Revelation as PL 1

Revelation as Pacifist Literature

Thesis: The Revelation of Jesus Christ serves to speak as much, and maybe more, than any other book to the character of Jesus and how His non-violent, self-sacrificing, enemy-embracing love – as demonstrated by His body, the Church – conquers every other power in the world.

Constant Question: What does this reveal about Jesus?

Secondary Question: How does this revelation of Christ impact us? (What are we to do because of who Jesus is?)

The Question of Hermeneutics: How do we read the Revelation?
1. Hermeneutics – “The branch of knowledge that deals with interpretation, especially of the Bible or literary texts.” ~ Oxford Languages
2. The Revelation (Apocalypse) of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show to His bond-servants, the things which must soon take place; and He sent and communicated it by His angel to His bond-servant John, who testified to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, everything that he saw. Blessed is the one who reads, and those who hear the words of the prophecy and keep the things which are written in it; for the time is near. – Revelation 1:1-3
  1. Stated to be “The Apocalypse of Jesus Christ”, meaning that the whole thing is stated by the author, John, to be Apocalyptic or Revelatory literature.
  2. Prophecies within the Apocalypse are to be read aloud, listened to, and kept for the purpose of blessing/spiritually empowering those who do so.
    1. Whatever the prophecies are, they were meant to be acted upon by their first audience, and maybe future audiences as well.
3. Characteristics of Jewish Apocalyptic Literature
  1. Apocalypse literally means to reveal or uncover.
  2. Jewish Apocalypses occurred when there was a sudden “lifting of the veil” and people were able to see what was happening in spiritual realms.
  3. Seeing in the Spirit is always symbolic and a matter of interpretation because of the nature of seeing in the Spirit.
  4. The writing of an Apocalypse is also a matter of interpretation as the author goes to certain lengths, depending on the writer, to contextualize and explain the encounter to their audience.
4. Characteristics of Jewish Prophecy
  1. From a root meaning, “to bubble up or to pour forth”
  2. A “word” from the LORD that the prophet could not contain.
  3. Occasionally predictive but typically an immediate call to action with impending consequence.
    1. Judgment (with consequence)
    2. Correction (with reward)
    3. Encouragement (with recognition)
    4. Consolation (with promise)
  4. “Not so much foretelling as it is forthtelling”
  5. Though inspired by the Spirit, prophecies are always conveyed through the prophet and subject to the prophets particular paradigm and perspective.
    1. “for the spirits (breath) of prophets are subject to prophets” ~ 1 Corinthians 14:32
5. Four (3+1) Main Views on the Apocalypse
  1. Preterism – The belief that either some or all of the prophecies in the Apocalypse have been fulfilled.
    1. Takes the words about the prophecies of the end of the age coming soon and happening within a generation quite literally: they were fulfilled in 70AD when the Temple was destroyed.
    2. Figurative language of beasts and dragons is interpreted as corresponding to real-time characters and events that the hearers needed to know how to deal with.
    3. Hyperbolic language of stars falling to sky, darkness covering the earth, rivers of blood that cover countries, etc. are interpreted as typical of the apocalyptic style and not necessarily literal.
    4. The utopic vision of the new heavens and new earth are not directly following the events of their current tribulation, but are the certain future that awaits those who remain faithful through the first century crisis. (For those who survive, they potentially even function aspirationally).
  2. Historicism – The belief that prophecies in the Apocalypse are fulfilled in certain historical characters and events.
    1. Takes all apocalyptic and prophetic imagery symbolically and attempts to find historical fulfillment.
    2. Interprets words like “soon” and “within a generation” as being figurative of a heavenly time-frame or of hidden significance (e.g., generation can also mean “race”, so maybe it’s about the Jews)
    3. Hyperbolic language corresponds to symbols, flags, and other references that only become obvious in hindsight.
    4. Utopic vision of the new heavens and new earth either still await us, or correspond to the “now and not yet” age of the Church.
  3. Futurism – The belief that prophecies in the Apocalypse await a future fulfillment at the end of time/the age.
    1. Takes (or, attempts to take) all of the imagery as literally as possible.
    2. Words like “soon” and “within a generation” are literal, but only apply to the future audience (usually us) at the end of the age and not for the author’s contemporaries.
    3. No language is hyperbolic, nothing is exaggerated, it’s all gonna go down as stated. (Those demon-horses are gonna be CRAAAZY!)
    4. Utopic visions of the new heavens and new earth are literal as well, they are a reward that will appear as described at the end of the story for those who make it through the tribulation on God’s side.
  4. Idealism – The belief that the prophecies and imagery in the Apocalypse are symbolic in nature.
    1. Sees the apocalyptic and prophetic imagery as mythological symbols reflecting the spiritual realities that the revelator encounters.
    2. Words like “soon” and “within a generation” reflect the immediate reality of the spiritual dimension and the reality that, “the end is always near”.
      1. To be clearer, there’s always an antichrist at work, there’s always a tribulation to overcome, there’s always a reward for faithfulness.
      2. These things play out in large scales and small scales and, possibly even, ultimate scales.
    3. Language is “literately hyperbolic” to allow for it to encompass all the different ways these spiritual realities can contextualize themselves and how our hearts would feel them (and maybe just because it’s hard to put language to a genuinely revelatory experience).
    4. Utopic visions of the new heavens and new earth are a vision of not only what awaits us in “the age to come”, but are also reflective of what is true, now, of those who are connected to that age through fellowship with Christ.
  5. A chart of how this plays out.

Imagery	Preterist	Historist	Futurist	Idealist
The 144,000	Those Jews who escaped during the first Jewish-Roman war.	The divine protection of the Jewish people throughout history.	A literal 144,000 (Messianic) Jews who will be protected by God through the Tribulation.	A symbolic number representing the fullness of both Jews and Gentiles (12 * 12) and their enduring/infinite (1,000) inheritance and protection.
The Locusts from the Abyss	The demonic host that empowered the Romans and tortured the Jews during the siege of Jerusalem.	Varies. Typically associated with the rise of Muslim empires that take over the region in the 6th-8th centuries.	Literal demons that will rise up from the earth and torment people for a short time during the tribulation.	Symbolize the forces of destruction that are allowed to work upon the earth, but always for a limited time and with limited power.
The Two Witnesses	Clear references to Moses and Elijah and, therefore, the Law and the Prophets: the religious soul of Judaism. Divinely protected but then allowed to “die” in 70AD, but will be resurrected.	Symbols of the witness of God’s people throughout the ages. Some interpret the witnesses as Judaism and Christianity, or as the Eastern and Western Christian Church, or the Old and New Testaments.	Two actual witnesses that are either Moses (or Enoch) and Elijah restored, or prophets who operate with the same degree of power and authority who will be killed and then bodily resurrected.	Symbolize the “heroes of the faith” whom God empowers to remain faithful witnesses throughout history. May very well be another attempt to point out the “Jew and Gentile together” theme that John keeps using.
Woman & Dragon in Revelation 12	The woman represents the Jews while the Dragon represents Satan. She flees into the wilderness (diaspora) before the events of 70AD	Varied, but generally the dragon represents the satanic power behind empires and the woman represents God’s people.	The woman represents a future restored State of Israel and the Dragon represents the military power of the Antichrist regime.	A clear allusion to the “battle through the ages” from Genesis 3 between the woman and the serpent.
Two Beasts and a False Prophet (Rev 13)	The beastly Roman empire and the compromised Jewish collaborators who supported them. Either a very thinly veiled Nero or Domitian.	Various Theories. Could be representative of the US, of Papal Authority, of the United Nations, etc.	The beasts signify the future empire of the Antichrist and the False Prophet is a complicit religious system that worships him.	The beasts represent the beastly way that empires become more and more evil and the false prophet represents the way that religious orders will grow complicit with empire.
The Millennial Reign	1,000 symbolically refers to something ongoing or beyond count. The ongoing age of the Kingdom of Christ that has been expanding through the world.	Varied. Typically viewed as an age that is still to come. Possibly an age of theocratic rule either by Jesus or His Church before the remaking of the Heavens and the Earth.	A literal 1,000 year period following the (7 or 3.5) year period of the Tribulation where Jesus reigns on the Earth from Jerusalem with the saints.	The promise that no matter how many beastly empires rise and fall, God’s kingdom will remain and will ultimately overcome.

How Jesus and His Disciples Interpreted Apocalyptic Prophecies
1. Who is Elijah?
  1. “Comfort, comfort My people,” says your God. “Speak kindly to Jerusalem; And call out to her, that her warfare has ended, That her guilt has been removed, That she has received of the LORD’S hand Double for all her sins.” The voice of one calling out, “Clear the way for the LORD in the wilderness; Make straight in the desert a highway for our God. “Let every valley be lifted up, And every mountain and hill be made low; And let the uneven ground become a plain, And the rugged terrain a broad valley; Then the glory of the LORD will be revealed, And all flesh will see it together; For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.” – Isaiah 40:1-5
  2. “For behold, the day is coming, burning like a furnace; and all the arrogant and every evildoer will be chaff; and the day that is coming will set them ablaze,” says the LORD of armies, “so that it will leave them neither root nor branches. “But for you who fear My name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings; and you will go forth and frolic like calves from the stall. “And you will crush the wicked underfoot, for they will be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day that I am preparing,” says the LORD of armies. “Remember the Law of Moses My servant, the statutes and ordinances which I commanded him in Horeb for all Israel. “Behold, I am going to send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of the LORD. “He will turn the hearts of the fathers back to their children and the hearts of the children to their fathers, so that I will not come and strike the land with complete destruction.” – Malachi 4
  3. As these disciples of John were going away, Jesus began speaking to the crowds about John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? “But what did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Those who wear soft clothing are in kings’ palaces! “But what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and one who is more than a prophet. “This is the one about whom it is written: ‘BEHOLD, I AM SENDING MY MESSENGER AHEAD OF YOU, WHO WILL PREPARE YOUR WAY BEFORE YOU.’ “Truly I say to you, among those born of women there has not arisen anyone greater than John the Baptist! Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. “And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has been treated violently, and violent men take it by force. “For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John. “And if you are willing to accept it, John himself is Elijah who was to come. “The one who has ears to hear, let him hear. – Matthew 11:7-15
    1. Jesus identifies John the Baptizer as the Voice from Isaiah as well as the second coming of Elijah, yet Jesus does not seemed troubled that the “great leveling” does not occur, nor does Israel’s warfare end, nor does the burning of the arrogant. Yet Jesus is not likely wrong in His assessment of the situation, and his call to “have ears to hear” indicates that this will take insight. What does Jesus see here that we do not?
      1. Jesus could see this as a partial fulfillment: John is the Voice as well as Elijah, but the timing of these events – though immediate in the prophets – is actually quite separate in history.
      2. Jesus could be pointing to a spiritual reality rather than a literal one. Comfort has indeed arrived: the Holy Spirit is here in a new dimension. Warfare is indeed over: God’s people no longer conquer through violence and Jesus has already won. Guilt has been removed: Jesus has demonstrated the forgiving, reconciling heart of God not only towards Israel, but towards everyone. Though the victory of God is not yet apparent, it is real and inevitable.
      3. Jesus could be drawing attention to the difference in prophetic expectation vs. the reality of His plan. E.g. warfare is over for Israel, but not because the Messiah slaughters His enemies, but because He dies for them. He ends the struggle for Israel not by establishing their nationalism with power, but by allowing their nationalism to be shattered. His Elijah is not a respected leader of the religious establishment, but a critic of their compromise, defeating a false priesthood not with fire from heaven but with the scathing indictment of his preaching and uncompromised lifestyle.
    2. Why is John the second coming of Elijah, “if you are willing to accept it”? What does their acceptance have to do with it?
2. Is Pentecost really what Joel spoke of?
  1. But Peter, taking his stand with the other eleven, raised his voice and declared to them: “Men of Judea and all you who live in Jerusalem, know this, and pay attention to my words. “For these people are not drunk, as you assume, since it is only the third hour of the day; but this is what has been spoken through the prophet Joel: ‘AND IT SHALL BE IN THE LAST DAYS,’ God says, ‘THAT I WILL POUR OUT MY SPIRIT ON ALL MANKIND; AND YOUR SONS AND YOUR DAUGHTERS WILL PROPHESY, AND YOUR YOUNG MEN WILL SEE VISIONS, AND YOUR OLD MEN WILL HAVE DREAMS; AND EVEN ON MY MALE AND FEMALE SERVANTS I WILL POUR OUT MY SPIRIT IN THOSE DAYS, And they will prophesy. ‘AND I WILL DISPLAY WONDERS IN THE SKY ABOVE AND SIGNS ON THE EARTH BELOW, BLOOD, FIRE, AND VAPOR OF SMOKE. ‘THE SUN WILL BE TURNED INTO DARKNESS AND THE MOON INTO BLOOD, BEFORE THE GREAT AND GLORIOUS DAY OF THE LORD COMES. ‘AND IT SHALL BE THAT EVERYONE WHO CALLS ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED.’ (Joel 2) “Men of Israel, listen to these words: Jesus the Nazarene, a Man attested to you by God with miracles and wonders and signs which God performed through Him in your midst, just as you yourselves know– this Man, delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death. “But God raised Him from the dead, putting an end to the agony of death, since it was impossible for Him to be held in its power. “For David says of Him, ‘I SAW THE LORD CONTINUALLY BEFORE ME, BECAUSE HE IS AT MY RIGHT HAND, SO THAT I WILL NOT BE SHAKEN. ‘THEREFORE MY HEART WAS GLAD AND MY TONGUE WAS OVERJOYED; MOREOVER MY FLESH ALSO WILL LIVE IN HOPE; FOR YOU WILL NOT ABANDON MY SOUL TO HADES, NOR WILL YOU ALLOW YOUR HOLY ONE TO UNDERGO DECAY. ‘YOU HAVE MADE KNOWN TO ME THE WAYS OF LIFE; YOU WILL MAKE ME FULL OF GLADNESS WITH YOUR PRESENCE.’ (Psalm 16) “Brothers, I may confidently say to you regarding the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. “So because he was a prophet and knew that God had sworn to him with an oath to seat one of his descendants on his throne, he looked ahead and spoke of the resurrection of the Christ, that He was neither abandoned to Hades, nor did His flesh suffer decay. “It is this Jesus whom God raised up, a fact to which we are all witnesses. “Therefore, since He has been exalted at the right hand of God, and has received the promise of the Holy Spirit from the Father, He has poured out this which you both see and hear. “For it was not David who ascended into heaven, but he himself says: ‘THE LORD SAID TO MY LORD, “SIT AT MY RIGHT HAND, UNTIL I MAKE YOUR ENEMIES A FOOTSTOOL FOR YOUR FEET.”‘ (Psalm 110) “Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ–this Jesus whom you crucified.” – Acts 2:14-36
    1. Peter clearly sees the outpouring of the Spirit in this way as being indicative of the prophecies of Joel 2, yet the terrible signs in the heavens are missing. He also seems to

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