Revelation - 1

This time I will briefly introduce you to the author, dating & theme of the book. It must be noted that in Church history many positions have been formulated to interpret these 22 chapters. There are four broad categories that have emerged: the Futurist, Historicist, Spiritualist (or Idealist) & Preterist positions. We can find many Godly men within all of these categories. I am not standing in judgement over any of these men, nor challenging their salvation. The book is complex and Christian charity is required. A conversation is needed and hopefully this adds to it.

Positions on Revelation

1. The Futurists see this book as prophecy about times & events still in the future. Although written to seven historical Churches over 2,000 years ago the Futurist does not acknowledge its relevance to those Churches. Because to the futurist this book concerns a future rapture, tribulation & millennium. The school of dispensational premillennialism dominates this camp of thought. In general the denominations that hold this position include the independent Baptists, Mormons, Jehovah’s Witnesses & Seventh Day Adventists. In addition many that are “Bible Churches” or “Community Churches” can be found in this group. Some of the main proponents of this position are: Hal Lindsay (author of the Late Great Planet Earth series), Henry H. Morris (author of The Genesis Record), Charles C. Ryrie, Dwight Pentecost and John Walvoord.
2. Historicists present the message of the Revelation as working itself out throughout the different eras of the Church. The underlying understanding is that each of the seven historical Churches represents a period of time in Church history. Once again, this camp does not see the letter as having much significance to the Churches it was written. In general advocates of this position understand themselves as being the last Church before Jesus returns; hence the position is continually revised to suit the current Church. The 16^th century Reformers were generally Historicists. Other names within this camp are; Matthew Henry, E.B. Elliott & Albert Barnes.
3. The Spiritualists or Idealists do not advocate any fulfilment of the prophecies in Revelation but rather see the visions as “a great drama depicting transcending spiritual realities…Fulfilment is seen either as entirely spiritual or as recurrent, finding representative expression in historical events throughout the age, rather than in one-time, specific fulfilments.”^[2] They look towards the principal found in Revelation and apply it to history. Some theologians in this group include Rousas John Rushdoony, William Hendriksen, Abraham Kuyper, Anthony A. Hoekema and Lewis Berkhof.
4. Finally, the Preterist position understands the message to the seven Churches as “having contemporary significance to the generation to which it was written.”^[3] This school of thought sees the prophecies were for the near future, & in the majority, not entirety, were fulfilled by the fall of Jerusalem in A.D. 70. As Marvin Pate indicated; “though the prophecies were in the future when John wrote & when his original audience read them, they are now in our past.”^[4] Hence the name Preterist is based on the Latin word (praeter), meaning “that which is beyond, past.”^[5] The noted people in this camp include: Jay E. Adams, R.C. Sproul, Kenneth L. Gentry, Greg L. Bahnsen, Gary DeMar, David Chilton, David S. Clark, Moses Stuart & Milton Terry.

I hold the Preterist position to be the most Biblical of the four & throughout will seek to establish that from the Scriptures for you. In saying this I exhort you that we must never simply assume a position or interpretation of the Scriptures. It is our responsibility to do as the Bereans did, search the Scriptures daily to establish if what we assume, believe & are taught are true (Acts 17:11 ). People of God you must search the Bible to ensure that what you believe is Biblically valid.

You may be asking why we are grappling with this. At the very heart of Christianity, your faith, is total submission & obedience to God through loving Him with not only all of your heart and soul but also your mind. The Lord Jesus states that the first command is to; “love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind” (Matt 22:37 ). As Christians we do not have to leave our minds at the door of the Church, we are not stripped of our intellect when Christ brings us into covenant. No, as fellow heirs of Christ we must not hold to vain Philosophy, but this implies that we must hold to true or Christ centred Philosophy. Paul states that in Christ; “are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (Col 2:3 ). Brothers all wisdom is founded in the Lord Jesus Christ. All knowledge and wisdom belong to the Him. So my dear brothers, do not think that the Church must be full of intellectual dwarfs, no we possess the only true basis for knowledge & wisdom. Unfortunately a vast number in the Lord have been misled to believe that we are “not to polish the brass of a sinking ship.” In other words, why waste our time with these matters if the world is on the brink of destruction, why you should be trying to pluck sinners from the fires of hell. The Church needs to be retrained to submit every thought captive to the obedience of Christ & to again begin to love God with all our minds as well as strength & soul.

Author

Let us now turn & look at Revelation’s author. William Hendriksen wrote that; “we must remember that the real Author of the book is not the Apostle John but God Omniscient Himself.”^[6] The book itself identifies that the Lord “sent & signified it by the angel unto His servant John” (Rev 1:1 ). Revelation does not reveal which John the angel brought the revelation to. There were many Johns in the New Testament times. However, it would be incumbent upon any other John than the Apostle himself to reveal to us which one he is. As one author asserts; “to say John was sufficient. Any other John would need a descriptive epithet, but there was one John who needed none.”^[7] “The external evidence is overwhelmingly in favour of this view, and Justin Martyr, Irenaeus, Tertullian, Hippolytus, and Origen testify that the Apocalypse is the writing of the Apostle John.”^[8] Arthur Ogden notes that; “the nature of the book demands the essence of a man who compares in abilities to a fully inspired Peter or Paul. In fact, he must be able to stand beside an Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel or Zechariah, for the Apocalypse encompasses the fullness of these prophets and more. Only John, the apostle, measures up to the likeness of these notable ones.”^[9] It needs to be stated that this is the only letter to which the Apostle attached his name. This was probably due to a number of things:

In the epistles he wrote personal, intimate letters to Churches/peoples that he knew.

In Revelation John is writing to seven Churches from the Isle of Patmos, and only one of those Churches knew him well – Ephesus.

The Gospel he wrote was probably hand delivered and therefore did not need his name attached, whereas this letter was sent.

I believe, with the early Church fathers & men like Ogden, that the book was written by the Apostle John. Any other John would have substantiated his authorship to the original readers. The author does not; therefore we can deduce from the circumstances that the Apostle penned it.

Dating Revelation

Amongst scholars there has been a raging debate over the dating of Revelation. The Futurists have driven this in the majority, for if they can prove that the book was written after A.D. 70 it is an anathema to the Preterist position. Now we need to be careful in examining what is being offered as evidence. The major reference that is pointed to for a late dating of the book is a single ambiguous sentence written by the early Church father Irenaues, bishop of Lyons (France). His original writings were in Greek and are no longer in existence. We only possess Latin copies. It must be noted that this single sentence could be interpreted either way, i.e. it could support a Futurist or Preterist position. Importantly, evidence that is extra-scriptural must be taken as exactly that – extra-scriptural. Tradition & the faith of our forefathers are important & we must seek to understand what has been believed historically in the Church. However, our ultimate position on the Bible must not be based upon uninspired writers, rather upon the Bible itself. If we examine the book of Revelation closely it does reveal the general time in which it must have been written. There is much internal or Scriptural proof to indicate that the book was written prior to the destruction of the Temple in A.D. 70. The evidence can be found in how John refers to Jerusalem and Herod’s Temple as still standing. This is important as history attests to the destruction of Jerusalem & the Temple in A.D. 70 by the Roman armies lead by General Titus. If John writes about the city & temple the book must have been written prior to A.D. 70. The book does write of the city & the temple still standing. Of Jerusalem we read; “And their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city which mystically is called Sodom & Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified” (Rev 11:8 ). And of the temple we read; “Then there was given me a measuring rod like a staff; and someone said, “Get up & measure the temple of God & the altar, & those who worship in it. Leave out the courts which is outside the temple and do not measure it” (Rev 11:1-2 ). The city was standing & the temple to be measured. It must be noted that there is no Scriptural indication anywhere that this is a rebuilt temple or that the temple must be rebuilt after its final destruction in A.D. 70. In fact Scripture establishes that the new Temple is the body of Christ. The dispensational camp within the Futurist view indicates that this temple is a rebuilt temple. The New Testament does not say that the destroyed physical temple is to be rebuilt; rather Christ indicates that His resurrected body is the new Temple (John 2:18-21 ).

Local politics and dating

John offers us further evidence of the dating by referring to the local political scene at the time of writing. In Revelation 17:9-10 we read; “Here is the mind which has wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sits, and they are seven kings; five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come; and when he comes, he must remain a little while.” From antiquity we know that the city on seven hills is Rome. From this passage we are told of 7 kings, 5 of which have died & 1 was reigning. The reigning king will be succeeded by one who will only have office for a short period of time. If we look at the Caesars or Kings of Rome around 70 A.D. we note the following:

The five that have fallen are – Julius Caesar (49-44 B.C.), Augustus Caesar (31 B.C.-A.D.14), Tiberius Caesar (A.D. 14-37), Gaius Caligula (A.D. 37-41) & Claudius (A.D. 41-54).

The one that “is” can be identified as Caesar Nero (A.D. 54-68).

And the one that has “not yet come” we can identify as Galba, for he reigned but “a little” (A.D. June 68 to January 69).

Following these seven kings were: Otho (A.D. 69), Vitellius (A.D. 69), Vespasian (A.D. 69-79) & Titus (A.D. 79-81).

No other time in Roman history fits the picture John paints as well. Thus we can confidently date the writing being during the reign of Nero, which ended with his suicide in A.D. 68.^[10]

Biblical theology and dating

In the world of Biblical theology, the most compelling evidence for an early dating of Revelation are the angels therein. “We find both human angels and spirit angels in Revelation. The human angels are Jesus and the pastors of the seven churches, while the spirit angels are the rest. It is noteworthy that the pastors of the New Covenant churches are termed angels, because they replace the angelic watchers and overseers of the Old Creation. Revelation 1-3 reveal the new angels of the New Covenant, who are human angels. Revelation 4-22 show us spirit angels judging the world they were put in charge of, the world of the Old Creation, under the direction of the Human Angel, Jesus Christ.”^[11] I have argued elsewhere (here and here) that the Old Creation was governed by spirit angels and the New Creation by men. The book of Revelation reveals the final and greatest judgment on the Old Creation. The spirit angels judge the Old World and then cast in their crowns. Once they bring this judgment to pass the full ruling of the world is handed back to men. At the end of the cosmos man will judge angels. This is perhaps the greatest internal evidence for an early dating of the book.

Spirit angels administered and therefore judged the Old Creation. Since the New Creation is greater, the fact that human beings administer it and will judge it means that human angels are now higher than spirit angels. We shall judge them (1 Corinthians 6:3 ).
Perhaps the most compelling evidence for the dating of the book is all of the time indicators scattered throughout. When reading any prophetic Scripture it is important to identify the text’s internal indicators of when fulfilment is envisaged. A great deal of damage can & has been done to Holy Scripture through importing preconceived ideas into the text itself. We must let the text determine its context, not our system of theology or eschatology – our end-times view. The questions of when, where & how should be established via internal examination of the passage rather than external factors.

Internal timetexts and dating

Throughout the book of Revelation we find the Apostle highlighting the general fulfilment timeframe for the majority of the prophecies. These are considered the time texts; they contextualise the timeframe in which the readers are to expect fulfilment. If we look to the Scriptures you may be surprised that John reveals to his recipients that they are reading about “things which must shortly take place” (Rev 1:1 ). After a comprehensive survey of this book the only conclusion we can come to is that the events prophesied must take place in the near future of the original recipients. It is like the Apostle brackets the entire book with time indicators at the beginning and the end. In addition to chapter 1 verse 1 we find the following towards the beginning:

“Blessed is he who reads & those who hear the words of this prophecy, & keep those things which are written in it, for the time is near” (1:3). Thus the things prophesied are at hand.

“I, John, both your brother & companion in the tribulation” (1:9). The apostle was not only their brother in the faith but was also a companion in their hardship.

“I am coming to you quickly” says the Lord in chapter 2:16 and again in 3:11. Therefore, the judgement coming of Christ is eminent – just around the corner and not thousands of years on the horizon.

And towards the end of the letter John seems to close the brackets through reaffirming the close proximity of what is to occur.

Again we read that the prophecy concerns “…the things which must soon take place” in chapter 22:6. The very next verse tells us; “behold, I am coming quickly” (22:7), which is reaffirmed later in verse 12.

The time text of how close the fulfilments will be is restated in the 10^th verse of chapter 22; “for the time is near.”

Therefore, the time is at hand and near for the tribulation to come upon the readers of this book, they must be ready as Christ is right at the door, He will come soon in to finally judge Israel.

To place these time texts within their context they must be read as by the original recipients of the letter & not to us, some 2,000 years later. It is revealed that John penned this letter by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit while exiled on the Isle of Patmos. The letter was not directly to us but rather to seven historical Churches in Asia (1:11). These Churches were actual Churches, there is not indication otherwise. We must read the book in its historical context - a letter to 7 Churches, warning them of the imminent tribulation in which John will be their companion (1:9). The letter does not describe events that are to occur thousands of years after the recipients are gone, no the letter is to be read when they gathered to worship. The futurist would have you believe that the time was not near, the events were not to soon take place, the Lord was not to soon come and John was not these historical peoples’ companion in the tribulation that was at hand. In fact they would have you believe that the tribulation was not at hand but rather we are still waiting for it. This school of thought will have you believe that you are living in the end times; living in the time when Jesus will return soon & you will be raptured out of the coming war that will end the world as we know it. If that view of the future does not shape the way you live the present then I suggest you check your vital signs. If all of your focus is on a coming tribulation & saving souls from that dreadful hour you have missed the entire focus of the Scriptures.

If you think that the book of Revelation deals with events in the distant future of the original recipients, you have overlooked the time texts that John repeats throughout. The text indicates that the letter was written with a specific message to a historical audience. Read with me from chapter 1, verse 1 states: “The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants – things which must shortly take place” & verse 3; “Blessed is he who reads & those who hear the words of this prophecy, & keep those things which are written in it; for the time is near.” In the first three verses the Apostle makes it clear that the Lord Jesus Christ is the one revealing the prophecies & that those who receive & understand it will be blessed because it is relevant to their lives. Why? Because what is prophesied is to take place shortly for the time is at hand. It is being made clear, the timing of what is prophesied is the near future of those receiving the letter, not us. The internal evidence found in the opening verses are overwhelming, the Lord wants us to know that these events are to shortly take place for the time of His coming in judgement of Israel is near. He is right at the door, ready to come and judge those who crucified Him. I believe the strongest evidence attesting of this can be read in the seventh verse of the first chapter; “Behold, He is coming with clouds, & every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. Even so. Amen.” This verse identifies the theme of the book of Revelation & it seals the timing within itself. The broad theme of the book is the judgement coming of Christ, which is His public vindication. The Old World is judged and a new King sits on the throne. Even those who had physically pierced Him, will see Him come in judgment on the Old World. The Jews who cried out; “we have no king but Caesar” will see & be judged by the Living Christ.

Christ's coming

Theologians acknowledge at least six different types of comings of Christ; namely:

1. 1. The coming in Theophanies, in the Old Testament. Two examples are Genesis 3:8 ; “They heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, & the man & his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden” & Genesis 17:1 ; “Now when Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to Abram & said to im, ‘I am God Almighty; walk before Me, & be blameless.”
   2. The second type of coming of Christ is identified as His incarnation coming at Bethlehem. Matthew 2:6 tells us; “’And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah, are by no means least among the leaders of Judah; for out of you shall come forth a Ruler who will shepherd My people Israel.”
   3. The third type is the one which we tend to associate with any passage that refers to Christ’s coming. This is His consummation or final coming at the end of time. We do find many passages referring to this coming throughout the New Testament. An example can be found in Acts 1:11 ; “They also said, ‘Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven.” I assert strongly that the Biblical position for the timing of this coming in sometime in our future. We do not know the time or day but it is futuristic.
   4. The fourth type is Christ’s Ascension, His coming up to God the Father in heaven. The Scripture associates Jesus’ ascension into Heaven to sit at the right hand of the Ancient of Days as the Ascension Coming, Christ is coming up to the Father. This is exactly what Jesus is speaking about in Matthew 24:29-31 . He is quoting from Daniel chapter 7 verse 13 where we read that; “I kept looking in the night visions, & behold, with the clouds of heaven One like a Son of Man was coming, & He came up to the Ancient of Days & was presented before Him.” Often we assume the passage in Matthew as Christ’s final coming but when we read the quoted passage from Daniel we see that the Son of Man is actually coming, where, up upon the clouds to the Ancient of Days to receive His kingdom. It is Christ’s ascension coming.
   5. The fifth type of Christ’s coming is a spirit one, this occurred at Pentecost. In John 14:16-18 we read; “I will ask the Father, & He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you & will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.”
   6. The sixth type of coming is identified as the coming of God in judgement. There are many examples in the Bible of this type of coming (e.g. Ps 18:7-15; 104:3, Is 19:1 & Joel 2:1-2 ). From Revelation 2:5 we read; “Therefore remember from where you have fallen, & repent & do the deeds you did at first; or else I am coming to you & will remove your lamp stand out of its place – unless you repent.”

The vindication of Jesus Christ through His judgment coming

It is this sixth type of coming, one of judgement, which permeates the book of Revelation. We are reading about the judgement coming of Christ. In majority the book records the impending judgement of Jerusalem (or Israel) & also the Church, if she does not repent. The Lord Jesus Christ judges Israel for her adultery & ultimate murder of the Son of God. “The final destruction of the Old Creation is the public vindication of Jesus Christ. Repeatedly throughout His career, Jesus warned that destruction was going to come soon on the apostate Jews and on the whole old world. Occasionally He also predicted His own resurrection, but not nearly as often. Jesus’ resurrection was a private vindication of who He was and what He did, but no one saw it take place, and Jesus only appeared to a few disciples. The destruction of the enemy city, Jerusalem, was His public vindication. Fulfilling Jesus’ prophecies, it confirmed Him as a true Prophet, and as the last and greatest Prophet. It was the proof that He had indeed ascended to heaven and become King of kings and Lord of lords. Thus, the destruction of the Old Creation is of incalculable importance to Biblical theology. It was not some mere mopping-up operation, but was the great public historical vindication of Jesus by the Father. Those who fail to see this fact generally discount the importance of the destruction of Jerusalem, and thus fail to see why it occupies so much attention in the Gospels, and also fail to see that it is the major concern of the book of Revelation.”^[12] Thus the major them of the book of Revelation is the vindication of Jesus Christ through His covenantal judgment and destruction of Jerusalem, the Old Creation. Hence, we witness in the book the complete removal of the Old World and the ushering in of the New Creation.

Some may “reject the idea that most of Revelation is concerned with the period from Pentecost to the end of the Old Creation in AD 70, because they think that this makes Revelation irrelevant for today’s world. Not so, because the short history from AD 30-70 is a type or model for the long history of Christendom from Pentecost to the Second Coming.”^[13] Understanding Revelation in its context helps us to correctly apply the book to our lives. Speculation concerning the demise of planet earth only leads to fear mongering and short sightedness. This itself leads to a stunted Christian life. If we do not have a long-term view of the future then why build a godly family with an inter-generational plan for the future?

End notes

[1] James B. Jordon, A Brief Reader’s Guide to Revelation (Niceville, Fl: Transfiguration Press, 1999), p. 6.