Revelation
Revelation may be the most difficult book in the Bible, yet its images have influenced Western art for centuries. It may well be that its difficulty was its goal; so that its images could be used for whatever purpose new generations saw to use them for. It was one of the books that made it into the Bible only after long debate. But now it's hard to imagine the (Christian) Bible without the bookends of Genesis and Revelation: the beginning and the end. Apart from a literal understanding of the text, the book can be read mainly as a biblical pep talk to the underdog; as if to say, "Look, it may seem like you're losing now, but wait a while longer and you will see a great reversal when the powerful will be punished and the weak will see God and share in the Heavenly Banquet.
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1: The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his servants what must soon take place; and he made it known by sending his angel to his servant John,
2: who bore witness to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all he saw.
"Seven" is a symbolic complete number: the "seven churches" are all Christian churches:
4: John to the seven churches that are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before his throne,
5: and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the first-born of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood
6: and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.
7: Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, every one who pierced him;
8: "I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.
Jesus is the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End. Suffering inspiresApocalypse, as people lose patience. John was exiled to the island of Patmos for preaching the Gospel ("the word"). The "Lord's Day" is Sunday, which replaced the Saturday Sabbath:
9: I John, your brother, who share with you in Jesus the tribulation and the kingdom and the patient endurance, was on the island called Patmos on account of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus.
10: I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet
11: saying, "Write what you see in a book and send it to the seven churches."
17: When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand upon me, saying, "Fear not, I am the first and the last,
18: and the living one; I died, and behold I am alive for evermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades.
19: Now write what you see, what is and what is to take place hereafter.
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2: At once I was in the Spirit, and a throne stood in heaven, with one seated on the throne!
3: And round the throne was a rainbow that looked like an emerald.
The rainbow is the Noachide Covenant of peace. 24 refers to the combined 12 Jewish tribes and 12 Christian apostles, joining Old and New Testaments:
4: Round the throne were twenty-four thrones, and seated on the thrones were twenty-four elders, in white garments, with golden crowns upon their heads.
6: and before the throne there is like a sea of glass, like crystal. On each side of the throne are four living creatures, full of eyes in front and behind:
7: the first living creature like a lion, the second like an ox, the third with the face of a man, and the fourth like a flying eagle.
This refers to Ezekiel. In Christian tradition, the lion=Mark, the ox=Luke, the eagle=John, and the man=Matthew.
8: The four living creatures, each with six wings, are full of eyes all round and within, and day and night they never cease to sing, "Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!"
From Isaiah, 6.
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1: And I saw in the right hand of him who was seated on the throne a scroll written within and on the back, sealed with seven seals;
2: and I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, "Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?"
4: And I wept that no one was worthy to open the scroll.
5: Then one of the elders said to me, "Weep not; the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so he can open the scroll and its seven seals."
Only Jesus (the Root of David) can fulfill Justice.
6: And between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders, I saw a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain, with seven horns and with seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth;
7: and he went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who was seated on the throne.
It's the sacrificed Jesus (the slain Lamb) that saves.
8: And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and with golden bowls of incense, the prayers of the saints;
9: and they sang a new song, saying, "Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain and by your blood ransomed men for God from every tribe and tongue and people and nation,
10: and hast made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on earth."
Because of this text and a later one (below), harps are identified with Heaven. Note that prayers are saved in Heaven, thus encouraging believers to continue in their hope.
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These are the famous Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, conquest, war, famine, and death.
1: Now I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures say, as with a voice of thunder, "Come!"
2: And I saw, and behold, a white horse, and its rider had a bow; and a crown was given to him, and he went out conquering and to conquer.
3: When he opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, "Come!"
4: And out came another horse, bright red; its rider was permitted to take peace from the earth, so that men should slay one another; and he was given a great sword.
5: When he opened the third seal, behold, a black horse, and its rider had scales in his hand;
7: When he opened the fourth seal,
8: I saw a pale horse, and its rider's name was Death.
9: When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God;
11: Then they were each given a white robe and told to rest a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brethren should be complete, who were to be killed as they themselves had been.
In other words, suffering is part of God's bigger plan, giving those who suffer for the church hope.
12: When he opened the sixth seal, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth, the full moon became like blood,
17: for the great day of wrath has come, and who can stand before it?"
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1: After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth, that no wind might blow on earth or sea or against any tree.
2: Then I saw another angel
3: saying, "Do no harm till we have sealed the servants of our God upon their foreheads."
God protects his elect from harm.
4: And I heard the number of the sealed, 144 thousand sealed.
That is, 12,000 from the 12 tribes of Israel.
9: After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands,
10: and crying, "Salvation belongs to our God who sits upon the throne, and to the Lamb!"
13: Then one of the elders addressed me,
14: And he said to me, "These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
15: and he who sits upon the throne will shelter them with his presence.
16: They shall hunger no more,
17: and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes."
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The Ark was hidden under the Jewish Law, and then lost. Now it is restored and visible to all:
19: Then God's temple in heaven was opened, and the ark of his covenant was seen within his temple. . . .
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1: And a great portent appeared in heaven, a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars;
2: she was with child and she cried out in her pangs of birth, in anguish for delivery.
The Church and the 12 apostles.
3: And another sign appeared in heaven; a red dragon, with seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns on his heads.
4: His tail swept down a third of the stars of heaven, and cast them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to bear a child, that he might devour her child when she brought it forth;
5: she brought forth a male child, one who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron, but her child was caught up to God and to his throne. . . .
An image of the Devil, probably with reference to Rome's seven hills.
7: Now war arose in heaven, Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought,
8: but they were defeated and there was no place for them in heaven.
17: Then the dragon was angry with the woman, and went off to make war on her offspring, those who keep God's commandments and testify to Jesus.
The Devil instead causes mischief on earth, murdering the "saints" of the church (followers of Jesus).
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1: Then I looked, and on Mount Zion stood the Lamb, and with him a hundred and forty-four thousand who had his name and his Father's name written on their foreheads.
2: And I heard a voice from heaven like the sound of many waters and like the sound of loud thunder; the voice I heard was like the sound of harpers playing their harps,
3: and they sing a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and before the elders.
13: And I heard a voice from heaven saying, "Write this: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord henceforth." "Blessed indeed," says the Spirit, "that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow them!"
Apocalypse gives hope to the hopeless (the Romans persecuted Christians).
14: Then I saw a white cloud, and seated on the cloud one like a son of man, with a golden crown on his head, and a sharp sickle in his hand.
Jesus as Judge.
15: And another angel came out of the temple, calling with a loud voice to him who sat upon the cloud, "Put in your sickle, and reap, for the hour to reap has come, for the harvest of the earth is fully ripe." 17
1: Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and said to me, "Come, I will show you the judgment of the great harlot who is seated upon many waters,
5: and on her forehead was written a name of mystery: "Babylon the great, mother of harlots and of earth's abominations."
This is Rome, which persecuted Christians; the "seven mountains" are the seven hills of Rome.
6: And I saw the woman, drunk with the blood of the saints and the blood of the martyrs of Jesus.
9: This calls for a mind with wisdom: the seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman is seated.
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21: Then a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone and threw it into the sea, saying, "So shall Babylon the great city be thrown down with violence, and shall be found no more. . . .
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1: After this I heard what seemed to be the loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, crying, "Hallelujah!
11: Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! He who sat upon it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war.
This became the source of the cowboy hero riding a white horse (the bad cowboy rode a black horse).
16: On his robe and on his thigh he has a name inscribed, King of kings and Lord of lords.
19: And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth with their armies gathered to make war against him who sits upon the horse and against his army.
20: And the beast was captured, and thrown alive into the lake of fire.
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This is the Book of Life that Moses mentioned ("blot me from the Book of Life"), as well as Daniel:
12: And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Also another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, by what they had done.
15: and if any one's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
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1: Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.
2: And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband;
3: and I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Behold, the dwelling of God is with men. He will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself will be with them;
4: he will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning nor crying nor pain any more, for the former things have passed away."
Refers to Isaiah; the Promise made to Abraham is now fulfilled, since God and his people are One.
5: And he who sat upon the throne said, "Behold, I make all things new."
6: And he said to me, "It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end.
7: He who conquers shall have this heritage, and I will be his God and he shall be my son."
9: Then came one of the seven angels and spoke to me, saying, "Come, I will show you the Bride, the wife of the Lamb."
10: And in the Spirit he carried me away to a great, high mountain, and showed me the holy city Jerusalem
12: It had a great, high wall, with twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and on the gates the names of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel were inscribed;
13: on the east three gates, on the north three gates, on the south three gates, and on the west three gates.
14: And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
16: The city lies foursquare.
21: And the twelve gates were twelve pearls, each of the gates made of a single pearl, and the street of the city was pure gold, transparent as glass.
22: And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb.
23: And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine upon it, for the glory of God is its light, and its lamp is the Lamb.
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13: I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end."
16: "I Jesus have sent my angel to you with this testimony for the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, the bright morning star."
20: He who testifies to these things says, "Surely I am coming soon." Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!
21: The grace of the Lord Jesus be with the saints. Amen.
"Come, Lord Jesus" echoes the name Emmanuel (Immanuel) from both Isaiah and Matthew: "God is with us," and the need, from the beginning, to restore God's presence in the world since Adam and Eve's disobedience. So the Bible comes full circle, from the "Beginning" to the "End" back to the Beginning again and a Creation that God made "good."
