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Grace & Peace

Grace & Peace: Revelation 104

Douglas Wilson on July 19, 2018
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Grace & Peace: Revelation 100

Douglas Wilson on June 12, 2018

“At thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore” (Ps. 16:11).

“And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast. These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast. These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful. And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues. And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast, these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire. For God hath put in their hearts to fulfil his will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled. And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth.” (Revelation 17:12–18).

We turn from the seven heads as seven kings to the question of the ten horns. These ten horns are obviously subordinate to the heads, but they are in some manner kings. They have real authority, but it is a lesser authority than that of the seven kings. As it happens, the empire of Rome did have ten imperial provinces, and it is possible that this is what is intended. It could also be that the number ten is symbolic here, simply representing the complete number of subordinate governors and kings. Scripture itself uses the term king with some latitude—for example, Herod would be an example of this kind of lesser ruler. His technical position was that of a tetrarch (which is the term Luke prefers, e.g. Luke  3:1), but he is also called a king elsewhere (Matt. 2:1).

The basic set up is this. The waters here are many peoples, nations, tribes, etc. The beast arises from these waters, and the great harlot sits upon the beast. The harlot thus sits upon the many waters, ruling over them by means of her dalliance with the beast. The ten horns first make war on the Lamb, doing so by persecuting His followers. But the whole thing culminates when Rome turns on the woman who rides upon its back, thus destroying her. That said, we can dig into some specifics.

These ten rulers make war on the Lamb and on His followers ineffectually. They do not succeed because the Lord is King of kings and Lord of lords. They inhabit the realm of lower case kings and lords, and thus they are making war on their omnipotent sovereign. It is very specific—“the Lamb shall overcome them.” These kings will lose. And those who are with the Lamb are also identified by their calling and character—they are “called, chosen, and faithful.” They too are necessarily victorious.

Unable to defeat the Lamb or His people, the kings settle for an entity they can defeat—the harlot. They hate her, and when given the opportunity, they wipe her out. They leave Jerusalem desolate, and naked. They devour her, the ways beasts would eat a carcass, and then burn her with fire. This passage may intend for us to think of Jezebel, eaten at the last by dogs. This is the kind of terrible end that Ezekiel predicted for Israel, and it is now coming to pass.

“Behold, therefore I will gather all thy lovers, with whom thou hast taken pleasure, and all them that thou hast loved, with all them that thou hast hated; I will even gather them round about against thee, and will discover thy nakedness unto them, that they may see all thy nakedness. And I will judge thee, as women that break wedlock and shed blood are judged; and I will give thee blood in fury and jealousy. And I will also give thee into their hand, and they shall throw down thine eminent place, and shall break down thy high places: they shall strip thee also of thy clothes, and shall take thy fair jewels, and leave thee naked and bare. They shall also bring up a company against thee, and they shall stone thee with stones, and thrust thee through with their swords. And they shall burn thine houses with fire, and execute judgments upon thee in the sight of many women: and I will cause thee to cease from playing the harlot, and thou also shalt give no hire any more” (Eze. 16:37–41).

These kings are manifestly wicked, and we also see a plain statement of God’s absolute control of all such iniquitous rulers. They cannot prevail over the Lord’s people, and they will only prevail over their other enemies to the extent that God has determined for them to do so. The text here is as plain as an exegetical pikestaff. “For God hath put in their hearts to fulfil his will . . .” Like the ancient Assyrians, they were simply an axe in the hand of a sovereign God (Is. 10:15). They boasted in their prowess, but they had nothing to do but fulfill the will of God, and then be condemned for their wickedness in doing so. It was the same as with Herod, Pilate, and Judas, who fell under condemnation for the way that they fulfilled the will of God perfectly (Acts 4:26-28).

The woman was that “great city,” who rules over the kings of the earth—until she is destroyed by the kings of the earth. The power of Israel was not a political power. The beast was the political power, and the woman rode on the beast. Her authority, whether corrupt or righteous, was indirect.

There were Jews all over the Roman Empire, and they would all congregate in Jerusalem at the times of festival. “And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven” (Acts 2:5). The Jews were God’s chosen people, which did not necessarily mean that they were His favorite people. When they trusted and obeyed God, the whole earth was blessed. “And all the earth sought to Solomon, to hear his wisdom, which God had put in his heart” (1 Kings 10:24; cf. Ezra 1:4-7). When they were disobedient, when they fell into unfaithfulness, the Gentile world was stumbled into blasphemy.

“Behold, thou art called a Jew, and restest in the law, and makest thy boast of God, And knowest his will, and approvest the things that are more excellent, being instructed out of the law; And art confident that thou thyself art a guide of the blind, a light of them which are in darkness, An instructor of the foolish, a teacher of babes, which hast the form of knowledge and of the truth in the law. Thou therefore which teachest another, teachest thou not thyself? thou that preachest a man should not steal, dost thou steal? Thou that sayest a man should not commit adultery, dost thou commit adultery? thou that abhorrest idols, dost thou commit sacrilege? Thou that makest thy boast of the law, through breaking the law dishonourest thou God? For the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles through you, as it is written” (Rom. 2:17–24).

The Jews were appointed to show the world what blessing for covenantal faithfulness looked like. This meant also, necessarily, that they were appointed to show the world what fierce anger and indignation looks like when poured out on a virgin bride who became a wanton harlot. This image of harlotry, taken from the Old Testament, overwhelmingly refers to covenantal apostasy.

So the harlot Jerusalem rode on the back of Rome, but her position was entirely precarious.

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Grace & Peace: Revelation 84

Douglas Wilson on January 31, 2018

“At thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore” (Ps. 16:11).

“And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father’s name written in their foreheads. And I heard a voice from heaven, as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of a great thunder: and I heard the voice of harpers haring with their harps: And they sung as it were a new song before the the throne, and before the four beasts, and the elders: and no man could learn that song but the hundred and forty and four thousand, which were redeemed from the earth. These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were redeemed from among men, being the first fruits unto God and to the Lamb. And in their mouth was found no guile: for they are without fault before the throne of God” (Rev. 14:1-5).

As we come to the fourteenth chapter of Revelation, we do so having been introduced to an evil travesty of the Trinity: the great dragon, Satan, the sea beast, which was Rome, and the land beast, which represented the priestly leadership in Jerusalem. As this chapter opens, the contrast couldn’t be sharper than it is. Those enslaved to the beast in the previous chapter had the mark of the beast on their right hand, or on their forehead. Here the 144,000 have the name of the Father on *their* foreheads. Everyone has the name of someone on their forehead.

The scene here appears to be in the heavens, and not on earth. We saw in chapter 7 that the 144,000 likely represented the total number of the elect, which means they were not assembled on the *earthly* Mt. Zion in Jerusalem. Rather, the scene is the heavenly Jerusalem, the New Jerusalem that descends from Heaven at the conclusion of Revelation. In Hebrews 12:22, it teaches us that in worship, the saints of God assemble in a heavenly Jerusalem, and it mentions Mt. Zion expressly. The harpers here are described as being before the throne, and the 144,000 are said to have been redeemed from the earth. All this places the scene in Heaven.

So we have here a wonderful image of the perseverance and preservation of the saints. In chapter 7, the 144,000 were still on earth, and they were all sealed to protect them there. Here in Heaven their number is undiminished, not one was lost. The reason is plain. These were the only ones who could learn the new song that the harpers were playing. These men were virgins, undefiled with woman. This is talking about spiritual fornication, or idolatry. It is not talking about lawful marital relations, which are not defiling at all (Heb. 13:4). These are called virgins because together they all constitute the Virgin who descends out of Heaven like an undefiled bride at the end of this book (Rev. 19:7). They are called virgins because they have nothing to do with the great harlot, who is to be introduced shortly. In 2 Cor. 11:2, Paul uses virginity as a symbol of spiritual integrity. Moreover, these are those who follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. They are described as being without fault before the throne of God.

A close examination of this passage and the description of heavenly worship in Hebrews 12:18-23 is likely to be rewarding. Both scenes take place on Mt. Zion. In Revelation the worshipers are the firstfruits and in Hebrews they are described as being the church of the first born. And the 144,000 represent the entire number of the elect, as do the worshipers in Hebrews, whose names are written in heaven.

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Grace & Peace: Revelation #45

Douglas Wilson on January 10, 2017

“At thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore” (Ps. 16:11)

“And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof. And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth” (Rev. 5:5–6)

John had been lamenting that no one was available to open the scroll with seven seals. Indeed, no one was even worthy to look at it.

But one of the twenty-four elders spoke to him to encourage him. Do not weep, he said, but rather behold. John hears these words first, and the words tell him then to look. The real surprise does not come until he looks and sees. John is told that someone from the tribe of Judah had “prevailed.” In other words, this one had overcome, He had conquered, and as a result of this conquest he was able to open the book, and to release the seven seals.

We move with John from words to sight. And what John is commanded to behold is a Lion. And he looks, and he beheld a Lamb. This Lion is from the tribe of Judah. We know from elsewhere that the Lord was descended from David, but here it says rather that David was descended from Him. He is the Root of David, David grew from Him. The Lord Himself made a similar point when He asked how David’s son could at the same time be David’s Lord (Mark 12:37).

From the heavenly vantage point, from what the twenty-four elders knew, this great one was the Lion. But when John looks, he sees a Lamb. But there are mysteries surrounding even this. The Lamb is standing in the midst of the throne, the place of God. The Lamb had been slain, and yet He was standing.

The Lamb is clearly divine. He has seven horns, which represent the perfection of omnipotence. He has seven eyes, which represent the perfection of omniscience. These seven eyes are also identified with the seven spirits of God, which are sent out throughout the entire earth. Given that these spirits are described as the seven spirits of God, both here and earlier (Rev. 4:5), and given that they are identified with the omniscience of the slain but standing Lamb, the conclusion seems necessary that this is the Holy Spirit.


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