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The purpose of this
appendix is to provide information about subjects in Revelation that need
additional space beyond that provided in the
lessons. This information is not
intended to be authoritative, but is a review of the information to encourage understanding. I. TIME, TIMES, AND HALF A TIME: The time of the Gentiles treading Jerusalem underfoot (11:2), the prophesying of the two witnesses while clothed in sackcloth (11:3), the dead bodies of the two witnesses lie in the streets (11:9,11), the protection of the woman in the wilderness (12:6), the protection of the woman from the serpent (12:14), and the blasphemy of the beast (13:5) are all represented by 1260 days, three and one half years, or time, times and half a time. 3 1/2 is half of the perfect seven. Daniel's prophesy of seventy weeks is significant. Daniel 8:9-14 is thought to be a prophesy about Antiochus Epiphanes who desecrated the Jerusalem temple and outlawed worship of God for three years during the second century BC, and the symbolism of the abomination that makes desolate was a very familiar theme for the Jews who still celebrate the annual festival of lights in memory of the cleansing of the temple under the leadership of Mattathias and his son Judas Maccabee. In verses 17 and 19 of chapter 8 Daniel was told that the vision refers to the time of the end, seemingly a reference to the promised end of the Jewish temple worship system. The seventy weeks prophesy of chapter 9 seems to be connected with the vision of chapter 8 by a device using the theme time, times, and half a time. Daniel 9:26-27 speaks of the Messiah being cut off, but not for Himself, and the coming of the Roman army under Titus to destroy Jerusalem, which occurred in AD 70. The abomination that makes desolate (verse 27) has a connection to the desecration of the temple in the vision of chapter 8, the theme of a foreign army surrounding Jerusalem and stopping the temple worship. Thus the imagery of the desecration of the temple by Antiochus Epiphanes is used by Jesus to warn about the destruction of Jerusalem by Rome (Matt 24:15). The middle of the week is 3 1/2 days. In chapter 12 Daniel is told about a time of judgment that would take place when the power of the holy people has been completely shattered (time, times, and half a time, verse 7). Then this is reinforced in verses 11and 12 with references to 1290 days and 1335 days. If we subtract 1260 days from 1290 days, we get 30 days (one month or a time), and if we subtract 1260 days from 1335 we get 75 days (two and one half months or times and half a time). Obviously John intended for Christians to use their knowledge of Daniel to understand what is meant here. 1260 days may represent the time to accomplish God's purpose of completing his judgment upon Israel while Jerusalem is destroyed, the Jews are scattered, and the gentiles become dominant in the church (see Romans 11:25-32). Thus Revelation chapter 12 could be a vision of God's purpose in Jesus Christ and the efforts of Satan to prevent God's plan. Even the power of Satan is used to accomplish God's purpose of ending the
Law of Moses and punishing those of Israel who had rejected the Messiah. (Revelation 12:13-14) After persecuting the Jews, Satan turns to punishing the Christians, who by this time had a separate identity from the Jews since Jerusalem had been destroyed, the Jews had been scattered throughout the earth (verses 13-16), and the gentile churches had become dominant. This is a vivid portrayal of the persecutions of Christians by the Roman Emperor Domitian who revived the earlier persecutions of Christians by Nero. Revelation chapter 12 is probably an overview of the events of the first century including the life of Christ, the destruction of the Jewish system with the scattering of the Jewish people, and the persecution of the
Christians by the Roman Empire. The
time from Jesus' baptism by John until His crucifixion was about three and one half years. Thus we can see that three and one half has a special meaning in prophesy and may be used to express the time to accomplish God’s purpose relative to whatever topic is presented. Just because three and one half is used to signify a time period does not mean that the same exact period of time applies to each application, but it means the time to accomplish the stated purpose. Just as Jesus accomplished His purpose of public ministry and atoning death in three and one half years, God has a time for accomplishing His purpose and Jesus will be victorious. II. BABYLON: MOTHER OF HARLOTS - Revelation
17:5 Fornication and harlotry are often used to represent idolatry and unfaithfulness to the worship of the one true God. Yahweh is jealous of His people, and is offended when they turn to false gods - Matt 4:10; 22:37; Exodus 20:5; 34:14; 2 Corinthians 11:2-4. Worldliness and materialism are the prominent sins of the harlot - Rev 18:3, 7, 9-17; other examples are Tyre - Ezekiel 27 and Isaiah 23:16-17; Babylon - Jeremiah 51:13; and Nineveh - Nahum 3:4. Rome was the center of idolatry and demanded the worship of the Roman Emperor as God under Domitian at the time of John's exile and the writing of Revelation. Commerce and position were denied to Christians under this corrupt system, and Christians were executed and their property taken when they refused to worship idols or the Roman Emperor. The woman is pictured as sitting on many waters, representative of Roman rule over the nations of the Roman Empire which extended from the Atlantic ocean in the west to the Euphrates River in the East. The people were kept in the Empire through the force of arms and by the protection and encouragement of commerce provided by the Roman rule (Revelation 18:9-19). Rome caused the people of her provinces to join in the Emperor worship and idolatry by the threat of finding those who refused guilty of treason against Rome, a crime punishable
by death or exile. III. THE SEVEN HEADS: Revelation 17:9-10 The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits. There are also seven kings. Five have fallen, one is and the other has not yet come.
And when he comes he must continue a short time. (17:9-10) Many think this refers to the seven Roman Emperors from Agustus to Titus, who were recognized as Emperor throughout all the provinces. Three others claimed to be Emperor for a short time in AD 69 following the death of Nero, (Galba, Otho, and Vitellius) but were not recognized in all provinces and were overthrown before they could consolidate their claim to be Emperor. Vespasian was first to rule the Roman Empire following Nero, and he was followed by his two sons, Titus and Domitian. Domitian persecuted Christians, a revival of Nero's (Rome's) persecuting power. This view involves looking back to the time of the destruction of Jerusalem under Vespasian's rule, and making connection with the persecution under Domitian. Titus would be the one who is to come and continue a short time (:10) The eighth, who is of the seven, would be Domitian. It is significant that the destruction of Jerusalem and the persecution of Christians takes place under three different rulers who are members of the same family. This view requires that we go back in time to Vespasian's rule, even though the evidence is that Revelation was written during Domitian's rule. However, we have seen the vision's of Revelation take us back in time before (chapter 12, the birth of the man Child). Another view is that the seven heads represent seven world
empires that persecuted God's people, beginning with Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Medo-Persian, Greece, Roman, and one yet to come which is the Christian Empire under Constantine. The apostate Holy Roman Empire becomes the eighth head in this approach, with the persecution of those Christians who did not adhere to Roman rule. The major difficulty with this view is that the seventh head that must continue a short time is difficult to fit into the theme of seven mountains on which the woman sits. Constantine moved the center of government from Rome to Constantinople. Later the Roman Empire was divided into East governed from Constantinople and West governed from Rome. The ten horns who receive authority for one hour as kings with the beast, but who later turn against the harlot, are thought to be the rulers of the provinces of Rome who shared in the persecution of the saints, and later destroyed Rome through civil war. The process of destruction was already started in the civil wars in 69 AD when three men fought for the role of Emperor. These ten horns represent rulers that helped to overthrow the Roman Empire. IV. THE NUMBER OF A MAN, THE NUMBER OF THE
BEAST - 666 - Revelation 13:11-18 This beast from the earth (verse 11) has often been associated with the warning about Antichrist and the apostasy of I John 2:18. There are many warnings about the coming apostasy (1 Tim 4:1-3; 2 Tim 3:13; 2 Pet 2:1; 2 Tim 4:3-4; 1 John 2:18; 2 John 7). The warnings against Antichrist seem to have been aimed at the teachers of the Gnostic philosophy that flesh is evil, which caused them to deny the gospel and the sacrificial death of Jesus as the Son of God. There is probably no connection between the Antichrist of 1 John and the man whose number is 666, except that they are both tools of Satan and false teachers. The number of the beast which is the number of a man, 666, can relate to the practice of applying values to letters which was widely practiced at that time. Six is significant in that it is short of the perfect seven. 666 could represent someone and something that claims perfection yet falls short. Surely the Emperors of Rome who demanded worship as gods fill this qualification. Nero
is probably the most promising candidate for the name of a man, because the sum
of the values of the letters of his name add up to 666. The first beast out of the sea, Rev 13:1-10, blasphemed God and fought against the saints. The Roman empire under Nero fits this description. The second beast coming out of the earth who restores worship of the first beast fits what happened under the rule of Domitian who revived the policies of Nero, required worship as a god and who removed the economic rights of Christians. The Concilia enforced these policies in Asia. Many have thought that the mark of the beast, 666, applies to the Holy Roman Empire which replaced the western part of the Roman Empire and restored the influence of Rome. In this view, the pope becomes the man whose number is 666. It is important to understand that the two beasts of Revelation 13 are related to the beasts of Daniel chapters 7 and 8, and that they are both related to the Roman Empire. It is not useful to try to stretch these things into the modern times when the Roman Empire has already been destroyed. The number 666 can be connected with the idea of material wealth because Solomon collected 666 talents of gold each year – I King 10:14; “The weight of gold that came to Solomon yearly was six hundred and sixty-six talents of gold,” which is more than 32 tons of gold. Thus the idea of the wealth of Rome from trading may be represented by 666, the amount of gold collected by Solomon and representative of material wealth and power of the Roman Empire. V. REIGNING WITH CHRIST A THOUSAND YEARS -
Rev 20:1-8 The reign of Christ began after His resurrection as He went into heaven to begin His reign on the throne of David. (Acts 2:32-36) His reign will continue until all things are subjected to Him at the time of the judgment and the resurrection of the dead. (1 Cor 15:24-28) Those who have a part in the first resurrection are pictured as living and reigning with Christ a thousand years. Jesus Christ is the resurrection and the life, John 11:25-26, and He is the firstborn from the dead (Col 1:15-18). Everyone who becomes a member of the body of Jesus Christ through obedience to the gospel becomes a part of the first resurrection of Jesus Christ (Rom 6:3-7). Christians have been promised to share in the reign of Christ (Rev 2:26-27; 5:10;20:6; Matt 19:28; 2 Tim 2:12. Since the reign of Christ must continue until all things are subjected to Him (1 Cor 15:24-28), then Christians must reign with Him before the resurrection of the last day. Living and reigning with Christ takes place first in the church during our lives here on earth (Rev 1:6; 1 Peter 2:9; Col 1:12-14). In some way Christians live and reign with Christ after our death and before our resurrection (Rev 2:26-27; 7:9-17; 14:2-5; 15:2-4; 19:13-21; 20:4-6; Rom 8:16-17; 2 Cor 5:5-8). Therefore the reign of Christ refers to the time of His
reign beginning with His ascension to heaven and the casting down of Satan (Rev 12:5-9; Mat 28:18), and continues until
Jesus delivers the kingdom to His father after the resurrection at the last day (1 Cor 15:24). A thousand years is used to represent the time the saints share His reign, and does not mean an actual 1000 years (2 Peter 3:8). No one knows the time of the end of the earth and the day of judgment, so it is against Gods word for us to make predictions about the time of Jesus’ second coming. (Matt 24:36; Acts 1:7) Those who expect Jesus to have a physical reign from a physical temple at earthly Jerusalem are mistaken, making the same mistake as the disciples of Jesus who expected Him to establish an earthly reign. To teach that the kingdom has not yet been established is to overlook the plain teaching of scripture and to fail to understand the primary role of the church in preaching the gospel and overcoming all power and authority that opposes Jesus Christ - Eph 3:8-21. VI. THE GREAT END TIME BATTLE - Revelation
20:7-10; 19:11-21 There seem to be two parts of this battle, the one pictured in Revelation chapter 19 in which the beast and the kings of the earth are destroyed, and a final battle when Satan is cast into hell. However, this could be two descriptions of a continuing battle that is being waged between Jesus and His army and Satan and his armies described in Revelation 12:12-17. Jesus has been pictured in the scriptures as ruling over the nations of the earth and bringing them into subjection to His rule. (Psalms 2:8-9; Isaiah 11:1-10; 62:1-3; Micah 5:1-9) Thus the description of Jesus leading His army and killing the nations with the sword that proceeds from His mouth (Rev 19:15) is a clear indication that this is not a physical battle. This is a battle about truth and the casting down of every false idea, and the overthrow of Satan’s power to deceive. This is the kind of battle in which the church is involved throughout the reign of Christ (Eph 3:6-11; 6:12-18; 1 Pet 3:22; John 18:36) The binding of Satan is probably a reference to the binding power of the gospel which opens a way of escape for all who will come to Jesus in trusting faith. The power of Satan is broken by the forgiveness of sins through the gospel. (1 Cor 15:55-58; Romans 6:17) Jesus said He saw Satan fall from heaven, referring to His power over Satan (Luke 10:17-20). The church has a central role in this great battle (Heb 12:22-29), because it is the Christians’ responsibility to preach the gospel (Eph 3:10; Matt 28:19; Mark 16:15). For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as
the world does. The weapons we fight
with are not the weapons of the world. On the
contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension
that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. (2 Cor 10:3-5, NIV) REMEMBER THAT GOD’S FAITHFUL SAINTS SHARE THE LAMB’S
VICTORY. JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD, WILL BE VICTORIOUS OVER ALL HIS ENEMIES, AND THE CHURCH
HAS A ROLE IN THE BATTLE THAT IS GOING ON BETWEEN THE FORCES OF SATAN AND THE ARMY OF
THE LAMB. THE CHURCH HAS BEEN GIVEN THE RESPONSIBILITY TO PREACH THE GOSPEL TO EVERY
PERSON, AND IT IS THE WORD OF GOD THAT PROCEEDS FROM THE MOUTH OF JESUS THAT IS THE
WEAPON USED TO DESTROY THE FORCES OF SATAN.
AS EVANGELISTS, WE ARE IN THE FRONT OF THE BATTLE. WE NEED TO USE THE WORD EFFECTIVELY AND DELIVER LOST SOULS FROM
SATAN’S SERVICE, FOR EVERYONE WHO FOLLOWS HIM WILL BE DESTROYED. |