The Book of Revelation: A Commentary on the Greek Text 080282174X, 0833648514

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TH E NEW I N TER N ATIONAL GREEK

TE ST AM EN T

C OMMEN TAR Y

G.K.BE ALE

The Book of

REVELATION A Commentary on the Greek -Text

by G.K.BEALE Professor of New Testarruml and Director of the Th.M. Program in Biblical Th~ology Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary South Hamilton, Massachusetts

WilLIAM B. EERDMANS PUBLISHING COMPANY GRAND RAPIDS, MICIllGAN / CAMBRIDGE, u.K. THE PATERNOSTER PRESS CARLISLE

TIlE NEW INTERNATIONAL

GREEK TESTAMENT COMMENTARY Editors I. Howard Marshall and Donald A. Hagner

The

Book o[

REVELATION

© 1999 Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. Published joindy 1999 in the United Stales of America by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. 255 Jefferson A~e. S.E., Grand Rapids, Michigan 49503 and in the U.K. by Paternoster Press P.O. Box 300, Carlisle, Cumbria CA3 OQS All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher or a license permitting restricted copying. In the U.K:such licenses &reissued by the Copyright Licensing Agency, 90 Tottenharn Court Road, London WIP 9HE. Printed in the United States of America 05 04 03 02 01 00 99

7 6 5 4 3 2

Library or CoDp'e5S Cataloging-In-Publication Data Beale, G. K. (Gregory K.), 1949The book of Revelation: a commentaIy on the Greek text I by G. K. Beale. p. cm. - (The new international Greek Testament commentaIy) Includes bibliographical references and indexes. ISBN 0-8028-2174-X (a1k. paper) 1. Bible. N.T. Revelation - Commentaries. I. Title. II. Series: New international Greek Testament commentaIy (Grand Rapids, Mich.) BS2825.3.B242 1999 228'.07 - dc21 97-51674 CIP

Brltbh Library CatalogulDg-in-Publlcatioo Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. ISBN 0-83364-851-4

To

Hannah, Stephen, Nancy, and, especially, Dorinda

V111

CONTENTS

The Situation of the Cburches and the Purpose and Theme of the Book

28

Authorship

34

Genre

37

Major Interpretative Approaches

44

The Futurist View

44 46 46

The Idealist View

48

The View of This Commentary: Eclecticism, or a Redemptive-Historical Fonn of Modified Idealism

48

The Preterist View The Historicist View

Interpretation of Symbolism The Symbolic Nature of the Apocalypse

50 50 55

A Method for Interpreting Symbols Symbols as Figurative Comparisons: Metaphor, Simile, and Other Comparative Forms of Speech The Symbolic Significance of Numbers

55 58

The Perspective of the "New Henneneutic" on John's Symbols

65

The General Purpose of Symbolism in the Apocalypse

69

The Text of Revelation

70

The Use of the Old Testament in the Apocalypse Preliminary Considerations What Is Cited Combined Allusions and the Issue of Literary Consciousness Contextual and Noncontextual Use

76 77 77 79 81

Various Uses of the Old Testament in the Apocalypse Old Testament Segments as Literary Prototypes Thematic Uses Analogical Uses Universalization Possible Indirect Fulfillment Uses Inverted Uses Stylistic Use of Old Testament Language

86 86 88 89 91 93 94 96

Conclusion

96

CONTENTS

The Grammar of the Apocalypse

ix

100

The Solecisms as Signals for the Presence of Old Testament Allusions

100

The Difference between "Sernitisms" and "Septuagintalisms"

103

Variants in Significant Manuscripts in Passages Containing Solecisms

105

The Structure and Plan of John's Apocalypse Literary Outline The Interpretative Relationship of the Segments The Futurist Position The Progressive Recapitulation (Parallelism) Position Concluding Reflections: The Interpretative Significance of the Book's Structure, the Broad Flow of Its Thought

The Disputed Significance of Revelation 1:19 a an Interpretative Key to the Book The New View: "What Is to Happen after These Things" Is an Eschatological Expression from Dan. 2:28-29, 45 (View i) 1: 1 1:19 4: 1 22:6 The Chronological Sequence View (View ii)

108 108 116 116 121 144

152 152 153 155 158 159 161

A Double Reference to Present and Future (View iii)

163

"What You See" and "What Is" Refer to 1:12-20; "What Will Happen after These Things" Refers to Cbs. 4-22 (View iv)

163

An Expression of the Temporally Gnomic or Suprahistorical Character of the Book's Ideas (View v)

164

A Genre Formula Indicating the Mixture of Literary Genres in the Book (View vi)

167

Conclusion

The Theology and Goal of the Apocalypse

168 171

Suffering and Victory

171

The 1brone The New Creation: One of the Book's Goals

172 173

The Place of Christians in the World

174

The Theological Meaning of the Use of Symbols

176

x

CONTENTS

COMMENTARY 1:1.20: Prologue Introduction: The Apocalypse Was Revealed for Witness, Which Results in Blessing (1: 1-3) Salutation: John Greets the Churches on Behalf of the Father, the Spirit, and the Son, Whose Redemptive Work Results in the Churches' New Status, All to God's Glory (1:4-8) John Is Commissioned to Write to the Churches Because Their Confidence Is Grounded in Christ's Installation as Cosmic Judge, Priest, and Ruler of the Church as a Result of His Victory over Death (1 :9-20) Summary of 1:12-20; Theological Implications of the Old Testament Allusions 2:1-3:22: The Letters to the Seven Churches: Christ Encourages the Churches to Witness, Warns Them against Compromise, and Exhorts Them to Hear and to Overcome Compromise in Order to Inherit Eternal Life The Letters Christ Commends the Ephesian Church for Its Orthodoxy, Condemns It for Its Lack of Witness, and Exhorts It to Overcome This Lack in Order to Inherit Eternal Life (2: 1-7) "The One Having Ears. Let Him Hear": Its Significance in the Letters and Its Place in the Apocalypse as a Whole Christ Commends the Church of Smyrna for Enduring Tribulation and Encourages It to Continue to Be Faithful in Anticipation of Imminent, More Severe Persecution, in Order to Inherit Eternal Life and Heavenly Kingship (2:8-11)

179 181 181

186

200 220

223 223

228 236

239

Christ Commends the Church in Pergarnum for Its Persevering Witness in the Midst of Persecution, Condenms It for Its Permissive Spirit of Idolatrous Compromise, and Exhorts It to Overcome This in Order Not to Be Judged but to Inherit End-Time Fellowship and Identification with Christ (2: 12-17) The "New Name"

245 257

Christ Commends the Church of Thyatira for Its Christian Works of Witness, Condemns It for Its Permissive Spirit of Idolatrous Compromise, and Exhorts It to Overcome This in Order Not to Be Judged but to Inherit End-Time Rule Together with Christ (2: 18-29) The Ironic Notion of "Overcoming"

259 269

CONTENTS

xi

Christ Condemns the Church in Sardis for Its Lack of Witness and Its Compromise and Exhorts It to Overcome This in Order to Inherit the Blessings of Salvation Life (3:1-6)

272

Christ Commends the Church in Philadelphia for Its Persevering Witness, in Which He Will Empower Its Members Further, and Encourages Them to Continue to Persevere So as to Inherit End-Time Fellowship and Identification with Him (3:7-13)

283

Christ Condemns the Church in Laodicea for Its Ineffective Witness and Deplorable Spiritual Condition and Exhorts Its Members to Persevere by Becoming Faithful Witnesses and Renewing Their Fellowship with Him So as to Reign with Him (3:14-22) The Old Testament Background of Christ's Titles in 3: 14 The Relevance of the Titles for the Remainder of the Letter to Laodicea

4:1-5:14: God and Christ Are Glorified Because Christ's Resurrection Demonstrates That They Are Sovereign over Creation to Judge and to Redeem The Relation of Chapters 1-3 to Chapters 4-5 Chapters 4-5 as a Heavenly Liturgy and Pattern for the Church's Liturgy

296 297

301

311 311

312

God Is Glorified Because He Is Sovereign Judge and Redeemer over Creation at Its Inception and throughout History (4: 1-11)

316

God and the Lamb Are Glorified Because They Have B~gun to Execute Their Sovereignty over Creation through Christ's Death and Resurrection, Resulting in Inaugurated and Eventually Consummated Judgment and Redemption (5:1-14) The "Book" The Old Testament Background of Chapters 4 alld 5

337 339 366

6:1-8:5: The Seven Seals The First Four Seals: Christ Uses Evil Heavenly Forces to Inflict Trials on People throughout the Church Age for Either Purification or Punishment (6: 1-8)

Old Testament Background Theological Reflections on the Four Horsemen

370

370

372 388

xii

CONTENTS

The Fifth Seal: The Appeal to God by Persecuted and Glorified Christians to Demonstrate His Justice by Judging Their Persecutors Will Be Answered When All His People Complete the Suffering That He Has Determined for Them (6:9-11)

389

The Sixth Seal: God Will Demonstrate His Justice by Executing the Final Judgment on the Unbelieving World (6:12-17) The Theological Significance of the Old Testament Allusions in 6:15-17: The Judgment in the Sixth Seal

402

Angels Prevent the Evil Forces from Commencing Their Destructive Activity on Earth Until Believers Are Given Spiritual Protection against Losing Their Faith (7: 1-8) The Seal The 144,000

404 409 416

God and the Lamb Are Praised for Making Manifest the Redemption of Multitudes by Protecting Them through a Purifying Tribulation (7:9-17) The Abrahamic Promise The "Great Tribulation" Clothing Washed White: The Old Testament Background Additional Considerations on the Old Testament Background of 7:14ff. The Idea of Believers as Priests and Its Old Testament Background The "Temple" and Its Old Testament Background The Temporal Location of 7:13-17 The Seventh Seal as the Conclusion of the Seal Series: The Last Judgment Is Described Again as a Formal Response to the Saints' Petition in 6: 10 That God Punish the Unbelieving World (8: 1-5) "Silence" The Transition from the Seals to the Trumpets

8:6-11:19: The Seven Trumpel40 The Old Testament Background of the Trumpet Judgments

The First Six Trumpets: God Responds to the Saints' Prayer by Using Angels to Execute Judgments on the Persecuting World, Leading Up to the Last Judgment (8:6--9:21) The Interruption of Patterns of Cosmic Light Sources as an Indication of Covenantal Judgment in the Old Testament and Jewish Writings

395

424 429 433 436 438 439 440 443

445 446 460

465 465

472

483

CONlENTS

Conclusion to the First Four Trumpets The Metaphorical Associations of Serpents and Scorpions in Judaism Other Old Testament and Jewish Precedents for 9: 17-19 The Parenthesis in Chapters 10--11 John Is Recommissioned to Prophesy about Judgment, Concerning Which He Paradoxically Rejoices and Mourns (10:1-11) Is the "Book" in Chapter 10 Identical to the "Book" in CJu:zpter 5? Special Questiolls in 10:7 God's Decree Ensures His Presence with His People and Their Effective Witness, Which Leads to Their Apparent Defeat and Culminates in Judgment of Their Oppressors (11: 1-13) The Metaphors in 11.'1-2 The Ministries of Moses and Elijah as a Model for the Two WItnesses The Relationship of the Two Witnesses' Ministry to the Trumpet Plagues

xiii

485 515 516 520

522

530 539

556 557

582 585

The Seventh Trumpet: God Establishes the Consummated Kingdom and Executes the Consummated Judgment (11:14-19) 609 Is 11:15-19 the Content of the Third Woe/Seventh Trumpet? 609

12:1-15:4: Deeper Conflict As a Result of Christ's Victory over the Devil, God Protects the Messianic Community against the Devil's Wrathfull-larm (12:]-17) The End-Time Exodus against the Background of the First Exodus The Desert as a Place of Both Trial and Protection The Background of the "Three and a Half Year" Period The "Place" of Refuge in the Desert as the Spiritual Sanctuary How Christ's Redemptive Work Resulted in Satan s Expulsion from Heaven The Jewish Legal Background of Satan as an Accuser and Its Relation to 12: 10 Believers Are Exhorted to Be Discerning about Falsehood and Not to Participate in False Worship Propagated by the Devil and His Worldly Allies, So As to Hold on to Their Faith (12:18-13:18)

621

621 643 645 646 648 658 661

680

xiv

CONTENTS

666 The Shaping of Chapter 13

God Accomplishes His Glory by Rewarding Believers and Punishing the Beast and His Followers at the End of History (14:1-15:4) Do 14:14-16 and 14:17-20 Portray Redemption and Judgment Respectively - Further Discussion Further Analysis of the Old Testament Background of 14: 14-19 The Grammatical Problem in 14:19

15:5-16:21: The Seven Bowl Judgments: God Punishes the Ungodly during the Inter-Advent Age and Consummately at the Last Day Because of Their Persecution and Idolatry The Resumption of the Introduction to the Seven Bowl Judgments (15:5-8) The "Seven Angels" and the Textual Problem concerning Their Attire The Trumpets and the Bowls

718 728

730 776 778 779

801 801 804 808

The Command to Pour Out the Bowls (16:1)

812

The First Five Bowls: God Punishes the Ungodly during the Inter-Advent Age by Depriving Them of Earthly Security Because of Their Persecution and Idolatry (16:2-11)

814

The Sixth and Seventh Bowls: The Final Judgment of the Evil World System (16:12-21)

827

17:1-19:21: Final Judgment of Babylon and the Beast

847

The Influence of the World's Economic-Religious System and of the State, Their Alliance, and the Downfall of Both (17: 1-18)

847

Saints Who Do Not Compromise with the Idolatrous World Are to Rejoice over God's Judgment of It Because This Demonstrates the Integrity of Their Faith and of God's Justice and Glory and Leads to God's Consummate Reign and Union with His People (18:1-19:10) The Wedding Clothes

890 934

Christ Will Reveal His Sovereignty and Faithfulness to His Promises by Judging Babylon's Former Allies in Order to Vindicate His People (19:11-21)

948

CONTENTS

xv

20:1-15: The Millennium Is Inaugurated during tbe Churcb Age - God Limits Satan9s Deceptive Powers and as Deceased Christiaos Are Vindicated by Reigning in Hcaven. The Millennium Is Concluded by a Resurgence of Salan's Deceptive Assault against tbe Church and the Final Judgment fl72 The Millennium Is Inaugurated during the Church Age by God's Curtailment of Satan's Ability to Deceive the Nations and to Annihilate the Church and by the Resurrection of Believers' Souls to Heaven to Reign There with Christ (20: 1-6) Arguments for a Nonsequential Temporal Relationship between 20:1-6 and J9:11-21 Additional Observations Supporting This Analysis of 20:4-6 Is "One Thousand Years" Literal or Figurative?

974 1007 1017

Satan Will Be Released to Deceive the Nations Again, So That They Will Attempt to Annihilate the Church (20:7-10)

1021

972

The Final Judgment Will Occur at the End of Cosmic History: All People Will Be Resurrected and Judged according to Their Works, and the Guilty Will Be Consigned to Eternal Punishment (20: 11-15) 1031 21:1-22:5: The New Creation and the Church Perfected In Glory 1039 In the New Creation the Faithful Will Experience the Salvation Blessing of Intimate Communion with God, but the Unfaithful Will Be Excluded from This Blessing (21:1-8) 1039 Further Discussion of the Background of "There Is No More Sea" in 21:1b and the Parallels in 21:4b 1050 1052 Textual Problems in 21:4 The Initial View and Appearance of the City: God's Glorious Presence Establishes the Inviolable and Completed Community of the Redeemed (21:9-14)

1063

The Measurements of the City: God's Permanent Presence Secures and Guarantees the Perfected Inviolability of the Redeemed Community (21:15-17)

1072

The Material of the City: God's Permanent Presence Guarantees the Perfected Security of the Redeemed Community and Causes It to Reflect His Glory (21:18-21) The Background of the Precious Stones

1079

1080

xvi

CONTENTS

The Internal Features of the City and Its Inhabitants: The Glorious Presence of God and the Lamb Will Elicit the Response of Praise from True Believers, but False Believers Will Be Excluded Forever from God's Presence (21:22-27)

1090

The City's Garden, River, Inhabitants, and Luminary: God's Consummate, Glorious Presence with His People Ensures the Eternal Absence of Any Curse and Establishes Their Everlasting Role of Priests and Kings in Praising and Reflecting His Glory (22:1-5) The Purpose and Rhetorical Function of the 21: 1-22:5 Vision

1103 1117

22:6-21: ConclusioD The First Exhortation to Holiness (22:6-7)

1122

The Second Exhortation to Holiness (22:8-10)

1123 1127

The Third Exhortation to Holiness (22:11-12)

1131

The Fourth Exhortation to Holiness (22:13-17) The FIfth Exhortation to Holiness (22: 18-20)

1138 1150

The Conclusion of 22:6-20 and of the Whole Book (22:21)

1156

Index of Modem Authors

1158

Index of Biblical and Other Ancient Writings

1174

FOREWORD

Although there have been many series of commentaries on the English text of the New Testament in recent years, very few attempts have been made to cater particularly to the needs of students of the Greek text. The present initiative to fill this gap by the publication of the New International Greek Testament Commentary is very largely due to the vision of W. Ward Gasque, who was one of the original editors of the series. (The present editors would like to place on record their recognition of Dr. Gasque's work in the establishment and development of the series until the pressure of other duties made it necessary for him to resign from his editorship). At a time when the study of Greek is being curtailed in many schools of theology, we hope that the NIGTC will demonstrate the continuing value of studying the Greek New Testament and will be an impetus in the revival of such study. The volumes of the NIGTC are for students who want something less technical than a full-scale critical commentary. At the same time, the commentaries are intended to interact with modern scholarship and to make their own scholarly contribution to the study of the New Testament. The wealth of detailed study of the New Testament in articles and monbgraphs continues without interruption, and the series is meant to harvest the results of this research in an easily accessible form. The commentaries include, therefore, adequate, but not exhaustive, bibliographies and attempt to treat all important problems of history, exegesis, and interpretation that arise from the New Testament text. One of the gains of recent scholarship has been the recognition of the primarily theological character of the books of the New Testament. The volumes of the NIGTC attempt to provide a theological understanding of the text, based on historical-critical-linguistic exegesis. It is not their primary aim to apply and expound the text for modern readers, although it is hoped that the exegesis will give some indication of the way in which the text should be expounded. Within the limits set by the use of the English language, the series aims to be international in character, though the contributors have been chosen not primarily in order to achieve a spread between different countries but above all because of their specialized qualifications for their particular tasks. xvii

xviii

RlREWORD

The supreme aim of this series is to serve those who areeogaged in the ministry of the Word of God and thus to glorify God's name. Our prayer is that it may be found helpful in this task.

I. Howard Marshall Donald A. Hagner

PREFACE

When I began writing this commentary back in the fall of 1987, I noticed that some past authoni who had written prefaces to their commentaries on Revelation tended to express amazement that they had been able to complete such a task. When Martin Kiddie commenced writing his commentary, James Moffatt told him, "No one knows how difficult the task [of writing a commentary on Revelation] is until he has tried it for himself."] was originally slated to write the commentary in this series on 2 Pett'f and Jude, but when the person assigned Revelation withdrew, I was asked to do Revelation instead. The decision about changing writing assignments to Revelation was momentous, since Revelation has eighteen more chapters than 2 Peter and Jude together. I decided with much trepidation to make the change because I had already done some study on the use of the Old Testament in Revelation, and I believed that this was the key to understanding the book. I also thought that no one had yet done a throrough study of Revelation from that penipective. The first draft of the commentary took seven years. I took an eighth year to edit it and update it with secondary literature which had come out during the prior seven years. I submitted the final manuscript in the fall semester of 1995. I have not had opportunity to take account of the vast majority of secondary literature which has been published since that time, including the first volume of David Aune's commentary on Revelation in the Word series (when I wrote this preface, the second and third volumes of his work had not yet appeared). When embarking on the task of commentary writing, one often asks oneself whether or not it is really necessary to write another commentary. In the case of Revelation, I believed there was still a need for a commentary which did the following things: 0) study the Old Testament allusions in a more trenchant manner than had previously been done; (2) study how Jewish exegetical tradition interpreted these same Old Testament allusions and how such interpretation related to their use in Revelation; (3) trace more precisely the exegetical argument in Revelation, which some say is difficult to do because of the sometimes ambiguous nature of visionary literature; (4) interact with the vast amount of secondary literature published since the time of the monumental commentaries by Charles and Swete in the early part of this century. Others will have to judge whether or to what degree I have successfully achieved these four goals. My intention in writing the commentary was to provide an exegesis of xix

xx

PREFACE

Revelation that would be especially helpful to teachers, pastors, students, and others seriously interested in interpreting Revelation for the benefit of the church. I have usually provided English translations in parentheses after Greek words or phrases in order that those who may not be proficient in Greek will nevertheless be able to benefit from reading the commentary. I was first encouraged to study Revelation (especially its use of the Old Testament) for doctoral research by my former seminary professor A. Lewis Johnson, Jr. Barnabas Lindars first began to guide me in this study at Cambridge University, and J. P. M. Sweet became my supervisor when Professor Lindars left to replace F. F. Bruce at Manchester. Professor Lindars kept an active interest in my woi"k. until his death a few years ago. Likewise, since Cambridge days, Mr. Sweet has been gracious to continue to read my ongoing work and comment on il; in fact, he read most of the present commentary and made many helpful remarks, most of which I incorporated into the commentary. I am heavily indebted to him for this kind labor to a former snldent. He is truly the classic model of a Cambridge scholar-teacher. The commentary is heavily indebted to the labors of prior commentators, especially Hendriksen. Caird, Wilcock. and Sweet One could say that my work follows in the tradition of these commentaries. I have also found valuable. the commentaries of Mounce and Alan Johnson and the works of Richard Bauckham. I am grateful to Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary for granting me sabbatical time and even providing some financial support for this project. I am also indebted to many students who have listened to my lectures on Revelation over the years and have made comments which have helped me to understand the book better (some of whom are actually listed in the footnotes of the commentary). I am particularly grateful to Juan Hernandez for proofreading the manuscript conversion chart in the Introduction based on the Hoskier system (Concerning the Text o/the Apocalypse, vols. I-II). In addition, I want to express appreciation to the library staff at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary for their unswerving efforts at obtaining interlibrary loans and other sources for me (above all, thanks go to Meredith Kline. Jr., and Freeman Barton). John Simpson, my editor at Eerdmans. also courteously exercised patience toward my many questions; I am sure that his meticulous editorial work has left its mark. I am especially thankful to my church family. The Orthodox Congregational Church of Lanesville. Massachusetts. for patiently listening to my sermons on Revelation, which were based on my research for the commentary. I am thankful for the opportunity to have been able to write the commentary in the context of a local church body. which enabled me to see Revelation through the eyes of the church. I found often that I understood passages in Revelation better after I preached on them. I believe this was the case since Revelation was meant originally to be understood within the context of the church. More than to any other people, lowe a debt of gratitude to my wife Dorinda and to my children Nancy, Hannah. and Stephen. They all helped me

PREFACE

xxi

to understand Revelation bener as we discussed it around the dinner table over the years. I know that I would not understand this book as well without my constant conversations wiLh Dorinda. Above all, I am thankful to God for enabling me to complete this work. and I pray that his glory will be manifested through it. A few comments about some stylistic aspects of the commentary are in order. In making general references to the Septuagint, I refer to the eclectic Greek text of the Rahlfs edition and sometimes a text dependent only on Codex B (= The Septuagint Version afthe Old Testament and Apocrypha with an English Translation [Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1972], published by special arrangement with Samuel Bagster and Sons, London). Where these two editions differ in chapter or verse numbering, I always place the Rablfs reference frrst, with the Bagster edition reference following in parentheses or brackets. For example, especially in Daniel 4 and parts of Exodus (especially chs. 35-40) and Job (especially chs. 40-41) versification is different in the different editions (e.g., between the Rahlfs eclectic edition and the Bagster edition). Such a stylistic convention will enable those not knowing Greek to be able to follow the Septuagint in a readily available English edition even in those places where it differs in versification from the standard Greek edition of Rahlfs. In addition, in Daniel I use "LXX" to refer to the Old Greek version and "Theod." to refer to Theodotion, which is in accordance with Rahlfs's system. My references to the Dead Sea Scrolls come primarily from A. DupontSommer, The Essene Writings from Qumran (Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1961; the new Garda-Martfnez edition of Qumran was not available until right before I completed the commentary). The primary sources of various Jewish works were ordinarily referred to, and sometimes quoted, in the following English editions: The Babylonian Talmud, ed. I. Epstein (London: Soncino, 1948); The Talmud of the Land of Israel: A Preliminary Translation and Explanation (the Jerusalem Talmud), vols. 1-35, ed. 1. Neusner (Chicago: University of Chicago, 1982-); Mekilta de-Rabbi Ishmael, vols. 1-3, trans. and ed. J. Z. Lauterbach (Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society of America, 1976); Th€ Midrash on PsaLms, Yale Judaica Series 13:1-2, trans. and ed. W. G. Braude (New Haven: Yale University, 1959); Midrash Rabbah, vols. I-X, ed. H. Freedman and M. Simon (London: Soncino, 1939); Midrash Sifre on Numbers in Translations of Early Documents, Series III, Rabbinic Texts, trans. and ed. P. P. Levertoff (London: Golub, 1926); Midrash Tanhuma vol. I, trans and ed. 1. T. Townsend (Hoboken: KTAV, 1989); The Mishnah, trans. and ed. H. Danby (Oxford: Oxford University, 1980); The Minor Tractates of the Talmud. vols. 1-2, ed. A. Cohen (London: Soncino, 1965); The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha. vols. 1-2, ed. 1. H. Charlesworth (Garden City: Doubleday, 1983) (though sometimes reference was made to the Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha of the OLd Testament. vol. 2 [pseudepigrapha], ed. R. H. Charles [Oxford: Clarendon, 1977]); The Pls*ta dl-raIJ Kahlina, trans. and ed. W. G. Braude and I. J. Kapstein (Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society of America,

xxii

PREFACE

1975); PesiJcta Rabbati, Yale Iudaica Series 18:1 and 2, trans. and ed. W. G. Braude (New Haven and London: Yale University, 1968); pir# de Rabbi Eliezer, trans. and ed. G. Friedlander (New York: Hermon, 1916); Sifre: A Tannaitic CommenJary on the Book of Deuteronomy, Yale Judaica Series, trans. and ed. R. Hammer (New Haven and London: Yale University, 1986); Tanna dlpe Eliyyahu, trans. and ed. W. G. Braude and I. J. Kapstein (Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society of America, 1981); The Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan Ben Uzziel on the Pentateuch. with the Fragments of the Jerusalem Targum, on Genesis and Exodus, trans. and ed.I. W. Etheridge (New York: KTAV, 1968); the available volumes published in The Aramaic Bible: The Targums, ed. M. McNamara (Collegeville: Liturgical, 1987-). References to ancient Greek wms, especially those of Philo and Josephus (sometimes including English translations), are from the Loeb Classical Library. References and some English translations of the apostolic fathers come from 1. B. Lightfoot, The Apostolic Fathers, ed. and completed by J. R. Harmer (London: Macmillan, 1898). When I did not make my own translations, the English translation of the Bible used was the New American Standard Bible. TIle Greek text used was NA26. G. K. Beale August, 1998

ABBREVIATIONS

Text-critical sigla follow NA26. The standard abbreviations for the Qumran literature are followed. ABD ANRW ANFVIII

Apoc. Abr. Apoc. Elijah Apoc. Paul APOT ARN Asc.lsa. ASV AUSS b. BAGD

2-3 Bar. BDB

BDF

BElL BW CBQ

D. N. Freedman, ed., Anchor Bible Dictionary I-V. New York: Doubleday, 1992 Aufstieg und Niedergang der romischen Welt A. Roberts and 1. Donaldson, ed., The Ante-Nicene Fathers VIII. Edinburgh: T. and T. Clark/Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1989. Apocalypse of Abraham Apocalypse of Elijah Apocalypse of Paul R. H. Charles, ed. The Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha of the Old Testament. I-II. Oxford: Clarendon, 1913 'Abot de Rabbi Nathan Ascension of Isaiah American Standard Version Andrews University Seminary Studies Babylonian Talmud W. Bauer, W. F. Arndt, F. W. Gingrich, and F. W. Danker, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament. Chicago: University of Chicago, 1979 2-3 Baruch Brown, F., Driver, S. R. and Briggs, C. A., A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament. Oxford: Clarendon,

1972 F. Blass and A. Debrunner, A Greek Grammar of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, ed. R. W. Funk. Chicago: University of Chicago, 1961 Bibliotheca Ephemeridum Theologicarum Lovaniensium J. A. Brooks and C. L. Winbery, Syntax of New Testament Greek. Lanham: University Press of America, 1979. Catholic Biblical Quarterly

xxiii

ABBREVIATIONS

xxiv eTA

DB

DM

DNlT DSS EB EDNT

EEC 1-2 En. esp. Eusebius H.E. EvQ ExpT GE1NT

HBC HBD

HDR

HR

A. Herdner, Corpus des tablettes en cuneiformes alphabitiques decouvertes II Ras Shamra-Ugarit, 2 vols. Paris, 1963. J. Hastings, ed., Dictionary of the Bible I-V. New York: Scribner, 1919 H. E. Dana and J. R. Mantey, A Manual Grammar of the Greek New Testarn£nt. New York: Macmillan, 1927 The New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology I-ill, ed C. Brown. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1975-78 Dead Sea Scrolls T. K. Cheyne and J. S. Black, ed., Encyclopedia Biblica 1N. New York: Macmillan, 1903 Exegetical Dictionary of the New Testament. I-III, ed. H. Balz and G. Schneider. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans. 199093 E. Ferguson, ed., Encyclopedia of Early Christianity. New York: Garland, 1990 1-2 Enoch especially Hutoria Ecclesiastica Evangelical Quarterly ExpOsitory TImes J. P. Louw and E. A. Nida, Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament Based on Semantic Domains I-II. New York: United Bible Societies, 1988, 1989 Harper's Bible Commentary, ed. J. L. Mays. San Francisco: Harper and Row, 1988 Harper's Bible Dictionary, ed. P. J. Achtemeier. San Francisco: Harper and Row, 1985 Harvard Dissertations in Religion E. Hatch and H. A. Redpath, A Concordance to the Septuagint and the Other Greek Versions of the Old Testament 1Graz: Akademische, 1954 J. D. Douglas, ed. The Illustrated Bible Dictionary I-lll. Downers Grove: InterVarsity, 1980 International Critical Commentary

m.

1BD

ICC Ignatius Eph. Philad. Pol. Rom. JB JBL

Ephesians Philadelphians Polycarp Romans Jerusalem Bible Journal of Biblical Literature

ABBREVIATIONS

JETS JJS Jos. Asen. Josephus Ant. Ap. JSNT JSP JI'S Jub.

KJV LSJ

LXX m. Mart. Pol. MHT Midr. Rab. Tanch. M-M

ms(s). MT NA (26,27)

NASB NBD NCBC NDIEC

NDT NEB NICNT NIGTC

NIV NKJV NovT

xxv

Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society Journal of Jewish Studies Joseph and Aseneth Antiquities Contra Apionem Journal for the Study of the New Testament Journal for the Study of the Pseudepigrapha Journal of Theological Studies Jubilees King James Version Liddell, H. G., and Scott, R., A Greek-English Lexicon. Oxford: Clarendon, 1968 Septuagint Mishnah Martyrdom of Polycarp J. H. Moulton, W. F. Howard, and M. 'furner, A Grammar of New Testament Greek I-IV. Edinburgh: Clark, 1~ 76 Midrash Rabbah Tanchuma J. H. Moulton and G. MiUigan, TheYocabulary of the Greek Testament Illustrated from the Papyri and Other NonLiterary Sources. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1930 manuscript(s) Masoretic Text Novum Testamentum Graece, ed. K. Aland, M. Black, C. M. Martini, B. M. Metzger, and A. Wikgren (Stuttgart: Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, 26 1979; 27 1993 New American Standard Bible J. D. Douglas, ed .• The New Bible Dictionary. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1970 New Century Bible Commentary G. H. R. Horsley and S. R. Llewelyn. New Documents Ilustrating Early Christianity I-VI. North Ryde: Ancient History Documentary Research Centre, 1981-92 New Dictionary of Theology, ed. S. B. Ferguson. D. F. Wright, and 1. I. Packer. Leicester: Inter-Varsity, 1988 New English Bible New International Commentary on the New Testament New International Greek Testament Commentary New International Version New King James Version Novum Testamentum

ABBREVIATIONS

~vi

NRSV

NT NI'A NI'S ODCC

Odes Sol. OT OTP PGL

Philo Cont Leg. All. Praem. Spec. Leg. VII. Mos. Pss. Sol.

RSV RV SB

New Revised Standard Version New Testament New Testament Apocrypha I-II, ed. W. Schnee melcher. Philadelphia: Westminster, 1991, 92 New Testament Studies F. L. Cross and E. A. Livingstone, ed., The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. Oxford: Oxford University, 21974 Odes of Solomon Old Testament The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha I-II, ed. J. H. Charlesworth. Garden City: Doubleday, 1983 G. W. H. Lampe, A Patristic Greek Lexicon. Oxford: Clarendon, 1976 De Confusione Linguarum De Legum Allegoriae De Praemiis et Poenis De Specialibus Legibus De Vita Mosis Psalms of Solomon Revised Standard Version Revised Version H. Strack and P. Billerbeck, Kommentar zum Neuen Testament aus Talmud und Midrasch I-IV. Munich: Beck, 1922-

28 SBLDS SBT Sib Or. Suetonius

Dom. SUNT Targ. Jer. Frag. Neot Onk. Pal. Ps.-J. TDN!'

TDOT

. Society of Biblical Literature Dissertation Series Studies in Biblical Theology Sibylline Oracles Domitianus Studien zur Umwelt des Neuen Testaments Targum ~ntary(Jerusalem)

Neofiti / Onkelos Palestinian Pseudo-Jonathan Theological Dictionary of the New Testament I-X, ed. G. Kittel and G. Friedrich. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1964.76 Theological Dictionary o/the Old Testament I-Vn, ed. G. J. Botterweck and H. Ringgren. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1974-95

ABBREVIATIONS

Test. Abr. Test. Adam Test. Asher Test. Ben. Test. Dan Test. Jos. Test. Jud. Test. Levi Test. Mos. Test. Naph. Theod. TR TWOT TynB

UBS (3,4)

VTG

WBC WH WfJ y. Zeb. ZNW

ZIK

xxvii

Testament of Abraham Testament of Adam Testament of Asher Testament of Benjamin Testament of Dan Testament of Joseph Testament of Judah Testament of Levi Testament of Moses Testament of Naphthali Theodotion Textus Receptus Archer, G. L., Harris, R. L., and Waltke, B. K., Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament I-llI. Chicago: Moody, 1980 Tyndale Bulletin The Greek New Testament, ed. K. Aland, M. Black, C. M. Martini, B. M. Metzger, and A. Wikgren. New York: United Bible Societies, 31975; 41993 Septuaginta. Vetus Testamentum Graecum Auctoritate Academiae Scientiarum Gottingensis. Gottingen: Vandenhoeck und Ruprecht, 1926Word Biblical Commentary The New Testament in the Original Greek, ed. B. F. Westcott and J. J. A. Hort. London: Cambridge University, 1881 Westminster Theological Journal Jerusalem (Palestinian) Talmud Zebatzim . Zeitschrift for die Neutestamentliche WlSsenschaft Zeitschrift for Theologie und Kirche

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Aalders, I. G., Gog en Magog in Ezechiel. Kampen: Kok, 1951. Adams, I. E., The Time Is at Hand. Phillipsburg: Presbyterian and Reformed, 1974. Aland, K., and Aland, B., The Text of the New Testament. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1987. Albright, W. F., and Mann, C. S., "Two Texts in 1 Corinthians," NTS 16 (196970),271-76. Alexander, J. A., Commentary on the Prophecies of Isaiah. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1953. Alexander, R. H., "A Fresh Look at Ezekiel 38 and 39," JETS 17 (1974) 157-69. Alford, H .• The Greek Testament IV. Cambridge: Deighton. 1866. Allen, L. c.. Ezekiel 20-48. WBC 29; Dallas: Word. 1990. Allison, D. c., The End of the Ages Has Come. Philadelphia: Fortress, ]985. - - - . , The New Moses: A Matthean Typology. Minneapolis: Fortress. ]993. Ano, E.-B., L'Apocalypse de Saint Jean. Paris: Gabalda, 1933. Altink. w., "I Chronicles ]6:8-36 as a Literary Source for Revelation ]4:6-7." AUSS 22 (1984) ]87-96. Andersen, F. I., The Hebrew Verbless Clause in the Pentateuch. JBL Monograph Series 14; Nashville: Abingdon, ] 970. - - - . , The Sentence in Biblical Hebrew. Janua Linguarum, Series Practica 231; Paris: Mouton, 1974. Applebaum, S., "The Social and Economic Status of the Jews in the Diaspora." in The Jewish People in the First Century. Compendia Rerum Iudaicarum ad Novum Testamentum I. ed. S. Safrai and M. Stem; Philadelphia: Fortress, ] 976, 701 -27. Aune. D. E., "The Apocalypse of John and Greco-Roman Revelatory Magic," NTS 33 (1987) 481-501. ---., "The Apocalypse of John and the Problem of Genre." Semeia 36 (1986) 65-69. - - - . , "The Form and Function of the Proclamations to the Seven Churches (Revelation 2-3)," NTS 36 (1990) 182-204. - - - , "The Influence of Roman Imperial Court Ceremonial on the Apocalypse of John." Biblical Research 28 (1983) 5-26. xxviii

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243-56. Barr, 1., Biblical Words/or TIme. SBT 33; London: SCM, 1962.

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Bartina, S., "Una espada salia de la boco de su vestido (Ape. 1,16; 2,16; 19,15.21)," Estudios B{blicos 20 (1961) 207-17. Bauckham. R. J., The Climax of Prophecy: Studies in the Book of Revelation. Edinburgh: Clark, 1993. ----', "The Eschatological Earthquake in the Apocalypse of Jolm," NovT 19 (1977) 224-33. --'--, "The List of the Tribes in Revelation 7 Again," JSNT 42 (1991) 99-115. ----', "The Lord's Day," in From Sabbath to Lord's Day, ed. D. A. Carson. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1982, 197-220. ,. ----', "The Martyrdom of Enoch and Elijah: Jewish or Christian?" JBL 95 (1976) 447-58. ----', "Resurrection as Giving Back the Dead: A Traditio'nal Image of Resurrection in the Pseudepigrapha and the Apocalypse of John," in The Pseudepigrapha and Early Biblical Interpretation, ed. 1. H. Charlesworth and C. A. Evans. JSP Supplement Series 14, Studies in Scripture in Early Judaism and Christianity 2; Sheffield: JSOT, 1993,269-91. - - - . , "Synoptic Parousia Parables and the Apocalyspe," NTS 23 (1977) 162-76. - - - . , The Theology of the Book of Revelation. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1993. Baumgarten, J. M., "The Duodecimal Courts of Qumran, Revelation, and the Sanhedrin," lBL 95 (1976) 59-78. Beagley, A. 1., The 'Sitz im Leben' of the Apocalypse with Particular Reference to the Role of the Church's Enemies. Beibeft zur ZNW 50; New York: de Gruyter, 1987. Beale, G. K., "The Danielic Background for Revelation 13:18 and 17:9," TynB 31 (1980) 163-70. - - - . , "Did Jesus and His Followers Preach the Right Doctrine from the Wrong Texts? An Examination of the Presuppositions of the Apostles' Exegetical Method," Themelios 14 (1989) 89-%. - - - . , "The Eschatological Conception of New Testament Theology, "in "The Reader Must Understand": Eschatology in Bible and Theology, ed. K. E. Brower and M. W. Elliott. Leicester: Apollos. 1997, 11-52. - - - , . "Eschatology," in Dictionary of the Later New Testament and Its Developments, ed. P. H. Davids and R. P. Martin; Downers Grove: InterVarsity, 1997, 330-45. - - - . , "An Exegetical and Theological Consideration of the Hardening of Pharaoh's Heart in Exodus 4-14 and Romans 9," Trinity 10umal5 (1984) 129-54. - - - " "The Hearing Formula and the Visions of John in Revelation," in A VlSionfor the Church: Studies in Early Christian Ecclesiology in Honour of 1. P. M. Sweet, ed. M. Bockmuehl and M. B. Thompson. Edinburgh: Clark, 1997, 167-80.

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----;, "The Influence of Daniel upon the Structure and Theology of John's Apocalypse," JETS 27 (1984) 413-23. ---., "The Interpretative Problem of Rev. 1:19," NovT 34 (1992) 360-87. - - - . , "Isaiah VI 9-13: A Retributive Taunt against Idolatry," Vetus Testamentum 41 (1991) 257-78. - - - . , John's Use of the Old Testament in Revelation. JSNT Supplement Series; Sheffield: Sheffield Academic. 1998. ----;, "The Old Testament Background of Reconciliation in 2 Corinthians 5-7 and Its Bearing on the Literary Problem of 2 Corinthians 6:14-18," NTS (1989) 550-81. - - , "The Old Testament Background of Rev. 3:14," NTS 42 (1996) 133-52. ----;, "The Origin of the Title 'Kings of Kings and Lord of Lords' in Rev. 17:14." NTS 31 (1985) 618-20. ----;. "The Problem of the Man from the Sea in IV Ezra 13 and Its Relation to the Messianic Concept in John's Apocalypse," NovT25 (1983) 182-88. ----;. "A Reconsideration of the Text of Daniel in the Apocalypse." Biblica 67 (1986) 539-43. - - - , . "Review Article: J. W. Mealy. After the Thousand Years." EvQ 66 (1994) 229-49. - - - , . Review of A. Y. Collins. Crisis and Catharsis, JETS 28 (1985) 354-58. - - - , . Review of C. J. Hemer. The Letters to the Seven Churches of Asia in Their Local Sening, Trinity Journal 7 (1986) 107-11. ----;. Review of J. Paulien. Decoding Revelations Trumpets: Literary Allusions and Interpretation of Revelation 8:7-12, JBL III (1992) 358-61. - - - ' . "Solecisms in the Apocalypse as Signals for the Presence of Old Testament Allusions: A Selective Analysis of Revelation 1-22." in Early Christian Interpretation of the Scriptures of Israel, edt C. A. Evans and J. A. Sanders. JSNTSupplement Series. 148; Studies in Scripture in Early Judaism and Christianity, 5; Sheffield: Sheffield Academic, 1997, 42146. - - -.• The Use of Daniel in Jewish Apocalyptic Literature and in the Revelation of St. John. Lanham: University Press of America, 1984. - __., "The Use of the Old Testament in Revelation," in It Is Written: Scripture Citing Scripture, edt D. A. Carson and H. G. M. Williamson. Cambridge: Cambridge University. 1988.318-36. ....,.-_--;, "The Use of Daniel in the Synoptic Eschatological Discourse and in the Book of Revelation." in Gospel Perspectives 5: The Jesus Tradition outside the Gospels, cd. D. Wenham; Sheffield: JSOT, 1985. 129-53. Beasley-Murray, G. R., The Book of Revelation. NCBC; London: Marshall, Morgan. and Scott, 1974. Beauvery. R .• "L' Apocalypse au risque de la numismatique. Babylone. la grande prostituee et Ie sixi~me roi Vespasien et 18 d~sse Rome." Revue Biblique 90 (1983) 243-60.

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BIBUOORAPHY

Beckwith. 1. T.• The Apocalypse of John. New York: Macmillan, 1919. Beckwith. R., The Old Testament Canon of the New Testament Church and Its Background in Early Judaism. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans. 1985. Beet, W. E .• "Silence in Heaven (Apoc. 8,1)," ExpT44 (1932-33) 74-76. Behr. C. A., P. Aelius Aristides: The Complete Works II. Leiden: Brill, 1981. Bell. A. A .• "The Date of John's Apocalypse: The Evidence of Some Roman Historians Reconsidered," NTS 25 (1979) 93-102. Berger, K., Die Auferstehung des Propheten und die ErhOhung des Menschensohnes. sum 13; Gottingen: Vandenhoeck und Ruprecht, 1976. Berger, P.-R., "Kollyrium fur die blinden Augen. Apk. 3:18," NovT 27 (1985) 174-95. Bergmeier, R., "Die Buchrolle und das Lamm (Apk 5 und 10)," ZNW 76 (1985) 225-42. - - -.• "'Jerusalem, du hochgebaute Stadt,''' ZNW 75 (1984) 86-106. Betz, H. D .• "Zum Problem des religionsgeschichtlichen Verstandnisses der Apokalyptik," ZTK 63 (1966) 391-409. Betz. 0., "The Eschatological Interpretation of the Sinai-Tradition in Qumran and in the New Testament," Revue de Qumran 6 (1967) 89-107. - - - , . "Die Geburt der Gemeinde durch den Lehrer." NTS 3 (1957) 314-26. - - - , . "Das Volk seiner Kraft. Zur Auslegung der Qumran-hodajah III,I-18," NTS 5 (1958) 67-75. Bietenhard, H., "The Millennial Hope in the Early Church," Scottish Journal of Theology 6 (1953) 12-30. - - - " Das tausendjiihrige Reich. Eine biblisch-theologische Studie. Bern: Graf-Lehmann, 1955. Birdsall, J. N., "The Text of the Revelation of Saint John: A Review of Its Materials and Problems with Especial Reference to the Work of Joseph Schmid," EvQ 33 (1961) 228-37. Black. M., "The Chi-Rho Sign - Christogram andlor Staurogram?" in Apostolic History and the Gospel: Biblical and Historical Essays presented to F. F. Bruce, ed. W. W. Gasque and R. P. Martin. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1970,319-27. - - - " "The Christologic;al Use of the Old Testament in the New Testamen,t." NTS 18 (1971-72) 1-14. ---""', "The New Creation in 1 Enoch," in Creation. Christ and Culture: Studies in Honour of T. F. Torrance. ed. R. W. A. McKinney. Edinburgh: Clark. 1976, 13-21. ---....,. "The 'Two Witnesses' of Rev. 11:3f. in Jewish and Christian Apocalyptic Tradition," in Donum Gentilicium: New Testament Studies in Honour of David Daube. ed. E. Bammel. C: K. Barrett, and W. D. Davies. Oxford: Clarendon, 1978,225-37. Bleek. F.. Dr. Friedrich Bleek's Lectures on the Apocalypse. ed. T. Hossbach. London: Williams and Norgate, 1875. BOcher. 0., "Zur Bedeutung der Edelsteine in Offb 21," in Kirche und Bibel.

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Festgabe fUr Eduard Schick, ed. professors of the Phil.-Theol. Hochschule Fulda. Paderbom: Schoningh, 1979, 19-32. B~, A. S., "Bruken av det Garnle Testamente i Johannes' Apenbaring," Tidsskrijt for Teologi og Kirke 63 (1992) 253-69. Boersma, T., Is the Bible a Jigsaw Puzzle . .. An Evaluation of Hal Lindsey's Writings. St. Catharines: Paideia, 1978. Boettner, L., The Reformed Doctrine of Predestination. Phillipsburg: Presbyterian and Reformed, 1980. Bohak, G., "Greek-Hebrew Gematrias in 3 Baruch and in Revelation," JSP 7 (1990) 119-21. Boismard, M.-E., "Notes sur I'Apocalypse," Revue Biblique 59 (1952) 161-81. Boring, M. E., Revelation. Interpretation; Louisville: John Knox, 1989. Bomkanun, G., Early Christian Experience. New York: Harper and Row, 1969. - - - " "Die Komposition der apokalyptischen Visionen in der Offenbarung Johannis," ZNW 36 (1937) 132-49. Borowicz, K., "Canticum Moysi(s) et canticum agni (Apoc 15,3)," Ruch Biblijny i Liturgiczny 17 (1964) 81-87. Botha, P. J. 1., "God, Emperor Worship, and Society: Contemporary Experiences and the Book of Revelation," Neotestamentica 22 (1988) 87-102. Bousset, w., Die Offenbarung Johannis. Gottingen: Vandenhoeck und Ruprecht,

61906. Bowman, J. W., "The Revelation to John: Its Dramatic Structure and Message," Interpretation 9 (1955) 436-53. Boyer, J. L., "Are the Seven Letters of Revelation 2-3 Prophetic?" Grace Theological Journal 6 (1985) 267-73. Brady, D., The Contribution of British Writers between 1560 and 1830 to the Interpretation of Revelation 13: 16-18. Ttibingen: Mohr, 1983. Bratcher, R. G., A Translator s Guide to the Revelation to John. London: United Bible Societies, 1984. Braun, H., Qumran und das Neue Testament I-II. Ttibingen: Mohr, 1966. Breech, E., "These Fragments I Have Shored against My Ruins: The Form and Function of 4 Ezra," JBL 92 (1973) 267-74. Brewer, R R, "Rev 4,6 and Translations Thereof," JBL 71 (1952) 227-31. Brown, R E., The Semitic Background of the Term "Mystery" in the New Testament. Philadelphia: Fortress, 1968. Brown, R E., Donfried, K. P., Fitzmyer, J. A., and 1. Reumann, eds., Mary in the New Testament. Philadelphia: Fortress, 1978. Brownlee, W. H., "The Priestly Character of the Church in the Apocalypse," NTS 5 (1958-59) 224-25. Brox, N., Zeuge und Miirtyer. Studien zum Alten und Neuen Testament 5. Munich: Kosel, 1961. Bruce, F. F., New Testament Development of Old Testament Themes. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1970. _ _--" New Testament History. Garden City: Doubleday, 1971.

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- - - " "Revelation," The International Bible Commentary, ed. F. F. Bruce, H. L. Ellison, and G. C D. Howley. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1986, 1593-1629. ----;, "The Spirit in the Apocalypse." In Christ and the Spirit in the New Testament, ed. B. Lindars and S. S. Smalley. Cambridge: Cambridge University, 1973, 333-44. Bruns, I. E., "The Contrasted Women of Apocalypse 12 and 17." 26 (1964) 459-63. Brlltsch. C, La Ciani de I'Apoca/ypse. Geneva: Labor et Fides, 1955. ----:, Die Offenbarung Jesu Christi I-II. ZUrcher Bibelkommentare. Zurich: Zwingli, 1970. Buchanan, G. W., The Book of Revelation: Its Introduction and Prophecy. Mellon Biblical Commentary, New Testament Series; Lewiston: Mellon, 1993. Bullinger, E. W., The Apocalypse or the Day of the Lord. London: Eyre and Spottiswood, 1909. ----;, Figures of Speech Used in the Bible. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1968. Burchard, C .• "Joseph and Aseneth," OTP II, 177-247. Burney, C F., "Christ as the APXH of Creation (Prov. viii 22; Col. i 15~18, Rev. iii 14)," JTS 27 (1925-26) 160-77. Burton, E. D., Syntax of the Moods and Tenses in New Testament Greek. Edinburgh: Clark, 1894. Cadoux, C D., Ancient Smyrna, Oxford: Blackwell, 1938. Caird., G. B., The Apostolic Age. London: Duckworth, 1955. - - - . , A Commentary on the Revelation of St. John the Divine. New York: Harper and Row, 1966. - - - . , The Language and Irruzgery of the Bible. Philadelphia: Westminster, 1980. Callahan, A. D., "The Language of the Apocalypse." Harvard Theological Review 88 (1995) 453-57. Calvin, I., Commentaries on Daniel II. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1984. ----', Commentaries on the Twelve Minor Prophets I. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1984. ----', Concerning the Eternal Predestination of God. London: Clarke, 1961 (reprint). Cambier, I., "Les images de l' Ancien Testament dans l' Apocalypse de Saint Jean," Nouvelle Revue Theologique 77 (1955) 113-22. Carnegie, D. R., "The Hymns in Revelation: Their Origin and Function." Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, British Council for National Academic Awards (supervision under London Bible College), 1978. - - - . , "Worthy Is the Lamb: The Hymns in Revelation," in Christ the Lord: Studies Presented to D. Guthrie. ed H. H. Rowden. Downers Grove: InterVarsity, 1982, 243-56, Carrington, P., The Meaning of the RevelatiofL London: SPCK, 1931.

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BIBUOGRAPHY

Iv

Quispel, G., The Secret Book of Revelation. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1979. Ramsay, W. M., The Letters to the Seven Churches of Asia and Their Place in the Plan of the Apocalypse. London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1904. Reader, W. w., "The Riddle of the Polis in Rev. 11: 1-13," in Studia Evangelica VII, ed. E. A. Livingstone. Berlin: Akademie, 1982,407-14. - - - . , "TIle Twelve Jewels of Revelation 21:19-20: Tradition History and Modem Interpretations," JBL 100 (1981) 433-57. Reicke, B., "Die jiidische Apokalyptik und die johanneische Tiervision," Re, cherches de Science Religieuse 60 (1972) 173-92. Rienecker, F., and Rogers, C. L., A Linguistic Key to the Greek New Testament. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1980. ' Rissi, M., "Die Erscheinung Cluisti nach Offenbarung 19:11-16," Theologische ZeitschriJt 21 (1965) 81-95. - - - ' , The Future of the World: An Exegetical Study of Rev. 19:]]-22:15. SBT 2123; London: SCM, 1972. - - - " "Das Iudenproblem im Lichte der 10hannesapokalypse," Theoiogische Zeitschrift 13 (1957) 241-59. - - - , "The Revelation of St. John the Divine," Interpreter's Bible XII. Nashville: Abingdon, 1957,347-613. - - - , "Rider on the White Horse: A Study of Revelation 6:1-2," Interpretation 18 (1964) 407-18. - - - , Time and History: A Study on the Revelation. Richmond: John Knox, 1966. ----" Zeit und Geschichte in der Offenbarung des Johannesapokalypse. Abhandlungen zur Theologie des Alten und Neuen Testaments 46. Zurich: Zwingli, 1965. Rist, M., "The Revelation of St. John the Divine" (Introductit Clement." 88. Ibid., 44.

THE DATE OF TIlE APOCALYPSE

17

but the city experienced a devastating earthquake in 60-61 A.D. Therefore, the natural assumption is that the city took longer than merely three or four years to recover economically. And, as suggested by many commentators, the very existence of the church at Smyrna suggests a later date, since it is possible that the church was not even established until 60-64 A.D.89

The Myth of Nero s Reappearance Some commentators argue that some passages in Revelation reflect a "revival of Nero" myth, especially 13:3-4 and 17:8, 11, which speak of the demise of the beast and subsequent revival. In particular, 13: 3-4 refers to the beast recovering from a fatal wound. The Nero myth held that Nero would return from the dead and lead a Parthian army against the Roman Empire. If these texts reflect the myth, then Revelation is better dated later than earlier, since presumably it took time for the myth to arise, develop, and'circulate after Nero's death in 68 A.D. But even some who hold to a late date question whether these passages draw on the Nero myth, since there are differences in the portrayals. Therefore, the myth may not contribute significantly to settling the date question. But Bauckham has contended that lohn creatively adapts two forms of the Nero legend, one each in chs. 13 and 17, which portray distinct events in the career of the beast. 90 Ch. 13 portrays "the power and success of the Roman Empire in its opposition to God and his people"; ch. 17 portrays "the ultimate downfall of the empire."91 lohn's interest in christological parody has influenced him to adapt the two forms of the legend, making the beast's resurrection in ch. 13 a distinct event from the beast's parousia in ch. 17.92 Bauckham'~ arguments and conclusions seem viable for the most part, though qualitications need to be made at various points (see below and on 17: 10-11). The general plausibility of his reformulation of a twofold Nero tradition gives lohn's references to the Nero legend a decisive impact on the dating of Revelation. The degree to which John consciously alluded to the Nero legend must remain unclear; Bauckham himself acknowledges that "Revelation says nothing explicitly about the historical Nero. "93 Gentry tries to discern the beginnings of the Nero legend as early as the reigns of Galba and Otho (68-69 A.D.), since both in various ways associated their reign with that 89. For plausible refutation of these three internal arguments see Robinson, Redating the New Testament, 229-30; Genlry, Before Jerusalem Fell, 318-30. Colin Herner, after a thorough investigation of the local conditions surrounding each church, has claimed that the cumulative results of his study confirm a date during Domitian's reign (Leller~' to the Seven Churches, e.g., 2-12). 90. Climax of Prophecy, 384-452. For the notion that Revelation 13 and 17 P0rlrIlY distincl events in the career of the beast see ibid., 429-31. 91. Ibid.. 430, 92. Ibid., 440. 93. Ibid.. 412.

INTRODUcnON

18

of Nero.94 However, though such associations may have enhanced Nero's reputation, they certainly have no clear link to the "return of Nero" legend, which arose only yean later in the latter part of the £JISt century and subsequently.95 Interestingly, Domitian was viewed by Roman aristocracy as a second Nero. 96 Furthermore, Gentry shows no awareness of the twofold nature of the Nero legend reflected in Revelation 13 and 17, which certainly has no precedent before 70 A.D. but only yean later. Robinson recognizes past attempts to trace developing stages of the Nero myth years after Nero's death, but says that the popular psychology of expecting Nero's return may, nevertheless, have arisen earlier. 97 He cites Tacitus, Hist. 2.8f., and Suetonius, Lives of the Caesars, Nero 57, as evidence. Robinson wrote before Bauckham and so could not take into consideration Bauckham's more developed version of.the developing Nero traditions and their use in Revelation 13 and 17. Bauckham's perspective poses great difficulties for Robinson's position. For further discussion of the Nero legend see below on 13:3 and 17:10-11. It is plausible that the OT and the apostolic tradition about Christ were the primary interpretative lenses through which John interpreted all other oral and literary sources, including extrabiblical traditions and myths, so that such traditions and myths are subordinated to biblical thought, and thus transfonned and applied to the dragon and the beast and other figures in the Apocalypse. John painted verbal pictures in such a way as to ring bells in the minds of his readers, many of whom were fonner pagans and would have been familiar with some of these myths; he did so partly to put his readers' mythological background into biblical perspective. John can utilize even legends in order to conduct polemics against the ungodly world that fonnulates the myths. For example, the "seven heads" in 12:3 appears to come not from the OT but from cosmological traditions depicting the seven-headed sea monster Lotan. John adapts the Nero legend partly to supplement the portrayal of the beast's parody of Christ and to highlight the beast's judgment, especially to show that the beast's parousia concludes in destruction for himself and his kingdom, in contrast to the parousia of Christ. Similarly, in Acts 17 Paul applies to God statements about the attributes of Zeus in order to underscore that such pagan statements apply truly only to God. John executes the same polemic in Rev. 1:4 and elsewhere in his book.98 In the same way, OT authors applied to Yahweh attributes of Baal from Canaanite mythology in order to make precisely the same point.

"Babylon"

Those preferring a pre-70 A.D. date for Revelation regard "Babylon" as a symbolic name for apostate JerusaJem,99 but John's use of the name may be the strongest internal evidence for a post-70 date. tOO "Babylon" refers to Rome in Jewish literature after 70 A.D. and roughly contemporary with the Apoca94. Before Jerusalem Fell, 308-9. 95. For primary references see the comments below on 13:3 and Bauclcharn, Climax of

Prophecy, 423-50. 96. Juvenal 4.37ff. calIs him a "bald-headed Nero," and Manial, Epigrams 11.33, refe~ to Domitian's death as "Nero's death." 97. Redating the New Testament, 245. 98. See on I :4; see also Beale, Review of Herner. 99. See below. 100. So A. Y. Collins, Crisis and Catharsis. 57-58.

TIlE DAlE OF 1lIE APOCALYPSE

19

lypse. tOI Jewish commentators called Rome "Babylon" because the Roman armies destroyed Jerusalem and its temple in 70 A.D.• just as Babylon had done in the sixth century B.C.102 This use of the name probably influenced John. as did other Jewish traditions (see the commentary section throughout). Jewish writings might have referred to Rome as Babylon before 70 A.D. merely out of a belief that Jews were still in exile, even though they were living in the Promised Land. because they were oppressed by a foreign power, because the new temple of Ezekiel 40-48 had not yet been built, and because the new creation had not yet occurred, all of which was expected to occur when Israel's exile was completely ended. t03 But Jews do not appear to have labeled Rome "Babylon" until after 70 A.D. In fact, the only early metaphorical uses of "Babylon" occur. besides in Revelation, in 4 Ezra, 2 Baruch, and the Sibylline Oracles, which are clearly post-70. J. Christian Wilson argues that in Jewish literature prior to 70 A.D. (OT. LXX, DSS, Pseudepigrapha) Babylon was associated primarily with the exile and only rarely linked with Jerusalem's destruction, whereas in 4 Ezra and 2 Baruch (written after 70) the name is explicitly connected to Jerusalem's destruction. In Revelation "Babylon" is never linked with Jerusalem's destruction but represents only the place in which the saints live in exile. Wilson concludes that Revelation was written prior to 70 A.D. 104 This is plausible, but the analysis is based in part on an argument from silence. Furthermore, Wilson's attempt to demonstrate that in the OT and LXX Babylon is only significantly thought of as a place of exile suppresses too much the important associations of Babylon with Jerusalem's destruction in that literature.

The Earliest Traditions

The testimony of the earliest patristic authors supports a dale during the time of Domitian. The most important of these witnesses are Irenaeus,t05 Victorinus of Pettau,106 Eusebius,I07 and possibly Clement of Alexandria los and Origen. I09 The most decisive and earliest witness is Irenaeus, who, in discussing the identity of the Antichrist in Revelation, writes, "We will not, however, incur the risk of pronouncing positively as to the name of Antichrist; for if it were necessary that his name should be distinctly revealed in this present time, it 101. Above all see 4 E:aa 3: 1-2,28-31; 2 Baruch 10: 1-3; 11: I; 67:7; Sibylline Oracles 5.143, 159-60. 102. Hunzinger, "Babylon als Deckname." 103. On Jewish belief in the continuing exile see Scott, "Restoration oflsrael"; Beale, "Old Testament Background of Reconciliation in 2 Cor. 5-7." 104. Wilson, "Babylon as a Cipher for Rome." 105. Adversus Haereses 5.30.3. 106. Apocalypse 10.11 (304 A.D.). 107. H.E. 3.17-18 (260-340 A.D.). 108. Quis Dives Salvetur 42. 109. Matthew 16.6. Gentry argues against viewing Clement and Origen as witnesses to a late date (Before Jerusalem Fell, 68-85, 97-99).

20

INTRODUCTION

would have been announced by him who beheld the Apocalypse. For it was seen not very long ago, but almost in our day, toward the end of Domitian reign. " 110 A few commentators have suggested that "it was seen" should be translated "he [John] was seen," so that the phrase does not mean that the Apocalypse was written during Domitian's time but only that John was seen during Domitian's time. 11l But "the Apocalypse" is the closest antecedent, and the Latin translation ofIrenaeus supports this understanding ofthe clause. 112 The majority of patristic writers and subsequent commentators up to the present understand Irenaeus's words as referring to the time when the Apocalypse "was seen." 113 In the same context lrenaeus discusses various possible identifications for the number of the "beast" (666). But he does not entertain the possibility that the beast is to be identified with Nero,114 and he even rejects the possibility that the beast is to be identified with any Roman emperor at all (see Irenaeus, Adversus Haereses 5.30.3). Such lack of consideration is. striking since Nero's infamous reputation as a persecuting tyrant would still have been well known.ll5 Irenaeus's silence about Nero cannot be attributed to a future expectation of the beast, in contrast to a preterist view 116 because one of the identifications that he doeR consider is Lateinos, which he identifies as the past, present, and future Roman Empire and understands as a beginning fulfillment of the prophesied fourth kingdom of Daniel 2 and 7. The number of the beast "indicates the recapitulations of the apostasy that occurred at the beginning and during the intermediate periods and will take place at the end" 117 and is "a summing up of that whole apostasy that has taken place during six thousand years." 118 Irenaeus certainly could have integrated some form of a "revival of Nero" view into his own "a1ready-and-notyet" interpretation of Rev. 13: 18 (see the comments below on that verse).

s

Arguments for an Early Date The Temple and Jerusalem That the temple in Jerusalem is spoken of in Rev. 11: 1-2 as still standing is sometimes taken as evidence of a pre-70 A.D. date, since it is unlikely that a 110. The Greek rendering has been preserved by Eusebius, H.E. 3.18.3; 5.8.6. III. E.g., Gentry, Before Jerusalem Fell. 46-67. 112. Despite the lack of any extant textual e\lidence. Gentry argues that the Latin te"t has been corrupted and was originally constructed so that John would ha\le been undel1itood as the subject of the verb (ibid.• 55-56). 113. Even many espousing an early date for RC\lelation acknowledge this tnmslation; e.g .• Robinson. Reda/ing, 221; Hort (Swete, Apocal)·pse. c\li). 114. See Morris. Revela/ion, 38. II 5. Morris. RevelaJion. 174. 116. Against the protestations of Gentry. Before Jerusalem Fell. 203-8. 117. Adversus Ha.ereses 5.30.1. 118. Ibid.• 5.28.2.

THE DATE OF 1HE APOCALYPSE

21

Christian or Jewish author could mention such a thing after the destruction of the temple in that year. But this asswnes a literal reading of 11: 1-2 - and that it refers to the first-century Herodian temple. The literal reading should be questioned in the light of the symbolism throughout the book and in ch. II in particular (e,g" vv 3-7). Furthennore the depiction and measurements of the temple are based literarily and architecturally not on the Herodian temple but on the eschatological temple of Ezekiel 40-48. What is portrayed is the eschatological fulfillment of Ezekiel's temple in the new age (for full discussion see the comments below on 11:1-2). This argues against Robinson's statement about 11:1 that "it is clear from what follows that this is the old temple of the earthly city." 119 The allusion to "the holy city" (11 :2) and "the great city" (11 :8) are also understood as literal references to historical Jerusalem immediately before the Roman siege of the city. While possible, such a literal understanding suffers from the same weakness as the literal interpretation of the temple in that it fails to deal with the symbolic import of the text (see further on 11:2 and 8). Furthermore, Robinson observes that the city is not completely destroyed at the end of ch. 11 and infers from this that historical Jerusalem had not yet been destroyed by the time John wrote. But the seventh bowl (16:17-21) does in fact picture "the great city" as entirely destroyed.

The Seven Kings In 17:9 "seven mountains" are noted, which most agree is a way of referring to historical Rome and its seven hills. Then the angel tells John in v 10 that these mountains represent seven kings: "five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet corne." The sixth king is the one in power as John writes, An early dating of the book will identify the first of these "kings" as Augustus, the first official Roman emperor, and the sixth as Galba, who reigned briefly after Nero's death (68-69 A.D.). Or one rnightjust as plausibly begin with Julius Caesar, who first claimed the rights of Roman emperor)20 In that case, Nero would be the sixth and Galba the seventh. A late dating can construe the list in a number of ways. Some commentators start the list with Caligula, since he was the first Roman ruler to be installed after the new age inaugurated by Christ's death and resurrection and the first Roman ruler to reflect overtly the characteristics of Antiochus Epiphanes, a forerunner of the Antichrist in Christian tradition (e.g., Matt. 24: 15), by attempt-

119. Redating, 238; cf. Adams, The TIme Is at Hand, 68-69, who anticipated Robinson's

position. 120. 'The proposal that the lisl of kings begins with Julius Caesar and thal Nero is the sixth has been argued in thorough manner by Gentry (Before JelWialem Fell, I~), with whom there is further interaction in the discus.~ion attached to the comments below on 17:10.

22

INIRODUCTION

ing to erect a statue of himself in the Jerusalem temple. Others begin with Tiberius, the emperor under whom Christ was crucified and under whom Jewish persecution of Christians occurred. If we begin with Nero, the seventh king is Domitian. Some begin with Augustus, going on to Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, and Nero (the five fallen kings), then Vespasian (the "one" who "is") and Titus (the one who "has not yet come"), though the eighth king (v 11) is sometimes identified as Domitian. But should Galba, Otho, and Vitellius, who reigned briefly and successively after Nero, be thus excluded? Some ancient writers considered them legitimate emperors.l 21 What would be th~ basis of their exclusion? Questions facing any historical identification are: Which ruler should we begin with? Are all the emperors to be counted or merely those who fostered the emperor cult? If all the emperors are included, there are too many for both the Neronic and the Domitianic datings. And hQW could the eighth emperor also be "one of the seven" (17:11) historically? Specific problems face the identification of Nero as the sixth king and his reign as the time when Revelation was written: (I) The brief reign of Galba would likely have to be identified with the final revival of the beast, who is decisively destroyed after this final reappearance (17: 11). But Galba died before the fall of "Babylon" (i.e., Jerusalem, within this theory), whereas cbs. 17-18 have Babylon destroyed before the beast. The identification of Galba's reign with the beast's [mal phase of existence could be confirmed by identification of the reign of the "seventh" king for "a little while" (17:10) with the brief temporal reign ("one hour") of the beast (17: 12). But the problem is compounded because the beast (= the persecuting Roman Empire) was not decisively defeated with Galba's reign but continued on in historic fonn for centuries. This would have been an insuperable problem for the church's recognition of Revelation's divine authority, since 17: 11 would have been viewed as a false prophecy contradicting the message in chs. 17-18 that Babylon would be destroyed before the beast. (2) Likewise, if Galba's reign is identified with the [mal revival of the beast and his last unleashing of persecution (cf. 17:8, 11 with 11:7), then the historical incongruity would lie in the fact that there was no significant persecution in his reign. (3) Though the sixth king is said to exist presently (he "is," 17:10), the beast is described as not presently active in any significant way (17:11). A viable reading of this is that though the sixth king is ruling in the present, the beast is not using him as a pawn to persecute on as severe a scale as the seventh king, who is to come and who will persecute on an unprecedented scale; even if this is not the precise meaning of "is not" in 17:11, 11:7 and 20:1-9 still bear out that the last historical adversary of God's people (= the seventh king) will persecute on a larger and more severe scale than any earlier ruler (see the 121. E.g., Sib. Or: 5.35; Josephus, War 4.491-%.

THE DATE OF 1HE APOCALYPSE

23

comments on 17 :8a, 10-11, as well as 11:7 and 20: 1-9). But, if the sixth king is Nero, then the description of Rev. 17:10-11 does not fit, since Nero was infamous as a greater persecutor than any Roman emperor of the first century. Robinson, an advocate of the pre-70 dating, acknowledges that Nero could not be the sixth king, since "if one thing is certain it is that Nero is dead and not 'now reigning.' "122 (4) According to the assumption that 17:8,9-11 reflects the "revival of Nero" myth (see above), if Nero's death is presupposed in the imagery of 17:9-11, then he cannot be both the king who "is" presently ruling (17:10) and the king who "is not. "123 (5) Lastly, this view, as well as the others, is not able to identify clearly the "ten kings" of 17:12 (see below for further discussion of these problems). Chilton, who holds to a Neronic date for the book, responds to (I) and (2) by saying that the beast was resurrected, not only in Galba's reign, but in subsequent reigns. He bases this on the identification of the beast as an "eighth" king (17:11), which he interprets as a numerical symbol of resurrection. 124 While the number may well have this symbolic value, it does not by itself justify a ~surrection enduring through indefinite future kings. While possible, Chilton's proposal does not attempt to justify the incongruity of counting emperors literally up to Galba and then understanding "eighth" in a nonliteral way, discounting subsequent historical sequence. There appears no reason why the beast as an eighth king should not be identified with Galba or one more king after Galba, but no more. 0) and (2) also are not problematic for Wilson, who believes that lohn, though recording history up through the narration of the sixth king (who reigned during the time of writing), was merely wrong when he tried to prophesy about the future seventh king (whether Galba or Otho). Therefore, a lack of correspondence between lohn's portrayal of the seventh king and the actual historical events transpiring during the reign of that king should be no argument against a pre-70 date. l25 Among the problems with this view is that of the canonicity of the Apocalypse. John makes such an emphatic point that he is writing the word of the Lord (e.g., 2:7, 17,29; 19:9; 22:18-19).that it would be incongruous for immediately succeeding generations to accept the book as the divine word if lohn were so obviously wrong in his prophecy about the seventh king. A possible response to this is that the Rev. 17:9-11 prophecy was interpreted early on in a symbolic manner, so that the prophecy would not have been consuued as erroneous. However, if early interpreters could interpret the passage symbolically, perhaps that is an argument that this was the original intention as well. Already in the second century the church was careful in rejecting writings that were pseudonymous or that contained material contradicting their purported claim to be the word of God.J26 It is true that Revelation's canonicity was challenged in some sectors of the early church, but the questions arose only from the chiliastic sectarian view of Revelation 20, which interpreted the millennium in a crassly literal manner.

More likely the seven kings are not to be identified with any specific historical rulers but represent rather the oppressive power of world government

122. 123. 124. 125. 126.

Redating, 243. 17: 11; so Collins, Crisis and Catharsis, 60. Days of Vengeance. 436-37. "Problem of the Domitianic Date of Revelation," 597-605. See Ellis, "Pseudonymity and Canonicity."

INTRODUCTION

24

throughout the ages, which arrogates to itself divine prerogatives and persecutes God's people. This conclusion is indicated by (a) the figurative and telescopic use of Dan. 7:4-7, (b) the understanding of the same Daniel text in Iewish writings, (c) the use of the sea beast metaphor throughout the OT to symbolize different wicked kingdoms spanning centuries, (d) the NT's trans-temporal understanding of the Antichrist figure from Daniel II (2 Thess. 2:6-8; I John 2: 18), and (e) Revelation's identification of the seven-headed sea beast as the malevolent alter ego of the Lamb, who also exercises authority not merely in anyone historical epoch but throughout history. For more in-depth discussion of these problems see on 17:9-10 and excursus on Rev. 17:10. It is possible that seven specific Roman emperors were originally in mind and that they were symbolic for all evil kingdoms throughout history.

"666" Some contend that the numerical value of the name Nero(n) Caesar was intended to be calculated according to Hebrew transcription, since it adds up to 666, the number of the beast's name in 13:18. This would suggest that the book was written before 70 A.D., since the beast of Revelation appears to be active at the time of writing (though some view ch. 13 as purely prophetic). But identifying the name with Nero mistakenly assumes a knowledge of Hebrew and of the Hebrew system of gematria among native Greek readers. Furthermore, to ~hoose the name "Caesar Nero" is too convenient for the Neronic dating, since there were many possible titles and names for Nero. Also, in transliteration of foreign names into Hebrew there was considerable latitude in treatment of vowels and three possible equivalents for s. And why would the author not use a Greek form instead of a Hebrew form? Is it coincidence that the numerical value in Hebrew of the Greek word 9TlP{ov ("beast") is 666? The other numbers in Revelation are probably used figuratively without specific reference to one historical reality at one particular point in history. The word cXpl9J.lo.Ey000rt~ ("saying") is aci).3tl'YYo~ ("trumpet"), lOS and 19:6 could be taken as a parallel in support of this view, though this is unlikely (see the comments there). Probably the antecedent of >.Ey000rt~ is the accusative q,wv",v ("voice"); the "voice" (~V1'Iv) is what John heard speaking, so that the expected form would be the accusative singular 'JJ:yoooav in agreement with the governing noun 4lcoV1'lv and not in agreement with the syntactically dependent genitive acUm:y~.I06 Nevertheless, the expected accusative fonn of the participle has become the genitive A£yOOOT\~ as a result of having been assimilated to the genitive case of O'QAIt\yy~. That this construction is irregular and that 4lcovitv should be seen as the proper 101. E.g .• Boyer. "Are the Seven Leners Prophetic?"; Lindsey. There 'HI New World Coming. 22-23 and passim on cbs. 2-3. 102. cr. Thomas. "Chronological Interpretation of Revelation 2-3." 103. E.g .. Prigent, L'Apocalypse de Saint Jean, 26. 104. Cf. Lerters ro rhe Snen Church, 176-96. and more recent corroboration by Herner. Lerrer.r. 15. lOS. M. Stuart. Apocalypse II, 41. 106. So Swete. Apocalypse. 13; 1. T. Beckwith. Apo"aiypse, 436; Thomas, Revelarion 1-7. 95.

1: lOb-ll

205

antecedent of A£youCJT]; is con tinned by the following observations from other uses of cpwvi) with Aiyw ("say"), namely 5: 12; 6:6, 7, 10; 7:2-3, 10; 8: 13; 9: 13-14; 10:4,8; 11: 12; 12:10; 14:7,9, 13; 16:1, 17; 18:2,4; 19:1,6, 17; 21:3: (I) All these verses refer to a voice of a heavenly being (or beings) who utters an intelligible sound, not an indistinct sound of thunder or a trumpet (almost half also refer to a "great voice," as here in 1: 10-11); (2) cpwvi) is often the antecedent of a participial form of 'J..iyoJ, which is in concord with its antecedent (6:6; 10:4,8; 11:12; 12:10; 14:13; 16:1, 17; 18:4; 21:3half of these have cpwvTjv ... Aiyou(Juv, which would appear in 1:10-11 were it not for assimilation to (JaA.myyo:;); (3) Twice q,wvi) is clearly the antecedent of a participial form of /.J:yw, but, as in 1: I 0-11, the participle is not in the same case as its antecedent (6:7; 9: 13-14; see the comments on these passages; cf. also on 19:6). The awkward assimilation to (J(lA:1ttyyoC; may be intended to highlight the trumpet sound of the voice in order to underscore even more the background in Exodus 19, where Moses and Israel do not hear Yahweh's voice as "great," but "the voice of the trumpet sounded great" (19: 16) and "the voices of the trumpet were going on very much louder" (19: 19). If so, this would enhance John's identification with prophetic authority, since Exodus 19 focuses on Moses as the prophetic representative who receives God's word and is to convey it to the people (19: 19-21). The plausibility of this analysis is enhanced by the occurrence of almost the same grammatical irregularity in Rev. 4:1(1'1 cpwv" ... 7'/v ijxoucru w.; crtlAmyyo:; AaWvary;), where John again is underscoring his prophetic authority by alluding to Exodus 19 and other OT passages, while referring back to 1: 10-11 (see on 4: I). It is probably no coincidence that similar irregular constructions involving cprovi) and participial fonns of Atyw in 6:7 and 9: 13-14 (see the comments on those verses) introduce OT allusions. Swete sees the change in 1: 11 as a figure of speech called hypallage, which means an unusual change in syntax in order to emphasize the new construction thus created. lO? rnA adds that Christ identifies himself as "the Alpha and me Omega, the First and the Last," perhaps to supplement the title in 1:8 and to fonn a well-suited introduction to the book, which concludes in 22: 13 with the same threefold titles found in 1:8 and 1:11 of rnA.

John Is Commissioned to Write to the Churches Because the Initial Vision He Receives Demonstrates That the Saints' ConOdence Is Grounded in Christ's Installation as Cosmic Judge, Priest, and Ruler of the Church as a Result of His Victory over Death (1:12-20) The vision in vv 12-20 follows the typical pattern of visions in the OT and Jewish apocalyptic literature: (1) the initial vision (vv 12-16) followed by (2) the seer's response (v 17a) and then (3) an interpretation of the vision (vv 17b-20). It is surprising that commentators have not attempted to understand how this obvious observation can help in determining the meaning of the vision. Many have regarded only v 20 as the formal interpretation, but the interpretation actually begins with v 17b. Vv 17b-20 are, in fact, particularly essential to the meaning of the whole segment, since they are the formal interpretative section. The vision develops the themes of suffering, kingdom, and priesthood already found in vv 1-9, and it introduces the new theme of Christ as judge. In 107. Swete. Apocalypse, 13; cf. Bullinger, Figures of Speech. 535.

206

1:12

vv 12-16 Christ is portrayed as the eschatological heavenly priest, end-time ruler, and judge. The interpretative section reveals that it was his overcoming of death which placed him into these offices (cf. vv 17b-18) and that his kingship primarily concerns his rule over the church. The vision discloses that the overall function of vv 9-20 is to serve as a commission to John from the risen Christ to vnite the totality of the vision which he witnesses. as evidenced by the restatement of the commission in v 19. Christ commissions John in vv 10-11, and he presents his divine credentials and redemptive work as a basis both for the exhortation to take courage (v 17a) and for the authority that he assumes in issuing the commission in vv 12-18. On the basis of this exhortation (v 17a) and his own authority Christ reissues the commission in v 19 (note ouv, "therefore," in v 19). Therefore, vv 12-20 continue the idea of vv 9-11 by serving as a visionary, prophetic commission and introduction to the whole boole We have already seen how Christ's kingship and priesthood relate to the situation of the churches (see above on vv 5-6), but how does his function as judge relate to the situation of the churches? If the churches do not maintain their role as priestly kings by faithfully witnessing to "the testimony of Jesus" in the face of suffering, then they will be judged by Christ. If they are faithful and are unjustly persecuted, then they need not fear (v 17) because they can be assured that they will ultimately overcome their defeat in the same way that Christ did. Furthermore, they can be confident that their persecutors will receive true justice from Christ's hand. In fact, the exhortation "do not fear" in v 17a is the main point ofvv 12-18, with vv 12-16 and vv 17b-18 providing the basis for the exhortation. Then all of vv 12-18, climaxing at v 17a, supports the commission to write, which is the main point of vv 12-20. The OT allusions in this passage are essential to the meaning of both the vision and its interpretation. To deemphasize their significance is to deemphasize the interpretation of the text itself. The links among the OT allusions are also an essential aid in tracing the flow of thought in this section. I08 12 The frrst image John sees in the visionary description of the Son of man (vv 12-16) is that of "seven golden lampstands." The image has its general background in Exodus 25 and 37 and Numbers 8, though it is more specifically drawn from Zech. 4:2, 10, as is borne out by three observations: (1) the mention of "seven spirits" in Rev. 1:4 (cf. Zech. 4:6); (2) the interpretation of the lampstand vision of v 12b in v 20, which follows the same vision-interpretation pattern as Zech. 4:2, 10; and (3) the clear allusion to Zech. 4:2, 10 in Rev. 4:5 and 5:6 in close association with allusions to Daniel. The "seven lampstands" represent the church (cf. 1:20). In Zech. 4:2-6 the lampstand with its seven lamps is a figurative synecdoche: part of the temple furniture stands for the whole temple, which by extension also represents faithful Israel (cf. Zech. 4:6-9), which is required to live" 'not by [earthly] might nor 108. For more in-depth analysis of the use of the OT in 1:12-20 see Beale. Use of Darzjel. 154-77.

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by power, but by my Spirit: says the Lord" (Zech. 4:6). Jewish writings also understand the lampstand of Zechariah as symbolizing Israel, especially the righteous gathered from all generations at the end time (see below). The lampstand in the tabernacle and the temple was in the presence of God, and the light that emanated from it apparently represented God's presence (see Num. 8: 1-4; in Exod. 25:30-31 the lampstand is mentioned directly after the "bread of Presence"; likewise 40:4; I Kgs. 7:48-49). Similarly, the lamps on the lampstand in Zech. 4:2-5 are interpreted in 4:6 as representing God's presence or Spirit, which is to empower Israel (= the lampstand) to finish rebuilding the temple despite resistance (cf. Zech. 4:6-9). So new Israel, the church, is to draw its power from the Spirit, the divine presence, before God's throne in its drive to stand against the world's resistance. This is highlighted in Rev. 1:4 and 4:5, where the seven lamps are identified as the Spirit, as in Zechariah 4 (see on 1:4). This emphatic notion of the lampstand connoting God's presence with the church is confirmed in Rev. II :4, where the "lampstands ... stand before the Lord of the earth." Consequently, the "Iampstand" (the church) is given power by the seven lamps on it, a power primarily to witness as a light uncompromisingly to the world so that the gates of hell (cf. 2:9-11, 13) will not prevail against the building of Goo's temple, the true Israel, which is identified with the heavenly temple (see on 1: 16). This reiterates the mission of true Israel as expressed by the use of Exod. 19:6 in Rev. I :6. This also suggests that the end-ti me temple has been inaugurated in the church (Midr. Rab. Num. 15.10 expresses the hope that when God restores the end-time temple, "he will also restore the candlestick"). Rev. 11 : 1-13 confirms that the lampstands represent the church as the true temple and the totality of the people of God witnessing in the period between Christ's resurrection and his final coming. Targ. P.r.-f. Zech. 4:7 foresees that the successful building of the temple in the midst of the world's opposition will be achieved ultimately by "the Anointed One," who "will rule over all kingdoms" (see below for further references). In the light of Rev. I :5-6, Christ's death and resurrection have laid the foundation for the new temple, which he will build through the Spirit (the lamps on the lampstand). The shift from one lampstand in Zechariah to seven in Revelation stresses not only that the letters in Revelation are intended for the church universal of the escalated end times, but also that true Israel is no longer limited to a nation but encompasses all peoples (the escalation of lamp stands already had a precedent in Solomon's temple, which had ten lampstands [I Kgs. 7:491 in comparison to the tabernacle's one). That John "sees the voice that was speaking" to him may be explained as a simple metonymy {the voice representing the person speaking).I09 The point would be to highlight the voice as expressing an authoritative utterance, which may result from influence of Dan. 7: II (LXX), where the prophet "perceived the voice" (referring there, however, to the purported authoritative voice of God's enemy, though here a contrast with the Dan. 7: 13 Son of man's true authority may be implied). Even more relevant is 109. So Thoma.~. Revelation. 96; similarly NEB.

208

1: 13-1S

Exod. 20: 18, where "all the people saw the voice ... and the voice of the trumpet." In the light of the allusion to Exocl. 19:16, 19 in 1:10-11 (see the comments there), ~e awkward seeing of a voice in 1: 12 is best seen as a continuation of the Exodus allUSIOn (Philo, Decalogue 46-47, underscores the visibility of the voice in Exod. 19:16-19). ~ Ezek. 3:12-13 (LXX), which probably alludes to Exodus 20 and has been alluded to In Rev. 1:10, the prophet says, "The Spirit took me up, and I heard behind me the voice of a great earthquake. And I beheld the voice of the wings of the four living creatures" (d. likewise Ezek. 43:S-6 LXX). Charlesworth contends that the voice in Rev. I: 12 is itself an hypostatic heavenly being,II0 but all the Jewish parallels adduced in support of this can just as well be understood as metaphors, personifications, or the result of Jewish anti-anthropomorphism. Midr. Ps. 16.12; Midr. Rab. Lev. 32.8; Midr. Rab. Eccles. 4.1 §1; Sifre Deut. 10; and Pesikta Rabbati S1.4 identify the lampstand of Zech. 4:2-3 with Israelites from all epochs gathered at the end of time. Midr. Rab. Lev. 30.2; Midr. Rab. Num. 13.8; Midr. Rab. Songs 4.7 § 1; Pesikta de Rab Kahana, Piska 27.2; Pesikta Rabbati 7.7; 8.4 interpret the lampstand of Zech. 4:2 as representing Israel. Midr. Rab. Num. on 8:2-3 affirms that the reward for Israel continually lighting the seven lamps on the lampstand would be that God would preserve their "souls from all evil things" (1S.4) and that their blessings would "never be abolished" (1S.6). It was in the light of these seven lamps that God's presence dwelt (1S.9). Targ. Ps-Jon. Lev. 24:2-4 directly links the dwelling of God's glory in Israel to the continued burning of the seven lamps on the lampstand. The Qumran Teacher of Righteousness affirms that, despite his opponents, he "will shine with a sevenfold light ... for you are an everlasting light for me, and you have established my feet" (IQH 7.24-2S). Likewise the continual burning of the lamps (= the Spirit) on the seven lampstands (= churches) will mean that the presence of Christ (= the divine Ancient of Days [v 14]) will be continually with the churches and protecting them spiritually. Midr. Tanch. Gen. 6; Toledoth §20; and Qumran also saw in Zech. 4:1-14 a messianic prophecy; III in development of Zech. 4:9, Midr. Rab. Gen. 97 says that the Messiah will be descended from Zerubbabel and will rebuild the temple; ARN 30b identifies one of the figures of Zech. 4: 14 as the Messiah. For the church as the new spiritual temple see further on 11: 1-2; likewise d. 1 Cor. 3:16-17; 6:19; 2 Cor. 6:16; Eph. 2:21-22; I Pet. 2:S. Already in John 2:19-22 and elsewhere in the Gospels, Christ identifies his resurrection body as the true temple, and this is developed in Rev. 21 :22. 13-15 An analysis of OT allusions in vv 13-15 shows that the predom-

inant features of the Son of man are drawn from Daniel 7 and especially Daniel 10, with other texts contributing secondarily to the depiction. Most commentators agree that the significance of this is that Christ is portrayed as a kingly and priestly figure, since .the figure in the two Daniel texts has the same features. 112 Part of Christ's priestly role is to tend the lampstands. The OT priest would trim the lamps, remove the wick and old oil, refill the lamps with fresh oil, and relight those that had gone out. 113 Likewise, Christ tends the ecclesial lampstands by commending, correcting, exhorting, and warning (see 11 O. "Hypostatic Voice." Ill. Cf. IQS 9.10-11; Dupont-Sommer, Es.rene Writings, 317. 112. The latter idea would be enhanced if Dan. 7:9-14 is understood as a vision of a temple-throne room in heaven (so Lacocque, Daniel. 124-26). 113. Cf. Edersheim, Temple, 135.

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chs. 2-3) in order to secure the churches' fitness for service as lightbearers in a dark world. Although the clothing of v 13 could also resemble kingly attire, its use here evokes the image of a priest because of the clear temple atmosphere of the "Iampstands" and the angels coming out of the heavenly temple, who wear the same clothing in 15:5-8. The ambiguity may be deliberate: perhaps both a king and a priest are in mind, which would have precedent in the two figures of Zech. 4:3, 11-14 (see on Rev. 11:4) and in the descriptions of Jonathan (1 Macc. 10:88-89; 14:30) and Simon, the "governor and high priest" of Israel (1 Macc. 14:32-47). Christ's sovereign oversight of the churches presupposes his constant presence among them. A few commentators attempt to deny any priestly connotations, usually on the purported basis that such are not in mind in DaniellO, Ezekiel 9, and the 1 Maccabees contexts. 1l4 However, this can only be maintained in 1 Maccabees by ignoring the broad context. Furthermore, although the heavenly figures in Daniel and Ezekiel are not called priests, their c10thing is still best understood against the background of similar priestly clothing elsewhere in the QT, especially since the LXX never uses 1tO~Pll~ (of its 12 uses of the word) of a king's attire. However, kings and leaders in Israel did have some priestly responsibilities (e.g., David). so that it would not be unexpected that their attire might resemble to some degree that of priests. For example, Eliakim is portrayed as having a tunic and sash in Isa. 22:21-22. which the Targum explicitly interprets as both kingly and priestly attire, and directly relates to his sons as "priests wearing the Ephod" (interestingly. Isa. 22:22 is applied to Christ in Rev. 3:7). The transferal of attributes from the judicial figure of the Ancient of Days (cf. Dan. 7:9-12) to Christ also evokes his role as the latter-day, divine judge, which is also clear from 19: 12 (where oi fIE 6~aw..l.lOt amo'i) [~] ~A~ 7rup6~ ["and his eyes as a flame of fire"] is a metaphor of judgment rcf. 2:18-23]). Jesus' constant presence with the churches means that he always knows their spiritual condition, which results either in blessing or judgment (e.g., 6 lXO)v 'to~ 6~8a40u ("furnace") is an irregular conslruction designed similarly to attract attention to the OT allusion repeated three times in Theod. of Dan. 3:21, 23, and 26(93), where the word for "fire" and "burning" following "furnace" is also in the genitive (Tf\c; XQJ.l{vou tOU m.>po~ ~ XQ\oIJ,tVTl Ol&i'l ("behold, I will give").204 The paraHelism also supports the translation of Ol&i'l not as "I will give" but "I will make" (so KJV, RSV, NIV, etc.), which is supported by similar LXX uses of the verb in literal renderings of Hebrew. 2os This second clause demonstrates both that the unbelieving Jews Ilre not true Israel and that the believing church now represents God's true people. The phrase "I will make them in order that for "so that"]206 they will come and bow down before your feet" is a collective allusion to Isa. 45:14; 49:23; 60: 14 (VTG apparatus); and Ps. &6:9. All these OT texts predict that Gentiles wiJ] come and bow down before Israel al1d Israel's God in the last days (grammarians differ 202. Josephus records that the Jews of Laodicea were called "friends and allies" of Rome (Ant. 14.242); their complaint to the proconsul (14.241-43) may imply their economic prosperity, which is also suggested by their attempt in 62 B.C. to send twenty pounds of gold to Jerusalem for the annual temple contribution (so Cicero, Pro Fiacco 28.66-69). For a survey of the economic status of Jews in Asia Minor. see Applebaum. "Social and Economic Status." For additional discussion of Jewish accommodation to pagan culture in Asia Minor see Hemer, utters, 182-84. 203. Wilcock, Heaven Opened, 56. 204. BlOOl is a present subjunctive verb used with a future sense and parallel with future tense 1!OlTt(J(l). The subjunctive (though usually aorist) occurs elsewhere in Revelation with a future meaning (as in 15:4; see Robertson, Grammar. 928-30). 205. S. Thompson, Apocalypse and Semitic SynJax, 14. 206. OM, 249.

288

3:9

as to whether the ~va of Rev. 3:9b introduces an object clause, purpose clause, or result clause). This prophecy has been fulfilled ironically in the Gentile church, which has become true Israel by virtue of its faith in Christ. In contrast, ethnic Israel fulfills the role of the Gentiles because of their unbelief. Likewise the prophecy that God would demonstrate his love for persecuted Israel before the nations is also fulfilled in an apparent reverse manner: "and [they will] know that I have loved you," in v 9b is applied to the church instead of ethnic Israel, as apparently in Isa. 43:4 (and the LXX of Isa. 41 :8; 44:2; 60: 10; and 63:9; cf. 48:14; Jub. 1:25). Therefore, Isaiah's prophecies that the end-time salvation of Israel would spark off the salvation ofthe Gentiles has been fulfilled in an ironic manner. This is likely true even if a remnant of Jewish Christians composed a part of the Philadelphian church, since the majority would have been Gentiles. And, while the church assumes the role of Israel in these fulfilled prophecies, Christ performs the role that I~iah foretold of Yahweh. Christ is the one causing the unbelieving Jewish conununity to recognize that the Gentile church composes his beloved people. The force of the Isaiah allusions shows that this is not to be a begrudging recognition by the Jews. 207 Rather, it will be an acknowledgment that leads to the very salvation of the ethnic Jews themselves.208 The focus on salvation derives from the Isaiah prophecies, which refer not only to the judgment of some Gentiles but also to the salvation of many others, who acknowledge Israel as God's true people.209 The conclusion is also apparent from the fact that the similar Isa. 60:11 prophecy is understood in Rev. 21:25-26 as referring to redemption; indeed, the context in Isaiah 60 refers to redeemed Gentiles offering voluntary worship (see below on 21 :24-26). That the salvation of the Jews is in mind is also apparent from the still present connection with the salvific key and door imagery continued in v 9a from vv. 7-8a, and ultimately from 1:18b (this view of the Jews' salvation is also suggested by the striking similarity of language between v 9b and 1 Cor. 14:25). The notion of voluntary worship of God is also underscored by recognizing that all the other uses of npooxuvEco in Revelation refer to voluntary "worship" of either God (10 occurrences) or of the beast and idols (11 occurrences). In particular, the almost identical phrase "worship (np0O'XuvEID) before the feet" is used elsewhere of voluntary reverence on the part of a Christian believer (22:8, which is virtually the same as 19: 10). The Isaiah prophecies are to be fulfilled imminently in the church's own experience, though not exclusively, since the letter is also addressed to all the churches. 210 207. As, e.g., Mounce, Revelation, 118-19, and Beasley-Murray. RevelaJion, 101, think. 208. Against 1. T. Beckwith, Apocalypse, 480-82. 209. So likewise Caint, Revelation, 52-53; ct. [sa. 42:6; 45:22; 49: 1,6; 49:8 (LXX); 51:4; Acts 13:47; 26: 17-18,23; against Fekkes,lsaiah and Prophetic Traditions, 135, who sees no thought of conversion. 210. Thomas, Revelation 1-7, 281-82, sees the Isaiah prophecies being fulfilled only at the final return of Chrisl

3:10

289

•

The positive focus on Philadelphia's persevering witness is another piece of evidence pointing to the likelihood that "witness" is the prevailing theme of all the letters. 211 . The understanding of Rev. 3:9 as an ironic reversal of the Isaiah prophecies sees It as parallel to Rom. 11:11-31, where Gentile salvation is a missionary tactic on Paul's part to bring about Jewish salvation. Paul quotes Isaianic prophecies in Rom. 11:26-27 and views them as fulfilled in apparent reverse manner, since the pattern of Isaiah 59-60 places Israel's salvation first, which then sparks the homage of the Gentiles (thUS Paul uses "mystery" in 11 :25 to introduce the quotations from Isa. 59:20-21 and 27:9 in RODL 11 :26-27). The debate about whether Rom. 11 :25ff. refers to a final salvation of ethnic Israel at Cluist's second coming or to an "already-and-not-yet" reality cannot be addressed here. 212 The parallel with Romans 11 highlights further the notion of witness, since Paul's overriding concern in Romans 11 is that his apostolic witness to the Gentiles will result in provoking Jews to jealousy in order that they might be saved. In view of the heavy influence of Isaiah 40-60 in Rev. 3:7-9, an allusion to Isa 45: 1 can also be recognized in 3:8: cf. avOil;Cll ~~1tp006EV umou eup~ xa\ 7t61..£~ oil GU"'(Xi.£laeiloovtu\ ("I will open to him doors, and cities will not be closed") from Isa. 45: 1 with otOolxa tvdm1.6v ao'll 9Upav ";VEcpyJ.1£VllV, i\v o\>&l.aia occurs in Ezek. 5:17; 6:12; 7:15; 12:16; Sir. 39:30; 40:9; Bar. 2:25, while J,litxatpa is found in the other instances of the fourfold formula). As in Ezekiel 14, the trials here not only affect nations in general but have the dual purpose within the covenant community of purifying the faithful and punishing those disloyal to Christ. It is striking that in Sir. 39:25-40:9, which representc; early Jewish exegetical tradition based on Ezek. 14:21 (and Lev. 26:18-28; Deut. 32:24-25; Jer. 15:1-4; 16:4-5; Ezek. 5:16-17), where the four judgments occur, there is also emphasis on these calamities affecting both the righteous and the wicked (cf. Sir. 39:25-27; 40:1,8-9; on the other hand, Pss. Sol. 13:1-4ff. applies the four trials of Ezek. 14:13-23 and parallel OT texts only to the judgment of the "godless" and "sinner" and not to the righteous). Sirach 39-40 stands in the exegetical tradition of Rev. 6:8 since it even identifies the agents executing the woes as "spirits" or "winds" (1tV£ul1a'ta) sent by God (v 28). as also does Rev. 6:2-8 together with 7: 1 and Zech. 6:5 (which have, however, aVEJ,lOl; see on 7:1 for its link with 6:2-8). In addition, two of these "winds" are explicitly said to "appease the wrath of God," as in Zech. 6:5, 8, and more generally in Rev. 7:lff. That the woes of the horsemen affect both righteous and unrighteous is consistent with the Exodus plague background of the following trumpet and bowl trials, since early Jewish tradition held that the Exodus plagues affected Israelites for their

6:7-8

385

sanctification and the Egyptians for punishment (Wis. 11 :6-14; see the introductory comments on ch. 8). The fourth rider demonstrates that the previous afflictions can and sometimes do lead to death. He uses the preceding three woes to bring death. But they do not always result in death. These four plagues have a partial effect. since the last horseman summarizes the previous three and the disaster he brings is limited to "a fourth of the earth." The four woes do not harm every person without exception. Nevertheless, their destructive force is felt by many throughout the world. since the four horses of Zechariah I and 6 also have a worldwide effect. The sphere of these calamities also likely extends beyond the borders of the NT covenant community to the whole world, since they have the same broader reference in Ezek. 14:12-23. The cosmic extent of the tribulations is emphasized by the fact that there are four horsemen, a figurative number for universality (see discussion of the "four living creatures" in the comments on 4:6-8; see 7:1-3). Therefore, just as the four "living creatures" represent the praise of the redeemed throughout the entire creation, so the plagues of the four horsemen symbolize the suffering of many throughout the earth, which will continue until the parousia. That the horsemen's plagues represent all kinds of woes is clear from the fact that the fourfold covenant curse formula cited in 6:8b is used in the same figurative manner in the OT.4S This is why no precise historical background can exhaust the meaning of these judgments in Revelation 6. In summary, through his death and resurrection Christ has made the world forces of evil his agents to execute his purposes of sanctification and judgment for the furtherance of his kingdom. This is most clearly seen in the reference to Jesus' sovereignty over "death and Hades" in 6:8, which is a further development of ch. 1: through his death and resurrection Christ has power o.ver "death and Hades" (1:18) and now he uses them as his agents to carry out his will. God intended that the suffering of the cross should have both a redemptive and a judicial purpose (i.e., with respect to the latter, the cross becomes a basis of judgment for those rejecting its saving significance). In like manner, the sufferings throughout the following age have the same aim (indeed, one of the criminals crucified with Jesus was converted through his suffering, while the other was hardened by the same circumstance). And, as with Jesus, the apparent defeat of Christians is their spiritual victory, if they do not compromise their faith in the midst of suffering or persecution. It is possible that in Rev. 6:8 the antecedent of amoll; ("them") in the phrase xa\

tM&n amoll; t~o\)a{a btl 'to 'tE'tap'tov n;c; yiic; mtoxmvat ("and it was given to them authority over 8 fourth of the earth to kill") is all four horseme.n and not only the.fourth honeman. If so, then v 8b is a summary of 311 four horsemen 10 vv 1-8a.46 In this case 4S.ln addition to the figurative number "four," Israel was threatened with many more curses than four iD Leviticus and Deuteronomy; see the broader list of covenant curses in D. SbJ.art, Hosea-lofUlh, xxxiii-xxxix. 46. So Michael, "Position of the Wild Beasts."

386

6:7-8

the wild beasts would be parallel to the first rider and the last three horsemen would be represented respectively by the first three woes listed in v 8b (for elaboration of these parallelisms sec further below). This possibility is indicated by the fact that v 8b is a quotation of the fourfold formula of Ezek. 14:21, which itself is introduced by a reference to God's "four evil judgments." Nevertheless, the fourth horseml1Il should still be seen as a summary of the preceding ones because he is the closest antecedent and because the first and second riders also have authorization clauses nearly identical to that of v 8 (xat £&l&rJ aU'tOO, "and it was given to him"; autoo ["to him," 1611 185423292351 mK lat sy co] in v 8 represents a secondary variant, since it likely arose from an attempt to conform this authorization clause to those of vv 2 and 4).47 The fourth horseman's purpose "to kill" (rutoxtEtvm) affects believers, since the immediately following context portrays Christians as "slain" and "killed" (lmoxttvvro9a\) "because of the testimony that they held" (6:9-11). Although the fourth horseman generally sums up the preceding ones, his coming introduces the additional woe of "beasts of the earth." T1Us also suggests persecution of Christians, since 9T\piov ("beast") everywhere else in the book (34 occurrences) refers exclusively to the beasts who execute Satan's will in persecuting saints, although only the singular is used. Though this conclusion runs the risk of violating James Barr's lexical axiom of "illegitimate totality transfer," the following contextual observations make it plausible: (1) three times these beasts are said "to kill" the saints (11:7; 13:15; 13:10, where to be "killed with the sword" refers to the same reality (so 6:4)); (2) these same beasts also oppress Christians economically (as in 6:5-6); (3) just as the beasts in ch. 13 are under the hand of the devil (d. 12:3-13:la, 4, 11 with 13:lb-18), so the beasts in 6:8b are the agents of the satanic spectres "death and Hades" in 6:8a; (4) if the phrase "beasts of the earth" is precisely pamIlelto the first rider in 6:2, a possibility suggested above, then the equation with the "beast" later in the book (cf. esp. "beast ... from the earth" in 13: 11) is plausible in the light of the conclusion reached above that the first rider is a satanic figure attempting to oppress believers either through deception or persecution (see on 6:2). Therefore, the beasts of 6:8 may be equated with those of chs. II and 13, and, at the least, they should be considered satanic intermediaries or adumbrations of the beasts to come later. The following considerations also support the plausibility of this identification of the beasts in 6:8. (1) John could have inferred the evil character of the "beasts" in 6:8 from Ezek. 14:21 itself (so 14: 15), where the phrase "evil beast" (singular) occurs in the MT (we/:layyah ra'ah; LXX has the plural 9TlP{a 7tOV11PO: ["evil beasts"]). Syrll in Rev. 6:8 has singular EV tOO 91/pt{J) TIle; YTte; ("by the beast of the earth"),48 which could reflect a scribe's attempt to identify this beast with the beast (also singular) later in the book (e.g., 13:11: 9T\piov ... EX -rile; )'iie;, "beast ... from the earth"). Ezek. 14:21 itself develops the fourfold covenantal curse formula of Lev. 26: 18-29 and the covenantal cursings of Deut. 32:23-27, where Jewish tradition more explicitly identities the "beasts" with cosmic evil and especially with the wicked empires of the earth, which oppress God's people. Jewish writings interpreted the horses of Zechariah 1 and 6 likewise. For example. Targ. Jer. Frog. of Deut. 32:24 interprets "the teeth of beasts" as "the teeth of the four kingdoms [of Daniel 7], which are like wild beasts"; Targ. Ps.-J. associates "the beasts of the field" in Lev. 26:22 with the four kingdoms that are mentioned twice in Lev. 26:44-45. Similarly, Targ. Zech. 6: 1-8 identifies the horsemen as the evil heavenly counterparts of the four pagan kingdoms of Daniel 2 and ~, wh~re also four beasts represent four evil kingdoms who persecute God's people. So likeWIse Sifre Deut. 320, while Midr. Rab. Exod. 15.4 identifies the horsemen as the 47. Cf. Lohmeyer. O/fenbarung. 62. 48. Hoskier. Test of t~ Apocalypse II, 178. It is unlikely that the variant arose accidentally.

6:7-8

387

ido~atrous ~ations;49 cf. :'these [the four horse-drawn chariots] are the four kingdoms. which are hke the four WInds of heaven" in Tars. Zech. 6:5 with Targ. Zech. 2:14; 4:7. where the four kingdoms are mentioned and then one is identified with Rome; Aggadat Bereshit 56 interprets the red horses of Zech. 1:8 as symbolizing the angel-prince of Edom (= Rome) and the kings of Rome who. apparently because of greed. cruelly ?p~ressed Isr~I.SO The MT of Jer. 12:9. "beasts of the field" (who come against Israel In Judgment). IS rendered by the Targum as "the kings of the nations and their armies" (Jer. 12:12-13 refers also to the punishment of a "sword" removing "peace" and to a lack of crop fertility). Also Tar-g. Hos. 13:9 interprets "beasts of the ficld" of 13:8 in the MT as "the nations (who) rule over you," and Midr. Ps. 116:3 interprets "the power of the nether world [Sheol, Hades]" from Hosea 13: 14 (cf. Rev. 6:8a) as "the kingdoms" of the earth. This Jewish identification of the horsemen and "beasts" with the four kingdoms of Daniel 7 is striking. since the two "beasts" of the Apocalypse are also identified throughout the book with the same four kingdoms of Daniel 7. especially the fourth kingdom (see on 11:7; 13: 1-2. 11; 17:3, 7-8; the same is true of the dragon in 12:3). (2) The Jewish traditions of the Leviticus and Zechariah texts are especially important. since those are two of the OT passages that have already been identified as dominant influences on the formation of Rev. 6:2-8. This identification of "the wild beasts" as anti-Christian forces may be suggested further by the fact that the first three woes in v 8b are strictly parallel with the last three horsemen and are listed in precisely the same order (sword, famine. and death; according to this proposed scheme "death" in v 8a would both summarize the previous ridelS and refer specificaJly to "pestilence"). But the woe of "wild beasts" does not appear at first glance to correspond with the first horseman. (3) However, though perhaps it seems odd at first glance, "the wild beasts" could be a metaphorical representation of the first rider. since that rider most likely represents the deceiving and persecuting forces of Satan. as concluded above (see on 6:2; cf. Test. Naph. 8:4,6; Test. Ben. 3:5; 5:2. where "wild beasts" are satanic agents who a~mpt to plague humankind; in Ignatius, Rom. 4-5 "the wild beasts" ['til 9T\p{a] are the devil's instrumenl~ in persecuting Christians). The reason for mentioning satanic woes first and last in the form of an inclusio would be to emphasize that all four judgments ate instigated at the immediate will of the devil. who is under the ultimate hand of God. Even some who see the first horseman as a godly figure and the last three as represented respectively by "sword. famine, and death" in v 8b identify the "wild beasts" with the evil sphere of "Hades."Sl The phrase $CIlv1'lV ... Ai-yov'to~ ("a voice ... speaking") in 6:7 is irregular. since the participle (neuter genitive) is out of concord with $CIlV1'lV (feminine accusative), apparently due to a~similation with neuter genitive ~CPO\J ("living creature"). It is possible that the participle could properly modify "living creature," but more probable syotactically that it goes with "voice." especially in light. o~ our disc.ussion of 1: .10-11 (~~ ?n 1: 11). Could this irregularity fit into the pattern of snnilar solecisms employmg partICIpIal forms of Ai:yCll (see on 1:10-11; 4:1; 10:8; 14:7, as well as plausibly 9:13-14 an~ 19:6). the awkwardness of which is designed intentionaJly to call attenUon to OT aJluslOns? If so, the construction would serve to introduce allusions to Zechariah 6 and Ezekiel 14 in Rev. 6:8. and may also call attention (0 the participiaJ forms of the same verb. AtyCl).,

49. Cf. Soncino ed., 164, n. I. SO. So S8 Ill, 802-3. SI. E.g .• Prigenl, L' Apocalypse, 113. Mulholland, Revelation, 173, is the only commentator who entertains the possibility thaI the beasts of 6:8 could be identified with the beasts later in the book, though his discussion is brief.

388

THEOLOGICAL REFLECTIONS ON TIlE FOUR HORSEMEN

which likewise introduce the wording alluded to in their respective OT Greek contexts (though nominative and accusative forms are used: see Zech. 5: 10; 6:4. 5. 8. each of which refers to an angel speaking revelation; see also Ezek. 14:12).

THEOLOGICAL REFLECTIONS ON THE FOUR HORSEMEN The above conclusion that God and Christ are in ultimate control of the evil horsemen poses a theological problem: how can the righteousness and holiness of Christ be maintained if he is so directly linked as the ultimate cause behind all four of these satanic agents of destruction? Some commentators do not think there is a theological problem, since they do not view Christ as the immediate cause of the judgments. The problem is sometimes avoided by adopting secondary textual variants that view John as the recipient of the address "corne," while, on the other hand, Christ is sometimes conjectured as the recipient of the address (see on 6: 1). Those rejecting these two alternatives offer theological presuppositions about God's holiness and love in order to deny the direct link, and there is the consequent assertion that Christ only "permits" or "tolerates" the four horsemen to execute their woes. 52 But not only do the commands issued to the horsemen by the cherubim argue against such an idea., but the major OT passages behind 6:2-8 without exception have God as the ultimate cause of the judgments (so Zech. 6: 1-8; Ezek. 14:21; Lev. 26:18-28). The answer to the theological difficulty lies in the ultimate purpose of the woes, which is to refine the faith of believers and to punish unbelievers. The direct connection between chs. 4-5 and 6: 1-8 clarifies this issue further. That is, 6:1-8 describes an effect of Christ's death and resurrection. He transformed the suffering of the cross into a triumph. Chs. 4--5 use the lens of Daniel 7 to explain that Christ defeated the evil powers and was exalted over them. Therefore, Christ has begun to fulfill Daniel's prophecy of the son of man's exaltation over the evil, beastly kingdoms, which John explicitly alludes to in 12:3 and 13:1-2 (cf. likewise 4:6 and 5:5 with 15:2). Christ's sovereignty over the four horsemen shows this, so that the four horsemen are equivalent to the four evil kingdoms of Daniel 7. Specifically. the horsemen represent the evil heavenly counterparts of these kingdoms. as Jewish exegetical tradition on Zech. 6:5 affirms (see above). This identification may also be understood as we recognize that both Daniel's four kingdoms and Zechariah's four sets of horses are directly associated with "the four winds of heaven" (Dan. 7:2; Zech. 6:5; Rev. 7:1). In addition, we 52. E.g .. Caird, Revelation, SI-83.

6:9-11

389

observed earlier that the horsemen are summarized by the four judgments of Ezek. 14:21. cited in Rev. 6:8b. which targumic tradition elsewhere associates with the four kingdoms of Daniel 7. This identification of the four horsemen is enhanced by the observation that the Synoptic eschatological discourse. which is so formative for Rev. 6:2-8, is itself based on a meditation on Daniel 7-12.53 This observation also shows why reference to the Synoptic di!;course would be placed immediately following the Daniel 7 framework of Revelation 4-5.

THE FIFTH SEAL: THE APPEAL TO GOD BY PERSECUTED AND GLORIFIED CHRISTIANS TO DEMONSTRATE HIS JUSTICE BY JUDGING THEIR PERSECUTORS WILL BE ANSWERED WHEN ALL IDS PEOPLE COMPLETE THE SUFFERING THAT HE HAS DETERMINED FOR THEM (6:9-11) Whereas 6: 1-8 portrays suffering from the perspective of the decrees of the heavenly throne, 6:9-11 depicts the reaction of deceased and glorified !;aintc; to the trials inflicted on them by their persecutors. which i!; a development of a theme in chs. 1-3 (so 1:9; 2:9-11. 13; 3:8).54 Such sufferings are not meaningless but are part of God's providential plan that Christians shuuld pattern their lives after the sacrificial model of Jesus. Seen from the heavenly perspective. such sufferings ironically advance the kingdom of God. as was the case with Christ himself (see on 5:5-6). Although the ordeals of 6: 1-8 affect people generally throughollt the earth. here the reaction is specifically to those tfials of the four horsemen that afflict Christians in the form of persecution. 55 This connection is pointed to from the observation that the primary verbs used to describe two of the woes of the horsemen reappear to describe the persecution of the saints in 6:9·11 «(Jq,6:~ro ["slay"] in 6:4, 9 and a1tox:rElvro ["kill"] in 6:8.11). Furthermore. 6:9-11 immediately follows 6: 1-8. so that some logical link exists between the two sections. The link proposed here is the most plausible. 56 This connection between 6: 1-8 and 6:9-11 is corroborated by the fact that the hymns of the Apocalypse typically summarize the themes of preceding sections. Since 6:9-11 should be 53. Hanman. Prophecy Interpreted. 145-252: Farrer. Re~elation. 6·13: Sweet, Revelation. 19.21; and Beale, "Use of Daniel in the Synoptic Discourse." see (he DanieliclSynoptic tradition used at various points throughout the Apocalypse and especially in ch. 6. 54. For broauer discussion of the saints' reaction to persecution in Revelation and early Judaism see 1. J. Collins. "Political Perspective of Revelalion" anu sources cited there. 55. So also Heil. "Fifth Seal,'· 223-24. 56. Cf. similarly Minear. New Earth. 78. 266-69. although he mistakenly views the woes of 6: 1-8 as applicable only (0 the church community.

390

6:9

included in the category of these hynms, it is to be seen as a continuation of the thought of 6: 1-8 (in this regard, see further on 6:4). TIlls link between the two segments is also suggested by 7:13-16, where "the great tribulation" of the saints consists of conditions of famine (note that the saints in 7:13-16 also have "white robes" which have been "washed ... in the blood of the lamb"; cf. the use of Isa. 49:10 [cf. vv 9, 19J in Rev. 7:16; cf. 6:5-6). And in 21:4 their tribulation consists of, among other things, "death" (cf. 6:7). If our understanding of the chronological relation of chs. 5 and 6 is correct, then 6:9-11 reveals that persecution was already active against some sectors of the church in John's time (note the limited nature of the woes in 6:8). Furthermore, the picture in vv 9-11 taken by itself suggests that Christians who have been persecuted in the past are presently petitioning God. 57 Therefore, persecution is not merely expected. lltis theme of persecution continues to follow the pattern of the Synoptic eschatological discourse (d. Matt. 24:9-10; Mark 13:9-13; Luke 21:12-18).58 9 1be opening of the fifth seal does not reveal an angelic decree of suffering from the throne room but a human response to suffering. John sees Christians who have been oppressed and killed and who have received a heavenly reward (so v 11 a). They are described as "souls having been slain" who are standing "under the altar." They have been persecuted for bearing witness in word and deed to Christ's redemptive work. which has its revelatory origin in God (for this understanding of Sill 'tOv UYyov'tou BEou xal5ta n'\v Ilap-ruptav ["on account of the word of God and the testimony"] see on 1:2, 9). Although OT saints could be included in the picture,59 the emphasis is on NT believers because the saints are described here as those who have been persecuted for their witness to God's revelation as it has come in recent history through Christ (cf. on 1:9). It is possible that only literal martyrs are in mind, but more likely "slain" is metaphorical and those spoken of represent the broader category of all saints who suffer for the sake of their faith (so 13:15-18 and perhaps 18:24; 20:4). This all-inclusive identification is clear from the use of "overcome" in chs. 2-3 and throughout the book not only of those who undergo execution for their faith but primarily of believers who conquer temptations to sin and to compromise in the face of various kinds of suffering (see concluding remarks on 2:26-29). This is also consistent with the figurative use of sacrificial martyr language in the NT generally (e.g., Matt. 10:38-39; 16:24-26; Rom. 8:35-39; 12:1-2; Phil. 2:17). Whether or not the saints here have been literally put to death for their faith, they have so committed themselves to "the word of God and the testimony" of Christ that they have come to be identified generally with the suffering destiny of the slain LambfJO

57. Cf. Lohmeyer, Ojfenbarung, 63. 58. Cf. Heil, "Fifth Seal," 221-22, 226, who sees parallels between 6:9-11 and chs. 1-3, suggesting that 6:9-11 pertains to realities bcgilUling directly after Jesus· resurrection. 59. So Feuillet, "Les martyrs"; Brtitsch, Offenbarung 1, 295. 60. Cf. A. F. Johnson, "Revelation," 474-75.

6:9

391

Since the symbol of identity for all Christians is the slain Lamb, they all also can be referred to by the same metaphor. This identification is highlighted by part of the IDS. tradition of6:9 (1611 c 2351 mk syh), which adds 'to'\) apV\O'\) immediately following 51lx 't1'!v ~ap't'\)p{av ("on account of the witness of the lamb").61 Romans figuratively applies this very imagery to all the varieties of suffering that Christians must endure (ef. apv{ov ... cbc; EOcllCX'Yllivov ["a lamb ... as having been slain"] in 5:6 [ef. 6:9] with cbc; 1tp6~cx'tcx ocllCl'f1i 9ro\». 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 (so likewise the author of Barnabas interprets the OT on the basis of the same presupposition: cf. Barn. 6: 13: "Behold, I make the last things as the first"). The language of "one sitting on the throne" (xa6TII.l.EVOU E7tt 'to\> 6p6vou) together with the imagery of creation fleeing "from the presence" (a7tO 1tpoacfmou) of God occurs only here and in the final judgment scene in 20: 11: 8povov . . . xul TOV Xa8Tfj.l£VOV E7t' au't6v, ou anD TOV npOGW1rov t!q,U)'EV TJ yii xu\. 6 oupcxv6e;; ("a throne ... and the one sitting on it, from whose presence the earth and the heaven fled"). The parallel is one more indication that 6: 12-17 is a depiction of the final judgment. 17 Now the "wrath" mentioned in v 16 is emphasized as the reason (on) that the idolaters flee from God and the Lamb. This is when the wrath of God and the Lamb is poured out in extreme measure, so that it can be called the time when "the great day of their wrath came (TjMEV TJ TJI.I.Epa 1'1 J.l.EYaAT\ 'tile;; 6pyfie;;

6:17

401

amoov)," which no unbeliever will be able to resist (the answer implied by the question "who is able to stand?"). This severe description most suits a last judgment scene (the similar description in 1 En. 62: Iff. is of a scene of final judgment). This is indicated also by the portrayal of the last punishment in 11: 18, which has the parallel phrase "and your wrath came" (tjM£v 1'1 6PY"1 oou). In addition, a genitive form of 1'I1'1Jltpa 1'IllEyeXAll ("the great day") is found in 16: 14 referring to the final "war of the great day of God," when "the kings of the whole world" will finally be defeated. The "great day" of 6:17 is also probably equivalent to "the great supper of God" in 19:17-18, where virtually the same classes of people listed in 6: 15 are mentioned as being destroyed by Christ's final judgment (as in 6:15, and similarly in 16:14; note also "the kings of the earth" in 19:19; for the same episode cf. 20:8-10). It is unlikely that v I7 depicts a misapprehension on the part ofthe wicked that the fmal judgment has come. 85 First, while this verse may be seen as the earth-dwellers' continued response, it could just as well be the writer's final cOlIUDentary on the scene. Further, that this may be a response by the wicked does not mean that it must represent a mistaken interpretation of the events. And, above all, the imagery of this verse is from OT judgment contexts and continues some of the same OT cosmic descriptions of vv 12-14 (see further below). Since the cosmic conflagration imagery of Joel 2: 10, 31 is partially behind the picture introducing the segment of 6:12-17 (v 12), it is appropriate that the segment should conclude with what also concludes the description in Joel 2: 10-11: "for the day of the Lord is great (f.l£YlUll 1'1 nllEpa 'tou xup(ou) ... and who will be able to resist it?" Joel's description is supplemented by a phrase from the oracle of judgment on Nineveh, which likewise concludes a figurative depiction of the cataclysmic fall of the world (cf. Nah. 1:5-6: "tile mountains quake because of him . . . the earth recoils from his presence. . . . Who wiI1 stand before his anger? And who will withstand in the anger of his wrath?"; cf. also Nah. I :4). The judgment in Nahum is linked to that nation's idolatry (Nah. 1: 14; likewise Midr. Rab. Exod. 29.9). These OT allusions are figurative expressions in their respective contexts for divine judgment of Israel or Nineveh, which were historically fulfilled. Here they are taken as foreshadowings of the last judgment (for the same contextual use cf. also L.,a. 13:9; Zeph. I: 14, 18; 2:2-3; Mal. 4:5, which could be additional background behind "the great day of their wrath came" in Rev. 6: 17a). Only those who have trusted in Christ and "return [to him] ... will stand before me" (Jer. 15:19).86 Some mss. have au"[ou ("of him") instead of a6wv ("of them"), and both readings have good supporting witnesses. The former may be a secondary attempt to conform an original plural to the preceding singul~ p~rase "from the wra~h of the Lamb," although the singular pronoun as an original readlOg IS found after mentIon of the throne 85. Against I. T. Beckwith. Apocalypse, 528-30, and Charles, Revelation I, 183. 86. Hughes, Riovelarion, 92.

402

6:17

of God and of the Lamb in 22:3. The plural may be preferable because it could have appeared ambiguous to later copyists, though it, too, ~ght. represent an. attempt by a scribe to conform an original singular to all of v 16b, which pictures the Wicked attempting to escape from the judgment of both God and the Lamb. 87

THE THEOLOGICAL SIGNIRCANCE OF THE OLD TESTAMENT ALLUSIONS IN 6:15-17; THE JUDGMENT IN THE SIXTH SEAL What is the significance of the OT allusions in vv 15-16 that refer to judgment on idolaters in their respective contexts? Rev. 6: 15-17 shows that the cosmos is dissolved (6: 12-14), whether literally or figurati vely, in order to emphasize not only judgment but also that the apparently secure home of the "earth-dwellers" (6: 10) will be destroyed. Just as the cosmic metaphors of vv 12-14 are figurative of the fall of human kingdoms and not the literal dissolution of the world in the OT and NT, so likewise the earthquake imagery signifies the judgment of nations (Israel) in both testaments (Hos. 10: 1-3, 8; Luke 21: 11; 23:30; cf. Reb. 12:27). That is the emphasis here also. The idolaters have committed themselves wholly to something in this creation, whether to political, economic, or social idolatries. In contrast to Christians, who are pilgrims on the earth and whose citizenship is in heaven, the ungodly earth-dwellers "are at home in the present world order, men of earthbound vision, trusting in earthly security and unable to look beyond the things that are seen and temporal."88 It is for this reason that the remainder of the Apocalypse uses "ones who dwell on the earth" exclusively of idol worshipers (so 8:18 [cf. 9:20]; 13:8, 12, 14; 14:6-9; 17:2,8; the emphasis in 11:10 is on unbelievers who persecute the saints). The unbelievers' idol-refuge, the earth, must be removed because it has been made impermanent by the pollution of their sin, but the eternal home of believers with their God will remain (cf. Heb. 12:26-28; cf. Rom. 1:18-25 with 8:20-22; Asc. [sa. 4:18 pictures the judgment of the same heavenly and earthly elements as in Rev. 6: 12-15a because they have been tainted with the influence of Beliar). And if the earth is also to be destroyed literally, this is to demonstrate that the idolatrous earthly securities of the earth-dwellers will be destroyed (cf. Test. Mos. 10:3-6 with 10:7, which makes the same connection). Humanity has become perverted and has worshiped the creation (cf. Rom. 1:21-25; Rev. 9:20). Therefore, creation itself (sun, moon, stars, trees, animals, etc.) has become an idol that must be removed. The Bible repeatedly refers to the heavenly bodies 87. Schmid, Geschichre des griechischen Apocalypse-Textes, 2, 100. prefers the singular on contextual grounds. 88. Caird. Revelation, 88.

6:17

403

as representing false deities worshiped by Israel and the nations (e.g., Deut. 4:19; 17:1-4; 2 Kgs. 23:4-5; Jer 8:2; Ezek. 8:16; Amos 5:25-27; Acts 7:41-43). If the most permanent and stable parts of creation will be shaken to their roots (e.g., mountains and islands), so will those living on the earth. Their earthly securities will be ripped away so that they will appear spiritually naked before God's judgment seat on the last day. They will try unsuccessfully to hide their destitute condition from the divine gaze (vv 15-16) and to escape from the coming wrath (v 17). They will even rather die from the falling rocks and mountains than face God's judgment (v 16). The earth-dwellers have not trusted in the Lamb who was slain for the sin of the world (cf. 1:5; 5:9). Therefore, they will have to suffer his destructive wrath and will not be able to withstand it. The gentle Lamb who was slain on the cross is now in an exalted position over the whole cosmos (1:5; 3:21; 5:5-6) to pour out his wrath. He is not only loving to his people but also a just judge of his enemies. The OT allusions used throughout vv 12-17 heighten the Lamb's position, since they all picture judgment coming from God. Now the judgment is seen as coming not only from God on the throne but also from the Lamb, who must also be viewed as functioning in a divine judicial capacity. This is especially expressed in the Isa. 2: 10 allusion (likewise Isa. 2: 19, 21) in v 16 (cf. "from the terror of the loRD and the splendor of his majesty" with Rev. 6: 16, where "the one sitting on the throne" corresponds to "the loRD" in Isaiah and "the Lamb" stands in place of "the splendor of his majesty").89 Likewise, the allusion to Joel 2: II is another particular example underscoring the Lamb's deity: "for the day of the LoRD is great" becomes in Rev. 6: 17 "for the great day of their [God and the Lamb's] wrath came." In 1:5-6 two results of Christ's resurrection are that he becom~ both "ruler of the kings of the earth," many of whom he judges (6:15; 16:12; 17:12-18; 19: 18-19), and a loving redeemer of his people. "The kings of the earth" who undergo the last judgment in 6: 15 are to be identified with the same group being finally judged in 19:18-21 and not with those who are redeemed in 21:24 (a comparison of 21 :8,27 with 21 :24 [see the comments there] also shows that the latter verse does not imply an ultimate universal salvation). Six parts of the cosmos are described as destroyed in vv 12-14: (I) earth, (2) sun, (3) moon, (4) stars, (5) heaven, and (6) "every mountain and island"; furthermore, vv 15-17 speak of six classes of humanity to be judged: (I) kings, (2) great ones, (3) rulers of thousands, (4) the rich, (5) the powerful, and (6) "every slave and free person." This parallel points further to an intended identification of t~e idola~ers with !he earth as their ultimate idol. There are six and not seven members In both hsts: the SIXth element in each is composed of two parts put together as a literary and conceptual un~ty by the introductory 1t~ ("every"). This parallelism could also support the suggesllOn made above that the judgment of the cosmos in vv 12-14 is figurati~e for ~e judgm~nt of sinners in vv 15-17. The parallel sixfold pattern may emphaSIZe the ImperfectIOn of 89. See further the analysis of the Isaiah 2 allusion in Fekkes, Isaiah and Prophetic Traditions.

161-63.

404

7:1-8

both inanimate and human creation and, hence, the necessity that both be judged (cf. 13: 16).90 On the other hand, ifa parallelism of seven parts of creation and seven classes of humanity were intended in vv 12-17, then the exhaustive, unqualified nature of divine judgment would be the emphasis. The cosmic order of nature and of the luminaries (the course of the sun, moon, and stars) was seen as essential to the ongoing welfare of the world's existence (e.g., 1 En. 2: I; 41 :5-7). This order is interrupted and dissolved when humans go against the spiritual order of God's moral laws, which are to regulate the course of their lives. (e.g., Test. Naph. 3: 1-5; 1 En. 80:2-8; 4 Ezra 5:1-7; cf. Sib. Or. 5.504-11 with 5.512-30). Hence, God judges the heavens by destroying its orderly movements in order to indicate that humanity has violated his moral order and is being judged (likewise, in the OT the fruitfulness or barrenness of the land was a spiritual barometer of Israel's faith). In the light of these Jewish texts, one can see how Jer. 31:35-36 and 33:20-21, 25-26 imply the same thing (see further on Rev. 8: 12). Some see vv 12-17 as depicting not the beginning of the final judgment but a period of tribulation during a few years preceding Christ's final advent. The primary reason offered in support is that after the calamity of vv 12-14, people are still able to hide in the mountains in vv 15- 16. 91 However, this is the case only if historical sequence is assumed between vv 12-14 and vv 15-16. On the other hand, it is just as plausible, and more probable in the light of the overall analysis given above, that vv 12-14 and vv 15-16 describe the same end-time calamity. The portrayal in vv 15-17 is not only of aU people of the earth hiding; as they see the beginning signs of cosmic disruption signaling divine judgment, they also ask that the mountains and rocks fallon them. They hide, not to continue to live, but to die away from God's presence and judgment. Therefore the scene is most likely contemporaneous with what is portrayed in vv 12-14 and is a depiction of the final judgment. Some also assert that the sixth seal cannot yet be the last judgment, since the seventh seal is yet to come. 92 Our analysis below sees the seventh seal as another description of the end-time judgment, the conclusion of the judgment introduced in the sixth seal.

ANGELS PREVENT THE EVIL FORCES FROM COMMENCING THEIR DESTRUCTIVE ACTIVITY ON EARTH UNTIL BELIEVERS ARE GIVEN SPIRITUAL PROTECTION AGAINST LOSING THEIR FAITH (7:1-8) Rev. 7: 1-8 explains how believers are sealed so that they can persevere through the first four tribulations enumerated in ch. 6. The vision in 7:9-17 reveals the heavenly reward for those who do persevere. It amplifies the brief picture of the saints in 6:9-11, who have finally entered into God's presence, after having 90. Hendriksen, More than Conquerors, 129-31. 91. E.g., Thomas, Revelation 1-7. 451-52. For an attempt to identify the first si~ seals with specific events in the laner twentieth centwy see H. Lindsey, New World Coming. 83-96. 92. Ibid.. 452.

7:1-8

405

successfully completed their course of suffering (see esp. 7:13-15). 7:9-17 also describes the kind of rest that the exalted saints were told to enjoy (6: 11) "until the number of their fellow servants" who must endure yet further sufferings "should be completed." This section also expands on when and how God will begin to vindicate Christians from the wrong verdict rendered against them by the world, a theme likewise introduced in 6:9-11. Saints who suffer in the tribulation are encouraged to persevere as they reflect on the divine protection they have through God's sealing of them and as they recall the promise of their future heavenly reward. Therefore, the sealing of the saints explains further how Christ will "keep them from the hour of trial" which is "to test the earth-dwellers" who have persecuted them (cf. 6:10; see on 3:10 and 7:14 for the Dan. 12:1 background concerning the tribulation).93 All these connections concern matters that precede the final judgment and reward, so ch. 7 must function as an interlude or parenthesis in its placement afLer ch. 6. Yet the chapter also has a future aspect, especialIy toward the end (vv 15-17). From this perspective the chapter is also an answer to the concluding question of 6: 17, "who is able to stand" before God and not suffer the wrath of the last judgment? This is the definitive answer to 6: 17 and the main point toward which the visionary narrative of 7:9ff. drives. In this respect the "great multitude ... standing before the throne" may be an explicit answer to the question of 6: 17.94 This is so because (1) 6: 17 and 7:9 are close to each other and both use iO"tTJlll ("stand"); (2) both refer to people standing before the throne and the Lamb; (3) the picture of the Lamb "standing" before the throne in 5:6 is closely associated with his resurrection existence, suggesting that those "standing" before the throne in 7:9 (who are called "sheep" in 7: 17) are the resurrected saints; and (4) thatthe saints are said to stand "on the sea of glass" close to a later mention of the "Lamb" (15:2-3) also reflects the Lamb's resurrection existence from 5:6.95 iO'tTJI.I.l ("stand") could refer to resurrection elsewhere with regard to Christ (10:5,8; 14:1), saints (11:11), and all of humanity (20: 12). But one possible objection to this understanding of the "great multitude" as an answer to "who is able to standT' is that lo'tTJllt is also used five times of angels in heaven with no association with resurrection (e.g., 7: 1, 11) and four times of ungodly figures. Nevertheless, immediate context detennines meaning, and even the "standing" of the angels before God's throne alludes to an existence in which Christ and the saints begin to participate by virtue of resurrection, which enables them to "stand" through the last judgment. Therefore, ch. 7 does not present a new series of future events during a final tribulation period following that of ch. 6.96 Rather, the chapter is a parenthe-

93. Lohmeyer, Offenbarung, 67; Rist, "Revelation." 418. 94. So, e.g., Heil, "Fifth Seal," 231. 95. So Hohnjec, Das Lamm, 80, for points I and 2. %. As, e.g., Thomas, Rl'veiation 1-7. 464ff., contends.

406

7:1

sis explaining the vision of cll. 6 in more depth and providing a larger background against which it may be understood better. 7:1-8 inunediately precedes the time of 6: 1-8, and 7:9-17 focuses on the time after the fmal judgment, which has been portrayed in its initial phase in 6: 12-17 (though the age before the final judgment could be secondarily in mind in 7:9-17, especially in vv 13-15, on which see below). 1 The introductory Met~ 'toVto ("after this") does not mean that the events of 7: 1-8 are chronological1y subsequent to those of ch. 6 but only that this vision appeared to John after the vision in ch. 6 (see further on 4: 1). He sees first "four angels." That they are "standing on the four corners of the earth" refers to their sovereignty over the whole world (so Isa. 11:12; Ezek. 7:2; Rev. 20:8; cf. 2 Bar. 6:4-7:2; Test. Asher 7:1-7; Greek Apocalypse of Ezra 3:6; cf. also 3 En. 48A: 10). That "four winds" refers figuratively to the entire known world is clear from the use of the same phrase in Jer. 49:36; Dan. 8:8; 11 :4; 1 En. 18:2; 4 Ezra 13:5; Matt. 24:31; and Mark 13:27; Targ. lsa. 11:12 renders the MT's "four comers of the earth" as "four winds of the earth." "The four winds of the earth" that the angels hold back are best identified as the four horsemen of 6: 1-8, which were clearly modeled on the horsemen of Zech. 6: 1-8, which are also identified as "the four winds of heaven" (Zech.6:5; for this phrase in Ezek. 37:9; Dan. 7:2; and Zech. 2:6 in relation to Zech. 6:5 see above on Rev. 6:8).97 This narrower understanding of "the four winds" is preferable over the more general idea of the phrase found elsewhere in biblical and Jewish literature because of the likelihood that the Zechariah context would still be hovering in the author's mind so soon after he has expounded on it. This identification becomes clearer from understanding that the sealing of believers in vv 3-8 explains how they can be protected spiritually from the woes of the four horsemen, which they must endure. Therefore, the identification of the winds with the horsemen means that the sealing of believers in vv 2-8 takes us back even before the time when the four horsemen of 6:1-8 are unleashed. 98 That the winds must be held back to prevent their harmful activity is evidence of their rebellious and wicked nature.99 They are evil angelic agents of judgment, as argued above in the comments on 6:2-8. The angelic aspect of the winds in Zech. 6:5 may be implied, not only by the fact that they stand before God's throne, but also by the fact that rul;uJth ("winds") can also be translated "spirits" (see further on Rev. 6:2, 8; winds are identified as angels or spirits elsewhere, as in Heb. 1:7; Jub. 2:2; 1 En. 69:22). If there is any significance in the change from Zechariah's "winds of heaven" to "winds of the earth," it may lie in an attempt to emphasize the earthly havoc that these heavenly agents accomplish. 97. So Carrington, Meaning of the Revelation. 139; Kiddie, Revelation, 131-32; Caird, Revelation, 94; Beasley-Murray, Revelation. 142; Morris. Revelation. 113; Wilcock. I Saw Heaven Opened. 79. 98. Against Charles. Revelation t, 195. who views the events of 7: 1-8 as coming after the events of 6: 1-17 in historical time. 99. Caird. Re~elation. 94.

7:1

407

The angels must restrain the four winds so that they will not "blow on" and "harm neither earth nor sea nor trees" (vv 2-3). They thus prevent the horsemen from wreaking the havoc described in 6:1-8, which is likewise to be identified with the woes affecting the earth, sea, and trees in 8:7-8 (which recapitulate some of the woes of the first four seals [see on 8:7-8]). Whether the three objects to be affected by the winds are literal is not crucial,· since together with the winds they form a picture representing the woes of 6: 1-8 and are to be understood likewise. Probably earth, sea, and trees represent (by metonymy) the earth and its inhabitants, who are affected by the woes of the four horsemen from the preceding chapter. The delaying action that prevents the destructive effect of the winds is only temporary, as is evident from vv 2-3 (for similar delaying actions of angels before destruction see 1 En. 66: Iff.; 2 Bar. 6:4-7:2; four angels continually restrain four winds of destruction in Questions of Bartholomew 4.31-34 [NTA I, 547f.]). Mounce, followed by Thomas, rejects the identification of "the four winds" of 7: I with the horsemen of 6:2-B, arguing that Zech. 6:5 distinguishes the four groups of horses from the four winds: "These [the four sets of riders] are going forth to the four winds of heaven after standing before the Lord" (so RSV, similarly JB).1 00 But this is an awkward rendering of the verse.101 It depends on the conjectural preposition l- or 'elprefixed to "four" or a directive -ah as a sunix to "winds" indicating motion toward "the four winds," which are lacking in all mss.102 The tmditional translation is also favored by the Masoretic accentuation and by the fact that it accords with the standard word order in Hebrew prose. I03 Most translations and commentators support the more natural and likely translation of "These are the four winds of heaven, going forth after standing before the Lord" (so LXX, Luther's translation, KJV, NEB, NIV, NRSV). Standing in the same tradition as Zechariah, and therefore possibly also behind Rev. 7:2-3, is Jer. 49:36, where "the four winds" are divine agents of judgment against a nation. 1 En. 76 may develop the Jeremiah text. There four groups of winds blow to the four ends of heaven to bring blessing and especially wrath. The latter are "hurtful winds" that "bring destruction on all the earth and the water on it, on 'all who dwell thereon, and on everything that is in the water and on the land" (76:4; see similarly J En. 34-35). This destruction, as in Rev. 7:2-3, 15-17; 8:7-9:21, etc., includes "drought," "heat," "locusts," "burning," and "plagues" (l En. 76:5-14). Cf. likewise PseudoRevelation of John 15 (The Ante-Nicene Fathers VIII, ed. A. Roberts and J. Donaldson [reprint Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1970] 582-86). Note the association of "the quarters of the winds" with "the spirits of the winds," who are angelic beings, in 1 En. 69:22. For "winds" in general 3l; agents of divine judgment elsewhere in the OT cf. Pss. I B: 10; 104:3-4; Isa. 19:1; 66:15; Jer. 4:11-12; 23:19: 51:1; Hos. 13:15-16; Jub. 2:2. Of relevance for comparison to Rev. 7:1 is Josephus, War 6.297-301, where heavenly chariots serve as warning signs of Jerusalem's impending destruction, followed by "a voice from the four winds," also as a warning sign. . . One later Jewish tradition alludes to two heavenly beIngs comIng out of the east

100. Mounce. Revelation. 165; Thomas, Revelation /-7. 463.465. 101. As Calvin, Minor Prophets I. 146-47, also argues. 102. Nevertheless. WellhaIJsen has conjectured a prefIxed lamed preposition (cf. Edel, Hebriiisch-deutsche Praeparation. 79). 103. In this case, subject + participle + other modifiers; so F. Andersen, Sentence; idem. Hebrew Verbless Clause.

408

7:2-3

gate of a heavenly palace on the sabbath, having two seals in their hands to seal some to life and others to death.l04

2-3 The reason that the four angels prevent the horsemen from being unleashed is now given. John sees another angel rising from the east ("from the rising of the sun"). It is sometimes suggested that the eastern origin of the angel indicates that he brings blessing. since blessings in the OT and Judaism are sometimes pictured as emanating out of or associated with the east, often in connection with the appearance of God or the Messiah (Gen. 2:8; Ezek. 43:2-4; Matt 2:1; Sib. Or. 3.652; cf.1 En. 61:1ff.; Ignatius, Rom. 2). But this may not be the case here, since evil powers are portrayed elsewhere in the book as coming "from the rising of the sun" (16:12) or from the Euphrates, that is, from the east (9:J4ff.), the only other references in the book to beings coming from the east. Could there be a hint of parody in that the angel who protects saints mocks the forces of evil threatening the saints by appearing to come from the same hellhole? Such parody would be consistent with similar parodies elsewhere in the book (see on 5:6; 6:2; 13:4, 7, 11-13). What follows in 7:2 is sufficient to demonstrate that this angel is a harbinger of grace, since he has the "seal of the living God." He commands the four angels not to harm the earth until God's servants are sealed. The four angels have been empowered by God to cause tribulation on the earth by means of the four horsemen or "four winds" (note the divine passive as part of the authorization clause: o~ t&S6T! au'to~ eXOlXfioal 'tTlv yi1v ["to whom it was given to harm the earth"]; see on 6:2; ch. 13). Vv 1-3 must be referring to a time immediately preceding the plagues of 6: 1-8, a time when God gives believers a seal to protect them against the onslaught of the woes. The very close relationship of 7:1-3 and 6:1-8 is also indicated by the significant links between the two visions, especially the authorization clauses in 7:3 and in 6:4 and 8; for example, to69T\ aU'to~ tl;O\)o{a btl 'til 'tE-tPcryi~) worn on the high priest's shoulders; the OT 106. See references in C. Schneider, TDNT rv, 636·37. 107. Sweet, Rntelation, 147.

412

THE SEAL

Greek textual tradition of Exod. ·28:11 has various participial forms like Rev. 7:4ff.l08 These seals correspond to the "seal" (alW>ay{v, "on their foreheads"]). The seal in Exodus 28:36(32) has written in place of the names of Israel the phrase "consecration of the Lord" (6:yiaOJla xupwu), which conveys the idea of Israel as Yahweh's consecrated possession (so Exoel. 19:6). The function of both seals respectively in Exodus 28 is continually to maintain Israel and its offerings to God in a consecrated condition, set apart from sinful defilement and the consequent wrath. This consecration was accomplished through the high priest's atoning sacrifices before the Lord. 1be attached names as seals are part of the equipment necessary for the high priest to enter and minister before the Lord. 109 Likewise, in Rev. 7:2-3 God's seal identifies his people and sets them apart from sinful compromise with the world by means of the Lamb's blood, which has been applied to them (see on 7: 14). Consequently, they will not suffer the divine wrath that the world of unbelief must endure. It will become evident in the following verses that believers must also be sealed in order to enter the heavenly tabernacle and minister before God as priests (see on 7:13-15). The Exodus background provides the link between Rev. 21:12-20 and 7:3-8 (see further on 7:4-8).

The Seal in Relation to Chapters 5 and 14; the 144,000 as the Entire Group of the Redeemed The community of the "redeemed" in 7:3-8 is the same as in 14:1-4 because of the verbal parallels and ideas observed above. The description of the group in the latter passage sheds more light on the identification of the multitude who are sealed in ch. 7. In 14:3-4 the 144.000 are "those purchased from the earth" and those who "were purchased from people ... for God" (O-otOl fryopoo911aav lute, tcOv 6;vepcimwv ... 'tt£" ("standing") is followed by the

a?

155.

cr. this textual variant in VTG apparatus: Tht I 196 661.

7:10

431

accusative 1t£Pll3£~i.."J!iVO\)~ ("clothed"), which should be nominative in line with the case of the P!eceding participle. Some solve this difficulty by saying that the author carries ?ver EiOov ('.'1 ~w") from the beginning of v 9, so that the second participle is accusalJve because It IS seen as the object of the initial verb. However, this does not explain why the first participle is nominative rather than accusative. Some suggest that the second participle is an accusative absolute. reflecting a Semitic verbal style, which would enhance the OT color of v 9.1 S6 Bauckham suggests, perhaps rightly. that the second irregularity is intended to highlight the language associated with the Abrcihamic promise, especially in light of the observation that "nation" docs not occur first in the six other standard fourfold peoplegroup formulas elsewhere in the book; furthermore, the formula of 7:9 is set apart from the rest, since it has a mixture of singular and plural, which is unique among all the others. which use either only plurals (11 :9; 17: 15) or only singulars (5:9; 13:7; 14:6). The irregularity of the redundant pronoun and the participial lack of concord may be stylistic signposts further hinting that an OT allusion is to be recognized. IS?

10 As true Israelites, the white-robed people celebrate an eschatological feast of tabernacles in heaven to commemorate joyfully their end-time salvation, which is attributed to "God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb." Their "salvation" (aW'rTJpia) lies in their victorious resistance to the forces of evil, which have attempted to thwart their faith (so 12: 10-11; 19: 1-2). The "overcomers" acknowledge that their victory is really God's victory, since it has been obtained by his power (so 12: 10-11). "The salvation" includes the idea of preservation, since the white robes symbolize a purity resulting from perseverance through testing (see on vv 13-16). The preservation of the saints' faith is attributed to God's sovereignty. God protects their faith in the midst of trials by means of the seal that he imparts to them (7: 1-3). This salvific victory is consummated by God's judgment of the ~inful world, which has ·attempted to seduce the faith of his people and has persecuted them (19:1-2; for the ideas of victory and deliverance from persecutors in connection with aW'tTlpia see Ps. 3:3 and its preceding context; cf. Jonah 2:9-10). This analysis of 7:9-10, which has emphasized the depiction of the multitude with Israelite designations, points further to an identification of the people in 7:9-17 with the sealed Israelites in the preceding section. IS8 ~llp{Cl ("salvation") in Paul often has the idea of "deliverance" from sin and judgment (likewise acfX;;ro ["save"] in Paul and in the Gospels; although in the latter "deliverance" from sickness is included, but usually as a metaphor for Jesus' power to deliver from sin). However, the noun occurs only once in John and three times in Revelation. The context of sealing to protect from tribulation (7:1-8) and of rewarding for perseverance through trial (7:9-17) supports the classical meaning for aOJt1lPla in 7: \0 of "preservation," "deliverance," '·means of safety," "guarantee for safety," 159

156. So S. Thompson, Semi ric Synuu, 78·79. 157. Bauckham. CIiI1Ul:C of Prophecy. 224·25. 158. Cf. likewise Comblin, "I..e rassemblement de l'lsrael de Dieu.'·

159. LSI, 1751.

432

7:11-12

which is still attested in the LXX and the NT (e.g., 1 Pet I :3-9 in its context in the epistle ).160

11-12 The angels surrounding the throne area also extol God in conjunction with the praises offered in v to. They glorify God for redeeming, protecting, and granting victory to the multitude. God has been able to do this because of his "wisdom ... and power and might." Consequently, the heavenly host recognizes that this redemptive work demonstrates that only God possesses these sovereign attributes and is worthy of receiving eternal "blessing and glory ... and thanksgiving and honor." I\llilv ("Amen") introduces and concludes the praise formula in order to confinn emphatically the certainty and factual truth of the redemption wrought by God.I 61 Even though the Lamb is not explicitly mentioned, he is still in mind. since he and God are addressed with the same doxologicallanguage in 5:12-14, where they are praised for redeeming people from throughout the world. Although "amen" at the end of v 12 could be a liturgical addition,162 that is unlikely because of a lack of external evidence (the omission is attested only by C pc t Fulg Prim). The double use of "amen" in Jewish liturgical contexts and elsewhere in the NT also suggests its originality here. For the OT-Jewish background of the liturgical praise language of7:11-12 see on 5:12-14, especially with respect to Daniel. It is natural for the Danielic language to be positioned here because of the preceding formula from Daniel in 7:9 and the following reference in 7:14 to the tribulation of Dan. 12:1. Among all the prophets, the cosmic scope of God's end-time victory and judgment finds most emphasis in Daniel. This is one of the reasons for its appearance here and elsewhere in the Apocalypse.

Those Remaining Loyal to Christ through Tribulation Demonstrate That Tbey Have Truly Been Cleansed by His Redeeming Death (7:13-14) The identity of the people "clothed with white robes" in v 9 is clarified, as is the question of where they came from before they appeared in the heavenly court. One of the elders asks John if he knows the identity and origin of the people. John does not know and refers the question back to the elder: "my lord, you know." The address to the elder expresses an attitude of subordination, courtesy, or respect,163 but reveals nothing about whether the speaker is an exalted saint or an angel (see on 4:4 for identification of the "elders"). The elder answers the question when it is clear that John does not know. The flISt answer is that these people have come "from the great tribulation." Some assume that the people are a select group who have been martyred 160. J. Schneider and C. Brown, DftfTT m. 205-16. 161. The Gospel of John has this double "amen" twenty-five times. In the Qumran documents the double u.~e functions likewise in response to the priests' praise of God's glory and blessing on all who have entered into the community. Cf. H. Bietenhard, DNJT I, 97-99. 162. cr. Met7.ger. Textual CommenJary, 742. 163. Swete. Apocalypse, 102.

TIlE "GREAT TR.1BULATION"

433

for their faith because they have died during the tribulation. But it is not clear that martyrdom is in mind.l 64 Nevertheless, even if these people are martyrs, it would be best to view them as representative of all believers who must suffer. 1M Therefore, the picture would apply generally to all Christians who suffer in various ways for their faith (see further on 6:4, 8, 9-10). Christians begin to share in Christ's death when they are baptized. "The npproaching crisis will indeed demand faithfulness up to death (2:10, 12:11), but it is the pattern [of suffering], not the physical dying, which matters .... "166

THE "GREAT TRIBULATION" Its Background and Nature Dan. 12:1 is acknowledged as the likely origin for the idea of "the great tribulation": "there will be a time of tribulation, such tribulation as has not come about from when a nation was on the earth until that time" (Theod.). That Daniel is in mind is also apparent from the fact that the phrase "great tribulation" occurs in the NT outside Revelation only in Matt. 24:21 (9A.i.'If1.~ J.J£Y1Ull), where it is part of a fuller and more explicit reference to Dan. 12: 1 (cf. likewise Mark 13: 19; lQM I.Ilff. prophesies that God will protect Israelite saints as they pass through the imminent, unprecedented "time of distress" prophesied in Dan. 12: I, after which they will be rewarded with eternal blessing [IQM 1.8-9]). In Daniel's tribulation, the eschatological opponent persec~tes the saints because of their covenant loyalty to God (cf. Dan. 11:30-39,44; 12:10). Some will apostatize and persecute those remaining loyal, especially attempting to cause them to forsake their loyalty (II :32, 34; 12: 10; Dan. 11 :32 of the Greek OT [Theod.; cf. LXX] makes the Jewish apostates, not the evil pagan king, the subject of the "seducing"). The same idea is involved in the tribulation in Revelation 7, since the seven letters in chs. 2 and 3 have revealed that three of the churches addressed (Ephesus, Sardis, and Laodicea) are in danger of losing their identity as the true people of God and two others are in the process of seriously compromising their loyalty to Christ (Pergamum and Thyatira). A similar idea occurs again in 7:3-8, where only a remnant among the professing new covenant community on earth, the church, is given a seal to remain faithful. Therefore, the tribulation consists of pressures to compromise faith. these pressures coming both from within the church community through seductive 164. Against Charles. Revelation I. 209-14.

165. So. e.g .• Brtitsch. OfJenbarung I. 337. 166. Sweet. Revelation. 15 I.

434

THE "GREAT 1RIBULATION"

teaching and from without through overt oppression. Sometimes the persecution is economically oriented (so 9A.iljl~ ["tribulation"] in 2:9, and 9A.iljlal ["to afflict"] in Lev. 26:26, referring to a "famine of bread" and distributing "loaves by weight," which stands partly behind Rev. 6:5-6). At other times the tribulation is heightened to include imprisonment and even death (so 9Atljl~ ["tribulation"] in 2:10). Whatever its nature, tribulation always comes because of believers' faithful witness to Jesus (so 9A.i~ ["tribulation"] in 1:9; cf. 6:9). The "greatness" of the tribulation is the intensity of the seduction and oppression through which believers pass. Some suggest that J.1£Y~A.T\ ("great") refers to the immense totality of tribulations that have occurred throughout the whole course of the church age,167 which is possible but is not emphasized. This period is also a time of punishment for unbelievers (2:22). The use of the article highlights that this is the expected tribulation prophesied both by Daniel and Christ. But this tribulation does not occur only at the very end of history.168 The trial has already been set in motion in John's day (see on 1:9; 2:9-10,22; so likewise John 16:33; Acts 14:22; Rom. 5:3; 8:35-36; 2 Tim. 3:12; 21 of Paul's 23 uses of 9A.iljl1~ ["tribulation"] refer to a present reality). Elsewhere John sees the end-time prophecies of Daniel already beginning to be fulfilled (see on 1:1, 13, 19; note that John 5:24-29 sees the resurrection of the saints predicted in Dan. 12:2 as being inaugurated in Jesus' ministry). This could be supported by viewing the article in 7:14 as anaphoric, referring back in part to the "great tribulation" that was to occur imminently in the church of Thyatira (9A.iljllV J.l£YOA.T\v in 2:22).1 69 "The great tribulation" has begun with Jesus' own sufferings and shed blood, and all who follow him must likewise suffer through it; this corporate identification of suffering believers with Jesus is expressed especially by O'U"(X01VCllVO~ tv 'tft 9A.{ljfEl ... )(.(Xl. U1t0J.l.0Vii tv '/T1CJOV ("fellow-partaker in the tribulation ... and endurance in Jesus") in 1:9, as well as by Col. 1:24 and 1 Pet. 4:1-7, 12-13,l10 Indeed, the author of 1 Mace. 9:27 understood that the "great tribulation" of Dan. 12: 1 had already begun in the second century B.C., as a result of the chaos produced by Judas's death at the hands of Israel's enemy: "So was there a great tribulation (9A.i\jt\~ J.l.Ej'(U.T\) in Israel, the like of which had not occurred since the time that a prophet was not seen among them." Midr. Ps. 119.31 applies the Dan. 12: 10 tribulation prophecy to the afflictions of Israel throughout history: "we have long since become white, we have long since been tried ... [with] 167. Alford, Greek Testament IV, 628; Lenski, Revelation, 261. 168. Against the Scofield Bible; Fiorenza, Priestl'r for Gott. 393; Mounce, Rl'vl'lation. 173; A. F. Johnson, "Revelation," 485; Beasley-Murray. Revelation, 146-47; Charles. Rl'velation I. 199, 209; Thomas, Revelation 1-7, 494-98. 169. Thomas, Rl'velaJion, 1-7, 496, makes the same connection. but sees both passages as referring to a future, severe stage of trial at the end of history. Lohmeyer, Ojfenbarung, 72, sees 7: 14 as developing the "hour of testing" in 3: I O. 170. See further Allison, The End ofthi' Ages. See likewise H. Schlier, TDNT ill, 145, who sees 1:9 and 2:9 as beginning stages of the "great tribulation" of 7:9.

THE "GREAT TRIBULATION"

435

all kinds of troubles .... Can there be a trial greater than this?" The midrash goes on to cite Ps. 79: 10, as does Rev. 6: 10, in a context of asking how long it will be before God takes vengeance against the persecutors. We have seen that the "hour of testing" in Rev. 3:10 also alludes to Dan. 12:1, 10, and that it appears to include the entire time before Jesus' ministry and the parousia. If so, the present analysis of the tribulation in 7: 14 is supported further, though others also see a parallel between 3: 10 and 7: 14, but see both as alluding to a final trial at the very end of history.l7l The tribulation has begun in the present and will be intensified in its severity at the end of history (e.g., 20:7-9; cf. 2 Bar. 48:31; Test. Mos. 8: 1 for a futuristic interpretation of the tribulation of Dan. 12: l).

Its location in Time The variant reading 8;'{1jI£UIC; ~aA'1~ ("of a great tribulation") in uncial A may reflect one of the earliest interpretations identifying "the great tribulation" of 7: 14 with the "great tribulation" of 2:22 (8AlIjllV J.l£YclAl'\v), as well as with 1:9 and 2:9-10. This may also have been sparked by the scribe's recognition that 8;'l1jl\~ ("tribulation") predominantly refen; to a present reality in the Pauline literature. However. in suppon of an ex.clusively futuristic view or the tribulation in 7:14, Charles appeals to Shep. Hermas, Vision 2.2.7-8, which he rightly affirms is based on Rev. 7: 14 and 3:8, 10: J.Wxt14)lOl ulU~ 0001 unojdvE't£ ,",v 8AIIV1V tTlv tpxOI1£Vl'\V ,",v IJE'(clAl'\V, xul 0001 OU)( cpvnaOVtal ,",V ~WI'\v airtoov ("blessed are you, as many as endure the coming great tribulation and as many as will not deny their life," which the nex.t line defines as denying "their Lord").'72 Nevertheless. the context shows that the tribulation that will come in the future is but a continuation of what has already begun. VISion 2.3.1 describes Hermas himselr as already enduring "great tribulations" (IJE'(~ 8;'{IVEt9, as others have also (so 3.2.1). And 2.3.4 asserts that "tribulations come" (8Ai~ fpx£tal) on others if they deny the Lord. The phrase "great tribulation," found in 2.2.7-8 and 2.3.1 occurs also in 4.3.4-6, referring to a reality presently experienced by Hermas, which serves as a "type of the great tribulation that is to come" (or "type of the tribulation that is coming with greatness"). These verses allude not only to the descriptions in Dan. 11:35 and 12: 10 173 but probably also to the incomparable "tribulation" in Dan. 12: I, which suggests that the earlier rererences in Herma5 to the tribulation are also based on Dan. 12: I, as is Rev. 7: 14. Some preterisls believe that the great tribulation was to take place berore and during the fall of Jerusalem in A.D. 70. But they do not adequately explain how the churches of Asia Minor would be affected by a future tribulation limited to Jerusalem or even to Palestine. 174

171. E.g .• Fiorenza. Priester for Gon, 393. 172. Charles. Revelation I. 199. 173. See Bauckham. Climax of Prophecy. 228. 174. E.g .• see O. C. Chillon. Days of Vengeance, 213-24.

436

CLOTHING WASHED WHITE

CLOTHING WASHED WHITE: THE OLD TESTAMENT BACKGROUND The effect of the tribulation on the saints is expressed in the last two phrases of 7:14 concerning their attire. Their reaction to temptations to compromise and to oppression has been to continue to trust in the Lamb, who bought them by his blood (5:9). Such enduring faith to the end demonstrates that they have been "released from their sins by his blood" (1 :5) so that their sins have been washed away and they have been purified (cf. Heb. 9:14; 1 John 1:7). The same thought may occur in 19:13-14, where Christians are said to be "clothed in fine linen, bright and clean." They are clothed thus because they have identified with Jesus, who was "clothed with a robe dipped in blood." This "fme linen represents the righteous acts of the saints," which are expressions of their faith in Jesus' cleansing blood (19:8), which achieved ironic victory at the cross. Some commentators see Christ's garments stained with blood in 19: 13 as an allusion to his death. But it more likely refers to the blood of his enemies, whom he defeats (see below and the comments on 19: 13). That they have "washed their robes ... in the blood of the Lamb" points to an identification of the saints' endurance throughout the church age with that of Jesus' own suffering (see likewise on 6:9; 12: 11). This identification could be enhanced by the strikingly similar portrayal of Jesus in 19: 13 as "clothed with a robe dipped in blood." Therefore, that "they washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb" in 7:14 means that, despite resistance, they have continued believing in and testifying to the Lamb's death on their behalf, which has taken their sin away and granted them salvation (the aorists refer to action performed by the saints on earth during the tribulation). Herein lies the reason for their victory over the world (so also 12: 11) and for their song of praise in 7: 10 ascribing their "salvation" or "victory" to the Lamb. Consequently, they have been "clothed in white robes" to signify their redemptive purity (7tEPt~E~A."'Il£Vou xcx9..,J,.Ltv0'U Em 'tot> 9p6vo'U, XCXl &te lAa{J£v TO PrfJA.fov . .. ("he came and took [it] from the right hand of the one sitting on the throne, and when he took the book ... ")

10:8 "YtrayE lfi/3e TO !3lfjA.fOV TO TtVEqJYJdvov tv 1ft XElpi TOt> ayyfJ..l)'U'tot> t(]'t(j'yto~ bd tii~ eaMaOTl~ XCXl Em tii~ ~~ ("Go, take the book which has been opened in the hand of the angel who has been standing on the sea and upon the earth"; cf. v 10:

'to

na~ov ~lllA.apilhov EX tii~ xetpo~ 'tot> ayytJ.ou ["he took

the little book from the hand of the angel"]).

This matching language, together with the parallels already seen between chs. 5 and 10 (see on v 2), mean that John's approaching and taking of the book has similar significance to the Lamb's same actions in ch. 5. We have seen already what this meant in 10:2 for the angel. The meaning of the symbolic possession of the open book by Christ in ch. 5 and by the exalted heavenly being in 10: 1-2 is also to be applied to John's possession of the opened book. The Lamb's taking and opening of the scroll symbolized his newly gained authority over God's plan of judgment and redemption, which was inaugurated by his own death and resurrection. John's similar action shows that he participates in and identifies with Jesus' authority in executing judgment and redemption. John is certainly not identified in every way with Christ's sovereignty over the book, since only Jesus redeemed humanity by his death and resurrection, and he alone is sovereign in guiding the rest of history to its predestined end. 210.

As Mounce. Revelation, 214. thinks.

10:8

549

But John does share in the reign of Christ, as do the saints throughout the course of the church age and in the new cosmos. In this sense, John also partakes of the promised inheritance that the Son has received. Furthermore, just as the Lamb began to reign ironically by persevering through suffering, so John reigns in the same manner with Jesus (so also 1:9). As noted more fully in regard to 10:7, Christians, like Christ, have their "book," which is also symbolic of their purpose: they are to reign ironically as Christ did by being imitators on a small scale of the great cosmic model of the cross. However, the emphasis in this chapter is on the significance of 10hn's possession of the book. The primary focus is not on how all Ctuistians identify with Christ's possession of the book. Nevertheless, the interpretative link between chs. 10 and 11 will reveal that what is true of John as a prophet and of his reigning through suffering is true of aU Christians in general. This is clear from the fact that both John and the "two witnesses" of ch. II are referred to as prophets (11:6, 10, 18; ct. similarly 16:6; 18:20,24; 22:6, 9).211 The phrase " 41eovT) tjv ("the voice that") was either misread or consciously changed to accusative 4IUMIv by a scribe who perhaps thought it more titting that ~11 be the object of t'\xoooa ("I heard"), especially in line with the parallel in v 4 (so 1006 1841 18542053 23292344 al a [gig] vg c1 ; Tyc Prim). The nominative is shown to be original by its better ms. testimony. The phraseology of 10:8 focuses attention on the nearly identical phrase in 10:4: cf. ilxoooa q,wv"v tx tOU oupavou Uyouaav ("I heard a voice from heaven saying," 10:4) and" 4ICINI'I ~v t'\xouoa tx toli oupavoli mU1V AtyouO'av ("·the voice lhall heard from heaven again speaking," 10:8). 1tclA1V ("again") formally links v 8 with v 4, as does the initial relative clause in v 8a (the relative clause in v 5 functions similarly).2J2 The participial forms of ).aJ..iw and ).£yeo (both "speak") following "the voice that I heard from heaven" were probably changed from original accusatives to nominatives (so mK) to bring them into concord with the original nominative" q,mvl1 ("the voice") or so that they could serve a.~ proper subjects, designating the speaker of the following imperatives. The preponderance and quality of the external evidence confirms the authenticity of the accusati ve participles. These participles are used in an exceptional manner as independent indicative verbs. This participial usage probably reflects Semitic style (see below).2J3 As such, they strengthen the backward-looking function of v 8 with respect to v 4, where one of the participles has occurred, also followed by imperatives. We have seen grammatical irregularities in the uses of participles of )J;yw ("speak") in 1:10-11 and 4:1 as stylistic Semitisms, serving to highlight or allusions. That the same thing is occurring here is clear because (I) the language of I: I 0-11; 4: t; and 10:4,8 is similar; (2) all these uses of participles focus on "the voice" and (3) either directly follow or introduce allusions to Ezekiel's prophetic commission (Ezekiel 1-3), which is applied to John's commission (see on 1:10; 4:1-2; 10:9-10); and (4) aI.1 m:e also closely linked with Exod. 19: 16-19's allusions to the thunderous vOIce on Sm3l. The 211. See also Sweet, Revelation, 179. 212. See Mealy, Thousand Years, 166. 213. Cf. S. Thompson, Apocalypse and Semitic Syntax, 69; d. Mussies, Morphology, 325-26, 350. who sees the participles employed as independent verbs in apparent reflection or Semitic use: Charles, Revelation I, \08, 267, view~ the use of the participles as a solecism reflecting Hebrew style.

550

10:9-10

atypical syntax of 1:10-11 focuses on the "voice" at Sinai in Exod. 19:16-19. It is probably not happenstance thal in 10:4 we could see a link between Exod. 19:16-19 and the "seven thunders" (see on 10:4 and on 10: I on the pattern of Exod. 19:9-19 in Rev. 10:1,3-4,7: a divine being's descent from heaven in a "cloud" and "fire" is announced by "thunder" and associated with "the sound of a trumpet"). In this light, the signpost 7taALV ("again") with the exceptional verbal use of the participles may even be meant to bring the focus back onto the OT allusions in 10:4, to which "the voice" refers as a larger context for understanding 10:8. The participles in 10:8 hark back to the participle in 10:4, which introduced an allusion to DII1I. 12:4,9: as with Daniel, so also for John there is some revelation that remains hidden for the readers (sec on 10:4), yet vv 7-11 indicate that lohn's audience receives more revelation from him because they live at the tum of the ages: the judicial thunders of Sinai and the Law are no longer the primary theological frameworl< through which salvation and judgment are understood, as in the OT, but the "good news" of the gospel now reveals the ironic suffering of Christ and the church as the escalated paradigm within which salvation and especially judgment are understood. At the least, the backward-looking language in 10:8 is meant to contrast what is not revealed in the "seven thunders" of 10:4 with what is revealed in the "open book" (see further on v 4, where also the same contnlst was observed with 22: 10).214

9-10 The command to take the book and consume it and the carrying out of the command portray John's fonnal recomnussion as a prophet. This commission has already been given in 1:10 and 4:1-2. as here, by means of allusions to Ezekiel's commission. The precise reference here is clearly to Ezek. 2:8--3:3. Ezekiel, like John after him, is commissioned by being told to take a scroll and to eat it, and for both the scroll's revelatory message "was sweet as honey in my mouth." The full meaning of Ezekiel's commission is to be understood from the broader commissioning narrative of all of Ezekiel 2-3. Ezekiel is called to warn the Israelites of impending doom if they do not repent of unbelief and idolatry (3:17-21; chs. 5-14). He is to preach so that they will "know that a prophet has been among them." Yet he is also told that "Israel will not be willing to listen" to his message because "the whole house of Israel has a hard forehead and a stiff neck" (2:2-8; 3:4-11). Therefore, his message is primarily one of judgment. This is explicitly emphasized by the description of the scroll: "it was written on the front and back, and lamentations, mourning, and woe were written on it" (2: lO). The prophet's eating of the scroll signifies his identification with its message (cf. 3: 10: "take into your heart all my words rof woe] that I will speak to you"). He is the appointed minister of God not only to deliver the warning but especially to announce the judgment on which God has already decided. But there will be a renmant who will respond and repent (3:20; 9:4-6; 14:21-23). The scroll's sweet taste represents the life-sustaining attribute of God's word, which empowers the prophet to carry out his task (Deut. 8:3). The sweetness of the words also represents the positive and joyous effect God's words have in instructing and guiding those who submit to them (e.g., Pss. 19:7-11; 119:97-104; Prov. 16:2]-24; 24:13-14). Although Ezekiel's task is a sober one, 214. 8auckham. CUmru of Prophecy. 260, also sees a contrast.

10:9-10

551

he takes pleasure in the message of woe because it is God's will, which is good and holy. The sweetness is a brief pleasure, representing the prophet's brief delight. He does not contemplate delight in the message for long because he focuses on the overall purpose of his call, which is to announce judgment. Although Ezekiel does not refer to the scroll as being biner in his stomach, as John will, he does refer to its "lamentations, mourning, and woe" (2:10), which elicit in him a "bitter" response (3: 14) after he eats it (cf. 3:3a). The bitterness is a response either to his grief over Israel's impending doom or to his anger over their refusal to repent Notable parallels are found in Jer. 6:1Ob-lla and especially Jer. 15:16-17: "Your words were found and I ate them, and they became for me ajoy and the delight of my heart.... You filled me with anger." The delight and anger at God's words, which Jeremiah eats, refer respectively to the prophet's own comfort and to the judgment of his enemies (for MT za 'am ["anger"] LXX has 1ttxp{a ["bitterness"], the nominal cognate of the verb used in Rev. 10:9-10). John's eating of the scroll has the same meaning as Ezekiel's, although the historical situation is different. It represented for both prophets their total identification with and submission to the divine will as a prerequisite for their service as prophetic instruments in God's hand. Their message carries with it the power of God's word because it is, in fact, God's word. But John is warning not Israel but the church. He warns the church against unbelief and compromise with the idolatrous world, and he also warns the world of unbelievers themselves (see below on v 11 and on ch. 11). John and other Christian prophets actually take pleasure in God's pronouncement of judgment (1) because God's word expresses his holy will, which will ultimately make even events of woe redound to his glory (11:17-18; 14:7; 15:3-4; 19:1-2); (2) because God's righteousness,justice, and holiness are demonstrated when he punishes sin; (3) because punishment of the church's persecutors vindicates Christians and reveals that they have been in the right all along, contrary to the world's verdict (cf. 6:9-11; 18:4-7). Saints are even depicted in 19: 1-4 as shouting "hallelujah" when God executes his judgment Finally, (4) the expansion of 10: 8-11 in 11: 1-13 shows that part of the message about judgment is an encouragement to the faithful to endure in loyalty to God's word, which is a message of sweetness to John. Nevertheless, Christians, like God, do not take sardonic pleasure in the pain of punishment as an end in itself apart from the broader framework of justice. Sweetness, as in Ezekiel, is a metaphor for brief pleasure, since contemplation of the main thrust of his message causes John to focus on judgment. This emphasis is brought out in v 10, where v 9's order of bitter and then sweet is reversed: John first tastes the sweetness and then digestion of the scroll brings bitterness. The more enduring sensation is bitterness,215 which signifies John's resp~mse to the contemplation of judgment. The first 215. Cf. I. T. Beckwith, Apocalypse, 579.

552

10:9-10

and last position of bitterness thus forms an indusio and thereby receives the stress. 216 Some conunentators regard the bitterness of the digested scroll as a new development added to the Ezekiel background But, as we have seen in Ezekiel and Jeremiah, the element of bitterness was already connected with the scroll and with the consumption of the divine word. 217 Though some do not see the bitterness in Ezek. 3:14 as corresponding to the bitterness experienced by John,218 in both Ezekiel and Revelation the emphasis of the message is judgment. John expresses the aspect of bitterness more explicitly. The nonrepentant response to his message in the church and the world is a "bitter" or mournful thing for John to contemplate, as it was for the OT prophets and Jesus (Luke 19:41; cf. Jer. 9:1).219 With 7tlxpa{v9Ev] coun" instead of "outer [~!Il9EVJ court" (t( 2329 at vg' syph Vic). This represents an unintentional change resulting from a scribe's confusing cr [1:] for ~ IE] because of similarity of script or sound. The change may also be due to copyists thinking that the inner court of the temple Originally was in mind and that their predecessors had miscopied the text. 268 Ukewise, [os. A has j.L£tPTJCfO\lOlV at the end of v 2b probably because of confusion of nat7fcrO'OOlv for the preceding .uerP7JOTl~.

The Forty-Two Months

The number of the "forty-two months" is not literal 269 but figurative for the eschatological period of tribulation repeatedly prophesied by Daniel (7:25; 9:27; 12:7, 11-12). Jewish writings understood the duration of Daniel's three and a half years in various ways: as a general time of trial for believers (Midr. Ps. 10.1), as the time associated with Israel's Babylonian captivity (b. Sanhedrin 97b, combining Dan. 7:25 with Hab. 2:3 and Ps. 80:6). or as the period that must pass before Israel's final redemption (b. Sanhedrin 97b-98a). Why some of the periods in Daniel and Revelation are not stated with precisely the same fOImula is not clear.27o But the exact number "forty-two" here and in 13:5 is probably intended to recall Elijah's ministry of judgment (see on I I :6). which is expressed the same way. and Israel's wilderness wandering. which included forty-two encampments.27I and which might have been reckoned as forty-two years, since it appears that two years passed before Israel incurred the penalty of remaining in the wilderness for forty years. 272 This background continues the Exodus themes of the first six trumpets and anticipates the overt allusions to the Exodus that will follow in ch. II (e.g .• vv 6-8) and chs. 12-16. Indeed. 12:6 and 12: 14 affiIm that the community of faith wanders in the "wilderness" for three and a half years. On the other hand. the "time. times. and half a time" in 12: 14 is so formulated to correspond precisely with the Danielic fOImula (Dan. 7:25; 12:7). Therefore. all four of the references to three and a half years in chs. 11-13 represent an eschatological and typological interpretation of Elijah's ministry and Israel's wilderness journeying, via Daniel. "1Welve-hundred sixty days" 266. Though see !bid.. 267. Snyder. Combat Myth. 176-78. 268. Cf. B. M. Metzger. Textual Commentary, 746. 269. Against Walvoord. Revela/ion, 178. 270. For speculative proposals in the light of the Jewish calendrical background see e.g .. Thiering, "Three and a Half Years." 271. So Num. 33:5-49, and Morris. Revelation. 147. 272. So Farrer. Revelation, 132.

566

TIlE METAPHORS IN 11:1-2

has the same interpretative nuance, though the reason the period is named in terms of days is not clear. The focus of the tribulation in Daniel is on the attack on the temple (so 9:27 and 12:11, which specify the more vague references in 7:25 and 12:7; cf. 8:11-13). The initial fulfillment of the "abomination of desolation" in the temple occurred during Antiochus Epiphanes' oppression from 167 to 164 B.C. (1 Maccabees 1-3; 2 Maccabees 5; cf. 1 Macc. 1:20-64 with 4:52ff.; Josephus, War 1.19 and 5.394 summarize the period as "three years and six months"). In Matt. 24:15 and Mark: 13:14 the fulfillment of Dan. 9:27 was seen as about to be fulfilled in the Roman siege of Jerusalem, which lasted for about three and a half years (cf. Luke 21:20-24). Indeed, some have seen Rev. 11:2 as a historical "flashback" to the siege of Jerusalem. 273 These initial fulfillments intensified the idea of Daniel's three and a half years being one of tribulation, especially for the temple. This is clearly the use in Rev. 11:1-2. Rev. 13:5-6 refers to the same period, though there the attack is against God's "tabernacle," which is defined as "those tabernacling in heaven." But it is likely that the time period and attack there are the same as in II: 1-2: oppression of saints who live on earth but whose true identity is God's heavenly temple (see on 13:5-6). The uses in 12:6 and 12:14 confl1'11l that 11:1-2 alludes to an attack on the community of faith throughout the church age. In 12:6 the messianic community (the "woman") is safe from the dragon's onslaught during the three and a half years by taking refuge in "the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God." 12: 14 is virtually identical. The "place" ('t61to~) in which Christians are kept safe from the devil is probably the invisible sanctuary of God, since in Daniel that is the object of attack during the three and a half years and since that is the idea in Rev. 11: 1-2 and 13:5-6. 't61to~can be a synonym for "sanctuary" in the NT and often in the LXX, including Daniel 8: 11 [LXX, not Theod.) (for this meaning of t61to~ see below on 12:6). Since 12:6; 12:14; and 13:5-6 are parallel with 11:1-2, we have a further basis for defining the temple in 11:1-2 not as a literal structure but as the community of believers undergoing persecution yet protected by God. Therefore, the three and a half years reveals two perspectives about the saints' destiny:274 they undergo tribulation (11:2; 12:14; 13:5-6), but are nonetheless protected from ultimate spiritual hann. Their existence as a community is guaranteed until the parousia, so that they can fulfill their corporate call to witness (11:3; 12:4, 14). Within the context of Revelation it is unlikely that the figurative three and a half year periods in 11:3; 12:6, 14 are to be distinguished from the same period of time in 11:2 and 13:5-13.275 The proximity of 11:2 and 11:3 of course argues for this identification. Nevenheless, some commentators have identified 11:3 273. Coun, Myth and History. 87, following Giet, L' Apocalypse. 27,36-37. 274. Cf. Salake, Gemeiruieortinung. 127. 275. So also Rissi. Time and History, 64; Harrington, Revelation. 153; Mounce, Revelation. 221; similarly Sweet Revewlion. 182-83; Hailey. Revelation. 252-53.

TIlE METAPHORS IN 11:1-2

567

and 12:6. 14 with the first part of the tribulation. when the two witnesses preach, and 11:3 and 13:5-13 with the last part of the tribulation. when the persecution is severe and Antichrist rules absolutely. This division is based on a possible reading of Daniel 9 and 12 and of Jesus' apocalyptic discourse (Mark 13 par.; so Victorinus. Hippolytus. and Augustine).276 Dan. 9:27 mentions an eschatological "week" of years. which is divided into two parts - therefore, two periods of three and a half years each - during which events of tribulation happen. All the references in Revelation to the period appear to be general allusions only to a figurative three and a half years based on all the references throughout Daniel, not only on 9:27. But it is possible that Daniel 9 is specifically in mind, so that the time periods in 11:2-3 and 12:6. 14 are the earlier part of the tribulation and that ] 3:5-7 refers to severe persecution at the end of the church age (see on 13:5; note the reference to 1,335 days in Asc. lsa. 4:12; cf. 4 Ezra 5:4). But if so. the idea of a literal three and a half years or a literal last half of the tribulation period would not be in mind. In this respect, the figurative emphasis would be not so much on time as such but on the severity of the persecution, which is the idea in Daniel. No matter how long the church's tribulation lasts, the period may be divided into two phases with respect to the severity of persecution. Regardless of which Danielic three and a half year period(s) Revelation alludes to, the point is that there is no time in which the church is ever in a peaceful relationship with the world, whether during the course of its testimony or at the end. 277 Rev. 12:5-6 shows that the three and a half year period was inaugurated at Christ's resurrection and will be conswnmated at his final coming (see on 12:5-6 and cf. 14:14-20). 11:2 indicates the period when "the holy city" is "trampled." V 8 implies that this trampling. and therefore the three and a half years, was set in motion when "the Lord was crucified" in Jerusalem, especially since the ultimate basis for the trampling - the persecution of the church - is Christ's death (for Christ's death and resurrection as the ground for persecution of the church see on 12:12).278 So this period was inaugurated at Christ's resurrection and will be consummated at his final coming. Another reason that a three and one-half year period is chosen to represent the church's witness is that Christ's ministry lasted about that amount of time. 279 Yet again the witnesses are identified with the Witness (cf. 11 :2, 7 with 1:5; 3: 14). The pattern of the narration of the witnesses' career in ] I :3-12 is intended as a replica of Christ's career: proc1amation and signs result in satanic opposition, persecution (John 15:20), and violent death in the city where Christ was crucified; the world looks on its victim (Rev. 1:7) and rejoices (cf. John 16:20); 276. 277. 278. 279.

Cf. Glasson. ReveliJlion, 67-70; A. F. Johnson. "Revelation," 503. Sweet, Revelation, 183. See Rissi, Time and History. 40. E.g .. ct. G. Ogg. NBD 223-25; House. Ch"'M/ogica/ and Background Charts. 102-8.

THE METAPHORS IN 11:1-2

568

then the witnesses are raised and vindicated by ascension in a c1oud. 280 The prophetic precedents of Moses and Elijah also point to this pattern and are alluded to in vv 3-13 to give the pattern more detail. This period in v 2 is the same as the time of the "mystery of God" in 10:7, since, as we have argued, 11:1-13 is an expansion of the period mentioned there (see on 10:6-7). In Apoc. Elijah 2:52-53 the time of "abundant well-being" and "rest" of believers who have been afflicted lasts three and a half years and precedes Anticluist's final onslaught. Beasley-Murray identifies the three and a half year period in Rev. 11 :1,3-13 and 13:5 as the reign of Anticluist directly preceding Christ's coming. 281

The Holy City The futurist literalist perspective is implausible because of its misreading of John's visions, which contain heavenly symbols and not photographic images with a one-to-one identity to earthly realities. Here, for example, though "the holy city" (1'\ 7t6A.~ Ctyia) is used in the OT and elsewhere in the NT of the literal Jerusalem, the use of 7t6A.~ in Revelation must be determinative. In 21 :2, 10 and 3: 12 7t6A.l«; is used of the future heavenly city of God inhabited by faithful Gentiles and Jews. "The holy city" in 11:2 likely refers to some aspect of the heavenly Jerusalem, since the other occurrences in Revelation of the phrase (21:2, 10; 22:19) refer to the heavenly Jerusalem. 11:2 must refer to the initial form of the heavenly city, part of which is identified with believers living on earth. 20:9 includes the period of the church age and speaks of "the beloved city," referring thereby to the earthly expression of the heavenly community of faith. The reference to the heavenly city in Hebrews also has the same "alreadyand-not-yet" character (11:10; 12:22; 13:14). The trampling of the holy city in 11:2 helps us to understand the preceding clause (note xa{) concerning the outer court, which on this basis, in confirmation of our analysis above, would also be identified in a positive manner, like the holy city. If, as we have argued, "the holy city" is the persecuted true people of God, then it is not difficult to understand the outer court, which was certainly no less profane than the city in general, as also representing true believers. That the city is to be measured in 21: 15-17 shows its close identification with the Ezekiel 40-48 temple, and, therefore, its identification with the temple in Rev. 11: 1-2. Believers on earth are members and representatives of the heavenly Jerusalem. This identification of the holy city is confirmed by the fact that the dragon and beast persecute the "woman" (= the NT covenant community) and the saints for precisely the same time period of "three and a half years" (see on 11:3; 12:6, 14; 13:5). Therefore, the outer court is part of the temple, the community of faith in which God dwells. It is the earthly expression of the temple. That it is an essential 280. So also Kline, Images o/the Spirit. 90-91. 281. Beasley-Murray. 200-201.

TIlE METAPHORS IN 11:1-2

569

part of the temple complex is suggested by the assumption in v 2 that it was fonnerly under the protection of the temple walls but is now to be "cast out" of that protection. The symbolic aspect of the portrayal comes to the fore in that John is certainly not saying that part of the material temple building is to be picked up and thrown outside. 282 That the outer court is cast out and not measured means that it will not be protected from various forms of earthly harm (physical, economic, social. etc.). The court and the city thus both represent the people of God who will be persecuted. The persecution will occur during the time when, as Daniel predicted, "the holy place [-to ~'Ylov] and the host are to be trampled" [O'UJ.l.1ta'tT\9l\a'E-rat] (Dan. 8:13 [Theod.]; so also 1 Mace. 3:45, 51; 4:60; 2 Macc. 8:2, which use 'Xa'ta1ta1t(l); likewise, Isa. 63: 18 uses wording similar to that of Daniel (xa'twta'tw) to speak of how Israel's "adversaries trampled down your sanctuary"). Zech. 12:3 LXX (cf. 'Xa-rCX1tcx'ttCIJ), which could be parallel to the idea of "trampling" in DalL 8:13, may also partially be alluded to: "I will make Jerusalem a stone trampled by all the nations: everyone who tramples it will utterly mock at it." 283 For "the nations" to "trample down the city" is equivalent to them "trampling down the altar" and the temple (as also in Pss. Sol. 2:2, 20 [19]; 7:2; 17:25). Consequently, the outer court and the city of Jerusalem were spoken of with both positive and negative connotations, and John has chosen to emphasize the positive metaphorical associations. He has done the opposite in v 8 with the city, which is evident in part by the contrast of "great city" there with "holy city" here. The "nations" who "trample" are persecutors who are not part of the true covenant community, as is clear from Daniel 8 and Isaiah 63. This background for the understanding of "trampling" shows that those being metaphorically trampled are not being deceived or becoming apostates but represent the true community of faith undergoing persecution. In Revelation the persecutors include both unbelieving Gentiles and Jews (for the latter see on 2:9-10; 3:9). One possible objection to the above analysis is that 1l:2b appears to be parallel with Luke 21 :24, which predicts the punishment of the Jews: "Jerusalem will be trampled underfoot by the nations until the times of the nations be fulfilled." In contrast, our analysis could see John transforming this into a prophecy of the persecution of the church. 284 But both Luke's context (and the Synoptic parallels) and Rev. 11:2 are developing the prophecy about end-time tribulation from Daniel 7-12.285 In the Synoptic contexts the oppression of Jerusalem comes because of Jewish unbelief. But genuine believers suffer to-

282. 283. 284. 285.

So Feuillet. lohonnine Studies. 237. BBIlclcham, Climaz of Prophecy. 270-71. Which Feuillet, lohDnnine Studies, 236-37, judges improbable. For the argument in the Synoptic eschatological discounies see Hartman, Prophecy Interpreted, 145-77.

THE METAPHORS IN 11:1-2

570

gether with unbelieving Jews. as in the Babylonian invasion and captivity. Indeed. one of the main purposes of the Synoptic accounts is to prepare Christ's followers for imminent suffering so they will not stumble because of it. Rev. 11 :2 develops this particular theme of the Synoptic narrative instead of the idea of punishment. John is mainly developing the Daniel prophecy of the saints' suffering by combining the persecution of the temple and saints with that of Jerusalem (Dan. 8:11-13) and adding that it will last for three and a half years (7:25; 9:27; 11 :31-41; 12:7. 11). While he may have the Synoptic tradition in mind. he is also going behind that tradition and further interpreting it with the aid of Daniel, where "trampling" is the persecution of the temple and the true saints. That is the primary thrust of the prophetic sections about tribulation in Daniel 7-12. Perhaps the real question is why Luke develops the "trampling" in the way he does. Rev. 11:2 is consistently developing the thought of Daniel. Bauckham recently has lent further support to the idea that Daniel is a significant background for both the "casting out" of the outer court and for the "trampling" of the city.286 11: 1-2 continues where 10:7 left off. 1bere John alluded to Dan. 12:7 concerning "how long" it would be to the end of history. The angel told Daniel that the end would not come until the enemy would "finish shattering the power of the holy people," and a typical Danielic time period is given for the duration until the end (Dan. 12: 11). In Rev. 11: 1-2 John interprets Dan. 12:7 with the aid of a similar passage, Dan. 8: 13-14, which also begins with a "how long?" that is answered by a standard Danielic time period. Whereas what leads up to the end in Daniel 12 is the "shattering" of the saint~, in Dan. 8: 13b what leads up to the end is "concerning the regular burned offering, the transgression that makes desolate, and the giving over of the sanctuary and host to be trampled" (NRSV). In particular, the conclusion of Dan. 8: II, usually translated "the place of his sanctuary [the court outside the temple building) was cast down," could viably be rendered "the place of his sanctuary was cast out." This implies that the inner sanctuary and the priests in it are preserved in some way from defilement and trampling of the outer court by the Gentile powers. This specifically lies behind John's "cast out the court outside the temple." Therefore, John alludes to Dan. 8: 11-13 to refer to the same reality as Dan. 12:7, which for him refers to the physical suffering of the church as the temple, but also suggests the spiritual protection of Christians as priests of God, serving in a spiritual temple. For literal uses of 7t6A.1C; see, e.g., 2 Esdras 21:1 (= Neh. 11:1); Isa. 48:2; 52:1; 66:20; Dan. 9:24; Tob. 13:10(9); Pss. Sol. 8:4; 2 Mace. I: 12; 3: 1,14; 9: 14; 15:14; 3 Mace. 6:5; Matt. 4:5; 27:53.

Conclusions The descriptions of temple, altar, worshipers, outer court, and holy city underline different but complementary aspects of the new people of God as, respectively, those among whom God uniquely dwells on earth, who have a sacrificial calling, whose sacrificial living is the way they worship, especially as this entails suffer-

286. Climax of Prophecy, 267-73.

TIlE METAPHORS IN 11:1-2

57)

ing for their witness as a Gentile-Jewish church, and who are the set-apart conununity among whom God is present. If this analysis is correct, then temple and city form an inclusio so that God's indwelling presence in the community of believers introduces and concludes the description of God's people. God's people are characterized by his presence even, and especially, in the midst of persecution. This theme will be developed in vv 3-13. The identification of temple, altar, outer court, and holy city as the Christian community is in line with our previous identifications of the church with Israelite prophecies, names, and institutions (e.g., see on 1:6-7, 12; 2:9, 17, 26-27; 3:9, 12; 5: 10; 7:2-8, 14-15). The symbolic nature of vv 1-2 is also substantiated by the continued use of obvious symbols in vv 3-7. That these five descriptions in 11:1-2 can all be figurative and can be applied to the believing conunWlity has precedent in 3: 12, where five similar images are figuratively applied to overcomers: pillar; temple, God's name, the name of the city of Jerusalem. and Christ's new name. So also 13:6 portrays the beast's antagonistic activities toward the believing communityas "opening his mouth against God, to blaspheme his name and his tabernacle - (that is] those who tabernacle in heaven." The concluding tv aU'tlj) of v I has three possible antecedents: the measuring rod, the temple, or the altar. The first alternative would be rendered "(measure ...J with it" or "by (means ot) it,"287 though xiAal1oc; ("reed") is probably too far away to be considered a viable antecedent. The second option, the temple, is viable, especially because tv au'tlj) can then be rendered in its mosl typical sense: "those worshiping in it (= the temple)." But "altar" is probably the antecedent because it is nearer, though £v must then be rendered as "by," "near." before," or "at": "those worshiping at it"288 IT "temple" or "altar" is the antecedent, then the "worshipers" are not to be Ctluated with the temple or the altar. If so, especially if the antecedent is "altar," then the precise picture is thaI of believers dwelling in the midst of God's presence (= the temple, or possibly the altar) as they serve him by sacrificing their lives for his sake (= ~'worshiping at the altar"). On the other hand, John may not have intended Ihal the metaphors be so precisely analyzed. In this case. the lemple may refer to God's presence with and in his people. which would identify them as part of the temple, the altar referring to their sacrificial destiny and their wor.;hip to the priestly service they render to God in the temple. Could the xa{ introducing the phrase "the ones worshiping in it" possibly even function appositionally (i.e., "namely [or, that isl, the ones worshiping in it," thus equating the worshipers with the temple and altar)? Such a rendering of xai is pos.~ible in the light of 13:6. where God's "tabernacle" is clearly defined (though nol with xa{) as "the ones tabernacling in heaven" (some translations of 13:6 explicitly have "his tabernacle, ,hilt is. those tabernacling in heaven" (RSV, NRSV, NASB, Moffatt; essentially New Living Translarion); see on 13:6). A further hint of an appositional force of xa( is that, as seen above, John alludes to Dan. 8: II in Rev. II:] -2 and in 13:6, which is significant since there God's "host" of saints appears to be equivalent to "his sanctuary" (see further on 13:6).

287. BAGD. 260. 288. So liJcewise Reader. "Riddle or the Polis in Rev. II: 1-13," 409; cf. BAGD, 258.

572

11:3

God's Presence among His People EnsUJ'eS the Triumph of lbeir Prophetic Witness in the Midst of Oppression, Which Results in Inaugurated Judgment of Their Oppresson (11:3-6) 3 Verses 3-6 explain the primary purpose of the "measuring" in vv 1-2. That is, God's establishment of his presence among his end-time conununity as his sanctuary is aimed to ensure the effectiveness of their prophetic witness (on IlCtp'ruC;;, llap't'Upw, and llap'tUPECil see on 1:2, 5, 9; 2: 13; 3: 14; 6:9). They are to be prophets like the great prophets of the OT (like Moses and Elijah, vv 4-6). They bear prophetic witness to Jesus (cf. the IlCtp'tUC;; word-group with this sense in 1:9; 2:13; 12:11, 17; 17:6). The introductory xa\ Ov xa\ y'A.coocrwv xul. t9vwv ("the peoples, tribes, tongues, and nations") shows that the sardonic onlookers live throughout the earth. This is

344. As preterists and futwists respectively contend; possibly the plural a'litiOv of v lib has the two witnesses of v 8a ('to 1t"tiilj.1a airciilv) as its subject, as argued by Holtz, Christ%gie cUr

Apokalypse, 9-10. 345. Reader, "Riddle of the Polis," 411-14. For a select historical overview of identifications of the "city" in 11:2, 8, 13; 14:20; 16: J0, 19 from 1637 to 1%5 see van der Waal, Openbaring van Jezur Christus, 249-50.

594

11:9

evident from the positive use of the same formula for the redeemed throughout the earth in 5:9 and 7:9, which is based on the universal meaning of the repeated formula in Daniel (see on 5:9). Negative use of the formula began in 10:11, which is part of the introduction to ch. 11. Many commentators view ex with the genitives "peoples, tribes, tongues, and nations"as partitive, thus referring .to some people throughout the world. A dating before A.D. 70 for the book would see the construction referring to the people in Jerusalem from all the nations. 346 More plausibly, the construction may be not so much a specific partitive idea ("some") as a general reference to the whole world of unbelievers, which is borne out by the use of the formula in 10:11 and by the parallel with "those dwelling on the earth" in 11:10. The plural subject of ~AtJtO,\)OlV ("they see") is clearly the people scattered across the whole world. The plural continues the antecedent of au'twv at the end of v 8. The pictme of those who look on the "dead bodies" ('ta 1ttOlf,la'ta airtwv) continues the hyperbole of v 8a that the church wiu seem defeated in its role of witness, appearing small and insignificant. 1:0 7t'twlla ("the body") could be a collective singUlar. This would be consistent with the use elsewhere of singulars for that which each of a number of people possesses (e.g., Gen. 48:12; Lev. 10:6; Iudg. 13:20; Wis. 4:18; Acts 18:6).347 Such use is clear in 11:5, where the singular of o't6lla ("mouth") appears in the phrase "their mouth" ('to\> 0't6Ila'to~ au'twv). But we must ask why singular forms of 'to 7t'tCilf.La ("the body") in vv 8a and 9a are followed by plural 'ta 7t'tcbf.La'ta ("the bodies") in v 9b. Swete's answer, that the context of burial now demands separate treatment,348 is not convincing. The likely reason for the change in number is to connote the corporate nature of the witnesses. 349 They are one "body" of Christ who witness, but they are also many witnesses scattered throughout the earth, as is evident elsewhere (e.g., O'VpeOlVQ)VO, tv tii 9A.l\jl£l ')(ill PaotAEU;I ')(ill U7tOIlOvfj tv 11/O'ov, 1:9). A similar phenomenon occurs in 12:4-5, 13, 17, where the Christ child and "those who have the testimony of Jesus" are both identified as the offspring of "the woman."350 This corporate interpretation is especially plausible if the understanding of the two witnesses as the church, argued for above, is correct. The three-and-a-half-day period during which the bodies are observed evokes the period Christ was in the tomb (though that was only three days). This further figuratively identifies the witnesses with Christ, "the faithful witness" (1 :5). Therefore, just as the three and a half year duratioR of Iesus' ministry is identified with the cowse of the witnesses' ministry (11:2-3), so also the time of his apparent defeat at the end of his ministry is associated with the conclusion

346. Cf. Charles. Revelation I, 288. 347. So I. T. Beckwith, Apocalypse, 601; Swete, Apocalypse, 137. 348. Swete. Apocalypse, 138-39. 349. So also Krodel, Revelation, 226. 350. MHT, Ill, 22, views 't~ 1t't(ii~ as a generic singular.

11 :10

595

of their period of testimony. The short half-week of "three and a half days" is also intended to be a contrast to the long half-week of "three and a half years." The contrast is meant to emphasize that Antichrist's victory is brief and insignificant in comparison to the victorious testimony of the witnesses.3~1 The ungodly onlookers "do not permit the bodies to be placed in a tomb." This also suggests severe persecution, since the picture may be derived from Ps. 78(79):3b. In the Psalm "the nations" defiled "the holy temple" and "laid Jerusalem in ruins" (v 1), "gave the bodies of your servants forfood to the birds of heaven, the flesh of your holy ones to the beasts [9T1Pto~ of the earth. 'They poured out their blood ... round about Jerusalem, and there was no one to bury them" (vv 2-3); both dead and surviving Israelites became "a scorn and derision" to the persecutors "round about" (v 4). The Psalm includes a prayer for a lex talionis punishment (v 12). This is the same pattern found in Rev. 11: 1-10, where "the nations" defile the physical expression of God's spiritual "temple" (vv 1-2a) and trample underfoot "Jerusalem" (v 2b), the witnesses torment their oppressors with a punishment fitting the pattern of their persecution (vv 5, 10), "the beast" ("to 9T1Piov) kills the witnesses (v 7), their bodies are not allowed burial (v 9), and their persecutors express joyful scorn at their shameful deaths (v 10). These parallels cannot be accidental because, as we have seen, ch. 11 develops 6:9-11 in various ways and in particular is partly a continued answer to the saint's cry for vengeance in 6: 10, which is based on Ps. 79:5, 10. The background in the Psalm and the connection with Rev. 6:9-11 indicate again that more than only two individuals are in mind in 11:7-12 and that the two witnesses represent the faithful covenant community of Christians.352 Similar to Rev. 11:7-10 is 1 Mace. 7:16-17, where sixty godly Israelites are slain by an ungodly king in league with apostates. Ps. 79:2-3 is quoted to describeJhe incident: "they have cast out the flesh of your saints and have shed their blood around Jerusalem, and there was none to bury them." As in Rev. 11 :7-10, the use of the Psalm in 1 Mace. 7: 10-30 is associated with an allusion to the eschatological opponent prophesied in Daniel (e.g., Dan. 11 :30-35). 4QTanh (4Q176) J applies Ps. 79:2-3 to the end-time period and refers to "the bodies of your [God's) priests" who lie unburied; this lines up with the two witnesses' association with saints' "worshiping in the sanctuary" (11:1).

10 The beginning and end of v 10 refer to those throughout the world who look on the witnesses' corpses as "those dwelling on the earth" (ot xu'tOl')(DUV'tE~ t1tt 'ti\~ yii~ This is a technical term repeated throughout the book (see on 3: 10) for unbelievers who suffer under incipient divine judgment because they persecute God's people (6: 10; 8: 13). The present context enforces the idea that the phrase is a reference to persecutors dwelling throughout the earth (for the universal use of the phrase in the OT see Isa. 24:6; 26:21). But unbelieving persecutors are also called "earth-dwellers" because they are idolaters. The 351. Farrer, ReveiaJion, 136; Briitsch, Offenbarung 11, 31. 352. On Revelation 11 as a partial answer to the saints' plea for vengeance in 6:9-11, see above on 6: 10 and the introductory comments on ch. 11. See also on II: 1 with respect to the altar, on 11:6 with respect to the witnesses' execution of judgment, and on 11:7 concerning the completing of the witnesses' task and suffering.

11:11

596

phrase is used exclusively of idolaters in chs. 13-17 (so 13:8. 12. 14; 14:6-9; 17:2.8; cf. also 8:13 with 9:20). Idolaters are labeled "earth-dwellers" because they ultimately trust in some aspect of the world and not in God (see on 6: 17). These insights from elsewhere in the Apocalypse provide a better understanding of why "the earth-dwellers" "rejoice and are glad" and celebrate when the witnesses are defeated. The two prophets preached not only that salvation is in Christ but also that rejection of Christ amounts to idolatry and will be punished by judgment (cf. Acts 17:30-31; 1 Thess. 1:8-10). The judgment includes destruction of the earth in which unbelievers trust (6:12-17; 21:1). The world will not last and consequently will not provide protection against God's judgment. This declaration of judgment "tormented" the earth-dwellers. since it threatened what they regarded as their ultimate security. The cessation of this announcement meant comfort for the idolaters. Part of their torment came from an actual inauguration of judgment against them (on the nature of the "torment" see on 11 :6; 9:5-6). The defeat of the witnesses also meant that the persecutors' awareness of the beginning form of their own judgment was diminished. They are gleeful because they deduce from the death of the witnesses that the predicted judgment wiD not occur. "Those dwelling on the eartMand" is sometimes used in the OT of those living in Israel who were about to undergo judgment (e.g., Hos. 4:1; Joel 1:2. 14; 2:1; Jer. 6:12; 10: 18). Preterist interpreters. among others, understand the phrase in this way here and understand the Apocalypse as predicting the historical judgment of Jerusalem in A.D. 70. 353 The phrase is used in I Enoch of saints on some occasions and unbelievers in other instances.3 S4 Its meaning must be determined by context, as we have attempted to do in Revelation. Various mss. change present tense xalpouolV ("they rejoice") and EiMppa{vOvtal ("they are glad") to the future tense (respectively 2020 Iall co and 2329 mK Ian), thus bringing these verbs into harmony with the other future tense verbs and with the overall future time scope of vv 7-13. 11 :3-10 reflects the eschatological pattern of Mark 13:9-13. which says that Christ's "witnesses" will be empowered by the Holy Spirit to speak to the hostile world, will be hated Wi a result, and will be persecuted and put to death. 355

God Causes His People to Triumph by Restoring Them from Defeat and ExecuUng Final Judgment on Their Oppressors (11:11·13) 11 God restores the witnesses to himself after their apparent defeat at the end of the church age. The restoration consists in an overturning of their vanquished condition. The portrayal of the restoration depicts God raising the witnesses from the dead before the eyes of their enemies. The portrayal of resurrection is

353. E.g., Charles. Revelation I. 290-91. though not a prelerist otherwise. 354. So ibid.. 289. 355. So Kiddie. Revelation, 196-200.

11:11

597

taken directly from Ezek. 37:5, 10 LXX (some copyists altered EioijA.eEV tv a1rtoi~ ["entered in them," A 1006 1841 1854 2329 2351] to E1.CTTlA.eEV E~ aU'to1.l~ [;>47 ~ mK] to conform to the exact wording of Ezekiel 37:10 LXX). Ezek. 37: 1-14 is a prophecy of God's restoration of Israel out of the Babylonian exile. The nation in exile is likened to corpses of which only dry bones remain, and their restoration to the land and to God will be like bones coming to life. Like the witnesses in Revelation, Israel is seen as "slain" by persecutors and then coming to life (Ezek. 37:9). It seemed that God had deserted the witnesses by leaving them in a subdued condition (so Ps. 79:10: "Why should the nations say, 'Where is their God?' "). But he vindicates them by delivering them and demonstrating that he is their covenantal protector. The deliverance in 11: 11-12 could be literal resurrection from the dead. But that appears not to be the focus, since the conquering of the witnesses did not entail all of their (literal) deaths (see on v 7). Rather, as parallels to this episode elsewhere in Revelation show, a community of believers still exists and God vindicates them by destroying their oppressors (so 20:7-10, which is based on Ezekiel 38). At the least. the ascent of the witnesses figuratively affirms a final. decisive deliverance and vindication of God's people at the end of time. This figurative understanding is enforced by the Ezekiel prophecy, which uses non literal resurrection language to speak of Israel's restoration from captivity. Ezek. 37:10-13 refers to restored Israel as "an exceedingly great army ... the whole house of Israel . . . my people. "356 Since Ezekiel prophesies the restoration of an entire faithful nation to God, John sees the fulfillment in all the faithful of the church, and not merely in two faithful individuals. Indeed, if the two witnesses are symbolic persons, then both their martyrdom and their exaltation should be understood symbolically,357 John applies Ezekiel's words to the restored church because he sees its members finally released from their earthly pilgrimage of captivity and suffering. This demonstrates that they are God's true people (cf. Ezek. 37:12-13). "Great fear fell on those perceiving" the deliverance of the witnesses. This "fear" ($61309 is not a believing "fear" of God on the part of saints or those repenting, as it is elsewhere in the QT, the NT, and Revelation itself (14:7; 15:4; 19:5). Rather, it is the reversal of the rejoicing and gladness over the witnesses' demise in v 10, the painful alarm of the church's "enemies" (so v 12) at the unexpected deliverance of their godly opponents. $O~o~ is used in this manner elsewhere in Scripture. The other two uses of the noun in Revelation occur with this meaning: in 18:10, 15 it is used of the painful awareness of unbelieving kings and merchants that "the great city, Babylon" suddenly had

356. Assumption of Moses 10:8-10 reflects the same corporate idea or Israel's exaltation: at the consummation "you. 0 Israel, will be happy.... God will exalt you ... he will cause you to approach the heaven or the stars. And you will look from on high and will see your enemies in Gehenna." cr. also Odes Sol. 29:3-5. 357. So also Bri.ltsch. Offenbarung n, 32; Considine, "Two Witnesses." 389.

11 :12

598

been destroyed. This fear caused them to "weep and lament" because their lives depended on Babylon for sustenance. Here the earth-dwellers' fear is like that of the Egyptians when they beheld the unexpected plagues and the Israelites' deliverance: "great fear fell on them" (cf. ll:11b with Ps. 104[105]:38: ~a.c; btbr£CJEV 6 ~IX>~ tm 'tou~ av'tou~). The same description based on the Red Sea deliverance is applied to the ungodly inhabitants of the promised land who were to have "fear and trembling fall on them" because of the surprising deliverance of the Israelites through the sea and the realization of their own impending doom (Exod. 15:16: t1tUttaol tx' airto~ 'tp61l0~ xat 416~). The same language for the terror of unbelievers is found in response to God's intervention in Jonah 1: 10, 16 (likewise Acts 19:17). Believers may also respond this way, though even then it is not necessarily a response of faith but of mere alarm and awe (e.g., Luke 1: 12; 2:9; Acts 5:5, t1; cf. Luke 8:37). Not coincidentally, the OT Exodus tradition affirms that before the Red Sea calamity the Egyptians "were glad when they [Israel] departed because the dread of them [the plagues] had fallen on them" (ps. 105:38; cf. Rev. 11:10). And in Israel's Red Sea deliverance God "spread a cloud" to cover them and subsequently provided heavenly help (Ps. 105:39-40; cf. the "cloud" in Rev. 11: 12). Such a strong echo of the Exodus is appropriate here because the plagues performed through Moses have been alluded to in 11:6 and the exodus plague background stands behind much of the narration of the trumpets in chs. 9-10. tOt; tPE~ l'tI'tPaA; xai i\ILU1\) ("the three and a half days") is shortened in some mss.to tPE~ l'tILEpaA; xai iWuru (K 18542344 rnA). The omission of the article ("the") was motivated by an attempt to conform this to the use of the phrase in v 9. which has no article. Later scribes were thus insensitive to the function of t~ as drawing attention to the previous use of the phrase in v 9. Some texts read E1tt:OEV ("fell," p47 K 1841 2053 mK) instead of btt1t£OEV ("fell on") either because the latter appeared redundant with the immediately following txi ("on") or because the laller was accidentally misread for the shorter similar verb form. 12 The description of the witnesses' deliverance continues. Again, as in v II, this could be a literal description, as with references elsewhere to the literal bodily rapture. when a voice calls the church up into the clouds (I Thess. 4: 16-17). If we have here the literal rapture, then the rapture occurs for the whole church after, not before, they have suffered the tribulation. But the parallels with Rev. 4: I are so striking that 11: 12 is best interpreted fIrst with a non literal focus, like 4: 1:

4:1-2 tv 'tC!> ovpavC!> . . . 1'1 ,mv"

11:12

i11tfltrt

i\v 1'\xoooa . . . AW.ouaT\~ 1lE't'

lIlou ... i\ va~a d>& ... t)'EV61l11V tv

1tVEUJ,1Cl'tl . • •

It

IS

.

tv 'tC!> ovpavC!>

t'\xouaav 'CJ)Vi\~ Il£'YcXAll~ tx 'to'll oupavo'll A£)'OUCJTJ. yuv1'l . . . tv

)Uotpi lxo'\)(J(l, xa\ . . . ftEXEV

X9~E\ • . . 'tEXElV

ui.6v ("a sign ... in the

heaven, a woman . . . she was with child, and she cries out ... to give birth ... she gave birth to a son").

37. A point also made by Feuillel, lohannjne Studies, 273; see further on Revelation 21. 38. As does Walvoord, Revelation. 188, here and throughout the chapter. 39. So also A. F. Johnson. "Revelation." 514. 40. Lang, Revelation. 199. . 41. So most commentators; see Brittsch, Offtmbanurg 11.66-74, 104. for a hst. See also Collins. Combat Myth. 132-35, and Brown, et aI., eds., Mary in the New Te.rtament, 232, for !hose holding generally to a collective intelpJ"etation of the woman. 42. Cf. J. M. Fore:!. Revela1;on, 195. Tarr. 1sa.. 7: II has "a great wonder ... on earth or ... a sign ... in the heavens." In Test. los. 19:6-8 the Messiah is born from a heavenly virgin, !hough the female figure may be a Christian interpolation.

632

12:3

In Iss. 26:17-27:1 LXX (B) Israel is "as a woman in travaillwlw/ draws near bear and cries out in her pain (1'\ OOSivoooa tyy{I;£l 't£X£tV, btl. Tfi mOtV\ a'imtc; bctKpal;tv) ... We hiJve conceived and hiJve been in pain, and gave birth (tv YOOtp\ aa~olJ.EV :Ka\ o»\vnaaj.l£v, xat tttxolJEV) to the breath [Spirit] of your salvation" (likewise the eclectic text of Rahlfs; contrast the Mf's idea that Israel could not give birth to salvation). This is then explained as "the dead will rise, and they that are in the tombs will be raised .... In that day God will bring his holy and great and strong sword on the dragon, the serpent ,hiJt flees (tm tOY Opaxovta ~\V ~ovta), on the dragon, the crooked serpent (btl. tOY lipaxovta o.p\V axo;"\6v): he will destroy the dragon." Note the similar pattern in Rev. 12:1-12: Israel as a woman in birth pangs, the resum:ction and the resulting defeat of the dragon, God's people fleeing to a protective place where they are hid from the dragon's wrath, which God allows. Strikingly. in Isa. 26:20 Israel is commanded to "enter your closets ... hide yourself for a liItle season Q.mcpOv ooov ~aov) until ... the LoIlD ... brings wrath on the [unbelieving] eanhdwellers" and on the "dragon" (27: I). This corresponds uniquely with the place of protection given the new Israel in Rev. 12:6, 14, which guards them from ultimate spiritual destruction by the dragon (vv 6, 13-16), and it corresponds also with the subsequent destruction of the dragon (cf. Rev. 20: I 0; 19:20-21). Furthermore, the time of protective hiding is during the "little time" (o;"iyov xa1p6v) of the devil's wrath, which comes according to divine design (as in 6:1-8; 9:1-6; 13:5-7, 14-15, where the divine passive of aU;o)j.l\ occurs [see on 12: 17]).43 Both the three and a half years of 12:6, 14 and the "little time" of v 12 are determined by God. Likewise, Mic. 5:2-5 LXX says that "out of you [Bethlehem of Judah] will one come forth to me to be a ruler of Israel." But Israel will have to wait "until the time of her that prepares 10 bear (ttXtoUartC;); she will give birth (ttl;£ta\), and then the remnant (ol tJdA.ouun) of their brothers will return to the children of Israel. ... And he [the loRD] ... will shepherd (JtOlp.aVEi) his flock with power" (cf. the order of images in Rev. 12:1-2,4-5, 17). Mic. 4:9-10 LXX depicts "the daughter of Zion" with "pangs as of a woman in travail," who goes "forth out of the city" to "dwell in the plain" (cf. Rev. 12:2,6, 14; TaNUJ de-be Eliyahu, p. 129, applies Mic. 4: 10 to the days when the Messiah will redeem Israel, and Targ. Mic. 4:8 refers to the coming kingdom of the Messiah). Targ. Isa. 66:7 interprets the "boy" born to mother Zion in the Hebrew text as "her king" (see below on v 5). Midr. Rab. Gen. 85.1 and Midr. Rab. Lev. 14.9 relate Isa. 66:7 to the messianic offspring.44 10

3 "Another sign appeared in the heaven," namely "a great red dragon." The dragon had "seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads seven diadems." A mosaic of OT imagery is used to draw the contours of this monster - all imagery of evil kingdoms who persecute God's people. "Dragon" (Spa?(.«)v) is another OT word for the evil sea monster that symbolizes evil kingdoms who oppress Israel. Often the wicked kingdom of Egypt is portrayed by this emblem. God is spoken of as defeating the Pharaoh as a sea dragon at the exodus de1iverance and at later points in Egypt's history (Pss. 73[74):13-14; 89:10; lsa 30:7; 51:9; Ezek. 29:3; 32:2-3; Hab. 3:8-15; Pss. Sol. 2:29-30; see Ps. 87:4, 43. I have found agreement on the Isaiah parallels with Rissi. TIme aM History, 36.37, and Court, Myth and History. 112. 44. cr. Aus, "Relevance of lsa. 66:7," who argues in more detail for the presence of an allusion 10 Isa. 66:7 in vv 2 • .5. For funher discussion of the above John 16 parallel see Feuillel. JohanniN! Studies, 264-66, though he comes to a somewhat different conc:lusion (see above for his view).

12:3

633

where "Rahab" is a synonym for Egypt, and Jer. 51 :34, where Babylon is the subject; cf. Amos 9:3). In Pss. Sol. 2:29-30 the sea monster is identified as Rome (the commander Pompey) lying "on the mountains of Egypt." Some passages allude in this way to God's victory, perhaps at the dawn of history, over a more sinister, malevolent force behind Egypt and other evil kingdoms: God "slew the whale ... he has slain the apostale dragon" (Job 26:12-13 LXX; Job 41; cf. Job 7:12; 9:13). At the conclusion of history God will again defeat the Egyptian dragon (lsa. 27: I). Strikingly, Targ. Isa. 27:1 explicitly compares the dragon with Pharaoh; 2 Bar. 29:3-5 says that at the end of time the Messiah will destroy "Behemoth" and "Leviathan. " those two great sea monsters." Test. Asher 7:3 speaks of God "breaking the head of the dragon in the water," and an early Christian interpolator identified God in this text with Christ in his first coming (likewise, Testament of Solomon 12 asserts that a demonic "three-headed dragon" would be "thwarted" by Christ at the cross). John also associates the dragon with Egypt and Rome, since the OT metapho~ of the sea monster predominantly portray Egypt as an opponent of God's people,4S and John sees in Revelation 12 a replay of the exodus pattern. But now Rome pursues God's new Israel into the wilderness and tries to drown them there (Sib. Or. 8.88 identifies Rome with the sea dragon; see further below). The Egyptian character of the sea monster is highlighted in Rev. 12:3 and 9, which call him "a great dragon" (lipuxwv ~yac;). This is an allusion to Ezek. 29:3, which speaks of "Pharaoh the great dragon" (eT] &'')..)...0 OTlIlEtOV tv 'ttp oupavtp, xu\. too'\) ... xu\. tytVE'tO lt6A.EIlOC; tv 'ttp oupavtp ("another sign appeared in heaven, and behold ... and there was war in heaven"). Verses 7-12 are a narration of the defeat of the devil and his angels by Michael and his angels in heavenly combat. The actions described are the heavenly counterpart of earthly events recorded in vv 1-6. This is typical apocalyptic style and has precedents already in Dan. 10:13,21 and 12:1, and in later apocalyptic literature (1 Enoch, 4 Ezra, 2 Baruch, lQM; cf. 2 Mace. 5:1-14; Josephus, War 6.297-99), where good and bad angels represent respectively Israel and evil nations (for references elsewhere to Satan and his angels see Test. Asher 6:4; 2 En. 29:5; Matt. 25:41). It is understood in Jewish writings that, during Israel's exodus from Egypt, Egypt's guardian angels were judged and that Israel's angels executed judgment at the Red Sea. 96 It is appropriate that such angelic combat would occur again 94. S. Thompson, Apocalypse and Semilic Syntax, 18-22. 95. Mussies, Morphology of Koine Greek, 23l. 96. Midr. Rob. Exod. 9.9 interprets the plague on the waters of Exod. 7:16-18 as a judgment on heavenly beings (i.e., the Nile god) representing people hostile to Israel (Isa. 24:21 is adduced in support of this interpretation: "the LORD will punish the host of heaven on high and the kings of the earth on earth"; ef. also b. Sukkoth 29a in its comment on Exod. 12:12). Similarly Midr. Rab. Exod. 23.15 affirms that both the Egyptians and their guardian angels were judged at the Red Sea (ef. Ginzberg. Legends of the Jews III, 25; VI. 6-8). It was Israel's guardian angels that executed God's judgmenl at the Red Sea (Mekilta de Rabbi Ishmael, Bcshallah 3.95-98; 5.30-36, 50-53).

12:7

651

to launch the new Israel's exodus through the wilderness of the world. When there is conflict between the saints and the world on earth, there is corresponding conflict in the heavenly dimension. Already in the Apocalypse the angels in chs. 1-3 and the elders in chs. 4-5 have been seen as heavenly representatives of the church (e.g., see on 1:20). From John's perspective, angels can be viewed as mediators for the church, primarily in the light of the following considerations in regard to their representative nature as understood from Daniel. V 7 develops Daniel's heavenly imagery of the battle of Michael and the Son of man against the wicked angels of Persia and Greece (Dan. 10: 13, 21; cf. Dan. 10:16 [Theod.J. 6, 18 [LXX], 18 [Theod.]). In Daniel Michael is closely associated with the Son of man, and both are set forth as heavenly representatives ofIsrael (cf. respectively Dan. 12: 1; 8: 11 [LXX, Theod.) and 7:13-27). Therefore they are identified as fighting together for Israel against the forces of evil in Dan. 10:20-21. But they are not the same heavenly being, since the figure of one in the "likeness of a son of man" in 10: 16 Theod. (OlloioxllS uiou av9pcimou) is distinguished from Michael and because the "son of man" is portrayed as a divine being (cL Dan. 7:13 MT with 7:13 LXX) or as equivalent to the angel of Yahweh (so Dan. 10:5-6, 16), who appears elsewhere in the OT. This distinction is carried over into the Apocalypse (see on 1:13-18; 2:18; 10:1). Michael helps this "son of man" fight against malevolent angelic forces. On the basis of this evidence, a plausible conclusion is that Michael is a heavenly representative for Israel, as is the "son of man," though, in the light of Dan. 10:20, he is subordinate to the "son of man." The link here in the Apocalypse with Daniel is confirmed f urLher from Dan. 8: 10-11 (Tbeod., LXX), where falling stars are a metaphor for Israel's suffering (cf. Rev. 12:4) and then Michael is said to he the "chief captain" (apXlCf'tpa'nrfoS) who will "deliver" Israel's "captivity" in the end time (the "chief captain" of 8:11 is probably to be identified with "Michael, the great prince" [Mtxo."A. 6 apxwv 6 !l£yo.uW£vwv Otu'tov '"A.6yov 'tou 8£ou xu\. OtU nlv JlUproPlUV ilv dxov ("the souls of those who have been slain on account of the word of God and on account of the witness that they maintained")

12:11 Otu'tov '"A.6yov 'tfi~ Jlup't"Upiu and continued from there. p47 omits tou.; crXTjvouv'tat; ("those tabernacling") to smooth out the phraseology, with the resulting reading of "his tabernacle in heaven." . Both Vespasian and Titus were known to have attacked the temple by blaspherrung God and desecrating it (b. Gillin 56b says Titus "blasphemed and insulted heaven"; cf. also Sifre Deul., Piska 328).

7a Now the focus shifts back again to the prophecy in Daniel 7 (i.e., 7:8 LXX, 21 MT and Theod.) and the persecuting activities of the "horn" in order to show that the same activity of the beast is an initial fulfillment and affects all classes of people throughout the earth. 1totiiaat 1t6A£I-l0V I-lE"tU 'tON uylWV xut vtxiiaat utJ'tOUC; ("to make war with the saints and to overcome them") is virtually repeated from Rev. 11:7 and is based on Dan. 7:8b (LXX), 2l. After the statement that the evil king had "a mouth speaking great things," the Greek of Dan. 7:8 immediately adds that the tyrant "was making war with the saints." The same pattern is followed here. Dan. 7:8, 21 is a prophecy of a final kingdom on earth that will persecute and defeat Israel. Afterward, the persecutors themselves will be judged and the saints will inherit the kingdom of the world (so Dan. 7:22-27). John sees Daniel's prophecy concerning Israel as fulfilled in the world's persecution of the church in the latter days, which for him began with Christ's death and resurrection (for textual comparisons and further discussion see on 11 :7). If the Danielic texts referred to in Rev. 13:5-7a originally alluded to Antiochus Epiphanes' persecution of Israel and actions against the temple, then the depictions here refer to a latter-day figure like Antiochus who persecutes the church. But if the passages from Daniel predicted a kingdom after that of Antiochus, then John portrays their initial fulfillment here. Most of the best ms. witnesses omit the clause xal. t06911 aut£!:!rtotiicrat rt6A.ElJ.ov tWV a:yWlv xal Vtxiicrat aU'tout; ("and it was given to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them"; so p47 A C 2053 mA). But that is not the preferred reading. The omission entered the textual tradition early. A scribe's eye skipped from the first xal t06911 aUt£!:! at the beginning of v 7 to the second occurrence of the same phrase in the middle of the verse. ~ta

7b-8a The beast's antagonistic activity affects all classes of people throughout the earth. The dragon, together with the beast, receives universal worship. If the masculine U'lh6v ("him") is the best reading in v 8a, then the dragon is the primary object of worship; if the masculine or neuter uU'tW ("him") is preferred, then either the beast or the dragon could be the focus (the lauer reading is in K 051 1006 1611 1841 2053 2344 ffiA). The worship is given because of the beast's absolute authority (note the repetition of tooEh] uu't& £l;ouata ["authority was given to him"] from v 5). ' Influence from Daniel 7 continues with an allusion to Dan. 7:14, which describes the "son of man's" reception of universal worship as a result of the conferral of sovereign authority:

13:7b-8a

Dan.7:14b xat E06e" auti!> £Soucria, xa. 1twta tCt (av" tfiuAale; [xat] )'AWoO"ate; ("to all the peoples, tribes and tongues") Lo which is appended 'tole; oixouO"tv tv ltuO"T] 'tfi yfi ("to those dwelling in all the earth") in Dan. 4: 1 and 6:26 Theod. (cf. LXX). This appended phrase may also have contributed to the coining of the universal phraseology in Daniel. Chilton's preterist view forces him to limit the universal language only to unbelieving Jews in the land of Israel. For the same reason he identifies the second beast and the worshipers of the beast in vv 13-17 respectively as the leaders of Israel and the synagogue. 235 This can be done only by totally spiritualizing the idea of idolatry in ch. 13, since all agree that the Jews of the first century were characteristically not worshipers of Caesar and his image.

8b True saints can have assurance of ultimate triumph with the Lamb because their names "have been written in the Lamb's book of life." Since the context of Daniel 7 has been in mind, it is not surprising that now the "book" of Dan. 7:10 should come into focus. But Dan. 7: 10 has triggered an association with the books in Dan. 12: 1-2 Theod. and then Ps. 68(69):29 LXX: the wording is closer to these latter two texts. The two Daniel texts have been merged because they both appear in contexto; of eschatological persecution (see on Rev. 5:1-9, where we have seen a combination of the "books" of Daniel 7 and 12). Ps. 68(69):29(28) is also in a context describing judgment on those persecuting the godly ("let them be blotted out of the book of the living, and let them not be written with the righteous"). This psalm may predominate here in the Apocalypse since only it speaks of a "book" associated with "life" from which the wicked are excluded, but this is clearly implied in Daniel 12 (for the thorny problem of how the "books" of Daniel 12 and Psalm 69 are conceptually related to their OT contexts and the Apocalypse see above on 3:5). The phrase "book of life" appears five other times in the Apocalypse (3:5; 17:8; 20:12,15; 21:27). In each case, as here, it is a metaphor for saints whose salvation has been determined: their names have been entered into the census 234. J. M. Ford, Revelation. 223. 235. D. C. Chilton. Days of VenKeance. 334, 338-44.

702

13:8b

book of the eternal new Jerusalem before history began, which is explicitly affinned in 21:27, though the pretemporal phrase is omitted there, unlike 13:8 and 17:8, which express the notion of prerletennination with "from the foundation of the world." That saints were written in the book before history began is implied by the fact that the beast worshipers are said not to have been so written. The genitive "of life" ("tTie; ~wiie;) denotes the nature or purpose of the book. The book is a picture of security in God's eternal city, and the genitive clarifies what kind of security is provided. The saints are given the protection of eternal life. This book stands in contrast to the "books" that record the sins of the ~ngodly (20: 12-13). The dual notion of a "book of life" for the righteous and "books" of judgment for the wicked is based on Dan. 12: 1-2 and 7: 10. The point here is that the multitudes throughout the earth who worship the beast do so because their names "have not been written in the book of life." They are deceived into worshiping him because they do not have the eternal life-giving protection granted those whose names are in the book. Their destiny is identified with that of the false prophets, whose names also have not been written in the book of life (Ezek. 13:9: false prophets will not be "written down in the register of the house of Israel, nor will they enter the land of Israel"). The last phrase, "from the foundation of the world," might explain that the death of Christ was decreed before time began ("of the Lamb slain before the foundation of the world"; so 1 Pet. 1:19ff.; cf. Assumption of Moses 1:14, where Moses' mediatorship was "prepared before the foundation of the world"). Or it might affirm a decree of reprobation that took place before creation: "whose names were not written in the book of life ... before the foundation of the world." The fanner translation is viable because the statement about the Lamb's death is immediately followed by the precreation temporal expression. And it is unlikely that the concluding temporal clause goes with "written," since twelve words separate them. 236 If the phrase describes the decree of the Lamb's death, it is complementary to 17:8, which strongly implies that the elect were written "in the book of life before the foundation of the world." But 13:8 may refer to the same decree as 17:8, where the precreation phrase immediately follows "whose names have not been written in the book of life" (au au y~ypU1t"tat "to ovo~a Em. "to ~t~Aiov "tile; ~(Oile; a:reo xa"ta~oAile; x6o~ou). But if that is the case here in 13:8, why is the temporal phrase separated from the clause it modifies? It is so that a further description may be given to "the book of life." "Of the Lamb who was slain" is a genitive of possession, or it could also identify the Lamb as the source of the "life" associated with the "book" (the genitive functions likewise in 21 :27). The phrase is in contrast to the similar descriptions in vv 3 and 11. People reject Christ, the true "Lamb who was slain" because they follow the beast "who was slain" and the beastlike lamb. Those who give such allegiance to the beasts demonstrate that they "have not been written in the book of life." Therefore, the Lamb does not grant them 236. So Caird, Re~elation. 168; Mounce. Re~el(ltion. 256.

13:9

703

spiritual protection from the beasts' deceptions. Genuine believers have assurance that their souls can well.ther any Satanic storm because of the safety accorded by the Lamb's book. This safety is the precreation identification of God's people with the Lamb's death. which means that they also identify with his resurrection life. which protects them from spiritual death and ultimate deception (cf. 5:5-13). No one can take this life from them. This conclusion stands regardless of how the syntactical problem is solved. Because the book of life is unreservedly ascribed to Christ. the salvation of all. implicitly including OT saints. is represented as depending on the one redemptive act of Christ. 237 The redundant ou ... aUtou construction may be a Semitic pleonasm reflecting Hebrew 'asher . .. 10. 238 though examples in Greek works with no Hebrew background show such pleonasms can occur without Semitic influence. 239 The same pleonasm occurs in v 12b. The singular ou (rendered "every one" by RSV and NASB) is unexpected. since it continues the preceding plural1teXv"tE cr't6}J.an au'twv YAoocra oOAla ("and by no means was a deceitful tongue found in their mouth")

Rev. 14:5 xal. EV 'tC!> cr"to}J.an au'twv oux Eilpt911 IjIeuOoC; ("and a lie was not found in lheir mouth")

In addition to using language parallel to that of Revelation, Zeph. 3: 11-14 speaks of God saving a remnant, who are identified with his "holy mountain" and "Zion." in the last days. Already in the OT the "Servant" appears to have been identified with the remnant. Rev. 14:1-5 depicts in part the fulfillment of the

4Q3. Cf. Mulholland. Revelation. 244. T\V 'tnv yuva.i:xa. 'tOii apvio'\J ("the bride, the wife of the Lamb"). The omission resulted from a copyist's eye unintentionally jumping from the first 'ti]v to the second, ~hou~h "the. bride" might have dropped ?ut because it was considered redundant, espl"clally In the light of 21 :2, where only one utle is given to the Lamb's spouse. 66. Cf. the unusual view of Krodel, Revelation, 346-47, who affirms that all of 22: 1-22:5 is an elaboration of the millennial vision of 20:4-6. See Gundry, "New Jerusalem," 255, for others affirming that the New Jerusalem in 21: IOff. represents the redeemed people of God,

21 :11

1066

'twv YEl-10V'tWV is altered to 'tUC; YEJlO'\lO"UC; in mK (-'tUC;) 1 1006 1611 1841 1854 2030 2377 latt sy to bring it into concord with 'taC; E1t'tU q,UiAUC;. There is minuscule support for adding "great" as an adjective for "the city" ('t1)v 1t6Atv 1:r,v jicyaAT]V (051' 1854 2030 2377 inA). The adjective wa~ added under the influence of the repeated occurrence of 1'\ 1t6AtC; 1'\ JlE"(aAll throughout the Apocalypse (seven times of Babylon and once of earthly Jerusalem [11:8]) and perhaps also because of the reference to the "grcat mountain" at the beginning of v 10, which here and throughout Scripture is associated with Jerusalcm.

11 The theme of God's intimate presence dwelling fully and permanently with his people, brielly developed in vv 1-8, is introduced again in v 11 and runs throughout 21:11-22:5. "The city, the holy Jerusalem" (= God's true people) is further described in v 11 as "havi ng the glory of God." The temple in Israel was the temporary place where God's glory (= presence) dwelled. But in the new creation God's presence will not be limited to a temple structure, with the people outside the structure, but the people themselves will be both the city and the temple in which God's presence resides (so 21 :2-3, 12-14 ).In the light of the clear allusions to Isaiah 40-66 in 21: 1-22:5 (e.g., 21: 1-2,4-5, 19-21,23-26; 22:5), the reference to "the glory of God" here must derive from Isa. 58:8 and 60:1-2, 19, which prophetically portray "the glory of the LoRD" residing in the latter-day Jerusalem. "The glory of God" is the presence of God himself (in the OT parallels and in 21: II "of God" may be either possessive or an appositional genitive). 21: lOb repeats 21 :2a almost verbatim, both speaking of the end-time Jerusalem (see above on 21:9-10). But while v 2b goes on to describe the new Jerusalem as "prepared as a bride adorned for her husband," v 11 says that Jerusalem has "the glory of God." But the two descriptions are not antithetical. God's glory is the bride's "adornment" (see further below). Notwithstanding the possible relevance of 19:7 -8, 21: II a thus affirms that the clothing mentioned in 21:2 is God's glory, which is none other than his awesome, tabernacling presence with his people, which clothes them. This confirms our above conclusion that 21: 3 interprets the city and marriage pictures of 21:2 as speaking of the intimate communion that God will have with his people. That "the city, the holy Jerusalem" is described as "having the glory of God" and "her luminary like a precious stone, as a jasper stone shining like crystal" continues the allusion to Ezekiel 43. There also the prophet says that he saw "the glory of God" coming into the new temple, "and the earth shone like radiant light from the glory round about" (Ezek. 43:2; 43:4-5 mentions twice more that the prophet saw God's glory in the temple). The "luminary" or "star" (6 ~tllp) of Jerusalem. which is compared to the brilliant radiance of precious stones, is another metaphorical way of refening to "the glory of God," especially as it is reflected in his perlected people. This is consistent with Dan. 12:3 LXX and Phil. 2:15, which refer to God's people "shining as luminaries" (q,OXJtllP) in a world of unbelief or in eternity after the final resurrection. As in Rev. 4:3, when John attempts to describe God's glory the closest he can come is to refer to it as radiant precious stones. 67 This 67. So Lauu, Revelation, 281.

21 :11

1067

partly accounts for the similar descriptions of the city in vv 18-21. The luminary as metaphorical for the presence uf God in his glory is partly L:onfirrned also from the following reference to Christ as "the bright morning star" (22: 16; cf. 2:28) and to the fullness of the Holy Spirit as "seven Lorches [or "Iamps"l burning with fire" (4:5). The idea that God's glory is the bride's "adornment" may also be suggested by 19:7-8: "the marriage of the Lamb has come and his bride has prepared herself, and it was given to her that she should clothe herself in fine linen, bright [and] pure (AUJlltpOV

xaSup6v)." The brightness of the clothing is likely associated to some degree with God's glory, as it clearly is in 21: 11 (though different words are used; note that the words for "bright" in 22:1 and for "pure" in 21:18, 21, which both describe glorious aspects of the city, are combined in 19:8 in the description of the bride's clothing). In 19:8 the "linen" is defined as "the righteous acts of the saints," though the notion of God's "judgments on behalf of the saints" could be secondarily implied (see on 19:7-8). The "brightness and purity" of the garments may suggest, not only that his glorious presence will reside with his people. but also that glory is bestowed on God because he provided grace for his people to be able to do righteous deeds (= "it was given to her that she should clothe herself." 19:8) and becallse of' his judgments on their behalf. In addition to Ezek. 43:2, other OT texts support the parallel between God's glory and a luminary; the two images are different ways of speaking of God's presence. E.g., Isa. 58:8 and 60: 1-3. 19-20, where "light" and divine "glory" are synonyms. The equivalence of God's "glory" in v 12 with his "tabernacling" in v 3 could enhance our suggestion in 7:15 that the verb crXTjVOOl and the cognate noun aXTjvT] ("tabernacle") may be a play on word.~ with shekina and, therefore, call to mind the presence of Yahweh with Israel in the wilderness and later in the temple. Shekina is a noun form of the Hebrew verb shakan ("dwell"), whose consonants are virtually identical as the infinitival form of crxTjvom (skelloUIl).68 In Lev. 26:11 (alluded to in Rev. 21:3) the MT's "r will make my tabernacle [= crxTjV~V in Yaticanusl among you" is rendered by the Palestinian Targum as "r will set the .Ihekinah of my glory among you. "69 "My tabernacle will be with them" in Ezek. 37:27 (also alluded to in Rev. 21 :3) is likewise rendered by Targ. Ezek. 37:27 as "r will make my JhekilUl.h dwell among them" (see above on 7:15). The uncial A and the minuscule 2062 omit the introductory clause "having the glory of God" (i:X01)cruv 'l"V 06~av 'tou OEOU) because a copyist's eye skipped from the "of God" ('toD Owu) concluding v 10 to the same phrase in v II. Instead of "having the glory of God," one Armenian version has "having the mountain of peace, the glory," which interprets God's glory as bringing the final peace of the end-time Jerusalem on the new Mount Zion (so arm 4;70 see on 14: I). This emphasizes the theme of peace and security for God's people woven throughout 21: 122:5.

The phrase we; AleC(> ("as a stone") directly preceding "jasper" was intentionally omitted by later scribes because they thought it was an error of diuography based on the preceding ISIlOWe; AiaOl (so 051' 2050 mA t [syphj). The Sahidic int~rprets "like a precious stone" as "like a precious SLOne of truth, "71 emphasizing the revelatory nature of the stone's illuminating power. " " Some translations (e.g., RSV, NASD, KJV) descnhc the Jasper as clear as crystal

6B. So Sweet. Revelation. 154; Briitsch. OjfenbarulI1i L 3JIl.

69. For a like equivalence see John I: 14; cf. Beasley-Murray. Revelation, 311. 70. Cf. Hoskier. Text of Apocalypse II. 589. 71. Cf. ibid.

1068

21: 12-13

or "crystal-clear," which is misleading, since John's point is to portray stones that enhance luminosity.72 Hence, JqJuCJ-CaA.A.U;'W is best translated "shine like crystal" instead of "be as transparent as crystal. "73

12-13 The repeated introductory participle ~xo'U(Ja(v) ("having a wall ... having gates") is the third and fourth in a string of adjectival participles beginning in v 10: "descending from heaven ... Iwving God's glory.... " All four participles describe "the city, the holy Jerusalem." The "great and high wall" represents the inviolable nature of fellowship with God, as implied by 21:27 and 22:14-15. Similarly, 2 En. 65:10 (A) says that the new "paradise" will have "a great indestructible wall" (see on 21:4 for the full wording; cf. also Zech. 2:5). Likewise, Isa. 26: 1 refers to the "strong city" of the end time in Judah, where God "sets up walls ... for security [or "salvation"]"; the LXX has "he will make salvation a wall and a surrounding wall." That Isa. 26: 1 could be echoed in Rev. 21: 12-17 may be suggested further by comparison of Rev. 21 :24-27 with Isa. 26:2a: "Open the gates so that the righteous nation may enter. " That the first part of the city structure that John sees is a "wall" and "gates" continues the allusion to Ezekiel 40 begun in 21: 10-11 (Ezek. 40:5-6: "and behold, there was a wall on the outside of the temple all around ... then he went to the gate"). The multiple gates of Ezekiel's temple (ch. 40) and the twelve gates of the city listed in Ezek. 48:31-34 are merged into one group of twelve gates arranged around the one city-temple of John's vision. One angel is stationed at each gate, a feature not found in Ezekiel. These angels are comparable to the angels of the churches and the twenty-four elders, who represent the true people of God, the true Israel (e.g., see on 4:4). But, like Ezekiel's city in 48:31-34, there are four groups of three gates facing cast, nOlth, south, and west; Ezekiel's list begins with north and then east, but here John is influenced by Ezek. 42:15-19, where the angel measures first at the cast gate, then at the north, south, and west.14 Each of both Ezekiel's and John's gates have the name of one of the twelve tribes of Israel written on it.7 5 Note the not untypical case shift in the participles from accusative to nominative as the initial visionary focus changes from Jerusalem as the object seen to the subject described. The gentler. however, has not changed from feminine (corresponding to 'I€poooClA,"~ ["Jerusalem"]) to neuter (corresponding to 'tE:lxo~ I "wall"]), though the last of the series of participles (in v 14) is masculine. There the focus is so much on "the wall" as a feature of the city that the participle functions virtually as a finite verb.7 6 Porter suggests that the participles in vv 12 and 14 serve in place of indicative verbs 77 "And at the gates twelve angels" (x.a.t E1tt 'tOl~ 1tUA,Gxnv 6:('(EA,OU~ BW&XCl) was 72. So also Mounce, Revelatiun, 378. 73. BAGD. 454. offers both options of tran~lation. 74. Likewise Kiddie, RevelatiOlI, 427, and Caird, Revelatiun. 271-72. 75. For argument against the identification of the gates with the twelve signs of the zodiac see Caird. Revelation, 271-72. 76. Cf. Mllssies. MorpholoRY. 325. 77. Porter, Verbal Aspect, 376.

21:14

1069

left out by haplography when a scribe's eye skipped from the first omoExa xai ("twelve and") to the second ocOOExa xat (A 051 s· 2030 2050 2377 pc t syh). Mounce and Swcet suggest that the angels at the gates reflect Isa. 62:6: "On your walls, 0 Jerusalem, I have appointed watchmen. "7H This is plau~ible since the LXX of Isa. 62:6-9 applies the description to the end-time Jerusalem and refers to the watchmen as "guards" who ceaselessly acknowledge that God has established Jerusalem so that it will never again be endangered by strangers. In addition. latel Jewish tradition reflected in Midr: Rab. Exod. 18.5 and Pesikta Rahhati 35.2 identifies the watchmen of Isa. 62:6 as angels. The numerous allusions to Isaiah 50-66 in Rev. 21: 1-22:5 and Jerusalem as God's "bride" (1sa. 62:5 = Rev. 21 :2,9) with a "new name" (lsa. 62:2 = Rev. 22:4) and "gates" (lsa. 62:10 = Rev. 21:12tf.) point further to a link here with the "guards" ofIsa. 62:6. Nevertheless, Fekkes concludes that such an allusion must remain in question partly because other OT texts, such as Gen. 3:24 and Ezek. 41:25, could have provided the inspiration for John to speak. of angelic guardians at the entrance of the city-temple.19 Possibly all these depictions were formative in John's description for the following reasons: (1) Isaiah 62 is part of a prophecy of latter-day Jerusalem, (2) the Genesis text refers to the garden before the Fall, and (3) the Ezekiel passage uses garden imagery in connection with the new temple. Furthermore, the formative nature of the Genesis and Ezekiel texts is enhanced from observing that both are alluded to in Rev. 22:1-3.

14 In addition to the twelve gates of the wall, there are also twelve "foundation stones" (8qlEAlOU;), on each of which the name of one of the twelve apostles is written. The number twenty-four, the sum of twelve tribes and twelve apostles, has occurred already in 4:4. The connection between 4:3-4 and 21:11-14 is confinned by the prescnce in both of the divine glory radiating "like a jasper stone" and surrounded by twenty-four personages. 80 Twenty-four may also be based collectively on David's organization of the cult of temple servants into twenty-four orders of priests (1 Cirron. 24:3-19), twenty-four Levitical gatekeepers (26: 17-19), and twenty-four orders of Levites commissioned to "prophesy in giving thanks and praising the LORD" (25 :6-31; see ~osephus, Ant. 7.14.7). These priests represented the peoplc of Israel before God in their appointed service in the temple. The Qumran pesher on Isaiah 54 explains the precious stones mentioned in 1sa. 54:11-12 as symbols of the twelve priests and of the heads of the lwelve tribes, which is importanl background herc;81 likewise, the mention of the "twenty-four elders" in Rev. 4:4 may have the same 1 Chronicles and Isaiah 54 background (see on 4:4). The reference to "all Israel like antimony" also at the beginning of the pesher on lsa. 54: 11 may suggest a representative function between the whole nation and the twenty-four priest-leaders mentioned in the following lines of the pesher. The reflection of this early Jewish interpretation of Isa. 54: 11-12 in Rev. 21: 12-14 is made plausible by direct allusion to the very same Isaiah text in 21: 19-20, which underslands the passage along similar 78. 79. 80. B1. 396.

Mounce, Revelation, 379; Sweet, Apocalypse, 304. Isaiah and Prophetic Trooitions, 265. Likewise Farrer, Revelation, 216; Wilcock, I Saw Heaven Opened, 208. See the translation in Gaster, Dead Sea Scriptures. 309; cf. Geyser, "Twelve Tribes."

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interpretative lines as the pesher (see further on 21:19-20). The Chronicles background is strengthened here by the temple context throughout ch. 21 and the priestly interpretation of Isa. 54: 11-12 in association with the number twentyfour. Therefore, "twenty-four" has the idea of the completeness (2 x 12) of representation of God's people before God's presence in the temple (for additional possible background for "twenty-four" see on 4:4). The integration of the apostles together with the tribes of Israel as part of the city-temple's structure prophesied in Ezekiel 40-48 confirms further our assessment in the comments on 7:1-9; 11:1-2; and 21:2-3 that the multiracial Christian church will be the redeemed group who, together with Christ, will fulfill Ezekiel's prophecy of the future temple and city. This is in line with other NT pa€tpov xal. SIlO'w taC;; E1tuA1;EtC;; O'ou tuO'mv xal. taC;; mJAUC;; O'ou AlSOUC;; ... xu\. tOY 1t€pl~oMv O'ou AlSOUC;; EXAtXtOUC;;)"

Rev. 21:18-19, 21 "the material of her walls was jasper and ... the foundations made beautiful with every precious stone . .. jasper . .. sapphire . .. and the twelve gates were twelve pearls ('Ii EVOOlJlllO'tC;; tOU t€lXOUC;; uu'riic;; lUO'1ttC;; xul ... ot S€Il£A.tOt ... 1tuvtl. Atecp ttllicp x£xoO'Il11Il£VOt ... lUO'1ttC;; ... O'6.1t$tpOC;; ... xu\. ot offi&€xa 1tUA&VEC;; &Il&XU lluPYuPhat) ..

Targ. Isa. 54: 11 confums the allusion further by adding "I will make your woO an early picture of the later Christian confession that the Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son l90 (water also symbolizes the Spirit in the OT, Jewish writings, and elsewhere in the NT; see further below). As in Ezekie147, the living water flows from the temple, though now God and the Lamb are the temple (21:22). Though the Holy Spirit may be in mind, the water metaphor primarily represents the life of eternal fellowship with God and Cmst, which is borne out by the way 22:3-5 develops 22: 1-2. Later Judaism understood the water depiction similarly: Midr. Rab. Gen. 70.6 adduces the "living waters" of Zech. 14:8 (see above) as a demonstration that God will redeem Israel and will be their God (likewise Midr. Rab. Gen. 48.10). This fellowship can never be broken. In like manner, the LXX of Ps. 45(46}:5a[4a] says, "the flowings of the river gladden the city of God," which is a metaphor in vv 4b-5 for God's presence, which provides the security of the city and its temple: "the Most High has sanctified his tabernacle. God is in the midst of her; she will not be moved." This fellowship is reserved in Revelation for those who have maintained their faith in the Lamb's atoning death and their testimony to his redemptive work. That the river is "pure" and the water "bright as crystal" indicates the purifying nature of the water. The water purifies away people's portrayed in sins so that they may enter into the intimate presence of God, 22:3-5 (so similarly 22: 14, 17). If the first phrase of v 2 ("in the midst of its street") is taken as the completion of the sentence in v 1, then "the river of the water of life" is located not on some urban back street but "in the middle of" the city's main "street" because the imparting of eternal fellowship with God is an essential characteristic of the city. Accordingly, the "tree(s) of life" (v 2) is (are) lined up on both sides of the river, in accord with the model in Ezek. 47: 12: "And by the river ... , on one side and on the other, will grow all trees." The picture of the nations advancing on the city's main street may imply that they wade in the life-giving waters as they walk, just as the prophet waded the closer he was to the cultic source of the water in Ezek. 47:3-4. But it is possible to read v 2a as the beginning of another sentence. This would mean either that the street and the river are parallel with trees growing between them or that in the middle of the city's street is a single tree of life, located between either side of the river, "which at this point has diverged into two branches." 191 Nevertheless, the former portrayal of a river in the midst of

a"

190. cr. Wilcock, I Saw Heaven Opened, 212. 191. Beasley·Murr~y, Reveli1tion, 331.

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the street could still be a viable alternative understanding even if a new sentence starts at the beginning of v 2 (so RSV, Moffatt, lB, NIV, and NEB). The prophecy of latter-day Zion in Isa. 35:6-9, alluded to in 21:27, may be discernible further:

Isa.35:6-9 "For waters will break forth ... and streams ... land will become a pool ... and springs of water ... and a highway [LXX "pure (xa9apa) way"] will be there, a roadway, and it will be called 'the highway of holiness.' The unclean will not travel on it. ... The redeemed will walk there and ... enter Zion."

Rev. 21:24, 27-22:1-2a "And the nations will walk by the light of it [the ci ty] .... And by no means should anything unclean enter into it ... and he showed me the [pure?] river of the water of life ... in the midst of its street."

In addition to the unusual combination of water metaphors with urban road portrayals and other similarities, the two passages also have in common the picture of a new creation in which the earth becomes exceedingly fruitful like a garden (cf. Isa. 35:1-2,7; so also Isa. 43:18-20 and 41:18-20, which have almost the identical scene). The point of the metaphors in Isaiah is to emphasize that God will save his people in the end so that they can have everlasting joy and rest (Isa. 35:4, 9-10; MUlr. Rab. Gen. 95.1 identifies Isa. 35:5-6 as a prophecy of the future resurrection). The transition from this OT picture to that of the new garden of Eden in Rev. 22:2b is made naturally. For water as symbolic of the Spirit in the OT, Jewish writings, and NT, see Ezek. 36:25-27; John 3:5; 4:10-24; cf. 1 John 5:7-8; IQS 4.21; in Pesikta Rabbati 1.2, water from the earthly temple is interpreted as the Holy Spirit. Cf. Rev. 22: 1-2 with I QSb 1.3-4: "May he open for you from the heights of heaven the everlasting spring that will never run dry." Likewise, Odes Sol. 6:7-18 portrays a "river" and "living water" that quench the thirst of people and that are directly associated with the "Holy Spirit."l'n "Pure (xa9apov) river" is attested only in 051' 2030 2377 mA It is difficult to explain how this reading could have developed from the shorter reading "river" (1to'taJlov) except from a desire to bring it into concord with the similar statements in vv 18 and 21, though that seems improbable. It is unlikely that scribes would have added "pure" to bring the text closer to Isa. 35:8 or Ezek. 47:8-9, 12 (see below), since the Isaiah reference is more subtle and Ezekiel 47 does not contain the actual word xa9ap6~. Moreover, external evidence (the remainder of extant mss.) favors the shorter reading. A few mss. (161 jS 2329 pc) substitute 'tou a'toJla'to~ ("the mouth") for"tou 9p6vou ("the throne"). Again, it is hard to explain how this variant could have corne about,

192. M. Stuart, Apocalypse IT, 387, and Hailey, Revelatioll, 422, see v 2 as portraying a river winding throughout the city with streets parallel to it, with rows of trees between the river and the streets on either side. This assumes that both "street" and "tree" are collective singulars. Could "river" also be a collective singular, as Lenski, Revelation, 650. thinks?

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though perhaps it was the result of a scribe's keen awareness that elsewhere in the Apocalypse tx1topcioJ.lQ\ ("proceed") occurs five limes as part of clauses with EX tOU 0l6f.lQto~ ("from the mouth," singular or plural, referring to Christ, Christians, or demonic beings). Though this would require a copyist with a concordance-like mmd, such awareness could have caused an intentional or accidental alteration. On the other hand, the crt0f.lQtO~ reading could be favored because it fits into John's style. Whatever the meriL' of this possibility, tou 9p6vou should be preferred, since such massive and quality external evidence supports it.

2 The portrayal in v I continues. The scene of a future, pennanent fertile land with a river and trees whose leaves have healing properties is based on Ezek. 47:12: "And by the river ... on one side and on the other, will grow all trees . . . . They will bear [fruit] every month ... their leave5 [will be] for healing." The scene in Ezekiel itself is modeled partly on the primal garden and its adjacent river in Gen. 2:9-10. Both Ezekiel and Revelation thus envision an escalated reestablishment of the garden of th~ first creation in which God's presence openly dwelled. Even the decorative palm trees and cherubim portrayed as part of the Ezekiel temple (41:18-26) allude to the garden setting of Eden; the depiction in Ezekiel's temple was anticipated earlier in the Solomonic temple, which also included carvings of flowers (e.g .• I Kgs. 6: 18, 29, 32, 35;

7: 18ff.).193 The allusion to Ezek. 47: 12 supports a picture of trees growing on either side of the river. so that the singular "tree" of 22:2 is likely a collective reference to "trees." 194 A collective interpretation is consistent with Ezekiel's picture of trees growing on both sides of the river bank, and it is in line with the logic of the picture in Rev. 22: 1-2 (how could one tree grow on either side of the river?). The absence of the article may point further to a collective meaning. The one tree of life in the first garden has become many trees of life in the escalated paradisal state of the second garden (for OT and Jewish references to a future escalated temple in contrast to the old temple see on 21 :22). But since these trees are all of the same kind as the original tree, they can be referred to from the perspective of their corporate unity as "the tree of life" (so 2:7). Interestingly. 50me passages in Jewish literature maintained a tension between an expectation of a singular tree of life and the plural trees of Ezekiel 47 (Tanhuma Gen .• Parashah 1.18; Tanna de-be Eliy'vahu Rabbah, p. 93). Another feature of escalation is that. whereas the original paradise was only a small geographical part of the earthly creation, now it would appear that the paradisal temple encompasses the entire geography of the new creation (see below for elaboration of thi5 point). Just as Ezekiel's waters cause the trees to bear fruit because they "flow from the sanctuary," so also the waters of John's vision cause the trees to be fruitful because they "proceed from the throne of God and of the Lamb," who

193. Kline. IfMl:es of the Spirit, 42. 194. Cf. farrer. Revelation, 222. who illustrates with the conl.emporary idiom. "planted with oak."

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together are the sanctuary in the new world. The "living waters" coming from God and the Lamb represent eternal life because the presence of God imparts life to all those able to enter into intimate communion with him (so 22: 17). This meaning of the waters in connection with the trees may be confirmed further from Odes Sol. 11: 16, where "fruitbearing trees" and "a river ... irrigating them" in paradise are both directly associated with "eternal life" (similarly lQH 14[6].14-18; lQSb 1.3-4). The river in Ezek. 47:8-9, 12 purifies (literally "heals") much water (cf. the "[pure] river" in Rev. 22:1), gives "life" to the creatures swimming in it, and causes trees to grow whose "leaves are for healing." Ezekiel's river is the source of renovation for the natural world. The likelihood is that the vision in Ezekiel 40--48 is a figurative picture of God's final dwelling with his people. 1ne imagery of the river in Ezekiel 47 appears to fit into such a figurative portrayal, since similar OT imagery of restored Zion clearly employs water figuratively to signify the renewed life of the saints in their final reunion with God (cf. Isa. 35:6-9 [above] and Joel 3:18: "the mountains will drip with sweet wine, the hills will flow with milk, all the brooks of Judah will flow with water, and a spring will go out from the house of the LORD to water the valley of acacias"; so likewise Isa. 41:17-20; 43:18-20). Elsewhere in the OT the waters of the new creation are intended not merely to renovate the natural world but to be given to God's people so that they may refresh themselves (lsa. 41: 17-20; 43:18-20). The waters of Ezekiel 47 probably function in like manner, just as the healing effect of the leaves is likely not limited to vegetative and animal life but extends to human life as well. This conclusion is supported by Gen. 2:9 and 3:22, on which Ezek. 47:12 is partly based. There the fruit of "the tree of life" had the capacity to impart eternal life to Adam. Despite possible debate about the figurative significance of Ezekiel 47, it is abundantly clear that Rev. 22:2 interprets the Ezekiel picture in this manner. The saints are invited to "take the water of life" (7: 17; 22: 17), and "the leaves of the tree rof life are] for the healing of the nations. " The reference to the "tree of life" also shows that John understood the foreseen fructification of the new cosmos in Ezek. 47: 12 as the reestablishment of an eternal Eden. Gen. 3:22,24 refers to the "tree of life" and says that if Adam had been able to eat from it, he would have been able to "live forever." Presumably, the tree there represented the presence of God, which would impart eternal life to all who could enter it. The medicinal effects of the water in Rev. 22:2 are not limited to the natural realm, and even less to privileged ethnic Israel, but are for all peoples throughout the world who have believed the gospel. Outside chs. 21-22 the only clear references to the "nations" as God's people occur in 5:9 and 7:9. Rev. 5:9 explains best the meaning of the nations' "healing" in 22:3. The figurative picture of healing by the leaves of the tree of life means that Christ was "slain" on behalf of the believing nations, so that they were "released from [the penalty] of their sins by his blood" (cf. 5:9 with I :5). Christ suffered death on their behalf in the present age so that they would not have to suffer it in the age to come.

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Does the tree's fruit continue to heal throughout eternity even as it continues to produce fruit? The answer must be negative since there will be no more death or pain to be healed from in the new creation (21:4). Just as the tears that God will wipe away refer not to pains being endured throughout eternity but to a once-for-all relief from such pains (see 21:4; 7: 16-17), so it is likewise here. 195 As was the case with the prophetic language of Isaiah in Rev. 21:24-26, John likewise uses the imagery of Ezek. 47: 12, which corresponded to earthly realities that he could understand, to describe etemalrealities beyond his comprehension. This analysis is confmned from the statement that the tree was "yielding its fruit each month," a time period that can only be understood according to a literal calendrical reckoning based on solar days and lunar months, whereas in the figurative depiction of the new cosmos in Revelation 21 there will be no sun or moon (21 :23; 22:5). A total of twelve months of fruitbearing together with "twelve kinds [or "crops"] of fruits" in 22:2 reinforces the repeated multiples of twelve already used in the vision to highlight fullness of redemptive provision. 196 Therefore, the best conclusion is that the healing effect of the fruit is figurative for the redemption accomplished by Christ, which will be consummated at his final parousia. The security of the saints' eternal life is so closely associated with an eschatological paradisal tree in Pss. Sol. 14:3-4 that they are equated with both paradise and the tree of life: "The paradise of the Lord, the trees of life, are his pious ones [likewise Midr. Rab. Cant. 4.l2§4, citing Ezek. 47:12]. Their planting is rooted forever; they will not be plucked up all the days of heaven." In 2 En. 8-10 an end-time Eden with a tree of life is "prepared" as "an eternal inheritance" for the righteous, but "fire and flame" is "prepared for an eternal inheritance" for the wicked, who commit sins like those in the list in Rev. 21:8, 27 (see Apoc. Abr. 21:6 and Apocalypse of Peter 16 for an Eden with trees and composed of the righteous throughout history). Similarly, 4 Ezra 8:52-57 affirms that for the saints "paradise is opened, the tree of life is planted ... a city is built" in which they will be protected against the curses of the former world (death, corruption, sorrows, tribulation); see similarly Test. Levi 18:10-11 (see below on 22:5); 1 En. 24--26 (which locates the future Eden in the temple at Jerusalem!); 4 Ezra 2:12; 7:123-26 (cf. 2 En. 8:3-8). Isa. 51 :3-6 and Ezek. 36:26-35 also speak of Israel's restoration with the language of new creation and refer to it as "like the garden of Eden." 4 Ezra 2:18-19 expands the trees and river of life in Rev. 22: 1-2 to "twelve trees" laden with fruit and "twelve fountains flowing" (Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer 51 pictures twelve streams flowing from the temple predicted in Ezek. 47:lff.). The one mountain of Rev. 21:10 also is amplified by 4 Ezra to "seven great mountains." The development in 4 Ezra shows that the twelve gates, tribes, and apostles of Rev. 21:12-14, 19-21 were understood as figuratively connoting perfected completeness, especially with respect to the eternal security of the redeemed community (cf. 4 Ezra 2:22, 28-32). Tanna debe Eliyyahu Rabbah, p. 93 says that eating from the fruit of the trees prophesied in Ezekiel 47 will result in Jews becoming fluent in discussing Torah. The omission of "twv t.evwv ("of the nations") in N 2053 2062 pc at the end of v 2 may reflect a conscious attempt to bring the wording into even closer alignment with the final part of Ezek. 47:17, which in the reads only "its leaf for healing." The noun IlEpUltda in Rev. 22:2 could be translated "healing" or "health," the latter of which is 195. Diisterdicck, Revei1ltion. 489. 196. So KiddIe. Revelation. 442.

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favored by the allusion to Ezek. 47: 12, which has uytna (typically rendered as "health," "soundness." and sometimes as "medicine" or "cure" 197).

The Worldwide Extent of the Paradisal City-Temple That the paradisal city-temple encompasses the entirety of the newly created earth is apparenl from some of our earlier observations on ch. 21 together with other considerations: (1) Isa. 54:2-3 together with several Jewish lexts supports the notion of an escalated new Jerusalem or end-time temple on an escalated scale in comparison to the former Jerusalem and temple (see the comments on 21: 17). (2) In the OT uncleanness was to be kept out of the temple precincts; that the perimeters of the new temple will finally encompass the whole of the new creation is suggested by the exclusion of uncleanness from the city-temple (21 :27), which probably means that no uncleanness will be allowed into the new world (especially since 22:15 says that the unclean will be excluded from the city, that is, that they will also be excluded from the new creation, since they will be in the lake of fire forever; see on 21 :22, 27; 22: 15). (3) John says in 21: I that he saw "a new heaven and new earth," and then in 21:2 and 21 :9-22:5 he, in fact, sees only a paradisal city-temple. It is possible that he first saw the whole heavens and earth (21: 1) and lhen subsequently sees the city-temple, which is a part of that new cosmos. It is, however, plausIble, given the first two points above and the points to be considered below, that the "new heaven and new earth" of 21:1 is equated with the paradisal city-temple of 21:2 and 21 :9-22:5. This is pointed to further by J. D. Levenson's observation that "heaven and earth" in the OT may sometimes be a way of referring to Jerusalem or its temple. He quotes Isa. 65:17-18 as one of the texts most illustrative of this: "For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; and the former things shall not be remembered or come Lo mind. But be glad and rejoice forever in what I create; for behold. I create Jerusalem for rejoicing."198 Since Isa. 65:17 is alluded to in Rev. 21:1, it would appear that the new Jerusalem of 21:2 is equated with the "new heaven and earth" of 21: I (which is in line with some sources in later Judaism which held that the prophecies of new creation in Isa. 43:19 and 66:22 also included an end-time Lemple ]see further above in the comments on 21:5]). The rationale for the world-encompassing nature of the paradisal temple lies in the ancient notion that the OT temple was a microcosmic model of the entire heaven and earth.l99 One of the most explicit texts affirming this is Ps. 78:69: "And he built the sanctuary like the heights, like the earth which he founded forever." Josephus understood the tripartite structure of the tabernacle to signify "the earth [= outer courtl and the sea [= inner court], since these ... are accessible to all, but the third portion [the holy of holies) he reserved for God alone, because heaven also is inaccessible to men" (Ant. 3.181; cf. 3.123). Si milarly, Midr. Rab. Num. 19.19 says, "The Court ... encompassed the temple just as the sea encompasses the world." It ha~ also already been observed that 197. LSJ, 1842. 198. Creation and the Persistence of Evil: Tile Jewish Drama of Divine Omnipotence. 89-90. 199. See C. H. 1'. Fletcher-Lewis, "The Destruction of the Temple and Relativization of the Old Covenant," 156-62, who also argues that the temple was likened tu a miniature cosmos, upon which the discussion in the fullowing two paragraphs is based and which should be consulted for the fuller evidence.

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THE WORLDWIDE EXTENT OF THE PARADISAL CITY-TEMPLE

the jewels on the high priest's breastpiece, which were a small replica of the holy of holies, symbolized the earthly or heavenly cosmos, and the same jewels are now part of the new city-temple in Revelation 21 (see the section above on "The High Priest's Breastpicce," following the discussion of 21: 18-20). Josephus and Philo discuss various ways in which the bbernacle or temple or parts of it symbolically reflect the cosmos (Philo, Vit. Mos. 2.71-145: Josephus, Ant. 3.123, 179-87; in War 4.324 priests are referred to as leading the "cosmic worship" [tii;; xool.uxiic; 6pT]crxda