Tag: BibleBeliever

Revelation 4

Revelation 4

This is a series of short expositions of Revelation 4-22 from a futurist perspective. Follow along with a timeline here.

After the revelation of Jesus’ messages to the churches (Rev 1:9 – 3:22), the apostle John sees something else. A door is open in heaven, like an invitation. A voice booms out at him—the voice of Jesus. It was he who ordered John to copy down the messages to the churches (“the first voice which I heard,” cp. Rev 1:10-13), and it’s him again who says: “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after these things” (Rev 4:1). Some bible teachers argue passionately that Revelation’s events here (Rev 4-19) focusses on Israel, because the church is in heaven, because the pre-tribulation rapture must have happened sometime between the end of Revelation 3 and the start of Revelation 4.[1] This is a weak argument from silence (see the article “Does Revelation 3:10 Teach a Pre-Tribulation Rapture?”), and instead we will simply take the text as we find it.

Immediately after receiving this open-door invite, John tells us he was “in the Spirit,” which likely means he felt as if he’d entered a different spiritual plane—this is an ecstatic vision given by the Spirit, not just shown to him but experienced, too. He sees, as if beyond the beckoning door, a strange figure seated on a throne in heaven. In words reminiscent of Ezekiel’s so long ago (Ezek 1:26-28), John tells of a man glittering as a jewel, surrounded by a rainbow that glinted and sparkled in deep emerald hues (Rev 4:3).

24 creatures sit on 24 thrones arrayed round about this mysterious man (Rev 4:4). John calls them “elders,” a word which could mean older men, or religious leaders (i.e., pastors). Here, it seems to refer to angelic creatures of some stripe[2] (we’ll come back to them soon). They’re clad in white robes and wear golden crowns.

As is his way, the apostle John borrows old covenant language to describe the scene. Just as when the people of Israel did when they came to Mt. Sinai (Ex 19:16), John sees “flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder” coming out from the throne (Rev 4:5).

Seven lamps of fire, which are God’s seven Spirits, flicker and burn before the throne (Rev 4:5). These seem to be the heavenly reality which the temple’s golden lampstand foreshadowed (Ex 25:37). Much ink has been spilt on these “seven spirits of God,” which are likely the Holy Spirit. John’s visions include letters to seven churches, seven Spirits before the throne of God above, seven seals on the judgment scroll which Jesus slowly cracks open throughout this book, seven trumpet blast judgments within the seventh seal judgment, and seven bowl judgments nestled within the seventh trumpet judgment. Elsewhere, Daniel tells us of that 70 “sevens” will elapse before the Lord’s program for this present evil age is complete (Dan 9:24-27). In short, “seven” is a number that inevitably calls to mind “fullness” or “completeness.” If the seven lamps are the Holy Spirit, then because we will shortly meet the Lamb who was slain standing between the elders and the throne (in ch. 5), then we have the Trinity in God’s throne room.

Also, in this scene there are images so fantastic that John scarcely knows what to make of them. We get the strong impression that he tries his best to describe the indescribable. Imagine an average American in 1850 trying to describe to his family a vision of a mobile phone with the Amazon app! He wouldn’t have the words or concepts to imagine such a thing—the conceptual distance is far too great. Perhaps the best he could do would be to liken it to a portable telegraph without wires—but even that would be inaccurate. John seems to be doing something like that.

There is a glassy sea, like crystal, surrounding the shimmering, rainbow-emerald throne. Around the throne are four bizarre creatures bursting with eyes all around, sporting faces of (in turn) a lion, a calf, a man, and that of an eagle. They each have six wings (Rev 4:6-8).

  • These are remarkably similar to what Ezekiel saw when he beheld an image of God’s throne room (Ezek 1:4-21). The figures he described are not identical to John’s, but they are close. They’re so close that surely they saw the same thing.
  • It’s not worth our time to object that Ezekiel’s creatures had four wings and different faces. Both John and Ezekiel are describing the indescribable in the best language they knew. To return to our 19th century analogy: it doesn’t matter if one time-traveler from 1835 Kentucky describes a portable telegraph, while another tells of a glowing black brick with a burning silhouette of an apple on the back—they’re clearly seeing the same thing!
  • Isaiah saw and recorded almost exactly what John did and called these creatures “seraphim” (Isa 6:1-3).

The point is not what the seraphim are—they’re otherworldly creatures, accept it and move on! The point is what they and the 24 elders do and why they do it.

  • First, the four seraphim: “[A]nd day and night they do not cease to say, ‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God, the Almighty, who was and who is and who is to come’ (Rev 4:8). This is precisely what Isaiah heard (and saw) during his own ecstatic temple vision (Isa 6:1-3). The seraphim praise God’s eternity—he always was, always is, and always will be. He has no beginning and no end.
  • Second, the 24 elders: As the seraphim sing their praise, the elders bow down to the figure on the throne, cast off their golden crowns, and declare: “Worthy are You, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and because of Your will they existed, and were created” (Rev 4:11).

This is very dramatic, and it’s meant to be that way. If this were a movie, there would be haunting music, ratcheting tension, and expectation of some “big moment.” Jesus, the lamb slain to rescue his people and to reclaim a ruined world, is about to unleash judgment upon the kingdom of darkness. This vision of praise and solemn majesty is the backdrop for this unfortunate but necessary event.

  • YHWH is eternal—this means he has the jurisdiction and authority to move against a terrorist insurgency.
  • YHWH is the creator of everything—this means he has the power and justification to put down Satan’s rebellion.

Our dramatic scene continues in the next chapter with a ceremony of sorts that ends with Jesus taking the scroll of judgment. It is this document which, when slowly cracked open, unleashes divine fury upon the antichrist and his kingdom of evil (Rev 6-18).

[1] John Walvoord, The Revelation of Jesus Christ (Chicago: Moody Press, 1966), 101-103.

[2] Walvoord suggests they represent the Body of Christ (Revelation, 106-107), but this is largely driven by his assumption that the church has been raptured away to heaven—an argument from silence.

Understanding Daniel’s 70 “Weeks” Prophecy (pt. 3)

Understanding Daniel’s 70 “Weeks” Prophecy (pt. 3)

We continue our look at the great prophecy of Daniel 9:24-27. Read the rest of the series.

As we march onward in our study of Daniel 9:24-27, we’ve arrived at Daniel 9:26. What happens after the 69th “seven”? That is, after Daniel 9:25? There is still one “seven” left, and a lot of stuff still to be fulfilled from the six-item list Gabriel revealed in Daniel 9:24. As the prophecy goes on, in Daniel 9:26, two key events happen:

  1. The Messiah will be “cut off,” and
  2. “the people of the prince who is to come” will destroy Jerusalem and its temple.

Let’s look at these one at a time.

Messiah and the “gap” between “weeks” 69 and 70

Then after the sixty-two weeks, the Messiah will be cut off and have nothing, and the people of the prince who is to come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. And its end will come with a flood; even to the end there will be war; desolations are determined (Daniel 9:26).

When will the Messiah be “cut off and have nothing”? What does it mean? Considering the bible’s whole story, it seems to suggest Messiah’s death:

He was despised and abandoned by men, A man of great pain and familiar with sickness; And like one from whom people hide their faces, He was despised, and we had no regard for Him … By oppression and judgment He was taken away; And as for His generation, who considered that He was cut off from the land of the living, for the wrongdoing of my people, to whom the blow was due? (Isaiah 53:3, 8).

Jesus was despised, rejected, and abandoned—he had nothing. Then he was “cut off”—the Romans executed him. According to Daniel 9:26, this will occur “after the sixty-two weeks …” Remember, there are two sets of “sevens” in Daniel 9:25—(a) seven “sevens,” and then (b) 62 “sevens. The Messiah’s death happens after this second set—the 62 “sevens,” like this:

So, while the phrasing is awkward, it seems that the Messiah’s death will happen after the 62 “sevens,” which means after the 69 “sevens.”[1] However, because the 70th “seven” will not begin until Daniel 9:27 (“And he will confirm a covenant with the many for one week …”) it seems there is a “gap” of time here between the 69th and 70th “seven.” If there is no gap, then the 70th “seven” happens immediately—the Messiah dies during the 70th “seven,” because it happened after the 69th “seven.

Figure 2. In which “week” does Daniel 9:26 and Messiah’s death occur?

Evidence suggests there is a gap between “weeks” 69 and 70 because of this chain of logic:

  • Because the evidence for the first 69 “sevens” suggests each “seven” is a set of seven years, we are obligated to see the 70th “seven” as also being a set of seven years.
  • Because Messiah was “cut off” after the 69th “seven,” we might assume this happened during the 70th “seven.”
  • If true, then Jesus was “cut off” at his crucifixion in ≈ A.D. 30.

But …

  • This would mean all six tasks in Daniel 9:24 (“Seventy weeks have been decreed for your people and your holy city …”) must take place within seven years of Messiah being “cut off” (A.D. 37-ish)—which must be the case if the 70th “seven” truly followed right on the heels of the 69th.

In other words, if there is no gap between the 69th and 70th seven, then …

  • Because each “seven” is seven years,
  • and the 70th “seven” begins with Jesus’ death in ≈ A.D. 30 (when he is “cut off”),
  • then the 70th “seven” would have ended in ≈ A.D. 37,
  • and so all six promises from Daniel 9:24 would have to be fulfilled by A.D. 37.

That did not happen! So, there must be a gap between the 69th and 70th “seven.” Bible-believing interpreters who do not account for this gap are left with an impossible dating problem. So, they are generally forced to take one of two options:

  • Option 1: Push the entire thing backwards and make the sinister figure at Daniel 9:27 the wicked Syrian king Antiochus Epiphanes IV, who ruled in the early 2nd century B.C. (read about him in 1 Maccabees 1).[2]
  • Option 2: Make the mysterious ruler at Daniel 9:27 be Jesus and wrap the entire prophecy up with Jesus’ ascension to heaven.

Neither of these make the best sense of a straightforward reading of the bible. The “gap” between the 69th and 70th “seven” seems to be the best solution. If true, then the 70th “seven” doesn’t begin until the events of Daniel 9:27, which is yet future. I can’t yet make a full case for the “gap theory” of the 70th “seven” until we wrestle with Daniel 9:27, and that must wait for the next article.

The mystery prince

We now turn to the second event from Daniel 9:26:

Then after the sixty-two weeks, the Messiah will be cut off and have nothing, and the people of the prince who is to come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. And its end will come with a flood; even to the end there will be war; desolations are determined (Daniel 9:26).

The word translated as “prince” means leader, ruler, or a male sovereign other thanthe ruling king (i.e., “the prince”). This means that some ruler will come along one day, whose people will destroy Jerusalem and the temple the Jewish people just re-constructed in Daniel 9:25—the tale told to us in the books of Haggai, Ezra, and Nehemiah.

Well, this makes identification pretty simple—who destroyed Jerusalem (“the city and its sanctuary”) and when did they destroy it?

Daniel says it was “the people of the prince who is to come” (Dan 9:26) who will destroy Jerusalem and its sanctuary. Because the Roman army later destroyed this very city and that very temple in A.D. 70 (some ≈ 600 years after Daniel wrote this prophecy), this means our “prince” in Daniel 9:26 is somehow connected to the Roman empire—which Daniel 7 suggested will exist in three phases.[3]

  • Phase 1: The old Roman Empire under whose jurisdiction Jesus and Pontius Pilate lived (Dan 7:23).
  • Phase 2: Sometime after Jesus’ day, a splintered remnant that has divided into various pieces (the “10 horns” of the scary fourth beast, Dan 7:23-24).
  • Phase 3: A very powerful king who will arise from among the splintered bits of Phase 2 (Dan 7:24-26).

History tells that a Roman general (and later emperor) named Titus Vespasianus destroyed Jerusalem during the First Jewish War,[4] when the Roman empire was still intact in its original form (Phase 1, above). This will be a nasty finish to a brutal war. Gabriel tells Daniel: “… its end will come with a flood; even to the end there will be war; desolations are determined” (Dan 9:26). Now, on the other side of this event, we know that God brought this judgment on his people in A.D. 70 because they rejected the Messiah and Savior whom he sent to rescue them.

The Roman (and Jewish) writer Josephus tells us what happened to Jerusalem when the Romans destroyed it. He knows, because he was there that day.

There was no one left for the soldiers to kill or plunder, not a soul on which to vent their fury; for mercy would never have made them keep their hands off anyone if action was possible. So Caesar now ordered them to raze the whole City and Sanctuary to the ground … [a]ll the rest of the fortifications encircling the City were so completely leveled with the ground that no one visiting the spot would believe it had once been inhabited. This then was the end to which the mad folly of revolutionaries brought Jerusalem, a magnificent city renowned to the ends of the earth.[5]

Josephus tells of one Jewish woman named Mary, driven mad by hunger, who killed her infant son, roasted him, ate one half of him and saved the rest for later[6] (cp. Deut 28:53-57). The temple itself was destroyed by fire in a frenzy of rage by Roman legionnaires who ignored their commander’s orders.

All the prisoners taken from beginning to end of the war totalled 97,000; those who perished in the long siege 1,100,000 … No destruction ever wrought by God or man approached the wholesale carnage of this war.[7]

This must be very hard to hear and understand. We wonder what Daniel thought when he heard this news!

  • Daniel asks for assurance from God that he will set everything right (Dan 9:3-19)
  • God sends the angel Gabriel to say that he will make it right (Dan 9:20-23).
  • In fact, things will be set so right that the six-item list at Daniel 9:24 shows us paradise restored.
  • This shakes out with (a) Jerusalem being rebuilt, and then (b) Messiah the prince arriving on the scene (Dan 9:25). This will take 69 “sevens” to happen, but it’ll happen.

Everything sounds great. But then, after the 62nd “seven” (i.e., 69 “sevens” in total):

  • The Messiah will be cut off and have nothing (Dan 9:26).
  • Jerusalem and its (as yet) un-rebuilt temple will be totally destroyed (Dan 9:26)!

This is a shock. What can it mean? Why will it happen? Why this bizarre reversal? Who is this mysterious prince who is to come? At this rate, Daniel may be thinking, the glorious six-item promise list from Daniel 9:24 seems far, far away. Clearly this is a one step forward, two steps back kind of thing. What is the endgame, here?

Evidence suggests there will be a long series of events after Messiah’s arrival at his baptism at Daniel 9:25 (the end of the first 69 “sevens”), and before the 70th “seven” begins in Daniel 9:27.

  • At least one of those events will be Messiah’s seeming abandonment (“have nothing”), and his execution by Roman soldiers (“be cut off”).
  • Another event will be the destruction of the rebuilt temple and the city of Jerusalem by the people of the Roman ruler who will come on the scene (Dan 9:26)—the general Titus, who indeed razed the city in A.D. 70.
  • This “intermission” seems to best explain the “gap” between the 69th and 70th unit of seven years in the prophecy.

Nevertheless, in our next article on Daniel 9:27, the angel Gabriel tells us how God plans to make good on his six-item list of promises.

[1] John Gill: “To be reckoned from the end of the seven weeks, or 49 years, which, added to them, make 483 years” (Exposition of the Old Testament, 6:346). Stephen Miller writes: “After the reconstruction of Jerusalem in the first seven sevens (forty-nine years), another ‘sixty-two sevens’ (434 years) would pass” (Stephen R. Miller, Daniel, vol. 18, in New American Commentary (Nashville: B&H, 1994), 267).

[2] This is why Moses Stuart, an outstanding American bible scholar from the early 19th century, remarks: “The third period (one week) of course begins with the same excision of an anointed one, and continues seven years, during which a foreign prince shall come, and lay waste the city and sanctuary of Jerusalem, and cause the offerings to cease for three and a half years, after which utter destruction shall come upon him, vs. 26, 27” (Daniel, 274; emphasis added). Stuart does not consider the possibility of a gap between the 69th and 70th “seven.”

[3] Young, Daniel, 147-50. He is excellent, here.

[4] See this video for free background.

[5] Josephus, The Jewish War, trans. G.A. Williamson, rev. ed. (New York: Penguin, 1969), 7:1 (361). Chrysostom suggests, “And let not any man suppose this to have been spoken hyperbolically; but let him study the writings of Josephus, and learn the truth of the sayings. For neither can any one say, that the man being a believer, in order to establish Christ’s words, hath exaggerated the tragical history,” (“Homily 76,” in NPNF 1.10, 457).

[6] Josephus, The Jewish War, 6:199-219 (341-342). 

[7] Josephus, The Jewish War, 6:420f. See ch(s). 13-21 (i.e., 3:422 – 6:429).