Revelation Part 5 - The Black Horse

Hello again and welcome back. I hope you are enjoying the journey as much as I am. It is now time to move to the black horse, Revelation 6:5-6. As you remember from the previous articles, we have already covered the white horse(antichrist) and the red horse (civil anarchy).

Before we begin, you may notice a couple of nuances in these verses that are slightly different than the other two. The first difference is in John’s response to the beast. For the first horse, he stated “and behold”, and here he states “and I beheld, and lo…”. I’m not certain that this difference is significant in any way, but the change is worthy of noting I felt. Second, this rider was not “given”anything. In the first two verses, one was given a crown and the other a sword. Third, you will see in this verse that the rider does not “do”anything. The first two riders went “conquering”and the other “took the peace”. Finally, in the black horse verses, we have the introduction of more information being announced – something that did not happen in earlier verses. The significance of these differences may not be totally clear now (and maybe even after we are done) but they highlight that this rider is different.

So let’s start by taking a look at the verses and breakdown some of the word use that John chose.

Rev 6:5 - And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast (face like a man)say, Come and see. And I beheld (eidō- to perceive, notice, discern, discover with the senses - different than the first two - behold), and lo (idou – same as behold) a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances (zygos – 1) yoke*5 2)scales*1) in his hand.

I highlight the word beast this time as this is the beast with a face like a man. We have no real explanation that there is a reason each beast announced a particular horse, but it did make me think deeply about it, since the point of everything is man’s relationship with God and God’s love for man. I don’t have any insights into this at this time, but I will continue to contemplate this going forward and if I find anything on this I will return and post more on it.

The next thing I highlighted in this verse was the change in “beheld” statement. In Rev 6:2 John used “I saw” and “behold”which means “see”. In Rev 6:5, John doesn’t use any type of “I saw” statement at all. This verse he uses “beheld” which means “to discern or perceive”, which is more in depth than just see. It is quickly followed by “lo”, which means “to see” and is the same Greek word as “behold”. So right now you are probably asking yourself, “Why did we just waste a paragraph on that?” And truthfully, I can’t answer you. I do know this. Everything has a purpose and God chooses his words wisely. So while I cannot confirm definitively that this is the reason, I do offer up what I took away from it is this. The white horse he saw, meaning it was evidently visible to him – the antichrist. The red horse just showed up on the scene, he did not “see” it coming –civil anarchy. This horse, he both perceives it, and sees it – he experiences it and it is visibly evident.

Next is the phrase “a pair of balances (scales).” The Greek word used here is ‘zygos’, which is used throughout the New Testament as the word ‘yoke’, which means something that binds things together, such as the yoke used to bind oxen or cows used in work. The only time it is used to denote‘balances’ or ‘scales’ is in this verse. And by scales you need to imagine the kind of weighing scales or balances that are used to weigh things such as gold or grain. The kind of scales that is used in the symbol we have for Lady Justice (more on this later – see image). The traditional logic on this is that they are scales, based on the text that follows (which we will dive into shortly) about the measure of wheat and barley. While I won’t completely challenge this traditional interpretation, I do offer this. In John’s time and in other references in the Bible, the yoke means this.

1) Definition of yoke: A harness, usually a wooden beam that joined two animals at the necks and allowed them to work together a plough or wagon.

2) Symbolic meaning of yoke: The burden of oppression, responsibility and hardship.

3) Spiritual meaning of yoke: The bondage and burden of sin.

I submit that the rider of the black horse could have actually been carrying a true ‘yoke’. Symbolizing that he was coming to either inflict or control the three items listed above. Meaning he would control agriculture, inflict oppression, and lastly, leaving no one the ability to place their sins on Jesus (as He stated in Matthew 11:28-30).

If we look at these in the traditional sense, that they are scales used for weighing, we can deduce the following about that symbolic meaning. Balances/Scales equal justice or equity. Balances alone indicate the law and rigid administration (which is our symbol of Lady Justice). When joined with the measure of food, they indicate scarcity – as in people needed to ration food. One last thing on the scales; this rider was not “given” the scales, as previous riders had been given things. He just appeared with them in his hand.

Rev 6:6 - And I heard a voice(phone – noise) in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure (choinix a dry measure as much as would support a man of moderate appetite for a day) of wheat for a penny(denarius – a day’s wages), and three measures of barley (barley not as healthy as wheat) for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil (elaion– olive oil used for lamps, anointing, and commerce) and the wine.

In this verse we now have the introduction to a different occurrence than in the other verses. Here another ‘voice’ is heard from amongst the four beasts. The text does not declare whose voice this actually is. We can assume it is not one of the beasts, as it is not declared it was as in all the previous references. We are not told either that if it is one the elders, thus the origin of the voice is unknown. Secondly, the question arises as to whom the voice is speaking? Is it speaking to the rider, or to the hearers of the message (us for instance)? I feel (there is that word that means “I don’t have proof”) that the voice is talking to us. None of the other riders were given any instructions or restrictions, and the message the voice delivers seems too complicated for a mere visual symbol.

Let us now look at what the voice declares. It states that “a measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny”. A measure is a ‘choinix’,which was the amount of food needed for a person to survive daily. Wheat was more nutritional than barley, and thus a day’s food needed for one person was either one measure of wheat or three measures of barley. A penny (denarius) was the equivalent of a day’s wages. So you can see that one person would have to work all day for just enough food himself – making it impossible to support a family. Note that this does not in any way indicate that there is a food shortage based on drought or diseased crops as is usually the source of famine. This indicates that the price of food is so high, that average people will find food scarce because they will not be able to afford to eat.

The final sentence declares “not to hurt the oil and wine”. This indicates a couple of things. First, if it is being declared to us, then that is telling us not to damage or destroy items that are not necessary for survival in some kind of rebellion or action against the cause of the scarcity. If it is being declared to the rider, then it is telling him to not to shorten or make scarce the finer things, or those things that luxuries.

Taking the above mentioned study, we can piece together the following. The black horse is bringing another trial/war against the people to conquer them in another fashion. The balances and scales can mean both justice and law, and can also mean scarcity of food as indicated by the wheat and barley based on their price. Oil and wine – finer things that do not contribute to or reduce famine will still be available for those with resources (money). Since scales can mean the law and administration it could be deduced that this ‘famine’ is built and orchestrated by the government (the antichrist’s one world government) to control the believers. We get further indication of this from Revelation 13:17.

Rev 13:17 – “And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.”

So what I have laid out is very close to the traditional view of the black horse as famine, with the twist that I feel this is the antichrist’s induced famine on the believers. As I was completing this study, I did happen upon some other symbolic references found in this verse that led me down another path that I’d like to share that puts the verse in completely new light. It again displays God’s power in his authorship that I have stated before that the messages he sends can transcend time (the past, present, and future interpretations of one verse). This goes to show that the same can be done on both a physical and spiritual level.

1) Olive (oil) – represents light, peace, and divine blessing. (The dove brought Noah an olive branch.)

2) Wine – represents doctrine. (Luke 5:3-7)

3) Bread – life and truth (John 6:35)

4) Famine – lack of spiritual nourishment (Amos 8:11)

So could it be that the black horse will bring about a shortage, or controlled access to the Truth and Life? Absolutely – the move towards one world religion would do such a thing. Be on your guard!

Next week is probably the most famous of the horses, the Pale Horse. See you then.

Revelation - Part 4 - the red horse

Hello and welcome back (or just welcome if this is your first blog read). The last article was the introduction to the white horse, and in that article I discussed my belief it was the antichrist and the beginning of his reign and the troubles that follow. Today’s article is around Revelation 6:3-4, the red horse. Here are the two verses for this article; the second one is broken down with some notes.

Rev 6:3 - And when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second beast say, Come and see.

Rev 6:4 - And there went out another horse that was red (pyros– color of fire, red): and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace (eirene – “the” peace – tranquility, security, Messiah’s peace) from the earth (ge– dirt), and that they should kill (sphazo – slay, slaughter, butcher)one another(allelon – one another, themselves): and there was given unto him a great(megas – big in size) sword (macharia – large knife, small sword).

Let us begin by looking at some of the more interesting word usages and definitions in the passage. Remember, not all of the notes on the word usage must have some great underlying meaning, it is just that I thought they were interesting and worthy of notation in my study.

First is the word “red”. The Greek word was actually “pyrros” and you may can tell that (pyro = fire) that it was the color of fire or a “fiery red”. Next of note is the word “peace”. What is interesting to note here is that in this passage it also contained the article “the”, so in effect it was actually written like this; “… to take thepeace from the earth…” At first look, that may not be such a significant note, but it struck me as a very important fact/clue. For me, the article “the”made it sound like a specific item or at least not a general term, thus leading me to ask the question; “which peace?” We’ll discuss some options on that later. Next was the word earth – the only reason I highlight this is that it was the specific word “ge” which means the actual land and dirt as opposed to the word “world” which includes a broader scope. I’ll address the next two together – “kill one another”. Since most people associate the red horse with the broad term “war”, this seems simple – the definition of the word kill here is “slay, slaughter, butcher”. That may be war, but it is a very one-sided war if it is. Follow that term by the “one another”, which can mean “themselves” and you get a very different picture. Say these two phrases one right after the other and then think about the visual connotations that pop into your head. “That people would kill one another…” or “That people would slay themselves…” The first definition looks like war and sounds like war, but the second one brings up a completely different image for me. The second one doesn’t sound like nation against nation, but more like neighbor against neighbor (civil unrest). Finally, we’ll look at the last two words; “great sword” (megas macharia). On the surface (or in English) this looks simple enough to understand. The definition for the Greek term “megas” is (as you guessed…) related to size (our word ‘mega’) so great would mean a large, grand, huge, mega, and so on. However, the term for sword used here is “macharia”,which means a “large knife or small sword”. Now, whether this contradiction in terms means anything, I do not know –I’m merely pointing it out here, and I will hopefully be able to circle back around to it at some later time for more deep study. (which there are a couple of items that popped up during the red horse I will need to circle back on – so don’t let me forget).

So there is a breakdown to the verse itself, now let’s look more closely at some of the specific emblems/symbols in the passage and what they may have meant.

Horse: War, conquest, strength. (Accelerated mode of message delivery transportation). (Job 39:19-25). This is the same for the white horse and the subsequent ones.

Red: War, fire, slaughter, slay, blood, terror. Red horses (at least this color of red) were not common – probably non-existent. So this symbol was definitely described to trigger the imagination.

Sword: War, weapon of destruction. The sword was more widely recognized as a symbol of war than other weapons of the time. While the bow is also a symbol, it was not the primary symbol. (Think of the movie Braveheart – the archers were not the primary war symbols. Swordsmen on horseback were the most feared).

It doesn’t take much to come to the conclusion that this rider symbolizes “war”. But I ask the question, what kind of war? Nation against nation? Kingdom against kingdom? How about man against man? If you look at Matthew 24:6-8, you will see that Jesus talks about wars between the nations and kingdoms, but he describes these as the birth pains of the end times. Then in Matthew 24:9 he states the following.

Matthew 24:9 - Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake.

This sounds like a direct attack on the believers – the saints. (note – the word “kill” here is different than in Rev 6:4. The kill here is defined as “by any means possible”). I think this is what the “slay themselves” means. Neighbor against neighbor as the Christians are persecuted for their beliefs. This may also be tied to the megas-macharia (big – small sword). It is not a “nuclear”weapon as many interpret the Red Horse Sword to be, it could very well be that it is small arms (hand to hand or other like means) that carry the power or numbers of some weapon of mass destruction.

So why would our otherwise very moral and pleasant neighbors (although not Christian) suddenly start to attack and persecute the believers?

“…and power was given to him that sat thereon to take (the) peace from the earth...”

Back to “the peace”. What is the peace that the red horse is going to remove? Is this the moral compass that God has planted in all humans – regardless of faith? Is this this peace of the Holy Spirit that Jesus gave upon his ascension? Is this the (false) peace the antichrist (white horse) created on his arrival?

So while I see the horse as “war”, I see it slightly different than many of the standard “war”definition. It is with all the above information that I believe the “Red Horse” is the breakdown of civil morality. Anarchy will reign over the earth with people killing each other and persecuting the Christians with extreme prejudice. It will be a war amongst the citizens to persecute the saints.

Well, I hope you are enjoying my journey through Revelation so far. Next week we move on to the black horse. Before we do, though, I must give you a sneak peek at something that entered into my study this week. That is the Rapture. While I was following the Spirit through the Bible this week, I believe I was taken to a place I had not been before. So I have decided that when I get done with the four horsemen, I’m going to do a deep dive on the “Rapture” and see where it leads me.

Take care, God bless, and see you next week.

Revelation - Part 3 - the white horse

Hello, glad you have come back for more.  I hope you are enjoying the journey so far, and if not hopefully now is the time you will begin to find a little more substance to the quest.  We now begin our look into chapter 6 – the opening of the seals and the introduction to the four horsemen (not the backfield from Notre Dame).  The first horseman we are going to discuss is the “White horse” of Revelation 6:1-2.

 Rev 6:1: And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, come and see. 

So to catch you up to where we are in the study (since I didn’t document Revelation 4 and 5), let me run through a quick summary of the verse above…

The Lamb is of course Jesus, the only one worthy to open the scroll of Him who sits on the throne in Heaven. Jesus takes the scroll and breaks one of the seven seals on the scroll.  One of the four beasts (or creatures – lion, ox, human, eagle) – actually it is the first of the four, the lion, calls out in a booming voice.

Let us now take a closer look at the wording of verse 1, before be dive into some of the debatable aspects.

Rev 6: 1 And I saw when the Lamb opened one (mia – adjective – only one) of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise (phone – voice – Rev 4:5) of thunder (bronte – akin to bremo root word which means ‘to roar’), one (heis – numeral – The first – (Lion)) of the four beasts saying, Come and see (NIV just says “Come”). 

Only one of the seals is broken, and it is not specified that this is the “First” seal or anything particular – it is the first one broken, but the word to describe it was just “one of”.  This is in contrast to “one of the four beast…” this word ‘one’ means ‘the first’.  We can assume it is the lion, but we don’t really know why or the significance of that.  It is interesting to note, this is the only horse that is introduced with the “voice of thunder”.  Next it is important that the interpretations of the ‘beast’ are actually ‘creature’ (zoon).  This is different than the references to beasts in other parts of Revelation (such as ‘thērion’ in Rev 11:7 which is “wild animal”).  Finally there is debate on the last sentence on whether the interpretation should be “come” or “come and see”.

If the words “and see” are omitted, then the phrasing is something like this. “Come! I looked and a white…”  This interpretation is the basis that many feel that the words were not spoken to John (to come and see), but that the words were spoken to the white horse and rider to come forth.  Depending on which version you follow, this may have a impact on the interpretation of how you may determine who the riders are.  The King James Version (KJV) uses, “Come and see.  And I saw…”  The New International Version (NIV) uses “Come. I looked…”  If it is only “come”, and this is summoning of the white horse and rider, then that seems to almost immediately eliminate the possibility that the rider is the Christ.  Why would Christ open the seal, then one of the four beast command Him to come?     All of these things can (and have been) debated to endless means (and scholars much more educated than I am have already done this – and many are still split on the decision).  So, here we have a translation conundrum at the onset of the some of the most difficult to translate portions of the Bible.  For me, to solve this in my own mind, I’m going with “Come and see.  And I saw…” This seems to fit the preceding chapters more closely where the dialog was between John and a heavenly being.  While this may not be the most convincing argument for that theory, I don’t feel it changes my direction or changes the meaning of the following passages by choosing either interpretation, therefore I choose that John was summoned to come and see what was to unfold.

Next is the debate as to what followed; did John read (or have read to him) the scroll (writing on both sides, Chapter 5), did he see a pictorial version of the white horse and rider on the scroll itself, did he see a vision of the white horse and rider. 

First, I do not see any indication that anything was read to him, or that he read anything.  He clearly states “I saw” on the first 5 seals and seals six and seven are described in a way that do not support just the reading of the scroll (despite the writing on both sides –which by the way, only Christ would be able to read or look in Chapter 5:3).  So it is with some certainty that it was not read.

Next, there is strong cases to be made that the items described were pictorial representations on the scroll itself (mainly the manner and worth of having a scroll to begin with – meaning, why a scroll if it contained nothing that would be used, only as a start point for the events).  Albert Barnes (Barnes Notes) adheres to this logic (which I do enjoy his logical breakdown of the text, conclusions, and supporting narratives).  However, I disagree.  I refer back to Chapter 5:3, “And no man in heaven, nor in earth, neither under the earth, was able to open the book, neither look thereon.” And verse 4, “And I wept much, because no man was found worthy to open and to read the book, neither to look thereupon.”  So it is clear that in Chapter 5, no man is going to look into the book, so how could John now suddenly be reading it or seeing the pictures contained in it. (I know, I know.  God can do whatever he wants and if he wanted John to be able to read the book he can allow it.  But he would have said so.  And he didn’t.)  John continues to refer to the things he sees as visions (which he clearly stated he was receiving earlier).  So I do not believe he is merely looking into the book or the scroll at pictures.

That leaves the final theory, that these were visions and the opening of the scrolls was a symbolic or metaphoric way of announcing these events that were unfolding in John’s vision.  This one makes the most sense to me, and flows smoothly with what has transpired up to this point.  John is brought up to see the wonder of heaven, where he describes what he saw (the throne, lights, and worship of God).  He describes the scroll as being unable to be opened, John weeps and then is informed that the Lamb can open the scroll.  Jesus appears and takes the scroll and opens the first seal, and then John sees the white horse and rider appear on the scene.

Rev 6:2:   And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer.

First let’s look at some key elements to the wording.

Rev 6:2   And I saw ( NIV says “I looked”), and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow (toxon – only occurrence in the NT – same word as “bow in the sky” for the covenant after the flood); and a crown (stephanos  - victors crown, different than Rev 19 – also used 18 times in NT – all references were when someone other than Christ – except when it was a crown of thorns – this is not the King of Kings crown) was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer (nikao – to overcome -overcome 24, conquer 2, prevail 1, get the victory 1). (NIV – “rode out as a conqueror bent on conquest”)

We start this verse with the same problem we ended verse one.  Here, the difference in the phrasing is “I looked” and “I saw”.  Again, you can chase this down many paths as to whether John was told to “Come and see, and I saw” or whether the beast commanded “Come. And John (I) looked.”  I don’t think either one will have much bearing on the direction you go with your study; so again, I’m sticking with “Come and see. And I saw…”

I’m skipping to the last few lines now (as we’ll cover the individual emblems in a moment) to where the crown was “given” and “he went forth conquering and to conquer”.  It is interesting to note that this “victor’s crown” was given before the rider went out conquering – not for a conquest he had already completed.

For the rest of the symbolic meanings, the interpreter has to place themselves in time and place of the writer to gather the most plausible meanings for the symbols at their root.

Horse:  War, conquest, strength. (Accelerated mode of message delivery transportation). (Job 39:19-25)

White:  generally means purity, prosperity, or innocence.   Hebrew used white to signify triumph or victory.  The significance of a white horse is that those were typically not used in battle (too key of target).  They were rode in marriage parades, by conquerors on the day of triumph.  White horses were also deemed by the poets of the time to be fleeter and quicker than other horses.

Bow: War and hunting.  The sword was the more common emblem of war, and bow the more common emblem of hunting.  Interesting to note that the Greek god, Apollo’s most notable symbol was the bow and arrow. (Rev 9:11).  It is interesting to note that there is no mention of “arrows” at all in this verse.  Some scholars overlook that fact completely, taking for granted the bow came with arrows.  Others make special note that the arrows were omitted, symbolizing that the rider was going to conquest without force, a “deceitful conquest”.

Crown: This type of crown was the kind normally given to a victor – emblematic of victory or conquest.  The notation “it was given unto him”.  This could indicate that he had not earned the crown – by either the victory had not occurred yet, or that he could not earn the victory without the “giver”.  We are not told who is the one that gives the crown.  However, we may infer later.  See the notes above about the crown and its particular use in the text.

It is important now to take a quick look at the Rev 19.  The rider and white horse in Rev 19 is clearly Jesus.  Rev 19 is the culmination of judgment, whereas Rev 6 is the beginning of judgment.  Reference to Jesus on a white horse in Rev 19 does not explicitly infer that it is Jesus on the white horse in Rev 6.  It more aptly lends itself to the revelation that the true victor has emerged, as opposed to the “false” victor in Rev 6.  Also note that in Rev 19 the word for crown is different and references  many crowns and this is the only reference to a crown with this word.

Some interpretations of the White Horse and Rider that you may find in your search on the internet or various commentaries. 1) Jesus 2) the Gospel 3) Righteousness 4) Pestilence 5) Conquering – Both Good and Evil 6) The antichrist.

Having taken all the above mentioned information into account, it is with that information that I make the following summation.

After Jesus takes the scroll (as only he can) he begins to open up the seals, one by one.  With each opening of a seal, a different aspect of what is to come is revealed to John.  The first four seals start to reveal the tribulations that are to be judged upon the earth.  The first seal is opened and John sees the white horse (symbol of strength and victory).  The rider is carrying a bow, which lends to war and hunting, but the rider bears no arrows which could indicate that the victory and conquest will be accomplished without force (deceit).  The rider is wearing a crown that has been given unto him, not one that he has earned of his own accord.  This rider is then to go forward into his conquest (or reign on the earth) (Rev 17:8 – go into perdition – begin destroying).  The rider of the white horse is the antichrist a false and deceitful Christ (the true Christ is the rider of Rev 19).  It is important to note that the Greek definition for “anti” can mean “instead of” – which is exactly what the antichrist is going to try and be for the world during the tribulation.  He is going to come “instead of” the real Christ and therefore fool many with his false signs and miracles.

The next thing to discuss whether these riders represent the past, present, or the future of events.  Albert Barnes (Barnes Notes) makes a compelling case that the descriptions of the four horses fit the Roman empire very well.  The White Horse is the reign up to Commodus, and so on.  I cannot even begin to dispute those claims, nor would I even attempt to.  What I can offer is this. If you visit Part2 of this series, I address my theory the answer to the above question is YES, all of the above.  God’s authorship is so designed that the truths of revelation can fit many events – it offers the most opportunity for the text to reach into the heart and soul of a person.  Having said that, I truly believe these events as described are definitely prophecy for the end times, and the reign of the antichrist begins with the white horse.

So there you have the white horse – the antichrist.  I’m now caught up – and Sunday’s lesson will be on Revelation 6:3-4 (the red horse).  I hope to have that article published much quicker than I had this one.  Later and thanks for reading…

Revelation - Part 2 - Getting started

Part 2 – Exploring Revelation

                So if you read the first article (Interpretation Foundation) then you have a foundation on which to build your interpretation (study, deep dive, meditation, or whatever term you choose).  You should also be aware then that we (should I say me – and you are invited) are going to be going down the path of studying and exploring the book of Revelation.

So let’s get started with some more basic items to prepare ourselves.  The first place I like to start is with who, why, where, what, when, and how questions.  Answering these questions can really open you up to some new insights that you may have overlooked before, especially if you always approach the text with a 21^st century mindset.

Who: John the apostle wrote the book of Revelation.  This is the same apostle that wrote the Gospel of John and three epistles 1, 2, and 3 John.  He was part of Jesus’ inner circle of apostles (along with Peter and James).  He stood by the cross and was charged by Jesus to look after Mary. He was one who raced to the empty tomb the day it was found to be empty. He was referred to as “the disciple whom Jesus loved”.  John outlived all the other apostles – and outlived the Caesar who had him imprisoned for following Christ.  You will find much debate amongst the “scholars” on whether this John is the same who wrote the gospel and the epistles.  You’ll find some that state the writing style is too different to be the same man.  I say the writings are three different genres for three different purposes and maybe he just wrote them differently based on that need.  Either way, I see no need to challenge the authorship.  I am inclined to agree with those that were with the disciples at the time, the early church fathers that declared and ultimately agreed that this John, was the same as the apostle John and the author of the other books.

Why: Sometimes it is important to understand “why” an author wrote what he wrote.  While all of the scripture is God inspired, some had some really personal reasons for being written.  Take for example the epistles to the various churches.  Those letters were to help those early churches to grow, stay strong, and correct some of their erroneous ways.  Revelation is slightly different.  John wrote Revelation because he was commanded to by Jesus.  Revelation 1:11 and 1:19, “Write on a scroll what you see…” This was not John’s idea to share this information with the seven churches.  It was not his idea to capture a vision of the future.  He was told to write what he was told and what he was going to see in the vision.  Basically, he was told “Write this down.  It is important.”

Where:  John wrote Revelation while imprisoned on the island of Patmos (Rev 1:9).  He was imprisoned there by Caesar for preaching about Jesus.  Caesar sentenced him to remain in prison till death, but John outlived the Caesar and was released shortly after completing Revelation. Some feel that Revelation was secretly passed out of the prison piece by piece until it was completed.

What: What this book is about – well that is the whole point of this exercise isn’t it? Here is a brief look into what is to come - Persecution, the rise of evil, encouragement, perseverance, the defeat of evil, the reign of Jesus.  Victory.

When: There is much debate (as always…) but the general consensus is that John wrote this around 95 AD.  John outlived all the other apostles, and it may be that this was the last inspired work.

How:  I use the “how” for a number of various definitions, mostly, the genre.  Revelation is apocalyptic literature.  That means it is going to be highly symbolic and prophetic.  It was very popular at the time.  The word “apocalyptic” in Greek, means “revelation” (an unveiling or unfolding of things not previously known and which could not be known apart from the unveiling).

Now that we have established a baseline (and while I understand that we may not all agree on all the items listed above, it is important that you understand the stance from where I will be writing this articles as well as others), let us now look at some of the most debated aspects of the book in whole, before we dive into some of the specifics within the book.

First, let us revisit Rev 1:8, where Jesus states he is “who is, and who was, and who is to come.”  Also, in Rev 1:19, John is instructed to “write what you have seen, what is now, and what will take place later.”  Both of these statements (especially 1:19) set the book of Revelation into an organization pattern of three elements John is to describe.  “What you have seen” – things of the past; “what is now” – things occurring at the time of writing (letters to the churches); and “what will take place later” – prophesies of future events.  Some of the writings clearly fall into those categories, but the book of Revelation itself is widely debated as to where it falls within those confines, and the arguments for each are all strong and remarkable.  Here is a brief overview of each of the four main views on the placement of the book’s events.

1.       Preterist – the described events took place in the 1st century

2.       Historical – the events that take place from the writing up until Christ’s return

3.       Futurist – the end times leading to Christ’s victory

4.       Idealist – a symbolic writing of God’s triumphs over evil with no direct ties to actual events.

So it is with this knowledge that I submit the following.  God is the most awesome author to ever write a book, and he has written Revelation to satisfy all of the differing views of the interpretation of the text.  If notable scholars can clearly define how the four horsemen fit the early Roman empire, then why argue that point.  It fit the people of that day and allowed them to draw closer to the word of God based on the relevancy of the prophecies.  Could those same conclusions be applied to other periods of history?  Absolutely.  Do the events foretell some future occurrence when the antichrist will rise and reign? Most definitely.  So although I am a futurist by choice (design, nature, whatever), I do not discount the application of the visions to the other methodologies – in fact I think they only strengthen God’s power that it can occur that way.  So when John wrote about one of the visions he saw, he was describing something that was seen (the past), was (the now), and is to come (the future) – each vision fits and continues to fit multiple applications. The only thing I caution you on (or do not agree with) is if someone claims the victory has already occurred, and that tribulation is occurring right now, or the antichrist is already in power.  I think the culmination of those events is going to be quite dramatic and unmistakable – and those events are truly for the end times.

The next thing I’d like to discuss is symbolism in general.  Most people have a pretty good grasp of symbolism and what it means.  The symbolism arguments usually center on whether the symbolism is a Literal Interpretation (the events will occur just as described) or Metaphoric Interpretation (these descriptions use familiar things to describe unfamiliar events).  For most writing styles the interpretation is pretty straight forward - metaphoric.  However, when dealing with the Bible, and especially prophetic visions, this is a pretty daunting task – since God can create anything, any symbolic description is possible as a reality (not saying they all are, but that option exists for each one).

We can surely find examples of both throughout the Bible.  Literal: Moses parting the Red Sea, Jesus feeding the 5,000. Both of those acts are so magnificent of an accomplishment, on human standards they would have to be metaphoric – but since these were actions by God, they are literal events.  Metaphoric: the serpent in the garden, the four horsemen.  Again, these could be literal – Eve could have been tempted by a large snake, but most likely the attributes of a snake were simply given to Satan in this instance. Then we can find some that could be either – many people debate if the entire book of Jonah is metaphoric (I don’t think so, I think it is literal), almost the entire book of Revelation can be debated along those lines (the woman on the beast, the great Abyss). 

Particularly with prophetic literature, that is the purpose for the symbolism; it is meant to be vague enough to only be realized after the prophecy has come true.  That way people don’t have enough information to either purposefully ‘help’ the prophecy or purposefully try to stop it. 

While this brief explanation of symbolism will leave you with as many questions as you had before, it was never intended to answer them for you.  It is merely to help you break down the barriers and fear of digging into the Bible’s unknown and confusing areas.  So many people avoid Revelation because they fear they will not be able to decipher all the clues and information contained there.  You don’t have to worry about that.  What you need to do is approach it with an open heart and allow the Spirit to guide your study.  The Spirit will lead you where you need to go, and you’ll find insight into those areas needed for understanding.  The bottom line is that it doesn’t matter if actual “locusts” are going to devour or if “fallen angels” are going to devour like locust.  What does matter is that you get the message God is sending you.

One last thing in regards to symbolism I would like to discuss, and this is an area you can get caught up in that may distract your study, is the fads such as numerology or other “secret codes” within the Bible.  You will find any number of fantastic discoveries of secrets from within the Bible such as “Shakespeare in Psalms”, etc.  I will be the first to admit, I find some of these things fascinating – but let me assure you, God’s message to you is NOT HIDDEN in some mathematical equation that causes you to piece words together.  So you can enjoy these little “trivia” pieces if you’d like, but please do not take them as being the intended message.  Find that intended message with your own study.

This concludes part 2 of the “interpretation” lesson.  I know there probably wasn’t anything overly groundbreaking for you in these, but remember – this is my journey into Revelation (I’m just letting you tag along for the ride).  See you next week in the next article (I hope you come back.)

Revelation - Part 1 - Interpretation Foundation

To make a long story short (and this ain't no short story...) – I am helping a guy at church go through a study of Revelation for Sunday school.  So to help myself, I’m trying to document my journey of study.  Today’s article is the first in a series.  This one is a very basic look at interpreting scripture, and although basic – it is very important to establish some rules on which you will apply logic to your study. If you don’t have some foundation to fall back to, then you may just find yourself endlessly chasing facts that lead you nowhere.

So at some point you may have been sitting in on a sermon or lesson and heard some reference to a Biblical passage and said to yourself, “What does that mean?”  The preacher or the teacher may have spouted out some references to the meaning, or shared with you some Greek translations and then told you what it meant.  They then pressed on with their lesson.  You may have accepted it as the truth, or you may have had questions about the validity of the interpretation.  Possibly you may have been doing a study on your own or with a small group and came across some passage or reference that prompted the same question.

If you are like me, you probably went to your study Bible and read the comments there, or you may have done a quick Internet search.  The study Bible or a Bible commentary probably gave you a sound interpretation of the passage – or it may have left you just as confused before.  The Internet search more than likely provided you with so many different interpretations that you were then more confused than when you started your quest.  Either way you choose to find this interpretation, you will be lacking the interpretation you need; the interpretation God has for you.

Now don’t go screaming from the room or stop reading.  I’m not saying we’ll all interpret things differently and that is right or okay.  And I’m not saying the information you find in the Bible commentaries are wrong and you shouldn’t use them.  I’m not even saying that all the interpretations you find on the Internet are wrong (although we do have to apply a little more diligence when reading those…).  What I am saying is that the Bible is God’s message to us, and we need to spend the proper study and meditation with the Bible so that through proper prayer and study, we truly get the message He is trying to convey to us (both personally and as the Church in whole).

So your next question may be this, “Why should I listen to this guy on how to interpret the Bible?”  And that is one valid question.  I am not a theologian, a Bible scholar, a preacher, Seminary professor, or even a Seminary student.  To coin a phrase, “I’m just a big, dumb, country boy.”  And that is exactly why I think you should take what I am going to teach you and use it your own study.  If I can use these methods and find rich, rewarding communication from God, so can anyone! (And by the way, I clearly state right here that not all of these are original ideas, but they have been gleaned from years of trying to figure this out, prayerful consideration, and trial and effort.)

So now you have calmed down and declared, “Finally, clarity to all this confusion and the answers I’ve been looking for.”  Not even close.  This is not a one stop answer to Biblical secrets.  As a matter of fact, you are going to find out that there are things you still won’t be able to understand.  But we’ll deal with that in time.  What this is though, is a way for you to personally dive into the Scripture; to spend time in communication with God through his Word and prayer; to allow yourself the freedom to follow God’s Word where it will take you (not someone else); and finally to enjoy the deep satisfaction of drawing the conclusions that God has led you to and experiencing that wonderful feeling of really communicating with God through His Bible.

So let’s get started!  Turn in your Bible to Revelation 6… just kidding.  There are some things we need to cover first.

Prepare yourself to receive God’s message

                Before you begin any quest (mountain climbing, jogging, repairing a toilet), you have to ensure you are prepared.  The same is true for Biblical studies.  This first component is the key to why it is sometimes impossible to debate the Bible or Scripture with someone, or why you yourself may find that you don’t understand any of it.  If you don’t have this first element taken care of, you will not find fruit in this guide, and you won’t find it in the Bible.               

John 3:3-6- ³ Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.”  ⁴ “How can someone be born when they are old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother’s womb to be born!”  ⁵ Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. ⁶ Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.” (NIV)

Matthew 13:11-17 - ¹¹ He (Jesus) replied, “Because the knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them. ¹² Whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them. ¹³ This is why I speak to them in parables:  “Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand.    ¹⁴ In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah:  “‘You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving. ¹⁵ For this people’s heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them. ¹⁶ But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear. ¹⁷ For truly I tell you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it. (NIV)

                Now from these two passages we can deduce the following.  Jesus clearly states that to enter into the Kingdom of Heaven you must be born again.  He clearly states that there are some who have eyes and ears but do not see or hear.  Your heart has to be open to what God wants to tell you (even if it is just a little crack).  You cannot approach your study with a closed and calloused heart.   Basically you have to get yourself out of the way and let God do the talking.  You can’t do that if you have Him shut out.

First, let me state the obvious.  God can do anything He desires.  So the Bible can be understood by anyone He wants it to be understood by and it can reach anyone at any level of belief.  However, those who are believers and have Christ as their Savior can have a distinct (major) advantage over someone who does not believe (or worse who “anti-believes”). So if you are not a believer or don’t have Christ as your Savior, you can still get God’s message by being open to Christ so that he can communicate with you.  You just cannot have a closed heart and expect to be enlightened.

                Along those same lines, you have to be open to the truth.  This almost sounds too simple, but it is sometimes the biggest hindrance to our understanding.  Many times we have a pre-conceived notion of what a Bible verse means (or more to the point, what we want it to mean).  We have to let go of those notions and allow God to truly show us the meaning without interjecting our own idea (or Satan’s prompting) of what the verse may mean.

                Finally, you have to be willing to obey God.  If the interpretation starts going towards pointing out where we have been disobedient, you would be surprised how quickly our “self” jumps in and redirects the interpretation to something a little more amiable.  That cannot be allowed to happen for the truth to be unveiled.

                So, basically you have to get yourself out of the way.  Open up your heart to the Lord so he can get in.  Remove your own interpretation. Be willing to accept what you learn.

Holy Spirit

                This is how God is going to deliver his message to you if you are prepared to accept it.  We are incapable of interpreting God’s word perfectly all the time.  We are incapable of doing anything perfectly all the time. We need help.  The Holy Spirit will (and must) guide your Bible study. Imagine if you will, while reading this article there is something you don’t quite understand (I can’t believe that would ever happen).  Who would be the best person to answer your question?  The author, of course.  The same holds true for the Bible.  God is the author – using the Holy Spirit to inspire and direct the authorship. Who better than the Holy Spirit to guide your study?

2 Peter 1:21 - For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. (NIV)

John 16:13 - But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. (NIV)

1 Corinthians 2:10-11 - these are the things God has revealed to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. ¹¹ For who knows a person’s thoughts except their own spirit within them? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. (NIV)

                Clearly the Bible is God inspired through the Spirit, and the Spirit reveals things to us, so it should be easy to allow the Spirit to guide your study, right?  I wish.  (You have to revisit the first section on preparing yourself.)  You have to pray for guidance.  And just as importantly you have to listen.

                When I am studying a lesson (or preparing an article or lesson) I try desperately to listen what the Spirit is telling me as it guides my study.  While doing this there are two things I make myself very cognizant of in order to keep me on track.  First, I watch closely to make sure it is not me driving the direction.  I have had some really cool ideas in the past (so I thought).  Ones that made me think, “Wow, the class is going to love this parallel I’m drawing and the ‘real world’ example I’m using.  This is going to really hit home with them.”  But I’ve ended up throwing those ideas in the trash either because the Biblical reference was weak, or I finally realized that was not the message I was being “told” to deliver.  The second big distraction is Satan (and it is debatable who is the bigger distraction, me or him.)  If you are on to something good, you can be sure the Deceiver is going to be right there trying to get you to chase rabbits rather than finding the intended meaning God has in store for you.

                You are now ready.  You have opened your heart.  You are ready and willing to hear the truth.  You are keeping yourself and Satan at bay.  So the Holy Spirit is going to whisper in your ear the true meaning of all that has eluded you, right?  Wrong. Don’t get me wrong, there may be some “ah-ha” moments when the light bulb finally goes on, but don’t be expecting any great revelation like John got; one that suddenly makes everything crystal clear (remember, even John didn’t understand everything he was shown).  The Spirit will work through your diligent study.  If you are not open to the Spirit, reading the Bible can be like reading someone else’s mail – but, if you are open to the Spirit, it is like God is talking directly to you. (that is not my original line, but I do not know who said it).

Scripture interprets Scripture

                So let’s get into the tools of interpreting.  The first (and best) tool to use when interpreting the Bible is the Bible.

2 Peter 1:20 - Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation of things. (NIV)

                The prophets didn’t use their own interpretation.  The disciples didn’t use their own interpretation.  Why should you or anyone else get to use your own interpretation? Since the Bible was God inspired, let’s use God’s inspiration to help us understand what He is telling us.  The following five items can be used to help whenever you come across a particular word, phrase, symbol, or passage that you have difficulty understanding.

                First/Common/Other Usages: This technique is designed to help you understand the most relevant definition of the item in question.   You will need a good concordance (there are many online versions now that can really help you.  I have been using www.blueletterbible.org).  Remember, regardless of the message you think you are supposed to get from the Bible, the author was writing it to first century Jews for the most part – so you need to see a couple of references to how they used that word to really understand what the writer (or speaker) means.

                Word Definition: This tool is very closely related to the first tool.  This is the actual definition of the word.  It is important to note the relevant first century definition.   It is also important to use a good lexicon of the original Greek wording.  I know this can be daunting, but if you find a good online version to use, it can really help your study. (again, I use www.blueletterbible.org).  An interesting verse to look at for this is John 21:15-17.  This is where Jesus asks Peter if he “loves” him (they use two different words for love throughout the exchange).  I won’t spoil the search for you by divulging any clues.

                Context: Next and still closely associated with the first two items is context.  This one may be the most abused rule but if you are looking for true meaning – context has to be taken into account.  Many verses or “one liners” if not placed within the whole picture of the message have different meanings.  Paul said, “Wives, submit to your husbands.” (Eph 5:22) – Therefore the Bible says women should do what men say – wrong.  Read the entire chapter (actually read the entire book! Read 1 Corinthians while you’re at it).

                Historical background: This one may be a little harder to gather information on, but the history of the time and place can be so vital to understanding.  A great example of this is the economic posture and geographical status of Laodicea – the lukewarm church in Revelation.  Knowing about the hot springs and cold springs surrounding the city, knowing that Laodicea had a medical school that produced eye salve for various ailments, and knowing that they were famous for certain tunics makes several of the references much more meaningful.

                Genre: This one is almost too simple, but can keep you from getting off on the deep end when the message is much easier.  What I mean by genre is that the books of the Bible can be divided into different categories of writing (Prophetic, Historical, Epistles, Gospels, Poetry).  Knowing what you are reading can streamline your interpretation to some degree.  For example, an Epistle to the Corinthians (a letter to the church members) has a great wealth of information that we can also use to live our lives by, but it is going to pretty straight forward in its direction – much straighter forward than prophetic literature such as Revelation – which uses symbols and imagery.         

                Hopefully this introduction has you pointed in the right direction. The next article in this series is going to start my journey through Revelation.  It will be a summary look at Revelation – followed by several other articles that will be an in-depth look into the four horsemen of the Apocalypse (Rev 6).  Hope you enjoy and come back for more.