Revelation and Human Reality Session 52 A-level Amphitheater LLUMC Jan 15, 2011, 10:30-11:30 AM

Images in the Gallery  4 living creatures, 24 elders, and a great multitude (19:1-6)  Exclamations of praise (19:1-6)  Wedding and bride (19:7-9)  Rider on a white horse leading an army (19:11-16)  Preparation for war (19:19)  Beast and false prophet captured (19:20-21)

Bookends of the Story Revelation 5 Revelation 19 Rev 8-18

Vultures Gathering  Revelation 19:17-18 Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and with a loud voice he called to all the birds that fly in midheaven, “Come, gather for the great supper of God, to eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of the mighty, the flesh of horses and their riders-- flesh of all, both free and slave, both small and great.”

OT Antecedent  Jer 19:7 “And I shall make void the counsel of Judah and Jerusalem in this place, and I shall cause them to fall by the sword before their enemies and by the hand of those who seek their life; and I shall give over their carcasses as food for the birds of the sky and the beasts of the earth.”

When?  The call regarding the ‘great supper’ goes forth from the perspective of the aftermath of the final battle.  One of the armies, horses and all, has been defeated.  The destruction – and even the cleanup – is depicted as a consequence that is intrinsic to the cause of the losing side.

Making War to the Bitter End  NRS Revelation 19:19 Then I saw the beast and the kings of the earth with their armies gathered to make war against the rider on the horse and against his army.

Retrospective: Cosmic War - Beginning  Rev 12:7 And war broke out in heaven; Michael and his angels had to war against the dragon. And the dragon and his angels warred …

Retrospective: Cosmic War - Ending  Rev 12:17 Then the dragon … went off to make war on the rest of her children…  Rev 13:7 Also it was allowed to make war on the saints and to defeat them.  Rev 11:7 When they have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up from the bottomless pit will make war on them and conquer them and kill them…

Battle of Armageddon  Rev 16:14 These are demonic spirits, performing signs, who go abroad to the kings of the whole world, to assemble them for war on the great day of God the Almighty.  Rev 19:19 Then I saw the beast and the kings of the earth with their armies gathered to make war against the rider on the horse and against his army.

Defeat and Capture  NRS Revelation 19:20 And the beast was captured, and with it the false prophet who had performed in its presence the signs by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped its image. These two were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur.

The Last Stand - 1 WHO  the beast was captured, and with it the false prophet (19:20) Cf. Rev 13:1, 11; 16:13

The Last Stand - 2 WHAT  who had performed in its presence the signs by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped its image.  Cf. Rev 13:13-17; 14:9-11

The Last Stand - 3 WHAT NOW?  These two were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur.

End of War (you would think)  NRS Revelation 19:21 And the rest were killed by the sword of the rider on the horse, the sword that came from his mouth; and all the birds were gorged with their flesh.

Demonic Destruction  Rev 9:16-18 The number of the troops of cavalry was two hundred million; I heard their number. And this was how I saw the horses in my vision: the riders wore breastplates the color of fire and of sapphire and of sulfur; the heads of the horses were like lions' heads, and fire and smoke and sulfur came out of their mouths. By these three plagues a third of humankind was killed, by the fire and smoke and sulfur coming out of their mouths.

Demonic Self-Destruction  Revelation 14:20 And the wine press was trodden outside the city, and blood flowed from the wine press, as high as the bridles of the horses, for a distance of about two hundred miles.

Demonic Self-Destruction  In those days...a stream shall flow with their blood. For a man shall not be able to withhold his hands from his sons nor from (his) sons’ sons in order to kill them. Nor is it possible for the sinner to withhold his hands from his honoured brother. From dawn until the sun sets, they shall slay each other. The horse shall walk through the blood of sinners up to his chest; and the chariot shall sink down up to its top (1 Enoch 100:3).

Demonic Self-Destruction  “And the ten horns that you saw, they and the beast will hate the whore; they will make her desolate and naked; they will devour her flesh and burn her up with fire” (17:16).

Question  Why are the most important sentences in the passive voice?  Ex: “was captured” (v. 20) “were thrown” (v. 20) “were killed” (v. 21)  Compare Rev 17:16, which is in the active voice.

Question  If capture of the two surrogate powers is an option, why were they not captured sooner?  Looking ahead to chapter 20, this question becomes even more acute.

Question  Why is Revelation at pains to say that the sword that killed the opposing side and its followers was a sword “that came from his mouth”?  And the rest were killed by the sword of the rider on the horse, the sword that came from his mouth; and all the birds were gorged with their flesh (Rev 19:21).

A ‘Johannine’ View of Judgment?  If anyone hears my words and does not keep them, I do not judge him, for I did not come to judge the world but in order to heal the world. The one who turns me down and does not receive my world has a judge: the word that I have spoken will judge him on the last day (John 12:47-48, translation mine).

Next Session  No session January 22 (Mind and Spirit marking the 400th anniversary of the King James Bible).  Next session: January 29.

The Rider on the White Horse 1.Revelation 19 and Revelation 4+5 relate to each other as bookends. 2.The slaughtered lamb in ch. 5 is the same person as the rider on the white horse in ch Isaiah 11:1-11 echoes in Rev 5 and What sets the ‘shoot from the root of Jesse’ apart is the way he does his work.