not live on mission at all.

Equally as illuminating are the remaining two truths about this multitude that John shares in verses 15-17: 

(1) These saints are viewed as priests who serve God continually: “Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple…” (15a-b). The verb translated “serve” (latreuō) was often used in the Greek translation of the Old Testament to speak both of the worshipful service of God by all God’s people in general, but also particularly of the service of priests and Levites in the tabernacle and later the temple that was part of their worship of God and also made right worship of God possible for others (Exodus 3:12; 7:16, 26; 10:3, 7f., 24, 26; 20:5; 23:24; Deut. 4:19, 28; 5:9; 6:13; 7:4, 16; Josh. 22:27; 24:14-24, 31).[8] The fact that they are pictured serving God “in his temple” clarifies they all, without exception, are viewed as priests. This also enhances the sense in Revelation that Jewish and Gentile Jesus followers both are considered the true Israel, the people of God. It should also be noted that saints in heaven and then later in the new heaven and new earth (cf. Rev. 22:3) are not sedintary or merely sitting on clouds playing harps. Instead, they are viewed as active in service and worship of God.

(2) In verses 15-17 we see, as is promised elsewhere in the Old Testament (Lev. 26:3-13; Ps. 121; Isaiah 25:8; 32:2, 15-20; 33:21; 65:17-25) and also shown as fulfilled elsewhere in Revelation (21:3-7; 22:1-5), these believers experience the complete fulfillment of God’s covenant promises to his people and the complete restoration of true and full life: 

…and he who sits on the throne will shelter them with his presence. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any scorching heat. For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.

So, what we have in this chapter is a series of visions and explanations that let the redeemed, that is, genuine followers of Jesus (cf. Rev. 14:1, 4), know God will save them in the ultimate way so that they can enter into their eternal reward. This is designed to encourage faithfulness and perseverance in this age and in the midst of the trials we face (see Rev. 2:7, 11, 17, 25-28; 3:4-5, 12, 21; 22:6-21 [esp. 22:14]).

Joyfully Persevering In Christ With You,

Tom

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[1] In 5:9 all the terms are singular. Here in 7:9 “nation” is singular and the rest plural. The difference in number does not appear to change the meaning. Rather they are different ways of saying the same thing.

[2] For similar uses of the terms (but fewer terms) to speak of people from all over the world and all kinds facing judgment, see Rev. 10:9; 17:15.

[3] Since the seventh seal in Rev. 8:1-5 takes us to the final judgment (which precedes the new heaven and new earth), we are to understand that the view of the saints in Rev. 7:9-17 is of them in the current heaven in their intermediate or disembodied state. This state is glorious and far better than the life experienced in this world in this age (see Rev. 20:4). However, they still await their bodily resurrection (Rev. 11:11-12; see also 1Cor. 15:35-58; Phil. 3:20-21; 1 Thes. 4:13-18) and the future eternal abode for the saved, the new heaven and new earth (see Rev. 21-22).

[4] This understanding of the relationship of 7:1-8 to 7:9-17 is confirmed by John’s tendency elsewhere in Revelation either to explain further what he has just seen through what he subsequently hears (compare 5:6 with 5:7-14; 14:1 with 14:2-5; 15:2 with 15:3-4; 17:1-6 with 17:7-18) or to explain further what he has just heard through what he subsequently sees (compare 5:5 with 5:6; 9:13-16 with 9:17-21). Here in Rev. 7:1-8 John both sees a vision, but also hears an explanation. Then, in 7:9-17, there is a further explanation or elaboration so he can see and hear more precisely who these ones are pictured and described in 7:1-8.

[5] For Old Testament background to this, see Zechariah 3:1-10.

[6] A careful reading of all the robe and dressed-in-white references lead us to this understanding that the declared righteousness of saints before God, i.e. the imputed righteousness of Jesus Christ himself (from his life, death, burial, and resurrection), leads to the practice of righteousness on the part of saints and their perseverence therein. Another way this is seen is in a comparison of Revelation 19:8, where we discover that it was divinely given to the bride of Christ to “clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure” (showing that God’s gracious saving work makes possible the growth in practical righteousness or sanctification on the part of saints that ends in their perfection in heaven), with the picture of the purified, righteous, holy bride of Revelation 21:2, where we read of the New Jerusalem that it is, “prepared as a bride adorned adorned for her husband” (a clause that emphasizes the divine work in the bride to transform and beautify her ethically). It is God’s initiating and ongoing work in saints that enables them to act and persevere in faith, righteousness, and holiness, resulting in their future reward of perfection.

[7] This is not to suggest, however, that the tribulation does not intensify and get worse as this age progresses. It does. See Rev. 11:7-10; 16:12-16; 20:7-9.

[8] Its noun form is used in Romans 12:1 to speak of the service or worshipful service that flows out of God’s saving mercies in our lives. We see the same verb in Rev. 22:3 to describe the worshipful service of God’s servants in the new heaven and new earth.

Secure In Christ, Part 1

How Revelation 7 Fits With Revelation 6

In Revelation 7 we find an interlude, that is, a break or pause in the unveiling of the seven seals. This chapter answers the question found in 6:17, “Who can stand?” and even though the visions we find here were given subsequently to those in chapter 6 (see 7:1: “After this I saw….”), what they depict appears to come chronologically before what Revelation 6 depicts. Chapter 7, then, we also could describe as an extended parenthesis between the material of Revelation 6 and that of Revelation 8 (between seals 6 and 7). We know this for three reasons.

To begin, when we read Revelation 7:1-8 in light of the larger context of Revelation, we discover it is parallel with 14:1-5 (another indication that the book recapitulates visions of this entire present church age). There we read: 

Then I looked, and behold, on Mount Zion stood the Lamb, and with him 144,000 who had his name and his Father's name written on their foreheads. 2 And I heard a voice from heaven like the roar of many waters and like the sound of loud thunder. The voice I heard was like the sound of harpists playing on their harps, 3 and they were singing a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and before the elders. No one could learn that song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth. 4 It is these who have not defiled themselves with women, for they are virgins. It is these who follow the Lamb wherever he goes. These have been redeemed from mankind as firstfruits for God and the Lamb, 5 and in their mouth no lie was found, for they are blameless.

Compare that passage with the first half of this Revelation 7 interlude (verses 1-8): 

After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth, that no wind might blow on earth or sea or against any tree. ² Then I saw another angel ascending from the rising of the sun, with the seal of the living God, and he called with a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to harm earth and sea, ³ saying, “Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees, until we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads.” ⁴ And I heard the number of the sealed, 144,000, sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel:

⁵ 12,000 from the tribe of Judah were sealed,
12,000 from the tribe of Reuben,
12,000 from the tribe of Gad,
⁶ 12,000 from the tribe of Asher,
12,000 from the tribe of Naphtali,
12,000 from the tribe of Manasseh,
⁷ 12,000 from the tribe of Simeon,
12,000 from the tribe of Levi,
12,000 from the tribe of Issachar,
⁸ 12,000 from the tribe of Zebulun,
12,000 from the tribe of Joseph,
12,000 from the tribe of Benjamin were sealed.

This parallelism between the two passages may not mean much to us until we grasp that 14:1-5 is also parallel to Revelation 5:9-10 ( “And they sang a new song, saying, ‘Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth.’”). To see this parallelism more clearly, compare this with Revelation 14:3-4. There, of the 144,000, it is written:  “who had been redeemed from the earth…. It is these who follow the Lamb wherever he goes. These have been redeemed from mankind as firstfruits for God and the Lamb….”

The second reason we know that this Revelation 7 interlude goes back and reveals truths that take place before the material of Revelation 6, has to do with the parallel nature of Revelation 7:9-10 (“After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, ‘Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!’”) with Revelation 5:9-10 (“And they sang a new song, saying, ‘Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth.’”). Both of these first two reasons make us lean in the direction that what is being seen, heard, and written about in chapter seven precedes what happens in chapter six.

As convincing as these first two reasons are for understanding the Revelation 7 visions as going back and revealing truths previous to the events depicted in Revelation 6, the third reason is even more convincing. When we understand that “the four winds of the earth” (Rev. 7:1) are another way of depicting the four horsemen of Rev. 6:1-8 (see Jer. 49:36; Dan. 8:8; 11:4; Mt. 24:31; Mk. 13:27), we now clearly see that the four godly angels of 7:1 are holding back the four horsemen and the events of judgment, discipline, and trial they unleash in chapter 6. This understanding is confirmed even more in Rev. 7:2, where it is affirmed that “the four angels who had been given power to harm earth and sea” are held back from their tasks until the people of God are sealed. These four evil angels, then, are equated with the four horsemen of  6:1-8. The sealing of Rev. 7:2-8 must take place before those events happens. Evidently, the sealing of the people of Revelation 7:2-8 must take place in a manner that will, in some way, help the people depicted in this passage against the events of 6:1-8. We turn now to discovering what this help involves.

The Sealing Of Revelation 7:1-8: Security In The Face Of Great Hostility

In Revelation 7:1 we read: “After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth, that no wind might blow on earth or sea or against any tree.” We have already discovered that the “four winds of the earth” are another way of referring to the four horsemen of 6:1-8. We also must not miss that the vision of these four angels standing “at the four corners of the earth” is communicating that they are given an authority over the entire world. This is evident from Isaiah 11:12 (speaking of Messiah: “He will raise a signal for the nations and…gather the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth”); Ezekiel 7:2 (speaking of the coming of the day of the Lord’s wrath: “The end has come upon the four corners of the land”); and Revelation 20:8 (speaking of the end of this age and Satan’s world-wide deception, we read: “[he] will come out to deceive the nations that are at the four corners of the earth”).

As we have already discovered, what these four godly angels are doing throughout the entire world is making sure that the people depicted in verses 2-8 (“the servants of our God,” v. 3) are sealed in a manner that helps them against the judgments, disciplines, and trials of Revelation 6:1-8. Consider Revelation 7:2-4: “Then I saw another angel ascending from the rising of the sun, with the seal of the living God, and he called with a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to harm earth and sea, 3 saying, ‘Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees, until we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads.’”

There are a number of truths that help us see that this sealing signifies God’s saving and preserving of his true saints throughout this church age from denying Christ and thus falling short of their eternal reward in the face of the horrible demonic events[1] of this church age that are depicted in Revelation 6:1-8:

·         The background to the sealing is Ezekiel 9:4-6. In that passage the prophet Ezekiel has seen several visions that reveal the deep and horrible idolatry present in Judah, which display they are deserving of judgment. As a result, he is shown a vision of idolaters being put to death in Ezekiel 9. However, those who have hated the idolatry and not given into it are marked on the forehead, which reveals they are true believers and should be protected from the judgment. These three verses read: “And the Lord said to him, ‘Pass through the city, through Jerusalem, and put a mark on the foreheads of the men who sigh and groan over all the abominations that are committed in it.’ 5 And to the others he said in my hearing, ‘Pass through the city after him, and strike. Your eye shall not spare, and you shall show no pity. 6 Kill old men outright, young men and maidens, little children and women, but touch no one on whom is the mark. And begin at my sanctuary.’ So they began with the elders who were before the house.”  This Old Testament background to the sealing here suggests to us that we should expect the recipients of the seal to be protected from divine judgment. Nowhere does Revelation argue that believers are promised protection from physical harm, trials, or persecution. In fact, it is affirmed over and over that believers will face these things in this age. Yet, what is promised is that God will keep his people from being destroyed in the ultimate sense by Satan and/or sin while they face such things (see Rev. 3:10, esp. in light of John 17:15).

·         The background to the sealing is also found in the sealing of ancient kings with their signet ring, an action that shows a document or other item belongs to that king.[2]

·         According to Revelation 3:12 and 14:1, the seal is the name of the Lamb and the Father, as well as “the new Jerusalem, which comes down from my God out of heaven” (Rev. 3:12). Since the new Jerusalem is the bride of Christ (19:7; 21:2), and so the people of God, this is an indication that those who are sealed are those who belong to the Father and the Son/Lamb. This is because they have received and rested upon Jesus Christ as their Savior. This fits with the reality that this same group of people is spoken of as the “ransomed people for God” (5:9), that is, “a great multitude…from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes…[with] Salvation…[who] have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb” (Rev. 7:9-14). They are also described as those “who had been redeemed form the earth…who follow the Lamb wherever he goes…[who] have been redeemed from mankind as firstfruits for God and the Lamb…” (Rev. 14:3-4).[3] What is more, these are those who persevere, who conquer and remain faithful to their Lord (Rev. 3:11-12). Part of what is being affirmed, then, is that because of God’s saving and preserving work, saints can genuine endure (they can be secure and remain faithful).

·         The sealing, then, is depicting God’s salvation and preservation of his people (“the servants of God,” Rev. 7:3) in the face of the horrible and hostile events that happen throughout this church age, events that include the opposition and persecution of Christians by the world. Since believer and unbeliever alike face the phenomena of Revelation 6:1-8—yet for different reasons and with different results (as we saw last week), the sealing does not necessarily involve security against physical harm.

·         The people being sealed, as we are about to see, depict all believers throughout this church age—i.e. the entire New Testament Church. We will turn to that discovery now.[4]

The Identity Of The 144,000: The New Covenant Israel (The New Testament Church)

So far, what we have seen about the sealed people lead us to assume they are believers everywhere throughout this church age. This is especially the case in light of all the parallels we have seen with these people (3:12; 5:9-10; 7:9-10; 14:1-5). However, we dare not miss that if these are parallels, those believers pictured in Rev. 7:9 are described as “a great multitude no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages….” If this is the case, then, how do we square this with the number 144,000 in verses 4-8?  Also, how do we square the language that suggest these persons are from all over the world with the language in verses 4-8 that suggests these persons are Israelites?  The answer, in both cases, is that we are dealing with figurative language.

For this conclusion we can also provide more evidence. First, let’s consider the tribal or Israelite language. Verses 4-8 read: 

And I heard the number of the sealed, 144,000, sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel:

12,000 from the tribe of Judah were sealed,

12,000 from the tribe of Reuben,

12,000 from the tribe of Gad,

12,000 from the tribe of Asher,

12,000 from the tribe of Naphtali,

12,000 from the tribe of Manasseh,

12,000 from the tribe of Simeon,

12,000 from the tribe of Levi,

12,000 from the tribe of Issachar,

12,000 from the tribe of Zebulun,

12,000 from the tribe of Joseph,

12,000 from the tribe of Benjamin were sealed.

There are several irregularities in the listing of these tribes—irregularities that lead us away from merely seeing this group literally as referring to ethnic Jews and toward a view that sees the group as God’s true believers, Jew and Gentile—and  all of which are succinctly summarized by commentator Dennis Johnson: 

The selection and order of the 12 tribes suggest that the 144,000, sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel have symbolic significance, representing the church…. These are not Jacob’s sons, for Dan is omitted and Manasseh included. They are not the tribes that inherited land in Canaan, for Dan is omitted, Levi (the priestly tribe) is included, and Joseph is listed instead of his son Ephraim. Judah, the tribe of the Messiah (5:5), appears first rather than Reuben, the firstborn. When 7:5–8 is compared with the list of Jacob’s sons in Gen. 35:22–26, the promotion of tribes descended from concubines Bilhah and Zilpah (Gad, Asher, Naphtali) over the sons of Leah and Rachel suggests that those once excluded from privilege are now included.

I agree with Johnson that the irregularities in the list, seen in the near and far contexts, lead us to believe that what is being pictured here is the new or true Israel, the New Covenant people of God, made up of Jews and Gentiles and a people across the centuries of this current age. After all, this reality is exactly what the Old Testament prophesied (Psalm 87; Isaiah 56) and the New Testament affirms has taken place—namely that Gentiles who believe in Jesus Christ are full heirs with Jews who believe in Jesus Christ and now comprise God’s one people (Eph. 2:11-21; 3:2-13; 1 Peter 2:4-10). Such also is the teaching of Revelation (3:9; 11:1-14; 12:1-17; 14:1-5; 15:1-4; 19:1-6; 21:12, 14).

Yet, we still have the 12,000 from each tribe that adds up to 144,000. What are we to make of these numbers? To begin, we need to keep in mind the prevalence of the figurative use of numbers in the book of Revelation. Beyond this, we need to keep in mind the figurative use of 12, 12,000, and 144 elsewhere in Revelation. In Revelation 21:12-14 we learn that the vision John received of the New Jerusalem in contains twelve gates with the names of the twelve tribes on them and twelve foundations under the city wall with the names of the twelve apostles on them. This appears to symbolize that the new Jerusalem is comprised of the Old and New Covenant people of God.

In this context we also see the city is a cube in its dimensions, that cubed measurement being 12,000 stadia (1,380 miles)—suggesting it is all the place of full fellowship with and the presence of God (the Holy of Holies, which itself was a cube in its dimensions, 1 Kings 6:20). Given what we have just seen, most likely, the reader is intended to see that 12,000 as a multiple of 12 x 1,000. In other words, the 12 reminds the reader of what we just saw in the twelve tribes and twelve apostles—i.e. these are the  full people of God. The fact that it is multiplied by 1,000 most likely emphasizes the fullness to a greater degree.

Finally, in that same Revelation 21 passage we learn the wall of the city is 144 cubits (this may be its thickness and height), which is about 216 feet. The 144, though, is 12x12. Again, this most likely is suggesting this is the place of the full people of God who are fully protected and secure.[5]  

If I am correct in this understanding of Revelation’s figurative use of numbers in general and the use of the number 12 and 1,000 in particular, what we have here is a strong emphasis on the full number of the people of God: 12 x 12 x 1,000 =144,000.

Conclusion

So, what is being revealed here in Revelation 7:1-8 is that even though the people of God in this church age face a cursed world with all the trials taking place in it, as well as push back from the world at best and full-blown persecution at worst, God has promised his people that he will not only apply the redemption Christ accomplished, but will continue to apply it and to preserve them so that they can persevere in their faith—not falling short of their eternal reward.

This first half of the Revelation 7 interlude or parenthesis, then, gives a similar promise we find in Luke 18:16-19, a discourse by Jesus that tells of the same events and phenomena covered in Revelation 6-7: “You will be delivered up even by parents and brothers and relatives and friends, and some of you they will put to death. You will be hated by all for my name's sake. But not a hair of your head will perish. By your endurance you will gain your lives.” There it is affirmed that though Christians will lose their lives in this age because of persecution, nevertheless, they will not be destroyed in the ultimate sense. In other words, in the ultimate sense, when it comes to a person’s relationship to God and their eternal reward, “not a hair of your head will perish,” and so they will gain full life through their endurance.

In the next blog post I will look at the second half of this Revelation 7 interlude (verses 9-17), which reveals the heavenly existence and response of those believers who have been saved, preserved, and so have their eternal reward, those who have come out of the tribulation of this life.

Joyfully United To Christ and Secure With You In The Face Of Hostility,

Tom

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[1] We have already seen that, in accordance with the throne room visions of Revelation 4-5, the events depicted in these chapters of Revelation in general and in the seven seals in particular, take place ultimately because God has ordained them. It is said in regard to the evil spirits in the first four seals in Revelation that it “was given” to them to do what they are doing (Rev. 6:4, 8; 7:2). This means that though they are fully doing what they desire and they have moral responsibility in it (and so this is why I say they are “demonic”), they can do what they are doing because God has ordained to permit them to do it. God is permitting what he hates to accomplish things he loves.

[2] Archaeological Study Bible, 2055.

[3] The name of the Lamb and the Father on the foreheads of the 144,000 in Rev. 14:1-5 is placed in opposition to the mark of the beast on the right hand or forehead, which shows such persons worship the image of the beast (Rev. 13:15-18). As such, those marked with the name of the Lamb and Father are most likely those who worship the Father and Lamb!

[4] If we have understood this text correctly and the vision here in 7:1-8 is to suggest that all true believers of this age are protected by God against falling and failing in the ultimate way, then we are not to take the particulars of the relationship of the chapter seven vision to that of chapter six (seven precedes six), we are not to take this so literally that the sealing for all people must chronologically precede all the trials, persecution, and judgment of Revelation six. The point of the relationship is that all genuine believers facing these things in this age are truly sealed and protected.

[5] Another New Testament text that supports this understanding is Acts 1:12-26, where Luke records the choice of Matthias to take the place of Judas Iscariot as an apostle so that the number of apostles could be full. Why was it important to be at twelve and not eleven?  Most likely, because Luke wants readers to see the apostles (representative of the New Covenant people of God) as connected into the twelve tribes of Israel. In other words, the New Testament Church is the New Israel. This is also supported by language in Acts 2 that suggests the Day of Pentecost (and the coming of the Spirit upon the New Testament Church) was to be seen as parallel to God bringing his glory and presence upon the Old Covenant Temple (compare 2 Chronicles 7:1 with Acts 2:3), which suggests that the New Covenant people of God comprise the end-times temple of God (an emphasis also seen in Revelation).

Wisdom To Face This Broken World, Part 2

In our previous post we discovered that the seven seals provide wisdom for the church as to why things in this age are happening the way they are.

In this post we will look at each of the first six seals in more detail.

Seal #1: Satan, The Christ-Substitute. 6:1-2. 

Here we read: “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!’ 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.”

In verse 1 the command, “Come,” originates from one of the living creatures (an angel who represents God), “like a voice of thunder.” That it is like thunder shows it comes ultimately from God (cf. Rev. 4:5; Ps. 29). In other words, God is sovereign even over the satanic actions about to take place in these seals.

In response, a white horse with a rider goes out conquering and to conquer. The colors in these first four seals seem metaphorical for the respective plague delivered by each horseman: white probably conveying the idea of conquering, red conveying bloodshed (e.g. 2 Kings 3:22-23), black conveying famine, and pale green conveying death.

The rider has a bow (probably a sign of warfare and conquering) and a crown was given to him, which most likely suggests he desires to have dominion over the world. The evidence strongly suggests this rider is satanic and, at the same time, puts himself forth as a Christ-substitute. The point seems to be that Satan is a Christ-substitute who deceives people into thinking he is the Savior. What we have here, then, in verse 2 (esp. seen in relation to ch’s 4-5), is a picture of satanic trouble in the world (suffering and tribulation) and yet God (more specifically the crucified and risen Son) is sovereign over it all!

Seal #2: Persecution And Death. 6:3-4. 

Here is what John writes in 6:3-4: “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.”

When Christ opened the second seal in verse 3, a second living creature said, “Come.” Implied from v. 1 is the reality that this command also flows ultimately from God (his divine decree that is permitting it) and is under his sovereign power.

As a result, a bright red horse goes forth, with a rider, and a great sword was given to him. It also was given to him to remove peace from the earth and “in order that people would kill one another.” The way this verse is worded, the ability or permission to do what Satan is doing is given to him by the Lord. More directly, though, we see here that the great pain and suffering and lack of peace in the world (yes, even the present terrorist attacks one after the other) are decreed by God—Him allowing what he hates to accomplish things he loves.

As Greg Beale argues in his commentary on Revelation, horses #’s 2-4 give more detail to the summary picture that horse #1 gave. Satan is going forth to have dominion (vv. 1-2) and this is more specifically what he is doing and how he is doing it (vv. 3-4ff.). It includes persecution of Christians and the taking of their lives. As one commentator has written, “The gospel itself produces peace, but the attack of Satan upon its progress leads to war.”  As such, Satan is a direct cause behind all the things happening in these first four plagues (as permitted by our sovereign Lord), and so all the things that believers are suffering in the current time.

Seal #3: Famine And Hunger. 6:5-6.

The opening of the third seal is communicated in these words: “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!’”

In verse 5 we see the same elements as in the first two seals (at its opening a third living creature says, “Come”)—showing that the events are decreed by Christ. Additionally, we know that in the ancient world, a pair of scales, as we see in verse 5, stood for a time of famine, for, in such times, food was rationed out by scales. For biblical support of this assertion, see Lev. 26:26; 2 Kings 7:1; Ezek. 4:10, 16.

There is no specific historical background to these verses.

For the reality grain, wine, and oil were not luxury items in the first century, but basic food staples typically available during non-famine times, see Dt. 7:13; 11:14; 28:51; 2 Chron. 32:28; Neh. 5:11; Ps. 104:14-15; Jer. 31:12; Hos. 2:8, 22; Joel 1:10; 2:19; Mic. 6:15; Hag. 2:12…).

Most likely, the way verse 6 is worded, the voice is coming from Jesus himself. Commentator Greg Beale adds: “This famine is to be serious but not utterly devastating, in that the quart of wheat, available for a denarius (or a day’s pay), would be enough for a family, whereas the three quarts of barley would last three days. The oil and wine…would not be affected, but would not be available except for the very wealthy, as everyone else would be spending their entire income on even more basic [staples]. Where Christians are a persecuted minority, they will be more severely affected.” See also Rev. 2:9; 13:16-17 for confirmation. It is well known that to this very day, in places like India or many Muslim countries, when natural disasters occur, relief is often denied to Christians who refuse to compromise with the worldly economic and social system.

Seal #4: Disease And Epidemic Plagues. 6:7-8.

Here we read: “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.”

Death and Hades are satanic forces under the ultimate governance of the throne room of God. The four riders all bring death in one way or the another, and the more general term “death” here probably refers to disease or epidemic plagues. In fact, in the Greek translation of the Old Testament “death” (thanatos) translates the Hebrew word for “epidemic plague” thirty times, including twice in Ezek. 14:19-21 and once in Lev. 26:25, two contexts providing the model for Rev. 6:1-8, the former actually being directly referenced here in v. 8.

“Hades” is the realm of the dead. The satanic nature of death and Hades is evident from 20:13-14, where “death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them…and [they] were thrown into the lake of fire.” The only other figures who are described with the same precise phrase as having been “thrown into the lake of fire” are the beast and false prophet (19:20) and the dragon (20:10).

This fourfold judgment, repeated in v. 8, signifies in the Old Testament the whole range of God’s judgments throughout history…[not] restricted to one particular famine, war, or epidemic. As in Ezekiel 14, already seen to be background to the seals, these trials have the effect not only of punishing pagan nations but also of purifying the faithful within the covenant community, while punishing those even within the church who are not obedient to Christ.

Based on the use of the number four for the plagues (which expresses universality, as seen in the context of Revelation—e.g. four living creatures, four winds, et al), as well as the fraction ¼ of the earth, what we have are plagues or trials that are worldwide, but do not necessarily harm all people without exception.

Seal #5: Persecuted And Martyred Believers Cry Out For Justice. 6:9-11.

Here is what we find in the text: “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.”

What is apparent in the first four plagues is that God’s people are caught in the middle of all this satanically-driven persecution and death, the famine and hunger, and also the disease and epidemic plagues.  Since they know they are never left alone or forsaken, and that God keeps all his promises to them, they cry out for God’s justice. The response given to them is this: In the vision they were each given a white robe representing their cleansing and clothing that admits them into the marriage supper of the Lamb (19:8) and they are told that their appeal will be answered when the Church completes the suffering God has ordained for them. It is said this will only be “a little longer,” most likely expressing that it will seem but a small time to these saints and what is promised here is certain. All this, of course, necessitates that God is sovereign over even the persecution of Christians and the number of Christians martyred!

The heavenly altar in Revelation is equated with the presence or throne of God (8:3-5 and 9:13), which is why the saints here are described as being underneath it. This is the altar of incense (8:3-5; 9:13; 11:1; 14:18; 16:7). It stood in the vicinity of the holy of holies, the inner most part of the temple (this clearly is the reference in 8:3-5; 9:13; 11:1; 14:18; 16:7…). Upon this altar sacrificial blood was poured for the Day of Atonement, and incense was burned (ex. 30:1-10; Lev. 4:7; cf. Heb. 9:4).

The comparison with Jesus’ suffering is enhanced by the same description of the saints as having been “slain” (cf. 5:6, 9, 12; 6:9). The purpose of the comparison is to emphasize that, as it was with Christ, those following him will have their suffering and apparent defeat turned into ultimate victory.

In verse 9 it is clear why they have been persecuted and some martyred: “for the word of God and for the witness they had borne.” This is consistent with the entire book of Revelation that sees living on mission as being part and parcel of who the Church is.

Seal #6: Final Judgment. 6:12-17.

The opening of the sixth seal is in these words: “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?”

These verses express the ultimate answer to the saints’ plea in vv. 9-11. The time must be the last judgment, because we have just been told that the judgment pictured here will not be executed until the full number of the suffering saints has been completed (v. 11). The calamitous scene of vv. 12-17 assumes that the persecution of all Christians has finally run its course, and now all that remains is to execute final punishment on the persecutors, which strikes the very last note of world history.

The cosmic phenomena that take place in verses 12-14 are associated in the Old Testament and later in Revelation with the final judgment.

The persons of power as seen in verse 15 seek to hide themselves from God’s judgment and are being judged for their persecution of God’s people, as well as their idolatry (which is all made clear later in the book). The same groups of people are mentioned in Rev. 19:18-19 as giving allegiance to the beast.

In verse 16 the idolaters appeal to the mountains and rocks to fall upon them, the reference here being to the similar cry of the idolaters in Hosea 10:8. Commentator Greg Beale rightly affirms: “The original portrayal is that of Adam and Eve in the Garden hiding from God. John understands Genesis as a typological prophecy on the basis of his presupposition that God has determined that sinful history must end in the same way that it began—though with the provision of redemption for the saved.”

In verse 17 the reason why people are seeking to flee is given: “The great day of their wrath (that is of the Father and the Lamb) has come.” This is clearly the final judgment (see 11:8; 16:14).

What we see here, then, in the opening of the first six seals is an overview of the entire age of the New Testament Church, from the first to second comings of Jesus Christ. We are given insight into why things happen as they do, that God is sovereign over it all, that he is good, and that he will bring things to a just end and a good goal for his people. Though this doesn’t give us a specific explanation for every detailed even that happens in this evil, fallen world, it gives us a general framework whereby we can have the wisdom to make sense of why things are the way they are and how we can persevere in the midst of it all.

Joyfully Persevering In Wisdom With You,

Tom

Wisdom To Face This Broken World, Part 1

One of the gifts we receive from apocalyptic literature such as Daniel 7-12 and the entire book of Revelation is wisdom. This is made clear in the book of Daniel where Daniel and his friends are described as men of wisdom (1:4, 17, 20; 5:11, 14), and this because God gave them wisdom (2:20, 21, 23, 30). The last half of Daniel, which includes the apocalyptic visions Daniel received (chapters 7-12), gives wisdom to readers regarding history and the trials we face so that we can live wisely as Daniel and his friends did in the first half of the book (Daniel 1-6).

The book of Revelation appears to function in a similar manner, even though the term “wisdom” is found only four times. The reader walks away from the book with godly skill and insight for living in a manner pleasing to God in this world, and this even in the face of great hostility. This is none other than wisdom.

One of the sections of the book that underscores this attainment of wisdom more than any other is that part of the book (chapters 6-20) which cycles over and over through the current age in which we live, giving us different pictures of this age, displays what is happening to the church, why it is happening, and how the church can faithfully endure.

The first cycle in this part of the book contains the seven seals that are removed from the book of history introduced in Revelation 5. We must keep in mind as we read about these seals in Revelation 6:1-8:5—as well as all the subsequent material of Revelation 8:6-20:15 that flows out of these seals—the seals and the material found in them flow out of the throne room vision of Revelation 4-5. Since the Revelation 4-5 vision unveils to us the reality that God is sovereign over all that happens in history and also that what is happening in this church age flows also out of the saving work of Jesus Christ, what we must keep in mind is that Revelation 6-20 convey the outworking of God’s sovereignty and the impact that the saving work of Christ has upon our enemy and how that enemy moves the world system to oppose the Church and her mission.

Since Revelation 7 contains an interlude before moving into the seventh seal in Revelation 8:1-5, we will confine our discussion this week to the first six seals in Revelation 6:1-17.

As we read about the opening of the seals, we must keep in mind one other truth. The opening of the seals comprises an unveiling of the end-times events that Daniel looked forward to and which were to remain sealed in his day, for it wasn’t time for their fulfillment yet (cf. Daniel 12:4; Revelation 22:10). This means that the future kingdom Daniel envisioned has started in the first coming of Jesus Christ, it awaits its completion at his second coming, and it has tremendous bearing upon the Church in the interim time.

Let’s turn now to the first six seals in Revelation 6:1-17.

Introduction To The First Six Seals: 

We must remember that Jesus Christ has received authority from God the Father and has taken up his rule over the kingdoms of the earth (1:5; 2:26-27; 5:1-14). The first four seals will show how this authority extends even over situations of suffering sent from the hand of God to purify saints and to punish unbelievers. In other words, it is Jesus Christ on his throne who has ultimately ordained all trials and persecutions the church experiences. Though this may be a hard truth, it is also a comforting truth that reminds us our trials do not come to us outside his control and in a manner in which he cannot orchestrate them together for our good and his glory.

Finally, in order to understand the events behind these seals, it is helpful to note some of their biblical background. That background is at least fourfold. 

a. Initially, the background is Leviticus 26:18-28, where God warns Israel how he would punish them for idolatry. In that text four times judgments are covered, each consisting of seven punishments, each series being worse than the previous ones. There we read of war, famine, conquest, and death. What we glean from this reality is that we may not be able to give specific explanation as to why a particular war, time of famine, or natural disaster takes place. But, we do know overall these things happen because the world is under a curse, God is correcting and purging his Church (as well as bringing his elect to him), and he is punishing those hardened in their idolatrous opposition to him.

b. Ezekiel 14:12-23 also is background and confirms what we see in Leviticus 26. Ezekiel 14:21 is explicitly quoted in Revelation 6:8b, where it functions as a general summary of the preceding trials (being conquered, the sword, and famine). The quotation seems to have the same function as in Ezekiel, where it sums up four preceding statements about trials as “four evil judgments.” These punishments came upon nations in general when they were unfaithful to God and they will also come upon Israel for their idolatry. The purpose of the trials in Ezekiel appears to be to punish the unbelieving majority in Israel and to purify the righteous remnant. What this means is that the same dual purpose is most likely present here in Revelation.

c. Zechariah 6:1-8 is also background. In that passage four groups of different colored horses (almost identical to Revelation 6) are commissioned by God to patrol the earth and to punish those nations on earth whom they find have oppressed God’s people (see Zech. 6:5-8). God intends to punish these pagan nations for their sins and also out of his love for Israel (Zech. 1:8-15). What this suggests for Revelation 6:1-8 is that the natural and political disasters are ordained, in part, by Christ, to judge persecutors of his Church, to vindicate his people, and also to refine his people.

d. The final passage that provides background is the Olivet Discourse by Jesus, as recorded by Matthew (Mt. 24:6-28), Mark (Mark 13:3-23), and Luke (Luke 21:5-24), where we see the same kinds of disasters as we see here in Revelation 6. There, Jesus clearly affirms that such events will precede his second coming and also any removal of the church from this current world.

Now, given the Old Testament background to the events depicted in these seals (namely the punishment of the nations for the persecution of Israel), wouldn’t this confirm the position of those interpreters of Revelation who see the events in chapters 6-20 primarily focusing upon Israel’s trials at the hands of the nations after the New Testament Church has been raptured out of the world? The answer is, “No,” for several reasons. To begin, if the Olivet Discourse is speaking of the same disasters as Revelation 6, then Jesus Christ has not returned yet and the Church has not been removed. After all, the strong implication of Jesus to the Disciples is that the Church would still be present in the world during these events.

What is more, at some places in the book of Revelation, the New Testament Church has traded places with Jews or Israel as the people of God. Unbelieving Jews have become the persecutors (3:9) and the New Testament Church (Jew and Gentile) is now the true Israel (cf. 7:1-8; 11:1-14; 12:1-17; 14:1-5; 15:1-4). What this means is that the situation in the Old Testament, wherein most true believers were Jews and there were some Gentile believers who had come to genuine faith, has now been reversed. There are Gentile believers and also some Jewish believers among the people of God. In light of this reversal, God is judging all unbelieving persecutors (Gentile and Jew) who persecute the true end-times Israel, i.e. the New Testament Church (Gentile and Jew).

Conclusion

So, what we have in the seals is not only a picture of what is happening in this sin-cursed world during this present age (Rom. 1:19-22), we also have some indication of why things are happening the way they are. We gain wisdom for facing hostile cultures and the disasters all around us. These trials and disasters are a result of the sovereign plan of our Savior, as well as the outcome of our enemy who hates the redemption Jesus Christ has accomplished (see also Rev. 12). They also are judgment upon a rebellious world that remains opposed to God and his people, and they serve to purge and grow the Church.

To understand all these truths does not mean that we can speak with specificity to certain events and claim something like this: “The attack upon that night club was clearly judgment upon everyone there,” or “That earthquake in that city was God’s wrath unleashed upon every individual in that city.” For one thing, we must remember that an event that is judgment upon many might be discipline upon some, and may even serve to be a trial that moves others to genuine saving faith.

No, we cannot speak with that kind of specificity or conviction. Yet, what we can take away is the wisdom that though, on the one hand, this world is broken and does not function as God originally intended it, nevertheless, on the other hand, there is not one thing happening during this age in this world that is outside God’s sovereign plan and outside of what God has orchestrated for the good of his people (Rom. 8:28). What is more, we can be assured that God, as the sovereign over this world, is always just, wise, and good, and that he will ultimately take care of his people and, at the same time, reveal his wrath against sin and sinners (Rom. 1:18).

Now that we have set the context for looking at the first six seals, we can turn to an examination of them in more detail. We will do that in our next blog post, “Wisdom To Face This Broken World,” Part 2.

Joyfully Seeking Wisdom With You,

Tom