Category Archives: Revelation Commentary

The Tribulum

Revelation Commentary, , ,

Revelation 1:9. Tribulation: “I, John, who also am your brother, and companion in tribulation.”

Symbolically, the seven stars, (Ursa Major), were sometimes known as the wain, or threshing sledge called a “tribulum.” The word tribulation comes from this instrument. Just as the grain was threshed and the wine was pressed, so were those who endured tribulation.

In Isaiah 41:15, the remnant of Israel is promised the role of “threshing sledge” to thresh the wicked. The suffering which  the saints endured was avenged by the Lord God Almighty, their Kinsman/Redeemer.

In Jeremiah 51:33 the “daughter of Babylon,” (backslidden Israel), is said to be like a “threshing floor.”  This is a reference to 1 Chronicles. 21:18-22:1 that the temple was built on the “threshing floor” of Ornan, the Jebusite. The root of the word “Jebusite” is Hebrew ‘bus’ meaning “to tread down, trample,” (BDB). When Jerusalem lost her identity with God she became the “daughter of Babylon,” the threshing floor.

The threshing floor was often associated with the wine press either by their proximity or by the fact that both represented the processing of the harvest and both were trodden. The same floor was probably suitable for both purposes.

The wicked city of Jerusalem, under the rulership of the Pharisees, persecuted the Christians to the death and caused them great tribulation. But just as she had caused so many to suffer, she also came to “great tribulation” and was finally totally destroyed in 70 AD.

TRIBULATION

Revelation Commentary, , , , , ,

Revelation 1:9. Tribulation: “I, John, who also am your brother, and companion in tribulation.”

Purpose of the Writing

Discerning the purpose of any writing is crucial to its interpretation. Just so, in the Book of Revelation, what one discerns as its primary purpose colors every aspect of the interpretation of the Book. Many interpreters see the purpose of the Book as being to comfort those who are being persecuted. Those who thus interpret the purpose of the Book then usually interpret this persecution as coming from the Roman government.

There are therefore two questions to be examined: (1) Is the primary purpose of the Book to comfort those suffering persecution? And (2) is the persecution alluded to in the Book from the Romans or from the Jews? The question of the source of persecution is tied to the date of the writing.

Date of the Writing: 96 AD or 68 AD?

Those who see the date of writing as in Emperor Domitian’s reign, circa 96 AD, view the persecution as coming from the Roman Empire, and Mystery Babylon as Rome. These three facets of interpretation, i.e., (1) the date of writing, (2) the source of persecution, and (3) the identity of Mystery Babylon, all depend upon each other and neither of them can stand alone. If any one of them is totally proven, the others would be on much steadier ground. However, if any one of them is totally disproved, the others must fall with it.

Those who see the writing as being in Emperor Nero’s reign, about 64-68 AD, have the option to view the persecution as coming both from the Roman Empire (Rome, interpreted as the Beast), and Judaism, (Jerusalem), interpreted as Mystery Babylon. After reviewing Biblical and historical records, this is my view.*

Persecution Under Nero, circa 64 AD

The Roman persecution under Nero as described by the ancient Roman historian Tacitus[i] was probably not a general law against Christianity as such but a specific charge such as of arson. Tacitus had no respect for Christianity, but admitted that the charges of their having set fire to Rome in 64 AD were a “frame-up.” Whatever difficulties they may have encountered at this time in Rome, the modern historian Cary says: “There is no evidence for persecution outside Rome,” (ibid. note 27), and Nero’s ruthless treatment of Christians caused the general populous to pity them and to hate Nero even more, (ibid. 359).

The Church historians have little record or memory of the Neronian persecution. Other than Tacitus, they have the ancient historian Suetonias’ allusion to a disturbance in Rome caused by one “Chrestus” which may have been his mistaken conception of a Jewish uprising against the Christians in that city, (ibid. 639, n. 50).

Therefore, there is little evidence of widespread Roman persecution in Nero’s reign, but there is evidence that there was a “frame-up” against the Christians and a Jewish uprising against the Christians.

*(See Lesson 18: “The Writer and Date of Writing” in my Book, Revelation In Context.)

[i] As given by Cary and Scullard, History of Rome, 634, note 26-7.

THE ALMIGHTY

Revelation Commentary, , , , , , ,

Revelation 1:8. “I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.”

The Greek word for Almighty is “pantokrator.”  This term is found seven times also, in Revelation 4:8; 11:17; 15:3; 16:7, 14; 19:15; 21:22. According to Malina the term literally means “Controller of Everyone and Everything” (Malina, 261*). The like term polokrator was used in the Greek cultures to designate the “god” who exercised control over the pole of the universe, upon which the whole heavens and earth apparently turned. The word pole meant “that central pivot plus all the sky connected with it that rotated around the earth due to the power applied at the pole,” (ibid. 73). In identifying Christ as the ‘pantokrator,’ He is the One Who has all power in the universe.

Various Names of the Constellation of Ursa Major

The seven stars of Ursa Major which is the constellation containing the pole star, (often called “the North Star”), were known variously in that era “… as simply the ‘Seven Stars’; or as ‘Septem Triones,’ the seven oxen that plow or thresh around the pole,’ (in Latin, a common word for northern is ‘seven-oxen-ward’ septemtrionalis); or ‘the Turner,'” (ibid. 92). So when John turned and saw the “seven stars” he was seeing Ursa Major.

The Symbolism of the North Star

On this view, the polokrator held the pivotal stars in his right hand (ibid. 262).  Christ is, therefore, being portrayed in Revelation 1:16 as the God of the universe, not merely the Messiah of the small nation of Israel.

It is in this idea of the pole as the pivot point upon which the whole universe turns that we find an analogy with the Garner also as a place where the good grain is gathered, ( see Matthew 3:12; Luke 3:17), for the oxen tread out the grain around just such a pole. Symbolically, Christ is gathering His good grain into His garner.

The Lamb/Ram Sign as the First Sign of the Mazzaroth

This polokrator is also identified with the constellation of the Lamb/Ram, believed to be the first of the zodiacal signs. [Remember, however, that the Hebrews did not use the word ‘zodiac’, a circle of animals, but rather ‘mazzaroth’, meaning “moving things.”] The ancients popularly believed that when the sky revolved to the position where the Lamb/Ram was again the first of the signs of the year, then the whole universe would be transformed. By referencing the symbol of the polokrator, the Book of Revelation is declaring that Jesus now occupies, not only this position of power, but also ALL power; not only physical power, but ALL kinds of power in the universe. As the Great Lamb of God, He is in this first position; it is therefore the time for the transformation of the universe.

*Malina, Bruce J. On the Genre and Message of Revelation. Hendrickson Publishers. Peabody, Mass. 1995.  

Alpha and Omega Part 4 of Series

Revelation Commentary, , , ,

History of the Alphabet

Some history of the alphabet will help to demonstrate its significance as a symbol of Christ. The alphabet did not originate as the phonetic system we have today which roughly represents speech sounds. It had a long history before it reached the phonetic stage of development. As the handwriting of God upon the heavens, it was universally significant to all mankind. Being able to read the signs of the heavens, to know the global positioning system, to know the seasons, was a matter of life or death as well as a spiritual experience. Having already acquired this basic significance, it was ideally suited to go into the whole world when it developed into a phonetic system.

Alphabet as Immutable Order

The primal idea of the alphabet was that of an immutable order, an order witnessed to by the order of the time-indicating signs of the heavens. Possibly the first use of the graphic symbols of the alphabet was as numerals for counting and naming this ordered series of the progression of time-indicators for time-reckoning, that is, the calendar.

As symbols of order, it consequently became a mnemonic device for memory units of all kinds.[9] In time the mnemonic use of these signs for oral literary and historical units developed into semasiographic writing,[10] which, at some point, produced the idea of correlating the signs with speech sounds. At this point the alphabet became phonetic as we know it today.[11]

The major steps in the history of the development of the alphabet as it progressed through a continual differentiation of usage, meaning, and signs is somewhat parallel to the ever-increasing Light of Christ.

[9] A mnemonic device is a system used to recall the proper order of items in a sequence; i.e. any group of items to be remembered could be arranged according to this fixed numero/alphabetic order and so be more easily recalled, for example, “1, 2, 3,” or “a, b, c.”

[10] Semasiographic writing is defined by Gelb as “… a stage of writing in which meaning– not words or sounds– are suggested by signs,” Ignace J. Gelb, A Study of Writing: The Foundations of Grammatology, Second Edition, (Chicago, Ill., University of Chicago Press, 1962), 15.

[11] The Behaviourist School says that language is the only medium of human communication and all human intercommunication outside of language is nothing but a secondary substitute for language, that thinking and ideas are ‘silent talk.’
Gelb says that the Behaviourist School is wrong in some instances, that there is not a complete identity of speech and writing, that in the earliest writing, the images expressed meaning without a “linguistic garment.” Only after the development of a phonetic system was writing practically identified with speech and lost its independent character (ibid.).

Alpha and Omega Part 2 of Series

Revelation Commentary, , , , , , ,

 Revelation 1:8: “I am Alpha and Omega.”

This utterance, the first of the utterances of Jesus in the Book of Revelation, seems to be saying, not only the awesome title “I Am,” but also that “I Am the Alphabet,” since alpha and omega are the names of the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet. This is a puzzling statement unless and until we understand the significance of the alphabet as it is used in this context.[1]

Hebrew Aleph and Tau

Based upon the premise that the book was originally written in Hebrew, we should translate the alphabetic terms back to the Hebrew. The equivalent of Greek alpha and omega is Hebrew aleph and tau. The aleph and tau, being the first and last letters, represents the entire alphabet and is no doubt the Hebrew word for “alphabet.’  The word we translate “and” is represented in Hebrew by the letter vau, giving us the three letters aleph, vau, and tau.These three letters so arranged spell the word translated “sign,” or transliterated ’ôwth, or sometimes ‘oth. [2]

We may readily see that as the alphabet Christ is the totality of every word that may be uttered, written, or read. He is The Word. However, there are aspects of the ancient alphabet that are difficult to translate. One of those is the fact that the oldest alphabets were not only letters, but were also numerals. As the numerals, Christ is the entire realm of all that can be measured or quantified, that is, all mathematics and science. But this is not yet all that the term aleph-vau-tau indicates, for in the earliest traceable stages, the alphabet was also the means of designating the time-telling stars and constellations in their time-telling movements as well as their function in navigation and cartography (Seiss, 177).[3]

Even now there is a system for naming stars that uses the Greek alphabet – roughly in order of their brightness within a constellation: alpha, beta, gamma, … etc.

Christ is All and in All

To sum it up, as aleph-vau-tau, Christ is All and in All: The Word, Time, Space, Wisdom, Life.

Origen in his Commentary said that the canonical books of the Hebrew Bible were twenty-two, “like the letters of their alphabet.”[4] This was a fact noted also by Josephus and other writers of that era. It indicates that they considered the alphabet as representing a totality; that is, the complete Scriptures were contained in the twenty-two letters of the alphabet.

[1] See also my Commentary on Revelation 1:7, “Coming”. The Hebrew word ’ôwth, (consisting of the letters aleph-vau-tau,), is used in Dan.7:13 regarding the ‘coming’ of the Son of Man in the clouds.

[2] Targumim = ‘translations’.
The Babli is the Babylonian Talmud and the Yerushalmi is the Jerusalem Talmud.
Midrash is: (1) the haggadic or halakic exposition of the underlying significance of a Bible text. (2) A collection of Midrashim. (3) cap: the Midrashic literature written between the 4th century B.C. and 11th century AD].
Haggadah is: (1) ancient Jewish lore forming esp. the nonlegal part of the Talmud. (2) The Jewish ritual for the Seder, (Passover feast).
Halakah is the body of Jewish law supplementing the Scriptural law and forming especially the legal part of the Talmud.

[3] “In the perspective of early Christians who compiled listings of heretics, Israelites who rejected Jesus as Messiah were quintessential heretics. Among this group, the Pharisees were remembered for their devotedness to astrology: ‘Fate and astrology were quite popular notions with them,’ writes Epiphanius…. Epiphanius further recounts how they possessed a vocabulary of their own in Hebrew for the zodiac and other celestial beings,” (Malina, 74).
Quoting Hippolytus, Refutation of All Heresies 4.46. Anti-Nicene Fathers, 5.42, that “‘Heretics’ read constellations in terms of Israel’s biblical tradition. They assimilate the doctrines of an Aratus, for example, to those declared by the Scriptures, thus ‘exhibiting a strange marvel, as if the assertions made by them were fixed among the stars” (ibid.).
Malina says further: “The heretics opposed by Hippolytus interpret the Scriptures allegorically. The Scriptures do not mean what they say literally, but refer to something else (this is allegory). Furthermore, these heretics likewise interpret the stars allegorically, using the fixity and regularity of the stars to give credence to their interpretations” (ibid.). These heretics thus used the stars to give credence to strange doctrines and suggest hidden meanings.

[4] As stated by Eusebius, History of the Church, 6.25; that the Apostle John wrote the book of Revelation (ibid., 6:25.10).

Next Lesson – Alpha and Omega Part 3