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Grace & Peace: Revelation 59

Douglas Wilson on May 9, 2017

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

“The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth: and the third part of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up” (Rev. 8:7).

The seven trumpets follow the same general pattern that the seven seals did—in that the first four are divided from the final three. In this case, the last three trumpets are identified as “woes.” With the seals, the first four were associated with horsemen. There is no pressing reason to take all these in a serial fashion, as though we now have a total of fourteen railroad cars, or beads on a string. The description is of the apocalyptic destruction of the city of Jerusalem, and each trumpet gives us a fuller picture of what was going to happen in the one cataclysmic judgment that was going to fall upon that wretched city. The symbolic language here is of an exhaustive devastation, but the plain warning of Jesus indicates that these symbols are not overblown when we consider what was actually going to happen to the city and the surrounding territory of Judea.

“Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains” (Matt. 24:16).

“For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be” (Matt. 24:21).

The sounding of the trumpets signals the commencement of battle—this is God’s war against an apostate nation. The combination of hail and fire and blood make us think of the judgment that God rained down upon Egypt (Ex. 9:23; Ps. 18:13; Ps. 78:48; Ps. 105:32). The destruction of Jerusalem occurred in 70 A.D. but there was plenty of devastation to Judea in the years running up to that fateful year. Israel, once gloriously delivered from Egypt, had herself become Egypt.

In this passage, it says that a third of the trees were destroyed. Josephus records that the Romans cut down all the trees around Jerusalem for about ninety furlongs out (with a furlong being 220 yards). Jerusalem was also surrounded with pleasant gardens, which were also wiped out. This was devastation enough, but it is also possible that the grass and the trees represent men (as possibly indicated in Rev. 7:3 and 9:4)—the trees being kings, princes and rulers, and the grass being the ordinary folk. In any case, whether it was one or the other, or both, it was a grim situation.

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Grace & Peace: Revelation 53

Douglas Wilson on March 21, 2017

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

“And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood; And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind. And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places. And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?” (Rev. 6:12-17).

When the sixth seal is opened, we are dealing a dark apocalypse. It would be easy to place these events at the end of the world—since only the end of the world, we think, would have enough room for a disaster this size. But we tend to think this way because we do not let the Scriptures instruct us how disaster symbolism works.

First there is a great earthquake, which in Scripture is a regular way to indicate a divine visitation. For this, see Ex. 19:18, Is. 2:19, or Hag. 2:6. The language that follows is “decreation” language, language of destruction. This collapsing solar system imagery is common in Scripture, and always refers to the annihilation of a nation or city/state. Isaiah speaks this way of Babylon (Is. 13:1-10). Later Isaiah speaks of the destruction of Edom in the same way (Is. 34:4). Ezekiel speaks of Egypt’s fall with these terms (Eze. 32:7-8). Joel prophesies the end of Israel in the first century with this language (Joel 2:28-32). Amos does the same thing concerning the northern kingdom of Israel (Amos 8:9). And to top it off, the Lord Jesus quotes the passages from Isaiah in order to answer the questions about what was going to happen to Jerusalem (Matt. 24:29, 34).

In addition, John here uses Isaiah’s picture of stars falling like figs and of the heavens being rolled up like a scroll (Is. 34:4). And Christ Himself predicted that refugees from the fighting in Jerusalem would in fact seek refuge in caves and under rocks (Luke 23:28-31), and He was drawing on Hos. 10:8, Is. 2:10, 19, and 21 when He did this. Incidentally, Josephus tells us that this is exactly what happened (Wars 6.7.3).

The earthquake represents a revolution in government, an overthrow. The sun, moon, and stars represent the various dignitaries of the governmental firmament. Seven aspects of the created order are mentioned—earth, sun, moon, stars, sky, mountains, and islands. In addition, seven different kinds of men are mentioned—kings, great men, rich men, chief captains, mighty men, slaves, and free men. In short, the revolution accomplished here is total, and encompasses everyone.

This context helps to answer the objection that his kind of “cosmic destruction” language is kind of overdone if we are merely talking about the destruction of just one city. There are two answers to this. One is that the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. was horrific on its own terms, even if we were simply talking about it as a stand-alone event. “For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be” (Matt. 24:21). But the second thing to note is that Jerusalem is where God had set His name to dwell. These were the chosen people, this was the chosen city, this mountain was the chosen mountain. And in response to the prayer of the apostles, this mountain was plucked up and thrown into the sea (Matt. 21:21). It was the close of an aeon. The world was utterly transformed as a result. The transformation was so total, so complete, so massive, we can’t even see it.

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Grace & Peace: Revelation 52

Douglas Wilson on February 28, 2017

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

“And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held: And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled” (Rev. 6:9–11).

There are only four horsemen and there are seven seals. This means that the last three seals represent the affliction that is coming down on Jerusalem in a different way.

The Old Testament teaches us that the blood of the sacrificial victims was poured out at the foot of the altar. “And the priest . . . shall pour all the blood of the bullock at the bottom of the altar of the burnt offering” (Lev. 4:7). This is what was done with the burnt offering, which was an ascension offering, an offering of entire consecration. We are also taught in Leviticus that the soul (nephesh) of the flesh is in the blood. “For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul” (Lev. 17:11). So when we find the souls of the martyrs under the altar in Heaven, we are meant to think of this sacrificial imagery. This does not compete with the once-for-all sacrifice of Christ on the cross, but there is some sense in which the martyrs fill up the sufferings of Christ (Col. 1:24). This is because we are the body of Christ. When Saul was tormenting the saints on earth, the Lord Jesus asked him this from Heaven: “Why do you persecute me?” (Acts 22:7).

The martyrs were slain for two reasons. The first was the Word of God, and the second was their own testimony (marturia). From this exalted position under the altar of God, they cry out for judgment and vengeance. As true saints have always done, they leave this vindication in the hands of God, while urging Him to delay no longer than necessary. They are told to be patient and to wait until the full number of martyrs has come in. We can see they are righteous from the white robes they are given.

There are a number of indications that the persecution referred to here is the persecution of the first generation of Christians by the Jews. The martyrs cry out for vengeance against those who dwell upon the earth, which could be rendered as land.

In addition, Jerusalem had a reputation for dealing violently with prophets. “Nevertheless I must walk to day, and to morrow, and the day following: for it cannot be that a prophet perish out of Jerusalem” (Luke 13:33). The divine blow for this blood guilt was going to land upon Jerusalem, and upon the generation that had slain Jesus. “That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar” (Matt. 23:35). There is no reason to suppose that the cry for vengeance under the altar is changing the subject. And when Jesus told the parable of the unjust judge, He wrapped it up with language that sounds very much like the voices from underneath the altar. “And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them? I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?” (Luke 18:7–8).

How long would the souls under the altar have to wait? Until the full number of martyrs had come in, and then God’s vengeance would fall upon Jerusalem. That happened in 70 A.D.

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Grace & Peace: Revelation #49

Douglas Wilson on February 7, 2017

“And when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second beast say, Come and see. And there went out another horse that was red: and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another: and there was given unto him a great sword” (Rev. 6:3–4).

The second seal is opened, and a rider on a red horse goes out. The first seal released a rider representing victory or conquest, which I take to be the Lord Jesus. The second seal releases a horse that is the color of bloodshed, the color of a god of war. Once again John is invited to “come and see,” which he does.

The thing to keep in mind is that the book of Revelation is about the replacement of the old Jerusalem below with the new Jerusalem coming down out of Heaven like a bride. In order to make way for the new Jerusalem, the old Jerusalem must be destroyed, just as Jesus had promised that it would be. Indicating the Temple, He said that not one stone was going to be left on top of another one (Mark 13:2). So in the first instance, what this means is that we should look for the fulfillment of all these troubles in the cataclysm that came upon the land of Israel.

This passage says that peace was going to be taken from the ge. A better translation than earth for this word would be land. The tribulation was coming down upon the land. Jesus promised that it would be like no other tribulation ever, and as the history books show, that is exactly what happened to the land of Israel between the years 66 and 70 A.D.

The fighting in that war began in Galilee, and the fighting was not only between Romans and Jews. There were also rival factions among the Jews fighting each other, and the bloodshed was terrible. By the time they were forced back to the defense of Jerusalem, there were three or four rival camps among the Jews.

The Lord Jesus said that they did not know what would make for their peace (Luke 19:42). They certainly did not. And in the next breath, the Lord spoke of the Romans leveling the city (Luke 19:43-44). The rider on the red horse rode into Israel, and he took their peace entirely away. It was not for nothing he was given a sword.

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