Bible in One Year Day 361 (Revelation 8 - 11, Philemon, Proverbs 31:16-18)

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Day 361:  Judgement and Repentance 

Agape Bible Study Revelation 8 - 11 

Opening of the Seals Matthias Gerung

Revelation 8:1-5 ~ The Breaking of the Seventh Seal

A Review of the Seven Seals
SEAL	SCRIPTURE PASSAGE
First Seal: The rider on the white horse	Rev 6:1-2
Second Seal: The rider on the red horse	Rev 6:3
Third Seal: The rider on the black horse	Rev 6:5-6
Fourth Seal: The rider on the pale (green) horse	Rev 6:7-8
The riders were "given authority over a quarter of the earth, to kill by the sword, by famine, by plague and through wild beasts" (Rev 6:8).
Fifth Seal: Martyred white-robed saints (souls) under the altar	Rev 6:911
Sixth Seal: Judgment/de-creation	Rev 6:12-17
Seventh Seal: Mission of the seven angels	Rev 8:1-13

The angels and the elders cease their songs of praise, and there was a profound silence in Heaven. Some scholars believe that this passage is a reference to the length of time it took for the High Priest or his representative to carry some of the burning coals from the bronze sacrificial altar in the Court of the Priests in the Temple and then to enter the Holy Place to use them to burn incense on the golden Incense Altar. 

The Incense Altar stood in front of the curtain that covered the entrance to the Holy of Holies, the dwelling place of the Ark of the Covenant, after which he would then return to where the people were assembled to give stand with the other priests and give the priestly blessing that concluded the liturgical ceremony. The burning of the sacred incense took place twice each day: in the morning service before placing the Tamid lamb on the altar fire and in the afternoon service immediately after placing the second Tamid lamb on the altar fire. As the smoke from the incense poured out from the Sanctuary doors, the entire congregation knelt or prostrated before the Sanctuary in profound silence. The incense offering embraced the sacrifice of the Tamid lambs as one sacrifice. The whole procedure took about 30 minutes (Lev 16:13-14; Lk 1:10, 21). For a more vivid account of this part of the Temple service, there is the description of when the "silence" took place in the Temple liturgy in Jesus and the Mystery of the Tamid Sacrifice; see the Appendix to the lesson.

Other Biblical passages referring to silence in Heaven or silence in the presence of God:

1. But Yahweh is in His Holy Temple: Let the whole earth be silent before Him (Hab 2:20). Habakkuk gave his prophecies shortly after the fall of the Assyrian capital of Nineveh to the Babylonians in 612 BC and before the Babylonian conquest of Judah.
2. Silence before the Lord Yahweh, for the Day of Yahweh is near. Yahweh has prepared a sacrifice; He has consecrated His guests (Zep 1:7). Zephaniah was God's prophet during the reign of King Josiah (640-609 BC) before the Babylonian destruction and exile.
3. Let all people be silent before Yahweh, now that He is stirring from His Holy Dwelling (Zec 2:17). Zechariah was a post-exile prophet during the time of the exiles' return to Judah.

In Scripture, silence during worship can signal profound reverence as in the Jerusalem Temple liturgy or the Catholic Mass; however, as in the case of Revelation 8:1, the silence can also be ominous.

Question: What are God's promises concerning the Church?
Answer: That the New Covenant Church would be God's authority on earth and the means through which all people will obtain salvation through the blood of Christ.

Question: Does the line with a roar the sky will vanish from 2 Peter 3:10 remind you of any particular verse we have recently studied in Revelation?
Answer: It is similar to Revelation 6:14, where the sky disappeared like a scroll rolling up.

St. Peter used apocalyptic imagery just as Jesus did in His discourse on the destruction of Jerusalem in Matthew 24, Mark 13, and Luke 21, prophecies fulfilled in AD 70. 

Following the period of silence, the seven angels who stand before God receive seven trumpets.

The seven "Angels of the Presence" have a well-documented history in Sacred Scripture and in Jewish Oral Tradition and literature. In Luke 1:19, an angel tells the chief priest Zechariah, "I am Gabriel, who stand in God's presence." Another significant passage concerning the seven "Angels of the Presence" is Ezekiel 9:2 in which Ezekiel has a vision of six "men" with slaughter weapons, and one "man" among them clothed in linen with a writer's ink well at his side whose serves God by marking the faithful remnant with the sign of the taw.
Holy Scripture only names three of these archangels:

1. Gabriel, "God is my strength" (Daniel 8:16; 9:21; Luke 1:19, 26)
2. Raphael, "God has healed" (Tobit 5-6; 11:1-17; 8:1-3; 12:15)
3. Michael, "who is like God" (Daniel 10:13, 21; 12:1; Jude 9; Revelation 12:7) 

The other names come from apocryphal texts, Jewish oral tradition (the Jewish Talmud), and from documents found at Qumran where the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered. According to these extra-Biblical sources, the other archangels are: 

4. Uriel, "fire of God" 
5. Raguel, "friend of God"
6. Remiel, "thunder or height of God" 
7. Sariel, "prince of God"

Revelation 8:6-13 ~ The First Four Trumpet Judgments

The Seven Trumpet Judgments in Revelation:

The Trumpets	The Judgments	Scripture verses
The First Trumpet	On the land: hail, fire mixed with blood; one-third of the earth was burned, including the trees and grass.	Revelation 8:7
The Second Trumpet	On the sea: one-third of the sea turned to blood, one- third of the sea creatures die, one-third of the ships destroyed.	Revelation 8:8-9
The Third Trumpet	On the rivers and springs: one-third of the waters become bitter wormwood.	Revelation 8:10-11
The Fourth Trumpet	Cosmic judgments: the sun, Moon, and one-third of the stars darkened.	Revelation 8:12-13
The Fifth Trumpet	Demonic locusts torment humans.	Revelation 9:1-12
The Sixth Trumpet	An army coming from the Euphrates River kills one third of the people.	Revelation 9:13-21
The Seventh Trumpet	Voices and destruction from storms, earthquakes, and hail.	Revelation 11:15-19

Like the Seven Seal Judgments, there is a division between the first four and last three Trumpet Judgments.

THE TRUMPET JUDGMENTS
JUDGMENT	SCRIPTURE PASSAGE
First Trumpet judgment on the land	Revelation 8:7
Second Trumpet judgment on the sea	Revelation 8:8-9
Third Trumpet judgment on the fresh waters of the earth	Revelation 8:10-11
Fourth Trumpet judgment in the sky	Revelation 8:12-13
The first four judgments show a separation from the last three. The first four trumpets bring judgment/destruction to one-third of the land, sea, and sky described in one or two verses while the last three involve forces that destroy human beings described in twelve, nine, and five verses.
Fifth Trumpet judgment by demon forces on humans	Revelation 9:1-12
Sixth Trumpet judgment by an invading army	Revelation 9:13-21
Seventh Trumpet judgment is destruction by forces of nature against humans	Revelation 11:15-19

To understand the role of the Trumpet Judgments, it is helpful to review the use of trumpets in the Old Testament:

1. Trumpets were used in worship, in liturgical ceremonies, and on feast days:
They played a role especially as an escort for the Ark of the Covenant (we will see that the connection between the trumpets and the Ark in Revelation 11:19 and 12:1 is the blowing of the seventh trumpet when St. John sees the Ark). Trumpets were also blown to call the people to worship at the Tabernacle (and later the Temple), and at the feasts like the Feast of Trumpets (Rosh Hashanah) and on the first day of each month at the Feast of the New Moon.

2. Trumpets proclaimed the coronation of a new King:
See 1 Kings 1:34, 39 and Psalm 47:5. In Rev 11:15, when the seventh trumpet is blown, the heavenly choir sings a coronation anthem: The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and His Christ, and He will reign forever and ever.

3. Trumpets sounded an alarm, warning of approaching war or judgment and urging national repentance:
Moses was instructed to use two silver trumpets, both "for summoning the congregation" to worship and "for having the camps set out" in battle against an enemy (Num 10:1-9). It is interesting that these two purposes, warfare and worship, are mentioned in the same passage. These were holy war trumpets. The irony in Revelation is that now God is ordering the trumpets of holy war blown against Israel herself!

The First Trumpet Judgment: 7 The first blew his trumpet and with that, hail and fire, mixed with blood, were hurled on the earth: a third of the earth was burnt up, and a third of all trees, and every blade of the grass was burnt.
With the destruction that comes from the blowing of the seven trumpets, there is not only imagery reminiscent of the fall of Jericho, but now verse 7 also recalls other great disasters. With the sound of the First Trumpet, there is a triple judgment.
Question: What is the triple threat?
Answer: Hail, fire, and blood are hurled on the earth and bringing the destruction of "one-third" of the earth, trees, and grass.

This means the judgment is neither total nor final; therefore, this cannot refer to the end of the physical world. Nevertheless, the destruction is tremendous. The fire that destroyed Jerusalem and the Temple in AD 70 was the end of the world for the Old Covenant Jews.

Question: Does the mention of these disasters of hail, fire, and blood remind you of other Old Testament judgments on cities or nations in addition to Sodom and Gomorrah in Genesis 19:23 where Yahweh rained down on Sodom and Gomorrah brimstone and fire of His own sending. See Ex 9:8-12; 7:17-21; 10:4-23; 8:2-4; 9:18-26.
Answer: They are reminiscent of the plagues of Egypt in Exodus. In the first plague, the water turned to blood (Ex 7:18), and in the 7^th plague, hail destroyed the crops, trees, livestock, and people. Like the Canaanite city of Jericho, both Egypt and Sodom not only stood in opposition to God's divine plan, but they also persecuted God's people. The punishment for their offense was severe. 

SEVEN TRUMPET JUDGMENTS in Revelation	PLAGUES ON EGYPT in the book of Exodus
On the Land: 1/3 earth, trees, grass burned (Rev 8:7)	Boils (6th plague: Ex 9:8-12)
On the sea: 1/3 sea becomes blood, 1/3 sea creatures die, 1/3 ships destroyed (Rev 8:8-9)	Waters become blood (1st plague: Ex 7:17-21)
On rivers and springs: 1/3 of waters become wormwood (Rev 8:10-11)	Waters become blood (1st plague; Ex 7:17-21)
Cosmic events: 1/3 of sun, moon, & stars darkened (Rev 8:12)	Darkness (9th plague: Ex 10:21-23)
Demonic locusts tormenting men (Rev 9:13-21)	Locusts (8th plague: Ex 10:4-20)
An army from the Euphrates kills 1/3 of the people (Rev 9:13-21)	Invasion of frogs from the river (2ndplague: Ex 8:2-4)
Voices, storm, earthquake, hail (Rev 11:15-19)	Hail (7th plague: Ex 9:18-26
Michal E. Hunt Copyright © 2000 www.AgapeBibleStudy.com

Question: The hail comes from heaven, and the fire from the altar, but from where does the blood come?
Answer: Perhaps it is the blood of the slain witnesses mixed with the fire from the altar? 

The Second Trumpet Judgment: 8 The second angel blew his trumpet, and it was as though a great mountain blazing with fire was hurled into the sea: 9 a third of the sea turned into blood, a third of all the living things in the sea were killed, and a third of all ships were destroyed."
Question: Do you see a parallel with the devastation caused by the Second Trumpet and an Old Testament disaster? 
Answer: The first plague on Egypt in which the Nile River turned to blood, and the fish died. 

The Third Trumpet Judgment: 10 The third angel blew his trumpet, and a huge star fell from the sky, burning like a ball of fire, and it fell on a third of all rivers and on the springs of water; 11 this was the star called Wormwood, and a third of all water turned to wormwood, so that many people died; the water had become so bitter."

Like the preceding trumpet vision, the vision of the Third Trumpet combines Biblical imagery from both the plagues of Egypt in Exodus and the great city Babylon.
Question: The Third Trumpet recalls what Egyptian plague?
Answer: It recalls Exodus 7:21 and the first plague when the water became bitter because of the dead and decaying fish.

Question: What is the connection to Babylon is this passage. Hint: read Isaiah 14:12-15.
Answer: In the Isaiah passage, he predicts the fall of the great city of Babylon in terms of the fall of Satan from Paradise. Satan's name before he fell was Lucifer, "dawn-star."

Question: What is the name of the star in Revelation 8:11?
Answer: "Wormwood." 

It is a plant of the genus Artemisia that has a bitter taste. The same term appears in the Law (the Pentateuch) and the Prophets to warn Israel of its destruction as a punishment for apostasy. In Deuteronomy 29:17-18, it refers to one who spreads idolatry. In Amos 6:12, the prophet warns of turning the fruit of righteousness into wormwood. In Jeremiah 9:14 "15, God says that He will feed His idolatrous people with wormwood, give them poison to drink, and there is the same punishment for false prophets in Jeremiah 23:15, I shall give them wormwood to eat and make them drink poisoned water since from the prophets of Jerusalem godlessness has spread throughout the land. Also see Lamentations 3:15, 19; and Amos 5:7.

Question: The poisoning of pure water is the reverse of a miracle that God gave the children of Israel in the Exodus. Do you recall that miracle? See Exodus 15:22-26.
Answer: It is a reversal of the healing of the bitter waters of Marah in Exodus 15:22-26 when God showed him a piece of wood. When Moses threw it into the water, the water became sweet.

The Fathers of the Church have always taught that this miracle prefigured Christ, whose death on the cross would take away the bitterness of sin and death and provide the living water of salvation in Christian baptism.

The Fourth Trumpet Judgment: 12 The fourth angel blew his trumpet, and a third of the sun and a third of the moon and a third of the stars were blasted, so that the light went out of a third of them and the day lost a third of its illumination, and likewise the night. 13 In my vision, I heard an eagle, calling aloud as it flew high overhead, Disaster, disaster, disaster, on all the people on earth [who dwell on the land] at the sound of the other three trumpets which the three angels have yet to blow!'"
Question: Was there a plague in Egypt that recalls the vision in verse 12? See Exodus 10:21-13.
Answer: The ninth Egyptian plague was "thick darkness." 

The ancients and Old Testament prophets used the imagery of darkness or a natural phenomenon like an eclipse to depict the fall of nations, rulers, and kings (see Is 13:9-11, 19; 24:19-23; 34:4-5; Ez 32:7-8, 11-12; Joel 2:10, 28-32; Act 2:16-21), and at the crucifixion of Christ: It was now about the sixth hour and the sun's light failed, so that darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour (Mt 27:45; Mk 15:33; and Lk 23:44).

Like the plagues of Egypt, the curses are becoming more intense; the crescendo is building with the three woes of the eagle corresponding to what we will see as the fifth, sixth, and seventh blasts of the trumpets when the terrifying sanctions of the Law are finally unleashed against the covenant-breakers. At that time, Christ the King will inherit the kingdoms of the world through the establishment of His Kingdom of Heaven on earth, the Catholic (universal) Church, and will bring the nations of the world into His kingdom to worship in His holy Temple in Heaven by the connection to every altar in every place of New Covenant worship on earth.

At the end of Chapter 8, John heard an eagle calling out, "Disaster, disaster, disaster [Ouai, ouai, ouai] on all the people on earth [the land]." The Hebrew word owy and the Greek word ouai is often translated "woe" in the Old and New Testaments (i.e., see Is 3:9, 11; Jer 4:13 and Mt 11:21; 18:7). The phrase, "all the people on earth (the land)" appears ten times in the Book of Revelation and always negatively. It is a phrase that refers to people who:

1. will experience the judgment coming on the apostate people of the land of Judea, in contrast to God's people who will be kept safe (3:10)
2. inflict suffering on Christians because of their witness of Christ (6:9-10)
3. are struck by the three disasters/woes (8:13)
4. are tormented by the testimony of the two witnesses (11:10)
5. and rejoice at their deaths (11:10)
6. worship the Beast (13:8, 12)
7. are followers deceived by the false prophet (13:14)
8. drink the wine of the Great Prostitute's immorality (17:2)
9. do not have their names written in the Book of Life (17:8)

The eagle in 8:13 is the angel of Revelation 4:7; the Living Creature that John saw standing by the Throne of God who looked like a flying eagle. His cry in 8:13 heralds a three-fold disaster on all the people on earth [the land] at the sound of the other three trumpets which the three angles have yet to blow! The cry of the eagle angel is a repetition of Hosea's prophetic statements concerning the destruction of the covenant breakers of the tribes of Northern Israel in 722 BC and the scattering of the ten Northern tribes in the first great Diaspora: Put the trumpet to your lips! Like an eagle, disaster is swooping on Yahweh's home! Because they have violated my covenant and been unfaithful to my Law, in vain will they cry, "My God!" (Hos 8:1), and continuing in verse 8, Israel has himself been swallowed; now they are lost among the nations like something no one wants. This historical event, the scattering of the ten northern Israelite tribes into the Gentile world, was repeated at the end of the Jewish Revolt against Rome in AD 70 when the surviving Jews were rounded up and sold into slavery across the Roman empire that stretched from England to Egypt and from the Iberian Peninsula to the border with Parthia. Revelation Chapters 8-11 are visions fulfilled in the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans in AD 70.

Revelation 9:1-12 ~ The Fifth Trumpet and the Army of Locusts

Revelation Chapter 9 contains some of the most bizarre visions in Sacred Scripture. There are two points to remember in attempting to interpret this Chapter:

1. Every vision John witnesses is symbolic.
2. We must interpret all the images in the context of similar visions and language found in the Books of the Prophets.

The "star that had fallen from heaven" is in the past perfect tense. John did not see a star falling from heaven to earth, but a star had already fallen. It is probably a reference to the fall of Satan from his place as an angel in Paradise in Isaiah 14:12-15.

Jewish tradition and the Church Fathers identified the fall of the "Dawnstar" (Lucifer in the Latin Vulgate) with the fall of the prince of demons, Satan. They also taught that Jesus' five wounds on the Cross were answers to the five "I shall" or "I will" of Satan in Isaiah 14:13-15. Jesus also spoke of Satan's fall from heaven in Luke 10:18 when He said: "I watched Satan fall like lightning from heaven." Revelation 9:11 will also identify this fallen star as Satan: As their leader, they had their emperor, the angel of the Abyss, whose name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in Greek Apollyon. So we don't miss the identity of the personage from the Abyss, John gives us both his Hebrew and Greek names. "Abaddon" in Hebrew means "destruction" and "Apollyon" in Greek means, "destroyer" (Rev 9:11).

In the Isaiah 14:13-15 passage, Satan will be confined in the depths of the Abyss, the same Abyss mentioned in Revelation 9:2. The Abyss (in Greek abussou or abussos = unfathomably deep), according to Hebrew tradition, is the shaft that leads to the bottomless pit where Satan and his fallen angels are imprisoned until their final punishment. It is not "hell" in the same sense as the Hebrew Sheol or the Greek Hades (that mean the grave or abode of the dead), but it is the "bottomless pit" and "lake of fire," created as the abode of Satan and his demons that will become the "Hell" of the damned who reject Jesus' gift of eternal salvation. The Old Testament word in Hebrew for Abyss is Tehom, and in the New Testament, Jesus uses the word Gehenna for the Hell of the damned seven times in Matthew, three times in Mark, and once in Luke, and St. James will use the same term for Hell. It is the pit of unquenchable eternal fire into which Satan, his demons (Mt 25:41) and the wicked are cast ( Mt 3:10, 12; 5:22, 29; 7:19; 10:28; 18:9; 23:15, 33; 18:3; Mk 9:43, 45, 47; Lk 3:9, 17; 12:5; Rev 19:20; 20:9-15; 21:8).

According to tradition, the entrance to the Tehom or Abyss is a hole in the great rock that was under the Temple in Jerusalem and is now under the Muslim shrine, the Dome of the Rock. Tradition (both Hebrew and Muslim) says that as long as the Temple (or the Dome of the Rock according to the Muslims) is on top of the Abyss, Satan, and his demons remained imprisoned. The hole in the rock is just large enough for an adult to squeeze into, and it leads down into the passages under the Dome of the Rock. The Muslim shrine stands where the Holy of Holies of the Temple probably once stood before the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple in the summer of AD 70.

In Revelation Chapter 9, St John is warning his readers that all hell is about to break loose; that is "hell" not in terms of Sheol/Hades (the grave) but the frightening and terrible "Hell" in terms of Gehenna, the fiery pit of the prince of demons!

Revelation 9:13-21 ~ The Sixth Trumpet

"Horn" in Scripture represents strength. Both the bronze Sacrificial Altar and the golden Altar of Incense in the Temple had four projections at the four corners, referred to as "horns" (i.e., Ex 29:12; Lev 4:7), which represented God's power and mercy. Those fleeing civil justice could seek God's mercy by taking hold of the horns of the bronze Altar of Sacrifice in the courtyard of the priests (1 Kng 1:50-51; 2:28), and when swearing a solemn oath in Yahweh's name, one could also take hold of an altar horn, expressing the belief of placing oneself under God's judgment if one failed in the oath obligation.

Like the Altar of Incense in the Jerusalem Temple, God's heavenly Altar of Incense also had four horns (Ex 30:1-2; the incense altar in the Temple was a copy of the incense altar in Heaven). It is important to note that the command to the sixth angel came from a voice from the four horns of the golden altar (of Incense), which is before God. The point is that God's actions in human history proceed from His heavenly altar, where He has received the prayers of the Saints.

John states that the voice just doesn't come from the altar, but from the four horns which makes a connection to the Old Covenant liturgy purification offering (Lev 4:13-21) that dealt with contamination caused by sin. The seriousness of the pollution depended on the gravity of the transgression and the status of the sinner. If an ordinary citizen transgressed the Law, his sin polluted the sanctuary only to a limited extent. In that case, the priest smeared the blood of the animal the sinner brought to atone for his wrongs on the horns of the Bronze Sacrificial Altar. If, however, a high priest, or a king, or the whole nation sinned, the blood had to be taken inside the Holy Place and sprinkled on the golden Incense Altar and on the veil that separated the Holy Place from the Holy of Holies. The ritual was the only way to purify the altar so the priest could offer the incense with the assurance that God would hear their prayers. God's voice issuing from the "horns" is a message to the saints that Christ's blood has taken away their sins, and nothing stands in the way of the Church's access to Him.

That the horses had lion's heads could be a reference to a type of plate armor that the Roman cavalry had on the faces of their horses to protect them from arrows or sword blows. The horses of Roman chariots also sometimes had plumbs adorning the bridles if the chariots belonged to ranking officers, which may have resembled the manes of a lion. The "lion's heads" reference also recalls the 6^th century BC prophet Joel's description of the invading "locust" of a Gentile army in Chapters 1-2, which in 1:6c Joel describes them with teeth like a lion's teeth.

Parallels in Ezekiel and Revelation Chapter 10:

Ezekiel	Revelation	Prophetic Action
Ezekiel 12:24-28	Revelation 10:7	There is no more delay; the time for waiting is over!
Ezekiel 3:1-3	Revelation 10:8-10	The eating of the little scroll sweet as honey.
Ezekiel 25-32	Revelation 10:11	The prophecy against the nations.

Revelation 10:1-7 ~ The Angel of the Oath, the Small Scroll, the Mystery of God, and the Imminence of Punishment

In Chapter 7, there was an interlude of two visions following the opening of the sixth seal in the sealing of the one hundred and forty-four thousand and the white-robed heavenly multitude. Now, there is another interlude of two visions following the sixth trumpet and before the blowing of the climactic seventh (Rev 11:15).

1 Then I saw another powerful angel coming down from heaven, wrapped in cloud, with a rainbow over his head; his face was like the sun, and his legs were pillars of fire. 2 In his hand he had a small scroll, unrolled
The first vision of the interlude reveals a "powerful angel," bringing the scroll/codex, now opened without its seven seals. He will commission John to begin another series of prophecies.

Because of these divine attributes, some scholars interpret this mighty angel as Christ. The Scriptural evidence that supports this interpretation is compelling, and the key to understanding the connection lies in the description of this figure.
Question: How is this personage described? Can you name five attributes or characteristics?
Answer: The angel/messenger is powerful, clothed with a cloud, with a rainbow over his head, a face like the sun, and legs like pillars of fire.

1. The angel/messenger is powerful: This is the second time that Revelation identifies an angel/messenger as especially powerful. Earlier, John saw another angel rising where the sun rises, carrying the seal of the living God; He called in a powerful voice (Rev 7:2). In the discussion of In Chapter 7, there was the mention of an angel/messenger scripturally identified with the rising sun, who could be Christ. We will consider this connection to the sun in item #4.
2. A cloud surrounds him: At the Ascension of Christ, John and the other disciples saw Jesus enveloped and rising in a cloud to Heaven (Acts 1:1-9). And in John's first vision of the glorified Jesus, he says: Look, He is coming on the clouds (Rev 1:7). John's "cloud" in 10:1 has to be a reference to the Glory-Cloud. Psalms 68:17 relates: The chariots of God are thousands upon thousands; it is a verse that tells us the Glory-Cloud a myriad of angels, and only God can "be clothed" with them. It is an image repeated in the Psalms: Bless Yahweh, my soul, Yahweh, my God, how great You are! Clothed in majesty and splendor, wearing the light as a robe! You stretch out the heavens like a tent, build your palace on the waters above, making the clouds your chariot (Ps 104:1-3). God appeared clothed with the Glory-Cloud in the Tabernacle (Ex 40:34-38; Lev 16:2). There is no description of any created angel this way in the Bible. For God to be "clothed" with the Glory-Cloud is to be encircled with all the angels of the heavenly court whose wings resemble a cloud. This is how John sees the "powerful angel," and how Jesus made the statement of His divinity to the Apostle Philip, saying: "In all truth I tell you, you will see heaven open and the angels of God ascending and descending over the Son of man" (Jn 1:51).
3. There is a rainbow over his head: The sign of the rainbow is a manifestation associated with God's oath-swearing (a rainbow was a sign of God's covenant oath in Gen 9:12-17). John has already mentioned a rainbow encircling the throne of God (Rev 4:3). And in Ezekiel 1:27-28, the prophet tells us that where he saw "the One" enthroned, The radiance of the encircling light was like the radiance of the bow in the clouds on rainy days.
4. His face is like the sun: This phrase is reminiscent of John's description of Christ in his first vision: His head and his hair were white ... his eyes were like a burning flame (Rev 1:14). The description also recalls Malachi 3:20 (Protestant translations will have 4:2). In prophesizing the coming of the Messiah, Malachi wrote: But for you who fear My Name, the Sun of justice will rise with healing in His rays. In the New Testament, Peter, James, and John saw Christ in His transformed glory on the Mount of Transfiguration. There in their presence, He was transfigured: His face shone like the sun (Mt 17:2). And in Luke 1:78, Zechariah, filled with the Holy Spirit at his son's birth, proclaimed the coming of the Messiah. Zechariah used the same imagery, saying: because of the faithful love of our God in which the rising Sun has come from on high to visit us.
5. His legs resemble pillars of fire: Can you recall any Old Testament references that describe "pillars of fire" as a manifestation of God? In the form of a pillar of fire and cloud, God protected and led the children of Israel out of Egypt: Yahweh looked down on the army of the Egyptians from the pillar of fire and cloud (Ex 14:24). Perhaps the dual aspect of the cloud (fire and smoke) symbolically represented God's legs and in the covenant ritual with Abraham in Genesis 15:17-18. Exodus 13:21-22; 14:19, 24; 23:20, 23 all give images of Yahweh "walking" before the people in the cloud and fire and also standing before them (see Ex 33:9-10; Num 12:5). The design of Solomon's Temple in Jerusalem reflected this dual nature of the Glory-Cloud in the two great pillars that stood at the entrance to the Sanctuary of the Holy Place and Holy of Holies.

All five attributes of the angel/messenger can relate to Christ.

2 In his hand, he had a small scroll, unrolled; he put his right foot in the sea, and his left foot on the land, 3a and he shouted so loud, it was like a roaring lion.
Question: How is this scroll/codex unlike the one with the seven seals in Revelation 5:1?
Answer: It is small and without seals; therefore, it is open.

Question: What two phrases in this passage point to Christ as the other "powerful angel" connected to earlier verses in Revelation
Answer: 1. "He had a small scroll," and 2. His shout was "like a lion roaring," recalling the description of the Lamb/Christ as the "lion of the tribe of Judah," taking the scroll in Revelation 5:1-8.

4 At this, the seven claps of thunder made themselves heard, and when the seven thunderclaps had sounded, I was preparing to write, when I heard a voice from heaven say to me, "Keep the words of the seven thunderclaps secret and do not write them down."
Here is another group of sevens to add to our list: the seven claps of thunder. Verse 4 reminds us that John is not just "hearing and seeing." He is also writing down everything he sees and hears as Christ commanded him in his first vision: "Now write down all that you see" (Rev 1:19). It is significant that in verse 4, for the first time, the angel/Christ commands him not to write down what he has heard in the thunderclaps!

Verses 4 causes us to ask why the seven thunderclaps, and from where do the thunders come? Perhaps they were responding to the sound "like a lion roaring" that is the voice of Christ. Some scholars suggest that the seven thunders represent the response of the host of heaven to the voice of Christ. The thunders could also be the voice of God the Holy Spirit. Seven is the number usually represented as spiritual perfection and related to God the Holy Spirit in the Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit as the seven lampstands in Rev 1:13. For two Old Testament verses that refer to God's voice like thunder see:

• Yahweh's voice over the waters, the God of glory thunders; Yahweh over the countless waters, Yahweh's voice in power, Yahweh's voice in splendor (Ps 29:3).
• Moses spoke, and God answered him in the thunder (Ex 19:19).

Question: Do you see a manifestation of the Trinity in verses 3-7?
Answer: There appears to be a manifestation of the Trinity in the three voices: the lion (God the Son), the seven thunders (God the Holy Spirit), and the voice from heaven (God the Father).

5 Then the angel that I had seen, standing on the sea and the land, raised his right hand to heaven, 6 and swore by him who lives forever and ever, and made heaven and all that it contains, and earth and all it contains, and the sea and all it contains.."
Question: What does the angel/messenger do in Revelation 10:5-6 recalls a similar action by the "man dressed in linen" in Daniel 12:7?
Answer: Both the man dressed in linen in Daniel 12:7 and the powerful angel swore an oath "by him who lives forever and ever."

By the way, a seamless, white linen tunic was the garment a priest of Yahweh wore during a liturgical service in the Temple.

Revelation 10:8-11 ~ The Small Scroll

In verses 9 and 10, some translations used the word "bitter" instead of "sour."

Question: Focusing on Ezekiel 2:8-15, what did Ezekiel eat, and what is significant about this ot compared to what John was told in Revelation 10:8-11?
Answer: Ezekiel ate a little scroll that tasted sweet as honey with lamentations, dirges, and cries of grief written on it. Eating this scroll was followed by the prophecies of the destruction of Jerusalem in 587 BC.

John's prophetic ot in eating the little scroll that tasted sweet as honey is in the same prophetic setting as the destruction of Jerusalem in 587 BC, but now pointing to AD 70. Another important observation is that Ezekiel's scroll tasted sweet, but the contents were bitter (lamentations, dirges, etc.). In John's case, the scroll turned sour or bitter in his stomach. First-century AD Jerusalem (like the Jerusalem of Ezekiel's time) indulged in the "sweetness" of forbidden sins, but the consequence, as John demonstrates, was that what seemed sweet at first turned to bitterness. The initial "sweetness" of sin and the "bitterness" of its consequences is a concept found in Proverbs 20:17 and Job 20:12-14. Perhaps the words written on John's scroll/codex were the same bitter prophecies as Ezekiel's scroll: the covenant judgment/destruction of Jerusalem.

The key to the interpretation of both Ezekiel and John's scroll in Revelation Chapter 10 is probably in Numbers 5:12-13, which is the Law testing a wife accused of adultery. In the test, the wife was forced to drink water in which a scroll containing a ground-up list of her adulterous sins. If she were guilty, the water would turn bitter in her stomach. It was called the "ordeal by bitter (sour) water." The connection is that Israel (Judea/Jerusalem) had been the unfaithful wife of Yahweh. She had sinned in adultery through idol worship, and now through the "ordeal of bitter water," symbolized by the scroll, she has been found guilty, and the punishment is death. There is also oath-swearing in the "ordeal of bitter water" compared to the oath of the "ordeal of bitter waters" and the angel/messenger's oath swearing. There is also a chiastic structure in the passage to emphasize the bitterness of the scroll in verse 10:

1. A1: eat it, it will turn your stomach sour (bitter)
   1. B1: but it will taste as sweet as honey
   2. B2: I ate it, and it tasted as sweet as honey;
2. A2: but ... my stomach turned sour (bitter).

Numbers 5, Ezekiel 3, and Revelation 10 are the only Biblical passages that refer to eating words on a scroll. The fact that the adulteress theme continues in Revelation Chapters 11, 12, 14, 17, and 18 supports this interpretation. Could it be that the seven times sealed document of Jesus' testament in Revelation Chapter 5:1 is the New Covenant inheritance/marriage document between Christ and His Bride the Church? The seven times it is sealed indicates its perfection. And is the little scroll a second document representing the condemnation/covenant lawsuit against the adulterous Old Covenant people of Judea/Jerusalem. Does it point to the adulterous Old Covenant Bride who must drink the bitter waters of destruction because, according to Hebrews 9:8, the Holy Spirit means us to see that as long as the old tent stands, the way into the holy place is not opened up; it is a symbol for this present time. As long as the Temple stood, the way into the presence of God for the New Covenant Church remained closed.

The Oldest Secular Accounts and Historical Evidence on the Existence of Jesus of Nazareth

1. Cornelius Tacitus (AD 55-120): He was a Roman historian whose most acclaimed works are the Annals and the Histories. The Annals cover the period from Augustus Caesar's death in AD 14 to the suicide of Emperor Nero in AD 68. The Histories begin after Nero's death and proceed to the reign of Domitian in AD 96. In the Annals, Tacitus alludes to the death of Christ and the existence of Christians living in Rome. In Annals XV,44, Tacitus wrote: "But not all the relief that could come from man, not all the bounties that the prince could bestow nor all the atonements which could be presented to the gods, availed to relieve Nero from the infamy of being believed to have ordered the conflagration, the fire of Rome. Hence to suppress the rumor, he falsely charged with the guilt and punished with most exquisite tortures, the persons commonly called Christians, who were hated for their enormities. Christus, the founder of the name, was put to death by Pontius Pilate, procurator of Judea in the reign of Tiberius: but the pernicious superstition, repressed for a time, broke out again, not only through Judea, where the mischief originated but through the city of Rome also." The misspelling of Christ as "Christus" was a common error by pagan writers.

No other surviving pagan document mentions Pilate except a stone inscription discovered at Caesarea Maritima. It is an irony of history that the only surviving reference to him in a pagan text names him because he passed a sentence of death on Jesus of Nazareth, the Christ (Messiah).

2. Suetonius: He was a Roman historian and court official during the reign of Emperor Hadrian. Suetonius wrote in Life of Claudius: "As the Jews were making constant disturbances at the instigation of Chrestus, he expelled them from Rome" (Life of Claudius, 25.4). Chrestus is a misspelling of Christus that probably assumed the spelling of Jesus' title "Christos" was the same as the ChiRho symbol, which was also a literary device indicating a quote that was "worthy of note" = the "chrestus" symbol. Acts 18:2 mentions Claudias' expulsion of the Christians from Rome. This event took place in AD 49.

In his work Lives of the Caesars, Suetonius also wrote: "Punishment by Nero was inflicted on the Christians, a class of men given to a new and mischievous superstition." Assuming Jesus suffered crucifixion in circa AD 30, Suetonius placed Christians in the Roman capital less than twenty years later. He reports that they were suffering for their faith and dying for their conviction that Jesus had lived, died, and had risen from the dead!

3. Pliny the Younger: He was the Roman governor in Bithynia AD 112, who wrote to Emperor Trajan, seeking advice as to how to treat Christians. He recounts that he had been busy killing Christian men, women, and children. Pliny expresses his concern that so many Christians chose death over submition to bowing down to a statue of the emperor or being made to "curse Christ, which a genuine Christian cannot be induced to do" (Epistles X, 96)

4. Thallus: He was a secular Greek writer. In circa AD 52, he composed a history of the Eastern Mediterranean from the Trojan War to his own time. The document no longer exists but was quoted by other writers like Julius Africanus, a Christian who wrote in circa AD 221. He quotes Thallus' comments about the darkness that enveloped the land during the late afternoon hours when Jesus died on the cross. Julius wrote: "Thallus, in the third book of his histories, explains away this darkness as an eclipse of the sun; unreasonably, as it seems to me. It was unreasonably because a solar eclipse could not take place at the time of the full moon, and it was at the season of the Paschal full moon that Christ died" (Julius Africanus, Chronography, 18.1). The importance of Thallus' comments is that they show the Gospel account of the darkness that fell across the earth during Christ's crucifixion was well known and required an explanation from non-Christians.

5. Phlegon: Julius Africanus also quoted another secular scholar whose works are now lost. Phlegon wrote a history called Chronicles. He also commented on the darkness at the time of Christ's crucifixion: "During the time of Tiberius Caesar, an eclipse of the sun occurred during the full moon" (Julius Africanus, Chronography, 18.1). The 3^rd-century Christian apologist Origen also refers to Phlegon's record of this event in his work Celsum, 2.14, 33, 59, and so does the 6^th-century writer Philopon (De.opif.mund. II, 21).

6. Mara Bar-Serapion: He was a Syrian stoic philosopher who wrote a letter from prison to his son circa AD 70. He compares Jesus to the philosophers Socrates and Pythagoras.

7. Josephus ben Mattathias (Flavius Josephus, AD 37-100): He was a Jewish chief priest, general and historian. He wrote four books, including two great works of Jewish history: The Jewish Wars, written in the early 70s and Antiquities of the Jews, which was finished about AD 94. In Antiquities of the Jews, there is a passage mentioning Jesus that has created heated debate among scholars for many decades. Josephus write: "Now there was about this time Jesus, a wise man, if it be lawful to call him a man, for he was a doer of wonderful works, a teacher of such men as receive the truth with pleasure. He drew over to him both many of the Jews and many of the Gentiles. He was the Christ, and when Pilate, at the suggestion of the principal men among us, had condemned him to the cross, those that loved him at the first did not forsake him; for he appeared to them alive again the third day; as the divine prophets had foretold these and ten thousand other wonderful things concerning him. And the tribe of Christians so named from him are not extinct at this day" (Antiquities of the Jews, 18.33).

8. Lucian of Samosata: Greek satirist later half of 2^nd century spoke scornfully of Christ and the Christians but never argued that Jesus never existed. "The Christians, you know, worship a man to this day "the distinguished personage who introduced their novel rites, and was crucified on that account" (The Death of Peregrine, 11-13).

9. The Babylonian Talmud: "It has been taught: On the eve of Passover they hanged Yeshu. And an announcer went out, in front of him, for 40 days (saying): He is going to be stoned, because he practiced sorcery and enticed and led Israel astray. Anyone who knows anything in his favor, let him come and plead in his behalf.' But, not having found anything in his favor, they hanged him on the eve of Passover" (Sanhedrin 43a; df.t.Sanh. 10:11; y. Sanh 7:12; Tg. Esther 7:9). Another version of this text reads: "Yeshu the Nazarene." Yeshu (Yeshua) is Hebrew (or Aramaic) for Jesus. Hanged is another way of referring to a crucifixion; see Luke 23:39 and Galatians 3:13.

"No serious scholar has ventured to postulate the non-historicity of Jesus." Otto Betz

After the blowing of the Sixth Trumpet in 9:13-21, there was another interlude like the one following the opening of the Sixth Seal in Revelation Chapter 7. The interlude in Chapter 10 revealed the vision of the "powerful angel" with authority over the earth and the small scroll. In Chapter 11, there is a second vision in the interlude of the measuring rod and the two witnesses (11:1-14) before the climax of the blowing of the Seventh Trumpet that will reveal the Ark of the Covenant in the heavenly Sanctuary (Rev 11:15-19). Again, it is necessary to refer to the works of the Old Testament prophets to correctly interpret John's visions in Chapter 11, especially the Book of Ezekiel written in the 6^th century BC.

Parallels in Ezekiel and Revelation Chapter 11:

Ezekiel	Revelation	Prophetic Action
Ezekiel Chapter 40	Revelation 11:1-2	Measuring the Temple
Ezekiel 16:45-58	Revelation 11:8	Comparing Jerusalem to Sodom
Ezekiel 37:4-11	Revelation 11:11	The breath of God bringing life to the dead

Revelation 11:1-14: The Two Witnesses

John receives a cane used for measuring, and the voice from Heaven commands him to measure God's Sanctuary. Sanctuary is a better translation than Temple because the Greek word is naos (from the root naio = to dwell), which was the sacred space occupied by a god in Greek temples. Therefore, John's command is to measure the Holy of Holies along with the altar and the people who worship there. Now, if John's revelation is taking place in AD 96, as some scholars suggest, the Temple in Jerusalem no longer exists, having been destroyed 26 years earlier. John does not protest that he cannot fulfill this command, which is more evidence that John's vision is taking place before AD 70, but soon he realizes the naos is probably the heavenly Sanctuary and not the earthly one.

The measuring of the Temple in Revelation is another link to the Book of Ezekiel but presented differently. In Ezekiel Chapters 40-42, Ezekiel has a vision of a man, whose appearance was like brass and who holds a rod with which he measures a temple that the voice tells Ezekiel is the new Temple of Yahweh. The "man" is measuring what will become the ideal Temple of the New Covenant people of God that is the universal Church (see Mk 14:58; Jn 2:19; 1 Cor 3:16; Eph 2:19-22; 1 Tim 3:15; Heb 3:6; 1 Pt 2:5; and Rev 3:12).

The inspired writer of the Letter to the Hebrews writes that the earthly Temple is only a copy and shadow of the heavenly Tabernacle: It is not as though Christ had entered a man-made sanctuary, which was merely a model of the real one (Heb 9:24). It is because Christ has become our High Priest in the heavenly Sanctuary that, even though we are still on earth, we are now, through Christ, participating in the heavenly worship (Heb 4:14-16; 7:20-28; 8:1-3). It is the heavenly sanctuary/naos or Holy of Holies that will become the center of the New Covenant Church; we will no longer be separated by the "veil" that closed God's people off from Him in the earthly Temple (Ex 26:31-34).

In John's vision, the voice commands him to measure the inner court with its altar but to exclude the outer court (Rev 11:2). Measuring is a symbolic action in Scripture to show the division between the holy and the profane. The "holy" is set aside for protection from destruction (see Ez 22:26; 40-43; Zec 2:1-3; Jer 10:16; 51:19; Rev 21:15-16). This aspect of measuring and setting up boundaries has a link to "seeing" and "judging" as we have already mentioned in God's covenant actions. Genesis Chapter 1 is an example when God saw that it was good (repeated seven times in Gen 1:2, 4, 10, 12, 18, 21, 25, 31) and in Revelation where it had seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits that God has sent out over the whole world (Rev 5:6). It would be Simon-Peter, the first Vicar of Christ, who would "hear" the message and set the measure and the boundaries for the New Covenant Church!

The Greek word for "exclude" in verse 2: "but exclude the outer court," is ekballo. A more literal translation might be to "cast out" or "excommunicate." This word ekabllo appears most often in the New Testament for casting out evil spirits (see Mk 1:34, 39; 3:15; 6:13, etc.). In other words, the heavenly voice tells John to "cast out" or "excommunicate" the outer court, which is where those who not part of the covenant could gather. Before AD 70, members of the Sinai Covenant considered that group of non-covenanters to be the "gentile dogs." However, now the definition of non-covenanters will include those Jews who reject the Messiah.

In verses 1-2, the contrast is between the inner and outer Sanctuary courts.
Question: What happened between the Sixth and Seventh Seals concerning the 144,000 saints of the True Israel? See Revelation 7:1-8.
Answer: God protected them from the coming judgment.b

That action is now taking place between the Sixth and Seventh Trumpets. John's measuring of only the inner court is the protection of the true, New Covenant Israel from the outpouring of God's judgment and wrath. The outer court represents apostate Israel which is to be cut off from the number of the faithful New Covenant people who are now God's Temple (His dwelling place). Jesus Himself warned the Jews in Matthew 8:5-13and Luke 13:22-30 that unbelieving Jews as a whole would be "cast out" from the Church while the Gentiles who accepted Him as Savior would be welcomed into the Kingdom and receive the blessings promised to the descendants of Abraham. Jesus said: "And I tell you that many will come from east and west and sit down with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob at the feast in the kingdom of heaven; but the children of the kingdom will be thrown out (ekballo) into the darkness outside, where there will be weeping and grinding of teeth" (Mt 8:11-12, bold added for emphasis).

The Jews who rejected Jesus as their promised Redeemer-Messiah were excluded from the protective boundary and unbelieving Israel has been handed over to the gentiles (the nations) who will trample the holy city for forty-two months (Rev 11:2). Forty-two months is a significant number. It equals 1,260 days or three and a half years. It is a number that is a reference to Daniel 7:25, where it symbolizes a limited period during which the wicked are victorious. In Revelation Chapter 11, it speaks of a limited period of wrath and judgment caused by apostasy, where the number seven represents wholeness and completion while three and a half is a "broken" seven. A broken seven yields death, destruction, and judgment (Daniel 9:24; 12:7; Revelation 12:6, 14; 13:5).

The forty-two months are probably symbolic; however, there is a literal and historical fulfillment in the three-and-a-half years from the invasion of Vespasian's legions in AD 67 until the destruction of Jerusalem in the summer of AD 70. It is also worth noting that the times in the Trumpets section of Revelation are arranged in a chiastic pattern in Revelation 11:2, 3, 9, 11; 12:6, and 13:5. It is another indication of the critical and symbolic nature of these specific times:

1. A-1. Rev 11:2 — 42 months
   1. B-1. Rev 11:3 — 1,260 days
      1. C-1. Rev 11:9 — 3 ½ days
      2. C-2. Rev 11:11 — 3 ½ days
   2. B-2. Rev 12:6 — 1,260 days
2. A-2. Rev 13:5 — 42 months

Question: How are the two witnesses dressed, and how does it relate to their message?
Answer: They are wearing sackcloth, the garment prophets, and mourning.

Sackcloth is a rough fabric woven from goat hair; it was the traditional garment of mourning and for the prophets from Elijah through John the Baptist. For a prophet, it symbolized their mourning in their call for repentance concerning national apostasy (see 2 Kng 1:8; Is 20:2; Jonah 3:6; Zec 13:4; Mt 3:4-6; Mk 1:5-6).

Question: What is the significance of two witnesses? See Num 35:30; Dt 17:6; 19:15; Mt 18:16.
Answer: Biblical law required two witnesses to bring legal action.

The oil symbolizes the Holy Spirit's filling and empowering work in the leaders of His covenant people."Sons of oil" is another way of saying "anointed ones," those commissioned by God to lead His people.

5 Fire comes from their mouths and consumes their enemies if anyone tries to harm them, and anyone who tries to harm them will undoubtedly be killed in this way. 6 They have the power to lock up the sky so that it does not rain as long as they are prophesying; they have the power to turn water into blood and strike the whole world with any plague as often as they like. 
John's vision now connects the two witnesses to two great Old Testament prophets.
Question: Which two Old Testament prophets had the power to 1) stop the rain and cause drought, and 2) the power to turn water into blood and bring plagues? See 1 Kng 17:1 and Ex Chapters 7-13.
Answer: Elijah and Moses. Elijah brought drought to an apostate Israel in the 9^th century BC, and Moses brought the Egyptian judgments of water turning to blood and the plagues of boils and locusts.

Both Moses and Elijah, representing the Law and the Prophets, are bound up with Jesus' First Advent and His ministry.

Question: Who did God send to meet with Jesus on the Mt. of Transfiguration to discuss His "exodus" from Jerusalem? See Mt 17:1-8; Mk 9:2-8; Lk 9:28-36.
Answer: Moses and Elijah.

7 When they have completed their witnessing, the beast that cames out of the Abyss is going to make war on them and overcome them and kill them. 8 Their corpses lie in the main street of the great city known by the symbolic names Sodom and Egypt, in which their Lord was crucified."
Question: This is the first mention of "the beast" in Revelation. How many times is the Antichrist mentioned in the Book of Revelation? See 1 Jn 2:18, 22; 4:3; 2 Jn 7.
Answer: The Book of Revelation does not mention the Antichrist.

It appears the "beast" from the Abyss has defeated the witnesses. The theme of the "beast" is a familiar one in Biblical history.

The "beast" is the image of humankind in rebellion against God. The enemy of God and the Church is, therefore, always the "beast" in various historical manifestations.

The dead bodies of the two witnesses symbolize those of the all the Old Covenant Witnesses, from the blood of Abel the holy to the blood of Zechariah (Mt 23:35), who lie metaphorically in the main street of the great city known by the symbolic names Sodom and Egypt (Rev 11:8), a city and a nation also guilty of persecuting God's people.

Question: Can you identify the city, which is symbolically called Sodom and Egypt?
Answer: According to Revelation 11:8b, the city must be Jerusalem, where Jesus suffered crucifixion.

Many commentators insist that the city in verse 8 is Rome despite the explicit reference to Jerusalem as the city in which their Lord was crucified. The argument is that even though Christ suffered crucifixion in Jerusalem at the insistence of certain powerful Jewish authorities who arrested and tried Jesus before the Sanhedrin [Jewish law court], it was a Roman ruler who had Him crucified. But that is an empty argument. Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor, was only the instrument, not the instigator.

Question: Who did St. Peter charge with the responsibility for the crucifixion of Jesus? See Acts 2:36. Quote a verse from Peter's address to the Jews on Pentecost Sunday in which he accuses those responsible.
Answer: Peter held Judea, the Jews in general, and the citizens of Jerusalem responsible. On Pentecost Sunday, he said: "For this reason, the whole House of Israel can be certain that the Lord and Christ whom God has made is this Jesus whom you crucified."

However, we are all guilty of Jesus' crucifixion. It is important to remember that the Jews collectively are not responsible for Jesus' death. No human agency had power over Jesus because everything that happened was God's plan. The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches: "The Jews are not collectively responsible for Jesus' death: "The historical complexity of Jesus' trial is apparent in the Gospel accounts. The personal sin of the participants (Judas, the Sanhedrin, Pilate) is known to God alone. Hence we cannot lay responsibility for the trial on the Jews in Jerusalem as a whole, despite the outcry of a manipulated crowd and the global reproaches contained in the apostles' calls to conversion after Pentecost. Jesus himself, in forgiving them on the cross, and Peter in following suit, both accept the ignorance' of the Jews of Jerusalem and even their leaders. Still less can we extend responsibility to other Jews of different times and places, based merely on the crowd's cry: "His blood be on us and on our children!" a formula for ratifying a judicial sentence. As the Church declared at the Second Vatican Council: Neither all Jews indiscriminately at that time, nor Jews today, can be charged with the crimes committed during his Passion.... The Jews should not be spoken of as rejected or accursed as if this followed from Holy Scripture.' All sinners were the authors of Christ's Passion" (CCC# 597, bold added for emphasis).

Have you noticed how, in each section of Revelation, John's figures harmonize with each other?

Question:	Answer:
How are the Seal judgments numbered?	In fourths
How are the Trumpet judgments numbered?	In thirds
How are the numbers in Chapters 11-13 set?	The numbers correspond to three-and-a-half (the 42 months and 1,260 days both equal three and a half years).

11 After the three and a half days, God breathed life into them, and they stood up on their feet
This verse recalls the resurrection of the "dry bones" in Ezekiel Chapter 37.

The three-and-a-half days mean the time of evil is brief, just like the short time the wicked were triumphant after the crucifixion of Christ. There is probably a connection to the three days of Christ's descent into Hades (Sheol) to rescue the righteous dead when the earth believed Him to be dead and defeated. During that time, the entire covenant community was as though dead and lying in the streets under a curse. But after the three and a half days in Revelation 11:11, there is a resurrection. The resurrection of Jesus Christ was three days after His burial. But resurrection for the New Covenant Community in Jerusalem was fifty days later on Pentecost Sunday when the Holy Spirit baptized the New Covenant Church!

Jesus' resurrection and the transformation of the disciples from frightened men and women to crusading heroes and heroines caused terror and confusion to their enemies. There were, however, "witnesses" who did not survive the persecution (like Stephen in Acts Chapter 7 and the Apostle James in Acts 12:2). Still, through Christ's resurrection, they rose to power and dominion through the very "breath" of God to eternal life. In union with Christ, they were able to ascend to glory, as Paul wrote in Ephesians 2:6, and raised us up with Him and gave us a place with Him in heaven, in Christ Jesus. Through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, the New Covenant Church was raised to life and became unstoppable!³

Notice the parallels between the ascension of the witnesses, the language used in 11:11-12, and John's ascension to Heaven in Revelation 4:1:

• Revelation 11:11-12 ~ And after the three and a half days....then I heard a loud voice from heaven say to them: "Come up here".
• Revelation 4:1 ~ Then in my vision, I saw a door open in heaven and heard the same voice speaking to me, the voice like a trumpet, saying: "Come up here."

The story of the two witnesses is the story of the witnessing Church down through the centuries, which has received a divine command to be God's holy emissaries and the promise that one day, those witnesses will hear the call to enter the throne room of God like St. John.

Revelation 11:15-19 ~ The Seventh Trumpet: The Kingdom Comes!

The priest/king elders prostrate themselves before God's glory proclaiming, "Eucharistoumen!" "We give thanks!" The verb for "give thanks" is eucharisteo, used throughout Christian history for the Communion of Christ's Body and Blood = the Eucharist. From the opening verses of this book, John continues the liturgical setting of God's redemptive action in the unfolding of history. The elders praise God and declare that now is the time for His reign on earth to begin.

The seventh angel blows the Seventh Trumpet, which announces that the "Mystery of God" is accomplished (from Revelation 10:6-7). The mystery is that the Gentiles and Jews are now united in the Church of the New Covenant family of God, and it is time for the Old Covenant Church to pass away.

18 The nations were in uproar, and now the time has come for your retribution, and for the dead to be judged, and for your servants the prophets, for the saints and for those who fear your name, small and great alike, to be rewarded. The time has come to destroy those who are destroying the earth. 19 Then the sanctuary of God in heaven opened, and the Ark of the Covenant could be seen inside it. Then came flashes of lightning, peals of thunder and an earthquake and violent hail.
Verse 19 would have thrilled first-century AD Jewish Christians! The Ark of the Covenant had been missing since just before the destruction of Solomon's Temple in 587 BC when the prophet Jeremiah removed it from the Holy of Holies and hid it in a cave on Mount Nebo (2 Mac 1:1-8). The Holy of Holies of the rebuilt Second Temple was an empty room! The critical point here is that the Sanctuary in Heaven could not be fully opened until the removal of the old Temple (Heb 9:8). And the Sanctuary stands open to reveal the heavenly Ark (remember the earthly one was only a copy).

Agape Bible Study Philemon 

Philemon Verses 1-2 ~ Address and Greeting

In the majority of St. Paul's letters, he gives a greeting followed by a thanksgiving for those to whom he is writing. His greeting follows a standard form with only slight variations. The three basic elements are:

1. Paul's name (along with any co-senders)
2. The name or identity of the addressee
3. The personal greeting and blessing in the name of the Lord.

Philemon Verses 4-7 ~ Thanksgiving and Prayer

Like Paul's most of Paul's other letters, his greeting is followed by a "thanksgiving" for the community in verses 4-7 (cf. Rom 1:8-15; 1 Cor 1:4-9; 2 Cor 1:3-7; Phil 1:3-11; Col 1:3-8; 1 Thes 1:2-10; 2 thes1:3-10; 2 Tim 1:3-5).

Philemon Verses 8-21 ~ Paul's Request Concerning Onesimus

Onesimus evidently left his master to seek out Paul. Finding Paul in prison, Onesimus has stayed with him, becoming a Christian through Paul's ministry and affectionately, a spiritual son. The "good" for Christ that Paul was praying Philemon would "recognize" in verse 6 is a deed Paul is going to request in the next part of the letter. Paul wants Philemon's consent so the "good" deed is voluntary.

Paul wants to keep Onesimus with him, but does not want to presume on the kindness or legal rights of his master. Paul does not want to impose his apostolic authority and prefers to give Philemon the more honorable and generous free consent to Paul's desire to have Onesimus with him. Paul's request of Philemon concerning Onesimus could, therefore, be seen as an offering not by compulsion but as a free-will offering.

Paul knows his request to treat Onesimus like a "brother" by setting him free would be a sacrifice for Philemon. Onesimus is, after all, an able-bodied young male with many years of service ahead of him. Paul's choice of wording is probably deliberate. He asks Philemon to sacrifice his legal right and interests to serve his Christian mission.

Slavery was an ancient, universal institution. Slaves were either prisoners of war sold into slavery by the victor, were sold into slavery by parents who could not care for a child, an adult who was destitute who sold himself into slavery, or a person born into slavery from slave parents. Nations in ancient times did not have welfare systems to take care of the poor, and in many cases, slavery served this need. The exception was the Law of the Sinai Covenant that commanded the care of the poor among the children of Israel (Dt 15:4; Lev 19:10, 15; 23:22; 25:35-37). The Law also commanded that a Hebrew adult could not be held in slavery beyond six years (Ex 21:2-4; Dt 15:12). Gentiles could be held in slavery indefinitely; that part of the law had the desired result of encouraging Gentile conversion to the Sinai Covenant (Lev 25:44-55). However, even the Israelites/Jews were often negligent in obeying those laws concerning the freeing of slaves (Jer 34:14). Gentiles did not have limits on years of service for slaves, and since the names of the people to whom the letter is addressed are all Greek names, it is likely they are Gentile-Christian converts.

As far as Paul's stand against slavery is concerning, the point is if all Christian slave-holders behaved as Paul requests in his letter, slavery would end among Christians. In fact, the Church was the first institution to condemn slavery, establishing orphanages and taking responsibility for feeding and caring for the poor and housing the sick and dying.

Philemon Verses 22-25 ~ Personal Request and Closing Remarks

Question: What does Paul write in verse 22? Why is this information an incentive to fulfill Paul's request concerning Onesimus?
Answer: He informs Philemon that he will be coming soon to visit him. It is easy for Philemon to refuse Paul's petition from a distance, but it will be hard when he is face to face with Paul!

The men named in verse 23-24:

1. Epaphras founded the church at Colossus and also perhaps the churches in Laodicea and Hierapolis (Col 1:7; 2:1; 4:12-13). He is a prisoner with Paul.
2. Aristarchus was a native of Thessalonica and missionary companion of Paul's (Acts 19:29; 20:4; 27:2).
3. Mark was a relative of Jesus' disciple Barnabas and the son of the Jewish-Christian Mary of Jerusalem and a Roman father (Acts 12:12-16; Col 4:10). He accompanied Paul and Barnabas on their first missionary journey (Acts 13:13) and accompanied Barnabas on a mission to Cyprus (Acts 15:39). Bishop Eusebius records that Mark became St. Peter's secretary in Rome (1 Pt 5:13; Church History, 2.15; 3.39), and the Church Fathers unanimously testify that Mark is the writer of the Gospel of Mark. In Rome, he was reunited with Paul and stayed with him in prison (Col 4:10; 2 Tim 4:11; Phlm 24). Later, St. Mark went to Alexandria, Egypt and was the first bishop of the Church in Alexandria (Eusebius, Church History, 2.16, 24) where he suffered martyrdom. 
4. Demas was a resident of Thessalonica and a disciple of Paul's (Phlm 24; Col 4:14) until he abandoned Paul. He was apparently afraid he would share Paul's fate in martyrdom (2 Tim 4:10).
5. Luke was Paul's "beloved physician," a Gentile convert, a missionary companion, and the writer of the Gospel of Luke and Acts of Apostles (Col 4:11, 14; 2 Tim 4:11; Phlm 24. Bishop Eusebius records in his 4^th century Church History that he was born in Antioch, Syria and was a member of Paul's home church there (Church History, 3.4; Acts 11:19-26; 13:1-3). The Church Fathers unanimously attribute the Gospel of Luke and Acts to St. Luke.

25 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. 
Paul concludes his letter with a benediction found in most of his letters with slight variations.