Kalev Creative

 6/27/2023

We’re reading through Revelation along with NT Wright’s Revelation for Everyone. These notes include discussions of topics of additional interest and attempt connections with more Old Testament material.

Introducing John

Jesus sends an angel to John to “show his servants what must happen very soon.”

John addresses the letter from himself but also from “he who is, and who was, and who is still to come, and from the seven spirits who are before his throne, and from Jesus Christ.” “He who is” is likely God the Father, who introduced himself to Moses on Mount Sinai as “I am.” (Exodus 3:14)

The seven spirits are a mystery, but we’ll soon find some clues.

Jesus “has appointed us as a kingdom, as priests” recalls God’s statement to Moses on Mount Sinai from Exodus 19:4-6:

You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt and how I lifted you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. And now, if you will diligently listen to me and keep my covenant, then you will be my special possession out of all the nations, for all the earth is mine, and you will be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.

God reminds the Israelites he has judged the Egyptians for their murderous oppression and enslavement but assures the Israelites that God loves them and has a high calling for them. John’s inclusion of this wording, “as a kingdom, as priests” is likely subtle foreshadowing that Revelation is similarly a story of judgment, rescue, and a new status for God’s people.

Introducing Jesus

John sees Jesus among seven lampstands with seven stars in his hand. He explains the imagery: the stars are angels, and the lampstands are churches.

Since there are seven angels, it may be they are the seven spirits who are before God’s throne we’ve just learned about, here apparently with authority over the seven churches.

Why stars for angels? Genesis 1:14-18 tells us about stars and great lights God makes to rule over the day and night. Later in the Old Testament (Deuteronomy 32, Psalm 82, 1 Kings 22, Job 1-2, Daniel 7), we find brief glimpses of these spiritual beings in the heavens, often with apparent influence and authority over locations or events on earth.[1]

Why lampstands for the churches? The lampstand is almost certainly a reference to the menorah in the Tabernacle and Temple. That lampstand was made of solid gold, carved with almond tree leaves and buds on seven branches, and kept lit perpetually. In the Tabernacle, its light shone across the room to illuminate the twelve loaves of the bread of the presence, likely symbolizing God’s light shining on his people, the twelve tribes of Israel. (Exodus 25:31-39, 37:17-24, 40:22-25, Leviticus 24:1-4) Here, the lampstands as elements representing the churches communicate God’s continuing presence with them.

The letters

The seven letters share a similar format, something like a modern performance review.

-Introduction

-Strengths

-Items to improve

-“The one who has an ear had better hear”

-“To he who conquers”

This similar set of items for each church enables us to meditate on their similarities and differences. In all of Revelation, this may be the most practical section. We can recognize the behaviors Jesus praises and condemns and be chastened by the consequences if we don’t repent.

The letters often draw on Old Testament imagery, especially from Genesis 1, and repeatedly refer to the one holding the stars and walking among the lampstands, Jesus with authority in heaven and on earth.

Ephesus

-The one who firmly holds the seven stars and walks among the seven lampstands

-Jesus recognizes their labor and endurance, that they don’t tolerate evil, and that they tested and discovered false apostles

-He chastises them for leaving their first love, and warns that if they don’t repent, he will remove their lampstand

-“…hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”

-”To the one who conquers, I will permit him to eat from the tree of life that is in the paradise of God.”

Smyrna

-The one who is the first and the last, the one who was dead, but came to life

-Jesus recognizes their distress and poverty, the slander against them

-Do not be afraid of the things you will suffer

-Remain faithful even to the point of death

-“…hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”

-”The one who conquers will in no way be harmed by the second death.”

Pergamum

-The one who has the sharp double-edged sword

-Jesus knows they live where Satan’s throne is yet cling to Jesus’ name and have not denied their faith in him.

-People there follow the teaching of Balaam (Numbers 22-24, 31:16), idolatry and sexual immorality leading to judgment.

In Numbers 22-24, the king of Moab hires the prophet Balaam to curse Israel, but God will not allow him to do it. He repeatedly blesses Israel and curses Israel’s enemies instead. In Numbers 25, however, the Israelites embrace idolatry and sexual immorality, leading to a plague that kills many of them. In Numbers 31:16, Moses blames Balaam for their rebellion against God.

Balaam was apparently well known in the region.[2] In 1967 in modern Jordan, ancient Moab, Dutch archaeologists uncovered a painted text dated to 800 BCE (~500 years after the events in Numbers) of a prophecy by Balaam.[3]

-Jesus warns them to repent, or he will make war on them with the sword of his mouth.

-“…hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”

-“To the one who conquers, I will give him some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, and on that stone will be written a new name that no one can understand except the one who receives it.”

The hidden or secret manna is worth meditating on. It is likely included here in part because the Israelites received manna in the wilderness after the exodus from Egypt and before the conquest of Canaan, the same era in which Balaam encountered them. The original manna was very public – it covered the ground, and everyone ate from it. It was an obvious, undeniable sign of God’s provision to his people. So why hidden here?

Jesus identifies Pergamum as “the place where Satan’s throne is,” recognizes the church for continuing to be faithful, and offers a secret name and hidden manna “to the one who conquers.” In Israel’s wilderness era, in a territory that was hostile to life, God preserved his people by miraculously providing food and water and set them apart, calling them his treasured possession and a kingdom of priests (Exodus 19:5-6). It appears that Jesus recognizes the danger this church is in, a spiritually hostile place, and as he had to the Israelites in the wilderness, promises provision and a special relationship to his church. Though they may be publicly persecuted, as NT Wright explains, Jesus privately, intimately cares for them.

Thyatira

- the Son of God, the one who has eyes like a fiery flame and whose feet are like polished bronze

NT Wright points out the relationship between bronze and the city, that it was known for smelting. In Old Testament prophecy, spiritual beings are often portrayed using fire or precious metals and stones imagery (Daniel 10:4-6; Ezekiel 1:27, 8:2, 28:13-14, 40:3) and the high priest’s garments, Tabernacle, and Temple, people and places set apart to meet with God, all contain large quantities of precious metals and stones. Jesus uses bronze and fire imagery to identify himself as one with spiritual authority and to associate himself with this regional church.

-Jesus knows their love, faith, service, and endurance

-He warns against the woman Jezebel, who like of Balaam above, is (here) associated with prophecy and entices the church to idolatry and sexual immorality. Jesus tells them violent disease will follow their sexual immorality.

- “to the one who conquers and who continues in my deeds until the end, I will give him authority over the nations…and I will give him the morning star”

Interestingly, for this church, the order of events changes – “to the one who conquers” comes before “…hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” The conquers statement includes a short poem from Psalm 2:9 and emphasizes rule over the heavens (morning star) and the land (authority over nations, rod of iron). Psalm 2 is about the judgment of nations that rebel against God and the blessing of those that honor him, once again, apparent foreshadowing of the events to come in Revelation.

-“…hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”

[1] See Heiser, Michael S. The Unseen Realm. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2015.  

[2] Ehrlich, Carl S. Balaam the Seer: From the Bible to the Deir ‘Alla Inscription. www.thetorah.com

[3] Livius.org. Dier ‘Alla Inscription