The Lion and the Lamb: Studies on the Book of Revelation

By Pieter J. Lalleman

An easy to read introduction to the book of Revelation by a respected biblical scholar.; Do you find Revelation hard to understand? Help is at hand! Dr Pieter J. Lalleman, Tutor of Biblical Studies at Spurgeon's College, London, takes the reader step by step through the challenges of the Bible's last and most di

• Language: English
• Publisher: Apostolos Publishing Ltd
• Release date: May 23, 2016
• ISBN: 9781910942512

Pieter J. Lalleman

Pieter J. Lalleman is Tutor in Biblical Studies at Spurgeon's College, London.

Book preview

Contents

Contents

Introduction

Chapter One: The Risen Lord

Introduction

Background Information

Explanation of the Text

Verses 1–3 Preface

Verses 4–8 The Opening of the Letter

Verses 9–20 Appearance of Jesus

Application

For Thought and Discussion

Chapter Two: Seven Churches

Introduction

Background Information

Explanation of the Text

Application

For Thought and Discussion

Chapter Three: Heavenly Worship

Introduction

Background Information

The Old Testament

Explanation of the Text

Verses 1–2a Beginning of the Vision

Verses 2b–3 God the Lord

Verse 4 The Elders

Verses 5–6a The Throne of God

Verses 6b–8 The Living Creatures

Verses 9–11 Praise

Application

For Thought and Discussion

Chapter Four: Lion and Lamb (Revelation 5)

Introduction

Background Information

Explanation of the Text

Verses 1–4 No One Worthy

Verses 5–6 The Lion = The Lamb

Verse 7 The Book

Verses 8–14 Praise and Worship

Application

For Thought and Discussion

Chapter Five:  Six Seals

Introduction

Background Information

Explanation of the Text

Verses 1–8 The Four Seals

Verses 9–11 The Fifth Seal

Verses 12–17 The Sixth Seal

Application

For Thought and Discussion

Chapter Six: The Seventh Seal

Introduction and Background

Explanation of the Text

7:1–3 Calm Before the Storm

7:4–8 Sealing 144,000 People

7:9–12 An Innumerable Multitude

7:13–17 Glory after Tribulation

8:1–5 The Seventh Seal

Application

For Thought and Discussion

Chapter Seven: The Two Beasts

Introduction

Background Information

Explanation of the Text

Verses 1–4 The Beast from the Sea

Verses 5–10 Attack on the Faithful

Verses 11–13 The Beast from the Earth

Verses 14–18 Seduction

Application

For Thought and Discussion

Chapter Eight: Babylon

Introduction

Background Information

Explanation of the Text

17:1–6 The First Vision

17:7–18 The Angel Explains the Vision

18:1–24 The Second Vision

Application

For Thought and Discussion

Chapter Nine: Victory

Introduction

Background Information

Explanation of the Text

19:1–5 A Song of Praise

19:6–8 The Wedding Feast of the Lamb

19:9–10 Interlude

19:11–21 The Final Victory (1)

20:1–6 A Thousand Years

20:7–10 The Final Victory (2)

Application

For Thought and Discussion

Chapter Ten: The New Heaven and the New Earth

Introduction

Background Information

Explanation of the Text

21:1–8 The New Heaven and Earth

21:9–21 The New Jerusalem

21:22–27 The City of God

22:1–5 The New Paradise

22:6–21 Conclusion

Application

For Thought and Discussion

Bibliography

Introduction

The book of Revelation is first and foremost a letter, as we see in 1:4–8, 11. John writes to seven churches in the Roman province of Asia Minor (modern day Turkey) of which he was probably the spiritual leader. In chapters 2 and 3 we find separate letters to each of these churches, but the book as a whole is addressed to all seven. Like any normal letter the book contains references to the situation of the readers. As later readers we look over the shoulders of the original readers into a correspondence which initially was not directed to us.

Revelation is also a prophetic book. John himself makes this claim in 1:3 and 22:7, 10, 18 and 19; in 10:11 his work is called prophesying. But what is prophecy in the Bible? People such as Elijah, Isaiah, and Jeremiah were messengers of God who spoke his word to their contemporaries. They brought the word of God to kings and other leaders, and also to the rest of the population; some prophets also focused on other nations (e.g. Amos 1–2, Jeremiah 46–52). God gave them spiritual insight into their time so that they could shine God's light on it. They knew God's precepts and applied these to the situation. Prophets warned people if they were not living as God wanted, but on the other hand they encouraged positive developments. Prophets pointed people to the consequences of their behaviour and in that context they also spoke about the future.

Jewish and Christian prophecy is thus not primarily a form of prediction of the future. It was first and foremost relevant for those who were being addressed; it confronted them with God's opinion of their situation, with his hopes, his promises, and sometimes also with his judgement in case they would not listen. But when they repented, God adapted his plans, as we see in the book of Jonah. We will approach Revelation in the same way in which we handle all prophecy: by asking what kind of situation is in view and what was expected of the first hearers. Subsequently we will raise the question how this might be relevant to us in the twenty-first century. Revelation is primarily a book about the time of John and the seven churches (especially chapters 1–3); it then gives an overview over history as a whole (chapters 4–18) and finally it sheds some light on the future (chapters 19–22).

Revelation is a letter and a prophecy, but it is also an apocalyptic book. The Greek word for ‘revelation’ in 1:1 is ‘apocalypse’. We often use this word in such expressions as ‘an apocalyptic event’, but we must be careful that our modern language does not hinder our understanding of the Bible. Apocalyptic texts are books which claim to contain revelations about the heavenly world and/or about the future, but not necessarily about disasters. And they challenge us to check our behaviour.

The Bible contains many letters and prophetic books but Revelation is the only book which in its entirety is apocalyptic, although there are apocalyptic sections elsewhere in the Bible such as Isaiah 24–27, Daniel 7–12, Zechariah 12–14, and Mark 13 (cf. Matthew 24, Luke 21:5–36). Outside the Bible there are more apocalyptic books, both Jewish and Christian, which sometimes help our understanding of the apocalyptic literature in the Bible.

The human author of Revelation gives his name as John (1:1, 4, 9; 22:8) and we have already seen that he is a Christian prophet. The tradition of the church tells us that he is the same John who