Chapter II GENERAL ANALYSIS
GENERAL ANALYSIS
I. THE SEVEN PARALLEL SECTIONS
1. Christ in the midst of the lampstands (1: 1–3: 22)
THE central theme of the first three chapters of Revelation seems to be Christ in the midst of the seven golden lampstands. These lampstands represent the seven churches (1: 20). To each church John is directed to write a letter (see chapters 2 and 3). As this number seven occurs again and again in the Apocalypse and is everywhere symbolical of completeness, we may safely take it for granted that such is the case here, and that it indicates the entire Church throughout the full span of its existence to the very end of the world. Thus interpreted, each individual church is, as it were, a type, not indicating one definite period in history, but describing conditions which are constantly repeated in the actual life of the various congregations.[1] Therefore this section appears to span the entire dispensation, from Christ’s first coming to save His people (1: 5) to His second coming to judge all nations (1: 7). The last of these seven letters is written to the church at Laodicea. It is evident that chapter 4 introduces a new—though closely related—subject.
2. The vision of heaven and the seals (4: 1–7: 17)
Chapters 4–7 constitute the next natural division of the book. Chapter 4 describes the One who is sitting upon the throne and the worship of those who surround Him. In the right hand of the Lord there is a book sealed with seven seals (5: 1). The Lamb takes this book and receives adoration. From chapter 6 we learn that the Lamb opens the seals one by one. Between the sixth and the seventh seals we have the vision of the one hundred and forty-four thousand who were sealed and of the countless multitude standing before the throne.
It should be carefully noted that this section also covers the entire dispensation, from the first to the second coming of Christ. The very first reference to Christ pictures Him as having been slain and as now ruling from heaven (5: 5, 6). Towards the end of this section the final judgment is introduced. Notice the impression of the second coming on unbelievers. ‘And they say to the mountains and to the rocks, Fall on us and hide us from the face of the One sitting on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb! For it came, the day, the great one, of their wrath; and who is able to stand?’ (6: 16, 17). Now notice the bliss of believers. ‘They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun fall upon them, nor any heat; for the Lamb that is in the midst of the throne shall be their shepherd and shall lead them to life’s springs of water; and God shall wipe away every tear out of their eyes’ (7: 16, 17). This is a picture of the entire Church triumphant, gathered out of all the nations and thus, in its entirety, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, an ideal which is not realized until the day of the great consummation. We have again spanned the entire gospel age.
3. The seven trumpets (8: 1–11: 19)
The next section consists of chapters 8–11. Its central theme is the seven trumpets that affect the world. What happens to the Church is described in chapters 10 and 11 (the angel with the little book, the two witnesses). Also at the close of this section there is a very clear reference to the final judgment. The dominion over the world became the dominion of our Lord, and of his Christ: and he shall reign for ever and ever.’ ‘... And the nations were wroth, and thy wrath came, and the time of the dead to be judged...’ (11: 15, 18). Having reached the end of the dispensation, the vision ends.
4. The persecuting dragon (12: 1–14: 20)
This brings us to chapters 12–14: the woman and the Manchild persecuted by the dragon and his helpers. This section also covers the entire dispensation. It begins with a very clear reference to the birth of the Saviour (12: 5). The dragon threatens to devour the Man-child. The Child is caught up to God and to His throne. The dragon now persecutes the woman (12: 13). As his agents, he employs the beast coming up out of the sea (13: 1) and the beast coming up out of the earth (13: 11, 12) and the great harlot, Babylon (14: 8). This section, too, closes with a stirring description of Christ’s second coming in judgment. ‘And I saw, and behold, a white cloud; and on the cloud I saw one sitting like unto a son of man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle.... And he that sat on the cloud cast his sickle upon the earth; and the earth was reaped’ (14: 14, 16).
5. The seven bowls (15: 1–16: 21)
The next section comprises chapters 15 and 16 and describes the bowls of wrath. Here, too, we have a very clear reference to the final judgment and events that will take place in connection with it. Thus we read in 16: 20, ‘And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found.’
6. The fall of Babylon (17: 1–19: 21)
Next comes a very vivid description of the fall of Babylon and the punishment inflicted upon the beast and the false prophet. Notice the picture of Christ’s coming unto judgment (19: 11 ff.). ‘And I saw the heaven opened; and behold, a white horse, and he that sat thereon called Faithful and True; and in righteousness he judges and does battle....’
7. The great consummation (20: 1–22: 21)
This brings us to the final section, chapters 20–22, for Revelation 20: 1 definitely begins a new section and introduces a new subject.[2] This new subject is the devil’s doom. A comparison, moreover, with chapter 12 reveals the fact that at the beginning of chapter 20 we are once more standing on the threshold of the new dispensation. While in 12: 9 we are told that in connection with Christ’s ascension and coronation the devil is cast down, here in 20: 2, 3 we read that he is bound for a thousand years after being cast into the abyss. The thousand years are followed by the little season during which Satan is loosed out of his prison (20: 7). This, in turn, is followed by a description of the final overthrow of Satan in connection with Christ’s coming in judgment (20: 10, 11 ff.). At this coming the present universe, fleeing away, makes room for the new heaven and earth, the new Jerusalem (20: 11 ff.).
A careful reading of the book of Revelation has made it clear that the book consists of seven sections, and that these seven sections run parallel to one another. Each of them spans the entire dispensation from the first to the second coming of Christ. This period is viewed now from one aspect, now from another.[3]
II. OTHER ARGUMENTS FOR PARALLELISM
There is another line of reasoning which confirms our position that each of the seven sections extends from the beginning to the end of the new dispensation and that the seven run parallel to one another.[4] Different sections ascribe the same duration to the period described. According to the third cycle (chapters 8–11) the main period here described is one of forty-two months (11: 2), or twelve hundred and sixty days (11: 3). Now, it is a remarkable fact that we find that same period of time in the next section (chapters 12–14), namely, twelve hundred and sixty days (12: 6), or a time and times and half a time (3½ years) (12: 14). The three designations—forty-two months, twelve hundred and sixty days, time and times and half a time—are exactly equivalent. So the section on the trumpets (chapters 8–11) must run parallel with that which describes the battle between Christ and the dragon (chapters 12–14).
A careful study of chapter 20 will reveal that this chapter describes a period which is synchronous with that of chapter 12. Therefore by this method of reasoning, parallelism is vindicated.
Each section gives us a description of the entire gospel age, from the first to the second coming of Christ, and is rooted in Israel’s history under the old dispensation to which there are frequent references.
We have indicated that the section on the trumpets (chapters 8–11) is parallel with that on the woman and the dragon (chapters 12–14) and with the final section (20–22), which also extends beyond it (in chapters 21, 22). We shall now prove that this same section (chapters 8–11) has every appearance of being parallel with that on the bowls of wrath (chapters 15, 16). Notice, therefore, that the first trumpet (8: 7) affects the earth; so does the first bowl (16: 2). The second trumpet affects the sea; so does the second bowl. The third trumpet refers to the rivers; so does the third bowl. The fourth, in both cases, refers to the sun. The fifth refers to the pit of the abyss or to the throne of the beast, the sixth to Euphrates, and the seventh to the second coming in judgment.[5]
Again, notice that the fourth section (chapters 12–14) introduces, as the enemies of Christ and His Church, the dragon, the two beasts, and the harlot (Babylon). These four arise together. It is but natural to infer that they go down together. This becomes clear when we realize that the meaning of the beasts and the harlot, Babylon, is as follows: The beast that comes up out of the sea is Satan’s persecution of Christians, embodied in world-governments and directed against the bodies of believers. In John’s day this was the Roman government.
The beast that arises out of the earth is Satan’s antichristian religion which aimed to deceive the minds and enslave the wills of believers. At the time when these visions appeared to John, that beast out of the earth was incorporated in the pagan religion and emperor-worship of Rome.
The great harlot, Babylon, is Satan’s antichristian seduction, which strove to steal the hearts and pervert the morals of believers. At that time the harlot revealed herself as the city of Rome. So, when Satan falls, the beasts and the harlot also fall. They rise together; they go down together. The sixth section (chapters 17–19) describes the fall of the great harlot, Babylon (chapters 17, 18), and of the beasts (19: 20); while the seventh cycle describes the fall of Satan (20: 10), and his final defeat in the day of judgment. The one final judgment upon these four enemies—the dragon, the beast out of the sea, the beast out of the earth, and the great harlot—is described in two separate sections. Therefore these two must be parallel. Each describes a period which extends to the same final conflict, the same last judgment when all the enemies of Christ and His Church will receive their final and never-ending punishment.[6]
In this very connection there is another strong argument for the position that the sections run parallel, as each ends with the coming of the Lord in judgment. The evidence to which we now refer is somewhat obscured by our English versions. The section on the bowls of wrath (chapters 15, 16) ends with a reference to a battle. (See 16: 14 where this conflict is called the battle of the great day of God, the Almighty.) The next section (chapters 17–19) again ends with a battle scene. (See 19: 19.) According to the original this is the same battle which was mentioned in 16: 14, for we read ‘gathered together to make battle against him’. Finally, in the closing section (chapters 20–22), we once more read ‘to gather them together to battle’. (See 20: 8.) All three sections, therefore, describe events which lead up to the same great battle of Jehovah. They are parallel.
The seven sections are parallel. Our final argument in support of the parallelistic position is the fact that we find exactly the same thing in the prophecies of Daniel, which has been called the Apocalypse of the Old Testament. Thus the parts of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream (chapter 2) correspond exactly with the four beasts of Daniel’s dream (chapter 7).[7] The same period of time is covered twice, and is seen from various aspects.
The division of the Apocalypse into seven sections[8] is favoured by many authors, although there is no unanimity with respect to the exact boundaries of each section.[9] We favour the division given, with slight variations, by L. Berkhof, S. L. Morris, B. B. Warfield, and others. It is by far the most natural. It is very clearly provided by the book itself, each section ending, as we have shown, with at least a reference to the coming of Christ in judgment. This is true even with respect to the final section (chapters 20–22; see 22: 20), though this reaches out beyond the final judgment and describes the new heaven and earth. (Cf. 7: 9 ff.) Moreover, if interpreted in this way, each section embodies a theme that can be easily distinguished from all the others. Our division is as follows:
1. Christ in the midst of the seven golden lampstands (1–3).
2. The book with seven seals (4–7).
3. The seven trumpets of judgment (8–11).
4. The woman and the Man-child persecuted by the dragon and his helpers (the beast and the harlot) (12–14).
5. The seven bowls of wrath (15, 16).
6. The fall of the great harlot and of the beasts (17–19).
7. The judgment upon the dragon (Satan) followed by the new heaven and earth, new Jerusalem (20–22).
We are now ready to formulate the first proposition.
PROPOSITION I. The book of Revelation consists of seven sections. They are parallel and each spans the entire new dispensation, from the first to the second coming of Christ.
III. THE TWO MAJOR DIVISIONS
According to the opinion of many commentators, the seven sections fall into two groups.[10] Chapter 12: 1 (or 11: 15) seems to be the point where the first group or series of visions ends and the second begins.[11] In the first group (chapters 1–11) we see the struggle among men, that is, between believers and unbelievers. The world attacks the Church but the Church is avenged, protected, and victorious. In the second group of visions (chapters 12–22) we are shown that this struggle on earth has a deeper background. It is the outward manifestation of the devil’s attack upon the Man-child. The dragon attacks the Christ. Repulsed, he directs all his fury against the Church. As his helpers, he employs the two beasts and the great harlot, but all these enemies of the Church are defeated in the end. It is evident that the sections which comprise this second group (chapters 12–22), though synchronous, present a continued story. The dragon, the beasts, the harlot (note the order) assail the Church. The harlot, the beasts, the dragon (again, note the order) are overthrown.
It will be seen that the first of these two major divisions contains three sections: chapters 1–3; 4–7; and 8–11. The second contains four: chapters 12–14; 15, 16; 17–19; and 20–22. In the first of these two major divisions (1–11) we see the surface: the Church persecuted by the world. In the second we see the underlying conflict between the Christ and the dragon (Satan). The book of Revelation therefore reveals a progress in depth or intensity of spiritual conflict.
Some may say this division of the book into two major parts is artificial,[12] but it is very definitely the division suggested by the book itself. Lampstands, seals, trumpets, bowls, etc. constitute distinct sections of the book, whether we like it or not. This is the apostle’s own grouping.
In this connection, moreover, there is another fact worthy of special consideration. The author of the Apocalypse is constantly speaking in terms of seven. This number occurs fifty-four times. What is even more striking is the fact that he again and again arranges his sevens in groups of three and four or four and three.[13] Our arrangement, instead of being artificial, is exactly in harmony with the genius of the book.
We can now present the following completed outline of the Apocalypse, which has as its theme the victory of Christ and His Church over Satan and his helpers.
a. The struggle on earth. The Church persecuted by the world. The Church is avenged, protected and victorious (Rev. 1–11).
1. Christ in the midst of the seven golden lampstands (1–3).
2. The book with seven seals (4–7).
3. The seven trumpets of judgment (8–11).
b. The deeper spiritual background. The Christ (and the Church) persecuted by the dragon (Satan) and his helpers. Christ and His Church are victorious (Rev. 12–22).
4. The woman and the Man-child persecuted by the dragon and his helpers (the beasts and the harlot) (12–14).
5. The seven bowls of wrath (15, 16).
6. The fall of the great harlot and of the beasts (17–19).
7. The judgment upon the dragon (Satan) followed by the new heaven and earth, new Jerusalem (20–22).
PROPOSITION II. The seven sections may be grouped into two major divisions. The first major division (chapters 1–11) consists of three sections. The second major division (chapters 12–22) consists of four sections. These two major divisions reveal a progress in depth or intensity of spiritual conflict. The first major division (chapters 1–11) reveals the Church, indwelt by Christ, persecuted by the world. But the Church is avenged, protected and victorious. The second major division (chapters 12–22) reveals the deeper spiritual background of this struggle. It is a conflict between the Christ and the dragon in which the Christ, and therefore His Church, is victorious.
One more remark in closing. We have concentrated our attention on the division of the book. Yet it is not the division but the unity of the book, the very close relationship between all the parts, that should be emphasized. This is often forgotten, so we shall devote the next chapter to that subject.