by Brian Godawa
20:4
And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of the testimony of Jesus and because of the word of God.
6:9
I saw underneath the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God, and because of the testimony which they had maintained.
“I would argue that these two passages represent promise and fulfillment: In 6:9 the souls are beneath the earthly altar praying for vindication and receiving the promise of such. In 20:4 they actually receive their vindication by being given the right to sit in judgment over their enemies (cp. 19:2). To those caught up in the earthly terror, the martyrs would seem to be tragically destroyed and altogether lost in the struggle (cp. 11:9–10; 13:7, 15). “What happens when Christians are viciously put to death? It appears to the world that they have been decisively defeated. The persecuting authorities are very much alive and as powerful as ever, while Christians have been simply wiped out” (Poythress 181). But John characteristically provides a heavenly insight, showing that these are actually enthroned with Christ because of their faithfulness to him…
“As Jesus explained to those who would be caught up in the war that led to the temple’s destruction: “the one who endures to the end, he shall be saved” (24:13; cp. 24:34). This, of course, fits well with Revelation’s overarching theme (1:7), within its specific time frame (“soon” and “near”; 1:1, 3; 22:6, 10), and with its recurring concern for judging the slayers of the saints (12:10–11; 13:7–10; 14:9–13; 15:2–4; 16:5–7; 17:1–6, 14; 18:20, 24; 19:2).”
Kenneth L. Gentry, Jr., The Divorce of Israel: A Redemptive-Historical Interpretation of Revelation Vol. 2 (Dallas, GA: Tolle Lege Press, 2016), 678, 680-681.
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The Millennium and the first resurrection:
“Concurrent with Satan’s binding comes the rule of the martyrs (Rev 20:4–6). Although the vast majority of Revelation focuses on events that will occur “soon” (Rev 1:1, 3), this section on the thousand years begins, but is not completed, in the first century. It projects itself into the distant future, allowing a glimpse of the end result of the events beginning in the apostolic era.
“In Rev 20:4 John focuses on the martyred saints, who participate in Christ’s heavenly rule (Rev 20:4): “the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness and those who had not worshiped the beast.”64 Given John’s time frame concern (cf. Rev 1:3, 9), his focus is on the martyrs of the first-century era.65 In fact, 20:4 is the answer to the plea of the martyrs in Rev 6:9–11, as we can see from the strong parallels between the passages:
Rev 20:4
And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of the testimony of Jesus and because of the word of God.
Rev 6:9
I saw underneath the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God, and because of the testimony which they had maintained.
“In Revelation 20:1–3 John explicates the first phase of Christ’s triumph over Satan: he is spiritually bound, being restricted from successfully accomplishing his evil design in history. In Revelation 20:7–10 we witness the second and concluding phase of Christ’s triumph: Satan is personally punished, being tormented in the eternal flames of the lake of fire. John employs this two-fold pattern of spiritual/physical realities followed by initial/conclusive realities in the resurrection reference in Revelation 20, as well.
“The “first resurrection” secures the participation of the martyred saints in Christ’s rule (Rev 20:4–6). The context suggests that this resurrection may not be literal. After all, we see a chain binding Satan and a key locking the abyss. As in the case of the two-fold triumph over Satan, this is the initial, spiritual victory-resurrection. That is, it refers to the spiritual resurrection of the martyrs who are born again by God’s grace and enter heaven to new life. After all, elsewhere Scripture speaks of salvation as a spiritual resurrection: “We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love his brother abides in death” (1Jn 3:14).67 For dramatic purposes John ties this resurrection to the martyr’s vindication in AD 70.
“Elsewhere John, Revelation’s author, speaks of a non-literal resurrection that occurs at the moment of salvation, much like Rev 20 associates a non-literal resurrection with the martyrs’ vindication in AD 70. He presents this in such a way that it serves as an advance indication of the final eschatological resurrection:
“Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life. Most assuredly, I say to you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God; and those who hear will live. For as the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son to have life in Himself, and has given Him authority to execute judgment also, because He is the Son of Man. Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice and come forth; those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation. (Jn 5:24–29)
“John presents the martyrs’ vindication metaphorically as their being resurrected to enthronement, which does not require a physical resurrection. This non-literal enthronement should not surprise us in that earlier he more broadly states that he “has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever” (Rev 1:6). After all, Christians are “overcomers” (cf. 1Jn 2:13–14; 4:4; 5:4–5) and sit with Christ in heavenly rule: “To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne” (Rev 3:21). As Paul puts it, Christ “raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus” (Eph 2:6). The “rest of the dead” do not participate in this first century, spiritual resurrection. In fact, they “do not live again until the thousand years” is finished (Rev 20:5). For John’s purposes, these dead probably refer to “the rest,” who were killed in Revelation 19:21. In the future they will be physically resurrected (implied) in order to experience “the second death” (eternal torment in both body and soul, Mt 10:28), which occurs on Judgment Day (Rev 20:11–15).”
Kenneth L. Gentry, Jr., Th.M., Th.D., He Shall Have Dominion: A Postmillennial Eschatology, Third Edition: Revised and Expanded (Draper: VA, Apologetics Group, 1992, 1997, 2009), 457-458
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Daniel’s Parousia cloud coming:
“There is a third cloud motif in Scripture. The reference is found in Daniel 7:13–14, the passage that Jesus quotes in Matthew 24:30. Notice that the coming of the Son of Man in Daniel 7 is not down but up! The Son of Man, Jesus, comes up “with the clouds of heaven” to “the Ancient of Days and was presented before Him.”
“In Daniel’s vision, coming on the clouds means that the Son of Man was coming onstage, into the scene. It is not a coming toward Daniel or toward earth, but a coming seen from the standpoint of God, since Daniel uses three verbs that all indicate this: “coming … approached … was led to” the Ancient of Days. This is no picture of the Second Coming, because the Son of man is going the wrong way for that. His face is turned, not toward earth, but toward God. His goal is not to receive His saints, but to receive His kingdom (Cf. 1 Peter 3:22; Luke 19:12; Acts 2:32–36; 3:22; 5:31; Col. 3:1; Rev. 3:21.).
“Jesus had Daniel 7 in mind as He described His enthronement: “The key verse in Daniel 7:13 that predicts the triumph of the Son of Man represents Him as coming into the presence of the Ancient of Days ‘with the clouds of heaven,’ a phrase that is repeated in Matthew 26:64; Mark 14:62; Revelation 14:14. Clouds are much more closely associated with the glory and throne of God than they are connected with the earth.”
“Being familiar with the Hebrew Scriptures, Jesus’ disciples understood the context of His words and grasped their meaning. Jesus spoke against the backdrop of the Old Testament.
“Our discussion
of the meaning of Daniel 7:13 in its Old Testament context led us to the conclusion that its keynote is one of vindication and exaltation to an everlasting dominion, and that the “coming” of verse 13 was a coming to God [the Ancient of Days] to receive power, not a “descent” to earth. When we studied Jesus’ use of these verses, we found that in every case this same theme was the point of the allusion, and, in particular, that nowhere (unless here) was verse 13 [in Dan. 7] interpreted of his coming to earth at the Parousia. In particular, the reference to Mark 14:62, where the wording is clearly parallel to that in the present verse [Mark 13:26], was to Jesus’ imminent vindication and power, with a secondary reference to a manifestation of that power in the near future. Thus, the expectation that Jesus would in fact use Daniel 7:13 in the sense in which it was written is amply confirmed by his actual allusions. He saw in that verse a prediction of his imminent exaltation to an authority which supersedes that of the earthly powers which have set themselves against God.… Jesus is using Daniel 7:13 as a prediction of that authority which he exercised when in AD 70 the Jewish nation and its leaders, who had condemned him, were overthrown, and Jesus was vindicated as the recipient of all power from the Ancient of Days.
“At His trial, Jesus told Caiaphas the high priest and the Sanhedrin that they would see “the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of power and coming on the clouds of heaven” (Matt. 26:64). When would this take place? “The phrase … ‘from now on’ means exactly what it says …, and refers not to some distant event but to the imminent vindication of Jesus which will shortly be obvious to those who have sat in judgement over him.” What did they “see”? Certainly not an event that was thousands of years in the future. R. T. Wright comments:
“Jesus is not, then, suggesting that Caiaphas will witness the end of the space-time order. Nor will he look out of the window one day and observe a human figure flying downwards on a cloud. It is absurd to imagine either Jesus, or Mark, or anyone in between, supposing the words to mean that. Caiaphas will witness the strange events which follow Jesus’ crucifixion: the rise of a group of disciples claiming that he has been raised from the dead, and the events which accelerate towards the final clash with Rome, in which, judged according to the time-honoured test, Jesus will be vindicated as a true prophet. In and through it all, Caiaphas will witness events which show that Jesus was not, after all, mistaken in his claim, hitherto implicit, now at last explicit: he is the Messiah, the anointed one, the true representative of the people of Israel, the one in and through whom the covenant God is acting to set up his kingdom.
“At His ascension, Jesus had come up to the Ancient of Days “with the clouds of heaven” to receive the kingdom from His Father (Mark 16:19; Acts 1:9). Jesus’ reception of the kingdom gave Him possession so that He could do with it as He pleased.”
Gary DeMar, Last Days Madness: Obsession of the Modern Church, Fourth revised edition (Powder Springs, GA: American Vision, 1999), 161–163.
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This paragraph comes from:
Daniel 7:26
26 But the court shall sit in judgment, and his [the Little Horn’s] dominion shall be taken away, to be consumed and destroyed to the end.
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Nero as the Little Horn of Daniel, or as some call it, the Antichrist: I am not dead set on this interpretation as I consider there to be a pretty good argument for Titus as the little horn. However, in writing a novel, I have to commit to a specific view so I chose this one because it makes narrative sense with my story. I have included the theory for Titus as the little horn right after it.
I considered the horns, and, behold, there came up among them another little horn, before whom there were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots: and, behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things (Daniel 7:8).
“This speaks of Nero Caesar. He is the little horn “among them.” Nero was the sixth of the ten emperors. Thus he is “another little horn” – one of many. Note that the passage says, “Three of the first horns plucked up by the roots.” Nero was born on December 15th, AD 37. Three emperors ruled in his lifetime, Tiberius, Caligula and Claudius. Roman historians tell us that each one was assassinated to make way for Nero, who was not in the line of succession. Although some have doubted the Tiberius assassination story recorded by Tacitus and Suetonius as a mere rumor, Nero was born in the year of Tiberius’ death and survived the emperors Caligula and Claudius. He lived in an era when political assassinations of those in the Julio-Claudian line had become the norm…
“Daniel 7 is important because the language here closely parallels Revelation 13 and 17. If we are to “count the number of the beast” (Revelation 13:18), then we need to know who is the Little Horn. Daniel 7 must be consistent with a preterist interpretation of Revelation 13 and 17…
11. I beheld then because of the voice of the great words which the horn spake: I beheld even till the beast was slain, and his body destroyed, and given to the burning flame.
The beast was slain – This speaks of both the destruction of the Roman Empire and of Nero who committed suicide with a military sword that killed many people before him.
12. As concerning the rest of the beasts, they had their dominion taken away: yet their lives were prolonged for a season and time.
“As concerning the rest of the beasts – After Nero’s death, other rulers governed the Roman Empire, but the power of their throne began to weaken. They had their dominion taken away – At this point, the kingdom of God began to grow in all the earth.
“Yet their lives were prolonged for a season and time – There are several possible interpretations from a preterist perspective. A general interpretation has the rest of the beasts symbolizing the Gentile nations, including the realms held by the Babylonian, Persian and Greek kingdoms, that will remain in rebellion to God for an unspecified period of time until the kingdom of God gradually fills the whole world, as in chapter 2. This is the interpretation I favor, but there are two others that are interesting and worth considering.
“A more specific interpretation is that the rest of the beasts symbolize the remaining four Roman kings who ruled after Nero. The “Year of the Four Emperors” lasted a little more than a year from the death of Nero on June 8th of AD 68 to the accession of Vespasian on July 1st, 69. In this space of time, Nero, Galba, Otho and Vespasian ruled in turn.
“On the other hand, if “a season and a time” is interpreted to be exactly “three months and one year,” then Vespasian’s reign as emperor began on July 1st of AD 69 and the destruction of Jerusalem took place on September 24th, AD 70. This is a one year and three month period. In fact, it is exactly 360 days (a year) plus 90 days (a season) according to the Babylonian calendar in use at that time.
13. I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him…
The Son of Man – This speaks of Jesus Christ, the Son of God who is fully God and fully man. In the Gospels, Jesus identities himself as the “Son of man” in order to identify himself as the Messiah.
14. And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.
“Dominion, and glory, and a kingdom – Christ was given the keys to the kingdom by God the Father when he sat down at the right hand of God after His resurrection and ascension. This kingdom is not a future kingdom. It began in the days of the Roman Empire. It overcame Rome and will overcome all the kingdoms of this world. It will last forever…
20. And of the ten horns that were in his head, and of the other which came up, and before whom three fell; even of that horn that had eyes, and a mouth that spake very great things, whose look was more stout than his fellows.
“Before whom three fell – Nero was born in AD 37, the same yea
r as the death of Tiberius Caesar. Three Caesars were assassinated to clear the way for him. These were Tiberius, Caligula and Claudius. Tacitus and Suetonius record that Tiberius was smothered by Caligula and Macro and the crowd in Rome hearing the news rejoiced. Some consider this story to be spurious, but this is the consensus of the ancient historians. Caligula was murdered by his own guardsmen at the behest of a rival faction. Claudius was poisoned and it is thought that his fourth wife, Agrippina, committed the deed in order to make way for her son, Nero, whom Claudius had adopted as his step-son and heir.
“Many interpret the Little Horn as the “eleventh” horn. Of course, the number eleven is mentioned nowhere in the text. The Little Horn does not come after the ten horns, but as it has been translated as “in the midst of them” or “among them.” Thus if the Little Horn is Nero, he is the sixth of the ten.
21. I beheld, and the same horn made war with the saints, and prevailed against them;
“The same horn made war with the saints – Nero began a persecution of the saints which began in AD 64 and lasted until his death on June 9th, AD 68.