The book of Revelation appears to borrow heavily from the Old Testament. Below are some easily identifiable similarities that are not likely to be coincidences.
Obvious similarities with book of Daniel
1. the great image: Dan 2 and 3, Rev 13
2?. 666: dimensions of the image: Dan 3:1, Rev 13
3. the four beasts: Dan 7, Rev 13
4. Throne, resurrection, judgment: Dan 7:9-14, Rev 20
5. crowning/coming of son of man: Dan 7:13-14, Rev 5 and 19
6. mouth speaking boastful/blaspemous words: Dan 7, Rev 13
7. casting stars to the earth: Dan 8:10, Rev 12:4
8. self-exaltation above God: Dan 8:11, Rev 13
9. overcoming the holy-people: Dan 8:24, Rev 13:7
10. man with fire eyes, bronze feet, voice of a multitude: Dan 10, Rev 1 and 10
11. seal up the book: Dan 12:4, Do not seal up the book: Rev 22:10
12. swearing of still time left: Dan 12:7, swearing there is no more time: Rev 10:5-6
Obvious similarities between book of Jeremiah and book of Revelation = None that are obvious
Obvious similarities with book of Ezekiel
1. four living creatures: Eze 1, Rev 4
2. eating the scroll: Eze 2:9-3:3, Rev 10
3. destruction of 1/3: Eze 5, Rev 8:7-12
4?. 666: Eze 8:1 (the day before judgment: sixth year, sixth month, fifth day with a progression to the sixth day), Rev 13:18 (the day of judgment)
5. the righteous protected (by a mark): Eze 9:3-4, Rev 9:1-4
6. the whore: Eze 16, Rev 17, 18
7. judgment on the armies of the nations: Eze 38:18-39
8. invitation for birds to feast on flesh: Eze 39:17-20, Rev 19:17-18
9. measuring the New Temple: Eze 40-44, Rev 11
10. river of life/tree of life: Eze 47, Rev 22:1-2
11. gates named for the 12 tribes of Israel: Eze 48:30-33, Rev 21:12-13
Obvious similarities with book of Zechariah
1. four horses of destruction: Zech 1, Rev 6
2. horns of the nations: Zech 1, Rev 13
3. witnesses, lampstands and olive trees: Zech 4, Rev 11
4. flying scroll: Zech 5
5. horses of destruction: Zech 6, Rev 6
6. destruction of 2/3, refining 1/3: Zech 13:8-9, Rev 8:7-12
7. gathering of the nations to battle: Zech 14, Rev 16:12-14 and 19:19
8. darkness on the day of the Lord: Zech 14, Rev 8:12
9. river of life: Zech 14, Rev 22:12-13
These are easy to identify in just a surface reading of the texts. It is also obvious that they don't retain exactly the same interpretations from the Old Testament to the book of Revelation. I think sorting these out in terms of what symbolism is retained and what is changed is a much deeper and larger issue. One example of this would be the meanings of the four beasts (lion, bear, leapard, and terrible beast with ten horns). The book of Daniel has them as four seperate beasts, the book of Revelation as one single beast. The character traits remain similar and the general interpretation is as though they were 'nations', but they have been integrated into one by John on Patmos. And they have also taken a form similar to that of Satan Himself (the seven headed dragon). Not exactly the same interpretation as that intended by Daniel, similar but not the same. You could say these nations have been subsumed into the single nation of Rome, and that would be correct, but is that all that is being said here? Remember that the beast looks almost identical to the dragon (a seven headed creature itself, sporting ten horns). Is the heavenly version of Satan merely the Roman Empire (given to changes of time)? Not likely! The beast may very well represent the Roman Empire but its form is much more sinister, much longer lasting than a human Empire which rose and fell in some 1500 years (including the life of the Eastern Roman Empire).
Showing posts with label Revelation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Revelation. Show all posts
Thursday, February 14, 2013
Saturday, January 12, 2013
Smoke
Comparisons in the Book of Revelation:
Another internal comparison (like the whore and the bride discussed in an earlier post) we could easily make that serves to build a more interpretive framework can be found in John's use of smoke. Simply put; fire burns something and the smoke rises up into the heavens. In the Old Testament smoke from a burnt offering was described as a pleasant fragrance to the Lord. John uses this image to illustrate the self-sacrifice of the righteous who are being purified by fire. The prayers of the saints rise up like smoke, a sweet savor to the Lord
Rev 5:8: Now when He had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each having a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. Rev 8:3-4: Then another angel, having a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all the saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne. (4) And the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, ascended before God from the angel's hand.
Compare this to the use of "smoke" when used to describe the suffering of the wicked.
Rev 14:11: And the smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever; and they have no rest day or night, who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name."
In comparing the "smoke" which rises because of the burning (the righteous getting purified, the unrighteous getting punished) I think it is important to look at and compare the meaning of "smoke". For the righteous it is stated in the text. The smoke is the prayers of the saints caused by thier suffering and repentance. The smoke for the unrighteous then must be its polar opposite. The unrighteous, beacause of thier suffering, blaspheme God and continue all the more in thier wickedness.
Rev. 16:8-9: Then the fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, and power was given to him to scorch men with fire. (9) And men were scorched with great heat, and they blasphemed the name of God who has power over these plagues; and they did not repent and give Him glory.
The symbol of the smoke of suffering by the unrighteous is depicted as a big part of the events that take place during the progression of the book. It is interesting that out of this smoke (the suffering of the unrighteous) comes the an army of locust-like creatures that descend upon the earth and "torment" men. Apocalyptic books of both Jewish (2 Baruch) and Christian (Hermas) origin display similar scenes (swarming insects), identifying them as a plague of demonic spirits.
One of the great questions apocalyptic books try to answer for thier readers, is "why do we suffer?" The book of Revelation is no different and the comparison of smoke only confirms the answer John is trying to get across. It is not all for nothing. God is pleased with suffering because it brings change in us (purification). While it does not make us happy, it CAN make us better people, if we let it. There is always something we can learn about ourselves in suffering. Otherwise it just produces a thick cloud of choking smoke, which apparently opens the door to demonic torment.
Another internal comparison (like the whore and the bride discussed in an earlier post) we could easily make that serves to build a more interpretive framework can be found in John's use of smoke. Simply put; fire burns something and the smoke rises up into the heavens. In the Old Testament smoke from a burnt offering was described as a pleasant fragrance to the Lord. John uses this image to illustrate the self-sacrifice of the righteous who are being purified by fire. The prayers of the saints rise up like smoke, a sweet savor to the Lord
Rev 5:8: Now when He had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each having a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. Rev 8:3-4: Then another angel, having a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all the saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne. (4) And the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, ascended before God from the angel's hand.
Compare this to the use of "smoke" when used to describe the suffering of the wicked.
Rev 14:11: And the smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever; and they have no rest day or night, who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name."
In comparing the "smoke" which rises because of the burning (the righteous getting purified, the unrighteous getting punished) I think it is important to look at and compare the meaning of "smoke". For the righteous it is stated in the text. The smoke is the prayers of the saints caused by thier suffering and repentance. The smoke for the unrighteous then must be its polar opposite. The unrighteous, beacause of thier suffering, blaspheme God and continue all the more in thier wickedness.
Rev. 16:8-9: Then the fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, and power was given to him to scorch men with fire. (9) And men were scorched with great heat, and they blasphemed the name of God who has power over these plagues; and they did not repent and give Him glory.
The symbol of the smoke of suffering by the unrighteous is depicted as a big part of the events that take place during the progression of the book. It is interesting that out of this smoke (the suffering of the unrighteous) comes the an army of locust-like creatures that descend upon the earth and "torment" men. Apocalyptic books of both Jewish (2 Baruch) and Christian (Hermas) origin display similar scenes (swarming insects), identifying them as a plague of demonic spirits.
One of the great questions apocalyptic books try to answer for thier readers, is "why do we suffer?" The book of Revelation is no different and the comparison of smoke only confirms the answer John is trying to get across. It is not all for nothing. God is pleased with suffering because it brings change in us (purification). While it does not make us happy, it CAN make us better people, if we let it. There is always something we can learn about ourselves in suffering. Otherwise it just produces a thick cloud of choking smoke, which apparently opens the door to demonic torment.
Wednesday, January 09, 2013
Comparison: 2 Baruch and the Book of Revelation
The previous post shows a great way to find interpretive background to the Book of Revelation. Along the same lines I would like to show a comparison I made between the Book of Revelation and 2 Baruch, a Jewish apocalyptic text written about the same time. Why is this important? Because it establishes a trend in Jewish theology that may have been used as a backdrop for the Book of Revelation itself.
I believe that the similarities presented here are more than just coincidences. There are too many for that. It must be that a common theology prevailed among Jews of this period (Second Temple Judaism) and this same theological background could hold important clues to rightly interpreting the Book of Revelation.
As to the first similarity: It is interesting that the Book of Revelation is written (in Greek) to a group of Churches in Anatolia (Asia Minor) rather than to the church of Jerusalem (which was destroyed by this time but would still have made a great symbolic Church head). And though the Church of Jerusalem was gone there still would have been a strongly "Jewish" Church council present in Antioch to which such an epistle (of this nature) might have been better suited. However, I believe John is showing us to whom he is intending to write, much like the epistle of 2 Baruch. Specifically he is writing to the Church scattered among "the nations". Seven individual churches rather than one unified "world" church. Each with its own strengths and faults, each with its own angel (messenger) directing it.
Hope this is helpful.
I believe that the similarities presented here are more than just coincidences. There are too many for that. It must be that a common theology prevailed among Jews of this period (Second Temple Judaism) and this same theological background could hold important clues to rightly interpreting the Book of Revelation.
As to the first similarity: It is interesting that the Book of Revelation is written (in Greek) to a group of Churches in Anatolia (Asia Minor) rather than to the church of Jerusalem (which was destroyed by this time but would still have made a great symbolic Church head). And though the Church of Jerusalem was gone there still would have been a strongly "Jewish" Church council present in Antioch to which such an epistle (of this nature) might have been better suited. However, I believe John is showing us to whom he is intending to write, much like the epistle of 2 Baruch. Specifically he is writing to the Church scattered among "the nations". Seven individual churches rather than one unified "world" church. Each with its own strengths and faults, each with its own angel (messenger) directing it.
Hope this is helpful.
Saturday, January 09, 2010
The 144,000
I can't tell you how many opinions I have read regarding the 144,000 found in the seventh chapter of the book of Revelation. Allow me now to throw in my own. For many reasons I have not read the book of the Revelation of Jesus Christ as though it were a book of literal physical truths, but instead as a book of literal spiritual truths. This is the way I view the 144,000 as well. Here is the verse.
Rev 7:1-12 And after these things I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth so that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree. (2) And I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God. And he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea, (3) saying, Do not hurt the earth or the sea or the trees until we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads. (4) And I heard the number of those who were sealed, one hundred and forty-four thousands, having been sealed out of every tribe of the sons of Israel. (5) Out of the tribe of Judah, twelve thousand had been sealed. Out of the tribe of Reuben, twelve thousand had been sealed. Out of the tribe of Gad, twelve thousand had been sealed. (6) Out of the tribe of Asher, twelve thousand had been sealed. Out of the tribe of Naphtali, twelve thousand had been sealed. Out of the tribe of Manasseh, twelve thousand had been sealed. (7) Out of the tribe of Simeon, twelve thousand had been sealed. Out of the tribe of Levi, twelve thousand had been sealed. Out of the tribe of Issachar, twelve thousand had been sealed. (8) Out of the tribe of Zebulun, twelve thousand had been sealed. Out of the tribe of Joseph, twelve thousand had been sealed. Out of the tribe of Benjamin, twelve thousand had been sealed. (9) After these things I looked, and lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, out of all nations and kindreds and people and tongues, stood before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palms in their hands. (10) And they cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God sitting on the throne, and to the Lamb. (11) And all the angels stood around the throne, and the elders, and the four living creatures, and they fell before the throne on their faces and worshiped God, (12) saying, Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever. Amen.
Some things should almost immediately stand out. First is that this looks an awful lot like the book of Numbers in the Old Testament where the able bodied men of the tribes of Israel were numbered just before Joshua led them into the land of the Canaanites to conquer it. An army! This should be our first clue as to the identification of the 144,000. They are those who fight to defeat the enemies of our God, with Christ as their General. They have been sealed with the seal of God as a marker of 1)protection against schemes of the enemy and 2)authority over the enemy as God's representatives in the earth. This leads us to more interesting observations. The tribe of Levi is mentioned while the tribe of Dan is excluded. The tribe of Levi was purposefully excluded in the book of Numbers because they were not to have a portion in the land and were dedicated solely to the ministry of the Lord. So this indicates that the manner in which the 144,000 fight does not exclude them from the list. Interestingly the way in which we fight is quite different. As Paul says, "we do not wrestle with flesh and blood..." And how do you fight darkness? With light! And what is light? Light is the glory of the Lord. So what is darkness? It is simply the absence of God's glory. In this vein then, as Thomas Aquinas points out, does evil truly exist since it is an absence of something that does exist? No, evil being resultant from choice it is merely the absence of what is good, therefore it does not truly exist as an entity. And since good has substance, as light has substance, then it has the ability to restrain and overcome as superior. Evil is also limited by death into which those who practice it are condemned, while those who have chosen the good, the glory of God, live beyond death and are eventually resurrected to eternal life. Once those who practice evil are gone, there will be no more evil. If everyone who had chosen the good were to die and never return there would still be God, so good can never be vanquished because it has its being in God, who is the source of all good. So those who fight the good fight cannot lose, and Christ is their head.
So the numbers also have meaning. 1000 is 10 x 10 x 10 which are the dimensions of the Holy of Holies, the dwelling place of God. And 12 is the number of God's authority in a corporate man, as an army, to enter through the gates of hell and defeat the enemy, occupying the land. 12 x 12 is the area of a perfect square, similar to the area of the City of God, the New Jerusalem, that finally rests in the earth when God dwells with men. This should also be added to our clues. This 144,000 are those who have brought the presence of God with them into the earth to fulfill the mandate laid out in Genesis. As the book says:
Gen 1:27-28 And God created man in His image; in the image of God He created him. He created them male and female. (28) And God blessed them. And God said to them, Be fruitful, and multiply and fill the earth, and subdue it. And have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the fowl of the heavens, and all animals that move upon the earth.
A mandate that has been included in every major covenant God has had with men, which men have always failed to accomplish until Christ. Man being made in the image of God is very important because it assumes that the men who subdue the earth are "righteous". But this does not complete the picture because those who have been called are listed as belonging to a particular tribe which seems to indicate that they belong to the Jewish people. Here is my take on that. The twelve are carried along in the twelve apostles who had mission to both the Jews and the gentiles. The early churches saw one another in terms of which apostle had established or founded that particular region. We still have the Roman Catholic church which has always declared it was founded by Peter, the Eastern Orthodox claims the apostle John, etc... The branches that were Israel have been cut off and the branches that are the church, including gentiles, have been grafted in. It is not the physical Israel that is the source, or the main vine, but it is Christ who is the true remnant.
The twelve sons of Jacob (Israel) were born out of struggle between two sisters, Leah who was unloved, Rachel who was loved, and the servant girls that belonged to the two women. The names of each of Israel's sons has particular meaning in that struggle to compete for the affections of Israel. In this, I am suggesting that each member of the body of Christ fits under one of these twelve banners. And as such, the 144,000 can be identified as the church living on the earth from age to age. Those who live physically, working to redeem the earth from its fallen condition, while those who have been taken out, through physical death, await the time that they can return. I have left out a great deal but I am still working on this idea, developing it further. Perhaps in a later post I can elaborate on the meanings of the names of the twelve tribes and how we fit into those categories. But not today.
God Bless
Rev 7:1-12 And after these things I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth so that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree. (2) And I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God. And he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea, (3) saying, Do not hurt the earth or the sea or the trees until we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads. (4) And I heard the number of those who were sealed, one hundred and forty-four thousands, having been sealed out of every tribe of the sons of Israel. (5) Out of the tribe of Judah, twelve thousand had been sealed. Out of the tribe of Reuben, twelve thousand had been sealed. Out of the tribe of Gad, twelve thousand had been sealed. (6) Out of the tribe of Asher, twelve thousand had been sealed. Out of the tribe of Naphtali, twelve thousand had been sealed. Out of the tribe of Manasseh, twelve thousand had been sealed. (7) Out of the tribe of Simeon, twelve thousand had been sealed. Out of the tribe of Levi, twelve thousand had been sealed. Out of the tribe of Issachar, twelve thousand had been sealed. (8) Out of the tribe of Zebulun, twelve thousand had been sealed. Out of the tribe of Joseph, twelve thousand had been sealed. Out of the tribe of Benjamin, twelve thousand had been sealed. (9) After these things I looked, and lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, out of all nations and kindreds and people and tongues, stood before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palms in their hands. (10) And they cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God sitting on the throne, and to the Lamb. (11) And all the angels stood around the throne, and the elders, and the four living creatures, and they fell before the throne on their faces and worshiped God, (12) saying, Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever. Amen.
Some things should almost immediately stand out. First is that this looks an awful lot like the book of Numbers in the Old Testament where the able bodied men of the tribes of Israel were numbered just before Joshua led them into the land of the Canaanites to conquer it. An army! This should be our first clue as to the identification of the 144,000. They are those who fight to defeat the enemies of our God, with Christ as their General. They have been sealed with the seal of God as a marker of 1)protection against schemes of the enemy and 2)authority over the enemy as God's representatives in the earth. This leads us to more interesting observations. The tribe of Levi is mentioned while the tribe of Dan is excluded. The tribe of Levi was purposefully excluded in the book of Numbers because they were not to have a portion in the land and were dedicated solely to the ministry of the Lord. So this indicates that the manner in which the 144,000 fight does not exclude them from the list. Interestingly the way in which we fight is quite different. As Paul says, "we do not wrestle with flesh and blood..." And how do you fight darkness? With light! And what is light? Light is the glory of the Lord. So what is darkness? It is simply the absence of God's glory. In this vein then, as Thomas Aquinas points out, does evil truly exist since it is an absence of something that does exist? No, evil being resultant from choice it is merely the absence of what is good, therefore it does not truly exist as an entity. And since good has substance, as light has substance, then it has the ability to restrain and overcome as superior. Evil is also limited by death into which those who practice it are condemned, while those who have chosen the good, the glory of God, live beyond death and are eventually resurrected to eternal life. Once those who practice evil are gone, there will be no more evil. If everyone who had chosen the good were to die and never return there would still be God, so good can never be vanquished because it has its being in God, who is the source of all good. So those who fight the good fight cannot lose, and Christ is their head.
So the numbers also have meaning. 1000 is 10 x 10 x 10 which are the dimensions of the Holy of Holies, the dwelling place of God. And 12 is the number of God's authority in a corporate man, as an army, to enter through the gates of hell and defeat the enemy, occupying the land. 12 x 12 is the area of a perfect square, similar to the area of the City of God, the New Jerusalem, that finally rests in the earth when God dwells with men. This should also be added to our clues. This 144,000 are those who have brought the presence of God with them into the earth to fulfill the mandate laid out in Genesis. As the book says:
Gen 1:27-28 And God created man in His image; in the image of God He created him. He created them male and female. (28) And God blessed them. And God said to them, Be fruitful, and multiply and fill the earth, and subdue it. And have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the fowl of the heavens, and all animals that move upon the earth.
A mandate that has been included in every major covenant God has had with men, which men have always failed to accomplish until Christ. Man being made in the image of God is very important because it assumes that the men who subdue the earth are "righteous". But this does not complete the picture because those who have been called are listed as belonging to a particular tribe which seems to indicate that they belong to the Jewish people. Here is my take on that. The twelve are carried along in the twelve apostles who had mission to both the Jews and the gentiles. The early churches saw one another in terms of which apostle had established or founded that particular region. We still have the Roman Catholic church which has always declared it was founded by Peter, the Eastern Orthodox claims the apostle John, etc... The branches that were Israel have been cut off and the branches that are the church, including gentiles, have been grafted in. It is not the physical Israel that is the source, or the main vine, but it is Christ who is the true remnant.
The twelve sons of Jacob (Israel) were born out of struggle between two sisters, Leah who was unloved, Rachel who was loved, and the servant girls that belonged to the two women. The names of each of Israel's sons has particular meaning in that struggle to compete for the affections of Israel. In this, I am suggesting that each member of the body of Christ fits under one of these twelve banners. And as such, the 144,000 can be identified as the church living on the earth from age to age. Those who live physically, working to redeem the earth from its fallen condition, while those who have been taken out, through physical death, await the time that they can return. I have left out a great deal but I am still working on this idea, developing it further. Perhaps in a later post I can elaborate on the meanings of the names of the twelve tribes and how we fit into those categories. But not today.
God Bless
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