The Joy of Hearing (eBook)

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The Deafness of Those Living on Earth

In this chapter we consider those in Revelation who refuse to hear the truth, those who close their ears to the message about Jesus Christ. John tells us about the earth dwellers, the beast, the false prophet, and Babylon. Readers need to know the truth about what is happening in the world, which means that they need to be aware of what they are up against. The true nature of the opposition must be disclosed to them.

An apocalyptic revelation discloses the true state of affairs, giving us a window into the transcendent reality that is hidden from us. John received via an angel a vision of reality that represents God’s perspective on life, and in that sense we have a metanarrative—a heavenly disclosure about life on earth. We see in the book a great battle, a cosmic conflict between heaven and earth, between God and Satan, between believers and the beast, between believers and earth dwellers, and between the bride of the Lamb and the whore of Babylon. Life on earth may look ordinary, but for those who have eyes to see, for those who hear the revelation communicated to John, they see and hear about truth from another dimension, which represents the truth about life, death, evil, and goodness. When John talks about hearing, he is not the first to do so. We see the same theme in the Gospels. As G. K. Beale says,

John’s repeated use of the hearing formula is thus not novel but in line with the prior prophetic pattern. John’s use of the phrase “the one having ears, let him hear” is linked to Isaiah 6:9–10, as well as to Ezekiel 3:27 (cf. Ezek. 12:2), and is a development of the Gospels’ use of the phrase (e.g. Matt. 13:9–17, 43), which itself builds on Isaiah 6:9–10. As also in the case of the Old Testament prophets and Jesus, the expression about hearing indicates that parabolic communication has the dual purpose of opening the eyes of the true remnant but blinding counterfeit members of the covenant community.1

Earth Dwellers

John describes those who are aligned with the beast, those who oppose believers, as “those who dwell on earth” (Rev. 3:10, Gk. hoi katoikountes epi tēs gēs). The phrase is a technical term in Revelation for unbelievers, and they are called earth dwellers because they hear and see the message that comes from this world instead of hearing the message that comes from above, the message that comes from heaven. Only those who are earth dwellers will face the judgment that will engulf the entire world according to Revelation 3:10. The promise of preservation for believers doesn’t mean that they will be absent from the earth when the great trial arrives; it means that they won’t face judgment, that they will be spared from God’s wrath, just as Israel was exempted from the plagues that devastated Egypt. Earth dwellers think that they live an ordinary life, buying and selling, marrying and burying. John declares, however, that “with the wine of [the great prostitute’s] sexual immorality the dwellers on earth have become drunk” (17:2). The woman with whom they have committed sexual immorality is Babylon, which stands for the city of Rome and the city of man in general.2 Sexual immorality (Gk. porneuō) doesn’t refer to sexual sin but stands for idolatry, for the worship of other gods besides the Lord. Israel in the Old Testament was to be committed to the Lord, as a bride is faithful to her husband. The Old Testament prophets declaim against Israel, lamenting her harlotry and whoredom. So too the fundamental problem with earth dwellers is false worship, the degodding of the one true God.

We see particularly in Revelation 13—the chapter about the two beasts—the true nature of the earth dwellers: “All who dwell on the earth will worship it [the beast], everyone whose name has not been written before the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who was slain” (13:8). The earth dwellers don’t represent all people on the earth; otherwise, all people without exception would worship the beast, which would mean that there would be no believers whatsoever on earth. Earth dwellers are described as those whose names aren’t in the book of life. By definition they are unbelievers. They have given their allegiance to the beast instead of to the Lamb (see 13:12, 14). They are people of the earth instead of being a heavenly people.

Still, it is not as if earth dwellers fully realize the import of their actions; they are deceived in offering their worship to the beast (13:14). John gives us an apocalyptic revelation for those who have ears to hear about the true nature of earth dwellers. Presumably those who lived in the Roman Empire in John’s day and who didn’t believe in the Christ didn’t think they were allied with evil. They were just getting along in the world as it was. Many of them probably thought they were virtuous and on the side of what was true, right, and beautiful. John, however, gives a heavenly and transcendent view of their lives, shining a spotlight on the ultimate commitment in their lives. They are astonished and dazzled by the beast instead of by the true and living God (17:8).

Since earth dwellers have given their worship to the beast and to the harlot, they oppose the proclamation of the gospel (11:10). The declaration of salvation and judgment is repugnant to them. Thus they cast their lot with those who put believers to death (6:10; 11:10). Obviously, many unbelievers, probably most, had no role in the actual death of believers. John, however, provides us with a radical apocalyptic vision of reality. Just as we see in the Gospel of John, so too in Revelation there is no neutral space. One is either light or darkness, in truth or in error, from above or from below (John 3:19–20; 8:23–24), from heaven or from the earth. Since the earth dwellers have given their lives to the beast and to the harlot, they will face judgment (Rev. 8:13).

The Beast

The terrifying earthly opponent of believers is christened the beast. The beast isn’t mentioned until Revelation 11:7, and there we are told that it hails from the abyss, which signals that the beast is associated with the underworld, with death and evil. Indeed, the verse goes on to say that the beast makes war on the saints and puts them to death. We receive a fuller introduction to the beast in Revelation 13, and it is clear that the beast is Satanically inspired (12:17). The beast is compared to a leopard, a bear, and a lion (13:2). We have an obvious allusion to Daniel 7, where in night visions Daniel sees beasts coming up from the sea: the first is like a lion, the second like a bear, the third like a leopard, and the fourth indescribably horrible (Dan. 7:1–7). The Danielic interpretation clarifies that the four beasts are four kings and four kingdoms (Dan. 7:17, 23), and there is no need here to identify the four kingdoms from Daniel specifically, although all agree that the first is Babylon.

John sees the beast arising from the sea, and the choice of the sea isn’t accidental since the sea represents chaos and surging evil (Rev. 13:1). In fact, the sea and the abyss in some instances in the Old Testament may designate the same place (Gen. 1:2; 7:11; 8:2; Deut. 8:7; Job 28:14; 38:16; Pss. 33:7; 42:7; 77:17; 107:26; 135:6), and the beast is said to come from both. Since the beast is described as a lion, a bear, and a leopard, combining together in one animal the first three beasts in Daniel, we have good reasons to think that the beast in Revelation signifies the fulfillment of Daniel’s fourth and indescribably terrible beast. And most commentators have agreed that the beast represents the Roman Empire.

What is the significance of John describing the Roman Empire as a beast, drawing on Daniel? We have in both Daniel and Revelation one of the characteristics of apocalyptic, in which true reality is exposed and unveiled. The empire, John tells us, is not humane or conducive to human flourishing. Instead, it is like a ravenous and ferocious beast that mauls, kills, and destroys human beings. Rome was extremely proud of its rule and government, but to borrow the language from 1 John, the empire was an antichrist (1 John 2:18). Richard Bauckham rightly points out that Rome is criticized not only because of its murder of Christians but because it trampled on the human rights and dignity of human beings in general.3 As he observes, Revelation 18:24 indicts Babylon for killing not only prophets and saints but also “all who have been slain on earth.” Rome almost certainly conceived of itself as fostering human flourishing, but the truth, John tells us, is that Rome is not only anti-God but antihuman.

Even though Rome deprived people of their rights, liberties, and even their lives, people stood in awe of the empire because of its unrivaled power. We have often seen in history that people support those who have power, even if that power is wielded unrighteously. The temptation to adore and to worship the strong is almost irresistible, and Rome could claim that it was “on the right side of history.”...