Commentaries and Other Bible Study Helps - Prayer Tents - Prayer Tents

4:1-2 the first voice . . . like a trumpet (cf. 1:10). The Son of Man summons John through the door into heaven, and in the Spirit (see note on 1:10) the prophet sees a throne, with one seated on it, "the Lord God Almighty" (4:8), adored by his heavenly attendants as "our Lord and God" (v. 11; cf. Isa. 6:1-5; Ezek. 1:26-28).

4:3 Imitating Isaiah's and Ezekiel's reserve in describing visions of God's glory (cf. Isa. 6:1-6; Ezek. 1:26-28), John suggests luminous colors--jasper, carnelian, rainbow, emerald--but avoids precise description of the Almighty's visible features, perhaps because he knew no language to describe what he saw. The jewels of this book (cf. Rev. 21:19-20) are not meant to be interpreted individually but together signify the splendor and majesty of God.

4:4 On twenty-four thrones sat twenty-four elders. Their number may reflect the orders of priests serving in the OT temple (cf. 1 Chron. 24:7-19) but more likely they symbolize the unity of God's people, encompassing OT Israel (led by the heads of the 12 tribes) and the NT church (led by the 12 apostles), like the new Jerusalem's 12 gates and 12 foundations (Rev. 21:12, 14). Their thrones resemble those of God's heavenly court in Dan. 7:9-10 (cf. Rev. 20:4). Some interpreters believe that these elders are angels, and that therefore they do not include themselves among the redeemed in 5:8-10.

4:5 Lightning, rumblings, and thunder display the terrifying splendor of God's glory, as at Mount Sinai (Ex. 19:16).

4:6-8 The sea of glass appears in prophetic visions of God's throne room (Ex. 24:10; Ezek. 1:22, 26; Rev. 15:2). It is the "floor" of heaven and the "ceiling" of the created universe, and its transparent tranquility shows heaven's peace in contrast to earthly turmoil. Four living creatures exhibit features of cherubim (full of eyes; lion; ox; man; eagle) and seraphim (six wings; "Holy, holy, holy") glimpsed by previous prophets (Isa. 6:2-3; Ezek. 1:10, 18). Variation and blending of such features is a reminder that in prophetic visions, images symbolize mysterious unseen realities. These close attendants represent and yet transcend the whole of the created order on earth and in heaven as they ceaselessly praise God for his intrinsic attributes: infinite holiness and power, and eternal life (in the repeated description, "who lives forever and ever," in Rev. 4:9-10). When the Lamb breaks the scroll's seals, these living creatures will summon four horsemen to bring judgment (6:1-8).

4:9-11 The chorus of four living creatures swells as the twenty-four elders fall down and cast their crowns before the throne, offering worship and expressing submission to God's authority. The elders extol God as worthy of threefold tribute (glory, honor, power) because he exerts his sovereign will in creating and sustaining all things. God receives "power," not in the sense that an omnipotent being can become stronger, but in the sense that the strength of his creatures is used to honor him. These praises of God for his eternal perfection and creative achievement are the prelude to a "new song," which will laud God and the Lamb for redemption, the climactic display of their divine worthiness (5:9-10).

5:1-4 The theme of worthiness continues as John sees in God's hand a sealed scroll so sacred that it seems no one in the universe is worthy to open it.

5:1 A scroll written within and on the back is like the scroll given to Ezekiel (Ezek. 2:9-3:3) but is atypical of most ancient manuscripts, since the irregular texture of the reverse side of either vellum (leather) or papyrus made them hard to inscribe. However, such a doubly inscribed scroll would resemble a Roman will or contract deed, with the contents written in detail inside and summarized briefly outside, then sealed with seven seals. The scroll John sees could symbolize a will that is to be opened and its contents executed; or it could symbolize God's covenant with mankind, with the covenant curses that will be poured out due to mankind's breaking of the contract. In a broader sense, the scroll contains God's purposes for history, but its seven seals prevent the full disclosure and enactment of its contents.

5:2-4 The scroll awaited one worthy to open the scroll and break its seals, and no servant of God introduced so far--neither elders nor living creatures nor anyone else in heaven, on earth, or under the earth--had sufficient authority to unveil and implement God's secret agenda. Sensing that the church's hope stood in jeopardy, John began to weep loudly.

5:5-14 The apparent absence of one worthy to open the scroll was a dramatic interlude calculated to impress on John and his hearers the unique dignity of the scroll's recipient--the Lamb--who is now introduced.

5:5 The Lion of the tribe of Judah echoes Jacob's blessing on Judah, conferring leadership over his brothers (Gen. 49:8-12). In the OT, the Messiah was the branch to spring from Jesse's root to restore David's dynasty (Isa. 11:1, 10). But now he is also called the Root of David, because Jesus is not only the royal descendant (Rev. 22:16) but also the source of David's rule (Mark 12:35-37; cf. "root of Jesse," Rom. 15:12). The Lion is worthy to open the scroll because he has conquered. The OT promise of a conquering Lion is fulfilled in the NT reality of one who is also the slain Lamb (Rev. 5:9).

5:6-7 The conquering Lion now appears as a Lamb standing, as . . . slain--as "the living one" who died and rose again, "alive forevermore" (1:18). The Lord's servant was led like a lamb to slaughter, bearing the iniquity of others and achieving their healing (Isa. 53:4-7; John 1:29; 1 Pet. 1:19). The Lamb's seven horns symbolize great power (Ps. 18:2; Dan. 7:24; Zech. 1:18-21). His seven eyes, identified with God's "seven spirits" (cf. note on Rev. 1:4-6; also Zech. 4:10), show that the Lamb's knowledge extends through all the earth.

5:8-10 When the Lamb receives the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders, who had praised God for his perfection and his creation, now sing a new song that celebrates the Lamb's redemption. As they had previously fallen before God's throne (4:10), now they prostrate themselves in worship before the Lamb, an affirmation of his deity. Incense symbolizes the prayers of the saints and shows that their pleas for relief are heard and will be answered in God's providential judgments (8:3-5).

5:9 Paradoxically, the Lion's victory is his being slain as the Lamb, ransoming a multiethnic multitude (7:9) by his blood (1:5-6). Likewise, his martyrs' faithfulness even to death is their victory (12:11).

5:10 kingdom and priests. See 1:6; Ex. 19:6; 1 Pet. 2:9. reign on the earth. The earth will not always be tyrannized by Satan and destroyed by his followers (Rev. 11:18; 12:12; 13:8). The first heaven and earth, stained by the curse through human sin, will be replaced by a new (or fully renewed) heaven and earth (21:1, 4) in which Christ's saints will reign in righteousness (2 Pet. 3:13).

5:11-12 The choir expands to include myriads of myriads (hundreds of millions) and thousands of thousands of angels, who acclaim the Lamb worthy of sevenfold tribute (power, wealth, wisdom, might, honor, glory, blessing). The worship of the Lamb in this chapter testifies to his deity.

5:13-14 Finally, every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea (Ps. 146:6) offers a fourfold doxology (blessing, honor, glory, might) to God and to the Lamb. Eventually, every knee "in heaven, on earth, and under the earth" will bow and "every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father" (Phil. 2:11).

6:1-8 As the Lamb opens each of the first four seals, one of the living creatures shouts, "Come!" and a horse with its rider (or riders) responds to the summons. The horses' colors generally reflect those of the horses in Zech. 1:8-10 and 6:1-8, symbolizing emissaries sent by God to patrol the earth. Only by the Lamb's permission and under his direction can the forces symbolized by these horses and their riders inflict death through sword, famine, pestilence, and wild beasts. The seal, trumpet, and bowl judgments all have a format of four (judgments on the earth) plus three (cosmic judgments).

6:1-2 the Lamb opened one of the seven seals. Many futurists understand this to mark the beginning of the great tribulation. The rider on the white horse, armed with a bow and given a crown, rode forth to conquer. Some think this rider represents Christ, the sword-wielding "Word of God" who rides a white horse in 19:11-16. However, this rider, armed with a bow (like the Parthians, a frequent enemy on the Roman Empire's eastern border), probably symbolizes political and military leaders' destabilizing quest to expand their realms, leading to war (red horse), famine (black horse), and epidemic disease (pale horse). Others think this rider on the white horse represents the Antichrist.

6:3-4 The next horse was red, the color of blood. Its rider was given a great sword, symbolizing permission to take peace from the earth, with the result that warring armies slay each other. The pursuit of conquest brings bloodshed. Futurists see this as representing the spread of war over the earth in the middle of the great tribulation.

6:5-6 The rider on the black horse carries scales for measuring grains and their prices. A heavenly voice comments on the scales' significance, citing inflated grain prices (8 to 10 times normal). Siege and disruption of commercial routes will produce scarcity, driving prices up (see Deut. 28:49-57; 2 Kings 6:24-25; 7:1-2). Local crops such as oil and wine are unaffected, however, showing that the scarcity is limited, not comprehensive. Some think the command not to harm the oil and wine may have a social significance, since the rich were the primary consumers of oil and wine. It could also be a prediction of events like that of a.d. 92, when the emperor Domitian during a grain shortage ordered the vineyards cut down to make room for more wheat fields. This caused such a backlash that he rescinded the order. In other words, extreme measures would have to be taken due to the progressive pouring out of judgment. (See chart.)

6:7-8 Death and Hades ride the pale horse (Gk. chlōros, "pale green"; either yellowish green or grayish green, the color of corpses). Their authority to kill is limited to a fourth of the earth: God's providence restrains both his own wrath and humanity's violence. Sword, famine, and pestilence (Gk. thanatos, lit., "death," but here meaning epidemic disease, such as bubonic plague) sum up the disasters symbolized by the red, black, and pale horses. They also echo covenant curses inflicted on Jerusalem in the exile (Ezek. 14:12-21). The death of "a fourth of the earth" would be a "great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now" (Matt. 24:21), which futurists take as support for viewing Revelation 6-19 as representing the great tribulation.

6:9-11 The fifth seal reveals the Lamb's rationale for releasing combatants to devastate the earth. Under the altar in heaven, where sacrificial blood would pool (Ex. 29:12), John sees the souls of believers who were slain (thus they are pictured as sacrifices) for bearing witness about Jesus (cf. Rev. 20:4). Their lament, how long . . . ? echoes that of the psalmists (Ps. 13:1; 89:46). The surprising answer is that the Lamb will restrain his wrath against his witnesses' assailants until the last martyr has been slain. Until then, the souls of deceased saints will rest a little longer (Rev. 14:13) in the white robe of victory and purity (cf. note on 2:17; also 3:4-5; 7:9, 14). The rest of the book progressively shows how the Lord answers their prayers to avenge their deaths, beginning in 6:15-17 with the very ones who had put them to death.

6:12-17 The sixth seal shows a preview of the coming destruction of the first heaven and earth (20:11; 21:1) at the full display of the wrath of the Lamb. An earthquake previously announced the terrifying arrival of the Lord in his glory (Ex. 19:18; Ps. 97:5; Ezek. 38:19-20), but his final coming will shake both earth and heaven (Hag. 2:6; Heb. 12:26-27). Most of the seven cities mentioned in Revelation 2-3 had experienced devastating earthquakes during the century before the book of Revelation. Christians in these cities could graphically imagine earthquakes preceding the Lord's terrifying arrival. John sees the sun blackened, the moon turned blood red, the stars cast like figs in the wind, the sky rolled up like a scroll, and every mountain and island displaced (Isa. 34:4). The luminaries that have marked earth's times since creation (Gen. 1:14) will be removed. All of this communicates the truth that the end has arrived. Rebellious humanity--from kings and the rich and the powerful to everyone, slave and free--will seek cover from God and the Lamb, begging mountains and rocks, Fall on us and hide us (cf. Isa. 2:20-21; Hos. 10:8). Their desperate question, "Who can stand in the face of God and the Lamb?" (Nah. 1:5-6; Mal. 3:2), assumes that none can. Yet John is about to see those who stand by grace (Rev. 7:1-17).

6:13 the stars of the sky fell to the earth. Those who do not view the sixth seal (vv. 12-17) as predicting the destruction of the first heaven and earth (in light of the presence of stars in the sky in 8:12) believe that this may refer to a massive meteor shower.

7:1-3 The sixth seal (6:12-17) showed an earthquake and a wind that shook the stars from the sky. God's cringing enemies asked, "Who can stand?" (6:17). The answer is, those "sealed" (7:4) with the seal of the living God (cf. Ezek. 9:4-6). Therefore John sees four angels charged to hold back those winds of judgment until all of God's servants have received his seal. "The seal of the living God" evokes a picture of a royal signet ring by which kings authenticated documents or marked ownership of an item (see note on John 6:27). This seal is the name of the Lamb and of God (Rev. 14:1), a gift promised to all who conquer by faith (3:12). It is antithetical to the mark of the beast (13:16) and symbolizes God's ownership and protection of his people. Circumcision functioned as such a seal under the old covenant (Rom. 4:11), and God's Holy Spirit seals God's people as his property under the new (Eph. 1:13-14). foreheads. Cf. Ezek. 9:4-6 for a similar instance of sealing God's people against outpoured judgment.

7:4-8 The selection and order of the 12 tribes suggest that the 144,000, sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel have symbolic significance, representing the church (however, see note on vv. 1-17 for an alternative view). These are not Jacob's sons, for Dan is omitted and Manasseh included. They are not the tribes that inherited land in Canaan, for Dan is omitted, Levi (the priestly tribe) is included, and Joseph is listed instead of his son Ephraim. Judah, the tribe of the Messiah (5:5), appears first rather than Reuben, the firstborn. When 7:5-8 is compared with the list of Jacob's sons in Gen. 35:22-26, the promotion of tribes descended from concubines Bilhah and Zilpah (Gad, Asher, Naphtali) over the sons of Leah and Rachel suggests that those once excluded from privilege are now included. The number 12,000 reappears in the dimensions of the new Jerusalem (Rev. 21:16). Indeed, the number 144,000 (12 x 12 x 1,000) suggests symbolism here, but that does not necessarily decide the question of whether "Israel" is also a symbol for the church, or is intended to refer to literal, ethnic Israel.

7:9 As in 5:4-5, where John first heard an OT title (the Lion of Judah) and then saw its NT fulfillment (the Lamb slain), so here John hears (7:4) the names of the sealed sons of Israel and then sees the NT fulfillment: a countless multitude from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages (cf. 5:9), whom God has rescued from wrath through the blood of the Lamb (7:14). They stand before the throne and before the Lamb in heaven, worshiping their Savior. They wear the white robes of victorious martyrs (6:11; see note on 2:17). Many who hold to a pretribulation "rapture" of the church think that the two groups of 7:1-8 and 7:9-17 are different (converted Jewish people still suffering on earth in vv. 1-8, but the raptured church rejoicing in heaven in vv. 9-17). Others think these are Gentiles converted during the tribulation through the witness of the 144,000 Jewish believers who remain on earth (v. 4). Those who do not hold to a pretribulation rapture usually see vv. 1-8 and vv. 9-17 as the same group, with their suffering in vv. 1-8 turned to joy and reward in vv. 9-17.

7:10-12 When the multitude extols God and the Lamb for salvation, angels and living creatures fall down and break out in a sevenfold doxology, almost replicating the sevenfold praise of the Lamb (5:12).

7:13-14 An elder identifies the multitude as the ones coming out of the great tribulation. Some understand the definite article (Gk. hē, "the") to refer to one great final period of suffering, but others take this to represent the sufferings of the church throughout all history. The source of their robes' whiteness is the blood of the Lamb (cf. Ps. 51:7). John will later hear that "our brothers" have conquered their accuser by the blood of the Lamb and their testimony (Rev. 12:11).

7:15-17 The sufferings on earth of those mentioned in vv. 13-14 are left behind, showing that John now reflects on the future heavenly inheritance. They hunger no more, neither thirst anymore. As priests, they serve God in his temple, in which he will shelter them from sun and scorching heat (cf. Isa. 49:10), spreading his tent over them and "dwelling" with them (cf. Ezek. 37:27; John 1:14). Under the protective care of the Lamb, their shepherd, they find refreshment in springs of living water (Ps. 23:1-2), tasting the promised joys of the new Jerusalem even before its final descent from heaven (Rev. 22:1), their every tear dried by God himself (Isa. 25:8; Rev. 21:4). Such comfort gives martyrs and other deceased believers rest as they await their resurrection and their persecutors' destruction (6:11; 14:13).

8:1 An interlude promising the sealing and safety of God's servants (7:1-17) has delayed the opening of the final seal. The silence in heaven that ensues when the Lamb breaks the seventh seal further sustains the suspense. Yet God's patience in delaying judgment should not be mistaken for indifferent slowness (cf. Luke 18:1-8; 2 Pet. 3:4-13). The brief period of silence--about half an hour--displaces ceaseless praises by living creatures (Rev. 4:8), elders (5:9), angels (5:11-12), and the church triumphant (7:9-10). Silence is appropriate in anticipation of the Lord's coming judgment (Zeph. 1:7-10; Zech. 2:13).

8:2 Seven angels stand ready to sound seven trumpets, initiating limited judgments that warn of coming destruction (cf. Ezek. 33:1-6; Joel 2:1) and summon rebels to repent (Rev. 9:21).

8:3-5 The earthly OT sanctuary had two altars, one for bloody sacrifice in the courtyard and the other for smoky incense inside, adjacent to the veil into the Most Holy Place (Ex. 27:1-8; 30:1-10). John sees only one altar in heaven, fulfilling both functions (Rev. 6:9; 8:3). As incense was associated with the prayers of the saints in the earthly sanctuary (see Ps. 141:2; Luke 1:9-11), so it is in John's visions (see Rev. 5:8). Not only martyrs under the heavenly altar (6:9-10) but also suffering saints on earth cry out for justice. Therefore fire from the altar, from which the saints' prayers rise, will be flung to earth in judgment, indicating that the judgments to follow answer the prayers of the saints.

8:6-7 At the first trumpet blast hail and fire, mixed with blood, are thrown from the heavenly altar to earth, consuming a third of the earth and its trees, and all green grass. This reproduces the seventh plague on Egypt (Ex. 9:24). The first four seals (Rev. 6:1-8) signified the Lamb's power to use human aggressors to punish persecutors of his people. Here God's providential rule makes use of human combatants' military strategy of ruthless defoliation (cf. Deut. 20:19-20) to call rebellious nations to repentance.

8:8-9 The second trumpet reveals a great mountain, burning with fire, thrown into the sea, turning a third of it to blood and destroying a third of its creatures and ships. Volcanic eruptions such as Vesuvius and bloody battles on the Mediterranean show the Lamb's sovereignty over another sphere of human life. The first plague on Egypt turned the Nile to blood (Ex. 7:20-21). The imagery echoes Jer. 51:25, 42, where God announced that he would make Babylon, Zion's destroyer, a "burnt mountain" and cover it with the sea.

8:10-11 At the third trumpet, fire falls from heaven as a blazing star named Wormwood (see note on Amos 5:7), which embitters and poisons a third of the rivers and springs (sources of drinking water) just as the Nile's bloodied waters became undrinkable (Ex. 7:24). Besieged cities could be driven to surrender by sheer thirst (see 2 Kings 20:20; 2 Chron. 32:30; Ps. 46:4). If Rev. 8:10 is understood literally, it may represent a great meteorite falling to earth.

8:12 The darkening (at the fourth trumpet) of a third of the sun, moon, and stars, obscuring their light for a third of the day and the night, resembles the ninth plague on Egypt (Ex. 10:21-23). Since stars are still in the sky, this judgment apparently precedes the shaking of heaven and earth portrayed with the sixth seal (Rev. 6:12-14; but see note on 6:13 for another view). The means causing this darkness may be billowing smoke from burning cities, but the ultimate source is the Lamb's reign.

8:13 Woe, woe, woe. The last three trumpets signify escalating judgments on rebellious humanity as the end approaches.

9:1-12 Whereas the star that fell at the third trumpet symbolized the polluting effects of ancient and modern warfare on rivers and springs, the star fallen from heaven to earth (v. 1) when the fifth trumpet sounds is Satan, the angel of the bottomless pit, whose names mean "Destroyer" (see note on v. 11). This vision shows the increase of demonic activity, plunging rebellious humans into desperation, as the era of God's patient restraint draws to a close.

9:1 The star fallen from heaven to earth is Satan, whom Jesus saw fall like lightning as a result of his disciples' ministry (Luke 10:18). Three chapters later in Revelation, John will see the "dragon," whom he identifies as Satan, cast down from heaven to earth (Rev. 12:9). The fact that the key to the shaft of the Abyss was given to him shows that Satan can do nothing apart from God's permission (cf. "were told," 9:4). However, many scholars think that this "star" represents a good angel, and that this verse in connection with 20:1 marks the beginning and the end of the middle section of the book.

9:2-3 When the fallen star unlocked the bottomless pit, locusts emerged in billowing smoke that darkened the sky. An echo of the eighth plague on Egypt (Ex. 10:14-15), this infestation of locusts also recalls the swarm summoned by trumpet to strip the land bare on the "awesome day of the Lord" (Joel 2:31).

9:4-6 What John sees as locusts are no threat to earth's vegetation (grass, green plant, or tree), nor can they harm those who bear God's seal (cf. 3:12; 7:3; 14:1). And their strange composite appearance (9:7-9) gives the impression of symbolism. Therefore, it seems that these invaders are not literal insects but demonic spirits (with Satan as their leader, v. 11), released to torment their own worshipers (v. 20), who serve their king, the "Destroyer" (see note on v. 11). Thus their scorpion-like stings cannot inflict death, which would bring relief to their victims. Others think these locusts represent military forces, and still others consider them to be actual locusts but with their destructive power described in figurative imagery. Five months signifies the divinely imposed brevity of their power to torture even those who oppose the Lamb.

9:7-11 The locusts' visible similarities to horses, human faces, lions, and scorpions caution against reading John's visions as physical descriptions. Rather, these images show demons to be powerful, swift, intelligent, fierce, and capable of inflicting intense mental and spiritual torment.

9:11 Abaddon, Apollyon. In Hebrew and Greek, respectively, these words refer to "destruction" and the "one who destroys." Satan's demonic hordes wage war against his own human subjects. Later the enemy will be called the "accuser," as his Hebrew and Greek names, Satan and Devil, signify (12:9-10).

9:13-21 The cavalry revealed with the sixth trumpet resembles the demon swarm of the fifth, like horses and lions, with breastplates and venomous power in their tails. Yet these warriors are authorized to take human life on a massive scale (cf. "but not to kill," v. 5), showing that Satan is waging war against his own followers. These warriors, with their origin beyond the Euphrates, suggest that John now sees the carnage wrought by military aggression and warfare. Yet, devastating as the bloodshed is, God still imposes limits: a third of mankind was killed (vv. 15, 18). This is the last limited judgment and warning blast, for when the seventh, last trumpet sounds, "the mystery of God will be fulfilled" (10:7; cf. 1 Cor. 15:52; 1 Thess. 4:16), and the opportunity to repent will be past (Rev. 9:20-21).

9:13-14 the golden altar before God. These woes come in answer to the saints' prayers, offered as incense on that altar (8:4-5). Ancient Israel's captors, Assyria and Babylon, had come from the great river Euphrates. In John's day it also marked the eastern boundary of Rome's influence, beyond which barbarian powers such as Parthia threatened the empire's peace. This river represents that which keeps civil chaos and wanton violence at bay. The release of its four destructive angels here, like the drying of its waters in 16:12-16, unleashes unprecedented bloodshed and suffering.

9:16-19 twice ten thousand times ten thousand. Two hundred million is an incredibly large army but not as great as the countless multitude that worships the Lamb (7:9). This cavalry, like the locusts from the Abyss (9:1-12), consists of demons. Their horses have heads like lions' heads and tails like serpents. But God's faithful servant can trample both of these deadly enemies underfoot (cf. Ps. 91:13). (Satan is the "ancient serpent" [Rev. 12:9; see Gen. 3:15].) Red fire, blue smoke (like sapphire), and yellow, rancid sulfur spewing from the horses' mouths reflect the colors of their riders' breastplates. What proceeds from the mouth represents the power of words, either to judge justly or to deceive and destroy, as when the Euphrates reappears in Rev. 16:12-14. The demonic horsemen kill by deluding human armies into war. Some think these 200 million troops represent a very large actual human army.

9:20-21 did not repent. Although those rebelling against God have been tortured by the very demons they worshiped, the survivors will take no warning from these final trumpet blasts. This shows the total depravity of the sinners (also 16:9, 11, 21; 20:7-10). Every time Christ offers them repentance, they reject his offer and prefer to follow Satan. idols . . . cannot see or hear or walk. Senseless and impotent, images of metal, stone, or wood cannot protect or rescue, as Daniel told King Belshazzar on the night that his life was taken and his kingdom seized (Dan. 5:23; cf. Ps. 115:4-8; 135:15-18; Isa. 44:12-20).

10:1-3 another mighty angel. Like God on his throne, he is surrounded by a rainbow (cf. 4:3). Like the Son of Man, he comes with a cloud, and his face shines like the sun (cf. 1:7, 16). His legs like pillars of fire reflect the glory of God's presence in the wilderness (Ex. 13:21-22; 14:24). His voice like a lion roaring could belong to the Lion of Judah (Rev. 5:5; see Amos 3:7-8). Therefore some interpreters think this is Jesus himself. However, since Rev. 1:1 describes an angel sent by Christ to deliver God's revelation to John, many see this as simply "another" great angel.

10:2 The scroll is open because the Lamb has broken its seals. The scroll is little compared to the great size of the angel, whose stride spans sea and land. It will be given to John to eat and to proclaim (vv. 10-11), completing the process of transmission (from God to Christ to angel to John to the churches) initiated in 5:7.

10:3-4 John must seal up--keep secret by not writing--the messages of the seven thunders. This prohibition may serve a similar purpose to the angel's announcement that "there would be no more delay" (v. 6), since reporting these seven messages would have further delayed the seventh trumpet's blast. Christ's church must live by faith amid the unrevealed mysteries of God's purposes.

10:5-7 The angel's stance--one foot on sea, one on land, and right hand raised to heaven--unites three spheres of the created order (see 5:13; Gen. 1:6-10) as their divine Creator is invoked to witness the angel's oath (cf. Dan. 12:7; also Gen. 14:22; Deut. 32:40). The angel swears that the era of God's longsuffering, which entailed delay of his martyrs' vindication (Rev. 6:10), will end when the last trumpet sounds. The mystery of God to be fulfilled when the seventh trumpet sounds is his plan to unite all things in heaven and earth under Christ's headship (Eph. 1:10), making visible to all the sovereignty by which the Son now orchestrates every event for his church's welfare (Eph. 1:20-22). This "mystery" includes the unrestrained expression of God's wrath, signified in the bowl judgments, toward all who resist his reign (cf. Rev. 15:1, where "finished" translates the same verb [Gk. teleō] rendered "fulfilled" in 10:7).

10:8-11 As Ezekiel ate a scroll and found it sweet as honey in his mouth, so John must do the same, receiving God's words in his heart before he speaks them (cf. Ezek. 3:1-3, 10). The sweet word made his stomach . . . bitter. Although some "from every tribe and language and people and nation" will be redeemed by the Lamb (Rev. 5:9; 7:9-17), at this particular time John will see peoples and nations and languages resisting Christ and his witnesses (11:9; 13:7; 17:15). Kings in particular will ally themselves with evil (6:15; 16:12-14; 17:2, 18; 19:18-19).

11:1-14 The complementary visions of the temple and the witnesses, like those of the 144,000 and the international multitude between seals 6 and 7 (ch. 7), provide reassurance of God's protection. Here, however, consistent with the bittersweet message committed to John (10:10-11), the motif of spiritual protection is interwoven with the darker thread of physical suffering.

11:1-2 John was given a measuring rod and instructed to measure the temple of God. Many dispensationalists understand this to imply that during the great tribulation the Jewish temple will be rebuilt in Jerusalem, and Jewish worship will be reinstituted there, and that it is here that, in the middle of the tribulation, the Antichrist will take "his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God" (2 Thess. 2:4). They understand the reference to the holy city to mean literal, earthly Jerusalem. Others see the "temple" in Revelation 11 as a symbol for believers. In the OT, Ezekiel in his vision watched an angel measure the temple (Ezek. 40:2-3), but John must measure not only the sanctuary and its altar but also those who worship there. This "measuring" of persons shows both God's protection and his ownership and suggests that the temple itself symbolizes the saints, as the NT elsewhere affirms (1 Cor. 3:16-17; Eph. 2:20-22; 1 Pet. 2:4-10; see Rev. 3:12; 21:22). John must not measure the court outside, because "the holy city" will be given over to the nations for trampling. Because this language echoes Jesus' prediction of Jerusalem's destruction (Luke 21:24; cf. Dan. 8:13), some believe that Revelation was written before a.d. 70 and predicted that disaster. Again, however, others do not think that "the holy city" (cf. Rev. 21:2; 22:19) refers to earthly Jerusalem. Instead, they understand it as a reference to the true church. They argue that 11:8 implies that the earthly Jerusalem that rejected its Messiah now belongs to "the great city," along with Sodom and Egypt (see 17:18). Forty-two months (see also 13:5) is equivalent to "1,260 days" (counting 30 days to a month; cf. 11:3; 12:6) and "a time, times, and half a time" (three and a half years; 12:14), which is one-half of a sabbatical-year cycle, symbolizing the brevity of the church's suffering, which lasts until Christ comes. These calculations of time echo Dan. 7:25; 12:7 and are thought by premillennialists to refer to a final "great tribulation" period (Rev. 7:14) during which the Antichrist will "make war" against the saints (13:7).

11:3-14 Scripture requires two witnesses to confirm testimony (Deut. 19:15; Matt. 18:16). The two witnesses here may symbolize the saints, as the parallel between Rev. 11:7 and 13:7 suggests. Wearing the sackcloth of repentance (cf. Isa. 37:1-2; Jonah 3:5; Matt. 11:21) to symbolize their message, they prophesy while the holy city suffers trampling (Rev. 11:2), the Messiah's mother is nourished in the wilderness (12:6, 14), and the beast wields its authority (13:5). Some scholars believe that these are two actual individuals who will appear at the end of history.

11:4 These are the two olive trees. In Zechariah's vision, the "two olive trees" symbolized "two anointed ones" (Zech. 4:11, 14): a royal leader to rebuild God's temple (Zech. 4:6-10) and a high priest to lead worship in it (Zech. 3:1-5). Thus the witnesses of Rev. 11:3 aptly represent all whom the Lamb has redeemed to serve as priests and rule as kings (1:6; 5:10).

11:5-6 The witnesses especially fulfill the church's prophetic role, pouring God's word as fiery judgment from their mouth (cf. 2 Kings 1:10-12), announcing drought like Elijah (1 Kings 17:1), and turning waters . . . into blood like Moses (Ex. 7:14-25).

11:7-10 Although the witnesses are invincible until they have finished their testimony, when their mission is accomplished the beast from the bottomless pit (13:1) will conquer them, not through spiritual seduction (God will soon vindicate them) but through martyrdom (11:7; cf. 13:7). The great city that symbolically is called Sodom and Egypt is identified as the site of the martyrs' death and their Lord's crucifixion. See also references to "the great city" in 16:19; 17:18; and five times in 18:10-21, where in these instances "the great city" is symbolically identified as "Babylon," a euphemism for Rome. In this verse (17:8), however, the symbol is apparently to be understood in a broader sense to include Jerusalem, where the two martyrs are killed and the "Lord was crucified." It is likely that John has merged Rome and Jerusalem here into one combined symbol, which would be fitting because Jerusalem was under the domination of Roman rule and because Jerusalem is identified as the capital of the new "unholy Roman Empire," where the Antichrist himself will establish his rule (cf. Matt. 24:15; 2 Thess. 2:3). "The great city" is further identified symbolically (or "spiritually"; see ESV footnote) as "Sodom" (known for its depravity and rebellion against God) and as "Egypt" (known for its persecution of God's people), both of which again correspond to the city of Jerusalem, both in its persecution and martyrdom of the prophets and its rejection and crucifixion of the Messiah. Thus the symbol of "the great city" had broad significance in John's day, but it also stands as a representative symbol for every empire that grasps after divine glory and afflicts Christ's church even in this present day. three and a half days. The celebration of the rebellious over the church's apparent demise through persecution will be short-lived.

11:11-14 they stood up on their feet . . . they went up to heaven in a cloud. If the two witnesses (v. 3) symbolize the church, then these verses predict the vindication of God's witnessing church in resurrection (cf. Ezek. 37:10) and enthronement in heaven (see Dan. 7:13; Acts 1:9). If they are two actual individuals, then they are miraculously resurrected at this point (cf. Rev. 11:7). Even if they are taken as literal people, their resurrection could still symbolize the resurrection of the saints either in the middle or at the end of the "great tribulation" period (7:14). As in 1:7, Acts 1:9, and several OT passages, the "cloud" symbolizes the mysterious active presence of God. This event will coincide with a great earthquake (Rev. 11:13; cf. 6:12; 16:18) that strikes terror in the hearts of survivors. The third woe is soon to come: the seventh and last trumpet (10:7; 11:15-18).

11:15-18 the seventh angel blew his trumpet. Nearly all futurists and many idealists (see Introduction: Schools of Interpretation) see this trumpet as heralding the second coming of Christ. As with the seventh seal (8:1-6), the scene now shifts from woes on earth to worship in heaven. Songs from the future consummation speak back through time to the suffering church, announcing the day when the world's kingdom has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, reversing the present when the nations and their rulers still "rage . . . against the Lord and against his Anointed" (Ps. 2:1-2). God's redemptive kingdom was inaugurated in Christ's first coming, death, and exaltation (Mark 1:15; 9:1; Acts 2:30-36). Here the elders celebrate a day still future, when God and his Christ have begun their unchallenged reign by judging the dead (foreshadowing Rev. 20:11-13), rewarding their servants (cf. 21:1-7; 22:1-5), and destroying the destroyers of the earth (cf. 20:14-15). Many futurists think that 11:18 skips forward beyond the millennium to the final judgment.

12:1-17 Two signs in heaven--a woman who gives birth, and a dragon intent on destroying her offspring--dominate the two visions in this chapter. Twice John sees the dragon decisively defeated, and both descriptions of the battle's aftermath describe the woman's protection in the wilderness (vv. 6, 13-17). The first vision (vv. 1-6) portrays a decisive battle at the turning point of history when Christ's incarnation, obedience, sacrifice, and exaltation forever disqualified Satan as the accuser of believers (see v. 10). Some interpreters think the second vision (vv. 7-17) also represents the same series of events, while others think it portrays events at the beginning of the great tribulation.

12:1-2 The woman's description as a great sign in heaven and her clothing with sun, moon, and twelve stars show that she symbolizes Israel (cf. Joseph's dream, Gen. 37:9).

12:3 The great red dragon is "that ancient serpent, the devil and Satan" (v. 9; cf. 20:2; Gen. 3:1-15; Isa. 27:1). Its seven heads with seven diadems and ten horns symbolize great power (cf. Dan. 7:6-7). Cf. the description of the beast (Rev. 13:1).

12:4 His tail swept down a third of the stars of heaven. Evil spirits (demons) in league with Satan share his defeat and downfall before the forces of God (cf. vv. 7-9). Some interpreters think this refers to the original fall of Satan, taking one-third of the angels with him (cf. 2 Pet. 2:4; Jude 6; perhaps Isa. 14:12-15). The dragon's intent to devour the woman's child at birth recalls Gen. 3:15, which predicts that the woman's offspring will bruise the serpent's head as the serpent bruises his heel.

12:5 This male child, the promised Messiah who is born to rule all the nations with a rod of iron (cf. Ps. 2:9), is not destroyed by the dragon but is exalted to God's throne (cf. Acts 2:33-36; Rev. 3:21). Yet the second vision (12:7-17) will reveal that the Messiah's suffering was integral to his victory (v. 11; cf. 5:9-10). The "rod of iron" (also 2:27; 19:15) is not a royal scepter (as in some translations) but the shepherd's club, here used to shatter the nations like pottery (cf. Ps. 2:9).

12:6 The child's mother fled into the wilderness, a setting in which God's people are utterly dependent on him but are protected from the dragon's rage (vv. 13-14). There, she was nourished by God's provision, as were Israel (Ex. 16:13-18) and Elijah (1 Kings 17:6; 19:5-8). Some scholars think the time period symbolized as 1,260 days (or "a time, and times, and half a time," Rev. 12:14; cf. 11:2-3) began with Christ's ascension and will end when God withdraws his restraint on the dragon's power to deceive the nations and gather them against the church (20:7-10). Others understand the "1,260 days" (three and a half years) to represent the second half of the great tribulation, and to be the same period as the second half of Daniel's seventieth week (Dan. 9:27). On this view, the woman's fleeing into the wilderness indicates that during the great tribulation Jewish believers will be persecuted by the Antichrist and will flee into the wilderness (see note on Rev. 11:1-2).

12:7 In Daniel, Michael is the spiritual prince and guardian of God's people (Dan. 10:13, 21; 12:1). Jude 9 identifies Michael as the archangel, attributing to him words that echo the angel of the Lord's answer to Satan the accuser (Zech. 3:2). Many futurists think Michael's battle with the dragon marks the beginning of the "time of trouble" (Dan. 12:1), which is also the great tribulation.

12:8-9 The victory of Michael and the holy angels over the dragon and its coconspirators may symbolize the triumphant power of Jesus' cross (cf. Col. 2:15), or a subsequent defeat of demonic forces flowing from Christ's victory at the cross, or the original casting of Satan and his demons out of heaven (see note on Rev. 12:4). The devil (Gk.) and Satan (Hb.) describe a legal opponent, an accuser at law (see note on vv. 10-11). Many futurists think he was thrown down to the earth indicates intensified demonic activity on earth during the great tribulation.

12:10-11 The dragon's expulsion from heaven shows that Satan cannot press charges as the accuser of our brothers because the Lamb shed his blood for them and they maintain their testimony of trust even unto death. Although "conquered" by the beast physically in death (11:7; 13:7), in fact the martyrs have conquered both the beast (15:2) and the dragon that empowers it. They have conquered him is set in ironic and beautiful contrast to 13:7.

12:12 his time is short. Jesus' death and exaltation inaugurated "the kingdom of our God" (v. 10) and guaranteed the certain and approaching demise of Satan's tyranny. All the demonic activity here and in the Gospels is connected to Satan's frustrated anger.

12:14 two wings of the great eagle. A metaphor of the exodus (see Ex. 19:4) becomes an image of God's care for his church, exposed in the wilderness yet guarded and nourished in its pilgrimage. a time, and times, and half a time. This half-sabbatical period, derived from Dan. 7:25, signifies the brevity of the saints' suffering and of their persecutors' power (see note on Rev. 11:1-2; also 12:6; 13:7).

12:15 water like a river. The serpent tries to destroy the people of God by lies and false teaching from its mouth, as it had deceived Eve (Gen. 3:13).

12:17 Having failed to destroy the Messiah (cf. 12:4-5) and his mother (i.e., Israel; see note on 12:1-2), the frustrated dragon makes war on the rest of her offspring--that is, war on either the church on earth down through the ages (including the last three and a half years), or, as some hold, war on believing Israel (or the remnant in ch. 7). These include all who hold to the testimony of Jesus--that is, all who persevere in faithfulness and obedience to the gospel while under the persistent attack of Satan. The dragon's weapon is the "beast" that emerges from the sea to wage war on the saints (13:2, 7).

13:1-2 The beast looks like a leopard but has feet like a bear's, a mouth like a lion's mouth, and ten horns, and it wages "war on the saints" (v. 7). Thus it resembles all four beasts that Daniel saw emerge from the sea before the Son of Man appeared (Dan. 7:1-8, 21). As those beasts symbolized kingdoms (Dan. 7:17, 23), so this beast, a composite of them all, represents every human empire--Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Persia, Greece, Rome, and their successors--that demands absolute allegiance and trust, enforcing its demand with coercion. Its 10 horns and seven heads mirror those of the dragon (Rev. 12:3), who gives the beast its great authority.

13:3 seemed to have a mortal wound. Lit., "as slain to death." The beast falsely imitates the Lamb, "standing, as though it had been slain" (5:6; cf. chart). Rome, the manifestation of the beast in John's day, seemed to have been mortally wounded by Nero's suicide (a.d. 68) and the civil chaos that followed, but experienced a "resurrection" in the reigns of Vespasian and his sons Titus and Domitian. Then in Domitian's reign (a.d. 81-96), Nero's beastly persecution of the church also revived. Many interpreters think this verse also predicts a future remarkable recovery of the Antichrist from a deadly wound, a deceptive attempt to parallel Christ's resurrection.

13:4 Who is like the beast . . . ? The worshipers' question copies Israel's praise of the Lord after the exodus (Ex. 15:11), reinforcing the beast's arrogant claim to divine honors. It also mirrors the acclamation often given to Caesar as he entered cities.

13:5 was given . . . was allowed. See note on 9:1. The beast uttered haughty and blasphemous words, like the horn (king) on the fourth beast in Daniel's vision (Dan. 7:20, 25). forty-two months. See note on Rev. 11:1-2; also 12:6, 14. Many futurists think this is the second half of the great tribulation.

13:6 The identification of God's dwelling as those who dwell in heaven confirms that the measured sanctuary (11:1) symbolized the worshipers in it. Likewise, the "holy city" is the Lamb's church-bride (21:2, 9-27; see Eph. 2:22).

13:7 to make war on the saints and to conquer them. The martyrdom of believers seems to be their defeat, but their death-defying faithfulness conquers the dragon and the beast (12:11; 15:2).

13:8 written before the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who was slain. Before creation and by grace alone, God chose individuals to be redeemed by Christ's death (see Eph. 1:4-14; and note on Eph. 1:11). God's registry of life appears in Ex. 32:32-33; Dan. 12:1; Luke 10:20; Rev. 3:5; 17:8; 20:15. Those not enrolled in the Lamb's book blindly worship the beast and will be cast with it into the lake of fire. The parallel expression in 17:8 shows that "before the foundation of the world" is best taken to modify "written" rather than "slain" as in some translations.

13:9-10 Because captivity and sword are God's ordained route to victory for his saints, they must practice endurance. Perseverance is a major theme in Revelation (12:17; 14:12; 16:15; 17:14; 21:7-8; 22:7, 10, 12, 14; see also "overcoming" in the seven letters, chs. 2-3, and chart).

13:11 The second beast resembles the Lamb, but its lying words expose its real nature; it is like a dragon (cf. 12:15; 16:13-14; 19:20).

13:13 making fire come down from heaven. The false prophet (the second beast) counterfeits God's judgments to bolster the specious claim that the first beast is divine (cf. 1 Kings 18:38; 2 Kings 1:10; Rev. 8:7; 11:5).

13:14-15 Since idols "have mouths but cannot speak" (Ps. 115:5), the impression that the first beast's image has breath and might even speak may simply be another hoax, one with which it deceives those who dwell on the earth. But it is more likely that this describes some kind of miracle worked by demonic power yet still subject to God's sovereign control (it is allowed, Rev. 13:14; cf. 19:20; Deut. 13:1-4; 2 Thess. 2:9). Those who refuse to worship the symbol of the state, whether bowing to Nebuchadnezzar's statue (Daniel 3) or burning incense to the Roman emperor, will be slain.

13:16-17 marked on the right hand or the forehead. The Israelites bore God's law on their hands and foreheads to signify his authority over their deeds and thoughts (Deut. 6:8). Neither the beast's mark nor the seal of God on believers' foreheads (cf. Rev. 7:3; 14:1; cf. also Ex. 28:36-38; Ezek. 9:4) have to be understood as physical features, though they may be that. Both symbolize the spiritual control of heart allegiance and behavior, either by the beast or by the Lamb; but God's seal secures safety.

13:18 The number of the beast, which is 666, may symbolize creaturely deficiency as the number of a man in contrast to divine completeness (symbolized by seven). The invitation to one with understanding to calculate this number, however, suggests the use of gematria, an ancient code using the numerical values of letters. Both "beast" and "Nero Caesar," written in Hebrew characters, add up to 666, but many interpreters expect a future, greater fulfillment in a world ruler who is violently opposed to God and his people.

14:1-15:8 The vision sequence leading to the seven last plagues (which will be described as "bowls" of God's wrath, 16:1-21) opens and closes with scenes of a heavenly choir singing praise to God (14:1-5; 15:2-4). Between these anthems John sees three angels who announce impending judgment (14:6-13) and three who order and execute harvests (14:15-20). At the center, between the three announcing angels and the three harvesting angels, John sees a seventh figure, one like a son of man, gathering his grain from the earth (14:14). Despite the beast's cruel persecution (ch. 13), these visions (like those in chs. 7 and 10-11) provide reassurance that God and the Lamb rule, and that martyrs already celebrate victory.

14:1 Mount Zion. Fulfilling Ps. 2:6, the Lamb stands in glory on God's holy hill in heaven (cf. Heb. 12:22), accompanied by his army. The sound of their harps and voices descends from heaven like a waterfall's thundering cascades as they sing "before the throne, the four living creatures," and "the elders" (Rev. 4:2-8; 7:9-12). The seal on their foreheads (see note on 13:16-17) is the name of the Lamb and of his Father--a token of possession and protection by God, promised to every conqueror in the spiritual war (3:12). Most dispensationalists see these 144,000 as the same group mentioned in 7:4: Jewish believers who have trusted in Christ as their Messiah during the great tribulation.

14:2 The singers with their harps will reappear beside the sea of glass (15:2-4; see 4:6); their song indicates that they are redeemed.

14:3 The new song celebrates God's triumph over sin through the Lamb (5:9; 15:3), just as the Lord's prior victories were celebrated in new songs (Ps. 96:1; 98:1; 144:9). Their song belongs only to those who have experienced the Lamb's redemption (Ps. 107:1-3), into whose salvation angels "long to look" (1 Pet. 1:12). This is another indication that 144,000 should not be taken as a literal number; they represent those who have been redeemed (see notes on Rev. 7:1-17; 7:4-8).

14:4-5 have not defiled themselves with women, for they are virgins. The spiritual purity of those who bear the Lamb's name is symbolized by the sexual self-denial that consecrated Israel for the wars that God commanded (cf. Deut. 23:9-11; 1 Sam. 21:5). Although portrayed as celibate males, the 144,000 (Rev. 14:3) signify believers of both sexes who, dying in faith, are gathered as firstfruits for God, foreshadowing a greater harvest. in their mouth no lie was found. They resemble Jesus, the blameless servant of the Lord (cf. Isa. 53:9).

14:6-7 The flying angel proclaims an eternal gospel. Its command that every nation is to fear, give . . . glory to, and worship God the Creator means that the long-awaited reign of God and his Christ is about to be consummated (cf. 11:15-18).

14:8 Another angel announces that Babylon is fallen (echoing Isa. 21:9) before Babylon even appears in the narrative (Rev. 16:19; 17:1-18). As ancient Babylon had carried Judah into captivity, so in John's day Rome was the pagan power with "dominion over the kings of the earth" (17:18) that oppressed Christ's people (17:6). Yet Revelation's "Babylon" transcends Rome, since its fall awaits the end of history (15:1; 16:17-19). the passion of her sexual immorality. Babylon the prostitute represents society's allure of material prosperity and pleasure, seducing the unwary into adultery against the Lord.

14:9-11 A third angel announces that the beast's worshipers (like the prostitute Babylon, 16:19) will drink the wine of God's wrath and endure constant torment in eternal restlessness. The smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever shows that hell is eternal, and that the wicked are not annihilated and put out of existence at death.

14:12-13 Blessed. Revelation's second of seven benedictions (see chart). Saints who heed God's call to endurance, keeping God's commandments and their faith in Jesus, are blessed at death with rest from their labors.

14:14 One like a son of man, seated on the cloud and wearing a golden crown (cf. Dan. 7:13-14; Rev. 1:7, 13) is Jesus, the Lord of the harvest. He came first as gospel sower (Matt. 13:37) but will return as just reaper.

14:15-16 The harvest of the earth refers to wheat or barley, for ripe (Gk. xērainō, "to dry up, be ripe"; a different word from that used of "ripe" grapes in v. 18) describes dried heads of grain. Christ's harvest, of which the martyrs were firstfruits (v. 4), is gathered safely into his barns (Matt. 3:12).

14:17-20 The second harvest involves not only cutting grape clusters from the vine but also crushing them in God's winepress. Trodden translates Greek pateō, rendered "trample" in 11:2. The Lord will trample nations that have trampled God's holy city, as Isaiah foretold (Isa. 63:1-6). Their blood is shed outside the city (probably Jerusalem), where all defiled things belong (cf. Rev. 21:27).

15:1 another sign in heaven. Like the woman and the dragon (12:1, 3), these angels signify another turning point in the war between Christ and Satan: the completion of God's triumph in the destruction of his enemies.

15:2-4 The harps of God and the song of the Lamb suggest to some that this choir is the same as the 144,000 (the redeemed people of God) who appeared with the Lamb before God's throne (7:9-12; 14:1-3). Others see them as those converted and perhaps martyred during the great tribulation. They conquered the beast by holding fast to their faith even when threatened with death (12:11). The sea of glass is the transparent pavement surrounding God's throne (cf. 4:6; Ex. 24:10; Ezek. 1:22).

15:3-4 The song of Moses, celebrating Israel's exodus from Egypt (Ex. 15:1-18), is fulfilled in the song of the Lamb, which tells of a greater redemption of a new kingdom of priests (Rev. 5:9-10). A later song of Moses extolled the Lord whose ways are just (Deut. 32:1-43; esp. v. 4). In keeping with the angel's eternal gospel (Rev. 14:7), the King of the nations will be feared, glorified, and worshiped by all nations (Ps. 86:9; Jer. 10:7) for his righteous acts of judgment (Ps. 98:2).

15:5-8 Seven angels emerge from the opened . . . sanctuary (cf. 11:19), the inner chamber, of the tent of witness in heaven (cf. Heb. 8:2-5; 9:11-12) to execute God's final sequence of judgments upon a defiant world.

15:6 pure, bright linen. A preview of the bride's holy beauty (19:7-8). The angels' golden sashes resemble that of the Son of Man (1:13; see Dan. 10:5).

15:8 As when the tabernacle (Ex. 40:34-35) and temple (1 Kings 8:10-11) were consecrated, God's holy glory is so intense that no one could enter the sanctuary. In this case, they couldn't enter until the seven plagues . . . were finished (cf. "finished," Rev. 15:1). The seven bowls (16:1-21) complete God's judgment and mark the end of history, as confirmed by the severity of the judgments.

16:2 When the first bowl is poured out on the earth, it will afflict not the land itself (contrast the first trumpet, 8:7) but earth's inhabitants, who bear the beast's mark, with painful sores, like the sixth plague on Egypt (Ex. 9:8-12; Deut. 28:27, 35).

16:3 The second bowl will turn the waters of the sea into blood, and all sea life will die. The first plague on Egypt (Ex. 7:21) is magnified to universal dimensions.

16:4-7 With the third bowl, rivers and springs (sources of drinking water) will be turned to blood. "It is what they deserve," declares the angel . . . of the waters, referring to those who shed the blood of saints and prophets (see 17:6). Isaiah 49:26 promises that Israel's bloodthirsty oppressors will be forced to drink their own blood. The heavenly altar, under which the martyrs' souls pooled like sacrificial blood (Rev. 6:9), agrees with the angel's judgment, echoing the song just sung by the victors (16:7; cf. 15:3). People will receive from God exactly what they deserve (see notes on 20:12; 20:13).

16:8-9 Instead of darkening the sun (see 8:12), the fourth bowl will intensify its heat to inflict a terrible foretaste of the coming lake of fire (20:15) on those who defiantly refuse to repent and give God the glory (cf. 9:20-21; 14:7).

16:10-11 The fifth bowl shows that the very throne of the beast is not immune to God's just wrath. Darkness was the ninth plague on Egypt, the last before the slaughter of the firstborn compelled a heart-hardened Pharaoh to release Israel (Ex. 10:21-29). It is appropriate that a regime founded on deceit (Rev. 13:5, 13-14) should be plunged into darkness. Although reaping the anguish they have sown in rebellion, hardened people will react by cursing their just Judge rather than forsaking their self-destroying deeds. The refusal to repent (cf. 9:20-21; 16:9, 21) shows the total depravity of those who dwell in the earth, and it shows the justice of eternal punishment (20:3-15).

16:12-14 The sixth bowl prepares for the battle on the great day of God the Almighty. The drying up of the great river Euphrates, on which ancient Babylon foolishly relied for defense (Isa. 44:27-28; Jer. 50:38; 51:36), symbolizes God's removal of restraint on Satan's capacity to assemble a global conspiracy against the church (see Rev. 20:7-9). The Euphrates was also the eastern boundary of the Roman Empire, and it kept the Parthians out (see note on 6:1-2). Unclean spirits emerge as frogs (cf. Ex. 8:2-11) from the mouths of the dragon, the beast, and the false prophet in order to deceive world rulers with delusions of victory over "the Lord and . . . his Anointed" (Ps. 2:1-2) and to assemble them for their final defeat and destruction.

16:15 Blessed. This is Revelation's third of seven benedictions (see chart). Jesus interjects a summons to spiritual vigilance, echoing his rebukes to the complacent churches of Sardis and Laodicea. Because he is coming like a thief at an unexpected moment (cf. 3:3), his soldiers must stay awake and dressed lest they be caught naked, to their shame (cf. 3:18).

16:16 Armageddon means "Mount Megiddo" in Hebrew. In ancient Israel, Megiddo was a plain, not a mountain; but it was also the site of some key battles (Judg. 5:19; 2 Kings 23:29), so in the symbolic geography of John's visions it aptly represents the global combat zone (see Rev. 20:9) in which the final conflict between Christ and Satan will be fought.

16:17-21 The seventh bowl evokes a pronouncement from God's throne: "It is done!" This declaration, repeated in 21:6, affirms that God's plan has reached completion (10:7), his wrath against evil is finished (15:1, 8), and his kingdom is fully come (11:15). A great earthquake of unprecedented severity will shatter the great city, the site of Jesus' crucifixion and the murder of his martyrs (11:7-10). It is Babylon the great, which rules the "kings of the earth" (17:18). Human civilization will disintegrate when the Lord comes with lightning, rumblings, and peals of thunder (11:19). This is the earthquake foreseen in the sixth seal (6:12-17), which darkens sun and moon, shakes stars from their places, rolls up the sky like a scroll, and displaces the mountains and every island (cf. 6:14 with 16:20). This is the flight of the first heaven and earth before God's terrible presence, giving way to a new heaven and earth, unstained by human sin (20:11; 21:1; 22:3).

17:1 Many waters symbolizes the many peoples and nations over which Babylon rules (vv. 15, 18). The contrast between the prostitute and the Lamb's bride is emphasized by similarities in the way they are introduced. In both cases, one of the angels with the seven bowls tells John, "Come, I will show you," and then carries him away in the Spirit (cf. 21:9-10).

17:2 Sexual immorality and spiritual infidelity are interlinked; in Scripture the former often symbolizes the latter (2:20-23; Ezek. 16:15-43). Babylon's wanton beauty seduces and intoxicates both heart and body.

17:3 carried me away in the Spirit. John was transported by the Holy Spirit in a prophetic vision, as was Ezekiel (Ezek. 3:12; 11:24; cf. 2 Pet. 1:21; Rev. 19:10). wilderness. A place of spiritual protection (cf. 12:6, 14) but also physical deprivation, where John could see through Babylon's surface beauty to her underlying ugliness. The beast of ch. 13 is now a scarlet beast on which the woman sits. Some understand this to be the Antichrist, who supports Babylon.

17:4 Both prostitute and bride are adorned in gold, jewels, pearls, and fine linen (cf. 18:16; 19:8; 21:18-21). Babylon's apparel is opulent purple and scarlet, while the bride's is bright, pure white. As the beast portrays the state's power to coerce religious conformity through violence, so the prostitute symbolizes the seductive appeal of a worldly economic system driven by the quest of affluence and pleasure (18:11-19). The disgusting brew that brims from her golden cup drives her lovers insane (cf. Jer. 51:7).

17:6 drunk with the blood of the . . . martyrs of Jesus. Pleasure-addicted society conspires with the power-addicted state to silence the testimony of Jesus' witnesses by putting them to death (13:15-17).

17:7 In vv. 7-18, the angel interprets the mystery portrayed in the prostitute and the beast.

17:8 The beast . . . was and is not and is to come; it had received a mortal wound yet came back to life (13:12-14). The prediction that the beast was about to rise from the bottomless pit (11:7) and go to destruction means that its present power to persecute Christians is inhibited, and that its future appearance in unprecedented violence will be short-lived (see 19:19-21; 20:7-10).

17:9-11 Rome, which then had "dominion over the kings of the earth" (v. 18), rests on seven mountains (or seven hills; cf. Introduction to Romans: The Ancient City of Rome). In prophetic imagery, mountains symbolize the seat of power (Jer. 51:24-25; Dan. 2:35, 44-45). The beast's seven heads, symbolizing both mountains and kings, show its power over earth-dwellers whose names are not in the book of life. Efforts to identify in history the five . . . fallen kings (or kingdoms), the sixth (current) king, a seventh (future) king who would reign briefly, and the eighth that belongs to the seven have yielded conflicting conclusions (proposals include several Roman emperors, several world empires, or simply numerical symbols standing for all worldly kingdoms that culminate in the beast). Even if they cannot be identified specifically, these details send the message that, although the dragon and beast's final assault has not yet begun, their "time is short" (Rev. 12:12), for the beast goes to destruction.

17:12-14 The beast's ten horns symbolize ten kings not yet in power and destined to reign merely for one hour, under the beast's control. These 10 probably represent all of the earth's kings (not just 10 specific kings or nations), deceived and gathered by the dragon and the beast for a momentary, final, futile insurrection against the Lamb and an assault on his called and chosen and faithful followers (see 16:14; 19:19-21; 20:7-10). John will see the Lamb as the Word of God, Lord of lords and King of kings, riding into triumph over the beast and its coconspirators (19:11-21). Some dispensationalists identify these 10 horns with political entities represented by the 10 toes of the image in Nebuchadnezzar's dream (Dan. 2:41-42) and the "ten horns" on the fourth beast that Daniel saw rising from the sea (Dan. 7:7, 20, 24).

17:16-17 The satanic alliance of prostitute and beast will disintegrate, and military power will ravage the economic system it once supported. When the beast and its allies strip the prostitute naked, and devour her flesh and burn her up with fire, they will imitate the judgment pronounced by God on Israel, his unfaithful bride (Ezek. 16:39-41). God sovereignly uses even his enemies to carry out his purpose and fulfill his words, both for the salvation of his own people (Acts 2:23; 4:24-28) and for the destruction of the enemies themselves.

17:18 The great city is identified with Rome, which had dominion over the kings of the earth.

18:1-19:10 As the ancient Greek chorus interpreted actions in a drama, so a succession of speakers explains the significance of the prostitute's desolation as she is deserted by the beast that once supported her and the kings who once adored her.

18:1-3 Another angel with authority and glory reaffirms the verdict pronounced in 14:8: Fallen, fallen (echoing Isa. 21:9). It is fitting that John views Babylon from a wilderness (see note on Rev. 17:3), for its fall will turn the great city into wilderness, inhabited by every unclean spirit, bird, and beast, full of defilement and danger (see Isa. 13:21-22). Laments for the destruction of the city with its power and luxurious living will soon be heard from earth's kings (Rev. 18:9-10) and merchants (vv. 11-17). This next section (vv. 4-24) adds economic sins to the other kinds of sins specified in the rest of the book.

18:4-8 Another voice from heaven first warns the church against aligning itself with Babylon and then asserts the equity of God's justice in repaying Babylon's arrogance and cruelty.

18:4 The prophets' appeals for the OT Israelites to come out of the cultures in which they sojourned as exiles (Isa. 52:11; Jer. 51:6-9, 45) are equally relevant to the NT church in the apostles' day and today (2 Cor. 6:14-18; see 1 Pet. 2:11-12). Churches in Thyatira, Laodicea, and elsewhere failed to keep their distance from Babylon's power-driven, pleasure-crazed value system.

18:6 In perfect equity, God will pay (Babylon) back as she herself has paid back (see Ex. 21:23-25). The double portion (see Isa. 40:2; Jer. 16:18) from her own cup is the just retribution that duplicates the violence she inflicted on the saints, whose blood she wantonly shed (Rev. 19:2).

18:7-8 Babylon's boast, I sit as a queen, I am no widow, mimics her OT namesake and will be silenced in a single day (cf. Isa. 47:7-9). Her delusion of affluent security also finds a chilling parallel in the blind self-reliance of the Laodicean church (Rev. 3:17).

18:9-10 Laments from kings, merchants, and mariners who profited from Babylon's power and prosperity provide earthly commentary on the great city's fall. When her fall comes, her lovers will stand far off, in fear and horror; but it will be too late to distance themselves from her fate. Kings will mourn Babylon as the mighty city that God judged in a single hour (see vv. 17, 19), suddenly and swiftly, when his patience had reached its limit.

18:11-17 The merchants, who gained wealth from the great prostitute (v. 15) issue a lengthy lament, since the great prostitute especially represents the lust for materialistic acquisition and luxury.

18:12-13 The list of cargo for which no market will remain after Babylon's fall resembles the goods transported by the Phoenician merchants of ancient Tyre, which arrogantly boasted of its beauty (Ezekiel 27). As Revelation's beast incorporates every expression of corrupt government (see note on Rev. 13:1-2), so its prostitute includes every corrupt economic system. Even human souls are reduced to cargo, traded as slaves to drive the engines of production and prosperity.

18:16-19 The merchants' lament echoes that of the kings (v. 10) but focuses on the prostitute's costly apparel and accessories--fine linen, purple, scarlet, gold, jewels, pearls (cf. 17:4). They grieve that such wealth is laid waste (cf. "desolate," 17:16) in a single hour. God quickly destroys all human wealth that is not used in obedience and devotion to him. Finally, shipmasters and other seamen, who grew rich by transporting the treasures of the world to feed Babylon's voracious appetite for luxury, will add their lament to that of kings and merchants. Their cry, "What city was like the great city?" no longer ascribes incomparable excellence (13:4) but mourns incomparable destruction (Ezek. 27:32).

18:20 When all in heaven, including its saints and apostles and prophets, are invited to rejoice in God's judgment of Babylon (cf. 12:12), a transition is made from earthly lament to the heavenly celebration.

18:21 As Jeremiah cast a stone and scroll into the Euphrates to show that ancient Babylon would "sink, to rise no more" (Jer. 51:63-64), so a mighty angel threw a great millstone into the sea to illustrate Babylon's fall, to be found no more (see also Ezek. 26:21).

18:22-23 The pleasant sights and sounds of everyday life--music, labor, food preparation, lamplight, marital love--will be seen and heard no more in Babylon (cf. Jer. 7:34; 25:10). Ordinary cultural activities and artifacts, though proper in themselves, become unsustainable when human civilization, having defied the Creator, receives his judgment. Babylon's sorcery (Rev. 21:8) has deceived . . . all nations, as the false prophet's signs tricked earth dwellers, small and great, into worshiping the beast (13:13-16; 17:8).

18:24 In Babylon's fall and the beast's impending defeat, God will at last avenge the blood of his martyrs--i.e., of prophets and saints (6:10; 11:8; 17:6)--and of all who have suffered undeserved violence on earth (11:18).

19:1-2 John had seen a great multitude, representing every nation, standing before God's throne in heaven and extolling his salvation (see 7:9-10). Now that countless choir, redeemed by the Lamb (7:14), praises God also for his just vengeance on the prostitute who murdered the saints. Hallelujah, which occurs only here in the NT (19:1, 3, 4, 6), comes from a Hebrew term for "praise Yahweh," seen often in the Psalms (esp. Psalms 113-118). true and just. God's judgments will expose every lie and right every wrong (Rev. 15:3; 16:7). As in 18:23-24, the great prostitute is condemned for twin crimes: she corrupted the earth (11:18) through beguiling pleasure, and she shed the blood of God's servants (17:6), which he has finally avenged (6:10).

19:3 Babylon's smoke . . . goes up forever and ever, symbolizing irreversible judgment (like the millstone in the sea, 18:21). The heavenly praise of God (Hallelujah!) for this judgment can be understood only in light of the pervasive evil of "the great prostitute" (19:2) and the infinite worthiness of the God whom she repeatedly blasphemed.

19:4 The worship offered by the elders and living creatures links this consummation celebration with the earlier vision of God and the Lamb (5:8-10). Amen (the English transliteration of the Gk. word amēn, which was itself taken from a word with the same sound in Hebrew, ’amen) expresses confident certainty (John 10:7) or strong agreement (1 Cor. 14:16).

19:5 A voice from the throne transposes the Hebrew expression "Hallelujah" (see note on vv. 1-2) into the Greek language of John's hearers, with the command, "Praise our God." As God's servants include both small and great, so also, sadly, does the army that follows the beast (v. 18).

19:6 The next voice is like that of a great multitude, many waters, and mighty peals of thunder, and it comes from a great worshiping multitude in heaven (cf. 14:2). The Almighty reigns throughout history, but here (as in 11:15-17) he is praised for establishing his reign without rival or resistance at Christ's return (see 1 Cor. 15:24).

19:7-8 With the prostitute destroyed, the Lamb's pure Bride is announced, arrayed in purity. it was granted. Her gown of righteous deeds is her groom's gift of grace (cf. Isa. 61:10; Rev. 6:11; 7:14). On the church as bride of Christ, see 21:2, 9; 22:17; 2 Cor. 11:2; Eph. 5:25-27.

19:9-10 Blessed. Revelation's fourth of seven benedictions (see note on 1:3). Those invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb are believers who belong to his beloved bride, the church, who have been called through the gospel of grace (Isa. 25:6-9; Luke 14:15-24). This "marriage supper of the Lamb" was anticipated in the predictions of a messianic banquet in Isa. 25:6-8; Matt. 22:1-14; 25:10; 26:29. John is twice reprimanded ("You must not do that!") for attempting to worship the angel (cf. Rev. 22:8-9). Instead, John is commanded to worship God alone, in dramatic confirmation of the deity of Jesus, the Lamb who is rightly worshiped (cf. 5:8-14).

19:11 The rider of the white horse is already victorious, and white is the color of victory (see note on 2:17). The rider's titles, Faithful and True, identify him as Jesus, the faithful and true witness (1:5; 3:14).

19:12-16 The horse's rider (v. 11) is the Son of Man, with eyes . . . like a flame of fire and a sharp sword, whom John saw on the Lord's Day (see notes on 1:14; 1:16). His many diadems (crowns signifying royalty) show his supremacy as King of kings and Lord of lords. Although he is named the Word of God as the greatest revelation of the Father (John 1:1, 14; Heb. 1:1-2), he also has a name written that no one knows but himself, since the infinite being of the Son of God can never be fully known (on "name," see note on John 1:12-13). Divine mystery veils part of the nature of the Son in whom God speaks most fully (Luke 10:22).

19:14 Fine linen, white and pure, identifies the armies of heaven as the bride of the Lamb (v. 8; 6:11; 7:14). They ride white horses, sharing his victory (see note on 2:17; also 12:11; 15:2).

19:15 Jesus is the Messiah who will rule the nations with a rod of iron (see note on 12:5; also Ps. 2:9), judging justly and striking down the wicked. As the Divine Warrior who treads the winepress of God's wrath, his robe is dipped in his foes' blood (cf. Isa. 63:1-6).

19:17-18 The angel's invitation for birds to pick corpses clean at the great supper of God reflects an OT covenant curse (Deut. 28:26) and echoes God's prophetic word against Gog and Magog, who oppressed his people (Ezek. 39:17-20; see Rev. 20:8). The beast's army, to be consumed as carrion, includes not only kings (16:14) and warriors, but also all who serve the beast, both free and slave, both small and great (13:16).

19:19 gathered to make war. Literally, to make "the battle" (Gk. ton polemon), probably referring back to the "battle on the great day of God the Almighty" (16:14). "Assembled" (16:14) and "gathered" here translate Greek synagō.

19:20 As in 12:5-8, the forces of evil cannot resist Christ's power. The beast and false prophet are thrown alive into the lake of fire, whereas their followers suffer physical death (19:21). The beast and the false prophet, like the great prostitute, represent not particular individuals but corrupt human institutions.

19:21 The rest are "the kings of the earth and their armies" (v. 19), including all categories of people (v. 18). Only the Lamb and his army will survive this battle.

20:1-3 The dragon is identified as the ancient serpent . . . the devil and Satan, as in 12:9-17, which portrayed its expulsion from God's heavenly court and the thwarting of its efforts to destroy the church. The dragon's being bound with a great chain and thrown into the bottomless pit, which is shut and sealed, symbolizes God's restriction of Satan's ability to inflict harm for a long but limited era. God's purpose is that Satan might not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were ended. The nature of this binding of Satan is important to the three millennial views. Premillennialists read this as predicting a complete removal of Satan from the earth during a future golden age (a "millennium") of social righteousness, international peace, and physical well-being, with Christ reigning on earth. They argue that the phrases "shut it" and "sealed it over him" picture a removal of Satan from the earth too complete to represent the current age. Postmillennialists also think this will be a future golden age, but that Christ will not return until the end of that time. Amillennialists note that the NT affirms that Jesus' first coming has already bound Satan (Matt. 12:29) and brought God's light to the nations (Matt. 4:14-16; Luke 2:32; Acts 14:15-17; 17:30-31). Therefore they argue that this binding of Satan for "a thousand years" refers to the gospel's spread among all nations during the present age, and to the present restraint of the church's persecutors until an outbreak of rebellion before Christ's return (see 2 Thess. 2:3-8).

20:4-5 I saw thrones, and seated on them were those to whom the authority to judge was committed. Premillennialists argue that "coming down from heaven" (v. 1) and the reference to "the nations" (v. 3) show that these "thrones" are on earth (during Christ's millennial reign). Amillennialists argue that the echoes in these verses from Daniel's vision (cf. Dan. 7:9, 22) signal that the thrones are in heaven. Whatever view one takes of the millennium, the souls of those who had been beheaded probably represents just a few of all the people represented by the words and those who had not worshiped the beast ("and those" represents Gk. kai hoitines, "and whoever, and everyone who"). These faithful believers came to life. Premillennialists think this means that deceased believers will experience bodily resurrection at the beginning of the millennium, and that is what is meant by this is the first resurrection (they say this is the clear meaning of the aorist indicative of zaō, "live, come to life"). Amillennialists think "they came to life" and "the first resurrection" means their souls entered into the presence of God in heaven after they died, and their deaths were in fact their victory over the dragon and beast (Rev. 12:11; 15:2), imparting to them a foretaste of the final resurrection (20:12-15). Some postmillennialists agree with the amillennial view of "the first resurrection," while other postmillennialists think it refers to the future victory of Christianity in the world after its earlier persecution. and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. Premillennialists think this means that these resurrected believers will assist with Christ's thousand-year reign as righteous King over the whole earth. Amillennialists think this means deceased believers now (and during the entire "thousand years," which means the time from Pentecost to the second coming) are "reigning" with Christ from heaven. Postmillennialists see it as a future triumph of Christianity in the world.

20:6 Blessed. Revelation's fifth of seven benedictions (see chart). second death. When the wicked are returned to bodily existence and condemned for evil deeds, they will be cast eternally into the lake of fire (vv. 12-15). The victors, who maintain their testimony of Jesus and resist the beast, worship as priests and reign as kings with Christ throughout the era of Satan's binding.

20:11 The great white throne reflects the purity and wisdom of the Ancient of Days (cf. Dan. 7:9). earth and sky fled away. This removal of the first heaven and earth (foretold in Hag. 2:6; Heb. 12:26-28; and previewed in Rev. 6:12-14; 16:18-21) prepares for the new heaven and earth (21:1, 4-5; Isa. 65:17; 66:22; 2 Pet. 3:10-13).

20:12 The dead, great and small, include both God's saints (11:18; 19:5) and the beast's worshipers (13:16; 19:18). Books recording their deeds will be opened (Dan. 7:10), providing the grounds on which each is judged (Rom. 2:6-11). God keeps an accurate record of every human deed, and will reward and punish with perfect justice. another book, the book of life. See note on Rev. 20:13; cf. 3:5; 13:8; 17:8; 20:15; 21:27.

20:13 The sea, Death, and Hades (the realm of the dead, cf. 6:8) will give up their dead as all people return to bodily existence to be judged (2 Cor. 5:10) by Jesus (Matt. 16:27; John 5:28-29; Acts 17:31). they were judged . . . according to what they had done. Unbelievers will be rightly condemned for their sins (cf. Rom. 3:23; Rev. 20:15). Believers, whose names are in the "book of life" (vv. 12, 15), will enter into "a new heaven and a new earth" (21:1) because the names in that book are of those who have been redeemed by "the Lamb who was slain" (13:8; cf. 21:27) for their sins (1:5). Their recorded deeds attest to their trust in Christ and are also the basis for determining their rewards (cf. notes on 1 Cor. 3:14-15; 2 Cor. 5:10; Rev. 22:12-16).

20:14 Death, the last enemy, will be destroyed when Christ returns and raises believers (1 Cor. 15:23-26). Therefore Death and Hades will be the last to be thrown into the lake of fire, the second death, where they will join the beast and the false prophet (Rev. 19:20) and the devil (20:10).

20:15 All whose names are not found written in the book of life will be condemned for the record of their deeds (cf. note on 20:11-15) and thrown into the lake of fire. Those enrolled in the Lamb's book of life enter the new Jerusalem (21:27).

21:1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth. The removal of the first heaven and earth eliminates the fatal infection of evil in the cosmic order and gives way to God's creation of a new cosmic order where sin and suffering and death are forever banished. The old order was in "bondage to decay" (Rom. 8:21) and "groaning . . . in pains of childbirth until now" (Rom. 8:22), awaiting the day when "the heavens . . . will be dissolved" and "new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness will dwell" will be established to forever replace the old (2 Pet. 3:12-13). This represents the specific fulfillment of the prophecy given to Isaiah: "Thus says the Lord God . . . ‘I create new heavens and a new earth . . .’" (Isa. 65:13, 17; cf. 66:22). Scholars differ, however, as to the extent and way in which the "first heaven and the first earth" will pass away and be transformed into something new--especially as to whether this represents an entirely new creation, or whether (and to what extent) this represents a "renewed" creation that retains some degree of continuity with the old order. As seen in the example of 1 Cor. 15:35-44, it is clear, with respect to the believer's resurrection body, that although there is some kind of continuity between the old and the new order, the new reality will also be qualitatively different--for example, as different as a kernel or a seed is from a full-grown wheat plant (1 Cor. 15:35-39). Thus "new" (Gk. kainos) is best understood here in terms of something that has been qualitatively transformed in a fundamental way, rather than as an outright new creation ex nihilo (Latin, "out of nothing"), as in the case of God's original creation in Genesis 1. By comparison to the old order that is coming to an end, the new cosmic order is radically different--a place where "righteousness will dwell" (2 Pet. 3:13), where God "will wipe away every tear from their eyes" (Rev. 21:4; cf. Isa. 25:8 and Rev. 7:17), where "death shall be no more" (Rev. 21:4; cf. Isa. 25:8 and 1 Cor. 15:26), where "the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay" (Rom. 8:21), and where all that is "perishable" will be raised and transformed into a glorious new "imperishable" reality (1 Cor. 15:42-43), where the redeemed will rejoice in the eternal presence of "God and the Lamb" (Rev. 14:4; cf. 22:1-5). The sea was no more does not mean there will be no bodies of water in the new earth (cf. 21:6; 22:1-2) but refers to the source of earthly rebellion, chaos, and danger--the sea from which the beast emerged (13:1; Dan. 7:3). This symbolic (or literal) source of rebellion will no longer threaten creation's perfection.

21:2 The holy city, new Jerusalem (cf. Gal. 4:26; Heb. 12:22-24), the church redeemed by Jesus Christ, will no longer be trampled by nations (Rev. 11:2) but rather, will be adorned as a bride.

21:3 He will dwell with them. The greatest blessing of heaven will be unhindered fellowship with God himself. The goal of God's covenant, "God with us" (Isa. 7:14, ESV footnote; Matt. 1:23), foreshadowed in the OT tabernacle and temple, will be achieved. his people . . . their God. See Lev. 26:11-12; Ezek. 37:27.

21:4 By wiping away every tear and eliminating death, mourning, and pain (Isa. 25:8; 65:19-20), God will reverse the curse that entered the world through human sin.

21:6 It is done! The destruction of God's enemies (16:17) and the salvation of his saints are both completed. the Alpha and the Omega. First and last letters of the Greek alphabet (cf. 1:8; 22:13). The Lord stands beyond the universe's beginning and its end as Sovereign Creator and Consummator, the first and the last (Isa. 41:4; 44:6; 48:12). The spring of the water of life is the throne of God and the Lamb (Rev. 22:1), a throne of grace (Heb. 4:16) because here the thirsty drink without payment, by God's free gift (Isa. 55:1).

21:7 The one who conquers. The promises to conquerors (2:7, 11, 17; etc.) are summed up in this assurance that the new heaven and earth are their heritage as God's children. he will be my son. This promise to David's descendants (2 Sam. 7:14), fulfilled preeminently in Jesus (Heb. 1:5), also includes those who belong to him (Gal. 3:26). On "son," see note on Gal. 3:26.

21:8 The conqueror's blessedness contrasts with the second death awaiting those who renounced faith because of cowardice or compromise with idolatry and sensuality. Sorcerers is also used of Egyptian and Babylonian magicians in the OT (e.g., Ex. 7:11; Dan. 2:2); on ancient magic, see note on Acts 13:6.

21:10 a great, high mountain. After Gog and Magog's destruction (Ezekiel 38-39), Ezekiel was transported to "a very high mountain" (Ezek. 40:2-3) to view God's future temple. Although believers are exposed to suffering on earth (Rev. 11:2), their true life in the holy city has been secured in heaven, from which it will suddenly be revealed (Col. 3:3-4).

21:11 The glory of God, resembling jasper (cf. 4:3), radiates from the transparent city, which is clear as crystal and "glass" (21:18).

21:12-14 The city's high wall and twelve gates guarded by angels (see Gen. 3:24) signify invulnerability to attack. The gates bear the names of Israel's twelve tribes, and the Lamb's twelve apostles are named on the wall's foundations (Eph. 2:20), signifying the unity of OT and NT believers.

21:15-17 The measuring rod of gold is more glorious than the reed in Ezekiel's vision (Ezek. 40:3). The city's length and width and height are equal, having a cubic shape like the Most Holy Place in the OT sanctuary (1 Kings 6:20; Ezek. 41:4). Since the entire city is the Most Holy Place (the place of God's presence), John saw no temple in it (Rev. 21:22). The length, width, and height of the city (12,000 stadia, or 1,380 miles [2,221 km]) and the width (144 cubits) of the city wall are multiples of 12. This may indicate the literal dimensions of the city or may symbolize the perfect life of the people of God (see 7:4-8).

21:18 Pure gold may be literal gold that is appropriate to the bride's priceless value and transparent purity, or the expression may simply be symbolic of those things.

21:19-21 The 12 jewels adorning the city's apostolic foundations correspond to those engraved with the names of Israelite tribes on the high priest's breastplate (Ex. 28:17-20). They also resemble stones associated with Eden (Ezek. 28:13-14). The pure beauty of the bride in Paradise Restored puts to shame the prostitute's tawdry ornaments (Rev. 17:4; 18:12).

21:22 its temple is the Lord God . . . and the Lamb. Jesus himself is the tent and temple in which God lives among his people (John 1:14; 2:19-21). Because the Lamb is in her midst, the church is "a dwelling place for God by the Spirit" (Eph. 2:22).

21:23 Language echoing Isa. 60:19-20 identifies God the Father as the source, and Christ as the mediator, of the bride's radiant light (her truth and purity).

21:24-27 When the Lamb, who is King of kings (17:14; 19:16), has destroyed rebellious kings and nations, then the kings of the earth and their nations, whose names are written in the Lamb's book of life, will enter his city-sanctuary, bringing their glory (cf. Isa. 60:3-5). The city's gates will never be shut because there will be neither foe nor night to assist hostile invaders.

22:1-2 The river of the water of life and the tree of life recall Eden before the fall into sin (Gen. 2:8-10) and Ezekiel's vision of a future glorious temple (Ezek. 47:1-12; see Zech. 14:8). Refreshment and life flow from the throne of God and of the Lamb, carried by the Holy Spirit, as Jesus promised (John 4:10-14; 7:38-39; see also Isa. 44:3; Ezek. 36:25-27). Living believers and martyrs taste this life-giving water even now in this present age (Rev. 7:17; 22:17), but its fullness awaits the new heaven and earth. This ever-flowing river gives a picture of an unending stream of abundant blessings and joy. The tree of life, once banned to guilty humanity (Gen. 3:22-24), will satisfy the city's residents year-round (Rev. 2:7). The healing of the nations will have been completed in the destruction of death (20:14; see Ezek. 47:12).

22:3 anything accursed. Earth was cursed for Adam's sin (Gen. 3:17). Guilt, strife, struggle for survival, sickness, sorrow, and death resulted. In the consummated new creation no such woes will remain (Rev. 21:4). God's throne will make the entire city a temple (21:22) in which his servants will worship him as his priests.

22:4 Moses could not see the Lord's face and live (Ex. 33:20-23; 34:29-35), but when the Spirit has completed their sanctification, God's redeemed people will see his face. It will be the greatest blessing of the age to come, as God looks upon his people with favor and delight. His name . . . on their foreheads had sealed them as his protected property through history's turmoil and trials (Rev. 3:11-12; 7:2-8; 14:1).

22:5 Since night has been banished (cf. 21:25), God's servants will bask in light from the God of radiant glory and truth, who dwells in "unapproachable light" (1 Tim. 6:16; Rev. 21:23-24). In union with Jesus their king, believers will not only worship as priests but also reign as kings over the new earth forever and ever (5:10).