Come, Lord Jesus!

Revelation 22:20 He who testifies to these things says, "Surely I am coming soon." Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!

20 Λέγει ὁ μαρτυρῶν ταῦτα· ναί, ἔρχομαι ταχύ. Ἀμήν, ἔρχου κύριε Ἰησοῦ.

I find it interesting that I read this chapter today. As most people have heard, there is a guy in California named Harold Camping who has predicted the rapture today. It seems that he has been able to discern something in the Bible that leads him to calculate today as the day of Christ's return for His people. It seems ironic to me that he could have scoured the Bible so thoroughly and missed Matthew 24:36, but apparently he did.


This verse actually gives the Preterist some weight to his argument. After all, Jesus says ναί, ἔρχομαι ταχύ. The particle ναί gives a sense of emphasis to the affirmative. The word ἔρχομαι is in the middle voice, so it is difficult to pin down exactly. You can't necessarily put it in the future tense. I think that the word ταχύ is the really interesting one. I learned the gloss "quickly" for it. I checked the NIV, NASB, and the KJV on this. The KJV is the only one that translates it "quickly" rather than "soon." 


I'm not sure that is incredibly significant, but understanding it as "quickly" indicates more a sense of manner than time. For what it's worth, Beale agrees with the idea of "quickly" as well. If we take it as "soon" then we have a strange case where Jesus' version of "soon" does not look anything like what we would consider "soon." But if we take it as "quickly" we understand that when He comes it will be sudden and decisive. That seems to make a lot more sense.


We need to remember that when it comes to eschatology there is a sense of already and not yet. Here in the present age there are some things that Christ inaugurated at the cross. However, we wait for the final consummation upon His return. That's what this verse points us to.


My prayer is the same as John's. I want to see Christ come. I'd love for Harold Camping to be right for myself, but it grieves me to consider all those who do not know Christ. We need to balance this hope with 2 Peter 3:9. Let's remember this as we hope for His return, but also as we share the gospel with those who do not know Him.

Back in the Fire

Revelation 20:10 and the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.

10 καὶ ὁ διάβολος ὁ πλανῶν αὐτοὺς ἐβλήθη εἰς τὴν λίμνην τοῦ πυρὸς καὶ θείου ὅπου καὶ τὸ θηρίον καὶ ὁ ψευδοπροφήτης, καὶ βασανισθήσονται ἡμέρας καὶ νυκτὸς εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων.

We saw yesterday that the beast and the false prophet were thrown into the lake of fire in Revelation 19. Here it appears that Satan joins them and this is a continuation of what was described in Revelation 19. However, the language in this verse is a bit ambiguous. The English translations have to add "were" to this phrase:  ὅπου καὶ τὸ θηρίον καὶ ὁ ψευδοπροφήτης because it lacks a verb. It is very literally "where also the beast and the false prophet." This means that the tense of the verb is an interpretive decision. It could just as easily be "are" or "will be." 


Beale gives the following explanation:

The devil is again highlighted as the one who deceived the nations to attack the saints. His deceiving activities are mentioned again to show that he will undergo judgment because of such deception. He will be “cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where also the beast and false prophet [supply “are” or “will be cast”]” (see on 14:10 for the OT background of “fire and brimstone”). The devil is cast into the fire together with or immediately after his two fiendish allies. The probability that 20:7–10 is a recapitulation of 19:17–21 makes unlikely the supposition that he is cast into the fire ages after his Satanic cohorts have gone into the fire at the end of ch. 19. Some think that for 20:10 to recapitulate the events associated with the demise of the beast and false prophet we would need more explicit language, something like “After the battle of Gog and Magog, Satan was thrown into the lake of fire along with the beast and false prophet.” But this is not a necessary expectation, especially since the style of recapitulations in the OT prophetic literature is not characterized by such explicitness, nor are the recapitulations elsewhere in Revelation so characterized.

G. K. Beale, The Book of Revelation : A Commentary on the Greek Text (Grand Rapids, Mich.; Carlisle, Cumbria: W.B. Eerdmans; Paternoster Press, 1999), 1028.


Of course, here he makes an assumption as well. He is assuming that this is a recapitulation of what was described in chapter 19. But I think that his last sentence is compelling. We've already seen how Revelation keeps recapitulating itself. Or, as I have heard it said, the book of Revelation is like getting different camera angles on a close play while watching a football game on television. The point is that it is perfectly plausible to see this as a recapitulation rather than as a continuation of the same vision described in Revelation 19. 


What this means is that if you see this as a recapitulation you are likely to end up amillenial like Calvin, Luther, and most of the historic church. If you see this as a continuation from chapter 19 you are likely to be premillenial like Piper, MacArthur, and much of the modern church. Salvation does not hinge on how you interpret this, but it is something to consider.

Final Judgment

Revelation 19:20 And the beast was captured, and with it the false prophet who in its presence had done the signs by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped its image. These two were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur.

20 καὶ ἐπιάσθη τὸ θηρίον καὶ μετ᾽ αὐτοῦ ὁ ψευδοπροφήτης ὁ ποιήσας τὰ σημεῖα ἐνώπιον αὐτοῦ, ἐν οἷς ἐπλάνησεν τοὺς λαβόντας τὸ χάραγμα τοῦ θηρίου καὶ τοὺς προσκυνοῦντας τῇ εἰκόνι αὐτοῦ· ζῶντες ἐβλήθησαν οἱ δύο εἰς τὴν λίμνην τοῦ πυρὸς τῆς καιομένης ἐν θείῳ.

This is what happens after the return of the coming King who will defeat Satan once and for all. We see the King in the previous verses. I know that I write this a lot, but I cannot emphasize too strongly how He is going to return. We have emasculated Jesus in our culture and reduced Him to a hippie in a pink dress. He is going to return as a conquering warrior. This is the hope that we have as Christians.


I'm going to write more tomorrow as there is something in the next chapter that seems to merge with this. I'm tempted to consult some commentaries, but I'm going to try to stick to the text by itself. In the meantime, consider this Jesus that the book of Revelation describes. In the gospels we see Him as a suffering servant. Here we see Him as a conquering King. The question you need to answer is whether He is your King right now. Are you going to submit to Him now or when you are forced to later?

Final Justice

Revelation 18:20 Rejoice over her, O heaven, and you saints and apostles and prophets, for God has given judgment for you against her!"

20 Εὐφραίνου ἐπ᾽ αὐτῇ, οὐρανὲ καὶ οἱ ἅγιοι καὶ οἱ ἀπόστολοι καὶ οἱ προφῆται, ὅτι ἔκρινεν ὁ θεὸς τὸ κρίμα ὑμῶν ἐξ αὐτῆς.

This comes at the end of chapter 18, which describes the ultimate fate of Babylon. Babylon is portrayed as a city of great wealth, but also of great sin. It is ultimately judged and will be destroyed. One could even conceivably make a parallel of what happened with New York on 9/11, but I don't think that is what this passage refers to. It is possible that is what John was predicting, but it is highly unlikely.


I do, however, suspect that Babylon is a metaphor of some kind. John and his audience would think of the actual city of Babylon. After all, it was Babylon that led to their captivity. But here we get a vision of Babylon falling some time in the future. At least, that's what we get if we take Revelation to be a continuous story speaking of the future.


Basically, we are left with three interpretive options:

1. The futurist view of Revelation is wrong and this speaks of a judgment already past from our perspective
2. The city of Babylon will be rebuilt, will regain its former splendor, and will then be destroyed
3. It is symbolic for a great city that is a hub of sin and rebellion

I'm inclined toward the third view. This is something that I need to study more deeply before I make any kind of final decision though. What do you think?

Once More

Revelation 12:9 And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world--he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.

9 καὶ ἐβλήθη ὁ δράκων ὁ μέγας, ὁ ὄφις ὁ ἀρχαῖος, ὁ καλούμενος Διάβολος καὶ ὁ Σατανᾶς, ὁ πλανῶν τὴν οἰκουμένην ὅλην, ἐβλήθη εἰς τὴν γῆν, καὶ οἱ ἄγγελοι αὐτοῦ μετ᾽ αὐτοῦ ἐβλήθησαν.

As I noted in my previous post, we see cycles happening in the book of Revelation. Here we see the great dragon  ἐβλήθη. This is an aorist to show that at some indefinite time he saw the dragon thrown down. It's not necessarily puncticular as some older theologians may say, but it did happen sometime. It's certainly not a continuous action.


My reason for bringing this up is to emphasize that Revelation probably should not be read as one continuous story. That is how I'm learning to read it in seminary, but I don't think that is right. One way I've heard it described is cameras at a football game. Think about when there is a close play on the sideline where you're not sure if the receiver got both feet in with control of the ball. You first see the play at full speed with one angle. Then you might see a reverse angle. Then you might see a view from across the sideline at 90 degrees from the play. Then you might see another view from straight above. Then there is the view down the sideline. 


I think that's a good metaphor for how the story unfolds in the book of Revelation. Try reading it in that light and see what you find.

Round and Round

Revelation 9:1 And the fifth angel blew his trumpet, and I saw a star fallen from heaven to earth, and he was given the key to the shaft of the bottomless pit.

1 Καὶ ὁ πέμπτος ἄγγελος ἐσάλπισεν· καὶ εἶδον ἀστέρα ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ πεπτωκότα εἰς τὴν γῆν, καὶ ἐδόθη αὐτῷ ἡ κλεὶς τοῦ φρέατος τῆς ἀβύσσου

My point today is not so much exegetical as it is hermeneutical. The question is how we should read the book of Revelation. If we take the simplest approach, we just read it like a sequential letter. We take the first three chapters to be like a straight epistle and then we take the rest to be a description of what will happen at the end of time.


However, there is another way that I think is perhaps more plausible. Instead of reading it like a sequence of events, perhaps we should read it as sort of a commentary on itself. It looks like concentric circles that get larger and larger in scope. I'm not going to detail every example, but this is one of them. It seems like this is retelling what we just saw in chapter 8 with Wormwood falling to earth. In other words, I don't think it is a separate event.


I don't really have time to develop this more deeply right now, but I just wanted to point out that there are different ways to read Revelation. Obviously they are not all legitimate since God did not write it with multiple meanings in mind. However, I would submit that perhaps the literalistic method is not the best. I realize that is a heretical idea to a dispensationalist and I also realize that this opens the door a crack for liberalism to barge its way in. However, I also think that a plain reading of Revelation makes a lot more sense if we see it a continually retelling a story and elaborating on it each time rather than a straight sequence of events.

The Wrath of the Lamb

Revelation 6:16 calling to the mountains and rocks, "Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb,

16 καὶ λέγουσιν τοῖς ὄρεσιν καὶ ταῖς πέτραις· πέσετε ἐφ᾽ ἡμᾶς καὶ κρύψατε ἡμᾶς ἀπὸ προσώπου τοῦ καθημένου ἐπὶ τοῦ θρόνου καὶ ἀπὸ τῆς ὀργῆς τοῦ ἀρνίου,

If you were to take this verse completely out of context it would look absolutely ridiculous. The phrase  τῆς ὀργῆς τοῦ ἀρνίου looks completely absurd. It's certainly  not something that seems to warrant the preposition ἀπὸ which means "from," but it has the sense not so much of place like εκ does, but it has the idea of being kept apart from something. Their prayer is to be protected from the wrath of the lamb.


You will notice that in this verse the word "Lamb" is spelled with a big "L." It has to be or else it would not make any sense. A fully-grown sheep is hardly threatening. Who is afraid of a lamb? Lambs are for petting zoos. They are certainly not an animal to be feared. You should worry about an angry ram, but not an angry lamb. I keep thinking of the puppet Lambchop.


The point is that Jesus came to be the sacrificial lamb for the world. He was the perfect Passover lamb. He died a humble death on a Roman cross. Just like how the Passover lamb saved the Jews from God's wrath, Jesus' blood saves us from God's wrath and will save us from the judgment to come. 


The problem for those who do not know the Lamb is that He will come back in wrath. He will no longer be like a cute and fuzzy animal to be cuddled. He will return as a conquering king. We can argue about rapture and millenial systems all day. We can talk about the proper way to interpret Revelation for another 2000 years, assuming that the Lord tarries. However, what we cannot do is expect His return to be like His departure. He is going to come back in glory to judge the world. You want to be on His side when He does.

Eternal Praise

Revelation 4:8 And the four living creatures, each of them with six wings, are full of eyes all around and within, and day and night they never cease to say, "Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!"

8 καὶ τὰ τέσσαρα ζῷα, ἓν καθ᾽ ἓν αὐτῶν ἔχων ἀνὰ πτέρυγας ἕξ, κυκλόθεν καὶ ἔσωθεν γέμουσιν ὀφθαλμῶν, καὶ ἀνάπαυσιν οὐκ ἔχουσιν ἡμέρας καὶ νυκτὸς λέγοντες· ἅγιος ἅγιος ἅγιος κύριος ὁ θεὸς ὁ παντοκράτωρ, ὁ ἦν καὶ ὁ ὢν καὶ ὁ ἐρχόμενος.

When I read this I immediately think of Isaiah 6:3. I am fairly certain that this describes the same thing. Apparently God created beings whose sole purpose is to spend eternity worshiping Him. Not that here they are seen in worship of Christ. How can we be sure that it is Christ? Verse 11 tells us:  for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created. This should remind you of Colossians 1:16 where we see that everything was created by Christ and for Christ.


So what do we make of this? There are some who consider this to be a very boring picture of heaven. Basically, these are the folks who want for heaven to be like a really ideal version of earth. Imagine your best day ever. Now multiply that for eternity. For some that may be an eternity of eating chicken wings while watching your favorite team win the Super Bowl. For others that may be an eternity of hiking in perfect weather and finding an idyllic scene with a waterfall. These sound great, don't they?


The problem is that they all fall short. I maintain that the greatest days we have here on earth are made greater because they are not eternal. It's no fun to see your team win the big game every year unless they lose periodically. Being trapped in a cubicle farm under artificial light during the week makes that hike in the woods that much nicer. There needs to be tension before there can be release. Read any good story and you will see that. 


Why are we like that? Everything goes back to Genesis 3. Thanks to the Fall we live under tension all the time. Our nature is now such that we need the bad to enjoy the good. But heaven won't be like that. Heaven will be ideal all the time. 


What does that look like? Unceasing worship of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. We will be in the presence of God. And as we come into the presence of God the pressing cares of this world will fade away. As humans we read this passage and think that these seraphim got a bad deal. They remind us of the animatronic show at Chuck E Cheese that can do nothing but sound like a broken record. But what we don't realize in our fallen state is that they have the best job imaginable. They get to exist in the presence of the Lord and worship Him as He deserves.


If that still sounds boring to you, please let me know. We need to talk about who God is.

Keep the Love

Revelation 2:4 But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first.

4 ἀλλὰ ἔχω κατὰ σοῦ ὅτι τὴν ἀγάπην σου τὴν πρώτην ἀφῆκες.

This is one of those verses where different translations communicate very different meanings. That phrase at the end is sometimes difficult. Should  τὴν ἀγάπην σου τὴν πρώτην ἀφῆκες be "the love you had at first," or should it be "your first love?" I can see a pretty compelling argument for the latter, as do the translators of the KJV and the NIV. The word σου is in the genitive, so there is definitely a sense of possession here. It links two accusatives together: τὴν ἀγάπην σου τὴν πρώτην, so they should probably be taken together as the object of what was abandoned. It probably goes with τὴν ἀγάπην, which gives more credence to the KJV. However, that leaves the other accusative just hanging there. 


I can see the reason behind this translation.  John accuses the church in Ephesus of abandoning your love, the first one. This is because both of the accusatives are tied together with the genitive. The KJV translation is perfectly valid too, but this also seems to make more sense theologically, which is important as well.


Basically, John accuses the church in Ephesus of starting out great, but then losing some of the fire while keeping up the motions. This verse hits me upside the head every time I read it now that I understand it properly. This is a microcosm of my spiritual walk. It's not that I ever abandoned my first love, which is Jesus. But it's that I lost the love that I had at first. 


Of course, the cure is the gospel. That's always the cure. We need to remain steeped in it so as to keep the fires going. If we remember who we are and from what we've been saved how can we help but be in love with the Savior? To do less is to severely cheapen grace.

The Coming King

Revelation 1:14 The hairs of his head were white, like white wool, like snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire, ¹⁵ his feet were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace, and his voice was like the roar of many waters.

14 ἡ δὲ κεφαλὴ αὐτοῦ καὶ αἱ τρίχες λευκαὶ ὡς ἔριον λευκόν ὡς χιὼν καὶ οἱ ὀφθαλμοὶ αὐτοῦ ὡς φλὸξ πυρὸς ¹⁵  καὶ οἱ πόδες αὐτοῦ ὅμοιοι χαλκολιβάνῳ ὡς ἐν καμίνῳ πεπυρωμένης καὶ ἡ φωνὴ αὐτοῦ ὡς φωνὴ ὑδάτων πολλῶν,

In case you're wondering, I'm trying to follow the Johannine thread as I go through John, 1,2,3 John, and Revelation. It's kind of interesting to see John's train of thought, though of course Revelation gets a little scattered. This way it is easier to see the language that he uses and how it all fits together. We'll get back to Paul in a few weeks.


When I read this I was struck by the phrase ἡ φωνὴ αὐτοῦ ὡς φωνὴ ὑδάτων πολλῶν. First of all, I find it a bit interesting to see the same word translated two different ways in the same phrase. The word ἡ φωνὴ has the glosses sound, noise, or voice. Since it has the possessive αὐτοῦ it does not make much sense to call it "his sound" or "his noise." The translation makes perfect sense, but it could throw you off if you were not paying attention to the possessive. I've been there.


When I read this I think of the innumerable trips my family took to Niagara Falls in my youth. Even a relatively small waterfall makes a fair amount of noise. A tour of the waterfalls in western North Carolina will make that clear. But there is something different about Niagara. There is so much water going over two very high cliffs that the sound of the waterfalls pretty much overwhelm everything else. You can't hear much else besides the water when you're there, particularly if you are near the falls.


Think of that sound when you think of Christ. Anyone who focuses on "Jesus, meek and mild" has clearly never read Revelation. He is no hippie. He is coming back as a conquering king and there will be no question about who He is when He returns. This is the all-powerful alpha and omega. Are you ready for His return?

Maranatha!

Revelation 22:20 He who testifies to these things says, "Surely I am coming soon." Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!


20 Λέγει ὁ μαρτυρῶν ταῦτα· ναί, ἔρχομαι ταχύ. Ἀμήν, ἔρχου κύριε Ἰησοῦ.

Here we are at the end of the Greek New Testament.  This is one of the great promises of Scripture.  Jesus is coming back.  But it is also a little confusing to me.  He says that He ἔρχομαι ταχύ.  The word ταχύ means "quick" or "swift."  This is why it gets the translation of "coming soon."  The idea is that there will be a short period of time before Jesus comes.

The problem is that Jesus has not come back.  He had already come and gone by the time this was written.  It's possible that this was written from a past perspective regarding his first coming, but that seems unlikely.  John affirms it with Ἀμήν, ἔρχου κύριε Ἰησοῦ.  He is saying that he really looks forward to seeing the Lord very soon.

It is also possible to see ταχύ as describing the manner in which Jesus will come.  We know that it won't be a gradual thing, but that He will just be here.  The anticipation that John shows really makes me lean toward the classic translation, but it is also possible that he is just excited about the second coming in general and does not necessarily expect it to be very soon.

One way to reconcile this would be to see it in more of a spiritual than a physical sense.  That is also possible, but it is hard to reconcile that with the Olivet Discourse.  I'm just not quite sure what to do with this.  I'm not satisfied with the idea of "soon" meaning 2000 years.  That just doesn't make sense.

What do you do with this?

No More Hippie

Revelation 19:15 From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty.

15 καὶ ἐκ τοῦ στόματος αὐτοῦ ἐκπορεύεται ῥομφαία ὀξεῖα, ἵνα ἐν αὐτῇ πατάξῃ τὰ ἔθνη, καὶ αὐτὸς ποιμανεῖ αὐτοὺς ἐν ῥάβδῳ σιδηρᾷ, καὶ αὐτὸς πατεῖ τὴν ληνὸν τοῦ οἴνου τοῦ θυμοῦ τῆς ὀργῆς τοῦ θεοῦ τοῦ παντοκράτορος,

Although I'm not sure that I subscribe to the futurist view of Revelation, there is still much to be gleaned from it.  Folks of every millenial persuasion agree that Christ is going to return in glory.  This passage in Revelation 19 is one of my favorites because it describes just that.  Sadly, much of the church has the image of Jesus as a hippie in a pink dress.  He is Jesus meek and mild who doesn't get mad about anything and just accepts everyone with open arms.  Of course, He does accept repentant sinners with open arms.  But He does not say that "it's all good."

Here we get a glimpse of how it will be when He returns.  He will come back as a judge.  It is not going to be pretty.  Think Aragorn riding in to deal with orcs.  Quite literally, He is going to kick ass and take names.  There are no two ways about it.

I love this because as a man I like having a hero.  Our culture has made many men into heroes.  They could be suave and tough like James Bond.  They could symbolize raw strength like a character in a modern action flick.  They could be intellectuals like Thomas Jefferson.  They could be complete goofballs like Tim Carrey.  We all have our role models and our ideas of what a man should be.

Let's look to Jesus.  He showed incredible grace and compassion while He walked on the earth.  But He did not just sit quietly while detestable things happened.  He cleansed the temple with whips (perhaps twice).  He pronounced woes on the Pharisees.  He did not back down from fights when it was time to fight.  And He will ultimately come back in glory to judge the world.  Are you ready for that?  Are you going to be part of the nations that He strikes down with the sword or will you be on His side?  You'd better decide now before it is too late because the mercy runs out at the day of judgment.

Babylon the Great

Revelation 18:2 And he called out with a mighty voice, "Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great! She has become a dwelling place for demons, a haunt for every unclean spirit, a haunt for every unclean bird, a haunt for every unclean and detestable beast.

2 καὶ ἔκραξεν ἐν ἰσχυρᾷ φωνῇ λέγων· ἔπεσεν ἔπεσεν Βαβυλὼν ἡ μεγάλη, καὶ ἐγένετο κατοικητήριον δαιμονίων καὶ φυλακὴ παντὸς πνεύματος ἀκαθάρτου καὶ φυλακὴ παντὸς ὀρνέου ἀκαθάρτου [καὶ φυλακὴ παντὸς θηρίου ἀκαθάρτου] καὶ μεμισημένου,

I don't want to comment on this verse too specifically other than to use it as an example of the troubles I've had with Revelation over the years.  For the most part, my churches and other teachings I've been exposed to have had a Dispensational bent to them.  This is supposed to mean that we champion a literal interpretation of Scripture.

However, that seems to go out the window when we get to the apocalyptic genre.  We see all kinds of things that aren't there.  Some folks see the plague of locusts as huey helicopters.  They read the passages about swords being beaten into plowshares and they figure those passages must refer to weapons in general being used for peace.  Of course, not everyone is guilty of that, but both have been done.

When I read through Revelation and I read about the fall of Babylon I can't help but think of New York City.  There are plenty of parallels.  But if I am committed to an authorial-intent hermeneutic I really can't go there.  I can't apply Jeremiah directly to the USA, even though there are parallels there too.

I still don't claim to have everything sorted out, but I do know that Babylon has indeed fallen.  I understand that Saddam Hussein wanted to rebuild it, but we got in his way.  So as I read this passage I have two choices if I refuse to engage in speculation:

1. Babylon will be rebuilt and fall again
2. This refers to something that already happened

Otherwise, I am as guilty of speculation as those who see the cross in every reference to wood in the OT, baptism in every reference to water, etc.  I don't think I'm ready to go there.  I've set foot in that land, but am not comfortable pitching my tent there.  What does a faithful futurist do with this passage?

More Holy Fear

Revelation 15:4 Who will not fear, O Lord, and glorify your name? For you alone are holy. All nations will come and worship you, for your righteous acts have been revealed."

4 τίς οὐ μὴ φοβηθῇ, κύριε, καὶ δοξάσει τὸ ὄνομά σου; ὅτι μόνος ὅσιος, ὅτι πάντα τὰ ἔθνη ἥξουσιν καὶ προσκυνήσουσιν ἐνώπιόν σου, ὅτι τὰ δικαιώματά σου ἐφανερώθησαν.

I'm sorry for not blogging much lately.  I've been quite busy in the mornings and, frankly, there hasn't been a ton in Revelation to blog about.  We're getting to the really interesting stuff soon though.  This is another one of those unambiguous passages that needs mention.

Here we read about the folks who did not worship the beast and remained faithful to the lamb.  They make this great statement here about the Lord.  Everyone will eventually worship the Lord.  Some as their Lord and others as their Judge.  But everyone will worship.

The fact is that after the final judgment there will be no atheists.  They will see the majesty of Christ and will not have anywhere else to go but to acknowledge Him.  The problem is that for most it will be too late.  No one knows when He is coming back.  Are you ready for it?

True Authority

Revelation 13:7 Also it was allowed to make war on the saints and to conquer them. And authority was given it over every tribe and people and language and nation, 8 and all who dwell on earth will worship it, everyone whose name has not been written before the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who was slain.

7 καὶ ἐδόθη αὐτῷ ποιῆσαι πόλεμον μετὰ τῶν ἁγίων καὶ νικῆσαι αὐτούς, καὶ ἐδόθη αὐτῷ ἐξουσία ἐπὶ πᾶσαν φυλὴν καὶ λαὸν καὶ γλῶσσαν καὶ ἔθνος. 8  καὶ προσκυνήσουσιν αὐτὸν πάντες οἱ κατοικοῦντες ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς, οὗ οὐ γέγραπται τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ ἐν τῷ βιβλίῳ τῆς ζωῆς τοῦ ἀρνίου τοῦ ἐσφαγμένου ἀπὸ καταβολῆς κόσμου.

It's tempting to get sidetracked with interpretive questions here.  Who is the beast?  Is it the President?  I don't think so for a lot of reasons.  Some thought it was Kennedy.  Others thought it was Hitler.  Pope John Paul II was another candidate.  We can speculate forever about this and in fact there are many folks who love to do just that.  I do not want to venture any guess about that.

But what I do know for sure is that any evil only exists through authority given by the Lord.  The phrase ἐδόθη αὐτῷ (literally translated "it was given") is an aorist passive.  In other words, all of these abominations could not happen apart from God's will.  He does not necessarily will each specific evil act, but He does give authority to this beast.

We've seen this before in Scripture.  The same thing happens in Job, which makes some skeptics see the whole book as little more than a bar bet between God and Satan.  But where we see this most significantly is at the cross.  There are references throughout Scripture that it was God's will for Jesus to die on the cross.  Therefore, in a sense God willed the most heinous act ever committed.

Does this mean we should throw in the towel when it comes to God?  By no means!  Instead, it should comfort us that nothing happens beyond His control.  I can't speak for you, but I always like to have a sense of what is going on.  I can handle a certain degree of chaos if I know that the important things are taken care of.  Knowing that God is ultimately in charge gives me great comfort.  All sorts of terrible things happen to Christians every day.  Yet God is in control and has a plan to make it all work out for His glory.  Therefore, if we focus on the Lord and the glory of His name as our greatest good then we can weather anything that comes our way.

On the Throne

Revelation 11:15 Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, "The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever."

15 Καὶ ὁ ἕβδομος ἄγγελος ἐσάλπισεν· καὶ ἐγένοντο φωναὶ μεγάλαι ἐν τῷ οὐρανῷ λέγοντες· ἐγένετο ἡ βασιλεία τοῦ κόσμου τοῦ κυρίου ἡμῶν καὶ τοῦ χριστοῦ αὐτοῦ, καὶ βασιλεύσει εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων.

There are some questions around this verse that I'm not sure if I can handle in a blog post.  But I do know that these Christological passages fascinate me.  We know from Ephesians 1 that Christ is indeed on His throne and that He is indeed in control of everything.  So what does this passage mean?

Getting back to what I wrote way back in chapter 1, it would seem that John had a very close fulfillment of these passages in mind.  Yet I know many who take this to mean that Christ is not currently ruling earth, but that Satan is now (i.e. the god of this earth).  So what do we make of this?  Ephesians 1:22 tells us that all things are under His feet.  I would consider the world to be part of "all things."  This means that there is a contradiction (which is impossible) or we're reading something wrong somewhere.

As a rule, I like to use a clear passage to help interpret a more difficult passage.  Ephesians 1 is crystal-clear.  Meanwhile, here we are dealing with apocalyptic literature that is rich with symbolism and is ambiguous as to the time of its fulfillment.  This forces me to say that this has already happened.  I may later regret writing this, but it's where I am now.  I also realize that there may be other passages I am not considering.

Theology geeks may find this conversation interesting, but I do want to keep this blog fairly devotional.  I focus on these Christological passages because I like thinking about Jesus and His reign over all of creation.  It amazes me that this God who created everything (and Colossians tells us all things were created through Him and for Him) also knows me personally and I can know Him as well.  He condescends to humanity by giving us special revelation through His Word.  It's an incredible blessing to know the Living God.

Does this fill your heart with awe and wonder?  It should certainly empower your life.  Not in a health and wealth kind of way, but in a way that encourages you to walk by the Spirit and not by the flesh.  Does it?

More Worship

Revelation 7:12 saying, "Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen."

12 λέγοντες· ἀμήν, ἡ εὐλογία καὶ ἡ δόξα καὶ ἡ σοφία καὶ ἡ εὐχαριστία καὶ ἡ τιμὴ καὶ ἡ δύναμις καὶ ἡ ἰσχὺς τῷ θεῷ ἡμῶν εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων· ἀμήν.

This is likely a favorite chapter for more hardcore dispensationalists because of the reference to the great tribulation.  I don't want to go there now because I don't have the time or expertise to dive deeply into it.  But what I do know is that I like for this blog to be more devotional.  This is a great verse to ponder as I go about my day.

Here John quotes angels that are around the scene with the central throne, the twenty-four elders, and the four living creatures.  The multitude of 144,000 from the twelve tribes (though I'm not sure what's up with mentioning Joseph since he didn't have a tribe) shout about how salvation is from the Lord and this is the response of the angels.

Do you really believe that salvation is from the Lord?  Or do you think that He just provides a means of salvation and we need to take it?  The image of God I get so far from this book is of an omnipotent, sovereign God.  He saves people.  He doesn't just make them able to be saved.  He actually does the saving.  What an awesome God!

And do you really believe that all these things are ascribed to Him?  If so, how does that change the way you live?  Do you operate in a state of awe of this incredible God we serve?  Or do you try to relegate Him to a part of your life while the rest of your life is spent on other pursuits?

God will not be put on a shelf.  It's clear that if we are in Christ then we have an eternity of worship to look forward to.  If that doesn't sound appealing then perhaps you don't know Him after all.

The Great Day of Wrath

Revelation 6:17 for the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?"

17 ὅτι ἦλθεν ἡ ἡμέρα ἡ μεγάλη τῆς ὀργῆς αὐτῶν, καὶ τίς δύναται σταθῆναι;

Many folks like to paint an image of God as a cosmic Santa Claus.  Or maybe he is like your grandfather who managed to overlook all your faults and love you anyway.  He still gives you treats even when you're naughty, unlike your parents who try to keep rules in place.  Death is a massive campfire with us all singing Kum-Ba-Ah in the sky.

Revelation paints a different picture and that is something we will get into as we go through this book.  Here we get a glimpse of what God's final judgment on the world will look like. It won't be pretty.  There is a rhetorical question at the end of this verse.  τίς δύναται σταθῆναι;  The answer is simple -- nobody.

Christ is going to come back as a righteous judge.  Of course, we naturally think of ourselves as basically good people.  We're certainly not as bad as that person over there.  However, ultimately every sin is going to be judged.  There are two possible outcomes for this.  The first is that you will get what you deserve and you will be judged for your sins for eternity.  God is perfectly holy and cannot abide sin.

The second is that we do not get what we deserve because Christ bore God's wrath for our sins.  However, you need to repent and believe before that can be true for you.  He will wipe your record clean if you acknowledge Him for who He is.  

Salvation is much more than escaping judgment, but it is also that.  When every knee bows at Christ's coming will yours bow to Him as your Lord or as your judge?

He is Worthy

Revelation 5:9 And they sang a new song, saying, "Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, 10 and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth."

9 καὶ ᾄδουσιν ᾠδὴν καινὴν λέγοντες· ἄξιος εἶ λαβεῖν τὸ βιβλίον καὶ ἀνοῖξαι τὰς σφραγῖδας αὐτοῦ, ὅτι ἐσφάγης καὶ ἠγόρασας τῷ θεῷ ἐν τῷ αἵματί σου ἐκ πάσης φυλῆς καὶ γλώσσης καὶ λαοῦ καὶ ἔθνους 10  καὶ ἐποίησας αὐτοὺς τῷ θεῷ ἡμῶν βασιλείαν καὶ ἱερεῖς, καὶ βασιλεύσουσιν ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς.

We're starting to get into the visions now.  I don't claim to know what they all mean beyond what John interprets for us, but I do know that there are plenty of doxological passages in here.  This is one of them.  John has a vision of a scroll with seven seals.  The problem is that no one can open the seals.  This grieves John because he desperately wants to know what is in the book.

Fortunately, there is one worthy to open the seals.  He is the one seated on the throne.  Based on the description here, this person can only be Jesus.  Or, if you prefer, King Jesus.

I really don't have any profound truths to draw from this.  I think the proper response is the same as the living creatures and the 24 elders.  All we can do is bow in reverent awe of who He is.  Jesus alone is the one worthy to break the seals.  Jesus alone is able to set us free from our sins.  Jesus is the reigning Lord on His throne right now (see Ephesians).  He is the beginning and the end.  Everything in history points to Him.  Everything in the future points to Him.

Yes, He is worthy of our praise.  In fact, only He is worthy of our praise.  What or who else are you praising?  My list is too long to count sometimes.  Let's give Him the praise only He deserves, amen?

I Don't Have to Imagine

Revelation 4:9 And whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to him who is seated on the throne, who lives forever and ever, 10 the twenty-four elders fall down before him who is seated on the throne and worship him who lives forever and ever. They cast their crowns before the throne, saying, 11 "Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created."

9 Καὶ ὅταν δώσουσιν τὰ ζῷα δόξαν καὶ τιμὴν καὶ εὐχαριστίαν τῷ καθημένῳ ἐπὶ τῷ θρόνῳ τῷ ζῶντι εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων, 10  πεσοῦνται οἱ εἴκοσι τέσσαρες πρεσβύτεροι ἐνώπιον τοῦ καθημένου ἐπὶ τοῦ θρόνου καὶ προσκυνήσουσιν τῷ ζῶντι εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων καὶ βαλοῦσιν τοὺς στεφάνους αὐτῶν ἐνώπιον τοῦ θρόνου λέγοντες· 11  ἄξιος εἶ, ὁ κύριος καὶ ὁ θεὸς ἡμῶν, λαβεῖν τὴν δόξαν καὶ τὴν τιμὴν καὶ τὴν δύναμιν, ὅτι σὺ ἔκτισας τὰ πάντα καὶ διὰ τὸ θέλημά σου ἦσαν καὶ ἐκτίσθησαν.

This chapter has to be one of the greatest doxological chapters in all of Scripture.  As you read about these τὰ ζῷα or living ones, you can't help but think of the living creatures in Isaiah 6.  It seems that these have a similar role in that their whole existence is dedicated to praising the glory of the Lord.  What a job!

Earlier in the chapter we saw 24 elders on thrones around the main throne.  They have gold crowns on their heads, so they are clearly not just random people.  The gold crowns symbolize authority.  What do they do when they are before the throne?  βαλοῦσιν τοὺς στεφάνους αὐτῶν ἐνώπιον τοῦ θρόνου.  They recognize that they are not God and, therefore, need to bow before the throne.

There was a song a few years ago called "I Can Only Imagine."  It's pretty catchy and became a hit on stations like K-Love.  It even got covered by at least one country singer.  In the chorus the singer wonders what he will do when he gets to heaven and is surrounded by God's glory.  Will he dance?  Will he in awe be still?  Will he stand in His presence?  Will he fall to his knees?  Will he sing hallelujah?  Will he even be able to speak at all?  He can only imagine how he will react.

I can only imagine that the writer of that song never read Revelation 4, Isaiah 6, or many other passages where someone has a theophany.  It's pretty clear what happens when we're in the presence of the divine.  We fall down and worship.  There can be no other reaction.

Now you may think that is fine for the future, but what about right now?  We're not standing in the physical presence of the Lord in the sense described here or in Isaiah 6.  Yet if we have been redeemed by the blood of Christ we have come as close to this as we can while here on earth.  To suggest that we can have any reaction besides worship is preposterous.  To call Jesus one's Savior and not Lord is a contradiction in terms.  To say that is to say that we do not understand who Jesus is.