Category Archives: Revelation Commentary

In The Midst Of The Candlesticks

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Revelation 1:13: “And in the midst of the seven candlesticks [one] like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle.”

The phrase “in the midst” does not merely indicate that Jesus was among them in a central position, but rather that he was the source of their cohesion, the nucleus, the center of gravity, the magnetic center. In the analogy of the heavenlies, the “midst” of the candlesticks would be represented by the pole star, the apparent center of the turning heavens and the universe.

Colossians 1:17

“And He is before all things, and by Him all things consist.” It is Christ that holds things together, consist, to make them a Unity, whether marriages, families, churches, governments, or nations.

The prophets foresaw an ensign or banner upon “the high mountain.” This was the height of the heavens, not an earthly peak. Isaiah 13:2-3 is about the mustering to battle of the heavenly hosts, not merely an earthly army, (see verse 10), by means of this signal, ensign, upon the high hill. See also Isaiah 5:26; 11:12.

The Position of Power

This central position of the universe was seen by the contemporary cultures of the East to be the position of the center of power, the power that turned the whole universe.

Amos 5:8 refers to this center of power in the midst of the seven stars:
“[Seek him] that maketh the seven stars and Orion, and turneth the shadow of death into the morning, and maketh the day dark with night: that calleth for the waters of the sea, and poureth them out upon the face of the earth: The LORD [is] his name.”

This view of Christ as the Center of Power of the universe may be seen as the “sign of the Son of Man in heaven” as foretold in Matthew 24:30.

Another passage that describes the awesome view of the Lord in His heavenly position of power is found in Habakkuk 3:3-15. Read it. It will bless you.

This lesson is an edited excerpt from my book, Revelation in Context, available locally at the Living Word Bookstore in Shawnee, Oklahoma or www.Amazon.com, or www.XulonPress.com.
Free downloads are also available at www.revelationincontext.sermon.net.

 

 

Seven Golden Candlesticks – Part 2

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What did the analogy of the “Seven Golden Candlesticks” mean to the Churches in the first century AD when the Book of Revelation was first written?

Seven Stars as “The Lesser and Greater Sheepfold”[1]

In that region of the world at that time in history, this constellation, Ursa Major, was known as “The Greater Sheepfold” (Seiss, 20, 126-7, 178). The smaller constellation, Ursa Minor, known as the “Lesser, or former, Sheepfold,” hangs upon the pole star and is in the center of the revolutions of the circumpolar stars known as “The Greater Sheepfold.” The Greater Sheepfold therefore encompasses it. This “Lesser Sheepfold” would have represented the original body of Jewish believers from which the Church began. The seven named churches of Asia, (see also Revelation 1:11),[2] therefore represented the “Greater Sheepfold”, i.e., the entire universe of both Gentile and Jewish Christians, the complete Church.

The Heavenly Pattern

The earthly churches are therefore the spiritual counterpart of The Church in the heavenlies, where the Angel of the Church resides. Just as nations have their “Prince,” (as the Prince of Persia and the Prince of Grecia in Daniel 10:13, 20), so the Church has its “Angel,” or Prince, in the heavenlies, which is Christ. The local, earthly counterpart has its “Angel” which is to represent Christ on earth.

The heavenly “Mount Zion” was in Old Testament times represented on earth by the earthly city of Jerusalem. The Psalmist could say: [3])

“Walk about Zion, and go round about her, tell the towers thereof, mark ye well her bulwarks, consider her palaces, that ye may tell it to the generation following. For this God is our God forever and ever: he will be our guide even unto death,” (48:12-14).

Seven Stars as God’s Writing:

In another analogy, the starry heavens are thought of as God’s handwriting.[4] It is therefore appropriate that the scenes of the Book of Revelation are portrayed in the constellations of the night sky.

The Menorah, or seven-branched candlestick that was in the tabernacle and the Temple, was made according to the original pattern given to Moses while he was upon Mt. Sinai, (Exod. 25:31-40; 37:17-20 and Number 8:2-4.). Later David gave to Solomon the plan for the lampstands along with the other plans for the Temple, 1 Chronicles. 28:11-19. All of these plans were those given by God:

“All this he made clear by the writing from the hand of the Lord concerning it, [even] all the work to be done according to the plan.” (1 Chronicles 28:19 RSV).

The “Writing from the hand of the Lord” was that of the starry heavens.

[1] Some Scriptures that show how important this concept was in the Bible are: Isaiah 40:11; Jeremiah 23:3; 31:10-12; Ezek. 34:10-31; chs. 37 & 38; Mic. 3:12; 4:8; Zech. 9:16; Luke 12:32; John 10:1, 16; Acts 20:28-9; 1 Pet. 5:2-3.

[2] Note that “in Asia” is not in the Greek text of 1:11. The Greek text of 1:4 actually reads: “in the Asia.” See Commentary at 1:4 “Asia”.

[3] For discussion of Pole Star as Mount Zion, see “Satan Cast Down,” my Commentary on Revelation 12:10.

[4] See “Alpha and Omega” Commentary on Revelation 1:8.

 

Seven Golden Candlesticks – Part 1

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Revelation 1:12: “I saw seven golden candlesticks.”

This passage shows how the symbols of the Book of Revelation are to be understood. The symbolism of the stars is no mere literary device but is an integral part of the purpose and message of the Book. The starry heavens are interpreted as the Heavenly Pattern of earthly realities, both of which agree as witnesses of a higher spiritual truth. Many Scriptures may serve as referents to show that heaven and earth are witnesses to God.[1] The seven-starred constellation of Ursa Major is here used as a visual analogy of the seven golden lampstands of the Temple.

 The Hosts of Heaven are reflected on Earth

Another use of analogy is in the “hosts of heaven” and the “hosts on earth.” The word translated ‘host’ is Hebrew tsabah, meaning: “an earthly army, or host and is used equally of the sacred host of Levites.” Moses was commanded to make all things “according to the Pattern” which God showed him on the mountain. Thus he made the orders of the Levites, serving in their rotating courses, even as the constellations of the heavens rotated in their order and the order was changed every month, as were the constellations of the heavens.

The word tsabah also means: “…specially …the host of heaven.”: “(a) the angels round the throne of God, 1 Kings 22:19; II Chronicles 18:18; Psalms 148:2; compare also Psalm 103:21; and Joshua 5:15; (b) Used of the sun, moon, and stars. Isaiah 34:4; 40:26; 45:12; Jeremiah 33:22; Daniel 8:10; also used when the worship of the stars is mentioned. Deuteronomy 4:19; 17:3; 2 Kings 17:16; 21:3, 5; Zephaniah 1:5.”*

The word is used also more comprehensively as including all the heavenly bodies, …  compare Job 38:7, where angels and stars are mentioned together, and Isaiah 24:21, where the host of heaven is in opposition to the kings of the earth.

Jehovah is very often called “Lord God of Hosts,” and “Jehovah God of the heavenly Hosts.” This is most frequent in the prophetic books: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Zechariah, and Malachi, but is not found in the Pentateuch, Joshua, Judges, Ezekiel, Job, or Solomon.

Zeugma: Hebrew Tsabah:

The “Hosts of Heaven” and the “Hosts on Earth” are a unity and are both called by the word tsabah. This unity of the heavenly and earthly hosts is expressed by the grammatical use called ‘zeugma.’ Zeugma is the use of a word to modify or govern two or more words, usually in a manner that it applies to each in a different sense or makes sense with only one. Literally, it means “joining, to join,” as for example, “a yoke.”

The usage of zeugma applies in Biblical Hebrew to the relationship of the heavenly hosts and the inhabitants or whatever fills the earth, even the plants being included. The concept of zeugma may help to clarify the particular type of analogy used in the Book of Revelation, but which is also well attested in Old Testament Scriptures. The following discussion follows Gesinius’ Lexicon p. 699.

Genesis 2:1: “Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.”

This zeugma of the yoke between the hosts of heaven and the hosts of earth is resolved in Nehemiah 9:6 where the two are separated and each is described separately:

“Thou, even Thou, art Lord alone; thou hast made heaven, the heaven of heavens with all their host, the earth, and all things that are therein, the seas, and all that is therein, and thou preservest them all; and the host of heaven worshippeth thee.”

In Joshua 5:15 we see the “Captain (or Prince) of the host of the Lord” appearing to Joshua. He was shâr, (Prince), of all the host of the Lord whereas each Prince,  shâr, of Daniel 10:13, 20 represented only a particular nation. This passage sets a precedent for referring to the Messiah as the Prince Who is the Leader or Head of all God’s host in heaven and in earth. In this sense all of the hosts in heaven and earth are considered as a single host.

It is appropriate, therefore, to make His symbol that star around which the apparent marching of all heaven and earth revolve, the pole star, the apparent great Bond between heaven and earth which makes them a unity, a Uni-verse,by which all earth can be mapped in reference to the heavens.

Faithful Witness in the Heavens:

The promises to David were of a cosmic and ideal nature. The ideal model is forever established in heaven regardless of the corruption suffered by the earthly images. The Revelation of Jesus Christ deals with this ideal model. That dominion is described in Psalm 89:27: “And I will make my firstborn, (Light), higher than the kings of the earth” (also vv. 35-37):

“Once have I sworn by my holiness that I will not lie to David. His seed shall endure forever and his throne as the sun before me. It shall be established as the moon, and as a faithful witness in heaven. Selah.”

These promises clearly indicate their cosmic nature. To find a suitable heavenly symbol for this promised ‘throne’ and ‘witness’ which is as conspicuous in its own way as the sun or moon, again, we need only consider the pole star. No other heavenly body has served so well as a “faithful witness” for orientation for it is forever “established” and “unmovable” from its place.

Psalm 89:2-6: “Thy faithfulness shalt thou establish in the very heavens. I have made a covenant with my chosen. I have sworn unto David my servant, ‘Thy seed will I establish for ever and build up thy throne to all generations. Selah. And the heavens shall praise Thy wonders, O Lord: Thy faithfulness also in the congregation of the saints…For who in the heavens can be compared unto the Lord? Who among the sons of the mighty can be likened unto the Lord?”

Verses 11:12 (Psalm 89) show the value of the heavens for orientation north and south:

“The heavens are thine, the earth also is thine; as for the world and the fullness thereof, thou hast founded them. The north and the south thou hast created them: Tabor and Hermon, (the north and south mountains) shall rejoice in thy name.”

Next: Seven Golden Candlesticks – Part 2

This lesson is an edited excerpt from my book, Revelation in Context, available locally at the Living Word Bookstore in Shawnee, Oklahoma or www.Amazon.com, or www.XulonPress.com.
Free downloads are also available at www.revelationincontext.sermon.net.

Revelation: Light Was Conceived In Creation

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Revelation 1:12: “… and His countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength.”

Jesus Firstborn of Creation

Jesus, the Light of the World, was the Firstborn of Creation, Colossians 1:15. So let us paraphrase the creation story to see the account of when Christ was “Firstborn,” Genesis 1:1-3:

“When God began to create [the duality] heaven and earth, [1] the earth was [materially] formlessness, [spatially wandering, rationally mad, intellectually without order, spiritually and visually totally dark], and [virgin] emptiness. Darkness [was the veil that] covered the surface of the [boundless] chaos.

“And the Spirit, [Breath, Wind], moved, [brooded, trembling with loving affection], proceeded to heal her. [In lifting the veil of darkness from her], God said [of this union]: ‘Let Light begin to be.’ And Light [was conceived in her and thus] began to be.”

From Milton’s Paradise Lost

Of this portion of Genesis Milton writes in Paradise Lost as he addressed Christ:

“Hail, holy Light, offspring of Heaven first-born Or of the Eternal Coeternal beam,

May I express thee unblam’d? Since God is Light,

And never but in unapproached Light

Dwelt from eternity, dwelt then in thee

Bright effluence of bright essence increate

Or hear’st thou rather pure ethereal stream,

Whose fountain, who shall tell? before the sun….”[2]

Duality and Unity:

There has been considerable discussion over the supposed duality in Christian religion. Many have declared that the duality did not exist in the Old Testament and that it was totally foreign to the true religion of the Jews. It did not need, however, to be imported as some would have it, from Babylon, or Greece, or Zoroastrianism. Although the duality is not apparent in our English translations, it is apparent in the dual forms of the Biblical Hebrew, even of the first verse of the Bible.

The duality, then, is the source of the possibility of the chaotic conditions of the earth and therefore of evil. It is the reconciliation of earth and heaven and their reunion that brings about the blessings of order and peace. This perfect unity is the source of, as well as the result of, Light. Earth and Heaven are reunited in earth’s conception of Light. In the fullness of time that Light that was conceived in the beginning comes to full maturity in the Perfection of Light, Jesus.

The Prophet Isaiah saw this beautiful truth:

“The Lord called me from the womb, from the body of my mother he named my name….And now the Lord says, who formed me from the womb to be his servant, to bring Jacob back to him, and that Israel might be gathered to him, ….he says: ‘It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the preserved of Israel; I will give you as a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.'”(Isaiah 49:1b, 5-6. See also Isaiah 44:24.)

The Divine Cycle

God created duality for the sake of the joy of desire-fulfillment. In Unity all is at rest, therefore, the prime move itself was necessarily an act in contrast, apposition, conflict with the Unity of rest. The act constituted duality itself, and was initiated with the intention of creating duality.

The Bible begins with the rest of divine Unity: God. It can only proceed by and because of an act: Creating. The act is first produced by desire, tôhûw ve bôhûw. Desire creates reunion, marechepheth. Reunion, or resolution of the duality produces an offspring, Light. This circular continuum of Unity, Creation, Duality, Desire Fulfillment, Creation, Reunion is repeated infinitely and infinitesimally and each cycle produces its own peculiar radiance which is an appearance of God, a Revelation. The Revelation of Jesus Christ is the perfect fulfillment of the great cycle of cycles resolving all things to the Great Unity of Divine Rest.

Christ As Both Father And Son

As Light, Christ is the “Everlasting Father” of Isaiah 9:6. The Hebrew is ’âbiy-‘âd, translated by Gesinius as “perpetual father.” Since the word ‘âd means “time,” a possible translation would be “Father of Time.” Christ was both Abraham’s progenitor and Seed, as also He was of David. [Note that the Seed is only activated by Light.]

As Abraham’s seed produced the fleshly Israel, and also Christ according to the flesh, so Christ is the progenitor of the spiritual Israel for it is His bloodline that survived the destruction of the Jewish nation, city, and people in the first century AD. No other Jewish or Israeli bloodline or genealogy survived. As Christ raised and ascended and is alive forevermore, He perpetuates the bloodline of Abraham forever and is the source of the Holy Seed that produces the new birth, bringing sons and daughters into the kingdom and producing, perpetuating, and increasing the spiritual Israel, the Church, the Light of the world, Matthew 5:14.

Manifestation: Revealed Light

Revelation means ‘Perfection of Light.’ While God is unapproachable Light, Christ is revealed light. The Book of the Revelation of Jesus Christ, then, is the written manifestation (that which makes manifest is light), of Jesus Christ and shows Him as the “Perfection of Light.”

The purpose of Light, or Revelation, is to show, (cause to see), and this purpose is the one given for the Book in its title sentence: “The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto Him to show unto His servants things which must shortly come to pass.” This is parallel to the passage from 1 Timothy 6:14b-16, “The appearing [Revelation] of our Lord Jesus Christ: which in His, [referring to God’s], times, [in verse 13], He, [God], shall shew [reveal].”

The Firstborn Light Comes to Perfection in Jesus

The Light that God commanded to be conceived or begun in the beginning waxed brighter and brighter throughout the revealed Scriptures until at last, it reached its perfection in the Revelation of Jesus Christ. The whole Bible could rightly be named “The Revelation of Jesus Christ.” But while this Light was conceived in the Old Testament, it was at that time hidden, but in the incarnation it was revealed, and in the Spirit it is perfected. Taking this title sentence as the key to the interpretation of the Book, we are required to interpret its symbols as symbols of Light.

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son.” LIGHT!

This lesson is an edited excerpt from my book, Revelation in Context, available locally at the Living Word Bookstore in Shawnee, Oklahoma or www.Amazon.com, or www.XulonPress.com.
Free downloads are also available at www.revelationincontext.sermon.net.

Revelation As Light – Manifestation

Revelation Commentary, ,
Revelation 1:16: “… And His countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength.”
Manifestation:

The book of Revelation is not so much a message as a manifestation, and that manifestation is the Light of God, the Urim ve Thummim for the direction of His people: “…a Light to lighten the Gentiles and the glory of His people, Israel.”

Taken separately, the literal meaning of Urim is ‘Lights” and the literal meaning of Thummim is ‘Perfections.’  Taken together they have the meaning of ‘Revelation,’  ‘Perfection of Light,’ and ‘Revelation and Truth.’

In the beginning God said: “Let there be Light” and in the last book of God’s revealed Word we find that Light has come to perfection, Perfection of God’s Will, and the inevitable outcome of His Word of power.  The most fitting title possible for the final Book of Scripture is Tammim, (a variant form of Thummim), “perfection, completion and fullness.”  The Book itself declares that the Revelation is complete when it pronounces a curse upon anyone adding or taking from the words of the Book.

Symbols of Light as Literary Conventions:

There are several ways in which symbols of light are used in the book to reveal Christ.  These symbols are used according to the literary conventions already established in the canonical literature including both Old and New Testaments.  The book of Beginnings, Genesis, starts with the revelation of the Secret of Light:

“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.  And the earth was without form, and void; And darkness was upon the face of the deep.  And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.  And God said, Let there be Light: and there was Light.” -Genesis 1:1-3 KJV.

The Gospel of John starts from this same beginning point:

(1) In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. (2) The same was in the beginning with God.  (3) All things were made by Him; and without Him was not anything made that was made. (4) In Him was Life: and the Life was the Light of men.  (5) And the Light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not. 

(6)There was a man sent from God whose name was John.  (7) The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through Him might believe. (8) He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light.  (9) That was the true Light which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.  (10) He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew Him not.  (11) He came unto His own, and His own received Him not.  (12) But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become sons of God, even to them that believe on His name: (13) Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.  (14) And the Word was made Flesh, and dwelt among us, (And we beheld His glory, [beautiful Light], the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.”  John 1:1-14.

Jesus Claimed to be this Light of the World:

“Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, ‘I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness but shall have the light of life,” John 8:12.

“As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world,” John 9:5.

“Then Jesus said unto them.  ‘Yet a little while is the Light with you.  Walk while ye have the Light, lest darkness come upon you:  for he that walketh in darkness knoweth not whither he goeth.  While ye have Light, believe in the Light, that ye may be the children of Light.’  These things spake Jesus, and departed, and did hide Himself from them.”  John 12:35-6.

God is Light:

“That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of Life; (For the Life was manifested, [revealed, brought to light], and we have seen it, and bear witness, and show unto you that Eternal Life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us:)…This then is the message which we have heard of Him, and declare unto you, that God is Light, and in Him is no darkness at all.“  1 John 1:1, 2, 5.

Revelation was to show [reveal] Christ as the King of Kings:

“…until the appearing [Revelation] of our Lord Jesus Christ: which in His times He shall shew [Reveal], Who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords; Who only hath immortality, dwelling in the Light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see; to Whom be honour and power everlasting.  Amen.”  (1 Timothy 6:14b-16.)

“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of Lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning,”  James 1:17.

Next: Revelation: Light Was Conceived In Creation

This lesson is an edited excerpt from my book, Revelation in Context, available locally at the Living Word Bookstore in Shawnee, Oklahoma or www.Amazon.com, or www.XulonPress.com.
Free downloads are also available at www.revelationincontext.sermon.net.