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and hymn-writers, resourced prophetic
critiques of oppression and corruption in
state and church, and sustained iiope and
resistance in the most hopeless situations'.
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So much so that 'Revelation can be .seen to
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be not only one of the finest literary works
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in the New Testament, but also one of the
greatest cheoh)gica! acbiesenients of earlv
st
Revelation Christianity'.' We might not fullv under
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stand Revelation—who does?—but nobodv i
or
can afford to ii^nore it.
In terms of content, the book is John's
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To the seuen churches in the prouince of Asia: Grace and peace to
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you from him who is, and who was, and who is to come, and from account of the 'res elation of Jesus Christ'
which he received on the island of Patmos
tc
the seuen spirits be/ore his throne, and from Jesus Christ, u;ho is the
faithful luitness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings (setting aside for the nmnient the ques
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of the earth. To him who hues us and has freed us from our sins by his tion of which 'John' we are talking about).
blood, and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his Cod So far, so good: but it is the particular way
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that John narrates his revelation thatcau.scs
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and Father—to him be glory and powerfor ever and ever! Amen.'
readers excitement and ct)nsternation. To
ly
begin with, the genre of'revelation' itself Icon of John the Evangelist dictating the
visions to his scribe, c. 1837
on
is eclectic, combining features of letter-
Alfredo Dagli Orti/Shutterstock
INTRODUCTION writing on the tme hand and prophecy on
CHAPTER AT A GLANCE
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Revelation is a strange book, nearly as strange as.some of the other, while ultimately resembling an 'apocalypse', a particular species ofJew
us
This chapter provides an its readers. People have found in Revelation a dramatic ish literature in which the Jewish vision of heaven and earth coming together is
overview of the book of ic
account ofthe cosmic struggle of the church against the turned into literary artistry. Interpretation is thus challenging, because apocalyp
tic language and imagery is foreign to most people today; the book is in any case
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Revelation. satan, a powerful consolation that God will one day end
filled with dense allusions to biblical types and prophecies, and unless the reader is
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all suffering, a timetable for the end times, a mirror of

By the end of this chapter
the tyrants and turmoil of their own day, or—in many familiar with them the experience will be like watching the movie Shrek without
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you should be able to:

cases—a montage of pictures that they simply do not knowing the nursery rhymes and fairy tales that it parodies.' The book also uses
• understand issues of
deliberately coded language about the Roman empire.John piles one metaphor
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authorship, genre, and

understand. The book is popular in the way chat some
music is popular: we don't understand it but it's an excit on top of another in order to describe his visions and draw out their significance.
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purpose related to the

book of Revelation; ing set oftunes! Yet the book is as majestic as it is myste Indeed, readers have always struggled to say what in the book is literary art and what
is transcription of the author's visions. Perhaps the author himself could not have
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• describe the structure and rious and magnetic. According to Richard Bauckham,
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argument of the book of one ofthe finest recent scholars in this area,'Revelation answered that question.
nd
Revelation; is a book ofprofound theology,intense prophetic insight It is certainly fair to say that John struggles to find language, categories, or
• understand the themes and and dazzling literary accomplishment.' Despite its many word-pictures to explain fully what he has seen and heard. We should sympathize
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theology of the book of eccentric and esoteric interpreters, it has 'inspired the with him. His task of explaining his vision of the risen Jesus, heavenly worship,
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Revelation.
martyrs, nourished the imagination of visionary artists
2 Bauckham 2001, 1287; 1993a, 22, Contrast this with Bultmann (1951-5. 2.175) who called Revelation
"weakly Christianised Judaism'.
1 Rev, 1,4-6. 3 Bull 2017,
808 Revelation 809

the ongoing war against the dragon, the Fall oF the Roman empire, and the ulti world will not be thwarted.John i.s trving to explain,in Fact, how the divine purpose
mate consummation oFthe creator's purposes For the world, could be likened to is working itself t)ut to bring about a marriage between heaven and earth,and how,at
our coming across a primitive tribe, deep in the highlands oF Papua New Guinea, the centre of it all, is Jesus him.selF, the'lamb'who was slain, the king who will return
people living in stone-age conditions, who have never had contact with western to conquer all his adversaries, so that God will in the end dwell Fully and finally with
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civilization—and then trying to explain the Internet to them. Where would you his people.John's pastoral purpose is as much to exhort his hearers to endurance as
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begin?"" The author oFRevelation has seen and heard things which probably put to assure them (.)f God 's ultimate victorv over their adversaries. He thereFore pro
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him in that position in relation to people oFhis own dav; how much more in rela vides a God's-eye view oF the plight oF the Asian churches, and explains how Jesus'
people are destined tt) reign with him in the ne\\- creation. Along the way there are
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tion to us.
The other complicating Factor is that John's vision assumes a deep connection exhortations and prophecies, warnings and judgments, triumphs mi.xed with tears,
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between heaven and earth. George Caird provides a memorable analogv. Imagine, old adversaries and a new world. For all the (to us) vagueness of John's vision, and
or
he says, a military headquarters. Flags are clustered together on a map, and then an the vagaries of his language,the book oFRcvelation gives its audience confidence and
oFFicial gets up to move the Flags around. The Hags signif-y either current manoeu hope that'the lamb' has triumphed,and will vet triumph,over the evils oFthe world.
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vres on the battlcFicld or else proposed positions For the various units to be deployed. John describes how his \ ision was granted him while he was in exile on the small
Caird comments: Aegean island tif Patmos. His N'ision, ofJesus himselF was blinding and glorious(Rev.
tc
1.12-20), commissioning 'John' to write to the 'seven churches' in the province oF
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The strange and complex symbols of John's vision are, like the flags in this Asia (what is now western Turke)): Ephesus,Smyrna, Pergamum,Thyatira, Sardis,
parable, the pictorial counterpart of earthly realities; and these symbols too Philadelphia, and Laodicea. These specific 'letters', with relevant local colour and
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may be either determinative or descriptive. John sees some things happening in specific warnings and challenges,form the foundation in Revelation 2—3For a kind
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heaven because God has determined that equivalent events should shortly hap oF second introduction in Revelation -i—5, where John sees the heavenly throne-
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pen on earth, but other heavenly events take place , , . because earthly events room, with all creation worshipping the true God and celebrating the victory oFthe
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have made them possible.'- 'lamb'over the dark powers that have held back the creator's intentions for the world.
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John is trying to explain, in the light oFthe current cri.sis, what i.s going on with
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God's purposes in heaven, and how all that corresponds to his audience's earthly
plight. For John,as in much Jewish thought(with the Temple as its anchor), heaven
is not something spatially and temporally removed From earth. Rather, heaven is
ic
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that dimension oFGod's reality and plan which shapes and impacts events on earth.
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Heaven and earth are two aspects oFthe one stage in which God's drama to put the
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world to rights is being played out. In view oFall that,John's vision provides us with
a dramaturgical commentary on the current crisis. Revelation is partly previewing
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what is to come and partly clariFying how the tragic events that are occurring make
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sense within the wider narrative oFultimate divine triumph. ^ \ -■ '
The point is thatJohn is witness to an 'unveiling'. He has been granted a glimpse

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oFGod's glory,oFthe divine strategy and plan For the world. He has seen things which,
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though normally invisible, are radically shaping the world around us. We are given
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to understand that there is considerably more going on than meets the eye: tyranni
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cal power is neither absolute nor everlasting. God's purpo.ses For his people and the
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Mosaic with John and a disciple marking the place, according to tradition, where John saw the
4 I owe this illustration to Carson 2014,175-6. visions on the island of Patmos.
5 Caird1965b. 61. iStock.com /johncopland
810 The Early Christians and the Mission of God Revelation 811
Now, it seems, humans who arc rescued from their sin and its consequences are to islands: the apc)calvptic genre; his immersion in the Old Testament; his own aware
take their place as 'a kingdom and priests to our (iod'. and 'will reign on the earth' ness of a prophetic c.xll; the influence of the Sepcuagint on his Greek. ManyJewish
(Rev. 1.6; 5.10; 20.6 NTE/KNT). The implementation of this victory is unfolded refugees joined the grtnxing Diaspora after the debacle ofad 70. Perhaps he was
in a sequence of overlapping visions, through the trouble and suffering that will one of them."
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follow, particularly at the hands of the 'monsters'—a reference, in Revelation 13, to Or perhaps not . . . Which 'John', after all, are we talking about? John the son
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the emperor and his local officials—who will rage against the lamb's followers but ofZebedee, the apostle; or John the elder, who wrote the epistles; the author ofthe
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will be overthrown in the final outworking of his victors- over 'babylon', the oppres gospel, if he was differerit frotn both of the above; or a different John, to be called
sive imperial power and the demonic powers which sustain it. Then the true city of 'John the Seer' or'John the Divine'? Earlv tradition, beginningwithJustin Martyr,
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God', the 'newjerusalem', will appear (Rev. 21—22). regarded the apostle John, the son of Zebedee, as the author ofthe gospel, epistles,
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The book of Revelation has always appealed tt) artists: here, above all, the reader and Revelation.'- Manv h.tve pointed to the theological and terminological similar
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needs a disciplined imagination as well as a praying heart and a reasoning mind. ities between the gospel cxf john and the revelation ofJohn as proofthat the apostle
Like a great piece of music that will only yield its secrets to the mature and sensi John is the authcTr of both works (though we have argued in chapter 27 that it was
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tive player, the New Testament is designed not just to offer information about God, John the elder rather than John the son ofZebedee who wrote the gospel ofJohn).
Jesus, the world, and ourselves, but also to urge us, bv inviting us to penetrate its The gospel and Revelation appear to share the idea ofJesus as the Word,the Iamb,
tc
innermost core, to become the kind of people for whom,and indeed through whom, and 'son of man'(thcnigli the Greek words used for'word' and 'lamb are different
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it will at last all make sense. That challenge applies to everv book in the New Testa in each work). Both speak ofsalvation in terms of the 'living water'; both align the
ment, but perhaps to Revelation even more than the others. gospel message with the'manna'in the wilderness; both frame their narratives with
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motifs belonging to the exodus story; both emphasize the theme of witness. Thus
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CONTEXTUAL AND CRITICAL MATTERS
John's gospel and epistles do share with the apocalypse ofjohn a certain family
ly
resemblance.' ^
Others, however, retort chat the apocalyptic eschatology of Revelation is radi
on
Origins of the book o/ ReuelotioJi
Jewish apocalypses are usually pseudonymous: the author writes under the cally different from the realized eschatolo^v of the gospel ofjohn. This contrast,
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assumed name of an ancient figure like Adam, Enoch, Abraham, Moses, Baruch, however, is overdrawn. The gospel ofjohn retains a strong future eschatology,
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or Ezra.Some Christian apocalyp.ses used a similar literary form, writing under the and Revelation understands the victory ofthe lamb as having already taken place,
name of ancient authors (such as the books known as the Ascension ofIsaiah, the ic now to be implemented. Indeed, the notion of time itself becomes more complex
Apocalypse ofPeter, and so on). The purpose of pseudonymity was to claim author in Revelation than it might appear at first glance, with future events like resurrec
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ity from a religious figure from antiquity, and to present contemporary events as tion somehow also realized in the present.''^ What is more, 1 John,with its mixture
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prophecy come to fulfilment. The book of Revelation shares a great deal with this of realized eschatologv—expressed in terms of'life' and 'victory i^nd an intense
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kind ofliterature, but it is not anonymous: the author announces himselfas 'John', hope lov pa7onsia, can be seen as a middle point between the gospel ofjohn
and further describes himself as a 'brother'(that is, a fellow-Christian),^' a 'servant'
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and Revelation.'^'
(meaning a Christian leader), a 'prophet'(chat is, a speaker inspired by the spir When all is said and done, however, it may be the contrasts between the gospel
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it), and in effect a 'seer'(someone who receives visions).'^ The author never claims and Revelation which stand out more starkly. There are striking differences in lan
to be an apostle or eye-witness to Jesus' ministry, which .sets this book apart from, guage, grammar, and mode of discourse. The Greek ofJohns gospel is simple yet
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for instance, the claim of the 'John' who wrote the gospel and epistles.'" There
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are many signs that the author was a Palestinian Jew now removed to the Greek 11 Aune 1997-8.1.1; deSiiva 2004. 894; Dunn 2015.107,
12 Just. Dial. 81.4; Irenaeus {Adv. Hoer. 3.11.1.8; 4.20.11) attributed Revelation to the 'Lord's disciple' who also
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wrote the gospel and epistles {Adv. Haer. 1,16.3; 3.1.1; 3.11,1; 3.16,5, 8); Muratorian canon § 9. 57-8. 71; Tert.
6 Rev. 1.9:19,10, Adv. Marc. 3,14.3; 3,24,4; HippoiytusAnT/c/J/', 36-42.
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7 Rev, 1.1; 19,10; 22,9. 13 See e.g. Morris 1987. 27-35 and esp, Frey 1993.
8 Rev, 22,9 and elsewhere; he was 'in the Spirit' according to Rev, 1.10; 17,3; 21,10, 14 See e.g. Jn, 5,29; 6.39-40. 44, 54; 14.3,
9 Rev, 1,1; 22.8, and repetition of 'I saw , , ,' e.g. Rev, 1,12.17; 5,1-2. 6; 6,9: 7,1-2; 8,2; 9,1, 15 See e.g. Rev. 20.4,
10 Jn, 1.14; 21,24; IJn, 1,1-3, 16 See on 'life', 1 Jn, 3,14; 5.4-5.12; and see on 'victory', 1 Jn. 2,17-18,28; 3,2; 4.17.
sublime. The Greek of Revelation falls within 'the ransê of possible registers of of his own disine status, demanding to be addressed as 'lord and god'."^ He was
Greek usage of the 1st centuryV nonetheless it evidences Septu.tgintalisms (that is, thought to h.ive unleashed a brutal persecution against Christians, and many from
the author imitates Greek translations of the Old Testament), it is full ofsolecisms early times have supposed that it was his malevolent figure that could be seen loom
(irregular grammar,especially when alluding to scripture), and is prolix, using more ing up in the darker passages t^f Revelation.
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words than required, especially when compared with the often economical and ele While this dating might be correct, there are two points to consider. First, most
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gant Greek of the gospel. All this may. some have suggested, be intending to make persecutions of Christians were local rather than empire-wide.Ivlore often than not,
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the text sound more 'biblical'."* Added to this are differences in texture and intent. they were spasmodic rather than a matter of ongoing imperial policy.Second,while
The gospel ofjohn is about how Ciod's kingdom and God's life are revealed in the
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Domitian was autocratic, often ruthless with ene
person ofjesus: his person is visible and tangible, and meets petiple in the here and mies, and had little patience with the Roman senate,
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TABLE 34.1: THE REIGNS OF
now. In Revelation there is such a mixture of light and darkness, revelation and the portrayal of him as a despotic tvrant owes more THE ROMAN EMPERORS
or
mystery, that one is quickly confused as to events that mav transpire in the near or to the propaganda of subsequent regimes and writ AS A KEY TO DATING
distant future,or perhaps are happening alreadv. REVELATION
ers than it does to actual fact. Domitian's legacv was
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Many in early Christian circles had doubts about whether the apostle lohn wrote trashed precisely to make subsequent emperors look
Revelation. Marcion was among the first to reject his candidacv.'" Others ofa more all the more benevolent. We therefore need to take Emperor Dates ofreign
tc
proto-orthodox persuasion in the early church, including Dionvsius of Alexandria the historical accounts of Domitian's meiialomania C>
Julius Caesar 49-44 BC
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(d. AD 264), rejected the apostle John's authorship, partly due to the book's mille- and malevolence with a pinch of salt.-'" So if Domi
Augustus 31 BC-AD 14
narianism,and partly due to its different style of expression and unique theological tian was not the cruel tvrant later ^\■rite^s made him
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profile compared to the Johannine gospel and letters.-" I-usebius developed Papias's out to be, and if Christian persecution in Asia was Tiberius AD 14-37
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mention oftwo people called 'John' active in Asia, and postulated the apostle [ohn localized rather than part of an imperial policy, we Gaius Caligula AD 37-41
as the author of the gospel and John the elder as the author of Revelation.-' Some
ly
are under far less compulsion to choose a date in the Claudius AD 41-54
in the second century, the so-called Alogoi of Asia iVlinor and a Roman presbvter
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80s or 90s.
named Gaius, both driven by anti-Montanist impulses, went so far as to claim that Complicating matters, the reference in chapter Nero AD 54-68
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Revelation was in fact written by the heretic Cerinthus under lohn's name.-' 17 to the .se\ en kings, of whoni 'five have fallen, one Galba AD 68-9
us
In the end, we may allow that John's gospel, epistles, and Revelation all come is still there, and the other has not vet arrived', has Otho AD 69
from the same circle, but that different authors are responsible for them.-' Neither invited speculation on a date, despite the fact that
John the son ofZebedec nor John the elder is the 'John' of Revelation. To distin
ic the text is notoriously opaque as to which emperor is
Vitellius AD 69
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guish him, we will call him 'John the Seer'. the sixth one who is currentlv reigning." It depends Vespasian AD 69-79
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on which emperor starts the list (see Table 34.1). If Titus AD 79-81
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Date and provenance we start with Julius Caesar (not that he was tech
Domitian AD 81-96
Irenaeus, at the end of the second century, reckoned that Revelation was to be nically 'emperor', but he was clearly a major figure
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dated towards the final years of the reign of the emperor Domitian (ad 81-96).-' head), that yields Nero as the sixth. If we begin with Nerva AD 96-8
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Domitian was remembered as a megalomaniac, consumed with the promulgation Augustus, it makes Chilba sixth. Or, if we begin with Trajan AD 98-117
Galba, then Domitian would be sixth. Or perhaps
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17 Porter 1989, 603. Hadrian AD 117-38

this is the wrong way of reading the text. The num
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18 Beale 1999,100-3.
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19 Jer\. Adv. Marc. A.5. ber 'seven', after all, signifies totality and perfection.
20 Eus. Hist. Eccl. 7.25.
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21 Eus. Hist. Eccl. 3.39.4-6; 7.25.16-17.

22 Epiphanius Pan. 51.1.3-6; 51.32.2—33.3; Eus. Hist. Eccl. 3.28.1-5; 7.25,2. 25 Suet. Dom. 13.2; see Rev. 4.11.
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23 Contra Koester(2014,80-1)and Aune(1997-8, l.lv-lvi) who thinks that different authors associated with 26 Thompson 1990, 15-17, 97. 101-9. but see criticism of Thompson in Beale 1999. 9-12 and Witherington
the fourth gospel, Johannnine epistles, and Revelation, have developed biblical and early Christian traditions 2003. 5-6. The portrayal of Domitian in director Richard Mertes's The Apocalypse (2002). starring Richard
independently of each other. Harris as 'John', is a good example of the depiction of Domitian as the megalomaniacal tyrant.
24 Ueo. Adv. Haer. S.30.3. 27 Rev. 17.10.
The'seven kings'correspond to the'seven hills' of Rome: together they make a poly regime, in chc Asian cities of Ephesus and Pergamum. The book seems to indicate
valent portrayal of Roman power and the dominion of the beast. In other words, chat some Christian.s had already suffered martyrdom;"^ that they were being pres
seven literal emperors may not even be in the author's mind. sured to participate in the imperial cult;'' and chat a threat offurther large-scale
There is an attraction in starting with luliiis Caesar and making Nero the fea persecution was never far a\\-av.'" That would make sense, given that Plinys let
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tured 'sixth'. That would put Revelation in the late 6()s, art)und the time ofor after ter to Trajan, written some cwencv vears after Domitian, refers to Christians who
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Nero's pogrom against the Christians in Rome, perhaps after Nero's suicide, during had apostatized under persecution some twenty vears earlier.^^
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the year ofthe four emperors in a I) 68/9, with the chaos of Roman civil war and the Eusebius and his sources were later to regard Domitian
ongoing siege ofJeru.salem producing a vision ofglobal nightmare. Others, however,
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as a new Nero: he executed and exiled many members
would place the composition of the book much later, during the reigns of Trajan
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of chc nobilicy, confiscaced cheir property, and stirred
(98-117)-" or even Hadrian (117-38).-" No agreement is in sight.'" up persecution against the church." That view might
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However,one suggestion worthy ofconsideration is that t>f Martin Hengel. He well have been coloured bv chc attempts of subsequent
proposed that Revelation was an earlier work,the nucleus of which was written over
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emperors and their court apolc^gists to discredit Domi
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an extended period after the Neronian persecution, the Judean tian. But it coheres with some ofthe odd incidents chat are
revolt against Rome, the Temple's destruction, the murder of recorded. We hear aboi:t Domitian executinsthe nobleman
tc
Nero,and the subsequent Roman civil war which led to the Fla Flavins Clemens and banishing his wife Flavia Domicilla on
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vian dynasty (Vespasian onwards). The book might then have the charge of 'atheism', and for 'drifting into Jewish ways'.
been substantially reworked, during the reign of Trajan, Atheism was a common charge arraved against Christians,
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by a pupil ofJohn the elder who depicted his teacher and 'Jewish ways' might have included Christians too.-^®
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as having received the 'revelation' in question." An One need not accept the jaundiced tradition of Domi-
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upper limit for the final version of the book would cian's slide into a reign of anti-Christian terror to believe
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then be A!) 130, since Papias, a millennialist. seems that Christians, especially those who were socially prom Bust of Emperor Domitian,
according to Husebius to have been influenced by reigned AD 81-96
inent, were facing duress to engage in the imperial cult at
© William D. Mounce
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Revelation. the initiative of provincial authorities who were keen to
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This is highly ingenious, and there is no reason to ingratiate themselves with the imperial regime.So, most likely, Domitian was worse
rule it out. Still, the traditional datings. during the ic than his predecessors and immediate successors, but not as bad as later Roman writ
reigns of either Nero or Domitian. are not unlikely. ers made him out to be. He did not have a settled and violent anti-Christian pol
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There is in fltct little proof that Christians suffered icy even ifsome of his Asian supporters did.-*'^ Consequently,as Dunn puts it, e
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Bust of Emperor Vespasian, reigned empire-wide persecution under Domitian, but he likelihood remains ... that the Apocalypse reflects the pressures building up from
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AD 69-79 does seem to have zealously promoted the imperial the local provincial elite for citizens and residents to express their loyalty to Rome
cult, thereby sustaining enthusiasm for the Flavian by participating in the imperial cult during the reign ofDomitian.^^We note at the
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^7 Saiiko/ Wikimedio Commons CC BY 3.0
same time that it would not take much to swing the argument back to say similar
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28 John was thought to have lived into the reign of Trajan; see Iren. Adv. Haer. 2.22.5; 3.3.4 and Eus. Hist things about Nero.
id
Ecd. 3.23.2-4.
29 See survey in Witulski 2007,14-52. 33 Rev. 2.13.
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30 The problem with an early dating is that Revelation assumes the development and wide circulation of 34 Rev. 13.4-8,15-16; 14.9-11; 15.2; 16.2; 19.20; 20.4.
nd
the Nero redivivus myth whereby Nero would return from the east with an army to fight against the Roman 35 Rev. 2.3,10,13,19; 6.9-11. See Thompson 1990.16-17.
empire; see Rev. 17.8,11,14 and Sib. Or. 3.63-74; 4.119-24,137-9; 5.361-5; Mart. isa. 4.2-8. Persons claiming 36 Pliny fp. 10.96-7.
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to be Nero appeared in ad 69(Tac. Hist. 2.8), again in ad 80(Dio Cassius Hist. 66.19.3), and yet again in ad 88 37 Eus. Hist. Ecd. 3.17; 3.20.9-10.
(Suet. Ner. 57.2).
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38 DIo Cassius Hist. 67.14; Eus. Hist. Ecd. 3.18.5.

31 Hengel 1989, 51. 81. See similarly Aune 1997-8, l.lvrii, cxxi. Koester (2014, 70) wisely warns here: 39 Beale1999.12.
'Although it is possible that Revelation was written over a period of time, the attempts to reconstruct the 40 Dunn 2015.110. Also, as deSilva (2009. 52) points out:'Domitian's attitude toward his own divinity is less
stages of writing and editing are not compelling.' relevant than the enthusiasm of the local elites in Asia Minor to demonstrate their loyalty and make bids for
32 Eus. W/sf. Ecc/. 3.39.12. the attention and favour of the imperial house—by means of offering cult to the Flavian household.'
John claims to ha\c had his vision on Patmos, local synagogues."" The Christians in Pergamum and Thyatira were chastised For
-one of" the Sporadcs islands in the Aegean Sea,some eating ftôd sacrificed to idols and engaging in sexual immorality, the hallmarks of
thirty-seven miles scûth-wesc of" Miletus otf the west assimilating scKiallv to the local pagan culture."' There were different economic
Asian coast. According to traditi(m. he was ban conditions since the Smvrneans were poor whereas the Laodiceans were rich.'" The
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ished to Patmos during the reigi"! t>f" Domitian, but Ephesian church was comtnended For resisting False apostles and the Nicolaitans,"
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returned when Domitian died and his decrees were while Pergamum and Thyatira were rebuked For tolerating false teachers, includ
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annulled.'' The problem is that so Far as we know ing the Nicolaitans and a certain 'Jezeber."' Consequently, some churches needed
Patmos was a military garrison, not a penal colony.'- cncouragen"ient while t>thers needed stern rebuke. There is no sign ofa universal
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A plausible scenario is that John had been some problem afflicting them all.
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thing of a nuisance in Asia, and had been sentenced Another in"iportant factc^r in assessing the setting of the book is the extent to
or
to e.xile by a local governor. Then, after experienc which onlookers could see just how expansive and dominant Roman political, mil
itary, and econoniic power had become. Roman power was celebrated in public
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ing his visions on Patmos (not necessarilv the First
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visions he had ever received), he returned to Ephesus media like coins and inscriptions, and was venerated through the imperial cult and
to meditate upon them,share them,and write about the famous temple to Mars Ultor ('the a\'enger') in Rome itself. Babylon the Great
tc
them to the churches of Asia Minor.'' became for the early church a svmbol oFRomc.seen as both a luxuriating whore and
no
The setting of the seven churches addressed in the the seat of Mediterranean militarv power. John offers a voice from elsewhere,from
book is remarkably diverse." Contrary to popular among the 'others' who lived on the margins ofthe empire,with the boot ofRoman
o
opinion, not all of them were experiencing perse power on their throat. Rome's prosperity and glory was the cause of their poverty
.D
cution. Many churches faced a quite diFFerent chal and shame; Roman 'justiee' was often perceived as its opposite. As one subdued
ly
lenge: that of affluence and the temptation to com chieftain was alleged to have said about the Romans:'To violence,rape,and plunder,
on
promise with an idolatrous and oppressive system. they give the name "empire"; thev create desolation and call it"peace .^"Johns apoc
The churches of Ephesus, Sardis, and Laodicea were alypse is a ti"ieoh>gieallv loaded critique of Rome's vaunted greatness and goodness,
e
showing signs oFspiritual lethargy.'^ The church of its self-styled blessedness and benevolence. The book decries Rome's actual preten
us
Pergamum had a martyr in Antipas."' Thyatira and tiousness and brutalitv, offeringan alternative perspective on how Rome looksfrom
Philadelphia were commended For their endurance ic below. David dcSilva puts it clcgantlv:
in the Face of opposition; the church oFSmyrna was
m
going to face persecution;'" Philadelphia was prom John raises his voice alongside those of other protesters like the authors of
de
ised that though there was a trial coming, it would 4 Ezra and 2 Baruch. John was not a solitary, raving lunatic. The asylum was full
ca
escape.''^ The churches oFSmyrna and Philadelphia of people who just couldn't 'see things' in line with the official picture.The mul
tiplicity of voices calling out against Rome's injustices at the close of the first
la
were encountering religious rivalry and slander From

century, of which John's voice was one, help us to see that Jews and Christians
ua
in Asia Minor were not only concerned about local affairs, internecine strife,
id
41 Eus. Hist. Eccl. 3.18.1; 3.20.8-9; 3.23.1. 6. or throwing stones at the church or synagogue across the way. The system,
42 Thompson 1990,143.
iv
43 See Bauckham 1993a, 3-4. and deSilva 2004. 890.

together with all its local manifestations, was also a major problem. Uniting the
nd
44 See Bauckham 1993a. 15-17; Koester 2001b. 54-69; deSilva

2009.29-63.
ri
45 Rev. 2.4-5; 3.1-3.15-18. 50 Rev. 2.9: 3.9; see Witherington 2003,98-100; deSilva 2009, 55-8.
4r3 Rev. 2.13. Longenecker (2016) bases his stirring and informative
Fo
51 Rev. 2.14, 20. Some have seen this as a jibe at the position of Paul as in 1 Cor. 8—10.
fictional work on this character; well worth reading! 52 Rev. 2.9; 3.17.
47 Rev. 2.19; 3.8-10. 53 Rev. 2.2. 6.
48 Rev. 2.10. 54 Rev. 2.14-16, 20-23.
49 Rev. 3.10. 55 Jac.Agric. 30 (tr. M. F. Bird).
.Jr
practice of exerting control and maintaining peace through violent suppression Participatit)!! in rites and rituals, whether at thedinner ofa trade guild,during public
of dissent, the promotion of an economy arranged for the great benefit of the games, or before a family shrine featuring the emperor's image, was the moment to
few. and the prominent use of religious language and ritual to claim sacral legit demonstrate t>ne's loyaltv and gratitude towards the imperial family. This is why
imation for these arrangements—uniting these is both the genius of Rome and John singles out Pergamum as the place where 'Satan has his throne'," since Per-
e.
the heap of her sins for which John excoriates her.' gamiim was among the first to receive the title 'temple warden'ofthe imperial cult.
ut
It had a temple to the goddess Roma and to the Augusti,alongwith an immense altar
rib
The 'religious' dimension of the empire is very significant for understanding the to Zeus on top of a nearbv [uouncain. Vet John urges his readers to flee from Babylon
the Great, to refuse to worship the beast, and to reject the seduction ofprosperity
st
book of Revelation.''' Temples to the goddess Roma and to the empertrr and his fam
enmeshed in blasphemy. According to John, it was not Rome's dios (Zeus/Jupiter)
di
ily, along with shrines, coinage,and images celebrating the etiiperor's stattis and divin
ity, had saturated Asia Minor since the time of Augustus. Serving as a priest in the but Israel's (Ciod) who was in charge of history; it was not the (venerable
or
imperial cult was much coveted and sought after, bestowing a special relationship to emperor) but the iltrisios(N lessiah) who was the agent ofsalvation; and it was not the
Roman people, but the church, chat was destined to reign over the earth.
y
imperial power. The emperor offered benefactions in the form of stabilitv, security,
op
peace, and prosperity, and the highest mode of reciprocation bv cities who enjoyed
Genre
tc
his favour was divine worship, with worship gradated according to the benefactions
given. By the end of the first century, all seven cities that John mentions had cul- The book of Rcs elation is an eclectic mixture of epistle, prophecy, and apoca
no
tic sites for imperial devotion. Six (all e.xcept Thyatira) possessed imperial temples; lypse. First, the book is bracketed with an epistolary framework and contains sev
five (all except Philadelphia and Laodicea) had imperial altars with a priesthood.''^ eral prophetic coracles couched as letters.^''' Second, Revelation is umbilically con
o
nected to biblical prophcc\- iii both form and concent, and explicitly presents itself
.D
w as 'prophecy'(sec further below)."' Third, above all, the book is m apocalypse sinct
ly
it is titled as the 'apocalypse of lesus Christ' and exemplifies several devices and
on
themes asscjciated with the slippery category of'apocalyptic'.^" The book ofRevd^'
tion is, then, a lengthy circular letter,substantively a prophetic apocalypse, chat was
e
intended for dissemination among the Asian churches.^"'
us
Before we go an)- fu rther, we have to pause and consider what we might mean by
ic the contested term 'apocalyptic', paying attention to its cognate areas ofrevelatory
experiences, worldview, sociology, and literary expression.^"*
m
First, central to 'apocalyptic' is the report of like visions or
de
dreams. We refer here to someone, the 'seer', who e.xperiences a revelation ofthings
ca
not usually perceptible—sometimes seeing, sometimes hearing, sometimes both.

We know about this because seers often write down what they remember having
la
seen and heard, which chev interpret as an 'unveiling'ofthe true nature,the God s-
ua
eye perspective perhaps, of present reality and/or events yet to come. This kind of
id
iv
59 Rev. 2.13.
nd
Remains of the temple of Artemis, Sardis 60 Rev. 1.4-5; 22.21; Rev. 2,1-3.22, See Koester 2014,109-12.
61 Rev. 1,3; 22.6-7. See Boring 1974; Aune 1983. 274-88; 1997-8.1.lxxv-lxxvi; Koesler 2014,107-9.
ri
't/ William D. Mounce

62 Rev. 1.1. The major differences between Revelation and Jewish apocalypses are: (1) Revelation is not
pseudonymous;(2) Revelation is prolific in the extent of visual imagery employed and is meagre when it
Fo
56 deSilva2009.48. comes to the interpretation of the imagery itself(Bauckham 1993a,9-12).

57 On 'religion' in the first-century Roman world, and the sharp differences between what 'religion' meant 6.3 Bauckham 1993a, 2; 2001,1288.
then and what it means now, see e.g. Wright PFG. ch. 4. 64 See Aune 1987, 227-31; Thompson 1990, 23-4; Collins 2016.14-26 for a similar breakdown. On 'apoca
58 deSiiva 2009,41. lyptic' in recent Pauline scholarship, see Wright P/?/. Part 11.
experience presupposes chat reality is more complex and multi-dimensional than it there is an ongoing struggle on several planes, and a hidden divine plan to resolve
normally appears, and chat, in particular, the sphere of normal human experience that struggle. I'hc message of the seers, varvinglv described, pertains to how the
is not after all separated from the sphere of the angels and their creator bv a great earth's inhabitants have gone their own way. and their rulers have abused their
gulf, but rather'heaven' and 'earth' in fact overlap and interlock in a variety ofways. power. Heaven's answer to that is not to pull up the drawbridge and provide back
e.
Second, this leads us to what some have supposed to be a particular stairs access for those who can escape, but to reassert the claims ofthe God ofheaven
ut
worldview, the theological map of reality that is disclosed through an unveiling of and earth on his whole two-sided creation. This always involves conflict with the
rib
otherwise concealed mysteries. Here we have to be careful, because the literarv genre, powers that ha\e usurped his rule on earth, whether pagan or Jewish. We should
and the experience which may or may not lie behind it, should not itself be mistaken note that all of this might be said of books such as Deuteronomy, 1 and 2 Kings,
st
for a 'worldview'.'Apocalyptic' texts regularly display a number of binary configu Isaiah 40—55,and manv other prophets. In other words,'apocalyptic'writing high
di
rations (present and future, heaven and earth, light and darkness, good and evil). lights what in other Jewish writing is often onlv implicit: the narrative ofa struggle
or
between earth 1\- and hea\enl\- agents,culminating in God's reversal ofthe suffering
of his people and retribution meted out on the wicked.
y
op
Third, when Jewish groups throughout the period were faced with a crisis,such
as a major threat from pagan powers, their understanding of this crisis and their
tc
yearning for their Clod to act to undo the problem could and sometimes did lead to
no
what some have perhaps misleadinglv called tipocalypticisjii. This purported apoca-
lypticistn is an entire mt»od or mode in which a group organizes itselfsocially, cul
o
turally, narratively, and religiouslv around the perceived crisis, believing that it is
.D
playing a central part in the situation and looking for a divine resolution.(Again,we
ly
f!m$m note that this w()uld well deseribe the undcrlving view ofthe book ofEsther,which
on
is about as 'im-apoealyptic' in other re.spects as one can imagine.)Some groups t at
acquire the mcKlern label 'apocalyptic'claimed a privileged perspective on world
e
affairs, often by revelation or inspiration, on the true nature of the opposition,
us
and on the final resolution of the group's plight. At least one third of the Psalms
ic exhibit signs of this, chough thev are not often referred to in discussions of'apoca
lyptic'. What we moderns have called 'apocaivpticism', then,appears to be a height
m
encd version of a phenomenon known much more widely in the Hebrew scriptures,
de
The ancient theatre of Pergamum

kathmanduphotog/Shutterstock in second-Temple Jewisli life, and indeed among early Christians: a situation of
ca
trauma, alienation, persecucitin, or discmpowerment is interpreted within a cheo

logical' perspective, from which emerges the hope for resolution and rescue, and a
la
These are, however,common to mostJewish writings across a long period, including

the writings of the rabbis, who set their faces firmly against the dangerous and rev word ofencouragement and perhaps a call to action tor the faithful in the Chris
ua
olutionary tendencies of'apocalyptic'. The idea that 'apocalyptic' was 'dualist' goes tian context,for the Messiah himself to implement on earth thevictory already won,
and for his people to take courage and stand tJrm.^'"'The writing we call apocalyptic
id
back to a fear, on the part ofsome nineteenth-century scholars, of the revolutionary

is then designed to encode at least a tacit protest, through narratives freighted with
iv
tendencies of the literature when contrasted with what they saw as the smoother
nd
lines of'prophecy'. Writings wc label 'apocalypses' do not in fact necessarily display interccxtuality and metaphor, against the threatening powers. Such writing, like
many other writings in Jewish and early Christian circles,is earthed in,and designed
ri
a crude dualism between the earthly and the heavenly, much less the material versus
the spiritual. They presuppose, as do the Hebrew scriptures as a whole, the belief to strengthen, a community which hopes for the subversion ofthe current order and
Fo
that heaven and earth overlap, with the Temple as the obvious locus where that its replacement with a new divinelv sanctioned one.
overlap becomes reality. Just like the 'historical' and 'prophetic' books of the Old
Testament,'apocalyptic' writings stress—though in a different literarv mode—that 6^ Becker and Jdris 2016.
A- _
Fourth, an 'apocalypse' is chcrel-ore the spcciFic llter.ii v expression, in the mode Given all this. \vc iicire chat John the Seer has not written an 'apocalypse' after
of'revelation', ofthis much larger worldview. An apocaivpse, according to one defi the manner of. sav. •/ He writes in his own name, without employingpseud-
nition, is onymity. The way itc makes fresh use ofthe ancient prophets is quite different from
the authors of contcmporarv Jewish apocalypses such 4EzrUy 2Bariccb,3Barucfy,
e.
a genre of revelatory literature with a narrative framework, in which a revela 2Enoch, and the .Ipoc.ilypsc of.Ihr.ih.iw. He docs occasionally report conversations
ut
tion is mediated by an otherworldly being to a human recipient, disclosing a between iiimscif and an angelic interpreter, but never do we have that step-by-step
rib
transcendent reality which is both temporal, insofar as it envisages eschatolog- interpretation of visions which, beginning with Daniel 7, became the stock-in-trade
oflater writers. He oscillates, as Daniel docs, between fairly literal description (as in
st
ical salvation, and spatial, insofar as it involves another supernatural world ...
Rev. 18) and reported visions which, if unintcrprcted, would remain dense and
di
intended to interpret present, earthly circumstances in light of the supernatural
world of the future, and to influence both the understanding and the behaviour impenetrable (as in Rev. 1.^—20), The book may be titled the'apocalypse ofjesus
or
of the audience by means of divine authority.'' Christ'(Re\'. 1.1)."^ but it is also described as 'prophecy'(Rev. 1.3: 10.11; 22.7,10,
18-19) that takes place 'in the Spirit'(Rev. 1.10; 4.2; 17.3). The writer classes him
y
op
The genre we call'apocalypse'frecjuently contains extended symbolic reviews of self among the 'prophets'(Rev. 22.9). and his testimony is 'the Spirit of prophecy
world history (such as the statue with its four metals in Dan. 2) and/or the descrip (Rev. 19.10). I hiis. wiiilc John has written an apocalypse, clearly analogous to other
tc
tion ofotherworldly journeys. The result is the narration of a (lod's-cye view of his Jewish apocalypses in terms of litcrarv devices and theological assumptions (replete
no
tory, the present, and the future, also offering 'a transcendent, usuallv cschatolog- with vision reports, nllmcrolog^^ cosmic phenomena,angelic visitations,cataclysmic
ical perspective on human experiences and values'.''" Again, we note that the same judgments,and multi-layered symbolism)."" his book is more properly understood as
o
could be said ofa good many biblical and sub-biblical books not usuallv thought of prophecy, written up in 'apocalvptic' mode."
.D
as 'apocalypses'.
ly
Interpretation (oid pinpose
on
The history ofthe interpretation ofthe book ofRevelation reveals something of
EARLIEST COPIES OF THE BOOK OF REVELATION the open nature of the book. It has generated a constellation ofinterpretative strat
e
egics and elicited a wide range of meanings.'From Hippolycuss ChristnndAnti
us
Siglum Manuscript name Date Contents Christ to the Left Behind novels, manv have seen it as offering a timetable,a road map
^98 P.IFAO II 31 2nd century 1.13-20 ic towards the 'end times'. From as early as the second century there has been a steady
stream of'millennialisc' interpreters who saw the book as prophesying a concrete new
m
P.Oxy. VIII1079 3rd century 1.4-7
world' very like the present one. only with evil, sin, and death banished.This kind
de
P.Beatty III 3rd century 9.10-17.2 ofapproach was taken by Papias, Ccrinthus,Justin Martyr,and Tertullian.The first
ca
^115 P.Oxy LXVI4499 3rd/4th century 2.1-3,13-15,27-29; 3.10-12;

actual commentary on Revelation, that of Victorinus in the third century, was also
millennial (in other word.s. believing that Jesus would reign on earth for a thousand
la
5.8-9; 6.4-6; 8.3-5

ycar.s). On the other hand,there have always been interpreters who have understood
ua
P.Oxy X1230 4tti century 5.5-8; 6.5-8 the book to be figu rativc, symbolic, and thus inviting allegorical interpretation.
id
Codex Sinaiticus 4th century complete

iv
A Codex Alexandrinus 5th century complete 58 Tf, M. F. Bird.

nd
69 See Bauckham 1993b, 38-91; Aune 1997-8, l.lxxxii-xc; Collins 2016,338-50.

70 Aune (1997-8, 1,lxxxix-xc) calls Revelation a 'prophetic apocalypse' and Beale (1999, 38) says, John
ri
combines an epistolary form together with the apocalyptic-prophetic style.' Note also the observation of J. J.
Collins (2015, 6-7): 'To say that a text is an apocalypse is not to exclude the possibility that it may be simul
Fo
taneously something else; or to put it another way, the fact that a text can be profitably grouped with apoc
66 J, J. Collins 1979, 9; 2016, 5; A. Y. Collins 1986. 7. See also Aune (1997-8, l.lxxxti) who focuses on a mix alypses does not exclude the possibility that it may be also profitably grouped with other texts for different
ture of form, content, and function. See too especially Rowland 1982. purposes.'
67 Aune 1997-8, l.lxxxii. 71 See Koester 2014, 27-65; Kovacs and Rowland 2004.
Debates about its interpretation go back to like the rise of die CJoths, the Arabs, the Mongols, the medieval papacy. Napoleon,
at least third-centurv Ivgvpc, where Ncpos Hitler, and the Soviet Union. This has the opposite problem to thepreterisc inter
argued lor a 'k'wish' and 'licerar interpre pretation: instead of the book being relevant to early readers but to nobody else,
tation. while in response Dion)'sius com these readings make it sporadically relevant from time to time in subsequent history
e.
mended what he tliought was a deeper while making it hard to see what its first readers were supposed to think ofit. Such
ut
and more considered allegt)ricai appropri readings have proved a happy hunting-ground for various small groups who have
rib
ation. - Others again—one thinks here of managed to interpret this or chat passage in specific reference to their own local
Jolin Calvin, who wrote commentaries on ized situation.
st
all the books ot the New Testament escept Third, there are futitrht perspectives.
di
Revelation—are honest enough to confess This is like the 'historicist' reading, with
or
to being straightforwardlv confounded as Revelation predicting long-range future
to what the hook is about. To look at it posi events, except that the 'history' in cjues-
y
op
tively, the multiple ways the book has been tion onh" begins in what, for us, is the
received and interpreted around the world 'modern' period. Revelation is thus seen as
tc
proves just how ricli and powerful the text primarilv predicting distant future events,
no
is, and how many ways it can resonate with usLiallv transpiring in the twentieth or
readers in diverse cultural contexts."' twenty-first centurv, such as the rise of the
o
Foil r major approaches to the interpreta European Union, the establishment of the
.D
tion of the book of Revelation have emerged modern state of Israel, the United Nations,
ly
down the years. ' and the World Ciouncil of Churches, and
on
First, there are prctcrist perspectives. the emergence of Saddam Hussein,or even
These look for a specific fulfilment of the Al Qaeda and ISIS. Interpreters of this
e
prophecies of the book in actual events that type usually understand the letters to the
us
Jaume Huguet's painting of St Michael
vanquishing the antichrist reveals scriptural have now already happened, with some fix seven churches in Rei'dation 2—3 allegor- Vivid depiction of the first resurrection from
ically. as temptations faced bv the church the French illuminated book. The Cloisters
imagination of the fifteenth century, c. 1455- ing on the events leading up to the fall of ic
1460, National Art Museum of Catalonia, in everv age, and then treat the I'isions of Apocalypse, f. 34 r., c. 1330, Metropolitan
m
Jerusalem in ad 70 and others supposing
Museum of Art, New York
Barcelona.
that fulfilment came in the fourth-century Revelation 6 —19 as a literal and linear
de
Public Domain
PD-US
collapse of the pagan Roman empire and its scries of events, complete with the 'rap
ca
Christianization under Constantine. This view certainly appears to make Revela ture', the 'tribulatii^n', and the 'millennium' that is to take place on the eve of the
world's end. The problem here is that interpreters fail to grasp the rhetorical and
la
tion relevant to the immediate circumstances of its early readers, but it appears to
make it much less relevant to subsequent generations, including our own. And, as symbolic nature of apocah'ptic discourse,and frequently display a highly parochial
ua
many have noted, even Constantine's Christian empire does not look exactly like and provincial interpretative strategv, supposing that world history is all about
id
the new heavens and new earth promised in Revelation 21—22. themselves.
Fourth, there are idealist interpretations."'' These regard Revelation as a multi-
iv
Second, there are historicist approaches. By this scholars have meant that Reve
layered symbolic porrraval of the conflict taking place between the kingdom of
nd
lation was predicting the entire course ofsubsequent world history, including things
God and the kingdoms of this world in the time between the victory ofJesus on
ri
the cross and his final return. This generalized account leaves room for various
Fo
72 Eus. Hist. Eccl. 3.24-5.

73 See Rhoads 2005.
74 See Beale 1999, 44-9; deSilva 2009, 2-6.
75 The words 'historicist' and 'historicism' are used in many different ways, but this is how the view here 76 Again, Ihe word 'idealist' carries a great many possible connotations, but is used here simply as a conve
described is often labelled. nient label for the view described.
kinds of allegorical and symbolic understandings of the tlieological. spiritual, and thunder, the reading of the Apocalypse moved
OUTLINE OF THE BOOK
political realities of the whole period. What can be lost with this approach, how its hearers, affected them; the text did something
OF REVELATION'
ever, is the sense ofimminence.John insists that he is talking about things that will to them.
happen 'soon'.
e.
1. Prologue (1.1-3)
The best course seems to be an eclectic approach to the interpretation of Revela The author is nor trying to console his audi
ut
2. Opening greetings, doxology,
tion. We must insist that the book would have been highlv relevant to its first read ence with the truth that all is well in heaven and and oracle (1.4-8)
rib
ers(who lived in a culture where this kind of book was much better known than it one day all will he blissful on earth. Rather, he is 3. John's vision of the son of man
has been in the modern period). There were specific challenges and Revelation was calling them to be!ie\ e and bcha\e in the light of (1.9-20)
st
written to meet them; we should not regard the problems facing the seven churches, the triumph of the 'Iamb'and the coming redemp 4. Letters to the seven churches
di
(2.1-3.22)
or the letters addressed to them, as other than specific words to specific situations tive judgment of Chid. He reassures readers, but
or
5. John's visions of the heavenly
(though ofcourse with multiple subsecjuent resonances). At the same time the book also calls them to repent if thcv haN e compromised thrones(4.1-5.14)
clearly envisages an eventual triumph over all the powers of evil including death with false teaching or consorted with the beast and
y
6. The seven seals (6.1—8.5)
op
itself, which, as with Romans 8 or 1 Corinthians 15, has clearlv not happened yet. its agents.John's descriptions of his own visions are 7. The seven trumpets(8.6—11.19)
The preterist and the futurist views thus both have something going for them, but designed to recast the church's \ ision of God and 8. The dragon,the beast, and the
tc
not everything. At the same time, as with biblical prophecs' more generally, the rich the worid by seeing them in the light ofthe 'divine church (12.1—15.4)
no
symbolic language invites multiple 'applications'and 'interpretations' as the various 9. The seven bowls(15.5—16.21)
actions above, within, and beneath the surface of
10. Babylon the whore (17.1—19.10)
systems of pagan power behave in characteristic ways and the church is faced with history's tapcstrv'.
11. The open heaven and the new
o
the challenge both of understanding what is happening and acting appropriately.
.D
Jerusalem (19.11-21.8)
One should,in fact, read Revelation with a robust biblical-theological perspective in 12. The bride of the lamb
THE STORY OF THE BOOK
ly
mind,ready to engage simultaneously with the concrete historical life ofthe church (21.9-22.9)
OF REVELATION
on
in first-century Asia Minor and with the challenges posed for Cod's people by the 13. Epilogue (22.10-21)
worldviews, and world events, ofour own dav. (Sec box:'Outline of the bcmk of Revelation'.)
* There is considerable debate over
e
John the Seer's apocalypse is designed to be highly affective, not just by stir the structure of the book of Revelation,
us
ring the emotions, but in challenging and reshaping the audience's imagination. 1. Prologue (1.i-3) particularly pertaining to the organi
zation of the cycles of visions in Rev.
The book is designed to inspire its readers to reaffirm their allegiance to God and
ic The first line d esignates the book as 'the rev 6-19. Debate focuses on whether the
his Messiah, and in that light to praise the faithful, shame the wicked, and steel elation of Jesus Christ' (sec box:'The title of the various visions, with their seals, trum
m
the resolve of the churches to resist the monstrous and idolatrous Roman power. book'). The word apoctilypsis means the unveiling pets,and bowls, are meant to be taken
de
in a linear and successive fashion, or

John intends to call out lukewarm faith and acculturation, and above all to urge his of a hitherto unknown transcendent reality. Jesus whether there is a series of recapitu
ca
hearers to persevere in the faith despite suffering. It is those who 'overcome' who is both the author and content of this unveiling, lations and rehearsals. Are there any
interludes or overlaps? See discussion
will receive the crown oflife. To achieve this end. Revelation uses vivid imagery to which pertains to events which 'must soon take
la
in Bauckham 1993b,1-37; Aune 1997-8,

describe acosmic conflict,layered with symbolism,dripping with biblical allusions, place'. The order of the transmission of the revela l.xc-cv; Beale 1999,108-51.
ua
and replete with local knowledge. A. D. Callahan writes: tion depicted here runs:
id
iv
The auditors who came together to hear the Apocalypse were summoned to a God Jesus Christ angel John servants of God
nd
transformative experience. Those first ancient auditors of the Apocalypse came

together not merely to be informed, but to be transformed, to undergo a collec As a prophet-servanc of God, John had a vision; he now provides a 'testimony'
ri
tive change in consciousness, an aspiration that makes modern individual and to what he saw, which is no less than 'the word ofGod'and the 'testimony ofjesus'.
Fo
group reading practices trivial by comparison, with the possible exception of

the reading of wills. Reading the Apocalypse aloud, and hearing the Apocalypse
77 Callahan 1995, 460 (italics original).
read aloud, was effectual: through exhortations and exclamations, threat and 78 Witherington 2003,15.
Added to char is a bcnctiictioii, tlic first of sev God (see e.g. Isa. 41.10-1-4; 43-1; 44.6;
THE TITLE OF THE BOOK
eral, indicatitii; chat John expects the readers 48.12) and the identification of God as
and auditors of this prophecy to be blessed if 'Alpha and Oniega' in Revelation itself
In most early manuscripts, the title of they adhere to its message (es identlv it was to (see Rev. l.S). CJhrist therefore 'shares
e.
the book is simply 'Revelation of John'
be read out in corporate worship). The\" must do in the power, the rule, the glory, and the
ut
[Apokalypsis loannou), but in later
so because 'tile time is near': manv of the events being of the one true God'.^-
rib
witnesses there are manifold varieties
of, and expansions to, the title. The displayed here will soon come to pass.
st
longest and most descriptive title 4. Letters to tlu- .scixui clutrdics
comes from a manuscript housed at 2. 'M y.-i (.ioxolo^y, (2.1—3.22)
di
Mount Athos, numbered 1775, which unci fjKC'b.- ( 1 .2 y.) The letters to the se\en churches are
or
reads:'The Revelation of the all-
John, writing this 'letter', designates himself prophetic oracles of paraenesis (advice,
glorious Evangelist, bosom-friend [of
y
Jesus], virgin, beloved to Christ, John as the author and greets the 'seven churches of counsel), praise, and rebuke. They fol
op
the theologian, son of Salome and the pros ince of Asia' (as in chapters 2 and 3). low the general pattern of: (1) a com
The greeting comes from the triune God him mand to write to 'the angel' of a given
tc
Zebedee, but adopted son of Mary the
Mother of God, and Son of Thunder." self: throughout the book Jesus the iVIessiah is church (th;it is, its angelic representa
no
the mediator of divine testimony, pre-eminent tive); (2) a pronouncement formula.
• Metzger1994,729.
in the new creation, and supreme over the kings Thus says (Cii eek Ic^ci, sometimes The son of man and the seven lampstands from
o
rendered T hese are the wtirds of ), com Bamberger Apocalypse, c. 1000
.D
who conspire against(iod's reign (1.4-5a).John
Public Domain
refers to the spirit dramatically in terms of.fcrc;/ spirits, reflecting the number of per bined NS'ith a self-description bv Christ,
ly
fection. God's gospel oflove has rescued people from sin, to make them 'priests' and drawn mostly from imagery already given in Revelation 1.16-20;(3) a statement
on
'kings'(see Ex. 19.5; Rev. 5.10; 20.6). The church,like the'son of man'and his people of something C.hrist knows about the church, generating particular exhortations,
in Daniel 7.14, 27, are destined to hold dominion in a transformed world-order. commendations, and/or acciisatic^ns, all in the light of Christ's pa)vnsia-P (4) a
e
Christ is the Passover lamb whose love and sacrifice brings about a new exodus and command to heed what the spirit is saving to the churches; and (5) a promise of
us
a reordering of power in heaven and earth where the churcli has a royal atid priestly deliverance, made to 'the one who overcomes'. Most of the letters draw on local cir
vocation (1.5b-6).'^John adds two prophetic oracles, rooted in .scripture, highlight ic cumstances peculiar tti each region,though the connections are not always certain.
The letter to tiie Ephesians (2.1-7) commends the church for endurance and
m
ing respectively the vindication of Jesus and the overall sovereignty ofGod (1.7-8).
the non-tolerance of wicked and deceitful persons. But Christ rebukes them for
de
3. John's ujsion of the son of mcui (1.9-20) forsaking their first love.
ca
John's opening vision, constituting his prophetic commission,came to him when The Smyrneans (2.8—11) are characterized by social poverty, perhaps because
la
in a spirit-given ecstasy on the lord's dav.'^" A loud voice told him to write an account they refused to partake in commerce tainted with idolatry; but they are spiri
of what he saw and send it to the seven churches (1.9-11). When he 'turned to tually rich. Tliey are involved in sectarian tensions with local Jewish groups, who
ua
see the voice', he saw the glorified Christ, whom he describes in language drawn 'denounce' the church to the local authorities for not worshipping the local gods
id
from Daniel 7.9, 13 and 10.5-6:'one like a son of man' standing among 'seven or the emperor. By calling them a 'synagogue of Satan',John indicates that these
iv
golden lampstands', recalling the seven-branched lampstand in the Temple.'^' The Jewish leaders have become accusers', siding with Roman idolatry against the
nd
figure is majestic, both royal and divine, and John falls at his feet; but Jesus tells Messiah s people.''^ This will lead to suffering, but the Smyrnean Christians must
him not to be afraid, and commissions him as his messenger. The words'Do not remain faithful.
ri
be afraid, I am the first and the last' echo Isaiah's strongly monotheistic vision of
Fo
82 Koester 2001b, 54.

'h Bauckham 2001,1290. 83 Bauckham 2001.1291.
a ; On the visions experienced by Christian leaders, see Ac. 10.10; 16.9: 2 Cor. 12,2-3. 84 See Hemer 1986; Thompson 1990, 95-167.
e- See Ex. 25.31-40; Zech. 4.2. 85 Bauckham 2001,1291.
Icsiis .uldrcsscs the Pcrgamum The letter to the church in Philadelphia
PORTALS AND PARALLELS:
■< £Z ■//.
church (2. 12-)"} from his position as (3.7-13) stresses Jesus' messianic authority IMPERIAL HYMNS IN
O-
the one bearing;! \liarp. double-edged as the one who holds the all-powerful 'key of
^ 'fJêrgatfiurn-j ■ . ^ '": PERGAMUM
sword', symbolizing liis role as judge. David'."'* The Phil.idelphians are faithful yet
e.
1 he church has remained true, right weakened through opposition from a local syn-
11^'
ut
A
" c
The cities of Asia would celebrate and
there where the satan is enthroned agogue. Jesus offers them a door into his pres worship the imperial family in a number
/" ^y/yi'j;- .*f hlladelphia
rib
CHIOS<
•C £phesus' • :- (rek-rring to the Altar ofZeus and the ence, re\ er.sal of status from marginalization to of ways, often with festivals, featuring
imperial cult). Hut there is ialse te;iching vindication, and defence in the coming trial.
st
liaddtcea, ^ ^ /'^' singing, feasting, and merriment. Those
and immoral practice in the church, and The Laodicean letter (3.14-22) is perhaps who did not turn up to sing, cheer, eat,
di
^^PATMOS
and make merry would have been
<k '5 --. -'-<•'•'>•/■ •' '•■• ' ->
its members must repent. Paul had per the most famous of all. Laodicea was a prosper
or
noticeable by their absence, and would
mitted believers to eat idol-h)od, ;is long ous church, yet riches had corrupted the believ eventually have aroused suspicions
• •tt*. Cnldus / . • -K
ers. Whereas the nearby cities of Hierapolis and
y
^1, R3ta1€i as it did not ofknd a kilow-beiiever and about their loyalty and devotion to the
op
'^Rhodes
RHQ
was not consumed in a pagan temple. Colossae were km^wn for hot springs and cold local deities and the imperial regime.
John (perhaps following the apostolic fresh water respectively, the Laodicean water, One inscription from Pergamum reads:
tc
M e d i t i ir r a n e a n Sea
letter of Acts 15.20, 29) took a harder halfway between, was known for its tepid tem Since one should each year make
no
line, forbidding the consumption of any perature. The Laodiceans are like that: spiri clear display of one's piety and of all
Seven eliuuties ol meat associated with pagan sacrifices, tually lukewarm. Jesus is nause;ited bv them. holy, fitting intentions towards the
o
so km.
Revel.ilicin I <
and regarding it as a form of .spiritual He is knocking on their door, offering them Imperial house, the choir of all Asia,
.D
so miles
close mealtime fellowship. If thev accept the gathering at Pergamum on the most
adultery. Whereas some, the 'Jezebel'
The seven churches holy birthday of Sebastos Tiberius
ly
ofThyatira and the 'Nicolaitans'ofPer- offer and overcome, they will share his throne,
Caesar god, performs a task that
on
gamum, were attempting to secure the participation of Cdiristians in social and eco just as Jesus shares the father's throne. The ref contributes greatly to the glory of
nomic life (sec 'Portals and parallels: imperial hsmns in Pergamum'), for John, true erence to thrones points ahe;id to the dramatic Sebastos in hymning the imperial
e
faithfulness requires the churches to adopt a separatist disposition.'' If the believers visions which nc!w follow. house and performing sacrifices to
us
in Pergamum avoid idol-food, they will be given 'hidden manna' and a 'white stone' the Sebastan gods and conducting
festivals and feasts. . .'
with a new name written on it, that is, nourishment and protection. 5. John's visions of flic heavenly thrones
The church in Thyatira (2.18-29) is prai.sed for many virtues, but scolded for tol
ic (4.1—5.14)
m
* Cited in Price 1984,105.
erating immorality, represented by the figure of'Jezebel'.'''' As Stuckenbruck observes: John i.s now granted acccs.s incc! the divine
de
For John the influence ofJezebel within the Christian community is the microcosm throne-room in heaven itself. He is not, as
ca
of aporneia that is taking place on a grander scale in the Roman Empire. Those some have supposed, looking into the ultimate future; contrast this vision with
who resist such idolatry, a spiritual and political form porrwid, are promised a share chat in chapters 21 and 22. Rather, he is glimpsing what is going on in God's pres
la
in the Messiah's worldwide rule, as in Psalm 2. ence throughout the pre.sent time. God is on the throne, surrounded by twenty-four
ua
The church in Sardis (3.1-6) has a history of good deeds, but is in spiritual tor elders, seven spirits of God, and four living creatures (4.1-8a). They are perpetu
por. The believers there need to wake up and change their 'dirty clothes' for clean
id
ally worshipping the one on the throne: the creatures praise the holy God, and the
ones. The lord is coming like a thief in the night and they must be ready.'"' The book elders give the reason: beozase he created all things (4.8b-ll). Whatever is happen
iv
nd
of life will contain the names of those who 'conquer'.'^' ing with God's people on earth, this praise continues perpetually. The apparent
tension emerges in chapter 5: God's purposes cannot go forward, because there
ri
86 1 Cor. 8.4-13:10.14-33; Rom. 14.6, 21.

is no human being to act on God's behalf to rescue the human race and so get the
Fo
87 Stuckenbruck 2003,1542.
88 IKgs. 16.21; 2 Kgs. 9.22. project of creation itself back on track. The 'lion of Judah', however, who is also the
89 Stuckenbruck 2003.1542.
90 See Mt. 24.42-44; Lk. 12.39-40; 1 Thess. 5.2; 2 Pel. 3.10; Rev. 16.15.
91 Rev. 3.5; 13.8; 17.8; 20.12.15; 21.27. 92 Taken from Isa. 22.22-23.
'lamb ofGod',has won the victory over the dark powers. A new song cmcrgc.s from supernatur.il evil. Erom the Abvss ri.ses toxic smoke and an army,described as locusts
the assembled company, whose ranks then vastly swell: blessing, hoiiour, glory, and (sec again Ex. 10.1-6). The angel's name is given as'Apollyon', the destroyer(8.13—
power belong to the one on the throne, and the lamb. Jesus, the lion-Iamb, Israel's 9.12). The sixth crumpet brings further plagues ofdestruction, unleashing an army
Messiah, the true man, shares the worship which belongs iiniquelv and exclusively of 200 million cavalry troops from the River Euphrates. This image plays on the
e.
to the one creator God.''^ Roman fear of a massive Parthian invasion from the east; the description ofthe army
ut
as exuding fire, smoke, and sulphur indicates its demonic origin. The onslaught is
rib
6. The seuen seals (6.1—8.5) another opporcunit\- to repent from various practices—murder, magic, perversion,
st
The scroll has seven seals which the'lamb' must now undo. The first four release and theft—which all follow from not worshipping the true God (9.13-21).
four riders, bringing judgment in the shape ofconquest, deadly warfare,fimine,and
di
Just as there was an interlude between the sixth and the seventh seal, so now
multifarious forms of death (6.1-8). Breaking the fifth seal brings forth cries from there is another interlude between the sixth and the seventh trumpets. First,John
or
the martyrs, longing for vindication in the form of divine retribution. The sixth receives a renewed commi.ssion (10.1-11). Second,in the scroll he is given, there is a
y
seal, when broken, unleashes portents of destruction, from which people trv to hide. metaphorically charged account of the church as witness to the Roman empire and
op
The warning is clear: God will avenge his people (6.9-1"). its prescrvacitm despite its hostility. John is told to measure the temple and altar of
Before the seventh seal comes an interlude, hinting at an explanation for why God (here symbolizing the church),even while gentiles trample its outer court and
tc
God s judgments have been held back.(lod's servants must first be protected from the holy city (1 1.1 —2).Just as Ezekiel's measuring of his visionary temple was away
no
disaster and arc presented as a kind of messianic army. The number of 144,000 from of marking out Ciod's intended dwelling-place (Ezek. 40—42;see Zech. 2.1-5),
the twelve tribes is symbolic for the church as the continuing expression of Israel .so John's marking out of this human temple signals that God intends to come and
o
(7.1-8). They are joined by a vast uncountable throng, cojisisting of all the martyrs dwell with his people, as indeed in the climactic chapter 21. The two witnesses who
.D
now promised the healing and consoling divine preserice (".9-17). prophesy about this (11.3-1-t) are perhaps an echo of Moses and Aaron,confront
ly
Then at last the seventh seal is broken. After a time of silence (a sign of God's ing Pharaoh, as well as of Zechariah 4.11-14. Their invincible testimony,suffering,
on
presence),''*' seven angels are given trumpets to blow to unleash judgments. At the and vindication mirror the whole narrative of Revelation. As Bauckham comments:
same time, another angel, at the altar in the heavenly temple, is dispersing inccn.se,
e
symbolizing the prayers ofGod's people and God's startling purposes (8.1-5). This is the heart of the revelation contained in the scroll, the heart of Revela
us
tion's message: that the church redeemed from all nations is called to suffering
7. The seuen trumpets (8.6—11.19) ic witness which, by virtue of its participation in Jesus' sacrificial witness, can
In Jewish tradition trumpet blasts often mean impending judgment.'*'' Here bring the nations to repentance of idolatry and conversion to the true God. In
m
the crumpet blasts unleash various portents and maiiifestations of divine judg this way—as Jesus' witness is extended universally in the life and death, as well
de
ment.John has in mind the exodus, preceded by the 'plagues' on the Egyptians(Ex. as the preaching, of the church—God's kingdom can come to the nations as sal
ca
7—12): he sees the Passovcr-Iike re.scue of God's people preceded by similar judg vation, rather than judgement [11.1-14].'^
la
ment against the world's inhabitants. This parallel, and other features, indicates that
though John describes the events in a linear sequence, they are to be .seen as concur The seventh trumpet, blown at last (11.15), leads to praise and thanksgiving in
ua
rent and overlapping judgments (8.6-12). heaven: the division between God's kingdom and worldly kingdoms has been dis
id
The next three trumpets are distinguished from the first four as 'woes'. They sig solved. God's rule and wrath have pacified the angry nations,judgment has begun,
iv
nal an attack not just on people's habitations but on the people them.selvc.s.John the and the heavenly temple is open to view, however dangerously(11.15-19).
nd
Seer describes seeing a falling star, a destroying angel, who opens the Aby.ss, a vac of
8. The dragon, the beast, and the church (12.1—15.4)
ri
Ifthe first halfofthe book (broadly speaking)is focused on the seven trumpets,
Fo
93 Bauckham (2001,1293) says: 'This heavenly worship before the throne is an unequivocal indication of
the inclusion of Christ in the identity of the one God who. for Jewish and Christian faith, is alone entitled to a similar role is given in the .second half to the seven plagues'(once again, echoing
worship."
9-; SeeHab. 2.20; Zech. 2.13.
99 See Ex. 19.16-19; Amos 3.6; Zeph. 1.15-16. 96 Bauckham 2001,1296.
the original c.\odus). Between rhe.se is a bridging then a second beast,'from the land', also called the 'false prophet'; this seems to
PORTALS AND PARALLELS:
FALLEN ANGELS
narrative, central to the book, winich provides a be the local priesth(HKls of the imperial cult, the civic elites who enforce Rome's
rhetorically charged depiction of the insidious and will. If the first beast is a parodv of Christ (died and returned to life), then the
demonic power of Rome as it threatens the church. second beast is a parodv of the spirit-led prophetic witness of the church (leading
e.
SeveralJewish sources interpret
The first phase in that see]uence is a svmbolic worship, doing miracles).'^ The mark of the beast,
ut
and expound Genesis 6.1-4 by
narrating how angels left their nativity scene (12.1-6). I his es'okes jewish tradi which people need in order to buv and sell things,
rib
heavenly abode to take human tions about Leviathan and fallen angels, as well as is again a paroels- of Cod's sealing the foreheads
st
women as wives and to have the mythic tale of how Apollo killed a pvthon for of faithful believers."" 1 he number of the beast is
stalkin g his mother while she was pregnant with '666','"" and the number is the calculation (bv the
di
children with them.' It Is these evil
angels who are often regarded as
h i m. The episode features the people of Israel letter-number method called 'gematria') cither of
or
the progenitors of evil In the world.
and/or the messianic communitv, de.scribed as a the Greek word tor 'beast' when transliterated into
One document that takes this
y
approach is 1 Enoch, which, in its woman who is about to give birth to the messianic Hebrew, or of the naine 'Nero Caesar' written in
op
Book of Watchers(\ En. 1—36), has son who will rule over the nations. Opposing the Hebrew (13.11-18).
the following account: woman is a seven-headed red dragon, the .satan, John then depicts the redeemed saints, again
tc
In those days, when the who conspires to destroy the child the moment described as an army of l4-+,000 (see 7.4-12), ready Silver tetradrachma minted in Asia
no
children of man had multiplied, he is born. However, the child is snatched away to do battle against the beast, emphasizing their Minor during reign of Domitian, with
it happened that there were purity and moral fitness. The holv armv is accom image of the emperor
to Ciod's throne while the woman is taken to a
o
born unto them handsome and ToddBolen /BiblePlaces.com
panied by three angels who warn the people of the
.D
deserted place to be cared for.
beautiful daughters. And the
angels, the children of heaven,
A war then rages in heaven between the archan earth to repent of wiirshipping the beast. The beast will face formidable judgment,
ly
saw them and desired them; and gel Michael with his angels against the dragon and while those who die resisting are promised a blessed rest(14.1-13)- The nations thus
on
they said to one another,'Come, his angels (12.7-18). The dragon and his minions stand on the crest ofeither saKation (symbolized by a harvest)or judgment(symbol
let us choose wives for ourselves are expelled to the earth where thev will lead the ized by a wine press). The angels gather together a harvest ofthe faithful and inflict
e
from among the daughters of whole world astray (see 'Portals and parallels: fallen a punitive pressing of the wicked (14.14-20).
us
man and beget us children.' And
Semyaz, being their leader, said
angels'). The heavenly communitv celebrates the This brings John to the seven plagues, the final elements of God s wrath. The
unto them.'I fear that perhaps ic
victory (12.10) which must then be worked out in judgment on the 'Egypt' of the world is balanced by the new 'victory song, corre
102
sponding to the song of Moses and Miriam in Exodus 15 (15.1-4).
m
you will not consent that this the suffering and endurance of"the church.
de
deed should be done, and I alone The dragon was left on the shore of"the sea—
will become (responsible) for this the sea symbolizing the untamed power of chaos 9. The SGuen boiuls (15.5—16.21)
ca
great sin.' But they all responded and evil (12.18). John then describes (13-1-10) a The third and final cycle of seven judgments is now expressed in the form of
to him,'Let us all swear an oath
seven bowls of wrath, again largely echoing the plagues in Egypt.'"-^ The judgments
la
beast coming out of the .sea; it is in fact a kind of

and bind everyone among us
super-beast, combining the features from Daniel's arc partly punitive and partly aimed at driving people to repentance,'"" and to
ua
by a curse not to abandon this

suggestion but to do the deed.' four monsters.'' The beast—obviously Rome and
id
Then they all swore together and its empire—is given authority by the satan. and
iv
98 Bauckham 2001,1298.
bound one another by (the curse). is revered and worshipped by the whole world. 99 Rev. 7.3; 14.1.
nd
And they were altogether two Like Daniel's fourth beast, this one utters blas 100 In some manuscripts, the number of the beast is '616'.
hundred: and they descended 101 On '666', see Koester (2014, 538-40, 597-9) who sides with most in seeing Nero as the referent, and
phemies, and makes war on the saints; its appar
ri
into 'Ardos, which is the summit Beale (1999, 718—25) who sees the number as symbolizing how the beast and its followers fail short of the
ently fatal wound, now healed, is reminiscent of 777 that would symbolize God's perfect creative purposes for humanity. This would mean that the symbolism
Fo
of Hermon.(/fn. 6.1-6 [OTP])

what many thought happened to Nero. There is could be regularly reapplied to tyrants in every age.
102 Ex. 15.1-17: Dl. 32.4; Pss. 86.9; 98.2; 111.2-3; Jer. 10.7.
* See Stuckenbruck 2017,1-34.
103 Ex. 7—10 and see earlier Rev. 8.12—9.12.
97 Stuckenbruck 2003,1555. 104 Rev. 9.20-21; 16.9,11.
worship the God who is just and true;'"'' but their cfKect is to make people curse denunciatitins of Babvlon and Tvre.'"^ John portrays Rome as the epitome ofevil
God.'"^'The catastrophes then bect)me more complete and even climactic. empires and. like them, as subject to divine judgment. Accordingly:'OT Baby
The first four bowls are poured out on the various spheres ofcreation; land,sea, lon prefigures Rome's political supremacv and oppression, but OT Tyre prefigures
waterways, and heavens. These directly affect the worshippers of the beast. The Rome's economic power and oppression.''""'The nations and kings oftheearth have
e.
fifth bowl attacks the very throne of the beast, plunging his kingdom into darkness committed adultery with a citv that is demonic and defiled (18.1-4).
ut
(15.5—16.9).The sixth bowl,only indirectly a form ofjudgment, dries up the River A voice from heaven, echoing the instruction to God s people to leave Babylon
rib
Euphrates, so that armies from the east (namely Parthia, Arabia, and India) can in I.saiah 52.11-12. exhorts Ciod's people to get out of'Babylon'lest they share in its
easily manoeuvre to join the beast and defeat the returning fesus at 'Armageddon'. sins and the coming torture, grief, death, mourning,famine,and fire that will result.
st
The dragon, beast, and false prophet are thus allied with the eastern armies, and This is John s way of warning Christians to avoid not only Rome's idolatry but also
di
unleash a trio ofevil spirits to deceive and direct the kings of the world (16.12-16). spiritual idolatry by not embedding one.self in Rome's oppressive, exploitive, and
or
The seventh bowl,completing the judgment, falls massively on 'Babvlon the Great'. idolatrous system ofectmomic power. The fall of Babylon is grievous to the kings of
the earth, the merchants,and the sea captains who had enriched themselves through
y
op
10. Babylon the whore (17.1—19.10j Babylon s luxury and opulence. The church can rejoice because Babylon has been
The fall ofBabylon (that is, Rome)is now narrated at length. This is where John judged for the way it mistreated the saints, apostles, and prophets (18.5-20).
tc
the Seer comes closest to the normal'apocalyptic'genre in which an angel interprets An angel now throws a boulder into the sea (the place ofchaos) as a symbol for
no
visions. Babylon is pictured as a woman—a whore, in fact—who rides on the beast: the downfall of Babylon. The dailv life of Babylon, its labour, love, and leisure, is
Rome s economic power depends on its military power. She is like a rich courtesan coming to an end. The seer here provides the most formidable indictment ofRoman
o
who exploits her clients and enriches herself just as Rome does with its own client- power an)'where in ancient literature,exposing the repressive and self-serving nature
.D
kingdoms.The vision causesjohn great anxiety, and the angel explains the natureof of Rome's socio-economic svstem. the cruelty of its military power, and the false
the beast. The beast is both a parody of God (who was, and is, and is to come),since
ly
hood of its propaganda about its own eternal invincibility. Rome had subjugated
on
the beast once was, now is not, and yet will come'."'" This appears to be based on the and suppressed natit)ns and different groups,from Jews to Druids.It will be judged
legend that Nero would return from the east with the Parthian armies to wreak for all who have been slaughtered on the earth'(18.21-24).
e
vengeance on Rome. Nero belongs to the .seven The fall of Babylon occasions a multitude of voices in heaven to sing hallelujah
us
previous emperors mentioned in Revelation to God for his salvation, for condemning Babylon and avenging the blood ofhis ser
17.10, but he is also—truly or typologically— vants. A further voice celebrates the arrival ofGod's sovereign rule and the wedding
ic supper of the lamb (19.1-8). At this point,John—strangely—mistakes the angel
m
the eighth still to come, the climax to all their
evil. John the Seer thus splices together the speaking to iii m for God himself and begins to worship him but is duly rebuked.
de
propaganda of Roman invincibility and the Only God can be worshipped (19.9-10).
ca
fear of an eventual eastern conqueror. In the

11. The open henucn and the )teu7 Jerusalem (19.11—21.8)
la
end, the beast with its client kings will make

war against the Iamb; Rome and its allies will John's vision takes us from Babylon to the new Jerusalem via Chnst sptDvnsia
ua
persecute the church; but they will be defeated and the final judgment. This section could be aptly named,as it is by Stuckenbruck,
id
by the Messiah because of his superior might 'The End of Evil'.'"'John sees'heaven standing open'and he narrates Christ s return
iv
as'Lord of lords and King ofkings'(17.7-18). in terms of a divine warrior leading a heavenly army—probably the saints as in
nd
Babylon's demise is heralded by an angel Revelation 7.1-17; 14.1-5: 17.14—to make war on the nations who were seduced
coming down from heaven. The declarations by the beast (19.11 — 16). An angel summons the faithful for a feast where kings and
ri
Gordon Franz of destruction are modelled on prophetic

Fo
103 See against Babylon (Isa, 13,1-14,23; 21,1-10; 47.1-15; Jer, 25.12-38; 50,1-46)and against Tyre (Isa, 23;
"Ti Stuckenbruck 2003,1559. Ezek. 26-28),
lOt Rev. 16.9.11,21. 109 Bauckham 2001,1301,
107 See Rev, 1.4, 8; 4,8. 110 Stuckenbruck 2003,1565.
generals are the main course, a graphic if.stomach-
ALTERNATIVE WAYS TO READ REVELATION
'This portrait of God imposing eternal churning image for the defeat and subjugation
suffering seems as un-Christlike a of their foes. The actual battle .scenes are not
punishment as imaginable. Yet John Literal reading Recapitulation reading
described. But the beast, the false prophet, and
e.
is dealing with the twin concepts of
the kings are soundly defeated, with the first two (1) The sequence of Christ's return (Rev. (1) The defeat of God's enemies in Revelation
ut
justice and mercy/grace. For him, one
being thrown into a 'fiery lake ofburning sulphur', 19.10-15), a preliminary judgment (Rev. 19.11-21 looks and sounds rather conclusive.
cannot exist without the other. For
rib
19.16-21), millennium (Rev. 20.1-6), final
the evil that has been perpetrated, an obvious cipher for a punishment from which
judgment(Rev. 20.7-15), and new heavens
there needs to be justice, and he there will be no return (19.1'"-2]). The point is
st
and new earth (Rev. 21.1—22.17), makes
conceives of it in its most undiluted
that when Ciod has finally dealt with evil it will
di
sense as a linear and literal reading.
form as eternal suffering in the lake
have no chance to return, to spoil the renewed Such a reading Is known as a 'chiiiasm'.
or
of fire and sulfur (brimstone), it is
important to remember, however, that
world he is now making.
(2) The reference to a millennium belongs (2) Revelation 20.1-10 is a recapitulation
y
this is a figurative and not a literal with other Jewish apocalypses that of an overall narrative featuring persecution
op
"lake". What John is describing is Kxclo'Su.s.- KcudrUion .VO. I-JO
envision an earthly reign by a messianic and vindication and an anticipation of the
not real, physical torture but the kind and fhe niinenniKni
tc
figure in an interim kingdom ahead of new heavens and new earth. The proof is
of continuous, perpetual spiritual Revelation 20 narrates the binding of the .satan a final consummation (1 En. 91.12-16; that (a) the narrative focuses exclusively on
no
torment that he imagines must occur 93.12-17; 4 Ez. 7.26-44; 12.31-4;2 Bar. the martyrs and so rehearses earlier epi
for a thousand years. During that time, resurrected
when a being is separated forever 29.3-30.1; 40.1-4; 72.2-74.3; S/7). Or sodes where the martyrs enter into God's
martyrs will be reigning with Christ (20.1-6).
o
from the presence of God He was 3.635-701). presence after a harrowing of opposition
The satan will then be released for a short while,
.D
trying to think of an image that would from Satan and the beast (see Rev. 7.14-17;
have "teeth" for them, an image ahead of his final defeat and destruction (20.7-10). 11.7-11; 12.1-17): and (b) the description of
ly
that would shock persons who were All will be judged according to deeds (20.11-15). the heavenly city in Rev. 21.9—22.5 could
on
accommodating to the draconian This passage has generated much discussion: is easily describe something like this thousand
lordship demands of Rome into years of reigning with Christ.
the millennium in Revelation 20.4-5 literal or
e
resisting them and testifying in word
figurative?'" The case for a literal reading, and (3) It is problematic to take the first res (3) John's numbers are typically symbolic
us
and deed to the lordship of God and
the Lamb instead, He wanted them to the case for reading this passage as a recapitu urrection as spiritual (i.e. regeneration) and we should expect the same here. We
lation of themes in the book, can be laid out in are cued to this by the mention of'thrones',
fear being forever separated from the
ic
grid form (see te.xt grid: 'Alternative wavs to read
and the second resurrection as literal
(i.e. raised to immortal bodily life) since which echoes Daniel 7.9, and describes not
m
presence of God. His most forceful
metaphorical attempt at conveying those who participate In this first resur a thousand-year reign on earth, but the
Revelation')."'
de
what that separation would feel like is rection, who reign in the millennium, do heavenly reality where the martyred saints
John goes on to describe the arrival of the new
not participate in the resurrection of the are already reigning with Christ. In other
ca
the lake of fire and sulfur (brimstone).

heavens and new earth, which takes the form ofthe rest at the end of the millennium. words, Revelation 21.4-6 is a narrativization
A twenty-first-century effort should
la
focus on the language of separation new Jeru.salem descending from heaven, described of Ephesians 2.6/Colossians 3.1 about being
from God's presence and look for a as a bride on her wedding day. Its arrival signals seated with Christ as it applies to martyrs.
ua
contemporary metaphor appropriate that God is truly, fully, and finally dwelling with (4) Many of the early church Fathers, (4) It is likely that John Is adapting Jewish
id
to that separation, one that does not his people. Just as the story of the original exo such as Papias, Melito of Sardis, Justin traditions pertaining to a temporary
iv
include the Image of physical torture, dus ended with the construction of the tabernacle Martyr, Irenaeus, Tertullian, and others, quarantining of evil and expectations of a
nd
whether eternal or otherwise."

and the divine glory coming to dwell in it, .so this were chiliasts. It was not really until after messianic reign ahead of the final judgment
Brian Blount, Revelation, 371-2. new exodus fini.shes not with humans going up to Constantine that amillennialism became and deploying them as a symbol for the
ri
heaven but with the God of heaven coming to earth. popular; the church, now operating under vindication of the martyrs which Christ's
Fo
the sponsorship of the empire, no longer return entails.

looked forward to its overthrow.
111 Contrast Witherington 2003, 239-52,and Beale 1999, 995-1021. Recommended also is Marshall 2000.
112 See further Bird 2013d, 274-300.
This will signal chcend ofsuFfcring, and the old order oKsin and death passing away. heavenK' city (^New Jerusalem). The angel
The abolition of'the first heaven and the first earth'(21.1) does not mean that God tells John that the \ ision.s he has received
will destroy the present space-time world and create a new one from scratch; the are 'trustwt)rthy and true' and pertain to
'oldness' of the first heaven and earth consists precisely in their ct)rruption, their things 'that must soon take place'. John is
e.
subjection to decay and death (see Rom. 8.18-30). God now speaks directlv from once more tempted to worship the angel,
ut
his throne, declaring that all things are made new (21.1-8). and once more rebuked. Only God is to be
rib
worshipped (22.6-9).
12, The bride of the lamb (21.9—22.9)
st
One of the angels then shows John 'the bride, the wife of the Lamb'(21.9). We 13. Epiiofjdf (22.10-21)
di
realize that the picture ofthe great whore. Babylon, was alwavs a parody of the true The epilogue draws together various
or
city of God', just as the tower of Babel (Babylon) had been an arrogant human diverse materials and motifs. First(and unlike
attempt to create a single worldwide community b\' human power alone when Cjod's Dan. 12.4)John is instructed not to.seal up the
y
op
plan was to call Abraham and promise him that worldwide family by sheer grace. words of pia)phecy, because the time is near,
Thus,now,'carried away in the Spirit',John beholds a great mountain with the new and its message must get out.There is still time
tc
Jerusalem coming down out ofheaven from Ciod. The citv is built around a series for repentance, but those unwilling to hear
no
oftwelves (that is, twelve gates, angels. h>undations), symbolizing both the Israelite will be hardened intt^ their habits ofwrong-
tribes and the apostles. The angel measures the city in h-onc of lohn. and it turns doing(22.10-11).Jesus him.selfassuresjohn
o
out—as wc might have guessed from the parallel towards the end of Ezekiel—that that he is coming soon,and that he (like God
.D
the whole new world is avast temple,just as Genesis 1 was a 'temple', a heaven-earth himself earlier on) is'Alpha and Omega'(1.8;
John's vision of Christ in majesty, r/?e Silos
ly
construction with an 'image'at its heart. The city, at the heart of the new creation,is 21.6; 22.12-13). The city's inhabitants will be
a giant cube,like the Holy of Holies in the original tabernacle and Temple. That is Apocalypse. Spain, 1091
on
pure; nothing impure can enter it (22.14-15).
why,ofcourse, the city has no temple: the Jerusalem Temple was alwavs an advance Jesus again assures John that the messages 2 Bridsh Library Board. All Rights Reserved/
Bridgerr)on Images
e
signpost to God's new creation, just as the sun, the source of light and heat in the he has been given really are from him. the
us
original creation, is no longer needed when the true light and life is visibly present Davidic deliverer (22.16). The universal invitation then follows: as in Isaiah 55, all
in the form ofthe Lord God Almighty and the lamb. The citv is both universal and who are thirsty arc to come to the living water, and the spirit and the bride the
ic
accessible. The nations walk in its light, the gates are never shut, and the glorv ofthe church, inspired and indwelt bv God's own spirit—pray'Come'to the risen Jesus.
m
nations is brought into it. The city has nothing impure or shameful, but is filled with John then warns auditors and scribes not to add or take away anything from this
de
those whose names are written in the lamb's book of life (21.9-27). book, lest plagues be added to them, or God take away their share in the tree oflife
ca
The angel shows John a river of water ol life—echoing the rivers flowing from and holy city (22.18-19).Jesus provides a final word oftestimony:'Yes, lam com
Eden in Genesis 2—that flows from the throne ofGod and the lamb into the middle ing .soon.' This has been repeated right across the final section (22.7, 12, 20), and
la
of the city. Abnormal water-flows were a feature in prophetic visions of lerusalem's John replies with the words'Come,Lord Jesus', reflecting an early Aramaic prayer,
ua
re-creation."^ On each side of the river stands 'the tree of life', with supernatural Maranathii}^'' This leads to a final benediction (22.21).
id
fecundity; its leaves are for 'the healing ofthe nations'. All this results in the reversal
ofcreation's curse; the luminous divine presence; the redeemed seeing the very face
iv
REVELATION IN THE BIG PICTURE

nd
ofGod; and their active reign over God's new world (22.1-5).
John's interaction with the angel in Revelation 22.6-9 is similar to that in The book of Revelation is hard to understand today. It is even harder to apply with
ri
Revelation 19.9-10, where the concluding message about the destruction of one exegetical understand ing, theological acumen,and pastoral sensibility. The Geneva
Fo
city (Babylon) has its sequel with a concluding message about the descent of the
114 Bauckham 2001,1306,
Ezek. 47.1; Zech. 14.8, 115 SeelCor, 16,22; 10,6,
Bible offers good advice for interpreters of this book:'Read diligentlv; judge soberly However, let us add an important qual
and call earnestly to God for the true understanding hereof.' That's a good saying, ification. Jesus Cihrist's kingdom is not des
well worth remembering. We can turn it into practical ad\ ice as follows. tined to replace one (nale\-olenc empire with
First, remember that the book of Revelation is not a timetable for 'the end'. It is another, to supplant earthly Rome with a
e.
time to leave behind a tradition of preaching and teaching Revelation, still popular heavenl)' Rome, to install a Christianized
ut
in some quarters, that involves conspiracy theories, obscure charts, and novels that Caesar or a Caesarized Christ. Constantin-
I
rib
are simply a kind ofapocalyptic soap opera. There is something far more satisfvinf^, ian 'Christendom* was not entirely bad.espe
stimulating,and edifying to offer our churches and their worshippers, john is hold cially if the alternative was a cruel, heartless
st
ing out a new way of looking at reality, opening our imaginations to a divine per paganism. Hcnsever, the Conscantinization
di
spective on past, present, and future. As Richard Bauckham says, Revelation i.s not of the church, where reliiiious authoritv was
or
an esoteric and encoded forecast of historical esents, but a theoceiitric vision of the infiLsed with political power, does seem to
coming of God's universal kingdom. We appropriate this \ isi(>n for our twentv-first- have been one of the most devastating things
y
op
century context by remembering that there are man\- Babvlons and beasts, and we ever to happen to European Christianity.
need to resist them all. In fact, The church must hold on to its prophetic
tc
vocation to the establishment, not aspire to
no
to resist idolatry in the world by faithful witness to the truth, the church must sink that vocation within an establishment
continuously purify its own perception of truth by the vision of the utterly Holy that will muzzle or silence its voice. Accord
o
One, the sovereign Creator, who shares his throne with the slaughtered Lamb."^' ingly, the church's cask is not to bless or bro
.D
ker the empires of the world. Our task is to be Terracotta tomb plaque with Christogram and
Latin inscription, c. 400-800
That, as they say, will preach—though it will be demanding for preacher and faithful to the empire ofJesus, the kingdom
ly
The Metropolitan Museum ofArt
on
hearers alike. of God. We are to consider our churches as
Second,John's apocalypse has powerful implications for configuring our own the advance guard of that kingdom, and to do our best to prepare for the day when
e
social and political engagement with the world. According to John, the church's task what Revelation says has alreadv happened will become fully and finally true, and
us
is to live as a prophetic witness to Jesus,summoning people to believe and follow him, the kingcioms of this world will become the kingdom ofour God and his Messiah.
speaking truth to power,and declaring the judgments ofCiod against all wickedness. Third, the book of Revelation is obviously a warning to the churches about
Not everyone likes to hear this kind of message. Some want us to believe that the
ic complacency and compromise, as well as an exhortation to endurance and to keep
m
state—particularly a modern democratic state—is now absolute. It is, for many, the to the testimony of Jesus in a hostile environment. However, we should not forget
de
bastion of our humanity, and all our lives should be oriented towards its workings how important the theme of God's glorv is for the entire book,seen clearly in the
ca
and worship. There is nothing wrong with being a noble and active citizen, seeking throne scenes of Revelation 4—5,where we get a snapshot ofthe heavenly praise and
the good of one's fellow-citizens and the wider world. Yet lohn calls us to resist and a reminder as to wh)' the 'lamb' is worthy of our worship.Johns apocalypse has at
la
denounce as idolatrous any veneration ofthe state as god-like, any investing ofall our its epicentre 'the glory due to God because he has accomplished full salvation and
ua
hopes in its political vision, any praise to its leaders that would border on deification. final judgment'." That is whv lohn's apocalypse is in a sense a commentary on his
The book of Revelation is, after all, subversive literature for a people with a message
id
opening prayer:
iv
and mode ofcommunity that threatens the edifices of all the empires around us, be
nd
theypagan,plutocracies,politburos,or progressive regimes bent on eradicating religion. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, and has made
There is a reason why the Chinese communist government has banned the preaching us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father—to him be glory and
ri
ofRevelation in the state-sanctioned Three-Selfchurches. The kingdom ofGod will power for ever and ever! Amen."®
Fo
one day dethrone and condemn the kingdoms of this world, including that regime.
117 Beale 1999,171-2.
116 Bauckham 1993a. 162-3. 118 Rev, 1.5b-6.
There is the famous story of two Moravian missionaries who went to the Carib Caird. Gct»rgc B. i 9(->5../ tiommentary on the Revelation of StJohn the Divine. London: A&C Black.
bean to share the gospel with African slaves on the plantations. Because it was illegal Collins,.\ilel.i êd.\ 201"..\'eu- Perspectives on the BookofRevelation. BETL; Lcuvcn: Peeters.
de.Silva. D.ivid .-X. 2009..Seeing Thim^s John's /Ln" The Rhetoric of the Book ojRevelation. Louis
for white people to preach Christianity to the slaves—the I-uropean slave-owners
ville. KX": WestminsterJohn Knox.
evidently did not want their holdings corrupted with notions of 'redemption' or . 201.s. L 'nhofy . Ulegi.inces: Heeding Revelation's Warning. Pcabody, MA:Hendrickson.
e.
with the dangerous notion chat 'in Christ there is neither slave luu" free'—the two Fee. Gordon 1). 201 I. Revelation. N'CCS: Eugene. OR:Cascade.
ut
Moravians sold themselves into slavery so that they could preach to the slaves. The Gorman, Mieh.iel. 2011. Reading Revelation Responsibly: Uncivil Worship and IVitness:Following
rib
final words of the Moravian duo to their families as their ship headed out across the Lamb into the .\'eir Creation. F.ugene. OR:Cascade.
the waters was,'May the Lamb who was slain receive the reward of His suffering.' Koester. Graig R. 2001. Revel.ition and the End of.-ill 7hings. Grand Rapids, MI:Eerdmans.
st
. 201 ■». Ri vel.ition:. ! Xeiv Translation with Introduction and Connnentaiy. AB; New Haven,
John the Seer would have understood, and applauded.
di
C'F: X'ale Lhiiversits Press.
Morton. Russell ,S. 201-j. A't ifv;/Aoonf'/'«« Sheffield: Sheffield Phoenix.
or
Further reading Rhoads, David (.ed.). 2005. From F.vety People and Nation: The Book ofRevelation in Intercultiiral
Allen, Garrick V., Ian Paul,and Simon P. Woodman (cds.). 2015. The Hook of Ri vclatiou: C.urratts Perspective. .Minneapolis; Fortress.
y
in British Research on the Apocalypse. WUNT 2.411: Tubingen: Mobr .Siebeck. Rowland, Christopher. 1982. The Open Heaven: A Study oJ Apocalyptic inJudaism andEarly
op
Bauckham, Richard. 1993. The Climax ojProphecy:Studies in the Book of Revelation. Kdinburgh: Christianity. London: SPCK.
tc
T&T Clark. Stuckenbruck. Loreit T. 2003. 'Revelation.' In Eerdmans Commentary on the Bible. Edited by
. 1993. The Theology ofthe Book ofRevelation. NTT; Cambridge: Cambridge University J. D. G. Dunn and J. W. Rogerson. Grand Rapids. MI: Eerdmans, pp. 1535-72.
no
Press. Witherington, Ren. 2003. Revelation. NCBC: Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
.2001.'Revelation.'In The Oxford Bible C.ominenlary. hdiced byj. Harton and J. Ivluddiman. Wright, N. T. 2011. Revelation for Everyone. London: SPCR.
o
Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 1287-1306. . 2012. 'Revelation and Christian Hope: Political Implications ofthe Revelation ofJohn.
.D
Bealc.GregA. 1999. The Book ofRevelation.mCTC-. G rand Rapids, Ml: F.erdmans. In Revelation and the Politics of 'Apocalyptic Interpretation. Edited by R. B. Hays and S. Alkier.
Blount,Brian K.2009. Revelation: A Commentary. NTL; Louisville, K V: WestminsterJohn Knox. Waco, TX: Raylor Universitv Press, pp. 105-24.
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on
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View of Patmos Island
us
from the Monastery
of Saint John
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all suffering, a timetable for the end times, a mirror of

you should be able to:

authorship, genre, and

purpose related to the

808 Revelation 809

sense within the wider narrative oFultimate divine triumph. ^ \ -■ '

The point is thatJohn is witness to an 'unveiling'. He has been granted a glimpse

17 Porter 1989, 603. Hadrian AD 117-38

21 Eus. Hist. Eccl. 3.39.4-6; 7.25.16-17.

^7 Saiiko/ Wikimedio Commons CC BY 3.0

38 DIo Cassius Hist. 67.14; Eus. Hist. Ecd. 3.18.5.

were encountering religious rivalry and slander From

43 See Bauckham 1993a, 3-4. and deSilva 2004. 890.

44 See Bauckham 1993a. 15-17; Koester 2001b. 54-69; deSilva

not usually perceptible—sometimes seeing, sometimes hearing, sometimes both.

't/ William D. Mounce

56 deSilva2009.48. comes to the interpretation of the imagery itself(Bauckham 1993a,9-12).

The ancient theatre of Pergamum

trauma, alienation, persecucitin, or discmpowerment is interpreted within a cheo

These are, however,common to mostJewish writings across a long period, including

back to a fear, on the part ofsome nineteenth-century scholars, of the revolutionary

^115 P.Oxy LXVI4499 3rd/4th century 2.1-3,13-15,27-29; 3.10-12;

5.8-9; 6.4-6; 8.3-5

Codex Sinaiticus 4th century complete

A Codex Alexandrinus 5th century complete 58 Tf, M. F. Bird.

69 See Bauckham 1993b, 38-91; Aune 1997-8, l.lxxxii-xc; Collins 2016,338-50.

72 Eus. Hist. Eccl. 3.24-5.

in a linear and successive fashion, or

in Bauckham 1993b,1-37; Aune 1997-8,

transformative experience. Those first ancient auditors of the Apocalypse came

group reading practices trivial by comparison, with the possible exception of

82 Koester 2001b, 54.

86 1 Cor. 8.4-13:10.14-33; Rom. 14.6, 21.

beast coming out of the .sea; it is in fact a kind of

by a curse not to abandon this

of Hermon.(/fn. 6.1-6 [OTP])

fear of an eventual eastern conqueror. In the

end, the beast with its client kings will make

Gordon Franz of destruction are modelled on prophetic

the lake of fire and sulfur (brimstone).

whether eternal or otherwise."

the sponsorship of the empire, no longer return entails.

REVELATION IN THE BIG PICTURE

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