Mountaintop Experiences With God

Though God is with us Christians down in the figurative valleys of our lives, we long for those rarefied mountaintop experiences with Him.  Those days, hours or minutes when the Lord’s Presence seems so real, so close to us!  This topic is a revelation from October 2022.

In the pages of the Bible, we read of literal mountaintop experiences that saints of old had with God.

Let’s begin with Noah.  As the Noachian Flood subsided, Ge.8:4 the ark settled “on the mountains [har Strongs h2022, Hebrew] of Ararát” in old Armenia.  After exiting the ark, Noah worshiped God on the mountain.  Ge.8:20-21 “Noah built an altar to the Lord [YHVH h3068], he took of every clean animal and clean bird, and offered burnt offerings on the altar.”  Ge.9:1-ff God blessed Noah, and then hung His unstrung bow in the clouds, rainbow covenanting He would never again bring such a Flood.

Abraham had more than one literal mountaintop encounter with God.  When Abrám came into the land of Canáan, he surveyed the Land.  Ge.12:8 “He proceeded from there to the mountain on the east of Bethél and pitched his tent…there he built an altar to YHVH and called upon the name of YHVH.”  Abram worshiped there.  ‘Bethel’ means ‘House of God’.  It was situated 10 miles N of Jerusalem in the territory that’d later be allotted to the Israelite tribe of Ephráim (Jsh.16:1, 5).  After Abram’s sojourn in Egypt, he returned to the sanctuary near Bethel and again worshiped the Lord at the altar (Ge.13:1-4).

In Ge.22:1-18, Abraham is on Mt Moriáh (v.2, 14).  There the Lord promised him, v.17-18 “I will greatly bless you, and I will greatly multiply your seed as the stars of heaven. And in your seed [or offspring] all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.”  YHVH so blessed Abraham on Mt Moriah!  In Ga.3:16, the apostle Paul tied that “seed/offspring” to Jesus Christ.

Moses had a mountaintop experience with God at the burning bush in Ex.3:1-6. “Moses was pasturing the flock of his father-in-law Jethró, the priest of Midián. Moses led the flock and came to Horéb, the mountain of God.”  Midian was S of Israel, in the NW Arabian peninsula E of the Gulf of Áqaba.  There YHVH made Himself known to Moses!  Barnes Notes Ex.3:1 “Horeb, a name given to the northern part of the Sináitic range.”  Bible historians think Horeb and Mt Sinai: were two names for the same sacred mountain (cf. Ex.3:1, 12, 19:18, De.4:15, Ex.31:18, 1Ki.8:9); or they were twin peaks in the same range; or one was the name of the entire range and the other was one peak in it.

Following the exodus of Israel from Egypt, Moses returned to Mt Sinai.  Ex.19:18-20 “Mt Sinai was covered with smoke, because YHVH descended upon it in fire; the whole mountain quaked violently. The Lord called Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up.”  This was the great encounter where the Lord Christ told Moses His Ten Commandments/Decalogue/Testimony for His people!  We can only imagine how Moses must have felt atop the mountain!  Perhaps a minor earthquake occurred to signify that awesome event and the Presence of God to the people below.

Moses would again go up Mt Sinai, Ex.33:18-23.  Then YHVH said in Ex.34:1-8, “Come up in the morning to Mt Sinai and present yourself to Me on the top of the mountain”.  Ex.34:27-30 “The skin of Moses’ face shone because of his speaking with Him.”  After fasting for 40 days on the mountain in the Lord’s Presence, Moses’ face had become so radiant that the people then feared to come near him!

In Jsh.8:30-35, Moses’ successor Joshua was at Mt Ebál in the Promised Land. “Joshua built an altar to YHVH the God of Israel, in Mt Ebal. They offered burnt offerings to YHVH and sacrificed peace offerings. And he wrote there on stones a copy of the law of Moses.”  Joshua’s actions fulfilled the instructions of De.27:1-8.  There on stones in the Land, the Lord’s precepts could be read & understood.

Some Bible historians think only the Ten Commandments were inscribed on those plastered memorial stones.  Others think the inscription consisted of only the blessings & curses that are contained in the Law; not the entire Toráh/Péntateuch.  However, a copy of the earlier 1750 BC Code of Hammurábi’s 282 laws contains 4,130 lines of Akkádian cúneiform text all engraved on a 7-ft tall basalt stéle.

Mt Zión too is called God’s mountain.  Ps.48:1-2 “Great is the Lord. In the city [Jerusalem] of our God, His holy mountain; is Mt Zion.”  Later in Israel’s history, the tabernacle of David was pitched on Mt Zion.  The Lord said in Ps.2:6, “I have installed my king on Mt Zion, My holy mountain”.  There near his palace, king David worshiped the Lord and wrote many Psalms.  He actually sat before the holy Ark of God in the sacred tent on Mt Zion, in His Presence!  1Ch.17:16 “David the king went and sat before YHVH.”  (see “Tent/Tabernacle of David” and “Zion in the Bible”.)  Ps.125:1-2 “They that trust in the Lord shall be as Mt Zion; which cannot be moved, but abides forever.”  Barnes Notes “The mountain which David fortified.”  Gill Exposition “Mount Zion is immovable, and continually abides.”

David later sacrificed burnt & peace offerings to the Lord at his altar on adjacent Mt Moriah, at the then site of Ornán/Araunáh’s threshing floor (2Chr.3:1).  1Ch.21:18, 26 “David called to YHVH and He answered him with fire from heaven on the altar.” (see “Fire From Heaven!”)  There at that mountain!

The Lord’s temple was constructed by Solomon on Mt Moriah.  2Chr.3:1 “Solomon began to build the house of YHVH in Jerusalem on Mt Moriah, where YHVH had appeared to his father David.”  At the temple dedication, the priests, Levitical singers and instrumental musicians praised the Lord.  God’s glorious Presence became so great that the priests couldn’t stand up!  2Ch.5:12-14 “The priests couldn’t stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled the house of God.”  Awesome!

2Ch.7:1-3 “Now when Solomon finished praying, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices; and the glory of YHVH filled the house. And the priests couldn’t enter in because the glory of YHVH filled YHVH’s house. And all the sons of Israel bowed down on the pavement with their faces to the ground, and worshiped and gave praise to YHVH!”  Praise the Lord!

1Ki.18:19-ff is the account of the prophet Elijáh versus the priests of Baál at Mt Carmél in N Israel.  v.30-37 Elijah built an altar there, made a trench around it, pieced an ox on it, and prayed a 30-second prayer.  v.38-39 “Then the fire of YHVH fell and consumed the burnt offering and the wood and stones and dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench. And when the people saw it they fell on their faces and said, ‘The Lord, He is God; the Lord, He is God.”  God showed up with fire!  (Baal didn’t.)

1Ki.19:7-10 in the aftermath of the phenomenon at Mt Carmel, the Messenger of YHVH told Elijah to eat prior to his journey to Horeb, the mountain of God.  The place where Moses had the burning bush experience (Ex.3:1-ff).  Elijah then lodged in a cave at Mt Horeb.  YHVH told him in 1Ki.19:11, “Go out and stand on the mountain before the Lord’. And behold, the Lord was passing by.”  v.12-21 in a soft whisper, YHVH gave him His instructions.  Elijah left Mt Horeb and anointed Elishá as prophet.

Later Isaiah prophesied in Is.2:1-3. “In the last days, the mountain of the house of YHVH will be established as chief of the mountains, and all nations will flow into it. Many peoples will say, ‘Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord. That He may teach us His ways, and that we may walk in His paths.’ For the law will go forth from Zion.”  (cf. Mic.4:1-2.)  The time would come when Jews and gentiles will universally seek YHVH.  Benson Commentary Is.2:2 “The times of the Messiah, which are always spoken of by the prophets as the last days.”  More about this in the New Testament (NT).

The scene of Ezekiel’s grandest vision (approximately 572 BC) was on a high mountain!  The prophet Ezekiel was exiled to the river Chebár in Babylonia (not the 2Ki.17:6 Khabór in Assyria).  Ezk.40:1-2 “In the visions of God, He brought me into the land of Israel and set me on a very high mountain. And on it to the south was a structure like a city.”  It is thought the mountain could be Moriah.  Ezk.43:12 “This is the law of the house [temple]. On the top of the mountain the whole border around it shall be most holy.”  Ezekiel’s mountaintop vision comprises all of his book’s final chapters, Ezk.40–48.

Mountaintops on earth were the points (symbolically) nearest to God Most High in heaven!  Wikipedia: Sacred Mountains “The most symbolic aspect of a mountain is the peak because it was believed that it is closest to heaven or other religious realms.”  And majestic mountain scenery can naturally inspire a sense of awe!  Ps.121:1-2 “I lifted up my eyes to the mountains, from whence my help shall come. My help comes from the Lord, maker of heaven and earth.”  YHVH dwelt ‘above’ the most elevated topography of earth, the mountains.  In that sense, mountain summits approached the heavenly realm.  Bengel’s Gnomen Mt.5:1 “A mountain, as being a lofty part of the earth, and thereby nearer to heaven, is best suited for the most holy actions.”  Atop mountains, heaven and earth seemed to overlap or merge.

In the NT, Jesus, the Son of the Most High (Lk.1:31-32), communed with Father God on mountains and hills.  Just prior to selecting His twelve disciples/apostles, Jesus prayed at a mountain.  Lk.6:12-13 “He went out into a mountain [óros Strongs g3735, Greek] to pray, and spent the whole night in prayer to God. When daylight came, He called His disciples and chose twelve from them, whom He also named apostles.”  JFB Commentary Lk.6:12 “Here we find the Lord Himself in prolonged communion with His Father in preparation for the solemn appointment of those men.”  Perhaps Jesus spent close to 12 hours (cf. Jn.11:9-10) in prayer that night in the mountainside, praying one hour about each of the 12 disciples selected?

Most Christians know of Jesus’ famous ‘Sermon on the Mount’, when He spoke eight ‘Beatitudes’ or ‘Blessed Attitudes’.  Mt.5:1-10 “Seeing the multitudes, He [Jesus] went up into a mountain; and after He sat down, His disciples came to Him. He taught them, saying….”  Jesus spoke to them from a “level place” (Lk.6:17-22) in the mountainside.  That specific mountain is thought to be near the N shore of the Sea of Galilee, but to date it hasn’t been identified.  Barnes Notes Mt.5:1 “This mountain, or hill, was somewhere in the vicinity of Capernaúm, but where precisely is not mentioned.”

After He fed the 5,000, Jesus sent His disciples on ahead of Him in a boat to Bethsaidá on the other side of the Sea.  Mk.6:44-51 “After bidding them farewell, He went away to the mountain to pray. The wind was against them [in the boat]; at the fourth watch of the night [3-6 AM] He came to them, walking on the sea.”  They were frightened and amazed.  But when Jesus got in the boat with them, the wind & waves ceased!  This amazing event was immediately preceded by Jesus praying on a mountain.

Jesus’ ‘Transfiguration’ occurred traditionally either on Mt Tábor (Lower Galilee) or else Mt Hermon (Lebanon), according to Bible scholars.  Mt.17:1-5 “Jesus took with Him Peter and James and John his brother, and brought them up to a high mountain by themselves. He was transfigured before them; and His face shone like the sun and His garments became as white as light. And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking to Him. And a voice out of the cloud, saying ‘This is My beloved Son [Jesus], with Whom I am well-pleased.”  That incredible encounter occurred on a mountain!  Later, Peter wrote, 2Pe.1:18 “We were with Him on the holy mount.”  There they actually heard God’s audible voice!

{Sidelight: In scripture, only three persons fasted for 40 days and 40 nights.  Moses on Mt Sinai, Elijah while enroute to Mt Horeb, and Jesus in the wilderness at the beginning of His ministry.  ref Ex.34:27-28, 1Ki.19:8-9, Mt.4:1-2.  It’s more than coincidental that the same three were seen together on a “high mountain” in the ‘Transfiguration’ account!  Moses represented the ‘Law’, Elijah the ‘Prophets’, and Jesus has been called the ‘Living Word’ (tying the sections of scripture).}

Another of Jesus’s famous teachings is His ‘Olivet Discourse’.  It is seen in all three synoptic gospels – Matthew, Mark, Luke.  Wikipedia: Mount of Olives “A mountain ridge east of and adjacent to Jerusalem’s Old City. Several key events in the life of Jesus, as related in the Gospels, took place on the Mt of Olives.”  The Mt of Olives is one of the ‘Seven Hills of Jerusalem’.  Mk.13:3-4 “As Jesus was sitting on the Mt of Olives opposite the temple, Peter and James and John and Andrew asked Him privately, ‘Tell us, what is the sign that these things are about to be accomplished?”  Also Jesus would later ascend to heaven from the Mt of Olives (Ac.1:9-12).

After His resurrection, Jesus met with His disciples again on a mountain.  Mt.28:16-18 “The eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain Jesus had designated. When they saw Him, they worshiped Him.”  This may have been a mountain familiar to them together with Jesus.  Pulpit Commentary Mt.28:16 “Some have fixed [Mt] Tabor as the scene of this revelation, others the Mt of the Beatitudes.”

Our Bible ends with John’s vision of Revelation, given by God (Re.1:1).  At the end of the book, an angel showed John a future city.  Re.21:9-11 “He carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the holy city Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, having the glory of God.”  The final vision of scripture was set on a high mountain!  (succeeding Ezk.40:2-ff.)  There John viewed the Bride of the Lamb, the Church triumphant!  The antitypic heavenly Mt Zion/Sión (He.12:22-24).  also see the topic “God Tabernacles With Humans”.

It may have come as a surprise to you that so many notable events in the Bible occurred on mountains.

We too may feel closer to the Lord when we’re up on a physical mountain, in quiet.  e.g. There’s a Mt Zion in Clallam County of Washington state.  Its 4,278-ft peak is a hike in the Olympic National Forest.

If we will continue to obey the Lord and follow His ways, He blesses & guides us His people to live our lives on the figurative high places!  De.32:13 “He made him ride on the high places of the earth.”  We’re watched over by God Most High.  Ps.121:8 NIV “The Lord keeps watch over your coming and going, both now and forevermore.”

Perhaps you too have had a rarefied mountaintop experience(s).  We’d like those special times with the Lord’s Presence to recur in our lives often.  But we don’t have it that way now.  Yet we can cherish the memory of those precious occasions when God was so near, so real!  And seek to draw close again.

I’m reminded of the Don Potter song (also sung by Paul Wilbur) Show Me Your Face: “Moses stood on a mountain, waiting for You to pass by. You placed Your hand over his face, in Your Presence he wouldn’t die. All Israel saw the glory, and it shines down through the age. Now You’ve called us to boldly, seek Your face. Show me Your face Lord, show me Your face. Then gird up my legs, that I might stand in this holy place. Show me Your face Lord, Your power and Your grace. I could make it through the end, if I can just…see Your face.”

Someday we will all see Jesus’ glorious face!  1Jn.3:2 “We will see Him as He is.”

By the grace of God, by His Son, and the lead of the Holy Spirit…may we remain faithful, unto the end.

 

John Wrote Five Bible Books?

Did the apostle John write the Gospel of John (the 4^th gospel, 4G), the letters 1 John, 2 John, 3 John, Revelation…the five Johánnine books so-called?  All four New Testament (NT) gospels are written anonymously.  This topic focuses on the 4^th gospel’s author, and the other NT books attributed to him.

The apostle John (Yochanán) and his older brother James (Jacob) were two of Jesus’ original 12 disciples.  They were also His 1^st cousins.  These two (and their partner Simon Peter, Lk.5:10) were the closest to Jesus.  ref Mt.17:1, 26:37, Mk.5:37, 9:2, 14:33, Lk.8:51, 9:28.

James & John were the sons of Jesus’ aunt Salóme and uncle Zébedee.  The three other women with Jesus’ Mary at His cross were: #1 Mary Magdalene; #2 another Mary who was the wife of Clopás and mother of James the Less & Josés; #3 Mt.27:56 the mother of the sons of Zebedee, Mk.15:40 Salome, Jn.19:25 Jesus’ mother’s sister (biological sisters wouldn’t both be named Mary).  Jesus’ Mary and Salome were two daughters of Eli/Heli (Lk.3:23).  also see the topic “Jesus’ Genealogy”.

Easton Bible Dictionary: Salome “The wife of Zebedee and mother of James & John, and probably the sister of Mary, the mother of our Lord.”  Gill Exposition Jn.1:1 “The author of this Gospel is John, the son of Zebedee and Salome, the brother of James the Greater; he outlived the rest of the disciples.”

James & John wanted their mother, Jesus’ aunt Salome, to convey to Him their desire to sit immediately to His left and His right in His future kingdom glory (Mt.20:20-24, Mk.10:35-41).  Salome had known her nephew Jesus from His childhood.  Maybe she was His favorite aunt?  So she had boldness to make such a request.  Jesus called his cousins James & John the “sons of thunder”, Mk.3:17. (cf. Lk.9:54.)

Ac.12:1-2 Herod Agríppa had John’s brother James put to death by the sword, ca 43 AD.  Perhaps this “son of thunder” was quite outspoken!?  However, tradition says brother John lived a long life.

The three gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke are called the synoptic gospels.  In the three synoptics, the names James (Strongs g2385, Greek) and John (g2491) occur together in 17 verses.  But never in 4G, the 4^th gospel!  Jn.21:2 does call the sons of Zebedee “disciples”, but doesn’t give their names.  John doesn’t refer to his mother Salome by name, but refers to her as Jesus’ mother’s sister in Jn.19:25.

Moreover, in 4G the name John occurs only when John the Baptizer is meant, never John the disciple/apostle!  The name John doesn’t occur in any of the three epistles of John.  Inspecting all five Johannine writings, the name John (when John the Baptizer isn’t meant) occurs only in Revelation – Re.1:1, 4, 9, 21:2, 22:8.

Jn.1:14 “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory.”  This verse indicates the writer of 4G was in the group of close disciples who personally saw & knew Jesus the Word.

Of Jesus’ original 12 disciples/apostles, 4G mentions 9 of them.  Simon Peter, Peter’s brother Andrew, Philip, Nathaniel (Bartholomew), Thomas (Dídymus Judas), Jude (Thaddeus/Lebbaeus), Judas Iscariót, the sons of Zebedee (Jn.21:2).  also see the topic “Jesus’ Twelve Apostles”.

Not referred to at all in 4G are the 3 disciples Matthew, Simon Zealotés, James the Less (of Alphaeus).

The apostle who Jesus loved, the ‘Beloved Disciple’ so-called, is seen in Jn.13:23, 19:26, 20:2, 21:7, 20-24.  Most Bible commentaries think this person was John himself (one of the two sons of Zebedee).  At Jesus’ Last Supper, Jn.13:23 “One of the disciples, the one whom Jesus loved, was sitting next to Jesus”.  He was “leaning against Jesus’ breast”, WEB translation.  Barnes Notes “This was doubtless John himself.”  JFB Commentary “Thus modestly does our Evangelist denote himself.”  Meyer NT Commentary “He [John] was Jesus’ nearest table companion.”  Cambridge Bible “John was on our Lord’s right.”  Bengel’s Gnomen “John avoids with great care express mention of himself.”  Most readers think Jesus’ beloved disciple was John (Jesus’ 1^st cousin).

Irenáeus (130-202 AD) Against Heresies 3:1:1 “John, the disciple of the Lord, who had leaned upon His breast, did himself publish a Gospel during his residence at Ephesus.”  Wikipedia: Authorship of the Johannine Works “The phrase ‘the disciple who Jesus loved’ or, in John 20:2, ‘the disciple beloved of Jesus’ is used six times in the Gospel of John, but in no other New Testament accounts of Jesus. John 21:24 states that the Gospel of John is based on the written testimony of this disciple.”

Jn.19:25-27 Jesus gave this beloved disciple, His cousin John, responsibility of caring for Mary.  She would’ve first been the responsibility of a living: husband (Joseph), then her son (Jesus), then a brother.  Joseph likely was deceased, Jesus is dying on the cross, and Mary had no (living) biological brother.  Her sister Salome’s sons James & John were in line for the care of Mary.

In Jn.21:2, 4G referred to 7 of the 12 disciples. “There were together Simon Peter, and Thomas called Didymus, and Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, and the sons of Zebedee [James & John], and two other of His disciples.”  These other two were probably Peter’s brother Andrew, and Philip their close associate.  Gill Exposition Jn.21:2 “Two other of his disciples; are thought to be Andrew and Philip; which is very likely, since they were both of Bethsaidá.”  Bethsaida was a Galilean fishing village.

The synoptic gospels list the first 4 disciples called by Jesus as…Peter & Andrew, James & John.  Next listed are Philip and Bartholomew.  Mt.10:2-4, Mk.3:16-19, Lk.6:13-16.  also ref Mt.4:18-22, Mk.1:16-20, Lk.5:3, 10 (Andrew fished in Peter’s boat), Ac.1:13, Mk.13:3.  But in the 4G Jn.1:35-50, the earliest disciples named are Andrew, Peter, Philip, Nathaniel.  (4G doesn’t refer to Nathaniel as Bar-Tholomew, the son of Tholmai, unlike the synoptics.)  4G omits specifically naming James & John as disciples.  What an omission!  Likewise, 4G omits naming the two sons of Zebedee.  It seems John humbly didn’t want to draw attention to himself.  Furthermore, “James” doesn’t occur in any of the five Johannines!

Let’s now examine internal vocabular evidence of authorship within the five Johannine books.

Most readers think the three Johannine books of 1Jn, 2Jn, 3Jn were written by the same person/Elder (at an advanced age).  2Jn.1:1 “The elder to the elect lady and her children, whom I love [g25] in the truth [g225].”  3Jn.1:1 “The elder to the beloved Gaius, whom I love in the truth.”  1Jn.3:18 “My little children, let us not love merely in word or in tongue, but in action and in truth.”  Notice the similarity.

The closing wording, “having many things to write to you” with “I hope to see you face to face”, occurs at the end of both 2Jn and 3Jn; 2Jn.1:12 and 3Jn.1:13-14.  In no other NT book.

The phrase “that you have heard [g191] from the beginning [g746]” occurs only in John’s epistles; 1Jn.2:7, 24, 3:11, 2Jn.1:6.  Nowhere else in the NT.  The three letters were written by the same person.

In the NT, the phrase “Jesus Christ is come in the flesh” occurs in 1Jn.4:2-3, 2Jn.1:7.  Nowhere else.

The Greek term antíchristos (g500), antichrist, occurs only in 1Jn.2:18, 22, 4:3, 2Jn.1:7.  Nowhere else.

The Elder who wrote John’s epistles seems to assume that the readers of his epistles also know 4G.

Now let’s link John’s epistles to 4G, the 4^th gospel, the Gospel of John.

The NT expression “new commandment” (g2537 g1785) occurs only in John’s writings; 1Jn.2:7-8, 2Jn.1:5.  Also Jn.13:34, “A new (g2537) commandment (g1785) I give unto you.”  This expression ties John’s epistles to 4G, but doesn’t occur in any non-Johannine book.

The phrase “that your/our joy [g5479] may be full [g4137]” is seen only in 1Jn.1:4, 2Jn.1:12, Jn.15:11, 16:24.  Nowhere but in John’s writings.

The expression “take away sins” (g142 g266) occurs only in 1Jn.3:5, Jn.1:29.  In no other NT writings.

The expression “walk/s [g4043] in darkness” occurs in 1Jn.1:6, 2:11, Jn.8:12, 12:35.  Nowhere else.

The expression “the world hates you” (g2889 g3404 g5209) occurs only in 1Jn.3:13, Jn.15:18-19.

The expression, God’s “only begotten Son” (g3439 g5207) occurs only in 1Jn.4:9, Jn.3:16, 18.

The following four verses relate to men having “seen” (g3708) or discerned Father God’s or Jesus’ divine character/nature.  (It didn’t mean seen visibly with physical eyes).  1Jn.3:6 “Whoever sins has not seen Him, neither known Him.”  3Jn.1:11 “He that does evil has not seen God.”  Jn.14:7 Jesus said to His disciples, “You know Him and have seen Him.”  Jn.14: 9 “He who has seen Me has seen the Father.”  However, no non-Johannine book uses the expression “seen God/Him” in the same verse.

3Jn.1:12 “We also bear witness [g3140], and you know that our testimony is true [g227].”  Jn.19:35 “The one having seen bears witness, and his testimony is true.”  Jn.21:24 “This is the disciple bearing witness, and we know that his testimony is true.”  This language only occurs in John’s writings.  also ref Jn.5:31-32, 8:13-14.

The above passages link John’s three epistles to 4G.  Now we’ll link Revelation to other Johannine books.

Re.1:1, 4, 9 “I, John, your brother and fellow partaker in the tribulation…was on the island of Pátmos on account of the word of God and my testimony about Jesus.”  In Revelation, the writer John includes his own name.  Wikipedia: Patmos “Early Christian tradition identified this writer John of Patmos as John the Apostle.”  Pulpit Commentary Re.1:9 “St. John’s ‘coming to be in Patmos’ was caused by suffering for the Word of God.”  Vincent’s Word Studies “Persecution for Christ’s sake.”

Jesus as the Word/Lógos (g3056) occurs only in Johannine books!  Jn.1:1 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God.”  v.14 “The Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, we beheld His glory.”  1Jn.1:1 “What we have seen with our eyes, what we beheld and our hands handled, concerning the Word of Life.”  Re.19:13 “He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called the Word of God.”  No other NT writer clearly refers to Jesus as “the Word”!

Barnes Notes Lk.1:2 “The term ‘word’ here means the ‘gospel’. Luke never uses it, as John does, to denote the second Person of the Trinity.”  Ti.1:3 “God…in due time manifested His word through preaching.”  Cambridge Bible Ti.1:2-3 “In understanding this directly of Christ ‘manifested His Word’; such usage has no proper support in Paul.”  Paul never refers to Christ as the Word/Logos.

He.4:12 “The word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword.”  Young’s Literal Translation has “The reckoning of God.”  Meyers NT Commentary He.4:12 “The majority understand ‘the word of God’ as proclaimed and as preserved in Scripture.”  Of all the other NT writers, perhaps Peter (1Pe.1:23 & 1Pe.2:8) comes nearest to referring to Christ’s Person as the Word/Logos.

The Greek term rendered “pierced” (g1574) occurs in Jn.19:37 and Re.1:7.  Nowhere else in the NT.

The admonition to “keep My/His word/sayings” (g5083 g3056) occurs only in Johannine books; Jn.8:51-52, 55, 14:23-24, 15:20, 17:6, 1Jn.2:5, Re.3:8, 10, 22:7, 9.  In no non-Johannine book.

The invitation to observe for yourself, to “Come and see” (g2064 g2532 g1492/g991), occurs only in Jn.1:39, 46, 11:34, Re.6:1-7.  These invitations are given in two Johannine books, but nowhere else in the NT!  (Php.1:27 means to come & visit, else remain absent, CEV “Whether I visit you or not”.)

The two Greek terms rendered “come” (g2064) and “quickly” (g5035) both occur in the same verse in Re.2:5, 16, 3:11, 11:14, 22:7, 12, 20…“Come quickly”.  In no other NT book, except Jn.11:29, “She heard, rises up quickly, and doth come to Him”. (Young’s Literal Translation)

So we’ve seen from all the above citations that there are expressions/terms which occur together in 4G, 1Jn, 2Jn, 3Jn, Revelation…but in no other NT books.  This shows the Johannines have the same author.

However, Bible linguists recognize the Greek language quality of Revelation is less than that of the other four Johannines.  If the author is the same, why was Revelation written in a lesser quality Greek?

John’s native language was Aramaic (ref Aramaic words imbedded in 4G).  He also knew Greek, but was less fluent in it.  Ac.4:13 Peter & John were unlearned and ordinary men.  They weren’t educated as were Jewish scribes.  Perhaps an amanuénsis (copyist) was available to help John write 4G in a better quality Greek?  ref Jn.21:24 “the disciple” (John) is in 3^rd person, yet “we” is 1^st person.  “We” includes John’s secretary?  4G wasn’t written during John’s exile on Patmos, where Revelation was written.

When John was exiled to Patmos (Re.1:9), where he wrote Revelation in Greek, apparently there was no ‘literary secretary’ made available for John to dictate his vision to.  cf. Ro.16:22 Tértius served as Paul’s amanuensis or secretary in writing the book of Romans.  Whereas Paul wrote Galatians with his “own hand” (Ga.6:11).  John wrote Revelation, seemingly with his own hand, without a secretary.

Wikipedia: John the Evangelist “John the Evangelist is the name traditionally given to the author of the Gospel of John [4G]….John the Apostle….the ‘Beloved Disciple’ in the Gospel of John.”  But some scholars disagree that ‘John the Evangelist’ is the apostle John.  Was the apostle John an evangelist?

In Ac.5:40-42, Jesus’ apostles “preached the gospel” (euaggelízo g2097); they evangelized.  John, Peter, and the others were gospel preachers too.  Ellicott Commentary Ac.5:42 “The word for ‘preach’ is literally to ‘evangelize.”  In so doing, John was an evangelist.  Ac.8:14, 25, Peter and John evangelized (g2097) in Samaria, on their way back to Jerusalem.  JFB Commentary Ac.8:25 “And they’ – Peter and John.”  Ac.14:7 the apostles Paul & Barnábas evangelized in Galatian cities.  Ep.4:11 some are apostles, other saints are prophets, evangelists, shepherds, teachers.  Yet an apostle may perform other (lesser) functions too, as John did.  So John may also accurately be called ‘John the Evangelist’.

The Aramaic-speaking Church in the East, the Syriac church, is considered by many to have precedence over the (later) Latin-speaking Roman Catholic Church.  The 2^nd century Syriac version of the NT indicates Revelation was written ca 67 AD.  Its preface to Revelation reads, “The Revelation which was made by God to John the Evangelist in the island of Patmos to which he was banished by Nero the Emperor”.  The apostle John was also known as ‘John the Evangelist’.  JFB Jn.13:23 “Modestly does our Evangelist denote himself, as reclining next to Jesus at the table.”

John, the Beloved Disciple, himself had much to say about “love”.  Of the 7,958 total verses in the NT, the five Johannines contain 1,416 of them.  That’s only 18%.  The Greek verb for love is agapáo g25.  The Greek noun for love is agápe g26.  These two terms occur 258 times in the NT.  Of these 258 occurrences, 105 are in the five Johannines…a remarkable 40%!  (also see “Love – Godly Love”.)

Conclusion: Evidence indicates that the disciple/apostle/evangelist John, the brother of James, was the author of all five Johannine books.  Not only in the view of Bible commentaries and traditional writings (which hasn’t been my focus here), but even more significant is…the large amount of internal vocabular evidence.  The language within the five books is too similar to be merely coincidental!

Gehenna (2) – Lake of Fire

This topic was begun in “Gehenna (1) – Valley of Unquenched Fire”.  Part 2 here is the continuation and conclusion.  Part 1 should be read first; most of the material in (1) won’t be repeated here in (2).

Gehenna was a location, a historical place.  It’s a proper noun.  As such, it is better left untranslated, rendered as “Géhenna” (transliterated from the Greek Gé-en-na).  Gehenna isn’t a common noun.

Historians have located the steep Gehenna valley/ravine below the SW wall of ancient Jerusalem.  It was in the territory allotted to the tribe of Judah (ref Jsh.15:8), and converges with the Kidrón valley.

The term Gehenna came from the Old Testament (OT) valley of the son of Hinnóm, which occurs 13 times in the OT.  The 13 OT occurrences of Hinnom (Strongs h2011, Hebrew noun) are: Jsh.15:8 (2), 18:16 (2); 2Ki.23:10; 2Ch.28:3, 33:6; Ne.11:30; Je.7:31-32, 19:2, 6, 32:35 (39:35 Septúagint/LXX).  Hinnom means lamentation.  Hinnom is Ennom in the OT Greek LXX.

Cambridge Bible Lk.12:5 “The Valley of Hinnom…was a pleasant valley outside Jerusalem, which had first been rendered infamous by Molech worship, then defiled by Josiah with corpses; and lastly kept from putrefaction by large fires to consume the corpses and prevent pestilence.”  This valley also became a prophesied place of slaughter, filled with human corpses.  (see Part 1 for particulars.)

Traditionally, the ravine later became a place of refuse.  Barnes Notes Mt.5:22 “It was necessary to keep fires continually burning there. The extreme loathsomeness of the place, the filth and putrefaction, and the lurid fires burning by day and night, made it one of the most appalling and terrific objects with which a Jew was acquainted.”  Jews knew.  Gehenna also became interpreted as imagery…for “hell”.

There are 12 New Testament (NT) occurrences of the term Gehenna (Strongs g1067, Greek): Mt.5:22, 29-30, 10:28, 18:9, 23:15, 33; Mk.9:43-47; Lk.12:5; Ja.3:6.  Eleven occurrences are the words of Jesus found in the gospel accounts (mostly in Matthew).  The sole exception is Ja.3:6 (figurative).

The term Gehenna doesn’t appear in the book of Acts, nor in any of Paul’s letters, nor in other epistles (only once in James)!  That may seem like a strange omission?!  But Gehenna was traditionally the Jerusalem dump.  It wouldn’t have the same significance in the foreign cities of the NT epistles.

What about “hell”?  In several of our Bible translations, there are four original language terms commonly rendered as “hell”…Sheol (h7585), Hádes (g86), Tartaróo (g5020), Gehenna (g1067).  All four are places or realms.  All four are proper nouns (according to Oxford Dictionary), not common nouns.  Proper nouns are better left untranslated in English.  e.g. in Young’s Literal Translation (YLT) they’re untranslated.  “Hell” is too general a word to use for specific terms.  The above four are specific terms.  Steve Gregg All You Want To Know About Hell, p.86 “The English word ‘hell’ isn’t a translation, but an interpretation.”

Sheol is the Hebrew OT term for the place of the dead.  The root meaning of sheol is ‘unseen’.  Sheol corresponds to Hades in the Greek LXX and NT.  YLT leaves the term Hades untranslated.  YLT doesn’t use the word “hell”.  Again, both Sheol and Hades are better left untranslated.

The KJV OT often rendered Sheol as “hell” when conveying the fate of those who were bad or wicked!  ref KJV: Ps.9:17; Pr.5:5, 7:27, 9:18; Is.5:14, 14:9; Ezk.31:16-18, 32:27.  (In the OT, death and the realm of Sheol may be the result of God’s judgment.)  Yet the KJV often rendered Sheol as the “grave” when portraying the fate of those good or righteous!  ref KJV: Ge.37:35 (Jacob); Jb.14:13 & 17:13 (Job); Ps.88:3; SS.8:6 (ironically); Is.38:10 (Hezekiah).  Also cf. KJV Ho.13:14 with KJV 1Co.15:55.

In so doing, the KJV is biased.  There is a Hebrew OT term which means grave, h6913 qéhber, noun.  It occurs 67 times in the OT (also translated as sepulcher, burying-place.)  e.g. Ex.14:11; 1Ch.34:28; Jb.5:26; Nah.1:14.  It ties to bury h6912 qabár, verb.  Also, a less used OT term for grave is h6900 qeburáh, noun, occurring 14 times (e.g. Ge.35:20; Ezk.32:23.)  But Sheol/Hades was an unseen realm…not a grave.

Tartaroo was a holding place for angels who’d sinned.  2Pe.2:4 “God did not spare the angels when they sinned, but cast them into tartaroo [g5020] and committed them to pits of darkness [g2217] reserved for judgment.”  also ref Jude 1:6; 1Enoch 20:2 with 1Enoch 21:9-10.

However, the concept of endless torment was unknown in the OT scriptures.  (see Part 1 regarding mortal worms in Is.66:24.)

The 1995 Church of England Doctrine Commission said, “Hell is not eternal torment”.  Bible scholar F.F. Bruce wrote, “Eternal conscious torment is incompatible with the revealed character of God”.

Torment forever in hell-fire doesn’t fit with Christ’s OT retributive justice or lex talionis principle.  Rather, Christ’s capital punishment penalty was death.  Ex.21:23-24 life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, etc.  And Paul wrote in Ro.6:23, “The wages of sin is death”.  Not eternal life in hell-fire!

Later it was the Roman Catholic theologian Augustine (354–430 AD) of Hippo, Algeria who promoted the idea of eternal torment in hell-fire.

Jesus’ NT warnings (regarding Gehenna) were tied to national judgment upon Jerusalem/Judea, with corpses strewn in the valleys.  Even via “unquenched fire”.  (see Part 1.)

God Himself is figuratively depicted as fire!  Moses told ancient Israel in De.4:24, “The Lord your God is a consuming fire”.

A coal of fire purified the lips of the prophet Isaiah in vision, Is.6:6-7.  Cambridge Bible Is.6:6 “Fire is both a symbol of holiness and an agent of purification.”  Fire (and blood) purges and atones for sin & iniquity.  Gill Exposition Is.6:7 “Thy [Isaiah’s] sin purged, or ‘atoned for’ or ‘covered.”

And there are verses in the OT which allude to a Sheol fire in the afterlife.

The Lord said in the song of Moses, De.32:22 “A fire is kindled in My anger, and it burns to the lowest part of Sheol [LXX Hades g86]; and consumes the earth with its produce and sets on fire the foundations of the mountains”.  Perhaps this was the origin of volcanos?  Fire was in the lowest part of Sheol/Hades.  cf. Song Sol.8:6 “For love is as strong as death, jealousy is as unrelenting as Sheol [LXX Hades g86]. Its flashes are flashes of fire, the very flame of the Lord.”  Sheol/Hades was tied to fire.

In Lk.16:19-ff, Jesus told the parable of the rich man who’d failed to be a good steward of his wealth.  Lk.16:23-24 “In Hades [g86]….he cried out and said…I am in agony in this flame.”  There was a flame in that sector of Hades/Sheol; the realm of departed spirits beneath the earth’s surface.

Was the Gehenna valley also symbolic for the lowest part of Sheol/Hades?  Over the centuries, Gehenna became the figurative place of spiritual purification for wicked Jews.  The rabbis considered Gehenna a purgatory or a punishment where the wicked suffer until he’s atoned for his sins.

Jewish Encyclopedia: Gehenna “They are cast into Gehenna to a depth commensurate with their sinfulness.”  Jesus’ words in Mt.13:42, 50 “Cast them into the furnace of fire; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth”.  However, this happened to Jerusalem in 70 AD, prophesied in Ezk.22:17-22.

Jesus also spoke of those cast out into outer darkness in three NT verses, all in Matthew: 8:12 (cf. Mt.13:38 “sons of the kingdom”), 22:13, 25:30.  Jude 1:13 refers to “blackest darkness”.  It may be a location or a state of being/mind.  It’s a place of “weeping and gnashing of teeth”, of anguish and despair.  1Jn.1:6 wrote of those who “walk in darkness”.  2Pe.2:17 refers to a “mist of darkness”.  To contrast, 1Pe.2:9 exhorts, “You should show forth the praises of Him [God] who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.”

cf. Mt.13:42, 50 with Jesus’ words in Mk.9:49. “Everyone will be salted with fire.”  Salt and fire both purify.  Pulpit Commentary Mk.9:49 “There’s a fire which is penal, and a fire which purifies.”  Mt.25:41-46 chastisement for not aiding the needy.  (Eternal torment seems overly severe for failing to do this!)  v.46 Dr. Spiros Zódiates “Kólasis conveys the notion of punishment for correction and betterment.”

Josephus Antiquities of the Jews 18:1:3 “Pharisees…believe souls have an immortal vigor, and under the earth there will be rewards or punishments…The vicious to be detained in that prison, virtuous souls to revive and live again.”  The apostle Paul also referred to those “under the earth” (Php.2:10).

Traditionally, the aftermath of spiritual purification in lower Sheol was…the person ascends to the world to come (Ólam Hába/Gan Eden), or else undergoes destruction.  Judaism 101: The Afterlife “The very righteous go directly to Gan Eden. The average person’s time in Gehinnom doesn’t exceed 12 months.”

Also, some have interpreted or compared Gehenna to/as the “lake of fire”!  Jewish folklore indicates the accursed Gehenna valley had a gate which led to a lake of fire.  (Views differ as to the gate’s location.)

Wikipedia: Lake of Fire “Such a lake also appears in Plato’s Phaedo, explicitly identified with Tartarus, where the souls of the wicked are tormented until it is time for them to be reborn, and where some souls are left forever.”

The book of Revelation is full of hyperbole & symbolism; and contains more variant readings from the Majority Text than do all the other NT books combined!  If our translation of Revelation is accurate…its lake of fire (at the bottom of or beneath Gehenna?) is seemingly the hell-fire of the afterlife.

“Lake of fire” occurs only in Re.19:20, 20:10, 14-15, 21:8.  The beast, the false prophet, the devil, death, Hades, and those not written in the book of life (ref the list in 21:8)…are cast into the lake of fire.  Re.19:20 “The lake of fire which burns with brimstone [g2303].”  Brimstone is sulfur.  Sulfur can purify.  Sciencing: Ancient Uses of Sulfur “Roman purifying rituals included fumigating a building or personal belongings with the smoke from burning sulfur.”

Does the lake of fire torment, consume, or purify?

Re.2:11, 20:6, 14, 21:8 speak of a “second death”.  Re.20:13-15 “Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.”  Ellicott Commentary Re.20:14 “It is clearly figurative language, implying that Death, the last enemy is destroyed, together with Hades, who was personified as Death’s escort (Re.6:8). The lake of fire into which Death is thrown is the second death!…Very awful is that spiritual death.”

Also Expositor’s Greek Testament “Hades…naturally ceases to have any function.”

John wrote in Re.21:4, “There will be no more death”.  Death will die, in other words.  Paul in 1Co.15:26, “The last enemy to be abolished is death”.  He indicated in 1Co.15:55, there will be no more sting of death.  2Ti.1:10 “Our Savior Jesus Christ, who has abolished death.”  Christ rendered death inoperative.

Some think the “lake of fire” means the second death for the incorrigibly wicked.  The concept of the “second death” also appears in the early AD Jewish Targums (Aramaic OT paraphrases).

Targum Is.65:6 “Their punishment shall be in Gehenna where the fire burns all day…deliver their bodies to the second death.”

Targum Is.22:14 “This sin will not be forgiven you, until you die the second death.”  Targum Is.65:15 “The Lord God will slay you with the second death.”

Yet based upon God’s principle of justice seen in De.19:21, “life for life”…there wouldn’t be a second death without a second life preceding it!

The Targum Neofití and fragments indicate the second death is the death the wicked die.  Targum Je.51:39 “They shall die the second death and not live in the world to come [in Olam Haba].”

These Targum paraphrases may relate to a final destruction of any remaining wicked.  More like an annihilation, an extinction…not everlasting torment through eternal life in hell-fire.

But is the second death a final separation from God…or was a spiritual purification meant?

The visions and near death experiences (NDE) many people have had of “hell”…are they true and valid?  Is what they claim to see everlasting or temporary?

It’s hard to imagine ruthless leaders such as Genghis Kahn, Bloody Mary, Idi Amin…and Adolph Hitler together with the numerous disbelieving Jews killed during WW2… all being tormented together (with those Jews) eternally in fire!

Also the untold millions of gentiles worldwide who lived prior to Jesus and didn’t know God or ancient Israel…are they doomed forever?  Is this reflective of a God of love (1Jn.4:8)!?  Or…why visit or help (unsaved) widows and orphans now, if God intends to annihilate most of them anyway?

Interestingly, the futuristic prophecy of Je.31:38-40 indicates that…Gehenna will be holy!  Je.31:40 “The whole valley [Hinnom/Gehenna] of the dead bodies and of the ashes, and all the fields as far as the brook Kidron…shall be holy to the Lord; it shall not be plucked up or overthrown anymore forever.”  Cambridge Bible Je.31:40 “The valley of Hinnom, into which carcasses of criminals and of animals were cast.”

Today, it is a Jerusalem suburb with concerts and even fireworks nearby!  Israel’s Ministry of Tourism wants you to visit “hell” (Gehenna), so to speak!

The good news for Christians…we won’t be hurt by a second death!  Re.2:11 “He who overcomes shall not be harmed by the second death.”  The saved don’t have to undergo it.

The afterlife for saved Christians will be wonderful…Thanks be to God!  In addition, see the topics “Life and Death – for Saints” and “Rebirth to Physical Life”.

 

‘Thousand (Years)’ in the Bible – (2)

This topic is Part 2 to “Thousand (Years)’ in the Bible – (1)”.  Most of the many verses quoted in (1) won’t be repeated here in (2).  I suggest you read Part 1 before continuing.

We’ve been examining Bible verses & terms that reflect “thousand” and “thousand years”.

From Part 1…The New Testament (NT) passage that prompted the topic is Re.20:1-5.  The apostle John wrote: “I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding in his hand the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain. And he seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil and satan, and bound him for a thousand years, and threw him into the pit, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he might not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were ended. After that he must be released for a little while. Then I saw thrones, and seated on them were those to whom authority to judge was given. Also I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended. This is the first resurrection.”

In the extended passage of Re.20:1-7, “thousand years” appears 6 times.  Is the thousand years meant literally or approximately or as a rounded number?  Or is the 1,000 years figurative or representative?

Figurative language is…using a word or phrase to picture something other than the literal or natural meaning.  We normally interpret literally, actually,…unless the literal sense implies untruth, absurdity, impossibility, contradiction of other verses.  In that case…the meaning is figurative, metaphorical, symbolic, allegorical, hyperbolic, a simile, parable, idiom, a personification…not interpreted literally.

Words can be representative…to denote, signify, portray, or indicate something (else).

In the Re.20:1-7 passage, the NT Greek term for “thousand” is chílioi, Strongs g5507.  Our English word kilo (multiplication by 1,000) is derived from this term chilioi.

In the Greek Old Testament (OT) LXX and Greek NT, chilioi g5507 is the term translated “thousand”.  It can be the precise number one thousand/1,000.  There are 11 NT occurrences: 2Pe.3:8; Re.11:3, 12:6, 14:20, 20:2-7.  Chilioi g5507 can be a precise symbolic, representative, rounded, or literal 1,000.

The term chiliás g5505 is used in plural thousands.  There are 23 NT occurrences: Lk.14:31; Ac.4:4; 1Co.10:8; Re.5:11, 7:4-8, 11:13, 14:1, 3, 21:16.  In the NT, chilias g5505 is never used for the precise number one thousand/1,000.

However, Hebrew had only one term for “thousand”…éleph h505.  It occurs 500 times in the OT.  Eleph is used: for the precise number one thousand/1,000, in numbers exceeding one thousand/1,000 (usually, e.g. 22,273 in Nu.3:43), and for plural “thousands”.  There’s no distinction in the term itself.

In Part 1, we began a lengthy survey of many verses to see how “thousand” was meant in scripture.  Only a couple verses were found (so far) where one thousand/1,000 is clearly literal.

We’ll now continue this in-depth survey and conclude the topic.  I’ve been mostly referencing the LXX for the OT; the Greek LXX language better compares to our Greek NT.

Jb.9:3 “He [man] can’t answer Him [God] one time in 1,000 [g5507] times.”  Benson Commentary “One accusation against 1,000 which God might produce against him.”  But man couldn’t answer charge 1,001 from God either!  Here, 1,000 basically denotes a large number.

Jb.33:23 “If there is beside him an angel [or messenger], an intercessor, one among a thousand, to show to man what is right for him.”  Here too, “a thousand” denotes a large number.

Ec.7:28 he found one upright man out of 1,000 (g5507), but not one woman.  JFB Commentary Ec.7:28 “Solomon, in the word ‘thousand’, alludes to his 300 wives and 700 concubines [1Ki.11:3].”  Perhaps the approximate total of women in his harem was 1,000; many became negative experiences.

Ps.105:8 “God has remembered His covenant forever…to 1,000 [g5507] generations.”  If a generation is 20 years, then 1,000 generations spans 20,000 years.  40-year generations would span 40,000 years!  After 20,000–40,000 years…at generation 1,001 God wouldn’t fail to keep His covenant!  Here, 1,000 denotes a large number.

Ps.50:10 God says, “Every animal of the forest is Mine, the cattle on 1,000 hills.”  (v.10b isn’t in the LXX.)  If God owns the cattle on only 1,000 hills, then who owns the cattle on hill 1,001 and all the other hills!?  Mathew Henry Commentary “Even the cattle which feed upon innumerable hills.”  Here, 1,000 clearly represents an unknown immeasurable number.

Da.5:1 “Belshazzár the king held a feast for 1,000 [h506 Aramaic, g5507 LXX] of his nobles.”  Perhaps 965 or 1,035 nobles were there, or more?  Barnes Notes Da.5:1 “The term 1,000 here is doubtless used to denote a very large number.”  A version of the LXX reads “2,000 lords” (Pulpit Commentary).

Da.7:10 “A thousand thousands (g5505) attended Him, 10,000 times 10,000 stood before Him.”  This verse reflects 1,000 (h506 Aramaic) & 10,000 multiplied.  1,000,000 & 100,000,000!  Gill Exposition Da.7:10 “An innumerable company of angels.”  Thousand is symbolic.  cf. Re.5:11 (g5505).

In the above instances…the number 1,000 would allow for 975, or 999, or 1,001, 1,025, or more.  God owns the cattle on the 1,026^th hill too!  Ps.24:1 “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it.”

Ezk.40-48 is Ezekiel’s grand allegorical vision.  Ezk.47:3-5 records four measurements, each of 1,000 (g5507) cubits, in the water that became a river.  Symbolic 1,000s.  cf. Jn.7:38-39 where Jesus spoke of “rivers of living water” of the Spirit.

In Part 1 and Part 2, so far we’ve examined verses where “one thousand/1,000” refers to people or things.  The Meaning of Numbers: the Number 1,000 “In scripture, the term ‘thousand’, when in reference to time, is always used symbolically. It represents any predetermined time that God chooses. In other cases, it is always used symbolically for a large number of people or things.”  That is, referring to the precise number one thousand/1,000.  Now the verses where “one thousand/1,000” relates to time:

In Da.12:11-12 are the 1,290 days and 1,335 days.  Not a precise 1,000 days.  Both periods are g5507 in the LXX.  Many commentaries relate the two periods to the rule of Antíochus Epíphanes, ca 164 BC.  However, there isn’t complete agreement for conclusively tying the two periods of days to specific months then.  Others relate the two periods to Titus’ siege of Jerusalem leading up to 70 AD.

The 1,260 (g5507) days of Re.11:3, 12:6, (13:5)…also aren’t a precise 1,000.  The various interpretations won’t be discussed here.  Bible historians have tied this period of days to 66–70 AD, ending with the destruction of Jerusalem by Rome.  (For comprehensive detail, see Josephus’ Wars of the Jews.)

Ps.84:10 KJV “A day in Thy courts is better than a thousand [elsewhere]. I’d rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God.”  (LXX has plural “thousands”, g5505.)  “Thousand” represents countless days.

Now for the verses where the precise number “1,000” refers to years (not “days”).  The expression “thousand years” is found only in Ec.6:6; Ps.90:4; 2Pe.3:8; Re.20:2-7.

Ec.6:3-6 “If a man begets 100 children and lives many years….Even if the man lives 1,000 [g5507] years twice over and does not enjoy good things….”  Pulpit Commentary Ec.6:6 “What has been said would still be true even if the man lived 2,000 years.”  It’s true even if he lived 980 or 1,020 or 2,020 years…or if he begat 90 or 110 or more children.  The 1,000 years (and the 100 children) are symbolic.

Ps.90:4 LXX “1,000 [g5507] years in Your [God’s] sight are as yesterday which is past.”  Cambridge Bible “The longest span of human life is but a day in Thy sight, though a man should outlive the years of Methuselah.”  The 969 years Methuselah lived (Ge.5:27)…or 1,039 or 1,069 years…are also as yesterday.  As one day.  1,000 years are symbolically as one day.

2Pe.3:8 KJV “Beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as 1,000 [g5507] years, and 1,000 [g5507] years as one day.”  The usage of “1,000 years” in this verse is somewhat similar to Ps.90:4.  Benson Commentary 2Pe.3:8 “A thousand years, yea, the longest time, is no more delay to the eternal God than one day is to us.”  Matthew Poole Commentary 2Pe.3:8 “By a synécdoche, 1,000 years is put for any, even the longest revolution of time.”  Bengel’s Gnomen 2Pe.3:8 “He [God] wonderfully exceeds all measure of time.”  In this verse too, “1,000 years” is figurative.

Returning now to our beginning passage of Re.20:1-ff…Re.20:2 “He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil and satan, and bound him 1,000 [g5507] years.”  Barnes Notes Re.20:2 “The notion of a millennium as such is found in this passage alone [Re.20:1-6].”  Millennialism is also known as chiliásm (from the Greek term g5505 for “thousand”).  No other passage shows millennium!

JFB Commentary Re.20:2 “A thousand implies perfection. Thousand symbolizes that the world is perfectly leavened and pervaded by the divine.”  Matthew Poole Commentary Re.20:2 “It is probable that it signifies an uncertain, indefinite time.”  Pulpit Commentary Re.20:2 “The best interpretation seems to be that this phrase expresses a quality, and does not express a period of time. ‘1,000’ signifies completeness.”  Ellicott Commentary Re.20:3 “The same applies to the duration of the imprisonment; it is not to be understood literally.”  Kenneth L. Gentry He Shall Have Dominion, p.347 “The thousand is no more literal here than that which affirms God’s ownership of the cattle on 1,000 hills (Ps.50:10).”   Anthony A. Hoekema The Bible and the Future, p.226 “The book of Revelation is full of symbolic numbers. The number ‘thousand’ in this passage ought not to be interpreted in a strictly literal sense.”

In the Bible, “one thousand/1,000 years” refers to a large period of time.  Interpreting the years as an approximation is even a stretch.

The precise number 10,000 (see Part 1) represented a large indeterminate amount.  So did the precise number 1,000 (to a lesser degree or less emphatically).  Spiritual Meaning of Thousand “In the Word, a thousand signifies much and countless.”  Andrew of Caesárea Commentary on the Apocalypse, p. 206 “By the number 1,000 years by no means is it reasonable to understand so many years. For neither concerning such things of which David said, ‘The word which he commanded for 1,000 generations’ (Psalm 105:8) are we able to count these things as 10 times 100; rather they mean many generations.”

Yet there are others who did/do interpret the “1,000 years” of Re.20:1-ff literally.  As the date 1000 AD neared, all over Europe there was needless terror and alarm, because they supposed that satan would be loosed 1,000 years after Jesus’ birth!  (ref Mosheim’s Institutes of Ecclesiastical History, p.340.)

{Sidelight: In 1071 AD the Seljúk Empire of Sunni-Muslim Turks & Persians took Judea and Jerusalem.  This led to the First Crusade. (see Wikipedia: Seljuk Empire.)  History.com “Christians in Jerusalem were increasingly persecuted by the city’s Islamic rulers, especially when control of the holy city passed from the relatively tolerant Egyptians to the Seljuk Turks in 1071. In 1095 Pope Urban publically called for a crusade to aid Eastern Christians and recover the holy lands.”

The date 1071 AD was 1,001 years after the 70 AD destruction of Jerusalem.  Some Bible readers literally relate Re.20:7-8 to the hostile Seljuk control of Jerusalem.  Re.20:7-9 “When the 1,000 years are completed, satan will be loosed…and will deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, and gather them for war…And they surrounded the beloved city.”  Turkey has been tied to the historical Gog and Magog.  Later Ottoman Turks controlled Jerusalem until 1917 AD.  But after 1,000 years of restraint, a next period of 846 years, from 1071–1917 AD, isn’t a “little while” comparatively (Re.20:3)…it’s near to another 1,000-year period!  So this view as fulfillment is doubtful.}

Interestingly, an ancient Greek & Roman belief was…the spirits of the dead dwelt in Hades for 1,000 years, and then were reincarnated or resurrected to earthly life. (for Hades: ref Lk.16:23; Re.1:18, 20:13-14.)

The Roman poet Virgil wrote ca 20 BC Aenéid, lines 735-751 “The dead are disciplined in purgatory….Each of us finds in the next world his own level….All these souls, when they have finished their 1,000–year cycle, God sends for…They may revisit the earth above and begin to wish to be reborn again.”  Ancient Greek Mythology For Kids “The River Ácheron carried the good souls from the Underworld [Hades] that were sent back to earth after 1,000 years to be reincarnated as mortals.”

Wikipedia: Millennialism “The concept of a utopian millennium, and much of the imagery used by Jews and early Christians to describe this time period, was most likely influenced by Persian culture.  Zoroástrianism describes history as occurring in successive thousand-year periods, each of which will end in a cataclysm of heresy and destruction. These epochs will culminate in the final destruction of evil by a triumphant messianic figure.”

Job said in Jb.29:18 JPS Tanakh, “I thought I would end my days with my nest [family], and be as long-lived as the phoenix”.  The Tanakh is the Jewish (OT) scriptures.  Bereshith Rabba Traditionally, only one bird, of all creatures, didn’t eat from the tree of forbidden fruit in the garden of Eden.  Barnes Notes Jb.29:18 “Herder observes that the phoenix is obviously intended here….Jannai adds that ‘this bird lives 1,000 years, and in the end of the thousand years, a fire goes forth from its nest, and burns it up. But there remains an egg, from which again the members grow, and it rises to life.”  1,000-year symbolism.  Also ref 1Clement 12:2-6 (25:2-ff in some translations) regarding the phoenix. (cf. Ec.6:6.)  also see the topic “Rebirth to Physical Life (1)”.

Belief in a 1,000-year period had also existed in ancient Egypt.  The Works of Voltaire, v.3 “The belief …in this period [1,000 years] was also in great credit among the Gentiles. The souls of the Egyptians returned to their bodies at the end of 1,000 years.”

The apostle John and readers/hearers of Revelation in Asia Minor likely would have known of existent beliefs about Hades and 1,000-year periods.  It seems that Re.20:1-ff superimposes upon those ancient beliefs the true reign of messiah Jesus with His saints in the Kingdom of God.  (see the topic “Kingdom of God”.)  While the mustard seed of the Kingdom grows & progresses (Mt.13:31-33), some think satan is being progressively bound and is only effective in a decreasing percentage of humanity.  (Someone in bonds and restrained may still have an effect to a degree, as Paul did have, e.g. Phm.1:10.)

Over the centuries there have been churches which make dogma with definite time limitations, and prognosticators make (false) predictions or so-called prophecies…based on the “1,000 years” of Re.20.

John Whiteford If Satan Is Alive, Why Not Millennialism? “We’ve seen similar heresies with millennialist eschatology in more recent times, with the Jehovah’s Witnesses, 7^th Day Adventists, Mormonism, the Jim Jones cult, and Branch Davidians.”

The purpose of this topic isn’t to analyze or criticize church groups.  Or eschatologies…e.g. historicist, futurist, amillennial, premillennial, postmillennial, preterist, partial preterist, etc.  For more on timing in the Bible, see “The Last Days”, “Babylon the Great’ in Revelation”, “Two Witnesses in the Bible”.

The scriptures we examined indicate that “1,000 (years)” meant a large number or a long undefined time.

Postmillennialist Kenneth L. Gentry The Beast of Revelation, p.133 “The number ‘1,000’ is frequently used in scripture as an indefinite, yet significantly large, number (Pss.90:4, Dan.7:10, 2Pet.3:8).”

OT scholar Erhard Gerstenberger, “For ancient Israelites, the numbers 1,000 and 10,000 were regarded as immense and immeasurable”.

Conclusion: In Part 1 and Part 2, the precise number “one thousand/1,000” people or things was seen in several verses as an approximation or a rounding.  But very few verses were found where “one thousand/1,000”…no more, no less…was meant to be taken completely literally.  Of all the verses surveyed in Part 1 and Part 2…the precise number “one thousand/1,000” appears clearly literal only in Ge.20:16 and SS.8:11-12.  Possibly 1,000 is literal in 1Ki.3:4 and Nu.31:4-6 (see Part 1).

We began by quoting the “1,000 years” of Re.20:1-ff.  The other 3 verses where “1,000 years” appears in the Bible, Ec.6:6; Ps.90:4; 2Pe.3:8…aren’t to be taken literally.  If the “1,000 years” of Re.20:1-ff is to be taken completely literally…it would be one sole canonical witness, standing alone.  Our Bibles don’t contain two or three passages as witnesses to a “millennium”.

‘Thousand (Years)’ in the Bible – (1)

This topic will examine Bible verses & terms that reflect “thousand” and “thousand years”.

The New Testament (NT) passage that prompted the topic is Re.20:1-5.  The apostle John wrote: “Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding in his hand the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain. And he seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil and satan, and bound him for a thousand years, and threw him into the pit, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he might not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were ended. After that he must be released for a little while. Then I saw thrones, and seated on them were those to whom authority to judge was given. Also I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended. This is the first resurrection.”

In the extended passage of Re.20:1-7, “thousand years” appears 6 times.  Is the thousand years meant literally or approximately or as a rounded number?  Or is the 1,000 years figurative or a representation?

Figurative language is…using a word or phrase to picture something other than the literal or natural meaning.  We normally interpret literally, actually,…unless the literal sense implies untruth, absurdity, impossibility, contradiction of other verses.  In that case…the meaning is figurative, metaphorical, symbolic, allegorical, hyperbole, a simile, parable, idiom, a personification…not interpreted literally.

Words can be representative…to denote, signify, portray, or indicate something (else).

In the Re.20:1-7 passage, the NT Greek term for “thousand” is chílioi, Strongs g5507.  Our English word kilo (multiplication by 1,000) is derived from this term chilioi.

In the Greek Old Testament (OT) LXX and Greek NT, chilioi g5507 is the term translated “thousand”.  It can be the precise number one thousand/1,000.  There are 11 NT occurrences: 2Pe.3:8; Re.11:3, 12:6, 14:20, 20:2-7.  Chilioi g5507 can be a precise symbolic, representative, rounded, or literal 1,000.

The term chiliás g5505 is used in plural thousands.  There are 23 NT occurrences: Lk.14:31; Ac.4:4; 1Co.10:8; Re.5:11, 7:4-8, 11:13, 14:1, 3, 21:16.  In the NT, chilias g5505 is never used for the precise number one thousand/1,000.

A chilí-ar-kos g5506 was a commander/captain of 1,000 men.  (A centurion was leader of 100 men.)  e.g. in 1Sm.18:13 LXX, Saul appointed David “captain of 1,000 [g5506].”  (A military commission under general Abner.)  cf. 1Ch.12:14 LXX commanders of 100 (g1540) and of 1,000 (g5507) men.

The term múr-e-oi g3463 means “ten thousand/10,000”.  There are 3 NT occurrences: Mt.18:24; 1Co.14:19.  1Co.4:15 “Though you have 10,000 instructors in Christ.”

The term mur-é-as g3461 is plural 10,000s; also it’s rendered an innumerable multitude.  There are 9 NT occurrences: Lk.12:1; Ac.19:19, 21:20; He.12:22; Jde.1:14; Re.5:11, 9:16.

However, Hebrew had only one term for “thousand”…éleph h505.  It occurs 500 times in the OT.  Eleph is used: for the precise number one thousand/1,000, in numbers exceeding one thousand/1,000 (most often, e.g. 22,273 in Nu.3:43), and for plural “thousands”.  There’s no distinction in the term itself.

Let’s survey many verses to see how “thousand” was meant in scripture.  I’ll mostly reference the LXX for the OT; the Greek LXX language better compares to our Greek NT.  First, numbers exceeding 1,000:

Nu.3:43 LXX “All the male firstborn, from a month old and upwards…were 22,273 [g5505 is within].”  In this verse, “thousand” is a numeral which is part of a precise larger literal number.

Ezr.2:7 the children of Elám who returned from Babylonian captivity were 1,254 (g5507 is within).  v.14 of Bigvái 2,056 (dis-chilioi, g1367) .  v.35 of Senaáh 3,630 (tris-chilioi, g5153)   v.39 of Harím 1,017 (g5507 within).  v.65 there were 7,337 (eptakis-chilioi, g2035) male & female servants.  In these verses, “thousand” is a numeral which is part of a precise larger literal number.  Not an approximation.

Nu.1:46 All that were numbered were “603,550” (g5505 within).  That’s the literal precise number of warriors age 20 and up.  In Ex.12:37 & Nu.11:21, “600,000” (g5505 within) men is a close rounding.

Ex.38:26 the half-shekel tax in silver for each of the 603,550 men totaled 100 talents plus 1,775 (g5507 within) shekels.  Here, 1,775 shekels is a literal amount.  (100 talents @3,000 shekels each = 300,000).

Nu.31:32-40 the numbers in thousands (g5505 within) of animals and persons taken as booty are all roundings: 675,000, 72,000, 61,000, 32,000, 337,500, 36,000, 30,500, 16,000.

Jsh.8:25 LXX “They that fell in that day were 12,000 (dodeka chilias g5505) men and women; all the inhabitants of Aí.”  Here, 12,000 is an approximation or a rounding.

The 5,000 in Ac.4:4, 23,000 in 1Co.10:8, 7,000 in Re.11:13…(g5505) are roundings or approximations.

2Ch.13:17 Judah slew of Israel 500,000 chosen men.  Here, thousand the numeral is g5505.  Ellicott Commentary “A numerical expression…that Jeroboám [Israel’s king] lost more than half his warriors.”

{Sidelight: This topic won’t discuss interpretations of the 144,000 (g5505) persons in Re.7:4-8, 14:1-3.  Commentaries view 144,000 as a symbolic number.  Pulpit Commentary Re.7:4 “No one has ever said that the number should be taken literally.”  Vincent Word Studies Re.7:4: “Not literally, but the number symbolical of completion.”  Barnes Notes Re.7:4 “The whole scene is symbolical.”  cf. Re.21:16-17.}

In the above examples are numbers exceeding 1,000.  Following are many verses which show the precise number 1,000:   

Ge.20:16 “Abimélech told Sarah, “I have given your brother 1,000 [g5507] pieces of silver.”  This precise number 1,000 is thought to be a literal amount.  (cf. 1,100 pieces of silver in Jg.17:2.)

SS.8:11-12 Solomon leased out his vineyard to tenant farmers.  Each paid “1,000 [g5507] pieces of silver” in exchange for its fruit.  Perhaps it had around 1,000 vines?  1,000 pieces may be the literal fee.

Ezr.1:9-10 the number of holy vessels was “30 gold dishes, 1,000 [g5507] silver dishes, 29 knives, 30 gold bowls, 410 silver bowls, 1,000 other vessels.”  A (near) literal inventory of items?

1Ch.29:21 LXX “David sacrificed to the Lord…1,000 [g5507] calves, 1,000 rams, and 1,000 lambs….”  At this momentous occasion, perhaps such large precise numbers are literal.  Or approximate?

2Ch.30:24 “Hezekiáh gave the congregation 1,000 [g5507] calves…and the rulers gave 1,000 calves.”  For the reinstitution of Passover, perhaps these precise numbers too are literal, or approximate.

1Ki.3:4 LXX “Solomon offered a whole burnt offering of 1,000 victims on the altar in Gibeón.”  Such a large number may be literal; else approximate, perhaps indicative of special respect for the site.

Nu.31:4-6 “So 1,000 [g5507] were recruited from each Israelite tribe…12,000 armed for war.”  This  precise number 1,000 may be near literal.  JFB Commentary Nu.31:5 “An equal amount from each tribe, to prevent mutual jealousy or strife.”  Gill Exposition Nu.31:5 “A small number to go against so considerable a nation; but this was done to show that the war was of the Lord.”  However, in 2Sm.10:6, “Ammonites hired 20,000 Aramean foot soldiers…the king of Maacáh with 1,000 [g5507] men, and 12,000 men of Tob.”  Here, the 12,000 and 1,000 (and 20,000) warriors are approximations.

1Sm.13:2 “Saul chose 3,000 men of Israel; 2,000 were with Saul and 1,000 (g5507) with Jonathán.”  These precise numbers are roundings or approximate.  Same with 2Sm.19:17, 1,000 men of Benjamin.

1Sm.25:2 Nabál owned 3,000 sheep and 1,000 (g5507) goats.  A man’s substance was described by the general size of his flocks and herds.  The precise 3,000 and 1,000 both are rounded or ballpark numbers.

Jb.42:12 “14,000 sheep, 6,000 camels, 1,000 oxen, 1,000 female donkeys.”  Approximate doublings of the numbers of Job’s livestock in Jb.1:3.

Jg.9:49 “All in the tower of Shechém died, about 1,000 (g5507) men and women.”  Approximately.

In Jg.15:16, Samson killed 1,000 (g5507) men with a donkey’s jawbone.  Possibly Samson killed an even 1,000 (not 985 or 1,015).  But, more likely, 1,000 indicates ‘about 1,000’, approximately.

De.1:11 “May the Lord increase you 1,000 [g5507.1] times and bless you.”  Starting 40 years after the exodus, to increase the population of OT Israel a thousand-fold.  The Greek LXX term is an old form of chilioi g5507; a number literal, figurative, or representative.  Here, 1,000 represents a large multiple.

De.7:9 “God keeps covenant with those who do His commandments to 1,000 [g5507] generations.”  Or, “to the 1,000^th generation”.  If a generation is 20 years, then 1,000 generations spans 20,000 years.  40-year generations would span 40,000 years!  After 20,000–40,000 years, at generation 1,001 God wouldn’t fail to keep His covenant, would He?!  Here, 1,000 basically denotes a large number.

1Ch.16:15 “Be always mindful of His covenant which He commanded to 1,000 [g5507] generations.”  This reminder was given several generations later (since De.7:9).  Again, 1,000 denotes a large number.

De.32:30 “How could one [enemy] chase 1,000 [Israelites] and two rout 10,000?”  The LXX terms are g5507 for 1,000 and g3461 for 10,000.  The numbers are figurative.  One might chase 990…or 1,010+!

Jg.1:4 the men of Judah slew 10,000 (deka chilias g5505) men.  Cambridge Bible Jg.1:4 “10,000 – a common round number.”  In Jg.3:29, “about 10,000” (hosei deka chilias g5505) men of Moab were slain.  In both verses, 10,000 is an approximation or indicative of a large number.  cf. Lk.14:31.

Jsh.23:10 “One of you [Israelites] chased 1,000 [g5507]; the Lord fought for you.”  A figurative 1,000.

Is.30:17 “1,000 [g5507] shall flee at the threat of one man.”  1,000 is figurative/representative here too.

In the above three verses with 1,000…Moses, Joshua, Isaiah all were using representative or figurative language.  Barnes Notes Is.30:17 “The number ‘1,000’ is for a large indefinite number.”  Ellicott Commentary Is.30:17 “The hyperbole is natural and common enough.”  cf. 1,000 (g5507) in Am.5:3.

Ps.91:7 LXX “1,000 [g5505 copyist error?] shall fall at your side, and 10,000 at your right hand; but it shall not come near you.”  This is hyperbole.  If 1,001 or 10,001 were to fall, would you then fall too?

2Sm.18:12 “Even if I had 1,000 [g5507] pieces of silver in my hand, I would not raise my hand against the king’s son….”  Here, 1,000 is hyperbolic.

This survey of verses which reflect “one thousand/1,000” is rather detailed.  So far, only a couple verses have been referenced where one thousand/1,000 is clearly literal.

This topic is continued and concluded in “Thousand (Years)’ in the Bible – (2)”.

Day of Atonement (2) – in Revelation

This Part 2 is a continuation of “Day of Atonement (1) – Sacrificial Blood”.  This topic’s foundational verses are addressed in Part 1.  Only the initial paragraphs from (1) are repeated here in (2).

In ancient Israel, the weekly 7^th day sabbath and the annual Day of Atonement (approximately Oct 1) were the only full sabbath days.  The Day of Atonement was the holiest day.  The Septúagint/LXX identifies the Day of Atonement as a double sabbath.  Le.23:26-32 LXX “On the 10^th day of the 7^th month is the day of atonement, holy to you. It is a perpetual precept throughout your generations in all your dwellings. It shall be to you a sabbath [Strongs g4521, Greek] of sabbaths [g4521].”  Le.16:29-31 LXX “On this day he [high priest] shall make atonement for you to cleanse you from all your sins before the Lord, and you shall be clean. It is a sabbath [g4521] of sabbaths [g4521] to you, and you shall afflict your souls [fast].”

Unlike God’s pilgrim temple feasts, the Day of Atonement (Yom Kíppur h3725, Hebrew) was kept in all their dwellings.  Jewish Virtual Library “The most important day of the year. It was said that even if all the other festivals were to be abrogated, the Day of Atonement…would remain.”  It was the Lord’s day.  And this annual double-sabbath was the only recurring day of fasting commanded by God.

Luke wrote in Ac.27:9, “Sailing was now dangerous, since the fast was already past”.  The Day of Atonement was then being observed within the Roman Empire.  Cambridge Bible “The fast here meant is that of the great Day of Atonement.”  Ellicott Commentary “The date may have been fixed on St Luke’s memory by St Paul’s observance of the Fast.”  The fact that Luke refers to it indicates the Day of Atonement was being kept by Jews, and probably by many Christians too, outside the Holy Land.  Adam Becker The Ways That Never Parted, p.268 “Gentile Christians from Syria-Palestine continued to celebrate Yom Kippur together with their Jewish neighbors until at least the 4^th century, as sermons by Origen and Chrýsostom prove.”  The Day of Atonement was a well-known occasion.

Some think John (a Jewish Christian) had been fasting when he received the book of Revelation.  John eats a scroll (Re.10:9-10), but no food is indicated.  Franklin Hall Glorified Fasting “The Revelation of Jesus Christ was given to John on the rugged Isle of Pátmos, where he’d been placed to starve to death. John converted his intended starvation into one of the greatest consecration fasts. Revelation of this kind almost always came to a prophet on an empty stomach.”  Also seen in Revelation, is atonement.

The Lord had instructed Moses/Israel in Le.25:8-10, “You shall sound the trumpet [LXX g4536] abroad on the 10^th day of the 7^th month, on the Day of Atonement you shall sound the trumpet. You shall thus set apart the 50^th year as holy, and proclaim liberty throughout all the Land unto all the inhabitants thereof. It shall be a jubilee for you.”  The Day marked the jubilee special event.  (Part of this verse was inscribed on the Liberty Bell at Independence Hall in Philadelphia, PA in 1752 AD.)

I awakened the sabbath morning of May 7, 2016 with Isaiah 58 impressed on my mind.  The chapter is about a proper fast.  Is.58 was traditionally read in the synagogue on the Day of Atonement!  The Lord instructed the prophet Isaiah in Is.58:1, “Shout aloud, don’t hold back. Raise your voice like a trumpet. Declare to My people their transgression.”  Proclaim it loudly, like the sound of a ram’s horn, a shofár (h7782).  In Is.58:1, the Greek LXX trumpet is g4536 Strongs.  Is.58:1 refers to the Day of Atonement.

God continued in Is.58:2-3, “Yet they [Israel] seek Me daily. ‘Why have we fasted’, they say, ‘and You don’t see? Why have we afflicted our souls, and You don’t notice?”  Though they afflicted their souls on Yom Kippur (Le.16:29, 23:27, Nu.29:7), their fast was insincere.  Pulpit Commentary Is.58:3 “The fast spoken of is probably that of the great Day of Atonement. The Day of Atonement was, like the sabbath, a day on which no work was to be done (Le.16:29).”  Ellicott Commentary Is.58:3 “Only one fast, the Day of Atonement, was prescribed by the Law.”  Benson Commentary Is.58:3 “Wherefore have we afflicted our soul’ – defrauded our appetites with fasting.”  To fast was to afflict one’s soul.

The Lord continued in Is.58:6, “Isn’t this the fast that I have chosen…?”  The Day of Atonement was set by the Lord.  Pulpit Commentary Is.58:6 “This passage stands like a homily for the Day of Atonement.”  God ordained it, not man.  It was the Lord’s day, quite unlike any other day!

We read in Le.25:9 and Is.58:1-ff that the trumpet sounded on the Day of Atonement (especially in the jubilee year).  It was the only double-sabbath day of the Lord.  It is present in the book of Revelation.

Re.1:9-11 “I, John…was on the island of Patmos. I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet [g4536], saying, ‘Write in a book what you see.”  Notice the similarity to Le.25:9 and Is.58:1.  It was on this holiest day of the year, the Lord’s Day of Atonement fast, when the trumpet was loudly sounded (Le.25:9).  John hears Jesus’ voice loud like a trumpet on the Lord’s Day (Re.1:10), and Isaiah was to raise aloud his voice like a trumpet on this fast day (Is.58:1).

John told Jesus’ message to the seven churches of Asia Minor in Re.2–3.  Then John writes in Re.4:1-2, “After these things I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven. And the first voice, which I had heard like a trumpet [g4536], said, ‘Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after these things. A throne was set in heaven, and One sat on the throne.”  John sees the heavenly sanctuary!

There was only one day of each year when man was permitted entrance to the Most Holy Place of God’s tabernacle/temple sanctuary.  (ref Part 1.)  On the Day of Atonement the high priest was allowed to approach the Lord who dwelt between the chérubim atop the ark.  That Day the trumpet sounded; the priest saw the ark.  John wrote in Re.11:19, “The sanctuary of God was opened in heaven, the ark of His covenant appeared in His sanctuary”.  John too saw the ark (containing the Decalogue) on that Day.

God had said in Is.58:13, “If you will turn away your foot from the sabbath, from doing your interests on My holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord”.  Ellicott Commentary Is.58:13 “The sabbath is as holy ground.”  Matthew Poole Commentary Is.58:13 “Whether we understand it of the occasional sabbath in solemn humiliations or otherwise set apart for sacred services, which is called a sabbath, Le.16:31 [Day of Atonement].”  The sabbath fast of Yom Kippur was the most sacred day.

Matthew Henry Commentary Is.58:14 “Even in Old Testament times the sabbath was called the Lord’s Day, and is fitly called so still; and for a further reason, it is the Lord Christ’s day, Re.1:10.”  Matthew Henry identified “the Lord’s Day” of Re.1:10 as a sabbath.

Whereas John refers to Sunday as the “first of the week” (Jn.20:1, 19)…not “the Lord’s day” of Re.1:10.  The Lord’s Day…“My holy day”…was a sabbath.  (also see the topics, “Sabbath 7^th Day” and “Sabbath Day Became Sunday in Rome”.)

Wikipedia “The shofar is blown in synagogues at the end of every Yom Kippur. The Rabbis created the practice of the Shofar’s sounding every Yom Kippur rather than just on the Jubilee (once in 50 years).”

Yet that Lord’s Day sabbath of Re.1:10 may have been an actual Jubilee Day of Atonement!

The prophet Ezekiel recorded years by counting from their captivity and/or the jubilee year.  Each new jubilee cycle was proclaimed by a trumpet sounding on the 10^th day of the 7^th month…Yom Kippur.

Ezekiel wrote in Ezk.1:1-2, “In the 30^th year…I was by the river Chebár among the exiles. In the 5^th year of King Jehoiachín’s exile, the word of the Lord came to Ezekiel the priest in the land of the Chaldeans by the river Chebar.”  ref 2Ki.24:10-16.  The river Chebar in N. Mesopotámia flows into the Euphrates.  King Jehoiachin/Jeconiáh/Coniah and Judah were taken captive by Babylon in 597 BC.  Jewish Virtual Library “In the winter of 597 BCE Nebuchadnézzar exiled him.”  The 5^th year of exile was 592 BC.

Later Ezk.40:1-3, “In the 25^th year of our exile, at the beginning of the year, on the 10^th of the month in the 14^th year after the city was taken, on that same day the hand of the Lord was upon me. In the visions of God He brought me into the Land of Israel and set me on a very high mountain.”  The previous civil year ended as the new year began near the autumnal equinox (Sep 20), see Ex.23:16 & Ex.34:22.  New Year’s Day was Rosh Hashánah, the 1^st day of the 7^th month Tíshri.  The 10^th of the month was the Day of Atonement (followed by the Feast of Ingathering/Booths).  Jerusalem was destroyed in 587-586 BC.

God gave Ezekiel visions on that jubilee Day of Atonement!  The year was 573-572 BC.  Ezekiel was fasting.  The “30^th year” prior to Ezk.1:1 was the previous jubilee of 622 BC.  Barnes Notes Ezk.40:1 “If that was a jubilee year, which is highly probable, this vision also falls in a jubilee year. The jubilee year began with the month of Tishri, a sufficient reason for speaking of the time as ‘the beginning of the year.’ The 10^th day of this month was the day of atonement, Le.16:29-30.”  The civil year (not the sacred year) began on Tishri 1.  Geneva Study Bible Ezk.40:1 “This is to be understood as September.”  Rodger C. Young The Jubilee and Sabbatical Cycles “The prophet Ezekiel, aware that the Day of Atonement in his 25^th year of captivity would mark the beginning of a year of Jubilee….”  Jacob Milgrom Ezekiel’s Hope “The probable reference of the ‘25^th year’ to the jubilee year, which begins in the fall (Le.25:9).”  622 – 50 = 572.

Chronology of Jubilees “It can more firmly be established that Ezekiel could have received his vision of a new Temple around the time of a 50^th year of a 50-year cycle. Essentially, the year 572 BC hypothetically did correspond with around the time of a jubilee year.”  Yom Kippur proclaimed jubilee.

rootsweb.ancestry.com Ezekiel 1:1-2 & Ezekiel 40:1 “The final year or the Jubilee year which began on the 10^th day of the 7^th month on the 49^th year and then concluded with the 50^th year. Now one should be able to see that if the 5^th year of king Jehoiachin’s captivity was in fact the 30^th year of the Jubilee count and that 20 years passes that it would then be the 50^th year or the Jubilee year in which King Jehoiachin’s 25^th year of captivity came to pass as the scripture gives note.”  Ezekiel noted it.

The remainder of the book of Ezekiel, chapters 40–48, consists of the awe-inspiring visions God gave beginning on that Day of Atonement fast!  Pulpit Commentary Ezk.40:1 “Of the prophet’s [Ezekiel’s] utterances, it was beyond question the grandest and most momentous.”  Given him on that Lord’s Day.

Similarly, it seems the awesome visions which John recorded in Revelation came on the Day of Atonement, centuries later!  The day wasn’t just some Sunday.  Continuing in Ezk.40 are verses which compare with Revelation.  Ezk.40:2 & Re.21:10 both Ezekiel and John envisioned a very high mountain.  Ezk.40:3 & Re.11:1 both Ezekiel and John envisioned a measuring rod.

Also on Yom Kippur, God executed His judgment of His people, sealing the verdict.  Again Re.4:1 “I saw a door standing open in heaven.”  That was between the Holy Place and Most Holy Place on the Day of Atonement.  v.2 John sees the throne inside the Most Holy Place on that Day.

Re.8:1-3 “When He [Jesus the Lamb] broke the 7^th seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. Another angel came and stood at the altar, holding a golden censer; and much incense was given to him to offer with the prayers of all the saints upon the golden altar before the throne.”  (He.9:3-5 describes the earthly sanctuary type of the heavenly. “There was a sanctuary called the Holy of Holies, having a golden altar/[censer] of incense and the ark of the covenant. Above it were the cherubim….”)

Continuing with Re.8:4-5, “The smoke of the incense with the prayers of the saints went up before God. And the angel took the censer and he filled it with the fire of the altar and threw it to the earth [Land].”  The high priest took a golden censer into the Holy of Holies only on the annual day of atonement.

Following is Isaac Newton’s commentary tying Re.8:1-5 to the Day of Atonement…William Whitla Sir Isaac Newton’s Daniel and the Apocalypse, p. 314-315: “The 7^th seal was therefore opened on the day of expiation [day of atonement], and then ‘there was silence in heaven for half an hour. And an angel (High-Priest) stood at the altar having a golden censer; and there was given him incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all saints, upon the golden altar which was before the throne.’ The custom was….while he offered the incense, the people prayed without in silence, which is the silence in heaven for half an hour. When the High-Priest had laid the incense on the Altar, he carried a Censer of it burning in his hand, into the most holy place be­fore the Ark. ‘And the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, ascended up before God out of the angel’s hand.”

But in Re.8:5, the angel overturns the golden censer, to pour out God’s judgments upon the Land!  The Lord chooses to ignore prayers of Judah, and refuses the atonement.  Ellicott Commentary Re.8:5 “As in the parallel vision in Ezk.10:2 when the man clothed with linen is bidden to ‘go in between the wheels, even under the cherub, and fill his hand with coals of fire from between the cherubim, and scatter them over the doomed city’; so here the ashes fall—the judgments are at hand.”  The doomed city in Ezk.10:2 also is Jerusalem (ref Ezk.8–11).  Jerusalem previously was destroyed in 586 BC.

Again, the ark in the Holiest Place was seen by man only on the Day of Atonement.  Re.11:19 – John Tudor Church of England Quarterly Review “The temple of God is then opened, and the ark of his testament seen, 11:19; and the voice issues from the throne, 16:17; both expressions equally denoting the holy of holies, which was only en­tered once a year….All the imagery in this poem was taken from the Day of Atonement—the golden censer, the incense, the deep affliction, the temple opened, and the ark seen indicating the opening of the veil on the day of atone­ment.”  Now let’s go to Re.15….

Re.15:5 “The tabernacle of the testimony is opened.”  God’s testimony was the Decalogue (Ex.31:18).  It was written on two tablets and contained in the ark, which was in the Holy of Holies.  The Lord’s judgment is based upon His commandments and principles.

Re.15:6 angels therein are clothed with linen (g3043).  Only on the Day of Atonement could the high priest enter the Holiest Place clothed in linen holy garments (Le.16:4, 23, 32 LXX), not his everyday priestly attire.  Matthew Poole Commentary Re.15:6 “These angels came in the habit of high priests.”

Blood was carried into the Most Holy Place.  The high priest sprinkled the blood of atonement seven times on the altar of incense before the Lord (Le.16:19).  But in Re.15:7, angels representative of the high priest have seven bowls filled with the blood-red wine of…the wrath of God (cf. Re.14:10)!

Re.15:8 “And the sanctuary was filled with smoke.”  A cloud or smoke-screen had protected, in a sense, the high priest in the sanctuary, lest he die (Le.16:12-13).  This event occurred only on Yom Kippur.

Then in Re.16, God executes His verdict/judgment.  Rosh Hashanah and the Days of Awe Lead to the Time of Judgment “Yom Kippur. That’s when the judgment falls.”  The bowls containing God’s blood-red wrath…are poured out upon the Land!  Re.16:3-5 two angels pour out their bowls; the sea, rivers, springs became blood!  Josephus Wars of the Jews 3:10:9 “The lake [of Gennesarét] is all bloody, and full of dead bodies.”  That was the Sea of Galilee during the Roman-Jewish War of 66–70 AD.

Peter J. Leithart Atonement Inverted (9/25/2015) “Though the Jews who killed Christians think they are doing service to God, this offering is rejected, and the blood is instead poured out on the land.  Instead of cleansing the land, this rejected atonement pollutes it.”

This inversion atones for the innocent blood shed in the Land.  Re.16:6-7 “For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and Thou have given them blood to drink. They got what they deserved.”  Blood for blood.  The blood of martyrs is figuratively poured back upon the guilty Land, defiled with blood.

In Mt.23, Jesus had prophesied woes upon the Jewish leaders who opposed Him.  Mt.23:33-37 “You serpents, you brood of vipers. Upon you shall come the guilt of all the righteous blood shed on the earth [Land]. Truly I say to you, all these things shall come upon this generation. O Jerusalem, you that kill the prophets.”  The Lord declared His judgment upon those responsible for the blood of righteous Israelites & Jewish Christians.  It happened.

Le.24:17 “If a man takes the life of any human being, he shall surely be put to death.”  The lifeblood of man atones for the blood of man.

Atonement makes possible the reconciliation of man, and even God’s creation, to God.  It involves His judgment.  Nu.35:33-34 “You shall not pollute the Land in which you are; for blood pollutes the Land and no expiation can be made for the Land for the blood that is shed on it, except by the blood of him who shed it. You shall not defile the Land in which you live, in the midst of which I dwell.”

Leithart op. cit. “Here [in Re.16], the blood of the saints is poured out on the land, and calls up an avenger of blood who will bring the blood of the killers to return on their own heads.”

Centuries earlier, the Lord had denied the atonement for the northern kingdom of Israel.  He sent them into captivity to Assyria in 721 BC.  Later, the Lord denied the atonement for the southern kingdom of Judah.  He sent them into captivity to Babylon; Nebuchadnezzar destroyed Jerusalem in 586 BC.  Likewise, the Lord denied the atonement for Judah after Jesus was crucified.  Titus destroyed Jerusalem in 70 AD.  For more on this aspect of God’s justice, see the topic “Babylon the Great’ in Revelation”.

In conclusion…the book of Revelation, the judgment of God and the wrath of the Lamb (Re.6:16-17, Lk.23:28-30) may seem severe.  But God is just and fair.

The good news for Israel is…Israel and the Jewish people can be re-grafted in!  The apostle Paul wrote in Ro.11:21-26, “Behold the kindness and severity of God. If they [Israel] don’t continue in their unbelief…God is able to graft them in again. And thus all Israel shall be saved.”

“All Israel” includes the Jews.  Paul didn’t know dates…but in God’s good time.  The Lord loves the Jewish people.  As discussed in Part 1, Christ’s atoning blood applies to all peoples, through faith (Ro.3:23-25).  And the final chapters of Revelation are the silver lining after the storm.  Praise the Lord!

The Last Days

There are various eschatologies, interpretations and theories extant regarding the time of the “last days” referred to in the Bible.  And the time of the “last days” is also closely related to the Biblical “end of the age” (not the ‘end of the world/globe’) and the “coming” of Christ.

As we examine this topic…can we trust the Bible scriptures as being God-breathed?  2Ti.3:16 Paul wrote regarding the Old Testament (OT), “All scripture is inspired by God”.  God’s Holy Spirit (HS) doesn’t make mistakes.  But there are those who think not all scripture or Bible books are inspired by God.

Let’s look at New Testament (NT) writings about the last days, the end of the age, and Jesus’ coming.

Ac.2:16-17 “What you see was spoken by the prophet Joel, ‘It shall be in the last days.”  Circa (ca) 30 AD at Pentecost in Jerusalem, the apostle Peter indicated the HS outpouring they were seeing there was happening in the last days.

Ja.5:3 “In the last days you have stored-up your treasure.”  Writing in the 50s AD, Jesus’ relative James referred to that time as the last days.

He.1:1-2 “God in these last days has spoken to us by His Son.”  The writer to the Hebrews in the 60s AD called that time the last days.

He.9:26 “Now once in the end of the age [aión Strongs g165, Greek] has He [Christ] appeared.”  Christ’s 1^st century sacrifice (ca 30 AD) occurred in the end of the age.  (But which “age” or eon?)

1Co.10:11 “…things written for our admonition, upon whom the end of the age are come.”  Writing to the Corinthian church in the 50s AD, the apostle Paul thought that time was the end of an age.

Ja.5:8-9 “The coming of the Lord draws near; the Judge is standing right at the door.”  In the 50s AD, James said the Lord was even at the door…His coming in judgment was near!

He.10:37 “Yet a little while and He that shall come will come, and will not tarry.”  In the 60s AD, Jesus’ coming will occur in only a little while, and won’t delay.

Re.1:1 “To show things which must soon [táchos g5034, noun] come to pass.” KJV “shortly”.  Thayer’s Greek Lexicon says this term meant “quickness, speed”.  The same term was used in Ac.22:18 when Paul recounted how the Lord had urged him. “Hurry and go out in haste [g5034] from Jerusalem, for they will not receive your testimony about Me”.  Needless to say, Paul didn’t stay in Jerusalem for centuries…he departed soon (ref Ac.9:28-30)!

1Jn.2:18 “Children, it is the last hour [hóra g5610]; even now many antichrists have arisen; from this we know that it is the last hour.”  At the time John wrote that epistle, he and others knew it was then the final hour, so to speak!  It was then the last hour of the last day of the last days!  An end was very near.

This same Greek term is translated “hour” 89 times in the KJV.  For example, in John’s gospel.  Jn.1:39 “It was about the tenth hour [g5610].”  Jn.11:9 “Are there not twelve hours [g5610] in the day?”

Also of note, there were already many antichrists on the scene while the apostle John was still alive to write his epistles!  ref 1Jn.2:18, 22, 4:3; 2Jn.1:7.  (also see the topic “John Wrote Five Bible Books?”.)

Let’s pause here.  Again, the Holy Spirit doesn’t err.  Do we believe the HS spoke through John, Peter, the epistle to the Hebrews, James, Paul?  For that matter, do we believe the OT…what God said to Moses and the prophets?  Do we believe their prophecies about a Messiah?  Do we believe John and the other gospels about Jesus as Messiah?  If the NT writers quoted above regarding the last days, etc. were wrong, then what other portions or books of our Bible might also be untrustworthy?

John wrote in Re.1:3, “For the time is at hand [engús g1451, adverb]”.  Thayer’s engus “Near in time or position”.  Prophesied events were soon to begin.  Most Bible historians think the same John wrote Revelation and John’s gospel.  John used the identical Greek term in Jn.2:13. “The Jews’ Passover was at hand [g1451], and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.”  The time of that Passover was near, not centuries distant.  Mk.13:28 “When the branch of the fig tree puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near [g1451].”  And He.8:13 “The first covenant is growing old and near [g1451] to vanishing.”  The temple would soon be destroyed, and the Old Covenant ritualistic system vanished then (not 2,000 years later).

Time was short when John wrote Revelation.  The latter 2^nd century Muratorian Canon list indicates Revelation was written during the reign of Nero (54–68 AD).  The Syriac version Preface to the book of Revelation reads, “The Revelation which was made by God to John the evangelist in the island of Patmos, where he was placed by Nero Caesar”.  Historians say that after Nero died in June 68 AD, exiles would’ve been released.  The temple was still standing in 68-69 AD.  When Nero died, John would’ve left Pátmos.  So John wrote Revelation on Patmos ca 68 AD.  No NT book, not even Revelation, indicates the destruction of Jerusalem and its temple was a past event.  Re.11:1-2 the temple court (and Jerusalem, Lk.21:24) would be trampled by gentiles.  Accordingly, the temple was destroyed in 70 AD.

Re.22:10 “Don’t seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is near/at hand [g1451].”   John again uses the same Greek term as in Re.1:3.  And in contrast to what God had told Daniel for his prophecy, John was instructed to not seal the book of Revelation…it’s a revealing, not a concealing!

God had instructed Daniel in Da.12:4-9, 13. “Go your way Daniel, for these words are concealed and sealed up until the time of the end.”  As Da.8:26, the fulfillment was to be kept secret and delayed until the distant future.  Da.12:7 “At the completion of shattering the power of the holy people, these events will be finished.”  Until God’s people/Daniel’s people, the Jews, are crushed.  To be delayed until Re.10:6. “There be delay no longer.”  The fulfillment of Daniel’s prophecy is recorded in Revelation!

The 600 years from Daniel until John wrote Revelation is indicated as distant future.  So 2,000 years from John until now wouldn’t be termed…“at hand”!  The Lord doesn’t purposely confuse.  In the Bible, time is almost always denoted in man’s calendar terms of months, years, eras, etc.  And we saw in John’s gospel the manner in which John uses the koiné Greek term which meant “near/at hand”.

Jesus said in Re.22:7, “I AM coming quickly [tachú g5035, adverb]”.  In Jn.11:29, we see how John elsewhere used “quickly” g5035 (it’s not an idiom). “When Mary heard it, she arose quickly [g5035] and was coming to Him.”  It didn’t take her 2,000 years!  Also Mt.28:7 “Go quickly [g5035] and tell His disciples that He has risen from the dead.”  As John concluded Revelation’s final chapter…Jesus was then coming soon!  This Greek adverb g5035 occurs 13 times in the NT…it meant quickly.

Mt.24:1-3 Jesus told His disciples privately that the temple would be destroyed.  “Not one stone here shall be left upon another.”  The disciples asked Jesus, “When will these things be, and what will be the sign of Your coming and of the end of the age?”  When will the destruction occur and the age end?

The parallel account in Mk.13 identified four disciples present; Peter, James, John, Andrew (Mk.13:1-4).  This identity of who Jesus was speaking to largely affects the understanding of Mk.13!

Again, He.9:26 & 1Co.10:11 (ref the top) indicated the 50s–60s AD were at the end of the age.  Mk.13:5 Jesus told Peter, James, John, Andrew, “See to it that no one misleads you. Many will come in My name. But when you hear rumors of wars, the end is not yet.”  Jesus cautioned Peter, James, John, Andrew not to be misled by rumors.  Mk.13:14 “But when you see the abomination of desolation, then let those in Judea flee to the mountains.”  Jesus is addressing Peter, James, John, Andrew…they’re the “you”.  Some or all of them in earshot would still be alive at the time of the abomination of desolation!

Josephus recorded the words of high priest Anánus (murdered in 68 AD) in Wars of the Jews 4:3:10. “I had seen the house of God full of so many abominations, filled with the feet of the blood-shedding villains.”  Also Josephus wrote of Roman general Titus in 70 AD.  ibid. 6:4:7 “He went into the holy place of the temple with his commanders, and saw what was in it.”  That was an act of abomination!

Mk.13:18-19 Jesus instructed Peter, James, John, Andrew to “Pray that it may not happen in winter, for those days will be a time of tribulation”.  v.23 “Take heed; I have told you everything in advance.”  Peter, James, John, Andrew were informed in advance that the abomination of desolation, Jesus’ coming and the end of the age would occur during their lifespan.  Again, Jesus is specifically talking to them.  (A careful reading or rereading of Mk.13 should make this apparent.)

Mk.13:29-30 is key!  Jesus continued telling Peter, James, John, Andrew, “Even so, you too, when you see these things happening, know that He is near [g1451], right at the door. Truly I say to you, this generation won’t pass away until all these things take place.”  The generation of Peter, James, John, Andrew, to whom Jesus was speaking!  And when Jesus’ relative James wrote in the 50s AD, he knew Jesus was standing right at the door then, to come in judgment as Judge (Ja.5:9 quoted near the top).  Jesus concluded His Mk.13 discourse by telling Peter, James, John, Andrew, “What I say to you I say to all, ‘Be alert!”  To Peter, James, John, Andrew and all that generation in Judea…you be alert!

Mt.23:13-ff Jesus pronounced seven woes against those leading scribes & Pharisees who opposed Him.  v.33-36 “You serpents, you brood of vipers. Truly I say to you, all these things shall come upon this generation [geneá g1074, noun].”  The generation of those who opposed Him!  Jesus told His disciples in Lk.17:25 that “He must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation”.  Pulpit Commentary Lk.17:25 “The generation then living.”  Greek Bible scholar Spiros Zódiates on the meaning of the term geneá (g1074) here: “A multitude of contemporaries. Genea literally means a space of time. Jesus was telling them that this generation would not pass until all these things occurred, which has proven to be true. He was prophesying the destruction of their nation.”  Here genea didn’t refer to race, nativity.

The NT writers (quoted near the top) believed Jesus’ words…“generation” related to a space of time!  What would happen?  Jesus would come in judgment as Judge.  Mk.13:24-26 “The sun will be darkened and the moon will not give its light. The stars will be falling from heaven and the powers will be shaken. Then they will see the Son of Man coming in the clouds.”  Such language to the ancient Hebrews meant the Lord’s judgment.

In OT times there were other such ‘day(s) of the Lord’, His comings in judgment.  Is.13:1, 9-10, 13, 17 described a previous “day of the Lord” (v.9), when He came in judgment against Babylon.  v.10 “The stars of heaven will not flash forth their light; the sun will be dark, and the moon will not shed its light.”  Subsequently, Babylon (v.1) fell to the Medes (v.17) in 539 BC.  Notice the language similarity of the heavenly signs in Mk.13:24-26 above!

Also, apocalyptic language was used in Is.34:4-6 to describe the Lord’s judgment upon Edom.  Edom fell to Babylon in 583 BC.  Je.27:6 Nebuchadnézzar of Babylon was God’s servant.  God used human armies with human nature to perform His judgment upon peoples.

Also Ezk.32:2, 7-12 “Take up a lament over Pharaoh, king of Egypt. When I extinguish you, I will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon shall not give its light. All the shining lights in the heavens I will darken over you.”  Accordingly, Egypt fell to Babylon in the 580s BC.

Also ref Am.8:8-11, 14 about the doom/captivity of Samaria in 722 BC.  Also in Je.21:7 God said Judea would be besieged/destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar.  Je.4:16 “Besiegers come from a far country…against the cities of Judah.”  v.27-28 “I looked and the heavens had no light, the mountains were quaking, and the heavens above are dark.”  The first temple, built by Solomon, was destroyed in 586 BC.

Also Jg.5:1, 4-5, 20 “The mountains quaked at the presence of the Lord. The stars fought from heaven against Siserá.”  Sisera and the Canaanítes were defeated.

Even Ps.18:6-17, when David was saved from his enemy Saul by God’s hand. “The earth shook and quaked. He bowed the heavens. Hailstones and coals of fire. The foundations of the world were laid bare. He delivered me from my strong enemy.”

That’s enough examples to illustrate the point.  In the above passages, the language of apocalyptic hyperbole with heavenly signs and earth upheaval indicated such judgments/overthrow wasn’t of man’s devising.  Since mankind doesn’t have control over the heavenly bodies or earth shakings, such language showed the judgments were God’s doing (also using human agents/armies).  Those historical occurrences, as recorded in scripture and by historians…didn’t mean the end of the globe or of time!

In Revelation, John used apocalyptic language similar to that in the above OT passages.  John’s 4^th gospel doesn’t contain an account of Jesus’ Olivet prophecy (found in Mt.24, Mk.13, Lk.17 & 21 of the three synoptics).  John’s book of Revelation is like the Olivet Prophecy expanded extensively; about the destruction of Jerusalem and the end of that age.  (also see “Babylon The Great’ in Revelation”.)

Murdering the Son of God has been called history’s worst crime!  Between the 40-year generation of 30–70 AD, two covenants existed simultaneously in the Land…both the Old and the New.  It was the last days of the Old Covenant/Levitical priesthood/temple age.  It was the end of the age pertaining to God’s theocracy that had existed for 1,600 years!  It ended in 70 AD with the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple.  Le.26:14-46, De. 28 recorded the end of the Old Covenant age, 1,600 years in advance.

The Jewish Alfred Edersheim’s The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah, pp.444-5: “Judgment on their city and state, this destruction of their polity, was the ‘Coming of the Son of Man’ in judgment. The second appearance would be invisible but real. There were those standing there who would not taste death, till they had seen the destruction of the city and state. ‘This generation should not pass away.”

In Mt.16:27-28, Jesus told His disciples that He would come with His angels.  “There are some of those standing here who shall not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming.”  Some disciples would see His coming before they died, others would die prior to His coming.  Pulpit Commentary Mt.16:28 “This advent is doubtless the destruction of Jerusalem.”  Cambridge Bible “The fall of Jerusalem…best fits the conditions of interpretation.”  (If Jesus had in mind His Transfiguration which took place only a week later, Mt.17:1-8, it’d be senseless to contrast that some of His disciples wouldn’t die before then!)

In Jn.21:20-23, Jesus indicated to Peter that John might still be alive when He comes. “If I want him [John] to remain until I come, what is that to you?”  (Peter wouldn’t remain, v.17-19, 2Pe.1:14-15.)  Gill Exposition Jn.21:22 “Till He should come and take vengeance on the Jewish nation, in the destruction of their city and temple by the Romans…till which time John did live.”  Bengel’s Gnomen “The time of the Lord’s coming succeeds immediately after the destruction of Jerusalem…which advent John obtained the privilege of describing in the Apocalypse [Revelation].”  Also, Re.1:7 indicated that some who “pierced Him” (put Jesus to death) will still be alive at His “coming”.

Note: Paul didn’t walk with Jesus; Paul came along later (1Co.15:8).  It seems Paul wrongly thought that in his lifetime Jesus would return to earth in glory to fully rule and change the kósmos (g2889).  So Paul even advised saints in Greece not to marry!  What!?  Because Paul thought time was “short….the form of this world is passing away” (1Co.7:27-31).

Some Bible prophecies are open-ended concerning the time of their fulfillment.  Some prophecy and scenes of Revelation extend far into the future (e.g. Re.20-22).  But others do give time constraints.  Many books of the Bible were someone else’s mail, written to them specifically.  Revelation made imminent sense for seven churches of that era (Re.2-3).

Jesus warned one of those seven churches, Ephesus, in Re.2:5 KJV. “Repent, or I will come to you quickly [tachu g5035], and will remove your candlestick out of its place.”  The same Greek adverb tachu was examined above.  Today the site of Ephesus is abandoned ruins.  Jesus came to judge Ephesus many centuries ago.  He removed it!  The vanishing of the Ephesian church is mute testimony to the meaning of tachu/“quickly” in the book of Revelation!

Although moral principles of scripture do have universal application, not all prophecies pertain to all nations in all ages.  Prophecy concerning the age-ending destruction of the temple/Jerusalem, with Jesus coming in judgment against them…happened.  (By the way, I’m not a ‘full/hyper preterist’!)

Again, did the original apostles who spent 3 years with Jesus misinform the early church by saying the 1^st century AD was the last days and the end of an age?  Did the indwelling HS inspire their words?

In regards to the coming of Christ, a present-day church leader said, “We can forgive the disciples for thinking this was an event that would come in their lifetime”.  That man thought the disciples erred!

Scholars & intellectuals, such as Bertrand Russell, Albert Schweitzer, and others, understood the NT grammar did clearly reflect Jesus saying He would return during His disciples’ generation!  Those skeptics weren’t Christians; they just thought Jesus was a false prophet and NT writers had erred.

But Jesus wasn’t a false prophet.  He did as He said!  Jesus’ final red-letter words in our Bible are at the end of Revelation.  Re.22:20 “Surely I AM coming quickly [g5035].”  He came quickly, just as He said!  Jesus’ coming, in the sense understood by the apostles who walked with Jesus in the Land, who heard His Olivet prophecy…happened, as written.  1Jn.2:18 John wrote, it was then even the “last hour” (of the Old Covenant age).  John was correct.  That 11^th hour came and went nearly 2,000 years ago.

Theologian R.C. Sproul isn’t a full preterist.  The Last Days According to Jesus, p.169, 30 “…What is at stake here is the authority of Jesus, and we must be consumed with maintaining His authority. I am convinced that the substance of the Olivet Discourse was fulfilled in 70AD and that the bulk of Revelation was likewise fulfilled in that time-frame….No matter what view of eschatology we embrace, we must take seriously the redemptive-historical importance of Jerusalem’s destruction in 70AD.”

God’s judgment on Jerusalem/Judea and the destruction of the temple in 70 AD, as foretold by Jesus in the gospels…is proof that Jesus was a true prophet!  Jesus and primitive Christianity are for real!

Many churches and teachers could at least modify their eschatology, so they don’t make it seem that Jesus or His original apostles or the HS were in error.  Surely, God doesn’t make mistakes.  We can have trust and confidence that the written words inspired by the HS are true!

However, all the above (e.g. God’s judgment) isn’t to say that history can’t repeat itself, or that Jesus won’t come again (Jn.14:3, Ac.1:9-11, 3:19-21).  And we believe our God is a just Judge, and He is merciful!  Praise God!

 

‘Babylon The Great’ in Revelation

The book of Revelation originated with Father God (Re.1:1), who gave it to Jesus Christ, who revealed it to the apostle John.  John wrote it to seven (persecuted) 1^st century churches located along a mail route in Asia Minor (Re.1:4), western Turkey today.

The word of God is true (Jn.17:17)!  In Re.2:1-5, Jesus warned His church at Ephesus to repent, else He would remove it…Ephesus harbor is now a plain!  He removed it.  Re.3:14-19 Jesus warned the church at Laodicéa to repent.  It didn’t.  Consequently, the ruins of Laodicea are seen today.  Jesus does what He says He will do!

When John wrote Revelation, he used the apocalyptic method.  That is, to take predictions/prophecies which were unfulfilled in the literal sense, and recast or reinterpret them in hidden or symbolic terms.  (That was unlike the rabbinic methods.)  Identifying the original text of the book of Revelation (Rev) is difficult, as there are 500 variant terms in early manuscripts.  The book has been described as a revised Ezekiel and a commentary on Daniel.

The main text for this topic is Re.17:5-7. “Mystery Babylon the Great, the mother of harlots and abominations.”  Who was this symbolic or encoded mystical Babylon?  Babylon the Great originally wasn’t: New York City (with the woman Statue of Liberty in the harbor waters, as some view Re.17:1, she “who sits on many waters”), nor the USA, nor European Union nations, nor an Islamic block, nor modern Iraq, nor the Holy Roman Empire of the Middle Ages…nor ancient Rome.

Historically, in 586 BC King Nebuchadnézzar of Babylon (Chaldéan Empire) conquered Jerusalem and destroyed the first temple.  Jews were taken captive to Babylon.  Babylon was later judged, conquered by the Medes/Persians in 539 BC, and King Belshazzár was killed.  Is.47:1-3 the Medes exposed Babylon’s shame.  Je.51:6-9 relates to the ancient exit of Jews fleeing Babylon.  In 538 BC, Jews began returning to Jerusalem, bringing Babylonian influences with them.  Christian author Ron Dart wrote, “Roman Catholicism wasn’t the only gateway by which Babylonian mystery religions found their way among God’s people”.  The Jewish Babylonian Talmud, e.g., also contains religious traditions.

Da.7:1-3 while in Babylon, the Jewish prophet Daniel envisioned four Beasts, which represented gentile kingdoms.  Bible historians identify these as Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, Rome.  v.7 the 4^th Beast or empire, Rome, having 10 horns, was dreadfully strong.  Re.13:1 John sees this 4^th Beast, having 10 horns, on the scene 600 years later.  This Beast, Rome, direly affects the harlot in Re.17-18!

It is recorded in the Old Testament (OT) where some nations committed spiritual harlotry: Tyre (Is.23:17), Assyria/Nineveh (Na.1:1, 3:4), Egypt, Ephráim/Israel (Ho.5:3-4).  The northern kingdom of Israel’s adulterous harlotry resulted in God sending them into captivity to Assyria (721 BC).

Also, Judah/Jerusalem committed adulterous harlotry…ref Je.2:20, 28, 3:1-3.  God/Christ was spiritually ‘married’ to Israel and Judah.  Is.54:5 “Your Maker is your husband.”  The grievous end of that relationship was foretold in Ezekiel 16 & 23.  Especially note Ezk.16:1-2, 8-45, 23:1-5, 11-19, 45-49 (Sodom); as these two chapters will resolve in Re.17–18.

Is.1:1, 21 “The faithful city [Jerusalem] has become a harlot.”  The Lord is just, even in judging His wives – adulterous Israel & Judah!  Je.13:27 “As for your adulteries…Woe to you, Jerusalem.”  God wouldn’t allow her idolatry and abominations to forever go unpunished.  In De.28:49-68, Moses had warned Israel in prophecy that disobedience to their Lord would result in terrible consequences!

The expression “great city” (mégas pólis, Strongs g3173 g4172, Greek), is crucial to us understanding the identity of Babylon the Great, Re.17:5.  Re.11:8 “The great city, which mystically is called Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified.”  Here the great city is Jerusalem, recast as Sodom and Egypt.  Besides Re.11:8, other Rev verses which refer to mystical Babylon the great city/harlot are: 14:8, 16:19, 17:1, 5, 18, 18:2, 10, 16, 18-19, 21, 19:2.  (Finally, in 21:10, the great city is again identified as Jerusalem, but now she’s the holy new Jerusalem!…more on this aspect at the end.)

Jeremiah too had referred to Jerusalem as the “great city”!  Je.22:6-9 Septúagint/LXX “Why has the Lord done thus to this great city (g3173 g4172)?”  Josephus Wars of the Jews 7:8:7 “Where is not that great city, the metropolis of the Jewish nation.”  And ibid 7:1:1 “Jerusalem…a city of great magnificence, mighty of fame among all mankind.”  Jerusalem was renowned as a great city!

Re.17:9 “Seven mountains on which the woman sits.”  The woman/harlot/city is on seven mountains.  Historians say that Jerusalem and Rome both contained seven literal mounts or hills.  The seven hills of Jerusalem have been identified as: Acra, Antonio, Bezétha, Millo, Ophel, Moriah, Zion.  (Of note, the Vatican area was a later addition across the Tiber River from the traditional seven hills of Rome, which are on the east side.  The state of Vatican City doesn’t fit in Re.17:9.)

Re.17:16-18 “The Beast will make her desolate and burn her with fire.”  The Beast destroys the harlot city.  From this verse, it’s evident that the Beast and the harlot aren’t the same entity.  (Rome was never God’s wife anyway.)  The Beast/Rome/abomination who makes desolate…burned the harlot city with fire in 70 AD.  cf. again Ezk.16:41, 23:47, Je.22:7-8, where Ezekiel and Jeremiah prophesied that Jerusalem would be burned with fire!  Also Jesus’ parable of Mt.22:7. “The king sent his armies…and set their city on fire.”  Pulpit Commentary Mt.22:7 “The Romans, under Vespasian and Titus.”  (Also in Le.21:9, a Levitical priest’s harlot daughter in Israel was to be burned with fire!)

Rome, the Beast of Da.7:7 and Re.13:1, destroyed the harlot Jerusalem during the 3 ½ year period of 66–70 AD.  ref Re.12:6, Mt.24:15-16, 21 for this time of great tribulation!

That which Jesus said in the book of Revelation did happen to Ephesus and Laodicea, e.g….and most significantly to Jerusalem and Judea!  (This isn’t to say that prophecy can’t repeat itself.)  Re.18 detail:

Re.18:1-4 traditionally the saints in Jerusalem fled 60 miles east to Pella in 66 AD.  In Lk.21:11, 20-21, Jesus had said there’d be great signs and, “When you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, flee”.

In Wars of the Jews 6:5:3, Josephus recorded the amazing event of angelic armies seen in the clouds surrounding Jerusalem in 66 AD!  So did the Roman historian/senator Tacitus in The Histories 5:13, “There had been seen hosts joining battle in the skies, the fiery gleam of arms, the temple illuminated by a sudden radiance from the clouds.”  That’s historical evidence!  It’s reminiscent of when the Syrians attacked Israel around 800 BC. In 2Ki.6:15-17 the Lord opened the eyes of Elisha’s servant and, “Behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots all around Elisha”.  Heavenly hosts were seen by human eyes!

Babylon the harlot said in Re.18:5-7, “I sit as queen and am not a widow”.  Israel/Judah/Jerusalem was the figurative ‘wife’ of YHVH!  cf. Je.3:8.  A wife or queen can become a widow, but an unmarried woman cannot.  (The Tyndale translation also rendered Re.17:6 as “wife”).  Re.18:8-10 woes to the great city.  cf. Ezk.16:22-23 & Je.13:27 which reflect woes to Jerusalem.

Re.18:11-16 the harlot city’s wealth & adornment.  cf. Ezk.16:13-14 Jerusalem’s fame & adornment.  Jewish scholar Jacob Neusner of Harvard University wrote, “The only city which is differentiated from all other cities is the metropolis, the mother of cities, Jerusalem”.

Re.18:17-18 again, her burning.  Ge.38:24 the patriarch of the Jewish people, Judah, had declared against the woman who was pregnant with his own posterity…“Let her be burned!”

Re.18:19-23 & Je.7:32-34 glad voices of the bridegroom and bride would cease in Jerusalem/Judea.  In Wars of the Jews 5:12:3, the Gehenna valley was heaped with Jewish corpses from the Roman siege.

Re.18:24 when the autopsy was performed on the great harlot, the blood of prophets & saints was found in her!  The Greek term “ge”, g1093, can mean earth or Land.  Jesus had declared in Lk.13:33-34, “It cannot be that a prophet should perish outside of Jerusalem. O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, which kills the prophets.”  Stephen accused the Jerusalem court in Ac.7:52. “Which one of the prophets did your fathers not persecute?”  Ac.7:58 Stephen was then stoned to death in Jerusalem.  James, Jesus’ relative, was thrown down from the Jerusalem temple in 62 AD and killed (prior to 70 AD).

{Sidelight: Re.2:9 Jesus/John warned the church at Smyrna about the “synagogue of Satan”.  Jn.8:44 Jesus had called the Pharisees the “children of the devil”.  Jesus had warned His disciples would be flogged, cast out of the synagogues, killed (Mk.13:9, Jn.16:2).  Judea was justly punished by God.}

Re.16:18-19 “A great earthquake” occurred.  Josephus Wars 4:4:5 there were “concussions and bellowings of the earth” at the time Jerusalem was besieged.  Re.16:21 “Huge hailstones the weight of a talent.”  In Wars 5:6:3, Josephus wrote that stones thrown by catapults of the 10^th Roman legion weighed…a talent!  (In the Bible, hail may also symbolize government change of cataclysmic magnitude.)  Some of Josephus’ statements in Wars of the Jews seem like a parallel historical account or detailed commentary on the book of Revelation!  Further verse-by-verse detail of the destruction in Revelation would make this too lengthy.  (also see the topics: “The Last Days”, “Two Witnesses in the Bible”, “Day of Atonement (2) – in Revelation”, “John Wrote Five Bible Books?”.)

Jesus had said of the temple in Lk.21:5-6, “There will not be left one stone upon another which will not be torn down”.  After burning the temple cedars in 70 AD, the Roman soldiers tore down the temple stones to get at the melted gold which had congealed in the cracks!  Roman General Titus even tried to stop the temple burning…but to no avail.  Jesus’ prophecy was not to be denied.  It happened!

Jesus opposed the corruption and intolerance of the Jewish religious leaders of His day, and their oral additions to His written Toráh.  These additions survive in normative Judaism today.  Interestingly, they prefer the Babylonian Talmud to the Jerusalem Talmud, and many value it above the written OT!

A corrupt Jewish priesthood is cited back in Mal.2:11.  Many high priests were actually selected by the Greeks & Romans.  The priestly line of succession was violated.  Harvard’s Frank Moore Cross Canaanite Myth and Hebrew Epic “The Éssenes of Qumrán were a priestly party. The community referred to itself as the sons of Zadók. They heaped scorn and condemnation upon the ungodly priests of Jerusalem who, they argued, were illegitimate.”  This is Jewish history, not a biased anti-Semitism.

In surveying the New Testament books, the chief persecutors of Jewish Christians were disbelieving Jews, not Romans or gentiles.  e.g. 2Th.2:14-15 the Jewish apostle Paul affirmed that disbelieving Jews had “killed the Lord Jesus and the prophets”.  The expression “(of) the Jews” occurs 15 times total in the synoptic gospels, but 50 times in John’s gospel!  And it was John who wrote Revelation.  The allusions to the temple throughout Revelation don’t relate to Rome or gentiles.  e.g. Re.16:15 “Keep your garments” alluded to sleeping temple guards whose clothes could be set afire.

Le.26:18, 21, 24, 28 Moses had warned there would be increasing sevenfold intensities of punishment upon Israel for disobeying the Lord!  Correspondingly, Re.5:1, 6:1-ff reveals seven seals, Re.8 then seven trumpets of destruction, Re.15:6 culminating in seven last plagues of the wrath of God!  Re.6:16 during the seven seals those afflicted will say “to the mountains and rocks, ‘Fall on us”.  Jesus foretold they would be the inhabitants of Jerusalem. Lk.23:28-30 “Daughters of Jerusalem…the days are coming when they will begin to say to the mountains, ‘Fall on us.”  (Also ref Ho.10:1, 8-9 in regards to Israel. “They will say to the mountains, ‘Fall on us!’ You have sinned O Israel.”)  Not Rome’s church.

Then Re.19:1-2. “Hallelujah! God has judged the great harlot. He has avenged the blood of His bondservants upon her.”  The harlot city was burned, the temple destroyed in 70 AD.  God’s servants, including the faithful remnant of Judah, were avenged.  God is just.

Centuries before Jesus walked the earth, Jews had returned to Judea from Babylon.  The punishments in the book of Revelation primarily refer to Jerusalem the great harlot, and Judea.  Mic.3:12 prophesied “Zion will be plowed as a field, Jerusalem will become a heap of ruins.”  As fulfillment, the Romans plowed it over, and even refashioned Jerusalem as a gentile city in 135 AD.

Yet the book of Revelation has a glorious ending! Jerusalem/Yerushaláyim (h3389, Hebrew) is a plural term.  The book of Revelation is also…a tale of two cities!  F.M. Cross op. cit. “Essenes searched for prophecies of the end of days when they, the poor of the desert, would be reestablished in a new, transfigured Jerusalem.”  The older Jerusalem was made desolate.  But at the end of Revelation….

Re.21:1-2 “I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven.”  There’s another Jerusalem!  Re.21:9-10 “I will show you the Bride, the wife of the Lamb.’ And he carried me away in the Spirit and showed me the holy city Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven.”  Not the great city, old Jerusalem…but the holy city, new Jerusalem.  And there’s a new wife.  This new Jerusalem isn’t an adulterous harlot wife, but is a holy Bride.  The rest of Re.21 describes the glorious adornment of the Lamb’s faithful wife, new Jerusalem!

British historian Margaret Barker conveys a similar view of mystical Babylon in her book The Older Testament. “Jerusalem, restored Jerusalem [1^st century], was perpetuated in the apocalyptic tradition as Babylon, the place of great evil. The city of Rev.17 was not always Rome, for Rev.17:16 says that the ten horns of the beast, i.e. ten Roman rulers, would attack her. The image of the harlot city upon many waters had originally been applied to Jerusalem, drunk with the blood of earlier saints.”

Also Peter J. Leithart Between Babel and Beast, p.46 “The harlot-city of Revelation is not Rome, but Jerusalem….As in the Old Testament (cf. Ezk.16, 23; Hosea), Jerusalem has turned harlot.”

As for the Jerusalem temple doors, Josephus Wars 4:4:5 “Before these doors there was a veil of equal largeness with the doors. It was a Babylonian curtain, embroidered with blue & fine linen, and scarlet & purple. Nor was the mixture of colors without its mystical interpretation, but was a kind of image of the universe.” (ref the colors in Re.17:4.)  Amazingly, even the temple veil was mystical Babylon!

Old Jerusalem was mystical Sodom & Egypt (where our Lord was crucified, Re.11:8)…and Babylon.  The system is perpetuated in part by the Babylonian Talmud.  Talmuds are a mixture of good & bad.  Also the system may be churches that proclaim as God’s truth their own traditions which contradict or wrongly add to His written word.  And again, all this isn’t to say that prophecy can’t repeat itself.

Re.22:14 KJV “Blessed are they that do His commandments…that they may enter in through the gates into the city.”  The holy city, new Jerusalem.  By the grace of God, and through the sacrifice of Jesus/Yeshúa the Bridegroom…the saints will enter in!