Understanding Symbolism in Revelation
Most Christians wholeheartedly agree with the old adage, "Let Scripture interpret Scripture." Most agree that instead of looking for an interpretation that is foreign to the text, we should first and foremost seek to understand how the original author uses the word that we are trying to interpret. Based on the author's established usage, we should then go about seeking to understand the passage being studied.
Using this Scripture to interpret Scripture principle can also help to untangle some of the symbolism in the book of Revelation. In this post we will seek to understand what John's intended symbolism was for his 7 uses of "lampstand" in the book of Revelation (1:12, 1:13, 1:20(2x); 2:1, 2:5; 11:4).
Revelation 1:12-13 - "Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking to me, and on turning I saw seven golden lampstands, and in the midst of the lampstands one like a son of man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash around his chest." (ESV)
Revelation 1:20 - "As for the mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand, and the seven golden lampstands, the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches." (ESV)
Notice that the first three uses of "lampstand" in chapter 1 are unexplained, but then the fourth tells us exactly what John is using the symbol of lampstand for - the lampstands represent the seven churches Jesus is addressing in Revelation.
The fifth use of lampstand repeats the earlier explanation of the lampstand representing the churches, but it also adds the imagery of Jesus standing in the midst of the lampstands. So the lampstands are representing Jesus' presence with the churches to whom He was writing through John:
Revelation 2:1 - “To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: ‘The words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand, who walks among the seven golden lampstands." (ESV)
The sixth use is four verses later and still in the context of the letter to the church at Ephesus. This time the usage shifts a bit, but it seems simple enough to uncover how the word is being used:
Revelation 2:5 - "Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent." (ESV)
Thus far we have seen that John has been using lampstand(s) as a symbol for the churches which are in Jesus' presence. In this verse however, Jesus says that if they do not repent, He will come and remove their lampstand "from its place." If the church is being represented by the lampstands in the earlier verses, how can they be removed from themselves? In other words, if lampstand simply represented the word church, this would seem to be a letter to a church saying that Jesus was going to take their church away if they don't repent, but how can that be?
To answer this question we must recognize the imagery of the lampstand(s) is being used to show the relationship between the lampstands and their proximity to Jesus' presence. The first three sets of verses with lampstand symbolism all discuss the lampstands and their relationship to Jesus. When we get to this verse Jesus is saying that if they do not repent He will remove them from His presence - "from its place" - hence rendering them a false church because they would no longer have His presence among them.
Up to this point I don't think there would be much confusion or questioning this interpretation no matter what ones theological leanings may be. The challenging part comes with the last use of the word lampstand in Revelation 11:1-4:
Revelation 11:1-4 - "Then I was given a measuring rod like a staff, and I was told, “Rise and measure the temple of God and the altar and those who worship there, 2 but do not measure the court outside the temple; leave that out, for it is given over to the nations, and they will trample the holy city for forty-two months. 3 And I will grant authority to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth. 4 These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth."
For a long time I understood these two witnesses to be Moses and Elijah or some other pair of Old Testament witnesses. However, notice that the description of them goes beyond simply calling them the "two witnesses" as they are typically labelled. In verse 3 they are introduced and then verse 4 they are described as, "These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands, that stand before the Lord of the earth."
John has already explicitly told us how to interpret lampstand, it is a symbolic way of speaking about the churches among whom Jesus' presence dwells. This very idea is repeated in verse 4 which goes on to say that these lampstands in chapter 11 are those that, "stand before the Lord of the earth." Allowing Scripture to interpret Scripture, we must begin with the definition of lampstand which John has already provided us with.
Now clearly there is some mixing of metaphors here because they are called the two witnesses, two olive trees, and two lampstands.
Since Revelation alludes to the Old Testament constantly the next step is to find out where this imagery comes from. The main cross reference for imagery of witnesses, olive trees, and lampstands comes from Zechariah 4. That passage is a vision of a lampstand with seven lamps on it and an olive tree on each side. The oil from these two olive trees flows into the lamp so that it has a constant supply of oil to burn. The olive trees in Zechariah, and their continual flow of oil, symbolizes the Spirit of the Lord and the continued theme of the Lord's provision for the ongoing resurrection of the temple.
We see then that John has picked up the themes of temple, witnesses, olive trees, and lampstands from Zechariah, but he is using them in his current context where he has already shown us that the word lampstand is referring to the true churches who experience Jesus' presence.
One other very interesting takeaway regarding these two lampstands. Why are there only two, didn't Jesus write letters to seven churches? I think a good argument can be made for connecting the two witnesses/olive trees/lampstands to the two faithful churches from chapters 2-3 (Smyrna and Philadelphia). This ties in to what John wrote to the church at Philadelphia:
Revelation 3:12 - "The one who conquers, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God. Never shall he go out of it, and I will write on him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down from my God out of heaven, and my own new name." (ESV)
To the faithful church Jesus says He will make them a pillar in the temple of God and he will write on him the name of "the city of my God, the new Jerusalem." What should grab us about that description is that the new Jerusalem does not have a temple!
Revelation 21:22, "And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb."
This would have made perfect sense to the first readers because it is likely John wrote this between 90-95 AD after the Jerusalem temple had been destroyed. In this way, John sees the church as the temple of God, which is exactly in line with how Paul and Peter saw things:
Ephesians 2:17-22 - "And he (Jesus) came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near. 18 For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. 19 So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, 21 in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. 22 In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit."
1 Peter 2:4-5 - "As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, 5 you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ."
In other words, John applies the language of church/lampstand to highlight the presence of Jesus with his people. Was not the temple a building which represented God's presence with his people? God's people will never again experience God's presence through the mediation of a temple because Jesus dwells in the midst of the church through the ministry of the Holy Spirit. In fact, this is a common connection made throughout the New Testament. (see Paul's use of temple 1 Cor 3:16-17 (3); 1 Cor 6:16 (1); 2 Cor 6:16 (2); Eph 2:21 (1); 2 Thess 2:4 (1); see this word study on Paul's use of the Greek word for temple)
Using Scripture to interpret Scripture, then, it seems best to understand the two witnesses/olive trees/lampstands as faithful churches which are called to be those who proclaim the good news of salvation through Jesus Christ to the broken and sinful world around them. The witnesses/olive trees/lampstands will suffer persecution and even death, but death cannot separate God's people from his presence. Because Christians are those who have "come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem" (Heb. 12:22), where there is no temple because "the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb" are its temple (Rev:21:22).
Using this Scripture to interpret Scripture principle can also help to untangle some of the symbolism in the book of Revelation. In this post we will seek to understand what John's intended symbolism was for his 7 uses of "lampstand" in the book of Revelation (1:12, 1:13, 1:20(2x); 2:1, 2:5; 11:4).
Revelation 1:12-13 - "Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking to me, and on turning I saw seven golden lampstands, and in the midst of the lampstands one like a son of man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash around his chest." (ESV)
Revelation 1:20 - "As for the mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand, and the seven golden lampstands, the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches." (ESV)
Notice that the first three uses of "lampstand" in chapter 1 are unexplained, but then the fourth tells us exactly what John is using the symbol of lampstand for - the lampstands represent the seven churches Jesus is addressing in Revelation.
The fifth use of lampstand repeats the earlier explanation of the lampstand representing the churches, but it also adds the imagery of Jesus standing in the midst of the lampstands. So the lampstands are representing Jesus' presence with the churches to whom He was writing through John:
Revelation 2:1 - “To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: ‘The words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand, who walks among the seven golden lampstands." (ESV)
The sixth use is four verses later and still in the context of the letter to the church at Ephesus. This time the usage shifts a bit, but it seems simple enough to uncover how the word is being used:
Revelation 2:5 - "Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent." (ESV)
Thus far we have seen that John has been using lampstand(s) as a symbol for the churches which are in Jesus' presence. In this verse however, Jesus says that if they do not repent, He will come and remove their lampstand "from its place." If the church is being represented by the lampstands in the earlier verses, how can they be removed from themselves? In other words, if lampstand simply represented the word church, this would seem to be a letter to a church saying that Jesus was going to take their church away if they don't repent, but how can that be?
To answer this question we must recognize the imagery of the lampstand(s) is being used to show the relationship between the lampstands and their proximity to Jesus' presence. The first three sets of verses with lampstand symbolism all discuss the lampstands and their relationship to Jesus. When we get to this verse Jesus is saying that if they do not repent He will remove them from His presence - "from its place" - hence rendering them a false church because they would no longer have His presence among them.
Up to this point I don't think there would be much confusion or questioning this interpretation no matter what ones theological leanings may be. The challenging part comes with the last use of the word lampstand in Revelation 11:1-4:
Revelation 11:1-4 - "Then I was given a measuring rod like a staff, and I was told, “Rise and measure the temple of God and the altar and those who worship there, 2 but do not measure the court outside the temple; leave that out, for it is given over to the nations, and they will trample the holy city for forty-two months. 3 And I will grant authority to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth. 4 These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth."
For a long time I understood these two witnesses to be Moses and Elijah or some other pair of Old Testament witnesses. However, notice that the description of them goes beyond simply calling them the "two witnesses" as they are typically labelled. In verse 3 they are introduced and then verse 4 they are described as, "These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands, that stand before the Lord of the earth."
John has already explicitly told us how to interpret lampstand, it is a symbolic way of speaking about the churches among whom Jesus' presence dwells. This very idea is repeated in verse 4 which goes on to say that these lampstands in chapter 11 are those that, "stand before the Lord of the earth." Allowing Scripture to interpret Scripture, we must begin with the definition of lampstand which John has already provided us with.
Now clearly there is some mixing of metaphors here because they are called the two witnesses, two olive trees, and two lampstands.
Since Revelation alludes to the Old Testament constantly the next step is to find out where this imagery comes from. The main cross reference for imagery of witnesses, olive trees, and lampstands comes from Zechariah 4. That passage is a vision of a lampstand with seven lamps on it and an olive tree on each side. The oil from these two olive trees flows into the lamp so that it has a constant supply of oil to burn. The olive trees in Zechariah, and their continual flow of oil, symbolizes the Spirit of the Lord and the continued theme of the Lord's provision for the ongoing resurrection of the temple.
We see then that John has picked up the themes of temple, witnesses, olive trees, and lampstands from Zechariah, but he is using them in his current context where he has already shown us that the word lampstand is referring to the true churches who experience Jesus' presence.
One other very interesting takeaway regarding these two lampstands. Why are there only two, didn't Jesus write letters to seven churches? I think a good argument can be made for connecting the two witnesses/olive trees/lampstands to the two faithful churches from chapters 2-3 (Smyrna and Philadelphia). This ties in to what John wrote to the church at Philadelphia:
Revelation 3:12 - "The one who conquers, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God. Never shall he go out of it, and I will write on him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down from my God out of heaven, and my own new name." (ESV)
To the faithful church Jesus says He will make them a pillar in the temple of God and he will write on him the name of "the city of my God, the new Jerusalem." What should grab us about that description is that the new Jerusalem does not have a temple!
Revelation 21:22, "And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb."
This would have made perfect sense to the first readers because it is likely John wrote this between 90-95 AD after the Jerusalem temple had been destroyed. In this way, John sees the church as the temple of God, which is exactly in line with how Paul and Peter saw things:
Ephesians 2:17-22 - "And he (Jesus) came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near. 18 For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. 19 So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, 21 in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. 22 In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit."
1 Peter 2:4-5 - "As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, 5 you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ."
In other words, John applies the language of church/lampstand to highlight the presence of Jesus with his people. Was not the temple a building which represented God's presence with his people? God's people will never again experience God's presence through the mediation of a temple because Jesus dwells in the midst of the church through the ministry of the Holy Spirit. In fact, this is a common connection made throughout the New Testament. (see Paul's use of temple 1 Cor 3:16-17 (3); 1 Cor 6:16 (1); 2 Cor 6:16 (2); Eph 2:21 (1); 2 Thess 2:4 (1); see this word study on Paul's use of the Greek word for temple)
Using Scripture to interpret Scripture, then, it seems best to understand the two witnesses/olive trees/lampstands as faithful churches which are called to be those who proclaim the good news of salvation through Jesus Christ to the broken and sinful world around them. The witnesses/olive trees/lampstands will suffer persecution and even death, but death cannot separate God's people from his presence. Because Christians are those who have "come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem" (Heb. 12:22), where there is no temple because "the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb" are its temple (Rev:21:22).
Comments
Post a Comment