The created things that are added to the choir in Revelation 5:13 are divided into four zones: Heaven, earth, under the earth, and sea: Angelic beings and sky creatures, the sun, moon, and stars; all humans and earth-creatures; all dead beings that have been inserted into the earth; and the sea as . . . . Continue Reading »
Revelation 19:7, 17-18: Let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come and His bride has made herself ready . . . And I saw an angel standing in the sun and he cried with a loud voice to all the birds which fly in midheaven, Come, assemble for the great . . . . Continue Reading »
The letter to the Laodiceans clearly ends with an allusion to teh Song of Songs. Jesus knocks and seeks entry to the Bridal chamber of the church, where he will sup with His Bride, sup on His Bride (Revelation 3:20). As almost everyone notices, that reaches back to Song of Songs 5:1, the . . . . Continue Reading »
In a 2007 essay on leonine imagery in the Journal for the Study of Pseudepigrapha , Brent Strawn helpfully summarizes the associations of the lion in the Bible, Apocrypha, Dead Sea Scrolls, New Testament Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha, and Gnostic texts. It’s a fascinating survey, rich in . . . . Continue Reading »
“Bowl” ( phiale ) is used twelve times in the New Testament, all in Revelation. This is obviously the number of Israel. Israel’s twelve tribes are the twelve golden vessels of God, molded by God, fired in the furnace of affliction, shined up for service in God’s house. Once . . . . Continue Reading »
John sees the Lamb “in the midst of the throne” (Revelation 5:6), precisely where he had seen the living creatures (4:6). Before the Lamb’s arrival, the four creatures make up the seat of the throne – they are in its midst; and they are also surrounding the throne, forming . . . . Continue Reading »
The Lamb is as if slain, but stands in heaven (Revelation 5:6). That might appear odd, John knows his sacrificial system. This is precisely what happened to all lambs that were slain on Israel’s altars. The sacrificial procedure was not completed when the Lamb was killed. The Lamb was killed, . . . . Continue Reading »
Most English translations inform us that there is a book “in the hand of” the One Enthroned in Revelation 5. That is more than the Greek says. In the Greek, the word “hand” does not appear, and the preposition ( epi ) doesn’t mean “in” but rather . . . . Continue Reading »
John uses the verb eido (see, know) seventy times in the Apocalypse. The word is translated in various ways (behold, saw, look), which obscures the Greek pattern. Seventy is the number of the nations, the seventy uses perhaps reinforce the fact that Revelation describes the bringing of the nations . . . . Continue Reading »
At the beginning of the millennium, the saints sit on thrones and “judgment is given to them” (Revelation 20:4). The phrase is ambiguous: Does this mean “the power to judge was given them” or “they received a favorable judgment from the court?” The context of . . . . Continue Reading »
Subscribe
Latest Issue
Support First Things
