Do you wrestle to know the ebook of Revelation? This episode of the Radically Christian Bible Examine Podcast addresses the widespread issues and misconceptions that folks have when studying the ebook of Revelation. Many discover it to be a complicated and scary ebook of the Bible. Nevertheless, right now’s visitor, Garrett Finest, explains that Revelation doesn’t must be scary and that it’s really a extremely related and inspiring ebook for Christians right now.
The dialogue delves into the significance of understanding the style and context of Revelation with the intention to correctly interpret its symbolism and message. Key biblical ideas explored embrace Revelation’s function as prophecy, its connection to the Previous Testomony, and its central themes of unique allegiance to God and devoted witness within the face of cultural stress and battle. The episode goals to equip listeners with a framework for studying Revelation that focuses on its authentic goal and utility.
Garrett Finest is an affiliate professor and chair of the Division of Bible and Ministry at York College in Nebraska. He initially averted finding out the ebook of Revelation, however was ultimately drawn to it and ended up writing his dissertation on the ebook. Finest shares his journey of coming to understand and champion the relevance of Revelation for the church right now, offering precious insights for listeners in search of to raised perceive this significant however typically misunderstood biblical textual content.
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The ebook of Revelation doesn’t must be scary. My visitor right now will provide help to see how encouraging and related this ebook is in your life. My visitor is Garrett Finest, affiliate professor and chair of the Division of Bible and Ministry at York College in Nebraska. It is a deep and wealthy dialog about Revelation. I do know you’re going to take pleasure in it.
However earlier than we get to that, I need to learn from Revelation 22 that claims, “Then the angel confirmed me the river of the water of life, vibrant as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb via the center of the road of town; additionally, on both aspect of the river, the tree of life with its twelve sorts of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree have been for the therapeutic of the nations. Not will there be something accursed, however the throne of God and of the Lamb can be in it, and his servants will worship him. They’ll see his face, and his identify can be on their foreheads. And evening can be no extra. They’ll want no gentle of lamp or solar, for the Lord God can be their gentle, and they’re going to reign endlessly and ever.”
I hope that this dialog is encouraging to you and, as all the time, I hope it helps all of us study to like like Jesus.
WES: Garrett Finest, welcome to the podcast, Brother.
GARRETT: Thanks a lot.
WES: Nicely, thanks for being right here. I’m extremely enthusiastic about having you on the podcast for the primary time, but additionally simply speaking about Revelation. That is a kind of books that it both fascinates folks or horrifies folks, and perhaps someplace in between. Earlier than we actually even soar into it, why don’t you inform us how you bought thinking about a ebook like Revelation.
GARRETT: Yeah. So I, like every good Christian, spent my complete life avoiding it, which I really feel like that’s what you’re speculated to do, proper? And so I used to be ‑‑ I’m making an attempt to assume again. I imply, as I used to be rising up in church, if we talked about something from Revelation, it was the seven letters to the seven church buildings from chapters 2 or 3, however any of the opposite stuff, we simply didn’t know what to do with, and so I don’t bear in mind ever having a category on it or having something in church in regards to the ebook of Revelation.
So I did a Bible main, an undergrad, and by no means took a category in Revelation; I went and did a Masters of Divinity at one other establishment and by no means took a category on Revelation, and so I managed to get all of those levels and by no means learn the ebook. After which I get to a PhD program the place I supposed to check the Gospels and perhaps Acts, and there was a selected professor that I already knew I needed to have on my dissertation committee, so I used to be sort of pressured to take no matter was being provided. And so I’m going to register for courses one semester, and the one course that was ‑‑ New Testomony course that was being provided was Revelation, and I believed, you’ve got to be kidding me. And this professor ‑‑ you’ll most likely know the identify, Craig Keener ‑‑ has written a commentary on the ebook of Revelation and is essentially the most sensible scholar, I believe, on the market ‑‑ or at the very least certainly one of them. And so I used to be so nervous, and so I used to be thrown into the hearth to must, like, make up for a lifetime of avoiding Revelation in that class, and so I had to determine one thing to put in writing on. Like I needed to ‑‑ we needed to write a paper for the category, so I ended up selecting a subject. I wrote the paper, and when the professor got here at hand the papers again to us, he stated, “All of you probably did nice. You probably did advantageous, acquired good grades, however there’s two of you that I wrote in your paper you’ve acquired to maintain going with this.” And I get my paper again, and it says, “You’ve acquired to maintain going with this,” and I stated, you’ve acquired to be kidding me. Like I can’t get away from this ebook, you realize?
And in order that ended up resulting in writing my dissertation on the ebook of Revelation, and now I’ve been transformed and I’m a believer. I actually do consider that that is the ebook that we’d like for, like, our cultural second proper now. And proper after I took my exams, the pandemic hit, and we had folks at our church, you realize, saying sporting a masks is the mark of the beast and these types of issues, and so it simply grew to become very actual for me. And God works in mysterious methods, and I’ve simply seen how main me to Revelation was sort of a kind of mysterious methods he’s labored in my life.
WES: Yeah. I like the way it lastly caught as much as you however you’re glad that it did.
GARRETT: Completely.
WES: Let me ask this: What’s it about Revelation that makes it so mysterious, seemingly inaccessible, that folks need to keep away from it and don’t need to dig into it? What’s it in regards to the explicit kind of literature or the way in which that it’s written that makes it troublesome for Christians to learn?
GARRETT: Certain. I’ve to inform you one thing {that a} good buddy of mine, John Younger, shared with me as soon as. He stated, “If anybody ever comes as much as you at church and says that they actually need to educate the ebook of Revelation, by no means allow them to educate the ebook of Revelation,” as a result of, for some purpose, this ebook actually
offers us two sort of reverse responses. On the one hand, we simply keep away from it as a result of we don’t know what to do with it; however however, I believe another excuse we avoid it’s it’s attracted a sure kind of particular person to this ebook who is available in and truly thinks they know every part about it and has all these secrets and techniques that they’ll disclose to you about what’s going to occur within the upcoming election and what the battle with Israel and Gaza means, you realize, and the way it’s associated to the ebook of Revelation.
And so we see these, like, actually polar reverse ‑‑ simply excessive avoidance or simply overwhelming curiosity ‑‑ and we sort of simply ‑‑ it’s simply simpler to not discuss it. I believe there’s a pair causes for that. One is that once we discuss Revelation, we’re speaking a few explicit style of literature, and, really, the style that we name it’s ‑‑ we name it apocalypsis, or an apocalyptic work. And the identify of that complete class of literature really comes from Revelation 1:1, the apocalypsis of Jesus Christ, the revelation, the revealing of Jesus Christ.
And style is so vital for decoding a piece, something. So proper now my son and I are studying The Hobbit at evening collectively, and if I begin a piece and it says, “As soon as upon a time,” I’m not going to depart that studying and go fear that there’s actually, like, dragons on the market. And it’s that phrase, “as soon as upon a time,” that tells me I’m partaking in fiction right here. If we watch a fiction film in the identical means that we do a documentary, then we’re going to be actually misplaced and actually confused and actually scared, really.
And so style is so vital once we’re decoding one thing, and relating to Revelation, it’s really a style that we don’t encounter. We don’t see very many apocalyptic texts as a result of, exterior of the ebook of Revelation, at the very least in our Bibles, there’s just one different part, it’s the second half of Daniel, so Daniel 7‑12, that we’d name apocalyptic. After which there are a couple of subsections, like Isaiah 24‑27 is named the little apocalypse, and you’ve got Zechariah 12‑14 and Joel 3, so you may have these minor sections right here and there. However even within the ebook of Daniel, like when you have been to ask your viewers, they most likely know fairly a bit in regards to the three younger males within the furnace and Daniel within the lion’s den, however as soon as we get to 7 via 12, that part’s like ‑‑ avoid that; it’s a distinct sort of factor.
However what I like to inform folks is about 200 years on both aspect of the ebook of Revelation, so from about 200 BC to 200 AD, we now have about 37 apocalypses which have survived, so the Jews knew easy methods to learn this. They’d apocalypses: First Enoch, Second Enoch, Second Baruch, Fourth Ezra, Apocalypse of Abraham. Christians cherished apocalyptic texts, as nicely. The truth is, one of many earliest literatures that Christians love that isn’t within the New Testomony is The Shepherd of Hermas, which is an apocalyptic textual content. And so Christians and Jews, across the time of the writing of Revelation, knew easy methods to learn this style, and we simply don’t, and that is among the causes that we, I believe, have a tough time with it, which is why we’d like nerdy folks to return in and skim these different apocalypses and see how they work and determine sort of how this style works so it can assist us perceive and interpret the ebook of Revelation. In order that’s one purpose I’d say. After which, whenever you do this, what you see is that the opposite apocalypses, they impart profound messages however they do it via issues like symbolism, via photographs, via drawing on myths which are on the market via using like symbolic numbers and issues like that, and so I believe the style challenge is an enormous challenge for us.
A second purpose that I believe we actually wrestle with the ebook of Revelation is as a result of, of each New Testomony textual content, there are extra allusions to the Previous Testomony within the ebook of Revelation than some other. It’s ‑‑ I inform my college students, if we took Revelation and rang it out, it might simply drip with Previous Testomony textual content. And right here’s the factor about it, there’s not a single citation of the Previous Testomony. There’s no quotes. So whereas within the Gospel of Matthew, “This was achieved to meet,” you realize, after which it has a quote, there’s none of these in Revelation. And so the numbers of the allusions really varies fairly wildly, the place you may have some who would put the quantity round 300, and you’ve got some that might place the quantity as excessive as 600. In 22 chapters, we now have lots of of allusions to the Previous Testomony, so that you may even acknowledge a few of these, however Balaam and Jezebel within the letters to the seven church buildings; Babylon is a serious allusion in there; even Armageddon, you realize, that will get lots of press with Revelation. Nicely, Armageddon is Har Megiddo, which is an Previous Testomony metropolis that reveals up in references everywhere in the Previous Testomony. And so, in the identical means that you’ve Jezebel, you may have a reference to an historic metropolis that’s talked about everywhere in the Previous Testomony, Megiddo.
One other occasion could be, once we look in Revelation 4, you’ve acquired these 4 creatures which have a face like a lion, an ox, an eagle, and a person. These creatures come straight out of Ezekiel 1. We get all bent off form in regards to the quantity 666 and the mark of the beast and this concept of being marked on the brow. Nicely, that idea of being marked on the brow comes straight out of Ezekiel chapter 9, so it’s like every part in Revelation that we wrestle with ‑‑ nearly nothing in Revelation is new; it’s all from the Previous Testomony, and I simply discover that the majority Christians ‑‑ we don’t know our Previous Testaments, and so one of many issues that we wrestle with is a lot of that is depending on the Previous Testomony, and we don’t comprehend it.
After which the third purpose could be, that is addressed to seven church buildings in Asia Minor within the first century, and that was a really totally different tradition than our personal. It was a really totally different world than our personal that was coping with sure circumstances that they might have identified about. However we’re sort of studying another person’s mail, in a way, and since we don’t know the world of the primary century or we don’t perceive first‑century Asia Minor, I believe that causes us just a little little bit of problem in decoding the ebook. So, yeah, that might simply be some basic issues. It is a distinctive ebook in our Bible as a result of it’s apocalyptic style; it’s saturated in Previous Testomony photographs and we’re not as accustomed to our Previous Testomony as perhaps we want we have been or was, or no matter that could be the case; after which I believe that it’s written to church buildings in first‑century Asia Minor, and we don’t know that world.
WES: Yeah, yeah. Nice ideas. If any individual was going to recover from that hurdle of not eager to method this ebook they usually have been going to check it, perhaps they’re doing their Bible studying all year long they usually’re attending to Revelation sooner or later afterward on this 12 months or perhaps they’re simply wanting to check it, do a deep dive into Revelation, what could be a few of the pitfalls that you just’d need to warn folks forward of time, to say, “Hey, whenever you’re studying it, whenever you’re finding out it, watch out of this, or look out for this, or right here’s some widespread errors that folks make once they’re studying it,” and assist them to keep away from a few of that stuff?
GARRETT: Certain. I believe one of the simplest ways to reply that query is ‑‑ I simply stated that it’s actually vital to interpret the ebook by style, and so I believe that the largest pitfalls that we fall into are usually not decoding the ebook in response to a style. And so if I have been answering that, I’d say I believe that we’d like to consider the style of Revelation with the intention to interpret it nicely. And what’s attention-grabbing in regards to the style of Revelation is it’s sort of a mixture just a little bit. So, first, it is vitally clear that Revelation is a letter written to seven church buildings in Asia Minor. It begins with an epistolary pre‑script, and it sort of ends like a letter does. I imply, if we examine it to the letters of Paul, it begins with an handle to the viewers; it concludes with this type of blessing. Then, after all, you may have, in chapters 2 and three, these seven oracles ‑‑ I name them oracles ‑‑ however oracles to the seven church buildings. So it’s very clearly this like contextualized message to these seven church buildings.
And so, with that in thoughts, then, I believe the pitfall shouldn’t be decoding it as a message to these seven church buildings, and so I believe as a result of we don’t know what else to do with the ebook, we simply must do what we as People love to do, which is make all of it about us as a result of we simply don’t know what else to do. And that’s sort of what our preliminary impulse is once we learn scripture, is what does this imply for me? And so we ‑‑ that’s simply ‑‑ and I believe that’s sort of a pitfall.
And so I used to be simply this week studying ‑‑ I simply noticed an article, and in some way I missed this, and I’m actually not unhappy that I missed it, however it was in some newspaper in Arkansas and it was a preacher who had written this text about whether or not ‑‑ it was round an election season. It was whether or not President Obama was the Antichrist, and that was the title of the paper. Nicely, the paper really needed to publish and recant their title and challenge an apology as a result of the creator acquired upset as a result of he really didn’t argue that Obama was the Antichrist; he argued whether or not Obama was the seventh king of Revelation 17, and they also have been having this again‑and‑forth, you realize. However I inform my college students, I say, “If no matter your interpretation of the ebook is wouldn’t have made sense to somebody sitting in Pergamum within the first century, it’s most likely not proper,” and I believe that not nearly Revelation, I believe that about Paul’s letters, too. I believe that in regards to the Gospels. I believe we now have to first interpret them as messages to their authentic audiences earlier than we will kind of ask what they imply for us. So that might be one pitfall, shouldn’t be really considering that that is written to these seven church buildings.
The second pitfall that I believe that we make is the letters ‑‑ Revelation shouldn’t be solely a letter, it’s additionally a prophecy. So in chapter 1, verse 3; in chapter 22, verse 7, 10, 18, and 19, it refers to itself as “the phrases of the ebook of the prophecy.” It calls itself a ebook of prophecy. In chapter 10, verse 11, the creator says his God‑given calling is to prophesy, and in chapter 22, verse 9, the creator describes himself as sort of being in a circle of prophets in Asia Minor within the first century. And so it’s very clearly a prophetic ebook and so we now have to interpret it, then, as a prophecy, and I believe the pitfall is that we are inclined to equate prophecy with future‑telling, once I assume prophecy is extra precisely understood as forth‑telling. And so as a result of John has so saturated this work and truly even structured ‑‑ I don’t know if individuals are conscious of this, however all the ebook of Revelation is structured after the ebook of Ezekiel. I don’t know if folks knew this. The entire construction is like Ezekiel, and it is smart that John would see himself like Ezekiel. So Ezekiel is a prophet who’s in exile. Nicely, the place is John? Ezekiel begins off by saying, “I’m on, you realize, this ‑‑ by the River Kebar.” Nicely, John says, “I’m additionally by a physique of water; I’m out right here on this island.” You understand, Ezekiel says, “I noticed visions of heaven.” Nicely, John says, “I noticed visions of heaven” to people who find themselves in exile, who’re residing in Babylon. And so, I believe John says, “I’m doing the identical factor Ezekiel did.” Nicely, what did Ezekiel do? The prophets within the Previous Testomony are usually not merely telling the longer term. There’s some future‑telling parts to what they do, however that’s not all that they did. Actually, what they’re doing is that they’re forth‑telling God’s reality to the powers that be. They’re delivering oracles to the powers that be. Typically these oracles are given in the direction of God’s personal folks, Israel, however more often than not they’re really towards Babylon and Assyria and Egypt and Tyre and people different nations which are on the market. They’re talking reality to energy.
And so, I believe, as we learn the ebook of Revelation, if we’re going to interpret it nicely, to know that the ebook is supposed to be prophecy and that it’s not meant to simply be like telling issues which are going to occur means off sooner or later in Russia or Gaza, you realize, in 2024, however it’s talking reality to energy in its personal day, and on this case, the goal appears to be Babylon. Nicely, Babylon is an attention-grabbing factor within the ebook of Revelation. It’s known as “the nice metropolis.” It’s used a number of occasions. We’ve got one other attention-grabbing reference in 1 Peter 5:13, the place it looks as if, in one other New Testomony ebook, town of Rome is sort of known as Babylon, in order that appears to be a theme there. However we even have another apocalypses, like Fourth Ezra and Second Baruch, that confer with Rome as Babylon, so this appears to be a factor that apocalyptists have been used to doing, is drawing a connection between Rome and Babylon as the key world energy. And it definitely is smart, if that is written after 70, when similar to Babylon did in 586, Rome has achieved within the destruction of Jerusalem within the temple in 70. I believe there are simply clear references within the ebook of Revelation that Babylon is Rome. So in chapter 17, verse 9, “she is seated on seven hills” ‑‑ nicely, this can be a image that everybody would have identified of the Goddess Roma seated on the seven hills. That is actually printed on their cash. And what’s the metropolis set on seven hills? It’s Rome. So I believe there’s simply clear indications that Rome ‑‑ and so similar to Ezekiel did in his day, John is talking reality to energy, and I believe that we’ve missed one thing in regards to the ebook once we don’t perceive its prophetic spirit.
After which the third factor ‑‑ so letter, prophecy; third one is apocalypse. Once we perceive that it’s utilizing symbols and imagery to show, then we’re decoding it nicely. And what I discover occurs lots of occasions is that it’s very clear that the ebook is utilizing numbers on this symbolic means. You understand, “seven” is completion and perfection, and “4” is a crucial quantity. And anytime you see “twelve,” it’s the folks of God, just like the twelve tribes or the twelve apostles. However then we get to the quantity 666 and we simply lose our minds. We see that point appears to work in uncommon methods, however then we get to the 1,000 years and we lose our minds. And so it’s kind of dropping sight of how apocalyptic imagery and symbolism works. I believe that’s a technique that we find yourself doing this.
And I believe John really ‑‑ even when you’ve by no means learn one other apocalypse, John really trains us in that first chapter on what he’s doing with this imagery. So, for instance, he says, you realize, he sees seven lampstands, and at any time when we learn that we simply go, what’s he speaking about? What are the lampstands? He says, you realize, in his proper hand he has seven stars. And we simply go, what is that this? I don’t know what to do with this. Nicely, in verse 20 of chapter 1, he says, “I noticed the seven stars in the fitting hand, and the seven stars are the angels of the seven church buildings and the seven lampstands are the church buildings.” He’s kind of supplying you with a clue, everytime you see this imagery, regardless of the picture is, regardless of the image is, you should be asking, what does this signify? What does this imply? What does it stand for?
And so I believe once we neglect to interpret it like a letter, once we neglect to interpret it as prophecy, talking reality to energy, and once we neglect that we’re speculated to be decoding it in response to the methods that you’d interpret the symbolism of an apocalypse, I believe we get misplaced. And I don’t know if you wish to discuss this ‑‑ I’ll depart this as much as you ‑‑ however, I imply, I believe the principle means that that is being sort of drawn into our tradition proper now could be via these Left Behind readings, via, you realize, Hal Lindsey and Late Nice Planet Earth. I imply, when Kirk Cameron and when Nicolas Cage are starring in Left Behind films, I believe that is kind of dominating the sort of cultural perspective on what’s taking place within the ebook, and, to me, all of these readings solely occur in case you are not decoding it as a letter and a prophecy and the way in which that I believe first‑century apocalypses must be interpreted.
WES: Yeah. Nicely, I believe I believe that there’s each people who learn Revelation that means, kind of that premillennial dispensationalism and adopting that kind of Left Behind mentality and studying the newspaper in a single hand and the ebook of Revelation within the different hand, however then I believe that there are such a lot of folks, particularly in our fellowship, who keep away from Revelation as a result of they’ve realized to interpret it and simply say, nicely, you realize, it’s a ‑‑ you realize, a “scary ebook,” quote‑unquote. We’ll get to that in a second, however they have a look at it they usually say, “Nevertheless it’s all ‑‑ it’s all achieved. Like that has nothing to do with us now.” And I believe that perhaps there’s an overreaction that path, and we kind of lose the relevance for ‑‑ what relevance does it have for us now?
However let’s sort of discuss what was the relevance then? I believe that so many individuals learn Revelation they usually simply say, “That’s a terrifying ebook.” I all the time inform folks, “If you happen to’re scared whenever you end studying Revelation, you most likely didn’t learn it accurately as a result of it’s not speculated to be scary.” However what’s the level? Like when you have been a Christian in Asia Minor and also you have been a part of certainly one of these church buildings, particularly one of many devoted church buildings that’s receiving this revelation, this revealing, this apocalypse, what have been you speculated to get out of it? What was speculated to be the applying of it within the first century?
GARRETT: Yeah. So I stated earlier the one half I believe I ever heard anyone discuss have been these seven letters to the seven church buildings in chapters 2 and three, and so most individuals who’ve at the very least tried to learn the ebook or have ever heard the church attempt to handle this have at the very least heard these seven letters. And I believe we may begin there in speaking about what it’s speculated to do as a result of these seven letters really play a very vital function within the ebook of Revelation. So what these seven letters are doing is establishing the problems that the remainder of the imaginative and prescient is addressing.
So in chapter 1, you get this unimaginable imaginative and prescient of the exalted Jesus that’s drawing on the Previous Testomony, Daniel 7 and 10, after which that Jesus is delivering messages to those seven church buildings in Asia Minor. And since all of the church buildings are in Asia Minor, they’re really not that far up the highway from each other, and we will think about that the conditions in these church buildings are literally sort of related. And so what’s going on in a single church is probably going additionally taking place in a few of the different church buildings, and so let’s take note of what’s occurring on the bottom in these seven church buildings. And if we learn these seven oracles very clearly, I believe we see at the very least three classes of distinct issues that the remainder of the ebook is making an attempt to handle.
So the very first thing that we see in these seven letters is that there’s battle with outsiders. The church is experiencing battle, and it comes from a few totally different instructions. So within the church in Smyrna and Philadelphia, they’re being slandered, it seems like, by native synagogues, and at the very least in Smyrna, the synagogue is denouncing them to native authorities as a result of then the Roman officers ‑‑ it says a few of you’re gonna be put into jail for 10 days. Nicely, the synagogue has no energy to imprison folks, so that is now the federal government getting concerned on this. However essentially the most excessive instance is in chapter 2, verse 13. Within the metropolis of Pergamum, there’s a man named Antipas that we don’t know something about who was martyred, and so individuals are even dropping their life. And so the battle ranges from, like, slander to being put into jail to even being martyred. And so this can be a enormous factor that’s taking place within the ebook of Revelation, is addressing this battle that the folks of God are feeling from these exterior, and that’s even from different non secular communities, just like the synagogue, but additionally from Roman authorities. In order that’s the very first thing that’s occurring.
The second factor that’s occurring is there’s a cultural stress to assimilate. And what we see taking place in these church buildings is that there are some named false lecturers. So in Pergamum and Thyatira, we study Balaam and Jezebel. Now, once more, these are two Previous Testomony names, so it’s not likely their names. It’s simply no matter you realize about Jezebel and Balaam within the Previous Testomony, you should deliver that ahead, you realize, and apply to those two people. And who’re Jezebel and Balaam within the Previous Testomony? They’re people who find themselves making an attempt to guide the folks of God astray and making an attempt to hurt the folks of God. Nicely, we even have one other particular person named in chapter 2, verse 15, Nicolas, and there’s a bunch that follows him, the Nicolaitans, and in Ephesus, we examine a bunch of false lecturers. So what’s occurring with all of those? Nicely, John really tells us in Revelation that they’re accused of two issues. They’re educating the Christians to assimilate to tradition, and it mentions two issues, sexual immorality and idolatry.
Now, one of many issues we have to find out about idolatry within the first‑century world, in Asia Minor particularly, is that once we hear “idolatry,” we take into consideration worshiping the gods, and that’s completely part of idolatry. So Zeus and Artemis and all of those folks, Apollo ‑‑ these completely are concerned in idolatry. However a technique that idolatry takes a singular form in Asia Minor is that, exterior of town of Rome, Asia Minor is the seat of emperor worship, and that at nearly any temple of a god or goddess, a deity, you’ll have discovered an area imperial cult to the emperor. Now, why is that? This goes all the way in which again to 29 BC, the place the primary imperial cult temple constructed exterior of Rome is constructed within the metropolis of Pergamum. Exterior of Rome, it’s the heart of emperor worship. There’s one other imperial cult temple inbuilt 26 AD, and it’s constructed within the metropolis of Smyrna, and there’s one other one which’s inbuilt 89 to 90 AD, and that’s constructed within the metropolis of Ephesus. Do these sound acquainted ‑‑ Pergamum, Smyrna, and Ephesus? Exterior of Rome, that is the place the worship of the emperor occurs, and outdoors of these official imperial cult temples, any temple you’ll have gone to, to Artemis or any of the others, would have been additionally devoted to an emperor. There would have at the very least have been a shrine there the place you possibly can worship the emperor, and so Christians appear to be lulled into that. They appear to be lulled in the direction of worship of the emperor, idolatry. They appear to be lulled in the direction of sexual immorality, and so Revelation is talking into that.
After which the third factor that we see in these letters is these church buildings are rising complacent of their religion, and a part of that’s that cultural pull. So in Sardis, he says, “You might have the looks of being alive, however you’re actually lifeless.” The one which most individuals are most likely accustomed to is Ephesus, “You might have misplaced your past love.” In Laodicea, they’re really saying, “I’m wealthy; I’ve prospered; I’m in want of nothing.” If there’s something that lulls you into complacency, it’s wealth and ease, and he’s telling Laodicea, “It’s too good. Life is simply too good. You’re sort of dropping your zeal and your religion.” So these three issues, I’d say, are what’s taking place within the church buildings: battle with outsiders, complacency of their religion, and a stress to assimilate to tradition, and the remainder of the imaginative and prescient responds to that.
And so we now have a lot we may discuss, however I’ll simply point out two. I’ll simply point out two methods the remainder of the imaginative and prescient responds to that. One is that proper after you may have these seven oracles to the seven church buildings and it lays out these three points which are taking place on the bottom, what’s the following factor that is available in chapters 4 and 5? It’s the imaginative and prescient of John is invited to look into heaven and there he sees a throne and the one seated on the throne. That phrase “throne” goes to point out up 47 occasions within the ebook. And so the primary imaginative and prescient that you just get is the imaginative and prescient of the throne and the one seated on the throne, and it’s important to look as much as heaven to see it. And I believe the impact of that’s to say, how do you endure? How do you survive being thrown into jail for ten days? How do you survive being martyred like Antipas was? Nicely, you do it by seeking to the true throne the place the true authority lies. You understand, how do you shake folks free who’ve grown complacent of their religion, who’re, like, tempted on Friday evening to go hang around down in Artemis’ temple? Nicely, you level them to the one throne that should have their coronary heart and their consideration, that should have their sole allegiance. And so one of many ways in which this ebook does that is by calling them again to worship across the true throne and to maintain their eyes on that throne, and as quickly as you’re taking your eyes off of that throne, the place the one seated on the throne is, and the Lamb, you then’re going to get in all types of hassle.
And folks don’t understand there’s really a plot in Revelation. The plot begins in these letters, as a result of within the metropolis of Pergamum, chapter 2, verse 13, Pergamum is the place the place Devil’s throne is. There’s a throne that Devil has arrange and that throne reveals again up in chapter 13. And one of many issues we see in chapter 13 is that certainly one of Devil’s only methods on this world to get folks to take their eyes off of the throne of the one seated on the throne and the Lamb is to position earthly kings on an earthly throne and to name consideration from the folks of earth to worship round that throne as an alternative of the throne of the one who’s seated on it with the Lamb. And if that’s not a message for our day, you realize? And so this is among the ways in which Revelation does this.
I imply, one of many causes we love Revelation ‑‑ I’d say this ebook has had extra impact on our hymns than some other ebook within the New Testomony, and within the ebook of Revelation there are 15 hymns. Why is there a lot singing? As a result of the ebook is about orienting your worship round the place it should be oriented, which is the throne of the one seated on it and the Lamb. And that’s an enormous ‑‑ and so the ebook poses this query: What throne are you at? Are you worshipping earlier than that throne, or are you worshipping earlier than Devil’s throne with earthly kings on it? Are you residing for Babylon, the place Devil’s throne is about up, or are you residing for the New Jerusalem, which is the place God’s throne is? Which world are you residing in? Ask that stark query. So a technique that it addresses these issues is that this query of who you worship, the place you worship.
The second means that I’d point out ‑‑ there are such a lot of issues let’s imagine, however the second I’d say is it addresses this query by the theme of devoted witness. So the very very first thing that’s stated within the ebook is in chapter 1, verse 4 and 5. The very very first thing stated about Jesus is he’s the devoted witness, after which the following devoted witness we meet is in chapter 2, verse 13, Antipas. And the way did he be a devoted witness? Nicely, he gave up his life. After which, within the very heart of the ebook ‑‑ and by heart, I imply, actually and figuratively, it’s the very central chapter, chapter 11, and every part that has been earlier than it’s main as much as chapter 11 and every part that performs out after it’s taking part in out chapter 11. It’s, I believe, the central message of the ebook. We’ve been launched to the scroll and the seven seals have been popped off, one after the other. We’re like, what does this factor say? Nicely, chapter 11 is what it says, and what does it say? It’s a message about two witnesses. There’s that phrase once more. And the witnesses ‑‑ the brief model right here ‑‑ have every kind of traits of the folks of God, and the largest attribute I’d level out is it says the 2 witnesses are two lampstands. There’s our phrase once more that we simply ‑‑ John informed us in 1:20 what to do once we hear about lampstands. It’s the church.
I believe the decision in chapter 11 is for the folks studying this ebook. It’s for us. It’s for Christians. What are we speculated to be? Similar to Antipas, we’re speculated to be devoted witnesses in our world. Witnesses to what? Witnesses to unique allegiance to the one who’s seated on the throne and to the Lamb. And we fail in that calling once we take our eyes off of that throne and misplace our worship. And so the decision of the ebook is, who’re you worshiping? And wherever you’re planted, no matter metropolis you’re in, you’re speculated to be a devoted witness to the one seated on the throne and to the Lamb. And that’s kind of two methods I believe that this ebook addresses these church buildings.
You understand, there’s lots of judgment within the ebook. There’s additionally lots of hope within the ebook, and I believe the message to these Christians is, to these of you which are hurting, which are struggling since you’re not going to the temple on Friday evening, to these of you which are, you realize, not compromising your religion and worshiping the emperor, there’s hope coming for you. However for these of you which are compromising, you may have hitched your cart to the unsuitable horse. You might be headed in the direction of, you realize, one thing that isn’t going to be gratifying, and so I do assume that’s sort of the operate of lots of that judgment and hope within the ebook.
WES: I’m so glad that you just used the phrase “unique,” unique allegiance to Jesus. As you have been speaking, I stored fascinated about each what was taking place within the first century then, but additionally going again to Israel’s historical past, what led to their captivity in Babylon within the first place, and that was syncretism. They by no means acquired to the purpose, after all, the place they solely worshiped overseas gods, however they all the time tried to have Yahweh plus these different gods. And I believe one of many issues that ‑‑ to make this just a little bit extra about our time, and now an utility, you realize, I believe one of many issues that we’ve tended to do is compartmentalize our lives a lot that we don’t even understand once we’re being idolatrous, particularly relating to the world of politics, and we now have this tendency to assume, nicely, that has nothing to do with my faith; that has nothing to do with Jesus. And but we give our allegiance, our devotion, our loyalty to a celebration, to a flag, to an individual, to a politician, no matter, and never realizing the divided allegiance. You used the phrase “compromise,” how a lot we’re compromising our allegiance and loyalty.
So to sort of take this ebook and say what relevance does this have for us now ‑‑ it’s not the relevance, I don’t assume, that so many need, to take a look at the newspaper and have a look at Revelation, however I believe there’s a means we will have a look at Revelation and have a look at the newspaper and say we now have the tendency to fall into the identical sinful traps. Even followers of Jesus, we now have the tendency to fall into these similar traps and provides our loyalty to different gods or to ‑‑ I imply, it appears what you’re saying, that Caesar and the worship of Caesar, this imperial cult ‑‑ he doesn’t ever say that particularly, however he says “the throne of Devil,” and it’s ‑‑ it’s a really stark distinction. And so assist us to see the relevance for a way will we take this and use this to assist us navigate our present political or simply cultural world?
GARRETT: Yeah. I’ll add that I believe the imperial cult is so clearly there, significantly in chapter 13. Chapter 13 is a satire of the imperial cult. So you may have the primary beast, who comes from the ocean; it has seven heads. Nicely, I want John had stated it right here in 13, however he saves it to chapter 17, the place he says the seven heads are seven kings. Nicely, who would which have been for folks residing within the Roman Empire, proper? After which he says everybody, each nation, language, tribe, and tongue, falls right down to worship the beast. Who can defeat the beast? And so they fall earlier than his throne and worship him. Nicely, how would they’ve understood that? In fact, you realize, they perceive that. After which the second beast comes alongside, and its complete job is to arrange photographs and get the entire world to worship the primary beast, who’re the seven kings. What’s that? That’s imperial cult.
We don’t have time to speak about this, however the quantity 666 is so clearly, I believe, Nero Caesar. It’s kind of a reference to a selected king, and so receiving his mark is worshipping him. It’s bowing the knee to Caesar. It’s bowing the knee to those kings. It’s giving in to that imperial cult, so that’s so very clearly right here on this ebook. I inform my college students ‑‑ I ask them, “Do you are feeling just like the church is split over politics?” And so they say, “Completely.” And I say, “It’s nearly as if ‑‑ what if we had a New Testomony ebook that spoke on to this,” you realize? “Oh, yeah, we do.” We’ve simply not learn it or at the very least not understood it. And I consider that within the unveiling, within the revelation ‑‑ and I believe that’s what Revelation is, is it pulls the curtain again and it reveals us what’s actually occurring on this planet, and what Revelation reveals us, when the curtain is pulled again, is to say that certainly one of Devil’s largest methods ‑‑ Devil ‑‑ when you comply with chapter 13, it’s really Devil’s throne, however he lets these different kings sit on it, and that’s what it reveals to us. That’s certainly one of his largest methods on this planet, is to make use of worldly thrones to distract us from our worship of the one seated across the throne.
I see this on a regular basis in politics. I see Christians right now sharing issues, like ‑‑ you realize, one of many ones that I noticed sharing was, clearly, lately. In current American politics, constructing partitions has been an vital subject and controversial subject, southern border wall. And there was a outstanding pastor from Texas, really, who was occurring TV and saying, “There’s even gonna be a wall in heaven; Revelation says so, and so this justifies constructing a wall.” Nicely, I don’t need to get into the politics of that, however as somebody who cares deeply about decoding Revelation nicely, did this pastor learn Revelation 21:24‑26 that claims the gates of the wall won’t ever be shut and folks will come into it day and evening? It’s like individuals are even misusing Revelation in a few of these conversations, and it considerations me deeply as a result of I care about decoding Scripture nicely.
I believe what Revelation is making an attempt to do for us is to get the folks of God to develop a sort of discernment in order that we will see. It’s a go‑and‑do‑likewise technique, in order that in the identical means that Revelation pulls this curtain again and reveals its first‑century viewers easy methods to acknowledge what their gaze is being taken off of, you realize, I believe we’re speculated to see that very same factor. And as I go searching our church, you realize, our tradition, is there a extra related textual content than a textual content that addresses complacency as a consequence of wealth, you realize, assimilating to tradition and, particularly, idolatry within the type of imperial cult worship, worshiping emperors and coping with battle with outsiders? That’s why I say I’ve been transformed to consider that that is really essentially the most related textual content for our second, and it’s making an attempt to get us to domesticate these sorts of eyes of religion to see the world clearly, to develop this type of discernment to see when that is taking place, to see how the satan, Devil, makes use of imperial propaganda to lure folks in, makes use of all of those visible and mythic and in any other case, you realize, methods of drawing folks in, to say, no, you may’t have your consideration given from unique allegiance to the Lamb, and so we do this via our witness that our allegiance is barely to the one seated on the throne and the Lamb.
And so I believe ‑‑ round election time, I believe we really are compromising our witness. We’re not displaying that kind of devoted witness that’s expressed. So how will we do this? Nicely, one is prophetic resistance. It’s a prophecy. It’s talking reality to energy, and no matter politician on no matter aspect of the aisle, we should be the primary folks talking reality. And I don’t know the place we acquired this concept that we can not converse up on one aspect of the aisle or [that means] we help the opposite aspect of the aisle. No. Faithfulness requires prophetic resistance and witness. That’s what witness is, is we converse for reality when there’s idolatry and injustice, and I believe that’s the imaginative and prescient that Revelation really cares about.
I believe the opposite factor that Revelation is making an attempt to do is put us on mission. I do know most individuals wouldn’t learn this as a missional textual content, however simply undergo and circle each time that the ebook of Revelation mentions “the nations.” God cares what occurs to the nations. And that passage I simply referenced, you realize, the tree of life reveals up there once more in Revelation 21 and 22, and the leaves of the tree are for the therapeutic of the nations. The folks of God now should be collaborating within the therapeutic of the nations. So I may go on and on, however it’s so good. However sure, I believe that is completely a message for our time, and it might save us a lot heartache in our election season if we’d imbibe this message much more.
WES: Yeah, completely. Amen. To not go too far down this rabbit gap, however whenever you introduced up in regards to the thought of misusing Revelation with the intention to kind of help one aspect of the aisle or the opposite, I used to be requested by any individual not too way back in regards to the mark of the beast and what’s the mark of the beast, and do you assume ‑‑ I gained’t even point out what it’s that he was referencing ‑‑ “And do you assume this could be the mark of the beast?” And I stated, mockingly, during the last 2,000 years, there have been so many Christians who’ve really adopted the mark of the beast of their efforts to attempt to keep away from the mark of the beast. They’re so afraid of no matter they assume could be the mark of the beast that they find yourself giving their loyalty and their allegiance to a cosmopolitan energy with the intention to defend them from the so‑known as mark of the beast, and that’s the very reverse of what Revelation is asking us to do. It’s give your allegiance and your loyalty to the Lamb, and whenever you do this, you don’t have to fret about what the beast is doing, so you aren’t managed by the beast. You aren’t at risk from the beast. And we’re so afraid ‑‑ and that’s why I all the time inform folks, when you learn Revelation and also you stroll away from it fearful and extra apt to present your loyalty to some politician or some political occasion, you’re studying it unsuitable. You should learn this and be assured of our victory in Christ, I believe.
GARRETT: Sure, completely. Completely. That’s nice, nice recommendation.
WES: Nicely, Garrett, as we shut, what assets would you suggest to folks? If folks need to dive deeper into the ebook of Revelation, the place would you level them?
GARRETT: Certain. If somebody have been listening they usually have been, you realize,
a minister or somebody who actually needed to dig in or needed a useful resource, I believe Craig Koester’s Anchor Bible Commentary on Revelation is the perfect commentary that’s written. It’s humorous, I heard on a podcast the opposite day ‑‑ I used to be listening to David de Silva, who’s a beautiful scholar, and he’s writing his personal commentary on Revelation, and he stated, “Even after I end my commentary on Revelation, Craig Koester’s commentary will nonetheless be higher.” He stated it’s simply the perfect one on the market. However helpfully, for individuals who aren’t students or ministers needing to learn one thing that thick, he has written a ebook known as “Revelation and the Finish of All Issues,” which is his distillation, in 200 pages, of his large commentary. It’s now in its second version, and, personally, I don’t assume there’s something higher on the market on Revelation than Craig Koester’s “Revelation and the Finish of All Issues.” It nonetheless could be a hair dense for some of us, so when you’re on the lookout for one other ebook, I’d say Michael Gorman has a ebook known as “Studying Revelation Responsibly,” and he simply does such an excellent job on the sensible utility. And lots of the issues we’re discussing, if that was attention-grabbing to you, about politics and sort of making use of this message right now, I believe Gorman’s ebook is perhaps the perfect on that. In order that’s sort of a smorgasbord there for you, three totally different books, sort of relying on the place you’re.
I’ll simply point out one different attention-grabbing ebook these days. Dean Flemming has a ebook on Foretaste of the Future and studying Revelation as a missional textual content, and I believe it’s rather well achieved. It’s actually attention-grabbing. For many who learn the ebook with ‑‑ who depart with all this concern and trepidation and assume that that is about, you realize, simply all of the judgment and the blood and all that, learn this textual content and also you’ll, I believe, depart with a really totally different view, that truly that is about God’s mission for the entire world, and I believe it’s actually highly effective to see it in that gentle, as nicely.
WES: Incredible. Nicely, Brother, thanks a lot for this dialog, and thanks for the work you’re doing within the kingdom.
GARRETT: Thanks for having me. I all the time love nerding out about Revelation. Thanks.
WES: Thanks, Brother.
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