Revelations on Revelation: Part 3

A couple of weeks ago I began a series entitled, “Revelations on Revelation.” What I am attempting to do is help give you some insights into probably the most misunderstood book in the Bible—the Book of Revelation.

      Recall in my first post that we explored the following: First, I emphasized the importance of reading the book itself and suggested Metzger’s book to read along with the text itself. I hope you’re doing this because it is vital for understanding it. Second, I shared with you the fact that not even the most learned scholars can rightly say they have all of Revelation figured out. So don’t be surprised when you run into things that puzzle you. Third, we explored how John is writing in a literary style of his day—apocalyptic. So the important thing to remember when reading this book is that you can’t take it literally. If we do, we’ll completely miss what he is trying to say.  

In the second post I shared the importance of trying to go back into John’s time and reading this through his and his reader’s eyes. Only if we do this can we begin to understand what he was saying then and what it means now. If we don’t do this, we run the very great risk of making his words mean something he never intended.  

In this post, I want to share what I’ve learned about what was going on in John’s world. Once we have a better understanding of that, we will not only begin to better understand what John wrote but also why he wrote the way he did. Then we can also gain some insights into what this means for us. 

 Imagine, if you can, that you’re living in a country that has one supreme, all-powerful ruler whose word means life or death. To enforce his word and will, he has a virtually undefeatable army. In fact, he is no longer treated like a mere mortal but is considered divine. So, all his subjects must take an oath swearing political and religious allegiance to him. If you don’t, you can’t obtain a license to do business. Everything you own can be confiscated. Your whole family can be arrested, imprisoned, tortured, and executed. You can be sent to a government work camp where you’ll die from extreme manual labor. Worship the supreme ruler or face the consequences—it’s your choice.  

You don’t need to use a lot of imagination to get some idea of what this must have been like. Such conditions have existed throughout human history and still do to this day! For the eleventh year running, North Korea (much in the news lately) is the most difficult place on earth to be a Christian. One of the remaining totalitarian Communist states, it is vehemently opposed to any religion except the state religion. Christians face arrest, detention, torture, even public execution. There is a system of labor camps including the renowned prison No. 15, which alone reportedly houses 6,000 persecuted Christians.  

The second most difficult place to be a Christian is our so-called “ally” in the Middle East, Saudi Arabia. There is no provision whatever for religious freedom in the constitution of this highly repressive Islamic kingdom. Public Christian worship is forbidden; worshipers risk imprisonment, lashing, deportation and torture. Sharing the gospel with Muslims and distributing non-Islamic materials is against the law. Muslims who convert to Christianity risk being murdered and foreign Christian workers have been exposed to abuse from employers.  

Number three on the list is Afghanistan, where our troops are still fighting to preserve the current regime, which our government calls “democratic.” Here, persecution by the government has pushed the church underground. The state treats converts (who all come from a Muslim background) in a very hostile manner. Christians can’t meet in public; even gatherings in private homes require extreme caution. No church buildings exist and both local and foreign Christians are subject to kidnapping, abduction, killing and having to flee the country. The Taliban is regaining power and has vowed to purge all Christians from Afghanistan, both foreign and local. 

Persecution like this was the historical context for John and his readers. This was especially so during the reign of Emperor Domitian (A.D. 81-96). (Most scholars believe that the Book of Revelation was written during his reign, probably about A.D. 95.)  

One of the things Domitian did more than any of his predecessors was to revive the Imperial cult. In other words, he declared himself and his family divine, referring to his couch as the “bed of a god.” Part of what this involved was forcing everyone to make sacrifices and burn incense to a statute of the emperor and say, “Caesar is Lord!” Shrines set up for this were established throughout the empire. For example, one of the seven letters to the churches in Revelation is to Ephesus, where we know there was a temple for emperor worship. Obviously, this is something that a Christian couldn’t in good faith do. The very first creed for Christians was simply this, “Jesus is Lord!” Indeed, one of the ways the Romans rooted out Christians was to force them to bow before the emperor and say, “Caesar is Lord!” Those who refused to do this they knew to be Christians. 

For some time Christians had been protected. The Roman authorities had simply seen them as part of Judaism and Jews, for the most part, had been given an exemption from emperor worship. It is fair to say that Rome had never met anyone like the Jews before—that is, such ardent monotheists. Monotheism (belief in one God) was unusual in those days. The only way to have complete compliance to the worship of Caesar would have been to kill all Jews. But the Romans realized this would be a huge waste of resources for them, so as long as Christians were seen as essentially Jewish, they also enjoyed that exemption. But Rome began to discover that these Christians weren’t Jews at all, so the exemption was taken away. 

The practice of worshipping the emperor was as much political as religious. It was a way of trying to impose loyalty over a diverse population, bringing some uniformity or order to the whole empire. Those who refused couldn’t do business, all their property could be taken and they could be imprisoned and executed. Some would be sent into exile to work as slaves. In fact, this is the case with John, the writer of Revelation. One of the first things he writes in this book is this: 

I, John, your brother who shares with you in the hardship, kingdom, and endurance that we have in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos because of the word of God and my witness about Jesus. (Revelation 1:9). 

In other words John, because he hadn’t bowed down to the emperor, has been exiled to a Roman “concentration camp” on the Island of Patmos! His prison isn’t made of stone but water—the sea. In fact, as you read Revelation, notice how often John refers to the sea in one way or another. John was suffering for his faith. He knew firsthand what his fellow Christians were having to endure, which is probably why he shares with them so early in his book his own circumstances. He is one of them! He understands! As one of them his words carry great weight and authority. He was also known by them, respected, even more so now because of his example of suffering. John isn’t merely telling them to do as he says but as he himself is doing! 

Basically, Christianity had been outlawed. It was an illegal religion.  Christians had to meet in secret, sometimes in sewers and catacombs. Meeting in such places made the Romans even more suspicious of them. Hearing rumors that Christians even drank blood and ate flesh, did not help improve their reputation with Romans. Why would they have thought Christians did such things? Right—Holy Communion, the “body” and “blood” of Christ. Christians had to hide their sacred writings. They lived in constant fear of being brought before the authorities, of being forced to make a choice—Caesar or Jesus?  

Some forsook their faith. Some worshipped the emperor but with their fingers crossed behind their backs, i.e., not really meaning it. But others, like John, refused and suffered the consequences. John, in some ways, was fortunate. He was only exiled. In Revelation 20:4 we read this: 

Then I saw thrones, and people took their seats on them, and judgment was given in their favor. They were the ones who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and God’s word, and those who hadn’t worshipped the beast or its image, who hadn’t received the mark on their forehead or hand. They came to life and ruled with Christ for one thousand years. 

Already some Christians had paid the full price for their faith—they had been beheaded. Beheading, along with crucifixion, were favorite forms of execution by the Romans. Roman citizens were beheaded; non-citizens were usually crucified. 

John’s message is one of encouragement.  “Remain faithful, no matter what! Don’t give in to the worship of Caesar as Lord. Only Jesus is Lord! Don’t compromise your faith, even if it costs you dearly. The emperor and the Roman Empire, contrary to how it may appear, are not all-powerful. Rome will be judged sternly. All it has imposed on others it will receive back in kind and worse. Those who remain faithful to the end will share in Christ’s ultimate victory and be given a crown of eternal life. So stay faithful, no matter what!” 

John has held himself up as an example of this. He is in exile because of his faith. But notice that even before he says this about himself he says this in the first chapter of Revelation:  

Grace and peace to you from the one who is and was and is coming, and from the seven spirits that are before God’s throne, and from Jesus Christ—the faithful witness, the firstborn from among the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth (vv. 4-5).

John refers to Jesus as “the faithful witness.” The Greek word for “witness” is the one from which we get the English word “martyr.” In other words, John is holding up Jesus as the supreme example for them. Jesus faced Roman persecution, was tortured, was crucified but remained faithful to the end! They could too! And that was not the end for Jesus. He was the “firstborn of the dead”—a reference to resurrection. He arose! He is “ruler of the kings of the earth”—even and especially Caesar! He sits at the right hand of God and will come at God’s appointed time to bring an end to this persecution and establish, as we see in the last two chapters of Revelation, a new heaven and a new earth! They, too, will share in all of this and more. So, be faithful to the end, even if it costs you your life. Your life is ultimately in the hands of a risen Lord!