With the second trumpet, a burning mountain is thrown into the city, turning a third of it to blood and killing a third of the sea creatures (Revelation 8:8-9). A mountain tossed into the sea is a neat picture of Israel, the holy mountain, being absorbed into the Gentile world. But that . . . . Continue Reading »
Beale points out that the incense of prayer offered up on the altar in Revelation 8:1-5 links back to the prayers of the saints under the altar in 6:9 (the fifth seal). Those souls were praying for vindication, and were told to wait until the full number of martyrs were added. By the time we get to . . . . Continue Reading »
Twice in the Song of Songs, the lover delightedly enumerates the beauty of the bride. In Revelation 9:7-10, we have a macabre variation on this style in the description of the locorpions or scorpusts that arise from the abyss. John lists seven features: heads, faces, hair, teeth, breastplates, . . . . Continue Reading »
Apocalyptic, sociologists of religion often claim, is the genre of comfort for marginal minorities. Or, more cynically (Engels) it is the revenge fantasy of the oppressed. Despite all appearances, when the veil is pulled back, it turns out that the oppressed are on the winning team. In a 1992 . . . . Continue Reading »
Aune argues that Jesus is not dressed as a priest when John first sees him, but his argument is odd. He notes that the Greek wor for “robe” ( poderes ) is used twelve times in the LXX, always of an article of priestly gear. But the word is used for five different articles of gear, five . . . . Continue Reading »
When he hears the voice like a trumpet, John turns to “see” the voice. This is an odd turn of phrase, but, as David Aune points out, not unprecedented. At Sinai, Israel saw the voice that spoke (Exodus 20:18), and later in Deuteronomy, Moses says that he saw the voice (7:11; LXX). Some . . . . Continue Reading »
In his Church History , Eusebius makes it clear that he believes that John was exiled to Patmos during the reign of Domitian. In the Demonstration of the Gospel (3.5), he perhaps implies something else. He summarizes the persecutions of Christians that began with Stephen in this way: “Herod . . . . Continue Reading »
John’s description of the Enthroned matches in a number of details Ezekiel’s description of the “king of Tyre” in Ezekiel 28. The stones that adorn the king of Tyre are the same stones to which John compares the Lord’s appearance, and the king of Tyre wears a crown . . . . Continue Reading »
In Revelation 4, the Enthroned is like “jasper” and “sardius.” Both stones are part of the high priest’s vestments (Exodus 28:17-18). the priest is the image of God; the Enthroned the Enthroned priest. Isaiah 54:12 describes the city in the same terms. Restored . . . . Continue Reading »
Two things are said to be crystal in Revelation: the sea that is before the throne (4:6) and the river that flows through the Jerusalem that comes down from heaven (22:1). The two are clearly linked. The river that flows through the city is flowing from the heavenly sea. Like the bronze sea and the . . . . Continue Reading »
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