Revelation

John Christopher Thomas, Frank D. Macchia

• Publisher: Eerdmans
• Year: 2016
• ISBN:
  9781467445023
• Topic: Theologie & Religion
• Subtopic: Biblischer Kommentar

The book of Revelation is perhaps the most theologically complex and literarily sophisticated — and also the most sensual — document in the New Testament. In this commentary John Christopher Thomas’s literary and exegetical analysis makes the challenging text of Revelation more accessible and easier to understand. Frank Macchia follows up with sustained theological essays on the book’s most significant themes and issues, accenting especially the underappreciated place of the Holy Spirit in the theology of Revelation.
 

Commentary

Prologue (1:1-8)

The first thing encountered by a hearer of Revelation is a prologue that contains the title of the book, a formal greeting that follows epistolary convention, a doxology, and two prophetic words.¹ The very first word encountered is ἀποκάλυψις (apokalypsis, “revelation, unveiling”). In early Christian circles a “revelation” is understood to be a revelatory word of the Spirit (cf. 1 Cor 14:6). Such a beginning suggests that all that follows is closely connected to the work of the Spirit.

The next words identify this work as a “revelation of Jesus Christ.” While grammatically this Greek phrase can mean a revelation given by Jesus (a subjective genitive) or a revelation about Jesus (an objective genitive), the book’s content reveals that this unveiling is both a revelation from Jesus and, at the same time, a revelation about Jesus.² Johannine hearers are not surprised to learn that this revelation “was given to him (Jesus Christ) by God,” for in John’s gospel the Son speaks only the things that the Father gives him to speak (cf. John 1:18; 8:28; 12:49-50; 14:10; 15:15; 17:8, 14). This revelation is given “to show his servants what is necessary to take place quickly,” with this verb “show” often used to “designate an unveiling of the future” (Rev 4:1; 17:1; 21:9-10; 22:1, 6, 8).³ “His servants” could refer to believers in general, but per its OT usage its occurrence here may anticipate the numerous mentions of prophets in this book and may even be evidence that the community of Revelation is a prophetic community.⁴ The revelation’s content is further identified as “that which is necessary to take place quickly.” Both the word δεῖ (dei, “it is necessary”) and the thought that the contents of the book must take place quickly indicate something of the urgency of this message.⁵

The revelatory chain of transmission continues to include Jesus’ angel and “John his servant.” The introduction of the angel in Rev 1:1 is a bit odd in that the angel does not really function as a guide until Rev 17. The order of the revelation’s transmission makes clear that Jesus Christ is not in a subordinate position to the angel but, as seen later, is so far superior that he is worthy of receiving worship alongside God. The verb “showed” indicates the manner of the revelation here described, carrying with it the idea of prophetic (Acts 11:28) and/or metaphoric (John 12:33; 18:32; 21:19) language, as this verb comes from the same word family as the preferred Johannine word for “sign,” suggesting a meaning that has a significance that transcends a literal or surface meaning.⁶

This revelation is entrusted to “his servant John,” a well-known prophetic figure in the Johannine community, possibly to be identified with John the Elder, likely author of other Johannine documents. It is this John “who has borne witness . . . to whatsoever he saw.” The significance of John’s bearing witness is clear from the dominance of the idea in John’s gospel, its prominence in Revelation, where one’s witness is intimately connected to one’s identity as a believer, and its close relationship to the witness or testimony of Jesus, the content of those things John saw. The content of this revelation is described as “the word of God and the witness of Jesus.” The phrase “the word of God” occurs at a number of places in Revelation (1:2, 9; 6:9; 19:13; 20:4; cf. also 17:17 and 19:9, where the plural “words” occurs). Reminiscent of numerous OT texts where a prophetic call is being recounted (Hos 1:1; Joel 1:1; Jer 1:2, 4, 11), it prepares the way for v. 3, where the book is referred to as “the words of this prophecy.” For Johannine hearers, the phrase may also point to Jesus, who is known as the Word of God in John’s gospel (1:1-18) and appears to be the one named “the Word of God” in Rev 19:13. The christological inference of the first phrase is made explicit in the second, “the witness of Jesus,” making clear that the content of the Revelation is not twofold (“the word of God and the witness of Jesus”); rather, these two phrases refer to the same reality, the second phrase clarifying the first.⁷ It is difficult not to see in this phrase, which occurs six times in Revelation (1:2, 9; 12:17; 19:10[2x]; 20:4), reference both to Jesus’ life and witness as evidenced in John’s gospel and to that which follows in Revelation, assuring the hearers of the continuity between this revelation and what is already known of Jesus.

The first of seven beatitudes found in Revelation occurs in v. 3 (also in 14:13; 16:15; 19:9; 20:6; 22:7, 14). This blessing is pronounced upon all those involved in the prophetic interpretive task. Specifically, this process includes a reader who reads aloud and those who “hear the words of this prophecy and keep the things written in it.” Both participles, “hearing” and “keeping,” are governed by the same article, which means that “those who hear” are identical with “those who keep.”⁸ “The words of this prophecy” indicate that this revelation stands in the tradition of the OT prophetic literature. In the Johannine literature those who hear Jesus believe in him (John 1:37, 40; 4:42; 14:28), belong to God (8:47), have eternal life (5:24), show that they are Jesus’ sheep (10:3, 8, 16, 27), and will rise from their graves (5:25, 28). In Rev 1:3 hearing the words of this prophecy entails the appropriate response to them,⁹ an emphasis reinforced by the blessing pronounced upon those who keep the things written in this book. Keeping the words or commands of Jesus entails more than simple conformity to a set of principles; it includes also an identification with and incorporation of the words and commands of Jesus. Such a response to his words results in eternal life (John 8:51-55) and a sharing in divine love (John 14:15-24; 15:10, 20; 17:6, 11-15). Hearing and keeping are no passive responses on the part of the prophetic community but entail active and sustained responses. The urgency of such responses is made clear by the words “for the time is near,” a second reference in these first three verses to the fact that the things described in this book are soon to take place.

The prologue gives way to the formal opening of this circular letter in verses 4-5a, where the standard A (author) to B (recipients) greeting found in a variety of letters in Greco-Roman antiquity occurs. John, named for a second time, is now identified as the author. The addressees are the seven churches in Asia. The number seven is not exclusive but inclusive, for it is a number of completion in Revelation.¹⁰ John is thus addressing all the (Johannine) churches in Asia.¹¹ The pronouncement of grace comes with the knowledge that the Logos is the one full of grace and that, out of his fullness, “we have all received one grace after another” (John 1:14, 16). Consequently, the grace conveyed in this greeting ultimately comes from Jesus Christ (John 1:17). On three occasions in John’s gospel, Jesus himself speaks peace to his disciples: in John 14:27, when the disciples face the prospect of his departure, and after the resurrection both to the disciples (20:19) and later to Thomas (20:26). This same peace is now spoken to the seven churches, who may also share with the disciples in John’s gospel a “troubled” context.

The gifts of grace and peace have a threefold origin, coming from “the one who is, who was, and is coming,” the seven Spirits, and Jesus Christ. This second mention of God underscores that there is no time at which God does not exist. Present, past, and future converge in his presence and being. The grace and peace that come from him have no limits in time. As with the seven churches, so reference to the seven Spirits implies completion, the fullness of the Spirit in the presence of the one who sits on the throne.¹² Though sometimes taken to be angelic beings,¹³ it appears that the “seven Spirits” refer to the Spirit himself. The intertext that converges with John’s experience here is likely Zech 4:2, where the seven-branched lampstand stands in the holy place in the temple.¹⁴ The description “the one who sits on the throne” affirms God’s sovereignty over all creation, and his throne is viewed in contrast to the thrones of others. The close proximity of the seven Spirits to the one who sits on the throne implies their nearness to God and the fact that, when they act, it is God himself who acts. This grace and peace thus come from the throne of God by means of the seven Spirits before the throne. These gifts also come from Jesus Christ, who is “the faithful witness,” a phrase that anticipates the connection between witness and death that the second description conveys. Jesus is also called “the firstborn of the dead,” making clear the connection between Jesus’ faithful witness and death, but at the same time underscoring that, though he experienced death, he is no longer dead. Jesus is also called “the ruler of the kings of the earth,” which indicates that this revelation of Jesus Christ makes known things about him not yet fully appreciated. In John’s gospel, Jesus is known to be the King of Israel (John 1:49), for a true Israelite declares him so (1:47). In Revelation, this reign now extends over all kings of the earth, a statement that would convey a sense of assurance in the face of the kings of the earth, often experienced in opposition to God and his kingdom, serving as a subtle indication of the later positive role of the kings of the earth in the New Jerusalem (Rev 21:24).

Reflection upon the extraordinary nature of Jesus Christ explodes into a spontaneous doxology of praise focusing upon three aspects of his redemptive work (vv. 5b-6).¹⁵ He is “the one who loves us.” The nature of this love for the community is reflected in John’s gospel. It is complete and ultimate — Jesus “loved his own until the end” (13:1). It is sacrificial; the Father (17:23) sent his Son into the world (3:16). Jesus’ love is also made known in 1 John 3:16, “In this we have known love, because that one laid down his life on our behalf.” Mention of “the one who loves us” continues the thought of Jesus’ death from v. 5 and anticipates the next description as he “who loosed¹⁶ us from our sins by his blood.” It is well known within the community that Jesus is the one who sets free from sin, for he is the “Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). This implicit paschal imagery points in the direction of the efficacious power of Jesus’ blood noted later in John’s gospel (6:53-56; 19:34), and made explicit in 1 John 1:7–2:2 and 5:6-7. The statement that Jesus loves us and destroyed our sins also prepares for the paschal imagery in Rev 5:6. The idea that Jesus destroyed sin is in continuity with 1 John 3:8, “The Son of God was manifested in order to destroy the works of the devil” (cf. 1 John 3:4-10). Jesus is also said to have “made us a kingdom, priests to God and his Father” (Rev 1:6). This kingdom is identified as “priests to God,” indicating that they are set apart for service unto him. As the book unfolds, there is a clear connection between their service to God, the effects of the blood of Jesus, and reigning with God (cf. esp. 5:9-10 and 20:6). By placing the object of the doxology first in the Greek sentence, emphasis is placed upon the worthiness of this one to receive praise, before praise is even given. It is to the one who has accomplished all these spectacular things that glory and honor are given eternally. In this first occasion of worship in Revelation, John leads the way in giving glory and honor to Jesus. The unlimited praise “for ever and ever” matches the unlimited worthiness of Jesus. The prayer “amen,” or “so let it be,” concludes the doxology.

At this point, two prophetic utterances explode upon the scene.¹⁷ These words continue the worship of Go...