Apocalyptic? #24: The “Land” of “Ten Kings”: Josephus

The Two-Letter Greek Word That “Blinds” the Interpreters                     

Jesus was fond of quoting Isaiah (6:9-10) concerning the “blind guide” interpreters of his day, just as I suggest that many modern-day interpreters are “blind” to what is clearly in front of their eyes:

"In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah:  'You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving.  For this people's heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes.  Otherwise, they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them.'" (Matthew 13:14-15 NIV.  Cf., also Mark 4:12 and 8:18, Luke 8:10, John 9:39, and Acts 8:26). 

 

Jesus even repeats this “blindness/deafness” concept as an admonition to each of the seven churches of Revelation: “He who has ears to hear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”  Novice students of Revelation sometimes conclude that, since there are so many different takes on Revelation, the book is impossible to understand.  On the contrary, if one reads the various interpretations carefully, one sees that Revelation interpreters agree pretty much across-the-board concerning the interpretation of Revelation 1-5 (the Letters to the Seven Churches and the picture of God and the Lamb in Heaven) and 21-22 (the New Heavens and New Earth).  The many different interpretations are generated concerning what is going on in the seals and trumpets and plagues.  Why is this so?  Most of the differences in interpretation can be boiled down to something the interpreters, for some unexplained reason, cannot “see”:  a misinterpretation of a tiny little two-letter Greek word:  GĒ.  Although virtually ALL of the interpreters know that the interpretation advocated here is very possible, the vast majority of them choose not to “see” the best translation of this little word.  In my blogpost Apocalyptic? #11, I explain: 

The issue as to whether the term "earth" [GĒ] is to be taken as generally referring to the entire world or specifically as referring to Palestine is important.  The Jews most frequently refer to the “Land of Israel” as simply the “Land.”  The Hebrew word for “Land” is the same word translated “Earth [GĒ].”  . . . If Babylon is Jerusalem, the location of her porneia would appear to be in the "land" of Israel. Certainly, either interpretation--Palestine or Earth--is possible, as Charles acknowledges (Commentary, 1:289).

The earth/land is to be the focus of the seven last plagues in 16:1, so this is a very important interpretive issue.  If John is speaking of a destruction which comes upon the land of Israel, rather than the entire earth, it is easy to find historical referents in the Jewish war of 66-73 A.D.

The sole individual who was intimately involved in (and also has written an extensive chronicle concerning) the Jewish-Roman War of 66-73 A.D. is Josephus.  As I will demonstrate (from Josephus, himself) shortly, he is one of the “ten kings of the land” described in Revelation 17:12-18 (NKJV, with my correction for the incorrect translation “earth/GĒ”):

12 “The ten horns which you saw are ten kings who have received no kingdom as yet, but they receive authority for one hour as kings with the beast. ¹³ These are of one mind, and they will give their power and authority to the beast [i.e., ROME]. ¹⁴ These will make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, for He is Lord of lords and King of kings; and those who are with Him are called, chosen, and faithful.”

¹⁵ Then he said to me, “The waters which you saw, where the harlot [i.e., JERUSALEM] sits, are peoples, multitudes, nations, and tongues. ¹⁶ And the ten horns which you saw on the beast, these will hate the harlot, make her desolate and naked, eat her flesh and burn her with fire. ¹⁷ For God has put it into their hearts to fulfill His purpose, to be of one mind, and to give their kingdom to the beast, until the words of God are fulfilled. ¹⁸ And the woman whom you saw is that great city [i.e., JERUSALEM] which reigns over the kings of the [LAND/GĒ].”

I expand on my explanation, in my blogpost Apocalyptic? #16:

John is continuing his rejection of the villains' nomenclature.  Thus, he renames "the holy city" (11:2) in which the "Lord was crucified" (11:8), "Sodom and Egypt."  If he refers to Jews who dwell in Judea, he calls them the "inhabitants of the land" and leaves off the words "of Israel."  . . . In his message to the church in Philadelphia, “the hour of trial” that is coming upon “the inhabitants of the earth/land” (actually, meaning Judea, throughout the seven-year war between the Jews and the Romans from 66-73 A.D.), the NIV translation incorrectly translates what should be translated as “the inhabitants of the land” as “those who dwell upon the earth.”  “The inhabitants of the land/earth” is the exact terminology used to refer to the (non-Jewish) inhabitants of the (Promised) Land (before Israel dominated it) throughout the Pentateuch, Joshua, Judges, I and II Samuel, and I and II Chronicles, and even later.  Genesis 34:30, 50:11, Exodus 23:31, 34:12 & 15, Leviticus 18:25, 25:10, Numbers 13:32, 14:14, 32:17, 33:52 & 55, Joshua 2:9, 7:9: 9:24, Judges 1:32 & 33, 2:2, I Samuel 27:8, II Samuel 5:6, I Chronicles 11:4, 22:18, and II Chronicles 20:7 all use the expression “the inhabitants of the land” when referring to the non-Jewish population of the (Promised) Land.  The word translated “land” in every one of these instances is the word ארץ/ARETZ, in the Hebrew, the equivalent of γῆ/GE in the Greek, which virtually all Bible versions incorrectly translate as “Earth,” in Revelation.  A tremendous amount of confusion regarding what Revelation is predicting is removed once one realizes that the prophecies directed against the so-called “earth” (and the “inhabitants of the earth” and the “kings of the earth”) in Revelation are actually only directed against the “land” (of Israel).

G. K. Beale grapples briefly with the translation of GĒ as “land” on pp. 924-925 of his Commentary, arguing that, in Matt. 23:25, GĒ “is best translated ‘earth’ instead of ‘land’ (i.e., land of Israel),” thus, indicating that Beale understands correctly that the term GĒ may be translated either way—earth or land.  To his credit, he cites Chilton who identifies “merchants of the earth” in Revelation 18:11, 23 as “only Israelite merchants” and notes: “Furthermore, the word [GĒ] is used about eighty times in Revelation . . . .  The remaining uses could be debatable, depending on one’s overall perspective on the book . . . .  Similarly, Ford proposes that the list of trade goods . . . are best understood against the background of the economic situation in Jerusalem and especially its temple.”  A major flaw in Beale’s work is that he consistently gives short schrift to views with which he disagrees, and generally concludes his discussion with an arbitrary dismissal of their value.  Here, the value of translating GĒ as “land is, at once, stunningly mind-blowing.

The most significant attack against the credibility of the Book of Revelation has been that critical scholars believe it predicts the destruction of the EARTH [GĒ], as occurring “VERY SOON,” a prediction which, of course, did not occur.  (This problem in New Testament studies is commonly referred to as “The Delay of the Eschaton” or “The Delay of the Parousia,” which biblical problem I will discuss in a future blogpost.  Revelation 1:1 (NIV) states: “The revelation from Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must SOON take place.”  John is to be listened to by his audience, according to Revelation 1:3 (NIV): “because the time is NEAR.”  John repeats his consciousness of the “what must SOON take place” throughout Revelation.  John predicts that the "time" is "near" (Revelation 1:3, 22:10), that Jesus is "coming soon" (Revelation 3:11, 22:20), that the dragon’s "time is short" (Revelation 12:12), and that these things “must soon take place" (Revelation 22:6).

This entire argument against the credibility of the Book of Revelation quickly dissipates—vanishes, melts into thin air—if one understands that it predicts the destruction of the LAND (of Israel=GĒ), AS OCCURRING “VERY SOON.”  It did, in fact, happen and history records it (especially, Josephus).  If Babylon is, as Ford argues and I agree, the old Jerusalem (not Rome), the city DID FALL VERY SOON AFTER JOHN PREDICTED IT.  If the “Kings of the Land” (not the Kings of the Earth) are indicated in Revelation 17:12-18, their actions become immediately understandable and historically demonstrable.  They are being fulfilled, even as John writes the Book of Revelation.

 

The (Ten) Kings of the Earth (i.e., Kings of the LAND)                    

In my book Revelation:  The Human Drama (p. 84) I observe:

John mentions the "kings of the earth" in Revelation 1:5; 6:15; 17:2,18; 18:3,9; 19:19; and 21:24.  In Revelation 1:5, Jesus the Christ is called the ruler (archon) of the kings of the earth.  . . . In Revelation 6:15, the kings of the earth are among those who hide from the great day of wrath.  This may be the wrath of God directed against the kings of the earth in Psalm 2:5.  In Revelation 17:2 and in 18:3 and 9, the harlot Babylon commits porneia [i.e., harlotry] with the kings of the earth. In Revelation 17:18, the harlot Babylon is the city which has "kingship" over the kings of the earth.  In Revelation 19:19, the kings of the earth assemble for war with the Messiah, after the harlot has been destroyed, and the beast is at that point thrown into the lake of fire.  The kings of the earth (at least some of them?) appear to have survived for in Revelation 21:24 the kings of the earth bring their glory and honor into the New Jerusalem, along with the glory and honor of the "nations" of those who are "saved."

 

Luke assists us in understanding how the phrase “Kings of the Earth/Land” is to be interpreted, in Acts 4, in his historical application of Psalm 2:

And the peoples [Gk. laoi] think vain things.  The kings of the earth and the rulers [Gk. archontês] were assembled on the same (day) against the Lord and against his Christ.  For indeed both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the heathen and the peoples [Gk. laoi] of Israel were gathered together against your holy child, Jesus, whom you anointed. (Acts 4:25-27, emphases mine)

 

Acts 4, thus, identifies two important terms: "rulers" and “kings.”  In Acts 4:5, the “rulers” were gathered along with the “elders and scribes.”  Specifically, verse 6 reports that this group of “rulers” included "Annas the high priest, and Caiaphas, and John, and Alexander, and as many as were of high-priestly family" (emphasis mine).  Peter addresses the group in verse 8 as "rulers [archontês] of the people [laos] and elders of Israel" (emphasis mine).  In Acts, then, an authoritative Christian historical application, this Psalm is interpreted as an alliance between the “rulers” of the people (the priestly family) and the “kings of the earth/Land” (Herod and Pontius Pilate, specifically).  The only specific "kings of the earth" who are identified in the Acts 4 passage are Herod and Pilate, both of whom ruled over only the "land" of Israel, although they received their authority from Rome.  John’s favorite Psalm is Psalm 2.  According to Nestle and Aland, he cites this Psalm eight times in the book of Revelation.  For John, this Psalm denounces an alliance between Jewish “rulers” and "the kings of the earth," as does the author of Acts.  The Psalm asks:

Why do the nations conspire and the peoples plot in vain?  The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers gather together against the Lord and against his Anointed One.

     "Let us break their chains," they say, "and throw off their fetters."

     The One enthroned in heaven laughs; the Lord scoffs at them.  Then he rebukes them in his anger and terrifies them in his wrath, saying, "I have installed my King on Zion, my holy hill."

     I will proclaim the decree of the Lord:

     He said to me, "You are my Son; today I have become your Father.  Ask of me and I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession.  You will rule them with an iron scepter . . .” (Psalm 2:1-9).

Since the “kings of the earth/Land” refers to kings who rule over only the “land” of Israel, we may consult Josephus to see if there was a specific historical group of “ten kings” as described in Revelation 17:12-18 (cited above) who ruled only over the Land of Israel.  Josephus knows of this group of ten kings quite well, because he was one of them.  I state in my book Revelation: The Human Drama (pp. 91-92):

The ten horns of the beast are "ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom but will receive authority as kings one hour along with the beast" (17:12).  If they are identified as the "kings of the earth/land" (meaning Palestine), they enter into the equation, in the sense that they would then be understood to have committed porneia with Babylon [Jerusalem], and therefore this would explain the parallel references to the ten horns of Revelation leaving her naked (17:16) and Ezek. 16:37 where it is Jerusalem's lovers who leave her naked.  Thus, these "kings" would have an explicit link with Rome (since they are the horns of the beast), although that link is implicit.  But these ten horns are described in language that links them philosophically with the second beast [the Jewish high priesthood].  17:17 says, "For God gave into their (the horns') hearts to do His mind and to act in one mind and to give their (plural!) kingdom (singular!) to the beast."  The independent Jewish government of 66 A.D. (headed by the High Priest Ananus) was similarly described by Zeitlin:  "This government . . . played a double role.  . . . Inwardly it was for peace.  It wanted to disarm the extremists so that it should have all power concentrated in its hands and thus be allowed to make peace with Rome."

 

How many rulers did this government have?  TEN.  The following list is from Josephus, Wars of the Jews, Book I, Chapter XX.3-4, in William Whiston, Trans., Josephus Complete Works (Grand Rapids, MI:  Kregel Publications, 1974), 497 (emphases and numbers mine):

 

[T]hey . . . appointed a great many generals for the war [with Rome].  [1] Joseph also, the son of Gorion, and [2] Ananus the High priest, were chosen as governors of all affairs within the city [of Jerusalem] . . . .  They also chose other generals for Idumea; [3] Jesus the son of Sapphias, one of the high priests; and [4] Eleazar the son of Ananias, the high priest; they also enjoined [5] Niger, the then governor of Idumea. . . .  Nor did they neglect the care of the other parts of the country, but [6] Joseph the son of Simon was sent as general to Jericho, as was [7] Manasseh to Perea, and [8] John, the Essene, to the toparchy of Thamma; Lydda was also added to his portion, and Joppa and Emmaus.  But [9] John, the son of Matthias, was made the governor of the toparchies of Gophnitica and Acrabastene; as was [10] Josephus, the son of Matthias, of both the Galilees.

 

This tenth king is the same Josephus who wrote this book (Wars of the Jews) from which we are citing the history of the Jewish Roman War.  These "kings of the earth/land" are Jewish (not heathen), but then, Herod, whom Luke named in the book of Acts as being one of the “kings of the earth/land” considers himself to be Jewish, also.  And, if Solomon Zeitlin (mentioned above, the foremost Jewish authority on Josephus and the Jewish-Roman War, in the past century) is to be believed, they act in favor of the "heathen" rule of Rome.  These "kings" are specifically "kings of the land," meaning the "land" of Palestine.  Since they took office at the time the Jews declared their independence from Rome, they actually rule for a short period "along with the beast" (Revelation 17:12).  While they are (plural) kings, they share a (singular) kingdom (Revelation 17:12, 17).  And they do in fact work in league with the beast to destroy Jerusalem (Revelation 17:16-17).  Zeitlin (2:253) observes:

 

“This government . . . was greatly responsible for turning a revolution into a civil war."  The civil war was the instrument, perhaps more than the Roman siege, which destroyed Jerusalem.  The various parties in the war ravaged the citizenry, confiscated and wasted precious food and ammunition.  Vespasian, himself, waited for the Jewish civil strife to complete much of the work of destroying the Jewish nation before he pressed the siege.  Jewish writers of later years blame those internal struggles for the destruction of Jerusalem.

 

In the next blogpost, we will consider John’s (Trumpet 2, Trumpet 3, Bowl 2, and Bowl 3) prophecies concerning the Seas and Rivers turned to blood, according to Josephus’s historical evidence. 

Apocalyptic? #20: Mirroring the Gospels: Jesus in Heaven! (Rev. 4-5)

 

“After these things I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven.” (Rev. 4:1 NKJV)

(The full text of Revelation 4-5 is printed in the RSV at the conclusion of this blogpost.)

 

It is now, finally, time to take the second step “back to the future” into the mirror (John’s mirror-image history/prophecy concerning the thousands of years of the human drama on earth).  In Chapter 1 of Revelation, John introduces his book by mirroring the age of the epistles.  In 1:4 (NIV), he begins: “John, To the seven churches in the province of Asia:  Grace and peace to you,” just as Paul would have begun his epistles to each of his churches.  In 1:11 (NIV), John stipulates that it is Jesus who wants him to write epistles to the seven churches: “Write on a scroll what you see and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea.”  In Chapters 2 and 3, John writes those seven specific epistles to the churches. 

What is remarkable is that (after Chapter 3) John, in Revelation, NEVER AGAIN mentions those churches.  Instead, beginning with Chapter 4, John takes a second step into a mirror.  Now, John is stepping into a mirror image of the Gospels—the life of Jesus.  This time, however, he is picking up where the Gospels left off (after Jesus’ ascension, after his resurrection) and, for two chapters, he is focused upon the next phase in Jesus’ life—his existence in heaven. Beginning in chapter 6, John will take a third step into the mirror and begin to mirror the age of the prophets, as they promised that God would divorce Israel.  Jesus is given a “divorce scroll” with seven seals. 

Just as the priests of John’s age gave their sinful wives seven chances to repent before they were divorced, Jesus is giving “the inhabitants of the land” of Israel seven warnings (chances to repent) before he consummates the divorce at the opening of the seventh seal (at the end of Chapter 11).  To look at it a slightly different way, chapters 1 through 3 are addressed to the concerns of the Christians in Asia Minor (the seven churches).  Chapters 4 and 5 are concerned with the new status of Jesus, now alongside God in Heaven. Chapters 6 through 11 (and, in another step, from the age of the prophets to the period of the plagues of Exodus in chapters 15 through 19) are concerned with the Jewish people who had rejected Jesus.  As one can detect by the greater number of chapters John devotes to this concern with the Jewish people who had rejected Jesus, this concern is the primary focus of the Book of Revelation.

It surprises many people to learn that the word “heaven” does not mean what they think it means.  Many think that heaven is the utopian destination to which we go when we die.  Not so.  Heaven is the term used to indicate the throne of God.  Often, in the Bible, the terms God and Heaven are interchangeable.  For those acquainted with synecdoche, this happens as the “container” represents the “thing contained.”  To speak of the “Kingdom of God” is the same thing as to speak of the “Kingdom of Heaven.”  Similarly, we say the White House and the Kremlin agreed on an arms treaty, although we really mean that the U.S. President and the Russian President (and, frankly, the most influential of their advisors) agreed.  If you are searching the book of Revelation to find the utopian destination to which we go when we die, you will find a somewhat better depiction in chapters 21 and 22, but even then, the symbolism prevails and you must not interpret the chapters completely literally.

Just as the gospels set the scene for Jesus’ earthly life—Nazareth, Bethlehem, Egypt, Galilee, Samaria, Jerusalem, the temple, etc.—so, Revelation chapter 4 sets the scene for the next phase of Jesus’ life—the throne room in Heaven.  Everything we see in chapter 4 is exactly what ANY JEW might expect to see in Heaven:  God’s throne framed by a rainbow, as in Ezekiel 1:26-28 and elsewhere, with God Almighty sitting on it (verses 2-3), twenty-four seats surrounding the throne of God with twenty-four elders, reminiscent of I Chronicles 24, Leviticus 26, and elsewhere, seated therein (verse 4), with seven lamps of fire, such as the seven lamps of the menorah of the ancient temple and the tabernacle of God (verse 5), four living creatures, representing all of God’s animated creation—lion representing wild beasts, calf representing domesticated beasts, eagle representing fowl, man representing the human race, all resembling the cherubim of Ezekiel 1 with an allusion to the seraphim of Isaiah 6, and the sea of glass representing animated creation in the sea (verse 6), with all attendants to the throne worshiping the “holy” Lord God Almighty because He had “created” all things (verses 6-11).  No Jew would object to this picture, so far.  All are agreed that all creation should “worship” the Lord God Almighty because of his creation of all things.  The Baruch Atah prayer of the Jews from the time of the Mishnah unto the present time attests to that. The Shema of Israel attests that the Lord our God is One.

Then comes Jesus, in chapter 5.  This chapter, disclosing the next phase of Jesus’ existence following the Gospels, is the great stumbling block for many Jews.  Chapter 5 has the gall to explain how Jesus, like the Lord God Almighty, is now also “worthy” of praise and worship and blessing.  That’s the problem:  Jews allow themselves to worship only one individual:  the Lord God Almighty.  Nevertheless, in this chapter, Christians (along with “every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea” [Revelation 5:13]) say: “Blessing, and honor, and glory, and power, be unto him that sits upon the throne, AND TO THE LAMB forever and ever” (KJV). 

How did this new development occur?  As I described in an earlier post (Apocalyptic? #6), the dilemma in chapter 5 revolves around God holding a book sealed with seven seals (verse 1).  An angel asks, “Who is worthy to open the book and to loose[n] the seals thereof?” (verse 2, KJV).  However, “no man in heaven, nor on earth, neither under the earth, was able [understand: worthy] to open the book” and look inside (verse 3).  J. M. Ford identified the kind of book it was: 

The Hebrew document . . . the get mequssar, the tied (folded and sealed) deed . . . originated with priests who wished to divorce their wives, as in Baba Bathra 160b (Epstein):

What is the reason why the Rabbis instituted a folded (deed)?—They were [in] a place [inhabited] by priests, who were very hot-tempered and they divorced their wives (for the slightest provocation). Consequently, the Rabbis made [this] provision, so that in the meantime they might cool down.

The book [Greek: biblion] is a bill of divorce.  The term.biblion is used for a bill of divorce in LXX Deut 24:1,3, Isa 50:1, Jer 3:8, Mark 10:4, Matt 19:7. (J. Massyngberde Ford, Revelation, vol. 38 of The Anchor Bible [Garden City, New York:  Doubleday & Company, Inc., 1975], 92-94.)

In Deuteronomy 24:1 and 3, the very same term for “bill” of divorce (biblion) is used when God gave Israel the law concerning divorce as when in Isaiah 50:1 and Jeremiah 3:8 prophesied that God would divorce Israel—would give her a bill of divorcement.  The document actually resembled a pamphlet or brochure, rather than a scroll.  It was sealed at every fold.  Jesus (the Lamb) was the only Israelite deemed “worthy” to break the seals and open the biblion.  Jesus was the victim of Israel’s greatest sin—demanding his crucifixion.  Each time a seal was broken, there was an opportunity for God’s wife—Israel—to repent and be forgiven. 

Who is “worthy” to condemn a woman taken in the act of (even spiritual) adultery (as was the case with the Balaamites, Nicolaitans, and Jezebel in the earlier addressed seven churches and the Harlot Jerusalem:  the porneia/pornē/Great Harlot Babylon)?  Although the Greek text of John 7:53-8:11 does not appear in any existing Greek New Testament texts or other language versions until the 5^th century A.D., and, therefore, may not be an inspired text from the Bible, it does give us some insight into what may be happening here in Revelation.  John’s gospel account is the account of a woman taken in the very act of adultery—indicating that she must have been married to someone else.  She is brought to Jesus to see if she should appropriately be stoned to death (not just divorced).  Jesus responds that whoever among her accusers is “without sin” may indeed “cast the first stone,” thus commencing the execution of the woman.  Apparently, none of her accusers considered themselves “worthy” to cast the first stone, by Jesus’ standards.  Then, Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.”  By the standards of this account, an accuser must himself/herself be “without sin” in order to be “worthy” to execute judgment on an adulterer/adulteress.  Hence, the dilemma in Revelation 5:  no man was worthy to open the seals of the divorce scroll.  All had sinned.

But, wait!  After John wept because of this dilemma, in verse 4, an elder told him, in verse 5, “Weep not; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has prevailed to open the book and to loosen the seven seals.”  Who is this Lion of Judah?  The Lamb that had been slain (verse 6).  His coming and taking the book from the hand of God (verse 7) prompted the outpouring of worship from the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders (verse 8), because he was “worthy” to open the seals (verse 9). What made him worthy?  He “was slain and . . . redeemed us to God by [his] blood out of every kindred and tongue and people and nation” (verse 9).  Therefore, ten thousand times ten thousand and thousands of thousands of angels, living creatures, and elders (verse 11) proclaimed: “Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and glory, and blessing” (verse 12). 

Jesus and God are, thus, now both worthy of worship.  This is what Jews stumble over.  Christians worship BOTH God and Christ, His Son.

 

Revelation 4 and 5 (RSV):

1 After this I looked, and lo, in heaven an open door! And the first voice, which I had heard speaking to me like a trumpet, said, "Come up hither, and I will show you what must take place after this." 

2 At once I was in the Spirit, and lo, a throne stood in heaven, with one seated on the throne! 

3 And he who sat there appeared like jasper and carnelian, and round the throne was a rainbow that looked like an emerald. 

4 Round the throne were twenty-four thrones, and seated on the thrones were twenty-four elders, clad in white garments, with golden crowns upon their heads. 

5 From the throne issue flashes of lightning, and voices and peals of thunder, and before the throne burn seven torches of fire, which are the seven spirits of God; 

6 and before the throne there is as it were a sea of glass, like crystal. And round the throne, on each side of the throne, are four living creatures, full of eyes in front and behind: 

7 the first living creature like a lion, the second living creature like an ox, the third living creature with the face of a man, and the fourth living creature like a flying eagle. 

8 And the four living creatures, each of them with six wings, are full of eyes all round and within, and day and night they never cease to sing, "Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!" 

9 And whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to him who is seated on the throne, who lives for ever and ever, 

10 the twenty-four elders fall down before him who is seated on the throne and worship him who lives for ever and ever; they cast their crowns before the throne, singing, 

11 "Worthy art thou, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for thou didst create all things, and by thy will they existed and were created."

 

1 And I saw in the right hand of him who was seated on the throne a scroll written within and on the back, sealed with seven seals; 

2 and I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, "Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?" 

3 And no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or to look into it, 

4 and I wept much that no one was found worthy to open the scroll or to into into it. 

5 Then one of the elders said to me, "Weep not; lo, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals." 

6 And between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders, I saw a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain, with seven horns and with seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth; 

7 and he went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who was seated on the throne. 

8 And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and with golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints; 

9 and they sang a new song, saying, "Worthy art thou to take the scroll and to open its seals, for thou wast slain and by thy blood didst ransom men for God from every tribe and tongue and people and nation, 

10 and hast made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on earth." 

11 Then I looked, and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders the voice of many angels, numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, 

12 saying with a loud voice, "Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!" 

13 And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all therein, saying, "To him who sits upon the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might for ever and ever!" 

14 And the four living creatures said, "Amen!" and the elders fell down and worshiped.

Apocalyptic? #7: The Number 666 and the Friday Fixation

This calls for wisdom. 

Let the person who has insight calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man. 

That number is 666.

(Revelation 13:18 NIV)

                                                                                                                                              

Have you ever used the abbreviation: TGIF?  Be careful of what “day” you are thankful for!  Friday may seem pleasant to you, because the weekend—Day 7, meaning “rest”—is approaching.  But, if we are approaching Day 7 in God’s Cosmic Week—if we are indeed living in Day 6 (Friday)—we are on the brink of the “end” of the week.  Day 6 can be comforting or it can be scary!  Two numbers are extremely powerful in the Jewish mind:  Twelve and Seven.  I mention these two numbers because they are both powerfully significant for understanding what happens between the opening of the sixth and seventh seals.

Seven (and its multiples) represent Completeness/telos.  There are the 7 churches of Asia Minor (Rev. 1:4), the 7 golden lampstands/candlesticks (Rev. 1:12), and the 7 stars (Rev. 1:16) which are the 7 angels of the 7 churches (Rev. 1:20).     There are the 7 letters to the 7 churches (Rev. 2-3) and the 7 spirits of God (Rev. 2:1) which are the 7 lamps of fire burning before the throne of God (Rev. 4:5).   There are, of course, the 7 seals of the scroll (divorce book) which we discussed in the previous post (Rev. 5:1), and to the end of which (Seal #7) we are now approaching.  The Lamb had 7 horns and 7 eyes, which were the 7 spirits of God (Rev. 5:6) sent forth into all of the earth.  There were 7 trumpets sounded by 7 angels (Rev. 8:2) and 7 thunders (Rev. 10:3).  There were the 7 years (week of years) that were divided in half (=3½ years=42 months=1260 days) that I discussed in my post “Apocalyptic?  #3:  The Mirror Image of the Week.”  The Dragon had 7 heads (Rev. 12:3) as did the Beast with 7 heads (Rev. 13:1) before adding an 8^th (Rev. 13:3).  There were the 7 last plagues (Rev. 15:1) and the 7 angels who administered them (Rev. 15:8) by pouring out the 7 bowls of the wrath of God (Rev. 16:1).  There are the 7 mountains on which the Harlot Babylon sits (Rev. 17:9)

Twelve (and its multiples) represented God’s Chosen.  There were 12 tribes of Israel, chosen by God (Rev. 21:12).  There were 12 apostles, chosen by Christ (Rev. 21:14).  There were 24 (12X2) elders sitting on 24 thrones, surrounding God’s throne in Heaven in Revelation 4:4 (just as there were 70 elders, chosen by Moses to assist in ruling Israel in Numbers 11 and Exodus 24).  There were 12 foundation stones of the walls of New Jerusalem (Rev. 21:14), plus 12 gates to the city (Rev. 21:12), plus 12 angels—one at each gate (Rev. 21:12).  The woman in Revelation 12:1 had a crown of 12 stars on her head.  144,000 (12X12X1000) were sealed out of every one of the 12 tribes of Israel (Rev. 7:4):  12,000  from each tribe (Rev. 7:5-8).  The length and breadth and height of the New Jerusalem were each 12,000 furlongs (Rev. 21:16).  The walls of the New Jerusalem were 144 cubits of an angel (Rev. 21:17).  The 12 foundations were each a special precious stone (Rev. 21:20) and the 12 gates were 12 pearls (Rev. 21:21).   In the midst of the city was a river of the water of life with a tree of life on either side, bearing 12 different kinds of fruit every one of the (12) months (Rev. 22:2). 

The Importance of the Number 6

I began this post by asking:  Have you ever used the abbreviation: TGIF?  In considering Revelation 1:1, the scholar G. B. Caird asked: "What did John think was 'bound to happen soon'?" (Caird, p. 236).  The answer to that question is found by watching out for the number six in Revelation.  The supreme archetype in the entire book of Genesis is the creation week.  When day number seven arrives, telos/the end has already been achieved.  Creation has been completed (perfected) by the end of day six in Genesis.  The word "sabbath" even carries the perfected denotation of "rest" in Hebrew.  Since John (intuitively) knows that his seven structure has aroused an expectation of telos in the number seven for his audience, John consistently places himself and his audience at the number six, thus indicating almost by the sheer psychological weight of the number six that he and his readers are on the brink of telos--but they are still in the process of entelechy (telos has not yet come).

The Sixth Emperor

The most poignant verses in the book of Revelation for those looking for evidence of the date of Revelation are 17:10-11 (KJV):  “¹⁰ And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space. ¹¹ And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition.”  Scholars have agreed that the "seven heads = seven kings" refer to Roman emperors.  Hence, calculations ensue in an effort to determine the emperor's reign under which the book is being written.  While the answer to the calculation is of vast importance, the psychological significance of the verses has been missed.  John states that "five fell, one is, and the other has not yet come."  That places John and his audience precisely in the reign of emperor number six.  They are on the brink of telos.

The Number 666

Furthermore, the number of the beast "who has the wound of the sword and lived" (13.14) is the infamous number "six hundred sixty-six."  My parents, when they were about to discipline me, used a technique of counting to three.  However, they would not count 1, 2, 3.  Instead they would count 1, 2, 2 and ½, 2 and ¾, etc., extending this final number for a longer time, thus, giving me more opportunity to behave and comply.   The infamous number 6-6-6 seems to signify the last brink of the last brink of the last brink of telos.  Gematria is the technical term for the activity of codifying someone's name into a number, a very popular practice in the first century.  Unlike English, which uses an alphabet for letters and an Arabic number system, ancient languages such as Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek, and Latin made the alphabet serve a dual purpose.  The use of Roman Numerals in English, today, illustrates such a dual use of letters, so that the name LIV (a nickname for Olivia; see Liv Tyler and Liv Ullmann) also equals in Roman Numerals the number 54.  An Aramaic document of Nero's reign from the Wadi Murabba'at, in Jordan, contains the required spelling for Nero Caesar which would equal 666 in either Aramaic or Hebrew.  But the psychological significance comes not from identifying the individual to whom the number referred (John's primary audience surely knew!).  The sense of being on the ultimate brink of telos comes from the sheer "expectation" that, with the number six in place, the number seven (the end/the telos) is almost on the scene.

The Sixth Seal and Sixth Trumpet

John has proceeded rapid-fire through the first 6 seals.  He uses only one chapter (Revelation chapter 6) to go through all 6 seals.  Nevertheless, he does not discuss seal number 7 until he has sealed the foreheads of the 144,000  from the 12 tribes of Israel (Revelation chapter 7), presumably to protect them from the final disaster (the divorce of Israel).  Also, in chapter 7, he identifies a group that is called an “uncountable number.”  Then, he spreads out his description of the opening of the 7^th seal through chapters 8, 9, 10, and 11.  The opening of the 7^th seal in chapter 8 introduces 7 more half-steps—the blowing of 7 trumpets.  This use of the number six (in chapter 7) is similar to the positioning of an interlude between the sixth and seventh trumpets, in which John introduces 7 more half-steps: the 7 thunders, but does not write the messages down; he eats the scroll that was sweet in his mouth but bitter in his stomach (i.e., he must prophesy); he measures the temple; and the two Witnesses prophesy.  Since the seven trumpets are an expansion of the seventh seal, John and his audience members realize (at this point, chronologically) that they are on the last brink of the last brink of telos.  An interlude of eating a scroll and hearing seven thunders does not tell much about the temporal standpoint of John and his audience.  There are some clues in the measuring of the temple and in the prophecy of the two Witnesses, however.  If it is the Jerusalem "temple" which John is told to measure, the date should probably be placed before 70 AD, the year in which the temple was destroyed, so there would no longer be a temple to measure.

The Friday (6^th Day) Interlude

If you find that there is an interlude of relative peace following the two World Wars, or following the end of the Cold War, or following the Islamic terror attacks around the world, or following the COVID19 pandemic and the subsequent reign of protests, looting, and chaos, don’t relax.  It may be just the interlude before last trumpet.  If you are thanking God that it is Friday, know that a cataclysm could occur on Saturday.

So, what was the purpose of the Friday interlude in Revelation?  In Revelation 11, the interlude between the 6^th trumpet and the 7^th trumpet was to provide a time to “measure the temple” in Jerusalem.  In the academic world, we know that “measurements” are evaluations. A common one is the Midterm Exam. We seek, as professors, to evaluate whether our students have mastered the important elements of our courses.  When God asked John to measure the Temple, he was asking him to evaluate whether the Priesthood and Temple Cult in Jerusalem had mastered the important elements of Judaism and Israel’s role with regard to God.  Did they repent, as God’s divorce scroll intended?  The answer was generally:  No.  The High Priestly party continued to resist God.  If you begin to experience an interlude, be careful!  You could be in the process of being measured by God.

In Revelation 8:1, the interlude is pictured as “silence in heaven about the space of half an hour,” before the 7 last trumpets were sounded.  In Revelation 7, the interlude is pictured as four angels standing at the four corners of the “land” of Israel, holding back the four winds, so that they should not blow on the land, while the 144,000 were being sealed.

The Importance of the Number 12

The 144,000 

Who are these 144,000 whom God is now protecting from the coming violent divorce, just as he protected the Israelites who had sealed their doorposts with the blood of a Lamb from the Tenth Plague in Egypt?  They are Jews who came from the 12 tribes of Israel (Rev. 7:4-8).  So, it’s true, many Jews DID REPENT and were NOT DIVORCED by God.  Why were they not divorced?  Because, in contrast with the Harlot Babylon (the High Priests and their followers in Jerusalem), these were “virgins” (Rev. 14:4), not “defiled” among women as was the Harlot Babylon.  The term John uses—defiled/molunô—is a cognate of the word Daniel 1:8 uses—defiled/summolunô—when he suggests that Daniel and his three companions (later renamed Shadrach, Meshach, and Aved Nego [Abednego]) who were captured by the Babylonians and commanded by Babylonian authorities to conform to Babylonian cultural and religious practices.  The heroes of Daniel are these young men who refused to be defiled; they resist conforming to the Babylonian cultural and religious practices.  The very names Shadrach, Meshach, and Aved Nego (Abednego) are the NEW names which their captors gave them, corresponding to Babylonian gods.  Their original (Hebrew) names were Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah.  Daniel himself was given a new Babylonian name by his captors, corresponding to Babylonian god Bel:  Belteshazzar.  Nevertheless, Daniel is the name of the book, not Belteshazzar.  Daniel refused to be “defiled” by the new Babylonian culture!  Daniel and his companions refused to eat Babylonian food (Dan. 1:8) on the grounds that they would be defiled (summolunô in LXX) by the act of eating the king's food.  This is possibly the verse that John had in mind when he spoke in 14:4 of the "virgins" who were not defiled.  John uses the cognate molunô (defiled).

Syncretism

The technical word for what Daniel called defiled (summolunô in LXX) is “syncretism.” It means that the Jews incorporated portions of the heathen culture into their own religion and culture.  Syncretistic tendencies have been identified by Revelation scholars as the porneia (fornication) of which John accuses Jezebel (Rev. 2:20-22) and Babylon (Rev. 14:8).  (Notice that the reference to Babylon as a harlot/pornē in Revelation 14:8 is just four verses removed from the reference to “women” and “virgins” in Revelation 14:4. This is significant.)  Perhaps, syncretistic tendencies are an important rationale in John's choosing "Babylon" as the name of the harlot.  John appears to be greatly influenced by the book of Daniel.  The heroes of Daniel are the young men who resist syncretism, once they have been carried away into "Babylon." 

Not only do the Babylonians attempt to assimilate the young men into their religion by renaming the young men with Babylonian names, often associated with Babylonian deities, Daniel is determined to resist the law outlawing prayer to his God, even if it means incarceration with lions.  The other three young heroes are determined to resist pagan worship, even if it means death in a fiery furnace.  These heroes are models of anti-syncretism.  Even John's literary style in many ways imitates this thoroughly anti-syncretistic book.

"Why," John's favorite Psalm (the 2nd) asks, "do the heathen [Gentiles/goiim] rage and the people [Jews] imagine vain things?"  "They [the Jews and the Gentiles] have plotted together against the Lord and His Messiah," it answers.  It was the syncretistic alliance between the High Priestly party of Judaism with the Gentile leader Pontius Pilate to crucify Jesus that amounted to ultimate syncretism/harlotry/porneia.  All other nationalities are expected to oppose the Lord and His Messiah.  Therefore, syncretism does not matter for the heathen.  They are all united against the Lord and His Messiah, anyway.  Any alliance with these heathen is porneia, for John.  The dragon is not syncretistic, because the union of heathen gods, religions, and cultures is not porneia.  Only when Jews or Christians are united with heathen elements is there the type of syncretism which is equivalent to porneia.  The Old Testament harlot, Israel/Zion, is guilty of harlotry only to the extent she seduces and enters into alliances with her heathen neighbors.  The specific identity of the neighbor is insignificant--so long as it is heathen.  Therefore, John, in guarding against porneia, is interested only in this type of syncretism--Jewish (and Christian) alliances with heathen cultures.

Is There Syncretism in Christianity Today?

What about modern-day syncretism?  Have 21^st Century Christians united with ancient Greco-Roman culture to form new cultural and religious values and practices?  Paul warned against uniting with Greco-Roman culture in I Corinthians 5:1: “It is actually reported that there is fornication among you, and such fornication as is not even among the Gentiles.”  5:11: “I wrote to you not to keep company, if any man that is named a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such a one no, not to eat.”  6:9-10: “Be not deceived:  neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with men, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.”  Paul describes the Greco-Roman practices in Romans 1:26-27: ”²⁶ Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural sexual relations for unnatural ones. ²⁷ In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed shameful acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their error.”

The issue of syncretism is not whether other cultures sin.  The issue of syncretism is whether Christians and Jews participate in the heathen cultural practices and/or support them in these practices.

Who Are the 144,000 Virgins?

I commented earlier that the reference to Babylon as a harlot/pornē in Revelation 14:8 is just four verses removed from the reference to “women” and “virgins” in Revelation 14:4: “These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb (KJV).”  I noted that this is significant.  Why?  Because this Revelation 14:4 passage has been used to argue that Catholic priests should be celibate (=virgins).  This is a misunderstanding of the passage.  We have already pointed out that “defiled” refers to syncretism.  We have already shown the contrast between the harlot/pornē Babylon just 4 verses later and the 144,000 Israelites who are “virgins.” The final piece of this puzzle is the little word “with/meta.”  

Meta

Meta is the first part of the word metaphor.  John has been using a “woman” metaphor throughout Revelation.  Israel was the metaphorical wife of God.  Hence, Israel assumes the metaphorical Eve role.  Thus, she has an archetypal conflict with the serpent.  Just as Paul saw Israel/Jerusalem as two virwomen (in a positive sense and a negative sense) in Galatians 4:25-26, John seems to split the "woman" here into "virgin" and "harlot."  The woman who (in Eden) was torn between her two choices has, by the end of Revelation, completely split into two women--a good woman (or virgin) who yields her life in faithfulness to God, and a bad woman (or harlot) who perfects her unfaithfulness so fully that she commits porneia with the serpent's representative.

The task of the readers of John’s Revelation is to remain metaphorical “virgins,” as did the 144,000 Israelites—to not succumb to the syncretistic temptation of joining the heathen culture in their practices.  After all, if it is now Friday, the dreadful 7^th day is just around the corner!