Commentary on Revelation

Revelation:

A Reference Commentary.

R A Taylor

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Copyright2010 R A Taylor

14 Mar 2010

Oh, there’s ah clear indication in ah book called Revelations.

Oh, there’s ah clear indication

in ah book called Revelations

St. John wrote ah long-long time ago

call it the words of life

call it a warning-in-light

ya know it talks about a man that wears ah robe

and there’s a strong Revelation

that gives an indication

Its talk about a man who owns ah throne

call him the First and Last

You know he wears a golden sash

Holy-Holy-Holy is the Lamb

He was First born of the Dead

and He’s comen back again

and of his kingdom Brother there’s no-end

He said don’t forget to feed my sheep

you know the homeless in the streets

‘cause what you do for them you’ve done for me

seven angels he addressed

warning labels tell the rest

and why do they call that book a mystery

He’s coming back just the way he left

every tribe He will address

When Michael blows that horn called victory.

Jim F. Bean II. [A soldier of Christ on the highways of the USA]

Dedicated to our persecuted brethren throughout the world.

and to

Malcolm Smith whose tapes taught me that the key to the symbolism of Revelation lies in the rest of the Bible.

This document can be freely distributed or printed among the body of Christ.

Spanish and French translations and downloads are available at my web-site.

Revelation: A Reference Commentary.

Note: The pages are formatted to European A4 size, you can reformat the page size to USAletter format and then update the table of contents. If you are using a Word 97 version of this commentary then you can update this table of contents by selecting the table of contents and hitting F9. You can also use it to navigate to any section by clicking on a page number.

Table of Contents:

1. Introduction:

2. The message of Revelation:

2.1. A Portrait of the Risen and Glorified Christ in Revelation....

2.2 Hymns of Praise and worship in Revelation:......

3. The interpretation of Revelation.

3.1. The five schools of interpretation:......

3.2. The Millennium:......

3.3. The Rapture......

3.4. Persecution:......

3.5. Theology of Israel and of the Church......

John's theology of the church

4. Authorship and date:

5. OT and NT imagery.

5.1. OT imagery:......

5.2. The Exodus theme:......

5.3. Main OT passages used:......

5.4. NT Imagery......

5.5. The Antichrist......

6. Structure.

6.1. Progressive Parallelism in Revelation......

7. The symbology and self interpretation of Revelation.

7.1. Symbols in the book......

7.1.1. Symbols of Christ......

7.1.2. Symbols of the Church......

7.1.3. The enemies of the church......

7.2. The use of numbers in Revelation:......

7.3. Some literary devices used......

8. Historical setting:

9. References:

Commentary on Revelation.

10. Prologue (1:1)

11. Salutation (1:4)

12. One Like a Son of Man (1:9)

13. The letters to the seven churches (2:1)

13.1. Ephesus (2:1)......

13.2. Smyrna (2:8)......

13.3. Pergamum (2:12)......

13.4. Thyatira (2:18)......

13.5. Sardis (3:1)......

13.6. Philadelphia (3:7)......

13.7. Laodicea (3:14)......

14. The vision of heaven (4:1)

14.1. Twenty four elders and four living creatures (4:4)......

14.2. The scroll and the Lamb (5:1)......

15. The seven seals (6:1)

15.1. First seal (6:1)......

15.2. Second seal (6:3)......

15.3. Third seal (6:5)......

15.4. Fourth seal (6:7)......

15.5. Fifth seal (6:9)......

15.6. Sixth seal (6:12)......

16. The 144,000 sealed (7:1)

17. The great multitude in white robes (7:9)

17.1. Introduction to the Great multitude:......

18. The seventh seal and the seven Trumpets (8:1)

18.1. Introduction:......

18.1.1.The seven trumpets and the ten plagues on Egypt:

18.1.2. The OT Feasts and their relevance to Revelation.

18.2. The seventh seal and the prayers of the saints (8:1)......

18.3. The First Trumpet (8:7)......

18.4. The second trumpet (8:8)......

18.5. The third trumpet (8:10)......

18.6. The fourth trumpet (8:12)......

18.7. The fifth trumpet, the first Woe! (8:13)......

18.8. The sixth trumpet, the second Woe! (9:13)......

19. The Mighty Angel and the little scroll (10:1)

20. The measuring of the temple and the two witnesses (11:1)

20.1 The measuring of the Temple (11:1)......

20.2 The Two Witnesses (11:3)......

21. The seventh trumpet, the third Woe! (11:15)

22. The woman and the dragon (12:1)

22.1. War in Heaven (12:7)......

22.2. The dragon pursues the Woman (12:13)......

23. The beast out of the sea (13:1)

24. The beast out of the earth (13:11)

25. The lamb and the 144,000 (14:1)

26. The three angels (14:6)

27. The harvest of the earth (14:14)

27.1. The harvest of the righteous:......

27.2. The harvest of the wicked:......

28. Seven angels with seven plagues (15:1)

28.1. First bowl (16:2)......

28.2. Second bowl (16:3)......

28.3. Third bowl (16:4)......

28.4. Fourth bowl (16:8)......

28.5. Fifth Bowl (16:10)......

28.6. Sixth bowl (16:12)......

28.7. Seventh bowl (16:17)......

29. The woman on the beast (17:1).

29.1. Is Jerusalem Babylon?......

29.2. The mystery of the woman and the beast explained (17:7)..

30. The fall of Babylon (18:1).

30.1. Mourning for Babylon (18:9)......

30.1.1. The kings of the earth mourn (18:9)......

30.1.2. The merchants mourn (18:11)......

30.1.3. The sea captains mourn (18:17)......

30.2. Final destruction (18:21)......

30.3. Hallelujah (19:1)......

31. Blessed are those invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb! (19:9)

32. The rider on the white horse (19:11)

33. The end of the beast and the false prophet (19:19)

34. The thousand years (20:1)

34.1. Premillennial interpretation:......

34.1.1 OT references in favour of Premillennialism:....

34.1.2 Commentary (Premillennial):......

34.2. Amillennial Interpretation:......

34.2.1. NT theology about being raised with Christ now:.

34.2.2. The argument of parallelism (Hendriksen)......

34.2.3. Commentary (amillennial):......

35. The dead are judged - the great white throne (20:11)

36. New heavens and new earth (21:1)

37. The new Jerusalem (21:9)

38. The river of life (22:1)

39. I am coming soon (22:7)

40. Warning (22:18):

41. Final benediction (22:20)

Foreword.

Anyone who tries to write a commentary on Revelation owes a debt to those who in the past have written commentaries on Revelation and who have had to grapple with its many difficulties, these are acknowledged in the references. Mounce has been my constant companion for most of the writing of this book and also helpful have been Barclay, Caird, Hailey, Hendriksen, Hughes, Johnson, Ladd, Lang, Milligan, Morris and Wilcock. Lately I have found Osborne a very helpful commentary. Other commentaries and works consulted are listed at the end of the introduction. At times we have all stumbled through passages we didn't or barely understood. The problem is illustrated by the many variant interpretations one can find, as well as the different schools of interpretation. I owe a great debt to a series of tapes by Malcolm Smith who first demonstrated to me that the key to much of its interpretation lies in the bible itself. He made difficult passages suddenly seem to be brilliantly clear, his interpretation belongs clearly to the idealist school. Without hearing his tapes this commentary would not have been written.

I have to note that as I wrote this commentary my stance has changed from idealist to more futuristic, these days I would call my interpretation eclectic, in that it combines different interpretive schemes. Also I have used the term Second Coming rather liberally. In my mind the Second Coming is a single event covering a very short time. However, Revelation deals with the events of the last days starting from Pentecost, and ending with the judgement and the last state. The last day is covered by the sixth seal, the seventh trumpet, the seventh bowl and the last battle. Osborne uses the term eschaton, which better describes those events leading up to the final Day of the Lord.

Anyone who writes on Revelation should write for his own generation and therefore I have eschewed a preterist interpretation and used more of a futurist interpretation because we in the West are looking for the appearance of the antichrist and need to be prepared for his coming which will precede the greater coming of our Lord. However there is a danger in being pre-occupied with the appearance of the antichrist (Rev 13) because we may become so preoccupied that we as the church stop our pre-eminent work of preaching the gospel to all nations and to the ends of the earth and of making disciples (Rev 11).

Everyone who tries to write a commentary on Revelation brings his own baggage, his own doctrinal assumptions, the same is true here. No one has 'the' correct interpretation of Revelation, this is partly because it shows the principles but not always the details, (Wilcock) its interpretation depends on the circumstances of the church at the time. To some it may be 'Wake up'! Strengthen that which is about to die...' to some it may be 'Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown.' The book of Revelation will bless all who hear it and take it to heart and therefore it speaks to all churches, of all ages, to some the beast is Rome to others China, Russia or the future antichrist. The reader must judge for himself whether the argument or scriptures used have weight or not. It is hoped that the references given will give the reader the clues required to make up his own mind as to the interpretation, I hope that this commentary will show the solid biblical basis of Revelation. In many ways a commentary on Revelation is a lifetimes work, as its interpretation will mature as we mature. I trust that if you differ from me on some points you will bear with me, 'We all stumble in many ways.' James 3:2. In 1 Thess 5:21 Paul tells them to 'test everything and to hold on to the good', I hope that everyone who reads this commentary will also take this attitude.

Why yet another commentary on Revelation? Like Everest, because it is there, but also because I am convinced that the keys to its interpretation lie in scripture and to give due acknowledgement to those Christians persecuted throughout the ages and even now, to those the beast is alive and waging war on the saints and overcoming them. Another reason is that as Christians we all, in every generation, need to know the signs of His coming and to hear afresh and to heed the message within Revelation.

When I wrote the commentary I was aware of the saints that preceded me and who gave their lives for the truth of the gospel. But in our generation I wanted to write a commentary that would be relevant which is why I have not included much historical information on the Roman Empire. Most Christians in the West are looking out for the antichrist and so it is important to look for the signs of his appearance. But at the same time Christians in other parts of the world are undergoing persecution and Revelation is relevant for them too. So a purely futuristic interpretation of Revelation is not really appropriate to our times.

It is a reference commentary because I have tried to incorporate all the major cross-references upon which it is based or that shed light on the book from the old and new testaments and within Revelation itself. It is also written on a verse by verse basis and there is some duplication because of this. There is also some duplication because I add to it from time to time and therefore the same thought may occur twice. I hope that it will therefore be of use to as a reference tool as well as shedding light on a book that many Christians who take their bible seriously may find perplexing. One of my aims is to make it as pastoral as possible and to show its relevance to our living; to those under persecution and under pressure to compromise with the world there is much application and encouragement.

Revelation is a closed book to many, but to those who diligently study it, it will slowly reveal its treasures and the joy of such new discoveries will amply reward the effort made. The literary style of Revelation is such that its many internal cross references make it suitable for using a computer bible, as do its many references to the rest of the bible. To those of you who want to study this book, a couple of decent commentaries will also help (to keep you from fanciful ideas). Mounce was my main commentary, but now I would go for Osborne instead. I commend the last book in the bible to those disposed to make such an effort.

I would like to thank Alan Nairne, David Easlea and John Platt for reviewing the manuscript and adding their comments. Since publishing this commentary on the web ( in 1997 I have had very good feedback from readers, especially from Spanish speaking people and I am grateful to Alex Field who translated it into Spanish during his fledgling days as a translator. Claire Hupin has also done the French translation. My ultimate aim is to get a Chinese translation on the web in order to edify God’s people in China. The main negative feedback has been from a few “KJV Only” people, who object to me using the NIV version, and I have tried to answer their criticism below.

Bible version used:

All scripture references are from the New International Bible unless otherwise stated. My Greek Bible is linked to the KJV i.e. Strongs. Differences between the NIV and KJV are indicated in my website at The differences amount to very little in so far as they affect the interpretation of Revelation.

The Textus Receptus (received text) upon which the KJV is mainly based was the edition produced by Erasmus in 1516, with further work by Stephanus (d 1559) and Theodore Beza (d 1605). Erasmus did not have the last six verses of Revelation and he translated it into Greek from the Latin Vulgate, see 'tree of life' (NIV) vs 'book of life' (KJV) in Rev 22:19. Erasmus had only one copy of Revelation in the Greek and a copyist copied this for him, as he had to give the manuscript back. The copyist had difficulties because the text of Revelation was buried within a commentary and therefore some mistakes were made. Some of these eventually found their way into the KJV.

In Revelation the Majority Text (MT) and Critical Text (CT) mostly agree, the major differences are with the RT upon which the KJV is based. "I counted 140 verses within the book of Revelation where the Received Text (RT) does not agree with the Majority Text. Also, I noted 23 verses of the Critical Text that do not agree with the MT. Clearly the CT is much closer to the original than the RT in the book of Revelation." (Greek Texts and The Revelation found at Therefore as far as Revelation goes we are safer using the NIV rather than the KJV.

Carson in "An Introduction to the New Testament" states: Kurt and Barbara Aland claim, "In the book of Revelation the textual scene and its history differs greatly from the rest of the NT." This is due to two factors. First, Revelation has far fewer Greek manuscript witnesses than any other NT book. Revelation originally circulated independently of the rest of the NT, and the nature of the book, combined with suspicions about it in the East, where the bulk of Greek manuscripts were produced, cut down the number of copies made. Extant are only five papyrus manuscripts, the longest containing eight chapter (from the third century), and eleven unicials, only six of which contain any substantial portion of text, and only three of which contain the whole book (Sinaiticus, from the fourth century; Alexandrinus, from the fifth century, and 046, from the tenth century). While in most of the NT, Sinaiticus is considered to have a text superior to that found in Alexandrinus, the situation is reversed in Revelation.

(xxxx) Refers to an unknown or forgotten reference, it indicates that the thought expressed originated with someone else.

I have followed Wilcock by splitting Revelation into eight scenes.

Numbers after any Greek word are Strong's

Revelation: A Reference Commentary.

1. Introduction:

To many on reading Revelation for the first time, particularly as a new Christian, it seems a fantastic book, but as one grows in the understanding of the bible more of it becomes recognisable and familiar. The reason why it seems fantastic to us is because of the apocalyptic style it was written in. This style would be familiar to the first century readers, but it is not a style with which we are familiar and it is therefore a barrier to our understanding the message of the book. The aim of this commentary is to fill in some more gaps in our understanding and to show how both OT and NT scriptures, and indeed Revelation itself, provide many of the keys to the interpretation of the book of Revelation. Much insight can be gained merely by studying the many cross-references within Revelation and in particular the contrasts within it. It is rooted in particular with OT imagery but a detailed study reveals a NT perspective on a surprising number of aspects of the book. It also contains a supreme unity all of its own, but its unity with the rest of the word of God makes it a treasure throve. The best commentary on Revelation is scripture itself and I have therefore kept comment to a minimum, as this may only muddy the water. I have tried to answer the question 'what does it all mean', however itis only possible to provide answers to some of these questions. I do not claim to totally understand all the book, but some insights should prove useful. Osborne wisely comments that we shall only recognise the events in Revelation when they happen, until then let us at least understand the theological meaning of these events, what is God saying to us in this book and what is God saying to us in world events? Blessed is the one who reads the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near (1:3). He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.