Chronological Sequence
Are Revelation’s visions presented in chronological sequence? And if so, how do we explain the many parallel descriptions that link them?
Are Revelation’s visions presented in a
neat chronological sequence as they unfold in each chapter? If we assume this
to be true, things quickly become untenable as key events are repeated in multiple
visions. For example, the sixth seal culminates in the final day of
wrath accompanied by celestial and terrestrial upheaval, yet the “day of the
Lord” and the judgment of the wicked occur also when the seventh trumpet
sounds.
Likewise, the outpouring of the “seventh bowl of wrath” produces the proclamation “It is done,” which refers to the “wrath
of God” that is completed by the “seven bowls of wrath.” In the “seventh
bowl,” Babylon falls, and “every island and mountain is removed,”
another picture of terrestrial upheaval.
REPETITION
Key terms and images are repeated across
multiple visions, and that raises the question - Is Revelation
describing multiple “final” judgments, multiple “days of the Lord,” etc.,
or are the same events pictured from different perspectives?
This does not mean the book is an allegory
about “timeless truths.” Its visions move forward to inevitable conclusions:
Final judgment, ultimate victory, New Creation. Likewise, the visions unveil
events progressively; later ones have literary links to previous visions, but also
provide more details.
God is the one “who is and who was and who
is coming.” The clause is repeated three more times in the book, but in the
last instance, the third stanza is dropped (“He who is coming”). That
is, God has arrived and is no longer “coming” - (Revelation 1:4, 4:8,
11:17, 16:5).
Information is revealed in stages. For
example, the prophecy from Ezekiel about “Gog and Magog” is used
in three separate visions. In the first instance, the language is brief and allusive. In the second case, the source of the description
becomes more recognizable, though the invading force is identified as “all
the kings of the earth and their armies.”
And in the third instance, the language
is explicit. “Gog and Magog” are named, but they represent the “nations
of the earth” in their final attempt to annihilate the “saints” - (Revelation
16:12-16, 19:17-21, 20:8-9).
A repeated theme is the ascent of a
malevolent figure that persecutes the “saints.” In each instance, it is described
in similar terms. For example, the sounding of the fifth Trumpet causes a horde of locust-like beings to “ascend (anabainō)
out of the Abyss” to torment men. The Abyss was ruled
by the destructive creature named “Abaddon” and “Apollyon” - (Revelation
9:1-2).
ABYSS AND ASCENT
In the vision of the “two witnesses,”
the “beast” is ascending (anabainon) out
of the Abyss to make war with the witnesses. The language is
from the book of Daniel when the prophet saw four “beasts” ascending
from the sea.
The same language is also used when
describing the single “beast” that “ascends” from
the sea to “wage war” against the “saints.” This is followed by a
second beast that “ascended from the earth” - (Revelation 13:1-18, Daniel 7:17).
The “beast” is described again “ascending
out of the Abyss” in chapter 17. Finally, at the end of the thousand years,
Satan is “loosed” from the Abyss to deceive the
nations and lead them to “ascend over the breadth of
the earth” against the “saints.”
The common theme is the ascent
of a malevolent being (demons, beast, false prophet, Satan) from a dark and
deep place (Abyss, sea, earth)
to wage war against the “saints.”
LAMB’S VICTORY
The downfall and “binding” of Satan are
presented twice, each time with the same terms and imagery. In chapter 12, Satan is the “great dragon, the old serpent, the Devil
and Satan,” the one “who deceives the whole habitable earth” who was
poised to devour the “son,” but instead, he is thwarted when the “son”
is caught up to the throne.
As a result of Christ’s death, “Michael
and his angels” defeat “the dragon” who is “cast”
(Greek ballō) to the earth. From that point, salvation, God’s
kingdom, and Christ’s rule are declared “because the accuser of our brethren
is cast down!” Therefore, saints “overcame him by the
blood of the Lamb, the word of their testimony, and because they loved not
their life unto death.” ALL THIS WAS BASED ON CHRIST’S DEATH -
(Revelation 12:1-11).
Satan is the one “who deceives the whole
habitable earth” before he is cast to the earth. After
his downfall, he turns his fury against the woman who gave birth to the “son,” and then against the “remnant of her seed, they who have the testimony of
Jesus Christ” - (Revelation
12:12-17).
In chapter 20, the “angel” lays hold
of the “dragon, the old serpent, the Devil and Satan to cast
(ballō) him into the Abyss” the “thousand years.”
The Devil is unable “to deceive the nations” until that period is
completed, after which, he is “loosed for a little time” - (Revelation 20:1-6).
At the end of the “thousand years,”
Satan is “loosed from the Abyss” to “deceive the
nations from the four corners” of the globe, and to gather
them to “ascend over the breadth of the earth to
encompass the camp of the saints.” All this is of no avail for “fire
descends out of heaven and devours them” as they assemble for their final
assault against the church - (Revelation 20:7-9).
TOO MANY PARALLELS
The verbal parallels between the “casting
down” of the “Dragon” following the victory of the “son,” and
his imprisonment in the “Abyss” and later release are too close to be coincidental.
On some level, the same realities are in view.
Note the following descriptions of the Devil and their verbal parallels:
- (Revelation 12:9) – “And the great dragon was cast out, the ancient serpent, he that is called Adversary and the Satan, that deceives the whole habitable world, he was cast to the earth.”
- (Revelation 20:1-3) – “And he laid hold of the dragon, the ancient serpent, who is Adversary and the Accuser, and bound him for a thousand years, and cast him into the abyss, and fastened and sealed it over him, that he might not deceive the nations anymore until the thousand years should be ended.”
In the vision of the heavenly Throne, John
saw that “out of the throne proceeded flashes of lightning, voices,
and thunders.” The picture is repeated three more times, and each
time, additional elements are added, including earthquakes and hail. And each
time, there is both repetition and progress - (Revelation 4:5, 8:5, 11:19,
16:18-21).
There are too many verbal and conceptual
parallels between the different visions to be coincidental. John expects us to
detect these clues for insight into each vision and how they all fit together. To
read the visions of Revelation as if they are laid out in a neat
chronological order is to miss the larger picture and the true significance of its
visions.
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