666: WHAT DOES IT MEAN?

Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb and he spoke as a dragon.  (12)  He exercises all the authority of the first beast in his presence. And he makes the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast, whose fatal wound was healed.  (13)  He performs great signs, so that he even makes fire come down out of heaven to the earth in the presence of men.  (14)  And he deceives those who dwell on the earth because of the signs which it was given him to perform in the presence of the beast, telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the beast who[1] had the wound of the sword and has come to life.  (15)  And it was given to him to give breath to the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast would even speak and cause as many as do not worship the image of the beast to be killed.  (16)  And he causes all, the small and the great, and the rich and the poor, and the free men and the slaves, to be given a mark on their right hand or on their forehead,  (17)  and he provides that no one will be able to buy or to sell, except the one who has the mark, either the name of the beast or the number of his name.  (18)  Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for the number is that of a man; and his number is six hundred and sixty-six.  (Rev 13:11-18 NASB)

The world’s fascination with the number 666 seems to have no bounds.  In popular films and novels it is always connected with the devil or the occult.  In the comedy film The Burbs, neighbors of the strange, suspicious family the Klopecs decide to visit them and get acquainted.  But when they knock on the door, a loose house number flips over and changes the address from 696 to – you guessed it – 666, thus proving decisively that the Klopecs are evil!

Christians through the centuries have identified the beast from the sea in Revelation 13 as the Antichrist, the “man of sin” mentioned by Paul (2 Thessalonians 2:3 KJV, NKJV).  Speculations have run wild, especially in the last couple of centuries, as to who exactly this Antichrist might be, and the number 666 has often been considered the key to his identity.  By assigning numerical values to letters, interpreters have identified a wide variety of candidates from Nero Caesar[2] to Ronald Wilson Reagan (whose first, middle, and last names all have six letters!).[3]  Kim Riddlebarger’s comment shows the futility of modern speculation about the number 666:

The attempt to calculate the number of the beast using gematria (computing numerical value of letters) can also be problematic because this kind of methodology can be manipulated to refer to almost anyone, in what has come to be known in certain circles as the “pin the tail on the Antichrist” game.[4]

            John tells us in verse 18 that discerning the meaning of the number of the beast requires “wisdom” and “understanding,” not mathematical or kabbalistic acumen!  The word translated “calculate” in v. 18 is used only one other place in the New Testament – Luke 14:28 – where Jesus gives an illustration about counting the cost of a decision.  The idea is clearly one of using wisdom in evaluating a given situation.  In Revelation, as we have noted previously, numbers generally have symbolic significance, and so it is with the number 6 and its repetition in 666.

Throughout Scripture, and certainly in Revelation, the number 7 represents the fullness or completion of divine acts.  God’s work of creation was complete on the seventh day, and so He rested, signaling the fullness and completion of creation.  God’s judgments in the Book of Revelation are in groups of seven, symbolizing their fullness and completion.  The number six, on the other hand, represents humanity.  The man, created on the sixth day, was to bear the image of God’s character, the reflected glory of God. But he sinned, and in his fallen, distorted humanity, he continually comes short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23).  Satan would have mankind assert its independence from God.  Satan, the beast from the sea, and the beast from the earth (the false prophet) represent an unholy trinity dedicated to usurping authority from God, yet continually falling short.  The number of the beast, appropriately, is 666 – the three-fold assertion of fallen humanity.  The number three stands for perfection, as in the Triune God who is “Holy, Holy, Holy” (Isaiah 6:3). The number of the beast declares mankind in their alienation from God to be “perfect” in unholiness, spiritual lepers who ought to be crying out: “Unclean! Unclean! Unclean!”

A key point in this interpretation is the fact that New Testament Greek did not have the indefinite article “a,” as in “a man.”  The indefinite article is supplied in English translations where it is clearly needed, as in the phrase, “There was a man sent from God whose name was John” (John 1:6).  In Revelation 13:18, however, it is not clear that the indefinite article “a” is needed.  If we translate the Greek text literally, we read, “for it is number of man.”  Beale renders it, “a number of humanity.”[5]  The same grammatical construction is found in Revelation 21:17, where John describes the dimensions of the wall of the heavenly Jerusalem, saying the measurements were “human measurements” (NASB), or literally, “measurement of man.”

What does the number 666 represent, then?  Beale explains it well:

It is a number common to fallen humanity … This generic notion is consistent with 13:1, which affirms that the beast has its earthly origin in the sea of fallen humanity (See also 17:15).  The beast is the supreme representative of fallen humanity, separated from God and unable to achieve divine likeness, but always trying.[6]

 Can there be any doubt that the dominant “religion” in most of the world today is what we call “secular humanism,” the assertion that mankind is the supreme sovereign over both his own life and the destiny of this world?  Those who buy into that “religion,” and refuse to repent, do in fact bear the mark of the beast and the number of this name.  How much better to bear the seal of God, the name of God and the Lamb, our Lord Jesus Christ!

Copyright 2015 by Thomas L. Jones

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[1] Based  on the masculine pronoun in the Greek for “who,” the NASB seems justified in using the masculine personal pronoun for both the first beast and the second beast.  The ESV refers to the beast with the pronoun “it,” implying that the beast may be an impersonal entity rather than an actual human dictator.

[2] Riddlebarger, Kim.  The Man of Sin: Uncovering the Truth About The Antichrist.  Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Books, 2006, p. 111.  As Riddlebarger notes: “None of the church fathers, apparently, were aware of any connection between 666 and Nero.”

[3] Ibid., p. 111.  Note: Riddlebarger rejects this connection as ridiculous, as do I!

[4] Ibid., p. 111.

[5] Beale, G. K.  The Book of Revelation. Grand Rapids, Michigan/Cambridge, U.K.: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1999, p. 724.

[6] Ibid.  p. 724.

THE 144,000 OF REVELATION: WHO ARE THEY?

Next to the number 666, the number 144,000 is the most discussed and debated number in the Book of Revelation.  Interpretations range from that of The Watchtower Society of Jehovah’s Witnesses, who claim that the 144,000 sealed servants of God refer to members of their organization, to Classic Dispensationalists who see those thousands as Jews in the last days who are chosen witnesses during the Great Tribulation[i], to the growing number of commentators who see the number as symbolic of the whole company of believers in Christ.  Those in the last category can be divided into two camps: Those who see the 144,000 as believers from all epochs of redemptive history,[ii] Old and New Covenants up to the present and on to the culmination of this age; and those who believe it applies to martyrs during the end-time tribulation and judgments of God. [iii]

Both of these latter views see the number as symbolic, not literal.  There are good reasons for viewing this number as symbolic.  First, while the first mention of 144,000 sealed believers lists twelve tribes of Israel (Rev. 7:4-8), the verses following describe “a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, "Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!" (Rev. 7:9-10 ESV)  Then in Chapter 14 the 144,000 appear again:

Then I looked, and behold, on Mount Zion stood the Lamb, and with him 144,000 who had his name and his Father's name written on their foreheads. And I heard a voice from heaven like the roar of many waters and like the sound of loud thunder. The voice I heard was like the sound of harpists playing on their harps, and they were singing a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and before the elders. No one could learn that song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth. (Rev 14:1-3)

It would certainly seem that those who bear the name of Jesus (“the Lamb”) and God the Father, and who sing the new song are all the redeemed of God, regardless of ethnic background.  Verse 3 also states that they “have been redeemed from the earth.”  Mounce, a pre-millennialist, states: “The number is obviously symbolic.  Twelve (the number of the tribes) is both squared and multiplied by a thousand – a two-fold way of emphasizing completeness.”[iv]  While Mounce limits this “completeness” to “that generation of faithful believers about to enter the final turbulent period that will mark the end of human history,” Beale, an amillennarian idealist, sees the 12 x 12 x 1000 as the whole number of believers from Old Testament times through to the very end.  He relates the number to “the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband” (Rev. 21:2 ESV).[v]  John consistently uses the title “bride” to refer to the Church, those for whom He shed his blood on the Cross (John 3:29;[vi] Rev. 19:7; 21:2, 9; 22:17).  

I agree with Beale.  The Holy City described in Revelation 22 clinches it for me.  The angel clearly identifies the “city” as “the Bride, the wife of the Lamb" (Rev. 21:9).  Then he goes on to describe this Bride in richly symbolic terms:

Then came one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues and spoke to me, saying, "Come, I will show you the Bride, the wife of the Lamb." And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great, high mountain, and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God, having the glory of God, its radiance like a most rare jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal. It had a great, high wall, with twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and on the gates the names of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel were inscribed—on the east three gates, on the north three gates, on the south three gates, and on the west three gates. And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. And the one who spoke with me had a measuring rod of gold to measure the city and its gates and walls. The city lies foursquare, its length the same as its width. And he measured the city with his rod, 12,000 stadia. Its length and width and height are equal. He also measured its wall, 144 cubits by human measurement, which is also an angel's measurement. (Rev 21:9-17 ESV)

Look at the twelves in that passage!  Twelve gates have the names of the twelve tribes of Israel – a reference to Old Testament believers.  The twelve foundations of the wall of the city bear the names of the twelve apostles – a reference to New Testament believers.  And the wall is 144 cubits – 12 x 12.  Multiply 144 by 1,000 (indicating an innumerable company) and you get 144,000, the totality of the redeemed people of God.  And that “city?”  Are those measurements literal?

The city lies foursquare, its length the same as its width. And he measured the city with his rod, 12,000 stadia. Its length and width and height are equal. (Rev. 21:16 ESV)

The measurement “stadium” is equal to a furlong, or about 1/8 of a mile.[vii] The city described would be a cube of 1,500 miles!  Symbolic, don’t you think?

I find great blessing in the grand and glorious plan of God and its culmination in the glorification of all God’s redeemed children, united in the presence of God Himself!  “Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!” (Rev. 22:20)

Next: "666 -- What Does It Mean?"

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[i] Walvoord, John F. The Revelation of Jesus Christ. Chicago: Moody Press, 1971.

[ii] Hendriksen, William. (1967) More Than Conquerors.  Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Book House, 1967; Beale, G. K. The Book of Revelation. Grand Rapids, Michigan/Cambridge, U. K.: William B. Eermans Publishing Company, 1999.

[iii] Mounce, Robert H.  The Book of Revelation.  Grand Rapids, Michigan/Cambridge, U. K.: William B. Eardmans Publishing Company, 1977.

[iv] Ibid. p. 158.

[v] Beale, pp. 1076-77

[vi] This statement of John the Baptist might seem to imply that only the New Testament Church is the Bride, and that John does not include himself in that number.  The “Bride” is a corporate designation, not individual. Each believer is not personally “married” to Christ; each believer is a part of that corporate body that makes up the Bride.  John was simply saying that Jesus, not John himself, was the Bridegroom.  This does not exclude Old Testament believers from the body that makes up the “Bride of the Lamb.” 

[vii] American Heritage Dictionary

MY APOCALYPTIC JOURNEY

I promised in my last blog article that I would deal with the subject of the 144,000 in Revelation 7 and 14.  That I will do very soon, but I felt that I needed to explain first the pilgrimage I began years ago that has led me into a new understanding, not only of the Book of Revelation, but of God’s grand plan of redemption.

Having been nurtured spiritually on the New Scofield Reference Bible and educated in the Classic Dispensational system of interpretation, I found it hard to consider anything but a literal view of the numbers and names in the Book of Revelation, even though dispensational commentators themselves admitted that the book contains much symbolic language.  The dispensational mission board with whom I served for twenty years required missionaries to sign their statement of faith every year, and that dampened any impulse to question the validity of pre-millennial dispensationalism.  Still dispensational interpretations of certain Scriptures always bothered me.

When I became chaplain of the Hiawatha Correctional Facility in Kincheloe, Michigan, it happily occurred to me that my employer, the State of Michigan, was no longer requiring me to adhere to a particular doctrinal position.  I could explore every issue, every doctrine, in light of Scripture, allowing commentators from differing viewpoints to have their input.  As a result, the Scriptures took on new life!  My wife and I had new enthusiasm in our Bible study.  We also saw prophecy and apocalyptic Scriptures in a new light.

I saw more clearly than ever that each Bible student views the Scriptures through a set of prisms that organize the data into a system.  That is not necessarily bad, but we need to be careful that our system doesn’t take on the authority of Scripture itself, that we realize that our understanding is never infallible.  I recently bought an instrument that most people consider a toy: a kaleidoscope.  I hadn’t looked through one since I was a kid.  The kaleidoscope holds a lesson for everyone who wants to interpret and understand the Bible.  The same little pieces of plastic lie in the bottom of the lens, yet as you look through the scope and turn the outer chamber, ever so slightly, the whole pattern changes!  What might be predominantly red and purple flowers in separate groups suddenly transform into one large pattern of green and yellow mixed with flecks of red and orange!  Now don’t take this illustration too far: I’m NOT SAYING that the Bible can mean different things.  I’m just illustrating how the same bits of information – Scriptural statements and passages – can form different patterns depending on our presuppositions, and if we never bother to turn the “prism,” we would never see anything but the one pattern.  I decided to turn the prism on prophetic and apocalyptic Scripture, and it has been very rewarding.

One of the first books I explored was a very helpful book titled, Plowshares and Pruning Hooks: Rethinking the Language of Biblical Prophecy and Apocalyptic, by D. Brent Sandy.[1]  Another helpful book was Four Views on the Book of Revelation, C. Marvin Pate, Gen. Ed.[2]  That was followed by Understanding Dispensationalists, by Vern S. Poythress.[3]  Then I took the bold step of buying and reading Kim Riddlebarger’s A Case for Amillennialism.[4] Most recently I have been working my way through G. K. Beale's commentary on the Book of Revelation, along with my own studies in the Greek text of Revelation.

What I have discovered has been a blessing beyond my expectations!  The Book of Revelation itself promises: “Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy . . .” (Rev 1:3a).  Yet, according to the Classic Dispensational viewpoint, the Church is gone after Rev. 4:1, raptured, and God returns to dealing with ethnic Israel. What’s more, the numbers in Revelation were to be taken largely as literal.  When I began to question that presupposition, Scripture in general began to make more sense to me, not only, but especially, the Book of Revelation.

I found that there is great blessing in the imagery and symbolism of Revelation, and it’s not difficult to understand. There is sound exegetical and hermeneutical[5] grounds for the symbolic interpretations. The Book of Revelation was intended by God to be an encouragement and a preparation for His people as we face the trials and challenges of serving Christ in this increasingly godless world.  We know that The Lamb of God will overcome!  His Kingdom will come!  “Even so, come Lord Jesus!” (Rev. 22:20b)

Copyright 2015 by Thomas L. Jones

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[1] Sandy, D. Brent.  Plowshares and Pruning Hooks: Rethinking the Language of Biblical Prophecy and Apocalyptic.  Downer’s Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 2002.

[2] Pate, C. Marvin, Gen. Ed.  Four Views on The Book of Revelation. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Publishing House, 1998.

[3] Poythress, Vern S.  Understanding Dispensationalists, 2^nd Ed. Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing, 1994.

[4] Riddlebarger, Kim.  A Case for Amillenialism: Understanding The End Times. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Books, 2003.

[5] Exegesis is the process of observing what a text is actually saying, literally “reading out” a text, as opposed to reading something into a text!  Hermeneutics is the science of interpreting a text.

THE SEAL OF GOD VS. THE MARK OF THE BEAST

Now the glory of the God of Israel had gone up from the cherub, where it had been, to the threshold of the temple. And He called to the man clothed with linen, who had the writer's inkhorn at his side; and the LORD said to him, "Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and put a mark on the foreheads of the men who sigh and cry over all the abominations that are done within it." To the others He said in my hearing, "Go after him through the city and kill; do not let your eye spare, nor have any pity. Utterly slay old and young men, maidens and little children and women; but do not come near anyone on whom is the mark; and begin at My sanctuary." So they began with the elders who were before the temple.  (Ezekiel 9:3-6)

Then I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God. And he cried with a loud voice to the four angels to whom it was granted to harm the earth and the sea, saying, "Do not harm the earth, the sea, or the trees till we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads." (Revelation 7:2-3 compare 14:1)

He [the beast from out of the earth] causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads, and that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. (Revelation 13:16-17)

Then a third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, "If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives his mark on his forehead or on his hand, he himself shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out full strength into the cup of His indignation. He shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. (Revelation 14:9-10)

And I saw something like a sea of glass mingled with fire, and those who have the victory over the beast, over his image and over his mark and over the number of his name, standing on the sea of glass, having harps of God.  (Revelation 15:2)

So the first went and poured out his bowl upon the earth, and a foul and loathsome sore came upon the men who had the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image.

(Revelation 16:2)

And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was committed to them. Then I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. (Revelation 20:4)[i]

            During the 1960’s and ‘70’s there was a great deal of hysteria regarding the Antichrist and the “mark of the beast,” fired up by popular TV and radio preachers and books on the End Times.  Many back then speculated on exactly what the “mark of the beast” would be, and what the “number of his name” meant.  Even today many sincere Christians – and some non-Christians fascinated with prophecy – are concerned that the government might require them to receive some sort of mark or implanted chip for identification, and that this might be the mark that condemns them before God.  While they focus on a feared physical mark, most people in this world miss the vitally important spiritual meaning of the passages quoted above.  External symbols can neither save us nor condemn us. It is the condition of the heart that we must examine.

The key to understanding the Book of Revelation[ii] is recognizing its richly symbolic and metaphoric nature.  The images of a seal, a mark, the forehead, and the hand, are all symbols of spiritual realities. When Moses exhorted the new generation of Israelites who were entering the Promised Land to remember and obey God’s commandments, he said,

And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. (Deuteronomy  6:6-9)

"Therefore you shall lay up these words of mine in your heart and in your soul, and bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. (Deuteronomy 11:18)

Though Israelites then, as well as Jews today, have taken literally the binding of commandments on their hand and between their eyes, and thus have made phylacteries and mezuzahs to show honor to the Torah, these passages in Deuteronomy clearly command that God’s words are to be “in your heart and in your soul.”  It’s not difficult to discern the spiritual meaning behind symbols like “hand” -- what we do -- and “between your eyes,” -- what we see -- and since “frontlets” would be on the forehead, God’s word should guide what we think.

In the Book of Revelation, two groups of people are said to be “sealed” with a mark on their foreheads or their hand: The servants of God and the worshipers of the Beast, the devil incarnate.  A seal can mean several things in Scripture, but in this context two aspects are certain: It signifies ownership and protection.  God seals those who belong to Him, and he guards their faith, keeping them from spiritual harm from their enemies and physical harm from His judgments which will fall on the wicked.  On the other side are those who identify themselves with the Beast, the representative of Satan, “the god of this age” (2 Corinthians 4:4).   

God’s seal on His children protects them spiritually.  As G. K. Beale points out: “The nature of the protection is spiritual.  This is apparent from the fact that believers and unbelievers suffer similar physical afflictions . . . But, whereas these trials purify God’s servants, they harden the ungodly in their response to God (so 9:19-20)."[iii]  In Ephesians 1:13 we read: In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise . . .  And again in Ephesians 4:30 we are admonished:  And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.  The Holy Spirit of God is the seal on God’s children, and by that indwelling Holy Spirit, we bear the Name of God – the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  (Compare Revelation 14:1)[iv]

On the other hand, those who cherish their life in this world more than life eternal are those who worship the Beast.  Jesus said, For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. (Matthew 16:25)  In Revelation, John assures us that those who follow Jesus to the death will be victorious over Satan:

Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, "Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down. And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.

(Revelation 12:10-11)

Clearly, God’s people are marked, but that mark is not a physical but spiritual mark.  Just as the angel in Ezekiel 9 marked all those in Jerusalem who sighed and cried over all the abominations done in that city, God has marked, and will mark, all those who choose to follow Jesus and mourn over the abominations being committed in this evil world.  Blessed are those who mourn, Jesus said, for they shall be comforted.  (Matthew 5:4)

If the mark of God is a spiritual mark, it seems clear that the mark of the Beast is also a spiritual mark.  The location of the mark is also packed with symbolic meaning.  Those who follow the Beast, the Antichrist, do the will of the devil (mark on the hand), and they think like the devil (mark on forehead). 

But if this mark of the Beast is not a physical mark, how is it that those who do not have the mark will not be able to buy or sell?  The Greek word for “mark,” charagma, “was used for the emperor’s seal on business contracts and the impress of the Roman ruler’s head on coins.” (Beale, p.715)  During the persecutions under Emperors Diocletian and Decius, certificates were issued to those who offered incense to the image of the emperor, and those certificates authorized the person to buy and sell.  G. K.  Beale explains the symbolism of the mark in Revelation:

The “mark on the forehead,” which is “the name of the beast” and “the number of this name” (so v. 17), is the parody and opposite of the “seal” in 7:3-8, which is the divine “name written on the foreheads” of true believers (14:1; so likewise 22:4; 3:12)  

Since the seal of true believers is invisible, so also is the "mark" on the unbeliever.  That the two are parallel in being spiritual in nature and are intended to be compared is evident from the immediately following mention of God and Christ's name "written on the foreheads" of the saints (14:1). (p. 716) 

The ungodly world has always been able to identify its friends and its enemies.  Christians all over the world are being denied access to basic necessities because of their loyalty to Christ.  And even in America, Christians are being discriminated against for their stand against evil laws enacted by state, federal, and local governments.  Ungodly society also knows who its friends are, even when they masquerade as Christians! 

Lots of people today are carrying around “the mark of the Beast” and don’t even know it!  Even many who profess to be Christians!  In my decades of ministry I have met professing Christians who were living in immorality, all the while firmly declaring that they would never accept “the mark of the Beast” on their hand or forehead!

What spiritual seal, what mark, is upon your life?  Those who are born of God through repentance and faith in Jesus as Lord and Savior have a spiritual birthmark!  It ought to be evident in everything we think and everything we do.  In this age of grace, there is yet time to repent, but the time is coming when hearts will be so hardened that they will not repent no matter what judgments fall upon them. (see Rev. 9:20-21)

Coming Next: The 144,000: Who Are They?

[i] All Scripture passages from the New King James Version.  Bold print added for emphasis.

[ii] In some Bibles the title is The Apocalypse, which comes from the Greek title, which means unveiling.

[iii] Beale, G. K. The New International Greek Testament Commentary: The Book of Revelation, p. 409.

[iv] For the argument in favor of the 144,000 representing all believers, the faithful remnant of ethnic Israel and Gentile believers “grafted into” the root of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Rom. 11:17), see G. K. Beale, The Book of Revelation, William Hendriksen, More Than Conquerors, and Simon J. Kistemaker, Revelation. 

DID THE FIRST CENTURY CHURCHES HAVE PROBLEMS?

In my nearly thirty-nine years of ordained ministry, I have met lots of people who longed to return to what they perceived to be the “simplicity” and the “purity” of the New Testament churches.  When I was presenting my missionary ministry in churches across the U.S. and parts of Canada, I once spoke in a church that called itself “The New Testament Church.” It seemed to be a fine local church, with members who cared about evangelism and missions.  Still, I doubt that it was any more exempt from problems than was the first century churches the Apostles had to deal with.

To ask whether the first century churches had problems is like asking if they had people.  As someone has pointed out, wherever there are people there are problems. There are no problems on the moon right now, but when there were people up there, there were problems! "Houston we have a . . ."

The Apostle Paul warned the Ephesian elders that threats would come to the church both from within and without, as soon as he turned his back, so to speak:

I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them. (Acts 20:29-30 ESV)

Among the problems Paul addressed in his epistles were the following:

·       Sexual immorality

·       Drunkenness

·       Fraud and lawsuits among professing believers

·       Arrogance and favoritism

·       Personality conflicts

·       Doctrinal errors

·       Abuse of spiritual gifts

·       A servant’s theft from a Christian master

·       Lack of forgiveness by a church toward a repentant member

·       Disgracing the Lord’s Table

·       Et cetera

Many of these problems troubled the Corinthian church and damaged its testimony.  But even that precious church in Philippi, the only consistent supporter of Paul’s ministry, had problems with unity and interpersonal conflicts.  Paul had to exhort two women in that church, women who had helped Paul in his ministry of the gospel, to resolve their differences:

I implore Euodia and I implore Syntyche to be of the same mind in the Lord. And I urge you also, true companion, help these women who labored with me in the gospel . . . (Philippians 4:2-3a)

In reading again the Apostle John’s little epistle to Gaius (III John) I was impressed again by the presence in Gaius’s local church of a character all too common throughout church history: Diotrephes.  John describes this man pointedly:

I wrote to the church, but Diotrephes, who loves to have the preeminence among them, does not receive us. (III John 1:9 NKJV)

The original Greek text is even more pointed.  The phrase “who loves to have the preeminence” is actually a translation of one word – philoproteuon – “lover of preeminence.”  And that phrase comes before the name in the original:  “. . . but the preeminence-lover among them, Diotrephes, does not receive us.”  There is no type of person who causes more grief, who more enslaves a congregation, than one who insists upon being preeminent, being first in everything, being in charge!  I have seen this kind of person paralyze a church. 

The name Diotrephes was rare, occurring in secular literature only twice and only here in the Bible.  At the time of Homer the name, which means reared by Zeus, the king of the Greek gods, was reserved for people of noble birth.  Commentator G. G. Findlay observes that Diotrephes was likely from a high-ranking family. Diotrephes’ sin was pride of position, and whether he exercised his power through the office of elder or by “personal force” and “social status” (Findlay), he was able to hinder the evangelistic and missionary outreach of the church, probably the church at Pergamos.  He did not welcome the traveling missionaries and forbid the church to do so.  One might wonder how one member could wield so much influence or power, but I have seen a number of churches, especially small churches, controlled by one or two powerful personalities, especially when they are big givers!

The early churches also had false teachers who disturbed their peace and undermined their spiritual life. Paul warned about legalizers who substituted rules and rituals for a vital relationship with Christ through the Holy Spirit. (See Galatians, Philippians, & Colossians) On the opposite side were the libertines who “turn[ed] the grace of God into lewdness,” and in doing so “den[ied] the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ” (Jude 1:4 NKJV).  The book of Revelation warns against this type of licentiousness in Chapter 2, when it warns against the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, and of Balaam, as well as the twisted teachings of one Jezebel in Thyatira (Rev. 2:20-21). 

Along the mystical, falsely “spiritual” line, the abuse of spiritual gifts, especially by those who claimed to be receiving special revelation from God, greatly disturbed the peace of the church in Corinth.  The quest for higher knowledge (Col. 2:8) and “worship of angels” (Col. 2:18), and asceticism (Col. 2:23) threatened the church at Colosse.

Did the first century churches have problems?  Indeed they did, and the problems look just like the problems churches have today!  Disruptive people, controlling people, misguided people, immoral people, and heretical people in the local church are not a new phenomenon. And the remedy is the same today as it was in the first century: church discipline guided by the Word of God and prayer. 

LIGHT VS. DARKNESS

The New Year brings new light to the northern hemisphere.  After the winter solstice, days get gradually longer, just a minute or two a day at first.  A new year always takes me back to the Genesis account of Creation.  And it strikes me anew that the first Creation Day is occupied with darkness and light.

In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness. And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.  (Genesis 1:1-5 KJV)

More than any other expression of biblical imagery, darkness is used in a negative sense throughout Scripture, describing the nature of sin with its accompanying ignorance and folly and its inevitable consequence of judgment, gloom, and death.  At least sixty verses in the Bible contrast darkness and light.  Darkness also depicts the gloom of impending death and the grave. The Hebrew word for darkness (khoshek) occurs 23 times in the book of Job, as that godly man saw nothing but gloom in the midst of his trials.

Though Genesis begins with the earth in chaos and darkness, Genesis 1:2 affirms God's power over darkness: God speaks and there is light!  Only God can pierce the darkness of this world and bring light.  Only God can pierce the darkness in our lives and bring in the light of His grace.  The Apostle John, using the very imagery of Genesis 1, speaks of Jesus as the light:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. (John 1:1-5)[1]

The darkness is no match for our Lord!  

Let me share some observations about the Bible’s use of light and darkness, along with Scriptures to support them. 

I.  God’s kingdom is the kingdom of light.

This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.  (1 John 1:5)

Our Lord Jesus Christ . . . he who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see. To him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen. (1 Timothy 6:15, 16)

II.  Satan’s kingdom is the kingdom of darkness.

A.     Jesus called Satan’s power “the power (or rule) of darkness” (Luke 22:53)

B.     Paul called Satan’s kingdom “the domain (or rule) of darkness” (Colossians 1:13)

C.     Satan’s demonic cohorts are called “the rulers of the darkness of this age” (Ephesians 6:12 NKJV)

III.  The judgment of God is darkness.

A.    Judgment in This Life

Some sat in darkness and in the shadow of death, prisoners in affliction and in irons, for they had rebelled against the words of God, and spurned the counsel of the Most High. So he bowed their hearts down with hard labor; they fell down, with none to help. (Psalm 107:10-12)

The way of the wicked is like deep darkness; they do not know over what they stumble. (Proverbs 4:19)

They have neither knowledge nor understanding, they walk about in darkness; all the foundations of the earth are shaken. (Psalm 82:5)

B.    Judgment in Eternity

These are waterless springs and mists driven by a storm. For them the gloom of utter darkness has been reserved.  (2 Peter2:17)

. . . wild waves of the sea, casting up the foam of their own shame; wandering stars, for whom the gloom of utter darkness has been reserved forever. (Jude 1:13)

IV.  Christ alone can deliver us from the kingdom of darkness.

A.    Jesus Christ took on the kingdom of darkness and defeated Satan on the cross.

Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour.

(Mat 27:45)

B.    Everyone who repents of sin and receives Jesus Christ by faith is transferred out of darkness and into the Kingdom of Light.

. . . giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.  (Colossians 1:12-14)

I have come into the world as light, so that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness. (John 12:46)

Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."  (John 8:12)

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. (1 Peter 2:9)

(God sent the Apostle Paul) to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.' (Acts 26:18)

For God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. (2 Corinthians 4:6)

 C.    The natural man loves darkness rather than light.

And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God." (John 3:19-21) 

V.  Christians are called to walk in the light as children of light.

"You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. (Matthew 5:14-16)

. . . for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light. (Ephesians 5:8)

But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. (1 John 1:7)

Friends, have you been delivered from darkness and transferred into Christ’s Kingdom of Light?  If you are not sure, or you know you have not, call upon Him today! Turn now from the darkness of sin to His glorious light, and receive Him as Lord and Savior.

And Christian, are you walking as a child of light?  Are you letting the light of Christ shine through you? Let’s all make a new start this New Year!  Let’s commit ourselves to spending quality time in meditation on His Word and in prayer. 

 This present dark age is coming to a close.  The Apostle Paul declared, The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. (Romans 13:12) 

 (Note:  Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture references are from the English Standard Version. Alternate translations were chosen for accuracy to the original, in my judgment.  Bold print has been added in verses for emphasis.)

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[1] Although the Greek word katalambano can mean “comprehend,” in this context the idea seems to mean “overtake” or “overcome.”  The same expression is used in John 12:35:  "The light is among you for a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you . . .” (Emphasis added.)

A MAN CHRIST TOUCHED

In my thirty-eight plus years of ministry, I have received many compliments on my sermons – some sincere, and some, well . . .  But the compliment that means the most to me came from a fellow missionary after I had preached at a missions conference.  The missionary said, “You remind me of a professor I had at San Francisco (San Francisco Baptist Seminary).”  I knew immediately who he meant because that same professor later took a position at Detroit Baptist Seminary teaching homiletics, practical theology, and church history.  It was there that I had the privilege of sitting at his feet: That professor was Eugene J. Petersen.
 Dr. Petersen was an inspiring teacher, but it was --and is -- his example more than his instruction that has had the greatest impact on my preaching.  Through my admiration for the man, his preaching style has rubbed off.  I'm not nearly the preacher Eugene Petersen is, but I'm moved that someone thought I sounded like him.

            Dr. Petersen, who is now 92, was born in southwestern Iowa to Danish immigrant parents. He was raised in Harlan, Iowa, and studied at the University of Minneapolis, the LeHavre School of Education in France, and Fuller Theological Seminary.  He received his Doctor of Ministry degree in homiletics from Fuller.

            As a young man, called to preach the Gospel, Eugene found himself caught up in World War II. He preached his first sermon in 1943 shortly before shipping out to France.  He fought in eastern France where, according to Paul Fussell, the average life expectancy of an infantryman in the front lines was 17 days.[1]  But Christ had his hand upon Eugene J. Petersen.

            After the war, Eugene continued his studies and his preaching, pastoring churches in Iowa, Wisconsin, Minnesota, California, and Michigan.  He also taught seminary for 30 years in San Francisco and Detroit.

            My favorite sermon by Dr. Petersen is curiously titled, "Christ Honors A Donkey."  It touches me because Dr. Petersen encourages guys like me that Christ uses the ordinary, the less than ordinary, and those who make mistakes.  The repeated theme in that sermon never fails to touch my heart and lift my spirit: “Whatever Christ touches, He dignifies.”  Christ touched Eugene Petersen and dignified his long, productive ministry. 

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[1] See The Boys' Crusade and Wartime by Paul Fussell. The horrific battle endured by Petersen’s 275th Infantry Regiment, 70^th Division, is recounted in a book co-authored by Eugene J. Petersen, titled Ordeal in the Vosges.