Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Year 0, Day 21: Revelation 10-11

Splitting the Stories

Again we have an interruption as we progress through a list of 7 things.  Remember with the seals we had the story of the undoing of the seventh seal split away from the other six.  Now we have the seventh trumpet split apart from the other six.  I think there is something significant about what seems to be an intentional reoccurring story-telling technique.  At the very least this likely is a reminder to the belief that seven implies completion.  As an example, remember that in Genesis creation was not complete until the seventh day.  Yet at the same time, the seventh day is completely different – separate – from the other six.

Interlude of the Scroll

So let’s get on with this interlude.  The angel with the little scroll is described in such a way as to make us think that he is coming straight from God.  Here’s some scripture to remind us what I mean by that statement. 
  • Psalm 104:3 claims that God makes the clouds his chariot.  
  • Exodus 24:15ff tells us that God speaks to Moses from out of the cloud. 
  • Ezekiel 1:28 claims that God’s radiance is like rainbows around him. 
  • Matthew 17:2 – at the time of the Transfiguration – we hear that Jesus’ face shines as the sun. 
  • Joel 3:16 describes the voice of God as a lion’s roar. 


With all of these references, there are some who teach and believe that this angel is actually Christ himself.  Looking just within the book of Revelation, the images given here regarding the angel’s feet and face do seem similar to those spoken about Christ in Revelation 1:15-16.  In the Old Testament, we are accustomed to hearing stories of angels of the Lord and attributing some of those stories as pictures of Jesus {the ones in Daniel, for example}.  However, since John does not specifically write that it is Christ, or the lamb, we cannot and should not assume that this is a picture of Christ. 

As with the end of Daniel, I do find myself struggling with the fact that we are not told the message of the little scroll.  I hate it when we are told “and I was forbidden to tell the message.”  In general, I hate secrets and surprises anyway, so this portion of scripture frustrates me.  But in the end, I must trust that God knows better than I do.  It is possible that like Paul in 2 Cor. 12:4, John heard things that he simply could not put into words.  It is likely that God does not want this part of the Apocalypse revealed to humanity.  Or, it could have been a specific revelation that was meant only for John.  It could also be that God knows that humanity could not understand what God has planned without seeing it actually happen.  All of these are legitimate reasons for me to think that it is time for me to move beyond myself and understand that God is in control.  I need not understand everything.  That is why we get faith.

We move ahead into the telling of the bitter and sweet scroll.  John is twice told to take the scroll, even after he asks for it.  The implied meaning here is that although God’s grace is free, mankind also must take it.  Jesus died for our sins, but God expects us to respond.  The gift is offered to all, but only those who truly take it receive it.

In a way, this story seems to mirror Ezekiel 3:1-3.  What is the meaning behind the bitterness and the sweetness?  John may be telling us that the scroll is sweet and bitter as a reflection of what it means to bear God’s word.  It is nice to be chosen by God, but often the message being born is hard and filled with difficulties.  John may be reminding Christians that to follow God is both sweet and bitter.  It is sweet to know that God loves and forgives us.  But if we are truly obeying, we should also taste bitterness as we identify sin within our life and want to change who we are to be more like Christ. 

However, if the focus is placed on Christ again we can see another possible interpretation.  Christ’s death is both bitter and sweet. If you have any doubt about that, read the crucifixion story.  God’s grace coming to mankind is a wonderful thing.  However, Jesus’ death is gut-wrenching and emotionally disturbing.  Given the stories yet to come in Revelation, a Christ-centered approach to this passage makes a great deal of sense.  In this light, this passage can once again be seen as speaking truth to the future, to the present, and retelling truth known from the past.

Interlude of Measurements

After this interlude with the angel, we move on to another interlude regarding the measurement of the Temple.  These two verses derive most of their inspiration from Ezekiel 40:1-6, although Zechariah 2:1 no doubt had a part in the inspiration.  Measuring typically has a part in proclaiming ownership.  We measure things that belong to us and things that we desire.  God is telling John that what he is about to measure is important to Him.

Also notice that John is told to exclude the court of the Gentiles.  For reference, see Ezekiel 40.  By excluding the court of Gentiles, John is being told to measure the part of the temple that is special to His chosen people.  The Gentiles are said to trample on the temple area for 42 months (or 1,260 days – a time, times and a half of a time).  This is likely a reference to the history of Antiochus Epiphanes, who was in power over Jerusalem from June 168 B.C. to December 165 B.C.  When the Maccabean revolt kicked Antiochus Epiphanes IV out of Jerusalem, there was a great celebration (still commemorated today as Hanukah).  Here again we see truth being told about the past, to the present, and included into the future.

Two Witnesses

As a part of this “measuring the temple” process, we are introduced to the two witnesses.  Jewish tradition holds that God will not send calamity without sending a person (usually a prophet) to warn the people.  Examples of this are the flood, Jonah, and the exile into Babylon.  This is seen Malachi 3:1 especially.

As to the identity of these particular witnesses, some say that the two witnesses are the Law and the Prophets.  This would imply a purely figurative interpretation, but it would fit in with the Word of God where it often says “the Law and the Prophets testify.” 

Others say that a more literal interpretation of this passage would be Moses and Elijah.  This theory is proposed because Moses is the lawgiver and Elijah is known as the chief of all prophets.  Furthermore, it was Moses and Elijah who appeared on the mountain with Jesus at the Transfiguration in Mark 9:4.  As further evidence, Elijah is given the ability to call down fire from heaven in 2 Kings 1:9ff in addition to having the ability to withhold rain from the earth in 1 Kings 17:1.  Moses is given the ability to bring about plagues of all kinds as well as turn water into blood in Exodus 7:1ff.

As for other possible interpretations, there are two much more unlikely positions.  Some say that the two witnesses are Enoch and Elijah simply because they are the only two people who did not die before being taken up to be with God. (Genesis 5:24 and 2 Kings 2:11)  The fourth possibility is that the two witnesses may be the Old and the New Testament; however this is highly unlikely as John’s Apocalypse predates the formation of the New Testament by several centuries.  This last possibility – like the first – would require a completely figurative understanding of this passage.

The witnesses die at a location that is spiritually referred to as Sodom and Egypt – and is most likely Jerusalem since that is where Christ was crucified.  Sodom is the Biblical analogy for pride and a willingness to walk away from God’s ways.  Egypt is the Biblical analogy for bondage, slavery, and desiring to be oppressed by sin.  So we can see that even the Holy City of God will be a place for bondage and walking away from God’s ways – pretty much like it was in the days of Jesus.  Here again we see a prophecy to John’s contemporaries speak truth in such a way that the past is remembered and the future is enlightened.

Next we turn to the resurrection of these witnesses.  The resurrection of the witnesses is at God’s hand and through God’s spirit.  John’s point is that those who are willing to die for Christ can also live in the guarantee of being raised by God in the same manner that Christ was raised.  This would be a great message of hope to John’s contemporaries in their persecution at the hands of the Roman Empire!  Additionally, the death and resurrection of the witnesses brings about great praise towards God - eventually.  John is reminding both his contemporaries and us that sometimes only with great sacrifice on our part can we truly make other people realize their own need for repentance.  This is why it is often said that the best way of perpetuating a person’s message is to martyr them.

Seventh Trumpet

In conclusion, let us finally turn to this seventh trumpet: the last of the woes.  In many respects, Revelation 11:15 follows Martin Luther’s teaching regarding the Two Kingdoms.  In a basic understanding, the Kingdom of God began when Jesus came to this world (Read John the Baptizer’s proclamation that the kingdom of Heaven “has drawn near”).  However, the kingdom of this world is still largely present.  The kingdom of this world became the kingdom of God, although not yet fully at this present time.  Again notice that John’s words here in Revelation teach through highlighting the story of Christ.

In a greater understanding, this picture that John is presenting is also a final glimpse of worship in heaven.  In that sense, the present age would be cast away and only the kingdom of God would remain.  Then the Ark of the Covenant is also truly revealed.

Like the worship, this revelation of the Ark may be split into two understandings.  First, John’s point about the Ark of the Covenant being revealed to all is analogous to what we call the Priesthood of all Believers.  In Judiasm, only the great high priests were able to be in God’s presence and the Ark of the Covenant.  If the Ark is revealed to all, then John’s point may well be that we are all high priests.  However, John may also be giving us an understanding of God’s presence in heaven.  John may well be saying that God is open to all people in heaven.  He is fully and completely disclosed in heaven in spite of how we may occasionally feel distant from God from time to time.


In the end, this is still a message of hope.  God is full and complete.  There will come a time when we realize what God is.  But until that time we can rest in the belief that God has called us all to be priests in Jesus Christ.  He has called us to sacrifice, but the sacrifice will be worth it.  He has called us to a special relationship that has both bitter and sweet elements.  But rest assured that He has called us.

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