ABBREVIATIONS:
ESV =
English Standard Version
KJV =
King James Version
NIV =
New International Version
SCRIPTURE
quotations are from ESV unless otherwise noted.
INTRODUCTION
Verses 6-13 form a cohesive unit just
as the previous five verses of chapter 14 are a unit. There is little direct correspondence between
the two sections. In general, the first
section focuses on an idealized group of saints, followers of Jesus who are
exemplary in their lifestyle. The second
section warns of judgment and contrasts the saints with those who take the Mark
of the Beast. So, while the first
section praises the faithfulness of the 144,000, the second section warns that
saints need to hang on to the end because judgment is coming and those (whether
from among the saints or the general population) who cave in to the pressure
will suffer terrible punishment. This
section depicts a succession of three angels. Presumably all are flying in the
sky and making important announcements.
VERSE
14:6
The first angel has an eternal
gospel. There is no article with this
term. This does not necessarily make it
a generalized or vague term. The fact
that the adjective “eternal” modifies the noun means that this a gospel that
has great significance. It is possible
that “the” is omitted to add dramatic effect.
So, I do not think that this should be understood as some other word
other than the gospel of Jesus Christ. I
shall extend this below. This gospel is
proclaimed to those who “dwell” (ESV) on the earth. It is important to note that the word that is
translated “dwell” is not the same as the one that is often in Revelation to
designate the “earth-dwellers.” This
latter term can be considered a technical term in this book to refer to those
persons who have been captured by the powerful antichrist spirit that is extant
in the world. Rather, this reference in
14:6 is to all who live on earth, no matter what their spiritual
condition. The universality of the
recipients is emphasized by mentioning “every nation and tribe and language and
people.”
VERSE
14:7
The message of the angel is striking,
first, because it is not what we consider to be the gospel. I do not think this necessarily is a
contradiction. The fact that the angel
“has” the gospel does not mean that the words from him are a full statement of
the gospel. The gospel is God’s good
news to humanity. It is difficult to
hear these words of warning, yet warning is a form of grace. It calls us to repentance before it is too
late. It says that God does not punish
without first warning us. Fearing God is
often denigrated by Christians. How do
we reconcile two concepts—the grace of God that gives us boldness before Him
and the call to fear God?
STUDY
OF THE FEAR OF GOD:
TO FAIL TO FEAR GOD:
This can come from either being overly concerned about temporal
consequences or from arrogance.
Jesus warned that we should fear the one who can destroy both soul and
body in hell and not fear the one who only can destroy the body (Matthew
10:28). This is being overly concerned
about temporal consequences and not concerned about eternal consequences. Jesus described the “unjust judge” in Luke
18:1-8 as having no fear of God or people.
In this case the judge displayed arrogance that puts his own agenda
ahead of God’s requirements. In both
these cases, we see carelessness and foolishness because God and
eternity are not taken into account.
There is also, in both cases, ignorance of spiritual things. Romans 3:18 includes a lack of fear of God as
a sign of rebelliousness. Also,
Revelation 11:18 contrasts the rebellion of the nations with the prophets and
saints who fear God.
A PROPER FEAR OF GOD: Fear of God is connected to holiness—a
desire to rid ourselves of defilement (II Corinthians 7:1) and a recognition of
God’s holiness (Revelation 15:4). Romans 11:20-21 cautions Gentile believers
against pride in their standing before God.
They should, instead, “fear” God, who can remove them as easily as He
gave them standing. So, fear of the Lord
calls us to humility and removes pride.
Ephesians 5:21 calls us to submit to one another “out of reverence for
[fear of] Christ.” This verse serves as
a heading for the following passages on submission by wives, by children, and
by slaves—as well as the parallel submission of husbands, parents, and masters
to their obligation of love and kindness.
Thus, fear of the Lord brings about a mutual submission. We are also called to “work out our own
salvation with fear and trembling.” (Philippians 2:12) I take this to mean that we take as
ultimately serious the matter of our eternal salvation. Each person’s faith response to God’s grace
in Christ has both universal and personal implications. By “universal” I mean that we have a
heartfelt conviction of the truth of the Christian faith as it has always and
everywhere been believed. By “personal”
I mean that the implications of that conviction are going to find individual
applications that differ from person to person.
It is the serious working out of those implications that calls
for working through them “with fear and trembling.”
THE LOSS OR ABSENCE OF FEAR IN THE
SAVED: We have a relationship with God
as adopted sons and daughters and not as slaves who fear their master. (Romans 8:15)
We have entered into a love relationship with God, who loves us as His
children. (Romans 8:15, I John 3:1 and
4:18) We enter God’s presence through
the Spirit with boldness that recognizes God’s grace, the redemption of Jesus
through His blood, the satisfaction of God’s wrath through the cross, and the
reconciliation with God through Jesus, so that we do not cower in fear before
God. (Hebrews 10:19)
THE RECONCILIATION OF THE TWO IDEAS OF FEAR AND ABSENCE
OF FEAR:
a. Fear
acknowledges who God is and what His prerogatives, authority, and power are.
b. Fear takes
into account that God will judge the unrighteous and takes this knowledge very
seriously in making decisions about spiritual things—and all other matters.
c. Fear works out
one’s salvation: that is, pays close
attention to the matter, prays about it, searches the Scripture, and does not
neglect the issue.
d. Fear, in all
the issues of life, acknowledges God—praises and worships Him and honors Him.
e. Fear
recognizes that we live our lives out before God.
f. Absence of
fear comes about because of God’s loving grace and the saving work of Jesus
Christ.
g. Absence of
fear is not an arrogant or presumptuous grasping, but a humble acceptance of
the gift of God.
h. Absence of
fear characterizes our relationship with God—a relationship of love.
The angel’s admonition is to fear God
and give Him the glory because the “hour” of His judgment has come. Of all the reasons to fear God, approaching
judgment is the most acute. I do not
believe that we should take this sentence as a chronological clue in the
book. Much of Revelation contains scenes
and statements that are not constrained by a specific chronology. Rather, they are anticipations of events in
the future—events which are so important that they affect the present. So, this message could be understood to apply
to the Tribulation period—the last seven years before the Second Coming, but it
also can apply to us today. God’s
judgment is coming, and that is ample reason to fear God. Combined with an admonition to fear is a call
to worship God. Fear of God in Scripture
is tied to a wise acknowledgement of God, which issues in worship. The angel focuses on worship of God as
creator. The whole of creation—heaven
and earth—is mentioned and then also two particular components, the sea and the
springs of water. The sea represents
chaos and wild, mysterious unknown regions.
Yet, God is greater than the sea, for He created it. The springs of water represent refreshing,
life-giving water, which comes from the hand of a good and loving God. As we worship God, we acknowledge Him as
greater than ourselves, as the worthy owner of all creation who has a claim on
our lives. In properly balanced fear, we
do not give mere lip-service, but whole-heartedly worship God. As Christians, having the full revelation of
Christ and God’s gift of salvation, we know that the prerequisite to worshiping
God is to come into a proper relationship to Him through faith in Jesus Christ. Though we read such “doctrine” into this
simple admonition in verse 7, we should not necessarily understand that this is
the implication of the verse. Rather,
the angel is focusing the hearer on the proper response to almighty God: to fear and worship Him.
VERSE
14:8
This verse refers, for the first time
in the book, to Babylon. It is the
subject of chapters 17 and 18. It is
also mentioned in 16:19. I shall go into
detail, hopefully, when I get to those other references, especially chapters 17
and 18. In 14:8, Babylon is said to be
“fallen.” Because there is little to
help in chronology, I believe that this is an anticipation of the fall of
Babylon “the great.” The function of
these brief scenes seem to me to create a sense of fear, awe, and anticipation
of God’s great power and purposes. We
are shaped by our vision of God and what He has done and what He will do. So, one of the important understandings in
our frame of reference is that “Babylon the great” will fall. When exactly that happens is not so important
as to understand that a component of God’s judgment will be the destruction of
Babylon.
The remainder of the announcement helps
define Babylon and justify God’s judgment:
“she who has made all the nations drink of the
wine of the passion of her immorality.”
Although the King James Version translate the latter part as “wine of
the wrath of her fornication,” the use of “passion” by ESV is probably more
nearly accurate. The word for “passion”
is thumos and it is translated as “wrath”
or “anger” appropriately in almost all other uses. However, in 18:3 similar wording to 14:8
confirms that the issue is that Babylon has been the instigator of immorality
among the nations. Revelation 18:3:
For all nations have drunk the wine of the passion
of her sexual immorality,
and the kings of the earth have committed
immorality with her,
and the merchants
of the earth have grown rich from the power of her luxurious living.
Notice
that three activities are in parallel:
1. The nations
have drunk the wine of the passion of her sexual immorality.
2. The kings of
the earth have committed immorality with her.
3. The merchants
of the earth have grown rich off of her.
Poetically
“wrath” and “sexual immorality” could be linked, in the sense that the sin
brings about the wrath. However, no
consequence is included in each of the other activities. Hence, it makes sense that thumos is characterizing the sexual
immorality and not functioning as a consequence. Thus, the use of “passion” is appropriate. NIV uses “maddening”; thus the nations have
drunk of “the maddening wine of her adulteries.” (NIV)
VERSES
14:9-11:
In these verses, we look back to
chapter 13 in which the Beast is described and in which the policy of the
Beast’s empire to mark everyone with the Mark of the Beast is described. The second beast (generally called the False
Prophet) orders everyone to worship the Beast, under penalty of death (13:15)
and to receive the Mark of the Beast in order to buy and sell (13:16-17). Now, the angel declares the will of God: anyone who worships the Beasts and receives
his Mark will suffer the outpouring of God’s wrath. So, the Two Ways are presented in stark
contrast. In Deuteronomy 30:19 we
read: “I call heaven and earth to
witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, blessing
and curse. Therefore choose life, that you and your offspring may live…” The first Psalm contrasts the outcome for the
person who delights in the law of the Lord with the outcome of the ungodly: The godly person is like a tree planted by the
water, but the ungodly person is like chaff blown away by the wind. In Matthew
7:13-14 Jesus contrasts the narrow gate and way with the wide gate and
way: one leads to life and one leads to
destruction. So, although the immediate
consequence of Beast worship and taking the Mark is safety and economic
prosperity, the final outcome is to experience the wrath of God and endure
torment of fire and sulfur. This torment
is “in the presence of the…angels and…the Lamb.” Thus, we have the horrifying picture of these
people looking up at the holy angels, totally pure and clean of the
abominations of the world while the Beast-worshipers are suffering punishment
for their sins. They also are seeing the
One who died on the cross for them. They
see Him still to be the Lamb of God, but now He reminds them throughout
eternity that they took the broad road that leads to destruction. There is, in Scripture, intrinsic to God’s
offer of salvation the reminder of judgment.
In verse 14:11, the torment is depicted as going on “forever and
ever.” There are three time components
to judgment: it is sudden, it is final,
and it is forever. This sobering warning
is for those who will encounter the Beast and his empire and false worship. But it is also for us today. There may not be THE Antichrist today, but
there are certainly many antichrists (I John 2:18). And there are certainly many broad roads for
ungodly people to travel to destruction.
There are false religions and cults of all sorts. There is a smorgasbord of sensual pleasures
and perversions. There are temples to
luxury and materialism. There are hatred
and prejudice in the air as thick as smoke.
Violence is rife. What Mark will
you take? What image will you worship? You have a supermarket full of possible ways
to defy God and seal your fate. Yet, in
the midst of all this chaotic onrush to sin, there is the peaceful voice of
Jesus calling: Come to me, all who labor
and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn
from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your
souls. For
my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
(Matthew 11:28-30) And we have
the gospel message that “God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ
died for us.” (Romans 5:8)
VERSE 14:12:
ESV translates the start
of this verse: “Here is a call for the
endurance of the saints…” The Greek does
not have “a call”; it simply has: “Here
is the endurance of the saints…”
Although the ESV translation is possible, I think that omitting “a call”
helps us think about what is being said.
First, we have to ask: “Where are
the saints in all of this?” Verses 8-11
have focused on sinners—Babylon and the earth-dwellers who take the Mark of the
Beast—and their judgment. But implied in
this is that not everyone will participate in Babylon’s sins and not everyone
will receive the Mark of the Beast. Those
who avoid this participation in sin will be the saints. Simply avoiding Babylon’s sins and the Mark
of the Beast does not make one a saint.
The latter part of verse 12 defines the saints: “those who keep the commandments of God and
their faith in Jesus.” If we think
through the gospel doctrine that is generally accepted, the line of
cause-and-effect would be as follows:
Faith in Jesus brings acceptance with God (justification). This faith and the Holy Spirit bring about a
transformation of the personality so that one begins to live a holy life, in
obedience to Christ (see Romans 6 and 8 and 12:1-2). This latter process is termed
“sanctification.” The combination of
justification and sanctification is reflected in the description in Revelation
14:12 of the saints as “those who keep the commandments of God and their faith
in Jesus.” Notice this verse 12
describes saints who not only HAVE believed and obeyed but also ARE NOW KEEPING
that belief (faith) and obedience as an ongoing experience.
These saints, in this
passage, are people who are exposed to the worst possible alternatives—the sin
of Babylon and participation in Beast worship.
In order to maintain their Christian identity, they are called to have
endurance. Endurance is a theme found in
several places in Revelation. See the
following references: Revelation 1:9, 2:2-3,
2:19, 3:10, 13:10, and the present verse.
In 1:9, John identifies himself with other Christians who undergo
tribulation and who participate in the Kingdom.
Such people know what it is to live with endurance. In 2:2-3, Jesus compliments the church at
Ephesus for its endurance and does the same for the church at Thyatira in
2:19. In 3:10, Jesus promises
Philadelphia protection because the church has “kept my word about patient
endurance.” In 13:10 an expression very
similar to 14:12 is used (ESV): “Here is
a call for the endurance and faith of the saints.” Such endurance and faith is in the face of
the power of the empire of the Beast.
So, verse 14:12 is consistent with the theme of endurance—holding steady
under intense pressure—found throughout Revelation.
VERSE 14:13:
This verse makes a final comment: “Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord
from now on.” Very likely many would be
taken aback by such a comment—it is a comment of “a voice from heaven.” This is a way to convey the intensity of the
time that is being depicted. It is such
a time of suffering, of persecution, of overwhelming evil, that—to be blunt—a
Christian is better off dead. No doubt
it will only be by grace and loyal obedience that the saints—rather than
contemplate suicide—live faithfully in the presence of a world filled with hate
and sin. The Spirit answers the unnamed
voice with an explanation. The saints
who die will now be able to rest and to know that their “deeds follow
them.” I think of a couple of Scriptures
related to this idea. One is Matthew
6:19-21, in which Jesus admonishes us not to store treasures on earth, but in
heaven. For there our treasure will last
forever. To put it another way, what we
do has eternal significance, and, when we live for the Lord, our deeds count
for eternity. I also think of I
Corinthians 15:58, in which we are admonished to stay steady and to abound in
the Lord’s work because our “labor is not in vain.” What we do for the Lord is not empty and
insignificant, but rather it has eternal significance. So, today, when we die, we are blessed,
knowing that we can experience rest and that our work for the Lord will be part
of our eternal resume’.
SUMMARY
OF REVELATION 14:6-13:
Three angels fly overhead and make
announcements. The first calls people to
fear God and obey His commandments because judgment is coming. Fear of God is a wise understanding of who
God is and what are His prerogatives.
Fear motivates people to seek the grace of God in Jesus Christ. The second angel announces that Babylon is
fallen. This anticipates the much fuller
description of Babylon in later chapters.
Its mention here sets the background of intense contrast between good
and evil, between those who fear God and those who brazenly disobey Him. The third angel announces the judgment of
those who receive the Mark of the Beast.
In contrast to these announcements of
judgment, the saints are found to endure in this very negative
environment. Although many will die,
their deaths bring blessing because they can rest and know that their righteous
deeds will be known for eternity.
These brief announcements, which are
not particularly attached to a detailed chronology, focus on the moral
alternatives between good and evil, saints and earth-dwellers, Christians and
non-Christians—in the last days but also in the present.
COMMENTATORS
RIST
(470-474):
VERSES
14:6-7:
Rist contrasts the usual meaning of
“gospel” as good news with this “stern warning.” The warning of the angel, he says, is “in
answer to the question raised by the worshipers of the beast in 13:4, ‘Who is
like the beast…?’” The Creator God
should be worshiped and not (Rist believes John implies) “the emperor.” He also compares these verse to “early
Christian preaching against idolatry. He
cites Acts 14:15, in which Paul and Barnabus states the “good news” is to
worship the Creator God.
VERSE
14:8:
Rist compares the beginning of this
verse to Isaiah 21:9, in which there is a report of the fall of Babylon using
very similar language. He states: “For John, Rome, the new Babylon, was to be
destroyed for her idolatrous ways.” He
notes that sometimes the Jews used “Babylon” to designate Rome. These references were “obvious” and no one
would have been “misled” by the Jews who compared Rome to Babylon. Nor “should any reader of Revelation (or I
Pet. 5:13) seek to find any mystical or hidden meaning in the use of the name
Babylon other than Rome, the persecutor of the true Israel [the church, for
Rist] as Babylon had been of the Jews.”
He considers the latter part of verse
14:8 to be “a free rendering of the condemnation of Babylon in Jer. 51:7:
Babylon
was a golden cup in the Lord's hand,
making
all the earth drunken;
the
nations drank of her wine;
therefore
the nations went mad.
In the same way, the
nations of the Roman Empire “had been intoxicated and seduced by the imperial
cult…” Rist favors the KJV rendering of thumos as “wrath” rather than
“passion.” He considers “fornication”
[RSV] to signify idolatry “as in 2:20.”
He extends this idea by referring to 17:2 where, he says, “Rome is
depicted as the great harlot who made all nations drunk with the wine of her
‘fornication.’”
Thus, Rist key interpretative lever is
that Babylon = Rome. His comments come
from the perspective that John understands Rome to be the persecutor of the
Christian church in the same way that Babylon persecuted the kingdom of Judah
and its people. Babylon was a center of
pagan idolatry in its day, and Rome presided over widespread idolatry,
especially the cult of Rome and the emperor.
Babylon was a world empire as was Rome.
All the nations under Babylon were drunk with idolatry as were the
nations of the Roman empire. Just as
Babylon fell under the power of the Medes and Persians, so Rome would fall under
the power of God. His interpretative
perspective is, at least for this passage, a modified Preterist
understanding. His confidence in this
perspective is revealed in his dogmatic claim that no reader “of
Revelation…seek to find any mystical or hidden meaning in the use of the name
of Babylon other than Rome…”
VERSES 14:9-12:
Rist understands chapter 14 to be a
series of seven visions, which he organizes in the following way: 14:1-5 (144,000), 14:6-7 (“worship God”),
14:8 (Babylon), 14:9-12 (judgment of the Beast-worshipers), 14:13 (blessing on
the martyrs), 14:14-16 (harvest), 14:17-20 (vintage of wrath).
He comments that verse 14:9-12 may be
more a warning to Christians than pagans, since the Christians “had been
tempted almost beyond their strength to deny Christ and worship the emperor and
his image.” He believes that there were
cases of apostasy at the time and “that it was on a larger scale than we might
care to admit is highly probable” because of the intense pressure. John, he says, “was engaged in a
counter-pressure, resorting…[to] sanctions of both reward and punishment…to
encourage Christians to be faithful…” He
considers 14:10a to be a “loose quotation of” Jeremiah 25:15. Verse 10 is both a prediction of the seven
bowls of chapters 15-16 and of the lake of fire, or second death, of 20:14 and
21:8. The presence of the Lamb and the
angels is that those who are punished will be “eternally shamed before the face
of him whom they have denied.”
He cites Isaiah 34:8-10, which
describes the destruction of Edom as the background for verse 14:11. He describes 14:9-11 as a “catena of O.T.
phrases and recollections,” which are evidence of the “author’s [John’s]
acquaintance with and his use of the O.T…”
He notes the similarity of 14:12 and 13:10, which he describes as a
“fortifying statement.”
14:13:
Rist mentions 14:13 as one of the seven
beatitudes of Revelation (see in section on Morris’ comments). It contrasts with the “eternal damnation of
the worshipers of the beast [in 14:9-11]…”
He describes the Spirit as “doubtless the same Spirit closely related to
the glorified Christ, who pledged eternal rewards…[in] the letters to the seven
churches [of 2-3]…” He believes that the
rest from labors is not so much “cessation of physical work and toil” as it is
“release from sufferings, tortures, and death…” Rist sees “inconsistency” in
the mention in this verse that the saints’ works will follow them. He considers thoroughgoing determinism…[to
be] so evident in Revelation…” Yet, the
fact that “the doctrine of works is also given a prominent place” he considers
to be inconsistent with this determinism.
I gather from this that Rist makes the following set of
equivalencies: determinism =
predestination (hard Calvinism) = salvation by grace and not by works. Then, he considers that the concept of works
bringing reward to be opposed to those equivalencies.
I think that one of the great mistakes of theology is to create these
kinds of all-or-none lines of thought.
For example, salvation by grace through faith, not by works does not
necessarily imply predestination/determinism.
Moreover, salvation by grace does not negate the call to live fruitful,
holy lives—that is, to do works. This
call is a call of grace and comes in association with the transforming power of
God in salvation. So, determinism/works
is a false dichotomy that is really, I believe, evidence of a false line of
theological thought which leads to the equivalencies that I have listed
above. Moreover, although determinism
does often seem to underlie much of the thinking of the Bible, we need to use
caution in interpreting just how “hard” that determinism is. For example, in some cases I believe
predestination/determinism in the Bible is an expression of God’s purposes and
plans for certain groups (for example, those who are “in Christ”) and not for
individuals.
Rist
considers determinism to be a characteristic of apocalyptic literature: There “is a definite time schedule which God
himself has predetermined. Also, as a
rule, a certain limited number are foreordained to be among the righteous and
the saved.” (349) He considers 6:11 as
an example of this determinism, in which both the timing of events and the
number of saints is predetermined.
Although this certainly is a kind of predestination, it is not
necessarily one that determines the eternal destiny of individuals, but rather
describes the ultimate plans of God. For
example, Matthew 24:14 describes a prerequisite for the end to be the preaching
of the gospel to all nations. This gives
a prediction of God’s plans but also implies a call to the church to heed the
Great Commission.
He
also cites various examples of the “efficacy of works,” by which he seems to
means the role of works in determining one’s eternal fate. He says the Old Testament views are
irrelevant because its view of rewards are for “this life, not the next.” But “Judaism” (by which he means the
developments of the Hebrew religion between the Old Testament era and the New
Testament) “accepted a belief in punishments and rewards beyond the
grave…” He quotes from various sources,
including apocalypses. For example, I
Enoch describes the Messiah weighing works in the balance, and II Esdras
describes a treasury of works “laid up in heaven.” His citations are of non-Christian
literature. But we can note that works are
important in the New Testament. For
example, Jesus admonished us to store up treasures in heaven (Matthew
6:20). We could understand, from the
context of the Sermon on the Mount, that such treasures would include our
attention to the things of God, our faith, as well as our righteous works—which
are done in the context of faith. Paul
described the work of the ministry in I Corinthians 3:10-15. The quality of that work will be judged on
the “day”—at a time of judgment. In the
final judgment described in Revelation 20:11-15, one’s standing with God by
faith seems to be represented by having one’s name in the Book of Life. This is a basis for one’s eternal
destiny: Those not found in the Book are
cast into the lake of fire. However, at
this same judgment, people are judged on the basis of their works. We find this same kind of tension in
Romans. See, for example, Romans 2:6, in
which judgment of works is promised, as it is in the entire context of Romans
2:5-11. Of course, at the same time,
Romans is about salvation by faith. See
Romans 3:21 and chapter 4 in its entirety.
My
“take” on this is as follows:
a. We are justified by faith and saved by grace
through faith.
b. Our standing with God is on the basis of
God’s grace and our faith in Jesus. We
are reconciled to God and in right-standing with Him because of our faith in
Jesus.
c. Our faith is not pre-determined. Although people are utterly lost without God,
we can respond to the gospel call by faith.
Some (Wesleyan/Arminians) believe it is through the prevenient grace
(grace that comes before salvation) that we so enabled.
c. Moreover, we are given a new birth so that we
become a new creation in God through faith in Christ. We are also adopted into the family of God so
that we are sons of God and heirs with Christ.
All of this is by grace through faith.
d. We are newly created for good works, so that
our new nature is expressed through good works.
e. We are also called, in the context of faith,
to holy lives (Romans 12:1-2).
f. Our faith is expressed through our works of
righteousness. We have ceased to work
for our salvation, but we have not ceased to work. To fail to bear fruit in our lives is a
failure of faith and endangers our salvation.
g. The upshot of all of this is that salvation
by grace through faith and the call to good works are not to be forced into a
dichotomy of predestination versus salvation by works.
MORRIS (178-183)
VERSE 14:6:
Although there is not much good news in
the proclamation of the angel, Morris points out that “judgment is a necessary
implication of the gospel” and that Christians facing persecution can be
encouraged by the news that all people, including their persecutors will “be
called upon to give account of themselves…”
VERSE 14:7
He notes that “worshipers of the beast”
and in awe of his power now “are compelled to recognize real power”—the power
of the creator of heaven and earth.
VERSE 14:8:
He believes there is “no reason for
holding that John means the Mesopotamian city of that name…” He does consider that John may have Jeremiah
51:7f in mind, in which a similar picture of Babylon is drawn. (See also Rist’s comments.) He also refers to the Tower of Babel and
concludes that the name “Babylon” “thus stands for the pride of man and for the
heathen city-empire. For John, Babylon
is “the great city, the symbol of man in community opposed to the things of
God.” He mentions that Rome is sometimes
referred to as Babylon, but “John does not go as far as this…” Babylon will fall because of “her bad
influence.” He accepts that “wrath” and
not “passion” is the correct translation of thumos: Babylon entices people to impurity and this
brings upon them God’s wrath.
VERSES 14:9-10:
He discusses the use of thumos and orge, two words that refer to anger or wrath. The first usually refers to a passionate
anger and the second comes from a “settled disposition.” Generally, this latter word, orge, is used in the New Testament for
God’s anger—out of a “settled disposition.
However, in Revelation thumos,
passionate anger, is used often in Revelation.
The wine of wrath is “not broken down in any way.” I assume he means not diluted. The wrath results in “fire and
brimstone.” (Morris uses KJV.) He comments that the use of this terminology
“is to be taken symbolically, but seriously.
The modern vogue of dispensing with hell has no counterpart in
Revelation.” He comments on the presence
of the angels and the Lamb by noting that Christians of that day often were
publicly persecuted, and so there is justice that “their tormentors” (the Beast
worshipers) will suffer while Jesus and the angels watch.
VERSE 14:11:
He compares the fact that the people
who are receiving this punishment have no rest day or night to the “unceasing
worship” of the four living creatures in 4:8.
He comments that this passage is not “gloating,” but rather is warning
those who may be tempted to escape martyrdom.
“Such ‘self-interest’ is fatal.”
And, he notes, that “modern men” “must reckon” with “ultimate realities”
(of heaven and hell, etc.).
VERSE 14:12:
He continues this thought, about
ultimate realities, in his comments on this verse. Consideration “of ultimate realities sustains
the people of God.” They know their
“troubles are temporary,” and this “keeps them calm. It issues in steadfastness.” He notes that “saints” are described by their
“ethical conduct” and their “reliance on the Savior.”
VERSE 14:13:
He notes that the natural tendency is
to think of blessing is in this life, but to the persecuted “there are more
important things than life.” He mentions
that this verse is one of seven “beatitudes” in Revelation, which he lists
elsewhere as the following:
1:3: Blessed is the one who reads and hears this
prophecy and takes it to heart.
14:13 Blessed is the
one who dies in the Lord
16:15 Blessed is the
one who stays awake and keeps his clothes with him.
19:9 Blessed is the
one who is invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb.
20:6 Blessed is the
one who has part in the first resurrection.
22:7 Blessed is the one
who keeps the word of the prophecy in this book.
22:14 Blessed are
those who wash their robes that they may have the right to the tree of life and
may go through the gates into the city.
He
notes that the word that is translated “labor” in most translations is “labor
to the point of weariness” and “sometimes means pain.” “Heaven is not so much a place where no work
is done as one where pain has ceased.”
Since believer’s works “go into life beyond the grave,” there is
“dignity to all the work” of the Christian.
LADD (192-198):
VERSE 14:6:
Ladd states that the
message of the angel is addressed to “unregenerate humans” because he uses
John’s “usual idiom for unregenerate humans.”
However, in those places that he cites, for example 8:13, another Greek
word is used, as I point out in my commentary.
He discusses two aspects of the term “gospel.” One aspect is why there is no definite
article and finally concludes that “too much ought not to be made of” the
omission. He also considers how the
announcement of judgment is good news.
It is not, of course, good news for the unrepentant, but “the
announcement of the end is good news, for it will see the consummation of God’s
redemptive purpose.”
VERSE 14:7:
Ladd interprets this as a call to
repentance, since the “end is about to take place and judgment is about to
fall.” He considers the phrase “give him
glory” to imply repentance. He contrasts
the beast whom many worship with the creator God, “who is mightier than the
beast.”
VERSE 14:8
The announcement of the fall of Babylon
is “proleptic.” That is: it anticipates what will be described later
in detail. Babylon “here stands for the
capital city of the final apostate civilization, the symbol of human society
organized politically, economically, and religiously in opposition to and
defiance of God. Its first-century
“embodiment” was Rome. He notes that
other apocalypses referred to Rome as Babylon.
He considers the phrase “the wine of the wrath of her fornication” to
combine the ideas of intoxication for seduction and the wine of the wrath of
God. This follows the KJV, which
translates “thumos” as “wrath.” Other
translations render it as “passion” or “maddening.”
VERSES 14:9-10:
“We must be reminded again” says Ladd
that behind the wrath of God is a “merciful purpose” to turn people to
repentance. “It is inconceivable” he
says that people who “hate God’s Messiah” should enter the Kingdom of God. Therefore, judgment must come. He comments on thumos and orge in almost
the same way that Morris does. He
describes God’s wrath as “the settled reaction of…[God’s]…holiness to man’s
sinfulness and rebellion.” God’s wrath
is a “necessary correlative to his love and mercy.” He lists two of the main themes of Revelation
is the “recalcitrance of men against God’s salvation…and the judgment of God
which must fall upon them.” He also
cites John 3:36 and Romans 1:18 as instances in which God’s wrath is affirmed
in the context of God’s love and grace.
He states: “Any interpretation of
the New Testament gospel which does not include the wrath of God is an
attenuated and apocopated [shortened by dropping off] message.”
He explains the odd wording, which is
translated variously, “poured out without mixture” (KJV) or “poured full
strength” (NIV and ESV). The literal
translation is “mixed unmixed.” The
ancients usually mixed wine with spices and, sometimes, with water in the
process of serving. So, to pour wine
involved also preparing it—much as we say “mix you a drink.” So, this wine is poured up for the drinker,
but it has not been spiced up nor diluted with water; it is poured undiluted
into the cup of God’s wrath. The result
is tormenting with “fire and brimstone” (ESV:
“fire and sulfur”). Ladd
says: “Here is the ultimate meaning of
the cup of God’s wrath.” He refers to
20:10 and 15, which tell of the lake of fire.
These descriptions are to be “taken as symbolical of a fearful and final
reality which no man can describe.”
He gives a short comment on the various
places of punishment in the New Testament.
In its use in Revelation, “hades” is “practically synonymous with the
grave.” The following are uses of hades
in Revelation.
1:18: …I have the keys of Death and Hades.
6:8: …a pale horse! And its rider’s name was
Death, and Hades followed him.
20:13: And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death
and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of
them, according to what they had done.
20:14: Then Death and Hades were thrown into the
lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire.
Geenna (also
“gehenna”) was used by Jesus “to describe the fate of the wicked.” Originally it was a valley south of Jerusalem
where children were sacrificed to pagan gods.
It is generally understood that gehenna is equivalent to the lake of
fire of Revelation 20. Ladd remarks that
KJV translates both gehenna and hades by “hell,” and this “badly confuses the
situation.” (That is, it confuses us in
seeking to understand the fate of the wicked.)
Ladd refers to another commentator,
Beckwith, and agrees with him that the “most poignant factor in the pain of the
wicked” would be that they are punished in the presence of Jesus, since they
“as worshipers of the beast,…had joined him [the beast] in warfare against the
Lamb.”
VERSE 14:11:
He remarks that the “eternal duration
of the punishment of the wicked is no new note in the New Testament.” He cites Jesus’ statements in Mark 9:48 and
Matthew 25:46.
VERSE 14:12:
The certain doom of the
beast-worshipers impels John, Ladd says, to call for endurance of the saints as
they “suffer at the hands of the beast.”
VERSE 14:13:
He remarks that this blessing is for
all Christians, but is directed especially to those “who shortly will fall
before the beast [who] are, contrary to all outward appearances, the blessed of
God.” To “die in the Lord” does not
designate a “special group of Christians” but refers to all Christians. The “labors” refers to the saints’ being worn
“down to the point of exhaustion.”
Their works or deeds include, for Ladd, “endurance, obedience to the commands of God, and faith in Jesus…” (emphasis in original)
METZGER
(78-79)
Metzger
considers that this passage “gives offense to some modern readers…” First, he advises that one consider the
“symbolic language.” It “would be quite
unfair” to take John literally in this passage when one considers that he uses
symbolism in many other passages. “Now
throughout Revelation we have seen that if people persist in living contrary to
the structure of God’s universe, they must suffer. John’s words mean here that the most terrible
thing that a person can do is deliberately to turn away from the living
God.” This is what I would call the work
of a “spin doctor”—the kind person who makes bad news come out looking good for
a politician. Metzger is playing spin
doctor for God. The formal word is
“theodicy,” which is justification of God.
The following is his further explanation for why the torment of
malefactors is eternal: “God respects
our free will and will never force us to turn to him. So this picture of wrath and hell means
nothing more or less than the terrible truth that the sufferings of those who
persist in rejecting God’s love in Christ are self-imposed and
self-perpetuated.” He goes on to wonder
whether “any soul will in fact eternally resist God…” He remarks that the “solemn thoughts” are
followed by the comfort of the second of the seven beatitudes of
Revelation. His further comment on the
latter part of verse 14:13 is that the good deeds of the righteous will be as
“witnesses for them before the Judge of the living and the dead…”
This latter characterization of God as
a Judge clashes with his description of how our eternal destiny is
“self-imposed and self-perpetuated.” It
is difficult to be generous toward Metzger in response to his commentary that
is borderline ludicrous. First, he is
not honest toward the text. It is not wrong
to understand that symbolism plays a role in this and other texts of
Revelation. See, for example, Ladd’s
comments. However, interpretation of
symbolism is not a license to ignore the message of the text. The passage begins with a warning to “fear
God” because God’s judgment is coming (verse 14:7). That is not a statement about the “structure
of God’s universe.” It is a statement of
a living God who personally makes determinations about the eternal destiny of
persons. The total witness of Scripture
assures us that God does not judge capriciously, but He does not shy away from
upholding righteousness and punishing evildoers. Moreover, this passage is not about persons
self-imposing their own eternal punishment.
It is about God’s pouring out terrible punishment upon them. Whether that punishment will indeed involve
burning sulfur or whether burning sulfur is an apt picture of that terrible
punishment is not revealed. What is
certain is that we are being dishonest with this text to sugar-coat its
message.
Moreover, Metzger is creating a false
hope where none is warranted from the text.
The finality of the punishment (“forever and ever”) is
non-negotiable. Metzger holds out hope
for a “second chance” that this passage does not warrant.
The whole tenor of Metzger’s comments,
I believe, are disrespectful of the sovereignty of God. He is concerned not to offend “modern
readers.” He seems to believe that the
approach of modern people to these issues of eternal consequences is more
enlightened that the New Testament. Yet,
it has been the church’s belief that Scripture—Old and New Testament—is the
God-breathed revelation of truth. (Oden,
552-553) Yes, the language and manner of
presentation of truth is in the idiom of the ancients and requires a certain
degree of interpretation, but I believe Metzger is not just concerned to update
the idiomatic expression but is concerned to challenge the revelation of God
that is presented in this passage. That
is a disappointment to me.
ROWLAND
(665-667):
Rowland often is insightful, but he is
also fast. He covers these verses in two
pages. Many of his comments are simply
references to other Scriptures. I shall
pick out what I think are comments that need to be mentioned.
He believes that the call to give God
glory (14:7) implies repentance (see Ladd’s comments). He refers to Joshua 7:19, in which Joshua
called upon Achan to give God glory in conjunction with confession of sin. He also asserts that the call to worship God
in 14:7 implies a call not to worship the creature (including the Beast) (see
Rist’s comments).
He relates the use of “gospel” in these
verses to the summary of the gospel in Mark 1:15: “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of
God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.” In both passages the gospel “provokes the
possibility of rejection [of the gospel] and judgment…” Thus, the “gospel” of the angel is in a “time
of crisis” just as the coming of Jesus brought about a crisis to the Jewish
nation—either to believe or not.
He explains the “offense” of Babylon in
14:8 to be making the people intoxicated so that they forget the “true vocation
to worship God…” He does not further
explain this process of intoxication.
He notes that Christians pay a “social
cost of non-conformity,” which is described in 13:15. In 14:9-10, the “cost of conformity is set forth…” That is, the cost of conforming to
Beast-worship. “Intoxication with
Babylon can lead only to God’s wrath…”
This wrath is torment with fire.
He expounds on the fact that the torment is in the presence of the
Lamb: “[It] [the Lamb] is a witness to
the judgment…upon those who have been compromised by their involvement with the
beast and Babylon…”
Rowland echoes the other commentators
who see a reflection of 4:8 in the phrase “day and night” in 14:11. He notes that verse 11 repeats the “qualifications
for those who receive the awful judgment”—the Beast-worshipers and those with
the Mark of the Beast. The call to “endurance”
includes an expression that may be translated “faith of Jesus.” Ladd interprets the “of Jesus” (which is one
word in Greek—in the genitive case) as an “objective genitive” so the
expression means “faith in Jesus.”
Morris implies the same. ESV
translates it as “faith in Jesus.”
Rowland believes this is a “subjective genitive” and the phrase should
be “the faith of Jesus.” The saints are
to have the “faithfulness of Jesus.” NIV
sort of takes a middle ground by render it:
“remain faithful to Jesus.” “Endurance,”
he says, “is particularly necessary in the face of the demands of the beast…”
The message in 14:13 is that there is a
“new situation for the dead who ‘die in the Lord’…” This is “reminiscent of the ethical
injunctions of the Pauline tradition…” He
cites numerous passages from Paul that use the phrase “in the Lord.” He comments on the fact that the deeds of the
dead follow them by noting that books will be opened at the judgment (20:17)
and that the letters to the seven churches (chapters 2 and 3) state that the
Lord knows the deeds of those churches—good or bad.
WEINRICH
(223-231):
(Individual
ancient authors are cited.)
VERSE 14:6:
Victorinius
of Petovium believes that the angel in the air is, in fact, Elijah, “who
precedes the kingdom of the antichrist.”
He is possibly referring to the two witnesses of chapter 11.
Oecumenius considers the call to
fear of God is a “saving teaching” because “the beginning of wisdom is the fear
of God…” The antichrist should not be
feared because his judgment has come.
That is, he takes “his” to refer to the antichrist, (14:7) who will be
judged, rather than God, who will execute judgment.
Andrew of Caesarea understands
the angel’s position as an intermediate one in order to lead people to
God. He interprets his message to be to
fear God but not the “antichrist who cannot kill the soul with the body,”
referring to the words of Jesus, such as in Matthew 10:28. He also considers the mention of judgment to
be the judgment of the antichrist.
Primasius interprets the angel
as a “messenger”—a preacher or, perhaps, all preachers of eternal life. The “eternal” gospel is the gospel of “eternal
life.”
Bede interprets “eternal” gospel
as the gospel of the “eternal kingdom.”
His understanding of the angel as representing preachers is similar to
that of Primasius. The position in
mid-air is the capacity of the message to “lift…minds from the place of their…sluggishness…”
VERSE
14:7:
Primasius notes that the hour of
judgment “is virtually here already.”
Thus, preaching “of this kind” (what is found in 14:6-7) needs to be
universally known. The message includes
the idea that the “temporal power of the beast should best be regarded as
insignificant” since all creation acknowledges the Lord to be eternal.
VERSE
14:8:
Tyconius
understands Babylon to be the “city and the people of the devil.” The proclamation of its fall before it
actually falls is a “common way of speaking in the Scripture…when it knows that
what it predicts will inevitably be fulfilled.”
The city “is constructed from all nations that it gathers to itself…” All the nations are “made drunk by errors”
and so the city is drunk with fornication.
So, though all the nations is in mind, the Scripture “talks only of one
[city].”
Oecumenius considers Babylon to
mean “confusion” and to refer to “the confusion and arbitrarily random trials
of the present life…and to the manic stupefaction of [idolators].”
Andrew of Caesarea believes the
Babylon refers to the confusion of the world.
The “wine of the wrath of her fornication” means the frenzy of idol
worship and the derangement of all sin.
The Jerusalem from above appears and Babylon falls and sinners are sent
to everlasting fire.
VERSES
14:9-10:
Oecumenius refers to Psalm 75:8,
which in the Septuagint describes the cup that sinners will drink. The wrath of God is wine that brings people
into darkness and derangement. It is
poured out unmixed—meaning it is “utterly poured out,” just as God’s goodness
is poured out, although the latter is much greater.
Primasius mentions those who
have withdrawn “from us” either because of their heresy or their morals. It is not clear how this relates to those
with the Mark of the Beast. He then
focuses on the Jews, for whom he believes the wrath and torment of the passage
is reserved.
Andrew of Caesarea states that
those who take the Mark of the Beast are acknowledging the Beast “to be God.” These people will share with the Beast the “revenge-filled
cup, which is unmixed and devoid of any divine mercy…” The Beast-worshipers have drunk from the “wine
of godlessness” and so they drink the “wine of wrath.”
Bede interprets the torment “in
the presence of the holy angels” to refer to the saints, who “are always able
to observe the punishment of the wicked…”
This does not distress them because they are “in agreement with the just
Judge.”
VERSE 14:11:
Oecumenius answers the objection
to the eternal punishment. The sinner’s
torment is not as bad as they deserve.
Moreover, it is not physical torment.
His suffering is “that he does not share in the good things of God…” The smoke “refers to the heaving breath of
the sinners…in their lamentations over their situation.”
Andrew of Caesarea states that
the smoke is “either the sighing of those being tormented…or the smoke that
comes from the fire that torments the fallen.”
“Day or night” is either an accommodation to our present understanding
or “day” might be the “life of the saints and “night” the “torment of the impure.”
Bede interprets the suffering as
suffering inflicted by the Beast.
VERSE
14:12:
Oecumenius understands the “endurance
of the saints” to be needed in the time of the antichrist. The latter part of the verse answers the
rhetorical question: “And who are those…whom
you call holy and patient?” The answer
is that they are those keep the commandments and the faith of Jesus. They “regard all things as second in
importance to faith and to the love of God.”
Primasius quotes Matthew 10:22/24:13. The endurance in this case is to “escape the
fellowship of the beast and mark of its name.”
Andrew of Caesarea notes that
the “impious” will be punished but the saints show endurance by “keeping
inviolate the commandments of God and their faith in Christ…”
Bede contrasts the ferocious
beast with the eternal bliss of the saints.
The saints will see their persecutors “suffering eternal penalties along
with the beast.”
VERSE
14:13:
Oecumenius understands the
blessing to be upon those who did not worship the image of the beast and were
martyred and so were “crowned with the crown of martyrdom…”
Primasius says to “die in the
Lord” is show oneself “approved in both [one’s] faith and…life.” He contrasts the “no rest” of 14:11 with the
rest that the faithful receive. He
considers those “in the Lord” to include all, but those “who work in the vineyard”
are given rest from their labors. These
he understands to be ministers. He cites
I Thessalonians 5:12-13, which refers to those “who labor among you.” In commenting on how their works follow them,
he cites Psalm 90:17, which asks God to establish our work.
Andrew of Caesarea believes that
those who die in the Lord “have died to the world and so carry about the dying
of Jesus…and suffer with Christ. For
these persons the departure from the body is truly a rest from their labor.” These saints “prevail in the contests…against
invisible powers.” If we also “yearn for
such glory,” then we need to “pray unceasingly.”
Bede considers the harmony among
the various voices in the passage to be “beautiful.” There are announcements—of the Kingdom, of
the fall of “city of the devil,” of the “flames of the wicked,” and of the “rest
of the blessed.” The last announcement
is “worthy to be committed to writing to be eternally remembered.” He thanks Jesus that He blesses “those in
heaven who on earth die for you.” He
applies Psalm 127:2 to this passage: “He
gives to his beloved sleep.” He also applies Proverbs 20:4: the sluggard will have nothing at harvest.
REFERENCES
Crossway Bibles (2009-04-09).
ESV Study Bible. Good News Publishers.
Kindle Edition.
Ladd, George Eldon. A
Commentary on the Revelation of John.
Grand
Rapids:
William B. Eerdmans Publ. Co., 1972.
Metzger, Bruce M. Breaking
the Code. Understanding the Book of
Revelation. Nashville:
Abingdon Press, 1993.
Morris, Leon. The
Revelation of St. John. Tyndale
New Testament
Commentaries. Vol. 20. R.
V. G. Tasker, Gen. Ed. Grand
Rapids:
William B. Eerdmans
Publ. Co., 1980.
Oden, Thomas C. Classic Christianity. A Systematic Theology. New York:
HarperOne, 1992.
Rist, Martin. “The
Revelation of St. John the Divine” Exegesis.
The
Interpreter’s Bible. Vol. XII. Nolan B. Harmon, Ed.
New York:
Abingdon Press,
1957.
Rowland, Christopher C. The Book of Revelation.” The New Interpreter’s
Bible. Vol. XII. Leander E. Keck, Convener and Senior Ed. Nashville:
Abingdon Press, 1998.
Weinrich, William C. Revelation.
Ancient Christian Commentary on
Scripture. New Testament. Vol. XII.
Thomas C. Oden, Gen. Ed.
Downer’s Grove,
Il: InterVarsity Press, 2005.
Zondervan NIV Study Bible. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publ., 2002
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