Secondly, while seemingly speaking of the future, Revelation clearly references words from the past, and it does so purposefully – with much of its verses representing the apparent fulfillment of the prophecy found in the book of Daniel (see Daniel 12:4).  Indeed, the author of Revelation quotes Daniel 7:13 at the very beginning of his work (in Revelation 1:7) to emphasize his major theme: namely, that Jesus Christ will one day return as a forceful & vengeful & wrathful “Davidian” Messiah (see Revelation 5:5).

 

As mentioned previously, it is Jesus who opens the seven seals of destruction in Revelation, and it is Jesus who imposes final judgment on the unworthy (who have 70 weeks – or seventy times seven days – to “finish transgression and eliminate sin” before said condemnatory sentencing – see Daniel 9:24).  Indeed, throughout the book of Revelation, the “Messiah” is consistently described as wrathful and condemnatory (see Revelation 2:5b, 2:22-23, 3:5, 3:19, 6:1-17, 8:6-9:6, 11:18, 16:2-19, 18:6-8,19:15, 20:4, & Revelation 21:8), and this fact becomes especially intriguing when we remember that Jesus’ own disciples had similar notions about him — and that they had once desired similar results (see Matthew 14:30, 16:13-20, 18:1, 19:16-17, 19:25,20:20-23, 20:25-28, Mark 10:36-37, 13:4, Luke 19:11, John 1:49, 6:65-66, 7:3-4, 10:24, 12:34, 12:37, 14:8, 14:22 et al).

 

And yet, Jesus himself made it very clear in the Gospels that he was NOT — and that he never would be – such a violent “Savior” (see Matthew 16:20, 22:18, 22:41-45, 24:1-2, 24:23-27, 26:63-64, Mark 1:25, 1:38, 3:12, 8:27-30, 9:9, 10:17-18, 10:31, 10:39-40,12:14-17, 12:35-37, 14:3-8, Luke 4:5-8, 4:35, 4:41, 8:39, 9:18-21, 11:28,17:14-15, 18:18-19, 19:20-26, 19:41-44, 22:70, 23:35, John 5:41+44, 6:15, 6:35+6:45, 7:18, 8:50, 8:54, 12:3-7, 12:44-45, 12:49 & John 13:13).

Indeed, Jesus repeatedly informed all who would listen that he had come to offer a spiritual transcendence of suffering, not a physical liberation from the same …

 

“Peace I leave with you, and my peace I give to you.  I do not give to you as the world gives.”~ Jesus Christ (John 14:27)

(see also Matthew 5:3-16, 6:1-8, 6:19-21, 12:49-50, 16:24+27, 18:3-4, 19:14, 21:43, 25:35-40, Mark 3:35, 7:15-23, 9:35, 10:14-16, 10:43-45, 12:43-44, 13:21-23, Luke 6:20-23, 6:46-47, 8:18, 8:21, 9:48, 10:19-20, 11:46, 12:15, 12:31-34, 12:57, 13:18-21, 14:13-14, 14:25-33, 17:20-21, 17:22-24, 17:33,18:16-17, 18:29-30, 19:19, 22:26-27, John 1:12-13, 3:3-8, 3:20-21, 3:27, 4:23-24, 6:27, 6:33, 6:53-57+63, 7:6, 7:24, 8:36, 13:17, 13:35, 14:20 & John 17:20-23+26 et al).

As an intriguing aside, it is also important to realize that Revelation’s quoting of Daniel 7:13 to establish Jesus as the prophesied “wrathful redeemer”* cannot be incorporated into the book of Revelation without also alluding to the verse that follows it … And indeed, when we look to Daniel 7:14, we find something quite shocking – namely, that the Old Testament “Messiah” in that verse is rewarded with the very powers & glories that Jesus himself rejects after Satan offers them to him in Matthew 4:8-10!

 

“To him was given dominion and glory and kingship; that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him.” ~ unknown (Daniel 7:14)

 

“Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor; ⁹ and the devil said to him, ‘All these I will give to you …’, and Jesus said to him, ‘Away with you, Satan!’” ~ Matthew 4:8-9

 

*Daniel 7:13 is one of the very few verses in the Bible where the term “Son of Man” does in fact refer to a singular Davidian Messiah – with most of Jesus’ personal uses of this term alluding either to his immediate listeners or to humanity in general.

This fact becomes even more intriguing alongside the realization that it is the demons in the Gospels who repeatedly announce Jesus as the only Son of God, and that Jesus invariably rebukes them & tells them to be silent whenever they do so* … And this should come as no surprise, as scripture clearly states that Jesus knew that demons were related to Satan — “the father of lies” who “hated the truth” and who had “no truth in him.” (Jesus quoted in John 8:44)

 

“And he cured many who were sick with various diseases, and he cast out many demons; and yet he would not permit the demons to speak, because they claimed to know him.” ~ Mark 1:34

 

“Whenever the impure spirits saw Jesus, they fell down before him and cried out, ‘You are the Son of God!’  But he warned them sternly not to make him known in this way.” ~ Mark 3:11-12

 

“Demons also came out of many, shouting, ‘You are the Son of God!’ But he rebuked them and would not allow them to speak, because they believed that he was the Messiah.” ~ Luke 4:41

 

*(see also Matthew 12:22-30, Mark 1:23-25, Mark 8:33, Mark 9:38-41 & Luke 4:35)

 

Filed under: Re-Vealing Revelation by Scaughdt