Revelation

Revelation, or the Apocalypse Ἀποκάλυψις 

Martin Luther on the Book of Revelation

The book of Revelation almost didn’t make it into the Christian bible! It certainly had things in it that did not make sense to Christians in the centuries after the death of the apostles! For example, the reformer Martin Luther had this to say about it:

About this Book of Revelation of John, I leave everyone free to hold his own opinion. I miss more than one thing in this book and it makes me consider it to be neither apostolic nor prophetic . . . There is no prophet in the Old Testament, to say nothing of the New, who deals exclusively with images. For myself, I think it approximates the Fourth Book of Esdras. I can in no way detect that the Holy Spirit produced it . . . They are supposed to be blessed who keep what is written in this book and yet no one knows what it is, to say nothing of keeping it . . . My spirit cannot accommodate itself to this book . . . Christ is neither taught nor known in it . . . Therefore I stick to the books which present Christ to me, clearly and purely . . . This is the way it has been with this book heretofore. Many have tried their hands at it. But until this very day they have also let it alone until now, especially because some of the ancient fathers held it was not the work of St. John the Apostle . . . For our part, we share this doubt.”^[1]Martin Luther, Jaroslav J. Pelikan (ed.) and George V. Schick (transl.), Luther’s Works (Philadelphia: Fortress and Concordia, 1960), 35:398-400. See also C. W. Jacobs, Holman’s Edition of … Continue reading

Revelation 1-3 A Brief Outline of the Text

1. Symbols and numbers… we read this in this text -The number 7 – symbolism and meaning – Revelation 1.6
2. Heavenly Father’s father – Revelation 1.6, we will probably cover this in our third podcast on Revelation…
3. Alpha and Omega – what does this mean? – Revelation 1.8. In Hebrew we see something similar with the first and last letters of the alphabet represented in creation as well as the world truth, which is one of the many names of the Messiah Jesus Christ. The word for truth is emet, and it contains the beginning, the middle, and the final characters of the Hebrew language. According to one author:

The path upon which I shall embark to cogitate about this matter is to reflect on each of the letters in the Hebrew word for “truth,” אֶמֶת emet. From late antiquity a tradition has been transmitted in the name of Simeon ben Laqish pointing out that this word is composed of the first, middle, and last letters of the Hebrew alphabet (alef, mem, and tau), signifying thereby that truth is comprehensive of all the semiotic ciphers that weave the fabric of the holy language… Alef induces us to consider the past, mem the present, and tau the future.^[2]Elliot R. Wolfson, Alef, Mem, Tau : Kabbalistic Musings on Time, Truth, and Death, p. 61-62.

4. The nature of God – Revelation 1.8 – Limited Omnipotence – Alma 42, p. 102 – Get into “almighty,” the creation, ex nihilo creation, Paulsen, “The Omnipotence of God” and quote Brian Ostler on “limited Omnipotence” – we will probably talk some about limited omnipotence in episode 3 of our Revelation podcasts.
5. The Seven Candlesticks – are we talking about the Holy of Holies here? I think we are. I take this that John is restoring the early 1st temple, where the tree of life is IN the Holy of Holies, which we see later in Revelation. For more on John seeing Christ in the Holy of Holies, see: Margaret Barker, The Revelation of Jesus Christ: Which God Gave to Him to Show to His Servants What Must Soon Take Place, Continuum International Publishing, 2000. You can also see my notes from another one of her books here.

6. 7 stars in the hand of God – Revelation 1.16. I like how Bryce Dunford relates this image to the servants of God, and we can see Jesus holding these stars in his right hand, and then later in the text we read that Satan casts his stars (his servants) down to the ground. Both use stars as images, which is a powerful symbol for spirits and the persons.
7. The Lord breaks down the symbolism in this chapter in verse 20, where he says, “the seven stars are the leaders of the 7 churches, and the 7 candlesticks are the 7 churches” This tells us that the candlestick is not the light per se, but it holds up the light. We can be candlesticks, we can be “a window to his love.”
8. The messages to the individual churches vary, some are reprimanded, many are congratulated… they do follow a 5 part pattern.

Structural Pattern of the Seven Letters

9. The pattern of the seven letters to the seven churches is as follows: 1. Introduction, 2. A Messenger Formula, 3. An “I know…” Formula, 4. A call to hear and 5. An Eschatological Promise. Two of the letters are closely correlated with two Egyptian texts, chapter 115 of the Book of the Dead is correlated to the letter to Philadelphia, and the 5th Division of the Book of Caverns is correlated to the letter to Thyatira.^[3]John Pippy, Egyptian Origin of the Book of Revelation, 2011, p. 171.

The Symbolic Nature of the Number 7

Seven is the most common of all symbolic numbers.^[4]Robert D. Johnston, Numbers in the Bible, 71; and Kevin J. Todeschi, Encyclopedia of Symbolism, 186. The number appears over fifty times in the book of the Revelation alone. It is used more often, and with more consistency, than any other number, theologically or culturally.^[5]E. W. Bullinger, Number in Scripture: Its Supernatural Design and Spiritual Significance, 2011 reprint of the 1894 edition. As there are so many references to the number seven throughout scripture and Semitic literature, we have references in scholarship that this can be read as proof that something symbolic is intended.^[6]Maurice H. Farbridge, Studies in Biblical and Semitic Symbolism, 2007, p. 120. Maurice Farbridge goes further to state that nothing short of a miracle could detail and explain all of the references to the number seven in the Bible, let alone in Judaeo-Christian ritual and extracanonical religious texts.^[7]Ibid., p. 119.

Seven symbolizes fulness, completion, entirety or totality, and spiritual perfection.^[8]Bullinger, Number in Scripture, 23, 107; Todeschi, Encyclopedia of Symbolism, 186; Joseph Fielding McConkie, Gospel Symbolism, 199; John Davis, Biblical Numerology: … Continue readingAs a rule, multiples of seven can carry the same spiritual or symbolic significance. Etymologically, seven is connected with the Hebrew words for “full,” “satisfied,” or “complete.” According to one author:

In the Hebrew, seven is shevah שֶׁבַע . It is from the root savah, to be full or satisfied, have enough of. Hence, the meaning of the word “seven” is dominated by this root, for on the seventh day God rested from the work of Creation. It was full and complete, and good and perfect. Nothing could be added to it or taken from it without marring it. . . . Seven means . . . according to its etymology, that which is spiritually complete or satisfying.^[9]Bullinger, Number in Scripture, 167–68, 196.

Another source states, “The root of the Hebrew word for seven (sheva) is identical to the Hebrew verb that means ‘to take an oath,’ thus connecting the word seven to covenants and covenant making.”^[10]Joseph Fielding McConkie and Donald W. Parry, Guide to Scriptural Symbols, 99. See also John Davis, Biblical Numerology, 122.

The Letters to the Seven Churches

1. Ephesus – Revelation 2.1-7
Reprimanded & Congratulated… Nicolatian band (p. 126) – Revelation 2.6
Beware of those with false credentials – v. 2
An invitation to repent – v. 5
Those that overcome will eat of the Tree of Life – v. 7

2. Smyrna – Revelation 2.7-11
Beware of those with false credentials – 2.9
Tribulation for the church prophesied -2.10
Those that are conquerors (νικῶν from the Greek verb νικάω, nikao, to be victorious, overcome, or to conquer) will avoid the second death

3. Pergamos – Revelation 2.12-17 – More warning is given to the Saints in Pergamos. They are warned about the “doctrine of Balaam,” something that can be a complex topic when studying this interesting character in the Old Testament, for there are traditions of Balaam that come from outside the canonized text that are in conflict with what we read in the account as it comes to us from the Book of Numbers.^[11]For more on this complex nature of his story, see: “is Balaam a bad guy or a good guy?” Hidden manna and white stone – Rev. 2.17. What is the white stone? See D&C 130. Pergamos – the … Continue reading

Pippy goes on to point out that in many cases of the seven letters, that the same types of themes are even contained in the same order and grouped the same in Egyptian documents predating John’s text, proving to Pippy at least, that John was using much of The Book of the Dead and the Book of Caverns, for example, in the construction of his Revelation. I would argue that perhaps both – the Book of Revelation and the Book of the Dead come from the same source: that both are inspired texts that teach mankind about God, his relationship to the heavens and the temple. Dr. Hugh Nibley has tirelessly worked to show the connection between the ancient Egyptian temples, ritual, and Christian worship. I see this as another parallel here worthy of further exploration.

How to read scripture – PARDES

The four level of interpretation are called: Parshat, Remez, D’rash & Sud. The first letter of each word P-R-D-S is taken, and vowels are added for pronunciation, giving the word PARDES (meaning “garden” or “orchard”). Each layer is deeper and more intense than the last, like the layers of an onion.^[12]The Rules of PARDES, accessed 12.1.2019. See also Bradley J. Kramer, Beholding the Tree of LIfe: A Rabbinic Approach to the Book of Mormon, Greg Kofford Books, 2014.

P stands for peshat, or the literal reading of the text. I do not take so much of the text of Revelation literally, but we will examine in our podcast how Christians have interpreted this text over the history of Christianity.

R stands for remez, or the implied reading of the text. What are metaphors that we can take out of the text? How does the image of the Savior with the stars/servants in his right hand teach me about Jesus? His servants? Why is this metaphor or symbol in the text? What else could it mean? Much of the text of Revelation is powerful symbolic teaching, drenched in temple imagery to those who have been initiated.

D stands for derash, meaning the application portion of our reading of scripture. How can I apply this text to my life? How can my understanding of the Book of Revelation help me in becoming a better follower of Jesus Christ?

S stands for sod, or the way a text transports us to holiness, to the temple. How can understanding the message of the white stone bring me to a mystical understanding of the text? What does this have to do with the temple and its associated texts both written in scripture and written in our hearts?

Coming up in future podcasts (stay tuned):

Adoration in the Court of Heaven – the SOD experience of John – Revelation 4.1-5.14

The Seven Seals – Revelation 6.1-8.1

The Seven Trumpets – Revelation 8.2-11.19

The Conflict between the Church of God and the Powers of Darkness – Revelation 12.1-14.5

The Seven Last Plagues – Revelation 15.1-16.21

The Fall of Babylon – Revelation 17.1-19.5

The Final Victory – Revelation 19.6-20.5

The New Heaven and the New Earth – Revelation 21.1-22.5

Epilogue – Revelation 22.6-21