Article 6

UNDERSTANDING REVELATION – 6

Revelation’s Skeleton Continued

At the outset of this article, I feel the need to mention that we have skipped over significant sections of Revelation’s content, namely the seven churches, the seven seals, and most recently the seven trumpets—with little or no commentary.  These sections we will pay close attention to in future articles in this blog.  To this point in our discussion my purpose is to focus on the literary structure—the divine design of this magnificent document which will contribute significantly to a proper understanding of its teaching and message.  To this end we turn to Revelation 11.

Here we read in 11:15 that at the sounding of the seventh trumpet loud voices are heard in heaven saying that the kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord Jesus, and He will reign forever!  It would seem obvious that the events of the seven trumpets unfold during the history of “the kingdoms of this world”, that is, throughout the time from which Jesus instructed John to write.  Please refer back to Rev. 1:18-19.  Our God is hard at work throughout the entirety of the Christian Era.  A cursory reading of the other New Testament writers confirm that God is working continually to bring His purposes to a glorious climax.

Going back to 11:16-17 the twenty-four elders surface again thankful because the new kingdom is coming.  Rev. 11:18-19 become watershed verses to the remainder of the book of Revelation!  Notice all the events that occur in v. 18.  The nations are angry – in Rev. 13 “all the world” [almost] (v. 3), follow and worship the dragon and sea beast and the Mark of the [Sea] Beast is urged upon the whole world.  God’s wrath has come – Rev. 14:17-20 describes the wrath of God.  Rev. 15:1 teaches us that in the seven last plagues “the wrath of God is complete.”  Rev. 19:11-21 details a rather vivid account of “the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.”  Comes the time of the judgment of the dead – in Rev. 14:6-7 the first angel announces that “the hour [time] of His [God’s] judgment has come.  Both Paul and Peter teach this truth (2 Tim. 4:1; 1 Peter 4:5).  Rev. 20:11-13 clearly teaches a judging of the dead.  God rewards all His followers of all time – read Rev. 7:9-17; 14:14-16; 19:1-10.  Lastly, God destroys those who destroy the earth – again we find that in the last plagues of Rev. 16; in 19:17-21; and 20:7-10.

WOW! That’s a lot of stuff.  The remarkable truth is that in one verse (11:18) we discover a snapshot of the rest of the book of Revelation.  A crucial point at this juncture in Revelation - we begin to see a transition from the historical section (chapters 1-11) to the eschatological (end-time) section of the book in chapters 12-22.  A reminder – we will detail all these subjects in future articles.

That’s not all!  We see in v. 19 yet another sanctuary scene.  There is movement.  Now we have progressed from the first apartment or holy place to the second apartment or Most Holy Place (MHP) of heaven’s sanctuary.  “The ark of His covenant” in the OT temple was housed in its Most Holy Place.  It was only on the Day of Atonement (DOA) in the OT that the hi-priest entered the MHP to make final intercession for God’s people at the end of Israel’s religious year (see Lev. 16).  This imagery in 11:19 becomes an Introductory Sanctuary Scene to the remainder of the book of Revelation.  As the DOA occurred at the end of the Jewish religious year, so the last half of Revelation concerns itself increasingly with end-time events leading to the final consummation.  It teaches that Christ our Hi-priest is participating in His last salvific activities for our sinful race before the final curtain falls.  Here’s a blockbuster – the Jewish religious year with its feasts and ceremonies was a compacted prophecy of the entire Christian era!  Note the following example: Passover (Ex. 12) was the beginning ritual of the Jewish religious year; Christ’s death (the Lamb of God) on the cross was the “official” beginning of the Christian Era (Matt. 27:50-53).  In particular, verse 51 with the rent veil showed that the OT ceremonial system had met its fulfillment in Christ Jesus, and now its continuance was meaningless.  More on this later.

Returning to 11:19 we find increased intensity of activity on God’s part.  When the delivered people of God arrived at the foot of Mt. Sinai in Exodus 19 God revealed Himself in thunder, lightning, and smoke (Ex. 19:16).  This same imagery is seen in the introduction to the seven trumpets now with and added earthquake (Rev. 8:5).  Moving to 11:19 we now see the same imagery with “great hail” added.  This teaches us the increasing intensity of God’s activity as the end-time progresses to its consummation.

We continue to Rev. 15.  Read it carefully!  The entire short chapter, especially verses 5-8, is the Introductory Sanctuary Scene to the seven last plagues.  The heavenly temple (v. 8) is filled with smoke, and no one can enter it until the plagues are completed.  This signifies that heaven’s intercession for our planet has ended; everyone’s eternal destiny is set.  Chapters 17-20 unfold God’s resulting, final judgments on the human race – good or bad.

Finally, Rev. 21:2-8 becomes the last ISS in the Apocalypse.  It is the introductory description to the New Jerusalem (21:9-22:5).  Significantly, perhaps to John’s astonishment, he “saw no temple” (21:22) in it.  The “Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.”

From beginning to end we discover heavenly temple scenes throughout Revelation.  These scenes are not accidental or inconsequential.  They show God’s intense participation in the successful consummation of His divine plan and His sovereignty in all things “which must shortly take place” (1:1, 22:6).

We must relate the structure of the book to its progressive movement if we are to comprehend the meaning of Revelation.  All this imagery depicts the future and final salvation of God’s church from all peoples in all ages. 

The skeleton is complete.  Psalm 77:13 declares, “Your way, O God, is in the sanctuary.”  The Introductory Sanctuary Scenes throughout Revelation reveal that the heavenly sanctuary where God dwells and where Christ abides at His right hand is the control room from which God directs the affairs of earth to its appointed end.  Out ultimate task is to “flesh out” the skeleton, rightly appropriating the signs and symbols to reveal the beautiful tapestry of this remarkable book.

There is a lot of content in this article. I encourage the reader to take time to ponder the passages referenced above so as to discern this "Divine Skeleton" of Revelation upon which the entire book is "fleshed out." Comments and/or questions are welcomed in the box below.

~Rex Frost