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. 5)

Understanding Daniel’s 70 “Weeks” Prophecy (pt. 5)

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

This prophecy wraps up here, in the last bit of Daniel 9:27. It is the antichrist will make a covenant. He is the one to whom Titus Vespasianus—the conqueror and destroyed of Jerusalem in A.D. 70—pointed in Daniel 9:26 (“the people of the prince who is to come”). With whom will antichrist make this covenant and for how long? How does this prophecy end, in light of other scripture passages?

The covenant—with whom and for how long?

Gabriel tells Daniel:

And he will confirm a covenant with the many for one week, but in the middle of the week he will put a stop to sacrifice and grain offering; and on the wing of abominations will come the one who makes desolate, until a complete destruction, one that is decreed, gushes forth on the one who makes desolate (Daniel 9:27).

Who are “the many” with whom this evil ruler will make this covenant? Gabriel does not explain who the “many” are. If you believe the “he” in Daniel 9:27 is Jesus, then “the many” would be believers—members of the new covenant in Christ’s blood. But we’ve seen that this isn’t the best interpretation, so we’ll leave that aside and instead assume the antichrist makes a covenant with … someone. There are two good options:

  • Option 1: Because Gabriel told us at the beginning that this prophecy was “for your people and your holy city” (Dan 9:24), we might assume the “many” here are the people of Israel—the nation.[1]
  • Option 2: However, another option is that the “many” with whom Antichrist makes a covenant are his followers—that is, the unsaved people who desire (either because of terror or by demonic conviction) to ally themselves to antichrist in a crude imitation of Jesus’ coming kingdom.[2]

Three factors tip the scales in favor of Option 1:

  • The angel Gabriel said this prophecy was “for your people and your holy city” (Dan 9:24). This suggests the Israeli people are the focus of the prophecy.
  • The antichrist’s actions in Daniel 9:27 seem to be against the people with whom he made a covenant—they are the ones against whom he moves “in the middle of the week.” It makes little sense for the Antichrist to attack and persecute the people who are already on his side.
  • Other passages very strongly suggest there will be a period of approximately seven years during which antichrist specifically persecutes Israel (Rev 11, 13). The Book of Revelation paints these events in a dramatically figurative manner with a strong Jewish flavor (see Rev 11:1-8).

So, it seems better to understand the antichrist as making some kind of covenant with the nation of Israel. We do not know what this covenant will be about—whether it will be voluntary or coerced. The covenant may not be voluntary—the word can give the sense of the evil ruler forcing it on the basis of superior strength.[3]

Because we already learned that each “seven” = a unit of seven years, and that the first 69 “sevens” work when interpreted this way, it’s reasonable to believe this 70th “seven” is also one unit of seven years. Remember, this 70th “seven” is the last event in Gabriel’s timeline.

The scriptures often give hints of a terrible calamity during the last days, lasting for approximately seven years.

  • Revelation 11:1-13 speaks of two special, powerful witnesses for Jesus who go about Jerusalem for 1,260 days or 42 months (≈ 3.5 years), preaching and doing miracles, before a ferocious, sinister, and evil creature kills them both—the Antichrist, empowered by a “dragon” who represents Satan.
  • This antichrist/beast figure then rules in a cruel and evil manner for 42 months (≈ 3.5 years; Rev 13:1-10).
  • Combined, this is a total of ≈ seven years, which Daniel hints is characterized by (a) one half (3.5 years) of relative peace but impending danger, and then (b) 3.5 years of abject evil.

In Daniel 9:27, in the midst or middle of this covenant that lasts seven years, we learn “he will put a stop to sacrifice and grain offering.” On face value, this makes no sense—unless there is a temple (complete with a re-launched, old covenant sacrificial system) in Jerusalem at which the antichrist can put a stop to this. Many Christians in America believe it must mean this.[4] If so, there must first occur a series of events so cataclysmic that they seem implausible today:

  1. The modern state of Israel must completely change its character and become a Jewish nationalist state. This would be a big deal. Modern Israel is a very secular country.
  2. Israel must expel all Muslim structures and worshippers from the historical site of the temple in Jerusalem. This is almost too fantastic to believe—it would have to be a miracle.
  3. Israel must have sufficient military and economic resources to pull this off in the face of determined opposition—many, many, many political stars would have to align.

With God, all things are possible. God can do this if he wishes. Many Christians believe he will—this is why so many bible teachers watch Israel and Middle East politics very closely. Unfortunately, some of these teachers make absurd speculations and are poor ambassadors for their position—and for Christianity.[5] But Daniel does not necessarily mean there will be another temple operating in Jerusalem, complete with a restoration of the sacrificial system. It may only mean that worship in general is abolished and, on that interpretation, Gabriel explains this using old covenant language.[6]

Regardless—the antichrist will forcibly stop believers from worshipping the one true God.

How does the prophecy end?

The antichrist will then do two things:

  • “On the wing of abominations will come the one who makes desolate.” This probably uses the figure of an over-spreading shadow of darkness and evil (the “wing of abominations”) filling the land. This antichrist makes Jerusalem “desolate” because he has outlawed all worship of the true God—it is now an empty shell. The apostle Paul tells us the antichrist “opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God” (2 Thess 2:4).
  • Daniel continues: “… until a complete destruction, one that is decreed, gushes forth on the one who makes desolate.” This darkness will spread across the world until the antichrist is suddenly destroyed.

This tells us that antichrist will be completely destroyed, in accordance with a decision God made long ago. In Revelation 19:20, we learn that when Jesus returns: “… the beast was seized, and with him the false prophet who performed the signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image; these two were thrown alive into the lake of fire, which burns with brimstone.”

Now, once Messiah returns (i.e., “the second coming”) and casts antichrist and the false prophet into the lake of fire and locks Satan away in the abyss (Rev 20:1-4), righteousness will reign and all the promises of Daniel 9:24 will come true. The 70 “sevens” end with Christ inaugurating his 1,000-year kingdom reign on earth.

  • Immediately after this millennium (“When the thousand years are completed …” Rev 20:7), Satan will be released from prison and lead a rebellion against Jesus’ kingdom, at which point God will vaporize this wicked host with a fireball from on high (Rev 20:7-10).
  • Some may protest that, because Satan will quickly find folks to join his rebellion at the end of Christ’s millennial reign, the everlasting righteousness (etc.) Gabriel promised in Daniel 9:24 could not arrived at the beginning of the millennial kingdom.
  • But this need not follow—Satan’s rebellion is put down so swiftly and so decisively that sin and wickedness will not reign or have any impact on the world. God smacks this last gasp rebellion down immediately.

So, we are left with antichrist destroyed. Other important passages tell us this happens when Jesus returns, and at that time “THE RIGHTEOUS WILL SHINE FORTH LIKE THE SUN in the kingdom of their Father” (Mt 13:43) and there will be peace on earth. The six-item list from Daniel 9:24 will be accomplished, and the Messianic reign will begin.


[1] Barnes declares “[t]here is nothing in the word here which would indicate who they were …” (“Daniel,” 182, emphasis in original), but he surely forgets that Gabriel told Daniel (9:24) the emphasis of the prophecy was the people of Israel.

[2] See, for example, H.C. Leupold, Exposition of Daniel (Columbus: Wartburg, 1949; reprint; Grand Rapids: Baker, 1969), 431-32).

[3] Joyce Baldwin, Daniel (Downers Grove: IVP, 1978), 191. “Therefore the thought is this: That ungodly prince shall impose on the mass of the people a strong covenant that they should follow him and give themselves to him as their God” (Keil and Delitzsch, Commentary, 9:736).

[4] Walvoord, Daniel, 235.

[5] Michael Svigel, a dispensationalist scholar, writes: “For some reason, the study of eschatology tends to attract a disproportionate number of—let me be blunt—hacks and quacks. End-times hacks produce mediocre, uninformed, trite work for the purpose of self-promotion or money. They ride the end-times circuits tickling ears with sensationalistic narratives, usually resting their interpretations of Scripture on current events or far-fetched conspiracy theories. Or they flood the market with cheap paperback books with red, orange, yellow, and black covers, usually repeating the same worn-out words they used in previous editions of their end-times yarns—sometimes with updates to fit their interpretations with the latest current events. Many of these hacks can be classified as end-times quacks” (The Fathers on the Future: A 2nd-Century Eschatology for the 21st-Century Church (Peabody: Hendrickson, 2024), 24).

[6] Stephen Miller, Daniel, in NAC, vol. 18 (Nashville: B&H, 1994), 272. Leupold suggests that “all organized religion and worship as offered by the church of the Lord are to be overthrown when this prince has his day” (433).

Understanding Daniel’s 70 “Weeks” Prophecy (pt. 4)

Understanding Daniel’s 70 “Weeks” Prophecy (pt. 4)

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

We come now to the last verse of Daniel’s great prophecy. This has been a long journey. If it makes you feel better, many good teachers have struggled to rightly understand this passage. The most insane discussion of which I’m aware is from a British pastor named Andrew Willett in 1622—he devoted 96 pages to answering 89 questions about the mysterious 70 “sevens”![1]  

In Daniel 9:27, there are three key questions to consider:

  1. Who is the mysterious “he” in Daniel 9:27?
  2. With whom and for how long does this guy make a covenant?
  3. How does the prophecy end?

We’ll discuss each, in turn, to wrap up this series. This article answers the first question

Who is the mysterious guy?

The bible says:

And he will confirm a covenant with the many for one week, but in the middle of the week he will put a stop to sacrifice and grain offering; and on the wing of abominations will come the one who makes desolate, until a complete destruction, one that is decreed, gushes forth on the one who makes desolate (Daniel 9:27).

We need to figure out who this person is who will “confirm a covenant with the many for one week.” Because Gabriel doesn’t use a name in Daniel 9:27 but just says “he will put a stop …,” we must look back and identify the last notable person Gabriel mentioned in Daniel 9:26. Who is it?

It is “the people of the prince who is to come” whom Gabriel last mentioned. The guy mentioned in our verse here in Daniel 9:27 doesn’t seem very friendly. He (a) confirms a covenant of some sort for one “seven” or “week” (the 70th in this vision), and (b) he stops the sacrifices and grain offering, (c) he ushers in some sinister abomination that destroys or desecrates, and eventually (d) he himself is destroyed.

So, who is this strange man who does all this? Many good bible teachers have suggested many options. We’ll focus on three common possibilities, one of which we can dismiss immediately:

  • Option 1: The man in Daniel 9:27 is the Roman general Titus Vespasianus, whom we met in Daniel 9:26, who will destroy the temple and Jerusalem in 70 A.D. Daniel 9:27, the argument goes, is still about what happened in 70 A.D. at the end of the First Jewish War.[2]
  • Option 2: The guy is Jesus.
  • Option 3: The antichrist—the evil ruler who is to come (2 Thess 2; Rev 13).

We can dismiss Option 1 straightaway—the six-item summary of the entire prophecy at Daniel 9:24 ends with paradise regained. But Option 1 leaves us stranded at halftime with no resolution, no eternal righteousness, no removal of sin, no closure. This option is wrong.

Option 2 is more interesting. This is how the argument goes:

  • Jesus establishes or (some say) re-affirms the covenant with his church—that is, the new covenant that the prophets said would one day arrive (Ezek 36:25; Jer 31). He would establish “true religion.”[3]
  • So, they assume, Jesus “put a stop to sacrifice and grain offering” in the sense that he made the old covenant sacrifices obsolete (Heb 8:1-13; Mt 27:51).
  • And, following on from that great event, they believe the “abominations” are the manner in which the Roman armies profaned the temple sanctuary by destroying it.

Further, these same Christians also believe the “he” in Daniel 9:27 cannot be the antichrist because:

  • It is the “people of the prince who is to come” in Daniel 9:26 who will destroy the temple and its sanctuary—an event we now know happened in 70 A.D.
  • In Daniel’s day this was all in the future. The people who did this (the Romans) belonged to a particular prince or leader (the Hebrew word can mean either one). And, that leader was the Roman general Titus Vespasianus.
  • So, that whole discussion was over by the end of Daniel 9:26—that verse spoke about Titus Vespasianus, and that subject is finished.
  • So, Daniel 9:27 must be about a different guy—a guy like Jesus the Messiah.

But this is not best way to understand the passage.[4] Option 3 is the way. There are a few good reasons why:

  • First, the guy at Daniel 9:27 seems very unfriendly.
  • Second, the length of this 70th “seven” ought to match those of the other 69 “sevens.”
  • Third, the last guy Gabriel mentioned was the coming leader whose people will destroy the temple (Dan 9:26)— the Roman general Titus Vespasianus foreshadows the antichrist to come.

The two emphases are very different. The NASB (et al) sees this leader take a dark turn sometime after he confirms the covenant. The ESV (et al) just sees another event following it. There is no “right way” to render the conjunction—context must decide. But, it’s enough for you to know that many solid bible translations understand Daniel 9:27 to be describing something very bad.

Second, the length of this 70th “seven” ought to match those of the other 69 “sevens.”

  • If this last and 70th “seven” is only a symbolic number, then why does God specifically say this person will abolish the sacrificial system in the middle of the week? It is difficult to understand why God would give specifics if the time-period is symbolic.
  • Christians who take this approach really struggle to make this last “seven” make any consistent sense. One bible teacher admitted this was “the most embarrassing portion of the prophecy” because he could not find a good solution.[5]
  • There are no crazed beasts (Dan 2, 7), flying scrolls, women in pots, or storks carrying a wicked woman off to the far East here (Zech 5) that suggest this passage is figurative language. When we see that stuff elsewhere, we know it isn’t painting reality in “normal” hues. But that isn’t happening here—this is normal language. This suggests we ought to understand the language in a normal, straightforward way.
  • Also, we ought to interpret the “sevens” consistently throughout this passage. We’ve already seen that the interpretation that understands “one seven = one set of seven years” makes the best sense of the evidence. So, this “70th seven” ought also to be understood as a period of seven years. This suggests the evil leader (the antichrist) will establish a covenant that lasts seven years (i.e., the 70th “seven”).
  • John Gill, the great Baptist pastor, agreed. It cannot be the Messiah at Daniel 9:27, he argued, “for this is not for one week only, but for ever.”[6] Messiah rules forever, not for one “seven” only!

Third, the last guy Gabriel mentioned was the coming evil ruler whose people will destroy the temple (Dan 9:26), so the antichrist sounds like our guy.

  • The way language works is that we identify unnamed people, like the mysterious “he” in Daniel 9:27, by two methods: (a) identifying the most recent name just mentioned, or (b) looking back at the most prominent name featured in the paragraph or text cluster which came immediately before.
  • In this case, the most recent and prominent person is the “prince who is to come” whose people destroy Jerusalem and its sanctuary (Dan 9:26). This suggests the mysterious “he” is the Antichrist.[7]
  • There are clear bible passages that tell us that a sinister, dark figure will emerge in the last days who will demand divine worship and persecute God’s people.[8] This man of lawlessness will only be destroyed when Jesus returns (see 2 Thess 2; Rev 13; cp. Mt 24:15-31, 1 Thess 4:13-17). Because we know to expect this evil man, it makes sense to see him foretold in our passage here—this is why Jesus explicitly references Daniel 9:27 (in Mt 24:15) and tells us to pay close attention to this very prophecy!

As I mentioned, some bible teachers object that “the prince/leader” in Daniel 9:26 is clearly Titus, so it cannot be the antichrist.[9] True, the most obvious historical referent is the Roman general Titus Vespasianus in 70 A.D., but it’s reasonable to believe he just foreshadows the true evil kingdom that will come in the last days. The prophecy of the crazed, fearsome beast in Daniel 7 suggests the fourth great pagan kingdom in God’s timetable, that of “Rome,” will exist in three phases.[10]

  • 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 powerful king who will arise from among the splintered bits of Phase 2 (Dan 7:24-26).

It is this third phase which the antichrist represents. Jesus himself, in Matthew 24:15-28, seems to shade two calamitous events—the destruction of the city and temple in 70 A.D. and the antichrist’s reign of terror during the last days—together in the telling. Trustworthy bible scholars and teachers of every stripe recognize this—just look at any study bible you have lying about and see for yourself! Just as David’s life and standing is a shadowy reflection that points to Jesus, so too does Titus point to the antichrist in this sense.

If true, then (a) Titus does not exhaust the meaning of “the prince/leader who is to come” at Daniel 9:26, and (b) antichrist is just as much a leader of “Rome” as Titus—he just operates in a different phase of that pagan kingdom.

We tackle the remaining two questions about Daniel 9:27 in our next (and final) article.


[1] Andrew Willett, Hexapla in Danielem (Cambridge: Legge, 1622),264-360.

[2] This is John Gill’s argument (Exposition of the Old Testament, 6:346-47), and that of Matthew Henry, Matthew Henry’s Commentary, 6 vols. (reprint; New York: Revell, n.d.), 1094-95.

[3] Albert Barnes, “Daniel,” in Barnes’ Notes, vol. 7 (reprint; Grand Rapids: Baker, 1998), 182.

[4] “Ultimately, the question facing every expositor is what interpretation gives the most natural and intelligent exposition of the text” (John Walvoord, Daniel: The Key to Prophetic Revelation (Chicago: Moody, 1971; reprint, 1989), 234).

[5] Barnes, “Daniel,” 183. In desperation, Barnes suggests this last “seven” consists of (a) Jesus’ ≈ 3.5-year ministry, and (b) the apostle’s ministry of “about” 3.5 years (183-85). This is absurd. Does this mean that the new covenant ended 3.5 years after Jesus’ death!?

[6] Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament, 6:346 (emphasis added). I admit that Gill disagrees with my larger position, but everyone disagrees with everyone about how to interpret Daniel!

[7] Edward Young argues mightily that the true antecedent is not the prince but the people, because they are foremost in Gabriel’s mind as he relates the prophecy. This is not taken seriously by any commentator I’ve read, but it is the best attempt I’ve seen to evade the obvious in this passage and it is rhetorically persuasive.

[8] Irenaeus, Against Heresies, 5.25.

[9] Young, Daniel, 208-13. His is the best argument of which I’m aware for the “he = Christ” perspective in Daniel 9:27.

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