Revelation is “A revelation of Jesus Christ.” (Rev 1:1) “If anyone asks, ‘Why read the Apocalypse?’ the answer must be, ‘To know Christ better.’”[1] Too much of a focus on anything less will rob us of the goodness of the message of Revelation. I say this because today’s passages have been interpreted…a lot of different ways. We must be consistent with our interpretations when reading Revelation. We tend to play “duck, duck, goose” with Revelation: “Figurative, figurative, LITERAL.” I am no exception. I have found myself revising numerous sermons in this series because I would think, “Anthony, that’s not how you used that image last week.” So, here is A WAY to understand Revelation that I have been using so far:
Numbers are figurative. Weigh them, don't count them. That includes the 1,000 years that show up today.
Sun, moon stars are heavenly beings
Mountains are nations; the sea is people of all nations
Fire/blood/winepress[2] have been icons that when you click on them lead to the grim reality of God’s judgment. Sometimes more than one image is used at the same time (like today’s passage)
The Beast, the False Prophet and Babylon have been corporate rather than individual, though individuals have embodied them throughout history. They are systems, empires, worldviews.
The catastrophic physical calamities have been about spiritual, economic, and political realities.
Recapitulation has been a thing; we saw the end of the world multiple times; we are about to hear about Armageddon again two more times (from two different perspectives) in Rev. 19 and 20.
We are going to pick up Revelation 19, beginning in verse 11. Verses 1-10 will show up next week when we get to Chapter 21. Once again, I am going to let the next few pages be the original text (mostly from The Voice translation) with its myriad of footnotes. We are going to skip to page 6 for a version/translation/commentary by yours truly that seeks to combine all the…stuff. All the things.
I looked up and saw that heaven had opened.[3] Suddenly, a white horse appeared. Its rider is called Faithful and True,[4] and with righteousness He exercises judgment and wages war. His eyes burn like a flaming fire, and on His head are many crowns.[5] His name was written before the creation of the world, and no one knew it except He Himself.[6]He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood,[7] and the name He was known by is The Word of God. And the armies of heaven, outfitted in fine linen, white and pure, were following behind Him on white steeds. [8]From His mouth darts a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations.
He will rule over them with a scepter made of iron.[9] He will trample the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God, the All Powerful.[10] And there on His robe and on His thigh was written His name:[11] King of kings and Lord of lords.[12] Then I looked up and saw a messenger standing in the sun; and with a loud voice, he called to all the birds that fly[13] through midheaven. The Heavenly Messenger said, “Come. Gather for the great feast[14] God is preparing for you where you will feast on the flesh of[15] kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of the rich and powerful, the flesh of horses and their riders[16]—all flesh—both free and slave, both small and great.”[17]I looked down, and I saw the beast I had seen earlier and the kings of the earth with their armies gathered together to wage war against the One riding the white horse and His heavenly army.[18]
The beast was soon captured along with the false prophet, the earth-beast I had seen earlier who performed signs to deceive those who had agreed to receive the mark of the beast and those who worshiped its detestable image. Both of them were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur. And all who remained met death at the blade of the sword that proceeded from the mouth of the One riding on the white horse. All the birds feasted fully on their flesh.[19]
Then I saw a messenger coming from heaven. In his hand was a key to the abyss and a great chain that had been forged in heaven. He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for 1,000 years with the great chain.[20]The messenger cast him into the abyss and locked it and sealed him in it so that he could not go about deceiving the nations until the 1,000 years had come to completion.[21] Afterward he must be released for a short time.[22]
Then I saw some thrones, and those seated in judgment were given the right to judge. Standing there were the souls of those who were beheaded because of their testimony of Jesus and the word of God. They had refused to worship the beast or its detestable image and had not received the mark upon their foreheads or upon their hands. They had come back to life and reigned with the Anointed One, our Liberating King, for 1,000 years. Now as for the rest of the dead, they were not given life until the 1,000 years were completed. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy are the ones who take part in the first resurrection.[23] Over these, the second death has no power;[24] they will serve as priests of God and His Anointed, and they will reign with Him for 1,000 years.
When the 1,000 years are completed, Satan will be released from his prison.[25]And he will crawl out of the abyss in order to deceive the nations located at the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog[26] as Ezekiel described them, in order to rally them together for one final battle. They are in number as the grains of sand on the shore.
They marched in unholy array over the expanse of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city.[27] As they laid siege to the city, fire rained down from heaven and incinerated them. And the devil who had deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet[28] had already been thrown; and the unholy trio will be tortured day and night throughout the ages.[29]
The scene changed.[30] I saw a great white throne, and One was seated upon it. The earth and heaven receded from His presence; there was no place for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing in front of the throne. Some books were opened. Then another book was opened; it was called the book of life. And the dead were judged according to what had been recorded in the first books; these were the records of everything they had done.[31] And the sea surrendered its dead.[32] Death and Hades gave up their dead as well. And all were judged according to their works.
Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire.[33] This is the second death, the lake of fire.[34] And everyone whose name could not be found among the names written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire. And they will have no rest, day or night.[35]
* * * * *
So here is my version, in which I stand on the backs of 2,000 years of commentators. I mean, it’s not all of them, but it’s a good representation of common themes. My goal is not the details (though I hope to get them right), but the message that transcends and illuminates the details. In other words, don’t miss the forest for a few distracting trees J
[Note: we are apparently seeing the final confrontation twice. The first one focuses on Jesus as the Returning King and feels like the start of the movie where you give away what’s about to happen, then something like “Three Weeks Earlier” appears on the screen. That’s kind of how Chapters 19-20 feel. So I am going to try to tell them as a synchronized story, which means I’m combining what I understand to be the narrative of the two stories. THIS IS NOT MEANT TO TAKE THE PLACE OF THE ORIGINAL J It’s only to make the reading less confusing.]
* * * * *
Then another messenger came from heaven with a key to the abyss, the home of chaos and evil, and a great chain that had been forged in heaven made of Jesus resurrection power. He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent who is the devil and Satan, and thoroughly bound him with the chain to suppress his power in the world.
The messenger cast him into his abysmal home of chaos and evil and locked it, sealing him in it so that he could not stop the spread of the gospel to all the nations for 1,000 years[36] – that is, until God’s timetable had been completed, and Satan must be released from the abyss (but not unbound) for a short time.
Then I saw that God had placed people on thrones of judgment. In front of them were the souls of those who were killed because of their testimony of Jesus and the word of God, as well as those who had paid any price by refusing to worship the beast or its detestable image, and who had not been marked as “beastly” by the allegiance in their hearts and the actions of their hands.
Their souls were alive (#firstresurrection), and they were reigning with the Lamb, the King of Kings, while Satan was bound and the gospel flourished in the world. Blessed and holy are the ones who take part in the first resurrection as they await the reuniting of soul and body after the final judgment, when all things are made new.
Over these, the second death – not the first, physical death, but the spiritual death that follows final judgment[37] – will have no power; they serve as priests of God and His Anointed, and they reign with Him as the gospel spreads through and flourishes in the world.
When the time of Satan’s bondage and the gospel’s spread is completed, Satan will be released from the abyss (though not from the chains of Jesus’ resurrection power) and will deceive all the nations in order to rally them together yet again for one final battle. His followers are numerous, as numerous as the sand on the shore of the sea of humanity from which the beasts had arisen. These citizens of the city of Satan – anywhere Rome and Babylon are central - marched over all the earth and surrounded the city of God – the church.[38]
I looked up and saw that heaven had opened – another vision was beginning. Suddenly, a white horse appeared that looked like the horse with the false Christ-pretender from the Seven Seals. But this rider was different. This rider was Jesus, the Faithful and True.
He comes to exercise righteous judgment and to bring an end to all unrighteousness. His eyes burned with righteous anger, and he wore…all the crowns, from everywhere, from all the kings, from all time. Only He knew His secret name, which was written before the creation of the world.
Dressed in a robe dipped in the life-blood of his sacrifice,[39] He finally revealed His name: The Word of God. The armies of heaven, outfitted in purity as if in fine, clean linen, were following behind Him on horses just like His. From the mouth of The Word of God darted…well, the Word of God, a sharp sword of Truth with which to strike down the false foundations of nations.
He had an iron scepter befitting all-powerful king. Like all royalty, inscriptions that define Him were written on His robe and on His thigh, but they surpassed the inscriptions on the statues of emperors or rulers: “King of kings and Lord of lords” belongs only to Him.
Like Isaiah prophesied concerning the ‘winepress’ of the wrath of God[40] the ‘grapes’ of evil will be harvested from the earth, then drained of life and destroyed.[41] [Babylon’s] sins are piled up to heaven, and God has remembered her crimes. Give back to her as she has given; pay her back double for what she has done. Pour her a double portion from her own cup....” (Revelation 18:5-6; 20)
With a loud voice, an angelic messenger standing as if in the center of the sun called to all the carrion birds that fly through midheaven. “Come. There is about to be a war, so all you eaters of the dead be prepared to feast at the winepress: on kings, captains, the rich and powerful, horses and their riders, free and slave, small or great - all those who helped the Beast (made up of the Romes and Babylons in the world) commit evil against God, His world, and His people.”
As they laid siege to the global church, God’s judgment rained down on them from heaven like fire and destroyed them.[42] The earthly empires stood no chance, and the Beast was soon captured along with the False Prophet (remember, this is the spirit of anti-christ, of religious deception, of idolatry masquerading as holiness, who was able to perform signs and wonders, just like Pharaoh’s magicians, to deceive those who had agreed to be marked by their allegiance to the beast and those who compromised true faith to worship its detestable image.)
The Beast (Global Systems hostile to God’s people) and the False Prophet (Religious Idolatry and Deception) were thrown into the lake of judgment[43] that burns with fire and sulfur, so that they would be completely consumed. And as the One riding on the white horse spoke the sword of God’s Truth, the people who remained saw the lie that sins brings life turn into the truth that the wages of sin is death
Just as Satan was defeated by the blood of the Lamb and the word of his followers' testimony (12:7-9, 11), this battle was won by the blood of the Lamb and the Truth of The Word. The carrion birds, the scavengers who feed on death, feasted until they could hold no more.
And the devil who had deceived them was exiled to a lake of fire[44] and sulfur (God’s judgment)[45] where the Beast of Empires and the Second Beast, the False Prophet of Idolatry had already been thrown; and this anti-trinity will pay the price of their evil throughout the ages.
[now we move to the Final Judgment]
The scene changed. I saw a great pure and holy throne, and One was seated upon it. Even the earth and heaven receded from His presence; there was no place for even things as grand as them in His presence. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing in front of the throne. Some books were opened.
Then another book was opened; it was called the Book of Life. It contains the names of all saved by grace (Ex 32:32; Is 4:3; Dan 12:1, 2)— God's mercy through the Lamb who was slain for their sins is far greater in comparison than the frailty of their works.
And the dead were judged according to what had been recorded in the first books; these were the records of everything they had done without the blood of Jesus on the doorpost of their lives.[46] Everything that held the dead – the Sea[47] and Death, which between the two of them accounted for all the bodies; Hades, which held their souls - gave up their dead, and all were judged according to their works.
Then Death, Hades, and everyone whose name could not be found among the names written in the book of life were given to what looked like a Lake of Fire: God’s eternal judgment. This is the second death, where both soul and body meet their eternal death.
* * * *
I like puzzles. To use a puzzle analogy, the point is to see the Big Picture once all the pieces are together, but if some key pieces look out of place, it’s distracting at best, maybe confusing, and we might even fight over where they go! -So let’s see if we can find how some of these pieces fit into the Big Picture in a way that makes the whole come to life.
First, “The Millennium itself is one of the most controversial questions of eschatology (the doctrine of the last things)…there are problems with [all] views… responsible Christian scholars vary in its interpretation according to their convictions and presuppositions.”[48] I think it’s fair to say the timing of the tribulation and the question of whether or not Christians will have to endure it rank pretty high too. Here are 4 key ways Christians have thought about this.
Michael Heisser describes himself as an “eschatological system agnostic.” I like that term. Revelation is the kind of book that defies airtight theories. I’m thinking of a book title to highlight the problem: The Last Word on Eschatological Details (5th Revision).[49]
Second, I find it helpful to remember the “now and not yet” aspects seen in Revelation already.
In some sense the Millennium began at Jesus’ resurrection (Satan is restrained now, the Gospel is flourishing in the world now, the saints in heaven are ruling and reigning now) with a fullness yet to be experienced (we have not yet seen Satan destroyed, or the Kingdom inaugurate fully and perfectly in the world).
It sure seems like tribulation has always been with us (the now), which is not to say it won’t get worse (the not yet). What’s the take away from both of them?
The now: “In this world you will have trouble, but take heart. I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33) Revelation is not about being taken out of this world but about faithful, obedient discipleship characterized by love in this world.[50] It is meant to enliven Christians in the midst of persecution and chaos, to help them patiently endure persecution and struggles both within and without.
The not yet: Revelation 21-22 (next week).
Third, the return of Jesus, the Second Coming, uses the term parousia. This was the word used to describe Roman generals returning from battle. They literally would ‘descend from the clouds’ as they crossed the tops of mountains before being received with great pomp and circumstance as a returning, conquering King. John has been digging Rome and Emperors for the whole book; here is just another reminder that all earthly kings are pretenders to the throne. Jesus is King, and he’s coming back in glory.
Fourth, at this last battle in Revelation 19, there is no literal, physical war for those present at the Second Coming to join. The heavenly armies just sit on their horses. All the actions belong to the Lamb Who Was Slain, who rids the world of evil through his own blood and a sword of Truth (19:15).[51]
The symbol of the beast can open our eyes to systemic and structural evil in our world. Sometimes injustice or suffering may make it appropriate for us to use the rage passages [of Psalms] in prayer. But we must always return and worship to the central motif of the Lamb. The example and teaching of the Lamb must cover the lives of believers. Then the rage we bring to God and leave at the throne of grace will find its proper place.[52]
We can be distracted by the looming threat of a guns and mortar war and forget that our battle has been ongoing: we don't wrestle with flesh and blood, but with spiritual forces, and our solution has always been the spiritual armor of God. (Ephesians 6)
Fifth, Revelation is the only book of the Bible that promises a blessing for reading it: “Blessed is the one who obeys the words of this prophecy.” In other words, in light of the not yet, how should we live now?
You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and eagerly hasten toward its coming…But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness. So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him.” (2Peter 3:8–15)
We can be the voices naming that which is Beastly in the world, and calling out the false prophets who want to convince us that evil is good, that darkness is light, and that the wages of sin are anything other than death.
We can be the ambassadors of the Lamb Who Was Slain, representing the One who is Faithful and True by being faithful to the truth, and by walking in the way of the Lamb rather than the way of the Dragon.
We can, in this Church Age, live in the ‘now’ of Christ’s Kingdom (wherever we are on this unfolding historical map). We can taste and see that the Lord is good, and that His mercies are new every morning, and that the goodness of which we only catch a glimpse now are just a teaser trailer for what awaits us in the New Heaven and New Earth.
We can have confidence and peace now in the midst of any circumstance knowing it hasn’t surprised God. Covid? Not a surprise. Elections? Not a surprise. War? Not a surprise. Opposition to our faith? Not a surprise Your current circumstance? Not a surprise. Be at peace.
The King is coming, and He is going to make all things new.
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[1] Reading Revelation Responsibly
[2] Like the fire and hail from the First Trumpet angel, or the fire from the mouths of the two witnesses.
[3] Emperors or various kings would have special ceremonies for their parousia (coming into a city). The king would have a specific crown that was only used for victory marches; citizens would be dressed in white robes and yelling deification names to give him honor. The parousia of Jesus brings about the final conquest of the devil and his forces (1 Cor. 15:23–24), the final judgment of the world (1 Cor. 4:5), completes the redemption of the redeemed (1 Jn. 3:2; 1 Thes. 4:16–17; Heb. 9:28), brings history to its fulfillment (Rom. 8:19; 2 Pet. 3:13; Rev. 21:1) and establishes the public vindication and glorification of Jesus (Mk. 14:62; Rev. 1:7). (https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/themelios/article/the-parousia-getting-our-terms-right/)
“His robe is dipped in blood (19:13) even before he engages his enemies. The blood, therefore, is his own. Christ’s victory over his enemies… transpires through his death.” (Michael Gorman, Reading Revelation Responsibly)
[4] The rider on the white horse in the first seal (6:1-2) was introduced with exactly the same words (6:1; 19:11). If the rider in chapter 6 represented either false prophecy or the spirit of antichrist, it is appropriate that the rider here represents both true prophecy ("the testimony of Jesus") and Jesus Christ himself. (IVP New Testament Commentary)
[5] His crowns indicate that he is king of all (vv. 12,16).
[6] “This is a reference to what the rabbins call the shem hammephorash… the name the Jews never attempt to pronounce… they all declare that no man can pronounce it… and that God alone knows its true interpretation and pronunciation. (Adam Clarke)
[7] His bloody robe (see Gn 49:11; Is 63:1–6) unites Christ's sacrifice on the Cross with His righteous war (v. 11) and judging of sin (see 14:14–20). (Orthodox Study Bible) “The blood mentioned in connection with Christ in the Apocalypse is always his own life-blood (1:5; 5:6, 9; 7:14; 12:11.” (Expositor’s Bible Commentary)
[8] There are three OT allusions to the warrior-Messiah in this verse: he strikes down the nations (Isa 11:3ff.); he rules them with an iron rod (Ps 2:9); he tramples out the winepress of God's wrath (Isa 63:1-6)…Here his sword is the power of His Word (1:16 and 2:16)… the instrument of both his judgment and his salvation (Mt 12:37; Jn 12:48). (Expositor’s Bible Commentary)
[9] The promise in v. 15 echoes the earlier description of the male child born of the woman and caught up to heaven (12:5). (IVP New Testament Commentary)
[10] In Semitic thought, name expressed being. In this case, Faithful and True (see 3:13), Word of God (v. 13; see Jn 1:1, 14), KING OF KINGS (v. 16; see 17:14) AND LORD OF LORDS(see Dt 10:17; 1Ti 6:15). (Orthodox Study Bible)
[11] Ancient nations adorned the images of their deities, princes, etc. with inscriptions, expressing either the character of the persons, their names, or some other circumstance which might contribute to their honor, on the garment, or the thighs. (Adam Clarke)
[12] The Parthian ruler was called the “great king” and the “king of kings…” (Ezr 7:12; Eze 26:7; Da 2:37). Scripture applied similar titles to God (Dt 10:17; Ps 136:3; Da 2:47; Zec 14:9; 1Ti 6:15). (NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible)
[13] This is according to a Jewish tradition, Synopsis Sohar, p. 114, n. 25: "In the time when God shall execute vengeance for the people of Israel, he shall feed all the beasts of the earth for twelve months with their flesh and all the fowls for seven years." (Adam Clarke)
[14] See Ezek. 39:4
[15] Very similar list to Revelation 6:15
[16] The only fate considered worse than death itself was death followed by lack of burial. In Eze 39:17 – 20: God invited beasts and birds to devour the flesh of the end-time army. (NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible)
[17] Recalls the graphic prophetic curse against Gog (Ezek 39:4, 17–20; cf. Rev 20:8).
[18] This is the gathering which was initiated by the three unclean spirits like frogs “which go out to the kings of the earth” (Rev. 16:14+) (Precept Austin)
[19] No battle is fought. John may be indicating that the battle has already been fought and won by the death of the Lamb (5:5, 9) just as Satan was defeated by the blood of the Lamb and the word of his followers' testimony (12:7-9, 11). (Expositor’s Bible Commentary)
[20] “Satan’s power to influence the nations is suppressed….The present spread of the gospel to the nations, as initiated in Acts, is the result of a restriction on Satan’s power to deceive.” (ESV Reformation Study Bible)
[21] “Thousand” is often used in the Scriptures to denote a long period of time, a great quantity, completion, perfection, thoroughness (Job 9:3; 2Pt 3:8).” (Orthodox Study Bible)
[22] “Satan was bound at the completion of Christ's saving work (Mt 12:28, 29; Lk 10:17, 18; Jn 12:31, 32; Col 2:15). He is not totally inactive (Acts 5:3; 1Co 5:5; Eph 6:11), but he cannot keep the gospel from the nations.” (Orthodox Study Bible)
[23] “The first resurrection (v. 6) is the heavenly life of souls who have died in Christ before His Second Coming… These righteous spirits (Heb 12:23) await only the reuniting of soul and body after the final judgment (21:1).” (Orthodox Study Bible)
[24] “The first death is bodily death…The second death is ultimate and spiritual in character. Likewise, the first and second resurrections may be preliminary and ultimate, respectively. The first is spiritual, the second is of the body. (ESV Reformation Study Bible)
[25] Some of the early church fathers, Augustine included, thought that when Satan was cast into the abyss, it was into the hearts of those who were evil. When his is released, it is seen by those in whom Satan dwells terrorizing the people of God.
[26] “Jewish writers typically used the invasion of Gog to predict the gathering of all nations against Israel. (NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible)
[27] “There are only two cities or kingdoms in the Apocalypse: the city of Satan, where the beast and harlot are central, and the city of God, where God and the Lamb are central. This city…Wherever God dwells among his people, there the city of God is (21:2-3).” (Expositor’s Bible Commentary) “The city is Christ’s church.” (Augustine)
[28] “That the beast and false prophet are [thrown into the lake of fire] does not argue for their individuality, since later "death" and "Hades," nonpersonal entities, are personified and cast into the same lake of fire (v.14).” (Expositor’s Bible Commentary)
[29] Postmillennialism: the return of Christ will not take place until the church has set up the kingdom of God on earth. Premillenialism: Christ’s return will be followed by the binding of Satan and a thousand-year reign of saints before the final judgment. Dispensationalism: divides history into seven dispensations, with the final one culminating in a kingdom centered in a renewed Jerusalem with a rebuilt temple. Amillennialism: the thousand-year reign is happening now during the Church Age in some fashion. All affirm God’s victory, and the future reign of the saints with Christ. (Asbury Bible Commentary)
[30] The vision shares features with Ps. 7:6–8; 47:8, 9; Dan. 7:9, 10 and other Old Testament judgment scenes (cf. Matt. 25:31–46). (ESV Reformation Study Bible)
[31] The books of judgment (Dan 7:10) contain a record of deeds, which will judge people (Ps 61:13; Jer 17:6). The Book of Life contains the names of all saved by grace (Ex 32:32; Is 4:3; Dan 12:1, 2)—not that they have no works, but that God's mercy is far greater in comparison.” (Orthodox Study Bible)
[32] “Many Gentiles believed that those who died at sea were barred from Hades because they were not buried.… Some apocalyptic writings expected Hades to return what was entrusted to it when the dead are raised for judgment.” (NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible) However, Augustine notes that the “sea”, in Revelation, has always meant the nations. He thinks that when the Sea gives up its dead, it’s the spiritually dead from the nations who had not yet physically died. Later, John will say “there is no more sea.” I always thought that meant “no more chaos,” but might it mean “no more distinct nations of earth?” Hmmm…..
[33] A river of fire flows from God’s throne in Da 7:10, an image that is heavily developed in later Jewish tradition. Most relevant… is the Jewish image of fiery Gehenna (Gehinnom), where many Jewish teachers believed that the wicked would be either tortured or consumed.” (NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible)
[34] “Death, the “last enemy that will be destroyed” (1Co 15:26), and Hades, the intermediate state between death and resurrection, will end.” (Orthodox Study Bible)
[35] How Revelation 14 describes it.
[36] “A thousand-year Messianic age can be found in rabbinic literature… but [John’s] main point was highlighting the temporary binding of Satan until the final judgment.” (NIV First Century Study Bible) There is no record in Ancient Christian Commentary On Scripture that the Early Church thought this to be a literal 1,000 years. Almost to a man, the early church fathers thought this 1,000 years were either a) the time between the Resurrection and the Second Coming, or b) the span of Jesus’ incarnate life during which the gospel spreads and Satan’s power and deceit is limited.
[37] “The first death consisted in the separation of the soul from the body for a season; the second death in the separation of body and soul from God for ever. The first death is that from which there may be a resurrection; the second death is that from which there can be no recovery. By the first the body is destroyed during time; by the second, body and soul are destroyed through eternity.” (Adam Clarke)
[38] “The worldwide city of Christ is to suffer at the worldwide city of the Devil.” (Augustine)
[39] Quick note: According to the excerpts in Ancient Christian Commentary On Scripture, all of the Early Church Father’s thought this blood was Jesus’ own. Some modern commentators think it’s the blood of those God judges in the ‘winepress’ of his wrath – which, as I read it, has not happened yet in the narrative.
[40] Interesting: the judgment is here a winepress, in a couple verses, it will be a fire. We saw this in Revelation 14: “ Then another angel came out of the temple in heaven, and he too had a sharp sickle. Another angel, who was in charge of the fire, came from the altar and called in a loud voice to the angel who had the sharp sickle, “Use your sharp sickle and gather the clusters of grapes off the vine of the earth, because its grapes are now ripe.” So the angel swung his sickle over the earth and gathered the grapes from the vineyard of the earth and tossed them into the great winepress of the wrath of God.” Both capture the point that judgment is coming; both are images, ‘icons’ on which to click.
[41] “Come, go down; for the winepress is full, the vats overflow—for their wickedness is great. Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision! For the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision.” (Joel 3:13b-14)
[42] Interesting perspective from Caesarius of Arles, which will show the kind of interpretation the church fathers offered: “Either they will believe in Christ through the fire of the Holy Spirit, and they will be spiritually consumed by the church, that is, incorporated into the church, or they will be consumed by the fire of their own sins and they will perish.” (Ancient Christian Commentary On Scripture: Revelation)
[43] (Is. 66:15, 16; Joel 2:3).
[44] Fire is frequently associated with all-consuming judgment (Is. 66:15, 16; Joel 2:3).
[45] So far in Revelation, all fire has represented judgment and not actual fire. I’m trying to stay faithful to that framework.
[46] My image to link it back to Exodus, which has happened a lot in Revelation.
[47] Augustine thought this meant that, since the sea represented nations, the Sea gave up the living who were spiritually dead, and Hades gave up the physically dead.
[48] Expositor’s Bible Commentary
[49] Got the term and the book idea from Michael Heisser, on the Naked Bible Podcast
[50] Michael Gorman, Reading Revelation Responsibly
[51] Michael Gorman, Reading Revelation Responsibly
[52] Seven Deadly spirits: The message of Revelations letters for today's Church, T. Scott Daniels