the false prophet

Suffering and tribulation in the book of Revelation

POST OVERVIEW. A survey of the book of Revelation considering the instances of suffering (“tribulation”) in the book and planning for our response of perseverance.

Spectacular! Awesome! Terrifying! Amazing! Glorious! These are words that readily come to our minds as we read through the book of Revelation. This portion of Scripture contains some of the most breathtaking images and events in the entire Bible. In fact, because these vivid images and these clashes between the forces of evil and righteousness capture our attention, it is possible to miss one of the most prominent features of Revelation, namely, the suffering of the church of Jesus Christ. But once we begin to examine the book through the lens of suffering, and specifically the tribulation of the church in the world because we follow Jesus, we realize that the suffering church is a prominent theme in Revelation.

EXPERIENCING TRIBULATION AND REQUIRING PERSEVERANCE

At the beginning of the book, as John introduces his prophecy in Revelation 1:9, he already speaks of “tribulation” (Greek θλῖψις – thlipsis) and “perseverance” (Greek ὑπομονή – hupomonay).

9 I, John, your brother and fellow partaker in the tribulation and kingdom and perseverance which are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus.

Let’s explore these words for a moment. The word here translated as “tribulation” is a common New Testament word. It is usually translated as “tribulation,” but can also be rendered “affliction,” “oppression,” or “distress.” The overwhelming majority of uses of this word refer to the church or to a specific believer suffering for their faith in Jesus. And this is its use here. John the apostle, as “a partaker in the tribulation,” is writing to his fellow partakers in the tribulation. The message is clear: if you would be a witness “of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus,” then you must be prepared to be a fellow partaker in the tribulation. Affliction, distress, and tribulation are simply an expected part of being a follower of Jesus. If you would follow Jesus, you should expect to suffer.

Tribulation necessitates perseverance. What does John mean by “perseverance?” “In the NT, this is the characteristic of a man who is not swerved from his deliberate purpose and his loyalty to faith and piety by even the greatest trials and sufferings.” Also implied in this word is the idea of ongoing and patient endurance. In other words, “perseverance” means remaining fixed on the mission or purpose or goal in the face of trials and sufferings, even sufferings that are persistent and that show no signs of abating.

Now, since John begins his prophecy with references to tribulation and perseverance, and since he implicitly encourages and exhorts his fellow partakers in the tribulation to persevere in their testimony of Jesus, it could be argued that one of the main purposes of Revelation is to encourage believers to persevere and be faithful until death (2:10), regardless of their tribulations. Revelation contains much about the suffering church, but if the church expects persecution (2 Tim. 3:12; John 15:18-20) and if the church is steeled to persevere, then our tribulations pose no threat.

INSTANCES OF SUFFERING IN REVELATION

With our study of tribulation and perseverance as a background, we will now survey the occurrences of suffering in Revelation.

  • We have already seen Revelation 1:9 where John himself is a fellow partaker in the tribulation. In war, officers are not exempt from death. Just so, in the gospel advance, apostles are not exempt, but rather serve as examples.
  • The church at Smyrna (2:8-11) is one of the two churches not called to repent by our Lord. Smyrna is a suffering church (2:9-10) who is called to be faithful until death (2:10).
  • In Revelation 6:9-11, we encounter “those who had been slain because of the word of God and because of their testimony” (see 1:2, 9). These souls are told to rest for a little while longer until the full number of martyrs is completed. These believers had already persevered even to a violent death and there were others who would also be faithful until death who would join them in heaven. But notice that their suffering yielded a white robe (6:11).
  • We meet the two witnesses in 11:3-12. These two represent the persecuted church that is faithful even in the face of intense opposition. They faithfully finish their testimony and then are overcome and killed by the beast (11:7). The world rejoices in their deaths, but that celebration is short-lived as the witnesses are taken up to heaven in the cloud.
  • The next chapter, chapter 12, is all about the activity of the dragon (Satan) as he pursues and persecutes “the woman,” who represents the oppressed church. “The woman” flees into the wilderness to hide from the dragon (12:6, 14) and appears to avoid direct persecution by her flight. This chapter shows that there will come a time when believers will be hunted and pursued, but the Lord will protect them.  
  • The tribulation of the church becomes intense and overt in chapter 13 as the beast and the false prophet (“another beast” 13:11) rise to power. In addition to blasphemies against God and a desire to be worshiped, the beast also “makes war with the saints and overcomes them” (13:7) and puts many in prison (“captivity”) and kills many with the sword (13:10). Then the false prophet (“another beast”) “causes as many as do not worship the image of the beast to be killed” (13:15) and prevents those who do not have the mark of the beast from buying (food) (13:17).
  • Next, we see the kings of the whole earth gather together under the leadership of the beast and the false prophet (16:13-16) for the war of the great day of God, the Almighty. This is Armageddon (16:16). Although the interpretation of this passage is quite complex, the basic idea is that the forces of evil, led by the beast, are gathered together for the annihilation of the church. We see this same picture in 19:19 and in 20:8-9.
  • There is suffering during the thousand years, as well (20:4-6), for there we see “the souls of those who had been beheaded because of the testimony of Jesus and the word of God” (see also 1:2, 9; 6:9; 12:11).

Thus we see that, in the book of Revelation, the church militant is the church in tribulation, but we are exhorted to persevere and be faithful until death (2:10) and by so doing, we will receive our reward, the crown of life (2:10).

Soli Deo gloria            rmb                 1/19/2023                   #613

Reading Revelation (Part 3): Nothing significant and new

POST OVERVIEW. The third in a series of posts about ways to read the book of Revelation that make it less confusing and intimidating. This third post discusses the fact that Revelation introduces no significant new characters or events into end times prophecy. Everything significant has already been mentioned in the previous text of Scripture.  (Also, see previous posts: #568 on the purposes of Revelation and #569 about the constraints that are on the book of Revelation.)

INTRODUCTION. Reading the book of Revelation is a challenging task for any disciple of Jesus. The visions the apostle John relates to us in Revelation are strange and spectacular, and trying to make sense of the visions and then put them into some coherent picture is difficult work. But, while acknowledging the difficulties involved, I believe the challenge of understanding the book of Revelation is eased considerably when we understand how to read the book. In these posts I hope to offer some principles for approaching Revelation that will make the book much less intimidating.

CONSIDER THE FICTION NOVEL

Imagine for a moment that you are reading a classic novel by a skilled author, perhaps Dostoyevsky or Victor Hugo. You have been fascinated as you have seen the author create the main characters in the book, the protagonist and the antagonist and their supporting casts. What initially appeared to be unrelated stories about random people and events were gradually woven into the plot as the movement of the novel steadily picked up steam. Then, at precisely the right moment, the drama reached its climax and the complexities and perplexities of the story were resolved as the hero emerged victorious and the villain was trounced into disgrace. The entire reading has been a satisfying journey into realistic adventure, and now you are turning the final pages to see how the tensions are resolved and the loose ends are tied up.

Then unexpectedly, out of nowhere, a mere fifteen pages from THE END, three new characters appear and a brand new context is introduced which seems disconnected with anything in the previous 500 pages. You were, figuratively speaking, expecting the wheels of the plane to settle softly onto the tarmac and suddenly the nose of the jet was wrenched upward. “Will this flight never end?” Where did this come from? Why are these characters being introduced now at the end of the book? The fact is that a well-written, classic novel does not introduce new characters or plot twists in the last chapter of the novel. The last chapter is where the action is concluded and the plot of the novel is summarized. The last chapter is for landing softly on the tarmac, pulling into the arrival gate, and maybe even picking up your luggage at Baggage Claim. It is not for introducing new characters and plot twists.

CONSIDER THE PURPOSE OF REVELATION

In the same way as the novel, the word of God, the Bible, has as its final book, its final “chapter,” the book of Revelation. As we have already said in the previous post (#568) on the purposes of Revelation, this final book serves as the instrument of conclusion and summary, as the book of the Bible that ties together the loose ends and reveals how our Hero, the Lord Jesus, ultimately triumphs over His adversary, the devil, as He simultaneously gathers all His glorified saints around the throne to worship Him forever. Revelation is written to resolve the mysteries which have been created in the previous sixty-five books, not introduce new characters and events never before encountered.

SIGNIFICANT BUT NOT NEW, OR NEW BUT NOT SIGNIFICANT

Since that is the case, it follows that the book of Revelation introduces no significant new characters or events into the biblical story. Both adjectives are important. Revelation may introduce new characters who play minor roles, but who do not influence the plot. These would be new characters but not significant characters. An example would be “another beast” of chapter 13:11ff (who is also the “false prophet” of 16:13, etc.). This other beast has not appeared before in other biblical prophecy, but he is not significant in the events of the end times. Another example would be “the beast,” who appears in 11:7 and then again in 13:1-10, etc. This is a significant character whom we have seen before in Scripture with different names. This is the little horn (Dan. 7:11, 25), the small horn (Dan. 8:9, 23-25), the prince who is to come (Dan. 9:26), the despicable person (Dan. 11:21-45), and the man of lawlessness (2 Thess. 2:3ff). He is the human embodiment of evil, often referred to as the antichrist. So, “the beast” is significant but not new.

Thus, Revelation may give new labels to old major characters, but it does not introduce major new characters. So, “the thousand years” is a new label, but not a new concept, “the beast” is not a new character, and Babylon” is not a new city. These are examples of things that have appeared before in the Scriptures but now are being brought to a conclusion in Revelation.

AN EXCEPTION – THE 42 MONTHS

One concept that could be an exception to the rule is the time period of the 42 months. Mentioned five times in Rev. 11-13 (11:2, 3; 12:6, 14; 13:5), this is a time of upheaval and dramatic activity that occurs immediately before the return of Jesus on the last day. The period of the 42 months has not been mentioned before in Scripture, so it is definitely new. The question is, “Is it ‘significant’?” I think the answer has to be ‘yes,’ for it is during this time that the fifth seal is opened (6:9-11), the trumpet warnings are sounded (8-9), the two witnesses appear (11:3-10), Satan is thrown to the earth (12:7-17), and the beast and the false prophet rise up to persecute the church (11:7; 13; 16:13f; 19:17f).

SUMMARY

What I am saying in this post is that understanding most of Revelation does not depend on a vivid imagination but depends, instead, on a thorough knowledge of the Scriptures, and particularly of the Old Testament prophets. There is very little new in the text of Revelation. A careful reading will reveal that the book concludes God’s inspired Word by pulling from much of the Old Testament to draw the story of Scripture to a close. The better that the disciple of Jesus knows the whole word of God, the better they will understand the difficult passages in Revelation.

A second attribute is also required to grapple with the book of Revelation. Scriptural knowledge must be accompanied by an ability to see patterns and to recognize allusions to previous scriptural books.

So, approach Revelation as a review of the entire Bible and a book that draws things to a close, and you will enjoy the book much more.

SDG                 rmb                 9/13/2022                   #571