Recap of Revelation

And so, dear reader of the unveiling of Christ, you have seen what the future of mankind, and what your future, holds. Jesus! Not just a little child lying in a manger, nor just a good teacher, nor even the savior dying on a cross for the sins of mankind. He is King of Kings and Lord of Lords. What has been unveiled?

Firstly, the attributes of Christ, detailed in Rev. 1:13-18, 2:1,8,12, 18, 3:1,7,14, and 19:11-16.

•      His appearance being gleaming white, recapping the transfiguration on the mount (Mark 9:3)

•      Eyes like fire and feet like glowing, heated bronze, His face shining like the sun, expressing the intensity of His holiness

•      A voice of many waters, speaking to the nations in their own tongues (Acts 2:5-11). You can understand this much better if you have experienced Pentecostal or charismatic worship services

•      Holding in His hand the seven stars, messengers to the churches

•      The sword of His word is spoken from His mouth (Ephesians 6:17, Hebrews 4:12), and one of His names is the Word of God (John1:1)

•      His word becomes a rod of iron which rules nations that will not choose to be disciples

•      The alpha and omega, the beginning (John 1:1, Col. 1:15) and the end (Rev. 22:13)

•      Through His death and resurrection, His eternal life places the keys of death in His hands

•      He rides a white horse, the true Hero who faithfully and truly wars and judges in righteousness

•      He wears many crowns with names and attributes that are beyond our comprehension

•      He is King of Kings and Lord of Lords

Secondly, the commendations, critiques, and admonitions that Jesus has for His churches (us!) recorded in Rev. 2-3. Jesus speaks to the reader, speaking from eternity to those of us on earth

•    Rev. 2-3, a detailed look at the strengths and shortcomings of the churches

•    Commendation for perseverance in the face of persecution. This is only theoretical for those of us in the West. Would we have the grace and dedication to persevere in the face of the intense persecution the early church endured? Will we, if we enter the great tribulation described by John?

•    Commendation for walking in a manner worthy of the Lord. We are saved by faith thru grace, not by works. But to what extent will Jesus see our conforming to His example as evidence that we have allowed the Holy Spirit to affect our life and actions? (1 Corinthians 3:10-15)

•    Criticism and judgment for allowing and tolerating false teachings and false teachers in the church. Isn't that contrary to not passing judgment on others? But how can we stand before the Lord and make excuses for allowing His children to be led astray when the falseness of the teachings are incontrovertible?

•    Admonitions to hold fast to the truth and to right actions, even in the coming tests. Everyone has trials of some type; Jesus calls us to keep our faith even in the most severe test, and beyond that to keep right practice when it is a struggle just to hold onto our faith.

•    Disappointment over loss of the fervency of love and resulting lukewarmness. The true challenge of prosperity, going back to the Israelites after they first settled in the promised land, is harder than rejecting the lure of materialism. It is truly a challenge to remain emotionally intense in our devotion to the Lord who saved us, for the long haul. This makes Jesus nauseous.

•    Promise of rewards to those who persevere. The staggering nature of these promises is that they dwarf anything that person might grasp on their own. Those who receive the wildbeast's mark will endure eternally the stench of their own sin, while those who choose Christ will sit on eternal thrones.

•    He is coming like a thief. Blessed is the one who keeps his garments (Rev 16:15, Luke 12:39-40, Rev. 22:10-15). How can the unexpectedness of His return be a consideration in every action and decision of our daily life? What if His return is in the form of sudden personal calamity?

•    The making of all things new has already begun. Jesus promises living water to the one who (over)comes. (Rev. 21:5-8, John 7:38) How can we experience this living water continually?

Thirdly, what true worship of Jesus looks like when all pretense and all inhibitions have been removed. John described his vision of this worship in which the reasons for worship of Jesus are incorporated explicitly, and speak primarily of His wonderful actions as manifesting and growing out of His divine love and perfect holiness. The unveiled Jesus makes the attributes of God's glory unavoidably worthy of worship, as described in 4:8 & 11, 5:9-14, 7:10-12, 11:15-18, 14:3, 15:3-4, 16:5-7, 19:1-7. The Father and the Lamb are worshipped for

•      Their worthiness because of their actions, specifically for creating all things, and for  Jesus' atoning blood that redeemed people

•      God's divine intervention in human history to establish His kingdom on the earth in righteousness and the subsequent obedience of the nations, and His righteous judgment of those who do evil

Some of the heavenly worship songs have been adapted for church or contemporary worship. What will it be like when the adoration of the full scope of the nature and character of Jesus and His wonderful acts is at the center of the governance of mankind, as it is in the government of eternity?

Fourthly, the way that Jesus will work in our lives to remove the hold of:

•    The world (symbolized by the wildbeast and the system he sets up);

•    The world is a system of economics, business, finance, government, and authority. At its core is the belief that life can only be lived by principles based on the natural world and human wisdom. God created nature and gave mankind dominion over it. God gives wisdom freely upon request. The fundamental evil at the core of the world system is the presumption that God is not telling man the whole truth, that He is withholding something wonderful from mankind, and that mankind can do better on its own using human wisdom. We know when and where this evil lie originated. (Genesis 3:1-5) This same presumption daily tries to persuade us to do things our own way. Sadly, it has a larger hold on us than we usually recognize.

•    The flesh (symbolized by the great harlot);

•    God created the human body with all of its natural needs and desires. It was very good. The human tendency, apart from a close relationship with God, is to seek to gratify these needs and desires continually in ever-greater measure. The world has embraced this approach to life. It is always in our face, in television, the Internet and movies, in advertising, and in social norms. This culture wars against our soul-life. (1 Peter 2:11)

•    The devil (played by himself, but cloaking his actions in the world and the flesh).

•    The world system and the flesh tell us they offer life. Behind them the devil has everything lined up to destroy us. (1 Peter 5:8)

To free us Jesus is going to trash everything in our lives that is out of place (i.e., sin) so that they no longer have any influence on us. We will see their ultimate futility. (Ecclesiastes 1:2 & 12:13-14) This is described in Rev. 6-20, with occasional intermissions for worship services. This struggle to the death will be incredibly painful. Jesus shed His blood to win it. To encourage us through these struggles, God gives us interludes of blessed joy and rejoicing in His presence.

•    This conflict ends with judgment of all that is right and destruction of all that is wrong.

•    We will all one day stand before God to give account. May we have acts of love and devotion to Him that on that day He will judge worthy of eternal treasure. (Matthew 6:20-21)

           

Fifthly, a glorious future in which we will be united eternally with Jesus in a love covenant, which also involves sharing the responsibility and authority to rule over creation. (Rev. 21-22, Ge. 1:28)

•    The church is portrayed as a bride, the bride of Christ, adorned for her husband, consummating a continuing Biblical metaphor (the Song of Songs; Isaiah 50:1; Hosea 2:19-20; Matthew 22:2-14, 25:1-13; 2 Corinthians 11:2; Ephesians 5:22-32)

•    God will dwell among His people and care for them intimately

•    The curse of Genesis will be removed and God's people will have access to the tree of life

•    The river of the water of life flowing from the throne of God will be the main venue of the city of God.

            The unveiling of Christ closes with the reminder that these things will come to pass quickly, as God's grace will not allow us to proceed without His intervention to set things right. How will you respond to these things?

Revelation 22:6-21 Jesus' last words to us

Revelation 22:6-7 Jesus promises a blessing for those who pay attention to what He has shown John. He is coming quickly because His grace will not allow the world, the flesh, and the devil to deceive or control His people individually. During the entire church age, apart from the end-time plan to bring in the new Jerusalem, He works in lives every minute of every day.

Revelation 22:8-11 John's response was to worship the messenger who revealed these things, but the angels know full well to refuse such and point all worship to God alone. (Acts 14:13-18) There is an odd statement by this angel to the effect that those who sin should continue in them, rather than repenting. This seems enigmatic. It would seem counter to the good news, which calls on all men everywhere to repent and turn to Christ. (Acts 17:30). Most likely this is a statement of free will. God will not compel anyone in our day and age, He only invites. But in eternity there will be justice for all who do not respond to God's invitation to receive His grace.

Revelation 22:12-16 Jesus promises reward for the deeds of men, but does not mention punishment. The blessing of having one's robes washed in the blood of Jesus (Rev. 7:14) is the right to access the tree of life, inside the city. Jesus repeats that it is His messenger that He sent to tell all these things to John, but now He speaks directly as He did in chapter 1. Pay close attention to His closing words. His eternal role as the author and final consummator of creation and life. His earthly credentials through the line of David as the rightful king of the Jews.

Revelation 22:17 The invitation might be taken as a simple expression of welcome. However, a much more likely interpretation is that the Holy Spirit and the church are the two means through which God works in our lives today. They provide guidance and mentoring in how to grow in the ways of God. And this invitation is that anyone who desires Christ, who desires to live a life in fellowship with Him and free from the power of sin, should come to the church and the Holy Spirit. Come and enter into relationships that will bring growth in righteousness and faith. Learn from those who know Jesus best how to discern His voice and walk in Him. He will satisfy your thirsting soul and has made provision, if you will receive it.

Revelation 22:18-20 This warning could be taken as pertaining to changing or disregarding this record, or as a warning about interpretations of it. We can take this at face value and simply say that everything about Jesus that was unveiled must be taken seriously. Even if we do not understand it. Having His words, just in case we might be tempted to procrastinate responding, Jesus once more reminds us that He is coming quickly.

Revelation 22:21 John pleas for grace. We should also. So be it!

Revelation 22:1-5 The river & tree of Life

The river flowing from the throne was previously described in Ezekiel 47:1-12. The tree of life, from which mankind was barred (Genesis 3:22-24) has now reappeared, growing beside the river of the water of life, which Jesus had promised would flow from the innermost being of those who believe (John 7:38) as a metaphor for the Holy Spirit. The tree bears fruit monthly. Even though there is no more moon in the new heavens, events are still chronicled by time units based on it. What does this fruit do but nourish the eternal life of God's people? The leaves also have medicinal function, healing the nations. Perhaps this deals with the physical healing of those peoples outside the gates of the holy city. Or perhaps the leaves somehow bring peace and security to the governments of these nations, so that they no longer need to war or plunder others.

          The curse of Genesis 3:17-19 has been lifted. As far as believers go, the curse was broken at the cross (Galatians 3:13).  But the curse on the ground has now been lifted. Fertilizer and pesticides may no longer be needed to mitigate the consequences of the curse. Even more, the ground yields fruit of itself, of which the sabbatical year was a foreshadowing. (Lev. 25:5)

          The Lord had told Moses that no one could see His face and live. (Exodus 33:20) Things have changed! His face no longer means death, but life.  Instead of the mark of the number of the wildbeast, God's people will have His name written on their forehead for all to see. Not that it is needed to buy and sell, but as a badge of honor. Symbolically, the wildbeast wanted his world-system to own and control the thoughts of everyone on earth. In the new earth, God's people voluntarily submit their thoughts and their thought-life to Him. And the repetition of the light coming from the Lord reminds us of His continuous omnipresence in the new earth with His people.

          It is probably idle speculation that the reason for the banishment of those who reject the lordship of Jesus to the lake of fire or the outer darkness is that being in His presence would be pure torture for such people. Everyone says they want to go to heaven, but most do not understand what this means. There is a vague belief that it is a place of perpetual pleasure and happiness. And that is accurate for those who enjoy the Lord's presence and want to do His will. But those who reject these things perhaps have the mistaken belief that they will be able to do what they want, on their own, irregardless of its consequences for others or impact on God's creation. That is not heaven, but closer to the hell that the devil seeks to turn the earth into. Being in God's presence and doing His will would be torture for these people, so in mercy God sends them to a place where they will be far from Him, and their misbeliefs will be exposed and burned away. That is apparently as much mercy as they will receive. They are mentioned briefly in 22:15, but are otherwise ignored in the new earth. 

Revelation 21:9-27 The New Jerusalem

Revelation 21:9-14 The description of the holy bride of Christ conveys the importance of mankind's history. The glory of God appears to John as the brilliance of clear cut jasper. Jasper is a form of chalcedony that may take on several tints. It cuts cleanly. It was one or possibly two of the stones in Aaron's breastplate. But more straightforwardly, the messengers at the gates have written on them the names of the twelve tribes of Israel. These are the messengers who invite people into the holy city, which is otherwise impregnable behind very high walls. The twelve apostles are the foundation stones of the wall. This seems odd. The apostles were the sent ones, to carry the gospel to the world and invite people into the kingdom of God. What does this configuration tell us? Most easily interpreted is that it was the preaching of the gospel by the apostles that established the foundation of the church as the bride of Christ initially; it was not the law. Perhaps the messengers at the gates refers to the 144,000 from the twelve tribes who witnessed to Jesus during the great tribulation, who were from the twelve named tribes of Israel. (Rev. 7:4-8) They were the final apostles - sent ones.

Revelation 21:15-21 The measurement of the city seems reminiscent of Ezekiel's vision, in which the temple was measured (Ezekiel 40-43), and then the land was portioned out although not measured (Ezekiel 45:1-6, 48:1-29), and finally the dimensions of the city were given (Ezekiel 48:30-35). This city is somewhat different. In John's vision, there is no physical temple. (Rev. 21:22) The length of the walls is 12,000 stadia, or approximately 2,200 km. The city that Ezekiel saw was 4,500 cubits (long cubits which were a cubit plus a hand breadth), or approximately 2.3 km. John saw a city that was approximately 1,000 times as large in each of its horizontal wall dimensions. The wall in John's vision is 144 angelic cubits high. We lack any real information on how long an angelic cubit is. If it were 20.2 inches, then the wall would be approximately 74 m high. No height was mentioned for the city wall that Ezekiel saw.

          The wall was jasper but the city itself was pure gold like glass.  Physically this does not seem to make sense, since gold is opaque. Perhaps the meaning is in the repetition of the Greek word katharo (or katheron), emphasizing the cleanness of the gold, like the cleanness of glass. If gold represents the divinity of God, this suggests that the city, i.e., the church, the bride of Christ, is imbued with the Holy Spirit through and through.

          The foundation stones of the city walls are adorned with precious stones, much like Aaron's breastplate. (Exodus 28:17-20). The gates themselves are each a single pearl, suggesting that entrance into the city is through the pearl of great price. (Matthew 13:45-46) Finally, the broad places (plateia) of the city are clear gold like glass, evidently like the city itself (Rev. 21:18)

Revelation 21:22-27 The Temple has always symbolized the presence of God with His people. When the people have the reality they no longer need the symbol. Physical light was originally channelled through the sun and moon (Genesis 1:14-18), but in the new heavens and new earth, light is God's glory and comes directly from the Lamb. There is no night because God's glory continues without ceasing. How are we to understand this? Does Jesus glow like a light bulb? (Matthew 17:2; Mark 9:3; Luke 9:29) Is it pure metaphor? Or perhaps existence in the new earth is of such a different essential nature that we cannot understand what this means?

          The next reference seems odd. It implies that even in this new earth, there are nations and kings outside the city. There evidently continue to exist unclean things and people who practice lying and other abominations outside the city, despite the fact that all whose names were not found in the book of life were earlier cast into the lake of fire (Rev 20:15). Now we read that only those whose names are in the Lamb's book of life are allowed to enter the city. Does this imply the continued existence of those who were not in His book? Most likely this is a warning to the reader in our age, when it is still possible to repent and be saved, that only those who do so are allowed into the New Jerusalem, so respond now, while reading the words of the warning.

Revelation 21:5-8 Three things I wanted to tell you

Revelation 21:5-8 The Lord says three things to John:

•    I am making all things new.

•    These words are faithful and true.

•    It is done.

Note that in John 19:30, Jesus said "It is finished" (tetelestai) on the cross, while in Rev. 21:6, He says "It is done" which might also be understood as "it has come into being" (gegonen). In between these two statements - the completion of the plan of redemption, and the beginning of the eternal new kingdom, lies the church age in which we live. Yet entropy flows in only one direction, at least in the present natural creation. It is a testimony to the supernatural workings of God that when He is building His kingdom, entropy decreases! The sick are healed and people become better, not worse. Death and decay will not be part of the ultimate eternal kingdom that Jesus says in this verse has begun - meaning that entropy will not be governed by the second law of thermodynamics in His new earth.

          Jesus then speaks directly to the reader of this unveiling, through John who recorded His words. He gives an invitation with incredible promises that speak for themselves, one of which points back to John 7:38. And He gives a warning to eight classes of sinners regarding their destination. This is fire and brimstone preaching, and it comes straight from the top.

Revelation 21:1-4 The Bride of Christ

The final two chapters focus on the glorious eternal future that begins now, but is only revealed after God has removed all sin and evil from His creation. The first earth had been corrupted by sin and trashed by mankind, and then destroyed in God's judgments. It had been very good when God created it. (Genesis 1:1 & 31) He must have restored it for the millennial kingdom, but it was still the earth we now know. This time He does not separate the seas and the dry land, unlike the first time. (Genesis 1:6-7) The passing away of the heavens is a bit puzzling because these were not trashed. Most likely this refers only to the passing away of the first heaven that was the atmosphere of the earth. But it is not impossible that the second heaven, the entire physical universe we now know, is done away with and replaced by a new space-time continuum. But even if so, it is enough like the current universe that the new earth is recognizable. Perhaps this is because it was made as a suitable habitation for man.

          The consummation of the betrothal of the church to Christ (2 Cor. 11:2) is indeed the wedding celebration of the Lamb. (Rev. 19:7) The holy city, also known as the New Jerusalem, is identified as the bride, which brings to fulfillment all of the biblical marriage symbolism. (For example: Song of Songs which is Solomon's; Isaiah 50:1; Hosea 2:19-20; Matthew 22:2-14, 25:1-13; 2 Corinthians 11:2; Ephesians 5:22-32) What does this symbolism mean for us? Marriage as an institution was created in the Garden of Eden. It combines commitment, familiarity, communication, and pleasure in intimacy. God offers all of these dimensions to believers, individually and as a whole.

          The voice from the throne must speak God's sovereign will and promise. In the first creation, the tabernacle of God only dwelt among the Israelites and that for only a few hundred years. They did not appreciate what they had because they wanted to do their own thing, and God's holiness was incompatible with that. The promise of wiping away tears seems odd - why would there be sorrow in paradise? Perhaps this is mourning over the sins of the previous creation, or over those loved ones who rejected Christ.

Revelation 20:7-15 The End of the Millenium

Revelation 20:7-10 This entire scenario can only occur because God allows it to demonstrate to humanity the inherent weakness of the human way of life when it is not lived in close communion with Him.  The comparison to the sand on the seashore suggests that an enormous number of people are deceived, perhaps because they have lived in a thousand years of peace, free of temptation, and do not understand that it is only the spiritual framework of the sovereign reign of Jesus that was the basis of these conditions. They think they can get a better deal. Why was the devil let out of prison? What possible hope is there that he would have been reformed in jail? This time he gets capital punishment, or at least an eternity of unending torture.

Revelation 20:11-15 The presence of God at the end of the millennium, with His authority emphasized by the symbolism of the great white throne, ought to instill in us a healthy fear of authority. The flight of heaven and earth indicates that these creations of God fear Him.

          The book of life has been mentioned previously in Scripture. (Psalm 69:28; Philippians 4:3; Rev. 3:5, 13:8, 17:8) The criterion for being recorded in this book seems to be taken for granted. Everyone is judged for their deeds, except those who were raised in the first resurrection. But this passage does not say that the outcome of the great white throne judgment depends on the deeds. Those whose names are not in the book of life are cast into the lake of fire, joining the devil, the wildbeast, and the false prophet. Those whose names are in the book of life are judged for their deeds as well as by whatever else is written in the books, but this does not send them to the lake of fire.  Perhaps these deeds include the righteous works of the saints mentioned in Rev. 14:13, and the purpose of the judgment is to establish and validate the rightness of their actions. Things done under the anointing of the Holy Spirit and in obedience to God are recognized by the court.

          There is another perspective on this tableau, seen by Daniel in a vision and recorded in Daniel 7:9-14. Daniel 7:12 records that the books were opened. Daniel 7:14 reports that when the Son of Man is presented before the Ancient of Days, He is given an everlasting dominion and a kingdom which will never be destroyed. That is the scene we now view in the context of the unveiling of Jesus Christ.

          The casting of death and hades into the lake of fire indicates their total destruction. Death and Hades, it turns out, was a place of detention until trial. If there is a distinction between death and Hades, it seems to be only one of cultural history, Hades being the Greek name for the place of the dead. The point is that in eternity, there is no annihilation and no rest. The alternatives to be decided between at trial are being in the presence of God, or being in the lake of fire. When we bury people now, they are only resting until that trial, unless they are believers in Christ, in which case, being absent from the body is to be at home with the Lord, now, not awaiting the final trial. (2 Corinthians 5:8)

          What is the lake of fire? As noted before, it is characterized by volcanic brimstone odors, sulfur dioxide in the natural world. Perhaps this symbolizes that the sinful deeds that are a stench to God are also nauseating to those in this place; those confined there now see the reality of their evil actions and are unable to receive forgiveness and cleansing from them. Instead, they burn in remorse or regret like an unending fire, which does not consume them. It is interesting that in three separate instances Matthew records that Jesus talked about unbelievers being cast into the outer darkness where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth. (Matthew 8:12, 22:13, 25:30) Perhaps it is a dark fire that burns. In the parable of Lazarus and the rich man, the rich man is described as being in a place of torment begging for a sip of water. (Luke 16:19-31) In that parable Jesus did not say anything about waiting for the final judgment for the rich man to be in torment, as it was contemporaneous with life of the rich man's brothers who still had the opportunity to repent. At the final judgment, it will be too late to repent.

          Judgment and sentencing of the rebellious angels is not discussed in this passage. Perhaps that is because it is not a warning to us, and it is too late for them to repent. There is no hint that they are allowed to continue to corrupt God's creation or otherwise act freely.