Rev 17:1

Rev 17; 18: “Rev 17 presents a lurid picture of a gorgeously arrayed harlot riding on a scarlet beast, which is readily identifiable with the Beast of the sea already described in Rev 13. The harlot’s confidence is the prelude to her downfall. The Beast has ten horns that represent ten kings accepting his authority. This confederacy turns against her and ravages her to destruction. They then turn against ‘the Lamb’ but are overcome. Rev 18 expands the brief intimation of the harlot’s destruction into an awe-inspiring description of pomp and circumstance being swept away into oblivion” (WRev).

OT cross-references to the fall of “Babylon” in the NT:

(1) References to ancient Babylon:

•         Babylon is fallen, is fallen: Isa 21:9.
•         The habitation of demons and the hold of every foul spirit: Jer 50:39; Isa 13:21.
•         All nations drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication: Jer 51:57.
•         Come out of her, my people: Jer 51:6,45; 50:8.
•         Her sins have reached unto heaven: Jer 51:9.
•         Reward her even as she rewarded you: Jer 50:29; Psa 137:8.
•         I sit a queen and am no widow: Isa 47:8.
•         Therefore shall her plagues come in one day: Isa 47:9.
•         Rejoice over her, thou heaven: Jer 51:48.
•         A stone… cast into the sea: Jer 51:63.
•         Thus shall that great city, Babylon, be thrown down: Jer 51:64.
•         All that were slain upon the earth: Jer 51:49.

(2) References to Tyre:

•         Kings of the earth committed fornication with her: Isa 23:17.
•         The kings of the earth shall wail and lament her: Eze 26:16,17.
•         Gold, precious stones, spices… : Eze 27:22,24, etc.
•         Bodies and souls of men: Eze 27:13.
•         Merchants weeping and lamenting: Eze 27:31.
•         Every ship master and all the company of ships, etc: Eze 27:29,30.
•         And they cried out, What city is like unto this great city? Eze 27:32.
•         They cast dust on their heads, weeping and wailing: Eze 27:30.
•         The voice of harpers heard no more at all in thee: Eze 26:13.
•         Thy merchants were the great men of the earth: Isa 23:8.

(3) References to Jerusalem:

•         Double unto her double: Jer 16:18; Isa 40:2.
•         The sound of the millstone no more heard… and the light of a candle shall shine no more in thee: Jer 25:10.
•         The voice of the bridegroom… : Jer 25:10.
•         In her was found the blood of prophets and of saints… : Jer 2:34.

THE GREAT PROSTITUTE: Faithlessness to God is spiritual adultery (Jam 4:4; Rev 2:20; Jer 3:1-4). Jerusalem herself is pictured as a harlot: Eze 16; 23; Jer 2; 3; Hos 1-4. Fornication, harlotry in a commercial sense: Isa 23:15-18; cp Rev 18:11-17. “Whilst it is true that language of this kind is used in the Old Testament concerning both Tyre (Isa 23:17) and Nineveh (Nah 3:4), the really eloquent passages of this character in the prophets are applied to unfaithful Israel” (WRev).

See also Lesson, Rev 17 woman.

Contrast between Christ and Antichrist:

Rev 13:1

See Lesson, Ten toes, identity.

Cp parallels: Dan 7.

See Lesson, Beasts, heads, and horns.

Vv 1-10: The first beast = Leviathan? Vv 11-18: The second beast = Behemoth? See Lesson, Leviathan — esp “Last Days”.

A BEAST This one beast possesses characteristics of each of Daniel’s 4 beasts: ie, its 7 heads = total heads of the 4 beasts (the leopard having 4 heads) (Dan 7:6).

TEN HORNS: (CH) “Nations. Cp Rev 17:12; Jer 48:25; Dan 7:24. The once united Roman Empire became ultimately divided into ten parts by the Huns, Vandals, Visigoths, Burgundians, Gepidae, Lombards, Franks, Suevi, Alans, and Bavarians, who successively invaded the Empire. They were incorporated into the Empire, adopting its laws and submitting to the overlordship of the Emperor who ruled from Constantinople.

“Ultimately they all submitted to the Papal yoke, becoming thus the horns of the beast” (ApEp).

TEN CROWNS ON HIS HORNS: (CH) “Ct Rev 12:3. There the crowns were on the heads of the Dragon, indicating that the prophecy was fulfilled at the period in history prior to the barbarian invasion” (ApEp).

BLASPHEMOUS: Claiming to be what one is not, esp as regards divine things (cp Rev 2:9).

NAME: To have the name of anything named on one is to be identified with it, and invested with its power (Acts 4:7,30; Phi 2:9,10), or to revere it (cp Mic 4:5).

Rev 13:2

THE DRAGON: The old serpent, devil and satan in Rev 20:2. Sin’s power in most general form.

THE DRAGON GAVE THE BEAST HIS POWER: Indicating that this vision precedes that of Rev 12:9, since the dragon still has power to give to another.

Rev 13:3

ONE OF THE HEADS OF THE BEAST SEEMED TO HAVE HAD A FATAL WOUND: “Odoacer, king of the Heruli, brought the Empire of the West to and end by waging war on Italy, overthrowing Romulus Augustus, who ruled in Rome, and setting up his own power therein.

“At that time, Rome was divided into two parts, answering to the two legs of the image of Dan 2. Both in Rome and Constantinople there were joint rulers, though the chief power lay with the eastern Emperor. Odoacer enjoyed his power in Rome for only 14 years, at the end of which time, in 493, he was overthrown by Theodoric, King of the Ostrogoths. Gothic rule became established in Rome and continued for about 60 years. Thus the 6th head was wounded to death and replaced by the 7th head of the beast, or Gothic rule” (ApEp).

BUT THE FATAL WOUND HAD BEEN HEALED: “The 6th (Imperial) head was revived in a new form, religious in character. When the Goths occupied Rome, they were hostile to the church, and oppressed it. But constant appeals by the bishop of Rome to the military authority of Constantinople ultimately resulted in the invasion of Italy by the eastern Empire, and finally to the ejection of the Goths from power.

“The church greatly benefited through this means, and out of this trouble arose the authority which was eventually conferred upon the Papacy” (ApEp).

Rev 13:4

THE DRAGON… HAD GIVEN AUTHORITY TO THE BEAST: (CH) “Justinian of Constantinople supported Catholic pretensions in fulfillment of the prophecy of Dan 11:38,39. Papal prestige rose as men witnessed it surviving the troubles of the times” (ApEp).

Rev 13:5

Vv 5-7: The beast wars with the saints for 42 months — Nero’s persecution (Nov 64 — June 68).

FORTY-TWO MONTHS: (CH) “1,260 days. The decree of Justinian, supporting the pretensions of the papacy, date from AD 529-533. 1,260 added to this date brings to 1789-1793, the period of the French Revolution which greatly reduced Papal power.

“The decree of Phocas, which gave added power to the papacy, dates from 606-610. 1,260 added to this brings to 1866-1870 when the temporal power of the papacy was overthrown. Thus, by the decrees of Justinian and Phocas, rulers in the Dragon capital, ‘great power was given unto him'” (ApEp).

Rev 13:7

WAR AGAINST THE SAINTS: 1st century: Nero’s persecution: Rev 1:9; 2:10,13; 1Pe 3:14-18; 4:12-19; 5:8-10.

Rev 13:8

The Lamb in Rev: his wrath (Rev 6:16); his blood (Rev 7:14); his book of life (Rev 13:8); his song (Rev 15:3); his marriage (Rev 19:7); his supper (Rev 19:9); and his throne (Rev 22:1).

Rev 13:10

“A passage which is puzzling both in its phraseology and in the ms reading behind it. The ancient texts offer a bewildering variety of readings here, but happily doubts are resolved by the OT original in Jer 15:2: ‘Such as are for death, to death; and such as are for the sword, to the sword; and such as are for famine, to the famine; and such as are for the captivity, to the captivity.’ It is a prophecy of Israel’s tribulation. And the next verse proceeds: ‘I will appoint over them… the beast of the earth to devour’, thus strengthening the connection with Rev 13.

“Thus the words of Rev 13:10 imply the finality of Israel’s opportunity of repentance. Another OT prophecy chimes in here with the same meaning. In Hos 13:13 there is reference to Israel, reproved and afflicted by their God as a travailing woman in the wilderness (Rev 12:2,6): ‘Therefore I will be unto them as a lion: as a leopard by the way will I observe (ie stalk) them; I will meet them as a bear bereaved of her whelps, and will rend the caul of their heart, and there will I devour them like a lion: the wild beast shall tear them’ (vv 7,8). Here is the composite Beast of the Abyss (Rev 13:2) brought in judgement against the people of Israel. Yet in the end (v 14), ‘I will ransom them from the power of the grave (the resurrection of the witnesses?), I will redeem them from death: O death, I will by thy plagues: O grave, I will be thy destruction: repentance shall be hid from mine eyes.’ These words Paul applies to the resurrection of the dead (1Co 15:54)” (WRev).

Rev 13:11

ANOTHER BEAST, COMING OUT OF THE EARTH: “The religion of Islam, which will certainly be fully re-instated in Jerusalem when the Arabs (with their Russian ally?) overrun Israel. This is the religion of the False Prophet. And there is appropriateness about the description of this Beast coming up out of the earth — the Land — for Mohammedanism has had roots in Palestine for long centuries. The oppression of Jews both religiously and economically by this False Prophet would be axiomatic…

“There is another interpretation of the Beast, which would harmonize marvellously well with the Islam suggestion just made. This, which has been in the mind of the present writer for several years as a distinct possibility, is that the Beast represents the resurgence of the Palestinians to a position of dominance in Arab anti-Jewish politics. It will be recalled that the little horn of Dan 7, the equivalent of this beast of Rev 13, uproots three of the ten horns. It will be a test of the validity of this interpretation if the Palestinian movement takes over three Arab states — Jordan, Lebanon, Syria? From this point of view the deadly wound which is healed would signify the astonishing rise to world significance of the wretched, helpless refugees from the three wars between Jews and Arabs, or, even more likely, King Hussein’s ruthless repression of the Palestinians in 1971… One can only bear in mind the possibilities and keep a watchful eye on developing events” (WRev).

CH: “This new power was not limited to territory around the Mediterranean as was the Beast of the Sea (v 1), but included Central Europe. It was brought into being by the Pope having to seek new allies. A rift had developed between Rome and Constantinople brought about by the ‘Great Controversy’ over the use of images. The church in Constantinople opposed them; that of Rome supported them.

“The controversy led to division, and the Greek Orthodox Church came into existence independent of the Roman Catholic Church. Meanwhile, the Lombards had invaded Italy, had expelled the Exarch of Ravenna, and brought Rome and the Pope subject to their power. Rome found itself deserted of its eastern ally, the ‘dragon’ of v 4, and turned to the rising power of Pepin in Europe, seeking his support. Pepin Emperor of the Franks, marched against the Lombards and defeated them. The Lombards again attacked Rome, but were again overthrown, this time by Charlemagne, son of Pepin.

“This was in the year 774. It illustrated to the Pope that he could obtain in Charlemagne a more effective support than from the Emperor of Constantinople.

“In 787 Rome separated from Constantinople, and became allied to the growing power of Charlemagne. On Christmas Day 799, Pope Leo III crowned Charlemagne as Augustus and Emperor, and the union of church and state was made absolute.

“The Holy Roman Empire had come into existence. Meanwhile, the controversy with the church in Constantinople over images continued, and was finally decided by Theodora in 842 when he threatened to put out the eyes of all those who opposed their use in the churches” (ApEp).

TWO HORNS: The ram of Dan 8:3,7 had 2 horns — ref Media and Persia.

LIKE A LAMB, BUT HE SPOKE LIKE A DRAGON: (CH) “The Holy Roman Empire claimed to be Christian… but revealed its true character. The ‘dragon’ is the symbol of paganised Imperialism. The Holy Roman Empire (it was neither ‘holy’, ‘Roman’, or an ’empire’, as one critic pointed out) was founded on the Imperialistic ambitions of Charlemagne. It developed into the Germanic Federation of States of Central Europe, the chief of which, by the year 962, automatically acquired the subject kingdoms of Italy and Rome, but could not legally assume the titles of Emperor or Augustus, until he had received the Crown from the hands of the Pope” (ApEp).

Rev 13:13

FIRE TO COME DOWN FROM HEAVEN: A miracle Jesus forbade (Luk 9:54,55). Fire from heaven = nuclear weapons? A rival miracle to Rev 11:5?

FIRE: Sym anger, war, destruction, persecution (Isa 42:25; 66:15; Ezek 22:20-22; Zec 13:9; 1Pe 1:7, 4:12).

Rev 13:14

DECEIVED: “Strong delusion… to believe a lie” (2Th 2:6-11).

Rev 13:16

Also in Rev 14:9,11; 15:2; 16:2; 19:20; 20:4. Ct saints, “sealed in foreheads” (Rev 7:3).

Rev 13:17

THE MARK… OF THE BEAST: See Lesson, Mark of the beast.

Rev 13:18

666: See Lesson, 666.

Neron Kaisar yields 666. Nero Kaisar yields 616 (mg reading). See also list, Spk 4:697-699. “666” = talents of gold brought to Solomon, a great trader — ie, mercantile power (1Ki 10:14; 2Ch 9:13), in partnership with Tyre (Eze 27; 28) — trading many of the commodities listed in Rev 18:11-14.

(CH) “The numerical value of Lateinos in Greek is 666, thus: L (30), A (1), T (300), E (5), I (10), N (50), O (70), S (200). It is remarkable that about the year 666, Pope Vilation decreed that Latin be the language of religion” (ApEp).

Rev 7:1

HOLDING BACK THE FOUR WINDS: Winds sym armies (Jer 4:11-12; Isa 17:13-14; Dan 7:2). Here, armies held in restraint, to produce a period of peace.

“The whole body of the church at Jerusalem having been commanded by a divine Revelation… removed from the city, and dwelt in a certain town beyond Jordan, called Pella… while those who remained in Jerusalem were utterly destroyed” (Eusebius; WRev 95). Cp passover symbolism: Isa 26:20,21.

Rev 7:2

THE LIVING GOD: Or, “God of the living creatures”.

EAST: Lit, “rising of the sun”. Christ the bright and morning star (22:16; 2Pe 1:19; Luk 1:78).

Rev 7:3

See Rev 14:1n.

2 contrasting seals: of God (here; 9:4) and of beast (Rev 13:16,17; 14:9,11; 15:2; 16:2; 19:20; 20:4).

The sealing of the servants of God (Rev 7:3) is drawn from Ezekiel. It is actually only one of a series of allusions, which can be traced: (a) Eze 7:2: “The end is come upon the four corners of the land.” Rev 7:1: “Four angels standing on the four corners of the earth (Land).” (b) Eze 9:2: Seven men to smite Israel. Rev 7:2: “Four angels (the first four of the seven; ch 8:2) to whom it is given to hurt the earth and the sea. ” (c) Eze 9: 4: The faithful sealed in their foreheads, Rev 7:3,4: The faithful sealed in their foreheads. (d) Eze 9:8: “They went forth… and I was left.” Rev 8:1: “The seventh seal… silence in heaven about the space of half an hour.” (e) Eze 9:8: Ezekiel’s prayer for mercy. Rev 8:3: “the prayers of the saints offered before God.” (f) Eze 9:9: The prayer rejected. Rev: The judgement goes forward uninterrupted. (g) Eze 10:2: Fire scattered over the city. Rev 8:5: Fire scattered on the earth (Land). (h) Eze 10:4,18,19: The “glory” departs from Israel (accompanied by “voices, thunderings, lightnings”: Eze 1:13,14,24). Rev 8:5,6: “voices, thunderings, lightnings, an earthquake” and the sounding of the trumpet — the end of the covenant made at Sinai (Exo 19:18,19).

Conclusion: the Trumpets represent divine judgements on Israel, just as did the prophecies of Ezekiel.

UNTIL WE PUT A SEAL ON THE FOREHEADS OF THE SERVANTS OF OUR GOD: “The strongest reason of all for looking for a fulfilment of Rev 7 in the First Century is the undeniable parallel with Ezek 9. It needs only to be emphasized that Ezek 9 had primary reference to the first overthrow of Jerusalem (by Nebuchadnezzar). There is therefore clear reason to believe that its counterpart in Rev 7 also has reference to the exercise of special Providence over the Lord’s people who would otherwise have been similarly involved in the AD 70 destruction of Jerusalem. Hence the description of them as coming out of the great tribulation.

“That such Providential protection was extended to the saints in the troublous times just mentioned is well known. First, there was the warning given by Jesus himself: ‘And when ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh… then… let them which are in the midst of her (RV) depart out… ‘ (Luke 21:20,21)” (WRev).

SEAL: “As the image on a seal is impressed upon the soft wax, so the Truth of God is designed to reveal divine ways in us (Eph 2:10; Col 3:10). Christ was thus sealed by the Father (John 6:27). People saw in him and in his character a reflection of Yahweh.

“Thus his teaching had the stamp of Divine authority. As a person who wished to communicate his mind or will to someone at a distance authenticated it with his seal, so the Father had the son. This seal (the teaching of the Father manifested in the Son) is impressed upon the minds of the believers (Rev 14:1), and is revealed in their lives” (ApEp).

FOREHEADS: 8 times in Rev: Rev 7:3; 9:4; 13:16; 14:1,9; 17:5; 20:4; 22:4 — but nowhere else. In LXX, at Exo 28:38; 1Sa 17:49; 2Ch 26:19,20; Isa 48:4; Eze 9:4.

Rev 7:4

Vv 4-8: Tabernacle motif: 12 tribes encamped around tabernacle.

The omission of Dan is significant. It has to be remembered that Dan was the first tribe in idolatry (Jdg 17; 18), and idolaters are banned from God’s holy city (Rev 22:15). Also Dan deserted the inheritance assigned to him. And of all the twelve tribes Dan was completely content to stay in captivity — there is no mention of Dan in the genealogies of 1Ch 4-8. The symbol of the tribe of Dan was a serpent (Gen 49:17) when it should have been the eagle (Num 2:25); the destruction of the serpent is one of the main themes of Rev (20:2,10). Because of this serpent symbol it was traditional among the very early Christians to assert that in the Last Days Antichrist would arise from the tribe of Dan (cp Gen 49:17; Jer 8:16,17).

There is no regard here at all to family arrangement (by contrast with every other similar list of these twelve names in Scripture), because the people typified here are they whose standing in the sight of God does not depend on natural relationship.

Rev 7:5

JUDAH: First place is not accorded to Reuben, the firstborn, but to Judah, because from Judah came Christ who is “the firstfruits,” “the beginning of the creation of God,” “the Lion of the tribe of Judah.”

Rev 7:7

Levi listed with others, its special status now ceased. (There is a different priesthood.)

Rev 7:8

JOSEPH: Ephraim is omitted, but instead there is mention of Joseph, suggesting that only those out of Ephraim who are like their worthy progenitor will be fit for inclusion in the Lamb’s great multitude: cp Ezek 37:16,19.

Rev 7:9

John hears (v 4) the number of redeemed, then he sees (v 9) them. Possibly, two different sets of redeemed ones: (1) the 144,000 literally taken out of twelve tribes (or their old inheritances in the Land of Israel): the modern redemption of Israel out of the tribulation of the Last Days, and (2) here, the consummation: in the gathering in of all the redeemed, now innumerable (not just 144,000), out of all nations (not just the 12 tribes of Israel) and all times (not just the last days): the great resurrection of the dead!

A GREAT MULTITUDE: Cp “mixed multitude” in Exo 12:38.

THAT NO ONE COULD COUNT: Perhaps in sense that no (ordinary) man can make up the number of the redeemed ones, but instead the 144,000 are the sole work of Christ (Psa 49:7). The redeemed are, first of all, an exclusively Jewish band; secondly, they become a great multitude out of all nations.

WHITE ROBES: The garment of justification leading to immortality (Rev 1:13; 19:8; 2Co 5:4).

Bible robes: the long robe of pretension (Luk 20:46); the torn robe of sorrow (Job 1:20); the scarlet robe of mockery (Mat 27:28); the best robe of righteousness (Luk 15:22); and the white robe of the redeemed (Rev 7:9).

PALM BRANCHES: As at Christ’s triumphant entry into Jerusalem (cp Zec 9:9,10).

The anti-typical feast of Tabernacles which is identified with the kingdom (Zec 14:16). The original feast celebrated in ingathering of the fruit of Israel’s land. It was celebrated for seven days, at the conclusion of which, the next day, the eighth, was constituted a Sabbath (Lev 23:36-44). “This great national celebration of the Feast of Tabernacles argues the previous cessation of judgement, and consequently the resting of the saints from their labours in the execution of it” (Eur). This great feast was preceded by the Day of Atonement, when all flesh was humbled before Yahweh.

Rev 7:14

Vv 14-17: Our life in Christ, described in terms of Isr’s wilderness wanderings.

WHO HAVE COME OUT OF THE GREAT TRIBULATION: “We know from experience that no one is ripe till he has known trouble. He may be good but he is unsympathetic. He may be interesting, but he is not entirely disinterested. There is always a degree of refined selfishness (and sometimes not very refined) about those who have known only pleasure. Trouble, if there be the right stuff to work on, removes the dross of the character, subdues and purifies and refines and ennobles, and makes fit for the kingdom of God. Therefore it is that the community of the glorified saints, as a whole, are described in the Apocalypse as ‘those who have come out of great tribulation’ ” (SC 18).

This is not necessarily active persecution. The “perilous times” referred to in 2Ti 3:1-6 constitutes greater tribulation than active persecution. It is better to be rejected by the world than accepted by it.

THEY HAVE WASHED THEIR ROBES: Cp Isa 1:18; Zec 3:3-5. This indicates that the tribulation referred to is connected with the defiling influence of sin rather than active persecution.

The Lamb in Rev: his wrath (Rev 6:16); his blood (Rev 7:14); his book of life (Rev 13:8); his song (Rev 15:3); his marriage (Rev 19:7); his supper (Rev 19:9); and his throne (Rev 22:1).

Rev 7:15

THEY ARE BEFORE THE THRONE OF GOD: The veil now rent, they stand before the ark and mercy-seat in the Most Holy.

SPREAD HIS TENT OVER THEM: Gr “skenoo” = to pitch a tent. The overshadowing cloud in the wilderness (cp Psa 105:39).

Yahweh did this in Israel (Exo 25:8, 29:46), and He has likewise promised to do so in the future (Ezek 43:7; Psa 68:18). For the moment (presently) He dwells in His saints by the influence of His Word (cp 2Co 6:16).

The spreading of God’s canopy over His people in the wilderness is celebrated by the Psalmist: “He spread a cloud for a covering: and a fire to give light in the night” (Psa 105:39). The same blessing is promised in even greater fulness in the age to come: “And I will place them, and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in the midst of them for evermore. My tabernacle also shall be with them: yea I will be their God, and they shall be my people” (Ezek 37:26b,27). Is it this which Paul speaks of, when — in allusion to the weakness of his own mortality — he says: “Most gladly therefore will I glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may spread a tabernacle over me” (2Co 12:9, RV mg)?

Rev 7:16

Vv 16,17: “Several of these phrases are derived — with what appropriateness — from a wonderful Messianic prophecy in Isa 49. The entire chapter should be studied. It travels in a comprehensive sweep from Jesus in Gethsemane, contemplating his life’s work and effort apparently in ruins, to the glorious climax when he is able to rejoice in a vast multitude called out from Israel and the Gentiles to experience the marvels of God’s gracious salvation.

“In the words: ‘they shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more,’ is to be recognized the fulfilment of all that the Manna and the Smitten Rock foreshadowed in the wilderness (1Co 10:3,4) — the fulfilment also of Christ’s own promise: ‘He that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst’ (John 6:35). Those hungering and thirsting after righteousness find full satisfaction at last. It is an appropriate return from him whom, all unknowing, they fed when he was hungry and to whom they gave the cup of cold water when he was athirst (Mat 25:35; 10:42).

“An interesting idea emerges from the words: ‘neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat.’ This word ‘heat’ (in Isa 35:7: ‘parched ground’) Gesenius dogmatically translates: ‘mirage’. There is marvellous appropriateness about this. The mirage of an oasis or pool leads the weary thirsty traveller on in hope. In the same way an anticipation of the nearness of the return of the Lord has buoyed up many a weary traveller to the Kingdom. What seemed so near in time has proved in fact to be remote. Many who thought to live to see the Kingdom established have gone to their sleep, some to a long, long sleep, but this prophecy in Revelation assures the faithful that the day surely comes when mirage will give place to reality, and faith to sight. And to make the assurance all the more emphatic, the phrase is introduced by a double negative: ‘no, never shall the sun light on them, nor any heat’ ” (WRev).

NEVER… HUNGER… THIRST: Manna and water in wilderness: 1Co 10:3,4; Joh 6:35; 4:14.

THE SUN WILL NOT BEAT UPON THEM… : Persecutions (Psa 121:5-7).

Rev 7:17

An astonishing paradox: a “Lamb” will be a “Shepherd”!

AV has “feed them”; but literally, “shall shepherd them.” He is the Chief Shepherd of the flock (cp Heb 13:20; John 10:11; Ezek 34:23; Psa 23).

SPRINGS OF LIVING WATER: Eternal life: Joh 4:14.

Rev 8:1

Rev 8: From ritual of Day of Atonement (cp Psa 65:1; Hab 2:20). 1/2 hour = approx time High Priest spent in sanctuary. [He would put off his normal garments (including bells on the hem) and put on plain linen (Lev 16:4) before going into the tabernacle and making atonement, throwing incense on the altar, etc. He would change back in Lev 16:23. The incense in Rev 8:3,4 makes this allusion explicit.] Perhaps golden censer was used only on Day of Atonement. 7 trumpets — integral part of this day! (v 6; 1Ch 15:24; 2Ch 29:25-28; see v 6n).

Overview: It appears that the Day of Atonement prayers are successful for the 144,000 remnant of Israel (Rev 7), but unsuccessful for the rest of the nation — thus the plagues of Rev 8; 9!

Cp plagues of Egypt: Deu 28:59,60.

Note parallels with Joel in Rev 8; 9 — sig a LD prophecy.

SILENCE IN HEAVEN: The allusion is to “the whole multitude of the people praying without” at the time of the High Priest’s entering into the sanctuary. Cp Psa 65:1 (a Psa for the Day of Atonement); Hab 2:20.

Additionally, silence could be an acknowledgment that those who were judged recognized God was judging them: cp Psa 31:18.

ABOUT HALF AN HOUR: If taken literally, it is only with ref to the period the High Priest was in the sanctuary that this detail makes sense.

(CH) The Jews divided the day into 12 hours. JT suggests that a month (or 30 days) is the hour of the year. On this basis a half-hour represents 15 days, but on the principle of a day for a year (Ezek 4:6), this would represent 15 years. The text says “about” half an hour. Actually the period of peace extended for about 14 years, from 324 until a few months after the death of Constantine in 337.

Rev 8:2

TRUMPETS: For trumpets in general, see Lesson, Trumpet, the.

Rev 8:3

Amos 9:1 and context. “Ministering angels” (Heb 1:14).

ANOTHER ANGEL: In addition to 7 angels (v 2): cp Mic 5:5,6: 7 shepherds, and 8 principal men.

WHO HAD A GOLDEN CENSER: “According to some authorities [though this is not certain], it was only on the Day of Atonement that a golden censer was used” (WRev).

CAME AND STOOD AT THE ALTAR: “At” is “epi”, literally “upon”! This is Amos 9:1 and context: “I saw the Lord standing by the altar, and he said: ‘Strike the tops of the pillars so that the thresholds shake. Bring them down on the heads of all the people; those who are left I will kill with the sword. Not one will get away, none will escape’.”

HE WAS GIVEN MUCH INCENSE: “It is also asserted that an extra large quantity of incense was used on the Day of Atonement — doubtless because of Lev 16:12,13 which required that the High Priest enter into the Holy of Holies clothed (so to speak) in a dense cloud of incense” (WRev).

ON THE GOLDEN ALTAR BEFORE THE THRONE: Tabernacle motif: the altar of incense (Exo 30:1-8), which sym prayer (Luke 1:10; Psa 141:2). Only on Day of Atonement, when veil was penetrated, would incense altar be “before” (ie, in presence of) mercy-seat.

Rev 8:5

Day of Atonement, but no glory/mercy is manifested. This day finds Divine displeasure. Cp context in Rev 16:18: LD. A mighty theophany (Exo 19:16,18).

(CH) “War and revolt. On the death of Constantine, the empire became divided among his three sons. 1. Constantine the 2nd reigned in Gaul, Spain and Britain, 2. Constantius in Thrace and the East, 3. Constanz in illyricum, Italy and Africa.

“Constantine the 2nd was killed in a civil war with Constans, who was later assassinated, and the empire was once more united under Constantius, who was a ruthless ruler. The 24 years of his reign were constantly disturbed by the “voices” (civil and religious discord), “lightning” (civil war), and “thunders” (threats of international war).

“The Persians in the east, and the Allemanni and Franks in the west, constantly attacked the Empire. Constantius had murdered all his relations except Julian and Gallus. Julian was successful in repulsing the enemies of his uncle — Constantius. The friction threatened to develop into civil war, but the timely death of Constantius brought about the elevation of Julian. Julian had never embraced Christianity, and as Emperor he brought about a political earthquake by restoring paganism, and reversing much that had been established by the former rulers.

“Under his rule the Donatists were protected (an answer to their prayers), and the bitter persecution of previous reigns was alleviated. The political earthquake of Julian, however, did not produce any lasting change (unlike the “great” earthquake of Rev 6:12). On the 26th June 363 Julian died, and with him, paganism’s last hope. He was succeeded by Jovian, a Catholic, who abolished his edicts, and re-established the Catholic apostasy as the legal and privileged religion of the State” (ApEp).

Rev 8:6

Rev 8; 9: The general scheme of interpretation of the Trumpets, then, follows the same pattern as that of the Seals (the Trumpets ARE the Seventh Seal): (a) Fulfillment immediately after the writing of Rev, in the destruction of Jerusalem. (b) The “CH” fulfillment, expounded in Eur and ApEp, applies the Trumpets to the break-up of the Roman Empire by revolutions of Goths, Huns, Vandals, followed by the scourge of Saracen and Turkish invasions. (c) A rapid, intensive recapitulation-type fulfillment in the Last Days.

The first (AD 70) fulfillment finds further support from a feature of the Trumpets, which may be considered before dealing with each in detail. The Trumpets have a number of allusions to the plagues of Egypt:

• Trumpet 1: Fire from the altar cast upon the earth (Egypt: dust of the furnace… of the altar… sprinkled abroad).
• Trumpet 2. Hail and fire.
• Trumpet 3. Sea became blood (in Egypt: waters turned to blood).
• Trumpet 4. Darkness.
• Trumpet 5. Locusts.
• Trumpet 6. Abaddon, the Destroyer (cp Exo 12:23).
• Trumpet 7. Men slain by angels (in Egypt, the firstborn slain by angels).

These references to the Plagues, appropriate enough after the allusions in Rev 7 to the Passover and the wilderness journey, find an ominous echo in Deu 28: 59,60: “Then the Lord will make thy plagues wonderful, and the plagues of thy seed, even great plagues, and of long continuance… Moreover He will bring upon thee all the diseases of Egypt which thou wast afraid of.” What else can be the point of these allusions to the plagues of Egypt if it be not to force on the attention of the reader that Rev 8; 9 describe the fulfillment of this awful threat in Deu 28?

(It may be urged as an objection against the view of the Trumpets now being advanced that if they merely recapitulate in different terms the judgements already made known by the Seals then this part of Rev is fruitless repetition. Sufficient answer to such objection is to be found in the repetition of Joseph’s dreams and also Pharaoh’s and Daniel’s. Gen 41: 32 supplies the reason: “And for that the dream was doubled unto Pharaoh twice; it is because the thing is established by God, and God will shortly bring it to pass” (cp Rev 1:1). It is God’s way of being emphatic about anything. Jesus similarly recommends this form of emphasis to his disciples: “Let your communication be Yea, yea; Nay, nay” — in other words, say it twice.)

See Lesson, Trumpet, the.

SEVEN ANGELS… SEVEN TRUMPETS: “The sounding of seven trumpets (v 6) by specially appointed priests (cp 1Ch 15:24; 2Ch 29:25-28) was an integral part of the recognized ceremonial for the Day of Atonement” (WRev).

(CH) For a period of 32 years, during the reigns of Jovian, Valentinian and Valens, Gatian, and Theodosius, and lasting to 395, preparations for impending trouble proceeded.

“It was a time of great trouble for the Roman Empire. Along the borders enemies massed, awaiting their opportunity to strike. Inside the Empire, The Apostasy flourished, proceeding from bad to worse in its tyranny and blasphemy. Politically, civil disorders daily increased. ‘The fall of the Roman Empire,’ declared Gibbon, ‘can be justly dated from the reign of Valens’ ‘In this period,’ wrote JT, ‘the happiness and security of each individual was attacked, and the arts and labours of ages were rudely defaced by the barbarians of Scythia and Germany.’

“In 366, the Goths crossed the Danube, and under Hermani, King of the Ostrogoths, extended their power from the Danube to the Baltic. Further west, the Allemanni and Ostrogoths crossed the Rhine, and the Saxons ravaged the coasts of Gaul. The borders of the Empire were constantly under fire, and became so reduced in strength, that ultimately Rome had to enter into a treaty with the barbarians. Under the terms of this agreement, the enemies of Rome were settled in Thrace, Phrygia, and Illyricum. Openly they claimed to be allies of the Empire, but secretly they remained its enemies, awaiting the first opportunity to rise against the incompetent Government” (ApEp).

Rev 8:7

V 7: First century: Roman destruction of Jerusalem and trees (cp Jer 7:20; Eze 20:47 — so quoted by Christ in Luk 23:31; Zec 11:1,2). Cp also Jer 6:1,15,17,20,22,23,26.

THIRD: In Eze 5:1-5, 3 thirds = the whole of Israel. Also, Israel = the 3rd with Egypt and Assyria in Isa 19:24: “In a prophecy of the Last Days Isa 19:24 speaks of Israel as being ‘a third with Egypt and with Assyria.’ Whereas in history and in prophecy Israel was and will be a battle ground for Egypt (the king of the south) and Assyria (the king of the north), in the day of Messiah the three are to form a harmonious unit serving the Lord. This passage suggests ‘the third part’ as being Israel itself in contrast to the warring forces of north and south that battle in (against?) the Holy Land. This idea is of special value in considering the Last Day fulfilment of the Trumpets” (WRev).

GREEN GRASS: Indicates time of Passover (Joh 6:4,10; Mar 6:39), when Jews were trapped in city by Romans.

CH: First Trumpet: Alaric and the Goths (395-410): “Arcadius was Emperor of the eastern portion of the Empire. He had inherited this power on the death of Theodosius and in an attempt to consolidate his power, he made Alaric the Goth master of Illyricum, supplying him with arms from the Imperial armory. For some time, Alaric had been threatening the Empire, and Arcadius’ gesture was an attempt to gain his support. Alaric made preparations to seize power. After four years, he proclaimed himself king of the Visigoths, and proceeded to invade the west. He ravaged the countryside, laying waste the farms which graced the banks of the Rhine. Pleasant scenes of peace and plenty were changed into desert, and the ‘hail and fire’ of his widespread destruction was mingled with the blood of his many victims.

“He was opposed and defeated at Milan by the celebrated Roman general Stilicho, and was forced to retreat. Meanwhile, Rhadagaisus, king of the German tribes, invaded Italy, and proceeded to devastate it with much cruelty. The cowardly Honorious, Emperor of the West, together with the trembling Senate, lacked the power to defend themselves, and fled before the advancing Germans.

“It was again left to Stilicho to save the Empire. The German hordes were defeated and dispersed, though they were not expelled from the borders.

“In 408, after the death of Stilicho, Alaric again set out with a stronger force than ever. This time his objective was Rome. 618 years had passed since that city had been violated by the presence of a foreign enemy outside her walls. Now however, it was blockaded by the King of the Goths, and its inhabitants subjected to a siege that caused great suffering and death.

“Enraged by hunger, the desperate inmates devoured the bodies of victims, whilst even mothers tasted the flesh of their slaughtered infants. The dead lay in thousands in the streets and houses, until the stench which arose became unbearable.

“At last Alaric accepted an enormous ransom to retire. Negotiations for peace fell through, however. Rome was again besieged in 409, and again in 410. Finally the Goths obtained admission to the city and with ungovernable fury brought death and suffering to thousands within the city. After 6 days, the Goths at last evacuated Rome, and turned their fury on the southern provinces of Italy, mingling the blood of the inhabitants with the hail and fire of destruction.

“But at last death claimed Alaric (410), and the consequent disintegration and dispersion of his forces, permitted some alleviation of the miseries experienced by the Italian third of the Empire during this period” (ApEp).

Rev 8:8

THROWN INTO THE SEA: Cp Mat 21:21: “Say to this mt — ie Zion — ‘Be removed and cast into sea’.” Cp Jer 51:25,32,63. “This mt”, now the site of a greater abomination: The Dome of the Rock!

A THIRD OF THE SEA TURNED INTO BLOOD: “[Josephus] tells of a tremendous encounter on the Sea of Galilee between a Jewish fleet and many ships commandeered by the Rom. In the fight the Rom slew ruthlessly. Even the drowning were shot dead by arrows. And the Jews forced to land were destroyed as they sought to come ashore. ‘One might see the lake all bloody, and full of dead bodies, for not one of them escaped. And a terrible stink, and a very sad sight, there was on the following days over the country. In this way thousands were slain’ (3:10:9). Likewise, on the Mediterranean coast, a fleet of the insurgents, turned pirate, was destroyed in a mighty storm. Many of these Jews slew themselves in despair rather than perish miserably at the hands of the Roman soldiers, a fate which actually befell those who managed to reach land. ‘The sea was bloody a long way, and the maritime ports were full of dead bodies… and the number of the bodies that were thus thrown out of the sea was 4,200’ (3:9:3)” (WRev).

CH: Second Trumpet: Genseric and the Vandals (429-477): “Boniface, a general of western Rome, in the course of a dispute with his colleague Aetius, appealed for the assistance of Genseric, King of the Vandals, 50,000 of whom had settled in Spain. Crossing the Straits of Gibraltar, Genseric became the scourge of North Africa, bringing distress and dismay to that country, establishing himself as master of Hippo and Carthage. From these ports, he organised piratical excursions, ravaging the coasts of the Mediterranean, defeating the Roman Navy, destroying by fire the new fleets that were built to oppose them.

All maritime trade ceased and the sea became as ‘blood’. In 455, he gained access to Rome itself, and for fourteen days, this proud city again suffered from the hands of its enemies. Genseric died in 477″ (ApEp).

Rev 8:10

Third Trumpet: “A burning star falls on ‘the rivers and fountains of water.’ The waters are made bitter and in consequence many die. A Biblical identification of the ‘rivers and fountains of waters’ presents few difficulties. Several passages identify the Land of Israel: (a) The picture in Rev 7 of the wilderness journey of the redeemed is made to culminate in their reaching ‘fountains of waters of life’ (Rev 7:17, RV). The figure of a literal Land of Promise is only too obviously behind the use of these words. (b) Ezek 6:3: ‘Thus saith the Lord God to the mountains and to the hills, to the rivers (RV: water courses; better still: wadis) and to the valleys.’ And the previous verse specifies ‘the mountains of Israel.’ (c) Ezek 36:4,6 uses identical language of the land of Israel, in a context — let it be noted — which is definitely the Last Days. (d) Joel 1:20: ‘the rivers of waters are dried up.’ Once again it is the land of Israel in the Last Days.

“It is not unlikely that there is a certain element of the literal about this symbol. ‘There was a star resembling a sword, which stood over the city (Jerusalem), even a comet, that continued a whole year’ (6:5:3). The phenomenon has since been identified by the astronomers as Halley’s comet.

“It is rather remarkable that Isaiah’s prophecy (Isa 14:12) about Lucifer, the morning star, was appropriated by Jesus to describe the fate of his contemporaries who so stubbornly resisted his appeal. ‘I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven… Thou, Capernaum, which art exalted to heaven, shall be thrust down to hell’ (Luke 10:18,14)… The Third Trumpet repeats the idea with vivid detail added. The retribution came… in the Roman War” (WRev).

CH: Third Trumpet: Attila and the Huns (433-453): “Acknowledged as lord of the lower Danube by Theodosius the younger, Attila and the dreaded Huns revolted against the Roman Empire, bringing great distress throughout the west, but mainly in the Alpine districts.

“He caused terror throughout the country, which was heightened by the ferocious and wild appearance of the Huns. Scenes of peace and plenty, were turned into smoking ruins and deserts by the senseless destruction of his hordes. Attila died in the year 453” (ApEp).

Rev 8:11

WORMWOOD: Or “bitterness”. The trial of jealousy, for the unfaithful wife (Num 5; cp Jer 9:15,16; 6:26; 23:15).

“In the waters made bitter there is an impressive reversal of what Israel experienced (in a literal sense) at the very beginning of their life as a nation of God. When the People left Egypt, the bitter waters of Marah were made sweet when Moses thrust in a tree which the Lord shewed him (Exo 15: 23-27). This strange experience was interpreted by the early church as a figure of the work of Christ. Service to God under the Law of Moses, hard and bitter as Egyptian bondage (Exo 1:14), was made sweet by the Tree (the cross of Christ, 1Pe 2:24), and at the same occasion it was proclaimed: ‘I am the Lord that healeth thee.’ The narrative continues: ‘and they encamped there by the waters’ (Exo 15:27).

“But now in AD 70, with the salvation of God thrust aside and the cross of Christ execrated, there was and there has been throughout the centuries nothing but bitter waters for Israel, ‘and many men died because of the waters’ ” (WRev).

Rev 8:12

Sun, moon, stars = Israel in Gen 37:9; 22:17; Jer 31:36; Joel 2:10; Dan 8:10.

THIRD… WITHOUT LIGHT: Caused by the smoke from the bottomless pit (Rev 9:1,2)?

CH: Fourth Trumpet: “Gothic Kingdom in Italy (476): “Romulus Augustus was placed on the throne by Orester, Secretary of State to Attila. Hewas superseded by Odoacer, King of the Heruli, who, taking Rome in 476, banished Romulus, and became King of the Western Empire. He was deposed by Theodoric, King of the Ostrogoths, and was later assassinated (493).

“Gothic kings continued to reign in Western Rome for about 60 years” (ApEp).

Rev 8:13

“The last three Trumpets are introduced by the vision of ‘an angel (RV ‘eagle’) flying in the midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice, Woe, woe, woe, to the inhabiters of the earth by reason of the other voices of the trumpet of the angels, which are yet to sound’ (Rev 8:13). Because of this, and by reason of the special severity of these judgements, Trumpets 5, 6 and 7 have come to be known as the Three Woes” (WRev).

Josephus has a most interesting story (6:5:3) markedly reminiscent of this passage. He tells how for seven years before Jerusalem was destroyed a respectable citizen took to going about the city, crying aloud: “A voice from the east, a voice from the west, a voice from the four winds, a voice against Jerusalem and the Holy House, a voice against the bridegrooms and the brides, and a voice against this whole people… Woe to the city, and to the people, and to the Holy House.” He was brought before the Roman procurator, yet he never desisted even though his bones were laid bare with flogging. At the great Feasts his efforts were redoubled amongst the immense crowds. Finally he died in the siege, struck by a mighty sling-stone from the Romans, and crying to the last: “Woe, woe, woe.”

An eagle figures prominently in Hos 8:1; Deu 28:49; and Mat 24:28: prophecies about God’s judgments upon Israel.

“The interesting textual problem as to whether the AV or RV reading of Rev 8:13 is correct is best solved amicably in favour of both. The best manuscripts certainly read ‘eagle’; but a comparison with other passages makes it equally clear that an angel is referred to. ‘And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel…’ (Rev 14:6). Here the phraseology is precisely the same, only this time the reading ‘angel’ is indubitable. And the word ‘another’ picks out this passage as an echo of Rev 8:13.

“The conclusion indicated is, then, that the angel of Rev 8:13 is one in the character of an eagle; such is the nature of the commission entrusted to him. Cp Rev 19:17,18: ‘And I saw an angel standing in the sun (cp ‘in midheaven’) and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God; that ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains…’ ” (WRev).

MIDAIR: The original word actually denotes the expanse of space between heaven and earth. It is readily seen to be a reminiscence of the occasion of David’s numbering of the people and the wrath that came on Israel because of it. David, it will be remembered, chose as punishment three days of pestilence as preferable to three months of war or three years of famine. “And David lifted up his eyes and saw the angel of the Lord stand between the earth and the heaven, having a drawn sword in his hand stretched over Jerusalem…” (1Ch 21:16). The resemblance to this in Rev 8:13 encourages yet further the idea that the remaining Trumpets are God’s “woes” against a sinful Israel.

Rev 12:1

Rev 12 is patterned on Israel’s deliverance from Egypt:

1. The dragon = Egypt (Ezek 29:3; Psa 74:13, 14; Isa 27:1; 51:9).
2. The woman = Israel.
3. The man child to be destroyed = Pharaoh’s fiat against all male children (Exo 1:16).
4. The child caught up to God = Israel at Sinai.
5. “They overcame by the blood of the Lamb” = deliverance through the Passover Lamb.
6. The woman in the wilderness = Israel in the wilderness (Ezek 20:32; Hos 2:14,19).
7. Provided with food there = Manna given.
8. Wings of the great eagle (the cherub of Rev 4:7) = “I bare you on eagles’ wings” (Exo 19:4; Deu 32:11).
9. “The dragon persecuted (= pursued) the woman = pursuit by Pharaoh’s army.
10. “The earth swallowed up the flood” = “The earth (ie. Red Sea quick sands) swallowed them up” (Exo 15:12).

“Since the woman is seen in heaven, she must represent Israel (‘the daughter of my people’) at a time before the nation was cast off and disowned by God. She is ‘clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet.’ These details are full of significance. Repeatedly, the Word of God associates the sun with the Messiah (Psa 72:17; 19:4,5; Mal 4:2; Isa 60:1-3), whilst the moon has special associations with the Law of Moses (eg the month and its special feast was decided by the moon; so also was Passover and the entire annual rota of Jewish Feasts; further, the moon derives its variable incomplete light from the sun — if there had been no promised Messiah the Law would have been nugatory from the first day at Sinai).

“This woman is clothed with the sun — her Messiah has been made manifest The moon is under her feet — no longer need she be subject to it, to the Law contained in ordinances. Here then is Israel in its position of religious privilege after the Son of God has done his glorious work as Prophet and Sacrifice” (WRev).

TWELVE STARS: Reltd Israel (Gen 37:9-11; Jer 31:35,36).

CH: “As the sun represents the government, and the moon represents state religions, so the stars represent the princes of the realm (cp. Dan 12:3). There were 12 princes who ruled Rome since the establishment of the Imperial system by Augustus. They were the Emperors: 1. Augustus (AD 18), 2. Tiberius (37), 3. Caligula (41), 4. Claudius (55), 5. Nero (68), 6. Galba (68), 7. Otho (68), 8. Vittelius (69), 9. Vespasian (79), 10. Titus (81), 11. Domitian (96), 12. Nerva (98). These twelve princes, or stars, represented the authority of Rome, at the time the Apocalypse was given. Now John sees them gracing the ‘stephan’ upon the head of the woman, indicating that she had attracted to herself the authority of the state” (ApEp).

Rev 12:2

ABOUT TO GIVE BIRTH: “Her child about to be born is to ‘rule (shepherd!) all nations with a rod of iron.’ The words are verbatim from Psa 2 (LXX). At first glance, then, the Man Child is the Lord Jesus Christ himself — none other; for does not Revelation itself apply these very words to him in his glory (Rev 19:15)? But, then, it applies them also to those who are approved in Christ and deemed worthy to share his glory (Rev 2:26,27).

“Choice then must be made between these two interpretations. There is good reason to discard the first and seemingly more obvious, in favour of the other. This vision goes on to describe an attempt to destroy the Man Child after he has been brought forth. Now Psa 2, and especially the words, ‘this day have I begotten thee’, can apply only to Christ after his resurrection when he became ‘the firstborn from the dead’; and after the resurrection no enemy could or did make any attempt to destroy him as in Rev 12:4.

“The man child, then, represents the early church, those in Christ born so to speak, out of the travail of the nation of Israel. Appropriately, in the vision, the mother never suckled the child!” (WRev).

(CH) “In 2Co 11:2, the Ecclesia is represented as a ‘chaste virgin.’ But early in the life of this virgin, trouble arose, and the seeds of error were implanted within her (Acts 15). It took the form that Christ was not sufficient, and that believers needed to observe the Law of Moses, as a means of justification. This Judaising heresy was vigorously opposed by Paul. But despite his efforts, the ‘chaste virgin’ became impregnated with error. The symbol before us answers to the requirements of nature. From conception to birth is a period of 280 days. On the prophetic basis of a day for a year, this represents 280 years.

“The Ecclesia was established at the preaching of Pentecost in AD 33. 280 years later, in the year 313, the wars of Constantine with the assistance of pseudo-Christians, had brought him to the supreme power, and the Church (but not the Ecclesia) was state-recognised. The man-child had been born of the seeds of error implanted at the very beginning” (ApEp).

Rev 12:3

DRAGON: = Egypt: Eze 29:3; Psa 74:13,14; Isa 27:1; 51:9. Cp Herod’s attempts on Christ’s life (Mat 2:1-16). (See Lesson, Leviathan; also see Lesson, Rahab (Egypt).)

SEVEN HEADS AND TEN HORNS: “Daniel’s fourth beast (Dan 7:7,19), but with the added detail (not contradictory of Dan 7), that it has seven heads. In other words, besides its own, it has the six heads of the three preceding beasts. Or, seen another way, here are the great oppressors of Israel through the centuries — Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Persia, Greece, Rome, and the Beast in the Last Days. The ten horns suggest the Last Day phase of human opposition to the Lamb and his people (Rev 17:12; Dan 2:44), a detail appropriate to the concluding section of this vision” (WRev).

CH: “Cp Rev 17:10. In this description we have both a topographical and political indication of the power referred to. It represents firstly the seven mountains upon which Rome is built, and secondly the ‘seven kings’ or forms of government by which it has been ruled. In Greek, the word ‘king’ relates both to the person and the government. The seven systems of government by which Imperial Rome was ruled were: Regal; tribunitial with consular authority; imperial; Gothic; consular; dictatorial; and decemviral” (ApEp).

TEN HORNS: CH: “Ultimately Rome was divided up into ten different nationalities, providing the foundation of modern divided Europe” (ApEp).

SEVEN CROWNS UPON HIS HEADS: CH: “This is an important indication of when the prophecy of this chapter would be fulfilled. It would be before the break-up of the Roman Empire into its ten divisions, for the crowns (authority) are found on the heads of the beast (ie, the forms of government that ruled the empire), and not upon the horns, which represent the divided state of Europe after the collapse of the Roman Empire.

“Ct this verse with Rev 13:1. There the crowns are placed on the horns and not the heads, indicating that the time of the fulfillment of Rev 13 was after the collapse of the empire” (ApEp).

Rev 12:4

A THIRD OF THE STARS: 1/3 of 12 stars in crown of v 1. One of 3 major overturnings of Israel. Perhaps 70 AD.

CH: “The head of the beast was in Rome, the tail of the beast in the east. In the west, Constantine was gathering his forces for a war to wrest power to himself. At this time, approximately AD 300, the Empire was divided into three sections, all of which submitted to the main authority of Rome. Constantius, the father of Constantine, had his headquarters in York, Britain, and his control extended over the western portion of the Empire.

“Unlike his co-rulers in the two Eastern divisions, he was tolerant towards Christians. At his death, the army proclaimed Constantine his successor in the imperial purple. It was the prerogative of the army to do so, and the appointment was in defiance of Galerius, the chief emperor. Galerius looked upon the elevation of Constantine in the West as presumption, though for purposes of policy, he accepted and endorsed the nomination. He viewed Constantine with the greatest suspicion, and far from acknowledging him as an equal, he delegated him to the fourth rank among the Roman princes. Meanwhile he made preparations to attack Constantine and invaded the West. Thus the pagan ‘dragon’ stood before the woman (Church) which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child Constantine, (for it was Christian support that finally brought him to power) as soon as it was born (v 4)” (ApEp).

AND FLUNG THEM TO THE EARTH: “At this time, the Roman Empire was divided into three main provinces: the West, the East and the Illyrian. There were six rulers over the united Empire: Galerius and Maximian ruled jointly as chief Emperors, and the four lesser rulers were Licinius, Maximian, Maxentius, and Constantine.

“In the west, under Constantine, Christianity was tolerated; in the East it was persecuted. But whilst the two chief Emperors continued, there was nominal peace. On the death of Galerius, however, Constantine prepared to attack Rome. He publicly proclaimed a policy of toleration towards Christians. He therefore gained there support. The Christians of the West, rejecting the teaching of the Master, prepared to take up arms to assist his cause.

“The Christians of the East formed a fifth-column influence in the heart of enemy territory. Maxentius prepared to resist Constantine, but in a series of remarkable victories against great odds (proclaimed by the clergy as miracles) Constantine, with the sign of the cross, marched steadily and triumphantly towards Rome.

“He was opposed in person by Maxentius at the battle of Milvian Bridge where once again victory attended the arms of Constantine. Maxentius was drowned trying to escape, and Constantine entered Rome in triumph. The Catholics hailed him as their patron and supporter.

“Through this victory, Constantine now ruled in Rome, Maximian ruled in the Eastern division of the Empire, and Licinius ruled in Illyricum. The success of Constantine in 313 had been followed by a decree of toleration for Christians on his part, whilst Licinius had followed suit in Illyricum.

“This left Maximian as the champion of paganism. He boldly proclaimed his intention of overthrowing Christianity, and initiated a holy war by attacking Licinius. He shortly after this died, however, and Licinius annexed his territory, thus ‘drawing the third part of the stars of heaven’ to himself.

“He then repudiated his previous decree of toleration for Christians and assumed the mantle of the champion of paganism. Thus the ‘dragon’ again stood before the woman, and her man-child to destroy it. In the ultimate overthrow of Licinius, however the ‘third part of the stars’ that he had gathered to himself, were ‘cast down to the earth’ ” (ApEp).

Rev 12:5

AN IRON SCEPTER: Wielded by Christ in Psa 2:9; 110:2; Isa 11:1,4; and secondarily by saints in Rev 2:27.

TO HIS THRONE: From which he comes to finish his work in Rev 19:11-15.

CH: “It was the support of nominal Christians that brought success to Constantine; they repudiated the teaching of Christ and flocked under the banner of Constantine to wield the sword on his behalf. ‘What have Christians to do with the sword, and the Bishops to do at court?’ was the protest of those who stood aside from the prevailing error… [The man-child was] not Christ (see Rev 1:1) but the first of the men of Sin referred to in 2Th 2:3. ‘The first of the Christian Emperors was unworthy of that name till the moment of his death,’ wrote Gibbon. He was immersed three days before his death (in 337) so that he could be sure that all his sins would be washed away.

“Though unbaptised, and glorying in the rites of paganism, he still assumed the character of Bishop and President at ecclesiastical councils, etc, and presumed to interrupt and adjudicate on matters of doctrine.

” ‘Caught up unto God, and to his throne’, he ascended the political and ecclesiastical heavens. His influence and authority paved the way for the emergence of the god of the earth (Dan 11:38; Rev 11:4) to whose throne (or Church) he ascended” (ApEp).

Rev 12:6

THE WOMAN FLED INTO THE WILDERNESS: “Having given birth to her son, she [ie, the ‘Church’] fled from his influence, because having grown to power, he was prepared to destroy her to retain it. The woman represents the so-called Christian community (cp vv 16,17) that Constantine had used as a stepping-stone to power.

“His accession to power was followed by the Edict of Milan, granting religious freedom to all ‘Christian’ parties (Catholic or otherwise), for the son was yet too young to know its true mother. An event took place shortly afterwards, however, that forced Constantine to take sides.

“This is what is known as the ‘African Controversy,’ Contention between Caecilian and Donatus, bishops of Carthage, divided the church. Each declared that the other had apostasied during the period of persecution in Diocletian’s reign, by delivering up the Scriptures to be destroyed. Constantine adjudicated in the matter, and declared himself in favour of Caecilian.

“This decision only aggravated the controversy. The Donatists separated from the main body of the church (for to the word ‘ecclesia’ it could no longer lay claim) and became anti-Catholic in their attitude. ‘What has the Emperor to do with the church, what have Christians to do with kings, what have bishops to do at court?’ became their battle cry. They refused to have any part or lot with the apostate state that had developed in the main body of the church.

“The Catholics on the other hand, excommunicated them. Having the ear of Constantine, they were able to secure legislation against them, and Donatists were refused political recognition. Donatus and his followers were excluded from the civil and religious communion of mankind (Gibbon). Politically they were ‘in the wilderness’ (v 14)” (ApEp).

TAKEN CARE OF: “Nourished” (RSV): Israel, fled into wilderness (Exo 16:32).

1,260 DAYS: See Lesson, 360-day year.

Rev 12:7

WAR IN HEAVEN: “Heaven” = Jerusalem (cp Rev 14:1; 7:15 with Rev 4:1, etc. See Rev 3:12; Isa 65:17,18; Heb 12:22,23; Rev 21:2,10).

MICHAEL AND HIS ANGELS: “There ensues in the end of the age a ‘war in heaven’ between Michael and his angels, and the dragon and his angels. Neither the man child nor the Lion of the tribe of Judah are participants. But the identification of these combatants is not easy. Many evince a strong disposition to understand Michael — ‘Who is like God?’ — as another representation of Christ himself. This is not impossible. Since the dragon is very obviously symbolic, and not literal, the same may well be true for the other protagonist.

“But over against this are three other considerations:

• The close connection with the familiar prophecy in Dan 12:1: ‘And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble such as never was; and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book of life’ (this last detail is picked up again in Rev 13:8).
• The other two references to Michael appear to be literal, not symbolic. Jude 1:9 refers to a literal angel. The undeniable link with Zec 3:2 would prove this. Also, in this passage Messiah is a separate person from Michael. He is Joshua-Jesus, the high-priest, called in Jude 1:9 ‘the slave, or servant, of Moses’ (not ‘body,’ as in the AV). The parallel in 2Pe 2:11 is surely decisive: ‘Angels, which are greater in power and might, bring not railing accusation against them.’ Dan 10:13 requires reference to an archangel…
• The fact that Michael and his angels overcome by the blood of the Lamb (12:11) seems sufficient to require a distinction between ‘Michael’ and ‘the Lamb.’

“If these considerations are deemed decisive, then interpretation of the war in heaven is not to be sought in the world of European politics (the kind of obsession which has bedevilled so many attempts to unveil the Apocalypse). In the Last Days the serpent-dragon is, as always, the embodiment of human opposition to the will of God in the world (see esp Rev 20:2,3). In this particular instance it may be possible to identify the ‘heaven’ where the conflict takes place as being Jerusalem — this in accordance with a common Bible idiom which has suffered neglect by students of prophecy because of the afore-mentioned prepossession with political ‘heavens and earth.’ In a nutshell, what needs to be recognized is that, because the sanctuary of the Lord was in Jerusalem, the holy city is spoken of as ‘heaven,’ and the Holy Land is referred to as ‘earth’ (this latter item being well helped out by the familiar ‘earth-Land’ ambiguity which attaches to this word in both OT and NT)” (WRev). [See Lesson, “Land” or “earth”?]

So, then, the “war in heaven” has the effect of ridding the Holy City, Jerusalem, of its human, earth-bound enemies and oppressors!

CH: “Constantine fought in the name of Christ. He claimed to be fighting with the assistance of the Lord, and therefore assumed the status of Christ’s representative on earth.

“Thus he stands in this verse as the representative Michael. He was successful in overthrowing the forces of paganism, and in that he typified the work of Christ. Christ as the antitypical Michael (Dan 12:1) is to destroy the Dragon (Rev 20:2,3), the pagan Christian world of today), even as Constantine did in his days.

“He evidently delighted to claim to be Christ’s representative. A picture elevated over his palace gate portrayed him with a cross over his head, whilst beneath his own feet were his enemies under the semblance of a dragon cast into the abyss — the very symbol by which he is represented in the Apocalypse” (ApEp).

Rev 12:8

THEY LOST THEIR PLACE: As in Dan 2:35, the war in “hvn” ends with image broken and scattered; little stone becoming a great mt (ie, mt of Lord’s house) filling all “earth/Land of Israel”.

Rev 12:9

THE GREAT DRAGON: “There is need to identify the twentieth-century dragon which is cast out so that the way is immediately open for proclaiming the establishment of Messiah’s kingdom. ‘Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ.’ The power of Rome very adequately fulfils the necessary First Century conditions — that the dragon be a hater and persecutor of both Jews (the woman) and Christians (the man child). What dragon power is there in the Holy Land today, which is a hater of Jews and Christians?… There is every likelihood, from the standpoints of Bible prophecy and modern politics, that before long Israel will be overrun by their Arab enemies (helped, of course, on a massive scale, by Russia), and then there will be more than enough hatred and persecution of Jews… Just as converted Jews in the time of the apostles became, symbolically, the man child born of the woman, so also in the end of the age repentant Jews will fill the role of ‘the rest of her seed which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ’ ” (WRev).

CH: “The wars of Constantine, in the cause of a pseudo- Christianity, resulted in the influence of paganism [the great dragon] being ejected from positions of authority in the empire. In the year 323, Constantine attacked Licinius and defeated him at the battle of Adrianople at Chrysopolis. Thus the last stronghold of paganism was overthrown. Licinius, who had previously agreed to religious toleration, ultimately as a political move, assumed the role of champion of paganism” (ApEp).

Rev 12:10

ACCUSER: Gr “kategoreo” = one who charges another in the assembly (agora), ie, “Satan”, standing before God, to accuse Job (Job 1:9); High Priest Joshua (Zec 3:1).

“This was the feeling of the Catholics at the time. They still teach that the church comprises the Kingdom of God on earth. Thus when the church triumphed, it was as though the Kingdom was established in power.

“The work of Constantine typified the work of the Lord Jesus who will destroy the ‘dragon’ (modern paganism) and establish the true kingdom” (ApEp).

Rev 12:11

BY THE BLOOD OF THE LAMB: This is the last reference in the Bible to the shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ; here it is the overcoming blood, enabling believers to withstand the deceptions and accusations of the accuser and enemy. There are at least 43 references to the blood of Christ in the NT, all testifying to its great importance in the salvation and daily life of the believer. (It should go without saying, of course, that the literal blood of Christ was not some magical potion to be adored superstitiously, but that it is a Bible-based means of speaking of his sacrifice, with all that encompasses.)

Judas the betrayer spoke of it as “innocent blood” (Mat 27:4) and Peter called it “the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot” (1Pe 1:19). It is the cleansing blood in 1Jo 1:7 and the washing blood in Rev 1:5, stressing that it removes the guilt of our sins. Paul calls it the purchasing blood in Acts 20:28 and the redeeming blood twice (Eph 1:7; Col 1:14, cp Rev 5:9), thus declaring the shedding of his blood to be the very price of our salvation. Therefore, it is also the justifying blood (Rom 5:9) and the peacemaking blood (Col 1:20). Its efficacy does not end with our salvation, however, for it is also the sanctifying blood (Heb 13:12). There is infinite and eternal power in the blood of Christ, for it is “the blood of the everlasting covenant” (Heb 13:20). The first reference in the NT to his blood stresses this “covenant” aspect. Jesus said, at the last supper: “This is my blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins” (Mat 26:28). Let no one, therefore, ever count the “blood of the covenant… an unholy thing” (Heb 10:29), for the blood of Christ — Biblically understood — is forever innocent, infinitely precious, perfectly justifying, always cleansing and fully sanctifying.

Rev 12:12

WOE TO THE EARTH AND THE SEA: Continued persecution of Jews in other lands — even after “hvnly” Jerusalem is recovered from Gentile hands (cp v 17).

“It would seem from this that the reaction of Israel’s enemies, thrust out of Jerusalem, is to intensify persecutions against Jews in the rest of the Land and in Gentile countries also wherever they can be got at in countries under Russian or Arab control. With Messiah established in Jerusalem, the Serpent is bruised in the head. Now ‘he hath but a short time.’

“The people of Israel, for all their suffering and disappointment, are now nearer to the fulfilment of their destiny than they can believe possible. The second allusion (v 14) to the woman in the wilderness is markedly different from the first (v 6). In the first instance, she ‘fled’ into the wilderness. This was the dispersion of Israel after AD 70. In the second she flies as a bird, by virtue of the eagle’s wings, which are given to her. This symbol of God’s providence over Israel in the wilderness (Exo 19:4; Deu 32:11), even though an unbelieving people, indicates fairly clearly that this last tribulation of Israel is a divinely appointed discipline. Israel’s distress in the Land and in ensuing captivity can last no longer than three and a half years” (WRev).

CH: ” ‘Earth’ and ‘sea’ are used symbolically of people, in contrast to the heavens which relate to rulers. Among the people the last remnants of paganism still existed. These now became subject to opposition on the part of the Catholic powers which endeavoured to suppress the pagan ‘moon’ or ecclesiasticism under feet (v 1).

“Licinius, who stood as the champion of paganism, found some support among people but they supported him at their peril, for they called down upon themselves the opposition of the authorities over whom Constantine ruled” (ApEp).

Rev 12:13

THE DRAGON… PURSUED THE WOMAN: “Constantine first triumphed in the west, and then extended his power to the east. This aroused bitter antagonism between Christianity (the woman of v 1) and paganism. Wherever the latter retained power it persecuted the former. Meanwhile, Christianity became divided, the great majority supporting a state-sponsored church which had embraced many pagan ideas and teaching, and a minority opposing this unscriptural alliance of church and state and the incorporation of pagan ideas.

“This led to persecution, a paganised form of Christianity seeking to cruelly oppress the minority. Thus the woman (v 1) was persecuted by the pagans beyond the borders of Constantine’s influence, and by a paganised form of Christianity within those borders” (ApEp).

Rev 12:14

THE TWO WINGS OF A GREAT EAGLE: (CH) “The eagle was a symbol of Rome (cp Deu 28:49). The wings represent the extremities of the Empire. It was in these extremities that the persecuted woman (religious community) sought a refuge” (ApEp).

A GREAT EAGLE: “I bare you on eagle’s wings” (Exo 19:4; Deu 32:11). Or… wings of a stork.. to go to Shinar… a place prepared (Zec 5:7). The woman, who ceases herself to keep God’s commandments (implied in v 17), reappears at last — still in “wilderness”, as great harlot (Rev 17:1,3).

SO THAT SHE MIGHT FLY TO THE PLACE PREPARED FOR HER IN THE DESERT: “This is Israel now disowned by God; fellowship with the divine has been withdrawn. Israel is in the wilderness of the nations, scattered, despised, unloved, persecuted. The wilderness has ever been the place of probation. It was, for Israel, after escape from Egypt. It was, for Moses, for Elijah, for Paul — for Jesus himself. And now, once again Israel must face the testing of the wilderness — a long-drawn-out trial, as it has proved, of nigh on two thousand years, and still their hearts remain hard as tables of stone” (WRev).

Rev 12:15

“A picture of a river losing itself in parched desert sands” (WRev 168).

Rev 12:16

(CH) “As the heavens represent the ruling powers, the earth represents the ruled. Among the latter were those who were prepared to fight for liberty of expression and belief on the part of persecuted Christians even though they might not subscribe to their doctrines.

“The Circumcellions of North Africa stood for political liberty. They opposed the oppressing, persecuting policy of Rome and stood in defence of the Donatists and those who held the Truth. The earth is represented as ‘swallowing up the flood’ which is characteristic of dry, sun-burnt earth. Circumcellions fulfilled the requirements of this symbol by taking up the sword, in defence of political liberty. Thus some relief was granted to the persecuted” (ApEp).

Rev 12:17

CH: “The dragon is the symbol of the civil or military authority of the Roman Empire. When Constantine came to power, the character of the dragon was changed from ‘pagan’ to ‘christian.’ When he extended his power east, he sought a more convenient situation for his growing Empire, and found it on the Bosphorus.

“Here he established a new capital which he named Constantinople. This became the headquarters of the military authority of the Empire, whilst Rome remained the centre of religious influence. Constantinople thus became the site of ‘the mouth of the dragon’ (Rev 16:13)…

“Three factions are referred to in this verse: the dragon, the woman, and the remnant of the woman’s seed. The former is represented as attacking the two latter.

“The dragon represents the military authority of Rome; which had become ‘Christian’ in character. The woman now represents the section of the church that stood aside from the fusion of state and church that had taken place, and protested at the growing apostasy that had become evident.

“The third section are described as ‘the remnant of the woman’s seed’, and they are said to be those who ‘keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.’ They thus represent the Ecclesia. Both Protestants and Ecclesia were persecuted by the Dragon — the military authority of the (Roman) Empire” (ApEp).

Rev 11:1

See Psa 79 allusions: ref to the nation of Israel in the Land.

Allusions to Elijah and Moses (2 witnesses): (a) Fire out of their mouths: cp Elijah bringing fire from heaven; (2Ki 1:10,12); (b) power to shut heaven that it rain not; cp the three and a half years’ drought according to the word of Elijah (1Ki 17:1; James 5:17); (c) power to turn waters into blood, the first of the plagues in Egypt; (d) and to smite the earth with all plagues — the rest of the plagues in Egypt. These references to Moses and Elijah are doubtless intended to recall the Law and the Prophets, the custody of which forms Israel’s supreme witness to the God of Heaven.

Comparison of witnesses with Christ: (1) despised and rejected; (2) no visible effect upon hearers; (3) slain… 3 days; (4) raised, with an earthquake; (5) ascend to heaven in a cloud; and (6) enemies stricken with fear.

A REED: Measurement (Ezek 40:31; Rev 21:15-16).

A MEASURING ROD: Correction (1Co 4:21). Thus a measured period of chastisement (Lam 2:8).

TEMPLE: This “temple” is a spiritual one, consisting of people (Joh 4:24; Heb 3:6; 1Pe 2:4-10).

Rev 11:2

Cp Luk 24:21. “From Spring of 67 to August of 70, the time of formal imperial engagement against Jerusalem is a period of 42 months.” John “measures” the inner temple, altar and worshippers — for protection (Eze 22:26; Zec 2:1-5). Thus, in AD 70, the external temple [and the nation of Israel] perishes but the spiritual reality — the true worshippers, the new Israel — is preserved.

42 MONTHS: See Lesson, 360-day year.

(CH) ” ‘Court of the Gentiles’ implies a religious order, claiming association with the Temple, but in fact separate from it. It points to Roman Catholicism, which was given power by decree of Phocas 606-610. Accepting there is a commencement date, the period reaches to 1866-1870 when events occurred which brought the Temporal power of the Papacy to an end.

“In between those terminal periods, the Papacy exercised its persecuting policy against the true Ecclesia (cp Dan 7:24-25)” (ApEp).

Rev 11:3

1,260 DAYS: See Lesson, 360-day year.

SACKCLOTH: Tribulation, sorrow (Amo 8:10; Isa 37:1,2; 50:3; Rev 6:12).

CH: “The warfare suggested in this prophecy commenced on the establishment of the State Church in the year 312. It was the period of the Great Division, when the Donatists refused to bow to decrees that issued forth from the State Church, even though they were backed by force.

“It commenced a religious controversy which continued for 1,260 years to 1572, and the Massacre of St Bartholomew. In that year, Rome made determined efforts to still the voice of religious opposition. This succeeded in France at least, where a terrible massacre of those opposed to Rome broke out.

“It brought to an end the effective testimony of the witnesses which was then ‘finished’ (v 7), and they were given over to political death. The ‘coup de grace’ came in 1685, when, after over a century of terrible persecution, The Edict of Nantes was revoked, and the witnessing ceased for a time” (ApEp).

Rev 11:7

CH: “The two witnesses are known in history by many names: Donatists, Waldenses, Novatians, Huguenots, etc. All in their turn continued to witness against the Roman autocratic Ecclesiastical power, maintaining an unbroken record of opposition until politically put to death in Europe. The opposition of the two witnesses by voice and by sword, gave protection to the Ecclesia in its faithful presentation of the Truth to the world. There was always some party prepared to stand for its defence if need be, and gain for it a certain immunity from trouble. But as the 1260 year period neared its end in 1572, the hitherto forthright witnessing of the saints became lax; the rigidity and separateness of the Truth was not maintained.

“In consequence, the Divine protection was withdrawn, and the Papacy was permitted to gain the ascendancy. This was signalised by a terrible period of persecution that culminated in the Massacre of St Bartholomew, 24th August 1572, when a concerted effort was made by Papal interests to crush all political and religious opposition to its power.

“This was a declaration of political and religious war to the death. It was continued with varying fortunes until 1685 when the Edict of Nantes which had earlier granted many privileges and much relief to Protestants, was finally revoked.

“The war-cry then became: ‘Die or be Catholics.’ Persecution, torture and death now became the weapons by which Rome sought to force its will on the Protestants of Europe. Amid a thousand hideous lamentations and horrid blasphemies, men and women were subjected to unspeakable indignities to make them sign that they were Catholics.

“The Inquisition did its work with frightful efficiency, and the Dark Ages, a period of ignorance, spiritual darkness, and blind superstition unilluminated by the light of Truth in Europe was ushered in” (ApEp).

Rev 11:8

SODOM: Jerusalem as Sodom: Isa 1:10; 3:1,9; Jer 23:14; Lam 4:6; Eze 16:45-58; Deu 32:32.

EGYPT: Jerusalem as Egypt: Eze 23:3-19; 1Ki 3:1; 2Ch 36:4; Jer 42:14. Israel’s judgments in Rev 8 are based on the plagues that came upon Egypt.

WHERE ALSO THEIR LORD WAS CRUCIFIED: This strongly confirms the identification of Jerusalem with Sodom and Egypt.

(CH) “By decree of Caracalla, Rome was made co-extensive with its dominions. Christ was crucified by the edict of Rome” (ApEp).

Rev 11:9

THREE AND A HALF DAYS: “The period of three and a half days probably stands for three and a half years. This suggestion is made, not on the basis of ‘a year for each day,’ but simply from the appropriateness of the imagery employed. To have said, ‘they shall see their dead bodies three years and a half’ would have been to import into the prophecy too big an element of unreality. What dead bodies would lie exposed anywhere for three and a half years?” (WRev). Cp Lesson, 3 1/2 years, etc.

AND REFUSE THEM BURIAL: “This seems to imply the overthrow of the state of Israel, but not the utter genocide of its inhabitants. The words suggest pressure brought to bear (by the Western powers?) to save them from utter destruction though not from savage maltreatment. Perhaps there is implication of an attempt at re-settlement elsewhere. Other prophecies (Zec 14:2; Isa 19:18-20; Joel 3:1-8,19) paint a similar picture… In the symbolism, to disallow the entombment of a dead body is the height of indignity and insult. Thus there is suggested the contumely and wretchedness, which is to come upon Israel in what, more than at any period in their history, will be ‘the time of Jacob’s trouble.’ Further, there will be great rejoicing among their enemies who are twice described as ‘them that dwell on the earth’, ie ‘in the Land.’ Who are these but the surrounding Arab nations? Ishmael was ever a mocker of Isaac, especially in times of misfortune. It was so in the days of Gideon, and of Hezekiah, and of Zedekiah, and in AD 70, and so it assuredly will be again (Jdg 6:1-3; Psa 83:3,4; Oba 1:12; Jer 48:42; Ezek 35:10; 36:2). How appropriate too, are the words: ‘These two prophets tormented them that dwell in the Land.’ The very presence of Jews in Palestine and, even more, of an Israeli state, has been smoke in the nose and a thorn in the side of all Arabs everywhere” (WRev).

CH: “A period of 105 years elapsed between the political death of the witnesses in 1685, and their political resurrection in the French Revolution of 1790, but in accordance with the aptness of the symbol this is reduced back to 3 1/2 days.

“It would not be appropriate for a dead body to lie in an open street for longer than that because of decomposition that would take place. JT suggests therefore that 3 1/2 lunar days are referred to. A lunar day (the phases of the moon) is equal to 30 normal days, so that the period of time thus indicated is exactly what is required: 105 days. During this period of time the tragedy was kept alive before the world” (ApEp).

Rev 11:10

ON THE EARTH: Or, “in the Land” — the Arab nations: cp Jdg 6:1-3; Psa 83:3,4; Oba 1:12; Jer 48:42; Eze 35:10; 36:2.

Rev 11:12

UP TO HEAVEN IN A CLOUD: “This is not a literal ascension to heaven like that of Jesus, because: (a) in Rev heaven signifies the state of fellowship with God and of access to His throne (eg Rev 15:1; 19:1); and (b) ‘their enemies beheld them’ implies a change of status and forbids the idea of literal ascension.

“Hence this detail should be interpreted of the repentance of Israel (though not necessarily of the entire nation), which will probably immediately precede the coming of Christ. There can be little doubt that this ascension of the witnesses is the symbolic ‘receiving again’ of those who for long years have been ‘cast off.’ The following passages bear on this interesting question: Isa 40:3; Mal 4:6; Zep 2:3; Zec 12:10; Isa 59:20; Amos 5:15; Mat 23:39; 24:32; Rom 11:15; Ezek 36:25; 37:23; Acts 3:19 (RV); Isa 17:7, 8; Psa 81:13,14; Deu 30:1-3; 1Ki 8:47; Lev 26:40-42; Jer 4:12” (WRev).

Rev 11:13

SEVEN THOUSAND: 7,000 = 1/10 of 70,000 (70 sym Gentile nations: Deu 32:8/Gen 10; 46; Exo 15:27; 24:4,9 with Luk 9:1; 10:1; cp 70 yrs captivity and 70 “wks” prophecy).

Rev 11:14

This indicates that the “2nd woe” (vv 1-13) has to do with the LD. This vision extends into Rev 12; 13. (Cp “woe”: 12:12; “3rd part”: Rev 12:4, a characteristic of trumpets.)

Rev 11:15

Vv 15-19: “These vv provide an admirable summary of the main action in the rest of the book: (a) Voices in heaven, saying… (Rev 19:6); (b) The kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ (Rev 19:6); (c) 24 elders worshipped God (Rev 19:4,6); (d) Lord God Almighty, which art and which wast (Rev 16:5, RV); (e) The nations were angry (Rev 12:7); (f) Thy wrath is come (Rev 16); (g) The time of the dead (Rev 20:12; 14:3); (h) Thy servants the prophets and thy saints (Rev 16:6; 18:24); (i) to destroy them which destroy the earth (Rev 14:18-20; 19:15-21); (j) The temple of God opened in heaven… the ark of his covenant (Rev 15:5); and (k) Lightnings, voices, etc (Rev 16:18).

“All this is called the Seventh Trumpet. There must be some connection between this and Paul’s remarkable words, ‘… we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of a eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible’ (1Co 15:52)… ‘the time of the dead that they should be judged’ ” (WRev).

The walls of Jericho fell after the city had been compassed on each of six days and then seven times on the seventh day, to the accompaniment of priestly trumpet blasts. It is easy to see the resemblance to the Seven Seals, the last of which introduced the Seven Trumpets, leading up to the downfall of the kingdom of man. Without the Ark of the Covenant in the lead, Jericho was impregnable. Hence in this antitype “there was seen the ark of his covenant” (v 19). Furthermore, the walls of Jericho only fell when “the people shouted with a great shout” (Josh 6:20). Accordingly Rev reads in this place: “And there were great voices in heaven, saying… “

AND HE WILL REIGN FOR EVER AND EVER: The words are a quotation either of Psa 10:16 or of Psa 146:10. The first of these celebrates how God will “break the arm of the wicked… the nations are perished out of his land.” The second makes contrast between the futility of human power and the wondrous ways of God. The psa continues: “The Lord looseth the prisoners (out of the tomb; Zec 9:11,12). The Lord openeth the eyes of the blind; the Lord raiseth them that are bowed down; the Lord loveth the righteous… but the way of the wicked he turneth upside down.”

Rev 11:17

THE ONE WHO IS AND WHO WAS: “Is to come” is no longer appropriate (Rev 1:8). He has come! Cp Rev 16:5.

Rev 11:18

Cp Psa 79:6: “Pour out thy wrath on the heathen… “

Rev 11:19

… WAS SEEN THE ARK OF HIS COVENANT: This is very similar to the prelude to the Seven Vials (Rev 15: 5,8), and suggests that these two heptads are intended to have similar reference. Certainly several of the main characters re-appear in Rev 16; 17.

The Ark of the Covenant being seen implies the imminent forgiveness of sins for the people of God (Lev 16:14,30) and the bestowal of an imperishable life symbolized by the incorruptible manna (Exo 16:32,33; Rev 2:17) treasured inside the ark. But it also means judgement for the enemies of the Lord who assume a right of access to the holy things of God (1Sa 6:19, LXX).

AN EARTHQUAKE: Earthquakes accompany awesome manifestations of God: Exo 19:18; Jdg 5:4; Psa 77:18; 114:4; Isa 2:10-22; Jer 4:24; Eze 38:20; Joe 3:16; Amo 9:1,5; Zec 14:4; Rev 6:12; 11:19; 16:18.

Rev 9:1

Rev 9:1-11: Fifth Trumpet: Siege of Jerusalem: “[Consider] the parallel between Jer 8 and the Trumpets. This is the chapter to which Jesus referred four times in foretelling the casting off of Israel: v 11 = Luke 19:42; v 12 = Luke 19:44; v 13 = Luke 20:10 and Mat 21:19. In Rev Jesus resumes his exposition of that prophecy:

1. Jer 8:2: The idols ‘which they have loved, served, walked after, sought, worshipped.’ Rev 9:20: ‘Idols of gold, and silver, and brass, and stone, and wood; which can neither see, nor hear, nor walk.’
2. Jer 8:3: ‘Death shall be chosen rather than life.’ Rev 9:6: ‘Men shall seek death and shall not find it.’
3. Jer 8:5: ‘Why then is this people of Jerusalem slidden back by a perpetual backsliding? They hold fast deceit, they refuse to return.’ Rev 9:20,21: ‘Yet they repented not of the works of their hands neither repented they of their murders, etc.’
4. Jer 8:7: The stork knoweth her appointed times… but my people doth not know… ” Rev 9:15: ‘Prepare (the attacking army) for the hour and day and month and year.’
5. Jer 8:14: ‘The Lord God hath given us water of gall (wormwood) to drink.’ Rev 8:11: ‘The star wormwood… and many men died, because the waters were made bitter.’
6. Jer 8:16: ‘The snorting of his horses was heard… the whole land trembled at the sound of the neighing of his strong ones.’ Rev 9:9: ‘The sound of many horses running to the battle.’
7. Jer 8:17: ‘I will send serpents, cockatrices among you… and they shall bite you.’ Rev 9:5: ‘Their torment was as the torment of a scorpion when he striketh a man.’
8. Jer 8:20: ‘The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved.’ Rev 9:5: The end of the five months (it came in August), and only hopelessness.
9. Jer 8:22: ‘Is there no balm in Gilead?’ Rev 9:13: Saints in Pella (Gilead) pleading for Jerusalem, yet unable to save it?
10. Jer 8:19. ‘The cry of the daughter of my people from a land that is very far off.’ Israel sold into captivity in far-off lands.
11. Jer 8:19. ‘Is not the Lord in Zion? Is not her King in her?’ Jerusalem rejected as God’s dwelling place. The Messiah no longer acknowledged there by any” (WRev).

Fifth Trumpet and Last Days: cp Joel’s prophecy:

Rev 10:1

The detailed parallel between Rev 10, 11 and Daniel 10, 12 set out below requires that John understood the being he saw to be the angel who revealed so much to Daniel.

Rev 5:1

The OT “heaven” of Rev 4 becomes the NT “heaven” of Rev 5, when the slain Lamb ascends to the throne of God.

Note //s with Eze: the 4 living creatures, a throne scene, a scroll — with judgments against Israel on it, to be fulfilled in a Babylonian invasion. This similarity with Eze explains the correspondence between the cherubim vision of Eze 1:22-28 and that of Rev 4:2-6

A SCROLL: In Rev 5:1… (1) Its opening dependent upon sacrifice of Christ (Rev 5:5,6,9,12). (2) No one else could open it, whereas many prophets saw future. (3) “Book of life” (Rev 13:8) appears to be ref to Rev 5. (4) Dan 7:9,10: a parallel passage — ends with “the judgment was set and books were opened” — which links Rev 5 with Rev 20:12 (‘the book of life’). (5) The ensuing prophecies are seen when seals are opened. But when final seal is opened (ie, book itself is opened), then is “time of dead… to be judged” (Rev 11:15,18). (6) Dan 12: The book sealed until time of end (Dan 12:4,9) is the book of life (Dan 12:1,2) (WRev 44,45).

Rev 5:2

A LOUD VOICE: There was an urgency in the desire of further knowledge of Yahweh’s purpose. Even the angels desire to look, but are not able (1Pe 1:12).

WHO IS WORTHY TO BREAK THE SEALS AND OPEN THE SCROLL?: Daniel was given certain information, but also told that the book was sealed until the end (Dan 12:4-8). The Apocalypse given at the end of Jewish times (cp Heb 1:2), revealed in symbol what will be plainly revealed in the earth at the end of Gentile times (Hab 2:3).

Rev 5:3

BUT NO ONE IN HEAVEN OR ON EARTH OR UNDER THE EARTH COULD OPEN THE SCROLL OR EVEN LOOK INSIDE IT: “And there was found none worthy to do so, neither an angel in heaven, nor any mortal man on earth, nor any of past generations now buried under the earth. Well might John weep! The situation emphasized that redemption and the reading of a Book of Life could never come by angelic ministration nor by the efforts of any mortal man, nor by the self-sacrifice of those prepared to die for others, but in one way and one way only — through the death of a divinely provided sacrifice (v 6). Is it exaggeration or presumption or blasphemy to suggest that even divine omnipotence and omniscience could have devised no other means to bring about human redemption than that Purpose which is being worked out in Christ?” (WRev).

Rev 5:4

I WEPT AND WEPT BECAUSE NO ONE WAS FOUND WHO WAS WORTHY TO OPEN THE SCROLL OR LOOK INSIDE: “This shows how keenly John felt his ignorance of the Divine purpose. He lived for the future, not the present, and desired to have a spiritual vision that could take him into the glory to be revealed. This anxious desire for knowledge of the Divine will and purpose characterises all those who ‘hunger and thirst’ for knowledge. (See Rev 6:10; 1Pe 1:10; Dan 12:10; Hab 1:2)” (ApEp).

Rev 5:5

The “Lion” has triumphed, but (v 6) as a “Lamb”! The Lion’s triumph is a sacrificial triumph!

THE LION OF THE TRIBE OF JUDAH: A ref to Jacob’s prophecy: “You are a lion’s cub, O Judah; you return from the prey, my son. Like a lion he crouches and lies down, like a lioness — who dares to rouse him? The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until he comes to whom it belongs [or ‘until Shiloh comes’] and the obedience of the nations is his” (Gen 49:9,10). The first part of this passage hints at resurrection, while its conclusion suggests the wider purpose of God with the Gentiles.

ROOT OF DAVID: Because the father David obtains (eternal) life thru the Son! Cp Isa 11:1.

“Rev 22:16 describes him as ‘the Root and Offspring of David’. The paradox is a striking one and yet perfectly true. Jesus was acknowledged during the days of his flesh as Son of David, and his right to David’s throne (whether legally or by natural descent) is fully established by the two genealogies of Mat and Luke. Hence Isa 11:1: ‘There shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a branch (Heb ‘nezer’, whence ‘Nazareth’) shall grow out of his roots’ ” (WRev).

Rev 5:6

A LAMB, LOOKING AS IF IT HAD BEEN SLAIN: The “Lion” of Judah (v 5; Gen 49:9,10), who lay down (death) and rose up (resurrection). Jesus is the mediator of the new covenant: Heb 12:24; cp 1Pe 1:19. He was first slain, but now he is standing again (Isa 53:7).

“In the Apocalypse the Lamb is brought to our notice in a very striking way. John wept that none was able to open the seals which revealed things which must come to pass. He was told not to weep: ‘Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has prevailed to open the book’ (v 5). Thus encouraged John looked as commanded, but it was not a Lion that met his eyes, but ‘a Lamb as it had been slain.’ The Lion phase is based upon the Lamb phase; the foundation of all future power and glory being laid in the death of the Lamb. The metaphor wears so thin that the Lamb becomes a title of the Lord Jesus in several places of the Apocalypse (Rev 14:4; 15:3; 17:14; 19:7-9; 21:9,22,23)” (CJoh 34).

STANDING IN THE CENTER OF THE THRONE: Jesus in the midst of: (1) thieves: Joh 19:18; (2) his disciples: Joh 20:19; (3) the teachers of the Law: Luk 2:46; (4) two or three: Mat 18:20; (5) the lampstands: Rev 1:13; (6) the throne: Rev 5:6.

SEVEN HORNS: Sym power (Psa 18:2; 89:17,24; 92:10; 112:9; 132:17; Luk 1:69). Christ possesses perfect and lasting power, of which the other Apocalyptic horns are a mere shadow (Rev 12:3; 13:1,11; 17:3,7,12,16).

SEVEN HORNS AND SEVEN EYES: Full power and full wisdom (Zec 3:9).

Rev 5:7

HE CAME AND TOOK THE SCROLL FROM THE RIGHT HAND OF HIM WHO SAT ON THE THRONE: Christ stands at veil, to sprinkle blood (Heb 9:24), then approaches the very mercy-seat, or throne, of God, to recv “book of life”.

“That this part of the vision is a ‘flashback’ to the day of Christ’s ascension is strongly supported by the literal translation given in the RV mg: ‘he came and hath (already) taken the book’ — what John is now seeing is a representation of what had actually taken place nearly forty years earlier” (WRev).

THE RIGHT HAND: The hand of privilege and power (cp Psa 80:17; 1Pe 3:22).

Rev 5:8

EACH ONE HAD A HARP: A symbol of gladness and rejoicing. The priests in the Temple “prophesied with harps” (1Ch 25:1).

INCENSE… PRAYERS: Intercession of Christ on saints’ behalf in most holy place (Heb 7:25). Incense, symbolic of the prayers of the saints (Psa 141:2). When the priest burned the incense every morning, true Israelites engaged themselves in prayer (Luke 1: 9,10), recognizing the significance of the ascending smoke of incense.

Rev 5:9

PURCHASED: Gr “agorazo”: to be in the “agora”, the marketplace or forum; hence, to buy or sell there. See Lesson, Redemption.

Rev 5:11

Note: The 4 living creatures and 24 elders stand closer to throne than do the angels.

TEN THOUSAND: Frequently used as a large undefined number: cp Deu 33:2; 1Co 4:15; 14:19; Psa 3: 6.

Rev 5:13

“All creation: angelic, immortal and mortal; both Jews and Gentiles. The terms are symbolic. ‘Heaven’ represents the ruling places, the government; ‘earth’ has relation to the ‘first dominion’ (Mic 4:8); ‘under the earth’, the ‘bottomless pit of nations’ relating specifically to the Roman Empire (Rev 11:7), ‘the sea’, other Gentile powers.

Thus all creation finally ascribe glory to the one for whom so long has been ignored in the counsels of men and nations. And this wonderful consummation is brought about by the ‘prevailing’ of the Son of God, by the outpouring of Divine judgements upon the earth (Isa 26:9)” (ApEp).

Rev 6:1

Rev 6: Seals 1-6. Triple Fulfilment: (a) First Century; (b) Continuous-Historic (as in “Eureka”); (c) Last Days: