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David Lowman
April 5, 2010 October 8, 2013 Adam Maarschalk 23 Comments
Adam Maarschalk: April 5, 2010
Scripture texts for this study: Ezekiel 38-39; Revelation 20:7-10
Gog and Magog are referenced together twice in Scripture by name, first in Ezekial 38-39 and very briefly in Revelation 20. A third related passage is Revelation 19:17-18, where Gog and Magog are not mentioned by name but the language there appears to be borrowed from Ezekiel's prophecy. How are Gog and Magog to be identified? The battle prophesied in Ezekiel, in particular, has merited much speculation among prophecy pundits. I would like to discuss four different interpretations for the references to Gog and Magog by both Ezekiel and John (Rev. 20). The following are some questions/factors to consider as we do so:
Does John (in Rev. 19 or Rev. 20) refer to the same historical event as Ezekiel does, or is the battle described by Ezekiel merely a precedent for the battles John is describing?
Is the book of Ezekiel written in a chronological manner, so that the chapters which come before this battle description (e.g. chapters 36-37) and those which follow it (chapters 40-48) suggest the timing of this battle's occurrence?
The battle described in Rev. 20:7-10 takes place "when the thousand years are ended," i.e. at the end of the Millennium. One's eschatological system, therefore, is a large factor in determining when this battle takes place. For Futurists and premillennialists, it will take place 1000 years after the future Second Coming of Christ. For amillennialists and for postmillennialists, it will take place sometime in the future, but before the Second Coming of Christ, since we are in the Millennium now. For full-preterists (those who believe in the past fulfillment of all Bible prophecy), it took place in or just before 70 AD.
The four interpretations we will consider[1] are these:
[A] The position of partial-preterists David Lowman and Gary DeMar that Ezekiel's prophecy was fulfilled in Esther's day. For this position, the battles of Ezekiel 38-39 and Revelation 20 are not one and the same.
[B] Partial-preterist Kenneth Gentry's position that Ezekiel 38-39 was likely fulfilled in the second century BC, and its imagery is used by John to foreshadow the events of Revelation 19:11-21 and Revelation 20:8-10. For this position, the battles of Ezekiel 38-39 and Revelation 20 are not one and the same (nor are the battles of Rev. 19 and Rev. 20).
[C] The popular Futurist/premillennial position, which says that Ezekiel prophesied of a Russian-led attack on national Israel which is very soon to take place, and that John prophesied of an attack on the literal city of Jerusalem at the end of a future 1000-year Millennium. For this position, the battles of Ezekiel 38-39 and Revelation 20 are not one and the same.
[D] Full-preterist Kurt Simmon's position that Ezekiel 38-39 was a prophecy concerning Rome's invasion of Jerusalem in 70 AD, as was John's prophecy in Revelation 20. Clearly, then, for this position, the battles of Ezekiel 38-39 and Revelation 20 ARE indeed one and the same.
After each position is presented, I will offer some pros and cons as I see them (i.e. as I see them at this time; these are not easy texts to interpret, and my views on this subject are not necessarily set in stone). For clarity, my pros and cons will be listed in red and green font, respectively. Feedback is welcome in the comments section.
[A] David Lowman and Gary DeMar: Ezekiel 38-39 Was Fulfilled in Esther's Day
1. David Lowman's View
David Lowman is a Presbyterian pastor, and a partial-preterist (one who sees a past fulfillment in many, but not all, Bible prophecies). In the first post in a brief 4-part series on this subject, David Lowman notes that many "prophecy experts…have over the years…promoted the idea that the names used for [Gog, Magog, and their allies] are related to current nations that will supposedly lead a multi-national conglomerate of nations preparing to attack Israel. Those names are Rosh, Meshech and Tubal." In this thinking, Rosh is supposed to be Russia, Meshech to be Moscow, and Tubal to be Tobolsk. Lowman says that only the NASB (New American Standard Bible) uses the translation "Rosh" in the first place (having been translated by dispensationalists), but even futurists like Charles Ryrie disagree with this translation. He adds,
The term "Rosh" in Hebrew means "chief" or "leader" [and] is a Hebrew word. "Russia" comes from the 11th century Scandanavian word "Rus" and has no relation in root and etemology to the word "rosh." It's beyond a stretch of all credulity [to link the two]… "Meshach" and "Tubal" were actual city/nations before the time of Christ and were part of the larger Persian Empire. These words come from the Asiatic words "Mushka" and "Tabal" and they are both literal locations located in modern day Turkey and, again, have NO relation to the nation of Russia in any way. This is such poor exegesis and now many modern Dispensationalist have abandoned these claims, though the more popular prophecy experts still promote it.
In David Lowman's second post, he makes the point that Ezekiel described a style of warfare that is very much ancient, and that the weapons he mentioned were made out of wood and thus able to be burned (Ezek. 38:4-5; 39:9). Many believe that Russia's identity is confirmed because these armies were to come from the north (Ezek. 38:6, 15; 39:2), but Lowman notes that other significant invasions of Israel in the Old Testament were also from the north: [1] Babylon (Jeremiah 1:14, 4:6, 6:10, 10:22), Persia (Isaiah 41:25, Jer. 50:41), and Assyria (Zephaniah 2:13). Lowman then adds:
The truth of the matter is that nearly all attacks against Israel came from the north directionally speaking. The easiest way to travel to attack Israel would be from the North. As noted all the great enemies of Israel were from the East or West but their attacks all came from the North. This is also true in several instances in Ezekiel. There are several mentions of nation from the North attaching even though the nation of origin came from the East or West… The closest nation from a northern proximity to ever attack Israel would have been Rome, from across the Mediterranean Sea.
In Lowman's third post, he agrees with Kenneth Gentry (as we will see) that the battle of Revelation 20, with its reference to Gog and Magog (verse 8), is only an allusion to the battle described in Ezekiel 38-39, but is not a reference to the same historical event.
In Lowman's fourth post, he notes that many believe that "this event was fulfilled during the time of the Macabbean Revolt [during the second century BC]. This view argues that the enemy in question is Antiochus Epiphanies which would fit the Persian expectation and the worldwide expanse of the Persian empire at that time." This doesn't really fit, though, he says, because the Macabbean Revolt involved throwing off the rule of an occupying force after several years, while the attack in Ezekiel describes divine intervention at the time of an invasion.
Instead, Lowman submits that the fulfillment of Ezekiel 38-39 "is found during the time of Esther and involves the Israelite victory over Haman's "schemes" and complete victory of the outmatched Israel forces." In the second part of this section, Gary DeMar will expand on the idea that Ezekiel 38-39 was fulfilled in Esther's day.
2. Gary DeMar's View—Similar to That of David Lowman's:
At the outset of Gary DeMar's article, I would like to include a small disclaimer that I personally appreciate some of DeMar's works more than others. I have read/skimmed excerpts from his books "Last Days Madness" and "Why the End of the World is Not in Your Future," and appreciated what I read. In short, I have appreciated his articulation of the preterist viewpoint which I also share. However, I'm not on the same page when it comes to the Postmillennial position of his ministry, American Vision, as well as some of the political rants of AV which seem to follow in the vein of World Net Daily, a publication which I respect just about as much as I respect The National Enquirer. Having said that, DeMar's article on Gog and Magog is quite thought-provoking:
…If the battle described in Ezekiel 38–39 does not refer to modern-day nations that will attack Israel, then when and where in biblical history did this conflict take place? Instead of looking to the distant future or finding fulfillment in a historical setting outside the Bible where we are dependent on unreliable secular sources, James B. Jordan believes that "it is in [the book of] Esther that we see a conspiracy to plunder the Jews, which backfires with the result that the Jews plundered their enemies. This event is then ceremonially sealed with the institution of the annual Feast of Purim." Jordan continues by establishing the context for Ezekiel 38 and 39:
Ezekiel describes the attack of Gog, Prince of Magog, and his confederates. Ezekiel states that people from all over the world attack God's people, who are pictured dwelling at peace in the land. God's people will completely defeat them, however, and the spoils will be immense. The result is that all nations will see the victory, and "the house of Israel will know that I am the Lord their God from that day onward" (Ezek. 39:21–23). . . . Chronologically this all fits very nicely. The events of Esther took place during the reign of Darius, after the initial rebuilding of the Temple under Joshua [the High Priest] and Zerubbabel and shortly before rebuilding of the walls by Nehemiah. . . . Thus, the interpretive hypothesis I am suggesting (until someone shoots it down) is this: Ezekiel 34–37 describes the first return of the exiles under Zerubbabel, and implies the initial rebuilding of the physical Temple. Ezekiel 38–39 describes the attack of Gog (Haman) and his confederates against the Jews. Finally, Ezekiel 40–48 describes in figurative language the situation as a result of the work of Nehemiah.
Ezekiel 38:5–6 tells us that Israel's enemies come from "Persia, Cush, and . . . from the remote parts of the north," all within the boundaries of the Persian Empire of Esther's day. From Esther we learn that the Persian Empire "extended from India to Cush, 127 provinces" in all (Esther 8:9). Ethiopia (Cush) and Persia are listed in Esther 1:1 and 3 and are also found in Ezekiel 38:5. The other nations were in the geographical boundaries "from India to Ethiopia" in the "127 provinces" over which Ahasueras ruled (Esther 1:1). "In other words, the explicit idea that the Jews were attacked by people from all the provinces of Persia is in both passages," and the nations listed by Ezekiel were part of the Persian empire of the prophet's day. The parallels are unmistakable. Even Ezekiel's statement that the fulfillment of the prophecy takes place in a time when there are "unwalled villages" (Ezek. 38:11) is not an indication of a distant future fulfillment as Grant Jeffrey attempts to argue:
It is interesting to note that during the lifetime of Ezekiel and up until 1900, virtually all of the villages and cities in the Middle East had walls for defense. Ezekiel had never seen a village or city without defensive walls. Yet, in our day, Israel is a "land of unwalled villages" for the simple reason that modern techniques of warfare (bombs and missiles) make city walls irrelevant for defense. This is one more indication that his prophecy refers to our modern generation.
Ezekiel's reference to "dwell safely" and "without walls . . . neither bars nor gates" refers precisely to Israel's current military situation, where she is dwelling safely because of her strong armed defense and where her cities and villages have no walls or defensive bars. The prophet had never seen a city without walls, so he was astonished when he saw, in a vision, Israel dwelling in the future without walls. Ezekiel lived in a time when every city in the world used huge walls for military defense.
In Esther we learn that there were Jews who were living peacefully in "unwalled towns" (KJV) (9:19) when Haman conspired against them. Israel's antagonists in Ezekiel are said to "go up against the land of unwalled villages" (Ezek. 38:11). The Hebrew word perazah is used in Esther 9:19 and Ezekiel 38:11. This fits the conditions of Esther's day. Jeffrey is mistaken in his assertion that "Ezekiel had never seen a village or city without defensive walls." They seemed to be quite common outside the main cities. Moreover, his contention that Israel is currently "dwelling safely because of her strong armed defense" is patently untrue. Since 2006, the Israeli government has built more than 435 miles of walls in Israel.
The chief antagonist of the Jews in Esther is Haman, "the son of Hammedatha the Agagite" (Esther 3:1, 10; 8:3, 5; 9:24). An Agagite is a descendant of Amalek, one of the persistent enemies of the people of God. In Numbers 24:20 we read, "Amalek was the first of the nations, but his end shall be destruction." The phrase "first of the nations" takes us back to the early chapters of Genesis where we find "Gomer," "Magog," "Tubal," and "Meshech," and their father Japheth (Gen. 10:2), the main antagonist nations that figure prominently in Ezekiel 38 and 39. Amalek was probably a descendant of Japheth (Gen. 10:2). Haman and his ten sons are the last Amalekites who appear in the Bible. In Numbers 24:7, the Septuagint (LXX) translates "Agag" as "Gog." "One late manuscript to Esther 3:1 and 9:24 refers to Haman as a 'Gogite.'" Agag and Gog are very similar in their Hebrew spelling and meaning. Agagite means "I will overtop," while Gog means "mountain." In his technical commentary on Esther, Lewis Bayles Paton writes:
The only Agag mentioned in the OT is the king of Amalek [Num. 24:7; 1 Sam. 15:9]. . . . [A]ll Jewish, and many Christian comm[entators] think that Haman is meant to be a descendant of this Agag. This view is probably correct, because Mordecai, his rival, is a descendant of Saul ben Kish, who overthrew Agag [1 Sam. 17:8–16], and is specially cursed in the law [Deut. 25:17]. It is, therefore, probably the author's intention to represent Haman as descended from this race that was characterized by an ancient and unquenchable hatred of Israel (cf. 3:10, "the enemy of the Jews").
A cursive Hebrew manuscript identifies Haman as "a Gogite." Paul Haupt sees a relationship between Haman's descriptions as an Agagite and "the Gogite."
There is another link between Haman the Agagite in Esther and Gog in Ezekiel 38–39. "According to Ezekiel 39:11 and 15, the place where the army of Gog is buried will be known as the Valley of Hamon-Gog, and according to verse 16, the nearby city will become known as Hamonah."[12] The word hamon in Ezekiel "is spelled in Hebrew almost exactly like the name Haman. . . . In Hebrew, both words have the same 'triliteral root' (hmn). Only the vowels are different."
Haman is the "prince-in-chief" of a multi-national force that he gathers from the 127 provinces with the initial permission of king Ahasuerus to wipe out his mortal enemy—the Jews (Ex. 17:8–16; Num. 24:7; 1 Sam. 15:8; 1 Chron. 4:42–43; Deut. 25:17–19). Consider these words: "King Ahasuerus promoted Haman, the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, and advanced him and established his authority over all the princes who were with him" (Esther 3:1). Having "authority over all the princes who were with him" makes him the "chief prince." In Esther 3:12 we read how Haman is described as the leader of the satraps, governors, and princes… (More here).
A few of the parallels between the accounts in Esther and Ezekiel 38-39, which Gary DeMar didn't mention but David Lowman does, are as follows:
Ezra and Nehemiah both mention the large amounts of silver and gold that the Jews brought back from exile. These are the same items we are told the approaching armies were attacking to plunder.
The battle with Haman's armies takes place after Israel is returned to the land—during Darius' reign. Ezekiel prophesied until just a few short decades before this time.
Esther and Ezekiel's enemies from the north both contain Persia and Ethiopia.
In a very short battle [in Esther] the Israelites destroy Haman's army killing nearly 100,000 despite being greatly out-manned.
In fact, both passages state that the Jews were attacked by all of Persia's provinces.
PROS: [1] Lowman makes a good point that Ezekiel went to great lengths to describe ancient warfare ("horses and horsemen…full armor…buckler and shield, wielding swords…shields and helmet…bow and arrows, clubs and spears" [Ezek. 38:4-5; 39:9]). Unless context clearly dictates otherwise, it would be a huge stretch to make this a description of modern warfare.
[2] I appreciated DeMar's effort in noting the context of the chapters surrounding Ezekiel 38-39 (i.e. the first return of the exiles from Babylon under Zerubbabel), thus legitimizing his statement that it's plausible for this text to be applied to Esther's day if the other data fits.
[3] DeMar argues well for parallel boundaries between the Persian Empire in Esther's day and Gog/Magog and her allies in Ezekiel's vision.
[4] In Ezekiel's vision, the Jews were living in unwalled towns. DeMar notes that this was also the case in Esther's day, which makes sense since they were part of the Persian Empire at that time, an empire known for its benevolence and for taking good care of its subjects.
[5] The Agag-Gog connection is very intriguing, where Haman (the enemy of Esther) is shown to be an "Agagite" and even a "Gogite" in some manuscripts. That the invaders in Ezekiel's vision would be buried in the Valley of Hamon-Gog only adds to the intrigue.
[6] The five parallels between the accounts in Esther and Ezekiel are all credible, making this interpretation a very legitimate possibility.
CONS: [1] There is no Biblical record explicitly stating that what took place in Esther's day was first prophesied by Ezekiel. The connections, though fascinating, are implicit rather than explicit.
[2] There are details recorded in Ezekiel's vision that are not recorded in Esther's account, which can be seen primarily in Esther 9.
[B] Kenneth Gentry: Ezekiel 38-39 is Historically Distinct from Rev. 19 and 20
Kenneth Gentry is an ordained Presbyterian minister and author who, like Gary DeMar and David Lowman, is a partial-preterist. On page 160 of his newest book titled "Navigating the Book of Revelation: Special Studies on Important Issues, Gentry notes several parallels between the structure of Ezekiel and how John organizes the book of Revelation. Among these structural parallels, he says, is the correlation between Ezekiel 38-39 and Revelation 19-20.[2] Gentry's main contribution here, though, will be his explanation that Revelation 19 and 20 simply draw on Ezekiel 38-39, but are not the same event. In other words, John, in both Revelation 19 and 20, only alludes to the prophecy given by Ezekiel (future to Ezekiel, but past to John) as a harbinger of what is to come in his own future.
Aside from this explanation, I haven't been able to find Gentry's precise position on the interpretation of Ezekiel 38-39. At "The Forerunner" website where many of his products are sold I did find an article written in 1990 by his ministry associate, Jay Rogers, titled "Is the Soviet Union Gog and Magog?" In this article, Jay Rogers proposes that Ezekiel's prophecy concerned the Scythian invaders of the 2nd century BC:
Others have understood this vision as a prophecy which was fulfilled in the 2nd century B.C. at the defeat of the Assyrian invaders of Palestine by Judas Maccabeus… Ezekiel 38-39 should be understood in the context of its apocalyptic literary style; this is a highly visionary passage depicting an earthly struggle of Ezekiel's time which is only a smaller reflection of a spiritual conflict between the forces of heaven and hell. Historically, the nations mentioned in this passage, Magog, Meshech, Tubal, Gomer and Beth-togarmah, were a barbarous people known as the Scythians. These were a nomadic people who had moved from central Asia to southern Russia. Just about the same time that Ezekiel was born, the Scythians terrorized southwest Asia and the Middle East.
Whether this is Kenneth Gentry's personal position at this time, I don't know. The closest admission I could find from Gentry on his own view of Ezekiel's prophecy is this statement:
[Greg] Beale (980) allows the possibility that Eze. 38–39 could point to second century BC events (Antiochus Epiphanes) that serve as "typological patterns" for what will "happen at the end of history" (cf. Bøe 373). Riddlebarger recognizes that "Divine judgments in history are, so to speak, rehearsals of the last judgment." That is precisely my understanding of John's use of Ezekiel to refer to AD 70: for AD 70 is a distant adumbration of the end of history which will come at the Second Advent.
These thoughts from Gentry, as well as what follows, can be found in a publication written by Kenneth Gentry titled "Recapitulation v Progress." This is a primer for a full-length, verse-by-verse commentary on the book of Revelation which Gentry is currently working on. This particular publication is #13 among his Revelation Commentary Updates so far, and these excerpts are from pages 2-9 of that publication.
What follows is a summary of Gentry's view that Ezekiel's prophecy is merely drawn upon by John to signify the events of Revelation 19-20. In our introduction to Revelation 20 we noted that Gentry's partial-preterist views cause him to agree with the premillennial position that Revelation 20:7-10 does not cover the same historical ground as Revelation 19:11-21 either. The reason that this is important to note is because both of these passages in Revelation allude to Ezekiel 38-39. His (rare) agreement with premillennialists on this point comes, though, "with quite different results," as he explains:
I hold that Christ's coming from heaven to wage war in Revelation 19:11ff represents His judgment coming on Israel in AD 70. As such it reflects the theme of the book found in 1:7, where he comes against those tribes who pierced him (the Jews). Consequently, 20:1ff presents the consequence of Christ's judgment of Israel, Christianity's first major enemy: the binding of Satan, the vindication of the martyrs, and the spiritual rule of believers with Christ in the present age.
Here Gentry makes the following statements regarding the non-explicit references to Gog and Magog in Revelation 19 and the explicit mention of Gog and Magog in Revelation 20:
R. Fowler White notes [that Revelation] 19:17–18 is "virtually a verbatim quotation" of Ezekiel 39:17–20 (1989: 326), and [Revelation] 20:7–10 specifically mentions "Gog and Magog" (Ezekiel 38:2; 39:1, 6), showing God destroying them with fire from heaven (cp. Rev 20:7–10; Eze 38:22; 39:6). Clearly then, John bases both "the Armageddon revolt (19:17–21) and the Gog-Magog revolt (20:7–10) on the same prophetic passage" (1989: 327)… [Both Revelation 19:19–21 and Revelation 20:7–10] allude to the same OT eschatological battle prophecy (Ezekiel 38–39).
Gentry notes that there are those who draw from these facts the premise that the events of Revelation 19:19-21 and Revelation 20:7-10 must therefore refer to the same historical event. This is most common among amillennialists who also hold to the Historicist (rather than futurist or preterist) position. However, he adds:
Though "significant correspondence" of a "highly peculiar" nature exists between Rev. 19 and Ezekiel 39, problems confront this interpretation: First, similarity does not entail identity. Simply because John patterns both the battles of Rev. 19 and Rev. 20 on Eze. 38–39 does not mean they are the same battle. Similar language is used because similar fundamental realities prevail: God is catastrophically judging oppressive enemies of His people.
Many scholars see AD 70 as a microcosm of the final judgment. Consequently, we may expect the same imagery to apply to both AD 70 and the end. For instance, of those first century events, Bloesch states: "The catastrophe that befell the Jewish people in A.D. 70 is a sign of the final judgment." Morris agrees: "…[We see that there is] a theological unity between the two judgments, and that some of what Jesus says [in the Olivet Discourse] could apply equally well to both." Second, as Bøe notes, John often makes double use of Ezekiel's images (Bøe, 275). The imagery from Ezekiel's scroll vision in Eze. 2:8–33 applies both to Rev 5:1 and 10:8–11; Ezekiel's measuring imagery in Eze 40–48 appears in quite distinct passages in Rev 11:1–2 and 21:10–27 (Bøe 371).
…If John had wanted us to understand recapitulation [the repetition of the same events] rather than sequence in this passage [Revelation 20], John "did us no favor" by: (a) recasting the beast and false prophet (19:20) as Gog and Magog (20:8); (b) inserting a thousand year period between the two battles (20:2–5); (c) representing the period of Christian history from the first century to the end as "a short time" (12:12) and as "a thousand years" (20:2–6)… (d) offering no hint that Satan is bound before Rev 19:11ff while emphasizing his being bound before Rev 20:7ff; and (e) telling us that Satan will be thrown into the lake of fire where the beast and false prophet already are (20:10).
…[The judgment of] AD 70 (in Rev. 19:11–21) anticipates the final eschatological battle (Rev. 20:8–10)… It even seems that the NT emphasizes AD 70 more frequently — probably because it was looming in the near future, directly relevant to first century Christians, and of catastrophic significance in re-orienting their thinking regarding the flow of redemptive history… Indeed, it seems that the NT knows of only two great battles remaining in redemptive history: AD 70 which closes the old covenant era (and inaugurates the new covenant) and the Second Advent which closes the new covenant era (and history). Jesus certainly seems to link AD 70 and the Second Advent in his large Olivet Discourse… In addition, John limits Revelation's prophecies to the near term (1:1, 3; 22:6, 10), which suggests a strong emphasis on AD 70.
Having made his case that Revelation 19:11-21 and Revelation 20:8-10 are separate and distinct events, Gentry then makes his case for why Ezekiel 38-39 is also not one and the same with Revelation 20:
Ezekiel 38–39 does not fit either the imagery of Rev 20:7–10 or its consummational setting… We see this in that:
(1) In Ezekiel God is on the offensive and gathers Gog (38:1–4; 39:1–2), whereas in Revelation Satan takes the offensive and gathers "Gog" (20:7–10).
(2) In Ezekiel Gog is motivated by plunder (Eze 38:12–13), whereas in Rev. 20:8 he is moved by Satan's deception without regard to plunder.
(3) Ezekiel speaks of an actual battle wherein God causes men to fight one another with swords (38:21), which is a common motif description for confused historical battle (Judges 7:22; 1 Samuel 14:20; Haggai 2:2; Zech. 14:13). This is a common way of showing God providentially and indirectly (rather than miraculously and directly) punishing men in history (e.g., Isaiah 10:5; 13:17). But Rev. 20:7–10 seems to present a purely final-eschatological judgment, involving direct divine destruction by fire (20:9b), with no mention of human implements of war involved.
(4) Ezekiel speaks of Israel becoming faithful at that time because of that battle (39:22–24), whereas Rev. 20 has God's people already ruling and reigning (20:4) and living in obedience in the "beloved city" (20:9b) at the time of this final judgment…
(6) Ezekiel emphasizes certain events occurring after the battle, including burning the weapons for seven years (39:9), burying the dead (39:12–16), and other nations witnessing God's triumph and Israel's faithfulness "from that day onward" (39:21–24). These clearly show history continuing after the battle. But Revelation presents the climactic end-time wrath of God (20:9c), which is followed by the final judgment and the end of history (20:11–15).
PROS: [1] While Gentry says very little about how Ezekiel 38-39 may have been fulfilled, he provides plenty of well-thought-out reasons for why this passage is to be seen as historically distinct from Revelation 19 and Revelation 20. To add to his reasons already given, I offer these as well: [a] Those being attacked in Ezekiel 38-39 dwell in the cities of Israel (Ezek. 39:9) with livestock, goods (38:13), and are dependent on wood from the forests (39:10). Those who are attacked in Revelation 20:7-10 are identified as "the camp of the saints and the beloved city," a clear parallel to "the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem…the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven" (Hebrews 12:22-23; i.e. the Church). [b] In Ezekiel, Israel's attackers come from "the uttermost parts of the north" (Ezek. 38:6), while in Revelation Gog and Magog comes from "the four corners of the earth" (Rev. 20:8).
[2] The first-century historian Josephus, as will be noted in the futurist section below, affirmed that the Scythian peoples of his day could trace their descent from Magog.
CONS: Kenneth Gentry, at least here in this material, doesn't offer much of an explanation for how Ezekiel 38-39 may have been fulfilled by events in the second century BC. This does nothing, however, to take away from his well-argued premise that this prophecy is historically distinct from the prophecies of Revelation 19 and 20.
[C] The Futurist Position: Ezekiel 38-39 is Not Yet Fulfilled (and neither is Revelation 19 or 20)
In this section, we will only deal with the futurist position on Ezekiel 38-39, and not on Revelation 19 and 20 (it's a given that the majority of futurists see Revelation 19 as taking place in the future prior to Christ's Second Coming, and Revelation 20 taking place 1000 years later at the end of the Millennium. When it comes to discussions on Gog and Magog, futurist authors have had a great deal to say regarding Ezekiel 38-39. The highly resourceful Preterist Archive has preserved several quotes from well-known futurist authors on this subject. For example, Hal Lindsey had this to say:
"When the Russians invade the Middle East with amphibious and mechanized land forces, they will make a 'blitzkreig' type of offensive through the area… The current build-up of Russian ships in the Mediterranean serves as another significant sign of the possible nearness of Armageddon" (The Late Great Planet Earth, Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1970, p. 145-146)
"Dr. Cummings, writing in 1864, said, "This king of the North I conceive to be the autocrat of Russia.. that Russia occupies a place, and a very momentous place, in the prophetic word has been admitted by almost all expositors." (ibid., p. 52)
(Hal Lindsey changing tune after [the] fall of Russia) "But world domination — as Ezekiel makes clear — was never in the script for Russia!" (italics in original, Cited in Pate and Haines, p. 138)
Patti and Paul Lalonde made this sweeping statement in 1992:
"Bible scholars agree that 'Gog' also described as 'prince of Rosh,' is the leader of what is modern day Russia." (In the Edge of Time: The Final Countdown Has Begun)
And Tim Lahaye made these remarks, also in 1992:
"Etymology is the study of linguistic changes and the history of words. We will investigate the etymology of the names of nations. As we will see, "Magog" is an ancient name for the nation now known as Russia. "Gog" merely means "the chief prince of Magog," or more literally, the chief prince of Meschech and Tubal (38:2-3; 39:1).
The name "Moscow" derives from the tribal name "Meshech," and "Tobolsk, the name of the principal state, from "Tubal." The noun "Gog" is from the original tribal name "Magog," which gradually became "Rosh," then "Russ," and today is known as "Russia." ("Will God Destroy Russia, in Storming Towards Armageddon: Essays in Apocalypse, ed. Wm. James (Green Forest, AR: New Leaf Press, 1992), p. 260-261)
"Russia is unquestionably the nation identified in the prophecies of Ezekiel 38 and 39." ("Will God Destroy Russia, in Storming Towards Armageddon: Essays in Apocalypse, ed. Wm. James (Green Forest, AR: New Leaf Press, 1992), p. 259)
Dispensationalist futurist Thomas Ice notes that "Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins in their best-selling novel Left Behind, place this invasion of Israel right before the rapture of the church." Ice adds: "The strength of this position is that it accounts for the burning of the weapons of war for seven years as mentioned in Ezekiel 39:9. However, Tim LaHaye has told me personally that even though they represented a pre-rapture position on Ezekiel 38 and 39 in their novel, he tends to place it after the rapture but before the tribulation." Ice then accounts for several other variations within the futurist (mostly dispensationalist) camp regarding the placement of Ezekiel's vision:
The next view, which is the one I hold at this time, is that it will happen after the rapture but before the tribulation. It will be during the interval of days, weeks, months or years between the rapture and the start of the seven-year tribulation. This view also accounts for the seven years of Ezekiel 39:9. I have always thought that one of the strengths of this view is the way in which it could set the stage for the Biblical scenario of the tribulation. If the tribulation is closely preceded by a failed regional invasion of Israel, in other words Russia and her Muslim allies, then this would remove much of the Russian and Muslim influence currently in the world today and allow a Euro-centric orientation to arise. So the tribulation is preceded by a failed regional attack on Israel and this is why the tribulation ends with all the peoples of the world attacking Israel at Armageddon. It could also set the stage for the rebuilding of the Temple as a result of Islamic humiliation.
Perhaps the most widely held view put forth within dispensational literature is that this invasion will take place around the middle of the seven-year tribulation. This view often identifies Ezekiel 38 and 39 with an invasion of the king of the north in Daniel 11:40. Another major argument is based upon the statement that Israel will be "living securely, all of them" (Ezek. 38:8), which is the result of the false peace brought by the anti-Christ in the first half of the tribulation. This view has a lot in its favor.
A significant number of Bible teachers believe that the Gog and Magog event is synonymous with what the Book of Revelation calls the Campaign of Armageddon (Rev. 16:16). Since Armageddon is a huge invasion of Israel around the time of the second coming and the invasion of Israel described in Ezekiel 38 and 39 is said to be in "the latter years" (Ezek. 38:8) and "in the last days" (Ezek. 38:16), then they must be the same event. A similar, but slightly different view is that the invasion occurs after the second coming of Christ, during the interlude between the tribulation and the start of the millennium. The main argument for this view is that Israel would be dwelling in peace (Ezek. 38:8).
The last major view is that the battle of Ezekiel 38 and 39 will occur at the end of the millennium. The basis for this view is significant since Revelation 20:7–9 speaks of a conflict at the end of the millennium when Satan is released. Verse 8 says, "(Satan) will come out to deceive the nations which are in the four corner of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together for the war . . ." The strength of this view is obvious, Gog and Magog are specifically mentioned in the text.
In Part 2 of this same study, Thomas Ice speculates on the identity of Gog and Magog:
"The name Gog means 'high, supreme, a height, or a high mountain.'" The only references to the Gog of Ezekiel's prophecy appear in the passage itself and there is virtually no information about Gog outside the Bible in history. However, when Gog leads his invasion of Israel he is said to come "from the remote parts of the north" (Ezek. 38:6). Louis Bauman tells us that "L. Sale-Harrison says in his booklet, The Coming Great Northern Confederacy: 'It is interesting to note that the very word 'Caucasus' means 'Gog's Fort.' 'Gog' and 'Chasan' (Fort) are two Oriental words from which it is derived.'" So there does appear to be a faint reference to Gog in the general area of Russia that Gog is likely to be from.
Who then is Gog? Bauman says, "Without doubt, Russia will furnish the man—not the Antichrist—who will head up that which is known to most Bible students as 'the great northeastern confederacy' of nations and lead it to its doom upon the hills of Israel's land." …Hal Lindsey tells us, "Gog is the symbolic name of the nation's leader and Magog is his land. He is also the prince of the ancient people who were called Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal." Arnold Fruchtenbaum informs us: "Who Gog will be can only be determined at the time of the invasion, for 'Gog' is not a proper name but a title for the rule of Magog, just as the terms 'pharaoh,' 'kaiser,' and 'czar' were titles for rulers and not proper names."
…The fact that Magog is used in the table of nations (Genesis 10) provides a basis for tracing the movement of one of the earliest post-flood descendants of Noah. It appears that Ezekiel is using the names of peoples, primarily from the table of nations, and where they lived at the time of the giving of this prophecy in the sixth century B.C. Therefore, if we are able to find out where these people and places were in the sixth century B.C. then we will be able to trace figure out who would be their modern antecedents today. I believe we will be able to accomplish this task and be able to know who will be involved in this battle if it were to come to pass in our own day.
It is probably fair to say that most scholars and experts would trace Magog's descendants to the ancient people that we know as the Scythians. Chuck Missler notes that a wide collection of ancient historians "identified Magog with the Scythians and southern Russia in the 7th century B.C."15 These ancients include: Hesiod, Josephus, Philo, and Herodotus. Josephus lived in the first century A.D. and said, "Magog founded the Magogians, thus named after him but who by the Greeks are called Scythians."
Who are the Scythians? Edwin Yamauchi tells us that the Scythians were divided into two groups, a narrow and broad grouping. "In the narrow sense, the Scythians were the tribes who lived in the area which Herodotus designated as Scythia (i.e., the territory north of the Black Sea)," notes Yamauchi. "In the broad sense the word Scythian can designate some of the many other tribes in the vast steppes of Russia, stretching from the Ukraine in the west to the region of Siberia in the east."
I haven't read further in Ice's narrative, not in any real detail anyway, but the reader can get the idea where he is going from here, in painstakingly attempting to trace through more than 2000 years of history who are the modern descendants of the Scythians. To continue reading, though, by all means see Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 9, Part 10 (which only brings the reader up to Ezekiel 38:6!), and all the other parts that I lost the energy to link to.
PROS: Aside from identifying these speculations as bad exegesis (critical interpretation), it's difficult to prove them wrong because they are always said to be just ahead in God's prophetic calendar [I suppose this is part pro / part con]. Thus, it might be said, who can say that these things won't play out in the way that futurists say that they will?
CONS: [1] This interpretation, ironically, highly allegorizes the references to ancient warfare ("horses and horsemen…full armor…buckler and shield, wielding swords…shields and helmet…bow and arrows, clubs and spears" [Ezek. 38:4-5; 39:9]). This is ironic because futurists and dispensationalists tend to pride themselves on holding to a literal interpretation of Scripture far more often than those who hold alternative viewpoints.
[2] This interpretation virtually ignores the fact that Ezekiel's prophecies were, in the primary sense, contemporary to his day and concerned the period in which the Israelites were to return from exile in Babylon under Zerubbabel, Ezra, and Nehemiah.
[3] This interpretation makes the modern, political nation of Israel the recipients of God's special blessing, promises, and protection in this present age. However, the promises were made to Abraham and his singular offspring, Christ (Galatians 3:16), and Abraham's true offspring (the heirs according to promise) are only those who belong to Christ (Gal. 3:29).
[4] This prophecy must take place when the nation of Israel, according to this view, is dwelling securely (Ezek. 38:8) in "the land of unwalled villages" (verse 11). This is not even close to the situation in Israel today. Many dispensationalists, though (e.g. Lahaye), say this must be the situation prior to a future 7-year Tribulation period, because the weapons of Israel's attackers will be burned for seven years (Ezek. 39:9), AFTER seven months of burying their attackers (Ezek. 39:12). Yet, dispensationalists say that peace will be secured for national Israel when "the Antichrist" makes a covenant with that nation at the very beginning of the Tribulation (an idea which I believe to be a severe misapplication of Daniel 9:27), only to break it 3.5 years later.
In this scenario, the 7-month burial period would mean that Israel will be dwelling in security more than half a year prior to the alleged future covenant established by "the Antichrist." Why would such security exist for months before "the Antichrist" comes along to establish it?
[5] There is much more which could be addressed concerning the various futurist viewpoints noted by Thomas Ice above, but I'd rather not take up more space in doing so. Perhaps I will do so later in the comments section. For the record, though, I personally happen to believe that the Great Tribulation (Matthew 24:21; Revelation 7:14) was fulfilled during the Roman-Jewish War leading up to Jerusalem's destruction in 70 AD, a subject which has been addressed at length elsewhere on this blog.
[D] Kurt Simmons: Ezekiel 38-39, Revelation 19, and Revelation 20 Were All Fulfilled in 70 AD
Kurt M. Simmons is a full-preterist who believes that "Gog and Magog [as mentioned in Revelation 20:8] was a symbol employed for the persecution under Nero and the Jews." In other words, for Simmons, the battle described in this passage brought an end to the Millennium just before 70 AD, thus making the Millennium last for only 40 years (beginning around 30 AD and ending around 70 AD). This idea was discussed more fully in Part 2 of our Minority Views on the Millennium. Simmons' viewpoint is the only one discussed so far which sees Revelation 20:7-10 as not merely alluding to Ezekiel 38-39, but being one and the same event described in both texts.
By way of background information on Ezekiel 38-39, Simmons says,
The three major themes of the OT prophets were 1) the coming judgment upon Israel and Judah in which they would be carried into captivity; 2) the restoration of the nation to the land; and 3) the kingdom of the Messiah. Although separated by several hundred years, prophecies about the return of the captivity and the nation's political restoration were often woven together with prophecies about the kingdom of the Messiah and the spiritual restoration of man in Christ. In fact, the gathering together and return of the captivity under Zerubbabel became a type of the Messiah, who would gather together [true] Israel and lead them unto spiritual Zion and the heavenly Jerusalem.
Simmons then cites Hosea 1:11, 3:4-5 and Amos 9:8-14 as two examples of prophecy having a more immediate sense as well as ultimately a fuller sense. Moving on to the book of Ezekiel, Simmons remarks:
The imagery of Gog and Magog in Revelation is adapted from Ezekiel. Like other prophets, Ezekiel wrote about the coming captivity, the restoration to the land, and the coming kingdom of the Messiah. The first half of Ezekiel addresses the coming captivity and is laden with prophecies of wrath and lamentation; the latter half is devoted to the themes of national restoration and the coming of Christ. Ezekiel's most graphic portrayal of the return of the captivity is set out in his prophecy of the "valley of dry bones" (Ezek. 37:1-17): The nation was in captivity; the ten northern tribes carried away by the Assyrians; Judah carried away to Babylon. The temple was burned, the city lay in ruins. Ezekiel likened the nation unto a defeated army, whose bleached bones lay scattered across a vast plain. The question for the Jews of the captivity was did the nation have a future? The answer was, Yes!
…The prophecy of the dry bones [Ezekiel 37:11-12] would be fulfilled in the restoration of Israel to its land. Cyrus would allow the city to be rebuilt and the captives to return home. This happened in the great migrations under Zerubbabel, Ezra, and Nehemiah. But Ezekiel's prophecy didn't stop with the return of the captivity; like other OT prophets it looked beyond the return of the captivity unto the spiritual restoration of man in Christ.
Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the heathen, whither they be gone, and will gather them on every side…and David my servant shall be king over them. Ezek. 37:21, 24; emphasis added.
Like Hosea's prophecy of "David their king," David here is a symbol for Christ and speaks to the restoration of the Davidic throne that had been usurped by Nebuchadnezzar and the Gentile powers. However, Christ would not sit upon the throne of David on earth or the terrestrial Jerusalem, but in the heavenly Jerusalem above. Peter made this abundantly clear in the very first gospel sermon after Christ's resurrection [Acts 2:29-34]… Premillennial hopes of Christ seated upon David throne upon earth are empty and vain; they embody the very hope that led the Jews to crucify Christ; for they looked for a national liberator, not a Savior who would deliver from the bondage of sin and death. When, therefore, Ezekiel and the prophets speak of David ruling over his people, we understand that they spoke of Christ and the church. The church is the restored Israel and kingdom of Messianic prophecy.
Ezekiel's prophecies of the valley of dry bones and "David my servant" occur in Ezekiel thirty-seven; the prophecy of Gog and Magog occurs in chapters thirty-eight and thirty-nine. Thus, restored Israel (the church) under "David" is the historical and chronological context of the prophecy about Gog and Magog.
The Eschatological Battle of Gog & Magog
Ezekiel describes the great battle of the end time in terms of a pagan hoard that invades the land of Israel; a host so numerous that they ascend like a storm and a cloud to cover the land [Ezekiel 38:1-8]. Several points need to be made at this juncture. First, Gog has set himself as the enemy of God and his people and there is an historical account that the Lord wants to settle. When he says that "after many days thou shalt be visited," the prophet indicates that God has abstained from vengeance for many years, but that Gog's day would come. Gog's war against restored Israel was divinely permitted or ordained, and would provide occasion for judgment and vengeance against the people symbolized by Gog. Second, the invasion of Gog would occur in the latter times. This phrase speaks to the closing years of the world economy marked by the reign of sin and death. This places Gog's attack upon restored Israel in the period immediately preceding the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70, for the end of the mosaic age coincided with the end of the world order that obtained from the time of mankind's fall. Third, the description of Gog's territory mirrors that of the Roman empire. Ethiopia and Libya were Rome's south-western boundary, Persia beyond the Euphrates unto the Caspian sea was its eastern-most boundary, and the "north quarters" coasting long the Black sea and the Danube unto theBritish isles were its northern-most holdings. Evidence that Ezekiel's description of Gog's territory answers to that of Rome is provided by Agrippa II's famous speech attempting to dissuade the Jews from war with Rome, recorded by Josephus:
For all Euphrates is not a sufficient boundary for them on the east side, nor the Danube on the north, and for their southern limit, Libya has been searched over by them, as far as countries uninhabited, as is Cadiz their limit on the west." Josephus, Wars, II, xvi, 4, Whiston ed.
Having established the time of Gog's attack and the extent of his territory, it remains only to show whom he attacked. Ezekiel describes the objects of Gog's invasion as those "brought forth out of the nations;" viz., restored Israel under "David," which is to say, the church. But if Gog's territory answers to the Roman empire, and the time of his attack upon the church preceded the destruction of Jerusalem, then what historical event must the prophet have in mind? That's right, the great spiritual battle that overtook the church in the first century. The battle of Gog and Magog is a symbol of the eschatological persecution of the saints by Nero and the Jews. This conclusion is corroborated by John's Revelation.
For the sake of brevity, I'll skip much of what Simmons says regarding Revelation 11-12, the on and off persecution of the Church between Christ's ascension and Nero's reign, his speculation regarding Claudius Caesar being the angel of Revelation 20:1, etc. It can be seen by following the link to this article, but quite honestly I find some of the details in this section to be noteworthy, and others to be rather odd. Simmons then moves in on his conclusion by saying this:
"Satan" is a generic term signifying an adversary. The character which here in verse seven is called "satan" in verse two is called the "dragon." In other words, the adversary in this case was world civil power embodied in Rome, Nero, and the Jews. In Rome, the beast was identified with Nero, who was its driving power (Rev. 13:1-10); in Asia and other parts of the empire, the Jews, at the behest of their leaders in Jerusalem, were the driving force. John portrays this by a harlot, riding the beast in a surfeit of blood and gore. (Rev. 17:3-6) In Palestine, the persecution was driven by the "false prophet," the religious leaders of the Jews who bade them to make an inquisition against the church like unto the beast's. (Rev. 13:11-18) The dragon and beast make war against the church by surrounding the "camp of the saints" (the church). But fire comes down from God out of heaven and consumes Gog and his host, and the dragon, beast, and false prophet are cast into the lake of fire. (Rev. 19:20, 21; 20:9, 10) The harlot is also consumed. (Rev. 18) An angel calls to the birds of heaven to come and devour the carcasses of the slain. (Rev. 19:17, 18; cf. Ezek. 39:17) Following the world-wide devastations of the last days, God renews the earth, in which the church reigns supreme with Christ. (Rev. 21, 22)
The battle of Gog and Magog was a symbol for the eschatological battle of the last days; the persecution under Nero and the Jews.
PROS: [1] I appreciated Simmons' development of the chapters surrounding Ezekiel 38-39, as he rightfully (I believe) pointed out that Ezekiel 37 was a prophecy (at least in the primary sense) of Israel's return to its land and subsequent restoration under Zerubbabel, Ezra, and Nehemiah. I was also intrigued by his discussion of the double fulfillment of certain prophetic passages, i.e. having both an immediate sense and an ultimate sense.
[2] Simmons points out that Ezek. 38:8 speaks of this attack taking place in "the latter years," which he defines as the end of the Mosaic age marked by the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD. Being that Ezekiel and Daniel were near contemporaries, it's interesting that Daniel was told that his visions would see fulfillment at "the time of the end" (Daniel 12:4, 9; cf. Dan. 8:17, 26). The phrase(s) used in Daniel are a bit stronger, but it's possible that "the latter years" could be a synonym for the "the time of the end." Some of what Daniel prophesies is thought to have taken place, though, during the 2nd century BC and earlier (e.g. the events of Daniel 8:20-22, Dan. 11:1-19), and not as late as the period leading up to 70 AD.
CONS: [1] Simmons pointed out that Ezekiel 37 (the prophecy of the dry bones) is the immediate context of the battle of Ezekiel 38. Since, in the ultimate sense, the end of Ezekiel 37 foreshadowed "restored Israel (the church) under 'David,'" he then concludes that Ezekiel 38 must speak of an attack on the Church. Why, though, can't the immediate sense of Ezekiel 37 (the return of the Israelites to the land of Israel in the 5th century BC) also be the context by which we see the battle of Ezekiel 38? If this is allowed, then Ezekiel 38-39 could very well speak of events in Esther's day as Gary DeMar and David Lowman have proposed (or, one might say, events in the second century BC as Gentry seems to propose).
[2] The armies in Ezekiel 38 are described in great detail as being arrayed in ancient armor and bearing ancient weapons. It seems to be a very large stretch to equate this type of battle imagery with persecution of the saints. Elsewhere in Scripture, and even in a book like Revelation filled with apocalyptic language, the idea of persecution appears to be presented in a much more straightforward manner. This imagery of armor and weapons is also completely absent from Revelation 20:7-10, although, granted, it could be said that space doesn't allow for it there.
[3] One goal of the invaders in Ezekiel 38 is to sieze silver, gold, livestock, and goods (Ezek. 38:13). This doesn't seem to be a goal at all in the attack recorded in Revelation 20.
[4] If Ezekiel 38-39 speaks of the events of 70 AD, in what sense did the church burn the wooden weapons of their persecutors at that time for seven years (Ezek. 39:9-10)?
Having now presented and analyzed each of these four positions, I will now list in descending order how I see these positions in terms of Biblical accuracy and plausibility. At the top of my list is the position I agree with the most, and at the bottom is the position I agree with the least:
#1: David Lowman and Gary DeMar's position that Ezekiel 38-39 was fulfilled in Esther's day, Revelation 19 in 70 AD, and Revelation 20:7-10 remains unfulfilled.
#2: Kenneth Gentry's position that Ezekiel 38-39 was likely fulfilled in the second century BC through the Scythian peoples, Revelation 19 in 70 AD, and Revelation 20:7-10 remains unfulfilled.
#3: Kurt Simmon's position that Ezekiel 38-39, Revelation 19, and Revelation 20 were all fulfilled in 70 AD.
#4: The futurist position (or one of them anyway) which sees Ezekiel 38-39 as yet to be fulfilled with a Russian/Iranian led invasion upon modern Israel, Revelation 19 awaiting fulfillment at Christ's future Second Coming, and Revelation 20 as awaiting fulfillment at the end of a future 1000-year Millennium period.
What would your list look like, and why? Do you have an alternative view on these matters which hasn't been given attention here?
In the next post, we will examine a discussion of the two ages spoken of frequently in the New Testament. This post will serve as a transition into our study of Revelation 21.
All of our studies on Revelation 20 and the Millennium can be found here.
[1] Another viewpoint which could have been considered is the viewpoint of amillennialist and Historicist Kim Riddlebarger. I have greatly appreciated and learned from quite a few of his writings, but chose not to include his viewpoint in the main body of this article as I am quite limited in my understanding of Historicism. I also noted that he declared Ezekiel's vision of Gog and Magog to be a prophecy of "the Assyrian invasion of Israel from the north." I'm puzzled by this idea, as the Syrian invasion took place in 722 BC and Ezekiel ministered in the time period before and after Babylon's invasion of Judah and Jerusalem in 586 BC. Riddlebarger sees Ezekiel's vision as "typological of the end-times war upon the entire people of God as witnessed by John in his vision."
Another amillennialist article also postulates that Ezekiel predicted the Syrian invasion. Though I'm not in agreement with a number of things in this article, the author (Nollie) does provide an interesting comparison chart for the three passages where Gog and Magog is either mentioned directly or clearly alluded to:
Revelation 19:11-21 Ezekiel 38-39 Revelation 20:7-10
Gog & Magog (38:2; 39:1, 6) Gog & Magog (8)
"to gather them for the battle" (ton polemon) in v. 19 (cf. 16:14, 15a) "to gather them for the battle" (ton polemon) in v. 8
birds feast on defeated humans ("kings" "captains" "mighty men" "horses and their riders") (17-18) animals and birds feast on defeated humans ("mighty men" "princes" "horses" "charioteers" "warriors") (39:4, 17-20)
fiery judgment on nations, beast, and false prophet (20) fiery judgment on Gog & Magog (38:22; 39:6) fiery judgment on Gog and Magog and Satan (9-10)
total cosmic destruction by earthquake, hail, rain, and fire (38:19-22) total cosmic destruction (11)
total destruction of wicked (19-21) total destruction of the wicked (9-10)
[2] Duncan McKenzie provides an even more comprehensive analysis of the parallels between Ezekiel and Revelation, here and here.
Revelation Chapter 13 (Part 4: Nero's Beastly Character)
November 15, 2009 February 5, 2012 Adam Maarschalk Leave a comment
REVELATION 13 (Part 4: Nero's Beastly Character)
Adam Maarschalk: October 22 & 29, 2009
We have now reached the fourth post on Revelation 13. The first post looked at the first 10 verses in this chapter, showing that Nero fit the description of the first beast in the specific sense and that first-century Rome fit the description of this same beast in the general sense. In the second post, we were introduced to its main advocate, a second beast, and we considered four different views regarding the identity of this second beast. In the third post we examined the healing of the first beast's mortal wound, the mark of the beast, and the fact of its identification with the famous "666″ symbol. In this post we will look more closely into the character of Nero and the atrocities he committed, and in doing so we will see that the term "beast" fits him well.
In the first post on chapter 13 we saw a number of details regarding Nero's campaign of persecution from November 64 AD – June 68 AD (42 months). Some of these details will be quickly summarized here, as this contributes to our understanding of his beastly character. First, we are told by numerous early church writers (e.g. Eusebius, Lactantius, and Sulpicius Severus) that Nero was the first emperor to persecute the saints, with Clement of Rome (30-100 AD) saying that Nero targeted "a vast multitude of the elect…through many indignities and tortures."
These tortures included being "wrapped in the hides of wild beasts…torn to pieces by dogs, or fastened to crosses to be set on fire, that when the darkness fell they might be burned to illuminate the night" (Tacitus, Annals 15:44); Nero's vast garden was lit at night so he could provide raunchy entertainment of all kinds. Some believers were beheaded (Paul), others were crucified (Peter), while others were "thrown to the lions, exposed to the cold, drowned in rivers, thrown into cauldrons of boiling oil, daubed with pitch and burned for torchlights" (David S. Clark).
This persecution came about after Nero's Jewish wife persuaded him to blame the Christians for the burning of 10 of Rome's 14 city divisions. Legend has it that Nero "fiddled while Rome burned," with some ancient historians affirming this account (Suetonius, Cassius Dio) and others (e.g. Tacitus) calling it into question. Clement of Alexandria [150-215 AD], Tertullian [160-220 AD], Augustine [354-430 AD], and Jerome [347-420 AD] are among the early church writers who stated their belief that Nero was the beast foretold in the book of Revelation, and Jerome even stated that there were "many" in his time who shared this view because of Nero's "outstanding savagery and depravity." The following information (in maroon-colored font) is taken from a term paper I wrote several months ago:
Richard Anthony (The Mark of the Beast, 2009) shares more details about Nero's life and character, all of which is substantiated by Suetonius (in his book Nero) and other historians who lived during the first two centuries AD:
According to Suetonius, he [Nero] murdered his parents, wife, brother, aunt, and many others close to him and of high station in Rome. He was a torturer, a homosexual rapist, and a sodomite. He even married two young boys and paraded them around as his wives. One of the boys, whose name was Sporus, was castrated by Nero. He was truly bestial in his character, depravity, and actions. He devised a kind of game: covered with the skin of some wild animal, he was let loose from a cage and attacked the private parts of men and women, who were bound at stakes. He also initiated the war against the Jews which led to the destruction of Jerusalem in 70AD.
At one point, writes Kenneth Gentry (Before Jerusalem Fell, 2002), Nero divorced his first wife, Octavia, in order to marry Poppaea, his mistress. Poppaea then gave orders to have Octavia banished to an island, where in 62 AD she was beheaded. Three years later, when Poppaea was pregnant and ill, Nero kicked her to death. For entertainment, according to the Roman historian Suetonius, Nero "compelled four hundred senators and six hundred Roman knights, some of whom were well to do and of unblemished reputation, to fight in the arena." The Roman historian Tacitus (55-117 AD) knew Nero as the one who "put to death so many innocent men," and Pliny the Elder (23-79 AD) called Nero "the destroyer of the human race" and "the poison of the world" (p. 52).
In Revelation 13:2 the beast is described as having a mouth "like a lion's mouth." It's most revealing that the apostle Paul describes his deliverance from the emperor Nero as being "rescued from the lion's mouth" (II Timothy 4:16-17). Also fitting is this quote from Apollonius of Tyana (15-98 AD), a Greek philosopher:
In my travels, which have been wider than ever man yet accomplished, I have seen many, many wild beasts of Arabia and India; but this beast, that is commonly called a Tyrant, I know not how many heads it has, nor if it be crooked of claw, and armed with horrible fangs. …And of wild beasts you cannot say that they were ever known to eat their own mothers, but Nero has gorged himself on this diet.
[Source: A.T. Robinson, Redating the New Testament. Philadelphia: Westminster (1976), p. 235. This quote was taken from Philostratus, Life of Apollonius, Oxford Press, 1912, p. 38.]
Apollonius was not the only contemporary of Nero to refer to him as a "beast." Josephus and Suetonius also did so, according to David Lowman, an author and a pastor in Colorado Springs. Lowman adds that Nero schemed with his mother to kill his father and half-brother, and then attempted at least seven times to kill his mother. He also "executed one of his two closest advisers and forced the other to commit suicide." Regarding again Nero's persecution of the saints, Lowman notes that Nero had some "drawn and quartered"; others tied to the tusks of elephants which then were made to charge each other; others disemboweled while alive; and still others "sawn in two with palm branches – a very long lasting and brutally painful penalty." Lowman wrote the following concerning Nero's "garden parties":
The most horrific stories of Nero's brutality involved the lighting of His garden parties. It was known that in order to light his three and four day garden parties he would have Christian impaled with large wooden posts, and while still alive, struggling for breath, would have them covered in flammable tar and oil and light them on fire. He would place the posts along the outskirts of the large palace garden and along the roads to light the way for his guests. Quite often the events listed above would be done in front of rather large audiences in the arena. he would end these events with tortuously long musical performances that attendees could not leave under the penalty of death, including the ruling Senators of Rome.
Under Nero, John was tarred and feathered, boiled in oil (yet he miraculously survived), and then exiled. This is according to the testimony of early church writers such as Tertullian and Jerome, as I wrote here.
The next and final post on Revelation 13 (Part 5 of 5) will feature a comparative chart showing 10 prophecies regarding the beast from the sea and their non-coincidental fulfillment by Nero and the Roman Empire which he led, represented, and personified.
PP16: The Man of Lawlessness (II Thess. 2) Part 2
August 16, 2009 February 5, 2012 Adam Maarschalk 2 Comments
This is now the sixteenth post in our series on "A Partial-Preterist Perspective on the Destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD." This is the same title as a term paper I recently submitted to Northwestern College. All the previous posts can be found here, and it's recommended that they be read in order before reading this post:
In the last post we turned to a discussion of the man of lawlessness spoken of in II Thessalonians 2. This is a two-part study in which we are considering the relevance to the first-century Church of Paul's prediction of a coming man of lawlessness and a rebellion to the first-century Church. We're also considering the identity of this man of sin.
F. The Man of Lawlessness (II Thessalonians 2) [Part 2]
Regarding the identity of the man of lawlessness, also known as the "man of sin" and the "son of perdition," there has been no end of speculation in history. Aside from 20th and 21st century figures, and various Catholic Popes, more than one 1st century personality has also been tagged as the man of lawlessness. Not all Preterists assume that the man of lawlessness and the beast of Revelation are one and the same. One reason for this is because of the language used in II Thess. 2:4, which says that the man of lawlessness "opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God." Nero, who is generally regarded within Preterism as the beast of Revelation, certainly proclaimed himself to be God, but some question whether he was the man of sin because he is not known to have physically entered into the Jerusalem temple.
On the other hand, some have interpreted the phrase "temple of God" to refer to the Church (e.g. Ephesians 2:11-22) rather than to any physical temple. In other words, the man of lawlessness would attempt to usurp the place of God as the object of supreme worship within the Church. This Nero did, of course, but this alone perhaps isn't proof that Paul wasn't referring to a physical temple. He could just as well have been referring to the physical temple which still stood in his day, that is, except for one other point of truth. God had already rejected that temple as His own. As Jesus said, "See, your house is left to you desolate" (Matthew 23:38). Keeping this statement by Jesus in mind, why would God then refer to the Jerusalem temple as the "temple of God"? This interpretation then, of a spiritual temple rather than a physical one, has solid ground to stand upon. Kurt Simmons points out that similar language to that used by Paul is used in the Old Testament, as in this instance regarding the prince of Tyre: "Thus says the Lord God: Because your heart is proud, and you have said, 'I am a god, I sit in the seat of the gods, in the heart of the seas…'" (Ezekiel 28:2).
Dispensationalism is surely wrong in saying that Paul had in mind a physical temple which, in our time, has not yet been rebuilt. For one thing, the Thessalonian believers had the ability to know from Jesus' own prophecies that the temple they were acquainted with would be destroyed in their generation (Matthew 23:29-24:1, 24:3, 24:34; Luke 19:41-44, Luke 21:5-33, etc.). How strange it would have been for them to consider that this temple would later be replaced for the purpose of granting a momentary seat to a lawless individual, one whom they didn't need to be concerned about because he was generations away from appearing. Also, as noted earlier, any future temple which may still be rebuilt for the purpose of resuming Old Covenant sacrifices would in no sense be God's temple, but would be the ultimate symbol of apostasy and an outright rejection of Christ. It's a tragedy that many believers today are passionate about seeing such a project come to pass in modern Israel, even to the point of sending millions of dollars to see it happen.
Nero does seem to have been the candidate of choice, though, among many early church writers, as the man of lawlessness spoken of by Paul. Aside from Victorino and Augustine, Chrysostom (347-407 AD) also wrote: "'For the mystery of lawlessness doth already work.' He speaks here of Nero… But he did not also wish to point him out plainly: and this not from cowardice, but instructing us not to bring upon ourselves unnecessary enmities, when there is nothing to call for it" (Kurt Simmons [2] , 2009). Lactantius (260-330 AD), embracing the viewpoint that by "temple of God" Paul was referring to the Church, said that Nero became enraged by the "faithful and steadfast temple of the Lord" built through the evangelism of Peter, Paul, and the early Church. So Nero "sprung forward to raze the heavenly temple and destroy the true faith" (emphasis added).
Aside from Claudius, the emperor who preceded Nero, another figure who has been suggested as the restrainer[1] is Ananus, the high priest who opposed the Zealot-led rebellion against Rome. He is seen to have restrained the Zealots as long as he was in his position. Within a couple months from the time he was removed from his position and replaced by Phannias, who was one of the Zealots' own men, the Zealots and the Idumeans together slaughtered 12,000 Jews who would not join their cause. Around the same time, they also caused the temple to "overflow with blood" in one particular civil war in which 8,500 were killed in one night. This view either regards the Zealots as a corporate "lawless one," or their leader, John of Gischala, as the man of lawlessness.
As will be seen in the final section, John led a faction in Jerusalem during the Roman/Jewish War which occupied the Jerusalem temple and turned it into a military fortress. John personally melted down the sacred temple vessels and dishes, poured out the wine and oil which was meant to be poured on the burnt-offerings, and caused the Jews to become drunk from the wine. His behavior provoked Josephus to exclaim that Jerusalem was more worthy of judgment than Sodom ever was, and that such madness was the true cause of the people's destruction. This was terrible sacrilege from the standpoint of Judaism, of course, but the temple ceremonies were invalid in God's eyes anyway because Christ had already gone to the cross. This view of Ananus as the restrainer and John and/or the Zealots as the "man of sin" seems highly unlikely, though, for the simple reason that there is no record of John or any of the other zealots claiming to be God. John also fails as the candidate for the man of lawlessness, in any case, because he survived the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD and instead spent the rest of his life in a Roman prison. The true lawless one, Paul said, would be killed by the appearance of Christ's coming in vengeance (II Thess. 1:8): "And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will kill with the breath of His mouth and bring to nothing by the appearance of His coming" (II Thess. 2:8). Of this language, James Stuart Russell said:
In this significant expression we have a note of the time when the man of sin is destined to perish, marked with singular exactitude. It is the coming of the Lord, the Parousia, which is to be the signal of his destruction; yet not the full splendour of that event so much as the first appearance or dawn of it. Alford (after Bengel) very properly points out that the rendering 'brightness of his coming' should be 'the appearance of his coming,' and he quotes the sublime expression of Milton, —'far off His coming shone.' Bengel, with fine discrimination, remarks, 'Here the appearance of His coming, or, at all events, the first glimmerings of His coming, are prior to the coming itself.' This evidently implies that the man of sin was destined to perish, not in the full blaze of the Parousia, but at its first dawn or beginning. Now what do we actually find? Remembering how the Parousia is connected with the destruction of Jerusalem, we find that the death of Nero preceded the event. It took place in June A.D. 68, in the very midst of the Jewish war which ended in the capture and destruction of the city and the temple. It might therefore be justly said that 'the appearance, or dawn, of the Parousia was the signal for the tyrant's destruction (Todd Dennis [26], 2009).
David Lowman (2009 [1]) points out that the Greek word for the phrase "gathered together," episunagoge, used in II Thess. 2:1, appears three times in the New Testament[2]: [1] in Matthew 24:31 ("…and He will send out His angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other."), [2] here in this passage, [3] and in Hebrews 10:25 ("not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near."). In each of these cases the term denotes the fellowship of believers or the gathering of the Church in terms of the spread of the gospel. Lowman notes that, where this term was used in the Olivet Discourse, it was the fall of the temple and Jerusalem that enabled the gospel to be released apart from infringement[3] by Jewish authorities. It also accomplished the official separation of Christians and Jews in the eyes of the Roman world.[4]
Before this gathering to Christ was to occur, there was one more event, not yet discussed in any detail, that Paul said had to happen first. There had to be a rebellion. David Lowman again comments:
The Greek word "apostasia" is used here. It can mean rebellion or falling away. Most modern translations have properly identified the proper usage as "rebellion." This is not to be seen necessarily as a spiritual falling away, but rather a social or political rebellion. It is quite probable that Paul is making the argument that the Day of the Lord's judgment against Judea will not happen until the rebellion of the zealots has already occurred. We know this began taking place some 15 years or so after the writing of this letter (David Lowman [2], 2009).
The Jewish rebellion against the Romans played a large role in ensuring that Jerusalem would be crushed. This and other related historical events will be examined in the following section.
[1] Dispensationalists often assert that the restrainer (II Thess. 2:6-7) is the Holy Spirit, who will be taken out of the way when the Rapture snatches away the Church before a future Tribulation. This creates a dilemma, though, because Dispensationalism also says that there will be a revival during the 7-year Tribulation Period led by 144,000 Jewish evangelists. It's impossible that such a spiritual harvest, or any salvation at all, could be accomplished without the work of the Holy Spirit.
[2] It can be argued, though, that a different form of the same root (Greek) word is used several more times in other instances.
[3] Whether or not this interpretation is accepted, such infringement is certainly in view in I Thessalonians 2:14-16, where Paul says the Jews "oppose all mankind by hindering us from speaking to the Gentiles that they might be saved—so as always to fill up the measure of their sins. But God's wrath has come upon them at last!"
[4] Some full preterists believe that this "gathering together" was a physical resurrection of Old Testament saints as well as the faithful who had died in Christ up until that point, as a parallel to Revelation 14:13 and Revelation 20:4-6.
This is now the fifteenth post in our series on "A Partial-Preterist Perspective on the Destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD." This is the same title as a term paper I recently submitted to Northwestern College. All the previous posts can be found here, and it's recommended that they be read in order before reading this post:
We now turn from a discussion of the Olivet Discourse to the man of lawlessness spoken of in II Thessalonians 2. This will be a two-part study in which we will consider the relevance to the first-century Church of Paul's prediction of a man of lawlessness and a rebellion. We will also consider the identity of this man of sin.
Just like the seven churches who first received the book of Revelation, Paul wrote to a church in Thessalonica that was under persecution (II Thessalonians 1:4-7). This persecution was evidently coming from the Jews, based on Acts 17:1-13 and I Thessalonians 2:14-16. Also the first Imperial persecution against Christians under Nero had not yet begun, since this book was written around 52 AD.[1] The Thessalonians would experience relief from their affliction, they were told, when Jesus came in vengeance, and to be glorified in and marveled at by His people (verses 7-10).
In this regard, Paul writes to a church that was concerned that they had missed this coming, for Paul writes: "Now concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to Him, we ask you, brothers, not to be quickly shaken in mind or alarmed, either by a spirit or a spoken word, or a letter seeming to be from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come" (II Thess. 2:1-2). The nature of their expectation must be considered. For if their expectation of the Lord's coming was that it would be visible, it would bring an end to the world, or it would result in the instant removal of all believers from the earth, it's hard to imagine how they could be led to believe that these things had already occurred. Referring to their concern, David Lowman (2009 [1]) writes:
This Day of the Lord is commonly argued to be the Second Coming, but the context simply does not allow for it. As mentioned in a previous post, it would literally make no sense for the Thessalonians to write a letter asking if the Day of the Lord has passed if the Day of the Lord was the Resurrection or rapture. Should the Thessalonians expect Paul to still be around if the day of the Lord meant "rapture"? If the Day of the Lord truly was understood to be the "rapture" then writing to Paul would be fruitless! Now, if on the other hand, the Thessalonians believed the Day of the Lord to be the coming judgment against apostate Israel, then asking about that event would make sense. And if they had friends or relatives in the Judean area it would easily explain their concern that the Day of the Lord had passed.
When the term "day of the Lord" is used elsewhere in Scripture, it almost exclusively speaks of an instance of God's judgment. Therefore, it should be easy enough to conceive of Paul using the term in this text to refer to a day of the Lord against Jerusalem, if that's what the context demands.
Paul states that two events had to occur before the day of the Lord would come: [1] the rebellion, and [2] the revealing of the man of lawlessness (II Thess. 2:3). Paul reminded the Thessalonians that he had already discussed these things with them in person (verse 5), and his language indicates that we are not given all the details of their conversation. Apparently, Paul had privately discussed with them the identity of the man of lawlessness and the entity that was restraining him, because he says, "And you know what is restraining him now so that he may be revealed in his time" (verse 6). This points to a first-century fulfillment, as does Paul's next statement: "For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work. Only he who now restrains it will do so until he is out of the way" (verse 7).
James Stuart Russell, whose book, Parousia, in 1878 had a profound effect on both Charles Spurgeon[2] and R.C. Sproul, wrote the following about the immediate relevance of this subject to the Thessalonians (Todd Dennis [26], 2009):
Is it not obvious that whoever the man of sin may be, he must be someone with whom the apostle and his readers had to do? Is he not writing to living men about matters in which they are intensely interested? Why should he delineate the features of this mysterious personage to the Thessalonians if he was one with whom the Thessalonians had nothing to do, from whom they had nothing to fear, and who would not be revealed for ages yet to come? It is clear that he speaks of one whose influence was already beginning to be felt, and whose unchecked and lawless fury would ere [before] long burst forth.
But why does not the apostle speak out frankly? Why this reserve and reticence in darkly hinting what he does not name? It was not from ignorance; it could not be from the affectation of mystery. There must have been some strong reason for this extreme caution. No doubt; but of what nature? Why should he have been in the habit, as he says, of speaking so freely on the subject in private, and then write so obscurely in his epistle? Obviously, because it was not safe to be more explicit. On the one hand, a hint was enough, for they could all understand his meaning; on the other, more than a hint was dangerous, for to name the person might have compromised himself and them…
But how striking are the indications that point to Nero in the year when this epistle was written, say A.D.52 or 53. At that time Nero was not yet 'manifested;' his true character was not discovered; he had not yet succeeded to the Empire. Claudius, his step-father, lived, and stood in the way of the son of Agrippina. But that hindrance was soon removed. In less than a year, probably, after this epistle was received by the Thessalonians, Claudius was 'taken out of the way,' a victim to the deadly practice of the infamous Agrippina; her son also, according to Suetonius, being accessory to the deed. But 'the mystery of lawlessness was already working;' the influence of Nero must have been powerful in the last days of the wretched Claudius; the very plots were probably being hatched that paved the way for the accession of the son of the murderess. A few months more would witness the advent to the throne of the world of a miscreant whose name is gibbeted in everlasting infamy as the most brutal of tyrants and the vilest of men.
Kurt Simmons (2009 [2]) relates that there was no shortage of early church writers who agreed that Paul spoke of events in his own generation:
This has long been recognized as referring to Claudius Caesar and the restraining power of the religio licita…[3] Victorinus [???-303 AD], in his commentary on the Apocalypse, states: "[John tells us that the beast] was in the kingdom of the Romans, and that he was among the Caesars. The Apostle Paul also bears witness, for he says to the Thessalonians: 'Let him who now restraineth restrain, until he be taken out of the way; and then shall appear the Wicked One, even he whose coming is after the working of Satan, with signs and lying wonders.' And that they might know that he should come who then was the prince, he adds: 'He already endeavours after the secret of mischief' – that is, the mischief which he is about to do he strives to do secretly; but he is not raised up by his own power, nor by that of his father, but by command of God."
Victorinus here connects the "beast" from the abyss with the Roman empire and the "Wicked One" with the one who was prince when Paul wrote (Nero), and would follow his father (Claudius) to the throne.
Augustine (A.D. 354-430) is even more explicit: "Some think that these words refer to the Roman empire, and that the apostle Paul did not wish to write more explicitly, lest he should incur a charge of calumny against the Roman empire, in wishing ill to it when men hoped that it was to be everlasting. So in the words: 'For the secret power of lawlessness is already at work' he referred to Nero, whose deeds already seemed to be as those of Antichrist" (emphasis in original).
[1] This date has been determined, in part, because the authors (Paul, Silas, and Timothy; see II Thess. 1:1) were all together in Corinth at that time (Acts 18:5), where Paul dwelt for 18 months (Acts 18:11).
[2] Charles Spurgeon had this to say in his review of Russell's book: "Though the author's theory is carried too far, it has so much of truth in it, and throws so much new light upon obscure portions of the Scriptures, and is accompanied with so much critical research and close reasoning, that it can be injurious to none and may be profitable to all" (The Sword and the Trowel [magazine], October 1878 issue).
[3] This is Latin for "tolerated religion," and it meant that adherents of a certain religion could enjoy various benefits under the Roman Empire, including exemption from following the official Imperial Cult. In Paul's time, Judaism was the only tolerated religion in Rome, although Tiberius (who ruled from 14-37 AD) sought to change this during his time. Claudius (ruler from 41-54 AD), feeling much the same way, actually protected the Christians from the Jews, restraining them from more openly persecuting the Christians as they wished to do. Suetonius records that Claudius even banished the Jews from Rome at one point for rioting over the spread of the Christian faith (cf. Acts 18:2). When Claudius was poisoned by Agrippina, Nero's mother, Judaism again enjoyed royal favor under Nero. Nero's wife, Poppaea, was a Jewish proselyte, and Nero himself expressed interest in the Jewish religion.
PP7: Internal Evidence for an Early Date (Revelation)-Part 4
This is now the seventh part in our series on "A Partial-Preterist Perspective on the Destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD." This is the same title as a term paper I recently submitted to Northwestern College. The first segment included the Title Page, Outline, Introduction, and a brief introduction to Partial-Preterism. The second segment consisted of the References page, and the third segment was a discussion of the external evidence for an early date for the writing of the book of Revelation. These segments can be found here:
We then turned to a discussion of the internal evidence for an early date. In Part 1 we discussed the inclusion of Jerusalem, the temple, Babylon the Great, and a great city in the book of Revelation. Part 2 dealt with the seven kings mentioned in Revelation 17:9-10 and the identity of the beast of the book of Revelation. Part 3 addressed Nero's persecution of the saints and his prophesied demise. These posts can be found here, and it is recommended that they be read first:
Part 4 will speak of the worship of Nero and the worship of his image even after his death. We will also see that the language used by John strongly indicates the relevance of the entire book of Revelation to the first-century Christians who were alive when he wrote this book.
II. Internal Evidence for an Early Date (Part 4)
Interestingly, Vitellius, the ninth emperor, was even more devoted [than the Roman Emperor Otho–see previous post] in his worship of Nero. It is said that he "greatly pleased the public by offering sacrifices to Nero's spirit in the Campus Martius [Latin for Field of Mars, a 2 sq km public square in Rome], making all the priests and people attend." These were his "funerary offerings to Nero" and this left "no doubt in anyone's mind what model he chose for the government of the State" (Suetonius, Vitellius 11:2). The actions of Vitellius appear to fulfill what was written in Revelation 13:11-12 of a second beast, referred to later as the false prophet. This text states: "Then I saw another beast rising out of the earth. It had two horns like a lamb and it spoke like a dragon. It exercises all the authority of the first beast in its presence [or on its behalf], and makes the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast, whose mortal wound was healed." Vitellius had such a rabid fascination with Nero that Vespasian had to "make a determined effort to check the growth of the Nero cult when he came to power."
Paul Kroll (1999) writes the following about the prospect of Vitellius, or someone like him, fulfilling the role of the false prophet in Nero's time:
The false prophet sends out a universal order to "set up an image in honor of the beast" (verse 14)… Strangely enough, the false prophet gives the inanimate image breath so that it can speak. Thus, the second beast has power to animate the image of the first beast. In the time Revelation was written, this was not an alien idea. The ancients believed that statues spoke and performed miracles. It was thought that the gods and demons used statues as conduits to communicate with humans and work miracles. For example, the heretic Simon Magus is said to have brought statues to life (Clementine Recognitions 3.47; Justin, Apologia 1.26; Irenaeus, Against Heresies 1.23). In ancient times, that was precisely the point of having idols. People thought that the life of the person or being was actually in the idol.
In their book, Late Antiquity: A Guide to the Postclassical World (1999), the authors (Brown, Bowersock, Grabar) write about the common sight of images of Roman emperors in the third and fourth centuries. These images took prominent places throughout the empire and were literally worshipped. This was ordinary in the first century as well:
Those who beheld Constantine in his golden raiment were said by Eusebius to be "stunned and amazed by the sight—like children who have seen a frightening apparition." But away from court and capital, emperors rarely appeared in person. In the provinces, their presence was represented by statues and other images. Municipal squares were dominated by imperial statues; the portraits of emperors hung in official buildings, shops, theaters, and public porticoes… In their range and variety, imperial images made emperors omnipresent…the crowd applauded not only the emperor but also his image as it was paraded around them, surrounded—like the emperor himself—by the imperial bodyguard… These mirror images of majesty not only made permanent the transitory messages of imperial ceremonial, but were designed to blur the distinction between emperors and their representations… [There was] a rigid insistence on the performance of the same rituals and ceremonies before imperial images as before the emperor himself. Those approaching an emperor's statue were required to prostrate themselves "not as though they were looking at a picture, but upon the very face of the emperor." A proper atmosphere of sanctity was to be maintained at all times (pp. 173-174).
As expected then, statues of Nero's likeness already existed in the Roman Empire during his lifetime, even from early in his reign. In 55 AD, the second year of his reign, the Roman senate erected a statue of Nero in the Temple of Mars that stood between 110 and 120 feet high. "The emperor's brow was crowned with rays, suggesting a comparison or identification with the Sun-god" (Kenneth Gentry, 2002). His portrait appeared on coins at the time as Apollo playing the lyre. "He appears with his head radiating the light of the sun on copper coins struck in Rome and at Lugdunum." Even his mother, Agrippina, was hailed by provincial coins "as goddess and the parent of a god." Inscriptions found in Ephesus called Nero "Almighty God" and "Savior," and inscriptions found in Cyprus called him "God and Savior" (pp. 80-81). The behavior of the highly-revered Augustus Caesar (27 BC-14 AD) was very modest compared to the worship Nero demanded for himself. Dio Cassius writes of an incident in which a regional king was compelled to worship both Nero and his image. This occurred in 66 AD when Tiridates, King of Armenia, paid Nero a visit:
Indeed, the proceedings of the conference were not limited to mere conversations, but a lofty platform had been erected on which were set images of Nero, and in the presence of the Armenians, Parthians, and Romans Tiridates approached and paid them reverence; then, after sacrificing to them and calling them by laudatory names, he took off the diadem from his head and set it upon them…Tiridates publicly fell before Nero seated upon the rostra in the Forum: "Master, I am the descendant of Arsaces, brother of the kings Vologaesus and Pacorus, and thy slave. And I have come to thee, my god, to worship thee as I do Mithras. The destiny thou spinnest for me shall be mine; for thou art my Fortune and my Fate" (Gentry, p. 82).
"By this action this king actually worshiped 'the image of the Beast' (Rev. 13:15)," says Gentry. One senator, though, failed to worship Nero and his "Divine Voice," and Dio Cassius records that he was executed: "Thrasaea was executed because he failed to appear regularly in the senate…and because he never would listen to the emperor's singing and lyre-playing, nor sacrifice to Nero's Divine Voice as did the rest." Nero was even deified in Greece, where he spent a significant amount of time in 67 AD as a musician and actor in the Grecian festivals. There he was proclaimed as "Zeus, Our Liberator," and his statue was set up in the temple of Apollo where he was called "The new Sun, illuminating the Hellenes." When he returned to Rome in early 68 AD, the entire population was made to come out and greet him with these words: "Hail, Olympian Victor! Hail, Pythian Victor! Augustus! Augustus! Hail to Nero, our Hercules! Hail to Hero, our Apollo! The only Victor of the Grand Tour, the only one from the beginning of time! Augustus! Augustus! O, Divine Voice! Blessed are they that hear thee" (Gentry, p. 83). Richard Anthony (2009) speaks further of the allegiance required by Nero during his lifetime:
All those under the jurisdiction of Rome were required by law to publicly proclaim their allegiance to Caesar by burning a pinch of incense and declaring, "Caesar is Lord". Upon compliance with this law, the people were given a papyrus document called a "libellus", which they were required to present when either stopped by the Roman police or attempting to engage in commerce in the Roman marketplace, increasing the difficulty of "buying or selling" without this mark (emphasis added).
If Vitellius was indeed the second beast who compelled the Roman world to be marked with the name or number of the first beast (Revelation 13:16-18), then the practice described by Anthony above would have continued during his 8-month reign. Scripture seems to indicate that it would have been taken to an even more oppressive level. No doubt he also would have carried on Nero's practice of putting to death those who would not worship the images of Nero, which in Nero's day were considered to be divine.
John revealed the identity of the beast to his readers in a coded manner, Richard Anthony (2009) says, using the system of Gematria which assigned numerical values to the alphabet: "John used this puzzle to reveal Nero without actually writing down his name. Remember, the early churches were being persecuted during this time—not only from the Jews, but also from the Romans." The following chart shows the Hebrew letters in 'Nero Caesar' (NRWN QSR):
John wrote to seven historical churches in Asia Minor (Rev. 1:4, 11) which were going through a time of great trouble and tribulation, just as he was (Rev. 1:9, 2:3, 2:9-10, 2:13, 3:10). What better candidate was there for such an intense time of trouble than the first and greatest imperial persecution of Christianity initiated by Nero from late November 64 AD until his death in early June 68 AD?[1] Kenneth Gentry (2002) poses this question for those who hold to the Futurist position: "Put yourself in first century sandals: Would you think John might be speaking of events occurring untold centuries after the collapse of the Empire which was presently persecuting you? Would you surmise that he was not really relating a message about Imperial Rome?"
John wrote the book of Revelation in such a way that the subject matter of the entire book, not just his letters to the churches, was urgent for and relevant for those churches. At the end of the book, Jesus said, "And behold, I am coming soon. Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book" (Revelation 22:7). God, speaking in terms that man would understand, spoke through John saying, "The Revelation of Jesus, which God gave him to show his servants the things that must soon take place…Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written in it, for the time is near" (Revelation 1:1-4). We see that the seven churches who received this writing were encouraged to read the entire book aloud in their assemblies, and to keep what was written in it. We can also note that the Greek word used for "soon" here is the same one Jesus used when He said His time to be crucified was "at hand" (Matthew 26:18), and when John said "the Jews' Feast of Booths was at hand" (John 7:2), events that no doubt were literally near. Four times Jesus said, "Behold, I am coming quickly" (Revelation 3:11; 22:7, 12, 20). In some translations, "soon" is used instead of "quickly."
It's noteworthy that Daniel was told that the prophecies he received referred "to many days from now" (Daniel 8:26), and were for the time of the end and thus they were to be "shut up and sealed" (Daniel 12:4, 9). Yet John in his time, as pointed out by both Kenneth Gentry (2002) and David Lowman (2009 [4]), was told not to seal up the prophecies he received because the time of their fulfillment was near (Revelation 22:10). If their fulfillment has still not come in our day, how do we account for these different instructions, when one set of prophecies was given about 2550 years ago and the other set about 1950 years ago?
Dispensationalism assumes that when Daniel mentioned "the time of the end," he was referring to the end of the world. However, the context itself contains other constraints, and it should be noted that the phrase "the end of time" is never used in these prophecies. Daniel had already been told that his visions concerned his people (e.g. 11:14). Again he was told that "at the time of the end" (11:40) Michael, "the great prince who has charge of your people," would arise. There would be a time of trouble, "such as never has been since there was a nation till that time [cf. Matthew 24:21]. But at that time your people shall be delivered, everyone whose name shall be found written in the book" (Daniel 12:1).
Whose "time of the end" was God referring to? From the language used, it's evident that these things directly concerned the nation of Israel rather than mankind in general. Daniel asked for a more specific time marker (12:6), and he was given one: "…it would be for a time, times, and half a time, and that when the shattering of the power of the holy people comes to an end all these things would be finished" (12:7). The utter destruction of Jerusalem, the temple, and more than a million Jews in 70 AD did accomplish this. Daniel's writings will be examined in more detail later.
Another intriguing detail in the book of Revelation is that twice in the letters to the seven churches (Revelation 2:9 and 3:9), Jesus spoke of Judaizers who were persecuting the churches, saying they were "of the synagogue of Satan who say that they are Jews and are not." After the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD this type of persecution faded, but it was certainly a significant factor in the Church prior to that event. Therefore, it would make far more sense for this remark to have been written while Jerusalem and the temple still stood.
Other examples of internal evidence for an early date will be shown, whether explicit or implicit, in the section on actual historical events during the Roman/Jewish War.
[1] John's participation in this persecution means that it was imperial, coming from Rome, as only Rome had the authority to banish individuals to Patmos, its own prison island. If the early date is true for Revelation's authorship, John then wrote no earlier than November 64 AD because this is when the first imperial persecution began.
August 14, 2009 April 26, 2013 Adam Maarschalk 20 Comments
This is now the fourth segment in our series on "A Partial-Preterist Perspective on the Destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD." This is the same title as a term paper I recently submitted to Northwestern College. The first segment included the Title Page, Outline, Introduction, and a brief introduction to Partial-Preterism. The second segment consisted of the References page, and the third segment was a discussion of the external evidence for an early date for the writing of the book of Revelation. These segments can be found here, and again it's recommended that they be read in order before reading this current post:
We will now turn to some of the internal evidence for an early date. This was a rather long section in my paper, so I'm going to break it up into several parts. Among other things, this first part will deal with references to Jerusalem, a temple, Babylon the Great, and a great city in the book of Revelation.
The reality is that if an early date for the book of Revelation is valid, this leaves room for the possibility that many of the events in this book were also fulfilled during the siege of Jerusalem, the destruction of the temple in 70 AD, and the Roman/Jewish War of 66-73 AD. Even more telling than the external evidence (e.g. quotes from early church fathers and historians), though, is the internal evidence from the text when it is compared with other passages of Scripture and also with what historically happened during the Roman/Jewish War.
Kenneth Gentry (1998), a former Dispensationalist, discovered in his reading of "The Jewish War" by Josephus a number of accounts which seem to reflect the descriptions of the plagues and judgments in Revelation. For example:
Regarding the blood flow to the "horses' bridles" [Revelation 14:20], Josephus' comments on the battle scenes during the Jewish War are enlightening. At one point a naval battle produced a "lake all bloody and full of dead bodies" (Wars 3:10:9). Later he reported that "the whole of the country through which they had fled was filled with slaughter, and [the] Jordan [River] could not be passed over, by reason of the dead bodies that were in it, but because the lake Asphaltitis was also full of dead bodies" (Wars 4-7:6). Surely such carnage and bloodshed are suggested by John's imagery (p. 245).
John also refers to a time period of 42 months in Revelation 11:2-3, which is significant in light of history. John is told, "Rise and measure the temple of God and the altar and those who worship there, but do not measure the court outside the temple; leave that out, for it is given over to the nations, and they will trample the holy city for forty-two months…" During the Roman/Jewish War, as will be seen, it did take Rome 3.5 years, or 42 months, to overcome Jerusalem and trample it. This occurred from the time Nero dispatched his general Vespasian to advance on Jerusalem in early spring 67 AD until Jerusalem and the temple were demolished and laid level by the end of September 70 AD.
John's words echoed the words of Jesus given earlier. In Luke 21:24, Jesus, clearly speaking about Jerusalem's pending destruction (Luke 21:5-7), said, "Jerusalem will be trampled underfoot by the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled." Dispensationalists interpret the phrase "times of the Gentiles" to be the entire Church Age. However, is it not possible that the "times of the Gentiles" is what John wrote about in Rev. 11:2-3?
In this Revelation 11 passage, John is told to measure a temple which apparently still existed. If he wrote this in 95-96 AD, the temple would have met its destruction 25 years before, and one could wonder why John did not raise a question when given this command or even mention the recent destruction of the temple at all in his book. Its absence after 70 AD was no small thing, not only because of its most central significance to Judaism, but also because of its magnificence and physical stature. After a grand renovation project at the hands of Herod around 20 BC, it was widely acknowledged as one of the most beautiful structures in the world [The use of the phrase "temple of God" quite possibly indicates that the Church is also being referred to here (cf. Eph. 2:11-22; II Cor. 6:16; I Cor. 3:16, 6:19). Therefore it may be that John was (symbolically) measuring the Church which would be trampled (persecuted) for 42 months (see Rev. 13:5-7; this passage will be discussed later). Given the similarity between this passage and Luke 21:24, the physical temple was also probably being alluded to. It may be that both ideas were being spoken of in this case.]
On the other hand, if the temple John measured is still future, as Dispensationalists teach, on what grounds could a future physical temple be referred to as "the temple of God"? Such a temple would be blasphemous in light of Christ's work on the cross which has created a new, non-physical temple (e.g. Ephesians 2:13-20). The reinstitution of sacrifices would be an even greater insult (See Hebrews 7:11-10:18).
The description of the woman in Revelation 17 offers further internal evidence for an early date. This woman, who rode the beast, was said to be "drunk with the blood of the saints, the blood of the martyrs of Jesus" (verse 6). She is a great city (verse 18), and is hated by the beast and the 10 kings who desolate her and burn her with fire (verses 16-17). More specifically, it is said that "in her was found the blood of prophets and of saints, and of all who have been slain on the earth" (18:24), and the "saints and apostles and prophets" were told to rejoice over her destruction (18:20).
Who was responsible for shedding all the blood of the prophets and the saints, according to Jesus, and who would receive judgment as a result? The answer can be found in Matthew 23, as David Lowman (2009 [3]) so aptly points out:
Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets and decorate the monuments of the righteous, saying, 'If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets'" Thus you witness against yourselves that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets. Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers. You serpents, you brood of vipers, how are you to escape being sentenced to hell? Therefore I send you prophets and wise men and scribes, some of whom you will kill and crucify, and some you will flog in your synagogues and persecute from town to town, so that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of innocent Abel to the blood of Zechariah the son of Barachiah, whom you murdered between the sanctuary and the altar. Truly, I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation. O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not! See, your house is left to you desolate (Matthew 23:29-38, emphasis added).
Is it a coincidence that the word "desolate" is used here, just as it is used in Revelation 17:16; 18:17, 19, not to mention Daniel 9:27 and Luke 21:20? No, Jerusalem was the prophetic "Babylon the Great" in the book of Revelation. The generation which heard Jesus speak these things also saw them happen, just as He said they would, in 70 AD. The third bowl judgment, rivers and springs of water becoming blood (Revelation 16:4), also is directly linked to those who had shed righteous blood (verses 5-6): "And I heard the angel in charge of the waters say, 'Just are You, O Holy One, who is and who was, for You brought these judgments. For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and You have given them blood to drink. It is what they deserve!'" As we will see later, Josephus and others recorded that the rivers and springs of Jerusalem and its surroundings were filled with blood during the Roman/Jewish War. Again, Jesus said that it was the generation that would crucify Him that would be held responsible for the blood of saints and prophets (cf. Matthew 21:33-45), not a generation in the 21st century or beyond, and that Jerusalem would experience this wrath.
Jerusalem receives specific mention in Revelation 11:8, where she is clearly identified by the description "the great city that symbolically is called Sodom and Egypt, where [the] Lord was crucified." It's worth noting that "Revelation 11:8 suggests that Jerusalem's streets were intact at the time of John's writing" (Kenneth Gentry, 1998, p. 236) because the dead bodies of the two witnesses were to lie there for several days. If John wrote this in 95 or 96 AD, Jerusalem would have been a wasteland. As Kathleen M. Kenyon remarked, "It was two centuries or more [after 70 AD] before human activity began once more to make its mark in the whole area of ancient Jerusalem."[1] It's also significant in Revelation 11:8 that Jerusalem is called "the great city." This is the same title given to Babylon the Great on at least six occasions (17:18; 18:10, 16, 18, 19, 21).
To be called "Sodom," of course, is not a compliment. When Isaiah was instructed to prophesy against Judah and Jerusalem (Isaiah 1:1), he called the Israelites by the same name because of their apostasy. It would make sense for John to speak of apostate Jerusalem, once known as the holy city, as Sodom, Babylon, and a harlot. Todd Dennis writes, "The image of the unfaithful wife, the harlot, was often used of Israel in the OT. Israel is repeatedly called the wife of God (Jer. 2:2, 3:14, Is. 54:5). But she was an unfaithful wife (Jer. 3:20, Hos. 1:2, Ez. 6:9, Ez. 16, Is. 50:1) behaving as a prostitute (Jer. 3:1-2). In the context of Jerusalem's designation as a prostitute, Is. 1:21 is especially noteworthy: 'See how the faithful city has become a harlot'" (Todd Dennis [25], 2009). Rome in John's day or a secular city/state in our day could not be said to fornicate against God in the way that Jerusalem was able to. Kenneth Gentry (1998, p. 241) also writes that there "is an obvious contrast between the Harlot and the chaste bride (cp. Rev. 17:2-5 with Rev. 21:1ff.) that suggests a contrast with the Jerusalem below and the Jerusalem above (Rev. 21:2; cp. Gal. 4:24ff; Heb. 12:18ff.)."
Dennis adds that the description of the harlot's attire (purple, scarlet, gold, jewels, and pearls) was nearly identical to the ephod worn by the high priest (Revelation 17:4; cf. Exodus 28:5-21). The golden cup she held was likely symbolic of the temple vessels, the greatest part of which were gold and silver, according to the Jewish historian Josephus (Wars 5.4.4). On Aaron's forehead was the inscription "Holy to the Lord" (Exodus 28:36). The harlot's forehead, on the other hand, bore the title "Babylon the great, mother of prostitutes and of earth's abominations" (Rev. 17:5).
[1] Kathleen M. Kenyon, Jerusalem: Excavating 3000 Years of History, 1967, p. 185.
The Bible study group I belong to has posted fairly comprehensive chapter-by-chapter studies on the book of Revelation. They can all be found here.