Commentary on the Book of Revelation; Chapters 11-15
by Dave Brown
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General Comments on Revelation
Revelation - Overview and Flow of the Book
Go to Revelation Chapters 1-5
Go to Revelation Chapters 6-10
Go to Revelation Chapters 16-19
Go to Revelation Chapters 20-22
Appreciation - Many thoughts and references are from notes developed by Bryan Gibson. The opinions given are those of Dave Brown.
We appreciate any suggestions for improving this commentary.
Revelation 11
11:1 And there was given me a reed like unto a rod: and one said, Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein.
[The instrument of the measurement was not really important; what is important is that John is given an instrument to "measure the temple of God," and we have no reason to believe that this spiritual instrument to measure spiritual things was also perfect for the task. Both the one who gave the reed and the one who commanded John to measure the temple are anonymous and there is no reason to speculate on who they were; we can know that they were messengers of God to promote John's reception of the revelation. The command was to use the instrument to measure three things: (1) the temple of God; (2) the alter; and (3) them that worship therein. This alludes to temple worship, but we know that the metaphor of the temple is used to apply to many different things in the New Testament. To this point, it has been used in Revelation 3:12; and 7:15. In this chapter it will be further referenced after 11:1 in 11:2, and 11:19. From these passages we should get a good feeling for it.]
[We should also recognize its previous uses in the New Testament. The most common one would seem to be that of the church (1 Corinthians 3:16-17): "Know ye not that ye are a temple of God, and (that) the Spirit of God dwells in you? If any man destroys the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, and such are ye." And again Revelation 1:6: "and he made us (to be) a kingdom, (to be) priests unto his God and Father; to him (be) the glory and the dominion for ever and ever. Amen". And further 1 Peter 2:5 "ye also, as living stones, are built up a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God through Jesus Christ."]
[Clearly the measuring instrument is figurative in nature, since the same physical instrument would not be used to measure both physical objects and people. We would expect that John would have recognized at this point the figurative nature of both the temple and the measuring instrument. It is doubtful that a physical image of the temple was considered by John at this point. The measuring must be of a spiritual nature -- that being one of judgment. The reed was like a rod -- an instrument of punishment -- implying that it had a dual nature, both to implement judgment and also if necessary, punishment. The three things that John was to measure were: (1) the temple: the terms of entry into Christ (Romans 6), e.g., the conditions of salvation; (2) the alter: recognition of the sacrifice of Jesus for the remission of our sins as an essential component of salvation, and (3) the Christians themselves, some of whom had already been measured in chapters 2 and 3, but now considering Christians in a more general way as opposed to their connection with a given local church.
Amos 7:7-8
7 Thus he showed me: and, behold, the Lord stood beside a wall made by a plumb-line, with a plumb-line in his hand.
8 And the LORD said unto me, Amos, what seest thou? And I said, A plumb-line. Then said the Lord, Behold, I will set a plumb-line in the midst of my people Israel; I will not again pass by them any more; ...]
2 And the court which is without the temple leave without, and measure it not; for it hath been given unto the nations: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months.
[This outer court was a place where Gentiles could come near to the temple, but they were not allowed into the temple itself, or its courtyard. In the figure of the church, there could be many who give the appearance of being believers in Christ but have not met the conditions of salvation or have not remained faithful after being converted. These were not to be considered for measurement since they are outside of the true church, not because of race or nationality, but either because they had not met the conditions for salvation, or having met them they had become unfaithful and fallen away (e.g., Galatians 5:4). Those outside of the perimeter of the temple, the church, would "tread under foot" the holy city (figurative of Jerusalem) for a specified period of time. This indicates that they would profane the surrounding environment of the church by the general corruption of mankind. It might also indicate that they might have the ability to corrupt the church itself. In fact, why would the temple be measured if it were totally immune from the corruption either from the outside or from within (see Acts 20:29-30)?]
In reference to the times of the gentiles (nations), see Luke 21:24. That time given is 42 months (Daniel 7:25; 12:6-7 … time, times and half a time 12+24+6 = 42). Roughly, the time that Christ was literally on this earth. This is a prophecy of persecution for a significant yet endurable length of time. We can see a literal treading of literal Jerusalem by the “gentiles” that is usually said to have occurred in 70 AD, but to some extent it continues to this day. But this just reinforces the spiritual significance. The outer court might also map to those pagan practices that were brought into the apostate church in the second and third century, and persist to this day in most denominal organizations claiming to be Christian. They are summarily dismissed – not measured, and not to be considered to the church that Jesus built (Matthew 16:18). This is the first occurrence and it is stated to be 42 months (t+2t+.5t; 1260 days), but this will occur again in 11:9-11; 12;6, 14; and 13:5. All of these references an indefinite and incomplete, but relatively short time that God is going to allow a given set of evil events to persist.]
[Considerable efforts have been made to nail down the exact time spoken of in the forty two months. We can be sure that it is not literal in that the defiling of the "outer court" most certainly started shortly after this prophecy, and there is no evidence that it has ceased to this day. We therefore conclude that a time period has been specified, that is much like that given in Daniel 7:25 and 12:7, to convey to us that God has already determined a definitive number of days that He will allow this persecution to go on. Time, times and a half a time; if time is a year then is 12 + 24 + 6 = 42 months. See the time restated in the next verse]
3 And I will give unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth.
[The insertion of the word "power" in the KJV is not justified by the Greek. However, it is consistent with verse 6. But more important than any miraculous power is the spiritual power of the gospel itself (Romans 1:16). The power to save. We need to be careful that in trying to nail down the exact meaning of the figurative language for the time span being used that we miss some major points. Two is the least number of witnesses that could bear dependable testimony in a judicial sense (see Matthew 18:16; Numbers 35:30; Deuteronomy 17:6). The sense here seems to be, not that there will only be two witnesses that will proclaim God's truth, but that the number of them will be extremely small and might often be this minimal; and yet the sense is conveyed that two are enough. That is, whatever their small number is, they will be sufficient to bear the witness of the truth that they possess. As for the thousand two hundred and threescore days, this is probably the same time period as the forty-two months given in 11:2, but expressed in a different way. If we view the word day as signifying a year, then the using the Jewish thirty day month, this 42 months x 30 days (years) = 1260 years. Recognizing the figurative nature of these numbers, they are not to be used to establish when some epoch is to end and another to begin. Rather, this is a fairly long but indefinite period of time to those whose lifetimes are significantly less than 100 years. Clothed in sackcloth indicates their humbled nature, just as their Lord Jesus Christ did not come with the splendor of this world. When we see those who are exalted and glorified by this world, we can be sure that could fir the pattern given by these "two witnesses."]
4 These are the two olive trees and the two candlesticks, standing before the Lord of the earth.
[Seemingly, speaking to those who are familiar with Zechariah 4:2-7 ... 11-14:
4:1 And the angel that talked with me came again, and waked me, as a man that is wakened out of his sleep.
2 And he said unto me, What seest thou? And I said, I have seen, and, behold, a candlestick all of gold, with its bowl upon the top of it, and its seven lamps thereon; there are seven pipes to each of the lamps, which are upon the top thereof;
3 and two olive-trees by it, one upon the right side of the bowl, and the other upon the left side thereof.
4 And I answered and spoke to the angel that talked with me, saying, What are these, my lord?
5 Then the angel that talked with me answered and said unto me, Knowest thou not what these are? And I said, No, my lord.
6 Then he answered and spoke unto me, saying, This is the word of the LORD unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith the LORD of hosts.
7 Who art thou, O great mountain? before Zerubbabel (thou shalt become) a plain; and he shall bring forth the top stone with shoutings of Grace, grace, unto it.
...
11 Then answered I, and said unto him, What are these two olive-trees upon the right side of the candlestick and upon the left side thereof?
12 And I answered the second time, and said unto him, What are these two olive-branches, which are beside the two golden spouts, that empty the golden (oil) out of themselves?
13 And he answered me and said, Knowest thou not what these are? And I said, No, my lord.
14 Then said he, These are the two anointed ones, that stand by the Lord of the whole earth.]
[Olive trees provide the oil for the light. They are not just lampstands that hold forth the light, but they provide the in-ward spiritual strength to produce the source of the light. Zerubbabel led the first caravan of the children of Israel back from Babylonian captivity and ultimately was quite instrumental in leading the re-building of the physical temple -- that being quite relevant to the context here. The figures used are not identical, but they are similar enough for us to see the meaning. Recognize again the use of identify metaphors. Also, recognize the thrust of the prophecy of Zechariah 4 -- it is quite relevant to the verses that follow. It is not by military might that the temple was restored, it was by the grace of God. And so it is with the metaphoric reducing of mountains to plains discussed below.]
5 And if any man desires to hurt them, fire proceeds out of their mouth and devours their enemies; and if any man shall desire to hurt them, in this manner must he be killed.
[This metaphor should be compared to that of the picture of Jesus given in Revelation 1:16. Is Jesus going to literally kill his enemies with the two-edged sword that proceeds out of his mouth? In due time, but to those who will listen to Jesus words, the lies of Satan will have no effect -- they will be dead words able to accomplish nothing. And so it is with those who are bearing witness of the truth of God's word to a lost and corrupt world today. To those who will listen, the words are like fire devouring the enemies of the cross. Of course, we know that the end result of Satan and his followers is the lake of fire, but that is only being alluded to at this point. Implicit in this prophecy is the fact that these witnesses are going to suffer persecution (2 Timothy 3:12).]
6 These have the power to shut the heaven, that it rain not during the days of their prophecy: and they have power over the waters to turn them into blood, and to smite the earth with every plague, as often as they shall desire.
[This appears to be referencing Elijah (1 Kings 17:1; James 5:17) and to Moses actions in Egypt. The fact that they have this power does not mean that they will use it. The comparison of the two witnesses is being made to the witnesses of old. Do not think that the witnesses today have any less power than those of the past. But the power is in the gospel (Romans 1:16), and the salvation from slavery is in the use of this power to defeat Satan and his henchmen (Romans 6). This is a much more spiritually powerful force than anything of a physical nature, including all supernatural (miraculous) events.]
7 And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up out of the abyss shall make war with them, and overcome them, and kill them.
[If we do not limit our interpretation here to either numbers or time, we can see that this is almost a continuous process of the various servants of Jesus finishing their testimony and then being overcome. No doubt some will be (have been) literally killed for the cause of Christ, but this does not have to be a limiting interpretation. The prophecy is that those who are giving their testimony will be at a physical disadvantage. This would seem to contradict the literal meaning of verse 6 above, but we see no justification for being literal at this point.]
[Beast. This is the first mention of a beast in the book. There will be two of them that will appear in Chapter 13. This chapter is written with the assumption that we will learn what is in Chapter 13 and then come back and give more thought to this passage. Generally when there is no qualifier on what beast is being specified, the subject is the sea beast. This beast is obviously a servant of Satan – it maps to the physical world of corrupt rulers. Many conclude that it is Satan himself, but, we know of no passage in the Bible that talks of Satan killing someone directly -- he always uses the instrumentality of evil, corrupt humans to accomplish this. We will have much more to discuss about the beast that comes up out of the abyss in subsequent chapters. In the most immediate case the beast is probably the Roman rulership (including their elite puppet masters), since it had the power of temporal government to make war and to kill Christians seemingly, without any immediate retribution. This also maps to obvious parallel evils (if not, worse) today. They have the power to kill physically and we would have to be more than blind not to see its terrible results.]
8 And their dead bodies (lie) in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified.
[It is not literally Sodom and Egypt, an impossibility. Jesus was crucified outside of the city of Jerusalem, and this would seem to be the literal location that is being described here. This reflects on the characteristics of the beast: (1) Sodom for its gross immorality, (2) Egypt, for its tyranny, pride and idolatry, and Jerusalem for its fall from glory to the pits of corruption in crucifying the Son of God. To allow their dead bodies to decay in the street would be a gross travesty and a sure indication of the general contempt for those two preachers who had no other goal than to save the souls of those who hated them so much. The word "spiritually" is interesting and we know of no other place in the Bible where the word is used to describe what something is called. However, there is great similarity with the word's usage in 1 Corinthians 2:14: "Now the natural man receives not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him; and he cannot know them, because they are spiritually judged." It is not that he does not have the intellect, but he decides not to -- "he cannot know them" -- it has been made impossible by God for him to know them because they do not have spiritual judgment, and thereby, they have determined their fate unless they repent (as did the 3000 on Pentecost).]
9 And from among the peoples and tribes and tongues and nations do (men) look upon their dead bodies three days and a half, and suffer not their dead bodies to be laid in a tomb.
[Salvation is not a matter of being in any given tribe, tongue or nation, and neither is being condemned for sin and persecuting those who teach the truth. While a few might actually kill the two witnesses, many stand around and allow it to happen, and thus are just as guilty. Since Jesus was in the tomb for 3½ days, it is tempting to think that this is the time period being considered. But we see it as another instance of time, times and half a time, and it seems to refer to the entire time period of this event. See the discussion of this figurative time period in verses 2-3 above.]
10 And they that dwell on the earth rejoice over them, and make merry; and they shall send gifts one to another; because these two prophets tormented them that dwell on the earth.
[This would definitely indicate longer duration than a literal three and a half days. "They that dwell on the earth" are those outside of the temple in the outer court. Certainly Christians are not making merry over the death of their prophets. Tormented them -- it is hard for Christians to realize that our attempts to save others torments them, but it does. The only exceptions are those who listen and partake of the water of life freely. Their sending gifts to one another indicates the depth of the fellowship in this wickedness.]
11 And after the three days and a half the breath of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon them that beheld them.
[No passage says is clearer: death has no power over God's elect. It does not matter should we be killed for what we believe; the victory is inevitable. This might seem to be talking about the final resurrection, but that does not fit some of the other things that are said regarding this point in time. It would seem more natural to suppose that it is talking about the resurrection of the teaching of the truth, much like John the Baptist was the resurrection of Elijah. The fear would come forth of those who felt that they had stomped out all remnants of the teachings of Jesus only to find that it was once again alive, breathing and thriving. Revelation 12:11: "And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb, and because of the word of their testimony; and they loved not their life even unto death." Revelation 20:4: "And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and (I saw) the souls of them that had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus, and for the word of God, and such as worshipped not the beast, neither his image, and received not the mark upon their forehead and upon their hand; and they lived, and reigned with Christ a thousand years." Imagine how the reading of this verse would encourage those who were in prison waiting to be executed.]
12 And they heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them, Come up hither. And they went up into heaven in the cloud; and their enemies beheld them.
[This would seem to be looking ahead to the resurrection, but from the context we see that it is in prospect. Christians who continue to preach the truth in situations of great danger to themselves do so because they "hear a great voice from heaven saying 'Come up hither.'" This is no more literal than the drawing power of God that Jesus proclaimed in John 6:44. The proclamation of the truth after the witnesses were treated so terribly by their enemies brings to the observers that realization that these two have the truth and are preaching the truth. They followed Jesus in life; they will follow Jesus in death. They will be resurrected and will ascend into heaven (in the cloud – Acts 1:9), as He witnessed for His Father for 3 ½ years and was resurrected on the third day. But what followed the resurrection of Christ? … the preaching of the word. So it was more than just a physical bodily resurrection – it was a resurrection of the truth that would be preached.]
13 And in that hour there was a great earthquake, and the tenth part of the city fell; and there were killed in the earthquake seven thousand persons: and the rest were affrighted, and gave glory to the God of heaven.
[The earthquake is representative of a great confusion and destruction caused by natural forces. The destruction was not universal but it was significant, as indicated by the destruction of a tenth of the city. It is questionable as to whether this is talking about a particular city or to all cities, since most cities experience such destructive forces at one time or another. Similarly, with the seven thousand killed -- a quite significant number so as to get the attention of the survivors. They were afraid and based on that fear they gave glory to the true and living God. Such was experienced in the United States after the events of September 11, 2001. There was a general turning to religion (most of it false), but its effect was quite temporary. The indication here is that it was motivated by fear, and if so, the faithfulness will continue no longer than the fear. Once people are again satisfied in their normal stations of life, their renewed obedience to God is again suspended. But let us rejoice – this is the first, and the only time that we see people repenting as a result of the truth being preached, and we should be thankful for it. Are our efforts ever in vain? Do we quit when we get discouraged? The lessons for us are quite clear.]
14 The second Woe is past: behold, the third Woe comes quickly.
[The conclusion of the first Woe was stated in 9:12. This is the conclusion of the second Woe. A third Woe was forecast in 8:13 to be announced by the blowing of the last fifth and sixth trumpets, and then confirmed by the seventh. The fifth trumpet was sounded in Revelation 9:1, and the sixth in 9:13. The seventh will follow immediately this announcement of the third Woe.
15 And the seventh angel sounded; and there followed great voices in heaven, and they said, The kingdom of the world is become (the kingdom) of our Lord, and of his Christ: and he shall reign for ever and ever.
[At this point John’s view seems to go back to heaven; it has been on earth for the first six trumpets. This woe appears to be the final judgment for which we are at this point given a glimpse; it will be elaborated upon in Chapters 21 and 22. "Great voices in heaven" to proclaim a major event. Total control is to be assumed by Jesus Christ, and once this is established it will last forever. The world today may be viewed as many "kingdoms" and this (kingdoms rather than kingdom) is its rendering in many translations. The meaning is not changed appreciably. Daniel 2:44 predicted a dividing of the prevailing kingdom at this time. However, since all worldly kingdoms and other forms of government are all under the dominion of Satan, whether they be singular or many is of little consequence. The voice is announcing that this arrangement of governments will not continue forever; but the reign of Christ will be forever. The ultimate victory belongs to the faithful, and it is assured.]
16 And the four and twenty elders, who sit before God on their thrones, fell upon their faces and worshiped God,
17 saying, We give thee thanks, O Lord God, the Almighty, who art and who wast; because thou hast taken thy great power, and didst reign.
[This shows that there will be functioning churches with elders at the time of this great event since the 24 elders are emblematic of leadership in existing churches.]
18 And the nations were angry, and thy wrath came, and the time of the dead to be judged, and (the time) to give their reward to thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and to them that fear thy name, the small and the great; and to destroy them that destroy the earth.
[It would be expected that the rulers of the nations would not take favorably to giving up their power. Neither would those who support these governments and profit from them. And, neither would any who are not prepared for the Lord's second coming. The reward will only go to the faithful servants and saints, and them that fear the name of the LORD. The rest will be destroyed. These are those who destroy the earth in a variety of ways; but most importantly, who make it difficult for their fellow man to live in peace and to enjoy the many physical blessings of this world. This is the ultimate destruction of the earth and the destruction of what God intended when He created it.]
19 And there was opened the temple of God that is in heaven; and there was seen in his temple the ark of his covenant; and there followed lightnings, and voices, and thunders, and an earthquake, and great hail.
[The temple of God is now seen to be a spiritual entity in heaven. John does not say "I saw" but "there was seen" indicating other observers along with him (angels? those under the alter?) The ark of his covenant indicates the completion and perfection of the temple. The various calamities -- lightnings, voices, thunders, earthquake and great hail are all emblematic of the ultimate destruction of the earth (2 Peter 3:10). The voices especially are indicative of the purpose of all of the trumpets -- to announce a cataclysmic change.]
[References:
Hebrews 10:19-25 -- who is to see the glories of the temple of God?
19 Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holy place by the blood of Jesus,
20 by the way which he dedicated for us, a new and living way, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh;
21 and (having) a great priest over the house of God;
22 let us draw near with a true heart in fullness of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience: and having our body washed with pure water,
23 let us hold fast the confession of our hope that it waver not; for he is faithful that promised:
24 and let us consider one another to provoke unto love and good works;
25 not forsaking our own assembling together, as the custom of some is, but exhorting (one another); and so much the more, as ye see the day drawing nigh.
Rev 4:5
5 And out of the throne proceed lightnings and voices and thunders. And (there was) seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God;
Rev 8:5
And the angel took the censer; and he filled it with the fire of the altar, and cast it upon the earth: and there followed thunders, and voices, and lightnings, and an earthquake.
Rev 16:18
8 and there were lightnings, and voices, and thunders; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since there were men upon the earth, so great an earthquake, so mighty.
Rev 16:21
1 And great hail, (every stone) about the weight of a talent, comes down out of heaven upon men: and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail; for the plague thereof is exceeding great.]
[The end of Chapter 11 marks a major subdivision of the book of Revelation. While some of John's visions were obviously of heaven, the concentration, especially in the latter chapters, has been on things envisioned happening on the earth. With the start of Chapter 12-20 we see the counterpart things that are happening in heaven (i.e., in the spiritual realm). But just as some of the first 11 chapters reflected heavenly things, so will some of this next section indicate the earthly things.]
[Is this the third woe? It will be for those who are lost. At this point the seventh trumped may not be finished sounding. There is no further mention of the “third woe” per se, but woes are stated in connection with Revelation 12:12 (Satan being cast down to the earth); 18:10; 18:16; and 18:19 (downfall of Babylon).]
Revelation 12
12:1 And a great sign was seen in heaven: a woman arrayed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars;
[See the vision that John saw. Does this map to an actual woman (e.g., Mary)? Or might the woman figuratively refer to something else. He says that it is a sign, indicating that it could well be pointing to something beyond a literal person. At this point the adornment of the woman is of significance. She was arrayed with the sun -- to mankind the brightest of all lights, while standing on a lessor light -- the moon. Perhaps showing the superiority of the gospel to the Old Testament. For the significance of light, see John 1. The contrast between this woman and the harlot (we will get to in Chapter 17) is such that it is shameful to even bring that to mind in the same sentence, and we apologize. The following references show where a woman with child was used to reference nations, and we feel that this is a more appropriate mapping of this figure than to any one specific woman:
Micah 4:8-13
8 And thou, O tower of the flock, the hill of the daughter of Zion, unto thee shall it come, yea, the former dominion shall come, the kingdom of the daughter of Jerusalem.
9 Now why dost thou cry out aloud? Is there no king in thee, is thy counselor perished, that pangs have taken hold of thee as of a woman in travail?
10 Be in pain, and labor to bring forth, O daughter of Zion, like a woman in travail; for now shalt thou go forth out of the city, and shalt dwell in the field, and shalt come even unto Babylon: there shalt thou be rescued; there will the LORD redeem thee from the hand of thine enemies.
11 And now many nations are assembled against thee, that say, Let her be defiled, and let our eye see (our desire) upon Zion.
12 But they know not the thoughts of the LORD, neither understand they his counsel; for he hath gathered them as the sheaves to the threshing-floor.
13 Arise and thresh, O daughter of Zion; for I will make thy horn iron, and I will make thy hoofs brass; and thou shalt beat in pieces many peoples: and I will devote their gain unto the LORD, and their substance unto the Lord of the whole earth.
Micah 5:1-3
5:1 Now shalt thou gather thyself in troops, O daughter of troops: he hath laid siege against us; they shall smite the judge of Israel with a rod upon the cheek.
2 But thou, Bethlehem Ephrathah, which art little to be among the thousands of Judah, out of thee shall one come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth are from of old, from everlasting.
3 Therefore will he give them up, until the time that she who travails hath brought forth: then the residue of his brethren shall return unto the children of Israel.
Isaiah 54:1-8
54:1 Sing, O barren, thou that didst not bear; break forth into singing, and cry aloud, thou that didst not travail with child: for more are the children of the desolate than the children of the married wife, saith the LORD.
2 Enlarge the place of thy tent, and let them stretch forth the curtains of thy habitations; spare not: lengthen thy cords, and strengthen thy stakes.
3 For thou shalt spread abroad on the right hand and on the left; and thy seed shall possess the nations, and make the desolate cities to be inhabited.
4 Fear not; for thou shalt not be ashamed: neither be thou confounded; for thou shalt not be put to shame: for thou shalt forget the shame of thy youth; and the reproach of thy widowhood shalt thou remember no more.
5 For thy Maker is thy husband; the LORD of hosts is his name: and the Holy One of Israel is thy Redeemer; the God of the whole earth shall he be called.
6 For the LORD hath called thee as a wife forsaken and grieved in spirit, even a wife of youth, when she is cast off, saith thy God.
7 For a small moment have I forsaken thee; but with great mercies will I gather thee.
8 In overflowing wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment; but with everlasting lovingkindness will I have mercy on thee, saith the LORD thy Redeemer.]
[Twelve stars:
The Number "12" In the field of multiplication, "4" was multiplied by "3," and the resultant "12" became a well-known symbol. In Hebrew religious thought it was the symbol of organized religion in the world. There were twelve tribes of Israel, twelve apostles, twelve gates to the Holy City in Revelation. This number was reduplicated to 144,000 when the writer of our Apocalypse wanted to picture the security of a perfect number sealed from the wrath of God visited upon the world.Source: Ray Summers, Worthy is the Lamb (Nashville: Broadman Press), pp. 21-25.
The 12 apostles would correspond to the brighter light of the gospel.]
2 and she was with child; and she cries out, travailing in birth, and in pain to be delivered.
[Who was it, other than the church that was currently in travail and anticipating additional pain that had already been prophesied by the Apostle John? The church that was experiencing great success as indicated by her beauty, adornment and her pregnancy, figurative of multiplying albeit in due time. And yet, these faithful Christians are no different from the faithful of all ages, as they were all trying to serve God and do His will. So the woman could well represent them all, in our recognition that it was the faithful of past times who brought forth the current church, by their faithfulness, beginning at Pentecost (Acts 2).]
3 And there was seen another sign in heaven: and behold, a great [fiery] red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his heads seven diadems.
[Reminder: sign means not literal, and thus we need to discover just what this sign represents, In this case we will be told explicitly. This sign was seen at the time when the church was about to increase -- the great adversary of the church and all of mankind, that will be identified as Satan in 12:9 and confirmed in 20:2. The dragon will be a common player for the rest of the book: 12:3-17; 13:2-11; 16:13 and finally totally identified again in 20:2. The dragons appearance and characteristics:
4 And his tail draws the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stands before the woman that is about to be delivered, that when she is delivered he may devour her child.
[Satan seems to have power over some of (but not all of) the political stars (see discussion in 6:13) -- God allows him to cast them down to the earth, a clear prediction of their demise. Recall Rev. 6:13: "... and the stars of the heaven fell unto the earth, as a fig tree casts her unripe figs when she is shaken of a great wind." The current event need not be thought of as sequential to this. They could be simultaneous; in fact, they could be the identical event described in different ways. Also compare: Rev. 8:12: "And the fourth angel sounded, and the third part of the sun was smitten, and the third part of the moon, and the third part of the stars; that the third part of them should be darkened, and the day should not shine for the third part of it, and the night in like manner." One thing we should recognize is that Satan might only have this power because he is still in the spiritual realms of heaven.]
[The totally powerful and formidable dragon stands before the helpless woman with the intent of devouring her child ... something totally unthinkable to civilized men, and yet a practice that has reportedly been carried out in many paganistic subcultures, some of which persist to this day even in our own countries. The fear within the woman at the presence of the dragon in her hour of delivery can be mapped to the fear that many churches were undergoing as their persecution is being multiplied. The message seems clear.]
5 And she was delivered of a son, a man child, who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and unto his throne.
[The immediate thought is that the son is Jesus and he ascended to the throne of God. But this is an allegory; God having accomplished this once, it is now being used to illustrate some things that are shortly to come to pass. That is, as the churches are set forth before the henchmen of Satan, and seem to be as helpless as Jesus was (physically) when upon the cross, so the churches that will descend from the woman will figuratively rule all the nations with a rod of iron. This will, of course, be totally under the supervision and approval of God the Son as indicated in Psalms 2:7-9: "I will tell of the decree: the LORD said unto me, Thou art my son; this day have I begotten thee. Ask of me, and I will give (thee) the nations for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession. Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; Thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel." We have already seen this figure used in Rev. 2:26-28: "And he that overcomes, and he that keeps my works unto the end, to him will I give authority over the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron, as the vessels of the potter are broken to shivers; as I also have received of my Father: and I will give him the morning star." There is no reason to assume that this is talking about anyone else here; the child represents all of the children of the gospel who are being persecuted by the dragon. God is promising to protect His children even if it means calling them up to his throne; by this the Christians were given assurance that they would be protected by God regardless of the appearance or circumstances, and the fact that Jesus fits this figure so well is further assurance to them -- if God accomplished this for Jesus He will surely accomplish it for those who faithfully follow Jesus. So we have no argument with those who want to assign this figure to Jesus as long as it is viewed as an allegory of the protection that God will give to the rest of the "seed of the woman" (see 12:17).]
6 And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that there they may nourish her a thousand two hundred and threescore days.
[Recall that the woman represents the established Christians in the church, as opposed to the new converts. God has prepared to take care of them as well -- it says God prepared for her a place in the wilderness. Surely, God had plans to take care of the future faithful as well, given the apostasy that was prophesied to take place in the church: 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4: "... let no man beguile you in any wise: for (it will not be,) except the falling away come first, and the man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition, he that opposes and exalts himself against all that is called God or that is worshiped; so that he sits in the temple of God, setting himself forth as God." And also, 1 Timothy 4:1-3: "But the Spirit says expressly, that in later times some shall fall away from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of demons, through the hypocrisy of men that speak lies, branded in their own conscience as with a hot iron; forbidding to marry, (and commanding) to abstain from meats, which God created to be received with thanksgiving by them that believe and know the truth." And again Acts 20:29-31: "I know that after my departing grievous wolves shall enter in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them. Wherefore watch ye, remembering that by the space of three years I ceased not to admonish every one night and day with tears." So, where were the true disciples who were faithful during this time when the church was hijacked by Satan and turned into a self-serving pagan institution of man? They could not be found ... they had "fled into the wilderness." The duration of this persecution, which we now refer to as the dark ages, is the figurative thousand two hundred and threescore days (years) that were defined in 11:3. The use of the same duration for both indicates that they well could be synonymous. The two witnesses would be very much indicative of a church in hiding.]
7 And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels (going forth) to war with the dragon; and the dragon warred and his angels;
[The scene seemed to just for a moment take place on earth as the women fled to the wilderness. However, it now continues in events John now sees in heaven. This too could be synonymous -- events in heaven greatly reflecting those on the earth. As indicated in Jude 3, Michael is the name of an archangel, thus the leader of the angels who are faithful to God. Satan, the dragon, is the leader of "his angels."]
8 And they prevailed not, neither was their place found any more in heaven.
[This is what John saw. We cannot know if it was seen as something that had happened, was happening at that time, or was going to happen. But perhaps it is speaking of all three as far as the limiting of Satan’s power. We have been interpreting these visions so far as "things that must shortly come to pass," and there seems to be no reason to change from that approach at this point. So, at the same time that John saw the church retreat to a place of hiding in a desert place, he observes a victory of the faithful angels over the evil angels of Satan. Recall Jesus' vision in Luke 10:18: "And he said unto them, I beheld Satan fallen as lightning from heaven." This occurred when the 70 that He had send out came back stating that even the demons were subject unto them. That seems to be a parallel prophecy of what we are reading about here.]
9 And the great dragon was cast down, the old serpent, he that is called the Devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world; he was cast down to the earth, and his angels were cast down with him.
[This would seem to be a definitive judgment against Satan and his angels, which we typically refer to as demons. Assuming that this did happen at this time, we can conclude that any visions that involve the dragon for the rest of the book, would have to happen on the earth. It is nothing new for Satan to be called the deceiver, since he is a murderer and the father of lies (John 8:44). Just how his presence was tolerated in heaven prior to this cannot be discerned; we must have faith that there are good reasons for all of God's decisions and of some there is no reason for us to know (Deuteronomy 29:29). But with Satan out of heaven we can be assured that his powers are severely restricted.]
10 And I heard a great voice in heaven, saying, Now is come the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, who accuses them before our God day and night.
[A great voice -- unidentified origin, but great. A point in time is indicated: NOW. This indicates that this had either not been the case or it had not been revealed to be the case. The idea seems to be that events are going to take place in heaven where this accuser will no longer be distracting the angelic beings day and night, and that this will lead to better things for His people on the earth.]
11 And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb, and because of the word of their testimony; and they loved not their life even unto death.
[“They” here is referring to "our brethren" back in verse 10. It was the faithful Christians who overcame the accuser (Satan as represented by the dragon). This was accomplished by two things, and it resulted in a third. The two things were (1) the blood of the lamb, and (2) their own testimony, which we know to be the gospel of Jesus Christ -- Romans 1:16-17. The result was that they loved not their life even unto death. This is an appeal to Christians to hold up under the persecution even if the view ahead is one of sacrificing one's life. With this attitude, Satan ONLY has power over us if we allow him to have it. James 4:7: “Be subject therefore unto God; but resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”]
12 Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe for the earth and for the sea: because the devil is gone down unto you, having great wrath, knowing that he hath but a short time.
[“Woe for the earth …” This is the first mention of a woe since the “third woe” was predicted in Rev 11:14: “The second Woe is past: behold, the third Woe cometh quickly.” While nothing will be specified to be the third woe, it would be reasonable to conclude that this is at least part of it, and thus the beginning of it. Satan is gone down into the earth and sea, and this is then referred to as "gone down unto you." We speculated that the sea could represent the masses of humans who are easily collectively swayed to sin, Here the masses also seem to have a counterpart in the earth. Is this not what we are asserting when we use the word "worldly" to refer to the evil corruption in our society?]
[The heavens rejoice because Satan has been cast down -- seemingly a great relief for the inhabitants of heaven -- the angels and perhaps some or all other saved souls. But the earth and the sea (the multitudes?) now must be concerned because this is the location in which he now is constrained to operate. He always has wrath, but now he has "great wrath" in that he knows his time is limited and he wants to do all of the harm possible in the time he has left. Exactly why Satan would behave this way is impossible for Christians to comprehend, since we know that redemption for him is not an option. But peering into the world of Satanism today shows us that those overwhelmed by him indeed have hopes of killing the true and living God and taking over the universe. We must recognize that this is what we are up against on this earth today.]
13 And when the dragon saw that he was cast down to the earth, he persecuted the woman that brought forth the man (child).
[This fits reality if we see the woman representing God's spiritual kingdom, which on earth would be the church. They were still being persecuted by Satan's minions even though Christians were to some extent hidden in the wilderness. It might be stated here that as long as evil organizations (religious or otherwise) do not perceive a "cult or sect" (in their minds) to be a threat, they usually do not organize any persecution, but will use derogatory speech and intimidation to promote their evil. Major organized persecution gets into high gear when you have a “cleansing of the temple,” a "triumphal entry of Jesus" or a "baptism of 3000 on the day of Pentecost."]
14 And there were given to the woman the two wings of the great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness unto her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent.
[In other words, whatsoever was needed to be done by God was done to generally protect the church and to keep the "gates of hades" from prevailing against it (Matthew 16:18-20). Why John switched terminology from the dragon to the serpent here is not known, although we are convinced that there is a reason. Perhaps to reflect back to the serpent's evil work in the Garden. Whatever the reason, we only see it in this chapter here and in verse 15. However, we can be sure that it is the dragon that is being referenced by a different descriptor because of 20:2: "And the great dragon was cast down, the old serpent , he that is called the Devil and Satan, ..."]
[References of nations being represented by women:
Micah 4:9-10
9 Now why dost thou cry out aloud? Is there no king in thee, is thy counselor perished, that pangs have taken hold of thee as of a woman in travail?
10 Be in pain, and labor to bring forth, O daughter of Zion, like a woman in travail; for now shalt thou go forth out of the city, and shalt dwell in the field, and shalt come even unto Babylon: there shalt thou be rescued; there will the LORD redeem thee from the hand of thine enemies.
Micah 5:1-4
5:1 Now shalt thou gather thyself in troops, O daughter of troops: he hath laid siege against us; they shall smite the judge of Israel with a rod upon the cheek.
2 But thou, Bethlehem Ephrathah, which art little to be among the thousands of Judah, out of thee shall one come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth are from of old, from everlasting.
3 Therefore will he give them up, until the time that she who travails hath brought forth: then the residue of his brethren shall return unto the children of Israel.
4 And he shall stand, and shall feed (his flock) in the strength of the LORD, in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God: and they shall abide; for now shall he be great unto the ends of the earth.
Isaiah 66:7-8
7 Before she travailed, she brought forth; before her pain came, she was delivered of a man-child.
8 Who hath heard such a thing? who hath seen such things? Shall a land be born in one day? shall a nation be brought forth at once? for as soon as Zion travailed, she brought forth her children.]
[The Number "3 and 1/2" In the realm of division the perfect number "7" was cut in half. The resulting "3 and 1/2" came to express the incomplete, that which was imperfect. It symbolized restless longings not yet fulfilled, aspirations unrealized. When the writer of apocalyptic wished to describe that condition, when he found it necessary to picture the world waiting for something which had not arrived, when he saw men in despair and confusion seeking for peace and light, he used "3 and 1/2." This takes several forms: "3 and 1/2," "a time, times, and a half time," "forty-two months," "1,260 days,"--all have the same meaning. In Revelation two witnesses preached "3 and 1/2" years--an indefinite time; the court of the Temple was trampled by the ungodly "3 and 1/2" years; the saints were persecuted "forty-two months;" the church was in the wilderness "1,260 days." Always "3 and 1/2" or its equivalent stood for the indefinite, the incomplete, the dissatisfied; but in it all were the hope and patient waiting for a better day when truth would be delivered from the scaffold and placed on the throne usurped by wrong. Source: Ray Summers, Worthy is the Lamb (Nashville: Broadman Press), pp. 21-25]
15 And the serpent cast out of his mouth after the woman water as a river, that he might cause her to be carried away by the stream.
[Again, let us not lose sight of the fact that John is reporting exactly what he saw. In that sense he was not speaking in any figures of his creation. True, what he saw in many places “signified” other things (Revelation 1:1). Here it is showing that Satan will use any method and device at his disposal to eliminate those who cling to the truth -- in this case what John saw was that he was given access to a large quantity of water to project it like a river or a flood, but the woman had an adequate countermeasure to this, the wings that she had been issued. We cannot resist suggesting the possibility that the waters again represent the masses, and that Satan may well have been casting the actions of these masses at the woman -- an interpretation that would certainly be more literal and practical in its effect than to imagine that Christians are being persecuted by the use of literal water. Typically, the things that pour out of Satan’s mouth are lies, so perhaps think of the lies either told by or believed by the masses. Regardless, the message is that God will provide us whatever we need to overcome the devices of Satan.]
16 And the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened her mouth and swallowed up the river which the dragon cast out of his mouth.
[In addition to the wings, the earth itself helped the woman by keeping the water from destroying her. Perhaps the swallowing up the evil masses is also a possibility. Earth could be the things of the earth – worldly things used by God to protect His people. As an example, Paul appealed to Caesar. Other examples might be the distraction of larger problems, e.g., wars that distract the powers that be from being concerned with the relatively small number who are teaching the truth.]
17 And the dragon waxed wroth with the woman, and went away to make war with the rest of her seed, that keep the commandments of God, and hold the testimony of Jesus:
[If he cannot cause problems in one place he will go someplace else. If not with one part of the saved called out, then with another, perhaps in a completely different country or location. "The rest of her seed" would confirm our interpretation of this chapter, that the woman represented the called out of all times, and that her children were the multiplying number of Christians prior to the general apostasy in the second century that wiped out all but a small remnant of the faithful. Hebrews 12:18-24 provides the best description:
18 For ye are not come unto (a mount) that might be touched, and that burned with fire, and unto blackness, and darkness, and tempest,
19 and the sound of a trumpet, and the voice of words; which (voice) they that heard entreated that no word more should be spoken unto them;
20 for they could not endure that which was enjoined, If even a beast touch the mountain, it shall be stoned;
21 and so fearful was the appearance, (that) Moses said, I exceedingly fear and quake:
22 but ye are come unto mount Zion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable hosts of angels,
23 to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect,
24 and to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaks better than (that of) Abel.]
Revelation 131
3:1 and I stood upon the sand of the sea. And I saw a beast coming up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and on his horns ten diadems, and upon his heads names of blasphemy.
[More information on the beast will be available in 17:7-11. Please note that the chapter break was right in the middle of a sentence; but this seems of no consequence. John seems at this point to be carried to a location on earth (at least in the vision) that is on a beach next to the sea. We stated in conjunction with 8:9 the possibility that the sea was being used figuratively to refer to the masses of mankind. This would seem to be another instance in which this figure applies. We hasten to warn against the tendency to apply a figure universally -- i.e., just because it might apply in one instance of the use of the word (in this case "sea") does not necessarily imply it would force this figure in all instances. We use the same words in their figurative and literal senses sometimes within the same sentence. However, when a figurative use is established it should certainly be considered quite possibly to have the same use as in other instances. In this instance, however, the sea representing the masses of humanity would seem to be appropriate. Also, in this case there is definitive evidence that the sea is being used in some cases within the context of the book of Revelation to refer to seas of humanity, namely Rev 17:15: "And he said unto me, The waters which you saw, where the harlot sits, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues." So while we might not limit the word "sea" to ONLY this figure, the fact that it applies in some cases is beyond dispute. Also, compare:
Daniel 7:2-3
2 Daniel spoke and said, I saw in my vision by night, and, behold, the four winds of heaven brake forth upon the great sea.
3 And four great beasts came up from the sea, diverse one from another.
Psalms 65:7
Who stills the roaring of the seas, the roaring of their waves, and the tumult of the peoples.
Jeremiah 51:42-43
42 The sea is come up upon Babylon; she is covered with the multitude of the waves thereof.
43 Her cities are become a desolation, a dry land, and a desert, a land wherein no man dwells, neither doth any son of man pass thereby.
Isaiah 60:5
5 Then thou shalt see and be radiant, and thy heart shall thrill and be enlarged; because the abundance of the sea shall be turned unto thee, the wealth of the nations shall come unto thee.
Revelation 10:2
2 and he had in his hand a little book open: and he set his right foot upon the sea, and his left upon the earth;]
[So, let us take a look at this beast and its attributes:
[Comments on the Numbers "5" and "10" Next, man turned from the study of his home and the world about him to study himself. Perhaps our decimal system arose from the intensive study by a man of his own fingers and toes. That was a crude and cruel age where many were maimed and crippled through disease, accident, or warfare. A perfect, full-rounded man was one who had all his members intact. So the number "5" doubled to "10" came to stand for human completeness. The whole duty of man was summed up in "10" commandments. The picture of complete power in government was that of a beast with ten horns. In Revelation the dragon, the first beast, and the scarlet beast have ten horns each, and in the case of this last beast the ten horns are called ten kings — complete world power as it appeared to belong to Rome with her provincial system. As a multiple, "10" occurs also in many of the higher numbers of Revelation; "70" = a very sacred number, "1000" = ultimate completeness—completeness raised to the nth degree, etc. Source: Ray Summers, Worthy is the Lamb (Nashville: Broadman Press), pp. 21-25]
2 And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as (the feet) of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his throne, and great authority.
[These are additional attributes to the beast that John saw coming up out of the sea. Before getting bogged down in the animal figures, consider that the beast derives his power from the dragon. The dragon gave it to him, as if it were his to give. We know that even to Jesus Satan claimed it (Mt. 4:8-9); but we also know that this would only be possible were God to allow it. Is there power in deception? In convincing the masses that you have their interests in mind at the exact same time that you are exploiting them and enslaving them? Is there a pact that liars sign with Satan that if they deceive they will be rewarded with power? This should be very difficult to deny in any age or era -- the nature of political power has not changed and it never will.]
[Now for the animal parts, let us recognize that unlike today, many people had to actually grapple with and fight off wild animals, so using them as symbols would mean a whole lot more to someone whose major weapon was a spear than someone who packed a 30-06 with a scope. The fierceness of these animals and their terrible might was awesome to the people of the first century, and certainly before then, in Daniel's time. Let us see Daniel's vision to provide a comparison.
Daniel 7:2-8
2 Daniel spoke and said, I saw in my vision by night, and, behold, the four winds of heaven brake forth upon the great sea.
3 And four great beasts came up from the sea, diverse one from another.
4 The first was like a lion, and had eagle's wings: I beheld till the wings thereof were plucked, and it was lifted up from the earth, and made to stand upon two feet as a man; and a man's heart was given to it.
5 And, behold, another beast, a second, like to a bear; and it was raised up on one side, and three ribs were in its mouth between its teeth: and they said thus unto it, Arise, devour much flesh.
6 After this I beheld, and, lo, another, like a leopard, which had upon its back four wings of a bird; the beast had also four heads; and dominion was given to it.
7 After this I saw in the night-visions, and, behold, a fourth beast, terrible and powerful, and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth; it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with its feet: and it was diverse from all the beasts that were before it; and it had ten horns.
8 I considered the horns, and, behold, there came up among them another horn, a little one, before which three of the first horns were plucked up by the roots: and, behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking great things.]
[The following is a reasonable mapping of the beasts in Daniel to those in this verse:
[To place the prophecy (dream interpretation) of Daniel as pointing to first century, please read Daniel 2:36-44. The final kingdom is obviously the time when Jesus established the kingdom and when its influence extended throughout the world. The days of those kings are clearly the days of the rulers of the Roman empire.
Daniel 2:44: “And in the days of those kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed, nor shall the sovereignty thereof be left to another people; but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever.”
Daniel 2:44 commentary:
Which ... shall not be left to other people - as the Chaldees had been forced to leave their kingdom to the Medo-Persians, and these to the Greeks, and these to the Romans (Mic 4:7; Luke 1:32-33).
(from Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown Commentary, Electronic Database. Copyright © 1997, 2003 by Biblesoft, Inc. All rights reserved.)]
[Let us not get too far ahead of ourselves. As for now, it is the evil ferocity of the beasts that is important. Beasts that have no soul and no reservation whatsoever in using their power to overcome and devour even those who would befriend them. Is a comparison of those who have the most influence in this world to wild animals unfounded? -- we will let you decide.]
3 And (I saw) one of his heads as though it had been smitten unto death; and his death-stroke was healed: and the whole earth wondered after the beast;
[If the beast in this immediate (shortly come to pass) application be the Roman empire, then something was to (or had already) caused one part of it a death-blow, or such a wound that had it not been able to heal would have caused death at least to that part of the beast. We have seen nations sustain death blows and come back, but usually much weaker and never again to be world powers. Perhaps this is comparable to what at least part of the Roman empire suffered, with the expectation of everyone that it was the end of the empire. But in time the death-stroke was healed counter to expectations, and this would certainly cause the whole earth to wonder after the beast. Perhaps so far as to believe that it was invincible.]
[Another alternative explanation is that John was taking advantage of the legend/myth that Nero who had reigned 54-68 AD when he died of suicide almost 30 years before John wrote. The deep ingrained legend was that he either had been or would be resurrected, or if his death had been a farce, he would come back from being given sanctuary by the Parthians. This was such a great general belief (by the citizens of Rome) that John may have been using it accommodatively for purposes of ridicule. The healed death stroke is also mentioned in vss. 12 and 14. The idea is that even if Nero is still alive (resurrected) it will matter little to faithful Christians. John was NOT teaching that this myth was valid – just the opposite – he is mocking it. Its repetition in vss. 12 and 14 would be consistent with his derision.
4 and they worshiped the dragon, because he gave his authority unto the beast; and they worshiped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? And who is able to war with him?
[Why not worship the beast? Because they understood where the beast got his authority -- from the dragon. The term worship here need not be considered in any way formal -- indeed, we worship whatever we have great admiration for, especially if we follow after it and allow it to become the standard of our lives. For example, it could be that the people realized that corruption and deception was an inevitable end in itself, and if it worked so well for their rulers, then why should they not have it serve them in their own lives as well? This would indeed be worship of the beast – in a sense following after him/them. Who is like unto the beast? Who is able to wield deception and turn it to their advantage as our rulers can? Is there any way that truth and righteousness can possible prevail against them? Who is able to war with the beast? Brings to mind the old adage, if you cannot beat them, join them. And apparently this was the result as Rome evolved a culture of corruption. Contrast: Exodus 15:11: “Who is like unto thee, O Jehovah, among the gods? Who is like thee, glorious in holiness, Fearful in praises, doing wonders?”]
5 and there was given to him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and there was given to him authority to continue forty and two months.
[To whom? to the beast. Perhaps by the dragon. Speaking great things -- not truths, just "things," seemingly great to the masses, the sea. The great things were comparable to blasphemies -- the great things being self-serving lies, while the blasphemes claimed that these words were coming from the Almighty God Himself, or short of that, from the gods. And there was given the beast authority to continue for an indefinite period of 42 months. The last reference for this time period was in (11:2), which was the period of time that the Gentiles could trample the outer court of the temple underfoot, thus providing a better understanding of that verse. Also in 11:7 recall that the beast was given the ability to overcome the two witnesses for this same time period.]
6 And he opened his mouth for blasphemies against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, (even) them that dwell in the heaven.
[Still in reference to the beast, which has no conscience but is self-serving as a brute animal -- there is no restriction to his blaspheme -- not just to the name of God but to the very representation of the place where God dwelled in Old Testament times, and now, even into heaven itself and those who dwell there.]
7 And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and there was given to him authority over every tribe and people and tongue and nation.
[To put this into a reasonable time frame, we quote from Wikipedia: "The first persecution of Christians organized by the Roman government took place under the emperor Nero in 64 AD after the Great Fire of Rome. [This continued until] the passage in 313 AD of the Edict of Milan, anti-Christian policies directed against Christians by the Roman government ceased." Between 68 AD (the death of Nero) through the third century up until about 275 AD, persecution was sporadic, sometimes quite intense and at other times practically non-existent. After that until and slightly after the turn of the 4th century, the most intensive and systematic persecution took place. It seems only reasonable that John, through the Holy Spirit, would have anticipated this.]
[We must never get the idea from a historical date in a book or article that the whole world changed in one day, one year, or even a decade. We know things do not change that quickly without some cataclysmic event, and while, the Great Fire of Rome was in that category, we would expect there to be some delay before the fallout from it reached to every tribe, people, tongue and nation (i.e., all people everywhere). But surely this is the time frame that "would shortly come to pass" and the persecution was probably well underway at the time of John's writing. This is talking about temporal power -- a single central government -- being given the authority over all people. No such thing has existed since Rome was broken up. However, the corruption that the beast represents is still very much alive and as abominable as ever. To get a comparison of Rome at the time of its demise compared to the United States today, see Rome History and Timeline in the Supplements section. The similarities are frightening.]
8 And all that dwell on the earth shall worship him, (every one) whose name hath not been written in the book of life of the Lamb that hath been slain from the foundation of the world.
[Different versions tend to place "from the foundation of the world either where it is above or after the name-written clause, which would indicate that their names were written before the foundation of the world -- a construct that would favor total predestination. The bible contains no confirming evidence that each individual was chosen before the world was framed, a process that would make our free will and very existence meaningless in any other way than some kind of a theatrical demonstration. On the other hand, 1 Peter 1:19-20: "... but with precious blood, as of a lamb without spot, (even the blood) of Christ: who was foreknown indeed before the foundation of the world, but was manifested at the end of times for your sake, ..." So the "all that dwell who worship the beast" does not include those whose names have been written in the book of life, which was introduced in Revelation 3:5. No doubt the purpose of this verse it to keep faithful Christians from following their pagan neighbors headlong into a worship of the state. Those in power have always coveted the glory that the faithful give to God.]
9 If any man hath an ear, let him hear.
[A Hebraism (idiom) intended to draw attention to something of particular importance. It also seems that it is being used here as a type of "take it or leave it" expression in the American idiom. If you have an ear you can hear -- so why don't you listen? This is an intricate subject that we have taken up elsewhere.]
10 If any man (is) for captivity, into captivity he goes: if any man shall kill with the sword, with the sword must he be killed. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints.
[These two statements are equivalent in their meaning, they exemplify two applications of the same principle and this is summed up by Galatians 6:7: "Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man sows, that shall he also reap." Does this necessitate that the exact same instruments of enslavement and torture be applied to the perpetrators of evil? We surmise that in some cases the instrument to be applied will be far worse.]
11 And I saw another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like unto a lamb, and he spoke as a dragon.
[The many attributes of this beast will be described below and out of this we will be able to surmise what to us is the most natural identification of this second beast -- seeing that we have already done such with the sea beast and the dragon. First, it was coming up out of the earth. This has to be significant in contrast to the larger beast that came up out of the sea. And, if we attribute a figurative meaning of the perturbed masses to the sea, it would seem almost compulsory that we are consistent and at least attempt to assign a figurative meaning to the earth. Considering references of the term "coming up out of the earth" leads to:
1 Samuel 28:13-14
13 And the king said unto her, Be not afraid: for what do you see? And the woman said unto Saul, I see a god coming up out of the earth .
14 And he said unto her, What form is he of? And she said, An old man comes up; and he is covered with a robe. And Saul perceived that it was Samuel, and he bowed with his face to the ground, and did obeisance.
Admittedly, a necromancy example can hardly give us insight into the meaning of coming up out of the earth. However the idea of something that was dead arising from its grave has possibilities. Not that this would be restrictive, given the following:
Daniel 7:16-17
16 I came near unto one of them that stood by, and asked him the truth concerning all this. So he told me, and made me know the interpretation of the things.
17 These great beasts, which are four, are four kings, that shall arise out of the earth.
[It is interesting that these same four beasts were previously seen to be coming up out of the sea (Dan. 7:2-3). This would indicate that the earth is not being viewed in contrast to the sea, but perhaps as adding more information as to the origins.]
[If we composite all of the above along with the general meaning of "worldly" throughout the New Testament we can see that the earth is symbolic of sin and death as contrasted with the heavenly things of God. The following explains the attributes of the second lesser beast:
[Proof that the earth beast and the false prophet are one and the same. While this gets ahead of ourselves, we think it is of use, mainly because we will use the terms “earth beast” and “false prophet” interchangeably. Also, the source of the proof does not appear for many chapters, so it is good to jump ahead and nail this down in our minds now. From 13:12-13 and 19:20, the underlined phrases show the consistency between these two passages):
Revelation 13:12-13
12 He [the earth beast] exercises all the authority of the first beast (1) in his presence. And he makes the earth and those who dwell in it to (2) worship the first beast, whose fatal wound was healed. 13 (3) He performs great signs, so that he even makes fire come down out of heaven to the earth in the presence of men.
Revelation 19:20
And the [sea] beast was seized, and (1) with him the false prophet who (3) performed the signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and (2) those who worshiped his image; … thrown alive into the lake of fire.
The only alternative that these are not talking about the same entity would be to come up with a third one that could qualify. In other words, the commonality between these two passages makes any difference between the earth beast and the false prophet to be impossible.
We use the terms “earth beast” and “sea beast” strictly for clarity, recognizing that neither of these appear in Revelation itself. Once these entities’ origination is defined the earth beast is either referred to as “he” (in chapter 13) or else as the false prophet (in chapters 16, 19 and 20). The sea beast is described by its attributes (e.g., the beast whose death-stroke was healed (13:3, 12). Generally, when the word beast is use in an unqualified sense, it is what we are calling the sea beast. We prefer to think of this beast as the evil entity of corruption as opposed to any person or group of men at a specific time. While it is not wrong to say: “the sea beast is Rome” limiting it to Rome exclusively does not convey the general principles that are so important for us to understand. Similarly, if the false prophet were ONLY idolatry and emperor worship at the time of John’s writing, this would cripple our understanding of the capabilities of the apostate church, which still plagues us today.]
[This leads to the natural question: is the earth beast false religion (e.g., idolatry), apostasy (departure from that which was once the truth) or both? Consider the following passages:
2 Thessalonians 2:3-4
… let no man beguile you in any wise: for ([the resurrection] will not be,) except the falling away come first, and the man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition, he that opposes and exalts himself against all that is called God or that is worshipped; so that he sits in the temple of God, setting himself forth as God.
1 Timothy 4:1-3
But the Spirit said expressly, that in later times some shall fall away from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of demons, through the hypocrisy of men that speak lies, branded in their own conscience as with a hot iron; forbidding to marry, (and commanding) to abstain from meats, which God created to be received with thanksgiving by them that believe and know the truth.
These passages warn Christians far more against apostasy than most of the problems of the Old Testament, which was going after foreign gods. It is not that false gods were not a problem, especially that which came with emperor worship. Probably first really intensively mandated by Caligula (37-41), his persecution of his own family ultimately led to his demise by those of the ruling class. There was somewhat of a lapse until Domitian (81-96) required it giving Christians a choice of either saying “Caesar is Lord” or death. If anything, this type of central institutionalized persecution by Rome galvanized the early Christians. This went on and strengthened in the 290-310 AD time frame just before Constantine supposedly had his vision. Constantine formalized what was to become the Roman Catholic Church of subsequent centuries, and his influence was so great that it is reasonable to call him the first de facto Pope, despite the fact that he was not baptized until a short time before his death.
What happened to the true church in the second century, once John had finished the book of Revelation? This is beyond the scope of this commentary, but some concise material can be found on it at https://www.biblethought.net/revelation-ppt-slides-pdf.html. Once on this page, click on “Link to the Revelation PPT class slides.” In brief, during the second century the church fathers seem to have no problem with city or regional “Bishops” rather than the independent local churches that were all that existed in the first century. This had the effect of facilitating the unscriptural institutionalizing of the church, which Constantine legalized in 313 as “Christianity,” and one of his sons make it mandatory in 383. The role of the Bishops might be argued, but no one who believes the Bible could possibly believe that Jesus would approve the mandating of belief in Him, which now became impossible, since people must come to Christ of their own free will.]
12 And he [the entity we are calling the earth beast] exercises all the authority of the first beast [what we called the sea beast] in his sight. And he makes the earth and them that dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose death-stroke was healed.
[The attention is being given to the earth beast (=false prophet), and the word “he” will be used for the rest of this chapter to refer to him (or it, if we generalize it into false religion in general). The two beasts obviously have much in common, and that is not good. Since he seems to be able with the consent of the first beast to exercise all of the authority of the first beast, this would give him [false religion] access to all of the military power of the first beast (something that will be used after the 4th century). Generally, he uses his power to assure that the one giving him this authority is worshiped. There is a reminder that the death-stroke of the first beast was healed in order for us to have no doubt that he is seeing corrupt temporal power as the first beast. Emperor worship would seem to fit these figures almost perfectly, although the exact role that the earth beast is playing is typical of false religion; i.e., keeping the masses supportive of the corrupt government’s narratives by believing that they are serving the gods (or in our day, God.]
13 And he does great signs, that he should even make fire to come down out of heaven upon the earth in the sight of men.
[The performance of signs by the false prophet is contrasted with military might of the corrupt government. It is the earth beast that does the great signs -- great evil signs to deceive the general population that what is being perpetrated on them must be the will of the gods. We affirm that it does not matter if these were legitimately supernatural or not -- to those who believed they were legitimate they could not be any more convincing, even if they actually were miraculous. So it is really a small issue to be concerned with; we know that Satan is the prince of this world by virtue of his lies. Consider again:
2 Thessalonians 2:1-12
2:1 Now we beseech you, brethren, touching the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and our gathering together unto him;
2 to the end that ye be not quickly shaken from your mind, nor yet be troubled, either by spirit, or by word, or by epistle as from us, as that the day of the Lord is just at hand;
3 let no man beguile you in any wise: for (it will not be,) except the falling away come first, and the man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition,
4 he that opposes and exalts himself against all that is called God or that is worshiped; so that he sits in the temple of God, setting himself forth as God.
5 Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things?
6 And now ye know that which restrains, to the end that he may be revealed in his own season.
7 For the mystery of lawlessness doth already work: only (there is) one that restrains now, until he be taken out of the way.
8 And then shall be revealed the lawless one, whom the Lord Jesus shall slay with the breath of his mouth, and bring to naught by the manifestation of his coming;
9(even he), whose coming is according to the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders,
10 and with all deceit of unrighteousness for them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.
11 And for this cause God sends them a working of error, that they should believe a lie:
12 that they all might be judged who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
We believe that the word "temple" in verse 4 is being used accommodatively; this is obviously not the true temple of God, which is no longer a physical place, but is used as a figure to describe every Christian as described in 1 Corinthians 6:19-20: “Or know ye not that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit which is in you, which ye have from God? and ye are not your own; 20 for ye were bought with a price: glorify God therefore in your body.”
The identification of the earth beast (who acts like a lamb but deceives in supposedly performing great wonders) has to be that of false religion in general, and specifically the emergence of the apostate church, which gives the appearance of evolving from the truth, but in reality it emerged from the earth. The confirmation of this is given in Rev. 16:13: "And I saw (coming) out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet, ..." John here substitutes "false prophet" for the second beast. And again in Revelation 19:20: "And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought the signs in his sight, wherewith he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast and them that worshiped his image: they two were cast alive into the lake of fire that burns with brimstone ..."]
14 And he deceives them that dwell on the earth by reason of the signs which it was given him to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast who hath the stroke of the sword and lived.
[This verse does not bring too much new, but it reviews that things are in the control of God. The signs were "given him to do," and they can be revoked in an instant, whether real or Illusory. The death stroke here is called the "stroke of the sword" at this point. “Make an image to the [sea] beast …” Is it not reasonable that false religion would use their influence to promote corrupt rulers? See how they support each other, then and now. “… in the sight of the beast” is now talking about the sea beast, which we said maps to corrupt political power, corrupt leadership.]
15 And it was given (unto him) to give breath to it, (even) to the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as should not worship the image of the beast should be killed.
[Recall here that the "him" is still the earth beast (= false prophet), which we find to be inescapably representing nothing other than pagan and false religion, despite its evolution from the apostate church. So the role of killing those who do not worship the sea beast is given to false religion. The imagery and idolatry of Rome would certainly fit this statement as often it was the idolatrous priesthood who would sentence Christians to death. But would this idol representing corrupt leadership actually speak with words that could be heard. Perhaps there was a perception of that, but it is not the necessary interpretation. To those who believe in the power of idols, these idols speak, not literally, but to their emotions, to their imaginations, to their hearts and souls. The absence of the audible is hardly a deterrent. And it is an historical fact that many Christians who failed to worship these images were put to death physically, although we know that the martyrs are indeed still very much alive in our hearts today.]
16 And he causes all, the small and the great, and the rich and the poor, and the free and the bond, that there be given them a mark on their right hand, or upon their forehead;
17 and that no man should be able to buy or to sell, save he that hath the mark, (even) the name of the beast or the number of his name.
[It is hard to keep straight but the “he” in verse 16 is still the false prophet (earth beast). He is the one that is making the requirements for the marking of those deemed faithful to the corrupt government to the point of viewing it as a god. The beast in verse 17 goes back to the sea beast, which is the corrupt government. The two beasts are clearly working together. Everyone was included, the terms being overlapping and redundant for emphasis. The mark was not unique -- it might be on the right hand, or upon the forehead, or perhaps any number of other places. Or for that matter, it need not even be a physical mark. For example it could be the wearing of a piece of jewelry. It is also described by example (and thus more broadly by synecdoche) as: the name of the beast and the number of his name. But despite its variation, it was definitive and able to be recognized. Those who did not have it could not engage in any economic activity, not even to feed themselves or the families. Despite this persecution, Christians were commanded to reject any such marking. Those marked by the beast are in stark contrast to those who are sealed and marked by God -- see vss.7:3 and 14:1.]
18 Here is wisdom. He that hath understanding, let him count the number of the beast; for it is the number of a man: and his number is Six hundred and sixty and six.
[Going back to verse 17, the beast here is the sea beast, which we see to be corrupt leadership or corrupt government. The number 666 is applied to this entity. This verse is by far the most quoted in the book of Revelation, since it contains the number 666. Perhaps this was intended to lead those who are not serious about the spiritual message of Revelation into their fanciful machinations trying to deceive others while they themselves are being deceived by their own foolishness. The number is not pointing to anything outside of itself, but is itself a combination of three sixes. Consider:
[The Number "6" One last number must be treated in this study of symbolism. To the Jew the number "6" had a sinister meaning. As "7" was the sacred, "6" fell short of it and failed. "Six" was the charge that met defeat, with success just in its grasp. It had within it the stroke of doom. It had the ability to be great but failed to measure up. It was for the Jew what "13" is for many today—an evil number. Some building skip from floor twelve to fourteen because thirteen is a bad rental proposition. Many hotels have rooms 12, 12A, and 14, but no 13, because no one wants to sleep in that room. It is possible that the dread of this number goes back to a night when thirteen man broke bread at the same table. From that room went one to commit the blackest betrayal in history, and another One to make the most supreme sacrifice of history. Thus "6" was an evil number for the Jews. It is important to keep this in mind when we come to the number "666" in Revelation. Source: Ray Summers, Worthy is the Lamb (Nashville: Broadman Press), pp. 21-25]
[Combining the dread of 6 with the three perfect divine persons who are being mocked and impersonated by the false prophet ... 6 - 6 - 6 all miserably falling not just short of the glory of God, but in such pits of degradation as to make normally wicked men appear to be saints. But perhaps the most significant fact stated in this verse is that this is “the number of a man.” It is an evil number that is to be applied to the sea beast, and so it would certainly not be associated with God in any way, or any of the righteous angels. But it is also not the number of Satan, nor of any of his angels. It is not the number of some extra-terrestrial, as some idolatrous beliefs would have us believe today. It is not the number of an animal, nor a reptilian, nor a fish or any other creature. It IS the number of a man, and men can be blamed for the corruption that has led to the existence of both the sea and the earth beasts. For the most part it is their greed either for money or power that leads them to abandon truthful and upright ways for the shadows of deception and hypocrisy. So let us not doubt that these men who create these beasts by corruption of governments and God’s religion, will give an account before Jesus as we will see in Chapter 20. Their abominations cannot be blamed on anyone else, and they will pay the price if they do not repent while they can.]
[SUMMARY OF FIGURES. Let us review the figures that were introduced in this chapter (some prior to it) before going on, since these figures will be used in the chapters to come.
Revelation 14
[Prelude: contrasts between Chapters 14 and 13:
14:1 And I saw, and behold, the Lamb standing on the mount Zion, and with him a hundred and forty and four thousand, having his name, and the name of his Father, written on their foreheads.
[The last verse of Chapter 13 seems to be a conclusion of sorts. This does not mean that John was swept away from the beasts and the dragon, only that he now focuses on something dramatically different, going from the pits of evil to the glories of the righteousness of Jesus Christ. The lamb is Jesus (see 5:6). The 144,000 are representative of all of the saved from all time (see 7:4; compare with Hebrews 12). I do not doubt that John saw humans in this vision with actual names of God the Father and the Lamb (Jesus Christ) written on their foreheads. However mapping this to reality, it is merely the further confirmation that the figure of the 144,000 represents those saved and sealed for all times (see 2:17; 7:3: 9:4). In verse 3 they will be described as having "been purchased out of the earth." And further figurative language will be given for them in verse 5. While these are essentially saying the same thing, they are doing it in different ways to give us a fuller understanding of just who the saved are -- and no doubt with the encouragement that we become like them so as to join them by acquiring these same characteristics.
Mount Zion. Hebrews 12:22-24, speaking of those who are saved:
“But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to myriads of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the Judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks better than the blood of Abel.”]
2 And I heard a voice from heaven, as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of a great thunder: and the voice which I heard (was) as (the voice) of harpers harping with their harps:
3 and they sing as it were a new song before the throne, and before the four living creatures and the elders: and no man could learn the song save the hundred and forty and four thousand, (even) they that had been purchased out of the earth.
[The characteristics of the voice was as (not identical to):
4 These are they that were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These (are) they that follow the Lamb whithersoever he goes. These were purchased from among men, (to be) the firstfruits unto God and unto the Lamb.
[The list of characteristics of the saved who are before the throne in the vision:
5 And in their mouth was found no lie: they are without blemish.
[See this characteristic above.]
6 And I saw another angel flying in mid heaven, having eternal good tidings to proclaim unto them that dwell on the earth, and unto every nation and tribe and tongue and people;
[Another angel -- in addition to those seen in 12:7 who were warriors. This angel (literally messenger) is flying between heaven and earth proclaiming the gospel, God's power unto salvation (Romans 1:16). A further emphasis is made here that the gospel is for all men everywhere. God is not a respecter of persons (Acts 10:34; Rom. 2:11; Eph. 6:9; Col. 3:25; James 2:1 and 9; Jude 16), and the wall has been broken down between all races because today all Christians are spiritually of Abraham's seed; Galatians 3:28-29: "There can be neither Jew nor Greek , there can be neither bond nor free, there can be no male and female; for ye all are one (man) in Christ Jesus. And if ye are Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, heirs according to promise." This seems to emphasize that this aspect of the gospel needs to be stressed until Jesus comes in judgment.]
[If the “another” refers to an angel flying in mid heaven, then this would be in contrast to the one in Revelation 8:13, which some translators (we believe improperly) call an eagle. There is no other reference in Revelation or even the Bible (that we know of) of a bird speaking. The Greek is mixed on this. Thus, we believe that what John saw flying in mid heaven there was an angel. And this makes a perfect contrast between these two visions. Recall Rev 8:13: “Then I looked, and I heard an angel flying in mid heaven, saying with a loud voice, ‘Woe, woe, woe to those who dwell on the earth, because of the remaining blasts of the trumpet of the three angels who are about to sound!’" That message was totally negative as opposed to this one, which is totally positive, as we see in the next verse. This context fits the angel translation far better than that of the eagle.]
7 and he said with a great voice, Fear God, and give Him glory; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made the heaven and the earth and sea and fountains of waters.
[Fear God -- men spend considerable effort fighting the notion that this word has to do with a real emotional fear. How will you feel when Jesus appears on the clouds to render judgment -- that will indeed be a fearful day for most. If we fear God now we will have no reason to fear Him then. This is both a command and a plea to put away the idols and render true obedience to the One true just and loving God. Give Him glory is a typical Jewish style of repetition using a slightly different terminology. Giving God glory is thus identical to fearing God, as it involves being sufficiently motivated to want to do His will, recognizing that, both in the short and long terms, this is in our best interests. He made the heaven and the earth and all things, including the sea and the various things that it represents figuratively. He did this in league with His son, Jesus Christ (John 1:3) and with the Spirit of God moving upon the face of the waters (the deep -- Genesis 1:2).]
8 And another, a second angel, followed, saying, Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great, that hath made all the nations to drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.
[Two angels because of their two distinct messages. The first one positive for the saved and an appeal to those who are not saved alike -- be faithful to your Creator. This one carries a formidable negative tone. This is the first mention of Babylon in Revelation, and it is in anticipation of its figurative use in 16:19 and 18:2, 10 and 21). Of course, this could not be talking about the literal Babylon, since it fell many eons ago. But before its fall it was the world dominating ruler and its power was perceived by mankind to be invincible. Who fills that role now for the people of the first century if not Rome? It had not fallen yet, so this must be a prophecy that it would fall in the not too distant future. "Made all of the nations" -- by brute military force. "To dink the wine of the wrath of her fornication." Again, not literal, although no doubt the orgies of the Roman Empire would be included, but these sins were trivial when compared to the blasphemy of emperors claiming to be God. We are giving some inkling into how God feels about such things by the judgment of Herod in Acts 12:23-24 "And immediately an angel of the Lord smote him, because he gave not God the glory: and he was eaten of worms, and gave up the ghost. But the word of God grew and multiplied."]
[The words adultery and fornication are used often especially in the Old Testament to indicate Israel's departure from God, which is depicted in a metaphor of a legitimate and loving marriage. Their departure especially to the idols of paganism are viewed as being adulterous and while such might not capture the full extent of this grave sin, it is certain that no better figure exists to express it. The wrath is one of an innocent spouse who is left with nothing but bitterness as a memory of the relationship, and to drink the wine of that wrath would bring forth images of the worst possible condemnation from the judgment that was spoken of in verse 6. the wine of the wrath of her fornication. This combines the two figures of the seducing cup of the prostitute’s fornication with the wine of the fury of the wrath of God. (See verse 10 – it is God’s wrath). We will read more about the Babylon figure in Chapters 17 and 18.]
9 And another angel, a third, followed them, saying with a great voice, If any man worships the beast and his image, and receives a mark on his forehead, or upon his hand,
10 he also shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is prepared unmixed in the cup of his anger; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb:
11 and the smoke of their torment goes up for ever and ever; and they have no rest day and night, they that worship the beast and his image, and whoso receives the mark of his name.
[There are no new figures here -- we know who the beast (for them, Rome) and his image (13:15) is, and we know what it means to drink of the wine of God's wrath. Receiving the mark of the beast was discussed in 13:16-17. The new information here has to do with the fate of those who are given over to the beast:
12 Here is the patience of the saints, they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.
[Revisit 13:10 for similar words and apply the comments here to that verse as well. The sense seems to be especially in reply to those under the alter (6:9-10) who were encouraged to be patient. Here is the result of this patience -- that you may be able to see and witness an event that will surely come to pass. This vision is the assurance of that, and that the saints who are patient and keep the commands of God and the faith of Jesus will be exempt from these terrible punishments. Keeping the faith (see 2 Timothy 4:7) is an ongoing effort, not just a one-instant experience. It demonstrates that "the faith" is not just some mental exercise, but it requires a complete rebirth followed by an effort to live this new life according to God's plan (Romans 6).
13 And I heard the voice from heaven saying, Write, Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from henceforth: yea, says the Spirit, that they may rest from their labors; for their works follow with them.
[Various alternative have been expressed for the location of the word henceforth to counter any idea that those who have already died in the Lord should be at a disadvantage. We should not have to change words around to understand such a simple concept, and thus, we will go with the ASV translators on this. We feel it is merely addressing those in Christ who were in all probability expecting to die for their faith in the near future. So while it is obvious that those who have already died are blessed (6:9-12), those who are yet to die for the faith should expect similar blessings. They are blessed by reason of the fact that they rest from their labors -- they may have no more cares as to being lost, nor of the continuing efforts that it takes to resist the world and remain faithful to God. The reason: these works follow with them. This is not to imply that these works save them, for we know we are not saved by works. But their faith has been true, and thus it has manifested itself in many good works.]
[To review verses 6-13, which have as their subject: before and after the fall of Babylon:
14 And I saw, and behold, a white cloud; and on the cloud (I saw) one sitting like unto a son of man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle.
[This is the first of two scenes of judgment that will be covered in the remainder of this chapter. Clouds are often used to depict both the good and the bad in the Bible; but a white cloud would certainly point to the good (e.g., see Mt. 17:5; Rev. 1:7; Mt. 24:30: 26:64; Lk. 20:27; Acts 1:9; 1 Thes 4:17 and Rev. 10:1). The "son of man" reference is inescapably to that of Jesus Christ -- but John is reporting what he saw and leaving the identification to us. The evidence relates back to Rev. 1:13, in that it is very unlikely John would use the term in two different ways. Why use it at all? It also relates to Daniel 7:13, and by this time it had been established as one of the favorite terms by which Jesus identified himself: Mt. 8:20; 9:6; 10:23; 11:19; 12:8,32,40, and many other places throughout the gospels. The crown, of course, was symbolic of his authority, which had been given to him when He took the throne of David (Acts 2:30-33), and which was absolute and comprehensive (Mt. 28:18). The sharp sickle is figurative of the judgment of the unrighteous, and its use will become quite clear in the following verses. This confirms the teachings throughout the New Testament that it is Jesus who will judge the world when He appears again for this purpose.
15 And another angel came out from the temple, crying with a great voice to him that sat on the cloud, Send forth thy sickle, and reap: for the hour to reap is come; for the harvest of the earth is ripe.
[John's vision may well have been of the temple in Jerusalem -- surely he knew and was familiar with that location. However, in verse 17 we see that this is not the literal temple (which was probably destroyed at this time in any event), but it was from "the temple which is in heaven." This confirms to us a principle given to us in the book of Hebrews (Heb. 8:5: 10:1): that the physical things on this earth are not the real things, but are mere reflections (shadows) of the reality that is in the heavenly (spiritual) environment of God -- heaven itself. Another angel -- in addition to the "third angel" of 14:9-11 who gave a stern warning regarding the judgment to come, which now seems to be imminent. This statement of the angel is certainly not a command to Jesus -- it is rather just an announcement of what is about to take place.]
16 And he that sat on the cloud cast his sickle upon the earth; and the earth was reaped.
[The absence of any effort at all here seems to be the major point. The One who can speak things into existence and by whose power those things were made is in total control, and while we might not see Him acting on our behalf, we can be sure that He can take the reins of control at any time that He pleases, and further, that his doing so is sure and certain.]
17 Another angel came out from the temple which is in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle.
18 And another angel came out from the altar, he that hath power over fire; and he called with a great voice to him that had the sharp sickle, saying, Send forth thy sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth; for her grapes are fully ripe.
[These angels, the 5th and the 6th (not insignificantly), reinforce the display of the power of the Son of Man; it would seem that their actions are in response to His casting down his sickle. Out from the alter -- we cannot help but think this is to call to our reference those under the alter. Since the alter in the temple scheme of things was where burnt sacrifices were made, his having power over fire would be appropriate. Both the Son of Man and the 4th angel had "sharp" sickles, the sharpness being figurative of their ability to accomplish the task for which they were designed. Again, the purpose of the angel's statement was to inform John (and perhaps others?) of the judgment that was imminent. The flow here seems to imply that Jesus reaps the righteous, while it is the role of the angels to reap those who are lost. Consider this in light of Matthew 13:41-42: “The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that cause stumbling, and them that do iniquity, and shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be the weeping and the gnashing of teeth.””]
19 And the angel cast his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vintage of the earth, and cast it into the winepress, the great (winepress), of the wrath of God.
[Seemingly borrowing the figurative language from Isaiah 63:1-6, where the wrath of God against Edom is spoken of in similar language, The casting of the sickle by the angel is representative of the sure and certain wrath of God against those who would blaspheme His name and claim His authority. The first judgment begins at the House of God (1 Pet 4:17-18)… the apostate church (Isa. 5:4). God planted a good vineyard, but it has brought forth wild, bitter grapes. Comparable OT figures – Isa. 63:2-3 and Joel 3: 12-13. And the figure of Rev. 19:15 yet to come.
Isaiah 5:5
And now I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard: I will take away the hedge thereof, and it shall be eaten up; I will break down the wall thereof, and it shall be trodden down:
Isaiah 63:2-3
Why is Your apparel red, And Your garments like the one who treads in the wine press?
" I have trodden the wine trough alone; And from the peoples there was no man with Me. I also trod them in My anger; And trampled them in My wrath; And their lifeblood is sprinkled on My garments, And I stained all My raiment.
Joel 3:12-13
Let the nations be aroused And come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat, For there I will sit to judge All the surrounding nations. Put in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe. Come, tread, for the wine press is full; The vats overflow, for their wickedness is great.]
20 And the winepress was trodden without the city, and there came out blood from the winepress, even unto the bridles of the horses, as far as a thousand and six hundred furlongs.
[Without the city -- so as not to impact the saints who were in the temple (see verse 15). But it is not wine that comes out of the winepress but blood. We know the positive use of the fruit of the vine to represent Jesus’ blood. In this case it is the exact antitype, for now the blood of all who do evil on the earth is being represented by this blood, and the extent of this blood is unfathomable. Note: “… for one thousand six hundred furlongs.” Recall that 4 is the cosmic/worldly number. Here 4 squared times 10 squared (10, which is the human completeness number). In today’s units, this is approximately 200 square miles, which is a further indication of its completeness – covering all).]
[General transition from Chapter 14 to 15. In Chapter 6 we were shown the slain saints under the alter asking how long it would be before the wrath of God is complete. It appears that through Chapter 14 the visions have been in response to this question. However, when the seventh trumpet sounded the scene was anticlimactic (11:14-19) and there was not much detail given. Recall trumpets warn, followed by bowls of judgment being poured out. We are to the point where the wrath of God is to be fully revealed by the bowls and other more direct interventions. Consider and compare the similarity of the following:
Revelation 15:1
15:1 And I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvelous, seven angels having seven plagues, (which are) the last, for in them is finished the wrath of God.
Revelation 15:5
And after these things I saw, and the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was opened:
Revelation 11:19
And there was opened the temple of God that is in heaven; and there was seen in his temple the ark of his covenant; and there followed lightning, and voices, and thunders, and an earthquake, and great hail.
Revelation 16:17-21
17 And the seventh poured out his bowl upon the air; and there came forth a great voice out of the temple, from the throne, saying, It is done:
18 and there were lightning, and voices, and thunders; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since there were men upon the earth, so great an earthquake, so mighty.
19 And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and Babylon the great was remembered in the sight of God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath.
20 And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found.
21 And great hail, (every stone) about the weight of a talent, comes down out of heaven upon men: and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail; for the plague thereof is exceeding great.]
Revelation 15
15:1 And I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvelous, seven angels having seven plagues, (which are) the last, for in them is finished the wrath of God.
[This was not something John was seeing on the earth; he states specifically that this sign (not literal, but pointing toward something that was literal) was in heaven. The number seven we have seen to be the perfect number, and so used here to count the angels. This is sort of a summary of what John will elaborate on in the rest of this chapter. Plagues here are literally (from Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible -- Strong's numbers): "NT:4127 plege (pronounced play-gay'); a stroke; by implication, a wound; figuratively, a calamity." Some such plagues have already been inflicted and so these are described as the last, perhaps more in terms of the ultimate purpose: to cause the immediate persecution problems for Christians to be resolved. But not in time, in the sense that these plagues were not necessarily to continue until the end of time.]
2 And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire; and them that come off victorious from the beast, and from his image, and from the number of his name, standing by the sea of glass, having harps of God.
[It is probably best to review where this figure was used before in John's visions, Rev 4:6: "... and before the throne, as it were a sea of glass like a crystal; and in the midst of the throne, and round about the throne, four living creatures full of eyes before and behind." In the former case the sea of glass was pure and totally calm; now it is mingled with fire. Could this mean that we should be aware of the punitive nature of God's wrath? "Them that come off victorious from the beast." The beast has made it his primary mission to war against the saints of God (13:7). Here the war is depicted as over, and the saints are victorious. They are victorious from the beast, from his image (13:14-15) and from the number of his name (13:17), all of which were discussed above (as indicated). Harps were introduced in (14:2), but now they are called the "harps of God" indicating that they are in total conformance with God's will.
1 Peter 4:12-13
12 Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial among you, which cometh upon you to prove you, as though a strange thing happened unto you:
13 but insomuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings, rejoice; that at the revelation of his glory also ye may rejoice with exceeding joy.]
3 And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvelous are thy works, O Lord God, the Almighty; righteous and true are thy ways, thou King of the ages.
[See the analogy between where the faithful are now and where the Children of Israel were when they have been delivered from Egyptian slavery and oppression, and so the "song of Moses." The song of the Lamb may well refer back to that sung in Rev. 5:9-13. The specific lyrics give praise to God, His works, His righteous and true ways, and his everlasting divinity. LORD refers to the eternal One who was before and will forever be beyond this creation; God to his being the ruler of all of the universe and beyond; and Almighty -- the omnipotent being of infinite power able to accomplish all things, even to the redemption of His elect.]
4 Who shall not fear, O Lord, and glorify thy name? for thou only art holy; for all the nations shall come and worship before thee; for thy righteous acts have been made manifest.
[Shall is future tense. No doubt there are some now who fail to give God His rightful glory; but the time will come when they will yield themselves. So the question being asked is a rhetorical one -- all will fear and give glory to God; it is just a matter of time. And, at this time of his judgments against the beasts and the dragon, there should be uniform repentance and an eager willingness to worship the true and living God.]
5 And after these things I saw, and the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was opened:
6 and there came out from the temple the seven angels that had the seven plagues, arrayed with (precious) stone, pure (and) bright, and girt about their breasts with golden girdles.
[Temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven -- this would seem to be the dwelling place of God Himself, that part of the temple that gave evidence or testimony -- in the days of the tabernacle the undeniable proof of the presence of God, although we understand that this place of testimony was in no way a limitation upon God's omnipresence. We were introduced to the temple of God in heaven throughout Chapter 11, and in 11:19 a similar statement was made about it being opened. It was opened so that the seven angels (15:1) could come forth from the presence of God, and thus, by the authority of God the seven plagues could be administered. Added here is a description of their adornment -- precious stones that were pure and bright, and their clothing was that of gold. This was befitting those who were coming from the presence of God with a distinct mission to accomplish.]
7 And one of the four living creatures gave unto the seven angels seven golden bowls full of the wrath of God, who lives for ever and ever.
[This seems a type of ritual -- they do not come from the presence of God with these bowls. But rather there is a distinct ordering of their receiving the bowls. The angels receive the seven golden bowls at the appropriate time and in the appropriate way. For the contents of these bowls are deadly -- they are full of the wrath of God -- the true and living God who not only has always existed from eternity, but will go on living throughout all eternity. How fearsome the wrath must have been, analogous to the deadliest of poisons, and yet having a capability to inflict many degrees of punishment, as we shall see in the next chapter.]
8 And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God, and from his power; and none was able to enter into the temple, till the seven plagues of the seven angels should be finished.
[The angels and the living creature were outside of the temple, so the events with the bowls was not caused by their actions. No, the smoke in the temple was from the glory of God and from His power -- the wrath of God was being expressed directly in the temple, and it would not be abated until the seven angels would pour out these bowls of wrath. Trumpets warn, bowls of wrath are poured out.]
Go to Revelation 16-19
We appreciate any suggestions for improving this commentary.
Revelation 11
11:1 And there was given me a reed like unto a rod: and one said, Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein.
[The instrument of the measurement was not really important; what is important is that John is given an instrument to "measure the temple of God," and we have no reason to believe that this spiritual instrument to measure spiritual things was also perfect for the task. Both the one who gave the reed and the one who commanded John to measure the temple are anonymous and there is no reason to speculate on who they were; we can know that they were messengers of God to promote John's reception of the revelation. The command was to use the instrument to measure three things: (1) the temple of God; (2) the alter; and (3) them that worship therein. This alludes to temple worship, but we know that the metaphor of the temple is used to apply to many different things in the New Testament. To this point, it has been used in Revelation 3:12; and 7:15. In this chapter it will be further referenced after 11:1 in 11:2, and 11:19. From these passages we should get a good feeling for it.]
[We should also recognize its previous uses in the New Testament. The most common one would seem to be that of the church (1 Corinthians 3:16-17): "Know ye not that ye are a temple of God, and (that) the Spirit of God dwells in you? If any man destroys the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, and such are ye." And again Revelation 1:6: "and he made us (to be) a kingdom, (to be) priests unto his God and Father; to him (be) the glory and the dominion for ever and ever. Amen". And further 1 Peter 2:5 "ye also, as living stones, are built up a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God through Jesus Christ."]
[Clearly the measuring instrument is figurative in nature, since the same physical instrument would not be used to measure both physical objects and people. We would expect that John would have recognized at this point the figurative nature of both the temple and the measuring instrument. It is doubtful that a physical image of the temple was considered by John at this point. The measuring must be of a spiritual nature -- that being one of judgment. The reed was like a rod -- an instrument of punishment -- implying that it had a dual nature, both to implement judgment and also if necessary, punishment. The three things that John was to measure were: (1) the temple: the terms of entry into Christ (Romans 6), e.g., the conditions of salvation; (2) the alter: recognition of the sacrifice of Jesus for the remission of our sins as an essential component of salvation, and (3) the Christians themselves, some of whom had already been measured in chapters 2 and 3, but now considering Christians in a more general way as opposed to their connection with a given local church.
Amos 7:7-8
7 Thus he showed me: and, behold, the Lord stood beside a wall made by a plumb-line, with a plumb-line in his hand.
8 And the LORD said unto me, Amos, what seest thou? And I said, A plumb-line. Then said the Lord, Behold, I will set a plumb-line in the midst of my people Israel; I will not again pass by them any more; ...]
2 And the court which is without the temple leave without, and measure it not; for it hath been given unto the nations: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months.
[This outer court was a place where Gentiles could come near to the temple, but they were not allowed into the temple itself, or its courtyard. In the figure of the church, there could be many who give the appearance of being believers in Christ but have not met the conditions of salvation or have not remained faithful after being converted. These were not to be considered for measurement since they are outside of the true church, not because of race or nationality, but either because they had not met the conditions for salvation, or having met them they had become unfaithful and fallen away (e.g., Galatians 5:4). Those outside of the perimeter of the temple, the church, would "tread under foot" the holy city (figurative of Jerusalem) for a specified period of time. This indicates that they would profane the surrounding environment of the church by the general corruption of mankind. It might also indicate that they might have the ability to corrupt the church itself. In fact, why would the temple be measured if it were totally immune from the corruption either from the outside or from within (see Acts 20:29-30)?]
In reference to the times of the gentiles (nations), see Luke 21:24. That time given is 42 months (Daniel 7:25; 12:6-7 … time, times and half a time 12+24+6 = 42). Roughly, the time that Christ was literally on this earth. This is a prophecy of persecution for a significant yet endurable length of time. We can see a literal treading of literal Jerusalem by the “gentiles” that is usually said to have occurred in 70 AD, but to some extent it continues to this day. But this just reinforces the spiritual significance. The outer court might also map to those pagan practices that were brought into the apostate church in the second and third century, and persist to this day in most denominal organizations claiming to be Christian. They are summarily dismissed – not measured, and not to be considered to the church that Jesus built (Matthew 16:18). This is the first occurrence and it is stated to be 42 months (t+2t+.5t; 1260 days), but this will occur again in 11:9-11; 12;6, 14; and 13:5. All of these references an indefinite and incomplete, but relatively short time that God is going to allow a given set of evil events to persist.]
[Considerable efforts have been made to nail down the exact time spoken of in the forty two months. We can be sure that it is not literal in that the defiling of the "outer court" most certainly started shortly after this prophecy, and there is no evidence that it has ceased to this day. We therefore conclude that a time period has been specified, that is much like that given in Daniel 7:25 and 12:7, to convey to us that God has already determined a definitive number of days that He will allow this persecution to go on. Time, times and a half a time; if time is a year then is 12 + 24 + 6 = 42 months. See the time restated in the next verse]
3 And I will give unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth.
[The insertion of the word "power" in the KJV is not justified by the Greek. However, it is consistent with verse 6. But more important than any miraculous power is the spiritual power of the gospel itself (Romans 1:16). The power to save. We need to be careful that in trying to nail down the exact meaning of the figurative language for the time span being used that we miss some major points. Two is the least number of witnesses that could bear dependable testimony in a judicial sense (see Matthew 18:16; Numbers 35:30; Deuteronomy 17:6). The sense here seems to be, not that there will only be two witnesses that will proclaim God's truth, but that the number of them will be extremely small and might often be this minimal; and yet the sense is conveyed that two are enough. That is, whatever their small number is, they will be sufficient to bear the witness of the truth that they possess. As for the thousand two hundred and threescore days, this is probably the same time period as the forty-two months given in 11:2, but expressed in a different way. If we view the word day as signifying a year, then the using the Jewish thirty day month, this 42 months x 30 days (years) = 1260 years. Recognizing the figurative nature of these numbers, they are not to be used to establish when some epoch is to end and another to begin. Rather, this is a fairly long but indefinite period of time to those whose lifetimes are significantly less than 100 years. Clothed in sackcloth indicates their humbled nature, just as their Lord Jesus Christ did not come with the splendor of this world. When we see those who are exalted and glorified by this world, we can be sure that could fir the pattern given by these "two witnesses."]
4 These are the two olive trees and the two candlesticks, standing before the Lord of the earth.
[Seemingly, speaking to those who are familiar with Zechariah 4:2-7 ... 11-14:
4:1 And the angel that talked with me came again, and waked me, as a man that is wakened out of his sleep.
2 And he said unto me, What seest thou? And I said, I have seen, and, behold, a candlestick all of gold, with its bowl upon the top of it, and its seven lamps thereon; there are seven pipes to each of the lamps, which are upon the top thereof;
3 and two olive-trees by it, one upon the right side of the bowl, and the other upon the left side thereof.
4 And I answered and spoke to the angel that talked with me, saying, What are these, my lord?
5 Then the angel that talked with me answered and said unto me, Knowest thou not what these are? And I said, No, my lord.
6 Then he answered and spoke unto me, saying, This is the word of the LORD unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith the LORD of hosts.
7 Who art thou, O great mountain? before Zerubbabel (thou shalt become) a plain; and he shall bring forth the top stone with shoutings of Grace, grace, unto it.
...
11 Then answered I, and said unto him, What are these two olive-trees upon the right side of the candlestick and upon the left side thereof?
12 And I answered the second time, and said unto him, What are these two olive-branches, which are beside the two golden spouts, that empty the golden (oil) out of themselves?
13 And he answered me and said, Knowest thou not what these are? And I said, No, my lord.
14 Then said he, These are the two anointed ones, that stand by the Lord of the whole earth.]
[Olive trees provide the oil for the light. They are not just lampstands that hold forth the light, but they provide the in-ward spiritual strength to produce the source of the light. Zerubbabel led the first caravan of the children of Israel back from Babylonian captivity and ultimately was quite instrumental in leading the re-building of the physical temple -- that being quite relevant to the context here. The figures used are not identical, but they are similar enough for us to see the meaning. Recognize again the use of identify metaphors. Also, recognize the thrust of the prophecy of Zechariah 4 -- it is quite relevant to the verses that follow. It is not by military might that the temple was restored, it was by the grace of God. And so it is with the metaphoric reducing of mountains to plains discussed below.]
5 And if any man desires to hurt them, fire proceeds out of their mouth and devours their enemies; and if any man shall desire to hurt them, in this manner must he be killed.
[This metaphor should be compared to that of the picture of Jesus given in Revelation 1:16. Is Jesus going to literally kill his enemies with the two-edged sword that proceeds out of his mouth? In due time, but to those who will listen to Jesus words, the lies of Satan will have no effect -- they will be dead words able to accomplish nothing. And so it is with those who are bearing witness of the truth of God's word to a lost and corrupt world today. To those who will listen, the words are like fire devouring the enemies of the cross. Of course, we know that the end result of Satan and his followers is the lake of fire, but that is only being alluded to at this point. Implicit in this prophecy is the fact that these witnesses are going to suffer persecution (2 Timothy 3:12).]
6 These have the power to shut the heaven, that it rain not during the days of their prophecy: and they have power over the waters to turn them into blood, and to smite the earth with every plague, as often as they shall desire.
[This appears to be referencing Elijah (1 Kings 17:1; James 5:17) and to Moses actions in Egypt. The fact that they have this power does not mean that they will use it. The comparison of the two witnesses is being made to the witnesses of old. Do not think that the witnesses today have any less power than those of the past. But the power is in the gospel (Romans 1:16), and the salvation from slavery is in the use of this power to defeat Satan and his henchmen (Romans 6). This is a much more spiritually powerful force than anything of a physical nature, including all supernatural (miraculous) events.]
7 And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up out of the abyss shall make war with them, and overcome them, and kill them.
[If we do not limit our interpretation here to either numbers or time, we can see that this is almost a continuous process of the various servants of Jesus finishing their testimony and then being overcome. No doubt some will be (have been) literally killed for the cause of Christ, but this does not have to be a limiting interpretation. The prophecy is that those who are giving their testimony will be at a physical disadvantage. This would seem to contradict the literal meaning of verse 6 above, but we see no justification for being literal at this point.]
[Beast. This is the first mention of a beast in the book. There will be two of them that will appear in Chapter 13. This chapter is written with the assumption that we will learn what is in Chapter 13 and then come back and give more thought to this passage. Generally when there is no qualifier on what beast is being specified, the subject is the sea beast. This beast is obviously a servant of Satan – it maps to the physical world of corrupt rulers. Many conclude that it is Satan himself, but, we know of no passage in the Bible that talks of Satan killing someone directly -- he always uses the instrumentality of evil, corrupt humans to accomplish this. We will have much more to discuss about the beast that comes up out of the abyss in subsequent chapters. In the most immediate case the beast is probably the Roman rulership (including their elite puppet masters), since it had the power of temporal government to make war and to kill Christians seemingly, without any immediate retribution. This also maps to obvious parallel evils (if not, worse) today. They have the power to kill physically and we would have to be more than blind not to see its terrible results.]
8 And their dead bodies (lie) in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified.
[It is not literally Sodom and Egypt, an impossibility. Jesus was crucified outside of the city of Jerusalem, and this would seem to be the literal location that is being described here. This reflects on the characteristics of the beast: (1) Sodom for its gross immorality, (2) Egypt, for its tyranny, pride and idolatry, and Jerusalem for its fall from glory to the pits of corruption in crucifying the Son of God. To allow their dead bodies to decay in the street would be a gross travesty and a sure indication of the general contempt for those two preachers who had no other goal than to save the souls of those who hated them so much. The word "spiritually" is interesting and we know of no other place in the Bible where the word is used to describe what something is called. However, there is great similarity with the word's usage in 1 Corinthians 2:14: "Now the natural man receives not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him; and he cannot know them, because they are spiritually judged." It is not that he does not have the intellect, but he decides not to -- "he cannot know them" -- it has been made impossible by God for him to know them because they do not have spiritual judgment, and thereby, they have determined their fate unless they repent (as did the 3000 on Pentecost).]
9 And from among the peoples and tribes and tongues and nations do (men) look upon their dead bodies three days and a half, and suffer not their dead bodies to be laid in a tomb.
[Salvation is not a matter of being in any given tribe, tongue or nation, and neither is being condemned for sin and persecuting those who teach the truth. While a few might actually kill the two witnesses, many stand around and allow it to happen, and thus are just as guilty. Since Jesus was in the tomb for 3½ days, it is tempting to think that this is the time period being considered. But we see it as another instance of time, times and half a time, and it seems to refer to the entire time period of this event. See the discussion of this figurative time period in verses 2-3 above.]
10 And they that dwell on the earth rejoice over them, and make merry; and they shall send gifts one to another; because these two prophets tormented them that dwell on the earth.
[This would definitely indicate longer duration than a literal three and a half days. "They that dwell on the earth" are those outside of the temple in the outer court. Certainly Christians are not making merry over the death of their prophets. Tormented them -- it is hard for Christians to realize that our attempts to save others torments them, but it does. The only exceptions are those who listen and partake of the water of life freely. Their sending gifts to one another indicates the depth of the fellowship in this wickedness.]
11 And after the three days and a half the breath of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon them that beheld them.
[No passage says is clearer: death has no power over God's elect. It does not matter should we be killed for what we believe; the victory is inevitable. This might seem to be talking about the final resurrection, but that does not fit some of the other things that are said regarding this point in time. It would seem more natural to suppose that it is talking about the resurrection of the teaching of the truth, much like John the Baptist was the resurrection of Elijah. The fear would come forth of those who felt that they had stomped out all remnants of the teachings of Jesus only to find that it was once again alive, breathing and thriving. Revelation 12:11: "And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb, and because of the word of their testimony; and they loved not their life even unto death." Revelation 20:4: "And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and (I saw) the souls of them that had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus, and for the word of God, and such as worshipped not the beast, neither his image, and received not the mark upon their forehead and upon their hand; and they lived, and reigned with Christ a thousand years." Imagine how the reading of this verse would encourage those who were in prison waiting to be executed.]
12 And they heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them, Come up hither. And they went up into heaven in the cloud; and their enemies beheld them.
[This would seem to be looking ahead to the resurrection, but from the context we see that it is in prospect. Christians who continue to preach the truth in situations of great danger to themselves do so because they "hear a great voice from heaven saying 'Come up hither.'" This is no more literal than the drawing power of God that Jesus proclaimed in John 6:44. The proclamation of the truth after the witnesses were treated so terribly by their enemies brings to the observers that realization that these two have the truth and are preaching the truth. They followed Jesus in life; they will follow Jesus in death. They will be resurrected and will ascend into heaven (in the cloud – Acts 1:9), as He witnessed for His Father for 3 ½ years and was resurrected on the third day. But what followed the resurrection of Christ? … the preaching of the word. So it was more than just a physical bodily resurrection – it was a resurrection of the truth that would be preached.]
13 And in that hour there was a great earthquake, and the tenth part of the city fell; and there were killed in the earthquake seven thousand persons: and the rest were affrighted, and gave glory to the God of heaven.
[The earthquake is representative of a great confusion and destruction caused by natural forces. The destruction was not universal but it was significant, as indicated by the destruction of a tenth of the city. It is questionable as to whether this is talking about a particular city or to all cities, since most cities experience such destructive forces at one time or another. Similarly, with the seven thousand killed -- a quite significant number so as to get the attention of the survivors. They were afraid and based on that fear they gave glory to the true and living God. Such was experienced in the United States after the events of September 11, 2001. There was a general turning to religion (most of it false), but its effect was quite temporary. The indication here is that it was motivated by fear, and if so, the faithfulness will continue no longer than the fear. Once people are again satisfied in their normal stations of life, their renewed obedience to God is again suspended. But let us rejoice – this is the first, and the only time that we see people repenting as a result of the truth being preached, and we should be thankful for it. Are our efforts ever in vain? Do we quit when we get discouraged? The lessons for us are quite clear.]
14 The second Woe is past: behold, the third Woe comes quickly.
[The conclusion of the first Woe was stated in 9:12. This is the conclusion of the second Woe. A third Woe was forecast in 8:13 to be announced by the blowing of the last fifth and sixth trumpets, and then confirmed by the seventh. The fifth trumpet was sounded in Revelation 9:1, and the sixth in 9:13. The seventh will follow immediately this announcement of the third Woe.
15 And the seventh angel sounded; and there followed great voices in heaven, and they said, The kingdom of the world is become (the kingdom) of our Lord, and of his Christ: and he shall reign for ever and ever.
[At this point John’s view seems to go back to heaven; it has been on earth for the first six trumpets. This woe appears to be the final judgment for which we are at this point given a glimpse; it will be elaborated upon in Chapters 21 and 22. "Great voices in heaven" to proclaim a major event. Total control is to be assumed by Jesus Christ, and once this is established it will last forever. The world today may be viewed as many "kingdoms" and this (kingdoms rather than kingdom) is its rendering in many translations. The meaning is not changed appreciably. Daniel 2:44 predicted a dividing of the prevailing kingdom at this time. However, since all worldly kingdoms and other forms of government are all under the dominion of Satan, whether they be singular or many is of little consequence. The voice is announcing that this arrangement of governments will not continue forever; but the reign of Christ will be forever. The ultimate victory belongs to the faithful, and it is assured.]
16 And the four and twenty elders, who sit before God on their thrones, fell upon their faces and worshiped God,
17 saying, We give thee thanks, O Lord God, the Almighty, who art and who wast; because thou hast taken thy great power, and didst reign.
[This shows that there will be functioning churches with elders at the time of this great event since the 24 elders are emblematic of leadership in existing churches.]
18 And the nations were angry, and thy wrath came, and the time of the dead to be judged, and (the time) to give their reward to thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and to them that fear thy name, the small and the great; and to destroy them that destroy the earth.
[It would be expected that the rulers of the nations would not take favorably to giving up their power. Neither would those who support these governments and profit from them. And, neither would any who are not prepared for the Lord's second coming. The reward will only go to the faithful servants and saints, and them that fear the name of the LORD. The rest will be destroyed. These are those who destroy the earth in a variety of ways; but most importantly, who make it difficult for their fellow man to live in peace and to enjoy the many physical blessings of this world. This is the ultimate destruction of the earth and the destruction of what God intended when He created it.]
19 And there was opened the temple of God that is in heaven; and there was seen in his temple the ark of his covenant; and there followed lightnings, and voices, and thunders, and an earthquake, and great hail.
[The temple of God is now seen to be a spiritual entity in heaven. John does not say "I saw" but "there was seen" indicating other observers along with him (angels? those under the alter?) The ark of his covenant indicates the completion and perfection of the temple. The various calamities -- lightnings, voices, thunders, earthquake and great hail are all emblematic of the ultimate destruction of the earth (2 Peter 3:10). The voices especially are indicative of the purpose of all of the trumpets -- to announce a cataclysmic change.]
[References:
Hebrews 10:19-25 -- who is to see the glories of the temple of God?
19 Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holy place by the blood of Jesus,
20 by the way which he dedicated for us, a new and living way, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh;
21 and (having) a great priest over the house of God;
22 let us draw near with a true heart in fullness of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience: and having our body washed with pure water,
23 let us hold fast the confession of our hope that it waver not; for he is faithful that promised:
24 and let us consider one another to provoke unto love and good works;
25 not forsaking our own assembling together, as the custom of some is, but exhorting (one another); and so much the more, as ye see the day drawing nigh.
Rev 4:5
5 And out of the throne proceed lightnings and voices and thunders. And (there was) seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God;
Rev 8:5
And the angel took the censer; and he filled it with the fire of the altar, and cast it upon the earth: and there followed thunders, and voices, and lightnings, and an earthquake.
Rev 16:18
8 and there were lightnings, and voices, and thunders; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since there were men upon the earth, so great an earthquake, so mighty.
Rev 16:21
1 And great hail, (every stone) about the weight of a talent, comes down out of heaven upon men: and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail; for the plague thereof is exceeding great.]
[The end of Chapter 11 marks a major subdivision of the book of Revelation. While some of John's visions were obviously of heaven, the concentration, especially in the latter chapters, has been on things envisioned happening on the earth. With the start of Chapter 12-20 we see the counterpart things that are happening in heaven (i.e., in the spiritual realm). But just as some of the first 11 chapters reflected heavenly things, so will some of this next section indicate the earthly things.]
[Is this the third woe? It will be for those who are lost. At this point the seventh trumped may not be finished sounding. There is no further mention of the “third woe” per se, but woes are stated in connection with Revelation 12:12 (Satan being cast down to the earth); 18:10; 18:16; and 18:19 (downfall of Babylon).]
Revelation 12
12:1 And a great sign was seen in heaven: a woman arrayed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars;
[See the vision that John saw. Does this map to an actual woman (e.g., Mary)? Or might the woman figuratively refer to something else. He says that it is a sign, indicating that it could well be pointing to something beyond a literal person. At this point the adornment of the woman is of significance. She was arrayed with the sun -- to mankind the brightest of all lights, while standing on a lessor light -- the moon. Perhaps showing the superiority of the gospel to the Old Testament. For the significance of light, see John 1. The contrast between this woman and the harlot (we will get to in Chapter 17) is such that it is shameful to even bring that to mind in the same sentence, and we apologize. The following references show where a woman with child was used to reference nations, and we feel that this is a more appropriate mapping of this figure than to any one specific woman:
Micah 4:8-13
8 And thou, O tower of the flock, the hill of the daughter of Zion, unto thee shall it come, yea, the former dominion shall come, the kingdom of the daughter of Jerusalem.
9 Now why dost thou cry out aloud? Is there no king in thee, is thy counselor perished, that pangs have taken hold of thee as of a woman in travail?
10 Be in pain, and labor to bring forth, O daughter of Zion, like a woman in travail; for now shalt thou go forth out of the city, and shalt dwell in the field, and shalt come even unto Babylon: there shalt thou be rescued; there will the LORD redeem thee from the hand of thine enemies.
11 And now many nations are assembled against thee, that say, Let her be defiled, and let our eye see (our desire) upon Zion.
12 But they know not the thoughts of the LORD, neither understand they his counsel; for he hath gathered them as the sheaves to the threshing-floor.
13 Arise and thresh, O daughter of Zion; for I will make thy horn iron, and I will make thy hoofs brass; and thou shalt beat in pieces many peoples: and I will devote their gain unto the LORD, and their substance unto the Lord of the whole earth.
Micah 5:1-3
5:1 Now shalt thou gather thyself in troops, O daughter of troops: he hath laid siege against us; they shall smite the judge of Israel with a rod upon the cheek.
2 But thou, Bethlehem Ephrathah, which art little to be among the thousands of Judah, out of thee shall one come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth are from of old, from everlasting.
3 Therefore will he give them up, until the time that she who travails hath brought forth: then the residue of his brethren shall return unto the children of Israel.
Isaiah 54:1-8
54:1 Sing, O barren, thou that didst not bear; break forth into singing, and cry aloud, thou that didst not travail with child: for more are the children of the desolate than the children of the married wife, saith the LORD.
2 Enlarge the place of thy tent, and let them stretch forth the curtains of thy habitations; spare not: lengthen thy cords, and strengthen thy stakes.
3 For thou shalt spread abroad on the right hand and on the left; and thy seed shall possess the nations, and make the desolate cities to be inhabited.
4 Fear not; for thou shalt not be ashamed: neither be thou confounded; for thou shalt not be put to shame: for thou shalt forget the shame of thy youth; and the reproach of thy widowhood shalt thou remember no more.
5 For thy Maker is thy husband; the LORD of hosts is his name: and the Holy One of Israel is thy Redeemer; the God of the whole earth shall he be called.
6 For the LORD hath called thee as a wife forsaken and grieved in spirit, even a wife of youth, when she is cast off, saith thy God.
7 For a small moment have I forsaken thee; but with great mercies will I gather thee.
8 In overflowing wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment; but with everlasting lovingkindness will I have mercy on thee, saith the LORD thy Redeemer.]
[Twelve stars:
The Number "12" In the field of multiplication, "4" was multiplied by "3," and the resultant "12" became a well-known symbol. In Hebrew religious thought it was the symbol of organized religion in the world. There were twelve tribes of Israel, twelve apostles, twelve gates to the Holy City in Revelation. This number was reduplicated to 144,000 when the writer of our Apocalypse wanted to picture the security of a perfect number sealed from the wrath of God visited upon the world.Source: Ray Summers, Worthy is the Lamb (Nashville: Broadman Press), pp. 21-25.
The 12 apostles would correspond to the brighter light of the gospel.]
2 and she was with child; and she cries out, travailing in birth, and in pain to be delivered.
[Who was it, other than the church that was currently in travail and anticipating additional pain that had already been prophesied by the Apostle John? The church that was experiencing great success as indicated by her beauty, adornment and her pregnancy, figurative of multiplying albeit in due time. And yet, these faithful Christians are no different from the faithful of all ages, as they were all trying to serve God and do His will. So the woman could well represent them all, in our recognition that it was the faithful of past times who brought forth the current church, by their faithfulness, beginning at Pentecost (Acts 2).]
3 And there was seen another sign in heaven: and behold, a great [fiery] red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his heads seven diadems.
[Reminder: sign means not literal, and thus we need to discover just what this sign represents, In this case we will be told explicitly. This sign was seen at the time when the church was about to increase -- the great adversary of the church and all of mankind, that will be identified as Satan in 12:9 and confirmed in 20:2. The dragon will be a common player for the rest of the book: 12:3-17; 13:2-11; 16:13 and finally totally identified again in 20:2. The dragons appearance and characteristics:
- Color red -- recall from Rev. 6:4: "And another (horse) came forth, a red horse : and to him that sat thereon it was given to take peace from the earth, and that they should slay one another: and there was given unto him a great sword." That red should be associated with all of these terrible things seems clear.
- Seven heads -- adds to the formidable nature of the dragon since it is multi-dimensional in his destructive nature, perhaps simultaneously employing the several different nations or city kingdoms to carry out its evil works. This is defined in Rev. 17:9: "Here is the mind that hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sits:" -- that is, the city of Rome. Remember again that several figures can represent the same entity; these are identity metaphors.
- Ten horns -- horns are the offensive weapons of animals and they always depict strength and power.
- Seven diadems -- crowns, as were on the locusts of 9:7, conveying a sense of ruling over nations; not like the crowns of the elders that were thrown down before the throne, but crowns of pride and perceived authority.]
4 And his tail draws the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stands before the woman that is about to be delivered, that when she is delivered he may devour her child.
[Satan seems to have power over some of (but not all of) the political stars (see discussion in 6:13) -- God allows him to cast them down to the earth, a clear prediction of their demise. Recall Rev. 6:13: "... and the stars of the heaven fell unto the earth, as a fig tree casts her unripe figs when she is shaken of a great wind." The current event need not be thought of as sequential to this. They could be simultaneous; in fact, they could be the identical event described in different ways. Also compare: Rev. 8:12: "And the fourth angel sounded, and the third part of the sun was smitten, and the third part of the moon, and the third part of the stars; that the third part of them should be darkened, and the day should not shine for the third part of it, and the night in like manner." One thing we should recognize is that Satan might only have this power because he is still in the spiritual realms of heaven.]
[The totally powerful and formidable dragon stands before the helpless woman with the intent of devouring her child ... something totally unthinkable to civilized men, and yet a practice that has reportedly been carried out in many paganistic subcultures, some of which persist to this day even in our own countries. The fear within the woman at the presence of the dragon in her hour of delivery can be mapped to the fear that many churches were undergoing as their persecution is being multiplied. The message seems clear.]
5 And she was delivered of a son, a man child, who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and unto his throne.
[The immediate thought is that the son is Jesus and he ascended to the throne of God. But this is an allegory; God having accomplished this once, it is now being used to illustrate some things that are shortly to come to pass. That is, as the churches are set forth before the henchmen of Satan, and seem to be as helpless as Jesus was (physically) when upon the cross, so the churches that will descend from the woman will figuratively rule all the nations with a rod of iron. This will, of course, be totally under the supervision and approval of God the Son as indicated in Psalms 2:7-9: "I will tell of the decree: the LORD said unto me, Thou art my son; this day have I begotten thee. Ask of me, and I will give (thee) the nations for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession. Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; Thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel." We have already seen this figure used in Rev. 2:26-28: "And he that overcomes, and he that keeps my works unto the end, to him will I give authority over the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron, as the vessels of the potter are broken to shivers; as I also have received of my Father: and I will give him the morning star." There is no reason to assume that this is talking about anyone else here; the child represents all of the children of the gospel who are being persecuted by the dragon. God is promising to protect His children even if it means calling them up to his throne; by this the Christians were given assurance that they would be protected by God regardless of the appearance or circumstances, and the fact that Jesus fits this figure so well is further assurance to them -- if God accomplished this for Jesus He will surely accomplish it for those who faithfully follow Jesus. So we have no argument with those who want to assign this figure to Jesus as long as it is viewed as an allegory of the protection that God will give to the rest of the "seed of the woman" (see 12:17).]
6 And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that there they may nourish her a thousand two hundred and threescore days.
[Recall that the woman represents the established Christians in the church, as opposed to the new converts. God has prepared to take care of them as well -- it says God prepared for her a place in the wilderness. Surely, God had plans to take care of the future faithful as well, given the apostasy that was prophesied to take place in the church: 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4: "... let no man beguile you in any wise: for (it will not be,) except the falling away come first, and the man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition, he that opposes and exalts himself against all that is called God or that is worshiped; so that he sits in the temple of God, setting himself forth as God." And also, 1 Timothy 4:1-3: "But the Spirit says expressly, that in later times some shall fall away from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of demons, through the hypocrisy of men that speak lies, branded in their own conscience as with a hot iron; forbidding to marry, (and commanding) to abstain from meats, which God created to be received with thanksgiving by them that believe and know the truth." And again Acts 20:29-31: "I know that after my departing grievous wolves shall enter in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them. Wherefore watch ye, remembering that by the space of three years I ceased not to admonish every one night and day with tears." So, where were the true disciples who were faithful during this time when the church was hijacked by Satan and turned into a self-serving pagan institution of man? They could not be found ... they had "fled into the wilderness." The duration of this persecution, which we now refer to as the dark ages, is the figurative thousand two hundred and threescore days (years) that were defined in 11:3. The use of the same duration for both indicates that they well could be synonymous. The two witnesses would be very much indicative of a church in hiding.]
7 And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels (going forth) to war with the dragon; and the dragon warred and his angels;
[The scene seemed to just for a moment take place on earth as the women fled to the wilderness. However, it now continues in events John now sees in heaven. This too could be synonymous -- events in heaven greatly reflecting those on the earth. As indicated in Jude 3, Michael is the name of an archangel, thus the leader of the angels who are faithful to God. Satan, the dragon, is the leader of "his angels."]
8 And they prevailed not, neither was their place found any more in heaven.
[This is what John saw. We cannot know if it was seen as something that had happened, was happening at that time, or was going to happen. But perhaps it is speaking of all three as far as the limiting of Satan’s power. We have been interpreting these visions so far as "things that must shortly come to pass," and there seems to be no reason to change from that approach at this point. So, at the same time that John saw the church retreat to a place of hiding in a desert place, he observes a victory of the faithful angels over the evil angels of Satan. Recall Jesus' vision in Luke 10:18: "And he said unto them, I beheld Satan fallen as lightning from heaven." This occurred when the 70 that He had send out came back stating that even the demons were subject unto them. That seems to be a parallel prophecy of what we are reading about here.]
9 And the great dragon was cast down, the old serpent, he that is called the Devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world; he was cast down to the earth, and his angels were cast down with him.
[This would seem to be a definitive judgment against Satan and his angels, which we typically refer to as demons. Assuming that this did happen at this time, we can conclude that any visions that involve the dragon for the rest of the book, would have to happen on the earth. It is nothing new for Satan to be called the deceiver, since he is a murderer and the father of lies (John 8:44). Just how his presence was tolerated in heaven prior to this cannot be discerned; we must have faith that there are good reasons for all of God's decisions and of some there is no reason for us to know (Deuteronomy 29:29). But with Satan out of heaven we can be assured that his powers are severely restricted.]
10 And I heard a great voice in heaven, saying, Now is come the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, who accuses them before our God day and night.
[A great voice -- unidentified origin, but great. A point in time is indicated: NOW. This indicates that this had either not been the case or it had not been revealed to be the case. The idea seems to be that events are going to take place in heaven where this accuser will no longer be distracting the angelic beings day and night, and that this will lead to better things for His people on the earth.]
11 And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb, and because of the word of their testimony; and they loved not their life even unto death.
[“They” here is referring to "our brethren" back in verse 10. It was the faithful Christians who overcame the accuser (Satan as represented by the dragon). This was accomplished by two things, and it resulted in a third. The two things were (1) the blood of the lamb, and (2) their own testimony, which we know to be the gospel of Jesus Christ -- Romans 1:16-17. The result was that they loved not their life even unto death. This is an appeal to Christians to hold up under the persecution even if the view ahead is one of sacrificing one's life. With this attitude, Satan ONLY has power over us if we allow him to have it. James 4:7: “Be subject therefore unto God; but resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”]
12 Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe for the earth and for the sea: because the devil is gone down unto you, having great wrath, knowing that he hath but a short time.
[“Woe for the earth …” This is the first mention of a woe since the “third woe” was predicted in Rev 11:14: “The second Woe is past: behold, the third Woe cometh quickly.” While nothing will be specified to be the third woe, it would be reasonable to conclude that this is at least part of it, and thus the beginning of it. Satan is gone down into the earth and sea, and this is then referred to as "gone down unto you." We speculated that the sea could represent the masses of humans who are easily collectively swayed to sin, Here the masses also seem to have a counterpart in the earth. Is this not what we are asserting when we use the word "worldly" to refer to the evil corruption in our society?]
[The heavens rejoice because Satan has been cast down -- seemingly a great relief for the inhabitants of heaven -- the angels and perhaps some or all other saved souls. But the earth and the sea (the multitudes?) now must be concerned because this is the location in which he now is constrained to operate. He always has wrath, but now he has "great wrath" in that he knows his time is limited and he wants to do all of the harm possible in the time he has left. Exactly why Satan would behave this way is impossible for Christians to comprehend, since we know that redemption for him is not an option. But peering into the world of Satanism today shows us that those overwhelmed by him indeed have hopes of killing the true and living God and taking over the universe. We must recognize that this is what we are up against on this earth today.]
13 And when the dragon saw that he was cast down to the earth, he persecuted the woman that brought forth the man (child).
[This fits reality if we see the woman representing God's spiritual kingdom, which on earth would be the church. They were still being persecuted by Satan's minions even though Christians were to some extent hidden in the wilderness. It might be stated here that as long as evil organizations (religious or otherwise) do not perceive a "cult or sect" (in their minds) to be a threat, they usually do not organize any persecution, but will use derogatory speech and intimidation to promote their evil. Major organized persecution gets into high gear when you have a “cleansing of the temple,” a "triumphal entry of Jesus" or a "baptism of 3000 on the day of Pentecost."]
14 And there were given to the woman the two wings of the great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness unto her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent.
[In other words, whatsoever was needed to be done by God was done to generally protect the church and to keep the "gates of hades" from prevailing against it (Matthew 16:18-20). Why John switched terminology from the dragon to the serpent here is not known, although we are convinced that there is a reason. Perhaps to reflect back to the serpent's evil work in the Garden. Whatever the reason, we only see it in this chapter here and in verse 15. However, we can be sure that it is the dragon that is being referenced by a different descriptor because of 20:2: "And the great dragon was cast down, the old serpent , he that is called the Devil and Satan, ..."]
[References of nations being represented by women:
Micah 4:9-10
9 Now why dost thou cry out aloud? Is there no king in thee, is thy counselor perished, that pangs have taken hold of thee as of a woman in travail?
10 Be in pain, and labor to bring forth, O daughter of Zion, like a woman in travail; for now shalt thou go forth out of the city, and shalt dwell in the field, and shalt come even unto Babylon: there shalt thou be rescued; there will the LORD redeem thee from the hand of thine enemies.
Micah 5:1-4
5:1 Now shalt thou gather thyself in troops, O daughter of troops: he hath laid siege against us; they shall smite the judge of Israel with a rod upon the cheek.
2 But thou, Bethlehem Ephrathah, which art little to be among the thousands of Judah, out of thee shall one come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth are from of old, from everlasting.
3 Therefore will he give them up, until the time that she who travails hath brought forth: then the residue of his brethren shall return unto the children of Israel.
4 And he shall stand, and shall feed (his flock) in the strength of the LORD, in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God: and they shall abide; for now shall he be great unto the ends of the earth.
Isaiah 66:7-8
7 Before she travailed, she brought forth; before her pain came, she was delivered of a man-child.
8 Who hath heard such a thing? who hath seen such things? Shall a land be born in one day? shall a nation be brought forth at once? for as soon as Zion travailed, she brought forth her children.]
[The Number "3 and 1/2" In the realm of division the perfect number "7" was cut in half. The resulting "3 and 1/2" came to express the incomplete, that which was imperfect. It symbolized restless longings not yet fulfilled, aspirations unrealized. When the writer of apocalyptic wished to describe that condition, when he found it necessary to picture the world waiting for something which had not arrived, when he saw men in despair and confusion seeking for peace and light, he used "3 and 1/2." This takes several forms: "3 and 1/2," "a time, times, and a half time," "forty-two months," "1,260 days,"--all have the same meaning. In Revelation two witnesses preached "3 and 1/2" years--an indefinite time; the court of the Temple was trampled by the ungodly "3 and 1/2" years; the saints were persecuted "forty-two months;" the church was in the wilderness "1,260 days." Always "3 and 1/2" or its equivalent stood for the indefinite, the incomplete, the dissatisfied; but in it all were the hope and patient waiting for a better day when truth would be delivered from the scaffold and placed on the throne usurped by wrong. Source: Ray Summers, Worthy is the Lamb (Nashville: Broadman Press), pp. 21-25]
15 And the serpent cast out of his mouth after the woman water as a river, that he might cause her to be carried away by the stream.
[Again, let us not lose sight of the fact that John is reporting exactly what he saw. In that sense he was not speaking in any figures of his creation. True, what he saw in many places “signified” other things (Revelation 1:1). Here it is showing that Satan will use any method and device at his disposal to eliminate those who cling to the truth -- in this case what John saw was that he was given access to a large quantity of water to project it like a river or a flood, but the woman had an adequate countermeasure to this, the wings that she had been issued. We cannot resist suggesting the possibility that the waters again represent the masses, and that Satan may well have been casting the actions of these masses at the woman -- an interpretation that would certainly be more literal and practical in its effect than to imagine that Christians are being persecuted by the use of literal water. Typically, the things that pour out of Satan’s mouth are lies, so perhaps think of the lies either told by or believed by the masses. Regardless, the message is that God will provide us whatever we need to overcome the devices of Satan.]
16 And the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened her mouth and swallowed up the river which the dragon cast out of his mouth.
[In addition to the wings, the earth itself helped the woman by keeping the water from destroying her. Perhaps the swallowing up the evil masses is also a possibility. Earth could be the things of the earth – worldly things used by God to protect His people. As an example, Paul appealed to Caesar. Other examples might be the distraction of larger problems, e.g., wars that distract the powers that be from being concerned with the relatively small number who are teaching the truth.]
17 And the dragon waxed wroth with the woman, and went away to make war with the rest of her seed, that keep the commandments of God, and hold the testimony of Jesus:
[If he cannot cause problems in one place he will go someplace else. If not with one part of the saved called out, then with another, perhaps in a completely different country or location. "The rest of her seed" would confirm our interpretation of this chapter, that the woman represented the called out of all times, and that her children were the multiplying number of Christians prior to the general apostasy in the second century that wiped out all but a small remnant of the faithful. Hebrews 12:18-24 provides the best description:
18 For ye are not come unto (a mount) that might be touched, and that burned with fire, and unto blackness, and darkness, and tempest,
19 and the sound of a trumpet, and the voice of words; which (voice) they that heard entreated that no word more should be spoken unto them;
20 for they could not endure that which was enjoined, If even a beast touch the mountain, it shall be stoned;
21 and so fearful was the appearance, (that) Moses said, I exceedingly fear and quake:
22 but ye are come unto mount Zion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable hosts of angels,
23 to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect,
24 and to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaks better than (that of) Abel.]
Revelation 131
3:1 and I stood upon the sand of the sea. And I saw a beast coming up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and on his horns ten diadems, and upon his heads names of blasphemy.
[More information on the beast will be available in 17:7-11. Please note that the chapter break was right in the middle of a sentence; but this seems of no consequence. John seems at this point to be carried to a location on earth (at least in the vision) that is on a beach next to the sea. We stated in conjunction with 8:9 the possibility that the sea was being used figuratively to refer to the masses of mankind. This would seem to be another instance in which this figure applies. We hasten to warn against the tendency to apply a figure universally -- i.e., just because it might apply in one instance of the use of the word (in this case "sea") does not necessarily imply it would force this figure in all instances. We use the same words in their figurative and literal senses sometimes within the same sentence. However, when a figurative use is established it should certainly be considered quite possibly to have the same use as in other instances. In this instance, however, the sea representing the masses of humanity would seem to be appropriate. Also, in this case there is definitive evidence that the sea is being used in some cases within the context of the book of Revelation to refer to seas of humanity, namely Rev 17:15: "And he said unto me, The waters which you saw, where the harlot sits, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues." So while we might not limit the word "sea" to ONLY this figure, the fact that it applies in some cases is beyond dispute. Also, compare:
Daniel 7:2-3
2 Daniel spoke and said, I saw in my vision by night, and, behold, the four winds of heaven brake forth upon the great sea.
3 And four great beasts came up from the sea, diverse one from another.
Psalms 65:7
Who stills the roaring of the seas, the roaring of their waves, and the tumult of the peoples.
Jeremiah 51:42-43
42 The sea is come up upon Babylon; she is covered with the multitude of the waves thereof.
43 Her cities are become a desolation, a dry land, and a desert, a land wherein no man dwells, neither doth any son of man pass thereby.
Isaiah 60:5
5 Then thou shalt see and be radiant, and thy heart shall thrill and be enlarged; because the abundance of the sea shall be turned unto thee, the wealth of the nations shall come unto thee.
Revelation 10:2
2 and he had in his hand a little book open: and he set his right foot upon the sea, and his left upon the earth;]
[So, let us take a look at this beast and its attributes:
- Seven heads (as for the significance of the number seven, see 1:4) -- note the similarity with the dragon that also had seven heads (12:3). This indicates a correspondence between Satan and whatever this beast represents, which we believe to be the emergence of temporal power from among the masses. In 17:9 the heads are defined: "the seven heads are seven mountains," which many commentators think is referring this to the seven hills on which the city of Rome was built. If this is the case, then the beast being temporal or political power is an easy figure to grasp, and the correspondence between the dragon's seven heads and the beast's seven heads also fits our concept of the general corruption of temporal power.
- Ten horns (as for the significance of the number ten, see below) -- here again chapter 17 is going to tell us what these figures are alluding to (17:12): "And the ten horns that you saw are ten kings, who have received no kingdom as yet; but they receive authority as kings, with the beast, for one hour." No direct authority as of yet, but indirect authority nonetheless, which often carries with it great discretionary power, which is generally what horns represent. This would reflect that the Roman authorities used puppet governments to accomplish their world domination. History confirms this.
- Ten diadems on the ten horns -- the seven crowns or diadems on the dragon were on his seven heads. This might show two things, a superiority as to number and also as to strength. What the dragon accomplishes through clever guile (using his heads to formulate lies), the beast accomplishes through shear use of physical power. Not that they are independent or exclusive of each other; the dragon and the beast are clearly in league with each other from the start to accomplish evil on the part of the dragon, world domination on the part of the beast (these are not incompatible goals).
- Names of blasphemy on his heads -- blasphemy in this case is the assigning of attributes of God to that of a man or men. In this case they were being assigned to these heads, which if not actually, are closely connected with the kings or perhaps emperors of that day. Nothing could be more blasphemous that emperor worship -- proclaiming that the emperor is a god and requiring that he should be worshiped of men. Interesting the number of emperors who avoided this to the extent possible, knowing the worldly consequences that came to those so named, beginning with Julius Caesar himself.]
[Comments on the Numbers "5" and "10" Next, man turned from the study of his home and the world about him to study himself. Perhaps our decimal system arose from the intensive study by a man of his own fingers and toes. That was a crude and cruel age where many were maimed and crippled through disease, accident, or warfare. A perfect, full-rounded man was one who had all his members intact. So the number "5" doubled to "10" came to stand for human completeness. The whole duty of man was summed up in "10" commandments. The picture of complete power in government was that of a beast with ten horns. In Revelation the dragon, the first beast, and the scarlet beast have ten horns each, and in the case of this last beast the ten horns are called ten kings — complete world power as it appeared to belong to Rome with her provincial system. As a multiple, "10" occurs also in many of the higher numbers of Revelation; "70" = a very sacred number, "1000" = ultimate completeness—completeness raised to the nth degree, etc. Source: Ray Summers, Worthy is the Lamb (Nashville: Broadman Press), pp. 21-25]
2 And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as (the feet) of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his throne, and great authority.
[These are additional attributes to the beast that John saw coming up out of the sea. Before getting bogged down in the animal figures, consider that the beast derives his power from the dragon. The dragon gave it to him, as if it were his to give. We know that even to Jesus Satan claimed it (Mt. 4:8-9); but we also know that this would only be possible were God to allow it. Is there power in deception? In convincing the masses that you have their interests in mind at the exact same time that you are exploiting them and enslaving them? Is there a pact that liars sign with Satan that if they deceive they will be rewarded with power? This should be very difficult to deny in any age or era -- the nature of political power has not changed and it never will.]
[Now for the animal parts, let us recognize that unlike today, many people had to actually grapple with and fight off wild animals, so using them as symbols would mean a whole lot more to someone whose major weapon was a spear than someone who packed a 30-06 with a scope. The fierceness of these animals and their terrible might was awesome to the people of the first century, and certainly before then, in Daniel's time. Let us see Daniel's vision to provide a comparison.
Daniel 7:2-8
2 Daniel spoke and said, I saw in my vision by night, and, behold, the four winds of heaven brake forth upon the great sea.
3 And four great beasts came up from the sea, diverse one from another.
4 The first was like a lion, and had eagle's wings: I beheld till the wings thereof were plucked, and it was lifted up from the earth, and made to stand upon two feet as a man; and a man's heart was given to it.
5 And, behold, another beast, a second, like to a bear; and it was raised up on one side, and three ribs were in its mouth between its teeth: and they said thus unto it, Arise, devour much flesh.
6 After this I beheld, and, lo, another, like a leopard, which had upon its back four wings of a bird; the beast had also four heads; and dominion was given to it.
7 After this I saw in the night-visions, and, behold, a fourth beast, terrible and powerful, and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth; it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with its feet: and it was diverse from all the beasts that were before it; and it had ten horns.
8 I considered the horns, and, behold, there came up among them another horn, a little one, before which three of the first horns were plucked up by the roots: and, behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking great things.]
[The following is a reasonable mapping of the beasts in Daniel to those in this verse:
- Leopard – Daniel 7:1-3=the 3rd beast, which was the Greek empire (remnants indicate idolatry);
- Feet like Bear – like Daniel’s second beast (Medo-Persian empire) – characterized by cruelty;
- Mouth of Lion – like Daniel’s first beast (Babylonian) – viciousness;
- Composite into one: fierceness, strength, swiftness – Rome the current power that Christians had to contend with;
- Dragon (was, but is now no longer in heaven – 12:8) gave authority – governments under influence of Satan. Those deceived do his job for him as he deceives the nations, either the masses collectively, or the governmental officials individually (20:3,8).]
[To place the prophecy (dream interpretation) of Daniel as pointing to first century, please read Daniel 2:36-44. The final kingdom is obviously the time when Jesus established the kingdom and when its influence extended throughout the world. The days of those kings are clearly the days of the rulers of the Roman empire.
Daniel 2:44: “And in the days of those kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed, nor shall the sovereignty thereof be left to another people; but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever.”
Daniel 2:44 commentary:
Which ... shall not be left to other people - as the Chaldees had been forced to leave their kingdom to the Medo-Persians, and these to the Greeks, and these to the Romans (Mic 4:7; Luke 1:32-33).
(from Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown Commentary, Electronic Database. Copyright © 1997, 2003 by Biblesoft, Inc. All rights reserved.)]
[Let us not get too far ahead of ourselves. As for now, it is the evil ferocity of the beasts that is important. Beasts that have no soul and no reservation whatsoever in using their power to overcome and devour even those who would befriend them. Is a comparison of those who have the most influence in this world to wild animals unfounded? -- we will let you decide.]
3 And (I saw) one of his heads as though it had been smitten unto death; and his death-stroke was healed: and the whole earth wondered after the beast;
[If the beast in this immediate (shortly come to pass) application be the Roman empire, then something was to (or had already) caused one part of it a death-blow, or such a wound that had it not been able to heal would have caused death at least to that part of the beast. We have seen nations sustain death blows and come back, but usually much weaker and never again to be world powers. Perhaps this is comparable to what at least part of the Roman empire suffered, with the expectation of everyone that it was the end of the empire. But in time the death-stroke was healed counter to expectations, and this would certainly cause the whole earth to wonder after the beast. Perhaps so far as to believe that it was invincible.]
[Another alternative explanation is that John was taking advantage of the legend/myth that Nero who had reigned 54-68 AD when he died of suicide almost 30 years before John wrote. The deep ingrained legend was that he either had been or would be resurrected, or if his death had been a farce, he would come back from being given sanctuary by the Parthians. This was such a great general belief (by the citizens of Rome) that John may have been using it accommodatively for purposes of ridicule. The healed death stroke is also mentioned in vss. 12 and 14. The idea is that even if Nero is still alive (resurrected) it will matter little to faithful Christians. John was NOT teaching that this myth was valid – just the opposite – he is mocking it. Its repetition in vss. 12 and 14 would be consistent with his derision.
4 and they worshiped the dragon, because he gave his authority unto the beast; and they worshiped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? And who is able to war with him?
[Why not worship the beast? Because they understood where the beast got his authority -- from the dragon. The term worship here need not be considered in any way formal -- indeed, we worship whatever we have great admiration for, especially if we follow after it and allow it to become the standard of our lives. For example, it could be that the people realized that corruption and deception was an inevitable end in itself, and if it worked so well for their rulers, then why should they not have it serve them in their own lives as well? This would indeed be worship of the beast – in a sense following after him/them. Who is like unto the beast? Who is able to wield deception and turn it to their advantage as our rulers can? Is there any way that truth and righteousness can possible prevail against them? Who is able to war with the beast? Brings to mind the old adage, if you cannot beat them, join them. And apparently this was the result as Rome evolved a culture of corruption. Contrast: Exodus 15:11: “Who is like unto thee, O Jehovah, among the gods? Who is like thee, glorious in holiness, Fearful in praises, doing wonders?”]
5 and there was given to him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and there was given to him authority to continue forty and two months.
[To whom? to the beast. Perhaps by the dragon. Speaking great things -- not truths, just "things," seemingly great to the masses, the sea. The great things were comparable to blasphemies -- the great things being self-serving lies, while the blasphemes claimed that these words were coming from the Almighty God Himself, or short of that, from the gods. And there was given the beast authority to continue for an indefinite period of 42 months. The last reference for this time period was in (11:2), which was the period of time that the Gentiles could trample the outer court of the temple underfoot, thus providing a better understanding of that verse. Also in 11:7 recall that the beast was given the ability to overcome the two witnesses for this same time period.]
6 And he opened his mouth for blasphemies against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, (even) them that dwell in the heaven.
[Still in reference to the beast, which has no conscience but is self-serving as a brute animal -- there is no restriction to his blaspheme -- not just to the name of God but to the very representation of the place where God dwelled in Old Testament times, and now, even into heaven itself and those who dwell there.]
7 And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and there was given to him authority over every tribe and people and tongue and nation.
[To put this into a reasonable time frame, we quote from Wikipedia: "The first persecution of Christians organized by the Roman government took place under the emperor Nero in 64 AD after the Great Fire of Rome. [This continued until] the passage in 313 AD of the Edict of Milan, anti-Christian policies directed against Christians by the Roman government ceased." Between 68 AD (the death of Nero) through the third century up until about 275 AD, persecution was sporadic, sometimes quite intense and at other times practically non-existent. After that until and slightly after the turn of the 4th century, the most intensive and systematic persecution took place. It seems only reasonable that John, through the Holy Spirit, would have anticipated this.]
[We must never get the idea from a historical date in a book or article that the whole world changed in one day, one year, or even a decade. We know things do not change that quickly without some cataclysmic event, and while, the Great Fire of Rome was in that category, we would expect there to be some delay before the fallout from it reached to every tribe, people, tongue and nation (i.e., all people everywhere). But surely this is the time frame that "would shortly come to pass" and the persecution was probably well underway at the time of John's writing. This is talking about temporal power -- a single central government -- being given the authority over all people. No such thing has existed since Rome was broken up. However, the corruption that the beast represents is still very much alive and as abominable as ever. To get a comparison of Rome at the time of its demise compared to the United States today, see Rome History and Timeline in the Supplements section. The similarities are frightening.]
8 And all that dwell on the earth shall worship him, (every one) whose name hath not been written in the book of life of the Lamb that hath been slain from the foundation of the world.
[Different versions tend to place "from the foundation of the world either where it is above or after the name-written clause, which would indicate that their names were written before the foundation of the world -- a construct that would favor total predestination. The bible contains no confirming evidence that each individual was chosen before the world was framed, a process that would make our free will and very existence meaningless in any other way than some kind of a theatrical demonstration. On the other hand, 1 Peter 1:19-20: "... but with precious blood, as of a lamb without spot, (even the blood) of Christ: who was foreknown indeed before the foundation of the world, but was manifested at the end of times for your sake, ..." So the "all that dwell who worship the beast" does not include those whose names have been written in the book of life, which was introduced in Revelation 3:5. No doubt the purpose of this verse it to keep faithful Christians from following their pagan neighbors headlong into a worship of the state. Those in power have always coveted the glory that the faithful give to God.]
9 If any man hath an ear, let him hear.
[A Hebraism (idiom) intended to draw attention to something of particular importance. It also seems that it is being used here as a type of "take it or leave it" expression in the American idiom. If you have an ear you can hear -- so why don't you listen? This is an intricate subject that we have taken up elsewhere.]
10 If any man (is) for captivity, into captivity he goes: if any man shall kill with the sword, with the sword must he be killed. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints.
[These two statements are equivalent in their meaning, they exemplify two applications of the same principle and this is summed up by Galatians 6:7: "Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man sows, that shall he also reap." Does this necessitate that the exact same instruments of enslavement and torture be applied to the perpetrators of evil? We surmise that in some cases the instrument to be applied will be far worse.]
11 And I saw another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like unto a lamb, and he spoke as a dragon.
[The many attributes of this beast will be described below and out of this we will be able to surmise what to us is the most natural identification of this second beast -- seeing that we have already done such with the sea beast and the dragon. First, it was coming up out of the earth. This has to be significant in contrast to the larger beast that came up out of the sea. And, if we attribute a figurative meaning of the perturbed masses to the sea, it would seem almost compulsory that we are consistent and at least attempt to assign a figurative meaning to the earth. Considering references of the term "coming up out of the earth" leads to:
1 Samuel 28:13-14
13 And the king said unto her, Be not afraid: for what do you see? And the woman said unto Saul, I see a god coming up out of the earth .
14 And he said unto her, What form is he of? And she said, An old man comes up; and he is covered with a robe. And Saul perceived that it was Samuel, and he bowed with his face to the ground, and did obeisance.
Admittedly, a necromancy example can hardly give us insight into the meaning of coming up out of the earth. However the idea of something that was dead arising from its grave has possibilities. Not that this would be restrictive, given the following:
Daniel 7:16-17
16 I came near unto one of them that stood by, and asked him the truth concerning all this. So he told me, and made me know the interpretation of the things.
17 These great beasts, which are four, are four kings, that shall arise out of the earth.
[It is interesting that these same four beasts were previously seen to be coming up out of the sea (Dan. 7:2-3). This would indicate that the earth is not being viewed in contrast to the sea, but perhaps as adding more information as to the origins.]
[If we composite all of the above along with the general meaning of "worldly" throughout the New Testament we can see that the earth is symbolic of sin and death as contrasted with the heavenly things of God. The following explains the attributes of the second lesser beast:
- Two horns -- he had some power, but compared to the beast or the dragon, it would be nominal.
- As a lamb -- so as to be deceptive and perhaps to even try to usurp the authority of the Lamb.
- Spoke -- his power is in influence not in military might; and there is no reluctance to use this power for all kinds of deceptive evil ventures.
- As a dragon -- it does not say "the dragon," which would almost identify it with Satan, as if Satan and he alone was using the smaller beast solely for his purposes. Speaking as "a dragon" is certainly not that much better, and for sure this tends to emphasize and not sever this association.
[Proof that the earth beast and the false prophet are one and the same. While this gets ahead of ourselves, we think it is of use, mainly because we will use the terms “earth beast” and “false prophet” interchangeably. Also, the source of the proof does not appear for many chapters, so it is good to jump ahead and nail this down in our minds now. From 13:12-13 and 19:20, the underlined phrases show the consistency between these two passages):
Revelation 13:12-13
12 He [the earth beast] exercises all the authority of the first beast (1) in his presence. And he makes the earth and those who dwell in it to (2) worship the first beast, whose fatal wound was healed. 13 (3) He performs great signs, so that he even makes fire come down out of heaven to the earth in the presence of men.
Revelation 19:20
And the [sea] beast was seized, and (1) with him the false prophet who (3) performed the signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and (2) those who worshiped his image; … thrown alive into the lake of fire.
The only alternative that these are not talking about the same entity would be to come up with a third one that could qualify. In other words, the commonality between these two passages makes any difference between the earth beast and the false prophet to be impossible.
We use the terms “earth beast” and “sea beast” strictly for clarity, recognizing that neither of these appear in Revelation itself. Once these entities’ origination is defined the earth beast is either referred to as “he” (in chapter 13) or else as the false prophet (in chapters 16, 19 and 20). The sea beast is described by its attributes (e.g., the beast whose death-stroke was healed (13:3, 12). Generally, when the word beast is use in an unqualified sense, it is what we are calling the sea beast. We prefer to think of this beast as the evil entity of corruption as opposed to any person or group of men at a specific time. While it is not wrong to say: “the sea beast is Rome” limiting it to Rome exclusively does not convey the general principles that are so important for us to understand. Similarly, if the false prophet were ONLY idolatry and emperor worship at the time of John’s writing, this would cripple our understanding of the capabilities of the apostate church, which still plagues us today.]
[This leads to the natural question: is the earth beast false religion (e.g., idolatry), apostasy (departure from that which was once the truth) or both? Consider the following passages:
2 Thessalonians 2:3-4
… let no man beguile you in any wise: for ([the resurrection] will not be,) except the falling away come first, and the man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition, he that opposes and exalts himself against all that is called God or that is worshipped; so that he sits in the temple of God, setting himself forth as God.
1 Timothy 4:1-3
But the Spirit said expressly, that in later times some shall fall away from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of demons, through the hypocrisy of men that speak lies, branded in their own conscience as with a hot iron; forbidding to marry, (and commanding) to abstain from meats, which God created to be received with thanksgiving by them that believe and know the truth.
These passages warn Christians far more against apostasy than most of the problems of the Old Testament, which was going after foreign gods. It is not that false gods were not a problem, especially that which came with emperor worship. Probably first really intensively mandated by Caligula (37-41), his persecution of his own family ultimately led to his demise by those of the ruling class. There was somewhat of a lapse until Domitian (81-96) required it giving Christians a choice of either saying “Caesar is Lord” or death. If anything, this type of central institutionalized persecution by Rome galvanized the early Christians. This went on and strengthened in the 290-310 AD time frame just before Constantine supposedly had his vision. Constantine formalized what was to become the Roman Catholic Church of subsequent centuries, and his influence was so great that it is reasonable to call him the first de facto Pope, despite the fact that he was not baptized until a short time before his death.
What happened to the true church in the second century, once John had finished the book of Revelation? This is beyond the scope of this commentary, but some concise material can be found on it at https://www.biblethought.net/revelation-ppt-slides-pdf.html. Once on this page, click on “Link to the Revelation PPT class slides.” In brief, during the second century the church fathers seem to have no problem with city or regional “Bishops” rather than the independent local churches that were all that existed in the first century. This had the effect of facilitating the unscriptural institutionalizing of the church, which Constantine legalized in 313 as “Christianity,” and one of his sons make it mandatory in 383. The role of the Bishops might be argued, but no one who believes the Bible could possibly believe that Jesus would approve the mandating of belief in Him, which now became impossible, since people must come to Christ of their own free will.]
12 And he [the entity we are calling the earth beast] exercises all the authority of the first beast [what we called the sea beast] in his sight. And he makes the earth and them that dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose death-stroke was healed.
[The attention is being given to the earth beast (=false prophet), and the word “he” will be used for the rest of this chapter to refer to him (or it, if we generalize it into false religion in general). The two beasts obviously have much in common, and that is not good. Since he seems to be able with the consent of the first beast to exercise all of the authority of the first beast, this would give him [false religion] access to all of the military power of the first beast (something that will be used after the 4th century). Generally, he uses his power to assure that the one giving him this authority is worshiped. There is a reminder that the death-stroke of the first beast was healed in order for us to have no doubt that he is seeing corrupt temporal power as the first beast. Emperor worship would seem to fit these figures almost perfectly, although the exact role that the earth beast is playing is typical of false religion; i.e., keeping the masses supportive of the corrupt government’s narratives by believing that they are serving the gods (or in our day, God.]
13 And he does great signs, that he should even make fire to come down out of heaven upon the earth in the sight of men.
[The performance of signs by the false prophet is contrasted with military might of the corrupt government. It is the earth beast that does the great signs -- great evil signs to deceive the general population that what is being perpetrated on them must be the will of the gods. We affirm that it does not matter if these were legitimately supernatural or not -- to those who believed they were legitimate they could not be any more convincing, even if they actually were miraculous. So it is really a small issue to be concerned with; we know that Satan is the prince of this world by virtue of his lies. Consider again:
2 Thessalonians 2:1-12
2:1 Now we beseech you, brethren, touching the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and our gathering together unto him;
2 to the end that ye be not quickly shaken from your mind, nor yet be troubled, either by spirit, or by word, or by epistle as from us, as that the day of the Lord is just at hand;
3 let no man beguile you in any wise: for (it will not be,) except the falling away come first, and the man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition,
4 he that opposes and exalts himself against all that is called God or that is worshiped; so that he sits in the temple of God, setting himself forth as God.
5 Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things?
6 And now ye know that which restrains, to the end that he may be revealed in his own season.
7 For the mystery of lawlessness doth already work: only (there is) one that restrains now, until he be taken out of the way.
8 And then shall be revealed the lawless one, whom the Lord Jesus shall slay with the breath of his mouth, and bring to naught by the manifestation of his coming;
9(even he), whose coming is according to the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders,
10 and with all deceit of unrighteousness for them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.
11 And for this cause God sends them a working of error, that they should believe a lie:
12 that they all might be judged who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
We believe that the word "temple" in verse 4 is being used accommodatively; this is obviously not the true temple of God, which is no longer a physical place, but is used as a figure to describe every Christian as described in 1 Corinthians 6:19-20: “Or know ye not that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit which is in you, which ye have from God? and ye are not your own; 20 for ye were bought with a price: glorify God therefore in your body.”
The identification of the earth beast (who acts like a lamb but deceives in supposedly performing great wonders) has to be that of false religion in general, and specifically the emergence of the apostate church, which gives the appearance of evolving from the truth, but in reality it emerged from the earth. The confirmation of this is given in Rev. 16:13: "And I saw (coming) out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet, ..." John here substitutes "false prophet" for the second beast. And again in Revelation 19:20: "And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought the signs in his sight, wherewith he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast and them that worshiped his image: they two were cast alive into the lake of fire that burns with brimstone ..."]
14 And he deceives them that dwell on the earth by reason of the signs which it was given him to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast who hath the stroke of the sword and lived.
[This verse does not bring too much new, but it reviews that things are in the control of God. The signs were "given him to do," and they can be revoked in an instant, whether real or Illusory. The death stroke here is called the "stroke of the sword" at this point. “Make an image to the [sea] beast …” Is it not reasonable that false religion would use their influence to promote corrupt rulers? See how they support each other, then and now. “… in the sight of the beast” is now talking about the sea beast, which we said maps to corrupt political power, corrupt leadership.]
15 And it was given (unto him) to give breath to it, (even) to the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as should not worship the image of the beast should be killed.
[Recall here that the "him" is still the earth beast (= false prophet), which we find to be inescapably representing nothing other than pagan and false religion, despite its evolution from the apostate church. So the role of killing those who do not worship the sea beast is given to false religion. The imagery and idolatry of Rome would certainly fit this statement as often it was the idolatrous priesthood who would sentence Christians to death. But would this idol representing corrupt leadership actually speak with words that could be heard. Perhaps there was a perception of that, but it is not the necessary interpretation. To those who believe in the power of idols, these idols speak, not literally, but to their emotions, to their imaginations, to their hearts and souls. The absence of the audible is hardly a deterrent. And it is an historical fact that many Christians who failed to worship these images were put to death physically, although we know that the martyrs are indeed still very much alive in our hearts today.]
16 And he causes all, the small and the great, and the rich and the poor, and the free and the bond, that there be given them a mark on their right hand, or upon their forehead;
17 and that no man should be able to buy or to sell, save he that hath the mark, (even) the name of the beast or the number of his name.
[It is hard to keep straight but the “he” in verse 16 is still the false prophet (earth beast). He is the one that is making the requirements for the marking of those deemed faithful to the corrupt government to the point of viewing it as a god. The beast in verse 17 goes back to the sea beast, which is the corrupt government. The two beasts are clearly working together. Everyone was included, the terms being overlapping and redundant for emphasis. The mark was not unique -- it might be on the right hand, or upon the forehead, or perhaps any number of other places. Or for that matter, it need not even be a physical mark. For example it could be the wearing of a piece of jewelry. It is also described by example (and thus more broadly by synecdoche) as: the name of the beast and the number of his name. But despite its variation, it was definitive and able to be recognized. Those who did not have it could not engage in any economic activity, not even to feed themselves or the families. Despite this persecution, Christians were commanded to reject any such marking. Those marked by the beast are in stark contrast to those who are sealed and marked by God -- see vss.7:3 and 14:1.]
18 Here is wisdom. He that hath understanding, let him count the number of the beast; for it is the number of a man: and his number is Six hundred and sixty and six.
[Going back to verse 17, the beast here is the sea beast, which we see to be corrupt leadership or corrupt government. The number 666 is applied to this entity. This verse is by far the most quoted in the book of Revelation, since it contains the number 666. Perhaps this was intended to lead those who are not serious about the spiritual message of Revelation into their fanciful machinations trying to deceive others while they themselves are being deceived by their own foolishness. The number is not pointing to anything outside of itself, but is itself a combination of three sixes. Consider:
[The Number "6" One last number must be treated in this study of symbolism. To the Jew the number "6" had a sinister meaning. As "7" was the sacred, "6" fell short of it and failed. "Six" was the charge that met defeat, with success just in its grasp. It had within it the stroke of doom. It had the ability to be great but failed to measure up. It was for the Jew what "13" is for many today—an evil number. Some building skip from floor twelve to fourteen because thirteen is a bad rental proposition. Many hotels have rooms 12, 12A, and 14, but no 13, because no one wants to sleep in that room. It is possible that the dread of this number goes back to a night when thirteen man broke bread at the same table. From that room went one to commit the blackest betrayal in history, and another One to make the most supreme sacrifice of history. Thus "6" was an evil number for the Jews. It is important to keep this in mind when we come to the number "666" in Revelation. Source: Ray Summers, Worthy is the Lamb (Nashville: Broadman Press), pp. 21-25]
[Combining the dread of 6 with the three perfect divine persons who are being mocked and impersonated by the false prophet ... 6 - 6 - 6 all miserably falling not just short of the glory of God, but in such pits of degradation as to make normally wicked men appear to be saints. But perhaps the most significant fact stated in this verse is that this is “the number of a man.” It is an evil number that is to be applied to the sea beast, and so it would certainly not be associated with God in any way, or any of the righteous angels. But it is also not the number of Satan, nor of any of his angels. It is not the number of some extra-terrestrial, as some idolatrous beliefs would have us believe today. It is not the number of an animal, nor a reptilian, nor a fish or any other creature. It IS the number of a man, and men can be blamed for the corruption that has led to the existence of both the sea and the earth beasts. For the most part it is their greed either for money or power that leads them to abandon truthful and upright ways for the shadows of deception and hypocrisy. So let us not doubt that these men who create these beasts by corruption of governments and God’s religion, will give an account before Jesus as we will see in Chapter 20. Their abominations cannot be blamed on anyone else, and they will pay the price if they do not repent while they can.]
[SUMMARY OF FIGURES. Let us review the figures that were introduced in this chapter (some prior to it) before going on, since these figures will be used in the chapters to come.
- Dragon, introduced in 12:3-4, and defined explicitly in 12:9: “… the old serpent, he that is called the Devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world; …”
- Sea, might not be in all cases, but 17:15 defines it to be “ … peoples, multitudes, nations and tongues; “ See the woe that was pronounced on it in 12:12.
- Sea beast (=corrupt rulers) first seen (but not defined) in 11:7 as the entity that came up from the bottomless pit and killed the 2 witnesses. It well could be that he got into the pit in 9:1-2 when his star fell from heaven (as King of Babylon in Isa 14:3-12). The demise of nations is often represented by their star falling. In Chapter 13 the sea beast is defined more explicitly, and his attributes fit what we have referred to as political or power corruption, which is an abuse of the legitimate power that they have been given by God to rule in order to serve themselves.
- Seven heads and ten horns: to be defined in 17:9-12 as kingdoms (nations; governments). Most characteristics of Rome fit: it supported the apostate church (and vice versa), and was composed of 10 distinct monarchies.
- Earth beast in chapter 13; false prophet after that (=corrupt religion). Initially this would map to emperor worship; eventually it will map to the apostate church.
Revelation 14
[Prelude: contrasts between Chapters 14 and 13:
- Numbers: 144,000 sealed and saved as opposed to 666 totally lacking.
- Sealed with name of God as opposed to the mark of the beast.
- Sing praise to God as opposed to blasphemy and praise for the beast.
- Pure and undefiled as opposed to unclean from worldly abominations.
- Redeemed as opposed to being lost.
- The Lamb as opposed to the beasts.
- Justice as opposed to oppression.]
14:1 And I saw, and behold, the Lamb standing on the mount Zion, and with him a hundred and forty and four thousand, having his name, and the name of his Father, written on their foreheads.
[The last verse of Chapter 13 seems to be a conclusion of sorts. This does not mean that John was swept away from the beasts and the dragon, only that he now focuses on something dramatically different, going from the pits of evil to the glories of the righteousness of Jesus Christ. The lamb is Jesus (see 5:6). The 144,000 are representative of all of the saved from all time (see 7:4; compare with Hebrews 12). I do not doubt that John saw humans in this vision with actual names of God the Father and the Lamb (Jesus Christ) written on their foreheads. However mapping this to reality, it is merely the further confirmation that the figure of the 144,000 represents those saved and sealed for all times (see 2:17; 7:3: 9:4). In verse 3 they will be described as having "been purchased out of the earth." And further figurative language will be given for them in verse 5. While these are essentially saying the same thing, they are doing it in different ways to give us a fuller understanding of just who the saved are -- and no doubt with the encouragement that we become like them so as to join them by acquiring these same characteristics.
Mount Zion. Hebrews 12:22-24, speaking of those who are saved:
“But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to myriads of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the Judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks better than the blood of Abel.”]
2 And I heard a voice from heaven, as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of a great thunder: and the voice which I heard (was) as (the voice) of harpers harping with their harps:
3 and they sing as it were a new song before the throne, and before the four living creatures and the elders: and no man could learn the song save the hundred and forty and four thousand, (even) they that had been purchased out of the earth.
[The characteristics of the voice was as (not identical to):
- Many waters -- most have been at the ocean and heard the breaking of the waves; others have been at the rapids where the sounds of the waters drowns out all other sounds. A sound like this and the other similes given below give us a feel for exactly what John was hearing at this point.
- Great thunder -- not just thunder, but thunder from lightening that strikes within a few hundred yards of us -- while it is not the thunder that is at all dangerous, it never ceases to cause fear when we hear it at this close a range.
- Harpers -- it is beyond human capabilities to combine all three of these figures into one sound. But is not this the point? What John heard here is beyond human ken.
4 These are they that were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These (are) they that follow the Lamb whithersoever he goes. These were purchased from among men, (to be) the firstfruits unto God and unto the Lamb.
[The list of characteristics of the saved who are before the throne in the vision:
- Not defiled with fornication -- we use the general term since the 144,000 obviously included women. They were effectively virgins, having any past sin of this type forgiven and washed away by the blood of the Lamb.
- Follow the Lamb wherever he goes -- of necessity, but motivated not by keeping some law but by their love for Jesus; Matthew 10:38 "And he that doth not take his cross and follow after me, is not worthy of me," and John 10:3-4: "To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out. When he hath put forth all his own, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice."
- Purchased from among men -- not saved by their own works but purchased by the blood of the Lamb.
- Firstfruits -- 1 Corinthians 15:19 tells of Jesus' resurrection: "But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept." In this agricultural figure the firstfruits prove that there will be a harvest -- the resurrection of Jesus proves that all of his followers will be similarly resurrected. We feel that the purpose here is to emphasize the value that the saved are to the Father and to the Lamb. Jesus is the first-fruits. We do not suppose that this means that there will be other lessor fruits to follow, or that their number in the vision was incomplete.
- They are perfectly truthful (verse 5) -- those who are self-serving tell the truth only when it suits their purpose; otherwise whatever seems to give them an advantage over their hearers is the order of the day. Indeed, we live in a time where lying is considered a virtue as long as it brings about the desired result -- this is no exaggeration in that some of our highest leaders have confessed it explicitly before millions. Most, however, do have some shame over the matter and purport to be telling the truth, at least most of the time.
- They are without blemish (verse 5). This does not mean that they have lived perfectly -- we know that this is not possible (Romans 3:23), but we also know that the purification that comes from submitting ourselves to being washed in the blood of Christ is absolute, no matter how great the past sins may have been.
5 And in their mouth was found no lie: they are without blemish.
[See this characteristic above.]
6 And I saw another angel flying in mid heaven, having eternal good tidings to proclaim unto them that dwell on the earth, and unto every nation and tribe and tongue and people;
[Another angel -- in addition to those seen in 12:7 who were warriors. This angel (literally messenger) is flying between heaven and earth proclaiming the gospel, God's power unto salvation (Romans 1:16). A further emphasis is made here that the gospel is for all men everywhere. God is not a respecter of persons (Acts 10:34; Rom. 2:11; Eph. 6:9; Col. 3:25; James 2:1 and 9; Jude 16), and the wall has been broken down between all races because today all Christians are spiritually of Abraham's seed; Galatians 3:28-29: "There can be neither Jew nor Greek , there can be neither bond nor free, there can be no male and female; for ye all are one (man) in Christ Jesus. And if ye are Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, heirs according to promise." This seems to emphasize that this aspect of the gospel needs to be stressed until Jesus comes in judgment.]
[If the “another” refers to an angel flying in mid heaven, then this would be in contrast to the one in Revelation 8:13, which some translators (we believe improperly) call an eagle. There is no other reference in Revelation or even the Bible (that we know of) of a bird speaking. The Greek is mixed on this. Thus, we believe that what John saw flying in mid heaven there was an angel. And this makes a perfect contrast between these two visions. Recall Rev 8:13: “Then I looked, and I heard an angel flying in mid heaven, saying with a loud voice, ‘Woe, woe, woe to those who dwell on the earth, because of the remaining blasts of the trumpet of the three angels who are about to sound!’" That message was totally negative as opposed to this one, which is totally positive, as we see in the next verse. This context fits the angel translation far better than that of the eagle.]
7 and he said with a great voice, Fear God, and give Him glory; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made the heaven and the earth and sea and fountains of waters.
[Fear God -- men spend considerable effort fighting the notion that this word has to do with a real emotional fear. How will you feel when Jesus appears on the clouds to render judgment -- that will indeed be a fearful day for most. If we fear God now we will have no reason to fear Him then. This is both a command and a plea to put away the idols and render true obedience to the One true just and loving God. Give Him glory is a typical Jewish style of repetition using a slightly different terminology. Giving God glory is thus identical to fearing God, as it involves being sufficiently motivated to want to do His will, recognizing that, both in the short and long terms, this is in our best interests. He made the heaven and the earth and all things, including the sea and the various things that it represents figuratively. He did this in league with His son, Jesus Christ (John 1:3) and with the Spirit of God moving upon the face of the waters (the deep -- Genesis 1:2).]
8 And another, a second angel, followed, saying, Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great, that hath made all the nations to drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.
[Two angels because of their two distinct messages. The first one positive for the saved and an appeal to those who are not saved alike -- be faithful to your Creator. This one carries a formidable negative tone. This is the first mention of Babylon in Revelation, and it is in anticipation of its figurative use in 16:19 and 18:2, 10 and 21). Of course, this could not be talking about the literal Babylon, since it fell many eons ago. But before its fall it was the world dominating ruler and its power was perceived by mankind to be invincible. Who fills that role now for the people of the first century if not Rome? It had not fallen yet, so this must be a prophecy that it would fall in the not too distant future. "Made all of the nations" -- by brute military force. "To dink the wine of the wrath of her fornication." Again, not literal, although no doubt the orgies of the Roman Empire would be included, but these sins were trivial when compared to the blasphemy of emperors claiming to be God. We are giving some inkling into how God feels about such things by the judgment of Herod in Acts 12:23-24 "And immediately an angel of the Lord smote him, because he gave not God the glory: and he was eaten of worms, and gave up the ghost. But the word of God grew and multiplied."]
[The words adultery and fornication are used often especially in the Old Testament to indicate Israel's departure from God, which is depicted in a metaphor of a legitimate and loving marriage. Their departure especially to the idols of paganism are viewed as being adulterous and while such might not capture the full extent of this grave sin, it is certain that no better figure exists to express it. The wrath is one of an innocent spouse who is left with nothing but bitterness as a memory of the relationship, and to drink the wine of that wrath would bring forth images of the worst possible condemnation from the judgment that was spoken of in verse 6. the wine of the wrath of her fornication. This combines the two figures of the seducing cup of the prostitute’s fornication with the wine of the fury of the wrath of God. (See verse 10 – it is God’s wrath). We will read more about the Babylon figure in Chapters 17 and 18.]
9 And another angel, a third, followed them, saying with a great voice, If any man worships the beast and his image, and receives a mark on his forehead, or upon his hand,
10 he also shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is prepared unmixed in the cup of his anger; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb:
11 and the smoke of their torment goes up for ever and ever; and they have no rest day and night, they that worship the beast and his image, and whoso receives the mark of his name.
[There are no new figures here -- we know who the beast (for them, Rome) and his image (13:15) is, and we know what it means to drink of the wine of God's wrath. Receiving the mark of the beast was discussed in 13:16-17. The new information here has to do with the fate of those who are given over to the beast:
- Torment with fire and brimstone -- not a pretty picture of the eternal fate of those in hell.
- In the presence of the holy angels and the Lamb -- would this add to their torment? We think so -- seeing others who have escaped the torment could be as severe a punishment as the torment itself, especially given their covetous natures.
- The duration -- the smoke of their torment goes up for ever and ever -- indeed if there was some hope of there being an end to this punishment then that would serve to relieve them of some of its consequences; but there is no such hope.
- No rest day and night -- no relief from their torment.]
12 Here is the patience of the saints, they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.
[Revisit 13:10 for similar words and apply the comments here to that verse as well. The sense seems to be especially in reply to those under the alter (6:9-10) who were encouraged to be patient. Here is the result of this patience -- that you may be able to see and witness an event that will surely come to pass. This vision is the assurance of that, and that the saints who are patient and keep the commands of God and the faith of Jesus will be exempt from these terrible punishments. Keeping the faith (see 2 Timothy 4:7) is an ongoing effort, not just a one-instant experience. It demonstrates that "the faith" is not just some mental exercise, but it requires a complete rebirth followed by an effort to live this new life according to God's plan (Romans 6).
13 And I heard the voice from heaven saying, Write, Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from henceforth: yea, says the Spirit, that they may rest from their labors; for their works follow with them.
[Various alternative have been expressed for the location of the word henceforth to counter any idea that those who have already died in the Lord should be at a disadvantage. We should not have to change words around to understand such a simple concept, and thus, we will go with the ASV translators on this. We feel it is merely addressing those in Christ who were in all probability expecting to die for their faith in the near future. So while it is obvious that those who have already died are blessed (6:9-12), those who are yet to die for the faith should expect similar blessings. They are blessed by reason of the fact that they rest from their labors -- they may have no more cares as to being lost, nor of the continuing efforts that it takes to resist the world and remain faithful to God. The reason: these works follow with them. This is not to imply that these works save them, for we know we are not saved by works. But their faith has been true, and thus it has manifested itself in many good works.]
[To review verses 6-13, which have as their subject: before and after the fall of Babylon:
- First angel: Before: preaching of the gospel (6-7).
- Second angel: The actual fall (8).
- Third angel: The fate of those who persist after the downfall (9-11).
- Voice from heaven: The fate of the righteous (12-13).]
14 And I saw, and behold, a white cloud; and on the cloud (I saw) one sitting like unto a son of man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle.
[This is the first of two scenes of judgment that will be covered in the remainder of this chapter. Clouds are often used to depict both the good and the bad in the Bible; but a white cloud would certainly point to the good (e.g., see Mt. 17:5; Rev. 1:7; Mt. 24:30: 26:64; Lk. 20:27; Acts 1:9; 1 Thes 4:17 and Rev. 10:1). The "son of man" reference is inescapably to that of Jesus Christ -- but John is reporting what he saw and leaving the identification to us. The evidence relates back to Rev. 1:13, in that it is very unlikely John would use the term in two different ways. Why use it at all? It also relates to Daniel 7:13, and by this time it had been established as one of the favorite terms by which Jesus identified himself: Mt. 8:20; 9:6; 10:23; 11:19; 12:8,32,40, and many other places throughout the gospels. The crown, of course, was symbolic of his authority, which had been given to him when He took the throne of David (Acts 2:30-33), and which was absolute and comprehensive (Mt. 28:18). The sharp sickle is figurative of the judgment of the unrighteous, and its use will become quite clear in the following verses. This confirms the teachings throughout the New Testament that it is Jesus who will judge the world when He appears again for this purpose.
15 And another angel came out from the temple, crying with a great voice to him that sat on the cloud, Send forth thy sickle, and reap: for the hour to reap is come; for the harvest of the earth is ripe.
[John's vision may well have been of the temple in Jerusalem -- surely he knew and was familiar with that location. However, in verse 17 we see that this is not the literal temple (which was probably destroyed at this time in any event), but it was from "the temple which is in heaven." This confirms to us a principle given to us in the book of Hebrews (Heb. 8:5: 10:1): that the physical things on this earth are not the real things, but are mere reflections (shadows) of the reality that is in the heavenly (spiritual) environment of God -- heaven itself. Another angel -- in addition to the "third angel" of 14:9-11 who gave a stern warning regarding the judgment to come, which now seems to be imminent. This statement of the angel is certainly not a command to Jesus -- it is rather just an announcement of what is about to take place.]
16 And he that sat on the cloud cast his sickle upon the earth; and the earth was reaped.
[The absence of any effort at all here seems to be the major point. The One who can speak things into existence and by whose power those things were made is in total control, and while we might not see Him acting on our behalf, we can be sure that He can take the reins of control at any time that He pleases, and further, that his doing so is sure and certain.]
17 Another angel came out from the temple which is in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle.
18 And another angel came out from the altar, he that hath power over fire; and he called with a great voice to him that had the sharp sickle, saying, Send forth thy sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth; for her grapes are fully ripe.
[These angels, the 5th and the 6th (not insignificantly), reinforce the display of the power of the Son of Man; it would seem that their actions are in response to His casting down his sickle. Out from the alter -- we cannot help but think this is to call to our reference those under the alter. Since the alter in the temple scheme of things was where burnt sacrifices were made, his having power over fire would be appropriate. Both the Son of Man and the 4th angel had "sharp" sickles, the sharpness being figurative of their ability to accomplish the task for which they were designed. Again, the purpose of the angel's statement was to inform John (and perhaps others?) of the judgment that was imminent. The flow here seems to imply that Jesus reaps the righteous, while it is the role of the angels to reap those who are lost. Consider this in light of Matthew 13:41-42: “The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that cause stumbling, and them that do iniquity, and shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be the weeping and the gnashing of teeth.””]
19 And the angel cast his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vintage of the earth, and cast it into the winepress, the great (winepress), of the wrath of God.
[Seemingly borrowing the figurative language from Isaiah 63:1-6, where the wrath of God against Edom is spoken of in similar language, The casting of the sickle by the angel is representative of the sure and certain wrath of God against those who would blaspheme His name and claim His authority. The first judgment begins at the House of God (1 Pet 4:17-18)… the apostate church (Isa. 5:4). God planted a good vineyard, but it has brought forth wild, bitter grapes. Comparable OT figures – Isa. 63:2-3 and Joel 3: 12-13. And the figure of Rev. 19:15 yet to come.
Isaiah 5:5
And now I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard: I will take away the hedge thereof, and it shall be eaten up; I will break down the wall thereof, and it shall be trodden down:
Isaiah 63:2-3
Why is Your apparel red, And Your garments like the one who treads in the wine press?
" I have trodden the wine trough alone; And from the peoples there was no man with Me. I also trod them in My anger; And trampled them in My wrath; And their lifeblood is sprinkled on My garments, And I stained all My raiment.
Joel 3:12-13
Let the nations be aroused And come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat, For there I will sit to judge All the surrounding nations. Put in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe. Come, tread, for the wine press is full; The vats overflow, for their wickedness is great.]
20 And the winepress was trodden without the city, and there came out blood from the winepress, even unto the bridles of the horses, as far as a thousand and six hundred furlongs.
[Without the city -- so as not to impact the saints who were in the temple (see verse 15). But it is not wine that comes out of the winepress but blood. We know the positive use of the fruit of the vine to represent Jesus’ blood. In this case it is the exact antitype, for now the blood of all who do evil on the earth is being represented by this blood, and the extent of this blood is unfathomable. Note: “… for one thousand six hundred furlongs.” Recall that 4 is the cosmic/worldly number. Here 4 squared times 10 squared (10, which is the human completeness number). In today’s units, this is approximately 200 square miles, which is a further indication of its completeness – covering all).]
[General transition from Chapter 14 to 15. In Chapter 6 we were shown the slain saints under the alter asking how long it would be before the wrath of God is complete. It appears that through Chapter 14 the visions have been in response to this question. However, when the seventh trumpet sounded the scene was anticlimactic (11:14-19) and there was not much detail given. Recall trumpets warn, followed by bowls of judgment being poured out. We are to the point where the wrath of God is to be fully revealed by the bowls and other more direct interventions. Consider and compare the similarity of the following:
Revelation 15:1
15:1 And I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvelous, seven angels having seven plagues, (which are) the last, for in them is finished the wrath of God.
Revelation 15:5
And after these things I saw, and the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was opened:
Revelation 11:19
And there was opened the temple of God that is in heaven; and there was seen in his temple the ark of his covenant; and there followed lightning, and voices, and thunders, and an earthquake, and great hail.
Revelation 16:17-21
17 And the seventh poured out his bowl upon the air; and there came forth a great voice out of the temple, from the throne, saying, It is done:
18 and there were lightning, and voices, and thunders; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since there were men upon the earth, so great an earthquake, so mighty.
19 And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and Babylon the great was remembered in the sight of God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath.
20 And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found.
21 And great hail, (every stone) about the weight of a talent, comes down out of heaven upon men: and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail; for the plague thereof is exceeding great.]
Revelation 15
15:1 And I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvelous, seven angels having seven plagues, (which are) the last, for in them is finished the wrath of God.
[This was not something John was seeing on the earth; he states specifically that this sign (not literal, but pointing toward something that was literal) was in heaven. The number seven we have seen to be the perfect number, and so used here to count the angels. This is sort of a summary of what John will elaborate on in the rest of this chapter. Plagues here are literally (from Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible -- Strong's numbers): "NT:4127 plege (pronounced play-gay'); a stroke; by implication, a wound; figuratively, a calamity." Some such plagues have already been inflicted and so these are described as the last, perhaps more in terms of the ultimate purpose: to cause the immediate persecution problems for Christians to be resolved. But not in time, in the sense that these plagues were not necessarily to continue until the end of time.]
2 And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire; and them that come off victorious from the beast, and from his image, and from the number of his name, standing by the sea of glass, having harps of God.
[It is probably best to review where this figure was used before in John's visions, Rev 4:6: "... and before the throne, as it were a sea of glass like a crystal; and in the midst of the throne, and round about the throne, four living creatures full of eyes before and behind." In the former case the sea of glass was pure and totally calm; now it is mingled with fire. Could this mean that we should be aware of the punitive nature of God's wrath? "Them that come off victorious from the beast." The beast has made it his primary mission to war against the saints of God (13:7). Here the war is depicted as over, and the saints are victorious. They are victorious from the beast, from his image (13:14-15) and from the number of his name (13:17), all of which were discussed above (as indicated). Harps were introduced in (14:2), but now they are called the "harps of God" indicating that they are in total conformance with God's will.
1 Peter 4:12-13
12 Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial among you, which cometh upon you to prove you, as though a strange thing happened unto you:
13 but insomuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings, rejoice; that at the revelation of his glory also ye may rejoice with exceeding joy.]
3 And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvelous are thy works, O Lord God, the Almighty; righteous and true are thy ways, thou King of the ages.
[See the analogy between where the faithful are now and where the Children of Israel were when they have been delivered from Egyptian slavery and oppression, and so the "song of Moses." The song of the Lamb may well refer back to that sung in Rev. 5:9-13. The specific lyrics give praise to God, His works, His righteous and true ways, and his everlasting divinity. LORD refers to the eternal One who was before and will forever be beyond this creation; God to his being the ruler of all of the universe and beyond; and Almighty -- the omnipotent being of infinite power able to accomplish all things, even to the redemption of His elect.]
4 Who shall not fear, O Lord, and glorify thy name? for thou only art holy; for all the nations shall come and worship before thee; for thy righteous acts have been made manifest.
[Shall is future tense. No doubt there are some now who fail to give God His rightful glory; but the time will come when they will yield themselves. So the question being asked is a rhetorical one -- all will fear and give glory to God; it is just a matter of time. And, at this time of his judgments against the beasts and the dragon, there should be uniform repentance and an eager willingness to worship the true and living God.]
5 And after these things I saw, and the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was opened:
6 and there came out from the temple the seven angels that had the seven plagues, arrayed with (precious) stone, pure (and) bright, and girt about their breasts with golden girdles.
[Temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven -- this would seem to be the dwelling place of God Himself, that part of the temple that gave evidence or testimony -- in the days of the tabernacle the undeniable proof of the presence of God, although we understand that this place of testimony was in no way a limitation upon God's omnipresence. We were introduced to the temple of God in heaven throughout Chapter 11, and in 11:19 a similar statement was made about it being opened. It was opened so that the seven angels (15:1) could come forth from the presence of God, and thus, by the authority of God the seven plagues could be administered. Added here is a description of their adornment -- precious stones that were pure and bright, and their clothing was that of gold. This was befitting those who were coming from the presence of God with a distinct mission to accomplish.]
7 And one of the four living creatures gave unto the seven angels seven golden bowls full of the wrath of God, who lives for ever and ever.
[This seems a type of ritual -- they do not come from the presence of God with these bowls. But rather there is a distinct ordering of their receiving the bowls. The angels receive the seven golden bowls at the appropriate time and in the appropriate way. For the contents of these bowls are deadly -- they are full of the wrath of God -- the true and living God who not only has always existed from eternity, but will go on living throughout all eternity. How fearsome the wrath must have been, analogous to the deadliest of poisons, and yet having a capability to inflict many degrees of punishment, as we shall see in the next chapter.]
8 And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God, and from his power; and none was able to enter into the temple, till the seven plagues of the seven angels should be finished.
[The angels and the living creature were outside of the temple, so the events with the bowls was not caused by their actions. No, the smoke in the temple was from the glory of God and from His power -- the wrath of God was being expressed directly in the temple, and it would not be abated until the seven angels would pour out these bowls of wrath. Trumpets warn, bowls of wrath are poured out.]
Go to Revelation 16-19