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Grace & Peace: Revelation 78

Douglas Wilson on

“At thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore” (Ps. 16:11)

“And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night. And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death. Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time”
Revelation 12:7-12

And there was war in Heaven. In the preceding verses, the woman who was to give birth had to flee from the dragon into the wilderness. I take vv. 7ff as a flashback, showing how that earlier circumstance had come about. The dragon had been in the heavenly places, but had now been thrown down. Having been thrown down, he continued his career of malice, pursuing the woman.

The reason this happened was that Michael the archangel (Jude 9) and his angels fought against the dragon (v. 7). Michael and his angels fought with the dragon and his angels, and as a result, there was no place remaining in Heaven for the dragon (v. 8). In the next verse, the dragon is identified—the old serpent, or the devil, or Satan, the deceiver of the entire world (v. 9). He was cast down to earth, and all of his angels together with him. This plainly identifies the devil of the New Testament with the serpent in the Garden.

Taking all of Scripture together, we learn that this “casting down” happened in the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus. “Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out” (John 12:31). This is why the next verse declares that “now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ” (v. 10). When the defender of sinners was vindicated on earth in the resurrection, the accuser of sinners was deposed in the heavens.

The meaning of the devil being cast down is that he is no longer able to accuse the brethren before God, as he would do both day and night. The accusing and prosecutorial nature of the devil is seen plainly in the Old Testament (Job 1-2; Zech. 3). And this ended in the cross. “And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it” (Col. 2:15).

“Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.” (Heb. 2:14–15).

The resurrection of Jesus was the death of accusation in the heavenly places. The accusations in the presence of God are received no longer. This does not mean that the accusations have vanished, but they have been cast down to earth. And this means—if we are paying attention to the gospel message—we should embrace on earth what has been accomplished in Heaven. That is how we pray, is it not? We want to have God’s will done on earth as it has been done in Heaven.

So the faithful believers on earth have both a shield and a sword. They defend themselves, and they go out as overcomers. The shield is the blood of the Lamb (v. 11), able to withstand every accusation that an exiled devil can throw at them. Elsewhere in Scripture the shield is faith (Eph. 6:16), which means the flaming darts that the devil throws must be fiery doubts—given their heat by means of accusation. The fact that the devil has no more audience in Heaven with this kind of thing does not mean he never gains an audience here. But he can only do so by means of a lie.

The sword of the faithful believers is their word of witness and testimony, coupled with their willingness to die (v. 11). We are to defend ourselves from accusation by means of the blood of Christ, and we are to conquer the world by means of our testimony to the blood of Christ.

The call is given to the heavens, along with those who dwell there—rejoice that the devil is banished. There is a concurrent woe for the inhabitants of the earth and sea (v. 12). The devil has been thrown down, and is furious, and he knows he has a very short time to stamp out the infant church.

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Grace & Peace: Revelation 77

Douglas Wilson on

“At thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore” (Ps. 16:11)

“And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars: And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered. And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads. And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born. And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne. And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days.”
Revelation 12:1-6

So a great sign or portent appears in the heavens. She represents the faithful remnant of Israel, she who was to give birth to the Christ, but who did so in travail and pain (Is. 26:17-21). We know she is Israel because of the dream given to Joseph—“And he dreamed yet another dream, and told it his brethren, and said, Behold, I have dreamed a dream more; and, behold, the sun and the moon and the eleven stars made obeisance to me” (Gen. 37:9)—Joseph himself would have been the twelfth star. And there is clearly some sort of astrological significance to the fact that the woman (Virgo?) has the moon under her feet, the sun in her midriff, and a crown of stars on her head.

A second wonder appeared in the heavens. This was a great red dragon, identified as the devil or Satan a few verses down (v. 9). This dragon had the combined characteristics of all the beasts in Daniel’s vision, showing how each pagan empire was simply Satan in a new guise. This was no less true of Satan’s Roman period, during which he sought to devour the Child Christ through the agency of Herod the Great. The seven heads here also identifies him with the beast of Rome that appears in the next chapter.

Apparently Satan had drawn a third of the angels into his rebellion against God, dragging them down to earth with him. His intent was to devour the Christ as soon as he was born, but the attempt was unsuccessful. In this passage, the narrative jumps from Christ’s birth to His ascension. The fact that this child is Christ is confirmed by the fact that the child was destined to rule all the nations with a rod of iron. This was prophesied of the Messiah in the Old Testament (Ps. 2: 9), and is applied to Christ later in Revelation (Rev. 19:15), and to His shared rule with His saints earlier (Rev. 2:27). There is no reason to change the identification here.

Having given birth to the Messiah, faithful Israel fled to the wilderness where she was nourished and provided for by God for three and a half years.

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Grace & Peace: Revelation 76

Douglas Wilson on

“At thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore” (Ps. 16:11)

“And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever. And the four and twenty elders, which sat before God on their seats, fell upon their faces, and worshipped God, Saying, We give thee thanks, O Lord God Almighty, which art, and wast, and art to come; because thou hast taken to thee thy great power, and hast reigned. And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth. And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament: and there were lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake, and great hail”
Revelation 11:15-19

And the seventh angel blew the seventh trumpet, and the signification of this trumpet blast is declared in heaven by “great voices.” It is fitting that the declaration that follows instantly evokes that great musical theme that Handel assigned to it in The Messiah—music indeed worthy of great voices. The seventh trumpet indicates the formal establishment of Daniel’s fifth kingdom, the rock that struck Nebuchadnezzar’s great statue on the feet, and which then grew to become a mountain that filled the entire earth.

The seventh trumpet indicates the formal inauguration of Christ’s reign on earth. Christ had ascended into the heavenly places forty years before, and had approached the Ancient of Days on the clouds of heaven (Dan. 7:13), where He was granted universal dominion. “And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed” (Dan. 7:14).

In order to function as Christ’s body on earth, we needed the Spirit to empower us.But in order for this heavenly kingdom to have its earthly reality made manifest, two great things had to happen. The first is that the Spirit had to be poured out on the church, so that we could do the work of the kingdom in the power and authority of Christ. In order to function as Christ’s body on earth, we needed the Spirit to empower us. The second thing that had to happen was the removal of the old Judaic Temple. Before the Christian faith could become the holy Temple of God on the earth, the old shadow had to be removed. Had it remained, it would have been too great a distraction. “In that he saith, A new covenant, he hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away” (Heb. 8:13).

We saw back in chapter 4 that the twenty-four elders are representative of all God’s elect throughout history. They are the ones who fall on their faces and give glory to God. They worshiped the Almighty, the one who gathered great power to Himself in order to reign. The lament of the saints under the altar in chapter 6 is now heard. The nations were angry, but God’s wrath came upon them. This passage says that it was the “time of the dead,” which I do not take as the last judgment at the end of history. Rather, the lament of the saints had earlier asked how long God would delay His judgment, how long before He avenged their blood. The same word for judgment is used here—and this is the point where God gives His reward to His servants the prophets, and to the saints, and to those who feared His name, whether small or great. God would destroy those who destroyed the earth, and a new aeon, the Christian aeon, opened up.

The shadow Temple on earth was flattened so that the Temple in the heavens could be opened up to all mankind.The shadow Temple on earth was flattened so that the Temple in the heavens could be opened up to all mankind. “The temple of God was opened in heaven.” And just as the veil hiding the Ark of the Covenant was torn in two when Jesus died, so also the veil of the heavenly curtain was rent. The “ark of his testament” in the celestial realms was now seen. It is no longer hidden away. The mercy seat, the heavenly mercy seat, is no longer hidden in darkness for most of the year. The gospel of the new creation can be preached anytime, anywhere.

And to underscore and emphasize all of this, God italicized this great declaration, and He did it with lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake, and great hail.

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Grace & Peace: Revelation 75

Douglas Wilson on

“At thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore” (Ps. 16:11)

“And after three days and an half the Spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon them which saw them. And they heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them, Come up hither. And they ascended up to heaven in a cloud; and their enemies beheld them. And the same hour was there a great earthquake, and the tenth part of the city fell, and in the earthquake were slain of men seven thousand: and the remnant were affrighted, and gave glory to the God of heaven. The second woe is past; and, behold, the third woe cometh quickly.”
Revelation 11:11-14

We have surmised that the two witnesses are the totality of the prophetic witness throughout the Old Testament, and in this passage we see their final vindication. Their witness extended from Abel down to Christ. The attempt was made to extinguish their witness, and it appeared as though evil had triumphed. The ungodly had rejoiced at their defeat, but now they stood up on their feet, and the wicked were thrown into great consternation.

They had conducted their witness before the God of the earth (Rev. 11:4). They are here vindicated by the God of heaven (Rev. 11:13). Once again we have testimony to the truth that God loves cliffhangers. He loves to bring the stories He tells to the point of eucatastrophe. The Spirit of life from God entered into them, and their complete defeat was transformed into a complete victory.

When they stood, a great voice from Heaven invited them to ascend, which they did in a cloud. Their enemies saw all of this. What the great voice did was say the same thing that the voice like a trumpet had said to John earlier (Rev. 4:1).

At that same time, there was a great earthquake, which killed seven thousand men. This is a mirror image of what had happened in Elijah’s time—when seven thousand had been kept back from idolatry. Here seven thousand were slain for their idolatry. The number is likely symbolic, with seven representing completeness and one thousand representing multitudes.

Now this is not the final destruction of Jerusalem, that which happened in 70 A.D. We are talking here about the first siege of Jerusalem under Cestius. At the same time, the final destruction is still in view because God takes a tithe of the city. The tithe is not a partial payment for God, but rather is testimony to the fact that all of it is His. The entire city was dedicated to destruction. Immediately after this down payment, the population was frightened and gave glory to the God of Heaven. This was apparently not true repentance—otherwise the final outcome would have been different.

Josephus records some of the infighting that occurred in Jerusalem in the aftermath of an earthquake—the Idumeans together with the Zealots were able to make an entry into the city because of an earthquake, and then perpetrated a great slaughter.

This completed the second woe. The third was right on top of them.

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Grace & Peace: Revelation 74

Douglas Wilson on

“At thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore” (Ps. 16:11)

“And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them. And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified. And they of the people and kindreds and tongues and nations shall see their dead bodies three days and an half, and shall not suffer their dead bodies to be put in graves. And they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them, and make merry, and shall send gifts one to another; because these two prophets tormented them that dwelt on the earth.”
Revelation 11:7-10

We now have the first mention of a beast in Revelation. In Scripture, beasts are persecuting political powers. In the popular mind, the beast and the antichrist are the same nefarious figure at the end of the world—but they are really quite distinct. A modern beast would be a figure like Stalin or Mao. A modern antichrist would be a false teacher . . . a mild liberal theologian who denies the Incarnation.

This beast ascends out of the Abyss, showing that his political force and authority are given to him by the underworld. He attacks the two witnesses, but is only allowed to do this after they have “finished their testimony.” With regard to the preceding verses, I argued that these were not two literal witnesses, but rather represented the chain of prophets throughout the Old Testament era. They came in the spirit and power of Moses and Elijah. Part of the reason for not taking them as two literal prophets can be found in the wording of this section. First, it says that the beast “makes war” against them. This is an odd expression if we are talking about two men. Wars occur between armies. And second, in verses 8-9, the expression their dead bodies occurs three times. In the first two of these instances, the literal expression is singular—their dead body. This would indicate some sort of corporate body.

They testify for a long time—three and a half years. Their enemies exult over their dead bodies for a short time—three and a half days. The city where they died is identified as Jerusalem—where the Lord was crucified. Jerusalem is the graveyard of prophets. “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee” (Matt. 23:37a). But graveyard is not quite the right expression because in this instance the malevolence of the God-haters is seen in how they deny burial to the witnesses, and how they rejoice and make merry over their death.

The once beautiful city had not just undergone mission drift, but rather mission reversal. The people of God had become the anti-people of God.The book of Revelation is about the divorce and final putting away of Jerusalem. God’s rejection of her can be seen in the language used. This city, the city where Jesus was crucified, can be identified with her true spiritual names—that is, Sodom and Egypt. The once beautiful city had not just undergone mission drift, but rather mission reversal. The people of God had become the anti-people of God. Israel is identified with Sodom in the Old Testament (Is. 1:10). And here in Revelation, the plagues of Egypt were rained down upon Israel (Rev. 8:6-12; 16:2-12)

Spite and vindictiveness are the hallmark of persecutors. They would not allow the witnesses to be buried, and they rejoiced over their carcasses. Unfortunately, this kind of malice has not been unknown in the history of the church. The ashes of Huss were thrown in the Lake of Constance. The bones of Wycliff were dug up and thrown into the river. The book of Revelation was largely fulfilled in the first century, but the fundamental spiritual realities have not changed.

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