Revelation
The use of the past tense, was, in Patmos, seems to indicate that possibly, while he saw the visions in Patmos, it was after his release and return to Ephesus that he wrote the book, about 96. The aging apostle recorded in Revelation the hope of the Church and of Israel. John claimed that his book was a prophecy and that he himself was a prophet writing with the authority of divine inspiration. In his hand is a roll crowded with writing and sealed 7 times to shut its contents from sight. Only the Lamb of God proves able to unfasten these seals and unlock the mysterious book of destiny. This is the only book in the Bible with a promise of blessing to those who read and a malediction to those that alter it.
The following is the Introduction to Revelation by B. W. Johnson written in 1891. We do not need to accept it as completely accurate but for a 19th century work, it gives an excellent base for understanding and very well done. Much of the apocalyptic symbolism is explained here.
by B. W. Johnson
When we open the Book of Revelation we discover, at once, a marked difference between it and any other portion of
the New Testament. It is not history like the gospels and Acts, nor practical discussions and instructions like the
epistles, but we at once seem to breathe the atmosphere of prophets like Ezekiel and Daniel. As Ezekiel and Daniel
were permitted to behold visions which revealed certain great events of the future, in a series of symbolic images, so
there passes before the eyes of John a series of wonderful visions of which he makes record, and has left that record
to the church for interpretation.
The book is a book of prophecy. "God gave to him to show unto his servants the things which should shortly come to
pass." In order to any clear understanding of the book we must never lose sight of its object, as stated in the opening
sentence. Its object is to reveal the future. Nor is its aim to reveal some limited events of the future, but to show the
things which must come to pass. In other words, its aim is to unfold the outlines of coming history as far as that
history affects the fortunes of the church.
There is, unfortunately, no portion of the New Testament concerning which there has been more disagreement, and
which has been less understood. The plan of The People's Testament will not allow me to occupy much space with
these discussions, and I will confine myself to certain points which cannot well be passed over without prejudice to the
correct understanding of the text. Among these questions are those of the Author, the Date when the work was
written, the Place where it was written and the Principles of Interpretation.
THE AUTHOR
I have alluded in the introductions to John's epistles to the theory of certain rationalistic critics that these were written
by a "Presbyter John," whom they assume to have lived in the times of John, the apostle. There is no real evidence
that such a personage ever lived. That John should speak of himself as an elder is no more strange than that Peter
should so describe himself, and the fragment from Papias, which speaks of John the elder, who was a disciple of
Christ, is more satisfactorily explained by the hypothesis that he alludes to the apostle, especially in view of the facts
that seven apostles are named in the same paragraph, and all are spoken of as "elders," and that Irenĉus says that
Papias was a disciple of John, the apostle. Yet there has been an effort to show that this mythical John is the John
named in the first verse of Revelation.
Without discussing whether the "Presbyter John" had any separate existence, it is a sufficient answer to this
hypothesis to state that there is no book of the New Testament to whose authorship the testimony of history is more
definite. Only a few years passed after the death of John, the apostle, until it was quoted and ascribed to him by
writers who either knew him in person or who derived their information from those who sat at his feet. Among those
early witnesses is Papias, born about A.D. 70, a disciple of John himself ("a hearer" of John, according to Irenĉus) of
whose writings only fragments have been preserved, but who is known to have quoted Revelation as the work of John.
To him may be added Irenĉus, born between A.D. 115 and A.D. 125, who tells us that he was long a pupil of
Polycarp, of whom he states that Polycarp had learned many things of the aged apostle at whose feet he had long sat.
Of course, with such opportunities he could not be ignorant of what John had written, yet he declares explicitly that he
is the author of the Apocalypse.
Several more fathers of the second century are quoted as giving the same testimony, but it will suffice to add that it is
named in the Canon Muratori, the first canon of the New Testament Scriptures, dated about A.D. 170, and all doubts
concerning its genuineness seem to belong to later times. Nor is any fact of history better established than that John's
last years were spent in that part of Asia with which the Book of Revelation is locally associated.
THE DATE
Only two dates for the composition are named:
Before stating the grounds for assigning the date to the latter part of the reign of Domitian, about A.D. 95,96, I will
briefly consider the reasons urged in favor of the date in the reign of Nero.
THE REAL DATE
It is thus seen that the argument in favor of the early date is easily answered. On the other hand, the historical
argument in favor of a later date is convincing to the mind which can be swayed by historical evidence. Commencing
with the positive and definite statement of Irenĉus there is unbroken agreement for nearly four centuries that the date
of the work belongs to the persecution of the reign of Domitian. To properly weigh the statement of Irenĉus, elected
Bishop of Lyons in A.D. 178, and born in the first quarter of the second century, it is needful to keep in mind that he
was a disciple of Polycarp, who suffered martyrdom in A.D. 155.
In one of his letters Irenĉus speaks to a fellow disciple of how intimate they had been with Polycarp and how often
they had heard him tell of John the apostle, and how much they had been told of John by the aged saint who had once
been under the instruction of the apostle. Hence it is apparent that Irenĉus must have known from Polycarp the
leading facts of John's history, and especially the circumstances connected with his exile to Patmos. This witness,
whose opportunity for knowing the facts is unquestioned, declares, "Revelation was seen no long time since, but
almost in our generation, towards the end of the reign of Domitian" (A.D. 96). With this plain statement agree all the
church fathers who speak of the subject, not only of the second century, but for three centuries. "There is no variation
in the historical accounts.
All statements support the conclusion that St. John was banished to Patmos by Domitian (A.D. 81-96)--some writers
placing the exile in the fourteenth of his reign--and all agree that the Visions of which Revelation is the record were
received in Patmos."
One writer in the fourth century makes the blunder of assigning the banishment to the reign of Claudius Cĉsar, a
blunder which finds no endorsers, a blunder which is supposed to have been a verbal mistake, but it is not until the
sixth century that we find the opinion expressed that the banishment belonged to the persecution of the reign of Nero,
and up to the twelfth century there are only two writers who endorse this date. They cannot be called witnesses, since
the earliest of them was separated from the death of John by a period greater than that which separates us from the
discovery of America by Christopher Columbus. Hence, it is no misstatement of the facts to say that the historical
proof, in favor of the later date, is uniform, clear and convincing.
INTERNAL TESTIMONY
The historical conclusion is corroborated by convincing internal testimony. I condense from Godet's Bible Studies,
second series, certain points which bear upon the question of Date:
This discussion might be continued, and it is of importance to any correct interpretation that the date should be clearly
settled, but I believe that enough has been said to show that all the facts point to "near the end of the reign of
Domitian, or about the year A.D. 96." It might be of service to add that the persecution of Nero, as far as known, was
local and confined to Rome; that death, instead of banishment, was the favorite method of punishment with him; that it
is not probable that he would have put to death Paul and Peter and banished John; and that there is no evidence that
John, as early as A.D. 68, had ever visited the region of the seven churches. On the other hand, the persecution of
Domitian was not local; we know also that he sent other Christians into exile; we know also that the later years of
John's life were passed at Ephesus, and in the region of which it was the center.
THE PLACE
That the visions of Revelation were seen upon the island of Patmos is a fact that rests upon the testimony of the writer
himself. It is the universal testimony of the early church, that John survived the destruction of Jerusalem, that when the
storm of war was gathering around that devoted city he, in obedience to the Lord's warning (Matt. 24:16), fled from the
coming desolation, and finally took up his abode in Ephesus, in the midst of the churches of Asia, founded by the
apostle Paul. During his long sojourn in this region, which extended until the close of his life, he was banished in the
persecution of the latter part of the reign of Domitian.
Patmos, the place of exile, is simply a rocky prison house in the sea. It consists of three rocky masses connected by
isthmuses, is about thirty miles in circuit, lies in the south part of the Aegean Sea, and one of a group called the
Sporades. It is seldom visited as it is reached by no regular lines of ships and has comparatively little intercourse with
the mainland. The writer passed between it and the shore of Asia in 1889, and was enabled by comparison with the
adjacent islands to form a realistic conception of the prison house of John. Its mountain peaks are bare, there is some
grass in the valleys on which a few sheep and cattle are pastured, and there are some fruit trees, but the general
appearance is lonely and desolate. Yet it is set in one of the brightest of seas with an almost cloudless sky above,
and from its higher points John could sweep his vision over a range of forty miles, embracing the surrounding islands
and the mountains of Asia in the distance.
Though the visions were granted while John was an exile on Patmos many have held, it seems to me with too little
reason, that the work was actually written in Ephesus. There is nothing in proof of this view but conjecture. It is also
opposed to the fact that the first of the seven letters is addressed to "the angel of the church of Ephesus" (2:1). Had
John, at the time of writing, been a resident of Ephesus, this fact cannot be reasonably explained. It is better to accept
the plain inference of the narrative, that the visions were not only seen in, but that they were recorded in Patmos.
SYSTEMS OF INTERPRETATION
There is probably no other portion of the Scriptures concerning the meaning of which the interpreters so widely differ.
This has caused some readers to conclude that the work is a tissue of confused and perhaps incoherent utterances,
thrown out in prophetic ecstasy, the interpretation of which is a hopeless attempt; and they have supposed that the
attempted explanations only illustrated the vagaries and the failures of the commentators. The differences are due to
the different systems of interpretation employed. Of these there are three principal ones, all containing some truth, but
all also in danger of being pushed to extreme erroneous conclusions, and it is probable that every interpreter, who is
not rationalistic, accepts some of the results of all three of these systems. These are:
It must always be kept in mind, however, that this book is a book of prophecy, intended to "shew the things which
must shortly come to pass." John was a Seer. He recorded what he saw. The future was portrayed to him in a series
of visions. The pictures which passed before his eyes represented future events. Hence, each is a symbolical
representation of what was then future, and may now be past history. Thus, when the first seal is opened in chap. 6:1,
2, and a warrior is seen with a bow in his hand riding on a white horse in conquest, this must be interpreted as a
sense-image which appropriately represents an event or epoch of history which was future when John was an exile on
Patmos. Symbolical pictures follow each other in rapid succession as the seals are opened and the trumpets blown, a
correct interpretation of which is to be sought not in literal fulfillment, but in events of which the sense-visions might be
appropriate symbols. It will be a help in understanding the text to have an explanation of the meaning of the various
symbols employed as they are ordinarily used in prophetic writings.
TABLE OF SYMBOLS
In this table I aim to give only the leading Symbols used by John, with their apparent meaning. The definitions have
been obtained from Mede, Elliott, Lange, Campbell, Archdeacon Lea, and other sources.
Adultery.--Idolatry or apostasy; especially the latter. As Christ is represented as a bridegroom and the church as a
bride, apostasy, or unfaithfulness to him, would be spiritual adultery, and a false church properly represented as a
harlot.
Angel.--Any agent or messenger of the divine will. The term may be a symbol of any movement of nations, or in history
which carries out the divine purposes.
Ascension to Heaven.--Exaltation in power and glory. Prosperity.
Babylon.--The city which carried Israel into captivity. Hence, a symbol of any power that renders them captive, whether
it be Pagan or Papal Rome.
Balances.--A symbol of justice, but when used to denote the weighing out of food, a symbol of scarcity.
Black.--The color of mourning; hence a symbol of calamity and sorrow.
Black Horse.--The horse was not used as a beat of burden by the ancients, but for purposes of war. Hence it is a
symbol of war, and a black horse is a symbol of calamitous war.
Blood.--A symbol of the carnage of war.
Beast.--The term rendered beast in the Revision means a savage wild beast. Hence it is a symbol of a cruel, tyrannical
persecuting power. The term used in chap. 4, rendered beasts in the Common Version, is not the same. Instead of
"Four Beasts" that should be rendered "Four Living Creatures."
Binding.--This symbol means to restrain, to hold; also to deprive of power and render helpless.
Book.--The record of the divine will. To seal a book is to conceal its meaning, since ancient books were rolls and could
not be read when sealed. To open seals is to disclose the meaning. To devour a book is to become master of its
contents. The book with seven seals is the book of human destiny, an outline of the great events which connect
themselves with the church until its final triumph. The opening of its seals is the revelation of future history.
Bow.--The bow, a warlike weapon, when held in the hand is a symbol of war.
Bride.--The spouse of Christ, the Church, the New Jerusalem.
Bridegroom.--Jesus Christ.
Candlestick.--A symbol of a church, which should be a light in the world. The seven golden candlesticks are the seven
churches. A symbol of any light-giving agency.
Chain.--A symbol of bondage or affliction. To chain is to render powerless. To bind Satan with a chain is to destroy his
power.
Cloud.--An emblem of power and majesty. To ride upon the clouds is to appear in glory and exaltation.
Crown.--The symbol of royal majesty. To enjoy exaltation and honor. To receive the crown of life is to receive the
honors of eternal life.
Darkness.--The well known symbol of calamity and affliction.
Day.--"I have given you a day for a year." One revolution of the earth on its axis is a symbol of its annual revolution in
its orbit. "Twelve hundred and sixty days" means as many years.
Death.--A symbol of destruction.
Dragon.--The old pagan Roman Empire. The dragon was originally a symbol of a monarch. In Revelation it means the
persecuting monarchy of Rome.
Earth.--The ancient civilized world, which corresponded in John's time with the Roman Empire. Political powers.
Earthquake.--Political and moral revolutions and convulsions of society. The shaking of the established order of things.
The subversion of states and fortunes.
Eclipse.--Or the darkening of heavenly bodies, means the obscuration of the glory of kings and potentates of which
sun, moon and stars are symbols.
Egypt.--The place of spiritual bondage. A condition of sinfulness. Opposition to Christ.
Euphrates.--The symbol of the Turkish power. To be "bound by the Euphrates" is to be restrained at that river.
Elders.--Probably princes of righteousness.
False Prophets.--A false spiritual power which falsely claims divine authority for its teaching.
Fire.--Fierce destruction. Never the symbol of a blessing, but of a curse.
Fire from Heaven.--Divine destruction; but fire brought down from heaven by the two-horned dragon means
excommunication and anathemas of a false spiritual power.
Flood.--Symbol of overpowering. Distress from persecution or any cause.
Forehead.--A mark in the forehead means a public profession.
Fornication.--Idolatry. See Adultery.
Grave.--To put in the grave, signifies to consign to oblivion. "Not to suffer dead bodies to be put into the grave," means
that they shall be remembered.
Hail.--Ravages and destruction.
Hand.--A mark in the hand means the manner of life, or practice.
Harlot.--An idolatrous community. The great Harlot is the apostate church. See Adultery.
Heavens and the Earth.--The world. The political and religious universe. A new heavens and new earth imply a passing
away of the old order of things and the establishment of a new order.
Horse.--Used only for warlike purposes by the ancients and hence a symbol of war. The color of the horse indicates
the condition of his rider and the state of the war.
Horns.--"The great horn of the first king;" Daniel. A symbol of kings, kingdoms, or power. Seven horns indicate
enormous power.
Incense.--The prayers of the saints.
Islands.--European states. In the prophets the "isles of the sea" meant the countries in and beyond the Mediterranean;
hence, Europe.
Jerusalem.--The capital of Judea and the seat of the temple becomes a symbol of the church of Christ. The "holy city"
is contrasted with the "great city," Jerusalem with Babylon, or the true with the false church.
Jezebel.--An unholy woman is a symbol of an unholy influence in the church.
Key.--A symbol of power to deliver or imprison, to open heaven or hell, or to shut them; of power to save or destroy.
King.--Supreme power of any kind. A government; a kingdom.
Lamb.--The symbol of a sinless, sacrificial offering. The Lamb of God is Christ slain as a lamb from the foundation of
the world.
Lion.--A symbol of kingly power.
Locusts.--The locusts, a devouring pest bred in the deserts of Arabia, are a symbol of devouring Arabian armies. The
Arabians under Mohammed.
Manna.--The bread of life. The truth of Christ.
Measuring Rod.--The standard by which the church is measured. The Word.
Mountain.--Some person or power conspicuous among men. Highly elevated. A great prince or government. A burning
mountain is a baleful, destructive power.
Moon.--A symbol of powers, rulers and great men which are not supreme. A light which shines by reflecting another
light.
Merchants.--A symbol of those who make a gain of godliness and traffic in religious privileges.
Palm.--A symbol of joy or victory.
Pale Horse.--An image of desolating war, and a reign of death.
Red Horse.--An image of cruel, bloody war, distinguished by awful carnage.
River of Life.--Christ is the fountain of life. The abundant, ever flowing life that Christ bestows, is fitly symbolized by a
river. The river, and tree, of life mean essentially the same.
Rod.--The symbol of rule. The rod of iron is a symbol of resistless sway.
Scarlet.--This color, the color of blood, symbolizes bloody cruelty. A scarlet woman is a persecuting church.
Seven.--The perfect number. Completeness.
Stars.--Shining lights in the world. Conspicuous men, whether in the church or the state.
Sun.--As the great light giver, in one sense a symbol of Christ. Also a supreme ruler. The moon and stars indicate
great lights of society, but inferior to the sun.
Sword.--A symbol of slaughter. Also of conquest. A sword in the hand indicates by carnal weapons. A sword
proceeding from the mouth indicates conquests by the word of God.
Temple of God.--The church of which the tabernacle and temple were types. The temple of God in heaven, open, is the
abode of God, heaven itself, the church above.
Throne.--A symbol of authority.
Trumpet.--The blast of a trumpet signifies the forward march of armies, carnal or spiritual. Also the proclamation of war
or peace.
Time.--Time, times and half a time is an annual revolution of the earth, a year, two years, a half year, or three and a
half years. "Seven times" passed over Nebuchadnezzar, or seven years.
Wine Press.--A symbol of an effusion of blood and of distress.
White.--To be clothed in white is to be innocent, pure, and to be triumphant.
White Horse.--Triumphant and glorious war.
Whore.--Apostate church. See Adultery.
Winds.--Symbol of commotion; of mighty movements. The "Four Winds" are four invasions of the Roman Empire.
Witness.--The two witnesses are the two Testaments, for such is the meaning of the latter word.
Woman.--The "woman clothed with the sun" is the pure and faithful church. The Great Harlot is the false, faithless,
apostate church. The church is often symbolized by a bride, or a woman bearing children. A pure woman represents a
faithful church; an adulterous woman, "a harlot," a false, apostate church.
THE SCOPE OF REVELATION
John states that the book is a record of things "which should shortly come to pass." He saw outlined in his vision
events which were at that time in the future, but high were "shortly" to become history. No one would suppose that it
was the divine purpose to reveal all the changing history of nations, races and kingdoms for the last eighteen hundred
years, and hence, a question necessary to interpretation is: To what countries and series of events do the predictions
apply? If we turn to the Old Testament prophets we will be guided to a correct answer. The central thought in all their
predictions is the future history of the people of God. All that they utter is related, either directly or indirectly, to the
fortunes of Israel, temporal and spiritual, the typical nation, and the spiritual nation, or in other words, to the fortunes of
the Jews and of the Church. With this great object before them they predict the fate of the great Gentile nations with
whom the Jews came in contact, who influenced their fortunes, or became their oppressors. Hence we have Assyria,
Babylon, Tyre, Egypt, etc., made burdens of prophecy.
Exactly the same is true of New Testament prophecy. The prophets speak of the future of Israel and of the Church,
and necessarily reveal much concerning the opposing and persecuting nations. It was not in the mind of Christ to give
in Revelation the outline of all history, but to outline the fortunes, tribulations and triumphs of the Church. The Church
was, in the earlier centuries, almost wholly within the bounds of the vast, persecuting empire of Pagan Rome. Hence
this opposing power would come before the prophetic vision, and we will find that the symbolism often refers to the
Roman power.
Let it be ever present to the mind of the reader that John was the victim of Roman persecution, and an exile on Patmos
when he wrote; that he had never been beyond the boundaries of the Roman Empire, and that there is no historical
authority for supposing that any apostle ever stepped upon soil that a Roman citizen would call foreign. Since this
mighty empire affects so closely the interests of the Church, it is in harmony with all we know of prophecy to expect it
to be the subject of prophetic vision. That Pagan Rome is, to a greater or less extent, the subject of the predictions is
agreed by almost all interpreters, but the agreement is by no means so marked that Papal Rome, the great spiritual
despot upon which the mantle of the pagan empire fell, is also an important element in the explanation of the visions.
I believe that a close and unbiased study of the text compels the conclusion that a great apostasy, a false church, a
persecuting spiritual power, is revealed which mightily influences the fortunes of the Church, and that its
characteristics are found strikingly exhibited in certain periods of the history of the Papacy. There arises a great
apostasy, a false church that produces for the time a mighty influence upon the saints of Jesus Christ. This is also a
subject of prophecy. I am then prepared to affirm that the general scope of the Book of Revelation is similar to that of
the Old Testament prophets; that its primary object is to outline the history of the church; that, in subordination to this
primary object, it portrays the fortunes of the two great persecuting powers, Pagan and Papal Rome. The changing
fortunes of the Church are portrayed, running like a golden thread through the dark panorama of history, until at last, in
God's good time, the battle is fought to the end, the victory won, and the triumphant Church enjoys the fruition of all its
sufferings and labors and the glories of the New Jerusalem.
DIVISIONS
In order to an understanding the reader must keep in mind that there is more than one series of visions, and that these
overlap each other, revealing different features of the same period. The whole book might be divided as follows:
PART II. Chapters V-XI.--This part opens with a Vision of a Book sealed with Seven Seals in the Hands of Him who sits
upon the Throne--the Book of Destiny; the Contents hidden by the seals. The Lamb of God prevails to open the seals;
that is, to Reveal the Future. As each is opened a vision appears which presents a Symbol representing a Period of
Human history. Six seals are opened in succession, followed by a pause before the opening of the seventh seal. When
the seventh seal is opened it is found to embrace Seven Thunders and Seven Trumpets. The trumpets are blown in
succession, each followed by Great Events, and when the last is blown the End comes when Christ triumphs over all.
The Seven Seals, with the Seven Trumpets, contained under the last seal, reach to the end of time.
PART III. Chapters XII-XVIII.--This part opens with a Vision of a Woman, a symbol of the Church; an Enemy of the
Woman which appears with as a Seven-headed and Ten-horned Beast, understood to be a symbol of Pagan Rome; a
Two-horned Beast, which I understand to be Papal Rome; there also appears sitting on the Seven-headed Beast a
False Woman, a symbol of a False Church. The figures change and these opposing powers under the name of
Babylon are overthrown.
PART IV. Chapters XIX-XX.--These chapters describe the Great Victory over the opposing powers, the Millennial
Period, and the Final Uprising and Defeat of Satan.
PART V. Chapters XXI-XXII.--These chapters describe the Glorious Home of the Redeemed Saints, and embrace
Closing Exhortations.
[293, 330, 338, 353, 374, 359]
The Book of Revelation is the Apocalypse of St. John. The strange and sometimes incredible imagery of Revelation is simply a part of the traditional apocalyptic language and can be understood in detail only with the help of a Biblical commentary. St. John is called by the title of the "Theologian", or rendered "Divine". God Himself dictated it through Jesus by an angel, to John, who wrote it down and sent the completed book to the 7 churches, around the year 95 at Patmos. The next year, John was released and permitted to return to Ephesus. INTRODUCTION TO REVELATION
PART I. Chapters I-IV.--This part embraces the Introduction, the Vision of the Son of Man, the Letters to the Seven
Churches, and Vision of the Opened Heaven and the Throne of God.
The People's New Testament (1891)
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