continued by Fr. Paul Tarazi...
April 2 The Millennial Reign
This
last lecture of our series on the Apocalypse will cover the sections on the
Book of Revelation from Fr. Paul
Tarazi’s
book, “New Testament Introduction, vol.3: Johannine Writings”, pp.9-127. Most
of the ideas will reinforce
the
material from Hopko’s audio lecture series. However, a few ideas may be
presented.
Introduction- Background
The Johannine Literature,
p.11
In
the midst of persecution, Revelation began to circulate as an impassioned
exhortation to the faithful to stand
firm
and not betray their faith even at the cost of their lives. It assured its
hearers that despite all appearances God
was
still in complete control of human affairs, even though so many who were
apparently His people abandoned
Him
and did well, whole those who stood fast for Him suffered terribly.
John’s
portrayal of everyone around Jesus either abandoning Him o following him for
the wrong reason sends a
clear
message: do not judge the truth of the gospel by the numbers of people who
confess or reject it. Rather seek the
truth
from its only genuine source, Jesus Christ the Word—that is, from Jesus Christ
as communicated to you by the
written
word of this Gospel book.
Sonship
to Abrham is based on acceptance of the divine promise fulfilled in Christ
rather than on biological
inheritance.
John’ focus on Christ the Word also led him to concentrate equally on the Holy
Spirit as the carrier of
the
Word.
What
matters for the Church is not individuals who come and go but the Word and the
Spirit, which remain
reliable
and steadfast guides without boundaries in time or space.
The Identity of “John the
Theologian”
Individual
vs. Corporate Authorship- even today it takes several people to write, edit,
publish, print and distribute
a
book. The “Pauline Epistles” are the work not exclusively of one man but of a
close knit group who all had the
same
conception of what the “gospel of Jesus Christ” was all about. The gospels are
much more complex creations
than
the Pauline Epistles.
The
text of John follows Mark very closely. Another interesting fact is that the
associate of Paul and Peter who
went
by the name “Mark” (Col.4:10; 2Thess.3:17; 1Tim.6:21; 2Tim.4:11; Philemon 1:24;
1Pet.5:13) also went by
the
name “John” (see Acts 12:12,25; 15:37,39).
I
believe that the author of John, Revelation and 1John is none other than the
author of the earliest Gospel (Mark).
He
lived for two decades after the original writing of the first gospel (Mark)
before a new historical situation made
him
realize it was time once again to set pen to paper. Seeing persecution begin to
drive people away from the Faith,
he
wrote a searing commentary of apostasy and glorification of martyrdom
(Revelation). Once the immediate danger
was
over, he wrote a new Gospel that more directly addressed the new situation of a
Gentile Church on it own,
abandoned
by its Jewish brothers and about to lose one its last leaders who had nearly
the statute of Paul himself.
The
“school of John” is an element within the ‘school of Paul”, which is, contrary
to much of modern biblical
scholarship,
the one and only “school” responsible for the creation of entire New Testament.
The Message of Revelation,
p.17
Apocalyptic
literature was typically written in response to persecution. It was an attempt
to exhort believers to
remain
true to their faith even at the cost of their own lives.
The
seven letters to seven churches is merely a literary device. In reality the
apocalypse is itself one letter to each
and
every church.
John
had to convince his readers that physical pain and suffering and death would be
worth choosing when a
normal,
comfortable life was the alternative.
Christ
figures in Revelation as the prototypical martyr.
The Language of Revelation,
p.19
All
scriptural books are works of literature. None had the primary purpose to
record history as it actually
happened.
They are not “histories” in the modern sense as an attempt at impartial
analysis of events. They are
unabashedly
one-sided analyses of the meaning
of the events they record. Revelation is
essentially an extended
2
parable.
It does not contain a road map to future human events. Indeed, no scriptural
book was written for such a
purpose
and in the Gospels Jesus Himself warns the people not to speculate on such
matters.
Revelation
leaves the hearer with an expansive, clear, and powerful picture of a world in
which evil seems to be in
control
but is enjoying only a fleeting dominance until God finally uproots it
completely. The author’s certainty in
his
vision is reflected in how long and detailed it is.
The
scripture, for believers, has a message to convey; its medium is literature;
and it makes the most effective
possible
use of literary methods to convey its message.
Excursus on Number Symbolism,
p.22
The
number ‘three’ conveys a sense of assuredness. See example. of Jesus rising on
the third day. Useless debates
distract
from the importance of the number itself which meant to convey that Jesus was
indeed/assuredly dead.
The
number ‘four’, depending on context can refer to totality, a house or a temple.
‘Five’ frequently alludes to the
Law
(the five books of the Pentateuch). ‘Seven’ expresses divinity and/or fullness.
‘Six’ expresses evil as taking on
the
appearance of good, a paragon of evil masquerading as good. ‘Three and a half
(3.5)’ suggests a human realm
(half
of seven). ‘Ten’ or multiples of ten are used in reference to numbers of people
and suggests a large number that
represents
totality. ‘Twelve’ refers to 12 tribes of Israel and alludes to ‘all Israel.’
‘Forty’ means a ‘very long time’
and
when used with ‘years’ represents one generation. Regarding the 144,000, it
stresses all of Israel will be saved.
However,
remember that “Israel” in the NT means those who accept Christ or Christians or
the Church. The point is
to
leave the reader feeling assured that no one who stands firm for his/her faith
will be left out. This is a prime
example
of how modern literal interpretation leads to an understanding diametrically
opposite from what the author
intended.
Numbers
are usually paired with a unit of measure (days, weeks, years, etc.) but one
must not lay too much
emphasis
on the unit. It is usually the number that conveys the intended meaning. There
is no intention in Revelation
to
speak of literal succession of historical periods. Rather, it is an extended
discussion of Judgment Day, a look at
the
“day of the Lord” from a series of different perspectives. Repetition serves to
emphasize the conclusion: martyrs
will
end up victorious even though they appear to be defeated, while the persecutors
and the Christians who think
they
can save themselves by betraying their faith will wind up defeated even though
they appear to be victorious.
The Gospel of John, p.25
Tarazi
is convinced that John knew Mark well (actually, was himself the author) and
followed closely, and also
that
he knew Luke and used it where it suited him.
In
John, virtually everyone misunderstands Jesus and His message. Even Jesus’
disciples—the prototypical church
leaders—can
and do miss the mark. Those who remain in the Church must be on their guard
against false
understandings
of the gospel advocated by church members themselves.
So,
just as the OT scripture criticized and corrected Israel, so does the NT gospel
word criticize and correct the
church
membership.
The Word, the Spirit, and
Scripture in John, p.28
Christians
were to be governed by the Holy Spirit speaking from the heavenly Jerusalem
rather than by all too
fallible
human voices speaking from the earthly Jerusalem.
The
Word brings the Spirit, and the Spirit is the guarantor and judge of the truth
of the Word (see Ezekiel 1-2).
Jesus
as the Word in Luke brings about the Spirit in Acts, and the Spirit in Acts
effectively makes Jesus present even
after
He has departed. Thus, the plan for the Church’s guidance is clear: Jesus
Himself will lead His Church through
His
Spirit.
For
Paul, the Spirit had functioned partly as a replacement for the authority of
the temple: God speaks to His
people
directly through the Spirit, not through the temple hierarchy.
The
Spirit, unlike the incarnate Jesus, had no limitations of time and space and
could effectively guide a growing,
far-flung
community doing in effect what Jesus could not.
In
John’s gospel the Word is the basis for the granting of the Spirit, and the
Spirit always works through the Word
and
communicates the Word. Only the written Word can fulfill the function of being
available everywhere and
through
endless generations while remaining one and the same Word. John’s gospel Word
can bring life but only if
it
is understood correctly and only the Holy Spirit can ensure that correct
understanding.
Part I: Revelation
Invitation to All Believers to Martyrdom, p.39
Introduction (1:1-3)
Revelation,
like Galatians, begins with a concerted attempt to put a stop to some
believers’ separating themselves
from
their brethren out of fear of earthly authorities.
References
to the ‘angel of God’ in the Gospels and Acts may often be taken as an allusion
to Paul as God’s
messenger.
3
Jesus
is presented as the prototypical martyr.
Salutation (1:4-8)
The
book of Revelation is formally a letter intended for public reading in all
Christian churches. Seven churches
emphasizes
the message is for God’s church as a whole.
“He
who is, who was and who is to come” (v.4) introduces God the Father.
Earlier,
in Paul’s day, the earthly Jerusalem was claiming jurisdiction over all
Christians and was using its
authority
to undermine Paul’s proclamation of freedom for Gentiles from circumcision and
the rest of the Jewish
Law.
Now, the conflict is between Paul’s gospel and Roman state religion, and Rome
is using its authority to
undermine
these same churches from a different angle.
The
believer must obey Christ as king over and above even the seemingly
all-powerful Roman emperor and all the
authorities
commanded by him.
A Vision of Christ (1:9-20),
p.46
Obedience
to Christ is required, but there is not guarantee of a calm and peaceful life.
Believers who hope to enjoy
the
Lord’s kingdom must also share in his ‘patient endurance’ of ‘tribulation’.
One Message to All the
Churches (2-3)
Anyone
who reads or hears these chapters can hardly miss the point that it is the
totality of all the messages that
expresses
the totality of what the Son of Man has to say to believers.
A Call to Martyrdom, p.49
No
one who ‘hears what the Spirit says to the churches’ can relax in certain
expectation of getting to enjoy these
wonderful
blessings, for they are only for those who ‘conquer’, which does not
necessarily mean every believer or
church
member.
Revelation
leaves no doubt that Christ’s victory was effected through His death, and His
followers share in that
victory
by sharing in the ultimate self-sacrifice. This book portrays no other path to
victory.
Revelation
offers a new, elaborate depiction of life in the hereafter that portrays it in
the brightest imaginable
terms,
combined with a stark reminder that the believer may well lose his inheritance
at any point before he dies.
Accepting
death by martyrdom is the only sure way to attain the promised life after
death. It is as though the martyr,
by
the fact of his self-sacrifice, already passes through God’s judgment and
receives the verdict of ‘victor’.
Pauline Terminology, p.53
There
are many parallels between Revelation and Paul’s letters.
Revelation 4-5, p.55
Apocalyptic
literature seeks to reassure its readers that despite all appearances to the
contrary, God has absolute
control
over the events of history. A picture is worth a thousand words. Thus, a few
words that convey concrete
imagery
can be far more powerful than long passages of abstract philosophizing.
Therefore,
in place of a theological statement about the divine majesty of God, chapter
four paints a vivid picture
of
the heavenly court from which God reigns as creator and absolute monarch of the
universe.
The Heavenly Court (Chapter
4), p.57
???
The Scroll and the Lamb (Chapter 5), p.59
The
Pauline conception of scripture is that its meaning can be revealed only by
Christ (vv.6-10).
The
lamb’s divinity is testified to by his seven horns and seven eyes. Horns
symbolizes fullness of divine power
and
eyes symbolize the fullness of knowledge required of a just judge.
The Seven Seals and Seven Trumpets, p.63
The Structure of the
Remainder of Revelation
As
in all ancient literatures, which did not have the luxury of changing typefaces
or sizes, italicizing, underscoring
or
even punctuating, repetition in the Bible served to underscore a point the
author considered important. Extended
repetition
conveys the notion of assuredness. The main message is that bad things will
happen, but regardless of
what
happens, Christ ‘is coming soon.’
The Sets of Seven, p.64
Based
on the conventions of ancient literature, each successive set of seven does not
depict new and different
events
chronologically following its predecessors. So, one does not move ahead in time
but rather, deeper in one’s
assuredness
of God’s superiority over one’s foes.
The First Four Seals (6:1-8),
p.66
By
opening the long series of dark visions with a bright one, John is already
setting the entire message of the book
under
the aegis of hope. The rider on the white horse will ultimately bring salvation
(19:11-21) is all along in control
of
the entire scene.
4
The Fifth and Sixth Seals
(6:9-17)
The
martyrs’ special status is reflected in their ‘white robes’ (v.11). Their
location ‘under the altar’ that stands
before
God in the temple, also suggests their unique closeness to God. They will wait
in a most secure spot, in God’s
presence,
for Him to eventually ‘avenge their blood.’
The 144,000 of God’s Israel
Sealed (Chapter 7)
The
number applies to those who have not yet been martyred but will be. It was not
meant to be taken literally but
as
a symbolic of the fullness of God’s people. The number is meant to be inclusive
rather than exclusive for it means
all
the martyrs among the believers, Jews and Gentiles alike “from every nation,
from all tribes and peoples and
tongues”
(v.9).
The
martyrs, through their sacrificial deaths, have already attained the blessings
everyone else must wait to receive
after
a positive verdict at the Last Judgment.
The Seventh Seal and the
First Four Trumpets (Chapter 8), p.70
The
number ‘three’ is frequently used for emphasis or to symbolize completeness,
especially with regard to God’s
plans.
The
frightening imagery of chapters 8-18 warns that things may get worse before
they get better. Through it all,
the
believers must trust God and not give up. They can rest assured that if they do
suffer martyrdom, it will only
mean
that they will enjoy immediately the rewards that others must wait for until
the Last Judgment.
The Fifth and Sixth Trumpets
(Chapter 9), p.72
In
scripture, locusts frequently serve as a metaphor for invading or attacking
armies. Making them like scorpions
highlights
the pain suffered by their victims. In this case, the allusion would be to
Roman armies, possibly referring
to
persecution of Christians that happened sporadically in Nero’s time (54-68AD)
and more systematically in the
time
of Domitian (81-96AD).
Revelation’s
unique task is to give people facing possible death the certainty and courage
they need to be able to
give
their life rather than apostatize. Ironically, it is through their death that
the martyrs avoid being truly ‘harmed’.
One
is not to imagine evil armies attacking innocent victims. The real cause for
all the human suffering is human
wickedness.
In verses 20-21, the obvious implication is that the first third died for the
their sins and the rest are on
the
way toward the same fate. This shows John’s deep reliance on the OT prophets
(see Jeremiah 5:3).
The Angel and the Little
Scroll (Chapter 10), p.75
???
Two Martyrs (11:1-14), p.77
“Clothed
in sackcloth’ indicates they are delivering a call to repentance and perhaps
that they are bemoaning the
people’s
refusal to repent. The two martyrs represent the OT as a whole, Moses &
Elijah, Law and Prophets.
“Great
city” serves as a symbol of any highly organized system of human authority.
The Seventh Trumpet
(11:15-19), p.82
The
sounding of the seventh trumpet proclaims the eternal reign of God and His
Christ over the earth.
The Forbearance of the Martyrs, p.87
The Woman and the Dragon
(Chapter 12)
“Sea”
in OT is primarily linked to Exodus event when God subdued its waters to save
His people Israel. In John’s
day,
‘the sea’ was the Mediterranean around which the Roman Empire held sway and
thus became its symbol.
Women
often serve as symbols of communities in scripture, and here the dragon’s
enmity toward Mary, the
mother
of Jesus, represents his enmity toward all who believe in Jesus.
The
Orthodox liturgical tradition reflects the same theme of Mary as symbol of the
new Jerusalem in the ninth ode
of
Pascha: “Shine, shine O new Jerusalem! Exult now and be glad O Zion! Be radiant
O pure Theotokos in the
resurrection
of your son!”
The First Beast (13:1-10),
p.90
The
intention of using ‘divine’ symbols is to present the representative of Satan
in almost identical terms as Christ,
God’s
representative. The similarities between Christ (the Lamb) and the beast go far
beyond death and resurrection.
To
name a few, both have multiple horns, both go out (at least for a time in the
beast’s case) waging war and
conquering,
both have followers who worship them, both have a throne and both have great
power and authority.
The Second Beast (13:11-17),
p.93
The
intention is to cast this beast, too, as a deceiver of earth’s inhabitants
(v.14). Its goal is to lure believers into
worshipping
the first beast, and toward that end it uses its power over commerce. Most
likely the first beast
represents
Rome and the Roman emperor. The second represents some lesser Roman authority,
perhaps a provincial
governor.
Oppression did not always involve outright arrest, imprisonment and execution.
Sometimes the most
powerful
pressure of all was economic—to destroy the livelihood of any individuals or
groups considered a threat.
5
Judaizing
Christians were agitating these same communities to avoid Roman harassment by
considering
themselves
as an integral part of Judaism and proving it by requiring circumcision. It may
well be that some of
Paul’s
sufferings and his imprisonment came about precisely as a result of losing the
battle to get his gospel
recognized
by Rome as a legal religion without giving in to those who would require
circumcision and observance
of
the Jewish law.
The Number of the First Beast
(13:18)
666
is 6 thrice for emphasis. The intention is to present it as appearing to be
divine, yet not really divine: instead of
being
777 as God would have been, he is only 666, a fake divine being, yet close
enough to be deceiving. In John’s
day,
calculating a number from a name was much more readily understandable than it
is today, for letters were
commonly
use as numbers in written documents. Thus, the Greek for “Nero Ceasar”
transliterated into Hebrew
would
be “nrwn qsr”, which amounts to exactly 666, but it could be another Roman
emperor.
The Son of the 144,000
(14:1-5), p.96
???
The Harvest of the Earth
(14:6-20)
As
Paul taught, judgment day holds the promise of God’s wrath for the evildoers as
much as it does joy for the
faithful
(see Rom.1:18 and 2:5-8).
“Here
is a call for the endurance of the saints, those who keep the commandments of
God and the faith of Jesus”
(v.12).
The
image of judgment as harvest comes from Paul also (see Gal.6:7-8)
Divine Retribution, p.101
The Angels with the Last
Plagues (Chapter 15)
???
The Bowls of God’s Wrath
(Chapter 16)
“For
the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and wickedness
of men who by their
wickedness
suppress the truth” (Rom.1:18).
God
punishes not merely because people have done evil, but because they have
refused to stop doing it even in the
face
of every possible incentive to repentance.
The Necessity of Watchfulness
(16:15), p.103
In
spite of the certainty of God’s victory, believers are not to sit back and
relax in confidence that God’s wrath will
only
be directed at others. Only the martyrs are absolutely assured of safety and
security. The rest will have to face
judgment
some day as we shall see later (20:11-15).
“So
then, let us not sleep, as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober”
(1Thess.5:1-10). IOW, a believer who
is
found sleeping at the Lord’s coming will end up in the company of those who
worship the image of the beast.
The Great Harlot and the
Beast (Chapter 17), p.105
If
the harlot is Rome, then the beast is the Roman imperial authority (emperor)
who projects the power of Rome
throughout
the world. Rome is called the harlot because harlotry appears throughout the OT
as a metaphor for sin
against
the Lord, in particular for idolatry or worshipping other gods. It applies both
to those who abandon God to
worship
some other deity and to anyone who sets himself up as a deity to be worshipped
in place of the one true
God.
The Fall of Babylon Revisited
(Chapter 18), p.107
???
The New Jerusalem, p.109
The Three Hallelujah’s
(19:1-4)
They
repeatedly praise of God’s glory and power, which is what makes vengeance
possible. Conversely, His
vengeance
manifests his glory and power. In either case, the message is that God is
mightier that the Ceasars of this
world.
The Marriage Supper of the
Lamb, p.111
Christ
appears as ‘bridegroom’.
The Rider on the White Horse,
p.112
???
The Thousand Years: The
Millenium (20:1-6), p.114
The
number ten and its multiples is indicative of the totality of some large number
that cannot be exactly
quantified.
In this case, 1,000 years refers to the entirety of a long period, however long
it may be.
6
The
most likely interpretation of “the millennium” is that it refers to the time
during which Rome is attacking the
believers.
The devil is “bound” during this period in the sense that he is constantly
fighting a battle he cannot win.
The Defeat of Satan and the
Universal Judgment (20:7-15), p.118
The
post-battle victory feast (19:17-21) coming a thousand years before the battle
itself (20:7-10) is incongruous
only
if you read Revelation assuming it’s a ‘history of the future.’
The New Heaven and the New
Earth (21:1-8), p.120
The
heavenly ‘city’ is the same thing as the bride of the Lamb and so it is people
by the martyrs, first of all, and
secondly,
by all those whose deeds ensure that their names are included in the book of
life.
Earlier
in Revelation, ‘He who conquers’ implies victory through martyrdom. Yet,
clearly this phrase now refer to
all
of those who avoid the ‘second death’ of God’s condemnation.
The New Jerusalem
(21:9-22:5), p.122
The
universal aspect of the new city is stressed further by making into a new
Garden of Eden. Jesus Christ appears
as
“Son of Man” (Rev.1:13). Jesus is called “Son of man” in part because His
mission is to bring back into God’s
paradise
‘adam’, that is, all men who will follow him there regardless of what ‘nation’ they
may belong to.
The Coming of Christ
(22:6-21), p.124
???
Revelation as Prophecy rather
than Apocalypse
The
OT prophets did not conceive of their mission as an attempt to convince the
evil ones to change their way.
Rather,
their purpose was to demonstrate to the evildoers the justice of God’s decision
to punish them. We have
seem
the same attitude carried through to the Gospels; it is explicit in Jesus’
statement, “If I had not come and spoke
to
them, they would not have sin; but now they have not excuse for the their sin”
(Jn.15:22). John explicitly numbers
himself
among the prophets (22:8-9).
The
prophets dispense the word of God to the believers. So, the prophets, like
John, preach the word of the Lord.
When
they commit that word to writing, the books they create must remain open and
accessible because the Lord is
coming
to fulfill his word “soon.” And indeed, He does act quickly, for each time the
Church members gather
around
to hear the written word preserved in the scripture read and interpreted to them,
Christ the Word is at that
time
brought into the midst of the congregation to judge it and to save it.
But
the believers must do more than just listen in order to experience God’s
salvation. John repeatedly makes this
clear
at the close of his book of prophecy: “Blessed is he who keeps the words of the
prophecy of this
book…Behold,
I am coming soon, bring my recompense, to repay every one for what he has done”
(22:7-12).
Bibliography
• Apocalypse: The Book of Revelation within Orthodox
Christian Tradition (4-cd set of Retreat Lectures) by
Fr.
Thomas Hopko
• Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture- New
Testament volume XII: Revelation,
edited by William C.
Weinrich,
2005 InterVarsity Press
• The Orthodox Study Bible, 2008 St. Athanasius Academy of Orthodox Theology
• The Apocalypse: In the Teachings of Ancient
Christianity by Archbishop Averky Taushev & Fr.
Seraphim
Rose,
1995 St. Herman of Alaska Brotherhood
• An Introduction to Reading the Apocalypse by Columba G. Flegg, 1999 St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press
• Ultimate Things: An Orthodox Christian Perspective on
the End Times by Dennis E. Engleman, 1995
Conciliar
Press
• Apocalypse: The Book of Revelation by Arey, Fr. Mark & Sevastiades, Fr. P., 2003 Oracle
Publications
• The New Testament Introduction, vol. 3: Johannine
Writings by Fr. Paul Tarazi, 2004 St. Vladimir’s
Seminary
Press.
April 9 Summary by Fr. Paul Tarazi
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