Write, Therefore, What Is Now
2:1 to 3:22

Immediately following the vision of Jesus in the midst of the seven golden lampstands, there are seven messages given to seven churches. Christ’s presence in the midst of these churches tells us that He knows everything about them. He doesn’t merely stand in the midst of the churches; He walks among the seven golden lampstands (2:1 CJB). He examines them from every angle. No praiseworthy quality, or embarrassing imperfection can escape His notice. He is aware of their every thought, intention, and motive, caring enough for their present and future well-being that He will encourage and correct them. There is a chiastic structure to this section, where the message of the first letter is parallel to the second letter, and so on.

A Someone like a son of man . . . His eyes were like blazing fire and His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace (1:13-15).

B And out of His mouth came a sharp double-edged sword (1:16).

C I AM the First and the Last. I AM the Living One; I was once dead and behold I AM alive for ever and ever (1:17-18).

D The mystery of the seven stars that you saw in My right hand and of the seven golden lampstands (1:20).

D To Ephesus . . . These are the words of Him who holds the seven stars in His right hand and walks among the golden lampstands (2:1).

C To Smyrna . . . These are the words of Him who is the First and the Last, who died and came to life again (2:8).

B To Pergamum . . . These are the words of Him who has the sharp, double-edged sword (2:12).

A To Thyatira . . . These are the words of the Son of God, whose eyes are like blazing fire and whose feet are like burnished bronze (2:18).

Whenever we see the number seven in the Scriptures, it is the number of completion (to see link click Ag – The Importance of the Number Seven in the book of Revelation). So here, we have a complete picture of the Church. There are four different applications to this picture.

First, there is the local application. These were seven actual churches that existed in the first century. Jesus knew these communities well and He wrote to them to meet their needs. They are mentioned in a half-moon circle. If you started at Ephesus and proceeded north on the main trade route to Smyrna and Pergamum, then swinging east and south you could come to Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea in that exact order.

Secondly, there is a universal application. These seven churches describe all churches, and each element, good or bad, is also present, to some degree in each one. No matter what part of history you come to, all seven churches will be represented, and will continue to exist until the Rapture.

Thirdly, there is a personal application. These churches describe seven different verieties of believers in each one.

Fourthly, there is a historical application. While all seven types of churches always exist, one type dominates a particular era of Church history. As a result, these seven letters present a prophetic picture of the seven historical periods that the believing community will develop. Those churches were chosen, first, because of the particular meaning of their names, and second, because of the situation of that particular community that will also be characteristic of a certain period of Church history. If the letters or the parables were to be put in any other order than they are now – they would not fit the flow of Church history.

The seven letters all follow a basic outline containing seven parts. They are (1) the description of Christ, (2) the church, (3) the city, (4) the commendation, (5) the concern, (6) the command, and finally (7) the council. Not all seven letters have all seven points of the outline, nor are they necessarily in that order. But this is the basic structure of each letter.

Dear Heavenly Father, How amazing that You know the future in such detail, and the details of each person’s heart. No one can fool You by saying they love You, when really they love themselves the most. You so long to reward Your children (John 1:12, 3:3; First John 3:1,3) who truly love You and fill their lives  with thought and deeds of love for You. Praise You that You have given talents/gifts to each of Your children that they can use to Your glory. We desire to use what You have given us in a wise way to bring you great honor and glory. We look forward to hearing You say: Well done, good and faithful servant! You were faithful with a little, so I’ll put you in charge of much. Enter into your master’s joy (Mt 25:21, 23)! We love You! In the name of Your holy Son and the power of His resurrection. Amen

The Messianic Kingdom:
A Rock Not Cut by Human Hands
Dani’el 2:34, 44-45a, 7:18 and 27

The Messianic Kingdom: a rock not cut by human hands DIG: What will distinguish this Kingdom for the other five? Whenever the word rock is used symbolically in the Bible, how is it used? How is the term huge mountain used symbolically in the Bible? How will this Kingdom be different than the Gentile kingdom?

REFLECT: What will Kingdom possession mean, now and in the future, for the arrogant? The meek? For you?

The Fifth Kingdom will not be Gentile, but Jewish. After the time of ten toes, which are the ten kings, God will set up a Kingdom that will last for a thousand years (Revelation 20:1-6). It will never be destroyed, and it will not be left to the Gentiles. In Nebuchadnezzar’s dream, the statue was smashed by a supernatural rock not cut by human hands (Dani’el 2:34) on its feet of iron mixed with clay. That rock is Jesus Christ. The Bible uses many symbols, but it uses them consistently. Whenever the word rock is used symbolically, it is a symbol of Yeshua Messiah (Psalm 118:22; Isaiah 8:14, 28:16; Zechariah 3:9; Matthew 21:44; Acts 4:11; First Corinthians 10:4; First Peter 2:4-8). The Second Coming will bring the Times of the Gentiles to an end (to see link click An – The Times of the Gentiles). It will crush all those kingdoms, but it will itself endure forever. This is the meaning of the vision of the rock cut out of a mountain, but not by human hands – a rock that broke the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver and the gold to pieces (Dani’el 2:44-45a).

Consequently, the rock that struck the statue became a huge mountain and filled the whole earth (Dani’el 2:35). Whenever the term, a huge mountain is used symbolically, it is always a symbol of a king, a kingdom or a crown. In this case the huge mountain is the Kingdom of God, or the Messianic Kingdom.

The Gentile kingdoms were human, but God’s Kingdom is divine; The Gentile kingdoms were temporary, but God’s Kingdom is eternal; the Gentiles kingdoms were each overcome by succeeding kingdoms, but ADONAI’s Kingdom cannot be conquered. The holy ones of the Most High will receive the Kingdom and will possess it forever – yes, for ever and ever (Dani’el 7:18 CJB).

Dear Heavenly Father, How wonderful to think of Your Kingdom coming and you ruling for 1,000 years. That is just a wonderful and glorious thought!  Yet on the flip side of that is the awful thought that one fourth of people on earth will have died when the fourth seal is opened. Behold, I saw a horse, pale greenish gray. The name of the one riding on it was Death, and Sheol was following with him. Authority was given to them over a fourth of the earth, to kill by sword and by famine and by plague and by the wild beasts of the earth. (Revelation 6:8). And then during the sixth seal a third of mankind is killed. The sixth angel trumpeted, and I heard a single voice from the four horns of the golden altar before God, it said to the sixth angel, to the one holding the trumpet, “Release the four angels –  who had been prepared for the hour and day and month and year – were released to kill a third of mankind. ¹⁶ The number of mounted troops was two hundred million – I heard their number. . . By these three plagues a third of mankind was killed – by the fire and the smoke and the brimstone that came out of their mouths. (Revelation 9:13-16, 18). May You open the hearts of our family and friends now before the Tribulation comes, to see how wonderful You are and to be willing to love and to follow You with all their hearts. Please give us the words to tell them about how Awesome You are. We love You! In Your holy Son’s name and power of resurrection. Amen

Then the sovereignty, power and greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven will be handed over to the holy ones, the people of the Most High. Their suffering will turn to joy because Messiah will come to set up His earthly Kingdom after the death of the antichrist (Ezeki’el 37:23). It will be an everlasting Kingdom, and all rulers will worship and obey Him (Dani’el 7:27). The veil between heaven and earth’s Kingdom will be drawn back39 and the holy ones shall see their Savior face to face (First Corinthians 13:12).

The Fourth Beast: The Antichrist Stage
Dani’el 7:8, 20-22, 24b-26, 8:19, 23-25, 9:27 and 11:36-39

The fourth beast: the antichrist stage DIG:  When will the antichrist rise to power? Who is the real power behind his rapid assent? When and how will the Jews realize he is out to destroy them? What happens to the antichrist at the end of the Great Tribulation?

The antichrist stage will last for three and a half years, from the middle to the end of the Great Tribulation. Just as the fourth empire is different from the other three empires, so the antichrist, the little horn (Dani’el 7:8a), will be different from the other ten horns. After them another king will arise, different from the earlier ones. As he rises to power he will kill three kings (Dani’el 7:24b). The other seven simply submit to his authority. Therefore, the antichrist will be the last Gentile ruler of the Times of the Gentiles (see my commentary on The Life of Christ, to see link click Jl – Jerusalem Will Be Trampled On by the Gentiles Until the Times of the Gentiles are Fulfilled).

In his first vision, Dani’el saw that the antichrist would speak out against the Most High and oppress His holy ones, and try to change the times of the Jewish festivals as Jeroboam did in First Kings 12:26-33. And he will also try and change the Torah. He will make a strong covenant with the Jewish leaders for a time, times and half a time, at the beginning of the seven years of the Great Tribulation (Dani’el 7:25b, 9:27 CJB, 12:7; Revelation 13:5). But after the second three and a half years, judgment will sit against him and his power will be taken away and completely destroyed forever (Dani’el 7:26). With each succeeding vision, Dani’el gives us more information about him.

The aged prophet continued by saying: While I was thinking about the ten horns, there before me was another horn, a little one, which came up among them. This is the eleventh horn. And three of the first horns were uprooted before it. This left seven of the original ten horns. This horn looked more imposing than the other ten horns and had eyes like the eyes of a man, emphasizing intelligence, and a mouth that spoke boastfully (Dani’el 7:8 and 20). In fact, this horn waged war against the righteous of the TaNaKh and was defeating them, until the Ancient of Days, or God the Father, came and pronounced judgment in the favor of the holy ones of the Most High, and as a result, the time came when they possessed the millennial Kingdom (7:21-22).

In Dani’el’s second vision, the angel Gabriel told him: I am going to tell you what will happen later in the time of wrath, because the vision concerns The Appointed Time of the End, which is another name for the Great Tribulation (Dani’el 8:19). Antiochus Epiphanes (Dani’el 8:9-14) became a foreshadowing of the antichrist. What Antiochus did in history, the antichrist will do in prophecy. He was the little horn that grew out of the four prominent horns of the Greek Empire. Not even the rightful heir to the throne, Antiochus murdered his brother to gain control. He gained control of Palestine and would oppress God’s people in their own land. The antichrist will put many Jews to death because they resisted his attempts to force them to become Grecian in their thinking and ways (First Maccabees 1:29-61 and 52-61). By slaughtering the Jews and forcing changes in the Torah, he will commit a great transgression in the sight of God.³⁹

As part of his second vision Dani’el prophesied that in the latter part of the Times of the Gentiles (see An – The Times of the Gentiles), when rebels have become completely wicked, a stern-faced king or the antichrist, a master of intrigue, will arise. He will become very strong politically and militarily, but he will not rise by his own power because his power will be satanic. He will cause astounding devastation and will succeed in destroying mighty men, or Jewish leaders, and the holy ones, or the Jewish people left on the earth after the Rapture (Dani’el 8:23-24). He will use deceit to prosper, and he will consider himself superior. He will claim to be God Himself. That is exactly what Rabbi Sha’ul said would happen: Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction. He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God, or is worshiped, so that he sets an image of himself up in God’s temple, proclaiming to be God (Second Thessalonians 2:3-4). When the Jewish people feel secure, he will destroy many and take his stand against the Prince of princes, Jesus Christ.

In his third vision, Dani’el, with Antiochus Epiphanes as the type, continues to give us more information about the antichrist. Here he deals with the nature of the antichrist and his rise to power. The antichrist will do as he pleases. He will exalt and magnify himself above every god because Lucifer, the Adversary Himself, will be working behind the scenes. In fact, half way through the Great Tribulation, the antichrist will set up the image of himself in the Holy of Holies to be worshiped (Matthew 24:15; Revelation 13:3-9). He will say unheard-of things against the God of gods, which is exactly what Antiochus Epiphanes did (Dani’el 7:25). He will be successful until the Time of Wrath, or the seven-year Great Tribulation is completed, for what God has determined must take place.

The second three and a half years will be a worldwide holocaust against the Jews. The persecution will be so severe that the antichrist will succeed in murdering two-thirds of the Jewish population of that time. He will do as he pleases. He will show no regard for the pagan gods of his fathers or have little place for such graces as mercy, gentleness or kindness, normally desired by women, nor will he regard any god, but will exalt himself above everyone, even God Himself. But this does not mean that he will be an atheist. Instead of them, he will honor a god of fortresses, in which might makes right. This will be a god unknown to his fathers, he will honor Satan with gold and silver, with precious stones and costly gifts. He will attack the mightiest fortresses with the help of the Devil. Because he honors Satan, he will be given supernatural satanic ability to take over the world (Dani’el 11:36-39a; Second Thessalonians 2:8-10; Revelation 13:1-8). Those who acknowledge him, and confess him as God, will be rewarded for their loyalty. He will make them rulers over many people and will distribute the land at a price. The land he does conquer will be divided and given to those who worship him (Dani’el 11:39b). His rise to power comes supernaturally through the power of Satan, who will use the antichrist to try to destroy all the Jews once and for all.

Dear Heavenly Father, How thankful we that we worship Almighty God, greater than all other powers. With the time of awful anarchy, violence and death during the last three and a half years, God you are still in control. You have not closed your eyes. You see all that is happening on the chaotic earth. You are allowing man to choose whom he will follow and worship. Some at this time will choose You, and may die for their choice-but be raised to life in wonderful eternal heaven. The antichrist will come to a horrible end at the end of the 7 years. Also, I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies gathered together to make war against the One who sat on the horse and against His army. Then the beast was captured, and along with him the false prophet who had performed the signs before him by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast, as well as those who had worshiped his image. These two were thrown alive into the lake of fire burning with brimstone. (Revelation 19:19-20). His short time to rule will be over and an eternity of pain awaits him. It is wise to worship the one true Victorious God, who is the Creator of the world, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Praise You forever! In the name of Your holy Son and the power of His resurrection. Amen

At the end of the Great Tribulation, however, he will be destroyed, but not by human power, the Ancient of Days will come and pronounce judgment in favor of the holy ones of the Most High (Dani’el 7:22a, 8:25). Although Antiochus Epiphanes died by human hands, the antichrist will not. Yeshua Messiah will destroy him during the Campaign of Armageddon (Dani’el 7:9-11, 26; 2 Thess 2:8). Once the four Gentile Kingdoms run their course, there will be a fifth Kingdom. But this one will be different. It will be a Jewish Kingdom called the messianic Kingdom, and at that time the righteous of the TaNaKh will possess it (Dani’el 7:22b).

The Fourth Beast: The Ten Kingdoms Stage
Dani’el 2:42-43, 7:24a and 11:40-45

The fourth beast: the ten kingdoms stage DIG: What fierce conflicts does this evil figure wage? Who does he attack and why? To what extent will he succeed? What miraculous recovery does he make? How do you think this affects the world?

The ten kingdom stage will cover the entire earth, and come out of the one world government stage. As the toes were partly iron and partly clay, so this kingdom will be partly strong and partly brittle and weak (Dani’el 2:42). This lack of cohesiveness is especially seen in the toes. For some reason, not stated in the Bible, the one world government will divide into ten kingdoms that will cover the whole earth – not merely Europe. It will probably start sometime before the Great Tribulation and continue until the first three and a half years have ended.

And just as you saw the iron mixed with baked clay, so the people will be a mixture and will not remain united, anymore than iron mixes with clay (Dani’el 2:43). The lack of cohesiveness is especially evident in the toes. To review: the Babylonians were autocratic; the Medo-Persians were oligarchic; the Greeks ruled by right of conquest; and eventually the Fourth Kingdom, the imperialists, would evolve into ten separate kingdoms from a one world government. They will attempt to unify, but all their attempts will fail. Then the ten kingdoms become vulnerable because they will be made of elements that cannot coexist, like iron and clay.

The ten toes of Dani’el Chapter 2 are the ten horns and ten kings of Dani’el Chapter 7, who will come from this imperialistic one world government. Because these ten kingdoms arise out of a one world government, they will be worldwide. They will not be limited to Europe. It would be far more consistent with the text to view it as possibly one of the ten, but not the entire ten.

In the first three and half years, the earth will be ruled by these ten Gentile nations with ten kings. In the middle of the Great Tribulation, the antichrist will come to political power. He will kill three kings and the seven others will submit to his authority. In the middle of the Tribulation, the king of the South will engage the antichrist in battle, and the king of the North will storm out against him with chariots and cavalry and a great fleet of ships. In his vision, Dani’el describes as best he can what he sees. Chariots and cavalry are best taken as representative of their counterparts of modern warfare, however, modern weapons could not have been listed in his day. But the antichrist will invade those countries and sweep through them like a flood. He will kill those kings and also invade the Beautiful Land. Isra’el will be invaded, defeated and taken over by the Gentiles (Revelation 11:1-2). Many countries will fall, but Edom, Moab and Ammon, or modern day Jordan, will be delivered from his hand so that there will be one place in the world to which the Jews can flee. Whenever one part of the world persecutes the Jews, God opens up a city of refuge for them (Matthew 24:15-22; Revelation 12:6, 13-14). He will extend his power over many countries. Egypt will not escape. He will gain control of the treasures of gold and silver and all the riches of Egypt, with Africa also in submission to him. But reports about the king of the East and the king of the North will alarm him, and he will set out in a great rage to destroy and annihilate them (Dani’el 11:40-44). He will pitch his royal tents between the Mediterranean Sea and the Dead Sea, at the beautiful holy mountain on the temple mount in Jerusalem. At that time he will sit in the Most Holy Place of the tribulation temple (to see link click Bx – The Tribulation Temple), and declare himself to be God.

Yet he will come to his end in the middle of the Great Tribulation. At some point during his war against the ten kings the antichrist will be killed and no human will be able to help him (Dani’el 11:45). But Satan will resurrect him back to life (see Dj – The Antichrist Seems to be Resurrected). This will cause the other seven kings to submit to his authority. At that point the world enters the Antichrist Stage.

Dear Heavenly Father, How thankful we that we worship Almighty God, greater than all other powers. The middle of the Great Tribulation will begin an awful time, but for those who make the choice to follow You – death will be sweet for it will mean leaving behind all pain and fear and living forever in eternal peace and joy with their wonderful heavenly Father. Heaven will have no crying, no dying, no sadness and no pain (Revelation21:4). The short time of pain on earth will be over forever for those who have chosen to worship the one true Victorious God, who is the creator of the world, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Praise You forever! In the name of your holy Son and the power of His resurrection. Amen

The Fourth Beast: The One World Government Stage
Dani’el 7: 23b and c

The fourth beast: the one world government stage DIG: Is this one world government Rome? Why or why not? How similar or dissimilar will it be to the dream of Nazi Germany? How do you think it will crush and trample the whole earth?

The next three stages of the Empire of Imperialism are all in the future. Eventually, the east-west balance of power collapsed. Once this happens, it will usher in a one world government stage, probably before the Great Tribulation starts.

This kingdom will be different from all the other kingdoms because it will devour the whole earth (Dani’el 7:23b).

Dear Heavenly Father, We bow before such great wisdom and infinite love. Though this fourth kingdom will devour the whole earth – You are greater still! God highly exalted Him and gave Him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Yeshua every knee should bow, in heaven and on the earth and under the earth, and every tongue profess that Yeshua the Messiah is Lord – to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:9b-11). Though in the future there will be plagues, battles and many die; yet your hand is sovereign over it all and You have won the final end-times battle. Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself. He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God. And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses. From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords. . .And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth with their armies gathered to make war against him who was sitting on the horse and against his army. And the beast was captured, and with it the false prophet who in its presence had done the signs by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped its image. These two were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur. And the rest were slain by the sword that came from the mouth of him who was sitting on the horse, and all the birds were gorged with their flesh. (Revelation 19:11-16, 19-21). We worship you, our Almighty Father. In the name of Your Son and the power of His resurrection. Amen

The whole earth is the same term used of The Flood during the time of Noah (Genesis 8:9, 9:19, 11:1; Isaiah 6:3, 14:26, 28:22, 54:5; Jeremiah 15:10; Dani’el 2:39; Zechariah 4:10-14). Rome never devoured the whole earth. In fact, Rome did not even conquer as much of the whole earth as the Greek Empire, which extended its boundaries as far as the Indus River in India. Nor did Rome fully conquer the Parthian Empire, and that, too, was part of the whole earth. Scotland was part of the whole earth that Rome did not conquer. In AD 117, the Roman Emperor Hadrian ordered a wall built, 73 miles long, “to separate the Romans from the Barbarians.” However, northern Scotland, where the Barbarians lived, was part of the known world. So Rome conquered neither the whole earth nor the whole known world.

But the Empire of Imperialism does eventually conquer the whole earth, trampling it down and crushing it (Dani’el 7:23c). The pictures a one world government, and until you have a one world government, the ten kingdoms stage cannot exist. Consequently, it us useless to try to find the ten kingdoms in the European Union. Today there are 27 EU members. It is important to remember that Bible prophecy is never fulfilled generally. It is always fulfilled specifically. And much of what passes for “fulfillment” today in many Bible prophecy books are based upon one point of similarity. Bible prophecy is not fulfilled that way. It is fulfilled completely, or it isn’t fulfilled at all. This stage is still future.

The Fourth Beast: The Balance of Power Stage
Dani’el 2: 41

The fourth beast had a balance of power stage DIG: How and when was the Roman Empire divided? When the east-west balance of power stage eventually collapses, what will it give way to?

The second stage of the Empire of Imperialism was the East-West Balance of Power Stage. The Roman Empire stage began in 63 BC and continued until AD 364, when Emperor Valentinian divided it into an east-west balance of power. The capital of the eastern Roman Empire was Constantinople until 1453. The Turks then destroyed it. But the political leaders, scribes and scholars of the eastern Roman Empire simply fled northward into Russia. They infiltrated the Russian government and Romanized it. The Russian kings then took on the new title of Czar, which is the Russian word for Cesar. After a while, Russia gave herself the official title of the Third Roman Empire. With the fall of Communist Soviet Russia, today the eastern balance of power is in flux.

Dear Heavenly Father, Praise You for you are mighty, powerful, and never in a flux. Great is our Lord and mighty in power – His understanding is infinite! (Psalms 147:5). Your children, But whoever did receive Him, those trusting in His name, to these He gave the right to become children of God, (John 1:12) can always run to You for safety. The Name of ADONAI is a strong tower. The righteous one runs into it and is set safely up high. (Proverbs 18:10). What a comfort to know that You never leave Your children, but are right there with them – guarding and guiding. For God Himself has said, “I will never leave you or forsake you,”. We love to worship and obey You, our wise, powerful and wonderful Father! In the name of Your holy Son and the power of His resurrection. Amen

The western balance of power shifted more frequently. It remained in Rome until AD 364, when, after being sacked, it shifted to the Franks under Charlemagne in AD 800. They officially called themselves the Holy Roman Empire under the Frankish nation. Later it shifted to Germany under Otto I, in AD 962. At that point the German kings changed their names to Kaiser, the German word for Cesar. They were officially known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German nation. Since then, especially after World War II, the western balance of power has been centered in the democratic nations of the west.

Eventually, this east-west balance of power will collapse and give way to the one world government stage. This will probably happen in Ezeki’el, Chapters 38-39 because Russia will invade Isra’el and God will so deal with the Russians that they will cease being a political force in world affairs. Ezeki’el says that not only will the Russian armies be destroyed in Isra’el, but Russia itself will be destroyed. I believe that this will happen before the Great Tribulation ever starts. That will lend itself to a One World Government.³⁸

Therefore, in AD 364 the east-west balance of power began and continues to the present day. The centers of the balance of power may shift again, but it will remain essentially an east-west balance until it gives way to the third stage. Just as you saw that the feet and toes were partly of baked clay and partly of iron, so this kingdom will be strong and partly brittle (Dani’el 2:41). Consequently, in this east-west balance of power stage, they still had some of the strength of iron in them.

The Fourth Beast: The Roman Empire Stage
Dani’el 2:40 and 7:23a

The fourth beast was the Roman Empire stage DIG: What was different about this fourth beast than all the rest? How did they treat conquered peoples? Where they stronger or weaker than the Greek Empire? How long does this element of imperialism last?

Dani’el states: Finally, the fourth beast will be a fourth kingdom that will appear on the earth (Dani’el 7:23), strong as iron – for iron breaks and smashes everything – and as iron breaks things to pieces, so it will crush and break all the others (Dani’el 2:40). This was the Roman Empire. But in a sense, it would be wrong to call the entire fourth kingdom the Roman Empire because the fourth kingdom has five distinct stages.

Dear Heavenly Father, Praise Your Almighty power and infinite wisdom. You know all things. You have every detail all figured out and You have already won the final battle of the ages (Revelation 19:11-21)! You will reign eternally! We love and worship You! In the Holy name of Your Son and His power of resurrection. Amen

The strength of the metals was increased in each successive empire. Therefore, just as silver was stronger than gold, and the iron of the Roman Empire was stronger than the Greek Empire of bronze. Ultimately, this kingdom would crush and break all the others. But its distinctiveness would outweigh its accomplishments.

This fourth beast was really unique, and what was really different about the Roman Empire, that was not true of the other three, was its policy of imperialism. When Babylonia conquered another nation, they did not send Babylonians in to rule the subjugated people. The Babylonians put leaders from the conquered country in charge, but they ruled under Babylonian authority. For example when Babylon destroyed Judah, they didn’t put a Babylonian in charge of the province of Judah, they put Gedaliah, a Jew, to rule under Babylonian authority. The Medo-Persians followed the same policy. When they conquered another nation, they did not send Medes or Persians to rule the subjugated people. They put leaders from the conquered country to rule over their own people. So under the Medes and the Persians, for example, people like Zerubbabel and Nehemiah, who were Jews, ruled Isra’el under Medo-Persian authority. When the Greeks conquered, they followed the same procedure, and the Jewish high priest became the ruler under Greek authority.³⁷

But that changed with Rome, and when Rome conquered, they sent Romans in to rule. That is why in the New Covenant you read about Roman procurators such as Pilot, Felix and Festus. There was a new policy not followed by the previous three empires, the policy of imperialism, which makes it different from the others. This stage lasted from 59 BC to 364 AD. It is the element of imperialism that continues through all of its five stages.

Finally, There will be a Fourth Beast,
That Breaks and Smashes Everything
Dani’el 2:40-43 and 7:7-8

Finally, there will be a fourth beast that breaks and smashes everything  DIG: How does this kingdom seem different than the other three kingdoms? What is the significance of the four beasts coming out of the earth as opposed to coming out of the sea earlier? What person does this stage focus on? What is unique about him?

The rest of the image represents the fourth Gentile Empire that goes through several stages, three of which are mentioned in Dani’el 2:40-43. The first stage is the united stage in Dani’el 2:40. But in 2:41, this united stage gives way to the two-division stage that still has the strength of iron. Eventually, however, the two-division stage gives way to the ten-division stage, seen in the ten toes in 2:42 and 43.

Dear Heavenly Father, How wise and loving You are! In this world there is so much fear, and uncertainty; You are our solid rock that we can run to for safety. The Name of Adonai is a strong tower. The righteous one runs into it and is set safely up high. (Proverbs 18:10). We can also go to You for mercy, for You give mercy and righteousness to those who revere You and have a covenant of love with You. But the mercy of ADONAI is from everlasting to everlasting on those who revere Him, His righteousness to children’s children, to those who keep His covenant, who remember to observe His instructions. (Psalms 103:17-18). In your holy Son’s name and power of resurrection. Amen

The fulfillment in the decrease (see Ar – The Second Beast of Daniel: A Bear with a Chest and Arms of Silver) factor is also seen in the character of each empire’s authority and rule. For example, Babylon had absolute monarchy with the king above the law. The second kingdom was the Medo-Persian Empire, which was inferior to the Babylonian Empire because the king was not above the law because he did not have the power to change his own decree. Third was the Greek Empire that had no dynasty to rule, they merely ruled by force of conquest. Fourthly, Roman imperialism began with republicanism but eventually degenerated into mob rule. And in the last stage of the Empire of Imperialism, the antichrist will be known as the man of lawlessness (Second Thessalonians 2:3). So there will be a decrease in the character and authority of the rule of law as you move from one empire to the next. However, the strength of the metals in Nebuchadnezzar’s statue would increase in each successive kingdom, and the imperialists would be the strongest kingdom of all. Unlike the others, it is not named. While the others are given animal-like descriptions, none is given for this one. The fourth beast is described as being diverse, very different from the others. It will be the fourth Gentile Empire to dominate Jerusalem.

Dani’el had a second vision, and he described it like this: At night I looked, and there before me was a fourth beast – terrifying and frightening and very powerful (Dani’el 7:7a). The apostle John also saw this same beast coming out of the Gentile nations (Revelation 13:1-10), when he was imprisoned on the island of Patmos. The fourth beast, like the legs of iron, represented the imperialists. But unlike the other beasts, Dani’el cannot relate it to anything he is familiar with. The first beast was not a lion, but it was lion-like, the second beast was not a bear, but it was bear-like, and the third beast was not a leopard, but it was leopard-like. The fourth beast was unique. There really was something different about that one. It had large iron teeth and bronze claws (Dani’el 7:7b). Therefore, the legs of iron in Dani’el Chapter 2, correspond to the iron teeth in Dani’el Chapter 7. This empire didn’t simply conquer its victims, it crushed, devoured and trampled them underfoot, which emphasized vengeance. It was different from all the former beasts, and it had ten horns (Dani’el 7:7c). So the ten toes in Dani’el Chapter 2, and the ten horns in Dani’el Chapter 7 represent the ten kingdoms stage, and Dani’el 7:8 points to the antichrist stage.

This fourth kingdom has five stages. Here, in Dani’el 2:40-43, it mentions three of them: the united stage, the two division stage, and the one world government stage. In Dani’el 7:7-8, it points to the last two stages, the ten division stage and the antichrist stage. This fourth Gentile kingdom and all five of its stages represent the Empire of Imperialism.

The Second Beast of Daniel:
A Bear with a Chest and Arms of Silver
Dani’el 2:32b, 2:39a, 7:5 and 8:1-4, 20

The second beast of Dani’el: a bear with a chest and arms of sliver DIG: In what three ways is Medo-Persia pictured here? Who were the four great beasts out of the sea? What made this bear different from other bears? Why was it raised up on one of its sides? What did the three ribs in its mouth represent? What did the ram represent? Why was one of its horns longer than the other? How were the three ways it charged similar to the three ribs in the mouth of the bear?

The chest and arms of silver represented the second Gentile kingdom, which was the Medo-Persian Empire (Dani’el 2:32b). As we go down the statue, there is a decrease in the value of the metals, gold, being the most valuable, silver, being less valuable than gold, bronze, being less valuable than silver, and iron being the least valuable. Thus, they lacked the inner unity of the Babylon Empire and never blended into one people. So there was an increase in the hardness and strength of the metals. Silver is stronger than gold, and so on. This increase in hardness was reflected in the increased strength of each empire. Therefore, the Medo-Persians were militarily stronger than the Babylonians. They were the second of four Gentile empires to dominate Jerusalem.

Dear Heavenly Father, I marvel at Your wisdom to predict hundreds of years in advance, with perfect accuracy all the future kingdoms of the world. It is a joy to call You my Father for You are full of: holiness (Leviticus 11:45), love (Psalms 63:6,103:17, First John 4:16), compassion (Psalms 103:13), kindness (Romans 2:4), righteousness (Psalms 103:13), greatness (Psalms 104:1), and so many more wonderful qualities. I can look to the future with peace, for You have it all in control. Though there will be battles, plagues and war, for those who are Your children (John 1:12, 3:3; First John 3:1, 3) who have chosen to love and follow You – there will be eternal life of everlasting peace and joy in heaven forever! You are awesome! In the name of Your holy Son and power of His resurrection. Amen

When Dani’el interpreted King Nebuchadnezzar’s dream, he said to him: After you, another kingdom will arise, inferior to yours (Dani’el 2:39a). Many years later, ADONAI gave Daniel more details about that kingdom in his own vision. He said: And there before me was a second beast, which looked like a bear, and like the chest and arms of silver, it represented the Medo-Persian Empire. It wasn’t a bear, but its primary features looked like a bear. It was less majestic than the lion. However, it is frequently associated with lions in Scripture (1 Samuel 17:34-36; 2 Samuel 17:8; Proverbs 28:15; Hosea 13:8). Bears are bulky and weighty and Medo-Persia conquered by sheer force of numbers. This empire started with the union of the Medes and the Persians; however, later the Persians became the much more dominant of the two nations. Hence, it was raised up on one of its sides. And it had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth. To solidify its empire, Medo-Persia had to conquer three other kingdoms, Lydia, Babylonia and Egypt. But even beyond these three kingdoms, God had given them the power to make even more conquests outside their borders. It was told, “Get up and eat your fill of flesh” (Dan 7:5)!

In the third year of King Belshazzar’s reign, or two years after his first vision about the four beasts, Dani’el had another vision. It was twelve years before the end of the Babylonian Empire. At this time Dani’el was about 70 years old. In his vision he was transported 230 miles away from Babylon to the king’s palace at Susa, beside the Ulai Canal (Dani’el 8:1-2), or modern day Iran. At that time Susa was a little known town. But it was destined to become the capitol of the Persian Empire (Nehemiah 1:1; Esther 1:2). In fact, the palace in his vision hadn’t even been built yet!

There he saw a ram with two horns, which represented the Medo-Persian Empire (Dani’el 8:20). The guardian spirit of the Persian Kingdom was pictured as a ram. Whenever a Persian king stood before his army, instead of wearing a crown, he wore a ram’s horn. See my commentary on Genesis, to see link click Me – Aries (The Ram). Dani’el was standing beside the canal, and the ram that he saw had horns that were long because both the Medes and the Persians were powerful kingdoms. But one of the horns was longer than the other because the Persians were more powerful than the Medes. But the higher one grew up later. Before Cyrus the Persian came to power, Media was already a major kingdom. In fact, a century earlier in the year 612 BC, it was Media that helped Babylon to conquer the Assyrian Empire.

So the vision of the ram is a further development of the chest and arms of silver in the statue in King Nebuchadnezzar’s dream (Dani’el 2:32), and the bear raised up on one of its sides, with three ribs in its mouth (Dani’el 7:5). Each vision gave more detail. Like the three ribs in its mouth, the ram charged in three different directions. It charged toward the west because in history Medo-Persia charged west conquering Babylon, Syria and Asia Minor. It charged as far north as the Caspian Sea because it conquered Scythia and Armenia. And the ram also charged south taking Egypt and Ethiopia. It doesn’t mention going east because Medo-Persia made no significant conquests eastward. As I mentioned above, God had given them the power to make even more conquests outside their borders. Therefore, no animal or no other kingdom could stand against the ram, or Medo-Persia, and none could rescue themselves from their power. They did as they pleased, and became a great empire (Dani’el 8:3-4).

However, the Medo-Persian Empire was inferior to the Babylonian Empire in influence and achievement. The roots of the Babylonian Empire began soon after The Flood (Genesis 10-11); but the Medo-Persian Empire does not go that far back. They lacked the inner unity of Babylon. Although the Medes and the Persians were united politically, they never blended into one people. They were an inferior type of government. God gives each Gentile Empire a certain amount of time, and then He terminates their kingdom and gives it to another. So as the Medo-Persian Empire faded away, YHVH raised up the Greek Empire.

The Third Beast of Dani’el:
A Leopard with Thighs of Bronze
Dani’el 2:32c, 2:39b, 7:6, 8:5-8, 21-22, and 11:3-35

The third beast of Dani’el: a leopard with thighs of bronze DIG: What three ways is Greece pictured here? What made this leopard different from other leopards? Why did it have four wings and four heads? What did the goat represent? Why did it have one prominent horn? Why didn’t the goat’s feet touch the ground? Why did the goat attack the ram with great rage? Why was the large horn broken off? What grew in its place? Would they have the same power?

The belly of bronze represented Alexander the Great, and the thighs represented his kingdom, Greece in the east and Macedonia in the west. Nebuchadnezzar’s image of the statue was top heavy and decreased, or got weaker, as you went down because of the density of the metals. Gold has a specific gravity of 19, silver 11, bronze 8.5, and iron 7.8. But the strength of the metals increased, or got stronger in each successive empire. Bronze is stronger than silver and the Greek Empire was stronger than the Medo-Persian Empire. So the belly and thighs of bronze represented the third Gentile kingdom, which was the Greek Empire (2:32c). Pictured as two thighs, it occupied territory in both the east and the west. It was the third of four Gentile empires to dominate Jerusalem.

Nearly two hundred years before Alexander was born, Dani’el received this prophecy that predicted the Greek Empire would not be divided among Alexander’s children, but between four others. When Dani’el interpreted King Nebuchadnezzar’s dream he saw a third kingdom, one of bronze, which would rule over the whole earth (Dani’el 2:39b). Then later, when he received his own vision he gave more detail, he said: After that, I looked, and there before me was another beast, one that looked like a leopard. That third beast, like the belly and thighs of bronze, represented the Greek Empire. The leopard is less majestic than the lion and less grand than the bear, but it is swifter and faster than both. With leopard-like swiftness Alexander the Great conquered the Medo-Persian Empire and greatly extended Greek culture and influence. The leopard was also used as a motif for the Greek Empire (Jer 5:6; Hos 13:7). What made this leopard-like creature different from the rest was that it had four wings like those of a bird on its back. Alexander’s Empire had four divisions like the four wings: the first wing was Thrace, the second wing was Greece, the third wing was Egypt, and the fourth wing was Mesopotamia. This beast also had four heads, or rulers (Dan 7:6a). And it was given authority to rule (Dan 7:6b). This kingdom was larger than the previous two.

In Dani’el’s same vision where he was transported to the palace at Susa, beside the Ulai Canal (Daniel 8:1-2), suddenly he saw a goat, literally, the buck of the goats, with a prominent horn, literally the horn of vision, between his eyes. This is the zodiac sign for Greece, which is the Capricorn. See my commentary on Genesis, to see link click Mb – Capricorn (The Goat). This shaggy goat was the first king of Greece, Alexander the Great, and when he conquered the Medes and the Persians, he came from the west. This goat was so fast that he crossed the earth without touching the ground, and like a leopard, Alexander was known of the speed in which his armies moved (Daniel 8:5). This empire was also given authority to rule over all the earth, just as God gave to King Nebuchadnezzar (Daniel 7:6b). But like Babylon, it did not take all that it was allowed.

Dear Heavenly Father, Praise You for You are Almighty and all powerful! Praise You that You know exactly what will happen in the future and that it is You who give the authority to rule over the earth-to the kingdoms which you choose. It is so comforting to know that You call those who choose to love and follow You – Your children, But whoever did receive Him, those trusting in His name, to these He gave the right to become children of God (John 1:12).  And that You are always with Your children, for God Himself has said, “I will never leave you or forsake you,”. We love to worship and obey You, our wise, powerful and wonderful Father! In the name of Your holy Son and the power of His resurrection. Amen

Alexander was born in 356 BC, his father was king Phillip of Macedon. Alexander had a famous tutor, Aristotle, who taught him Greek philosophy. But although Alexander was Macedonian and not Greek, he became fascinated with the Greek culture. As a result, he had a desire to spread the Greek philosophy, culture and language throughout the whole world. Phillip, united the two kingdoms of Greece and Macedonia and was preparing to conquer Persia when he was murdered. So Alexander became king in 336 BC when he was only 20 years old, and two years later began to move against Persia.

The vision of the goat with the prominent horn is a further development of the belly and thighs of bronze in the statue in King Nebuchadnezzar’s dream (Dani’el 2:32), and the leopard with four wings on its back and four heads (Dani’el 7:6). Each vision gave more specific detail. So here, the four wings and four heads of the leopard are given more detail with the four horns of the goat.

In his vision, Dani’el saw the destruction of the Medo-Persian Empire by Alexander the Great. The prophet described it in stages. When Alexander began he had only 35,000 troops. The goat charged the two horned ram, that he had seen standing beside the canal, with great rage. With these Macedonian and Greek troops he crossed the Hellespont, and attacked them with great rage because of previous Persian invasions against the Greeks. This was especially true of the Persian king who ruled between 486 BC to 465 BC. The Greeks called him Xerxes, but the Jews called him Ahasuerus (see my commentary on Esther Ac – The Book of Esther From a Jewish Perspective: King Ahasuerus). He invaded Greece twice without success, but the Greeks remembered his invasions more than a century later. The Persian king at the time of Alexander’s invasion was Darius III, who ruled from 336 to 331. Alexander won the first battle at the Granicus River in May 334 BC. As a result, he freed all the Greek cities of Asia Minor from Persian control.

The second battle was at village of Issus, in November 334 BC. The goat attacked the ram furiously, striking him and shattering his two horns. The invading troops led by the young Alexander of Macedonia, outnumbered more than 2 to 1, defeated the army personally led by Darius III of Persia. The ram was powerless to stand against him. Darius fled the battlefield with Alexander in hot pursuit.

The final battle was at Gaugamela, which was near ancient Nineveh near the Tigris River in October 331 BC. Darius was building up a massive army, drawing men from the far reaches of his empire. He planned to use numbers to crush Alexander, and according to some contemporary historians he gathered around 100,000 men. Darius also picked a flat plain for a battlefield so Alexander would have no advantages in terrain, and allowing Darius to use his vast horde more effectively. On the eve of battle Alexander’s generals were of the opinion that to counter the overwhelming advantage in numbers of the Persians a night attack should be launched. Alexander is said to have dismissed the notion explaining that as he was no ordinary general he would not act like one. As it turned out Alexander’s timing of battle was right. Darius, fearing a night attack, kept his army awake and on alert for the whole night, while Alexander’s men slept and were rested. Alexander planned to hold his forces of cavalry on the right flank, while his trained infantry went left, forcing Darius to go through a river. He then planned to attack after Darius was thoroughly stuck. The goat knocked him to the ground and trampled on him. After this battle Alexander destroyed three major cities in Persia. And none could rescue the ram from his power. At that point Alexander kept moving east all the way to the Indus River in India, south to the Indian Ocean and then back to Babylon. The Greeks ruled by force, and the conquest of Medo-Persia was complete.

The goat became very great, but at the height of his power his large horn was broken off. Alexander died an untimely death at the age of 32. And in its place four prominent horns grew toward the four winds of heaven, or in other words, in four different directions (Dani’el 8:6-8). It took twenty years of civil war, but the four horns that replaced the one that was broken off represent four kingdoms that would emerge from his nation (Dani’el 8:22a). The four horns represent the four generals and four nations that divided the kingdom among themselves: Iysimachus ruled Asia Minor in the north, Cassander ruled Greece in the west, Ptolemy ruled Egypt in the south and Selecucus ruled Mesopotamia in the east, but none would have the same power as Alexander did (Dani’el 8:22b). The ensuing battle between the Ptolemies of Egypt and the Seleucids of Syria is described in Dani’el 11:5-35. The details of this prophecy are so historically accurate that literary critics have attacked the book, saying that it must have been written after these events took place. But we worship an omniscient God who is outside of time. He can predict the past and the future. In fact, He causes the future to happen.

So in his first vision (Dan 7:2-6), Dani’el saw the first three Gentile kingdoms, with animalistic form that he was familiar with, a lion, a bear and a leopard. But, in the second vision (Dan 7:7-8), it changed somewhat.

The First Beast of Dani’el:
A Lion with a Head of Gold
Dani’el 2:37-38 and 7:2-4

The first beast of Dani’el: a lion with a head of gold DIG: What two ways is Babylon pictured in this section? Who were the four great beasts out of the sea? What made this lion different from other lions? When its wings were torn off and it was lifted from the ground so that it stood on two feet like a man, and the heart of a man was given to it, what did that represent?

King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon was troubled. He had a dream that he could not interpret. He called in the famous magi of Babylon and even they could not interpret his troubling dream. The king was so angry that he was about to execute them all when the commander of his guard met Dani’el, who said that he could interpret the king’s dream. Dani’el told the king that he had seen a large statue, an enormous dazzling statue, awesome in appearance. The head of the statue was made of pure gold (Dani’el 2:31-32a).

Dani’el interpreted the meaning of the head of gold as being King Nebuchadnezzar himself, the head of the Babylonian Empire, or the first Gentile Empire. When he destroyed Jerusalem and Solomon’s Temple in 586 BC, the Times of the Gentiles began. As a result, Babylon was the first of four Gentile empires to dominate Jerusalem.

Interpreting the king’s dream, Dani’el said to him: You, O king, are the king of kings. The God of heaven has given you dominion and power and might and glory. Then Dani’el pointed out the extent of his rule when he said: In your hands he has placed mankind and the beasts of the field and the birds of the air. Wherever they live, he has made you ruler over them all. You are the head of gold (2:37-38). God had given King Nebuchadnezzar authority over the whole entire earth, a universal reign and a universal authority. He was an absolute monarch and was above the law. The fact that he did not proceed to gain the universal reign is beside the point. If he had wanted to he could have conquered the whole inhabited world with guaranteed success because that was the power that ADONAI had given him. Two contemporary prophets of Dani’el said the same thing (Jeremiah 27:5-8; Ezeki’el 26:7-14).

God had given King Nebuchadnezzar authority over the whole earth. He chose not to extend it that far, but he could have. Daniel affirmed his absolute authority when he said: O King, the Most High God gave your father Nebuchadnezzar sovereignty and greatness and glory and splendor. Because of the high position he gave him, all the peoples and nations and men of every language dreaded and feared him. Those the king wanted to put to death, he put to death; those he wanted to spare, he spared; those he wanted to promote, he promoted; and those he wanted humbled, he humbled (Dani’el 5:18-19).

Many years later, Dani’el had his first vision during the first year of King Belshazzar’s reign. It was 553 BC, or fourteen years before the fall of Babylon (Dani’el 7:1). Nebuchadnezzar had been dead for nine years. After him, three kings followed in quick succession before King Nabonidus assumed the throne. Three years later Nabonidus made his son Belshazzar his coregent. Thus, Belshazzar was the last king of Babylon before the Medes and the Persians overthrew the Babylonians and came to power.

Daniel said: In my vision at night I looked, and there before me were the four winds, emphasizing God’s sovereignty and God’s providence, of heaven churning up the great sea. Four great beasts came up out of the great sea (7:2-3). Whenever the word sea is used symbolically in Scripture, it always refers to the Gentile nations (Isaiah 17:12-13; Matthew 13:47-50; Revelation 13:1, Ezekiel 26:3). So these four great kingdoms would be Gentile kingdoms, and each kingdom would be distinct from the others. God, in His sovereign will, was allowing this to happen for His own purposes and glory.

The first beast, like the head of gold, represented the Babylonian Empire. The first Gentile kingdom was like a lion. The lion is the king of the beasts and it was used as a symbol of Babylon (Jeremiah 4:7, 49:19, 50:17 and 44). What makes this lion different from other lions was that it had the wings of an eagle. The eagle is the king of the birds and it was also used as a symbol of Babylon (Jeremiah 48:40, 49:22; Ezeki’el 17:3). Therefore, the lion and the eagle were both used by Jeremiah to describe Nebuchadnezzar. I watched until its wings were torn off and it was lifted from the ground so that it stood on two feet like a man, and the heart of a man was given to it (Dani’el 7:4). This is a description of the proud and self-sufficient King Nebuchadnezzar being reduced to a field animal to realize his dependence on God (Dani’el 4:1-37). But it also represents both Nebuchadnezzar and his empire, for as near as a man could become a beast, he became one. And as much as a beast can become a man, Babylon lost its beast-like nature and its animalistic characteristics and became more humane. This summarizes the experience of Babylon changing from the lust of conquest to the building of culture.

Dear Heavenly Father, How Wise You are! We bow in worship of You, loving and adoring You! We stand in wonder at how wise You are to be able to predict with perfect accuracy the future kingdoms of the world. That gives us confidence that when Your child (John 1:12, 3:3; First John 3:1,3)  prays to You and the answer is different than what we expected, we can trust that You who are all wise and all loving are giving the very best for Your child. We love You. In the name of Your Son and the power of His resurrection. Amen

The Times of the Gentiles
Luke 21:24

Understanding prophecy means understanding the times of the Gentiles. A definition of the times of the Gentiles can be gleaned from Luke 21:24 that says: They will fall by the sword and be taken as prisoners to all the nations. Jerusalem will be trampled on by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled. The times of the Gentiles can best be described as that long period of time from the Babylonian captivity in 586 BC to the Second Coming of Christ at the end of the Great Tribulation, during which time the Gentiles will dominate the City of Jerusalem and the Jews. This does not rule out temporary Jewish control of the city, but all such Jewish control will be temporary until the Second Coming. Such temporary control was exercised during the Maccabean Period (164-163 BC), the First Jewish Revolt against Rome (AD 66-70), the Second Jewish Revolt (the Bar Cochba Revolt) against Rome (AD 132-135), and since 1967 as a result of the Six Day War. This, too, is temporary, as Gentiles will continue to trample Jerusalem down for at least another three-and-a-half years during the Great Tribulation (Revelation 11:1-2). As a result, any Jewish takeover of the city of Jerusalem before Messiah returns must be viewed as temporary and does not mean that the Times of the Gentiles have ended. There is no phasing out, but a sudden end once and for all. Thus, the Times of the Gentiles can only end with the climatic Second Coming of Jesus Christ.

Dear Heavenly Father, Praise Your power and wisdom. Nothing takes You by surprise. You have every detail all figured out and You have already won the final battle of the ages (Revelation 19:11-21)! You will reign eternally! We love and worship You! In the holy name of Your Son and His power of resurrection. Amen

To understand the times of the Gentiles there are four passages in the book of Dani’el and two passages in the book of Revelation that need to be studied. In this section we will study Dani’el 2:31-45, 7:1-28, 8:1-25, and 11:3-45. But later, while we study the book of Revelation itself, we will look more closely at Revelation 13:1-10 and 17:7-14. There are several visions in Dani’el, but four visions specifically pertain to the times of the Gentiles. Each one of these visions builds and elaborates on the previous ones.

First, in Daniel 2:31-45, King Nebuchadnezzar had a vision that Dani’el successfully interpreted. Dani’el saw an awesome statue having a head of gold (Babylonian Empire), the breast and arms of silver (Medo-Persian Empire), the belly and thighs of brass (the Greek Empire), legs of iron (the Imperialists), culminating with the feet and toes of part iron and part clay (the Ten Kingdoms Stage). This passage provides a timeline of all that will follow.

Secondly, in Chapter 7, Dani’el elaborated on the four Gentile kingdoms that were seen in the statue of Chapter 2. We can compare these chapters in three ways. First, they are visionary. In Chapter 2 the visionary was a pagan king, Nebuchadnezzar, but in Chapter 7 the visionary was Dani’el himself. Secondly, we can compare the interpreters. Dani’el was the interpreter in Chapter 2, but an angel was the interpreter in Chapter 7. Thirdly, we can compare the two perspectives. Dani’el 2 gives us the perspective of the times of the Gentiles from a human viewpoint as something majestic, but Dani’el 7 gives us the perspective from God’s viewpoint as something dreadful. There were four kingdoms, pictured as four beasts.

Thirdly, in Chapter 8, Dani’el describes the second vision ADONAI gave him. The vision concerns a portion of the overall period of time symbolized in the first vision; namely, regarding Medo-Persia and Greece. Reference is made also to the Antichrist of future time in the interpretation of the vision in this chapter. Once more, animals are used for symbolism, but in place of the bear and leopard that were used in the first vision for those two kingdoms, a two-horned ram and a one horned goat are used. In this vision also, a little horn appears. He would be a foreshadowing of the antichrist that will follow his pattern in the Great Tribulation of the future.³⁶

Lastly, in his third vision, Dani’el first describes the near historical future of the ensuing battle between the Ptolemies of Egypt and the Seleucids of Syria after Alexander’s death (Dani’el 11:5-35). Then he turns to the far eschatological future to give us a more detailed look at the antichrist (Dani’el 11:36-39). Daniel prophesies about the Ten Kingdoms that the antichrist will conquer to establish his absolute imperialism (Dani’el 11:40-44), and then Dani’el even goes on to describe his eventual death (Dani’el 11:45).

Therefore, four Gentile kingdoms will control the times of the Gentiles before it is succeeded by a Jewish kingdom (Dani’el 7:17-18). The first kingdom would be the Babylonians, the second would be the Medo-Persians, the third would be the Greeks, and the fourth kingdom would be the Imperialists. However, the last Kingdom will crush all those kingdoms, and that Kingdom will be the Messianic Kingdom.

The summary of the four beasts of Dani’el: the Roman Empire Stage, to see link click (As), the Balance of Power Stage (At), the One World Government Stage (Au), the Ten Kingdom Stage (Av), and the Antichrist Stage (Aw) are all gleaned from Arnold Fruchtenbaum’s classic book The Footsteps of the Messiah, pages 33-37.

I Hold the Keys of Death and Hades
1: 17-20

I hold the keys of death and Hades DIG: How does John react to the vision and the voice of Christ? Why do you think John reacted as he did? Why does Yeshua touch him? Why is that significant? Why do you think Jesus told John not to be afraid? What was John told to do? How would the titles of Messiah be assuring to the believers receiving this letter? Who are the seven stars? What is Hades? How can one divide up the book of Revelation based upon 1:19?

REFLECT: How would you react if you saw what John saw? Do you think you would be afraid? Are you afraid today? Do you know and adore the awesome, glorious, powerful Jesus seen in the Scriptures, or have you adopted a culturally appropriate, mild-mannered, user-friendly Yeshua after your own imagination? How should Yochanan’s portrayal of Jesus affect my attitude in prayer? Am I to flippant or casual when I approach Him? Read Psalm 111:10; Proverbs 1:7 and 9:10. According to them, what is the one thing that is essential for deepening our understanding of obedience to God’s Word? Ask yourself, “Do I have the kind of respect and reverence necessary to have true wisdom and understanding?”

The vision of the risen Lord was overwhelming to John, even if he had been the disciple whom Jesus loved (John 20:2). Yochanan – the evangelist, theologian, elder, apostle, and select member of Messiah’s inner circle – was instantly reduced to a trembling sinner lying powerless before the King of kings and Lord of lords. In short, the vision terrified him.

Like the prophets of old when they came into the presence of God, John fell at His feet as though dead (Joshua 5:14; Judges 13:20; Ezeki’el 1:28; Dani’el 8:17). Yet in the midst of John’s heart-stopping terror, the unsurpassed Son of God stooped down, reached out with His nail-pierced hand, and comforted His old friend. Jesus had done the same thing so long ago at the Transfiguration (Matthew 17:7). And once again, Christ placed His right hand on John and comforted him. His touch is always comforting and assuring. Helping the elderly apostle to his feet, He told John: Do not be afraid (1:17a). Similar words of assurance were given to those overwhelmed by God’s presence throughout the Bible (Genesis 15:1, 26:24; Psalm 25:1-22; Isaiah 41:10; Matthew 14:27, 17:7, 28:10).

The LORD is with me; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me? The LORD is with me; He is my Helper. I will look in triumph on my enemies (Psalm 118:6-7).

The comfort Yeshua offered was based upon who He is and the authority He possesses. First, He identified Himself as I AM, the covenant name of ADONAI. Next, the LORD revealed Himself as the I AM to Moses at the burning bush (Exodus 3:14). Then Jesus told the Jewish religious leaders of His day: Before Abraham was born, I AM. The fact that He claimed to be God was not lost on His detractors because they picked up stones to stone Him, punishment for blasphemy (John 8:58).

Secondly, Jesus identified Himself as the First and the Last, a title used of ADONAI in the TaNaKh (Isaiah 41:4, 44:6, 48:12). When other gods have come and gone, only He remains. The LORD existed before them and He will continue to exist eternally, long after they have been forgotten. Christ’s application of that title to Himself is another powerful proof of His deity.

Thirdly, Messiah claimed that He was the Living One. He proclaimed: I was dead, and behold I am alive forever and ever! This would provide tremendous assurance to those persecuted First Century believers who were facing an unspeakable death in the Roman Coliseum. The Greek text literally reads, I became dead. The Living One, who could never die, became a man and died. As Peter explains it, Christ was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit (First Peter 3:18). He died in His humanness without ceasing to live as God.³⁰ In His death and resurrection, Messiah wrestled away from Satan any authority the devil may have had over death (see the commentary on Hebrews, to see link click An – The Proof of Messiah’s Salvation).³¹

As the eternal I AM, the First and the Last, the Living One, Yeshua alone has the keys of death and Hades (1:17b-18), that is, authority over death and the place of the dead (Isaiah 25:8; Hosea 13:14; John 5:21: First Corinthians 15:54-57; Hebrews 2:14), not the Roman Emperor. Keys were a symbol of authority in Jewish thought (Matthew 16:19). Both the believer’s death and resurrection are in His hands. Following the revelation of Christ in glory, John was again commanded to write.

Like a reporter in the midst of a historic event, John began frantically recording the vision of Jesus still impressed on his mind. Write, therefore, what you have seen, what is now, and what will take place later (1:19). This appears to be the divine outline of Revelation. John was told to write about the vision of Messiah that he had just seen in Chapter 1. Then he was to write the present message, the now history, of Christ to seven churches in Chapters 2 and 3. Finally, the main purpose of the book being prophetic, what will take place later. John was to introduce the events preceding, culminating, and following the Second Coming in Chapters 4 to 22.³² This constitutes a divine outline of the book.

Dear Heavenly Father, How Wonderful You are! You are from all eternity and You hold the keys of death and Hades – yet you graciously and willingly unlock the door for anyone who loves and follows you as their Lord and Savior (Romans 10:9-10). It is Yeshua’s death and resurrection that is the key to the lock and it is our faith in You that turns the key to open the door to heaven. What a wonderful home Jesus is preparing for us (John 14:1-6) where there will never be any mourning, or crying, or dying or pain (Revelation 21:4). We worship You. Praise You that no matter how awful things get here on earth, it will be over soon and faith in Your Son Yeshua will open the door to joy and peace with you forever in heaven! We love You! In Your Holy Son’s name and power of His resurrection. Amen

Yeshua helped John and all of us by interpreting two symbols from that vision: the stars and the lampstands. He said: The mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand and the seven golden lampstands is this: The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches (1:20). With only one exception (12:1), wherever the word star is used symbolically in the Bible, it is always a symbol of an angel.³³ Therefore, the mystery of the seven stars is revealed to be the angels of the seven churches, and the seven golden lampstands were the churches themselves.³⁴ This fact is hardly surprising in view of the innumerable company of angels (Hebrews 12:22) and their assignment as ministering angels to those who will inherit salvation (Hebrews 1:14). Angels are present in the assemblies during their services (First Corinthians 11:10) and are intensely interested in their protection (First Cor 4:9; Ephesians 3:10; First Timothy 3:16 5:21; Hebrews 13:2; 1 Peter 1:12). Admittedly, the idea of an angel protecting each body of believers is one that stretches our thinking. Nonetheless, it seems to be the teaching of God’s word here.³⁵ Before revealing the tremendous prophetic scenes of chapters 4-22, Christ first gave a personal message to each of the seven churches with obvious practical applications to believers of every age (2:1 to 3:22).

But first we need to look at two principles that we can take from John’s breath-taking experience on Patmos. First, to better our understanding of who the Messiah really is, the sooner we’ll respond in submission and obedience. John said: When I saw Him, I fell at His feet as though dead (1:17a). We sometimes hear people talk about meeting Messiah face-to-face, giving Him a big hug and hanging out with Him. Jesus is viewed as their pal. But John didn’t see it that way after his brief glimpse of Messiah’s unveiled glory; he was on his face worshiping the risen Lord. Second, the greater our willingness to submit to Christ, the deeper His revealed truths will be to us. No, you won’t receive divine visions in the future. No, Yeshua Himself will not give you a message for your pastor or messianic rabbi. John’s deep understanding of the Lord, led him to a complete submission to His authority. In turn, this led to a deepening understanding of Yeshua and His plans for the future. As we open God’s Word and encounter Jesus, our attitudes of humility and submission will lead us into a deeper relationship with Him.

Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight (Proverbs 3:5-6).

I Turned Around
and Saw Someone like a Son of Man
1: 12-16

I turned around and saw someone like a Son of Man DIG: What does each image here suggest about Christ? What did the seven lampstands represent? When John saw Him, what earlier experience in his life did this image remind him of? How is this image different than the previous one? What does the term Son of man come from? What does it mean? What three titles does Jesus hold? What does the term star mean when used symbolically in the Bible? What do the seven stars in this passage represent?

REFLECT: Does this description of Yeshua Messiah seem strange to you? How so? When you see this description of Jesus Christ, how does it make you feel? Are you encouraged, or does it make you fearful? Why? What is the difference in your mind between seeing Jesus as the Lamb of God (John 1:29), and seeing Him as the Lion of the Tribe of Judah (Revelation 5:5)?

The placing of this vision of Yeshua Messiah right at the beginning of the book is significant. The believers in Asia Minor were a pitifully small remnant and were persecuted by Domitian. To all out-ward appearances their situation was hopeless. But it is only as Jesus Christ is seen for what He really is that anything else can be seen in its true perspective. So for those persecuted ones it was important that first of all the glory and the majesty of the risen Lord be seen by them. In doing this, John constantly makes use of words and concepts associated in the TaNaKh with God. He does not hesitate to employ divine attributes to describe the glory of Messiah. And He does not do this and then forget it. The titles used of Jesus Christ in this vision are used elsewhere, notably in the letters to the churches.²¹

With the booming, majestic voice of the Savior still echoing in his ears, John turned around to see who was speaking to him, he saw a vision of Christ that he had never seen before (1:12a). He saw Jesus as the glorified Son of man, an expression used in Dani’el 7:13 to refer to Messiah. The different descriptions given to him here all come from the TaNaKh.

Despite the glory of His appearance, squinting, John’s eyes settled on the source of the voice and recognized Him to be a man, indeed the very Son of man, the representative man, true man, man as God intended man to be. The term Son of man (1:13b) was Christ’s favorite term for Himself. He used it more than eighty times in the four Gospels. The term was first used in Psalm 8:4, prophesying His First Coming in humility, and last in 14:14, prophesying His Second Coming in power.²²

Jesus holds three different offices: prophet, priest and king. He functioned as a prophet in His First Coming. Messiah is functioning as a priest now, as He sits at the right hand of God the Father, and when He returns, He will function as a king. So Christ has three offices, prophet, priest and king, but He does not function in all three simultaneously at this time. But, when Messiah returns He will function in all three areas of ministry.

John’s vision pictures Messiah as a king. But a king has many roles, one of which is to serve as a judge, for He is about to come and judge the whole world at His Second Coming. This is a sub-theme to the entire book.²³

Yeshua is seen to be among the seven golden menorahs, or lampstands (1:12b-13a). Apparently these were individual lampstands rather than one lampstand with seven lamps as was true of a similar piece of furniture in the Tabernacle (see my commentary on Exodus, to see link click Fn – The Lampstand in the Sanctuary: Christ the Light of the World).²⁴ As was stated in the introduction, every symbol in Revelation will be explained either in another part of the book itself or elsewhere in the Bible. In this case, the meaning is explained in 1:20, where it states that the seven golden lampstands represent the seven churches. The picture then, is of Yeshua in the midst of the seven churches ready to judge.²⁵

There was no doubt that this was Jesus, but not the kind of Jesus that John remembered from many years earlier – preaching to the multitudes, healing the sick, suffering on the cross, or even ascending into heaven. No, the message from this Jesus sent John’s thinking racing backward in time more than sixty years to a power experience on Mount Herman (see my commentary on The Life of Christ Gb – Jesus took Peter, James and John up a High Mountain where He was Transfigured). There, before his eyes, Messiah briefly unveiled His glory. Now, near the end of his life, John saw a more detailed vision of the risen Lord in all of His splendor.

No one living today knows what Yeshua looked like during His days on earth. The New Covenant is silent on the subject of His physical appearance. But whatever He looked like then, His current appearance is far more important because this is the way we will see Him throughout all eternity.²⁶ Therefore, John gives us a seven-fold description of Him as He was in heaven at that time and will be when He returns. The ancient apostle used the best words that he could come up with to describe what was basically beyond words. His initial image resembled a human form – but He was clearly more than a man.

The first thing John noticed was that He was dressed in a long robe reaching down to His feet (1:13c). The Greek word translated, a garment down to the feet, is seen only here in the New Covenant, but is used in all but one of its seven occurrences in the Septuagint to describe the robe worn by the high priest. That He also wore a golden sash around His chest (1:13d) reinforces that interpretation because the high priest in the TaNaKh wore such a sash (see my commentary on Exodus Fv – The Selection of Aaron and His Sons as Priests).²⁷

Second, the most striking feature of His appearance, however, is His snow-white hair. His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow (1:14a). The whiteness of His hair corresponded to that of the Ancient of Days, or God the Father (Dani’el 7:9). His hair seems to point to both His purity (Matthew 5:48), and His age, since He was with God in the beginning (John 1:1).

Third, His eyes were like blazing fire (1:14b), searching, revealing, and penetrating to the very depths of His followers. We shall see this in His piercing judgment of sin to the immoral religious community at Thyatira (2:18). Jesus said: There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known (Matthew 10:26b). Dani’el’s vision of the Messiah, he said His eyes were like flaming torches (Dani’el 10:6). Yet these were the same eyes that would cry over human need (Luke 19:41; John 11:35). Various aspects of His deity follow the graphic description of His appearance.

Fourth, the same feet that had rough spikes driven through them at the cross will return to trample His enemies (Psalm 110:1; Isaiah 63:3). This concept of judgment is further illustrated by His feet that were like bronze glowing in a furnace (1:15a). The bronze altar in the Tabernacle was a place of sacrifice for sin (see my commentary on Exodus Fa – Build an Altar of Acacia Wood Overlaid with Bronze), and here in Revelation, Jesus has come to judge sin.

Fifth, His voice, which seemed clear like a trumpet, was compared to the sound of rushing waters (1:15b). It sounded to John like the familiar sound of the sea crashing on the rocky shore of Patmos on a windy day. His voice was similarly described like the roar of rushing waters in Ezekiel 43:2, and indicates both power and majesty.

Sixth, as the head of the churches (Ephesians 4:15, 5:23; Colossians 1:18), Christ exercises authority over them. In John’s vision Jesus held seven stars in His right hand (1:16a). Domitian himself, issued a gold coin picturing his dead son sitting on the earth playing with seven stars, symbolic of Domitian’s domain over the world (see Ac – The Book of Revelation From a Jewish Perspective).²⁸ But to comfort the persecuted believers in the first century, Christ identifies the seven stars as the seven angels of the seven churches in His right hand (1:20). Not as Domitian’s sovereignty over the universe. With one exception (12:1), wherever the word star is used symbolically in the Bible, it is always a symbol of an angel. These, then, were individual angels who acted as guards, and assured the arrival of each individual message to each of the seven churches.

Seventh, out of His mouth came a sharp double-edged sword (1:16b). Isaiah said: He made My mouth like a sharpened sword (Isaiah 49:2; also see Revelation 19:11-15). This expression means that Christ will have the ability to pronounce judgment. And the writer to the Hebrews wrote: For the Word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword. It penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart (Hebrews 4:12). Messiah will be decisive and be able to get down to the very root of the problem and deal with it. This type of sword, the Greek word rhomphaia, is also referred to in 2:12 and 16, 6:8, 9:15 and 21. Jesus is no longer pictured as a baby in Bethlehem; He is now the Lion of the Tribe of Judah (5:5). The very appearance of the glorified Messiah and the sound of His regal voice flowing from the blinding light of His face, gave every word a sword-like brightness and sharpness that John could almost feel. Like the Transfiguration, His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance (1:16c).

Dear Heavenly Father, How Awesome You are! This vision of Your Son is a picture of Mighty Yeshua. It is a true and accurate picture of Him. We bow before You. Your white hair tells us that we should not think of You as a baby in a manger – for You are from all eternity (Micah 5:2 and John 1:1). Nor should we think of You as still being on the cross, for though that was a terrific sacrifice on Your part that we should be very thankful for – You arose and conquered death for all time! You are now and forever the ruling King of kings coming back to strike down the nations with the sharp double-edged sword coming out of Your mouth (Revelation 19:15-16). Whenever we are feeling overwhelmed or discouraged by all the evil in the world – we will think of this picture of you in Your Mighty Power and be encouraged! Praise you for being our Father and our Mighty Warrior who can conquer all evil powers. You are Terrific and we love and worship You. In the holy name of Your Son and thru the power of His resurrection. Amen

The encouraging point for us is that John found Jesus in all His power and glory – and we can find Him as well. In our prayers, when we go to worship, or when we read the Bible, we can go beyond the mental exercise of confirming our faith in Christ’s victory. When we seek Him, He will reveal Himself to us and fill our hearts as well as our minds. Although originally speaking to the nation of Isra’el, He makes the same promise to you today: You will seek Me and find Me when you seek Me with all your heart (Jeremiah 29:13).

What will we see when He comes? Maybe we will experience the sword of His word exposing and cutting away the sin from our lives. Maybe we will feel the piercing gaze of His look of love. Perhaps we will hear His voice calling us with the strength of the ocean. We might be impressed by His purity and His desire to make us pure as well. Perhaps we will be over-whelmed by His kingly authority over our every fear. Jesus knows what you need in each particular moment of your life. He is eager to reveal Himself to you and care for you. When you pray today, expect Yeshua to show Himself to you. He wants you to know Him. He wants you to take strength in the fact that He who is all powerful is standing with you no matter what you may be going through.

Jesus, I turn toward You to gaze on Your beauty and Your glory. Reveal Yourself to me, Lord, so that I will come to know you and love you with all my heart.²⁹

John was On the Island of Patmos
because of the Testimony of Jesus
1: 9-11

John was on the Island of Patmos because of the testimony of Jesus DIG: Why was John on Patmos? What kind of a place was it? What is meant by the Lord’s day? What was significant about his spiritual condition and the day when he received his vision? What was his message?

REFLECT: Do you feel like you are on Patmos suffering like John right now, or do you feel like you are reigning in the Spirit? Why? Can both happen at once? How can John’s message to seven churches, written so long ago, give you hope for today?

The books of Isaiah and Ezeki’el both began with a great vision of the glory of ADONAI (Isaiah 6 and Ezeki’el 1), and the same is true for John in the book of Revelation. As if he were going out of his way to keep the spotlight on Jesus, the apostle John introduced himself and his circumstances with succinct simplicity and humility, saying: I, John (1:9a). Though John could have pointed out things in his resume that no one then alive could equal, he didn’t. Instead, he described himself in ways that emphasized the common experience shared by all believers: Your brother and companion in the tribulation (NASB) and kingdom and patient endurance that are ours in Jesus (1:9b).

Tribulation: The Greek word thlipsis can be translated suffering or tribulation. It can refer to the coming Great Tribulation of the end times, leading up to the physical return of Messiah (see my commentary on Isaiah, to see link click Kg – The Second Coming of Jesus Christ). More commonly, though, it refers to the general trials and suffering experienced by believers of every age (Revelation 1:9; John 16:33; Romans 5:3).

Kingdom: The term kingdom here, refers to the future Messianic Kingdom that will be established when Christ returns (Mt 19:28; Acts 1:6-7; 2 Tim 4:1; Rev 20:1-6). In light of the common destiny of all believers, they are occasionally referred to as God’s “kingdom” in a spiritual sense (First Cor 4:20; Colossians 1:13).

Patient endurance: The Greek noun hupomone implies patient endurance under extreme difficulty, as a beast of burden might endure under a heavy load. ADONAI Himself gives believers the ability to endure such hardship (Romans 15:5; Colossians 1:11).

Church tradition has it that Roman authorities attempted to boil the aged apostle in oil, but he was miraculously preserved, although scared, which baffled and frightened the superstitious officials. He was then exiled to the island of Patmos (1:9c), which means treading. It is a small barren island off the west coast of present-day Turkey in the Aegean Sea, about 40 miles, west southwest of Miletus (Acts 20:15). It was a small island, 8 miles long and 5 miles wide and measured 30 Roman miles in circumference.¹⁴ It had very rocky, volcanic soil, and because it could not sustain anything else it was used by the Roman Empire as a penal colony for political prisoners. Yochanan was exiled to Patmos for eighteen months beginning in AD 95.

During the reign of the Roman Emperor Domitian (see Ac – The Book of Revelation From a Jewish Perspective), John was exiled to Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony about Yeshua (1:9c). According to several early fathers of the faith like Irenaeus, Clement of Alexandria, and Eusebius, John was sent to that island as a prisoner to work in the mines following his effective pastorate at Ephesus.¹⁵ Domitian, afraid of the kingdom of God and wanting to rid the world of any competition to his throne, sought out the known descendants of King David. He called in two grandsons of Jesus’ brother Jude for questioning regarding the nature of Christ’s Kingdom and whether they were heirs to the Roman throne and, therefore, a threat to him personally. To Domitian’s surprise, however, those messianic believing relatives of Messiah explained that the Kingdom they were a part of was heavenly, not earthly, and it was to be established at the end of the world. What was more, they both had little money. After showing the emperor their empty pockets he released them. John soon returned from exile and ministered in the seven churches in Asia Minor until his death after the crowning of Emperor Trajan in AD 98.

Therefore, in these things – tribulation, kingdom and perseverance – Yeshua drew believers together by giving them purpose and perspective in the midst of their suffering. If the Lord could suffer unjustly for them, they could certainly endure persecution for Him. And as Yochanan personally reflected upon the persecution that he and the churches of Asia Minor were enduring, he received a revelation about Jesus Christ.

Even in exile for his faith, surviving in the uncertain surroundings of a rocky desolate island, the elderly apostle set aside time for worship and prayer. John received his message on the Lord’s day (1:10a), better translated lordly day. In the Greek, the word translated Lord is not a noun, but an adjective. It does not refer to a specific day of the week, such as the Sabbath (Saturday) or Sunday. Rather, it was a day in which John was in a time of meditation and prayer. Thus, for him, it was a lordly day.¹⁶ He was in the Spirit and he heard behind him a penetrating voice, loud and clear as a trumpet (1:10b). The phrase in the Spirit means to be caught up in an ecstatic experience, or to enter into a trance (Acts 11:5, 22:17). Rabbi Sha’ul described one such experience in Second Corinthians 12:2, when he was caught up to the third heaven and heard inexpressible things.¹⁷ Suddenly he was aware that the Lord Himself had come down from heaven to be with John on that lordly day to show him things to come.¹⁸ The voice behind him gave a simple instruction, saying: Write on a scroll what you see and send it to the seven churches. Send what you see to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea (1:11). These seven cities appear in the order that a messenger, traveling clockwise would visit them. Copies of Revelation would have been distributed to each church.¹⁹

If you were to list the top three blessings you would want to ask from God, would one of those blessings be patient endurance? We know we would need such gifts if we were going to face suffering or trials. But it’s not something we like to think about. We’d rather ask for health, wealth, and happiness. In other words, we’d rather avoid suffering than ask for the gifts we really need. But the truth is that no matter how hard we try to avoid them, difficulties have a way of finding us like a heat seeking missile. They are simply a part of life on this earth. So rather than try to run away from the inevitable, perhaps we would do better to ask what would bring us the most hope, strength and comfort when suffering does come our way.

John tells us that he is a brother and companion in suffering, and that he shares in our patient endurance. Evidently, he found a way to deal with his own difficult life – a life of exile and deprivation on the island of Patmos. So exactly what was it that helped him? Nothing more than the firm conviction that Jesus was going to come back! Yeshua the Messiah, the Alpha and the Omega, the almighty and everlasting One, will be revealed to the nations, even those who have rejected Him and His followers. No matter what he faced, John knew that this hope would never change. Paul’s letter to Titus encouraged him to live a self-confident, upright and godly life in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope – the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ (Titus 2:12b-13).

Let’s face it, daily life can be a grind. It’s not hard to feel worn down by all our responsibilities, overwhelmed by worries or agitated by injustices. As a result, we can forget that our lives are hidden with Christ in God (Colossians 3:3). We are not alone, trudging through life’s difficulties with no one to help us. We are in the center of God’s eternal plan. Jesus is with us, and His Holy Spirit is working in and through us! Because Messiah is really coming again, our lives have a purpose and a goal beyond making it to the end of a day or completing all the items on our to-do list.

When you pray today, lift your eyes to heaven. Ask Jesus to give you a vision of the end, when His promises will be fulfilled and you will see Him face to face. Imagine what it will be like when everyone sees Him and everything is put right. Let this heavenly vision inspire you and give you hope. Let it strengthen you to endure patiently and even enjoy whatever may come your way today. After all, you know the end of the story!

Yeshua, let me never forget that You are coming back. Fill my heart today, so that the vision of Your heavenly glory will lift me up and give me a new perspective. Come, Lord, and give me patient endurance, hope and joy! ²⁰

Write, Therefore, What You Have Seen
1: 9-20

By the close of the first century, those following Christ had become hated and despised throughout the Roman Empire. At that time the Roman Emperor, Domitian, started an official persecution of the Church. All the details are not known, but it extended to the province of Asia Minor. Things seemed hopeless. The apostle John had been banished to the Island of Patmos, and at least one person, a pastor, had already been martyred (2:13). The persecuted and discouraged Church, made up of both Jewish and Gentile believers (Ephesians 2:11-22) needed some encouragement. It had been almost a hundred years since Jesus had ascended up to heaven. Jerusalem had been destroyed and Isra’el savaged. The Church was losing its first love, compromising, tolerating sin, becoming powerless and distasteful to ADONAI Himself. All the other apostles were dead and John had been exiled. The picture looked very bleak. The Church needed to hear from Jesus Christ.

John’s readers took comfort in the knowledge that Yeshua Messiah would one day return and defeat His enemies. Christ had not abandoned His Church or His promises. The powerful vision of Jesus and His ministry must have given great hope to the seven churches to which John wrote. This section presents the introduction to the vision, the vision of the risen Lord Himself, and the interpretation to the vision.¹³

Look, He is Coming with the Clouds
1: 4-8

Look, He is coming with the cloud DIG: What is significant about the way John refers to God? What are the meanings of the titles he gives to Jesus? How does He refer to the Holy Spirit? In what way is He coming with the cloud? In what sense is Yeshua Messiah the Alpha and the Omega? What theme of the book of Revelation is foreshadowed in 1:7? What is significant about the fact that every eye shall see Him?

REFLECT: If you were asked to tell someone three facts about Jesus that are especially significant to you, what would you say? Why are they important to you? Do these verses elicit hope or fear in you? Why?

The book of Revelation is the ultimate action thriller. Anyone who loves books filled with adventure and excitement will certainly love this book. It contains drama, suspense, mystery, passion and horror. It tells of the apostasy of people who pretend to be religious. It speaks of unparalleled economic collapse, and of the ultimate war of human history. The war that will end all wars, the Campaign of Armageddon. It describes natural disasters rivaled in intensity only by the worldwide Flood of Noah’s day, as God will pour His wrath out on the sin-cursed earth. It speaks of the political intrigues that will lead to the ascendancy of the most evil and powerful dictator the world has ever known. Finally, and most terrifying of all, it describes the final judgment and sentencing of all rebels, angelic and human, to eternal torment in hell. Yet, amazingly, it is also a book of hope and joy with a happy ending, as sin, sorrow and death are banished forever (21:4, 22:3). Therefore, it will take some time for the drama to unfold, so, like any good writer, John gives his readers a preview of what will come later in the book.

Modern letters have the name of the sender at the end, but ancient writers put their names at the beginning. So here John identifies himself as the writer to the seven churches in the province of Asia (1:4a). Today we would think of this geographical area as Turkey. Because it was written to seven churches, it makes it clear that whatever else the revelation is, it was also a letter. To be sure, it is an apocalypse and a prophecy, but it was also a letter to real historical churches that existed in the first century in Asia Minor. The purpose of John’s writing was to encourage, strengthen and admonish the believers that were a part of these churches, because they were under a great deal of persecution due to the problem of emperor worship. It is clear that Yochanan was deeply concerned with these churches because of his intimate knowledge of each. But all believers are to learn from what is written here.

Grace and peace to you: The word grace comes from the Greek meaning the unmerited favor of God, and peace is the Hebrew translation of shalom, and had significant meaning to anyone coming from the Semitic side (1:4b). Shalom refers to the prosperity of the whole person, not only his or her physical prosperity, but spiritual prosperity as well.

From God the Father: That grace and peace came from, the preposition of source, Him who is, and who was, and who is to come (1:4c). This description emphasizes His eternity and takes us back to the burning bush where God revealed His name to Moses. He said: Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh [I am/will be what I am/will be]. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: Ehyeh [I am or I will be] has sent me to you. After Moshe objected to this, God said: Say to the Israelites, “YHVH, the God of your fathers – the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob – has sent me to you.” This is My name forever, the name by which I am to be remembered from generation to generation” (Exodus 3:14-15).

From God the Holy Spirit: This message is also from the seven spirits before the Father’s throne (1:4d). This word from is repeated three times for the Trinity. Here it points to the Holy Spirit in His fullness because seven is the number of completeness. To be sure, it is an unusual way to refer to the Ruach ha-Kodesh, but He is the One spoken of here. Described in anthropomorphic language, just as Yeshua the Messiah can sit at the right hand of God the Father, the Rauch ha’Kodesh can minister before His throne. The seven spirits refer to seven attributes of the Holy Spirit, which are given in Isaiah 11:2. There, Isaiah describes the picture of a menorah with its seven branches (4:5). The middle stem of the menorah is what Isaiah calls the Spirit of ADONAI. Then Isaiah uses the word Spirit three more times after that, and each time two attributes are given: first, the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, secondly, the Spirit of counsel and of power, and thirdly, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of ADONAI.

All seven of these refer to the ministry of the Holy Spirit. Paul said: I keep asking that the God of our Lord Yeshua Messiah, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know Him better (Ephesians 1:17). But He is also the Spirit of understanding. When Yeshua was preparing to leave this earth, He told His apostles: When the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all truth (John 16:13). Certainly He is the Spirit of counsel because Jesus called Him the Counselor, the One who would come along side of you and give you guidance (John 15:26). Undoubtedly He is also the Spirit of power. Just before being taken up into heaven, Jesus said: You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you (Acts 1:8a). He is without a doubt the Spirit of knowledge. Paul tells us that the Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. For who among men knows the thoughts of man except the man’s spirit within him? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God (First Corinthians 2:10b-11). And He is also the Spirit of the fear of ADONAI. The response of the Spirit’s ministry in the life of the believer is to give us a reverential fear of God to keep us from evil.

In 3:1 and 5:6 we are told that Jesus Christ has the fullness of the Ruach ha’Kodesh. In Yochanan 3:34-35 it says that He receives the Ruach without limit. This is because Christ alone will have the fullness of the Spirit. Everyone else receives the Spirit with limits. Some greater than others, which is why people have different gifts and different numbers of spiritual gifts (every believer has at least one spiritual gift). But in the case of the Messiah, He is given the Ruach without limit.

And from God the Son: Lastly, grace and peace also flow from Jesus Christ, who has a three-fold designation that describes Him as prophet, priest and king. First, He is the faithful witness and a prophet (1:5a). Standing before the Roman governor, Pilate said to Him, “You are a king, then!” Yeshua responded by saying: You are right in saying I am a King. In fact, for this reason I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify, or bear witness, to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to Me (John 18:37). This is how He describes Himself to the church in Laodicea, saying: These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness proclaiming God’s truth (3:14). The English word for witness here comes from the Greek word meaning martyr. He proved that He was a faithful witness in His earthly life, being obedient to ADONAI even to the point of death, and that would have had a particularly great significance to those first century believers who were also facing a martyrs death. Jesus is the model of how to stand firm and never compromise the truth of God. So first, He is a prophet.

Secondly, He is a priest. He is called the firstborn from the dead (1:5b), literally the dead ones. The Greek word prototokos (Romans 8:29; Colossians 1:15 and 18; Hebrews 1:6), has a two-fold meaning. Here, the Greek word first has to do with first in time or first of its kind. The Bible tells us that Messiah was with God in the beginning (John 1:2), and Rabbi Sha’ul tells us He is the firstfruits of many other believers to come after Him (First Corinthians 15:23). But secondly, prototokos also has to do with eminence or first in importance, or a supreme authority over the dead (Rom 8:29; Col 1:15 and 18; Hebrews 1:6). The concept that Christ is the firstborn from the dead ones, always refers to the priesthood in the order of Melchizedek (Hebrews 7:15-17 and 23-25). The hope of the resurrection is always the background behind His priesthood. To those first century churches that lived under the threat of death, the fact that Jesus was able to save them completely would have been tremendously encouraging. We should be no less encouraged.

Dear Father God, We love You and bow humbly before You in reverence and awe of You. We are awestruck at Your love (Revelation 1:5)! It cost You so much to have freed us from sin’s punishment by being the Lamb of God. The next day, John sees Yeshua coming to him and says, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! (John 1:29).  Your blood offered on the heavenly altar, He entered into the Holies once for all – not by the blood of goats and calves but by His own blood, having obtained eternal redemption (Hebrews 9:12) opened the door for all who love and follow you as Lord to enter heaven.

     For if you confess with your mouth that Yeshua is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart it is believed for righteousness, and with the mouth it is confessed for salvation. (Romans 10:9-10). We love You and look forward expectantly to eternity in heaven with You when all trials/pandemics will be behind us and we will enjoy fellowship with You for all eternity! In Your holy Son’s name and power of resurrection. Amen

And thirdly, He is the ruler of the kings of the earth, His defeated enemies (1:5c). He is the ruler now and He will be the ruler when He returns (19:11-18). Christ is absolutely sovereign over the affairs of this world, to which He holds the title deed (5:5). He is the Prince of princes, He is the King of kings and Lord of lords (19:16), He is Lord, having the name that is above every name (Philippians 2:9b). In fact, Christ’s ultimate authority is a theme that runs through the book of Revelation. It speaks of the sovereignty of ADONAI. When He returns He will be the only one ruling the whole world. Jesus was even the ruler over Domitian. This reference to Jesus Christ gives way to the first of many doxologies in Revelation.

Therefore, the message of the revelation is about Jesus. He reminds us at the beginning of the book that everything He is going to say in the entire prophecy can be counted on because He is a prophet. Secondly, He is a priest, this is our hope and security. He is alive and risen from the dead. That means that you and I do not have to face the horror of the coming Great Tribulation because we have One who has lived forever and makes intercession for us. Thirdly, He is a King and He promises that we will share in His Kingdom.

To Him who loves us and has freed us, and bought us back from our sins by His blood (1:5d), and has made us to be a kingdom of priests (Exodus 19:5-6; First Peter 2:9, also see 5:10) to serve His God and Father – to Him be glory and power for ever and ever, literally, to the ages of the ages! Amen (1:6). When those first century believers were staring martyrdom in the face, I am sure they didn’t feel like they were a kingdom of priests, but John confronted them with their true spiritual reality. And there are many times that we don’t feel like we are a kingdom of priests. But we need to remember these words and see ourselves through our Father’s eyes. This is God’s love message to you.

While 1:19 gives the outline of the book, this verse gives the theme of the book, which is the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. John demands that we look, because He is coming (1:7a). The expected One was a title for the Messiah. When John the Baptist heard in prison what Jesus was doing, he sent his disciples to ask Him, “Are you the erchomai, or expected One who was to come, or should we look for someone else” (Matthew 11:2-3; Luke 7:19-20; Yochanan 3:31, 6:14 and 11:27). The erchomai is used nine times in the book of Revelation to refer to Jesus Christ. Thus, the theme of Revelation is the expected One, the Lord, Yeshua Messiah. It deals with the events leading up to the Second Coming, events accompanying the Second Coming, and events following the Second Coming.

He is coming with the Sh’khinah glory, or with the cloud (1:7b). The Sh’khinah glory is the visible manifestation of God’s presence, which is seen in the form of a light, fire, smoke, clouds, or a combination of these. It appeared as a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night in the wilderness (Exodus 13:21-22). The pillar of cloud stood between the armies of Egypt and Isra’el (Exodus 14:19). The glory of ADONAI appeared in the cloud (Exodus 16:10). At the giving of the Torah on Mount Sinai, a thick cloud appeared over the mountain (Exodus 19:16, 24:15-18). As Moses went into the Tent of Meeting, the pillar of cloud would come down and stay at the entrance, while God spoke to Moses (Exodus 33:9). Both the Tabernacle (Exodus 40:34-38) and the Temple (First Kings 8:10-12) were filled with a cloud symbolizing God’s glory at their dedications. Jesus ascended to heaven in the clouds (Acts 1:9), and, as the present verse indicates, the Messiah will return with the clouds of heaven (Ps 18:11-12; Mt 16:27-28, 24:30, 25:31; Mark 13:26; Luke 21:27 and Revelation 1:7). The prophet Dani’el prophesied: In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a Son of Man, coming with the cloud of heaven (Dani’el 7:13). Keep in mind that in Scripture, the cloud is always a symbol of God’s glory, the Sh’khinah glory (see the commentary on Isaiah, to see link click Ju – The Glory of  the LORD Rises Upon You). That’s the reason every eye will see Him when He returns. His glory will be obvious to the entire human race.

And every eye will see Him, and all the peoples of the earth will mourn because of Him. So shall it be! Amen (1:7c). Though the literal executioners and rejecters of Christ are now dead and will not be resurrected until after the Millennium, the godly remnant of Isra’el will look upon Him the One they have pierced (Zechariah 12:10). The Jews will experience deep grief over centuries of having rejected Him as a nation; this grief will open the way to repentance and accepting Him as the Messiah and Savior of the Jewish people. Christ’s Second Coming, however, will be visible to the entire world of unbelievers, in contrast with His First Coming at His birth in Bethlehem and in contrast with the future rapture of the Church, which will be unnoticed like a thief in the night (First Thessalonians 5:2).

Yeshua the Messiah concludes by saying: I AM the Alpha and the Omega, who is, and who was, and who is to come (1:8a). Here we know that the Son is speaking and not the Father because the vision is of Jesus. It is in the first person, and Jesus is doing the speaking. Alpha is the first letter in the Greek alphabet and Omega is the last letter. During the days of Isaiah His prophet, God had said: I, ADONAI, the first and the last, I am He (Isaiah 41:4b; also see Isaiah 44:6 and 48:12). So it was Jesus saying: Write down these words. And later in the revelation He will say: Behold, I AM coming quickly! My reward is with Me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done I AM the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End. I, Jesus, have sent My angel to give you this testimony for the churches. I AM the Root and the Offspring of David, and the bright Morning Star (22:12-13 and 16). He would have the same characteristics as ADONAI because both are eternal. It would be a terrible mistake if we think that God cares nothing about what comes between the Alpha and the Omega. This is why He reminds us that not only is He the God of the past and the future, but of the present as well. As the Almighty God, the Lord exercises control over all time.

He is the Almighty or God of heaven’s angelic armies (1:8b CJB). The mighty part of this word is translated power in 1:6. You could say Jesus is the all-Ruler, referring to the extensiveness of His power over everyone and everything. Who is the King of all the earth? Who is the King of kings and Lord of lords? Who is the One we are to praise and honor? It is Jesus Christ! Therefore, God exalted Him to the highest place (Psalm 110:1) and gave Him a name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Yeshua the Messiah is ADONAI, to the glory of God the Father (Philippians 2:9-11). He is the one who controls history and will bring to pass all the events described in this book. No one can prevent Yeshua from carrying out His sovereign will. No one or no thing can possibly hinder Jesus Christ from returning in glory. Amen.

The Revelation of Jesus Christ,
Which God Gave Him
1: 1-3

The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him DIG: What is this revelation? In this case, who is revealed? By whom? To whom? For what purpose? Who cannot understand this book? Why? What does the book say about angels? How does the book use the TaNaKh? In what sense is Messiah’s return imminent?

REFLECT: In what ways are you a bond-servant to Jesus Christ? How do you feel about receiving a blessing for hearing and taking to heart what is written in this book? What does it mean to you when you take something to heart?

Many people are fascinated, even obsessed with the future. They faithfully read their horoscopes, seek out Tarot card readers, have their palms read, feed on futuristic science fiction books, or call one of the many “psychic hot line” advertisers on TV. Some people sink more deeply into the occult, seeking out mediums (as did King Saul), futilely and sinfully attempting to obtain information about what is to come by consulting the dead on behalf of the living (Isaiah 8:19). But all such efforts to tell the future are useless. There is only One who knows and decides the future, and that One is ADONAI (Isaiah 44:7, 45:21, 46:9-10). Only in Scripture can truth about the future be found. The prophets of the TaNaKh and Christ Himself, provide glimpses of the future. But, in the entire Bible, the book of Revelation provides the most details. It is the capstone of prophecy and details Jesus’ return and the setting up of His eternal Kingdom.⁸

ADONAI revealed the end our world here in 1:1, and He revealed the beginning of our world to John when He said, “In the beginning was the Word. The Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1).

The revelation (1:1a): There are those who are confused by the book of Revelation, seeing it as a mysterious book that cannot be understood. Martin Luther said he could “in no way detect that the Holy Spirit produced it.” But nothing could be further from the truth. Far from hiding the truth, the book of Revelation reveals the truth. This is the last chapter of God’s story of salvation. It tells how the story ends. Just as the description of ADONAI’s creation in the beginning was clear (Genesis 1:1), so is His record at the end.

The very first Greek word of this book, apokalupsis, translated the revelation, sets the stage. It appears eighteen times in the New Covenant, when used of a person, the word means an uncovering of something hidden, the making known of what man could not find out for himself. It makes plain that the book it introduces is not a book of human wisdom, nor for that matter a discussion of philosophical or theological problems. It is revelation.⁹ It contains truths that had been hidden, but have now been made known. Although it does not directly quote the TaNaKh, 278 of its 404 verses point to truth revealed in it, and makes clear what was merely suggested there.

Concerning Jesus Christ (1:1b): While it is true that the entire Bible is revelation about God (Second Timothy 3:16), in a special way the book of Revelation is the revelation about Jesus Christ. And while the book is certainly from Christ (22:16), it is also concerning Him. The gospels are also about Yeshua and they present Him in His First Coming as the Lamb of God (John 1:29); however, the book of Revelation presents Him as the Lion of the Tribe of Judah (5:5) in His Second Coming. As we witness the unfolding events leading up to Messiah’s coming Kingdom, our mental picture of the person of Jesus becomes clearer. This is true because the testimony of Jesus Christ seen in verse 2 is itself the spirit, or inner heart, of prophecy (19:10). The person and ministry of Yeshua is the blueprint that connects all the pieces of the prophetic puzzle.

Which God gave Him (1:1c): God the Father gave this revelation to God the Son to show to His bond-servants. He made it known by sending His angel to His servant John. Angels are important in this book and they are referred to sixty-seven times. Notice the order, God the Father gave His message to God the Son, who made it known to His angel, who gave it to John, to give to us. So Jesus Christ is the mediator, through which, the revelation comes because God the Father is the ultimate source.

To show His bond-servants (1:1d): The object of the revelation is for believers, who are characterized as His bond-servants. The Greek word for servants is doulois and literally means slaves (Matthew 22:8; Mark 13:34). But the doulois was a unique kind of slave – one who served out of love and devotion to his or her master. If a servant said: I love my master and my wife and children I do not want to go free, then his master took him before the judges who met at the gate of the city that had doorposts. He was then brought to the doorpost and standing up against it, his ear lobe was pierced with an awl. Then he was a bond-slave for life (Exodus 21:5-6). There was a difference between a slave and a bond-slave. Circumstances beyond one’s control made someone a slave. But a bond-slave chose to remain a permanent slave. In that case his ear was to be pierced with a permanent mark, symbolizing his new status.

This is why the world cannot understand this book (First John 2:15-17). It was not meant for them. It was given from God the Father to God the Son to show to those who willingly serve Him. Those who refuse to acknowledge Jesus as Lord cannot grasp what is being revealed here. The man without the Spirit, Paul explains, does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned (First Corinthians 2:14). But Yeshua said to His apostles: The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them. This is why I speak to them in parables: Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand (Matthew 13:11 and 13). Godly truth is hidden from the worldly wise. They find nothing in this book but bewilderment and chaos. To His willing bond-servants, however, it is a lighted path (Psalm 119:105), and an unveiling of the prophetic future.

What must soon take place (1:1e): The Greek word for soon is tachos, which can mean soon or quickly (Luke 18:8; Romans 16:20). The context determines which one is used. The context here would indicate that the word does not convey the speed with which the Messiah acts when He comes, but the nearness of His coming. In prophetic literature, the future is always pictured as just beyond us. There is this idea of imminence all throughout the TaNaKh and B’rit Chadashah, an insistence, really, on the nearness of the end. But it has been over twenty centuries since these words were written! How do we explain this paradox? We need to realize that the incarnation-crucifixion-resurrection-ascension, on the one hand, and the Second Coming, on the other hand, are really one divine event. They are only held apart by the mercy of Messiah, who desires to give mankind every opportunity to come to repentance (Second Peter 3:9). Therefore, when we think of imminence in this way, we can see that the Second Coming is always just beyond us because the incarnation-crucifixion-resurrection-ascension has already taken place. This is an essential part of our faith. Ever since the birth of Christ, the believers have been living in the last days. And now, dear children, continue in Him, so that when He appears we may be confident and unashamed before Him at His Coming (First John 2:28).

He made it known by sending His angel (1:1f): The English phrase: He made it known, is from the Greek verb esemanen, meaning to make known by signs or symbols, but it also includes communication by words.¹⁰ In the book of Revelation, we have both words and symbols. It is the only book in the Bible that is made known to its human author by His angel. Later, Yeshua would reaffirm this by announcing: I, Jesus, have sent My angel to give you this testimony for the churches (22:16a). Angels were just as active in giving the book of Revelation to Yochanan, as they were in giving the Torah to Moses (Acts 7:53; Galatians 3:19; Hebrews 2:2). Therefore, angels are highly visible in the book. They appear in every Chapter except 4 and 13. In fact, the words angel or angels appear seventy-one times in Revelation, more than any other book in the Bible. Therefore, this book tells us a great deal about the ministry of angles.

To His servant John (1:1g), who testifies to everything he saw – that is, the Word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ (2:1): The writer of the revelation identifies himself as John, and the uniform testimony of early Church was that this was, indeed, John the apostle. Some claim that it was some other John, largely because the vocabulary of Revelation seemed different from the vocabulary of the gospel and epistles of John. There can be no doubt, however, that the disciple whom Jesus loved (John 13:23) wrote the revelation as well as the Word of God and the testimony about Yeshua Messiah in the book of John.

John was always careful to emphasize that he wrote only what he had seen and heard. But he really got an eye full. In his concluding remarks of his gospel he said: This is the disciple who testifies to these things and who wrote them down. We know that his testimony is true (John 21:24). In writing about the amazing events of the crucifixion, John wrote about himself, “The man who saw it has given testimony, and his testimony is true. He knows that he tells the truth, and he testifies so that you also may believe” (John 19:35). The opening words of his first epistle again stressed that he had seen and heard, and touched the very One of whom he was writing, concluding with him saying: We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard (First John 1:3). Although John saw forty-four different visions in the revelation, he wanted us to know that he was only writing what he had seen and heard. Nothing more. To us, Revelation is a prophecy. To John it was actual history, recorded just as he observed it.¹¹

Blessed is the one who reads the very words of this book of prophecy (3:1a): In the first century, not everyone had a Bible and when they got together for worship they usually had someone read the Scriptures out loud after the pattern of the synagogue. John is saying this one would be blessed just for reading it. This is the first of seven blessings in the book of Revelation (1:3, 14:13, 16:15, 19:9, 20:6, 22:7, 22:14). This first blessing parallels Luke 11:28. Blessed are those who hear the word of God and obey it. It is very significant that right at the outset of this book of Revelation that we have this appeal to action. John calls for a moral response. This is quite different than most apocalyptic literature. This is the only book of the Bible that promises a blessing to the one who reads the words of this prophecy. The book of Revelation is bracketed by promises of blessing, just as the beatitudes are in Matthew 5:3 and 11. Thus, the promise of blessing here in 1:3 is bracketed by 22:14, where Yeshua proclaims: Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city.

And blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it (3:1b): It is clear that you cannot keep what you don’t own, neither could you be blessed by it. Therefore, this amazing promise assumes that those who read the revelation or hear it will be able to understand it and apply it to their lives with the help of the Holy Spirit. This can only be true if the words of this prophecy are to be taken literally, if possible.

But these words are not only to be read or heard, they need to be taken to heart. There are many blessings of God that are unconditional, and believers are entitled to them simply by the fact that they follow Christ. However, other blessings of ADONAI are conditional, and the blessing here is one of them. Studying prophecy gives one a love and longing for Christ’s return. Those believers who love and look for His return will be given a special crown (First Thessalonians 2:19). But believers sometimes rob themselves of blessings available to them because they fail to take the LORD’s conditional aspects seriously. While blessings are available for the study of God’s Word in general, a special blessing is available through the study and application of this particular book. The believer, after reading and listening to what the book of Revelation is teaching, should also be watching for these things to come to pass and be on the alert for the fulfillment of these things. The same admonition to watch was given in the Olivet Discourse when Jesus said: Therefore, keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect Him (Mattityahu 24:42-44).

Because the time is near (3:1c): This phrase restates the truth taught earlier in the first verse. The events described in this book are imminent. The Greek word here for time, does not translate chronos, which refers to time on a clock or calendar, but kairos, which refers to a decisive time, that is, the time of the end (Dani’el 8:17; 11:35 and 40, 12:4 and 9). So, because of the context of the book, this time obviously refers to the Second Coming of Christ (see the commentary on Isaiah, to see link click Kg – The Second Coming of Jesus Christ to Bozrah). Despite the skepticism of scoffers, who demand: Where is the coming He promised? Ever since our fathers died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation (2 Peter 3:4), Jesus the Messiah will return. And His return is near.¹² If He came today, would you be ready? Or would you be left behind?

When the hope of Yeshua’s return is in your heart, you will feel what John felt when he wrote: How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know Him. Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been known. But we know that when He appears, we shall be as He is. Everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure (First John 3:1-3). When the hope of Christ’s return, which is what the book of Revelation is all about, is fixed on you, literally resting on you, it becomes a part of your life. You are looking for Jesus to appear. You believe it. It is in your heart. With all your problems and the world’s problems, you anticipate it and you are blessed spiritually. Amen.

The Importance of the Number Seven
in the book of Revelation

A unique feature of the Book of Revelation is the number seven. There are:

1. seven churches (1:4, 11, 20).

2. seven Spirits (1:4, 3:1, 4:5, 5:6).

3. seven golden lampstands (1:12-13, 20, 2:1).

4. seven stars (1:16, 20, 2:1, 3:1).

5. seven lamps (4:5).

6. seven seals (5:1, 5:5)

7. seven horns (5:6).

8. seven eyes (5:6).

9. seven angels (8:2, 6).

10. seven trumpets (8:2, 6).

11. seven thunders (10:3, 4).

12. seven thousand (11:13).

13. seven heads (12:3, 13:1, 17:3, 7, 9).

14. seven crowns (12:3).

15. seven angels (15:1, 6-8, 16:1, 17:1, 21:9).

16. seven plagues (15:1, 6, 8, 21:9).

17. seven vials (15:7, 17:1, 21:9).

18. seven mountains (17:9).

19. seven kings (17:10-11).

This unusual format can hardly be an accident. The word seven occurs in Revelation more than any other book in the Bible. In fact, it occurs more than all the other books in the New Covenant combined. It was not a literary device used by John because he was merely recording what he had seen and heard. The list of “sevens” above are the ones that are directly identified by the Greek word for seven, or hepta. However, there are other groups of seven things in Revelation, but they have to be counted up by the reader to notice that there are seven of them. For example, there are

20. seven beatitudes (the statements beginning with: Blessed (1:3, 14:13, 16:15, 19:9, 20:6, 22:7, 22:14).

21. seven years of judgment. Dani’el 9:24-27 refers to the seven year tribulation period. Revelation 6 begins the seven years of judgment.

22. seven divisions of each of the letters to the seven churches (the description of Christ, the city, the church, the commendation, the concern, the command, and finally, the counsel).

23. seven attributes of the Lamb (5:12).

24. the seventh dispensation completing Scripture (20:1-10).

Many other associations of seven can be found in Revelation as one studies it in depth. For that matter, there are many other numbers also prominent in the book such as 666, 144,000, twelve gates, four horsemen, ten kings and 1000 years. So the obvious question is, why? Why is the book of Revelation so permeated with this emphasis on numbers? Actually, this same phenomenon is found throughout the Bible. For example, in Matthew 1:1-11, the vocabulary has 49 Greek words (7×7), 28 words begin with a vowel (4×7), the remaining 21 words begin with a consonant (3×7), 7 words end with a vowel, 42 (6×7). The 49 words in the passage have 266 letters (38×7). Out of the 266 letters, 140 are vowels (20×7), and 126 are consonants (18×7). Also, of these 49 words, 14 occur only once (2×7), 35 occur more than once (5×7), of those 42 (6×7) are nouns and 7 are not. The remaining common nouns have exactly 49 letters (7×7). Masculine nouns occur 56 times (8×7). The names of only 3 women appear in the passage, and the Greek letters of their names add up to exactly 14 (7×2). It would have taken Matthew several months, working eight hours a day to construct the genealogy, even if it were possible. Yet the names were chosen before Matthew was even born! Actually, this same phenomenon is found throughout the Bible (see my commentary on Genesis, to see link click Ae – The Number Seven). Multiples of the number seven are God’s numerical fingerprints that He has left on every verse of Scripture.

In the very special case of the book of Revelation, however, the mathematical formula is clearly intentional and meaningful, so that to ignore it would be to miss much of the message of the book. Consequently, the various numbers and the reasons for their use will be discussed as we come to them while working our way through the book.

The number seven has always been regarded as representing fullness or completion. This is true not only in the Bible but among almost all peoples throughout history. Seven is the number of perfection. The emphasis on seven as a number of fullness is understandable, of course, in terms of the weekly calendar by which we order our daily lives. Again, most countries throughout history have followed the seven-day week.

But this does not really answer the question, for it does not explain why nations ever started following a seven-day week in the first place. The seven-day week has no astronomical basis, as do the month or the year, nor does the number seven have a physiological basis like the number ten.

The only real explanation why people have always followed a seven-day week and why the number seven has always symbolized fullness and completion is the divine decree from the Bible: And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it He rested from all the work of creating that He had done (Genesis 2:3).

The LORD completed His great work of creating, constructing, and energizing the entire cosmos and all its creatures in the very first seven-day period of history. Since the beginning of sin and the curse that followed, He has been accomplishing His mighty work of redeeming and saving His creation.

One day His work will be completed, although it will have taken longer than seven days. Much of this latter work was preparatory, getting the world ready for the coming of its Redeemer to pay the price for its deliverance and restoration. The TaNaKh, beginning with Genesis, describes the history of this preparation, and the B’rit Chadashah details the coming of the Savior, the payment of the price, and the establishment of a great witnessing community of His redeemed people under the leadership of the apostles.

Eventually, this great work of the redemption of those who are ADONAI’S possession, to the praise of His glory (Ephesians 1:14) will also be completed, and the LORD’s eternal rest will begin. The book of Revelation, written by the last of His apostles at the very end of the Apostolic Age, provides His people with guidance through all the other ages to come, focusing especially on the great climatic events that will bring God’s work to completion, fullness and perfection. The book of Revelation, therefore, above all else, is designed to assure us that what God has said is true; that what He has promised, He will do. The book of Revelation is real, future history, as sure as Genesis is real, primeval history. Its characters are real and the events it prophesies will indeed come to pass. ADONAI will finish His work. He is the Promise Keeper.⁷

Revelation in Relation to Genesis

The book of Revelation is essentially a sequel to the book of Genesis. They are the two bookends of the Bible. Genesis means beginnings and Revelation is from the Greek word apokalupsis and literally means an unveiling of something previously hidden. Thus, Genesis is the book of the world’s beginnings, while Revelation is the book of the unveiling of the world’s future. The great themes of the Bible start in Genesis and are progressively revealed throughout the Bible and culminate in Revelation.

Genesis describes a sinless world in the garden of Eden, made for man and placed under his care. Even though sin and the curse have interrupted for a time, God’s ultimate purpose cannot be defeated. All that He intended from the beginning will come to pass. The earth will be restored to its original perfection and then continue forever. Sin and the curse will be removed and death will be no more. The first three chapters of Genesis outline the introduction of sin into ADONAI’s perfect creation, and the last three chapters of Revelation outline the cleansing of sin from the LORD’s redeemed creation.

Temporary World (Genesis)                    Eternal World (Revelation)

Division of light and darkness (1:4) will become: No night there (21:25)

Division of land and sea (1:10) will become: No more sea (21:1)

Creation of the sun and the moon (1:16) will become: No need for the sun and the moon (21:23)

First heavens and earth finished (2:1-3) will become: A new heaven and earth forever (21:1)

Mankind in a prepared garden (2:8-9) will become: Mankind in a prepared city (21:2)

River flowing out of the garden (2:10) will become: River flowing from God’s throne (22:1)

Tree of life in the midst of the garden (2:9) will become:The Tree of Life throughout the city (22:2)

Gold in the land (2:12) will become: Gold in the city (21:21)

Aromatic resin and onyx stone (2:12) will become: Every kind of precious stone (21:19)

God walking in the Garden (3:8) will become: God dwelling with His people (21:3)

The Spirit energizing (1:2) will become: The Spirit inviting (22:17)

Bride formed from her husband (2:21-23) will become: The Bride dressed for her husband (21:2)

Command to multiply (1:28) will become: Nations of the saved (21:24)

Garden accessible to the Deceitful one (3:1-5) will become: City is closed to the deceitful (21:27)

Mankind in God’s image (1:27) will become: Mankind in God’s presence (21:3)

Mankind works in the Garden (2:15) will become: Mankind inherits the world (21:7)

Cursed World (Genesis)                          Redeemed World (Revelation)

Cursed ground (3:17) will become: No more curse (22:3)

Daily sorrow (3:17) will become: No more sorrow (21:4)

Sweat of the brow (3:19) will become: No more tears (21:4)

Thorns and thistles (3:18) will become: No more pain (21:4)

Eating the plants of the field (3:18) will become: Twelve crops of fruit (22:2)

Returning to the dust (3:19) will become: No more death (21:4)

Garments of skin (3:21) will become: Fine linen, white and clean (19:14)

Satan opposing (3:15) will become: Satan banished (20:10)

Kept from the tree of life (3:24) will become: Access to the tree of life (22:14)

Banished from the Garden (3:23) will become:Free to enter the city (22:14)

Redeemer promised (3:15) will become: Redemption accomplished (5:9-10)

Only evil all the time (6:5) will become: Nothing impure, shameful or deceitful (21:27)

Seed of the woman (3:15) will become: Root of the Offspring of David (22:16)

Cherubim guarding (3:24) will become: Angels inviting (21:9)

There are other comparisons that could be made between the two worlds revealed in Genesis and Revelation. There are a number of specific themes that began in Genesis that are either elaborated on, or referenced in Revelation. For example, the original creation of the world is specifically mentioned in Revelation four times (4:11; 10:6; 13:8; 14:7). There is an implicit reference to Noah’s Flood in Revelation 14:7, and the rainbow covenant with Noah in Revelation 10:1.

The age-long conflict between the seed of the serpent and the Seed of the woman, first introduced in Genesis 3:15, is discussed at length in Revelation 12:1-17. The old serpent of the Garden of Eden is clearly identified there as Satan (Revelation 12:9), the deceiver of the whole world.

The post-Flood rebellion that began at Babel under Nimrod is developed and analyzed throughout history until its climax under the coming antichrist at Babylon the Great in Revelation 17 and 18. There is a reference to the wickedness of Sodom in Revelation 11:8 and to burning sulfur in Revelation 14:10.

In the letters to the seven churches, the tree of life and paradise are mentioned in Revelation 2:7. The cherubim of Genesis 3:24 are probably the living creatures mentioned in Rev 4:6-8 and throughout the book.

In Revelation 5:5, Christ is called the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, which is a reference to Jacob’s prophecy in Genesis 49:9. All Jacob’s children are named in his prophecy with the exception of Dan because that tribe fell into spiritual adultery (see my commentary on Genesis, to see link click Lj – Dan Will be a Serpent by the Roadside, A Viper Along the Path), and they are all named again, with the exception of Dan, in Rev 7:4-8.

The book of Revelation contains concepts, not only from Genesis, but also from the entire Bible. Some writers have estimated that more than two-thirds of the verses in Revelation contain quotations or allusions from the TaNaKh. The apostle John clearly took for granted that his readers would already be familiar with the rest of the Bible and thus prepared to accept and understand ADONAI’s last climatic written revelation as His completed Word.

The Word of the LORD is eternal and it stands firm in the heavens (Psalm 119:89). Gradually, however, God fulfilled what He had foretold through the prophets (Acts 3:18). YHVH had been revealing His Word from His heart, through His prophets, from heaven to mankind on earth. When Messiah came, His Word became flesh and was transmitted into writing through Matthew, Mark, Luke, John and others. Finally, almost a hundred years after Christ was born, Yochanan, the last surviving apostle, was chosen to finish the Bible. Then God’s Word was complete.⁶