The Apocalypse

The Visions of John in Patmos:

By Edward Dennett

Introduction

 

THERE is a great difference, carefully marked out in the Scriptures, between the ministry of John and that of Paul and Peter. That of Paul is stated in Colossians 1, and had a twofold character, corresponding with the two Headships of Christ, as there given; viz., that of the gospel which was preached in the whole creation under heaven, flowing from Christ's pre-eminence in creation; and that of the church, the body of Christ, as connected with Him as its Head. The ministry of Peter, on the other hand, was confined to the circumcision; and, while he touches on the church as a spiritual house, which was being built up of believers as living stones on Christ as the Living Stone, he yet, as guided by the Holy Spirit, views believers in the character of pilgrims on their way, with Christ risen as their living hope, to "an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that falleth not away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation, ready to be revealed in the last time." (1 Peter 1:1-5.) But John holds a different place. He does not enter on dispensations; nor, though once or twice stating the fact (as John 13:1, John 14:1-3, John 17:24, John 20:17), does he take the saint, nor even the Lord Himself, up to heaven. Jesus, for him, is a Divine Person, the Word made flesh manifesting God and His Father, eternal life come down to earth. In addition to this, another kind of ministry was committed to him, even if at the moment mysteriously, by the Lord after His resurrection, in the words addressed to Peter concerning John, "If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee?" (John 21:22.) For there can scarcely be a question that the book of Revelation is the fulfilment of the mission, for which he was thus designated.

It may be said, moreover, that a closer examination reveals an intimate connection between the last two chapters of his gospel and the Apocalypse. In John 20, in addition to the setting forth of the assembly as gathered with Christ Himself in the midst, there is the conversion of the Jewish remnant of a later day, typified by Thomas who believed when he saw. (See Zechariah 12:10-13.) John 21 gives the gathering in of the nations in the millennium, shown in figure by the disciples letting down their net on the right side of the ship, at the command of the risen Christ, and not being able to draw it for the multitude of fishes. There are therefore three epochs in these chapters; that of the church, that of the conversion of the Jewish remnant, which will take place at the Lord's appearing, and that of the ingathering of the nations, after the kingdom has been established in power. The book of Revelation contains these three epochs, presented in a special way, after the vision of the Son of Man recorded in Revelation 1, together with the events in heaven and the judgments upon earth, which are connected with, and precede, the appearing of Christ, as the rightful Heir, to take His power, to make good in government all that God is, as revealed in relation to the earth, and to reign until all enemies are put under His feet. The eternal state, in all its beauty and perfection, closes the subject of the book — that wondrous scene wherein God is all in all.

The reader will be the better prepared to study the book intelligently, if the special aspect in which the church is presented in it is considered. It was Paul's mission to unfold the truth of the church as the body of Christ, and as the habitation of God through the Spirit. (See, for example, Eph. 2 and 3, in addition to Col. 1, already cited.) "But John's ministerial testimony as to the assembly views it as the outward assembly on earth in its state of decay — Christ judging this — and the true assembly, the capital city and seat of God's government over the world, at the end, but in glory and grace. It is an abode, and where God dwells and the Lamb." In a word, the church as seen by John (Rev. 1 - 3) occupies a candlestick-position, and is thus regarded as God's light-bearer, His responsible witness in the world. It is in this character that the church is subject to judgment and rejection, as recorded in Rev. 2 and Rev. 3.

This may be a little more fully explained. Before Christianity, Judaism, Jerusalem as its expression in the kingdom, was God's candlestick, and this was symbolized by the seven-branched candlestick in the tabernacle and the temple. The prophet could therefore say to Israel, "Ye are my witnesses, saith the Lord"; for they, and they only, were set as a testimony in the world to what God was as revealed to Israel. As the candlestick which God Himself had set up and lighted, Jerusalem was subject to judgment, and finally was publicly rejected. And there were four stages in this process of judgment and rejection. At the end of Matthew 23 the Lord passed sentence upon it, in the words, "Behold, your house is left unto you desolate. For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord" (vv. 38-39); and the following verse tells us that He "went out, and departed from the temple." The cross, in the next place, demonstrated that the Jews had rejected their God. The chief priests said, "We have no king but Caesar." (John 19) Still the long-suffering of God lingered; and the apostle Peter urged repentance on the nation, that their sins might be blotted out, so that the times of refreshing might come from the presence of the Lord, and that Jesus Christ might be sent back to them. (Acts 3) This new dealing of God with His people continued until Stephen; and then the nation rejected the testimony of the Holy Ghost, even as they had that of Christ. It was now all over with the Jewish nation; and yet it was more than thirty years after this before God publicly, and in the face of the whole world, removed His candlestick by the destruction of Jerusalem, which was the "judicial end of Jewish history." And the point to be observed is this: that the responsibility of Jerusalem, as God's candlestick, remained until she was judicially and publicly removed. As another has said: "Jerusalem was the seat of God's testimony. His candlestick had been there. I need not insist amongst Christians that the light and the presence of God were spiritually dwelling in the midst of Christians. Nevertheless, Jerusalem's responsibility and her position before the world only ceased in her destruction by the judgment of God. After this, God's candlestick, in a terrestrial sense, was in the professing church. Till then, Christians had been, to the eye of the world, a sect of the Jews."¹

The application of these principles to the church, as God's vessel of testimony in the world, is evident. In this character, as is plainly seen from Rev. 1 where Christ is viewed as Son of man in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks, and from the threat to remove the candlestick of Ephesus, unless there should be repentance, the church is come into the place of Jerusalem as God's light-bearer in the world. And as occupying this position, she is judged, and the final sentence is recorded in Revelation 3, in the letter to Laodicea, "I will spue thee out of my mouth." But, as in the case of Jerusalem, there may be several stages in the execution of the sentence. When the saints are caught up to meet the Lord in the air, He totally rejects the outward professing thing as His witness; but its responsibility will remain as long as it occupies the place of profession before the world. There may be therefore, as with Jerusalem, some public visitation of judgment which will be seen to be the setting aside for ever, as His witness, of that which had borne the name of Christ.

If the reader has at all comprehended the candlestick aspect of the church, as now described, it will immensely facilitate his understanding of the first three chapters of Revelation, and, at the same time, save him from being carried away by the many erroneous teachings abroad on this portion of the Scriptures.

A word or two may be added, though the subject is dealt with also in the text, on the question of the angels. As everywhere, in accordance with the symbolism, the stars set forth subordinate authority; thus the sun is supreme, the moon derived, and the stars subordinate authority. (See Genesis 1:16; Psalm 136:9.) They are also light-bearers, and as such are set by God Himself in the firmament of heaven. To bear these features in mind will aid in the interpretation of the symbol as applied to the angels of the churches. First, they are, then, God's representatives in the church, not the church's representatives before God; they are there to rule for Him, and, while the church, as we have seen, is to be a light-bearer to the world, the stars (the angels) are to give light in the church. It is as God's (Christ's) representatives that He holds them, as seen in chaps. 2 and 3, responsible for the state of the assembly.

The question whether an angel sets forth an individual or a number is easily answered. These seven churches represent church states; for example, Ephesus describes the state of the church after the death of the apostles; and bearing this in mind, it would be idle to speak of an angel in the whole church standing for a single person. That there was the actual assembly at Ephesus is not forgotten; only the fact of its being the representative of the condition of the whole church shows the impossibility of interpreting the symbol of one person. From the meaning of it, as given above, an angel describes all, in any phase of the church depicted under the seven churches, whether few or many, who occupy the place of light-giving and authority in the assembly.

The bearing of this interpretation of the angels will be readily apprehended. If they are God's representatives, it is their state that is dealt with, and with their state as responsible before God for the assembly. It must, however, be remembered that the state of the church is largely determined by the state of the stars; for those that give light, teach, and those that rule, possess the formative power. Hence it is that the instruction in these letters is for all who have ears to hear, and to hear what the Spirit saith to the churches. The address to the angel of Thyatira, for example, contains at least four classes. There is, first of all, the angel to whom it is sent. Jezebel is next introduced; and it should be distinctly noted that the angel is blamed for the allowance of Jezebel, and for the introduction of her teaching — the beginnings of the Romish systematized error; there is the faithful remnant; and, last of all, there is the overcomer. What we desire to lay stress upon is, that Jezebel represents the Papal system, and that the Lord held the angel responsible for its appearance and establishment. In like manner, as to Sardis, it is the angel that has fallen into the state described, is held responsible, and is called upon to repent. But on the very principle affirmed, that the angel possesses formative power, he becomes the expression of an almost general state of things. We say "almost general," because an exception is made in the words, "Thou hast a few names even in Sardis which have not defiled their garments."

The rest of the book is explained, according to the light given, in the order of the chapters; and if the reader does but weigh the statements made, and compare them with the teaching of Scripture, remembering, at the same time, that the Holy Spirit alone can effectually convey the mind of God, and open our hearts to receive it, he will certainly be led into the understanding, if in measure, of the important contents of this portion of the inspired volume.

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1) Collected Writings of J. N. Darby, vol. v.