CHAPTER 1
1. An unveiling of Yeshua the Messiah, which YHWH gave to him to show his servants the [things] that must take place in rapid succession, giving a sign by sending [it] through his messenger to his servant, Yochanan,
James David Audlin writes, “The [Aramaic] Crawford manuscript of the Revelation specifies in its first line that John was exiled to Patmos by Nero, which thus could have been no later than 9 June 68, when that emperor was assassinated… before the Temple was destroyed in the year 70), but new evidence, especially the astronomical particulars derived from the visions themselves, point to the night of 5 May 68. And that date is just under a month before Nero’s assassination, predicted in these visions that came to John.” Jerome dates Yochanan’s death “in the sixty-eighth year after our Lord’s passion”, which is approximately 98 C.E., Trajan’s first year as emperor. Gave to him: Yeshua, even as a resurrected, exalted man, could not convey the revelation to the realm in which we remain unless YHWH had made it possible for him to do this. In rapid succession: not necessarily “soon” as often translated, but once they begin to take place, they would follow in close sequence.
2. who bore witness to the word of Elohim and the testimony of Yeshua the Messiah--as much as he perceived.
3. Blessed is the one who reads, as well as those who hear, the words of this prophecy, and who guard [and maintain intact] the things written in it, for the time is near.
4. [From] Yochanan to the seven called-out assemblies that are in Asiya: favor and shalom to you from the One who exists, and the one who was [already] in existence, and who is to come, as well as from the seven spirits who are in the presence of His throne,
Asiya: Asia Minor, which formed a large portion of what is western Turkey today. Exists…was…is to come: the three tenses that together form the name YHWH—i.e., the Eternal One. Seven spirits: probably a reference to the seven aspects of YHWH’s spirit which would rest on the Messiah, per Yeshayahu (Isa.) 11:2.
5. and from Yeshua the Messiah, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To who one who loved us and released us from our sins through his blood
6. and has made us a kingdom, priests to his Elohim and Father--to him be the authority and the dominion into the ages of the ages, for sure!
Notice the distinction consistently made through the book between the One on the throne and the Messiah, so as not to confuse their roles as many have.
7. Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye shall see him, including those who pierced him, and all the tribes of the Land will mourn because of him. This is certainly reliable.
With the clouds: The Essene Book of Revelation (hereafter abbreviated as EBR) begins here: “Behold, the Angel of the Air shall bring him, and every eye shall see him, and the brotherhood, all the vast brotherhood of the earth shall raise their voice as one and sing because of him. Amen.” Those who pierced him…mourn: an allusion to Zkh. 12:10.
8. “I am the Alef and the Tav, the starting-point and the end-purpose”, says the Master YHWH, “the One who exists, and the one who has [always] existed, and who is to come—the Ruler over all.”
This entire verse appears in EBR, except the last phrase and the phrase that identifies the speaker.
9. I, Yochanan (your brother and joint sharer in the affliction, the kingdom, and the patient endurance in Yeshua), was on the island called Patmos for the sake of the word of YHWH and the testimony of Yeshua.
10. I came to be, in spirit, on the Day of YHWH, and I heard behind me a loud sound like [that] of a trumpet,
In spirit: i.e., in a vision, not physically, as if with a time machine. Day of YHWH: a frequent theme of the prophets, referring to the seventh (Sabbath) millennium of human history, when the Messiah will be physically enthroned as king. The Greek term means “belonging to the Master”, but the term for Master is the one used in the LXX as a substitute for YHWH’s name, and thus has this specific sense in many cases. It is anachronistic to try to read into it, as many do, a justification for changing the day of worship to the day of the sun, later referred to as “the Lord’s Day”. While the resurrection of Yeshua is worth celebrating, the only particular day of the week YHWH ever calls His holy day is the Sabbath—the seventh day. (Yeshayahu/Isaiah 58:13) Behind me: a Hebrew idiom for “after me” in time.
11. saying, “I am the Alef and the Tav, the first and the last, so what you see, write in a book and send it to the seven called-out assemblies—into Efesos and into Smyrna and into Pergamos and into Thyateira and into Sardeis and into Filadelfeia and into Laodikeia.”
First: as the one who fleshed out the word of YHWH, with which His creation began. (Yoch. 1:1) First and the last: different terms than used of YHWH Himself in verse 8, because, while ultimate from our viewpoint, Yeshua also answers to One higher still. (1 Cor. 15:24-28) More information about these seven locations will be included when he addresses each individually.
12. Then I turned to see [the source of] the voice that was speaking to me, and, having turned, I saw seven golden menoroth.
Menoroth: lampstands.
13. And between the menoroth [there was one] like a Son of Adam, having been clothed [in a long robe reaching] to the feet, and having a golden sash wrapped around his chest,
Of Adam: Gk., athropou, but an allusion to the prior vision in Dani’el 7:13, where one wit the same description is brought before the Ancient of Days, who confers authority on him.
14. and his head and his hairs were white like wool—white as snow—and his eyes were like a flame of fire.
15. His feet also were like brilliant bronze, as if they had been refined by fire in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of many waters.
Compare the feet of the statue in Nevukhadnetzar’s dream—the “other man”, the counterfeit of this real one—whose toes were of materials that could not adhere to one another.
16. And in his right hand he held seven stars, and out of his mouth proceeded a sharp, double-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining in its full force.
Sharp: or swift. Face: Yochanan had seen this shining face once before, possibly in a more subdued measure. (Mat. 17:2) By Jewish tradition, Adam and Chawwah were clothed with light before they fell; this was the firstfruit of the restoration of humanity, its “head” being seen first to have the shining that Moshe had a taste of as he spent enough time in YHWH’s presence, but which faded away. (Ex. 34:29-35) EBR reads, starting with verse 12, “And the voice spoke, and I turned to see the voice that spoke to me, and being turned, I saw seven golden candles; and in the midst of their blazing light I saw someone like a son of man, clothed in white, white as the snow. And his voice filled the air with the sound of rushing water; and in his hands were seven stars, and when he spoke, his face was streaming light, blazing and golden like a thousand suns.”
17. And when I saw him, I fell at his feet like a dead man. But he laid his right hand on me, saying, "Don't be afraid' I am the first and the last,
This is an allusion to Yeshayahu 44:6, where YHWH and His redeemer (also called YHWH of Armies, speaking for the one who has sent him) both say, “I am the first and I am the last.”
18. "and the living one--though I had become dead, I am alive into the ages of the ages, indeed, and I have the keys of Hades and of death.
19. “Therefore, write down the things that you have seen, and the things that [already] are, and the things that are about to take place after these.
Keys of: authority over.
20. “As for the mystery of the seven stars which you saw upon my right hand, and the seven golden menoroth: the seven stars are the messengers of the seven called-out assemblies, and the seven menoroth are the seven called-out assemblies.
The imagery here parallels that in Z’kharYah 4:2. EBR, which Yochanan apparently built this fuller version around, has a different, less specific interpretation: “The mystery of the seven stars which fill my hands, and the seven golden candles, blazing with eternal light. The seven stars are the Angels of the Heavenly Father, and the seven stars are the Angels of the Earthly Mother. And the spirit of man is the flame that streams between the starlight and the glowing candle; a bridge of holy light between Heaven and Earth.”
CHAPTER 2
1. "To the messenger of the called-out assembly of Efesos, write: ‘These are the things that the one who holds seven stars in his right hand says—the one who is walking in the midst of the seven golden lampstands:
Holding: in the sense of possessing and ruling over.
2. “‘“I appreciate your deeds and your hard labor and your steadfastness, and that you are not able to tolerate wicked people. Moreover, you have put to the test those who proclaim themselves [to be] envoys, but are not, and you have found them [to be] impostors.
3. “‘“You also have perseverance, and have endured [a great burden] for the sake of my reputation, yet have not grown weary.
Reputation: literally, name.
4. “‘“Nonetheless, I have this against you: that you have abandoned the love you had at first.
He is a husband whose wife is no longer excited about him. She may have been putting more emphasis on the fact and content of a covenant than on whom the covenant is with.
5. “‘“So remember where you have fallen from, and turn back and do the deeds [you did] at first! But if not, I am coming to you, and I will remove your lampstand out of its place, if you do not turn around!
6. “‘“But this you do have: that you hate the deeds of the Nikolaitans, which I also hate.
Yeshua hates?! That may be news to some, but was not to those who had seen him clear the Temple. The Nikolaitans were followers of Nikolaos, whose name means “conqueror or dominator of the people”. He was held by Irenaeus and Hippolytus to be the same man as the deacon who was one of the seven in Yerushalayim (Acts 6:5), who later practiced some exaggerated forms of self-control which backfired and turned into license to indulge the flesh, similar to some Gnostic doctrines. The Efesians lived near the temple of Diana (Aphrodite), whose cult included ritual prostitution. Blunt notes that they used intoxicants and other trance-inducing techniques to remove inhibitions and social constraints, so their adherents could “return to a natural state”. This practice may have crept into the “love feasts” of Yeshua’s followers, especially as antinomianism grew and people ascribed sexual restrictions to an outdated law of Moshe. Bede and Thomas Aquinas held that Nikolaos had allowed others to marry his wife, possibly out of a false sense of humility and an attempt at a misunderstood holiness, but others took it to mean an endorsement of holding of wives in common in general.
7. "'“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the called-out assemblies. Him who overcomes I will grant permission to eat from the tree of life, which is within Elohim’s pleasure-garden.
Tree of life: The reference is to Genesis 2 and 3, but wisdom is also called a tree of life to those who take hold it. (Prov. 3:18), the fruit of righteousness (Prov. 11:30), a desire achieved (Prov. 13:12), and a tongue that heals. (Prov. 15:4) Possibly emphasized in contrast to a sacred date-palm that appears on coins minted in Efesos, to which this is addressed, noting that His reward is far greater than what the world around them offers. It also shows that Yeshua has not only access to, but also authority over, what the kh’ruvim guard. (Compare verse 12 below.) This is the only one of the congregations to which we have another message addressed in the collection now known as the Renewed Covenant.
8. “To the messenger of the called-out assembly of Smürna, write: ‘These things are what the First and the Last, the one who became dead, yet came [back] to life:
Smürna: founded on the site of an ancient Greek colony and rebuilt by one of Alexander the Great’s generals, it is present-day Izmir, a huge Aegean port 40 miles north of Efesos and the second largest city in Turkey today. Even at this time, it may have had a population of up to 100,000. The congregation here was apparently started on Paulus’ third missionary journey, as it was part of the province of Asiya. (Acts 19:10) The name means “myrrh”, which gives forth its fragrance when crushed—something which would be an encouragement to these people. (vv. 9-10)
9. “‘“I recognize your distress and your poverty (though you are [actually] rich) and the abusive language of those claiming that they are Jews, when they are not, but are haSatan’s synagogue.
Distress: the condition of being pressured and “hemmed in” so that there seems no way of escape, especially as imposed by someone from outside, such as a persecutor. HaSatan’s synagogue: note that those who have applied this to actual Jews have no foundation for doing so. It is rather those who have tried to replace the Jews as he visible remnant of YHWH’s chosen people, ousting them in the process, who are blamed here. There is no reason to displace someone else I order to also receive YHWH’s favor, for anyone who wished to join Israel has always been permitted, no matter what their ethnicity.
10. “‘“Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. Look: the Slanderer is about to throw some of you into prison in order that you might be put to the test, and you will have strenuous pressure for ten days. Emerge [as] faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life.
11. “‘“Whoever has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit is saying to the assemblies of those who are called out. The one who overcomes will not be harmed by the second death.’”
Second death: While Adam’s spiritual death earned for us all the need for physical death, this allows us a “reset” if we have been faithful in the present life, and our spirits—and our resurrected bodies—can go on living forever in their perfected state. Those, however, who do not partake of the purification offered us by “the third day” will not get a “seventh day” (Numbers 19:12). Physical death for them will only lead to further condemnation, with no hope of recovery. Our overcoming might look like defeat to those on this side who see only our dead bodies (v. 10), but if our already-regenerated spirits have motivated us to forego even physical life in order to remain true to the one who has already overcome death, his victory will become ours on every level as well, for we will even regain physical bodies to which the ones who consider less important cannot even begin to compare.
12. “To the messenger of the called-out assembly of Pergamos, write: ‘This is what the one who possesses the sharp, double-edged sword says:
Pergamos: from the word for a fortified tower, this was a city of Mysia in Asiya Minor, the seat of the dynasties of Attalus (see below) and Eumenes, celebrated for the temple of Aesculapius, and best known the invention or perfecting of parchment, whose name derived from the city’s. It was the birthplace of the noted physician Galen, and had a great royal library. Near the western coast of Turkey, it is now called Berghama. Sharp: or swift. The double-edged sword: specifically related to those in Israel who praise YHWH (Psalm 149:6), the results of being allured by a loose-living woman (Prov. 5:4), and the Word of Elohim which can judge even between soul and spirit. (Heb. 4:12) Jerome and Victorinus said the two edges are the Torah and the Gospel. But could this even refer to the flaming sword which turned in every direction, guarding the way to the Tree of Life? (Gen. 3:24; compare verse 7 above.)
13. “‘“I know where you live—where the Adversary’s throne is—yet you are holding fast [to] my name and have not repudiated my faith, even in the days of Antipas, my witness--my faithful one--who was put to death in your presence, where the Adversary dwells.
Live: i.e., dwell. Adversary’s throne: The Hebrew term satan is used directly. The image of Bel, the “divine” founder of Babylon, had been taken to Roma, thus making Roma a “second Babylon”. (Koster) But “the true, legitimate Babylonian pontiff…after the death of Belshazzar and the expulsion of the Chaldean priesthood from Babylon by the Medo-Persian kings, was at Pergamos”, since the defeated Chaldeans had fled to Asiya Minor (the region being addressed) “and fixed their central college at Pergamos… In the course of time, the Pontificate of Rome and the Pontificate of Pergamos became identified” as “Pergamos became part and parcel of the Roman Empire when Attalus III, the last of its kings, at his death left by will all his dominions to the Roman people, B.C.E. 133.” (Hislop) Babylon (Bavel) being the root of all pagan religion (Gen. 10:10; 11:4), was now thus having direct influence in their city, causing them much distress. Alexander Lawrence notes, “Hitler and his followers were heavily involved in occult activity, and they constructed at the rally grounds in Nuremberg a replica of the altar of Zeus, which altar Yeshua [here] called ‘the throne of Satan’… The real throne had been dug up at Pergamon and relocated to Berlin more than a decade before the Nazis’ rise to power.” (Leviathan’s Ruse, p. 200) Holding fast: or seizing hold of, retaining, and thereby prevailing. Repudiated my faith: or, denied my faithfulness. His faith would be the Torah-based covenant, while the Accuser’s was riddled with idolatry. Antipas: named after one of the Herods, but not the same person. Witness: literally, martyr, and that is indeed what he was in the English sense, but the main point is the reason he was killed—his fearlessness about fulfilling his calling even in the face of strong opposition.
14. “‘“Nevertheless, I have a few things against you: that you have [some] there who hold to the teaching of Bilaam, who taught Balaq to throw a snare in front of the descendants of Israel, to [get them to] eat things sacrificed to idols and to commit sexual immorality.
Against you: the Greek term implies coming down from a higher position. Teaching of Bilaam: this tradition is not directly referenced in the Torah (Numbers 24), but some see in verse 9 there a hint at this, and the fact that the next thing we see Israel doing is just that: being seduced by Moavite women to join them in a feast to their elohim. (Num. 25) This is undoubtedly the reason YHWH allowed Bilaam to be killed by Israel, possibly as collateral damage, in a later battle. (Num. 31:8) Sacrificed to idols: no new idea; it goes back at least to Numbers 25; a major controversy at this time as many in Gentile cities, where this was the most affordable meat in the marketplaces, were being called out and had been given rules that would allow for table fellowship with Jews, and not eating such meat was one of them. (Acts 15:29) Doing so, even though an idol is unreal, would still defeat this purpose. (Rom. 14; 1 Cor. 8:8ff)
15. “‘“And you, likewise, have some who hold fast to the teaching of the Nikolaitans in the same way.
Nicolaitans: see note on verse 6. Apparently this warning was heeded, because Eusebius says the sect was short-lived. It was clearly a widespread view. Another explanation of the meaning of the term is that it comes from the Hebrew nokhal, which means “we will eat” (i.e., refusing to accept any food restrictions), which may fit this context well. (Tom Bradford)
16. “‘“So repent! But if [you do] not, I am coming to you without delay, and will make war against them with the sword of my mouth!
Remember YHWH’s messenger confronted Bilaam with a sword. (Num. 22:31) He was later killed by a sword by Israel in war. (Num. 31:8)
17. “Whoever has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit is saying to the assemblies of those who are called out. To him who overcomes, I will give the manna that is hidden away, and a white stone with a new name on the stone that is known only to him.”
Manna: based on the occurrence during Israel’s wilderness wanderings (Ex. 16:15-31; Num. 11:6ff; Deut. 8:3; Y’hoshua 5:12), this would indicate provision YHWH brings from an unexpected or unknown source. Therefore they need not compromise, and if they chose not to eat unacceptable meat in order to honor YHWH, they would not starve. A white stone was an “admission ticket” to an event, and a name was put on it. In a public trial, a white stone meant a vote of acquittal. New name: overcoming one’s sins by repentance and changing his behavior to such an extent that his old identity will become a thing of the past. (Tom Bradford)
18. “To the messenger of the called-out assembly of Thüatira, write: ‘These are the things that the Son of Elohim, the one having his eyes like a flame of fire and his feet like burnished bronze, says:
Thüatira: further inland than Pergamos, and much smaller, yet it was a military stronghold for Roma, where Caesar’s elite guard was stationed, so there was an established Jewish community wit a synagogue. The city was known for the sale of dyes, most predominantly purple, made from a shellfish found in the Lycus River. Paulus met and evangelized Lydia there. (See Acts 16:11-15) Son of Elohim: the only time this title appears in the book. It denotes the descendant of David who inherits his throne, so this message is on the authority of a Davidic king. (Bradford) Flame of fire…burnished bronze: the descriptions of YHWH the Father in Daniel and Y’hezq’El.
19. “‘“I know your deeds, and your love, and your faithfulness, and your service [of ministry], as well as your perseverance [in waiting], and your more recent deeds are greater [in quantity] than at first.
I.e., you would appear to be doing better than before.
20. ““But I have this against you: that you tolerate [that] ‘Izevel’ woman—the one who calls herself a prophetess, and [who] is teaching and misleading my servants into committing sexual immorality and eating food offered to idols.
Izevel: more commonly known as Jezebel, the pagan princess from Phoenicia whom king Akh’av of Israel married and by whom he was dominated and influenced to bring Ba’al worship into Israel. This was undoubtedly a nickname that some—or possibly even Yeshua himself—gave to her, but the description made it clear to this audience whom he was talking about. Tolerance, the byword of our age, was here a sin against YHWH. Prophetess: the Biblical test of whether she is a false prophet is that she is never wrong.
21. ““I have even given her time to repent, but she is not willing to repent of her sexual immorality.
Sexual immorality: often also used in a spiritual sense for idolatry—unfaithfulness to our “husband”, YHWH.
22. ““Watch: I will throw her onto a sickbed, and [will throw] those who commit adultery with her into great distress, if they will not turn away from her deeds.
She likes the bed? Okay, she will have one—of a different kind.
23. ““I will also get her children out of the way through death, and all the called-out congregations will know that I am the one who searches [the] innermost feelings and intentions, and I will give to each of you according to your deeds.
24. ““But to the rest of you who are in Thüatira—as many as do not hold to this teaching, who have not become intimately acquainted with the ‘Deep Things of the Adversary’, as they call [it], I say this: I will not place upon you any additional burden.
Deep things: apparently an esoteric experience that was tantalizing them.
25. ““But hold fast to what you do have until whenever I may arrive.
26. ““And to the one who overcomes and guards what I have accomplished until the [very] end, I will grant authority over the nations,
Overcomes: or prevails, subdues—i.e., who not only is victorious over his own evil inclinations through the power of the spirit of holiness, but also fulfills the first command given to humanity—subdue the earth. If it needed to be subdued in the day when thorns and thistles had only just begun to multiply, how much more today when the effects of sin have gone so far? But this is the outcome this book is heading towards (Rev. 11:15), and we are to be part of making it occur. But Yeshua is also showing how much further he can take us than what the Usurper (v. 24), though currently in control on the surface, could ever deliver, because though once he held that dominion (Luke 4:5-6), Yeshua has purchased it back for mankind, as it was originally meant to be, legally and without compromising (per Luke 4:7).
27. ““and ‘he will shepherd them with a rod made of iron, as the vessels of a potter are broken in pieces’—the same [authority] I have received from my Father.
Shepherd: a benevolent position, yet because the nations need to be reeducated in the ways of the Kingdom, Yeshua’s undershepherds will need to enforce his rulings rather strongly at first, until they become the “normal” ways of earth. In fact, the quote is from Psalm 2:7 (where Yeshua as Messiah is indeed overtly granted this authority), which uses a term which is of ambiguous derivation. It could either come from a word meaning “to shatter” (break in pieces, as it is easy to see how a potter would do) or “to shepherd/lead to pasture”. It was taken as the latter by this writer, but originally it seems that the former was the expected meaning. It could be an intentional play on words, meant much as we speak of “breaking” a horse—overcoming its own will and making it useful, with the intent of fulfilling its potential in a way it would never achieve on its own.
28. ““and I will give him the early-morning star.
Morning star: in 22:16, used as an identification of Yeshua as the Messiah reigning over YHWH’s Kingdom on earth.
29. “Whoever has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit is saying to the assemblies of those who are called out.”
CHAPTER 3
1. “To the messenger of the called-out assembly of Sardis, write: ‘Thus says the one who has the seven spirits of Elohim and the seven stars: “I am aware of your deeds, and that you have the reputation that you are alive, yet you are dead.
Sardis: an important city linking the Aegean coastal trade with that of the Anatolian interior. Seven spirits: probably an allusion to Yeshayahu 11:2: “the Spirit of YHWH will alight upon Him--the spirit of wisdom and discernment, the spirit of counsel and bravery, the spirit of knowledge and the [reverential] fear of YHWH.” Seven stars: In the Tzohar, Shemoth 7a, it predicts, “ A star will arise from the East side, flaming with all colors, and 7 other stars will go around this star and make a war with it on all sides 3 times a day for 70 days, and all the people of the world will see.” Speaking of the days of the Messiah, the Tzohar goes on to say, ““And one star from the east will swallow seven stars from the north.” The commentary therein relates these stars to the seven s’firot, characteristics of Elohim that a human being can share, to bring them into line and “correct with the light of remembering” the half of the Kingdom that is still missing.” (VaYera 478; compare the next verse below.)
2. “‘“Be vigilant and buttress the things that are [still] left, which are about to [wither away and] die off, for I have not found your actions complete in the eyes of my Elohim.
Buttress: i.e., prop up, provide temporary life-support so all is not lost in the meantime. Complete: see note on verse 1. My Elohim: Yeshua, possibly foreseeing how his heretofore-unique position as unfallen Second Adam, especially in his glorified state, would tempt others to worship him, keeps reminding us that he, too, is a servant and worshiper of the one Elohim.
3. “‘“So remember what you have received and heard, and guard [it], and turn around! Accordingly, if you do not stay alert [and watchful], I will come like a thief, and you will not be aware of the time that I arrive in regard to you.
4. “‘“But you [still] have a few names in Sardis which have not soiled their garments, and they will walk around with me in white, because they are deserving [of this].
Deserving: or suitable.
5. “‘“The one who overcomes will in this way be clothed in white, and I will by no means obliterate his name from the Book of Life, and I will acknowledge his name before my Father as well as before His messengers.
White garments are a picture of righteousness. (19:8) Yeshua provided the garment (as it is expected that no one would have a reason to be without it, Mat. 22:11-12), though we may have to purchase it from him (3:18 below), but it is up to us to guard it from being defiled or corrupted.
6. “Whoever has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit is saying to the assemblies of those who are called out.”
7. “To the messenger of the called-out assembly of Filadelfeia, write: ‘Thus says the true one, the set-apart one, the one who has the key of David—who opens and no one can shut, and who shuts and no one opens:
Filadelfeia: known today in Turkey as Alasehir, and known for dried sultana raisins, it was originally founded in 189 BCE by King Eumenes of Pergamos. The city’s name meant “one who loves his brother”. The city flourished through Byzantine times until it was taken over by the Ottoman Empire.
8. “‘“I know your deeds. Look! I have placed in front of you an open door, which no one is able to shut, because although you have little power, still you have kept my name intact, and have not repudiated my name.
9. Watch! I will grant [you] out of the Synagogue of Satan those who say they are Jews and are not, but they lie—indeed, I will make them come and bow before your feet, and they will know that I have loved you.
This may have been addressing the rabbinical claim to have authority above that of the priests, who had become corrupt after the Maccabean rebellion. After the Temple was destroyed, usurpers began leading Jewish people away from the Messianic faith squarely rooted in true Torah “Judaism” as taught in the Scriptures, and they were persecuting those who followed the original pattern. Loved: not as opposed to hate, but preferred when given a choice between two.
10. “‘“Because you have guarded my word about patient endurance, I will also guard you from the season of trial that is about to come upon the whole inhabited world to test those who dwell upon the earth.
11. “‘“I am coming without [any unnecessary] delay. Hold tightly to what you have, so that no one may take away your victor’s crown.
12. “‘“Him who overcomes I will put in place as a supporting column in the Temple of my Elohim, and he will by no means ever leave again. I will also engrave upon him the name of my Elohim and the name of the city of my Elohim—the fresh Yerushalayim that is coming down from out of the heavenly realms—as well as my own fresh name.
City: the form used refers in particular to the inhabitants of the city rather than the mere place. Fresh: or new, renewed—reset back to the prototype which was misused or ruined. But that there is such a “new name” may be why the one who is apparently Yeshua is not directly identified as such; sometimes the characteristics of the father and the Son, though in a definite hierarchy, are somewhat blurred in this account, suggesting that since he was “raised to the highest place” by the Father, there is a greater unity between them than there even was before and while Yeshua was I the flesh. (Tom Bradford)
13. “Whoever has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit is saying to the assemblies of those who are called out.”
14. To the messenger of the called-out assembly of Laodikeia, write: “The ‘Amen’—the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of Elohim–says these things:
Beginning (and thus chief) of the creation: YHWH’s word was the very first thing He created—something other than Himself yet coming directly from Him. See note on Colossians 1:15.
15. “‘I know your deeds, that you are neither cold [-hearted] nor hot. I wish you would be cold or hot!
Laodikea had an aqueduct that brought water from both hot and cold springs, but both were far from the city and by the time both reached the city, both were lukewarm. So he is speaking in terms they understand well.
16. “‘So because you are tepid, and neither hot nor cold, I am about to spit you out of my mouth!
Spit: or even vomit, as the word means to reject with extreme disgust.
17. “‘Because you say, “I am rich and have an abundance of possessions, and I have need of nothing!” and do not recognize that you are callous and miserable and destitute and blind and naked!
Callous: from undergoing long-term strain, thus being both numb to what is important and no longer able to sense that the stress will soon be too great to avoid collapse. Miserable: wretched, but with the sense of being in need of mercy, for which they, of course, are not asking because they do not see themselves objectively. Destitute: literally, cowering like a beggar. Laodikea was indeed a very wealthy city, especially for its size, to the point that when they experienced a devastating earthquake in 60 C.E., the proud city refused aid from the emperor Nero because they had adequate resources to rebuild on their own—“I have need of nothing!” But these very riches are what made it difficult for the believers there. Whether or not there is a greater fulfillment yet to come, the immediate meaning of this message to the recipients had to do with a situation they could easily comprehend: In A.D. 96, when the emperor Domitian demanded to be worshipped (during his own lifetime, unlike the typical imperial pattern of being granted deity status after death). This demand was enforced by local officials, and cities in the region vied for the honor of being considered guardians of a temple dedicated to the emperor. Coins minted in Laodikeia indicate that the city had indeed been given that honor. (Mark Fairchild in Biblical Archaeology Review, March-April 2017) Being apparently no longer connected with the synagogue they first grew out of, since followers of Yeshua were already being seen as something other than a sect of Judaism, this congregation no longer qualified for the exemption that Jews officially had as part of the Pax Romana, and so many made compromises (the “tepid” of v. 16) to preserve their business when they could neither buy nor sell if they did not worship the emperor. (Compare 13:16-17.)
18. “‘I advise you to buy from beside me gold [that has been refined by] fire, in order that you might become rich, and white outer garments that you can wrap around yourself so that the shame of your nakedness may not be open to view, and salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see.
Buy: Since they are so smugly self-sufficient, he does not offer them what to others might have been freely given! Gold: The materials they are building their wealth on cannot stand the truer tests that are coming; they will only be really wealthy if their possessions—like their faithfulness--prove able to withstand the test. Salve: another thing Laodikea was famous for.
19. “‘As many as I love, I rebuke and correct, so be zealous and repent!
Love: not the commitment kind of love as in 1 Cor. 13, but the type that is associated with “liking” someone. Rebuke: or convict, both in the sense of convincing and exposing as guilty with solid evidence.
20. “‘Be aware! I have taken my stand at the door and am knocking; if anyone should hear my voice and open the door, then I will come in unto him, and die with him, and he with me.
While this verse has often (and possibly legitimately) been used as a call to permit Yeshua entrance for the first time, this original context is addressing those who supposedly already follow him, but have been becoming very slack about doing so.
21. “I will allow the one who overcomes to sit with me on my throne, as I overcame and sat with my father on his throne.
Overcomes: apparently including making the decision that demonstrated the highest level of faith—being willing to accept the penalty for disobeying the imperial command because one truly believed in the resurrection. But they did not realize how soon relief would come if they only endured for a little longer, because Domitian was assassinated shortly after this, and the Roman senate responded to his arrogance in declaring himself “our Lord and our God” by condemning his memory and requiring cities across the empire to destroy statues of Domitian and remove his name from inscriptions! (Suetonius) My father: not capitalized because Luke 1:32 reveals that the ancestor on whose throne El Elyon would let Yeshua sit is David, though David's throne is also known as YHWH's throne. (1 Chron. 28:5)
22. “Whoever has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit is saying to the assemblies of those who are called out.”
CHAPTER 4
1. After these things I looked, and, lo and behold, a door was opened in the heaven, and the first sound that I heard was like a trumpet speaking with me, saying, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after these things.”
This portal reminds us of Yaaqov’s dream in Gen. 28. (Compare 1:10-12 and Moshe’s being called to the top of Mt. Sinai with the shofar blast in Ex. 19:16-20, as well as Y’hezq’El’s vision in Ezekiel 40. Tom Bradford notes how this is a pattern for YHWH’s prophets.) There are three themes here linked traditionally to Yom T’ruah (Rosh haShanah): a door opening (for the righteous to enter, Psalm 118:19; Yeshayahu 26:2, also linked with the wedding theme), a trumpet (the coronation of a king, 1 Kings 1:39, and the only feast that falls at the new moon, Psalm 81:3), and a calling up (linked with both the bridegroom being called to read from the Torah just before his wedding and the resurrection of the dead. Thus this "day that no man knows" (because it depends on the sighting and announcing of the new moon) has long been associated with Messiah's bride being brought into her wedding chamber in his Father's house. (Avi Ben Mordechai)
2. Immediately I came to be in spirit, and I beheld a throne established in heaven, and someone was seated upon the throne.
In spirit: i.e., his body did not travel to these places, but his core self was transported wherever the one speaking wished to take him. Compare Daniel 7:9; compare Yeshayahu 16:5 of Messiah’s enthronement.
3. And the one seated [there] was in appearance like a stone—jasper and carnelian—and there was a halo around the throne that looked like an emerald.
Jasper and carnelian are the last and first stones on the high priest’s breastplate (symbolizing Binyamin and Re’uven), so he was “in the presence of the First and the Last”. This is a “merism”, a common literary practice in Hebrew, so “the Alpha and Omega” or “Alef and Tav” would include not only these two extremes but everything in between—i.e., not A and Z, but “A to Z”, so when YHWH appears, all 12 tribes will be somehow manifested. (Tom Bradford) Halo: or, rainbow, but it seems to have only been one color. An emerald is the fourth stone on the high priest’s breastplate, symbolizing the tribe of Yehudah, again the tribe from which the Messiah comes. The rainbow reminds us of YHWH’s mercy (Gen. 9:13ff), which is exactly what Yeshua extended to us.
4. And surrounding the throne there were twenty-four thrones, and seated on the thrones were twenty-four elders, enwrapped in long-flowing white garments, and golden garland-crowns on their heads.
Twenty-four: if spiritual beings, they would constitute 1/3 of the 72 “sons of Elohim”, possibly rotating in shifts for service as the 24 priestly courses did under David, a practice which lasted until the \Babylonian captivity and was re-established after it until the Temple was again destroyed; if human (suggested by v. 10), these could be the twelve patriarchs and the twelve apostles, or the twelve prophets and twelve apostles (cf. Ephesians 2:20). Crowns symbolize those admitted into the Kingdom. This is not a Christian innovation, but is found in the Talmud (Brachot 17a), which depicts the righteous with crowns on their heads in the age to come. (Bradford)
5. And out of the throne proceed flashes of lightning, intonations, and thunderings. And [there were] seven lit lamps of fire facing the throne, which are the seven spirits of Elohim.
Seven spirits: See note on 1:4. Compare the ambience with Mt. Sinai where YHWH’s presence was also manifested. (Ex. 19:16-19)
6. And in front of the throne there was [something] like a sea of glass, [transparent] like crystal, and in the middle of the throne and surrounding the throne [there were] four living [creatures], full of eyes in front and behind.
Sea: pictured by the large basin in front of King Shlomoh’s Temple, from which the 24 courses of priests, their earthly counterparts, could be ritually purified. (Bradford) This one is made of glass rather than bronze. Four living creatures: compare Y’hezq’El 1:5ff.
7. Now the first living [creature] was similar to a lion, and the second living [creature] resembled a calf, and the third living [creature] had a human-like face, and the fourth living [creature] was like a flying eagle.
Compare these to the four living creatures in Y’hezq’El (Ezek.) 1:10, where each of them has all four faces. Yochanan must have been seeing them from an angle from which he could see only one of the faces on each. The four head tribes in the Israelite camp, one in each cardinal direction from the earthly representation of YHWH’s Dwelling Place and protecting it from outsiders, had banners corresponding to these: Re’uven a man, Dan an eagle (earlier than the flying serpent), Efrayim a bull, and Yehudah a lion. (Tom Bradford)
8. And the four living [creatures], in one-to-one correspondence, [each] had six wings extending upward all around, and eyes swelling out [from] within. And they have no rest day or night, saying, “Holy, holy, holy, Master—the Elohim, the Ruler of everything, the One having been, the One being, and the One [who is] coming.”
Rest: or pause, intermission. Holy: set apart, sacred, unique, the only one of His kind—a well-chosen emphasis designed in part to preclude the adversary who is at the same time trying to take His place. Holy, holy, holy: possibly interpreted as “more holy than the holiest of the holy”. (Bradford) This scene is reminiscent of Yeshayahu 6, where the setting was the Temple which pictured this very throne room. These appear to be the same kind of s’rafim that Yeshayahu saw in his vision nearly 700 years before this. Eyes: alternate, covered with eyes: they never pause from either watchfulness or worship. The three tenses, an unfinished (continuing) past, active present, and the one anticipating something yet to be experienced, emphasize that He is eternal. The name YHWH comprises all of these tenses in Hebrew.
9. And whenever the living [creatures] give honor and tribute and thanks to the One seated on the throne, the One living into the ages of perpetuity,
10. the twenty-four elders fall down before the One sitting on the throne, and bow prostrate [in worship] to the One living into the ages of perpetuity, and they throw down their garland-crowns in front of the throne, saying,
11. “You, our Master and Elohim, are deserving of honor and tribute and power, because You have created all things, and through the act of Your will they came into existence and were formed!”
Deserving: in contrast to the unworthy pretender to His throne who is demanding all of these, but based on what? How has he benefitted any of us? He has only taken advantage of things already created, being unable to create his own world, yet thinking he should be its ruler and that he can do a better job than the One who earned all of this respect. Tribute: particularly in the form of gifts brought to show appreciation for His value.
CHAPTER 5
1. Then I saw upon the right hand of the one sitting on the throne a scroll, written inside and on the back, having been secured with seven seals.
Seals: wax to hold a scroll closed, impressed with a signet ring to prove which official had truly sent it. Countless such “bullae” have been found in the City of David, from which the kings of Yehudah ruled, and from numerous other archaeological sites throughout Israel, showing that this was common practice there and not just in Gentile contexts. However, John Klein and Adam Spears, citing the fact that the preparation of YHWH’s bride is a major theme of this book, see this particular document as the ketubah, the wedding contract, which would be signed and sealed by seven individuals—the groom, bride, father of the groom, friend of the groom, father of the bride, and two witnesses.
2. And I saw a mighty messenger, calling out in a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and to undo its seals?”
Ostensibly only the bridegroom would be permitted to open the wedding document.
3. And no one in heaven, on earth, or beneath the earth had the power to open the scroll or to look into it.
Neither the angels nor the fallen angels, no matter how high their rank, had earned this right. (Bradford)
4. And I started lamenting profusely because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or to look into it.
This was that important: not knowing what was in it made him weep, but knowing what was in it had made Daniel (the only other person besides YHWH to ever know its content) physically ill because of the gravity of what was in it. But once is was opened, even haSatan would have access to its information.
5. But one of the elders told me, “Don’t cry! Look, the Lion of the Tribe of Yehudah, the offshoot of David, has prevailed victoriously [and can thus rightfully] open the scroll and its seven seals.
Offshoot: a scion that comes from a root, especially from a tree that has been cut down, which keeps the original tree alive and eventually replaces the severed trunk. Only the designated successor to the throne of David could fulfill this role, but the line had appeared to be “cut off without an heir”. (Yeshayahu 53:8) Through both roundabout genealogies (to throw the enemy off the trail) and levirate marriages, Yeshua was born into the role, and, though he had no offspring, his resurrection (like Hizqiyahu’s before him) allowed him a second occasion, no matter how long it might take to find an appropriate wife for such a king, and now after some 2,000 years, he is about to take his bride. Prevailed: overcoming in a battle and also meeting the qualifying criteria.
6. Then in the middle, between the throne, the four living creatures, and the elders, I saw a lamb standing there, [looking] as if it had been violently slaughtered, [and] having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of Elohim which have been sent out into all the earth.
7. And he approached and received it from the right hand of the One sitting on the throne.
8. And when he had received the scroll, the four living creatures and the 24 elders fell down in front of the lamb, each having a harp and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the holy ones.
9. And they are singing a new song, which says, “You deserve to receive the scroll and to open its seals, because through your blood you redeemed for Elohim [some] from every tribe and tongue and population and ethnicity,
They are: this is the tense in the text, though the narrative has been past tense until now, hinting at the fact that this song continues in the present (or, more likely, those singing, being in the heavenly realm, are in a constant present where there is no past). Redeemed: or purchased, but “redeemed” emphasizes being bought back, not simply buying something that one never owned before.
10. “and you have made them into a kingdom and priests for our Elohim, and they will reign on the earth.”
Kingdom: or, more particularly, royalty or a ruling power, not just people who are ruled over as one nation.
11. The next thing I experienced was to hear the voice of many messengers encircling the throne, as well as of the living creatures and the elders, and the tally of their numbers totaled in the millions and hundreds of millions,
Literally, ten thousand ten thousands (which multiplies to 100 million) and thousands of thousands. Only recently could the numbers of those redeemed from the earth add up to that many.
12. saying in a loud voice, “The Lamb that was slaughtered deserves to receive power and resources and wisdom and force [to overcome resistance] and honor and renown and adulation!”
Power: the recognized position and physical ability to carry out his good intentions. Wisdom: in this case (since he already has the ability to choose rightly), the support and access to practical intelligence so his decisions are properly informed.
13. Then I heard every created thing that is in heaven and on the earth and beneath the earth and atop the sea and everything that was in them saying, “To the One who is on the throne and to the Lamb [be] adulation and honor and renown and dominion into the ages of perpetuity!
The last phrase is clearly a translation from the Hebrew l’olam va-ed (“into the age and infinitely”).
14. And the four living creatures kept saying, “Amen!” And the elders fell prostrate and did homage.
Amen: an exclamation of agreement, saying, “This is a trustworthy statement and with which we fully concur, and so may these conditions continue to be!”
CHAPTER 6
1. Then I watched as the Lamb opened one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures saying, like the sound of thunder, “Come!”
2. And I looked and saw a white horse, and the one sitting on it had a bow, and a victor’s crown [garland] was given to him, and he went conquering and in order that he might continue to conquer.
3. Then, when he opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature saying, “Come!”
4. Another horse came out—bright red—and to the one sitting on it, it was granted to take the peace away from the earth and that they would slaughter one another. And a great sword was given to him.
5. And when he opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature saying, “Come!” And I looked, and there came a black horse, and the one sitting on it had a pair of scales in his hand.
6. Then I heard what [sounded] like a voice in the midst of the four living creatures, saying, “A liter of wheat for a day’s wage, and three liters of barley for a day’s wage, and you must not damage the oil or the wine.
Damage: or do injustice in regard to. Oil and wine are constant requirements in the temple service, but they are also luxury goods, so this may suggest that the wealthy continue to have the supplies they need while the poor have all of their income eaten up on one small meal per day. This suggests a severe but selective famine. We already see true, genetically-unmodified grains costing much more than they used to due to their rarity.
7. And when he opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature saying, “Come!”
8. And I looked, and beheld a pale, ashen green horse, and the name of the one sitting on it was Death, and the Grave was accompanying him [out]. And authority was given them over a fourth of the earth, to kill by the sword, by famine, by violent slaughter, and by the wild beasts of the earth.
Pale green: the Hebrew version connotes something sickly, putrid, and decaying. Death: not just personified, but probably the death angel that slew the firstborn in Egypt. Wild beasts: Aramaic, tearing beasts.
9. And when he opened the fifth seal, I saw, beneath the altar, the souls of those who had been slaughtered because of the Word of Elohim and because of the testimony which they had upheld,
Beneath: interestingly, in Jerusalem there is a cave directly beneath where the ark of the covenant sat in the Holy of Holies, which has for millennia been called “the well of souls”. Slaughtered: the Hebrew word for “altar” means “place of slaughter”, but the humans described here were not killed in the humane manner of a kosher offering, but violently. Word of Elohim: bot the Torah and the one who fleshed it out. (Yoch. 1:1ff) Testimony: a physical token of the covenant which was kept inside the ark of the covenant. (Ex. 16:34; 25:16-22 et al) Upheld: supported, endorsed, and held onto in the face of certain martyrdom; interestingly, the Greek word used here for “testimony” is the root word for “martyrdom”. Our witness on behalf of YHWH in this world still inhabited by demons and wicked rulers will often guarantee our death as it did for Yeshua and the prophets before us, yet ultimately, he says, not a hair of our heads will be lost.
10. and they were screaming out urgently with a loud voice, “How long, O YHWH, Holy and Faithful [One], will You not render a verdict and vindicate our blood from among those residing upon the earth?”
How long: literally, “Until when…?” YHWH: the Greek term here is Despot—i.e., absolute ruler, undisputed in authority, and unrestricted in His ability to dominate. I.e., there is nothing holding Him back from bringing justice except His own choice, and to them it seems like He is waiting an unreasonably-long time to do so. This is reminiscent of Avraham’s query, “Shall not the Judge of all the earth do rightly?” (Gen. 18:25) Faithful: or True, Genuine—the “only wise Elohim”, in contrast with the “gods” which are battling to gain control of His earth. Vindicated: or avenge. For 6,000 years, since Qayin murdered Hevel, innocent blood has been crying out from the earth to Heaven for justice. (Gen. 4:10, etc.) Residing: Heb., living temporarily as guests or visitors.
11. And each was given a white robe and they were told to rest a little while longer until [the number of] their fellow servants and brothers who were about to be put to death as they had been should come to [its] fulness.
White robe: indicating purity, a sign that they were indeed innocent and wrongfully killed. Rest: to wait but in a relaxed state, trusting that He is bearing in mind all the necessary factors but is not forgetting them. When the critical mass is reached (as at S’dom and Ghamorrah), He will not fail to respond with swift and complete justice. The first five seal judgments were not so much YHWH’s wrath but the results of men’s exponentially-increasing evil toward one another. (Tom Bradford)
12. As I watched him open the sixth seal, there began a huge earthquake, and the sun became as black as burlap made from hair, and the whole moon became like blood.
These are how they appear from earth. Such an earthquake might result from the gravitational pull of a passing heavenly body, causing major atmospheric changes as well. The next verse suggests the possibility of passing through the tail of a comet or the meteoritic shrapnel from the shattering of that heavenly body as it comes too close to the earth:
13. Then the stars of the sky fell to the earth just as a fig tree drops its unripe figs when agitated by a great wind.
Compare Mark 13:25.
14. Then the sky tore apart like a scroll being rolled up, and all the mountains and islands were moved out of their places.
This would set the stage for the topographic changes that could restore the earth to the pre-flood topography, where mountains were not as high (being formed later by rapid collisions between tectonic plates as another such world-scale earthquake took place) and allow for the Temple Mount to actually be the highest mountain on earth. (Mikha 4:1)
15. Then the kings of the earth and the great ones and the commanders of thousands and the rich and powerful, as well as every slave and freeman, hid themselves inside the caves and among the cliff-ledges of the mountains,
16. and they said to the mountains and the cliffs, “Fall on us and hide us from the presence of the One who sits on the throne and from the [just] wrath of the Lamb,
17. “because the great day of their wrath has arrived, and who is able to remain standing?!”
Yet this is still just the beginning.
CHAPTER 7
1. After these things I saw four messengers standing on the four corners of the earth, restraining the earth’s four winds, so that no wind would blow on the earth or the sea,
Four corners: as if laid out like a garment with tzitziyoth on the corners (Num. 38:, in the four cardinal directions. No wind: in Hebrew, it would also say, “No spirit”—an idiom for holding back a blessing which would otherwise protect those who have rejected His covering of protection. (John Klein and Adam Spears)
2. and I saw another messenger that had come up from the rising of the sun, having [the] seal of the living Elohim. And he cried out in a loud voice to the four messengers to whom [the responsibility] had been given to damage the earth and the sea,
3. saying, “Do not damage the earth or the sea or the trees until we have sealed the servants of our Elohim on their foreheads!”
Sealed on their foreheads: reminiscent of Y’hezq’el (Ezekiel) 9:4. This could denote the impression left by a signet ring, signifying their being hand-picked and given authority for a special purpose, to be detailed later, and protected from the next events which will harm many others on earth. (Klein and Spears) Midrash Otiot says this seal (ot) on the forehead is the letter “tav” for Torah. The paleo-Hebrew “tav” was shaped much like the English letter “X”. Could it be linked with Yeshua’s crucifixion stake? Such a pause before a catastrophe begins in earnest in order to mark some for protection is also seen in 1 Hanoch/Enoch 66 in relation to the Flood and 2 Barukh 6 in reference to the destruction of the Temple. (Tom Bradford)
4. And I heard the total [number] of those who had been sealed: 144,000, having been sealed out of every tribe of the descendants of Israel--
5. 12,00 having been sealed out of the tribe of Yehudah,
12,000 out of the tribe of Re’uven,
12,000 out of the tribe of Gad,
6. 12,000 out of the tribe of Asher,
12,000 out of the tribe of Nafthali,
12,000 out of the tribe of Menashe,
7. 12,000 out of the tribe of Shim’on,
12,000 out of the tribe of Lewi,
12,000 out of the tribe of Yissakhar,
8. 12,000 out of the tribe of Z’vulun,
12,000 out of the tribe of Yosef,
12,000 out of the tribe of Binyamin.
Yosef: that is, Efrayim, because the other half of Yosef is Menashe. But if there are two tribes of Yosef, there are 13 tribes. Glaringly absent from the list is the tribe of Dan! Why? Some deduce that it is because Genesis 49:17 (Yaaqov’s prophecy specifically for the latter days) suggests that the Counterfeit Messiah to appear on the scene soon after this is from that tribe, but the very verse that immediately precedes it suggests that maybe, as Lewi was excluded from being considered a part of the rest of Israel because they had a special priestly job, here Dan may be excluded from the list because he has the special job of judging the whole nation, and thus they are not included in the task at hand here.
9. After these things I was watching, and [I] beheld a huge crowd which no one was able to count, [coming] out of all ethnicities and tribes and peoples and languages, standing in front of the throne and in front of the Lamb, having been wrapped with long white robes, and palm branches in their hands.
White robes and palm branches, Hebraically, denote the guests at a wedding (Mat. 22:11-12), who would spread palm branches in front of the bridegroom, characterizing him as a king for that day (compare Yochanan 12:13). In Yeshua’s case, he is both bridegroom and king. (Klein and Spears) White robes also symbolize purity and the palm branches suggest the beginning of the Kingdom which is the fulfillment of the festival of Sukkoth. (Tom Bradford; compare Psalm 118:24-29, which highlights the Messianic nature of the feast.)
10. And they were shouting out with a loud voice, “Deliverance [belongs] to our Elohim—the One seated on the throne—and to the Lamb!”
Again note the clear distinction between Elohim and the Lamb, who also called Him his Elohim. (Mat. 27:46; Yochanan 20:17) Compare the “Deliver us, please” shouted by another crowd casting palm branches in front of the one riding into Yerushalayim on a donkey (identifying him as king coming with deliverance, per Zekh. 9:9) on the very day that the Passover lamb was selected—four days before Passover. (Ex. 12:3) “Deliverance” here could also be translated “victory” since the Lamb has been found worthy to open the seals, bringing the redemption of the earth from haSatan to fruition, and the believers’ overcoming as seen in chapters 2 and 3 is ultimately YHWH’s doing. (Tom Bradford)
11. And all the messengers who had been standing around the throne, as well as the elders and the four living creatures then fell down prostrate on their faces and worshipped Elohim,
The angels add their own praise to what the human redeemed have already proclaimed. (Bradford) While in Hebrew there is sometimes ambiguity between falling prostrate and worshipping (precipitating the confusion between doing homage to Yeshua as king and treating him as if he were YHWH, the only one worthy of worship in this sense), but in this verse in Greek there are two different words, making the distinction more clearly in the language of a people which was more inclined toward idolatry and therefore needed the added disambiguation.
12. saying, “That’s right! Blessing and renown and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and capability [belong] to our Elohim into the ages of ages! You can rely on it!”
13. And in response, one of the elders said to me, “These who were wrapped in the [long] white robes—who are they and where do they come from?”
14. And I told him, “My master, [only] you know.” So he told me, “These are the ones who come out of the great Trouble, and they have washed their robes and whitened them in the blood of the Lamb.
Trouble: distress, persecution, pressure, and affliction, but with the definite article, it alludes in particular to a time described both by Yeshua in Mat. 24 and Yirmeyahu (Jeremiah 30:7), where he speaks of “Yaaqov’s Trouble”, and both say it is a time like no other before or after. Daniel 12:1 also speaks of this time of unparalleled distress. Washed their robes: How does red blood make garments white? This speaks of his blood’s atoning effects, through which he invests his purity in us. (Bradford)
15. “Because of this, they are in front of Elohim’s throne, and they minister to Him day and night in His Temple, and the One on the throne will pitch His tent over them.
Minister to Him: a special privilege, better than merely ministering to His house, granted to those most faithful when others have compromised, like the sons of Tzadoq. (Y’hezq’El 40:46; 44:14-15) These people were faithful unto death, being martyred for YHWH’s sake by His enemies, so they are given something that no one else receives.
16. “No more will they ever be hungry or thirsty at all, nor will the sun beat down on them or any scorching heat,
Sun shall not beat down: reminiscent of Psalm 121:6.
17. “because the Lamb—the one [directly] in front of the middle of the throne—will shepherd them and will show them the way to the sources of living waters, and Elohim will wipe away every tear from out of their eyes.”
Living waters: a Hebrew idiom for running water, which denotes both purity (as opposed to the dangers inherent in drinking stagnant water) and the ability to render both physically and ritually pure through its ability to wash away what is corrupt and contaminated.
CHAPTER 8
1. And when he opened the seventh seal, there was silence in the heaven for about half an hour.
Is this just a “pregnant pause”? Half an hour was the length of time spent in silent prayer by the worshippers in the Temple (7:9) following the burning of incense (v. 3) which occurred twice a day (Edersheim, cited by Klein and Spears); this is the reality that the Temple worship mirrored and pictured:
2. And I saw the seven messengers who stand before Elohim, and they were given seven trumpets.
3. Then another messenger came and stood atop the altar, having a golden censer, and he was given much incense so that he could offer it along with the prayers of all the consecrated ones on the golden altar that is in front of the throne.
Censer: that is, a holder for incense, a ground-up fragrant spice burnt to beautify places of worship with its pleasing aroma. Incense is a symbol of prayer. In the Hebrew sanctuaries, the golden altar of incense was just outside the veil in front of the Ark of the Covenant, a picture of YHWH’s throne with angelic beings on top of it, as we see here is the actuality in the permanent “Temple”.
4. And the smoke of the incense rose up out of the messenger’s hand before Elohim along with the prayers of those who were set apart for special service.
5. Then the messenger took hold of the censer and filled it [with coals] from the fire of the altar and threw [them] into the earth, and there commenced thunderings and noises and flashes of lightning and a quaking.
Noises: or voices. These are the same things seen and heard when YHWH descended to earth upon Mount Sinai (Exodus 20:18), along with soundings of a trumpet as seen in the next verses. But this time they are even more fearsome, because there is no mercy any longer:
6. And the seven messengers who had the seven trumpets prepared themselves, in order that they might sound the trumpets.
Prepared themselves: set themselves apart so they could be ready for such a sobering responsibility. (Compare Exodus 19:10-11, 15-22)
7. When the first gave a blast, there came to be hail and fire that had been mixed with blood, and it was thrown [down] onto the earth, and a third of the land was burnt up, and a third of the trees were burnt down, and all of the verdant vegetation was consumed.
Hail and fire: not an ordinary hailstorm of tiny ice pellets, but probably a meteorite shower. Removing this much greenery would introduced great atmospheric instability, with extreme weather and temperature changes resulting from different gas ratios, including reduction in ozone and thus greatly increased sunburn and skin cancers. This sudden, reeling change might even keep the earth from being able to compensate as it normally does during catastrophic events, leading to even larger catastrophes. (Klein and Spears) This is reminiscent of the plagues in Egypt (Exodus 9:24), in which YHWH was making war on the things the Egyptians worshipped and judging them (Ex. 12:12), showing that they had no power to sustain life when really put to the test. Nowadays people worship the earth, giving it more attention than YHWH their Creator, so even it must be put in its place. All the way back in Moshe’s day, YHWH promised that such curses would eventually come on those who disregard His words. (Deut. 27)
8. When the second messenger gave a blast, something like a huge mountain, burning with fire, was thrown into the sea, and a third of the sea turned into blood.
This would be an especially-large meteor or even an asteroid, and would probably cause a tsunami in each direction, flooding the land, in addition to these chemical changes its heat would bring about, possibly changing the water’s color itself in addition to making all the sea creatures within its wake bleed out.
9. And a third of the creatures in the sea that had the breath of life died, and a third of the ships were caused to rot through.
Essentially anything in that third of the sea was utterly destroyed.
10. When the third messenger sounded [his trumpet], a big star fell out of the sky, burning like a torch, and it fell upon a third of the rivers and on the water-sources,
The loss of potable water would be the most frightening of these events thus far. Lack of drinking water made even YHWH’s set-apart people become not just complainers but nearly murderers; what would it do to people who already have no morals?
11. and the star was given the name “The Wormwood”, and a third of the waters turned poisonous, and many of the people died from the waters, because they had been made bitter.
Wormwood: an extremely bitter plant, which YHWH likens to the poison that enters the heart of a person who turns away from Him to serve other Elohim, spreading its vile fruits to the entire community. (Deut. 29:18) Proverbs 5 compares it to the end result of an adulterous affair.
12. When the fourth messenger gave [his] blast, a third of the sun, a third of the moon, and a third of the stars were stricken so that they would be darkened by a third, and the daylight would not appear for a third of [the day], and similarly at night.
Darkened by a third: or, a third of them would be obscured—possibly by all the smoke and haze the preceding events would cause—“scorched aerosol particles”, according to Tom Horn, which would last about a week. This occurred to a much smaller degree upon the eruption of Mt. St. Helens in 1980. Horn suggests that the asteroid in v. 8 and the second entity in v. 10 could either be a binary asteroid or one that splits into two upon entering the atmosphere. An asteroid named Apophis is poised to either hit or graze the earth on April 13, 2029. Could this be what it is referring to? To do this kind of specific damage, the asteroid could be carrying microorganisms that would rain contamination down all over the earth or split a tectonic plate and launch huge volcanic eruptions from volatile sites which would release huge volumes of gases that would asphyxiate people and destroy crop potential. Again, all of these heavenly bodies were worshipped by the ancients (Deut. 4:19; 17:3; Yirmeyahu/Jer. 8:2), and people still speak of the influence of the stars on their “fortunes” (another pagan term), so YHWH shows how impotent they are to withstand such cataclysms. The One who calls them all by name (Yeshayahu/Isa. 40:26) finally has to “punish” them all (Yesh. 24:21) and even let them be dissolved (Yesh. 34:4). Yeshayahu 13:10-11 say directly that these events are to punish the world for its evil. But still worse was yet to come…
13. As I watched, I heard a single eagle flying in mid-heaven, saying in a loud voice, “Woe! Woe! Woe to those dwelling on the earth, [because of what will come] out of the remaining trumpet-blasts of the three messengers that are about to sound!”
They are so bad that even those who experience them are forewarned, but we are given no hint that those who flee will be able to escape the plagues, unlike those in Egypt who were forewarned. (Ex. 9:19-21)
CHAPTER 9
1. Then the fifth messenger sounded [his trumpet], and I saw a star from the heavens that had fallen to the earth, and to it was given the key to the pit of unfathomable depth.
Had fallen: previous to this occasion, so this “star” (an idiom for angelic beings in Hebrew) is probably one of those “1/3 of the stars that fell from heaven”, swept down by the dragon/Heylel when he fell from heaven. (12:4; Yeshayahu 14:12) Which one is identified in verse 11.
2. So he reopened the pit of unfathomable depth, and smoke came up out of the pit like the smoke of a large kiln, and the sun and the air were darkened by the smoke from the pit.
3. And from the smoke locusts came out onto the earth, and they were given power like the power that scorpions have on the earth.
These are not normal insects that devour crops (v. 4), but either the fallen angels locked away in the abyss until the latter days as punishment for the sin mentioned in Genesis 6 (per 1 Hanokh/Enoch 10:15 or the spirits of the 90% of the disembodied nefilim who were locked away in “the place of condemnation” 4,500 years ago so humankind could survive, as described in Yovelilm/Jubilees 10:9 . (Klein and Spears)
4. And they were told not to harm the grass of the earth or anything green or any tree, but only the people who did not have the seal of Elohim on their foreheads.
Thus far the only people with this description in this book are the 144,000 in chapter 7 (T. Bradford), but the concept is clearly related to Y’hezq’El/Ezekiel 9:4-6.
5. Now it was granted to them not to be able to kill them, but that they should be tormented for five months, and their torment was like the torment of a scorpion when it stings a person,
6. and in those days people will seek out death, but will not find it; they will long to die, but death will elude them!
7. And the locusts bore the resemblance of something like horses made ready to go into battle, and on their heads was something like wreaths that seemed to be golden, and their faces were like human faces,
8. and they had hair like women’s hair, and their teeth were like those of lions.
Teeth like…lions: These are reminiscent of the Eliud, the third generation after the uniting of fallen angels with women, who grew to great stature and first devoured men’s crops, then men and beasts themselves, and then one another until the very earth reproved them. (Hanokh/Enoch 7:9-15)
9. And they had chests like breastplates of iron, and the sound of their wings was like the sound of numerous horse-chariots rushing into battle.
10. And they have tails like scorpions, with stingers, and in their tails is their capacity to harm people for five months.
11. They have over them a king, the messenger of the unfathomable depth. His name in Hebrew is ‘Abaddon, and in the Greek [language] he has the name Apollyon.
Meaning “the great destruction” or “the great loss”, ‘Abaddon is the angel of death who destroyed the firstborn in Egypt, being a former kheruv, the first order of angels, who fell along with haSatan, another of the kheruvim who used to surround YHWH’s throne. However, as we saw in verse 6, this time he will not be given the authority to kill. The Watchers (angelks charged with assisting mankind but who instead took advantage of them) were taken captive by the archangel, Michael, and bound beneath the earth—in Tartarus, a part of the Abyss—for seventy generations, until the Day of Judgment (1 Enoch/Hanokh 10:15). Could these destroying angels seen by Yochanan here be the Watchers who are being “kept in chains of darkness” because of their corruption (2 Kefa 2:4)? (Alexander Lawrence, Leviathan’s Ruse, vol. 1)
12. The first woe has passed; however, be aware: after these things there are still two woes to come.
13. Then the sixth messenger sounded [his trumpet], and I heard a single voice [coming] out from the four horns of the golden altar—the one before Elohim--
Golden altar: in the Tabernacle and Temple, this is the altar of incense (symbolic of prayer, per 8:4), not of slaughter (which is of bronze). Both have horns. Those of the larger altar outside served as a place of asylum for some criminals, but not murderers (Ex. 21:14) It could be that the heavenly altar is of gold, and that this voice is not offering sanctuary but wrath, because it is time to avenge the murder of those waiting under it (6:9), and answers their question of “how long?” (Bradford)
14. saying to the sixth messenger (the one who had the trumpet), “Release the four messengers—those who had been bound at the great river (the Ferath).”
‘Abaddon emerges from the Abyss when it is opened. (v. 11) Now, apparently several months later, a command is given to “Loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates” (Ferath) and they proceed forth to slay a third part of mankind. The Sumerians believed that the entrance to the Abzu, or Abyss, was located in the city of Eridu, and Eridu sat at the mouth of the Euphrates river. (Lawrence) Bound: i.e., restrained. The prohibition of going beyond it prior to this could be related to the fact that the 1,700-mile-long Ferath is the ultimate boundary of the Land promised to Avraham (Gen. 15:8) and then later to Yitz'haq and Yaaqov. (Bradford) Thus Israel is the primary target of these destroyers, but the collateral damage will affect many more inhabitants of the earth—a number that today would constitute about 2.5 billion people:
15. So the four messengers who had been made ready for [that very] hour and day and month and year were released so that they might kill off a third of humanity.
16. And the total count of the cavalry troops was 200 million; I heard their total number.
200 million: literally, twice then thousand ten thousands. The only nations east of the Euphates (Ferath, v. 14) that could field this big of an army are India and China.
17. And this is how I saw the horses in the vision and those who sat on them: they had fiery and sulfurous breastplates, and [they were the color of] hyacinth. And the horses’ heads were like the heads of lions, and from their mouths project fire and smoke and sulfur.
Hyacinth: a deep pastel bluish-purple (as in photo).
18. By these three plagues—fire and smoke and sulfur which were discharged from their mouths–a third of humankind was killed,
19. because the potencies of the horses are in their mouths and in their tails, because their tails have heads resembling snakes, and with them they inflict injury.
20. Yet the remainder of humanity who were not killed by these calamities did not even reconsider the works of their hands so that they would no [longer] bow down in worship to the demons and the idols of gold and silver and bronze and stone and wood, which can neither see nor hear nor walk.
Idols today? This is not so far-fetched. Gold, silver, and bronze: This sounds a little too eerily like the medals given a sporting events like the Olympics, which have many pagan overtones to them.
21. Nor did they repent of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their sexual immorality, nor of their thefts.
Sorceries: from the same root as for “pharmacy”, thus particularly, “using drugs and ‘religious incantations’ to drug people into living by their illusions – like having magical (supernatural) powers to manipulate God into giving them more temporal possessions.” (Thayer)
CHAPTER 10
1. Then I saw another powerful messenger descending out of the sky, with a cloud wrapped around him and a rainbow over his head, and his face was like the sun and his legs like pillars of fire,
This chapter is the interlude between the sixth and seventh trumpet judgments, just as there was one between the sixth and seventh seals. Rainbow: or possibly, halo. The Aramaic simply says, “a bow of a cloud on his head”. Pillars of fire: reminiscent of the column of alternating fire and cloud that indicated YHWH’s presence was over the Tabernacle in the ancient wilderness.
2. and in his hand he had a small scroll that was open. And he placed his right foot on the sea, and his left foot on the land.
Small scroll: or possibly, booklet.
3. Then, with a loud voice, he let out a shriek [that sounded] like a lion roaring. And when he cried out, the seven thunderings spoke with their own voices.
Spoke: Aramaic, were heard.
4. And when the seven thunderings had spoken, I was preparing to write, and I heard a voice from the sky, saying, “Seal up what the seven thunderings have said, and do not write them down.”
Seal up: i.e., keep it undisclosed.
5. And the messenger whom I saw standing on the sea and on the land lifted his right hand into the heavens,
Having his feet on the sea and land would express his authority over both—i.e., the whole earth. (Tom Bradford)
6. and swore [an oath], “By the One who lives into the ages of ages—who created the sky and the things in it, the earth and the things on it, and the sea and the things in it: there is no time left!
No time left: or, there will no longer be a delay. It could also be possibly read as, “Time will no longer exist!” What Daniel was shown (Dan. 12:4-9) now comes to pass. Daniel was not told when it would occur, nor was even Yeshua (Mat. 24:36), but as YHWH Himself swore (Deut. 32:39-43), He will avenge His people at last. (Bradford)
7. “But in the days of the voice of the seventh messenger, when he is about to sound a trumpet-blast, the mystery of Elohim will have come to completion, as His servants the prophets have announced [as good news].”
Sound a trumpet: or, possibly, shout, since “voice” is indicated, though the term can also mean “sound” or “noise”. Mystery: or, secret counsel, something hidden from the general public. As good news: implied in the Aramaic version, which links this secret counsel with the “Gospel”, called by the same term; thus this is the culmination of His work, of which He has always given us notice in advance through His prophets (Amos 3:7), which nonetheless had to be hidden to some extent until it was accomplished. (See 1 Cor. 2:8)
8. Then the voice that I heard out of the sky started speaking to me again and said, “Go, take the little open scroll that is in the hand of the messenger who is standing on the sea and on the land.”
9. So I went to the messenger. When I asked him to give me the scroll, he said to me, “Take [it] and eat it, and it will irritate your stomach, but in your mouth it will be as sweet as honey.”
10. So I received the scroll from the messenger’s hand and ate it, and in my mouth it was as sweet as honey, but when I had consumed it, it made my abdomen [feel] bitter.
Open: Is this the same scroll with the seven seals that have been opened by the Lamb, who received it from his Father’s hand? Some think this mighty messenger is not am ordinary angel but a manifestation of YHWH Himself. The standard trinitarian view would thus assume it was the Messiah, but this is a circular argument limiting the possibilities to something that fulfills a predetermined doctrine that every physical appearance of the divine can only be Messiah. The eating of it and the contents of the scroll hint that it may be for a different purpose. The Greek term means “very small book”. It seems to be a specific oracle given to Yochanan, and by symbolically eating it he is ingesting the oracle to prophesy about its contents as he was ordered to do. This is the main task of any prophet, yet what is given to him is bittersweet. Initially he welcomes its content, but as he more fully “digests” it, he realizes it also contains some ghastly news. YHWH often demands strange things of His prophets to create living illustrations of His message. Every prophecy can have more than one fulfillment. This one seems to symbolize sin, which seems pleasurable and desirable for a season, but then have dire consequences which sicken us. (cf. Heb. 11:25; Iyov 20:12-15) YHWH did an almost identical thing with Ezekiel. (Y’hezq’El 2:8-3:3) As we grow in holiness, sinning makes us miserable when we know we have displeased YHWH, and it no longer gives us satisfaction. Oecumenius, in the 10th century, said this expressed how bitter man’s transgression makes YHWH Himself feel. On another level, Yochanan was a Galilean Jew whose only Bible was the Tanakh (Hebrew Scriptures), and the Jewish context, in which children were taught Torah starting at age 5 or 6, is the one in which he would have viewed it. The law of testing a woman accused of adultery (Numbers 5, the probable basis for Yochanan chapter 8, written by this same author) shows that the most basic reason for YHWH’s wrath is Israel’s infidelity to Him. This ceremony was carried out at the eastern gate to the Temple in second-Temple times, using water taken from the laver from which the priests washed their feet and hands. The curse’s ink had wormwood and other bitter herbs added to the mix she drank. If guilty, her belly would swell, but not always immediately. As this vision was widely circulated, many Jews would have picked up on this allusion, for what good is symbolism if its hearers do not understand it? (Tom Bradford)
11. And he told me, “It is your duty to again prophesy concerning many peoples and ethnicities and languages and kings.”
He: Aramaic; Greek has the plural, they, but identifies no antecedent. Bradford notes that this verse is directly related to the verse that follows, as he turns to a subject that also applies to a broader audience than Israel alone:
CHAPTER 11
1. And a reed-staff resembling a scepter [of authority] was given to me, [and I was] told, “Get up and measure the Temple of Elohim as well as the altar, and those worshipping in it.
Reed-staff: a surveyor’s ruler. This is reminiscent of Y’hezq’El 43:10 and 45:3. Which Temple is this? The one in Yerushalayim had been destroyed two decades earlier. There was hope that it would be rebuilt, but to this day is still is not back in place. But he seems to be envisioning a third one—possibly not the ideal one in Y’hezq’El which will stand during the millennial reign of Messiah, but one that comes just beforehand (unless, like the one in the days of the Maccabees, the same one that is defiled will be cleansed and reopened). He only measures the sanctuary and the court of priests immediately outside it. Only Israelites were permitted in any of the courts in second-Temple times, but at this time we see something different:
2. “But leave out the courtyard which is outside the Temple, and do not measure it, because it has been given to the Nations, and they will tread the holy city [underfoot] for 42 months.
Court outside: i.e., outer court, furthest from the sanctuary, the place of the least sanctity, where Gentiles were always permitted. Nations: At this point, a unified bloc in opposition to or at best lacking any understanding of true holiness. Tread: not just frequent this place with unclean feet, but with the sense of trampling it down in an insulting or contemptuous way, defiling and even trying to destroy it. Gentiles therefore have some authority there that is less than ideal. 42 months: More prophecies have been missed by not taking them literally enough than by not understanding the symbolism. (Bradford)
3. “And I will grant that my two witnesses may prophesy 1,260 days, clothed in burlap
Burlap: or sackcloth, a symbol of mourning with the goal of repentance. 1,260 days: 42 times the standard 30-day Hebrew lunar month, probably restored to its actual length by some apocalyptic astronomical influence that affects the gravitation and revolution of both the earth and moon by this time. These two intervals may or may not be simultaneous, but it is likely if we do not adjust the calendar for solar years as must be done at present—but maybe not by that time, when things may be readjusted to the original pattern that changed in 701 B.C.E. This length of time seems connected to the length of Eliyahu’s drought (Luke 4:25) and the one to whom the holy ones are handed over for this length. (Dan. 7:25; compare Dani’el 12:7.) 3.5 is half of 7, the ideal divine number of wholeness, suggesting an incompleteness here or something that is arrested before achieving its final goal—in this case, the Gentile agenda in regard to Yerushalayim. The interval from the time Antiochius IV set up his statue in the Temple until the Maccabees cleansed the sanctuary was also 3.5 years. (Tom Bradford)
Might this correlate with the 7-year treaty the Beast makes but which he breaks halfway through, defiling the Temple again and putting a stop to the offerings? (Dan. 9:27)
4. “These are the two olive trees and the two menoroth—the ones that stand before the Master of the earth.
This is an allusion to Z’kharyah 4:3ff.
5. “And if anyone should want to injure them, fire goes out from their mouth and devours their enemies. And if anyone should want to injure them, it is necessary for them to be killed in this way--
6. “who have the authorization to shut the heaven so that no rain may fall during the days of their prophecy, and they have authority over the waters, to change them into blood, and to strike the earth with any kind of plague as often as they might wish.
In the time of Eliyahu (1 Kings 17-18), it did not rain for three and a half years (1,260 days), and Moshe brought ten plagues, including turning water into blood (Ex. 5-11). Thus, though unnamed, this suggests that these two witnesses are Moshe (whose body was preserved and kept from haSatan by the archangel Mikha’el) and Eliyahu (who was taken up into the sky by a fiery chariot without dying). Mal’akhi (4:5-6) tells us that YHWH will send Eliyahu before the Day of YHWH to avert a longer-term curse, and Jewish tradition links him with the coming of the Messiah. Midrash Rabbah on Deuteronomy also has YHWH swearing to Moshe, “As you devoted your life to their service in this world, so too in the time to come when I bring Eliyahu the prophet unto them, the two of you will come together.” (Avi ben Mordechai)
7. And when they have finished [giving] their evidence, the vicious beast that comes up out of the unfathomable depth will make war with them and will prevail over them and kill them off.
Vicious: the Aramaic has the word for “tearing to pieces”. Evidence: or witness, testimony.
8. And their corpses will be out in the open—on the public plaza in the great city, which is figuratively called S’dom and Egypt, where their Master was also crucified.
Figuratively: or spiritually. There is a precedent for Yerushalayim being called S’dom (Sodom) in Yeshayahu (Isa.) 1:1, 9-10, and in v. 21 of that chapter he speaks of “how the faithful city has become a harlot”. This is the case by this time because Yerushalayim (identified clearly since it is the site of Yeshua’s crucifixion) will have been co-opted and occupied by this “beast” and his kingdom, rival to YHWH’s, whose spirit had its firmest strongholds in these places before YHWH judged them and it had to move elsewhere. HaSatan has always dreamed of having YHWH’s capital, Yerushalayim, which many ancient writings suggest is linked very directly with Eden and the heaven itself.
9. And [some] from the peoples and tribes and languages and ethnicities will watch their corpses [intently] for three and a half days, and will not permit their bodies to be put into a tomb.
Watch: like a spectator, but their audience included all parts of the world. This is already possible in our day, as there has for years been a web-camera trained directly on what verse 8 suggests is the Western Wall plaza (the most wide-open and important place in the Old City until the Temple is rebuilt). The term implies watching intently, keeping an alert eye on them lest anyone tamper with them—much like the guard that was set at Yeshua’s tomb to “ensure” that he would not rise again as he had said he would. Leaving them unburied is in Middle Eastern thought the epitome of desecration and insult. (Yirmeyahu/Jer. 8:2; 16:4,6) Jews still today bury their dead within one day if at all possible.
10. And those who dwell on the earth will be glad about them and have parties and will send gifts to one another, because these two prophets had tormented those dwelling on the earth.
Dwell on the earth: the Hebrew translation from Aramaic suggests rather “those staying temporarily on the Land”, possibly specifically the occupying forces of the beast whose days there are numbered by YHWH and who therefore had until this time felt their hold on it to be precarious and uncertain. Now, they feel they have finally achieved their victory, as connoted by the word for parties (feasts celebrating a great achievement). It sounds like they have made it another Christmas!
11. But after three and a half days the spirit of life from Elohim entered [back] into them and they stood [firmly] on their feet, and tremendous fear fell on those who were watching them.
Three and a half days (v. 9) is the amount of time Jewish tradition held that a soul stays near its body before finally departing, allowing the body to begin to decay. (Yeshua stayed dead only three days and three nights, and was not allowed to experience decay, per Psalm 16:10, whereas El’azar/Lazarus, having been dead four days, was expected to already be beginning to rot.)
12. And they heard a loud voice out of the sky telling them, “Come up here!” And they went up into the sky by way of the cloud while their enemies watched them.
The cloud: could it be the same one that took Yeshua out of his disciples’ sight (Acts 1:9)—or the great cloud of witnesses (Heb. 12:1)?
13. And within that [very] hour, there was a huge earthquake, and one-tenth of the city fell, and 7,000 men of renown died, and the rest became terrified and yielded honor to the Elohim of Heaven.
Earthquake: the Aramaic has “shock” rather than the typical word for earthquake, possibly indicating something from the air (where they had just gone), like an electromagnetic pulse or a neutron bomb, which could also knock out communications for their world-wide network, causing a setback such as YHWH has often initiated when men’s ambitions have gone in a wrong direction. Men of renown: as they probably had a gathering of the most important people in the “kingdom” to celebrate this perverse victory, making it possible to destroy many of them in one fell swoop as when Shimshon “brought down the house” on the Philistine elite. The phrase is the reversal of the phrase in Genesis 6:4 used for the offspring of angelic beings and women, but suggests a possible connection between them, as the head “beast” appears to be an incarnation of one of those spirits held in prison since that time. (Alexander Lawrence) The actual phrase here seems to read “names of human beings”. Elohim of Heaven: Would so many people really acknowledge YHWH? Possibly; the average Egyptian on the street did so after the plagues grew more severe (Exodus 8:15; 9:20; 10:3-7), despite Pharaoh’s stubbornness. But the events that continue suggest that it may be very short-lived; could it be that instead they were giving credit to some “sky-god” which they had again begun to worship?
14. The second woe has passed, [but] beware! The third woe is coming in rapid succession!
Passed: literally, gone behind us. But they are not permitted to relax in the fact that it is over; there is no time to even ponder or clean up after the one that has just rocked the city, because another shockwave is coming hard on its heels.
15. Then the seventh messenger sounded his trumpet, and there were loud voices in the sky, saying, “The rule of the world-order has been transferred to [being] that of our Master and of the one He has anointed, and He will reign into the ages of ages!”
Transferred: or transitioned, come to be. A great corner was turned when the world saw that the Beast could not prevent the resurrection of the righteous witnesses or keep his own high officials from being killed by even a natural disaster—if that is what it was.
16. Then the twenty-four elders [who were] sitting on their thrones in front of YHWH fell on their faces and worshipped YHWH,
17. saying, “We give thanks to You, O YHWH, the [one and only] Elohim, the ruler of everything, the One who is, and the One who had [always] been, and the One who is coming, that You have [chosen to] actively take hold of the power [to make radical change] that is available to You, and have begun to exercise dominion!
18. “Though the nations were enraged, Your wrath has come, as has the proper time for the dead to be judged and to give recompense to Your servants the prophets and the ones who [remained] set-apart, and to those who revere Your name, [both] small and great, and to bring to ruin those who are ruining the earth!”
Recompense: proper payment and compensation for service rightly-rendered despite the need for immediate sacrifice. Ruining the earth: both through mishandling it—poor stewardship of what was placed under human dominion at creation—as well as corrupting it (as was done in the days of Noakh) through their philosophies which have caused many to stumble.
19. And the temple of the Elohim who is in the Heaven was [broken] open, and the ark of the covenant was seen in His temple when there were flashes of lightning and noises and thunderings and an earthquake and a great hailstorm.
Who is in the Heaven: or, the temple of Elohim was opened in the sky (one definition of “heaven”—the “first heaven”, the earth’s atmosphere, for these other plagues would not be taking place in the third heaven, but in the lowest part of what Genesis calls the heavens. Though a third Temple has been built by this time, the ark of the covenant is not there; it is still hidden underground in a cave beneath the site of Yeshua’s crucifixion, seen there by Ron Wyatt in 1982. When an archaeologist tried to approach it, he was violently knocked over, and when six Levitical priests tried to access it to remove it, they were struck dead. The first times Wyatt saw it, the ark and other ancient temple and tabernacle artifacts were covered by rubble and rotten animal skins, but the last time, it had been set in order just like a sanctuary, by whom he could not tell, except that there were four angels guarding it. Open: the term connotes breaking a seal such as when the stone was rolled away at Messiah’s resurrection, and when other graves were opened. (Mat. 27:52) There is a fissure in the bedrock there from the earthquake at the time of Yeshua’s death, and this suggests it being split open much wider an exposed to the world at this time. Wyatt was told by a messenger to leave the ark undisturbed, for at the time the mark of the beast (specified to him as the “Sunday law”) became mandatory, it would be revealed as a witness and evidence against that counterfeit kingdom. (Kevin Fisher of Ark Discovery International) In fact, signs are the very next thing mentioned in the sequence of the text…
INTRODUCTION: This is a vision Yochanan the Envoy had while exiled for Yeshua's sake on the island of Patmos (1:9), off the coast of present-day Turkey. (See photos above.) It was a penal location designed to be inescapable, much like the island of Alcatraz today. When studying its details, we need to remember that it was essentially a dream--a waking dream, yes, but full of the same kind of imagery that had more symbolic than literal meaning, though it had very specific meanings known to its original audience, being largely culled from many parts of previous Scriptures. Much of it is echoed in an Aramaic apocalyptic document found by Edmond Bordeaux Szekely in 1923 among the Vatican archives and traced to the Essene sect, known best for their Qumran community but often paralleling the Renewed Covenant in their themes. Fragments of this same document in Hebrew are also said to have been found among the Dead Sea Scrolls, without the direct references to Yeshua as such. The upshot of the book is that truth will ultimately triumph, so we should endure and overcome the temporary suffering that we may need to endure for the sake of that purpose. One key to reading it is that it is not necessarily chronological. It is presented “in sections that are organized thematically, and then within those thematic sections it is chronological. But they are giving us a view of events of the end—different stretches of time leading up to the end and focusing on particular things in each one of those segments. It’s too much to tell people everything that’s going on when you’re trying to teach things topically. So you take one stretch of time and you focus on one particular line of action. Then you step back and… focus on another line of action.” (Alexander Lawrence)
THE UNVEILING OF
Yeshua the Messiah
The library at Efesos
Laodikeia
A huge statue of Zeus sat in the middle of Smürna's marketplace.
A model of ancient Pergamos
Trajan's temple and theatre at Pergamos
Restored ruins of Sardis
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