DAN BOONE

REVELATION

I Saw the Holy City

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Introduction to the Shaped by Scripture Series 4

Introduction to the Book of Revelation 7

Week One: The Seven Churches (Revelation 2–3:22) 14

Week Two: The Slaughtered Lamb on the Throne

(Revelation 4–5) 27

Week Three: The Horsemen and the Seals

(Revelation 6–7) 40

Week Four: Terrifying Salvation (Revelation 8–11) 51

Week Five: The Evil Triad (Revelation 12–15) 66

Week Six: The Banquet of the Lamb

(Revelation 16–19:10) 81

Week Seven: The New Jerusalem

(Revelation 19:11–22:21) 96

Contents

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THE SHAPED BY SCRIPTURE SERIES

The first step of an organized study of the Bible is the selection of a biblical book, which is not always an easy task. Often people pick a book they are already familiar with, books they think will be easy to understand, or books that, according to popular opinion, seem to have more relevance to Christians today than other books of the Bible. However, it is important to recognize the truth that God’s Word is not limited to just a few books. All the biblical books, both individually and collectively, commu-nicate God’s Word to us. As Paul affirms in 2 Timothy 3:16, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteous-ness.” We interpret the term “God-breathed” to mean inspired by God. If Christians are going to take 2 Timothy 3:16 seriously, then we should all set the goal of encoun-tering God’s Word as communicated through all sixty-six books of the Bible. New Christians or those with little to no prior knowledge of the Bible might find it best to start with a New Testament book like 1 John, James, or the Gospel of John.

By purchasing this volume, you have chosen to study the book of Revelation, which is from the apocalyptic genre of biblical literature. Revelation contains seven scenes of rich imagery and imaginative detail that ultimately promise hope for God’s people. The goal of this series is to illustrate an appropriate method of studying the Bible, so we will examine these seven key scenes in Revelation with the hope that the method modeled and practiced here will give you a useful way to engage further study.

Introduction

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How This Study Works

This Bible study is intended for a period of seven weeks. We have chosen a specific passage for each week’s study. This study can be done individually or with a small group.

For individual study, we recommend a five-day study each week, following the guide-lines given below:

1 On the first day of the study, read the relevant passage several times until you become fully familiar with the verses, words, and phrases.

2 On the second day, we will review the setting and organization of the passage.

3 On the third day, we will observe some of the realities portrayed in the passage.

4 On the fourth day, we will investigate the relationship of the individual passage to the larger story of God in the Bible.

5 On the fifth day, we will reflect on the function of the story as we hear it today, the invitation it extends to us, and our response to God, who speaks through God’s Word.

If this Bible study is done as a group activity, we recommend that members of the group meet together on the sixth day to share and discuss what they have learned from God’s Word and how it has transformed their lives.

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You may want to have a study Bible to give you additional insights as we work through the book of Revelation. Other helpful resources are Discovering the New Testament and Revelation: A Commentary in the Wesleyan Tradition, available from The Foundry Publishing.

Literary Forms in the Bible

There are several literary forms represented throughout the Bible. The divinely inspired writers used various techniques to communicate God’s Word to their ancient audiences. The major literary forms (also known as genres) of the Bible are:

• narratives

• laws

• history

• Wisdom literature (in the form of dialogues and proverbial statements)

• poetry (consisting of poems of praise, lament, trust in God, and more)

• prophecy

• discourses

• parables

• miracle stories

• letters (also known as epistles)

• exhortations

• apocalyptic writings

Within each of these forms, one may find subgenres. Each volume in the Shaped by Scripture series will briefly overview the genres found in the book of the Bible that is the subject of that study.

When biblical writers utilized a particular literary form, they intended for it to have a specific effect on their audience. This concept can be understood by examining genres that are famil-iar to us in our contemporary setting. For example, novels that are comedies inspire good and happy feelings in their readers; tragedies, on the other hand, are meant to induce sorrow. What is true of the intended effect of literary forms in contemporary literature is also true of literary forms found in the Bible.

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Introduction

THE BOOK OF REVELATIONThe book has two names: Revelation and Apocalypse. Though many mistakenly call it “Revelations,” it is not a plural word but singular—there is one Revelation. The other name, Apocalypse, has been associated in recent years with natural disasters, terrorist attacks, and global meltdowns. In the popular imagination, the word “apocalypse” denotes a cataclysmic event of disastrous proportions, and the entertainment doesn’t help us in that regard—movies and books use the word as shorthand for horrific events.

When you read the Apocalypse, it is easy to see why this interpretation might emerge. In its pages, we find things like an army of warrior locusts with human heads, lion’s teeth, and scorpion tails; bloody water that kills many of the earth’s inhabitants; a prostitute gobbled whole by a beast from the sea; and four horsemen who ride through the streets meting out war, violence, poverty, and death. No wonder we associ-ate the word “apocalypse” with world-ending disaster. In the original Greek, however, the word simply means “to reveal” or “to uncover.”

Most Christians have given up any hope of understanding the last book of the Bible. Like novices reading a complex legal document, they have surrendered to experts, end-time preachers, and prediction gurus. After all, what layperson is equipped to delve into the mysteries of Jesus’s Revelation to John?

My understanding of the Bible centers on a simple tenet: the Scriptures are for the people of God. The Spirit of God is at work in the simplest soul who sets out to read the story of God’s saving activity. Thus, the muddle of prophecies and popular end-time novels should not deter us from reading Revelation for ourselves. I believe that you, a student of the text, have the best vantage point for a proper reading of Revela-tion. These ancient texts are for people who struggle under powers that steal, kill, and destroy. They are for the elderly couple living on a meager retirement; the abandoned woman with young children; the man forced to shut down his failed business; the im-migrant working under threat of deportation; the college student weary of multi-task-ing. I claim Revelation for folk like these. We are meant to read it in a way that shapes us.

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Who Wrote Revelation?

In the book’s opening verses, we learn that the author is named John, and that he is a leader in the early church. This is probably a different John than the one who wrote the Gospel and the New Testament letters. To indicate this distinction, the author of Revelation is often called John the Divine.

John is familiar with the churches on the mainland of Asia Minor, which is ruled by the Roman Empire. Traditionally, it is thought that the book was written near the end of Emperor Domitian’s reign (81–96 AD). When he receives the Revelation, John is ex-iled on the Island of Patmos for proclaiming of the word of God and his testimony of Jesus Christ. On Patmos, he receives a vision of the exalted Son of Man, who tells him to transcribe what he sees and send it to the seven churches. While the communica-tion of the Revelation is shrouded in mystery, it is by John’s obedience (even as he is exiled like many prophets before him) that Revelation finds its way into human hands.

Revelation is handed off four times: it comes by way of God, who entrusts the mes-sage to Jesus, who gives it to an angel, who gives it to John with the command that he transcribe what he sees and deliver it to the seven churches. The seven churches each have an angel—a spirit who represents its essence and serves as its persona. God addresses the letters to these angels of the churches. We would do well to remember this: that, first and foremost, this sacred book meant something to the seven church-es to whom it was written. To leapfrog those churches as if they never existed and to read Revelation as if it were written for a twenty-first-century audience is to do great injustice to the text.

Literary Form

While many of the biblical books are defined by a single literary genre, we find three distinct genres in Revelation: apocalyptic, prophetic, and epistolary. This combination of literary modes is what makes Revelation one of the most unique among the sixty-six books of Holy Scripture.

Apocalyptic literature is an ancient genre that involves otherworldly beings imparting visions and revelations to human recipients. In this genre, opposing worlds collide, and images and characters are larger than life. The apocalyptic text has a narrative founda-tion, but its plot extends beyond the scope of history. There are enough parallels to our own context to keep us on the planet, but enough dissonance to assure us that we are not in Kansas anymore. In Revelation, the refrain “and then I saw” is the portal from one vision to another. We see seven stories that are about the same thing, but are told in differing ways. By offering a distanced perspective, apocalyptic literature enables us to better understand our present world. In this way, apocalyptic literature works on our imaginations.

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For three hundred years, between the third century BC and the second century AD, apocalyptic literature flourished in Jewish culture. We find other good examples in Dan-iel, Isaiah 24–27, Zechariah 9–14, Ezekiel 38–39, Matthew 24–25, Mark 13, Luke 21, and 1 Thessalonians 4:16–5:11.

In addition to being apocalyptic, Revelation is prophetic. God speaks—and when he does, a prophet is created. This leads us to a succinct definition of the term “prophet”: a prophet is an inspired messenger from God who speaks on behalf of God from an expe-rience with God. In Revelation 1, John’s visionary encounter with the one “like a son of man” is reminiscent of the divine encounters that Jeremiah, Isaiah, and Ezekiel expe-rienced. These encounters with God produced prophets who were compelled to write and speak about what they had seen and heard. Thus, prophetic literature is character-ized by forecasts of salvation and judgment, the announcement of coming salvation, the call to repentance, and an injection of hope in the midst of despair. In the opening of Revelation, John writes, “Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophe-cy” (1:3).

Finally, beyond its use of the apocalyptic and prophetic genres, Revelation also has epistolary features. Epistles (letters) were a common means of communication between the apostles and their various congregations. The letters addressed to specific churches were read orally in the congregations and included greetings, issues of concern, direc-tives, and salutations. We find John’s apostolic greeting in Revelation’s opening verses (1:1–8).

The letters to the seven churches (Revelation 2–3) have many of the epistolary features described above. One difference we find between the letters of Revelation and other New Testament epistles (like Galatians, Philippians, and Colossians) is that in Revelation, all seven letters are sent as one to all seven churches—that is, they were meant to be read to all of the congregations. The “church” being addressed is not just one of the sev-en churches, but all of them, with all their various struggles. What the spirit said to one congregation was meant to be overheard by all. The letters appear in geographical order of delivery, following the Roman postal system: from Ephesus, to Smyrna, to Pergamum, to Thyatira, to Sardis, to Philadelphia, to Laodicea. As he wrote, John’s heart and mind traveled a road his feet knew well.

Given this brief introduction to the literary genres found in Revelation, I suggest you read the entire book for yourself, from start to finish, in one sitting. No doubt this is how the people of God received it. They didn’t study one chapter a week; they heard the letter as a whole.

Entering the Story

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So what are we to do with Revelation? If it isn’t a chronological timetable of the end times, a code to be cracked with a calculator, a rap sheet on the antichrist, or a clue to the mark of the beast, then what is it?

I think it is a story—several stories, in fact—about God. Revelation is the story of the God who shakes the earth to bring us to repentance; who will not quit until creation is redeemed; who is intent on bringing us to completion; who is making everything new; who outlasts and undoes anything evil can do; and who stands in our past, pres-ent, and future as hope personified.

We have seen wars, unstable rulers, government stagnation, federal overreach into citizen privacy, technology addiction, evidence of significant climate change, neglect of the marginalized, and the decline of trust in authority and the media. The world is not getting better. Government solutions exacerbate problems while principalities and powers posture themselves as saviors in the midst of chaos. The belief that we some-how have the capacity to save ourselves is grossly misguided. For all our intelligence, the human race seems incapable of acting for the common good.

Am I pessimistic, then? Not at all. Jesus told us that we would experience tribulation but that we should not fear because redemption is on the way. On his way to the cross, Jesus assured us of persecution, but also offered up a priestly prayer for our unity and sanctification. As I read the daily news, I find that things are pretty much as Jesus suggested.

Historical Context

I am interested in Revelation not as a timetable for the future but as a deep well of im-agery from which we draw our identity as the people of God. While these lessons from the early church are rooted in the historical context of the Roman Empire, they also speak directly to us. Rather than fold our hands and wait for some heavenly rapture to rescue us from the mess of our world, Revelation urges us to participate in the mission of God right where we are. The Spirit is at work in this sacred text, helping us interpret the world we live in.

Revelation dates back to the late first century and is a pastoral letter from John, a Christian prophet, to endangered Christians in Asia Minor. While Revelation may be complex in apocalyptic imagery, it can and should be understood. It is the seedbed of our songs, the language of our worship, the cry of our suffering, and the hope for our future.

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John has a dual purpose for Revelation. On one hand, he seeks to distance the church-es from the Roman Empire’s ways of thinking and living. On the other, he calls them to worship and bear prophetic witness to God and his mission in the world. The book is a rich resource for community formation; for seeing the world from a throne-of-God perspective; for bearing costly witness; for devoted worship; for getting out of Babylon; and for embodying the future of God.

So, it’s true that Revelation is about the future—but not in the popular sense of “pre-dicting the future.” Rather, it is about the future of the God who makes all things new, and the faithfulness of his people in worship and witness. The suffering Lamb is our way into such a future.

Structure and Organization

Following John’s vision on Patmos, Revelation becomes seven letters to the seven churches. Following the seven letters, we see a series of visions: the throne of God; the slaughtered Lamb who is worthy to open the seals of the scroll; the seven seals opened; 144,000 people sealed as the people of God; seven trumpets that create destruction across the earth; a scroll that John is commanded to eat; two witnesses of Jesus who testify, are martyred, and then raised to life; an encounter among a woman with child, a red dragon, and Michael, the archangel of God; a beast from the sea and a beast from the land; seven plagues poured out as bowls of wrath; a prostitute who symbolizes Rome; the fall of Babylon; the wedding supper of the Lamb; the full and final defeat of evil; and the new Jerusalem coming down from heaven as a dwelling for God among the people.

Though Revelation is written as a narrative, it is not told in sequential, start-to-finish order—rather, it revisits the same truths from differing perspectives. While there is progress from suffering to victory, the path is not straightforward. Revelation is like a tornado moving across land: while the path of the tornado may be from one point to another, the direction of the wind is circular. It repeats the same circle numerous times, picking up speed and leaving affected readers in its wake, until it moves ahead toward a climactic end.

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Major Theological Themes

Revelation addresses several issues: the assimilation into Roman cultic worship; the persecution of those who refused to conform to the empire’s practices; and the com-placency of believers who preferred the empire’s benefits to costly obedience to the Lamb. The primary theological themes include the following:

God is the creator, ruler, and sovereign. His throne in chapter 4 is the center of the apocalypse, and we return to it in every vision.

Jesus is the slaughtered Lamb. We find him depicted as the exalted Son of Man; the lion of the tribe of Judah; the child of the woman in chapter 12; King of Kings and Lord of Lords; and the conquering rider on the white horse in chapter 19. Still, the dominant image is of the slaughtered Lamb whose faithful witness leads to the shedding of his blood. This sacrificial obedience becomes the saints’ power to overcome. It is impossible to separate the Christ who comes in victory from the Jesus who dies on a cross.

Revelation gives us as picturesque a view of evil as any we find in Scripture—one we might call “the evil triad.” First we see the devil, called Satan, the accuser of the saints, who is also the red dragon who attempts to kill both mother and child. Next, the devil/dragon calls forth the beast from the sea of chaos. (This beast is most often the embodiment of Satan in the form of an emperor who assumes divine status and demands worship.) The third person of the evil triad is the beast from the land, also called the false prophet. This beast takes shape in the priests and cultic leaders across the empire who are known in the cities of the seven churches. This theology of evil shows us the many forms in which we encounter dark principalities and powers.

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Throughout Revelation, we see the judgment of God. Over half of the apocalypse recounts events that arise from God bringing judgment on the earth and its inhabitants. We will address the meaning and function of this divine response to evil in the studies that follow.

God’s primary concern is that people turn from the empire’s idolatrous ways and worship the true God. His judgments are designed to bring people to repentance.

Worship occurs around the heavenly throne, and believers on earth should take their cues from heaven. In this sense, worship is the recognition of the kingdom come and God’s will being done.

Jesus is, first and foremost, the faithful witness. He is followed by John, the two witnesses of Revelation 11, and the saints. From these examples, we see the mission of the people of God unfolding in testimony, vocation, resistance, and devotion.

Revelation is intentional in introducing the evil triad—exposing its ways, detailing its defeat, and firmly establishing its demise. The powers that oppose God are destroyed and never heard from again. We also see that the people who attached their hopes to the evil triad share in the consequences of divine judgment. It is impossible to read Revelation and place low importance on human behavior.

Revelation gives us the clearest image in all of Scripture of the new Jerusalem coming down, heaven and earth being made one, and the holy city becoming the dwelling of God among humans.

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REVELATION 2–3:22Many people assume that the Roman Empire’s widespread persecution of Christians led to the composition of Revelation. In truth, there was little empire-wide persecu-tion of Christians— rather, the persecution was local. While the letters to the seven churches note specific instances of persecution in Smyrna and Philadelphia, they do not indicate that persecution is the primary concern for the other five churches. For Ephesus, Pergamum, and Thyatira, the problem was the believers’ assimilation into the social and religious practices of Roman culture. For Sardis and Laodicea, the issue was complacency and the sloth that comes with wealth and position. Clearly, the churches’ challenges stemmed from the inside as much as the outside.

The seven letters all follow the same pattern: they begin with a reminder of the de-scription of the Son of Man in chapter 1. They continue by congratulating the church on what has been going well (only in Laodicea is there nothing to praise). Next, they warn about what has been going badly (only in Smyrna and Philadelphia is there no fault to be found). The letters end with a solemn warning and promise: the spirit is speaking to the churches, calling Christians to conquer, and promising them some aspect of the glorious future that God has in store. All the promises, and all the warn-ings, are for all the churches.

Week One: The Seven Churches

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WEEK 1 , DAY 1Listen to the story in Revelation 2– 3:22 by reading it aloud several times until you be-come familiar with its verses, words, and phrases. Enjoy the experience of imagining the story in your mind, picturing each event as it unfolds.

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WEEK 1 , DAY 2REVELATION 2-3:22

The Setting

The letters speak to the church’s heart—its essence, character, and culture. Each church is asked to assume a listening posture before the one who alone can say, “I know your works, your affliction, your poverty, your city, your challenges.” Each letter begins by describing a characteristic of the exalted Son of Man before proceeding to discuss the trouble in the church.

The Plot

To discover the plot of Revelation 2–3:22, let’s examine the passage by dividing it into seven sections. Below, summarize or paraphrase the general message or theme of each verse or grouping of verses (following the pattern provided for Revelation 2:1–7, 8–11, 12–17, and 3:14-22).

1. Revelation 2:1–7 The church in Ephesus has assimilated into the culture and lacks a faithful witness.

2. Revelation 2:8–11 The church in Smyrna has been experiencing persecution. Jesus encourages them to

to be faithful unto death.

3. Revelation 2:12–17 The sins ascribed to the church in Pergamum include fornication and eating food sacrificed

to idols, which are some of the empire’s pagan temple practices. Thus, the issue here is assimilation.

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4. Revelation 2:18–29

5. Revelation 3:1–6

6. Revelation 3:7–13

7. Revelation 3:14–22 The church in Laodicea has grown complacent in their wealth and position.

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WEEK 1 , DAY 3

What’s Happening in the Story?

As we notice certain circumstances in the story, we will begin to see how they are similar to or different from the realities of our world. The story will become the lens through which we see the world in which we live today. In our study today, you may encounter words and/or phrases that are unfamiliar to you. Some of the particular words and translation choices for them have been explained in more detail in the Word Study Notes. If you are interested in even more help or detail, you can supple-ment this study with a Bible dictionary or other Bible study resource.

Create your own brief summary or description of the reality portrayed in Reve-lation 2:1–7 and 2:8–11, following the example provided for Revelation 2:12–17, 2:18–29, 3:1–6, and 3:7–13.

1. Revelation 2:1–7

2. Revelation 2:8–11

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WORD STUDY NOTES #3 1 This could be in reference to the shrine of the healing god, Asclepius, since the symbol of this god was a serpent.

WORD STUDY NOTES #4 1This name could be a reference to the Jezebel who appears in 1 Kings 18–21.

WORD STUDY NOTES #5 1This language recalls similar wording in Revelation 1:4 and 1:16.

3. Revelation 2:12–17

The issue in Pergamum is the church’s assimilation into pagan cultic practices that worship the empire. One of the members of the church had already been martyred—Antipas, the “faithful witness.” The letter to Pergamum refers to the city as “the place where Satan has his throne.”1 In verse 17, Christ promises the overcomers at Pergamum a white stone with a new name written on it. This references the city’s custom of recognizing patrons of the empire by purchasing white marble, engraving it with the name of honor, and affixing it to the black marble buildings in the city. Here, Jesus promises recognition to his followers who resist the empire.

4. Revelation 2:18–29

The letter to the church in Thyatira is from the Son of God who has eyes like a flame of fire and feet like burnished bronze. From Revelation 1:13–15, we know that these features distinguish the “one like the Son of Man.” Thyatira is worse off than Pergamum because they have a temptress inside the church, Jezebel. Je-zebel beguiles the people and leads them into fornication and eating meat sacrificed to idols.1

5. Revelation 3:1–6

The letter to Sardis is from the one “who holds the seven spirits of God and the seven stars.” Seven is the number of complete-ness and perfection, which tells us that this is the full Spirit of God.1 We can read this as John’s way of referencing the Holy Spirit. The issue in Sardis is complacency—they are dead in their works. This is a church that bears no distinctive witness to Christ in their city.

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6. Revelation 3:7–13

The letter to the church in Philadelphia is from the “holy and true” one “who holds the key of David.” He opens doors that no one can shut and shuts the doors that no one can open. Later in Revelation, we will see the image of keys used to indicate seal-ing up, binding, and imprisonment. Most likely, the believers are refusing to partici-pate in the social-religious functions of the city because these functions are steeped in pagan practices. For this reason, the rulers of the city are barring Christians from participation in trade, and thus denying them a livelihood. The letters affirm that God is the one who holds the keys; God will open a door for them.

Practice the above pattern to summarize the world and reality portrayed in Revela-tion 3:14–22.

7. Revelation 3:14–22

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Discoveries

Let’s summarize our discoveries from Revelation 2–3:22.

1. The people of God will always be pressured to renounce their identity and become like everyone else.

2. We experience evil in the world as a magnetic pull toward the darkness.

3. Rome possessed military, political, and economic power—expressions of power which are still integral to our world’s structure today.

4. Many people imagine the God of Revelation as more retributive than merciful, but in reading the seven letters, we see a variety of messages from God, including affir-mations, warnings, commands, and promises.

5. The empire is seductive. The pressure to conform is not always a direct threat; sometimes it appears in the form of an inch-by-inch accommodation of sin. In this way, the empire lulls us into complacency.

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WEEK 1 , DAY 4

The Letters to the Churches and the Story of God

Whenever we read a biblical text, it is important to ask how the particular text we’re reading relates to the rest of the Bible.Within the seven letters, we glimpse Christians interacting with family members, friends, business associates, and public officials who do not share their religious convictions. The believers are faced with hard questions: Should they participate in activities that are steeped in paganism? This would include most social ac-tivities: watching or participating in athletic contests; buying and eating meat in the pagan temples; worshipping idols of Roman gods and rulers; and attending trade guilds, clubs, and events in private homes. Some believers participated in such events while others abstained. Those who abstained were viewed negatively by pagan society and thought to be unpatriotic, irreligious, and uncivil. Some were even denied membership in the trade guilds and thus denied a livelihood. These believers lived under the scrutiny of the empire.

The believers of Revelation were not the only biblical figures who were pressured to conform. In the space given below, write a short summary of how the themes of idol worship and pagan practices are utilized in each passage.

1. Joshua 24:14–28

If you have a study

Bible, it may have

references in a

margin, a middle

column, or footnotes

that point to other

biblical texts. You

may find it helpful

in understanding

how the whole

story of God ties

together to look up

some of those other

scriptures from time

to time.

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2. Isaiah 41:21–29

3. Isaiah 44:9–20

4. 1 Corinthians 8–10

5. 1 Peter 2:11–17

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WEEK 1 , DAY 5

Revelation and Our World Today

When we enter into the intriguing narrative of Revelation 2–3:22, the story becomes the lens through which we see ourselves, our world, and God’s action in our world today.

Answer these questions about how we understand ourselves, our world, and God’s action in our world today.

1. What work can Christians not do without compromising their devotion to God?

2. How do our business practices and our faith intersect and inform one other?

3. What situations in your life resemble the Revelation believers’ experience of being pressured to conform? What activities are you expected to engage in that violate the way of Christ?

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4. Economically, what does it look like to be in the world but not of the world?

5. How can we discern the vocation to which we are called?

6. What form do guilds take today?

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Invitation and Response

God’s Word always invites a response. Think about the way the themes of our work in the world and loyalty to God speak to us today. How do they invite us to respond?

What is your evaluation of yourself based on any or all of the verses found in Revela-tion 2–3:22?