Revelation Commentary

Revelation
Chapter 1
1:3 the who reads and those who hear. One person would read aloud, and others,
who probably could not read, would listen. See commentary 1 Timothy 4:13.
keep. The Greek word is tere (#5083 ), and it has several distinct meanings.
One is to obey, and some English versions think that is the definition here. However, it
also means guard, safeguard watch, or pay attention to, and that seems to be
more the meaning in this verse. Note the following examples, which have tere used in
that sense (OT verses are from the Septuagint; all these examples are from the NET
translation): Proverbs 2:11: Understanding will guard you. Proverbs 3:21: safeguard
sound wisdom and discretion. Proverbs 4:6: Do not forsake wisdomand she will
guard you. Proverbs 4:23: Guard your heart with all vigilance. Ecclesiastes 11:4: He
who watches the wind will not sow [the seed]. Matthew 27:36: Then they [the guards at
the crucifixion] sat down and kept guard over him there. John 2:10: You have kept the
good wine until now! Acts 12:5: So Peter was kept in prison.
1:4. the seven spirits that are before his throne. The best we know on the seven
spirits before God is that they must be seven spiritual beings who are of great rank and
authority, and help God administer the spiritual/physical world. Trinitarians have
postulated that these seven are actually just one spirit, "The Holy Spirit," but that is not
good exegesis of the text and is only suggested because of their Trinitarian doctrine. E.
W. Bullinger, at one time the secretary of the Trinitarian Bible Society in England, wrote:
This fact that they are before or in the presence of, Gods throne, shows that they
occupy the position of servants (see 1 Kings 10:8), and of created beings (4:5, 10; 7:9,
15; 8:2; 11:4, 16; 12:10; 14:3, 5, 10; 20:12). This one fact ought to have precluded the
idea that these seven could be one, and that one Divine! ...On the other hand, angels are
constantly represented as occupying this position. And angels are again referred to in 4:5
under the symbol of seven lamps (to which other spiritual creatures are likened in Ezek.
1:13).
Revelation 3:1 says that Jesus Christ has the seven spirits of God, which makes
perfect sense if these seven are angels and he is Lord of all creation. Revelation 4:5 once
again mentions that the seven spirits are before the throne of God, and 5:6 mentions
them in the context of being connected to Jesus Christ. Revelation 8:2 then mentions
the seven angels who stand before God, but up to that time there were no seven
angels mentioned, only seven spirits. Thus the use of the definite article is a good
reason to identify the seven spirits with the seven angels. It is possible that these seven
are, or are somehow connected to, the chosen angels in 1 Timothy 5:21. God and Jesus
work closely with angels, even though they would not have to. Similarly, Jesus told his
apostles that when he came into his kingdom, they would sit on thrones judging the tribes
of Israel (Matt. 19:28). God tells us that there is safety in a multitude of counselors, and
apparently He takes His own advice.
1:5. by. The Greek word is en (in), and this is the instrumental dative, well translated
as by.
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1:7. Look! The Greek word is idou (#2400 ), and it is used to get our attention.
See commentary on Matthew 1:20 (Look!).
mourn. This is not a mourning of repentance, because by the time every eye sees
Jesus it will be too late for repentance (not that the unbelievers would repent anyway,
even at seeing Jesus), but rather mourning because of him, that is because of the loss
they will suffer because of his justice. Nyland (The Source NT) has, grief-stricken
because of him.
1:8. I am the Alpha and the Omega, says the Lord God. These words apply to
God, not to Christ. The one, who is, and who was and who is to come is clearly
identified in the context as God, not Jesus Christ. Revelation 1:4, 5 reads: Grace and
peace to you from him who is, and who was, and who is to come, and from the seven
spirits before his throne, and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn
from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. The separation between the one
who was, is and is to come and Jesus Christ can be clearly seen. The one who is, and
who was and who is to come is God.
This verse is made slightly more ambiguous in the KJV than the REV because the
word God is left out of the Greek text from which the KJV was translated.
Nevertheless, modern textual research shows conclusively that it should be included, and
modern versions do include the word God.
The phrase the Alpha and the Omega, has caused many people to believe this
verse refers to Christ. However, study of the occurrences of the phrase indicates that the
title Alpha and Omega applies to both God and Christ. Scholars are not completely sure
what the phrase the Alpha and the Omega means. Lenski (The Interpretation of St.
Johns Revelation) concludes, It is fruitless to search Jewish and pagan literature for the
source of something that resembles this name Alpha and Omega. Nowhere is a person, to
say nothing of a divine Person, called Alpha and Omega, or in Hebrew, Aleph and
Tau.
Although there is no evidence from the historical sources that anyone is named
the Alpha and Omega, Bullinger (Commentary on Revelation) says that the phrase is a
Hebraism, in common use among the ancient Jewish Commentators to designate the
whole of anything from the beginning to the end; e.g., Adam transgressed the whole law
from Aleph to Tau (Jalk. Reub., fol. 17.4). That would make the expression the figure
of speech, polarmerismos, similar to and there was evening, and there was morning,
which stands for the whole day, in Genesis 1. The best scholarly minds have concluded
that the phrase has something to do with starting and finishing something, or the entirety
of something. Norton writes that these words, denote the certain accomplishment of his
purposes; that what he has begun he will carry on to its consummation (A Statement of
Reasons for Not Believing the Doctrines of Trinitarians; 1877, pp. 479, 480).
Since both God and Jesus Christ are the Alpha and the Omega in their own
respective ways, there is good reason to believe that the title can apply to both of them,
and no good reason why this title makes the two into one God. The titles Lord (see
Rom. 10:9 above), Savior (see Luke 1:47 above) and king of kings (see 1 Tim. 6:1416 above) apply to both God and Christ, as well as to other men. As with Lord,
Savior and King of kings, this title fits them both. God is truly the beginning and the
end of all things, while Christ is the beginning and the end because he is the firstborn
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from the dead, the Author and Finisher of faith, the Man by whom God will judge the
world, and the creator of the new ages to come (see Heb. 1:10 above).
The opening 8 verses of Revelation are very choppy, as are the openings of many
of the Epistles. The multiple doxologies make the opening choppy. As we read we notice:
the first two verses explain a couple things about the book of Revelation. Verse 3 changes
the subject, and is a blessing upon those who read and those who hear. Verse 4 and the
first half of verse 5 are the to whom the book of Revelation is addressed. The last half
of verse 5, and verse 6, are a doxology to Christ (this would have been easier to see if
verse 6 had started with To him who loves us, in the middle of verse 5). Verse 7 is an
exclamation to the people that Jesus Christ is coming. Verse 8 is a doxology to God, who
is the Power behind the Return of Jesus Christ. That verse 7 is about Jesus coming
while verse 8 is a doxology to God should not confuse us; as we have just seen, the
opening verses change subjects a lot.
For more on this verse, see J. S. Hyndman, Lectures on the Principles of
Unitarianism, 1824; available from Spirit & Truth Fellowship; and Donald Snedeker,
Our Heavenly Father Has No Equals, 1998.
1:9. Patmos because of the Word of God and the testimony about Jesus. John was
banished to the small island off the coast of the Roman province of Asia (now Turkey)
because of his Christianity, which Nero had made illegal. Patmos is a small, irregularly
shaped island about 6 by 10 miles (10 by 16 km), and it served as a place of banishment
during the Roman Empire. John would have been banished to Patmos during the reign of
Domitian, and there received the revelation of the Book of Revelation. Some have
suggested that John was not banished there, but went there to teach, but that is most
unlikely: for one thing, the island did not sustain a population fitting for that.
1:10. the Lords Day. This is the Day of the LORD that is so often mentioned in the
Old Testament. It is not Sunday, which always in the New Testament is referred to as
the first day of the week (Matt. 28:1; Mark 16:2, 9; Luke 24:1; John 20:1, 19; Acts
20:7; 1 Cor. 16:2). It would be strange indeed if this were a reference to Sunday, but the
only place in the Bible where Sunday is called the Lords Day. Actually, there is no
evidence that Christians called Sunday the Lords Day for centuries after the NT was
written, and even then it is because they assumed that John saw the vision on Sunday.
Some people argue that if this was referring to the Day of the LORD, then the grammar
would match the grammar of the Hebrew OT, but that is not a valid argument. The
Hebrew language has no adjective equivalent to Lords, but has to use the double noun,
day of the LORD. The Greek does not have to follow that construction. There are
places in the NT where the construction day of the Lord is similar to the Hebrew (1
Thess. 5:2; 2 Thess. 2:2; 2 Pet. 3:10), but the construction in Greek does not have to
follow the Hebrew construction to communicate the same meaning.
There is a reason that the Greek construction of the Lords day is the way it is
in Revelation 1:10. In the Greek text, the Lords day of Revelation 1:10 is directly
contrasted with mans day in 1 Corinthians 4:3, which reads literally, and to me it is
for a very little thing that by you I may be judged, or by mans day (YLT). Sadly,
many translations have the reading, a human court, in 1 Corinthians 4:3, which
misrepresents the Greek text and misses the connection God is trying to make between
mans day when man does the judging and man vents his wrath, and the Lords day,
when the wrath of God will be poured out upon mankind.
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Lastly, there is no reason in the text or context for the Bible telling us John saw
his vision on Sunday. Why would the Bible tell us that? In contrast, we think John saw
his vision what we know as the book of Revelation about 90 AD, during mans day, but
by the spirit he was taken into the future to the Lords day, and thus he recorded for us
to read and understand what will happen during that great Day of the LORD when God
judges the earth.
1:11. andandand, etc. This repetition of ands is the figure of speech
Polysyndeton (many ands), and the purpose is to give emphasis to each member of the
list (cp. Bullinger, Figures of Speech Used in the Bible).
1:12. the voice. This is the figure of speech metonymy, the voice is put for the
person speaking. Without the figure of speech, we would say, I turned to see the one
who was speaking to me. This is also the figure of speech catachresis, a forced and
incongruous use of language. A voice is invisible, so we cannot see it.
1:14. as white wool. This is a good example of how a simile can communicate a lot of
information in a little phrase. Many things are brought into mind by Jesus hair being
described as white as white wool. One is that is the way God is described in Daniel 7:9.
White hair was a sign of age and wisdom (Prov. 16:31), and elders were to be respected
(Lev. 19:32). We do not see a reference to age here, but rather the wisdom that usually
comes with age. Also, white was a symbol for holiness and righteousness. Important to
the book of Revelation is that Jesus is called the Lamb 26 different times, while in all
of the four Gospels, he is only called the Lamb twice (John 1:29, 36). Here in
Revelation 1:14 the imagery of the Lamb is brought forward and Jesus is said to have hair
as white wool.
1:15. his feet were like burnished brass, when it has been made to glow in a
furnace. The word we translate as burnished brass (chalkolibanon; #5474
) does not occur in any known Greek writings except the Book of
Revelation. Scholars have suggested different possible meanings, but burnished brass
(or bronze or copper) is very likely, especially due to the symbolism that brass had in the
Teen of Meeting (Tabernacle) and Temple. The phrase when it has been made to glow
in a furnace is also likely given the symbolism of the Book of Revelation itself.
Although it can also perhaps refer to brass that has been refined in a furnace, the fact
that Revelation deals with Gods wrath and judgment makes Jesus burning feet more
likely.
When Jesus comes in judgment, he tramples the enemies underfoot, and those
enemies become ashes underfoot of Jesus and the righteous ones: I have trodden the
winepress alone; from the nations no one was with me. I trampled them in my anger and
trod them down in my wrath; their blood spattered my garments, and I stained all my
clothing (Isa. 63:3 NIV84). Then you will trample down the wicked; they will be ashes
under the soles of your feet on the day when I do these things, says the LORD
Almighty (Mal. 4:3 NIV84).
Brass (or bronze) played a very important part of both the Tent of Meeting and
the Temple. Both were considered holy, and it was dangerous to ignore Gods commands
concerning those sacred places. Not only were the altar and washing basins of bronze, but
also the bases, or feet of the posts that supported the outer wall of the Tent of Meeting
(Exod. 38:10, 11).
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The glowing brass feet of Jesus Christ remind us of his holiness and that he is
coming in judgment, and also intimately connect us with the fact that he is the meeting
place, where we meet God.
many waters. That is the deep and powerful sound of a rushing river, like the
Colorado, a huge waterfall, like Niagra, or crashing ocean breakers. It is a sound so deep
and powerful that you dont just hear it, you feel it. It would be nice to be more specific
here than just many waters, but that is the way the Greek text reads. Since John was
writing on the island of Patmos, he likely quite often heard the surf of the Aegean Sea
when it was roaring.
1:16. out of his mouth came a sharp, two-edged broadsword. This sword is the
Word of God (cp. Eph. 6:17), in this case prophecies that are spoken by Jesus Christ. (See
commentary on Rev. 19:15; 1 Cor. 14:12; 2 Thess. 2:8).
broadsword. See commentary on Luke 2:35.
1:17. I am the First and the Last. The phrase, the First and the Last, is a title that is
used five times in the Bible, twice in Isaiah of God (44:6; 48:12), and three times in
Revelation of the Son (1:17; 2:8 and 22:13). Trinitarians sometimes make the assumption
that since the same title applies to both the Father and the Son, they must both be God.
However, there is no biblical justification on which to base that assumption. When the
whole of Scripture is studied, we can see that the same titles are used for God, Christ and
men. Examples include Lord (see commentary on Romans 10:9) and Savior (see
commentary on Luke 1:47) and King of kings (see commentary on 1 Timothy 6:14-16).
If other titles apply to God, Christ and men without making all of them into one God,
then there is no reason to assume that this particular title would mean God and Jesus were
one God unless Scripture specifically told us so, which it does not.
In the Old Testament, God truly was the First and the Last. The meaning of the
title is not specifically given, and so scholars debate it, but it seems that a key to its
meaning is given in Isaiah 41:4, in which God says He has called forth the generations of
men, and was with the first of them and is with the last of them. Isaiah 41:4 says, Who
has done this and carried it through, calling forth the generations from the beginning? I,
Yahwehwith the first of them and with the lastI am he. Thus, the Bible connects the
phrase the First and the Last with calling forth the generations.
While God was the one who called forth the generations in the Old Testament, He
has now conferred that authority on His Son. Thus, it is easy to see why the Lord Jesus is
called the First and the Last in the book of Revelation. It will be Jesus Christ who will
call forth the generations of people from the grave to enter in to everlasting life. God gave
Jesus authority to raise the dead (John 5:25-27). His voice will raise all dead Christians (1
Thess. 4:16, 17), and he will change our bodies into new glorious bodies (Phil. 3:20, 21).
However, even when Jesus said he had the authority to raise the dead, he never claimed
he had that authority inherently because he was God. He always said that his Father had
given authority to him. While teaching about his authority, Jesus Christ was very clear
about who was the ultimate authority: The Son can do nothing by himselfthe
Fatherhas entrusted all judgment to the SonFor as the Father has life in Himself, so
He has granted the Son to have life in himself. And He has given him authority to judge
(John 5:19, 22, 26, 27). If Jesus had the authority to raise the dead because he was in
some way God, he never said so. He said he had his authority because his Father gave it
to him. With the authority to raise the generations came the title associated with the
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existence of the generations, and so that is a major reason that after his resurrection Jesus
Christ is called the First and the Last.
Another way that we can tell that the title First and Last does not make Jesus
God is simply the way Jesus used it. Note what the verse in Revelation says: I am the
first and the last, and the Living One, and I was dead, and Look! I am alive for evermore,
and I have the keys of death and of the grave (Rev. 1:17, 18). Patrick Navas observes:
Jesus is the one who was dead but now lives.... In two out of three
instances where Jesus describes himself as the First and the Last in the
book of Revelation, the statement is made in association with his death
and subsequent resurrection. If the First and the Last in this case
means, or untimately implies, God (Almighty), the Eternal One, in what
way would it make sense for Jesus to say, in effect, I am the Eternal God,
I died but came to life? How strange and how unlikelyif not
impossiblewould it have been for God to have died or said that he died?
Even many Trinitarians teach that God, or the divine nature/aspect of
Christ, did not die, in any way. So Trinitarians would have to argue,
ultimately, that Jesus is identifying himself as God by calling himself the
First and the Last and, immedaiately after, swhitching to, or speaking out
of, his human nature, due to the fact that he died. This would clearly be a
case of playing fast and loose with Scripture. (Divine Truth or Human
Tradition, pp. 585, 586).
The fact that when Jesus used the title, the First and the Last he connected it with
his death and resurrection shows us that, far from a claim to being God, it showed how,
as the Son who obeyed his Father all the way to the cross and death, Christ now had the
authority of God, even to rasing the dead, especially since he finished 1:18 by saying that
he had the keys to death and the grave (which, by the way, would only make sense for
him to say if having those keys was not inherently part of his nature. If he were God, why
say it in this context? Of course it would be true..
[For more discussion on this verse, see Charles Morgridge, True Believers
Defense Against Charges Preferred by Trinitarians, Boston, Benjamin Greene, 1837,
reprinted by Spirit & Truth Fellowship, p. 122; The Racovian Catechism, in Polish 1605;
in Latin 1609; in English 1818, available through Spirit & Truth Fellowship International,
pp. 157-161; Patrick Navas, Divine Truth or Human Tradition, Authorhouse, 2011, pp.
585-588].
1:19. the things. The Greek is more properly what, (Write what you saw), but in
Greek the what is plural, indicating that John saw a number of things. In contrast, in
English what is often singular, so if the English said, Write what you saw, people
might think he only saw one thing. Saying, Write the things you saw brings out the
plural meaning of the Greek text.
signify. The book of Revelation is in the future. The events in it have not yet
happened. Many commentators who believe the book of Revelation is about the past, or
partially about the present, read Revelation 1:19 and interpret it as dividing the book of
Revelation into three parts: the things which were seen (past), the things that are now
(present) and the things that will happen (future). However, that is not the proper way to
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understand the verse. The early introduction of Revelation, 1:2, notes that the book is
about what John saw. John got the vision by revelation, and after he had seen it, was
told to write it down. In contrast, Paul got some of the vision also, but was forbidden to
write it down (2 Cor. 12:3-7). A careful reading and understanding of 1:19 shows that
John was to write what he saw and what they signify, or what they mean.
The Greek word translated signify is eimi (#1526 , pronounced -me', like
the girls name, Amy, but with the accent on the last syllable). It is the to be verb in
Greek, translated is, are, etc. However, in many cases in Greek (and in English as
well), the to be verb is used for what something means or signifies. Thayers
Greek-English Lexicon says the to be verb can express, what does it mean? Thayers
gives Luke 8:9 as an example, which literally translated reads, what this is, the parable,
but which we usually translate as what this parable meant. In Matthew 9:13, Jesus told
the religious leaders, Go and learn what this means. The literal Greek is, Go and
learn what this is. Similarly, in Matthew 12:7, Jesus told the religious leaders, If you
had known what these words mean. A more literal translation would be, If you had
known what these words are. Other examples of when the Greek to be verb is used for
means, or signifies, include, Luke 15:26; 20:17; John 16:17; Acts 2:12; and 10:17.
Adding weight to the argument that the to be verb in Revelation 1:19 means
signifies, or means, is the fact that in the next verse, Revelation 1:20, the to be verb
is used twice, and both times means signifies. The seven stars are, that is, signify or
mean, the messengers of the seven churches, and the seven golden lampstands are, that
is, signify or mean, the seven churches.
The Emphasized Bible by Rotherham translates the verse, Write, therefore
what things thou hast seen and what they are. Alford (The Greek Testament)
translates, and what things they signify. Alford acknowledges that the Greek text can
mean either and what they signify or the things which are [now], and references
scholars on both sides of the argument, but he concludes that the weight of evidence is
with signify.
English, like Greek, uses is and are to mean signify or mean. For
example, if someone hears a loud siren going off at an odd hour, he might say, What is
that? Of course he knows it is a siren, but he is asking, What does that siren mean?
Does it mean there is a tornado, a nuclear attack, or is it just a system test?
Many commentators assert that the book of Revelation is past, and the events
described are symbolic and apocalyptic. Others say that although Revelation is not about
the past, it is about what is or is now. Neither of these interpretations in correct. The
book of Revelation is about the future. Revelation 1:19 is not about the things that have
taken place, and what is now and what will take place later. Rather, it is about What
you saw and what they mean, even those things that are about to happen.
Many of the commentators who say that Revelation is about the past make their
case by saying that the book of Revelation is symbolic. However, although there are
some symbolic elements in the book of Revelation, the meaning of those symbols is often
easily discerned. Furthermore, we must remember that the symbols tell us about things
that are real. For example, the Four Horsemen (Rev. 6:1-8) are not literal flesh horses, but
they are spiritual forces that are unleashed at that specific time. Furthermore, horses were
a well-established symbol of strength and speed. When we see the effects of the sealplagues, it is clear they are future.
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When we read the book of Revelation and look at the events it portrays, it makes
much more sense that they are future than past or present. We need to examine all the
evidence of Scripture. We look first at the Old Testament. It foretold a time of worldwide
distress and destruction, not just the destruction of Jerusalem, and Daniel mentioned this
happening over a period of seven years. For example, Isaiah speaks of the Day of the
Lord, and says it will be a cruel day, when He will punish the world for its evil and
people will become scarcer that pure gold, more rare than the gold of Ophir (Isa. 13:912). Daniel says there will be a time of distress such as has never been known on earth,
and after that will be the resurrections (Dan. 12:1, 2). Joel says the Day of the Lord is a
day of darkness and gloom, and that there will be an army so large, it never was of old,
or ever will be in the ages to come, and at the sight of them, nations are in anguish. (Joel
2:1, 2, 6). Zephaniah says the Day of the Lord will be wrath, distress, anguish, trouble,
ruin, and gloom (Zeph. 1:15), and there will be judgment upon not only Israel, but
Philistia, Moab, Ammon, Ethiopia, and Assyria (Zeph. 2:4-15). Zechariah 14:3 says that
in the Day of the Lord the Lord will fight against the nations that attack Jerusalem. That
is not a description of Jerusalem being attacked by Rome in 70 AD. That is a description
of the wrath of the Lord on the world for all its sin.
When we look at the Four Gospels, we find the Apostles asking Jesus when the
end of the Age would be (Matt. 24:3). They did not expect, nor ask about, the
destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD. That was not the end of the Age, and it did not
immediately precede the Messianic Kingdom on earth they were so anxiously awaiting.
Jesus answer indicted that there would be a time of distress (Matt. 24:29), and that
nation would fight against nation, and there would be famines and earthquakes in various
places (Matt. 24:4-7). Furthermore, after that tribulation, the Son of Man would come
from the sky and there would be a gathering of people, including resurrecting the dead
(Matt. 24:30, 31). This is certainly not the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD. It is the end
of this Age and the beginning of the Messianic Kingdom.
Then, when we read the book of Revelation itself, we can see the wrath of God
being poured out over a seven-year period, and the seal-judgments, trumpet judgments,
thunder-judgments, and bowl-judgments occurring in succession and including the entire
world. Although there are symbols interwoven into these judgments, it is also true that
most of them can be simply read and understood for what they are: a number of
judgments that kept increasing in severity. Revelation 19 portrays Jesus coming from
heaven and the Battle of Armageddon, then Revelation 20 shows the Resurrection of the
Righteous and the 1000 year Messianic Kingdom on earth. These records flow in such a
way that we can see what is coming in the future. To make them symbolic is to leave
us with no description of the future, and the question, if they are symbolic, what do they
symbolize?
even. The Greek word kai can be translated and or even, and in this case,
even is the meaning before the last phrase, which emphasizes that fact that these future
things are about to come to pass. E. W. Bullinger, in Commentary on Revelation, does a
very good job explaining this verse.
1:20. sacred secret. We translate the Greek word musterion (#3466 ) as
sacred secret because that is what musterion actually refers to: a secret in the religious
or sacred realm. [For more information on the Sacred Secret and the Administration of
Grace, see Ephesians 3:9.]
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messengers. The messengers of the synagogues. See commentary on Revelation

2:1.
Chapter 2
2:1. messenger. The Greek is aggelos (#32 ; pronounced an-ge-los). The word
means messenger, and can refer to either human messengers (Luke 7:24) or divine
messengers, which we usually call angels (Matt. 1:20). Usually in English Bibles, when
aggelos refers to divine messengers, the word is not translated, but is transliterated as
angel. In Revelation 2:1, the messenger is human. There are a number of reasons to
believe that this letter to the seven assemblies is a letter to the Jewish assemblies after
the Rapture of the Christian Church (see commentary on Revelation 2:1, church,
below. When Jesus Christ wants a letter communicated to the Jewish congregations after
the Rapture, he writes to the messenger of the congregation. Bullinger writes about this
messenger. After saying that there is no angel or messenger connected with the
Christian Church, he says:
But we do meet with the word Angel in connection with the Synagogue
(though not in the Old Testament). There, there was an officer, who was
called Sheliach TzibburTzibbur meaning the Assembly; and Sheliach,
the Angel or Legate of the Assembly, and the Leader of Divine worship,
fromshalach, to send. The chief officer [of the Synagogue] was the
Archisynagogos, or Ruler of the Synagogue; and after him came the
Sheliach Tzibbur; or Angel of the Assembly, who was the mouthpiece
of the congregation. His duty was to offer up public prayer to God for the
whole congregation. Hence his title; because, as the messenger of the
assembly, he spoke to God for them. (E. W. Bullinger, Commentary on
Revelation (Kregel Publications, Grand Rapids, MI, 1984), pp. 66, 67).
The reason that Jesus would write his letter to the messenger of the Synagogue
was that the messenger of the synagogue would then communicate the letter to the
people. The use of messenger of the congregation is more supporting evidence that the
Rapture occurred earlier, and Jesus was writing to Jews who were left on earth after the
Rapture. The Church Epistles of Paul were written to the believers, because the Christian
Church did not have the type of structure that the synagogue did, and any Christian in the
congregation who could read could read Pauls letter to them. In contrast, when Jesus
wanted his letter read in the Jewish synagogue, he addressed it to the messenger, the
Sheliach Tzibbur, the one who was charged to read such letters to the people assembled
together.
congregation. This is a Jewish congregation after the Christian Church has been
Raptured into heaven. Christians who believe in the Rapture have long been divided over
the issue of to whom this Letter to the Seven Congregations is written. Some, like E.
W. Bullinger, say the Rapture happens before any event in the book of Revelation, and
that this Letter is addressed to the Jews who live on earth after the Rapture, guiding them
in the Faith just as the Seven Church Epistles of Paul guide Christians in the Faith. Other
Christians, including those who believe in a mid-tribulation, pre-wrath, or post-tribulation
Rapture, say this letter is written to Christians before the Rapture. We side with
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Bullinger, and assert that the evidence in the Letter to the Seven Congregations shows
that it is not to Christians, and even contradicts some of the things that Paul wrote to the
Christian Church in his epistles. We assert that the nature of this Letter shows that it
has the same nature as the writings to the people in the Old Testament and Gospels,
before the Christian Church started in Acts 2.
One thing that has confused Christians about this Letter to the Seven
Congregations is that almost every English version has, to theChurch in Ephesus,
and later, to the Church at Smyrna, the Church at Thyatira, the Church at Sardis,
and so forth. The translation Church is very misleading. The Greek word that most
English versions translate as Church is ekklsia (#1577 ; pronounced ek-claysee'-ah), and it refers to an assembly or gathering of any kind. The specific kind of
gathering has to be determined by reading the context (see commentary on Matthew
16:18).
By far the most common use of ekklsia in the New Testament is the
congregation or assembly of the Christian Church (cp. Acts 8:1; Rom. 16:1; 1 Cor.
1:2; Gal. 1:2; etc.), but that is clearly because the majority of the times ekklsia is used, it
is in Acts or the Epistles of Paul, which are written to the Christian Church. But ekklsia
is also used of other, non-Christian assemblies. For example, ekklsia is used for a Jewish
congregation is in Acts 7:38. Stephen was speaking about the history of Israel and spoke
of Moses, who led the ekklsia, the congregation, in the wilderness. Of course, the
ekklsia that Moses led was an assembly of Jews. Also, in Acts 19:32 we see a secular
use of ekklsia. The congregation in Acts 19 started as a mob of Gentiles in Ephesus
who assembled together to defend their goddess Artemis, but as they got noisy, more and
more people joined them, and eventually the majority of the congregation did not even
know why they were assembled. In conclusion, ekklsia does not always refer to a
Christian Church, and using the word Church in the Letter to the Seven
Congregations has misled many Christians.
Since we have seen that we must determine the nature of the congregation from
the context in which ekklsia is used, we have to carefully read the Letter to the Seven
Congregations to determine what kind of congregation it is written to. We will see
that there are many pieces of evidence that the ekklsia mentioned in Revelation 2:1, 8,
12, 18; 3:1, 7, and 14 are Jewish congregations that we would find in a synagogue; they
are not Christian congregations.
The Christian Church is in the Administration of Grace (Eph. 3:2), and we
can clearly see the special grace given to Christians when we read the Seven
Church Epistles. For example, the Christian Church has so much glory from
God that the Law of Moses had no glory in contrast to it (2 Cor. 3:10). In
contrast to the grace that the Christian Church lives in, when we read the
Letter to the Seven Congregations, we can see that it was written in a time of
wrath, not a time of grace. The guidance in the Letter is for a time of
Tribulation, the time of Jacobs trouble (Jer. 30:7), a day of wrath and
burning anger (Isa. 13:13), so terrible that God says, Woe to you [Jews] who
long for the Day of the LORDthat day will be darkness, not light (Amos
5:18).
The Old Testament prophets, John the Baptist, and Jesus, foretold that a
time of great wrath would come upon those people who were not faithful to God,
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and the Letter to the Seven Congregations echoes that theme over and over (see
commentary on Revelation 6:17). For example, Revelation 2:16 says Jesus will
make war against the Jews in the congregation who did not repent of their sin.
This is in complete contrast to the information in the Seven Church Epistles of
Paul, which say that Christ, who justified us, will not condemn us, and that
nothing will separate us from the love of Christ (Rom. 8:31-38). To understand
this contrast between the Church Epistles and the Letter to the Congregations,
we need to remember that Christians are born again children of God and are
guaranteed salvation, while the people after the Rapture are not, and if they turn
against Christ, they will be destroyed (this is also what we see in the Old
Testament; cp. Ezek. 33:11-13).
It was prophesied in many places in both the Old Testament and the Gospels
that the Tribulation would be a specific time of great distress that would be
worldwide and come upon one generation (for the time of Gods wrath on
earth, see commentary on Revelation 6:17). This specific time of Gods wrath
is spoken of in Revelation 3:10, which speaks of the hour of trial that will
come upon the whole world. In contrast, the Christian Church is never told
that Christians will go through a specific time of Tribulation, and the most
logical reason for that is the Rapture. At the Rapture, all Christians will be
taken from the earth, and that will happen before the Tribulation occurs. It
seems certain that if one generation of Christians were going to go through the
Tribulation, there would be some mention of it somewhere in the Seven
Church Epistles, but there is no mention of any such specific time of trial. So
while Christians are never told about going through a specific time of trial,
these Jewish believers are told they will go through it, but will be kept
during that period of time.
Jewish believers of the Old Testament and the Gospels are told they will live
forever on earth, and neither the Old Testament nor the Gospels mentions
them being in heaven at any time. They are raised from the dead and go back
to the land of Israel (Ezek. 37:11-14). The Letter to the Seven Congregations,
like the Old Testament and the Gospels, has no hint of a heavenly hope, but
says that those who overcome will then get to be in Paradise, which is
always on earth (2:7; see commentary on Luke 23:43), ruling the nations of
earth (2:27), and being pillars in the Temple in the New Jerusalem that comes
to earth (3:12).
In contrast to the Jews who have a hope of being in Paradise on earth, part
of the Christians hope is spending time in heaven. Christians are citizens of
heaven (Phil. 3:20), will be seated in heaven (Eph. 2:6), and are waiting for the
Lord from heaven who will Rapture them into heaven (1 Thess. 4:16-18). We
Christians will come back to earth with Jesus when he comes, but from the
Rapture until that time we will be in heaven. Thus part of the hope of the
Christian Church is spending time in heaven, but that hope presented in the Letter
to the Seven Congregations is the same hope given in the Old Testament to the
Jews, and this is good evidence that the Letter to the Seven Congregations is
addressed to Jews.
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When Paul wrote the Seven Church Epistles (Romans through Thessalonians),
he wrote them directly to the holy ones (translated saints in many English
versions), who are the Christians. Any Christian who knew how to read would
then read the epistle to the congregation. However, the Letter to the Seven
Congregations of Revelation is written to the angel of the congregation. In a
Jewish congregation, the term angel was used of a specific man who was
charged with certain responsibilities, including reading letters to the
congregation (see commentary on Revelation 2:1, angel). The fact that the
Seven Church Epistles were written directly to Christians, while the Letter to
the Seven Congregations was specifically addressed to the angel, is very
good evidence that the Epistles and the Letter were written to two
different groups of people.
The Church Epistles teach that faith in Christ results in New Birth, which is
permanent and guarantees salvation [see Appendix 1: The Permanence of
Christian Salvation.]. In contrast, the Letter to the Seven Congregations
reverts to the teaching of the Old Testament and the Gospels, that a person
had to be faithful until death or until the End to be saved (cp. 2:10, 11, 25;
3:5). There is no mention in the Letter to the Seven Congregations that
salvation comes by faith in Christ alone, and no teaching that once a person is
saved he is guaranteed salvation. Quite the opposite. Revelation 2:16 says that
if the people in the congregation do not repent, Jesus will make war against
them with the sword from his mouth, which is not a sword of correction or
discipline, but a sword of destruction (Rev. 19:15, 21. See commentary on
Revelation 19:15; 1 Corinthians 14:12; and 2 Thessalonians 2:8). In short,
Christians have guaranteed salvation through faith in Christ, while the
believers in the Tribulation period have to be faithful throughout their life, just
as the Old Testament believers did.
The tone of the Letter to the Seven Congregations is totally different than the
tone of the Seven Church Epistles. While the Seven Church Epistles open and
close with Grace to you, and peace, the Letter to the Seven Congregations
does not contain the word grace or peace even one single time. Instead,
each of the seven segments of the Letter to the Seven Congregations has the
stern warning: Anyone who has an ear had better listen to what the Spirit says
to the congregations! This sharply worded warning never occurs in the Seven
Church Epistles of Paul, but does appear in the Gospels, before the Christian
Church started.
In the Seven Church Epistles of Paul, there is neither Jew nor Gentile, but One
Body in Christ, with every Christian being a brother to every other Christian
(the term brothers is general and includes women). People who are not
saved but have infiltrated the Christian congregation, and Christians who have
turned against Christ, are called false brothers (2 Cor. 11:26; Gal. 2:4). At
the Rapture, the One Body is taken to heaven and God again deals with two
groups, Jews and Gentiles. Thus, the pretenders who have infiltrated the
congregation in the Letter to the Seven Congregations are never called false
brothers, but instead are those who say they are Jews, but are not (2:9;
3:9).
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Calling part of the group in the Letter to the Seven Congregations a

synagogue shows us that the group is a group of Jews. The Christian Church
is a new creation made up of both Jews and Gentiles, and as a group they are
called the body of Christ (1 Cor. 12:27; Eph. 4:12). The Christians who
oppose Paul, such as those who were promoting circumcision or preaching
Christ out of selfish ambition, are never called a synagogue. The word
synagogue is never used in the Seven Church Epistles because the
synagogue was a gathering of, or gathering place for, Jews. Similarly, in the
Gospels and Acts, no gathering of Gentiles was ever referred to as a
synagogue. Thus, when Revelation twice refers to those people who were
part of the congregation but who opposed the Lord as a Synagogue of Satan
(2:9; 3:9), it is clearly referring to Jews, not Christians.
In the Seven Church Epistles, eating food offered to idols is only a problem if
it is a stumbling block to those whose conscience is weak (1 Cor. 8:1-13).
However, after the Rapture, the grace about eating food offered to idols is
removed and believers are again under law about it, so twice the Letter to the
Seven Congregations mentions that it is wrong to eat food sacrificed to idols
and Jesus is upset with the believers for doing that (2:14, 20). If we do not
understand that what Paul wrote to the Christians applied specifically to
Christians, and what John wrote was to the believers after the Rapture and
applied specifically to them, we would have to concede that Paul and John
contradict each other. Only by knowing that Paul wrote to Christians in the
Age of Grace, and John wrote for Jews after the Rapture, are we able to see
how the Word of God fits together.
When we study the Seven Church Epistles and the Letter to the Seven
Congregations side by side, it is clear that they cannot both be guidance to the same
group of people. They have to be written to different groups, and they are. The Seven
Church Epistles are to the Christian Church. The Letter to the Seven Congregations is to
the Jewish congregations in synagogues after the Rapture. Of course, many of the things
in both sets of letters apply to every believer. For example, there are things that please the
Lord and things that do not; there are rewards for obedience and faithfulness; there is a
goal that every person should aspire to, which is everlasting life with the Lord. However,
we must not let the similarities blind us to the fact that the differences between the
Epistles of Paul and the Letter that John wrote are so stark that it is clear they are written
to different groups of people.
2:7. Anyone who has an ear had better listen to what the Spirit says to the
congregations! The verb hear is in the imperative mood, and is too weakly translated
by let him hear. This is not just an invitation from Jesus for us to hear what he says.
Jesus is Lord of all, and there will be rewards for hearing and obeying, and consequences
for ignoring what he says. For this phrase and the imperative mood, see commentary on
Matthew 11:15.
the Spirit. The Greek word for Spirit is pneuma (#4151 ), and it has
many meanings, including spirit, wind and breath. It is used to refer to many
different things, including God, angels, demons, and to the gift of holy spirit that God
gives to people. After his resurrection, Jesus Christ also became known as the Spirit, as
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we see here in Revelation. So, the Spirit is one of the names of Jesus Christ, just as he
is also called, the lion of Judah, the root of David, lamb of God, etc.
This use of Spirit clearly refers to the Lord Jesus Christ. In Revelation 1:9-17,
Jesus Christ appeared to John and began talking to him and telling him what to write. It is
clear that it is Jesus who appeared to John, especially since he describes himself in 1:18
as I was dead, and Look!, I am alive for evermore. It is also clear that Jesus is the
Spirit because in 2:17 (and other places) it is the Spirit who says things to John, but
in the very next verse, 2:18, we read, These things says the Son of God.
What Jesus tells John to write takes up Revelation chapters two and three. Jesus
commanded John to write a letter to the congregations of Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum,
Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea, and what we refer to as Revelation 2:1 is
simply the continuation of the conversation between Jesus and John that started in
Chapter 1.
Jesus refers to himself as the Spirit. We can understand this because when Jesus
was resurrected, his body was still flesh and bone (Luke 24:39), but it was spiritually
empowered; powered by spirit, not by soul as our mortal bodies are. 1 Corinthians
15:44-46 says Jesus was raised a spiritual body, and because of that he began to be
called, the Spirit (see commentary on 1 Corinthians 15:44). 2 Corinthians 3:17 clearly
confirms this, saying, Now the Lord is the Spirit.
When Jesus first appeared to his disciples, they thought he was an incorporeal
being, a spirit (pneuma), as if Jesus was some kind of ghost (Luke 24:37). But he told
them he was not a spirit but was flesh and bone, and he proved that by having them
touch his body to feel his flesh. However, as we have seen, because Jesus new body was
spiritually empowered, Jesus is called the Spirit in many places in the NT. These
include Acts 2:4; 10:19; Romans 8:16, 26, 27; 2 Corinthians 3:17, 18; Revelation 2:7, 11,
17, 29; 3:6, 13, 22; 14:13; and 22:17. (also, see commentary on Acts 2:4 and Romans
8:26, and the book, The Gift of Holy Spirit: The Power to be Like Christ).
2:8. messenger. See commentary on Revelation 2:1.
the First and the Last. For information on this phrase, which occurs three times in
Revelation (1:17; 2:8; 22:13), see commentary on Revelation 1:17.
2:9. defaming speech. The Greek noun is blasphmia (#988 ; pronounced
blas-fay-me'-ah), and was used of someone speaking against another. The primary
meaning as it was used in the Greek culture was showing disrespect to a person or deity,
and/or harming his, her, or its reputation. [For more on blasphmia, see commentary on
Matt. 9:3].
the Adversary. The Greek word for Adversary is Satanas (#4567 ), which
has been transliterated into Satan in most versions. This causes the meaning of the
word, which is important, to be lost. For more information on it, see the note on Mark
1:13. For information on the names of the Devil, see Appendix 14: Names of the
Slanderer.
the Slanderer. This is the Devil. The Greek is diabolos (#1228 ). The
Greek word diabolos means slanderer, the one who slanders others, and that is a
primary characteristic of the Devil. He has no regard for a persons reputation or the
illicit means he uses to discredit and destroy people. Slander is a primary tactic of the
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Devil. [For information on the names of the Devil, see Appendix 14: Names of the
Slanderer].
the crown of life. The Greek is, the crown of the life, but it clearly involves a
genitive of apposition, thus, the crown, which is the life. This can especially be seen by
the next sentence which refers to not being hurt by the second death. The crown is the
life, that is, the well-known and wonderful everlasting life in the Kingdom. People who
are faithful to death win the crown, the only crown worth having, everlasting life.
Royalty can wear, or an athlete can win, any other crown, and no matter how massively
made of gold or how ornately encrusted with gems it is, it is worthless if the person has
not also won the true crown, which is everlasting life.
2:11. Anyone who has an ear. See commentary on Revelation 2:7 and Matthew
11:15.
the Spirit. This refers to Jesus Christ. See commentary on Revelation 2:7.
2:13. the Adversary. The Greek word for Adversary is Satanas (#4567 ),
which has been transliterated into Satan in most versions. See commentary on 2:9.
2:16. the broadsword from my mouth. This sword is the prophecies that are spoken
by Jesus Christ. (See commentary on Rev. 1:16; 19:15; 1 Cor. 14:12; 2 Thess. 2:8).
11:15.
2:19. andandand. This repetition of ands is the figure of speech Polysyndeton
(many ands), and the purpose is to give emphasis to each member of the list (Cp.
Bullinger, Figures of Speech Used in the Bible).
am throwing. The Greek is ballo (#906 ), to cast or to throw, and the verb is
in the present tense, active voice, indicating that this punishment is, to some extent, going
on at the present. Almost all translations put the verb in the future tense will cast, and it
certainly is true that her punishment will be more acute in the future. However, sexual sin
always has harmful effects in the present.
a bed of suffering. The Greek simply reads, a bed, and the suffering is implied
from the context. This is great irony. Jezebel has ruined the lives of many through sexual
sin, so God will cast her onto a bed, where she will suffer.
2:23. her children. The word children is the plural of teknon (#5043 ),
child. Jezebels children are not the children of her adultery, but her followers, her
disciples. In the biblical culture, a person who was a father figure, mentor, and guide, was
called a father. Thus, Joseph said he had become a father to Pharaoh (Gen. 45:8), the
prophet Elisha referred to the elder prophet Elijah as his father (2 Kings 2:12), and the
king of Israel referred to the prophet Elisha as his father, his spiritual mentor and guide
(2 Kings 6:21). Similarly, the word mother was used literally of mothers, but it was
also used of those women who were respected and had nurtured or guided the child in
some way. Thus Jesus pointed to his disciples, some of whom were obviously women,
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1149
and said, Look! My mother and my brothers (Matt. 12:49; Mark 3:34). Paul referred to
Rufus mother as his mother also (Rom. 16:13). In Revelation 17:5, Babylon is called
the mother of prostitutes because she influenced people to become prostitutes.
In turn, just as a mentor was called a father or mother, a disciple was called a
son (huios, #5207 ), or a child (teknon, #5043 ). Although huios means
son, it is sometimes translated as the gender neutral child, and although the Greek
word teknon is gender neutral and means child, if the context is clearly about males or
females, it may legitimately be translated as son or daughter. A clear example of the
word son being used for disciples occurs in the Old Testament when the disciples of
the prophets were called the sons of the prophets (1 Kings 20:35; 2 Kings 2:3, 5, 7, 15;
4:1, 38; 5:22; 6:1, etc.). When the Pharisees accused Jesus of casting out demons by
Beelzebul, he said, If I cast out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons cast them
out? (Matt. 12:27). The sons of the Pharisees were the disciples of the Pharisees. The
Apostle Paul referred to Timothy as his child (1 Tim. 1:2), and also Titus (Titus 1:4),
and Onesimus (Philemon 1:10). At the last supper, Jesus referred to the apostles as his
little children (John 13:33; teknion, #5040 , the diminutive of teknon.)
In this case, the children of Jezebel are the ones she has mentored in her sexual
immorality. [For more information, see commentary on Matthew 12:27].
kidneys. The Greek is nephros (#3510 ) and literally means kidneys. We
get our modern word nephrology, the study of the kidneys, from the Greek word. The
Word of God points to the fact that our kidneys, bowels, and belly (or womb) are part of
our mental/emotional life, not just physical organs. Our gut, including our intestines,
bowels, kidneys and stomach contain as many nerve cells as our brain, and studies are
now showing that our gut contributes significantly to our emotional life and health. We
have gut feelings, get upset stomachs upon hearing bad news or have an upset stomach
or irregular bowels when facing emotionally difficult times. Bible commentators used to
think that kidneys, bowels, and belly, were in the Bible because the ancients did
not know what they did and assumed they were the center of human emotion. Now we
know that the ancients, and the Word of God, were correct all along, and the arrogance of
modern medicine, upon discovery of the brain, had just assumed the ancients were
ignorant.
Other words to study besides kidneys are bowels and belly. Although in
our modern world, we use mind to place and emphasis on our thoughts and heart for
our emotions, biblically, the word heart was more closely associated with the mental
life while bowels, kidney, and belly (which is the same word as womb) were
more associated with the emotional life. The Old Testament reveals the same truth that
the New Testament does. The Hebrew word for kidney is kilyah (Strongs #3629).
Below is a list of some pertinent verses showing the relation of the kidney to our
emotional life.
Psalm 7:9 (KJV): God trieth the hearts and reins [kidneys].
Psalm 16:7 (KJV): my reins [kidneys] also instruct me in the night
seasons.
Psalm 26:2 (KJV): Examine me, O LORD, and prove me; try my reins
[kidneys] and my heart.
Psalm 73:21 (KJV): Thus my heart was grieved, and I was pricked in my
reins [kidneys].
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Jeremiah 11:20 (KJV): But, O LORDthat triest the reins [kidneys] and
the heart....
Jeremiah 17:10 (KJV): I the LORD search the heart, I try the reins
[kidneys]....
Jeremiah 20:12 (KJV): But, O LORD of hosts, that triest the righteous,
and seest the reins [kidneys] and the heart.
which has been transliterated into Satan in most versions. See commentary on 2:9.
2:26. Quoted from Psalm 2:8.
2:27. Quoted from Psalm 2:9. This is an incomplete quotation from Psalm 2:9. Missing
in the Greek is the subject of the sentence, which is, who it is that will be smashed to
pieces like pottery. It is the figure of speech ellipsis, in which something in the sentence
is omitted so that the part that is included gets a greater emphasis. (Some scholars refer to
this as an anacoluthon, but in an anacoluthon the subject abruptly changes, but here the
quotation simply leaves out the subject of the sentence).
The ellipsis catches our attention and reminds us that Jesus will rule with a rod of
iron, and as a righteous judge, will punish those who deserve punishment. This picture of
Jesus is totally different from the namby-pamby, love-and-accept-everyone-no-matterhow-they-behave picture of Jesus that many Christians have in their minds today when
they think of Jesus. Jesus came to earth the first time as the sacrifice for the sins of
mankind, and to show us what it means to be humble and obedient. He was not a king at
that time in the sense of having earthly authority. When he rules over the earth as king, he
will not be tolerant of sin.
11:15.
Chapter 3
3:6. Anyone who has an ear. See commentary on Revelation 2:7 and Matthew 11:15.
3:7. the key of David. Referring to Isaiah 22:22.
messenger. See commentary on Revelation 2:1.
has been transliterated into Satan in most versions. See commentary on 2:9.
bow down See commentary on pay him homage Matthew 2:2.
3:10. from the hour. The Greek preposition ek can mean out from in the sense of
through, or out from in the sense of away from. Many people who believe in a preTribulation Rapture still think that this Letter to the Seven Churches is to Christians,
and thus they say that being kept out from the Tribulation is because of the Rapture.
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However, the letter is the Letter to the Seven Congregations, and they are Jewish
congregations (see commentary on Revelation 2:1). The Rapture is past, the Christians
are in heaven, and now these Jewish congregations on earth are having to stand fast in
their faith. Even during the Great Tribulation, however, God protects many of His faithful
ones (Rev. 12:13-17).
3:11. take your crown. This verse is one of the many that shows that we have to
remain faithful to the end to receive a full reward (see commentary on 2 Cor. 5:10, good
or worthless). In the Tribulation Administration salvation was not guaranteed, so it is
possible that, since crown refers to everlasting life in Revelation 2:10, that here it refers
to a believer turning from Christ and losing his salvation.
11:15.
3:14. ruler The Greek arch (#746 ,) can and should be translated ruler in this
verse, as the NIV does. [See One God & One Lord Appendix A].
messenger. See commentary on Revelation 2:1.
3:19. are my friends. The Greek word we translate as arefriends, is phile (#5368
). It is hard to translate the Greek verb phile in this context and keep the English
as a verb. If we say, love, as most versions do, we lose the meaning of phile here, and
confuse it with agap love. Phile love has a deep attachment, like the attachment of true
friends, while agap love does not necessary have any feeling of attachment at all, which
is why we can love (agap) our enemies. Jesus takes a special interest in those who
have taken a special interest in him (You are my friends if you do what I command
John 15:14), and he reproves, disciplines, and prunes those with whom he has a special
friendship relationship. In the REV we could have tried to stick with a verb and used
friendly or fond, but these seem to weak. Also, the Greek verb phile is in the
present tense. Given that, it seemed that using the phrase, arefriends was the best
way to bring the meaning of the Greek into the English. For a more complete
understanding of phile, see the note on John 21:15.
11:15.
Chapter 4
someone was sitting on the throne. The context (chapters 4 and 5) makes it clear
that this is God, who is taking on human form so we can better relate to Him. See
commentary on Acts 7:55.
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Chapter 5
5:1. written on the inside and on the back. The fact that the document mentioned in
this verse is written on the inside and on the back lets us know that in this case the
word biblion (#975 ) refers to a scroll and not a book, although the first books
were being published by the time John was writing. A scroll is written on the inside,
which is the first side written on before the scroll is rolled up, and then on the back
when more room was needed and the back of the scroll was written on also.
5:2. break The Greek is luo (#3089 ). Normally, loose, but here it refers to
breaking the seals, the only way to open and unroll the scroll. That was, in fact, the
purpose of the seal. One could tell the scroll had been opened if the seals were broken.
5:4. cried and cried. Cp. NIV, HCSB. The literal is cried much, with polus (#4183
) meaning much, and the word for cry, klaio (#2799 ), in the imperfect
tense. The imperfect tense of the verb shows that John began crying and kept on crying.
This taken together with the word for much is painting a picture of John continuing to
cry and cry, while no one was able (also imperfect, v. 3) to open the scroll. For more on
the word klaio, see entry on Matthew 2:18.
Much crying is indeed an appropriate response, because John was faced with the
fact that with no one to open the scroll and start Gods judgment, the world would
continue in sin and under the control of the Devil, and that misery on earth would
continue indefinitely. People, and the world itself, groan as if in the pains of childbirth
(Rom. 8:22, 23). If no one can bring about the righteous judgment of the earth and
complete the redemption of mankind, then like Paul says, We are of all people the most
to be pitied. One thing this shows is that the world is totally unable to save itself or bring
itself into a righteous state. All of mans boasting about how we are going to improve the
world is just empty words. If God and Christ do not act on our behalf, we are doomed,
and crying is certainly appropriate. Thankfully, the angel stopped Johns crying by
pointing out the Lion of the Tribe of Judah.
Shoot from David. See commentary on Romans 15:12.
the middle of the throne and of the four living creatures. Jesus Christ is the
middle, the central figure. He is in the middle of the throne, living creatures, and elders.
All attention is on him.
standing. Though the lamb had the markings of one that had been killed, the fact
that Jesus is standing points to the fact that he is in all his authority, similarly to when
Stephen saw him standing at the right hand of God in Acts 7:56.
looking as if it had been slain. The particle as if is often used in Revelation to
point out what John saw. This phrase is not throwing doubt on the death of Jesus, but
rather pointing out that Jesus looked as if he had been slain. He did the same when he
appeared to Thomas and showed his hands and side to Thomas (John 20:27). This one
picture of Jesus tells in short form the essence of the Gospel: victory through sacrifice.
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The most profound reason for the wounds of death being now visible is so that everyone
can see the way to victory is through sacrifice.
5:9. singing a new song. The believers are singing to Jesus Christ, a way of honoring
and worshipping him. [For more on singing to Jesus, see commentary on Ephesians
5:19].
Chapter 6
6:4. earth so that. The Greek has a kai (and) between the words earth and so that,
which places more emphasis on the last phrase. The sentence would then read, to take
peace from the earth, even so that they would slay one another. The kai (and, even)
makes the English more difficult to read without really changing the meaning, and so
many versions omit it.
6:6. a voice. We are not told who is speaking.
A measure of wheat for a denarius. The measure is the Greek word choinix,
which was about is about 2 pints, and was the measure of grain given to slaves for food
for a day, which was barely enough to sustain them. A denarius was a days wage (cp.
Matt. 20:2, 9). Ancient records show us that a denarius would buy 16 choinix in the time
of Cicero, and 20 in the time of Trajan. So this would have been a great famine even by
ancient standards, but for us in the USA today, it would be a huge famine indeed if a
days wage only bought two pints of wheat or 6 pints of barley.
Death and the Grave. Both Death and the Grave are personified in this verse, and
likely refer to real demons by those names, as well as the concepts their names represent.
The Adversary holds the power of death, so it is no surprise that there are demons called
Death and Grave.
6:9. souls. See commentary on Revelation 20:4.
6:10. they cried with a great voice. This is the figure of speech, personification,
whereby inanimate things are said to speak. These souls (people) are dead.
Master. The Greek is despots (#1203 ) means master or lord, and it
refers to someone who has legal control and authority over others, such as subjects or
slaves (cp. 1 Tim. 6:1; Titus 2:9). It is used both as a title for God (Luke 2:29; Acts 4:24),
and a title for Jesus Christ (2 Pet. 2:1; Jude 1:4). Here it is used of Jesus Christ, since he
is the one breaking the seals and they speak to him in response to his actions. See
commentary on Luke 2:29.
the holy and true One. Both holy and true are substantives, adjectives used as
nouns. [For more on substantives, see the commentary on Matthew 5:37].
6:12. sackcloth. The Greek is sakkos (#4526 ). Sackcloth is the rough cloth
from which sacks for carrying things or storing things was made of. It is quite similar in
texture to burlap. It was made of hair, but culturally it was made from goat hair, which
was long and black. [For more on goats and goat hair, see commentary on Matt. 25:32].
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6:16. Referring to Hosea 10:8.

6:17. the great day of their wrath has come. Since the Fall of Adam and Eve, people
have had troubles, trials, and tribulation in life. However, because of the sins against God
that mankind has committed, God foretold that there would be a relatively short and
specific time during which the wrath of God would be poured out upon the whole world.
This time of wrath, which many Christians refer to as the Tribulation, is referred to by
many names in the Bible, often as the Day of the Lord, which is sometimes just called,
the day, or that day. Although the references to this specific time of wrath are far too
many to list here, a sampling includes: Isaiah 13:9; 63:1-6; Ezekiel 30:3; 38:19-23;
Daniel 12:1; Joel 1:15; 2:1, 31; Amos 5:18-20; Obadiah 1:15; Zephaniah 1:14-18;
Zechariah 14:1-6; Malachi 4:1; Matthew 3:7; 13:37-43; and 24:4-14. The book of
Revelation is the clearest picture of the time of the wrath of God in the Bible. The whole
period of tribulation will take place over seven years, and will be a time of judgments that
increase in severity. There are the seal judgments in Revelation 6, the trumpet judgments
in chapters 8 and 9, the thunder judgments in chapter 10, the bowl judgments in chapter
16, and finally the Battle of Armageddon in chapter 19.
Chapter 7
7:14. made them white in the blood of the lamb. This is a paradox. Washing in
blood makes a garment red, so the paradox catches our attention and forces us to think
about how the blood of the Lamb could make garments white. The truth is even more
profound than that, because the only why to be white and clean is by washing in the
blood of the Lamb.
Chapter 8
8:9. soul life. The Greek word is psuch (#5590 ; pronounced psoo-kay'), often
translated soul. The Greek word has a large number of meanings, including the
physical life of a person or animal; an individual person; or attitudes, emotions, feelings,
and thoughts. Here psuch refers to the physical life of the body, which is why most
versions translate it life. We translated it soul life.
We felt that if we translated it as just soul, that would be confusing, because
almost every Christian wrongly believes that animals and fish do not have soul, even
though the Bible says they do. We also think that translating it life is not correct
because it makes the verse say too much. The Greek word z (#2222 ; pronounced
z-'; from which we get words like zoo and zoology), means life, the state of being
alive versus being dead. It is not 1/3 of everything that had life died, but 1/3 of those
things like whales and fish, that have soul died. There is no verse in the Old or New
Testament that indicates that plants have soul; they have another kind of life that
animates them. Although it is possible that 1/3 of the plant life in the ocean died too, that
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is not stated in this verse. This is one of the many verses that shows that psuch, soul, is
not immortal, and is used for the physical life of the body, similar to Romans 11:3 and 1
Peter 4:19. [For a more complete explanation of psuch, soul, see Appendix 7: Usages
of Soul].
8:13. high overhead. The Greek mesouranma (#3321 ) literally means
middle heaven, and it refers to the highest point in the sky, in other words, straight
overhead. It is the point the sun occupies at noon. The eagle was not far off at the
horizon, but directly overhead, where his voice could be clearly heard by those on earth.
Chapter 9
9:2. smoke from the pit. The Greek, smoke of the pit, is a genitive of origin,
meaning smoke from the pit.
9:16. the number of the armies of the horsemen was twice 10,000 times 10,000. If
literal, this would be an army of 200 million. However, it may be a figurative number or a
hyperbole. It would not in any case be exact. Also, despite the number of
commentators who believe this is a human army, it seem clear from the description in the
next several verses that this is some kind of demonic army.
It has been estimated that at the time of Christ the population of the earth was
between 200 and 300 million. If Revelation 9:16 is understood to be a human army, one
thing it does show is that when John penned Revelation, he penned it as a future
prophecy, not as the preterists believe, that the events of Revelation had already
happened. By this time in Revelation at least 25% of the worlds population was already
dead (cp. Rev. 6:8), so there is no way an army of 200 million could come from the area
of Russia and Asia proper.
Chapter 10
or sacred realm. [For more information on the Sacred Secret and the Administration of
Grace, see Ephesians 3:9.]
Chapter 11
11:1. sanctuary. This is the Temple that will exist in the future, in between the
destruction of the Temple in 70 AD and Armageddon. It is not the Temple described in
Ezekiel, which will be the Millennial Temple. Although there is not a Temple in
Jerusalem now, the Bible assures us that there will be a Temple during the time of the
Book of Revelation. According to 2 Thessalonians 2:4, the Antichrist will enter into that
Temple, and Jesus said that the Abomination would be in the Holy Place (Matt. 24:15).
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In this case, the word sanctuary is correct. The Greek word is naos (#3485 ;
pronounced n-s), which refers to the Temple proper, consisting of the Holy Place
and Holy of Holies. The word is not hieron (#2411 ; pronounced he-err-on), which
refers to the entire Temple complex, including the Temple courts (cp. Mark 11:15).
A large number of scholars insist that this sanctuary is the Church (or believers),
but that is not the case and there is no reason not to take the text literally. There will be a
literal temple in Jerusalem at this time. We can see why people would want to make this
temple into a figure of speech. Preterists, who believe the events of Revelation have
already occurred, could not be correct in their interpretation if this referred to a literal
Temple, because the Temple in Jerusalem had already been destroyed by the time John
wrote.
We do not need to invent allegories for the sanctuary, the altar, and the Temple
courts. They are all literal and will all be present in the Temple during this time.
altar. The Temple has two altars: the altar of incense inside the Holy Place and the
altar of sacrifice just outside it. Since we cannot see into the sanctuary to see the altar of
incense, and John was not a priest and could not go in there, this must refer to the altar
of sacrifice. Thus it seems clear that Jewish sacrifice will restart before or during the
Tribulation.
11:2. 42 months. Daniel 9 speaks of 490 years from the command to build Jerusalem
until the Messiah (Dan. 9:25-27). This will consist of two periods of sevens, one for 62
and one for 7. The sevens are years. After the 69 sevens (483 years) the Messiah is killed.
After 483 years there was to be another 7 year period (verse 27). The "ruler who
will come," the antichrist, will make a 7 year covenant with Israel. However, in the
middle of the 7 years, he will break that off. The last 7 would have followed the first 69
sevens immediately except God intervened with the Administration of the Sacred Secret.
After 3 years of the seven years of Tribulation, the Antichrist breaks his
covenant with Israel and rules the world. During this last 3 years, God protects some of
the people of Israel from the antichrist. This 3 year period is referred to in three
different ways in Scripture.
1) Time, Times, and Half a time (i.e., a year, 2 years, and half a year): Daniel
7:25; 12:7; Revelation 12:14.
2) 42 months: Revelation 11:2; 13:5.
3) 1260 days. Revelation 12:6. (1260 days is 42 months of 30 days each).
Daniel 12:11 and 12 refer to an extension on the 1260 days needed to gather the
nations for Judgment (probably 30 days), and then judge them (probably 45 days): (Matt.
25:31ff), Also, the 1260 days that the two witnesses prophesied (Rev. 11:3) started in the
first 3 1/2 years and ends in the second, and does not equate to the 1260 days of
Revelation 12:6. After the 1260 days, 42 months, or 3:1/2 years of the reign
of the Antichrist, comes the battle of Armageddon.
11:8. Sodom. This is the figure of speech antonomasia, (name change; see Bullinger,
Figures of Speech Used in the Bible) where the real name is not used, but another name is
used in order to import the characteristics of that other name. Here, Jerusalem has been
called Sodom to ascribe to her the sexual immorality and ungodliness of the city of
Sodom in Genesis, which God destroyed by fire from heaven (Gen. 19). Jerusalem is
called Sodom in Isaiah 1:10, and compared to Sodom in Ezekiel 16:46ff.
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11:12. the cloud. We would expect the text to say a cloud. The word the ties this
incident back to the cloud that appeared at historic events such as the cloud that covered
the men at the Transfiguration (Matt. 17:5), and the cloud in which Jesus ascended to
heaven (Acts 1:9).
11:13. gave glory to the God of heaven. The meaning of this verse is hidden in the
use of glory, which often refers to the honor, power, or prestige that one gets who is the
best at something. For example, a victor in the gladiator arena can get glory from the
loser while being despised by him. In this case, the people on earth granted that God had
the power to bring the earthquake, but in the honor-shame society of the first century, the
fact that they gave God glory did not mean they believed and repented.
11:15. Quoted from Exodus 15:18 (cp. Ps. 146:10; Dan. 2:44).
has become the kingdom. This is the idiom of the prophetic perfect, the Greek
using the aorist tense. The kingdom was not yet the possession of Christ and God, but it
soon would be. [For more on the prophetic perfect idiom, see commentary on Ephesians
2:6].
Chapter 12
12:1. The woman in this chapter is different in different verses. The woman in verse 1
is the constellation Virgo, which on the night of Christs birth was indeed clothed with
the sun and the moon under her feet, i.e., the sun was in the center of the constellation,
with the moon just below her feet (Earnest Martin, The Star that Astonished the World).
The woman in verse 4 about to give birth is Mary. The woman in verses 6 and 13, from
whom the Messiah came, is Israel, whom the Dragon ruthlessly persecutes during the
Tribulation.
Dragon. The Greek word drakn (#1404 ) means dragon. One of the
New Testament names for the Devil is the Dragon. Since the Devil is not literally a
dragon, this is the figure of speech hypocatastasis comparing the Devil with a dragon
[For more on hypocatastasis, see commentary on Rev. 20:2]. The name Dragon
emphasizes his fierce, ferocious qualities. Like a dragon, the Slanderer (Devil) is
powerful, ferocious, pitiless, merciless, dangerous, and deadly. For more on Dragon and
the other names of the Slanderer (Devil), see Appendix 14: Names of the Slanderer.
diadems. The Greek is diadema (#1238 ). The diadem is different from a
crown. Diadem is an English loanword, properly the sign of royalty among the
Persians, a blue band trimmed with white, on the tiara, hence a symbol of royalty
generally; royal headband (BDAG).
12:5. Quoted from Psalm 2:9.
12:6. woman. See commentary on verse 1.
12:7. to make war with the rest of her seed. This war is separate and distinct from
the war that occurred when the Devil originally fought with God and dragged a third of
the angels down with him (12:4). This war occurs in the time of the book of Revelation
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when the Devil is cast out of heaven and no longer is able to come before God (cp. Job
1:6; 2:1; Rev. 12:10).
12:9. the Slanderer. This is the Devil. The Greek is diabolos (#1228 ). The
Slanderer].
1:13. For information on the names of the Devil, see Appendix 14: Names of the
Slanderer.
12:10. Accuser. The Greek word is katgore (#2723 ), and it means to
accuse, to accuse before a judge. The Devil knows that God is righteous and just, so he
uses peoples sin against them, and relentlessly accuses people. Often when tragedy
strikes a person who has sinned, it is said that the person has walked out from under the
umbrella of Gods protection. The teaching that God can do what He wants, when He
wants, has completely obscured the truth that God wants to bless and help people, but He
must be just, and if a person sins willfully over and over, eventually in the heavenly
court, which is attended by angels and demons (cp, Job 1:6-12; 2:1-6), Satan will get to
harm the person. Satan asked to harm Peter, but Jesus prayer stopped him (Luke 22:31).
Because the Devil is the god of this world, there are apparently some evil things he can
just do without Gods permission (Satan is a lawbreaker, liar, and generally dishonest),
and the war between God and the Devil is a real war, not a fake war. For more
information on the name of the Devil, see Appendix 14: Names of the Slanderer. For
more on the control of the world that Satan has, see the commentary on 1 John 5:19.
12:11. souls. The Greek word often translated soul is psuch (#5590 ;
pronounced psoo-kay'), and it has a large number of meanings, including the physical life
of a person or animal; an individual person; or attitudes, emotions, feelings, and thoughts.
Here, soul primarily means their physical life (which is why many English versions
have lives), but it includes the core of their being and mental and emotional life as well.
There was nothing in their life these martyrs loved more that God and the Lord, so they
did not give up their testimony even though it cost them their life. [For a more complete
explanation of soul, see Appendix 7: Usages of Soul].
12:12. the Slanderer. See commentary on verse 9.
12:13. woman. See commentary on 12:1.
Chapter 13
13:1. a beast coming up out of the sea. This beast, like the beasts of Daniel 7:2-8, is
the figure of speech hypocatastasis, comparison by implication, and is an empire, but it is
an empire ruled by men, one of which is the horn who is also the little horn (Dan.
7:8), who is the one we sometimes refer to as the Antichrist. Thus the beast is clearly
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an empire in some verses such as 13:1, but refer to a person who is over it in 13:8. It is
simply understood culturally that an empire has someone who is in charge.
The sea is a hypocatastasis for the people of the world (Rev. 17:15). That this beast
comes out of the sea is indication that the Antichrist is a Gentile, not a Jew. This beast
is much different from the beast in 13:11, who comes from the earth. The earth (ge;
#1093 : pronounced gay) can refer to the whole earth, but is often associated with
Israel. Thus, the beast that comes up from the earth and who is called the false
prophet (Rev. 16:13; 19:20; 20:10) is almost certainly a Jew. [For more on
hypocatastasis see commentary on Revelation 20:2].
ten horns. These are ten kings (Rev. 17:10), and are also the ten horns of Daniel
7:7. They are called horns because they are powerful. The horns, like the horns of a
bull, represented power, and horns were an ancient symbol of power. When someone was
exalted and feeling on top of the world (either rightly or out of arrogance), his horn was
up. Thus Psalm 75:6 says not to raise your horn against heaven, and Psalm 89:7 says that
by Gods favor (grace) our horn is exalted. When someones power was broken, their
head was down and their horn went into the ground. Thus, Job, who lived about the same
time as Abraham, said that he had thrust his horn in the dust (Job 16:15). Sadly, as
people are less and less connected with animals and how they hold their heads, the image
of the horn being up or down is lost, and so many modern versions omit the word horn
altogether and find other ways to translate the verses that have the idioms with horns.
However, that makes verses such as Revelation 13:1, which calls the kings, horns,
much harder to understand.
diadem See commentary on 12:3.
defaming. The Greek noun is blasphmia (#988 ; pronounced blas-fayme'-ah), and was used of someone speaking against another. The primary meaning as it
was used in the Greek culture was showing disrespect to a person or deity, and/or
harming his, her, or its reputation. [For more on blasphmia, see commentary on Matt.
9:3]. The very names of the evil described in this verse defame God.
13:5. defaming words. The Greek noun is blasphmia (#988 ; pronounced
blas-fay-me'-ah), and was used of someone speaking against another. The primary
meaning as it was used in the Greek culture was showing disrespect to a person or deity,
and/or harming his, her, or its reputation. [For more on blasphmia, see commentary on
Matt. 9:3].
13:6. utter defaming words. The Greek verb blasphme (#987 ) means
showing disrespect to a person or deity, and/or harming his, her, or its reputation. This
verse contains the verb, while 13:1, 5 have the noun [For more on blasphme, see
commentary on Matt. 9:3].
13:7. every tribe and people and tongue and nation. There is disagreement among
commentators as to whether the antichrist will rule the whole world, or part of it.
Although we lean toward the belief that he will rule the entire world, there is room for the
possibility that he will not. The Bible often uses language referring to the whole world
when it only means the whole world known at the time the Bible was written. Example of
when references to the whole world only referred to the world that was known or
controlled at that time include 1 Kings 4:34; Daniel 4:1; and Matthew 2:1. It is possible
that there are places in the world that will not be directly controlled by the antichrist.
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13:8. slain from the foundation of the world. The versions of the Bible are divided
as to how the Greek text should be translated. The KJV, for example, translates the Greek
the same way as the REV. In contrast, the NASB does not connect the word slain with
the prepositional phrase, from the foundation of the world, but connects it with the
phrase about being written in the book of life, thus having, everyone whose name has
not been written from the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who has
been slain.
Both of the above interpretations involve Gods foreknowledge and fore-planning.
Slain from the foundation of the world is the natural reading of the Greek text, the
phrases being in that order in the Greek. There should be no problem understanding this.
First, we must remember that Jesus Christ is not only the redeemer of the human race, he
is the redeemer of all of Gods creation. Ever since the fall of Satan the whole creation
has been groaning (Rom. 8:22) and waiting for a redeemer. Thus, before God even
created Adam, God had a plan for the restoration of His creation that involved the
sacrifice of Christ.
God also planned for the fact that mankind would sin. Even if Adam lived without
sinning, God would have known that at some point Adams progeny would sin, and thus
He planned for their redemption. Thus, Jesus was both known, and we, the Church, were
even chosen in him, before the foundation of the world (1 Pet. 1:20; Eph. 1:4). The
Church, and Jesus did not literally exist before the foundation of the world, but were in
the mind of God. God then revealed what He had in his mind via the prophecies He gave
in the Old Testament.
The Church could not be said to be chosen in Christ if the plan of salvation was
not plotted out beforehand, so Ephesians 1:4 makes no sense if the sacrificial death of
Christ was not plotted out beforehand. Thus it makes perfect sense for the text to say that
Jesus was slain before the foundation of the worldit was part of Gods plan for the
salvation of His creation.
That being said, if the natural reading of the Greek text is slain from the
foundation of the world, what would be a reason for moving the words of the Greek text
around to create the reading in the NASB? The major reason is that the concept that the
lamb was slain from the foundation of the world is difficult, and so some think that it
is more natural that the Author meant the verse as the NASB has it. However, as we have
seen, the death of Christ was part of Gods plan from the foundation of the world. Thus,
there is really no problem at all if the verse says he was slain from the foundation of the
world.
Another reason some theologians like the translation as the NASB has it is that
then it is more clearly espousing the Calvinist doctrine that peoples names are written in
the book of life before the foundation of the world, i.e., God predestines them either to
salvation or damnation long before they are born. After all, if peoples names are written
in the book of life before the foundation of the world, then God knows, and even
determines, the fate of every person. This is not what Scripture teaches. God gives each
person freewill to make his or her own choices. God wants all people to be saved (1 Tim.
2:4), and we are the ones who decide whether we are saved or not.
13:14. deceives.by the signs. Signs in the physical world are never in and of
themselves proof of God or godliness. Both God and the Devil have power, and so
throughout history, both good and evil prophets have demonstrated power. The power
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must be in conjunction and agreement with the Word of God. Similarly, when it comes to
the spoken Word, sincerity is no guarantee for truth. Many sincere people are wrong
about what they believe.
Chapter 14
14:5. without blemish See commentary on Ephesians 1:4.
14:6. high overhead. See commentary on Revelation 8:13.
14:8. fallen, fallen. The word fallen is repeated twice for emphasis. It is the figure of
speech epizeuxis (see Bullinger, Figures of Speech Used in the Bible). In the Greek text,
fallen is in the past (aorist tense) even though the event has not happened yet. This is
the idiom of the prophetic perfect Babylon was not yet fallen, but its fall was certain.
[For more on the prophetic perfect idiom, see commentary on Ephesians 2:6].
Babylon. This is almost certainly not the literal city of Babylon. There have been
many Babylons since Nimrod first built Babylon soon after Noahs Flood (Gen. 10:8-10).
The Devil is constantly promoting centers of power and influence through which he can
work to corrupt others. Evil people cannot successfully work the soil (Gen. 4:12), which
is why Cain, after killing Abel, went off and built a city (Gen. 4:17), and cities have been
centers of evil ever since.
Nimrods Babylon was a center of evil, and was followed by many other Babylons,
which promote cultural, commercial, spiritual, and personal rebellion against God and
against righteousness. Literal Babylon lost influence as powers like Egypt grabbed the
limelight, but it rose again in time to become a world power and destroy Jerusalem in the
days of Jeremiah, who wrote: Babylon was a gold cup in the LORD's hand; she made
the whole earth drunk. The nations drank her wine; therefore they have now gone mad
(Jer. 51:7). But Daniels prophecy of the succession of kingdoms (Dan. 2:36-45), made it
clear that literal Babylon would fall again, then would come Persia, Greece, and then
Rome. Rome was the clear frontrunner for the designation Babylon during its day, but
its candle grew dim too.
The centuries have seen Babylon shift from place to place. In fact, Babylon does
not even have to be a single city, it is intimately tied to the Devils purposes and can be a
city, cities, or perhaps even an evil empire. The Devil is constantly working, always
trying to spread his evil across the globe. We do not know how long God will wait before
the Great Tribulation and we can be sure that the fortunes of the cities of earth will
continue to shift, but no matter which city or cities are Babylon when the End comes,
the Devil is always the power behind the throne. Thus, one of the beauties of using the
name Babylon here is that it reveals the evil power behind the city, but is not tied to a
specific city.
of the wine of the passion of her sexual immorality. The Greek texts use of
three genitives in a row, as well as vocabulary that is used in two different senses, has
caused quite a division among commentators. The Greek word translated passion is
thumos (#2372 ; pronounced thoo-mos), and means anger, wrath, passion,
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excitement. Because it is mostly used in Revelation to refer to anger, many

commentators assume this is a mixed metaphor, somehow referring both to the Whores
wine and sexual immorality, and Gods anger and wrath. But that mixed metaphor is
unlikely and unnecessary. It is well established in Greek literature that thumos can to
refer to passion or excitement, and there is no reason it cannot mean that here as well in
the other verses in the Bible that refer to the passion of sexual immorality, especially as it
is excited by wine. E. W. Bullinger says in his commentary on Revelation: If we take
the word thumos as meaning inflammatory or exciting, as it does when used of wine,
all difficulty is taken away. David Aune (the Word Biblical Commentary) says, The
term thumos is used here meaning intense desire and in verse 10 meaning fury, intense
anger. Aune recognizes this shift of the meaning of the word thumos in this section of
Revelation, and refers to it as one the many instances of a play on words in the book of
Revelation.
Lenski points out that the phrase here in Revelation 14:8, and the same phrase in
18:3, and the very similar phrase in 17:2, all are governed by the pronoun her. Thus the
introduction of the idea of Gods wrath simply from the vocabulary is not satisfactory,
especially since there are other explanations of the phrase.
The two genitives, passion and sexual immorality can be constructed either as
passionate sexual immorality or as sexually immoral passion. We favor passionate
sexual immorality because throughout the Bible, sexual immorality was used both
literally for the sin of sexual immorality and also used figuratively for idolatry and other
immoral acts. When we keep in mind that some idolatry was intertwined with actual
sexual immorality, it seems more consistent with the whole Bible that God is speaking
against her sexual immorality, than sexually immoral passion. However, we should
realize that that idea can be is basically the same.
It has been known for ages that wine inflames passions that lead people to set
aside moral and physical restraints and behave immorally. Habakkuk shows us that the
ancients understood the connection between wine and sexual passion: Woe to him who
gives drink to his neighbors, pouring it from the wineskin till they are drunk, so that he
can gaze on their naked bodies (Hab. 2:15 NIV84). Since it was well known that wine
could lead to passionate sexual immorality, we can see why God used wine figuratively
in Revelation.
The wine that has been flowing from Babylon is a figure that goes back into the
Old Testament. Jeremiah 51:7 says, Babylon was a gold cup in the LORD's hand; she
made the whole earth drunk. The nations drank her wine; therefore they have now gone
mad. The nations and people who drink of Babylons wine act like insane people: they
rebel against their Creator as if there was no consequence for it.
Actually, rebellion and idolatry did not start with Babylon in Jeremiahs time, but
were rooted in Babylon all the way back in Genesis, and spread all over the world. This
fact is expressed in the use of the perfect tense of the verb drink in the Greek text,
which is hard to exactly translate into English, because it implies a past action that is still
going on. Lenski has, has been making all the nations to drink, that is, Babylon has
been making people drunk with immorality for a very long time. From the Great Whore
of Babylon flowed the wine that inflamed people and got them to participate fully, or
passionately, in unrestrained behavior and rebellion against God.
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What we see in this verse, and 17:2 and 18:3, is that the people of the world have
been and are still today intoxicated by sexual immorality and rebellion against God.
Indeed, following our sin nature and rebelling against God and doing our own thing
can be intoxicating, whereas living an obedient lifestyle can sometimes feel very
restricting. Galatians tells us that the flesh sets its desire against the spirit (Gal. 5:17).
But in the end the people who join Babylon will be like Babylon: Fallen, fallen, and
will drink of the wine of the anger of God (Rev. 14:10). Gods people need to honor
God by following His commands and staying separate from the worlds way of doing
things.
14:11. to ages of ages. The Greek is ; literally, to ages of ages.
This is a hyperbole, an overstatement. The wording is similar to Revelation 20:10, see the
commentary on that verse.
day and night. The meaning of this phrase can be seen by noticing how it is used
in other verses. Paul preached night and day to the Thessalonians (1 Thess. 2:9), and
later prayed for them night and day (1 Thess. 3:10). First, we see it does not necessarily
mean constantly, although it could in the context of future torment. Second, it does not
mean it goes on forever. Both Pauls preaching for the Thessalonians, and his prayers to
see them, came to an end at some point. Similarly, the person who sows seed in the
ground sleeps and gets up night and day while the seed is growing (Mark 4:27). In this
example, as with the one involving Paul, the phrase day and night does not mean he
sleeps and rises all day every day, but rather that there is a general pattern of sleeping and
rising. Furthermore, there is an end to his activity. Another example is when Satan is said
to be in heaven accusing the brothers day and night (Rev. 12:10), but we know that
there were times he was on earth, not in heaven, so the phrase does not necessarily mean
all day every day, and we know Satans accusations will come to an end. The point the
verse is making is that those thrown into Gehenna have no guarantee of rest, and likely
will have no rest at all, either day or night, until they are consumed and annihilated.
14:13. the Spirit. This refers to Jesus Christ. See commentary on Revelation 2:7.
let them rest. (Cp. HCSB, NAB). We believe this should be taken as a command
clause. See entry on John 9:3, let the works of God be revealed in him.
14:19. the winepress, the great winepress of the anger or God. The winepress of
God is the Battle of Armageddon. This is clear from Revelation 19:15, which uses the
same terminology, and from Isaiah, which refers to the battle the Messiah fights to
conquer the earth and says, I have trodden the winepress alone; from the nations no one
was with me. I trampled them in my anger and trod them down in my wrath; their blood
spattered my garments, and I stained all my clothing (Isa. 63:3 NIV84).
14:20. stadia. A Roman stadia is about 607 feet. The total distance is about 180 miles
(290 km).
Chapter 15
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Chapter 16
16:3. soul. The Greek word often translated soul is psuch (#5590 ; pronounced
psoo-kay'), and it has a large number of meanings, including the physical life of a person
or animal; an individual person; or attitudes, emotions, feelings, and thoughts. Here it
refers to the mammal, fish, or other sea creature that is animated, made alive, by psuch,
soul, which is why many English versions say, every living creature, or every living
thing in the sea died. This is one of the verses that shows us that psuch is the life that
animates both humans and animals, and it is not immortal. [For a more complete
explanation of soul, see Appendix 7: Usages of Soul].
16:9. defamed. The Greek verb blasphme (#987 ) means showing
disrespect to a person or deity, and/or harming his, her, or its reputation. [For more on
blasphme, see commentary on Matt. 9:3].
16:11. defamed. See defamed in 16:9.
16:13. frogs. There are many fanciful guesses as to what the frogs refer to. Two ideas
seem to be solidly founded: In 16:12 the angel struck the Euphrates and it dried up. When
the Nile was struck by a plague of blood (Exod. 7:19ff), the next plague upon Egypt was
frogs (Exod. 8:1ff). This seems clearly to be pointing back to this: the Euphrates dries up
in verse 12 and then frogs go forth in verse 13. The second thing is that frogs were known
for their loud croaking, and it would take some loud croaking to get the leaders of the
earth to come to Israel to fight Jesus.
16:14 spirits, namely demons. Genitive of apposition.
16:21. talent. The Greek is talantiaios (#5006 ) The Roman talent weight
varied from place to place and also over time. Estimates range from over sixty to well
over 100 pounds. Most scholars place this talent at somewhere in the neighborhood of
100 pounds.
defamed. See defamed in 16:9.
Chapter 17
17:1. the great prostitute that sits on many waters. The Great Prostitute is called by
the name Babylon in 17:5. The Great Prostitute is not a person or a kingdom, but a
religious system of life and thought that starts in the heart of the Devil and makes its
home in people who follow his ways and who then mold the world in their image. The
Prostitute is false religion (many commentators refer to this as the Apostate Church,
but that makes it seem like it is deceived Christians, when in fact it is deceived religious
people). She is the pattern of the world in the robes of religion (cp. Rom. 12:2), stated in
a concrete way, as if it was a woman. This is very Semitic. In Proverbs, both Wisdom and
Folly are portrayed as women (Prov. 8:1; 9:13).
In this verse she sits on many waters, that is, on the masses of the people of earth
(waters represent the masses of people, see Rev. 17:15. That waters or the sea
means people is a well-known biblical figure; cp. Isa. 17:12, 13; Daniel 7:2; Rev.
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13:1). In contrast, in Revelation 17:3, the woman sits upon 7 mountains, that is, seven
empires ruled by kings.
The fact that she sits on the people of earth is profound, for some people she
controls and oppresses, while others follow her willingly, lured by what she offers (see
17:4), e.g., her power (purple and scarlet), her wealth (gold, precious stones, pearls), sex
(adulteries), and her self-indulgence and rebellion against God (her abominable things).
All this can be seen in the church today and in history. Many are those religious
people who are not godly.
That the Great Prostitute is successful sitting (the verb is a present participle) on the
people of earth is a testament to the fallen nature of mankind. In general, the Devil would
rather lure people to sin willingly than try to force people to sin. History shows us that
there is an abundance of people who fall right into the Devils ways of thinking and
acting if they are lured by power, money, sex, and self-indulgence. The Devil sets up the
system, and people willingly become his sycophants, using and oppressing others. It
should not be lost on us that it was not to the sinners of his time such as the prostitutes
and tax collectors, but to the religious leaders that he said, You are of your father the
Devil, and you want to do the desires of your father (John 8:44).
17:2. with the wine of her sexual immorality. See commentary on Revelation 14:8.
17:3. names that are defaming. See commentary on Revelation 13:1.
17:4. pearls. Pearls were very expensive in the ancient world, and very highly valued.
[For more on pearls, see commentary on Revelation 18:12].
17:5. Sacred Secret. We translate the Greek word musterion (#3466 ) as
or sacred realm. [For more information on the term Sacred Secret see Ephesians 3:9.]
The word musterion is a huge key to understanding Babylon. In the Greco-Roman
world, a musterion was a secret in the religious sphere (a secular secret was a kruptos,
secret). A musterion was not a mystery, but was a secret that was hidden from the
general public until it was revealed. Here the secret, this secret which has dominated
the religious realm, is called Babylon. Furthermore, she is called the mother of the
prostitutes and of the abominations of the earth.
That she is called Babylon, does not mean she is the literal city of Babylon (or even
a literal city at all), which we can see from the full description of her in the chapter, but
she is called Babylon because she relates to Babylon in an important way. In this
case, Babylon was the first city built by Nimrod after Noahs Flood (Gen. 10:10). It
became a center of religious apostasy and rebellion against God, even though it likely
looked very religious. Ever since Nimrod, religion has been a powerful force on
earth, and sadly, there is usually a lot of evil at the center. This includes practices that are
overtly ungodly, like human sacrifice, but the fact is that oppression, guilt, and control
have been at the center of almost all religions.
That this woman is called, the mother of the prostitutes and of the abominations of
the earth, points to the fact that she is the starting point and nurturer of the sexual
immorality and godlessness in the world. She is the personalization of the Devils system
of evil infiltrating religion and masquerading as truth, just as the woman Wisdom in
Proverbs is the personalization of Gods way of doing things. The false religion is not an
enemy to, but to a large degree works symbiotically with, the political systems of earth.
Thus the mountains (kingdoms and kings) let her sit on them, and in a practical sense
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they support one another. This is certainly true historically. The Bible has many examples
of false prophets supporting evil rulers, just as Ahab and Jezebel had their false prophets
(1 Kings 17, 18; cp. Ezek. 22:25-28).
Furthermore, although false religion has sat on the waters (people) of the earth
(17:1), and on the kingdoms of the earth (17:3) for millennia, she will come to an abrupt
end when Christ conquers the earth and sets up his kingdom.
17:6. martyrs. The Greek word is martus (#3144 ; pronounced mar-toose),
which technically means witness. However, especially after 64 AD when Nero made
Christianity illegal and the execution of Christians started, the most profound witness
was to die for the faith. Thus martus came to be used of those who witnessed for Christ
and those who died for the faith, and our English word martyr comes directly from the
Greek martus. It is challenging to translate the word in this context because if we say
those who testified of Jesus (NET), it may not be clear that they died for him, but if we
say martyr, we might lose the connection with the fact that dying for the Faith was
considered a very powerful witness. That is why the English versions are split on the
translation: martyrs (ASV, ESV, KJV, NJB, RSV), versus witness, testify (HCSB,
NASB, NET, NIV, NLT, Rotherham).
sacred secret. See commentary on 17:5.
17:9. mountains. This is the figure of speech hypocatastasis, a comparison by
implication, and it refers to empires ruled by rulers. In the Bible, a mountain is one of
the figures of speech used to represent a kingdom and by extension, the king who rules it.
David called his kingdom a mountain (Ps. 30:7). Babylon was called a mountain (Jer.
51:25). The Messiahs kingdom will be a mountain that will fill the earth (Dan. 2:35), and
cp. Zechariah 4:7 as well. Thus here in Revelation we again see vocabulary being used in
the way it was used in the Old Testament. [For more information on hypocatastasis, see
commentary on Revelation 20:2].
The mountains are also immediately said to be kings, so in this case the empires are
not general, but also include the kings who control them. The mountains cannot refer to
Rome, although many commentators think they do (Cp. John Valwoord, The Revelation
of Jesus Christ; Bullinger, Commentary on Revelation).
It is important that we notice that the woman sits upon the mountains. She is not a
mountain, but sits on them. Bullinger thinks all the kingdoms are future, while other
scholars think that the empires have existed through time. In any case, the empires are
bewitched and controlled by the womannot forcibly, but by the lure of what she offers.
The Bible refers to this as them being made drunk with the wine of her sexual
immorality.
17:15. are peoples, and multitudes. This verse is a huge key to understanding both
the Old and New Testament. Daniel 7:2 speaks of the four winds of heaven. In Hebrew,
the word ruach (#7308 ) is used of both wind and spirit. In Daniels case, although
he likely saw a vision of a great ocean being stirred by the winds, he knew his own
language and the meanings it had, and would have understood that this was a vision
meant to communicate that spirits (referring to both demons and angels) were stirring up
the great sea, (the people of the world),and beasts (i.e., nations) were coming up out
of the sea. That verse in Daniel is a great example of how the figure of speech
hypocatastasis can be confusing and how important it is to understand the key words
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involved. In Daniel, the winds were spirits, the sea was masses of people, and the
beast was an empire. So too, here in Revelation, the sea is clearly said to be the
masses of people on earth.
17:16. hate the prostitute. In an amazing turn of events, the false religious system that
has supported, and been supported by, the rulers of the earth will suddenly be attacked by
them. The beast (the Antichrist) will no longer be content to share his glory with another
false religion and will move to control the worlds religions and garner all worship for
himself. Thus begins the universal, one-world religion controlled by the Antichrist that
will dominate the final period of time before Armageddon.
17:18. the great city. Here, Babylon is called the great city although it is not a
literal city, which we saw from 17:1, where she sits on many waters, 17:3, where she sits
on empires, and 17:5, where we saw that she was, as a sacred secret, called Babylon,
not because she was literally the city of Babylon, but because Nimrods Babylon was the
source of all evil empires, having its origin in the Devil and ruled by people given over to
the service of the Devil. However, in a sense she is the great city because she is the
power that has dominated and directed all the cities of earth. In a sense, she is
Chapter 18
18:2. haunt. The Greek word phulake (#5438 ) can mean either a prison or the
prison guard, or the act of guarding or watching. In this case, the demons (unclean spirits
or birds) are not in prison in Babylon, but live there and keep watch there. Thus
haunt is a good translation to communicate that.
18:3. the wine of the passion of her sexual immorality. See commentary on
Revelation 14:8.
18:12. pearls. Pearls are mentioned in a number of New Testament verses because in
the biblical world pearls were incredibly expensive. The Roman historian, Pliny the Elder
(23 AD August 24, 79 AD), said this about pearls: The topmost rank of all things of
price is held by pearls. Round, white pearls are amazingly rare. When pointing out that
women should not dress extravagantly, 1 Timothy 2:9 says women should not dress with
gold and pearls. Jesus told a parable about a man who found one very expensive pearl
and sold everything he had to buy it (Matt. 13:46).
Part of the mystique about pearls in the first century was that people were not sure
where they came from. Expensive pearls that came into the Roman world from the
Persian Gulf and from India had traveled far and had an air of mystery about them.
Although some pearls did come from shallow water, most pearls in the ancient world
were brought up from quite deep in the ocean. In the Persian Gulf region, a fruitful source
of pearls in biblical times, they were often at a depth of about 40 meters (about 45 yards
or half a football field).
To get down to the oyster beds, pearl divers held a weight on a rope to make a
quick descent to the bottom. Once the diver was on the bottom, he let go of the weight,
which was pulled back up to the ship by the rope, while the diver swam back up after he
put the oysters he had gathered into a sack he carried with him. Until the invention of
scuba gear, this diving-with-a-weight method of pearling was the common way of
pearling, with only slight improvements over the years, such as hand and foot protection
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from the sharp oysters and a face masks so the diver could see better and to protect the
eyes. This dangerous way of getting pearls was the major reason natural pearls were so
expensive until our modern times.
In the early 1900s pearls lost much of their value and the pearl industry collapsed
because the Japanese invented a way to grow cultured pearls. Also, shortly after that
plastics and resins began to be used to produce very realistic looking pearls. Then finally,
the invention of the scuba diving system made getting the real pearls much easier, safer,
and more reliable. The result of all this was that pearls, which for millennia had been a
mark of high culture, social standing, and financial wealth, were suddenly being worn by
anyone and everyone, so they were less a status symbol and thus less attractive. As their
attraction wore off, they were worn by fewer and fewer people, even being ignored by
those who could afford the real ones.
18:13. slaves, even the souls of human beings. The word for slaves is actually
bodies, and slaves were referred to as bodies in the Roman Empire. God created
people to be relational and to interconnect with one another, so in order to be with other
people and treat them horribly it is almost a necessity to dehumanize them. This is very
common in war. Germans are not people, they were Krauts, Italians were Wops,
Japanese were Nips, and people from the Middle East are called Towel heads by
many in todays armed forces.
This dehumanizing was done in Bible times as well. In the Bible, the Jews called
themselves the People (and you will see People with a capital P in the REV
translation), which meant that non-Jews were not people. Similarly, in ancient Egypt,
the Egyptians called themselves people, and the foreigners were specifically the noPeople. The ancient Greeks thought of themselves better than everyone else, and thus
everyone else was a Barbarian, an onomatopoetic word based on ba-ba-ba, which is
what the Greeks thought everyone elses language sounded likejust a bunch of bas
strung together. Thus it is no surprise that in the Roman Empire slaves were called
bodies. They were certainly often used that way.
soul. The Greek word often translated soul is psuch (#5590 ; pronounced
psoo-kay'), and it has a large number of meanings, including the physical life of a person
or animal; an individual person; or attitudes, emotions, feelings, and thoughts. Here
souls of human beings is a phrase that primarily refers to people, but by including the
word soul it includes the mental and emotional life. People were bought and sold, but
their thoughts and feelings were disregarded. Similar uses of psuch are Romans 2:9 and
2 Peter 2:14. [For a more complete explanation of soul, see Appendix 7: Usages of
Soul].
18:14. soul. The Greek word is psuch (#5590 ). Here it refers to the seat of the
mental and emotional life. People did not just want the fruit, they wanted it from the core
of their being. [For more on soul, see commentary on Revelation 18:13].
18:16. pearls. See commentary on Revelation 18:12.
18:22. the sound of the mill. When Jerusalem was about to be destroyed by the
Babylonians, Jeremiah prophesied that the sound of the millstone would not be heard in
her (Jer. 25:10). It was a happy sound that was a staple of family life. The women would
grind meal together and enjoy each others company, and there would be fresh bread to
eat. When the sound of the millstone is not heard, family life is pretty much non-existent.
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18:23. the voice of the bridegroom. As in Verse 22 above, Jeremiah 25:10 also
mentions the voice of the bridegroom.
Chapter 19
19:10. the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. The testimony of Jesus
(genitive of relation: testimony about Jesus; most likely also includes the sense of the
genitive of origin, i.e., the words or testimony that Jesus gives) is the spirit (the general
attitude, the essence, the inner content (Lenski)). In contrast to false prophecy, true
prophecy will elevate Jesus.
19:12. diadem. See commentary on 12:3.
19:14. armies. Although the reason for the plural armies could be a plural of
emphasis to show the large size of the army, it is more likely that it is plural because of
the compound nature of Christs army, which includes spirit beings and Christians, who
were Raptured into heaven and now are returning to earth with Christ. There are verses
that indicate that we will participate in the destruction of Satan, such as Romans 16:20,
which speaks of Satan being crushed under your [the Christians] feet. Also, 1
Corinthians 6:3 speaks of us judging angels, which almost certainly includes participating
in the defeat of the fallen angels we know as demons. Also, 1 Thessalonians 4:17 speaks
of us always being with the Lord after the Rapture, so it is unlikely that Christ could
come to earth and fight without us participating.
19:15. out of his mouth comes a sharp broadsword. That there is a sharp sword
coming out of the mouth of Jesus is also stated in Revelation 1:16 and 2:16. What this
sharp sword is, is made clear in 2 Thessalonians 2:8, which says that the Lord will
destroy the lawless one with the spirit from his mouth, where spirit is used for
prophecies spoken by Jesus Christ (see commentary note on 2 Thessalonians 2:8, and 1
Corinthians 14:12). Christians should be used to thinking in terms of the Word of God
being a two-edged sword from Hebrews 4:12 and Ephesians 6:17. Jesus Christ is not
depicted destroying people with a physical sword, but rather with the sword of the
Spirit, which is the Word of God (Eph. 6:17). Powerful words from God come out of
Jesus mouth and destroy his enemies.
19:17. high overhead. See commentary on Revelation 8:13.
19:20. sulfur. The word brimstone is an old word for sulfur.
19:21. broadsword. We know from the context that this sword is the prophetic
utterances that are spoken by Jesus Christ. (See commentary on Rev. 19:15). For
commentary on the fact that this is a broadsword, see commentary on Luke 2:35).
Chapter 20
20:2. dragon. Names such as dragon and serpent are descriptive terms for the
Devil, which is made clear in the verse. They are the figure of speech hypocatastasis
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(pronounced: h-poe-c-ts'-t-sis), a comparison by implication. In the Bible, there are

many uses of the three common figures of speech of comparison, which are simile,
metaphor, and hypocatastasis. These are commonly used in English speech as well, but
only simile and metaphor are generally known by name. A simile is a comparison by
resemblance, that is, the two things being compared resemble each other in some way.
A simile in English usually uses like or as. If a person is a sloppy and noisy eater,
someone might say, You eat like a pig. Psalm 1:3 uses a simile when it says a righteous
person is like a tree planted by the water.
More intense than a simile is the figure metaphor, a comparison by
representation. In a metaphor, one noun represents another. In the pig example above, a
metaphor would be, You are a pig. Jesus used a metaphor when he said to his
disciples, I am the vine; you are the branches (John 15:5 NIV).
Even more intense than metaphor is the figure hypocatastasis, which is a
comparison by implication. In the pig example, instead of comparing the messy eater
with a pig by saying he is like a pig, or even using metaphor and saying the person is
a pig, in hypocatastasis the comparison is just implied. One person says to the other,
Pig! and the meaning, although it is just implied and not specifically stated, is
effectively communicated.
Hypocatastasis is used very effectively in our everyday language. If a person
helps us when we need it, we might say, You angel! If someone lies to us, we might
say, Snake! When someone is being overly hesitant, he gets mocked by the
hypocatastasis, Chicken!
The examples, Pig, You angel, Snake, and Chicken show us that in
hypocatastasis, the person is being compared to something else, and by that comparison,
the qualities of the pig, angel, snake, or chicken, are being assigned to the person. As
long as the comparison is well known in the culture, the implied meaning is not confused.
Figures of comparison are helpful in communication because they quickly bring
both meaning and emotional impact to a situation that would otherwise take a lengthy
description. Imagine how long it would take to describe the way a person was eating and
how it was affecting you emotionally, when all you have to say is, Pig, and the
meaning is clear.
The figure of speech hypocatastasis can be confusing, however, for three major
reasons. First, since the comparison is implied, it may not be clear who the subject of the
comparison is. For example, in Ezekiel 19:5 a king of Judah is being called a lion, but
which king is it referring to? The scholars are not sure. Most of them say either
Jehoiachin or Zedekiah, but we do not know for certain.
The second reason hypocatastasis can be confusing is that sometimes it is not
clear what meaning is being implied. It may be quite easy to figure out why the Devil is
called a serpent (Rev. 20:2), but we may not understand what Jesus meant when he
called Herod a fox. A study of the word fox in the biblical culture reveals that Jesus
was calling Herod a destructive nuisance (cp. commentary on Luke 13:32).
The third reason hypocatastasis can be confusing is that the figure can be missed
entirely, and people think that the hypocatastasis is literal. When Jesus used the figure
hypocatastasis, sometimes even people who knew him well were confused. For example,
Jesus told his apostles to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, but they did not
recognize the hypocatastasis and thought he was speaking of actual bread. He was using
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leaven to represent doctrine, something he made clear to them after he realized they
had misunderstood what he said. (Matt. 16:6-12 KJV).
Another good example of people mistaking the hypocatastasis for something
literal is the way many Christians think that Genesis 3:1 is speaking of an actual snake
when it refers to the Devil as a serpent by the figure hypocatastasis. The figure should
be clear because literal snakes cannot talk, the Devil is referred to as the serpent in other
verses of Scripture, and when 2 Corinthians 11:3 (KJV) says the serpent beguiled Eve,
the context is Satan and his ministers (v. 14). Furthermore, Revelation 20:2 calls him,
that ancient serpent, which refers to the serpent being very old, which is true, since
the serpent of Genesis 3:1 is the very first reference to the Devil in the whole Bible.
Nevertheless many people miss the hypocatastasis and think that the serpent in Genesis
was some kind of actual snake, and artists do not help the situation when they paint
pictures of a snake in the Garden of Eden. There are people who think that the snake was
possessed by the Devil, but why would Eve believe a snake? She would be immediately
suspicious of something so out of the ordinary. The Devil would have appeared to Eve in
an unthreatening way as a wise and helpful being, but his crafty nature and intent are
clearly set forth by the hypocatastasis: serpent (E. W. Bullinger has an extensive
appendix (#19) on the serpent being the Devil in his Companion Bible).
The Bible has many examples of hypocatastasis. In Song of Solomon the Beloved
is called a dove (Song of Sol. 2:14); destructive people are called wolves (Acts
20:29); the strong enemies of God are called bulls (Ps. 22:12); vicious and unclean
people are called dogs (Ps. 22:16; Matt. 7:6) and also pigs (Matt. 7:6); the people of
God are sheep, while unbelievers are called goats (Matt. 25:33). People are
sometimes called trees or plants (Jer. 11:19; Matt. 15:13). Each of these terms
imports a meaning into the text that is important for us to understand.
Sometimes very different people are compared to the same thing, as long as the
comparison is valid. A lion usually typified irresistible power and destructive strength,
and so many things were compared to a lion. These include God (Job 10:16; Isa. 38:13;
Jer. 49:19); Jesus (Rev. 5:5); Israel (Num. 23:24; 24:9); the tribe of Gad (Deut. 33:20);
wicked people (Ps. 17:12; 22:13); false prophets (Ezek. 22:25); Jehoahaz, king of Judah
(Ezek. 19:3); the officials in Jerusalem (Zeph. 3:3); Babylon (Jer. 4:7); Egypt (Ezek.
32:2); the enemies of Israel (Jer. 2:15); and the Devil (1 Pet. 5:8).
Hypocatastasis is a powerful figure in that it can bring a wide range of possible meanings
to the text from just one illustration, and thus invites us into prayer, thought, and study. A
good example of this occurs in Ezekiel.
Ezekiel 34:8
As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign LORD, because my flock lacks
a shepherd and so has been plundered and has become food for all the wild
animals, and because my shepherds did not search for my flock but cared
for themselves rather than for my flock,....
In the above verse, God uses hypocatastasis to compare His people to sheep,
calling them My flock. Then He again uses hypocatastasis to explain what has
happened to them: they became food for the wild animals. If God had tried to explain
in paragraph form who the wild animals were who had eaten His people (i.e., taken
advantage of, hurt, and killed them), it would have taken Him at least a paragraph, and
the punchy impact of the figure would have been lost. No doubt the list would include
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cruel leaders, ungodly priests, ruthless businessmen, foreign enemies, and even demonic
forces. God covers all these possibilities, forces us to think broadly about the verse, and
brings emotion into the text, simply by using the figure hypocatastasis and saying wild
animals.
Here in Revelation 20:2, the Devil is referred to by hypocatastasis as a dragon,
comparing the Devil to a dragon and importing to him the characteristics of evil,
fierceness, viciousness, etc. [For more names of the Slanderer (Devil), see Appendix 14:
Names of the Slanderer].
Serpent. The Slanderer (the Devil) is not a literal serpent, so his being called that
is the figure of speech hypocatastasis (a comparison by implication; see entry on
dragon above). Calling the Slanderer a serpent compares him with a serpent, and
imports the characteristics of a serpent onto the Slanderer. Thus we can see that, among
other things, the Slanderer is hard to see and recognize (he is very good at hiding), crafty,
and deadly. Places the Slanderer is referred to as a serpent include Genesis 3:1,13,14; 2
Corinthians 11:3; and Revelation 20:2. [For more names of the Slanderer, see Appendix
14: Names of the Slanderer].
the Slanderer. This is the Devil. The Greek is diabolos (#1228 ). The
Slanderer].
1:13. [For information on the names of the Devil, see Appendix 14: Names of the
Slanderer.]
20:4. souls. The Greek word often translated soul is psuch (#5590 ;
pronounced psoo-kay'), and it has a large number of meanings, including the physical life
of a person or animal; an individual person; or attitudes, emotions, feelings, and thoughts.
Here it is primarily for the person himself, which is why the HCSB says, I saw the
people who had been beheaded because of their testimony. However, by using the word
soul, God includes their mental and emotional life, and helps us see these people as the
committed people that they truly were. [For a more complete explanation of soul, see
Appendix 7: Usages of Soul].
beheaded. This is the figure of speech synecdoche of the part, where a part of
something is put for the whole of that thing [For synecdoche, see Bullinger, Figures of
Speech]. In this case, only those believers who have been beheaded are said to get up,
but in fact all believers from the Old Testament and Tribulation will get up. This is the
first resurrection, the resurrection of the righteous, when every righteous person will
hear the voice of Christ (John 5:25-29) and get up from the dead (except those in the
Christian Church, because they have already been raptured). This verse specifically says
beheaded because it is in the context of the Great Tribulation, when believers will die
horrible deaths, and because there is an emphasis that these people are the type of people
who did not love their soulseven to death (Rev. 12:11). There is no reason to believe
that beheading will not be reinstated as a way to execute the death penalty. It is already
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occurring among some Moslem groups. [For more information on the Old Testament
believers getting up at this time, see commentary on John 14:3].
came to life. The dead are dead, and not alive in any way. [See Appendix 4: The
Dead are Dead.]
1000 years. Jesus Christ will come to earth and rule a kingdom scholars refer to as
the Millennial Kingdom (from the Latin, mille, 1000, and annus, a year). As this verse
says, it will last 1000 years. [For more on the Millennial Kingdom, see Appendix 3:
Christs Future Kingdom on Earth.]
which has been transliterated into Satan in most versions. This causes the meaning of
the word, which is important, to be lost. For more information on it, see the note on Mark
1:13. [For information on the names of the Devil, see Appendix 14: Names of the
Slanderer.]
will be loosed. The Adversary will be bound for 1000 years, allowing the
restoration of Eden-like conditions on earth. Justice, no war, plenty of food, great
weather, and more. In this Millennial Kingdom, the promises God made to Abraham and
to Israel will be fulfilled. But after the 1000 years the Adversary and his demons will be
loosed and apparently will deceive mankind in a similar way to the way he deceived
Adam and Eve: by suggesting that what people have is not good enough. In this way he
will amass an army of disgruntled people and attack Jerusalem (20:8, 9). On the Day of
Judgment it will be clear that peoples happiness, or contentment, is less about what they
actually have than what they think about what they have. People who have everything,
can still be disgruntled and ungodly. The Old Testament alluded to the period when the
demons would be imprisoned and then let loose (cp. Daniel 7:12; Isa. 24:21, 22; note that
verse 22 is worded in such a way that after many days the demons will be visited, and
the Hebrew word can mean either for good or bad, depending on the context. They can be
released, punished, or both).
20:10. the Slanderer. This is the Devil. The Greek is diabolos (#1228 ).
The Greek word diabolos means slanderer. See 20:2. [For information on the names of
the Devil, see Appendix 14: Names of the Slanderer].
they will be tormented day and night to the ages of the ages. This is usually
translated as, They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever. This verse has
been used to teach the eternal torment of the damned, i.e., that people who die unsaved
burn forever in Hell. What the Bible really teaches is that people who die unsaved are
not tormented forever, but are eventually annihilated in the flames of Gehenna. [For more
information on annihilation in the lake of Fire, see Appendix 5: Annihilation in the Lake
of Fire.]
20:11. great white throne. What theologians refer to as the Great White Throne
Judgment is the final judgment, and occurs at the second resurrection. The vast
majority of the dead who are raised in this judgment will be condemned to annihilation in
Gehenna (see commentary on Rev. 20:10). Jesus Christ will be the judge sitting on the
throne (see commentary on Rom. 14:10).
Chapter 21
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21:6. I am the Alpha and the Omega. For information on this phrase, see commentary
on Revelation 1:8.
Beginning and the End. The phrase appears twice: here and Revelation 22:13.
The exact meaning of the phrase the Beginning and the End is not given. Scholars give
differing explanations of the phrase, but the meaning must be closely associated with the
concepts of Alpha and Omega and First and Last because these titles are associated
together (cp. Rev. 22:13). We have seen from the study of the title Alpha and Omega
that it refers to the start and finish of something, and we have seen from the title First
and Last (Rev. 1:17) that Christ will raise up the generations of people unto everlasting
life. It is clear why Christ would be called the Beginning and the End in association
with these concepts. He is the firstborn from the dead, and he will be the one to call the
last people out of their graves, he is both the Author and Finisher of faith, he is the Man
by whom God will judge the world and he is the one who will then create and bring to
completion the next ages (see the notes on Heb. 1:10). There is no compelling reason to
assume Jesus is God simply because of the title, the Beginning and the End. It is
common for people of similar status to use the same title. [For more discussion on this
phrase see The Racovian Catechism, in Polish 1605; in Latin 1609; in English 1818,
available through Spirit & Truth Fellowship International, pp. 161-163.
21:9. the bride, the wife. There is a lot of misinformation in Christianity about the
Bride of Christ. There is no group of people such as Israel or the Church who are
literally the bride. The term bride is one of the figures of speech God uses in His
Word to bring specific meaning and emotion into the text. When we understand the
subject, we can see that every saved person together is referred to as the bride or wife
of Christ. [For more information on this subject, see Appendix 13: The Bride of
Christ.]
21:16. stadia. A Roman stadia is about 600 feet. The distance is about 1,400 miles, or
2,200 kilometers. The city is probably a huge pyramid, with the throne of God and Jesus
at the top. Thus it would be similar to the Holy Jerusalem in the Millennial Kingdom,
with the Temple at the top of the mountain of the Lord (see Schoenheit, The Christians
Hope, chapter 4).
21:18. The city was pure gold, like pure glass. This does not mean the gold is
transparent, but rather that glass in the time of the apostle John could be made very pure
and visibly so, and so he is saying that the gold will be pure also, not amalgamated or
diluted.
21:21. pearls. Pearls were very expensive in the ancient world, and very highly
valued. [For more on pearls, see commentary on Revelation 18:12].
Chapter 22
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22:3. and his servants will serve him. Although the verse mentions both God and
Jesus Christ, the pronoun him is singular, and refers to God, something that becomes
clear from the rest of the verse in 22:4. Although both God and Jesus are on the throne,
God has the primacy.
22:4. and they will see his face. Throughout history the face of God was hidden.
Moses was allowed to see Gods back, but not His face (Exod. 33:20-23). But God never
wanted His people to be separate from him, and in the Everlasting Kingdom the saved
will all see God.
and his name will be on their foreheads. The people in the Everlasting Kingdom
will have the name of God and of Jesus on their foreheads (Revelation 14:1), but since
this is singular, his name, it would refer to God.
22:11. Let. The sense of let comes from the imperative verb.
22:13. Alpha and Omega. For information on this phrase, see commentary on
Revelation 1:8.
First and Last. For information on this phrase, see commentary on Revelation
1:17.
Beginning and the End. For information on this phrase, see commentary on
Revelation 21:6.
22:15. likes. The Greek verb we translate as likes is phile (#5368 ). If we say,
love, as most versions do, we lose the meaning of phile here, and confuse it with
agap love. Phile love has a deep attachment, like the attachment of true friends, while
agap love does not necessary have any feeling of attachment at all, which is why we can
love (agap) our enemies. The people in this verse do not love falsehood in the sense
that they feel it is the right thing to do even though they do not enjoy it (that would be to
confuse phile with agap), rather, the people being referred to in this verse have a deep
connection to, and friendship with, falsehood. For a more complete understanding of
phile, see the note on John 21:15.
22:16. Shoot. See commentary on Romans 15:12.
22:17. the Spirit. This refers to Jesus Christ. See commentary on Revelation 2:7.
22:19. God will take away his part from the tree of life. Tampering with Gods
words, which is His communication to mankind, is a very serious sin and has serious
consequences. Revelation 22:19 is part of the information the Bible gives us about the
period of the book of Revelation, which directly applies to people after the Rapture, i.e.
after the Christians have been caught up into heaven to be with Christ (1 Thess. 4:17).
During the time of the Old Testament, Gospels, and Revelation, a persons salvation was
not guaranteed and thus a person could sin and not be saved. This is very clearly
presented in the Old Testament, Gospels, and Revelation. It is especially clear in sections
such as Ezekiel 33:12-16, and it is why when the man asked Jesus, Teacher, what good
thing must I do to get eternal life, Jesus answered, If you want to enter life, obey the
commandments (Matt. 19:16, 17). It is also why the letters to the assemblies in
Revelation 2:1-3:21 speak of people having to be faithful to overcome.
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If a person living during the time of Tribulation takes away from the words of
God, he will not receive everlasting life. In contrast, if a Christian, someone who is born
again, takes away from the words of God, he is still guaranteed everlasting life [see
Appendix 1: The Permanence of Christian Salvation]. Revelation 22:19 does not
directly address Christians because Revelation is written to people left on earth after the
Rapture, but we can assume that any Christian who takes away from the words of God
would suffer serious consequences just as he would with many other serious sins [For
information on rewards see commentary on 2 Corinthians 5:5].
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What are the seven spirits before God's throne?

What does it mean to see God's face?

Revelation

messengers. The messengers of the synagogues. See commentary on Revelation

Calling part of the group in the Letter to the Seven Congregations a

6:16. Referring to Hosea 10:8.

excitement. Because it is mostly used in Revelation to refer to anger, many

(pronounced: h-poe-c-ts'-t-sis), a comparison by implication. In the Bible, there are

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