Most of us understand that the book of Revelation predicts and expects persecution for its readers. The assumption is that John’s readers were under the constant threat of death for their testimony of Jesus Christ. Basically, this viewpoint goes something like this: if you don’t worship the emperor, you will be killed.
Ian Boxall, in his commentary on Revelation, takes a slightly different route. He doesn’t deny that there is some persecution going on, but he sees it strictly as local and not really involving Roman authorities. “The internal evidence of the messages to the seven congregations (Revelation 2-3) suggests a rather mixed picture. …actual or impending hostility is referred to for some (e.g. 2:9, 13; 3:9)… there is no clear indication that suffering is at the hands of Roman authorities, or involves formal legal precedings” (p12).
Instead, Boxall, and many others, note that the call not to compromise is just as strong in Revelation. Within the messages to the seven churches, we see condemnations of “Balaam” and “Jezebel”- OT figures who caused God’s people to stray. In other words, John’s message is for them not to fall into the trap that these false teachers are laying.
This, of course, has implications for persecution: “If Revelation is not primarily written to comfort the persecuted, it nevertheless represents a rallying cry to Christians to place themselves in a position in which they might find themselves being persecuted” (p13, Boxall). If John’s readers are able not to stray, they should expect persecution.
I appreciate Boxall’s attempt to balance, though I have to wonder if he’s overstated his case. I’m not sure what the Beast of chapter 13 represents if not the powerful oppressor standing against God’s people- making war and conquering them, according to 13:7. Even the harlot of chapter 17, the seductive power of the comfort the Roman Empire provides, drinks the blood of the saints (17:6). And when Rome is judged, she is judged “with the judgment she imposed on you [the saints]” (18:20).
But the connection with bearing testimony for God and the threat of death is undeniable in Revelation. Jesus himself is the faithful witness who was put to death (1:5). Keeping in mind that “testimony” and “witness” are from the same root in Greek, we see how Jesus sets the stage for God’s people in this way. Read 2:13, 6:9, 11:7, 12:11, 12:17, 17:6 and 20:4- all of them combine the notions of faithful and enduring testimony and the reality of death for that testimony.
John’s original readers dealt with the reality that they were called to compromise their testimony (side note: I’ve noticed that we always word it “compromise our faith,” which indicates to me that we’ve internalized something that was intended to be a public evidence, but that’s another post for another day). For many, if they did not denounce their exclusive devotion to Jesus Christ, they could lose work, be imprisoned or end up in a colosseum face-to-face with a lion.
But they were also tempted to compromise by enjoying the pleasures that Rome offered- this is especially strong in chapters 17-18. Why “rock the boat” and cause problems? Why not keep your mouth shut and enjoy a peaceful and prosperous life like everyone else in the Roman Empire? When she is destroyed, “the kings of the earth who committed adultery with her and shared her luxury… will weep and mourn over her” (18:9). Would John’s readers be among those who mourn her destruction and the comfort that came with her, or would they rejoice in God’s judgment of her wickedness (18:20)?
So both of these realities- persecution and compromise- are undeniably present in Revelation; Boxall states their connection well. If one chooses not to compromise, they may face brutal persecution. John is calling his readers to remain faithful in their witness, even if it means death, in the face of these twin realities.
Does this have anything to do with us? I think it does. I mentioned this in teaching the other night, and I keep coming back to it. I have to wonder if we (by “we” I mean American Christians, since that’s where the vast majority of my experience comes in) focus on the persecution apparent in Revelation because it enables us not to face the compromising aspect of Revelation. The fact is that we are inundated with temptations to compromise in our culture. We live in an affluent society where you can pretty much have what you want when you want it. We tend not to notice these temptations (do we not have ears to hear and eyes to see?).
There’s a certain wicked wisdom in using pleasurable temptation rather than persecution to make God’s people ineffective. It is a powerful tool. The truth is that you can put a gun to my head and threaten to take my life if I don’t deny Jesus, and I will stand firm, I’m sure of it. But if you parade by me, day after day after day, the siren call of comfort- power, acceptance, money, home, sex, cars, etc- I am much more likely to compromise my witness.
Perhaps the American church isn’t facing the beast, but we are facing the harlot. The question remains, will we be a faithful witness? May we hear the message of Revelation and overcome.
Resources for Studying Revelation
Posted in Revelation, tagged Biblical Training, Books, commentaries, Resources for Ministry, sermon on Thursday, April 23, 2009| 5 Comments »
The spring is one of my favorite times of the year in our training school because it means our unit on Revelation is finally here. I enjoy teaching it so much largely because it gives me an excuse to study it and learn more deeply (I hope) the life-changing truths of this book. It is also one of the biggest challenges in teaching; you never know what kind of background everyone has coming into the class. Over time I’ve collected a list of resources, so I’ll share them here.
Before I get to them, though, I must give credit where credit is due. The single most profound influence on my understanding of Revelation comes not from a book but from a professor at Gordon-Conwell, Sean McDonough. I took his Exegesis in Revelation class a few years back and was amazed at Dr McDonough’s ability to make the text come alive and make sense. This isn’t surprising, given that he has studied under G K Beale and Richard Bauckham, though he doesn’t mind charting his own course when necessary. That doesn’t mean that I always agreed with him; I still remember his look of disappointment when I told him I differed from him on the Millennium. But all in all, his teaching was full of humility, reverence and pastoral insight; I stand in his debt.
My favorite commentary is still G. K Beale’s commentary in the NIGTC series. It contains a wealth of information, especially in regards to the use of the OT in Revelation. If you don’t know Greek, this will be an extremely difficult read. If you do know Greek, it’ll still be a bit of work to get through, but well worth your time. Another
detailed work is David Aune’s 3 volume commentary in the WBC series. For my kind of teaching, it’s value is less than it would be for someone doing prolonged exegetical work. I use it as a resource here and there rather than a constant guide.
As far as shorter commentaries go, I’ve been using Ben Witherington’s work in the NCBC series. It’s one of his better commentaries, in my opinion, and a good counterpart to Beale’s massive work. Hendrickson recently sent me a review copy of Ian Boxall’s commentary in the Black’s series (Kathy of Hendrickson informed me that they’re coming out with paperbacks of this series, so you might want to wait to purchase it). I haven’t worked all the way through it yet, but I’ve been thoroughly impressed thus far. It has replaced Witherington as my “portable commentary.” Look for a review in a few weeks. Boxall’s work
replaces G B Caird’s commentary, which I also own. I like this one a lot, but most of his good insights have been incorporated into others’ works so I only use it when I run into divergent views and I’d like another opinion.
There are other commentaries I don’t own, but would love to. Robert Mounce’s in the NICNT series has been an evangelical standard for some time, for good reason. Grant Osborne wrote the Revelation commentary for the BECNT series. The Denver Journal (Klein, Blomberg, & Hecht- which sounds like a good law firm) ranks it above Beale as the top detailed commentary on Revelation, so that has to count for something. For some reason, though I’m with Osborne over Beale on the Millennium, I’ve still found Beale’s to be more helpful. Perhaps more time with Osborne could change this, however, so if anyone wants to buy me a Cinqo de Mayo present…
One last commentary I’d like to get my hands on is Craig Keener’s commentary in the NIVAC series. People I trust rave about this commentary; I regret that I haven’t used it much. Maybe that could be a Memorial Day present…
Beale and McDonough cowrote the Revelation portion of the Commentary on the New Testament Use of the Old Testament. Naturally, since I think so highly of their work on Revelation, it’ll come as no surprise that I have a great
appreciation for their insights here. And if I haven’t mentioned it already, this book is worth every penny you would spend on it.
For those interested in studying apocalyptic literature in general would do well to consult Mitchell Reddish’s book Apocalyptic Literature: A Reader (which you can often find for cheap at CBD Warehouse sales) and John Collins’ The Apocalyptic Imagination, which we used in seminary. Reddish has also written a good commentary on Revelation, but in a series is so expensive that it isn’t worth purchasing (seriously, someone needs to inform the Smith & Helwys folks that there’s a recession going on).
I’ve been pleased with the quality of resources on the internet for studying Revelation. There is always Dan Wallace’s outline and discussion of Revelation. Wallace is a dispensationalist and teaches at Dallas Seminary, which means I certainly have my disagreements, but I recommend folks read him for his clarity and to get the dispensational side of things. For an audio teaching, I advise you to listen to Craig Blomberg’s teaching on Revelation as part of his NT Intro class (I’ve mentioned this in my post on 1 Peter resources as well- you can get the idea that I recommend the class).
But perhaps an even greater surprise is the quality of sermons you can find on Revelation from top notch scholars. Most pastors avoid teaching on Revelation, which, in my opinion, sends the message to the church that it is a book not worth diving into. After all, if my pastor won’t touch it, why should I? But, in fact, the message of Revelation needs to be heard. Tom Schreiner, of Southern Seminary in Louisville, has been preaching on Revelation at Clifton Baptist Church. You can access the audio of their sermons here (but I can’t promise they’ll be there forever). The Gospel Coalition website hosts a number of sermons by various preachers, including some by D A Carson on Revelation. I haven’t listened to all of these, but I’ve been working through his 7 part series on Revelation for a missions conference a few years back. You can also listen to the audio from a weekend conference hosted by Desert Springs Church and taught by the aforementioned G K Beale (scroll down a bit and you’ll see it).
As an end to this post, I’ll pass along a piece of wisdom from my previously mentioned professor, Dr Sean McDonough. He remarked that studying Revelation is 50% orientation and 50% perspiration. In my experience, he’s right. If you can have a good approach to reading this enigmatic book, you’ll find it is not as difficult as you previously thought. But, it will require time and effort, perhaps moreso than any other biblical book. It is not an easy read, both because it is difficult to understand at points and because it contains a convicting message for the church of God. Read it, study it, be confused by it, allow that confusion to drive you to read it again. May you be changed forever by this world changing book.
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