end-times

The order of the resurrection in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17

(This post will be a chapter in my upcoming book, “The Resurrection: when the church is glorified,” which will be published in 3Q 2024.)

THE RESURRECTION SO FAR IN 1 THESSALONIANS

Before we dig into our focus passage, which is explicitly about the resurrection of the saints, we will briefly review what Paul has already said implicitly about the resurrection earlier in the letter.

2:19. “For who is our hope or joy or crown of exultation? Is it not even you, in the presence of our Lord Jesus at His coming (παρουσία)?” Paul and the Thessalonians will both be “in the presence of the Lord Jesus at His coming” (παρουσία). “In the presence of the Lord Jesus” must be with the Lord Jesus.

This agrees with 4:16-17, where the dead in Christ and those who are alive and remain will be “caught up together to meet the Lord in the air.” This also agrees with 3:13 (below).

3:13. “He (the Lord) may establish your hearts without blame in holiness before our God and Father at the coming (παρουσία) of our Lord Jesus with all His saints.”

The first key word here is with (μετὰ followed by genitive). Jesus will be coming “with all His saints.” It is important to note that the coming of our Lord Jesus will not be for His saints, which would mean that His saints are still on earth, but His coming will be with His saints, which means that His saints are already in the air (4:17). Since “the Lord Himself will descend from heaven” (4:16), we conclude that the resurrection of the saints occurs immediately before “the coming (παρουσία) of our Lord Jesus,” and then Jesus returns with all His saints.  

The second key word is all (πάντων). Jesus will be coming “with all His saints.” This means that none of the elect will be missing. All the dead in Christ plus all those who are “alive and remain” will be with Jesus at His coming (παρουσία).

KEY POINT: The resurrection of the saints must occur immediately before Jesus’ coming (παρουσία). And this is exactly what we see in Paul’s teaching in 4:13-17.

THE ORDER OF THE RESURRECTION IN 1 THESSALONIANS 4:13-17

13 But we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve as do the rest who have no hope.

4:13. Paul is prompted to tell about the resurrection (of the saints) because the Thessalonians are unclear about the events of the last day. Thus Paul begins by talking about “those who are asleep” (i.e., those believers who have already physically died), but he quickly moves to teach about the resurrection of all believers, whether asleep or living.

14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus. 15 For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming (παρουσία) of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord.

4:14. The first phrase of this verse bears on the fact of Jesus’ bodily resurrection. A paraphrase might be, “Since Jesus was resurrected . . .”

In 1 Cor. 15:1-23, Paul makes a more detailed case for the certainty of Christ’s resurrection from the dead and for how Christ’s resurrection guarantees the resurrection of all those in Christ, but here the apostle makes clear that, as Christ died and rose again, “even so (οὕτως) God will bring with Him (i.e., with Christ; see 3:13) those who have fallen asleep in Jesus.”

Paul’s message to the Thessalonians in this verse is, “Do not be worried or anxious about those who have fallen asleep (i.e., physically died). Know for certain that these will be with the Lord Jesus when He returns.”

Now the apostle will go on to describe the events of the resurrection of the saints and how the resurrection relates to the coming (παρουσία) of the Lord Jesus.

4:15. Paul’s first phrase communicates the idea that what follows is God-breathed doctrine and is, therefore, trustworthy and true (“the word of the Lord”). Then the apostle tells us that, at the coming of the Lord, the saints who are alive and remain will be resurrected after those saints who have fallen asleep (i.e., died). Even at this point in the passage, we can begin to discern the order of the resurrection, but with 4:16-17, Paul will remove all ambiguity.

4:16-17. In these two verses, Paul gives us the most explicit teaching found in Scripture about the order of the resurrection.

The events begin with the announcement of the coming of the King when we will hear a shout (of command), the voice of an archangel and the trumpet of God sounding together (4:16), declaring to the entire world that, “NOW Jesus is coming! The King of kings is coming to judge the earth” (Psalm 96:13; 98:9; 2 Tim. 4:1).

After the announcement of Jesus’ coming, we discover that “the dead in Christ will rise first.” All those in Christ who have physically died will be resurrected first. Immediately after this comes the resurrection of the living, whom Paul describes as those “who are alive and remain.” Finally, as “the Lord Himself descends from heaven,” all the resurrected saints rise up together “to meet the Lord in the air.”

This passage in 1 Thess. 4 answers many questions about the resurrection of the saints, but it also leaves a few questions unanswered.

A COUPLE OF UNANSWERED QUESTIONS

Question: When do these events of the resurrection occur? Even though Paul’s teaching explicitly connects the return of Jesus Christ, which occurs on the last day, with the resurrection of the saints, it is possible that some may still be unclear on when the resurrection occurs.

Answer: According to Jesus in John 6:39, 40, 44 and 54, and according to John 11:24, the resurrection occurs on the last day. Since this is explicitly stated five times in John’s gospel, this answer is unambiguous. THE RESURRECTION OCCURS ON THE LAST DAY.

Question: In this passage (1 Thess. 4:13-17), we have seen that, on the last day, all the dead in Christ are resurrected, then all those believers who were still living (“alive and remain”) are resurrected, then they both rise together to meet the descending Lord Jesus in the air. But Paul does not disclose what happens next other than to say that “so we shall always be with the Lord.” The question that follows is, “What happens after the resurrected saints meet the descending Lord Jesus in the air on the last day?”

Answer: Jesus continues to descend to earth with His saints to destroy all the unrighteous. Explanation: Perhaps the best cross-reference for this is Rev. 19:11-21. This passage is the climax of the book of Revelation and pictures the Lord Jesus riding on a white horse as He comes (or “descends”) to judge the nations. “From His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may strike down the nations; He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty” (19:15). The awesome scene has an overwhelming sense of finality and concludes in 19:21 with the Lord killing all the unrighteous of the earth. And in the midst of this passage, in Rev. 19:14, we read of “armies clothed in fine linen, white and clean, following Him (Jesus) on white horses.” These armies are all the resurrected saints who have risen “to meet the Lord in the air” (1 Thess. 4:17) and who are now “following Him on white horses” as He descends in judgment. (See also 1 Thess. 3:13; 4:14.)

Restating the answer, then, AFTER THE SAINTS MEET THE LORD IN THE AIR, THE LORD AND HIS ARMIES OF RESURRECTED SAINTS CONTINUE TO EARTH TO RENDER FINAL JUDGMENT ON ALL THE UNRIGHTEOUS.

Other passages that confirm this interpretation about what happens when Jesus comes from heaven are Jer. 25:30-38, Rev. 6:12-17 and any Old Testament passage that talks about “the day of the Lord.” Another consideration is Psalm 110:5-6, a powerful psalm about Jesus’ return in judgment. When the Lord (Adonai) comes “in the day of His wrath” (110:5), “He will judge among the nations, He will fill them with corpses, He will shatter the chief men over a broad country” (110:6). The point is that, when the Lord Jesus comes in His παρουσία (1 Thess. 4:15), He is coming to judge the earth (Ps. 96:13; 98:9).

Soli Deo gloria            rmb                 5/6/2024                     #700

REVELATION 5:6-14: THE VICTORIOUS LAMB APPEARS IN HEAVEN

(This post is a chapter from my upcoming book, “Studies in Revelation 5:6 – 20:15,” which I hope to publish in the third quarter of 2024.)

TIME PERIOD OF THIS SCENE: The beginning of the thousand years

PRECEDING SCENE: Rev. 20:1-3. Jesus binds Satan in the abyss for the thousand years.

FEATURES OF THIS SCENE: After completing His mission of death and resurrection, the victorious Lamb arrives in heaven (~AD 32) to the praises of the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders and myriads of myriads of angels. The Lamb takes the book from the One who sits on the throne and prepares to break its seven seals.

SCENE THAT FOLLOWS: Rev. 6:1-2. The first seal and the rider on the white horse with the bow.

BRIEF REVIEW: We have finished our study of Rev. 20:1-6 in which the thousand years are explicitly mentioned, but we have not finished our study of the scenes in Revelation which take place during the thousand years. Rev. 5:6-14 occurs at the very beginning of the thousand years as the victorious Lamb returns to heaven, having perfectly accomplished the work the Father gave Him to do (John 17:4; 19:30). Consistent with our view of Rev. 20:1-3, we would say that this scene takes place around AD 32. Jesus has died and been raised from the dead; He has commissioned His church (Matt. 28:19-20; Acts 1:8) and He has bound Satan (Rev. 20:1-3). Now it is time for Him to take His seat at the Father’s right hand (Psalm 110:1; etc.) and to open the seals of the scroll.

5:6-8. The Lamb appears and takes the book out of the right hand of Him who sat on the throne. Then the heavenly beings begin to praise the Lamb.

9 And they *sang a new song, saying,

“Worthy are You to take the book and to break its seals; for You were slain, and purchased for God with Your blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation.

10 “You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to our God; and they will reign upon the earth.” – Revelation 5:9-10

5:9-10. These words of praise for the Lamb are full of meaning.

The four living creatures and the twenty-four elders “sang a new song.”

WORTHY. Their new song begins with “Worthy are You to take the book.” The key word is “Worthy.” Earlier we had seen that the living creatures and the twenty-four elders had worshipped Him who sits on the throne, Him who lives forever and ever, saying, “Worthy are You, our Lord and our God” (Rev. 4:10-11). Then in heaven a strong angel had asked, “Who is worthy to open the book and to break its seals?” (5:2). The new song answers that question. The Lamb who was slain is worthy. As the Lord our God who sits on the throne is worthy, so the Lamb who was slain is worthy. “Worthy is the Lamb that was slain” (Rev. 5:12).

PURCHASED WITH HIS BLOOD. The Lamb “purchased with His blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation” (5:9). This is obviously speaking of Christ’s atonement on the cross. But who specifically are these whom the Lamb purchased? The answer is that with His blood the Lamb has atoned for every person who will ever be saved. In all the universe, there is only one place where atonement has ever been made and will ever be made. Atonement for all who will ever be saved was made by Jesus in His death on the cross. The theological fact is that the only place and time that the redeemed could ever have been purchased was when Jesus uttered, “Τετέλεσται,” on the cross and bowed His head and gave up His spirit (John 19:30). So, all who were ever purchased were purchased at the cross.

PURCHASED FOR GOD. And we also see that Jesus purchased these for God. Jesus poured out His blood “to purchase for God people from every tribe and tongue and people and nation.” The Lord Jesus did not shed His blood (i.e., die) to purchase nothing. Rather, in His death on the cross Jesus’ blood purchased people for God, and Jesus’ resurrection confirmed that the transaction was accepted by God. Those for whom Jesus died were actually purchased with His blood for God. Jesus’ atonement really atoned, and those for whom Jesus atoned will be saved.

We have thus seen that Jesus atoned for all the sins of all those who will ever be saved and He purchased for God only those who will be saved. Therefore, we conclude that Jesus the Messiah purchased for God with His blood all the elect (Eph. 1:4; etc.) and none other.

NOTE ON REV. 14:3, 4 AND THE 144,000: In a future study we will be looking at Rev. 14:3, where we will once again see the word “purchased.” “The 144,000 had been purchased from the earth.” We will see that the 144,000 in Rev. 14:3 must be the same group that the Lamb purchased in Rev. 5:9 and, therefore, must also represent all the elect.

Before we continue with the interpretation of this passage, we should note two things. First, we remember when this scene is taking place. This scene in heaven of the victorious Lamb occurs at ~AD 32, at the very beginning of the thousand years. Second, we observe that, in this scene, there are no saints in heaven, at least none that John mentions. Both of these are significant details.

PURCHASED BUT NOT YET PRESENT. Because Revelation is biblical prophecy, the default paradigm for interpretation is figurative and symbolic (See “Introduction.”) Thus even the visions themselves may be best understood figuratively. That is, in fact, the case here. Notice who we see in heaven in this passage. Besides the Lamb we see the four living creatures, the twenty-four elders (5:8) and “myriads of myriads, and thousands of thousands” of angels (5:11), but we do not see any people, whether souls or saints. Where are they?

The answer is that there are no souls or saints mentioned because there are none in heaven when this vision occurs. The vision presents the situation in heaven at ~AD 32 at the very beginning of the thousand years when the commissioned church is in its infancy and the ingathering of the nations has only barely begun. Of course, if we were speaking literally, we would see heaven already populated by numerous Old Testament saints, but we are viewing a figurative vision of heaven as “the church” (basically, the apostles and a few others) prepares for the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. So, in the vision, we see no saints in heaven. The Lamb has purchased “a great multitude which no one could count from every nation, etc.” (Rev. 7:9), but that great multitude has not yet been gathered from the nations. Every member of the great multitude has already been purchased for God by the atoning blood of the Lamb, but (figuratively) none of them have heard the gospel call demanding repentance and faith in the Lord Jesus, and so none of them have been saved so as to appear in heaven. (Contrast this scene with the scene in Rev. 20:4-6, which takes place during the thousand years, where we explicitly see souls in heaven reigning with Christ. These souls are those who heard the gospel call while they were living and believed in the Lord Jesus for salvation.)

The point is that, at this point in time, atonement has been made by the victorious Lamb, but the commissioned church has not yet used “the bow” of the gospel to conquer the nations (Rev. 6:2) and to gather in the great multitude of the elect.

5:11-14. These verses describe the worship that the worthy Lamb receives from all the heavenly beings for His magnificent work of atonement. “Worthy is the Lamb that was slain” (5:12).         

Soli Deo gloria            rmb                 5/6/2024                     #699

Matthew 24:34 – An exegetical study

POST OVERVIEW. In Matthew 24-25, we find the so-called Olivet Discourse, where our Lord tells His disciples of the things that are to come in the future.

This is a long and technical article that does a detailed exegesis of Matthew 24:34 in order to discover the correct understanding of this difficult verse.

Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. – Matthew 24:34 (NASB)

AN INTERPRETIVE CHALLENGE

The reason I want to study this verse is because it presents us with an interpretive challenge. Jesus, the Son of God, is the Person speaking in this verse. Because Jesus is the Son of God, we know that He is always correct when He speaks. Yet, as we read this verse, we encounter a situation in which it seems that Jesus may not be correct. What do I mean?

THREE SIGNIFICANT FUTURE EVENTS

In response to questions from His disciples (Matthew 24:3), Jesus has just spoken to them about three significant future events, namely, about the destruction of the temple and of Jerusalem, which occurred in AD 70, and about the events of the end of the age and the sign of His coming (παρουσία), both of which have not occurred to this day. Since we are in the 21st century almost two thousand years after Jesus spoke these words, it is obvious that “this generation” (24:34) has long since passed away, yet it seems that “all these things” have not taken place. So, this is the interpretive challenge: “How do we reconcile Jesus’ words with our historical reality?”

TWO POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS

As we consider this quandary, it becomes apparent that there are only two possible solutions to this dilemma. Either the correct understanding of “this generation” in Matthew 24:34 reveals that Jesus spoke truth in this verse, or the correct understanding of “all these things” reveals the truth of Jesus’ words. In our study, we will examine each of these possible solutions to determine which one is the most reasonable.

AN OVERVIEW OF MATTHEW 24:2-35

Before we begin to dig deep into Matthew 24:34, however, it would be helpful to get an overview of Matthew 24:2-35 so that we can see the context of these verses and better understand our Lord’s teaching about the end of the age.

Jesus begins the dialog (Matt. 24:2) by making a prophecy about the destruction of the temple buildings. We know that the temple was destroyed by the Romans in AD 70, approximately forty years after Jesus spoke these words. The Greek and the English (NASB) of Matt. 24:2 follow.

Matthew 24:2

ὁ δὲ ἀποκριθεὶς εἶπεν αὐτοῖς, Οὐ βλέπετε ταῦτα πάντα; ἀμὴν λέγω ὑμῖν, οὐ μὴ ἀφεθῇ ὧδε λίθος ἐπὶ λίθον ὃς οὐ καταλυθήσεται.

And He said to them, “Do you not see all these things? Truly I say to you, not one stone here will be left upon another, which will not be torn down.”

Matthew 24:3

This is a key verse in the discourse, because here the disciples ask the questions that will form the basis for Jesus’ prophecies about the future. The disciples ask three questions in Matt. 24:3 – “When . . . what . . . what?”

Just as an aside, it is likely that the disciples thought they were asking about one event with three different features. That is, they probably assumed that the destruction of the temple (“these things”), Jesus’ coming, and the end of the age would happen simultaneously in one cataclysmic event. In fact, however, they were asking questions about three distinct events.

  1. Prompted by Jesus’ words about the destruction of the temple and “all these things” in 24:2, the disciples ask, “When will (all) these things happen?” Here the disciples were asking the question, “When will the temple be destroyed?”
  2. Next, they ask, “What will be the sign of your coming?” Here the disciples were asking for the signs that will occur just before or during Jesus’ coming (παρουσία).
  3. Then they ask, “(What will be the sign) of the end of the age?” In other words, “What extraordinary events will occur in the last days of the last days that tell us that the end is near?”

These are the three questions the disciples asked Jesus, and these are the three questions that Jesus answers in Matthew 24:5-35. The disciples asked, “When . . . what . . . what?” and Jesus will answer their questions with “When . . . what . . . what.”

The verses that address each of the three questions are as follows:

  • Matt. 24:15-20 and 24:34 address the destruction of the temple (and of Jerusalem) (“all these things” in 24:2 and “these things” in 24:3). In 24:15-20, Jesus tells what will occur in AD 70 so that “not one stone will be left upon another” (24:2). Then in 24:34 Jesus tells when “all these things” will occur.
  • Matt. 24:5-14 and 24:21-28 tells what the signs of the end of the age will be. These are the extraordinary events that will occur which indicate the end is near. Within these verses there seems to be an intensification of evil as the end approaches. For example, 24:5-8 twice hints that things will get worse (24:6, 8), and then in 24:9-14 things do get worse until “then the end will come” (24:14). In 24:21-22, the “great tribulation” occurs and those days must be cut short to allow some of the elect to be saved. Finally, in 24:27-28, Jesus makes clear that His coming (“the coming of the Son of Man”) will mark the end of the age.  
  • Matt. 24:29-31 explicitly tells what the signs of the coming (παρουσία) of the Son of Man will be.

Now we will examine the two possible solutions.

FIRST POSSIBLE SOLUTION: CHANGE THE MEANING OF “THIS GENERATION”

In the first possible solution, the assumption is made that “all these things” includes all the events Jesus has mentioned in the discourse so far in 24:2-31. So, according to this view, “all these things” is interpreted to include the destruction of the temple in AD 70 (24:15-20) plus the events of the end of the age (24:5-14 and 24:21-28) plus the sign of the coming (παρουσία) of the Son of Man (24:29-31). We also know that, according to the Lord Jesus (24:34), “all these things” will take place before “this generation” passes away. Thus, the interpretive task for this possible solution is to find a meaning for “this generation” that allows “all these things” to take place before “this generation” passes away.

How would we go about completing this “interpretive task?” In considering the phrase “this generation,” one well-known Bible teacher, who holds to the view that “all these things” includes all the events Jesus has mentioned in the discourse so far in 24:2-31, explained his position this way: “ ‘This generation’ in 24:34 cannot refer to the generation living at that (sic) time of Christ, for ‘all these things’ (vv. 15-31) did not ‘take place’ in their lifetimes; rather (it is) a reference to the generation alive at the time when those final hard labor pains (v. 8) begin.” To state this position in other words, we might say that, when referring to “this generation” in Matt. 24:34, Jesus was not speaking about “this generation” at all but was speaking about “that generation” who would be living many years in the future.

A SOLUTION THAT IS NOT A SOLUTION

In the attempt to maintain the necessary condition that Jesus is always true in His prophecies, this proposed solution has ignored the plain meaning of the inspired text of Matt. 24:34 and has imposed another meaning instead. In the inspired text, our Lord said, “This generation (Greek ἡ γενεὰ αὕτη) will not pass away until . . .” The only proper meaning of “this generation” in this verse is as a reference to the people who were living at the time Jesus spoke these words. The following observations support this statement.

  1. When speaking in terms of time, the word “this” (οὗτος in the Greek) refers to now or the current time. For example, Joshua 24:15 says, “Choose you this day whom you will serve,” meaning “Choose now.” By contrast, in temporal terms the word “that” (ἐκεῖνος in the Greek) refers to not-now. For example, in eschatology, the end of the age will occur on that day, which is not-now. Therefore, when Jesus speaks of “this generation,” He is referring to the generation living while He was speaking, that is, the generation living “now.”
  2. In Matthew 24:2-35, in every instance when our Lord speaks about the future, He uses the word “that” (plural of “that” is “those”). We read in 24:19 about “those days” in the future when Jerusalem is being destroyed. Again in 24:22 we twice encounter “those days” talking about the future days of the great tribulation. In 24:29, “those days” also refers to the future. Thus, if in 24:34 Jesus had intended to refer to a future generation, He would have spoken of “that generation.” Since Jesus speaks instead of “this generation,” we conclude that He is referring to the generation living while He was on earth.
  3. Aside from 24:34, the phrase “this generation” appears five other times in the gospel of Matthew, in 11:16; 12:41, 42, 45; and 23:36. The context of the first four appearances requires that Jesus is referring to the generation to whom He was speaking. In the fifth appearance (23:36), while it is not required that Jesus is speaking just to His own contemporaries, it is certain that He is not speaking to an unspecified group of people living thousands of years in the future. This evidence indicates that, in 24:34, Jesus is referring to the generation living when He made this prophecy.

This cumulative evidence leads to the conclusion that, when our Lord said, “This generation (Greek ἡ γενεὰ αὕτη) will not pass away,” He was certainly referring to the people who were living at the time He spoke these words. Since that is the case, we are forced to reject the first proposed solution and turn our attention to the second alternative.

“UNTIL ALL THESE THINGS TAKE PLACE”

In our study so far, we have reached an exegetical dead-end in trying to interpret “this generation” in any sense other than the normal, natural meaning. We have concluded that “this generation” is “the generation living at the time Jesus spoke these words.” Therefore we will now consider the other possible solution, namely, a correct understanding of the phrase “all these things.”

Admittedly, at first reading of Matt. 24:34, it seems that, when Jesus says “all these things” in this verse, He is referring to all the events that He has mentioned since the start of the discourse. But we will discover that, although this might be our first assumption, this is not the required interpretation.

WHAT WE KNOW SO FAR. We know, from our previous work, that “this generation” refers to the generation living when Jesus spoke these words. We also know, from 24:34, that “all these things” will take place before “this generation” passes away. So, to put this into concrete terms, we know that “all these things” will take place within the time span of a normal generation, say, the next thirty to fifty years. We therefore conclude that “all these things,” whatever that includes, will take place between AD 60 and AD 80.

This deduction is especially helpful because, in Matt. 24:3, the disciples had asked Jesus a “when” question regarding the destruction of the temple. The disciples’ question, “When will these things happen?” in 24:3 was prompted by Jesus’ statements in 24:2 about the destruction of “all these things” in the temple. We had mentioned earlier that, when the disciples asked, “When . . . what . . . what?” in 24:3, Jesus had answered “When . . . what . . . what” in 24:5-35 but, until 24:34, Jesus has not given the disciples a “when” answer. But now we observe that the only place in the discourse where Jesus offers a “when” answer is here in 24:34. That is, Jesus’ only guidance on when the temple will be destroyed is here in 24:34 where He says, “Before this generation passes away.” Of course, we also know something the disciples did not know. We know that the temple was, in fact, destroyed in AD 70, about forty years after Jesus spoke these words and therefore also before “this generation” passed away.

THE INTERPRETIVE TASK. All of this leads us to a “crisis of interpretation.” From what we know and what we have just deduced, we are persuaded that, in Matthew 24:34, Jesus is only prophesying the destruction of the temple in AD 70. Thus, the interpretive task becomes justifying our claim that “all these things” in Matthew 24:34 applies only to the destruction of the temple and does not include Jesus’ coming or the end of the age. We will offer three pieces of evidence which justify the claim.

EVIDENCE / THE CASE

Our first piece of evidence involves Matt. 24:33 and this verse’s role in the discourse.

33 so, you too, when you see all these things, recognize that He is near, right at the door. – Matthew 24:33 (NASB)

EVIDENCE OF MATTHEW 24:33. In Matthew 24:33, it is apparent that Jesus is answering the disciples’ question (24:3) about His return and, by association, about the end of the age, but there is nothing in this verse to suggest that He is saying anything about the destruction of the temple. This is especially informative for us since we now know that the destruction of the temple and the return of Jesus are separated by at least two millennia. This means that when Jesus refers to “all these things” in 24:33, He is only referring to “the sign of Your coming and of the end of the age” (24:3).

We can also see in 24:33 that Jesus is answering a “what” question, not a “when” question. The phrase, “When you see all these things,” refers to “what will be the signs” in 24:3, but it supplies no information about when. That means that from Matthew 24:5-33, Jesus has not answered the disciples’ question about “when” the temple will be destroyed. We suggest that the missing answer is supplied in Matthew 24:34.

TEXTUAL COMPARISON OF MATTHEW 24:2 AND 24:34. To review, in Matt. 24:2 Jesus predicts the destruction of the temple when “all these things” will be torn down. Then in 24:3, the disciples ask Jesus, “When will these things happen?” certainly in reference to the destruction of the temple. In 24:15-20, Jesus details what the destruction of the temple and Jerusalem will be like and finally, in 24:34, He tells the disciples when this event will happen. The verses are below. (NASB – any emphasis is mine)

And He said to them, “Do you not see all these things? Truly I say to you, not one stone here will be left upon another, which will not be torn down.” – Matthew 24:2

As He was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things happen, and what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?” – Matthew 24:3

“Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place.” – Matthew 24:34

COMMENTS / OBSERVATIONS ABOUT THE TEXT. Notice that the identical phrase, “all these things,” appears in both 24:2 and in 24:34. This could be interpreted as a rhetorical device to connect the two verses and to show that “all these things,” refers to the same things in both verses; namely, the destruction of the temple.

Also observe that in both 24:2 and in 24:34 Jesus uses the phrase, “Truly I say to you.” This is significant for two reasons. First, this phrase causes 24:2 and 24:34-35 to stand out and to show that they serve as bookends to this section (Matt. 24:2-35) of the Olivet Discourse about the events of the end times. The purpose of these “bookend” verses is to open the section and then to conclude the section. Here, Jesus opens the section predicting the destruction of the temple and concludes the section by telling when that destruction will take place.

But second, in this section of the Olivet Discourse (24:2-35), “Truly I say to you” appears only twice, only in 24:2 and in 24:34. As above with the phrase “all these things,” so also here this could be interpreted as a rhetorical device to connect the two verses and to show that they refer to the same things; namely, to the destruction of the temple.

These observations suggest that there are textual reasons to think that 24:34 is referring only to the destruction of the temple.

JESUS’ LIMITED KNOWLEDGE ABOUT THE TIMING OF HIS COMING. The third piece of evidence in favor of understanding “all these things” in 24:34 as referring only to the destruction of the temple has to do with what Jesus says about His own knowledge about the timing of His coming (παρουσία). Note that in Matt. 24:36, Jesus says that “Of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone.” Jesus is clearly speaking about His coming (παρουσία) and He admits that even He, the Son of God, does not know the timing of His coming or the timing of the end of the age. He therefore cannot make predictions about when all these things (including His coming) will take place. We conclude that, in Matthew 24:34, Jesus cannot be declaring that His coming will occur before this generation passes away, because He has admitted (24:36) that He does not know when His coming will occur. Because Jesus cannot tell the “when” of His coming or the “when” of the end of the age, the only “when” He can be giving in Matthew 24:34 is the timing of the destruction of the temple. So we conclude that all these things in 24:34 refers to all the events around the destruction of the temple.   

SUMMARY

Based on the work presented in this article, we conclude that all these things in Matthew 24:34 refers only to the events surrounding the destruction of the temple and does not refer to either the coming of Jesus or to the events of the end of the age.

Soli Deo gloria            rmb                 10/31/2023                 #676

Basic interpretive principles for Revelation 5-20, Part 2

POST OVERVIEW. The second in a two-part series of posts stating and justifying two key interpretive principles for Rev. 5-20 and presenting two crucial questions for applying these principles to a given text in Revelation. (The first post of this series was post #671.)

This second post is about Key Interpretive Principle #2, that the characters and events of Revelation chapters 5-20 are to be understood as symbolic and figurative, not literal.

INTRO. The purpose of this two-part series is to present two powerful principles for helping the Bible student interpret the visions in Revelation 5-20 and to explain two crucial questions which emerge from these interpretive principles.

TWO PRINCIPLES AND TWO CRUCIAL QUESTIONS FOR REVELATION 5-20

THE TWO KEY PRINCIPLES STATED. The two key principles are 1) Revelation 5-20 is not written in chronological order, and 2) our default assumption is that the characters and events of Revelation 5-20 are to be understood figuratively or symbolically, not literally.

In the previous post (#671), we stated and justified Key Interpretive Principle #1, that Revelation chapters 5-20 are not chronological. We now turn to Key Interpretive Principle #2, that the characters and events of Revelation chapters 5-20 are to be understood as symbolic and figurative, not literal.

JUSTIFICATION OF “NOT LITERAL, BUT FIGURATIVE AND SYMBOLIC.” Key Interpretive Principle #2: The default assumption is that the characters and events in Rev. 5-20 are to be understood figuratively or symbolically, not literally. To justify this principle, I refer the reader to a two-part series of articles on my blog site (Post #622, 2/16/2023 and #623, 2/16/2023), which addresses this precise subject. The essence of these two posts is expressed in the quote below from Post #623.

QUOTE FROM POST #623. “One of the most obvious features of these chapters (Revelation 4-20) is a continuous pouring forth of strange and powerful visions of angels and dragons and earthquakes and hailstones. Just speaking for me personally, I cannot imagine what a literal interpretation of these visions could possibly mean, so I have always thought that most of these were intended to be symbolic of other biblical realities. After all, Revelation is the ultimate example of the genre called biblical prophecy, and, as in all biblical prophecy, the symbolic and the figurative are common. So, while there are certainly parts of this section of Revelation that should be understood literally, the overwhelming majority of these chapters presents events and characters which only make sense if they are symbolic and figurative. In fact, the great challenge of interpreting Revelation 4-20 is determining the meanings of the many images and events that John records.

The following give evidence of the need for a symbolic or figurative interpretation.

  • The Lamb in Rev. 5:6ff
  • The seals of Rev. 5, 6
  • The four horsemen of Rev. 6:1-8
  • The 144,000 of Rev. 7:4-8; 14:1-5
  • The seven angels with the seven trumpets of Rev. 8-9
  • The star from heaven in Rev. 8:10; 9:1ff
  • The abyss (bottomless pit) and the smoke in Rev. 9:2-10
  • Locusts and scorpions in Rev. 9:3-10
  • Twice ten thousand time ten thousand horsemen Rev. 9:16
  • Kill a third of mankind Rev. 9:15 (2.5 Billion people??)
  • Two witnesses, fire flows out of their mouths Rev. 11:5
  • The woman Rev. 12
  • Red dragon Rev. 12
  • The beast Rev. 13:1-10
  • Another beast Rev. 13:11-17
  • The angel and the sickle Rev. 14:17-20
  • Seven angels with seven bowls Rev. 16:1-12
  • Armageddon Rev. 16:13-16
  • Scarlet beast and the woman Rev. 17:3-18
  • The destruction of Babylon Rev. 18
  • The Rider on the white horse Rev. 19:11-21
  • The angel from heaven Rev. 20:1-3
  • The dragon, the key, the chain, the abyss (bottomless pit) Rev. 20:1-3
  • Thousand years Rev. 20:2-7   [END QUOTE]

For those who desire to read the full posts, here are links to posts #622 and #623 on interpreting Revelation’s symbolism.  Post 622    Post 623

CRUCIAL QUESTION #2. Since most of the characters and events in Rev. 5-20 are understood figuratively and symbolically, the student of Revelation is compelled to frequently use their Bible study skills to ask and answer crucial question #2, “WHO OR WHAT does this symbol represent?”

AN EXAMPLE FROM REVELATION 20:1-3; WHO IS “THE ANGEL?”

My recent three-post study on Revelation 20:1-3 (posts #668, #669, and #670) was done to determine when in human history “the thousand years” occurs, but an important part of that larger study was identifying “the angel” in this scene in Rev. 20:1. To discover the identity of “the angel,” we employed crucial question #2, “WHO does this symbol (“the angel”) represent?” For an example of how the WHO crucial question is used, follow the link to post #668.

SUMMARY. Stating and justifying Key Interpretive Principle #2, that Revelation chapters 5-20 are figurative and symbolic, not literal. Also, presenting crucial question #2, “WHO OR WHAT does this symbol represent?”

Soli Deo gloria            rmb                 9/15/2023                   #672

Basic interpretive principles for Revelation 5-20, Part 1

POST OVERVIEW. The first in a two-part series of posts stating and justifying two key interpretive principles for Rev. 5-20 and presenting two crucial questions for applying these principles to a given text in Revelation.

This first post is about Key Interpretive Principle #1: Revelation 5-20 is not chronological.  

Interpreting and understanding the book of Revelation is a challenge for any student of the Bible. The rapidly changing scenes in Revelation and the visions of angels and dragons and beasts and creatures from the abyss can be very confusing. Where does the student begin?

The purpose of this two-post study is to present two powerful principles for helping the Bible student interpret the visions in Revelation 5-20 and to explain two crucial questions which emerge from these interpretive principles.

TWO PRINCIPLES AND TWO CRUCIAL QUESTIONS FOR REVELATION 5-20

TWO KEY PRINCIPLES STATED. The two key principles are 1) Revelation 5-20 is not written in chronological order, and 2) our default assumption is that the characters and events of Revelation 5-20 are to be understood figuratively or symbolically, not literally.

JUSTIFICATION OF “NOT CHRONOLOGICAL.” There are two features of the text that demonstrate that Rev. 5-20 is not read chronologically (Key Interpretive Principle #1). These features are, first, that there are similar or identical events and phrases which are repeated at several different points in these chapters, and second, there are some events that are clearly intended to be final that occur long before the end of the section. Examples of these follow.

REPEATED EVENTS AND PHRASES.

  • In 16:14, we see the beast and the kings of the whole world gathering together for the war of the great day of God; but in 19:19, we again see the beast and the kings of the earth “assembled” (same Greek word as “gather” in 16:14) to make war against Him who sat on the horse; and finally, in 20:8, the recently-released Satan comes out to gather the nations together for the war. These three verses say essentially the same thing about the same event, but they are in three different sections of Revelation. Conclusion? The text is not chronological.
  • In 14:8, we read, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great, she who made all the nations drink the wine of the passion of her immorality.” Then in 18:2-3, we read, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great! For all the nations have drunk the wine of the passion of her immorality.” Identical texts but separated by several chapters of intense activity means the book is not chronological.
  • In 7:9-17, we see “a great multitude” praising God who sits on the throne and praising the Lamb. Then in Rev. 19:1, we hear the loud voice of “a great multitude” worshiping God who sits on the throne (19:4). (See also “the voice of a great multitude” in 19:6.) This repeated scene takes place in the new heaven and new earth where all the redeemed are worshiping God and the Lamb forever, but these passages are far apart in the book. Also, these scenes take place in eternity in the new heaven and new earth. As such, they belong in chapters 21-22, not in chapters 7 and 19. When we see the same scene in different places, it means that the book is not chronological.
  • 6:14: “every mountain and island were moved out of their places.” 16:20: “every island fled away and the mountains were not found.” The identical event at two well-spaced places in the book means that the book is not chronological.
  • In 8:5, we read, “There followed peals of thunder and sounds and flashes of lightning and an earthquake.” But in Rev. 11:19 we find peals of thunder, flashes of lightning, and an earthquake. And in Rev. 16:18 we again have peals of thunder, flashes of lightning, and a great earthquake. The same event is found at three widely separated places in the text. This is more evidence that Revelation 5-20 is not read chronologically.

PICTURES OF FINAL JUDGMENT APPEAR LONG BEFORE THE END

  • Picture #1. Rev. 6:12-17. 6:12-14 is filled with images from “the day of the LORD” passages in the Old Testament. This scene is a picture of the end. Then in 6:15-17 we see “the kings of the earth” (see 16:14, 18:3, 19:19) hiding themselves from “the presence of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb, for the great day of their wrath has come, and who is able to stand?” This is certainly the final judgment, yet, curiously, it is placed at the end of chapter 6. If the final judgment is presented in chapter 6, then Revelation is not chronological.
  • Picture #2. Rev. 16:17-21. In 16:17, a loud voice says, “It is done,” which also appears in 21:6 (new heaven and new earth). We have already mentioned the peals of thunder, etc. (11:19; 8:5). In 16:19, figurative “Babylon” receives the cup of the wine of God’s fierce wrath (also in 6:12; 14:19; 19:15). The tone of the passage is one of final judgment, but we are still in chapter 16, not at the end of chapter 20 or in chapter 21. As above, if the final judgment is presented in chapter 16, then Revelation is not chronological.
  • Picture #3. Rev. 19:11-21. The scene with the Rider on the white horse is the climax of the book of Revelation as the glorious Lamb comes from heaven to tread the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty (19:15). To emphasize the finality of this event, in 19:21 we read, “And the rest were killed with the sword which came from the mouth of Him who sat on the horse.” If Revelation were chronological, this would be the end because there are no people living on earth after 19:21. But instead of the end coming here, we read of “the thousand years” (20:1-7) and of yet another war (20:8-9) and of Satan being thrown into the lake of fire (20:10) before we get to the great white throne (20:11-15). This is yet more evidence that Revelation is not read chronologically.

CRUCIAL QUESTION #1. Hopefully, by presenting this evidence, we have made the case that Revelation 5-20 should not be read chronologically. When we realize how not to read Revelation 5-20, our efforts at interpreting the text actually become easier because now, instead of trying to force these scenes into a bizarre chronological order, we can look carefully at the details of the text and at the interpretive clues that are available in the text and ask the crucial question, “WHEN does this event take place?” It is, therefore, incumbent upon the student of Revelation to become skilled at asking and answering crucial question #1, “WHEN does this event take place?”

AN EXAMPLE FROM REVELATION 6:12-17

To understand how to use the WHEN question, we will go quickly through an example. We have already mentioned Rev. 6:12-17 several times in this article, so let’s go there. In this passage, the Lamb breaks the sixth seal (the next to last seal, so we are probably nearing the end of the age) and we read of a great earthquake. (Think Rev. 16:18, which is in another “final judgment” passage.) The earthquake is followed by several “day of the LORD” events from the Old Testament. The sun became black (Joel 2:31; Matt. 24:29), the moon became blood, the stars fell from the sky, the sky was rolled up like a scroll (Is. 34:4), and every mountain and island was moved out of their place (Nah. 1:5; Rev. 16:20). Then notice at the conclusion of this pericope, we read (6:16-17) of the wrath of the Lamb. This is as clear a picture of the day of the Lord as we have in Scripture. The Lamb is certainly the Lord Jesus, the Rider on the white horse of Rev. 19:11-21, the Lord descending from heaven with a shout in 1 Thess. 4:16. This is the day of judgment, “that day,” when the wrath of God is poured out on the unrighteous. WHEN does the day of the Lord occur? We know that the Lord Jesus will return on the last day to destroy the unrighteous. Therefore, Rev. 6:12-17 is a scene from the last day of the age just before the great white throne judgment (Rev. 20:11-15).

For another extended example of using this crucial question #1, refer to my recent three-post study on Revelation 20:1-3 where we sought to determine WHEN in human history “the thousand years” occurs. (See posts #668, #669, and #670.) The WHEN question was used several times in this study.

SUMMARY. Stating and justifying Key Interpretive Principle #1, that Revelation chapters 5-20 are not to be read chronologically. Also, presenting crucial question #1, “WHEN does this event take place?”

Soli Deo gloria            rmb                 9/15/2023                   #671

The thousand years: Part 3 – When is Jesus coming?

POST OVERVIEW. The third in a series of studies of Revelation 20:1-3 seeking to determine when “the thousand years” occur. This specific study seeks to determine when Jesus binds Satan in the abyss by determining from the Scriptures when Jesus’ coming (παρουσία) occurs. (See also post #668, 9/10/2023, post #669, 9/11/2023.)

REVIEW THE PROGRESS OF OUR STUDY

This article is the third in a series of studies focused on Revelation 20:1-3 whose objective is to determine when, in human history, “the thousand years” (“the MILL”) occurs. In our two previous studies (Post #668, #669), we established the following:

  • “The dragon” represents Satan (20:2).
  • “The angel” (20:1) represents the Lord Jesus.
  • The MILL begins when the Lord Jesus binds Satan and throws him into the abyss.
  • At the end of the MILL, Satan is released from the abyss for a short time.
  • Jesus is seated at the Father’s right hand from the time He ascended to heaven (ca. AD 30) until He returns to earth for the Judgment.
  • There are only two times when Jesus could bind Satan in the abyss, either after His coming (παρουσία) or while He is ascending to heaven between Acts 1:9 and Rev. 5:6ff.

The chart below illustrates the progress we have made up to this point in our study.

Our first two studies left us here, knowing that the binding of Satan (B) and the MILL that follows must be located in one of these two places. (See post #669 for how we reached this conclusion.) The question is, “How do we decide between these two possibilities?” Answering that question will be the subject of this study. 

OUR APPROACH. Our approach for deciding between these two options is pretty simple, at least in concept. We have two alternative scenarios, but only one of them is correct. If we can eliminate one of the alternatives or show, by the Scriptures, that one of them is not possible, then we would be left with the correct one. So, we are going to seek to show from Scriptures that one of these two options is not possible.

STEP ONE. Referring to our chart above, we will focus on the coming (“the return”) of Jesus and ask another crucial question: “WHEN does the coming (παρουσία) of Jesus take place?” For this portion of our study, we will once again leave Revelation and explore 1 Thess. 4:15-17.

As we read 1 Thess. 4:15, it is obvious that we are reading a passage about the coming (παρουσία) of the Lord. The next verse, 4:16, removes all ambiguity when Paul writes, “For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout.” It is certain that these verses describe Jesus coming to earth.

But also notice what is going on at the same time. While Christ is descending from heaven, “the dead in Christ will rise” (4:16) and then “we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them to meet the Lord in the air” (4:17). Paul is writing about the resurrection when all those who are in Christ, whether living or dead, will receive their glorified bodies. It is the same topic that Paul teaches in 1 Cor. 15:52: “In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.” Again, we see that all the saints, whether living or dead, will receive their resurrection bodies at the same time. And the resurrection will occur when Christ returns, for 1 Cor. 15:22-23 says, “For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, after that those who are Christ’s at His coming.” Thus, the Scriptures declare that all those who are Christ’s will be resurrected (glorified) at the time of His coming.

  • Our conclusion is that the coming (παρουσία) of Jesus and the resurrection of the saints occur at the same time.

We will now add the resurrection (“S”) to our chart. (See below.)

STEP TWO. Now we ask another crucial question: “WHEN does the resurrection of the saints take place?” Because Jesus’ coming and our resurrection occur at the same time, if we can determine from the Scriptures when the resurrection occurs, then we will also know when Christ’s coming takes place.

For this answer, we turn to the gospel of John and listen to the teaching of Jesus. In John 6:39, our Lord says:

“This is the will of Him who sent Me, that of all that He has given Me I lose nothing but raise it up on the last day.”

Here Christ clearly teaches that the resurrection occurs on the last day. But this is not the only time Jesus says this.

John 6:40: “I Myself will raise him up on the last day.”

John 6:44: “I will raise him up on the last day.”

John 6:54: “I will raise him up on the last day.”

Four times from the lips of Jesus we are told that the resurrection occurs on the last day. There is another instance of this in John 11:24 when Martha said to Jesus, “I know that he (Lazarus) will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.” Martha knows that the resurrection will occur on the last day. Also, notice that Jesus does not correct her, but rather affirms her theology with the words. “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies” (11:25). The point is that five times in the gospel of John the Scriptures declare that the resurrection occurs on the last day.

  • Therefore, we must conclude that the resurrection of the saints occurs on the last day.

So now we will add “the last day” to our chart. (See below.) (Note that the last day is followed immediately by the new heaven and the new earth.)

STEP THREE. Previously we demonstrated that the resurrection of the saints and Christ’s coming (παρουσία) occur at the same time, so we must conclude that Christ’s coming also occurs on the last day.

  • Christ’s coming (παρουσία) occurs on the last day.

STEP FOUR. Now we will make a very interesting observation. Since Christ’s coming occurs on the last day, it is not possible for Christ to inaugurate “the thousand years” by binding Satan in the abyss after His coming. In other words, “the thousand years” cannot occur after Jesus’ coming for the simple reason that Jesus’ coming is on the last day. Here, then, is our conclusion:

  • “The thousand years” cannot occur after Jesus’ coming for the simple reason that Jesus’ coming is on the last day.

Thus, by examining the Scriptures carefully, we have shown that this scenario (or any scenario) that includes “the thousand years” occurring after Christ’s return is not possible and must be rejected. Therefore, we will remove that possibility from our chart.

This leads to another conclusion and to the answer to our original question.

  • We conclude that Christ bound Satan in the abyss (Rev. 20:2-3) and thus began “the thousand years” in about AD 30 when He was ascending to heaven (A).
  • Our answer to the original question, “When does the ‘thousand years’ (MILL) occur?” is that “the thousand years” began ca. AD 30 when Jesus bound Satan in the abyss and will continue for a very long time until “the thousand years” are completed. Then Satan “must be released for a short time” (Rev. 20:3).

Our final chart is shown below.

               BASIC TIMELINE: CHRIST TO NEW HEAVENS NEW EARTH                                                                                                                                                                                   

  • R = resurrection of Christ
  • C = Christ commissions His church (Matt. 28:18-20)
  • A = Christ’s ascension from earth (Acts 1:9)
  • B = binding of Satan (the dragon) in the abyss (Rev. 20:2-3)
  • V = Christ’s arrival in heaven (Rev. 5:6)
  • H = Christ’s reign at the Father’s right hand (Psalm 110:1; Heb. 10:12-13)
  • X = Christ’s coming (παρουσία) (1 Thess. 4:15-17; Rev. 19:11-21)
  • S = resurrection of the saints (1 Th. 4:15-17; 1 Cor. 15:23, 52)
  • NHNE = new heaven and new earth (Rev. 21-22)

CONCLUSION

QUESTION: When does “the thousand years” occur?

ANSWER: “The thousand years” began ca. AD 30 when Jesus bound Satan in the abyss and will continue until Satan is released for a short time.

Soli Deo gloria            rmb                 9/12/2023                   #670

The thousand years: Part 2 – When does Jesus bind Satan?

POST OVERVIEW. The second in a series of studies of Revelation 20:1-3 seeking to determine when “the thousand years” occur. This specific study attempts to determine when Jesus binds Satan in the abyss (Rev. 20:2-3). (See also post #668, 9/10/2023.)

REVIEW

This article is the second in a series of studies focused on Revelation 20:1-3 whose objective is to determine when, in human history, “the thousand years” (“the MILL”) occurs. In our first study (Post #668, 9/10/2023), we discovered the following:

  • “The dragon” represents Satan (20:2). (Thus, whenever we encounter “the dragon” in Revelation, we know that we have encountered Satan.)
  • “The angel” (20:1) represents the Lord Jesus.
  • The MILL begins when the Lord Jesus binds Satan and throws him into the abyss.
  • At the end of the MILL, Satan is released from the abyss for a short time.

This second study is intended to begin to answer the crucial question, “WHEN does Jesus bind Satan in the abyss?”

As we consider this question and review the passage in Revelation 20:1-3, it may at first appear that we have reached a cul-de-sac. It may seem that there is no way to figure out when Jesus binds Satan in the abyss at the beginning of the MILL. Where do we go from here?

JESUS BINDS SATAN. First, there is significance in the fact that it is Jesus who binds Satan in the abyss. Jesus is King of kings and Lord of lords and He reigns over heaven and earth, but He, as the God-Man, can only be in one place at a time. This fact will help us as we explore the question of when Jesus binds Satan.

Thinking broadly, one thing we can say for certain is that Jesus’ binding of Satan takes place after His resurrection and subsequent ascension to heaven (Acts 1:9) and before the inauguration of the new heaven and the new earth (Rev. 21:1). We also know with certainty that, at some point in time, Jesus is coming from heaven to judge the earth. Those realities are illustrated in the figure below.

  BASIC TIMELINE: CHRIST TO NEW HEAVENS NEW EARTH

  • R = resurrection of Christ
  • C = Christ commissions His church (Matt. 28:18-20)
  • A = Christ’s ascension (Acts 1:9)
  • V = Christ’s arrival in heaven (Revelation 5:6)
  • X = Christ’s coming (παρουσία) (Revelation 19:11-21)
  • NHNE = new heavens and the new earth (Rev. 21-22)

Next, recalling that Jesus as God-Man can only be in one place at a time (see above), we will refine our crucial question and ask, “WHEN could Jesus bind Satan in the abyss?” Our study of the Scriptures will reveal that there are only two times when it is possible for Jesus to bind Satan in the abyss.

As we prepare to expand our study to the books outside of Revelation, it is appropriate to remind ourselves of the nature of this amazing Bible that we hold in our hands.

THE POWER AND BEAUTY OF THE SCRIPTURES

The beauty of the Bible is that each of its 66 books has been inspired by the same Author, the Holy Spirit. Because all Scripture is God-breathed (2 Tim. 3:16), the Bible is both interconnected and consistent.

It is interconnected in that each book of the Bible fits together with the other books to form a cohesive whole. Just as each piece of a jigsaw puzzle is necessary to complete the whole puzzle, so the books of the Bible connect with each other to form the whole message of God to man. Because this is the case, we can allow Scripture to interpret Scripture as one portion of the Word illumines and informs another portion.

And the Bible is consistent in that there is no contradiction between the individual books, but instead there is a God-breathed harmony. Despite including writings of poetry and prophecy, narrative history and Mosaic Law, gospels and epistles and apocalypse, the themes and doctrines pictured throughout the Bible do not contradict or conflict with one another but rather reinforce and complement one another. This means that the better we know our Bibles, the more confident we become about its power to guide us into all truth.

In 2 Tim. 2:15, Paul exhorts Timothy, “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth.” Confident of the power of the Scriptures, we are now going to accurately handle the word of truth and go to other Scriptures outside of Revelation to answer these crucial questions.

FROM REVELATION 20 TO PSALM 110

For this part of our study we will leave Revelation 20 and turn to Psalm 110. This psalm is both Messianic and eschatological and will teach us about Christ’s reign after His ascension to heaven. We will focus our attention on Psalm 110:1.

The Lord says to my Lord:
“Sit at My right hand
Until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet.” – Psalm 110:1

Here in Psalm 110:1 we see one Person of the Godhead (the LORD) speaking to another Person of the Godhead (the Lord). The conversation is between God the Father and God the Son, and the nature of the conversation reveals the occasion of this verse. This verse takes place after Jesus has accomplished His work of atonement on the cross (John 19:30, etc.), has been raised from the dead, and has ascended back to heaven. Now (ca. AD 30) the Father welcomes the victorious Son back to heaven and seats Jesus in the place of honor at the Father’s right hand until the time comes for Jesus to return to earth for the Judgment (“make Your enemies a footstool”). So, according to Psalm 110:1, from the time of Jesus’ return to heaven until His coming to earth in judgment, He is seated at the Father’s right hand in heaven.

Other verses in Scripture confirm this reality. In Ephesians 1:20, Paul tells us that “the Father raised Him (Jesus) from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places.” Hebrews 1:3 says, “When He had made purification of sins (the cross), He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.” The same point is made in Hebrews 8:1 and 12:2, but the clearest expression of this is in Hebrews 10:12-13:

12 but He, having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, sat down at the right hand of God, 13 waiting from that time onward until His enemies be made a footstool for His feet.

The time when “His enemies (will) be made a footstool for His feet” refers to the time when Christ will rise from His seat at the Father’s right hand and will come back to earth to judge the unrighteous. These Scriptures teach us that:

  • Jesus is seated at the Father’s right hand from the time He ascended to heaven (ca. AD 30) until He returns to earth for the Judgment.

We are going to add this new discovery to our chart. (See below.)

BASIC TIMELINE: CHRIST TO NEW HEAVENS NEW EARTH

  • R = resurrection of Christ
  • C = Christ commissions His church (Matt. 28:18-20)
  • A = Christ’s ascension (Acts 1:9)
  • V = Christ’s arrival in heaven (Revelation 5:6)
  • H = Christ’s reign at Father’s right hand (Ps. 110:1; Heb. 10:12-13)
  • X = Christ’s coming (παρουσία) (Rev. 19:11-21)
  • NHNE = new heavens and the new earth (Rev. 21-22)

Thus we can logically say that, while Jesus is seated at the Father’s right hand (H) in heaven, He cannot at the same time bind Satan in the abyss. In other words, the event of Jesus binding Satan in the abyss cannot take place between the time of Jesus’ arrival in heaven (V – Rev. 5:6) and His coming to earth as Judge (X – Rev. 19:11-21; etc.) because He is seated at the Father’s right hand.

Since that is the case, we can see from our chart that there are only two times when Jesus could bind Satan in the abyss. The first possibility would be after His return (His παρουσία), and the second possibility would be for Him to bind Satan while He is ascending to heaven between Acts 1:9 and Rev. 5:6ff. And this is the answer to the crucial question we asked above about WHEN Jesus could bind Satan in the abyss. These possibilities are illustrated in the figure below. (“B” stands for “binding.”)

The question is, “How do we decide between these two possibilities?” That will be the subject of our next study.

Soli Deo gloria            rmb                 9/11/2023                   #669

There is only one “beast” in Revelation

POST OVERVIEW. An article for my upcoming book on Revelation that demonstrates that, despite the various appearances of “the beast” in the latter half of Revelation, there is only one beast. Everywhere that “the beast” appears, he is the same beast.

ONLY ONE BEAST IN REVELATION

One of the most intriguing characters in the book of Revelation is “the beast,” who plays a major role in the unfolding events of the 42 months at the very end of the age. “The beast” is the final and most vivid of the seven manifestations of the antichrist in the Bible and, because many people have studied Revelation, “the beast” is also the best-known. My upcoming book on Revelation will contain several different articles and studies touching on “the beast,” but this article has only one aim: namely, to demonstrate that, despite the various appearances of “the beast” in the latter half of Revelation, there is only one beast. Everywhere that “the beast” appears, he is the same beast. The following notes make this case.

  • In Rev. 11:7, we encounter “the beast” warring with “the two witnesses.” “The beast that comes up out of the abyss will make war with them (i.e., ‘the two witnesses’) and overcome them and kill them.” The “two witnesses” are symbolic of the faithful church, which courageously “finishes their testimony” (Rev. 11:7). (Note that there are many verses in the New Testament that speak of the church’s duty to witness of Jesus, like Acts 1:8; John 15:27).
  • As Revelation 12 is focused on “the dragon,” so Revelation 13:1-10 is focused on “the beast” and gives us insight into his character, his ambitions, and his activity.
  • In fact, we see displayed in Rev. 12-13 the entire “unholy trinity” of “the dragon” (Satan), “the beast,” and “the false prophet,” who is called “another beast” in Rev. 13:11-17. (This “unholy trinity” appears again in Rev. 16:13-16, 19:19-20, and 20:10.)
  • A comparison of Rev. 13:7 with Rev. 11:7 makes it apparent that these two verses are describing the same “beast.” (See “only one beast” above.)
  • IMPORTANT INTERPRETIVE NOTE: Not only is it apparent that “the beast” of Rev. 11:7 is the same beast of Rev. 13:7, but it is also logical to conclude that these two verses are describing the same events and, therefore, must be occurring at the same time. That these events take place at the same time is further supported by the fact that the events of Rev. 11:3-10 happen during the 42 months (“twelve hundred and sixty days” in Rev. 11:3) and the events of Rev. 13:5-10 also happen during the 42 months (“forty-two months” in Rev. 13:5).
  • Since Rev. 11:7 is describing the same events as Rev. 13:7, and since in both verses “the beast” is the one who is “making war with and overcoming” his adversaries, we conclude that “the two witnesses” of Rev. 11:7 must also be “the saints” of Rev. 13:7. This supports our earlier statement that “the two witnesses” represent the faithful church under persecution.
  • This means that the events surrounding “the beast’s” persecution of the faithful church in Rev. 11:3-10 are essentially the same events that occur in Rev. 13:5-10, but from a different perspective.
  • The next time “the beast” appears, he is with “the dragon” and “the false prophet” preparing to gather the kings of the earth for Armageddon (Rev. 16:13-16). This is obviously the same beast that we saw in Rev. 13.
  • When we meet “the scarlet beast” in Rev. 17:3, it may initially seem that we have met a new character, but a careful reading of the text of Rev. 17 will reveal that this, too, is “the same beast” we have encountered before.
  • Here are the clues that tell us that “the beast” here is the same beast.
    • He is “full of blasphemous names, having seven heads and ten horns” (17:3). In Rev. 13:1, “the beast” has “ten horns and seven heads, and on his heads were blasphemous names.” This exact agreement between the two descriptions of “the beast” is strong evidence that this is the same beast, but there are more clues.
    • In Rev. 17:8, “the beast” “is about to come up out of the abyss,” but in Rev. 11:7 we read of “‘the beast’ that comes out of the abyss.” Again, the agreement between the two texts removes any doubt that they are the same character. But the clues go on.
    • Still in Rev. 17:8, we read “those who dwell on the earth” (“all who dwell on the earth” 13:8), “whose name has not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world” (“whose name has not been written from the foundation of the world in the book of life” 13:8). Again we observe intentional repetition of the exact phrases in order to alert the reader to the connection.
    • Finally, we read in Rev. 17:8 that “those who dwell on the earth will wonder” (θαυμασθήσονται, from θαυμάζω (Greek) meaning “wonder” or “be amazed” or “marvel”) “when they see the beast.” But in the parallel verse in Rev. 13:3 we read, “the whole earth was amazed“ (ἐθαυμάσθη, from θαυμάζω (Greek) meaning “wonder” or “be amazed” or “marvel”) “and followed after the beast.” [NOTE: The NASB chooses a different English verb for Rev. 17:8 and Rev. 13:3, but the underlying original Greek uses the same Greek verb to make sure the observant reader sees the connection.]
    • By carefully examining the words and phrases that are used, we are making the point that “the scarlet beast” that we meet in Revelation 17 is “the same beast” that we have already encountered in Revelation 11, 13, and 16. Again, in Revelation, there is only one beast.
  • The last time that we see “the beast” is in Rev. 19:19-20 when he has “assembled the kings of the earth and their armies to make war against Him who sat on the horse and against His army.” This scene takes place during what I call the second half of Armageddon, when the glorified Lord Jesus has returned “with all His (glorified) saints” (1 Thess. 3:13) “to judge the living and the dead” (2 Tim. 4:1) and “to tread the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty” (Rev. 19:15). In this hopeless mismatch, the Lord throws “the beast” “into the lake of fire” (19:20).

SUMMARY. By carefully examining the passages where “the beast” appears in Revelation and by comparing the passages with one another we have seen that each appearance of the beast reveals the same personality. The author of Revelation has intentionally placed clues in the text to ensure that his readers connect the clues and see that there is only one beast in Revelation.

Soli Deo gloria            rmb                 8/11/2023                   #667

A case for the 42 months being a literal period of time

POST OVERVIEW. A refresher on the 42 months from Revelation 11-13, reviewing what the Scripture says about this end-times concept. Related to post #641, 4/16/2023, on the “thousand years.”

I have written before at length about the end times, both on numerous posts on this site and in my book, “The Last Act of the Drama: a guide to the end times,” but lately I have felt that it might be beneficial to give some refreshers.

THE 42 MONTHS IN REVELATION

One of the most important interpretive decisions that the student of Revelation makes is how he understands the timing of the major end times events and time periods in the book. In my view of Revelation, the events of the last days (the time period between Jesus’ ascension and great white throne judgment) fit into three named periods: the “thousand years,” the 42 months, and the last day. In a recent post (#641, 4/16/2023), I reviewed the events of the “thousand years” and placed the “thousand years” chronologically on a timeline. In this post, my main objective, but not my only objective, is to demonstrate that “the 42 months” of Revelation 11-13 should be understood as a literal time period.

REVIEW OF THOUSAND YEARS. Looking back to Post #641, we saw that, rather than a precise measurement of exactly one thousand 365-day years, the “thousand years” (Rev. 20:1-6) was simply a figurative expression for a long period of time. That is, since “thousand” in Revelation most often simply means a very large number, the “thousand years” simply means a very long, non-specific period of time. In my previous post, I also explained from Revelation and other Scriptures that the “thousand years” begins during the ascension of Jesus to heaven between Acts 1:9 and Rev. 5:6. Then, according to Rev. 20:3 and 20:7, the “thousand years” ends when Satan (the dragon) is released from the abyss. Thus, the period of the 42 months begins with Satan’s release.

42 MONTHS A LITERAL TIME PERIOD OR FIGURATIVE?

There are seven occurrences of the “42 months” in the Scriptures: Daniel 7:25 and 12:7; and Revelation 11:2, 3; 12:6, 14; and 13:5. The first thing we want to consider as we interpret these occurrences of the 42 months is whether this is a literal time period of three-and-a-half years or whether the expression “42 months” is to be understood figuratively as just a relatively short period of time. When I was studying end-times passages for my book on the end times two years ago, my position on the 42 months (or the “time and times and half a time” or the 1,260 days) was that this expression was “relatively literal,” in that it figuratively meant a short period of time compared to the long period of the thousand years. This position was not based on in-depth exegesis or on a clear principle, so this idea of “relatively literal” was weak. But since that time, as I have continued to study these things, my position on the meaning of the 42 months has changed. I am now persuaded that the “42 months” is a literal time period of 42 calendar months in duration. I have come to this conclusion for three reasons:

  1. John mentions this period of time five times in Revelation in three different ways; “42 months” (Rev. 11:2; 13:5); “1,260 days” (Rev. 11:3; 12:6); and “time and times and half a time” (Rev. 12:14). It would be very odd for him to mention a figurative period of time in three different ways.
  2. None of these expressions of 42 months has any figurative significance that I can discern, so it is unlikely that the time span is figurative.
  3. There are two other expressions of the 42 months which are located in Daniel (“time, times, and half a time” in 7:25 and 12:7), bringing to seven the total number of times that the 42 months is mentioned in an end-times passage in the Scriptures. Seven mentions of the same time period is very significant and is strong evidence for a literal understanding.  

These three reasons taken together make a very persuasive case that the 42 months is a literal time period.

THE EVENTS DURING THE 42 MONTHS

According to my view of the last days, the “thousand years” is a time of relative peace where the primary end-times activity consists of the faithful church riding out to conquer the nations with the bow of the gospel (Rev. 6:1-2). Satan is locked in the abyss (Rev. 20:3) so that he will not thwart the work of the church to make disciples of all nations (Matt. 28:19-20).

But at a point in time known only to the Lord, Satan “must be released for a short time” (Rev. 20:3). This “short time” is the period of the 42 months. With the release of Satan from the abyss, the time period of the 42 months begins and world history takes a dramatic turn toward the end of the age. The following are comments about the 42 months.

  1. There are three main purposes for the 42 months.
    • Lawlessness increases so that the rebellious world is prepared for judgment.
    • The church gathered during the “thousand years” is purified by persecution.
    • Final warnings and calls for repentance are issued for the unrighteous.
  2. The 42 months begins with Satan’s release from the abyss (Rev. 20:3, 7) and ends on the cusp of the last day as the nations are gathered for Armageddon (Rev. 16:13-16; 19:19; 20:8-9) and the destruction of the church.
  3. With a couple of exceptions, the events of the 42 months are given only in Revelation. Since there is not a biblical cross-reference for these events, care must be taken as the student pieces these events together.
  4. A proposed flow of events of 42 months. Satan’s release begins the 42 months. Satan makes war in heaven (Rev. 12:7-8) but he is defeated and thrown to earth (Rev. 12:9ff). This event is parallel with Rev. 8:10 and the great star from heaven (Satan). This “star” opens “the shaft of the abyss” (9:1) and releases demonic forces on the earth. These are part of the trumpet warnings for the unrighteous to repent. In 12:12, Satan’s wrath will result in woe on the earth. The church is purified through persecution (Rev. 6:9-11; 11:3-10, esp. 7; 13:7, 10, 15), the rise of the antichrist in the person of the beast (Rev. 13:1-10); the rise of the false prophet (“another beast,” Rev. 13:11-17), and the gathering of the kings of the earth and the forces of wickedness against the faithful church for the annihilation of the church (Rev. 16:13-16; 19:19; 20:8-9). The conclusion of the 42 months prepares the world for the cataclysmic events of the last day.

Soli Deo gloria            rmb                 4/17/2023                   #642

A detailed review of the “thousand years” (Rev. 20:1-6)

POST OVERVIEW. A refresher on the “thousand years” from Revelation 20:1-6, reviewing what the Scripture says and how to interpret and understand this difficult passage.

I have written before at length about the end times, both on numerous posts on this site and in my book, “The Last Act of the Drama: a guide to the end times,” but lately I have felt that it might be beneficial to give some refreshers on the key concepts.

THE “THOUSAND YEARS”

The “thousand years” is admittedly a difficult topic but it is also an important one. Misinterpreting the meaning of the “thousand years” can lead the student of the end times away from biblical teaching about the end of the age and about the return of Jesus and into confusing man-made concepts and ideas. As seekers of biblical truth, we must cling to the Scriptures until they reveal their truth to us and must resist the temptation to simply adopt a popular view or to be influenced by a persuasive teacher.

When studying these questions about the “thousand years,” we should turn to Rev. 20:1-6 and observe what the Bible asserts, that Satan (the dragon) is bound in the abyss for “a thousand years” (Rev. 20:2, 3). This is plain from this passage of Scripture and we know that the Scripture cannot be broken (John 10:35), so first we conclude that Satan is bound for the thousand years. Next, Rev. 20:4 says that “the souls of those who had been beheaded and of those who had not worshiped the beast came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.” Rev. 20:6 adds that these will reign with Christ for a thousand years. So, with this basic interpretation of these verses on the thousand years, we see that, during the thousand years, while Satan (the dragon) is bound in the abyss, the souls of the saints are reigning with Christ in heaven. So far, so good.

But we must go deeper than this if we are going to draw any real meaning from this passage. We must seek to answer two obvious questions:

  1. What is the nature of the “thousand years?” That is, is it a literal period of time or is it a figurative expression?
  2. When does the “thousand years” occur?

Only after answering these two questions can we begin to fully understand the meaning of the “thousand years.” Here I will try to (briefly) describe my view. (By the way, I published a book in October 2021 called “The Last Act of the Drama: a guide to the end times.” That book expresses most of my thoughts on these things in more detail. It is available on Amazon.)

  1. The “thousand years” is not a literal time period but is simply an expression for a long period of time. Numbers in Revelation, especially numbers like 3, 7, 12, and 1000, often have figurative significance. The number “thousand” in Revelation is usually figurative and simply means a really big number. That means that “thousand years” does not mean 365,000 days. It just means a really long time.
  2. The “thousand years” must begin at least a thousand years before the resurrection of the saints (1 Thess. 4:14-17; 1 Cor. 15:23, 51-54), because we know that the resurrection of the saints will be on the last day (John 6:39, 40, 44, 54; 11:24). Directly related to this is the fact that Jesus’ coming occurs at the same time as the resurrection of the saints (1 Thess. 4:15-17; 1 Cor. 15:23; 1 John 3:2). Thus, the “thousand years” must begin long BEFORE the resurrection of the saints and the return of Jesus because the “thousand years” cannot occur after the last day.
  3. (From 2) The binding of Satan in the abyss, which is the event that begins the thousand years (Rev. 20:2, 3), occurs at least a thousand years before the coming of Jesus and the Resurrection.
  4. The “angel” (Rev. 20:1) who binds the dragon (Satan) in the abyss is the risen Lord Jesus, for only the Son of God has the power and authority to throw Satan around like a rag doll.
  5. In Rev. 20:4, John sees “thrones.” In Revelation, thrones are always in heaven, so “the souls of those who had been beheaded . . .” are in heaven. Also in Rev. 20:4, John explicitly sees “souls” in heaven with Christ,” not glorified saints. Thus, we know the “thousand years” occurs before the resurrection, because “souls” only exist until the resurrection (1 Cor. 15:42-44, 51-54).
  6. In Psalm 110:1, the conversation between the LORD (Father) and the Lord (Son) took place when Jesus returned to heaven after His victorious death and resurrection. After that, the Lord (Jesus) has been seated at the LORD’s (Father’s) right hand until His judgment of His enemies.
  7. The beginning of the “thousand years” occurs during the ascension of Jesus, between Acts 1:9 and Revelation 5:6. Jesus (“the angel” in Rev. 20:1) binds Satan in the abyss (Rev. 20:2, 3) and then arrives in heaven (Rev. 5:6) where He begins His reign with the souls of the faithful saints.
  8. In a “simplified” timeline of the events of the last days, Jesus ascends (Acts 1:9), binds Satan in the abyss (Rev. 20:2, 3), thus beginning the “thousand years,” and takes His seat at the Father’s right hand (Psalm 110:1). The victorious Lamb (Rev. 5:6) sends out (Rev. 6:2) the commissioned (Matt. 28:19-20) church to proclaim the gospel to the nations for the “thousand years.” At the end of the “thousand years,” Satan is released from the abyss (Rev. 20:3, 7) and his release begins the 42 months. Satan makes war in heaven (Rev. 12:7-8) but he is defeated and thrown to earth (Rev. 12:9, etc.). The events of the 42 months include the persecution of the church (Rev. 6:9-11; 11:3-10, esp. 7; 13:7, 10, 15), the final “trumpet” warnings to the unrighteous to repent (Rev. 8:6-9:21), the rise of the beast (Rev. 13:1-10) and the false prophet (“another beast,” Rev. 13:11-17), the increase of lawlessness (Matt. 24:12), the apostasy of the visible church (2 Thess. 2:3), and the gathering of the kings of the earth and the forces of wickedness against the faithful church to attempt the annihilation of the church (Rev. 16:13-16; 19:19; 20:8-9). On the last day, the faithful church is rescued by resurrection (Rev. 11:11-12) and rises to meet the descending Lord Jesus (1 Thess. 4:15-17; Rev. 19:11-16). The Lord brings wrath and judgment on the unrighteous and slays them all (Rev. 19:20, 21). The final event is the great white throne where the unrighteous are condemned into the lake of fire (Rev. 20:11-15).

Soli Deo gloria            rmb                 4/16/2023                   #641