Revelation Day 15

Who does the Bible blame for killing Jesus? And will those who pierced Christ see His coming in judgment?

Day 15

B. Hodge, M.Sc., B.Sc., PEI

Biblical Authority Ministries, June 2, 2020 (Donate)

According to the Bible, the Jews receive the blame for putting Christ to death: Matthew 27:25, John 19:15, Acts 2:23, 3:13-15, 5:30, 7:52, 10:39, and 1 Thessalonians 2:14-16. Pilate even washed his hands of the blood of Jesus (Matthew 27:24) and Jesus affirmed the greater sin was on those who delivered Him to Pilate (John 19:11). But the Romans were not entirely innocent (like Eve was not entirely innocent in the Garden of Eden, but Adam gets the blame (Romans 5:12, 1 Corinthians 15:22).

According to the Bible, those who pierced Christ will see His coming judgment (on the unrepentant Jews). Please see: Matthew 24:30 (in the context of the Temple's destruction and the end of the sacrificial age); Zechariah 12:10; and Revelation 1:7. Since these people no longer live today, it must have happened already.

Furthermore, this makes sense. When the prophets were persecuted and killed, Israel went into judgment for it was by their hand blood was spilt. Of course, a remnant survived.

Should we not have expected that when the Jews, led by the Pharisees, Scribes, Sadducees, and High Priest killed Christ, the Son of God, that they would also be judged severely? Of course, a remnant survived including Paul, Mary, Jude, James, Peter, and many other early Jewish Christians (3,000 in one day, Acts 2:41, 5,000 on another day in Acts 4:4) who rightly repented and believed by the power of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:3) upon seeing or hearing of Christ as the finished sacrifice and resurrected Savior and accordingly received Him as Lord. 

Consider the issue of authority. Christ is indeed the King of Kings (1 Timothy 6:15, Revelation 17:14, 19:16), He exercised His power (Matthew 28:18) over the most powerful nation the world had ever seen (Rome) and used that nation to do His bidding by judging the Jews for their actions against Him and their persecution of His bride, the Church (Revelation 18:23, 21:2, 3:12, Hebrews 12:22, Revelation 21:9, 22:17). Is this too hard for Christ who has all authority? Not at all.

In the same way God used Chaldeans of Babylon with their king, Nebuchadnezzar, to do his bidding against Judah in the Old Testament for judgment (e.g., Jeremiah 25:9, 27:6, Habakkuk 1:6) and used the evil Assyrians to do his bidding of judgment against Israel (e.g., Isaiah 7:17, 10:5-6), so Christ used Rome to enact his judgment on the unrepentant Jews and Jerusalem, its capital—the seat of power for the Pharisees, Sadducees, and High Priest.

The Jews who rejected Christ used the Beast of Rome (just as a person who uses a bit in the mouth of a beast to control the beast) to crucify the Son of God, so God used the same Beast of Rome to enact judgment on the woman who rode the beast (Jews who rejected Christ). And so the owner of the vineyard did not spare the wrath on the workers who killed his son, so God did not spare the wrath on those who killed the Son of God (Matthew 21:33-41). 

Re-read Revelation 1:1-9.

Revelation Day 5

How should Revelation be interpreted?

Day 5

B. Hodge, M.Sc., B.Sc., PEI

Biblical Authority Ministries, May 22, 2020 (Donate)

It is written as prophecy, so it should be interpreted as prophecy. Proverbs 8:8-9, 2 Corinthians 4:2, and so on indicate that the Word of God should be taken plainly/straightforward. With this, metaphors are metaphors, songs are songs, literal history is literal history, prophecy is prophecy, and so on. 

So it would be unwise to interpret Revelation as anything other than prophecy and this makes it a unique book among the New Testament collection. In every case, one should keep in mind context and culture, and thus, take the grammatical, historical approach where Scripture interprets Scripture, so when in doubt, always go with clear passages to interpret passages that are unclear (Acts 17:11). This is surely one aspect of what is meant by rightly dividing the Word of Truth (2 Timothy 2:15).

Prophetic books in the Old Testament were essentially about judgment (or the threat thereof). It would be wise to consult the prophetic books in the Old Testament for allusions and quotations and how they were used.

Well-known research by Merrill Tenney [professor of theological studies and dean of the Graduate School of Theology at Wheaton College] found that there are 348 clear references and allusions (so there could be more) to the Old Testament in Revelation. The breakdown was:

57 Pentateuch (5 books of Moses)

235 Prophets

56 Historical and Poetic Books

This does not include New Testament quotes and allusions, but so much depends on the Old Testament. So a good grasp on the Old Testament, especially the prophetic books, would be wise for proper understanding of the book of Revelation. It is maintained by this author that without a proper understanding of Old Testament prophecy, it would be difficult to understand New Testament prophecy.

Table 2: Old Testament Prophetic Books[1]:

	Book	About whom (primarily)?	Major theme or threat:
1	Isaiah	Judah	Judgment
2	Jeremiah	Judah	Judgment
3	Daniel	Four beasts/kingdoms: Babylon, Medo-Persian, Greece, and Rome	Judgment and demise
4	Ezekiel	Jerusalem and others	Judgment
5	Joel	Judah and other nations	Judgment
6	Jonah	Nineveh	Judgment
7	Obadiah	Edom (Esau)	Judgment
8	Hosea	Israel	Judgment
9	Amos	Israel, Judah and other nations	Judgment
10	Micah	Judah, Israel, and Samaria	Judgment
11	Nahum	Nineveh	Judgment
12	Habakkuk	Judah	Judgment
13	Zephaniah	Judah and other nations	Judgment
14	Haggai	Jews who returned from captivity	Judgment of gentile nations and restoration from Judgment
15	Zechariah	Jews who returned from captivity	Restoration from Judgment, but future judgment
16	Malachi	Jews	Judgment

Do not forget that Revelation is a prophetic book of judgment. 12 of the 16 Old Testament books of prophecy were directed toward Israelite nations (e.g., Jews, Israel, Judah, Samaria, and Jerusalem) who were or had been in rebellion against God. The follow up question is simple. To whom is the major judgment about in Revelation?

[1.]  At the onset of the book of Revelation, we see judgmental words to six of the seven churches in Asia Minor (modern-day Turkey). But this is more of an encouragement to stand strong and endure until the coming judgment discussed further in the book (Revelation 1:11-4:1). 

[2.]  The majority of the book of Revelation discusses the judgment of the Harlot/Prostitute also figuratively called the “Great City”, Babylon, Sodom, Egypt, which is described as the place where the Lord was crucified (e.g., Revelation 11:8, 17:15-16, 19:2; see also Deuteronomy 28:27, 28:60, 29:23; Isaiah 1:9-10; 3:8-9; Jeremiah 23:14; Ezekiel 16:1-2, 16:44-58; Amos 4:10-11; Lamentations 4:6). In the judgment, the Harlot is destroyed by the very Beast she rides (Revelation 17:1-16).

[3.]  At the end of Revelation, we also see the final judgment of the great Dragon, Serpent of old, Devil, or Satan who is bound (restrained), then released, and then eternally cast into Hell (Revelation 20:2, 20:10). We also see the demise of the beast and the false prophet in Hell (Revelation 20:10), and the unbelievers for eternity (Revelation 20:12-15). This portion of the book is about the eternality of judgment and the eternality of life for those in Jesus Christ. 

More on these identifications in due time—for example on Day 20 is a discussion of the Harlot. 

Read Revelation 4 and Ezekiel 1, Matthew 23:37, and Revelation 17-19:2. 

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[1] There were many prophets, including Moses; and there were other prophets, who wrote no books like Abel or Nathan.