Revelation 12:7-12

7 Now war arose in heaven…

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Image above: Michael casts out rebel angels. Illustration by Gustave Doré for John Milton’s Paradise Lost. Public Domain from Wikipedia.

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The battle in heaven and the hurling down of the dragon are not to be understood literally. Satan is “hurled down from heaven” in this sense, namely that he has lost his place as an accuser of the brethren. Whereas Christ was born and rendered satisfaction for sin, Satan has lost every semblance of justice for his accusations against believers. (See, Hendriksen, p. 141, below.) 

This section of the Chapter is connected with the first section since vs. 3 states that —

3 And another sign appeared in heaven: behold, a great red dragon, with seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads seven diadems. [ESV; empahsis mine]

Verses 1-6 describe the characters and the background to the warfare in which we as Christians are involved. We do not have the luxury of deciding whether or not we will fight since we are born on the battlefield as Christians!

Image: From Wikimedia Commons; ancient illuminated manuscript of the scene in Job. 

Vss. 7-12 explain how Michael and his angels defeated the devil (waging war with the dragon) and his angels in heavenly combat, and record actions which are the heavenly counterpart of earthly events recorded in vss. 1-6. (see Beale, p. 252, below).

Satan’s anger is directed at God’s people since he does not have access to God’s presence to make his accusations in person any longer.

7 Now war arose in heaven, Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon. And the dragon and his angels fought back, 8 but he was defeated, and there was no longer any place for them in heaven.

I. No matter what we as believers experience by way of persecution, we must always remember the Devil and his minions are behind the scenes pulling the strings.

Verses 7 & 8 — This war is not one that will occur at the end of the age. It is one that has already occurred at the ascension. As a result of Christ’s finished work on the cross, Satan is no longer allowed access to heaven where God dwells as he did in the days of Job.

See Job 1:6-12 and Job 2:1-8

Michael is an archangel who is entrusted with Israel’s welfare. Just as he was concerned with Israel of old back then, he is also concerned with the new Israel, the Church of the Lord Jesus Jesus Christ, at present. Angels keep watch over the people of God (cf. Heb. 1:14). It is not stated in the Word of God that we each have a guardian angel. It simply states that we are protected by angels. Many of us need more than one, I’m sure!

II. We must ever bear in mind, in the skirmishes of everyday life, we face a defeated foe.

9 And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.

Verse 9 — The Dragon is further identified as: 

1. that ancient serpent (cf. Gen. 3:1) ;
2. the devil = adversary;
3. satan = slanderer;
4. deceiver = one who wanders off the course and thus leads others astray as well. 

The angels which fell with Satan share his lot. In Milton’s Paradise Lost, Satan says, “Better to reign in Hell than serve in Heaven.” World is oikoumenē — the inhabited world.

III. God is sovereign over the battle and will bring the curtain down on the strife in His own good time! 

10 And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God.

Verses 10 — “As elsewhere in the book, the narrative material can be interpreted only in the light of the hymns.” (See Johnson, A. F., below.) The war was fought and has already been won. It was fought at Calvary and the victory was enforced at the ascension.

Jesus Christ on the throne in heaven
Giovanni Battista WikiMedia Commons

The singers are not identified. However, the plural is used indicating that a group is speaking and not an individual The hymn uses the aorist tense (past tense) to describe Christ’s victory. It has already been accomplished. You ask, ”Why is there still fighting, then?” This is a good question. It shows that you and I are in the battle, and not on the sidelines as so many seem to be.

Between two days; Top: D-Day+1 and Bottom: VE-Day

The period between D-Day and VE-Day — Christ is currently “mopping
up” the battlefield. His victory has already been won. It will only fully be manifest at his Second Coming.

The singers are proclaiming the triumph of Messiah. Each word describing the triumph has its own article. Jesus’ victory has ended Satan’s “accusation parties.” The genitive of time is used to indicate the kind of time referred to. Satan’s accusations came at any hour of the clock. The saints were not even exempt while they slept. Note the emphasis upon the authority (exousia) of Jesus. This is the key issue in the spiritual realm — authority. Satan can no longer flaunt the sins of God’s people. They have been dealt with in Christ.

Since God will no longer listen to Satan’s accusations against us, why should we! 

IV. We have resources to defeat all evil forces in the trenches of everyday warfare we face.

11 And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death.

The Resurrection of Christ by Carl Heinrich Bloch (1875)
Wikimedia Commons image

Verse 11 — “They,” the stated subject of the sentence, is emphatic. Greek is an inflected language. The subject is contained in the verb itself. When it is stated in Greek, it is for the purpose of emphasis. It comes first in the word order. The aorist tense (past tense) indicates that victory is always won by the use of these weapons. This specialized use of the aorist tense (past tense) is called the Gnomic use of the Aorist. It is a universal truth. In English we state universals in the present tense. These three things are necessary for one to overcome Satan:

1. to be redeemed
2. to hear witness of redemption
3. not to love our lives as our ultimate end 

F. W. H. Myers, in a line of poetry about St. Paul writes —

Christ! I am Christ’s, and let the name suffice you,
Ay, for me too He greatly hath sufficed:
Christ is the end, for Christ was the beginning,
Christ the beginning, for the end is Christ.

12 Therefore, rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them! But woe to you, O earth and sea, for the devil has come down to you in great wrath, because he knows that his time is short!”

Verse 12 — The great anger of Satan is due to his knowledge of the restriction of time placed upon him by God. He only has the brief period. He knows that God will triumph. Yet, he will not submit to him.

Next time, the third section of Chapter Twelve.

Notes
(Commentaries on which I rely without direct quotation) 

Beale, G. K. (2015). Revelation: a Shorter Commentary. Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. Kindle Edition.

ESV. (2001). Accessed 24 June 2020 from https://www.biblegateway.com

Hendriksen, William. More Than Conquerors: An Interpretation of the Book of Revelation. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Publishing Group. Kindle Edition. (p. 125).

Johnson, A. F. (1982). Revelation in Expositor’s Bible Commentary, ed. Gaebelein. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

Johnson, D. E. (2001). Triumph of the Lamb: A Commentary on Revelation. Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishers. Kindle Edition.

Kenner, C. (2000). The NIV Application Commentary: Revelation. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Academic.

Morris, Leon. (1987). Revelation in Tyndale New Testament Commentary on the New Testament. Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.

WikiMedia Commons for Images

© 2020 C. Richard Barbare All Rights Reserved

Revelation 12:1-6

1 And a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. 2 She was pregnant and was crying out in birth pains and the agony of giving birth. 3 And another sign appeared in heaven: behold, a great red dragon, with seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads seven diadems. 4 His tail swept down a third of the stars of heaven and cast them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she bore her child he might devour it. 5 She gave birth to a male child, one who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron, but her child was caught up to God and to his throne, 6 and the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, in which she is to be nourished for 1,260 days. [ESV]

Image above : The Woman Clothed with the Sun Fleeth from the Persecution of the Dragon, for William Beckford’s Fonthill Abbey, by Benjamin West, American, c. 1797, oil on paper on wood – Princeton University Art Museum; public domain.

The Context of the Chapter 

The basic plot of the story was a familiar one in the myths of the ancient world. A usurper doomed to be killed by a yet unborn prince plots to succeed the throne by killing the royal seed at birth. The prince is  miraculously snatched from his clutches and hidden away, until he is old enough to kill the usurper and claim his kingdom.” (see Johnson, A. F., below)

The Church of the Lord Jesus Christ is in a Spiritual Battle in which Satan and his allies are striking out at them since Satan cannot strike out directly at God. 

We are beginning new cycles of judgments with a pause for explanations at the beginning. This is in keeping with the interpretation of progressive parallelism. We are not seeing any kind of chronological development. We are seeing in-depth explanation of the same period of time covered by the letters to the seven churches, seals, and trumpets. But we are seeing a clearer focus on the very end.

There is a danger of seeing the two opponents — God and the dragon — as equals on the battlefield of history. The heresy of Manicheanism taught this. 

The most striking principle of Manichean theology is its dualism, a theme gleaned from the Persian religion of Zoroastrianism. Mani postulated two natures that existed from the beginning: light and darkness. The realm of light lived in peace, while the realm of darkness was in constant conflict with itself. The universe is the temporary result of an attack of the realm of darkness on the realm of light, and was created by the Living Spirit, an emanation of the light realm, out of the mixture of light and darkness. (see Manicheanism, below.)

Gustave Dore etching public domain

God is Almighty, Omnipotent and enforces His will on all who oppose Him. Now let’s see what verses 1-6 teach us about our spiritual battle.

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Verse 1 And a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars.

There are three signs (sēmeion) in this chapter — the woman, her child, and the dragon. They are signs in the sense of being portents — unusual persons that are significant in the drama.

Remember that symbols morph quickly in apocalyptic literature. The woman is obviously more than a symbol of the mother of our Lord. She is clearly symbolic of the godly remnant. She begins as a symbol of the believing remnant in Israel of old in vs. 1-6. In 7-17, she is obviously symbolic of the new Israel.

I. John is taking us behind the scenes of life in this world to show us why things are so difficult for us.

He is describing spiritual warfare in which we are engaged. Satan, our archenemy is set to thwart the plan of God at every point. The twelve stars, for some commentators, are symbolic of the twelve tribes of Israel (see Gen. 37:9 for a comparison with Joseph’s dream). However, Josephus uses these items, i.e. the sun, moon, and stars, to describe the priestly vestments. This could be a way of stressing the priestly character of the church. In any case, the woman is more than just Mary the mother of Jesus because her persona fills the whole stage of this scene at the beginning. She is pictured as being beautiful beyond imagination. The woman’s crown is the stephanos, the victor’s crown.

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Verse 2 She was pregnant and was crying out in birth pains and the agony of giving birth.

This is the birth of Messiah. However, it probably refers to more than just the birth in Bethlehem. It stresses the travail of the people of God prior to Christ’s birth.

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Verse 3 And another sign appeared in heaven: behold, a great red dragon, with seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads seven diadems. 

The “heaven” referred to here is the spiritual realm, and not the place where God manifest His presence (cf. Eph. 2:1-3; 6:10-12). It is the place where spiritual conflict takes place. The action occurs on earth, but John sees the characters in the spiritual realm before the action starts on the earth. The dragon is the serpent, Satan. He has a real dominion as illustrated by the crowns. The crowns are diadēmata — kingly crowns. He is powerful as illustrated by the 10 horns. (Medieval Tapestry of the Dragon pictured right above.)

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Verse 4 His tail swept down a third of the stars of heaven and cast them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she bore her child he might devour it. 

The casting of the stars to the earth may be just a way of saying that Satan flexes his muscles in the spiritual realm and the repercussions are felt on the earth (see Morris, p. 158, below) . It also may be an allusion to the fall of the angels in the ministry of Jesus and His disciples. Stars are frequently used to represent angels (see post on Rev. 1) . The third part is a significant minority. The dragon standing in front of the woman in a hostile position speaks of Satan’s attempt to thwart God’s plans all through history before Messiah’s birth. It began with Adam’s fall and culminated with the slaughter of the innocents by Herod. Just as Jesus was an intended victim of Satan, we also as those who are God’s children will be as well.

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Verse 5 She gave birth to a male child, one who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron, but her child was caught up to God and to his throne …

Jacopo Tintoretto, Massacre of the Innocents

Only two events are given in this narrative concerning Jesus’ earthly life — his birth and ascension. These two events are the beginning and the ending of his personal conflict with Satan. The emphasis is upon a male (arsen) child. “Will rule” is mellō (‘about to” — used here to indicate the future time) plus poimain (“to shepherd”. “Snatched up to God” is pros ton theon indicating that the risen Christ is in the very presence of God the Father. A. T. Robertson, the great Greek scholar of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, said that pros is the “face-to-face preposition.” Jesus is in a face-to-face relationship with the Father in heaven.

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Verse 6 … and the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, in which she is to be nourished for 1,260 days.

The desert is a figure taken from the OT to describe the Lord’s ability to shelter his people during her tribulation just like he did when his ancient people were in the wilderness.

There is also a warning in this promise.

The word “place” (where she had a place prepared by God; cf. also v. 14), Greek topos, is synonymous elsewhere in the NT with “temple” (e.g., Matt. 24:15) and was often used in the LXX (about forty times) for the “sanctuary.” The place prepared by God is an invisible geographical area of cultic security like the temple of 11:1-2. The church at Ephesus is warned that an unrepentant spirit in the future will result in Christ removing their lampstand “out of its place (topos)” in His heavenly temple (2:5). This means that they will not have the benefit of spiritual protection provided by that temple. (see Beale, p. 250, below.)

Those who are not faithful to the Lord in trial may have His protection removed. This does not mean that all who suffer in persecution were unfaithful to the Lord. “The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church,” says Tertullian (c. AD 155 – c. 240).

The Time period chart from Chapter 11

Here we encounter the term 1,260 days again. It is the length of time the witnesses are to testify according to chapter 11. It seems best to consider it as the same time frame as the 42 months, the 3½ yrs., and the time, times, and half a time. It is roughly the time of Jesus’ earthly witness as Messiah. It stands in the Revelation for the time between Christ’s Resurrection-Ascension and His Return for His people — the Last Days.

Next time we will move on to the next section of Chapter 12.

Notes
(Commentaries on which I rely without direct quotation) 

Beale, G. K. (2015). Revelation: a Shorter Commentary. Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. Kindle Edition.

ESV. (2001). Accessed 24 June 2020 from https://www.biblegateway.com

Hendriksen, William. More Than Conquerors: An Interpretation of the Book of Revelation. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Publishing Group. Kindle Edition. (p. 125).

Johnson, A. F. (1982). Revelation in Expositor’s Bible Commentary, ed. Gaebelein. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

Johnson, D. E. (2001). Triumph of the Lamb: A Commentary on Revelation. Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishers. Kindle Edition.

Kenner, C. (2000). The NIV Application Commentary: Revelation. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Academic.

Manicheanism. Accessed 14 September 2020 from https://www.theopedia.com/manicheanism

Morris, Leon. (1987). Revelation in Tyndale New Testament Commentary on the New Testament. Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.

WikiMedia Commons for Images

© 2020 C. Richard Barbare All Rights Reserved

Revelation 11

15 Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever.”
16 And the twenty-four elders who sit on their thrones before God fell on their faces and worshiped God,
17 saying, “We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty, who is and who was, for you have taken your great power and begun to reign.
18 The nations raged, but your wrath came, and the time for the dead to be judged, and for rewarding your servants, the prophets and saints, and those who fear your name, both small and great, and for destroying the destroyers of the earth.”
19 Then God’s temple in heaven was opened, and the ark of his covenant was seen within his temple. There were flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, an earthquake, and heavy hail.

Image above: Abrecht Durer: Angels with Seven Trumpets Public Domain Engraving; edited.

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As I have stated in previous posts—

Chapter 11 gives us a view into what God’s people will be experiencing as they witness to the Gospel of Christ between His Resurrection-Ascension and Second Coming.

In the section of Revelation 11 for this post we are at the end of the age as far as the church is concerned—

V. God has removed His people out of this world and has vindicated them before the watching world; and now, He pours His wrath out on those who have rejected the Gospel invitation. 

It seems that all is over, and in a sense, it is. However, there are more details that have to be filled in. We are viewing Revelation from the interpretive perspective of progressive recapitulation (see Hendriksen, below). With the end of Chapter 11, we are half way through the book of Revelation.

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vs. 15 Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever.” 

With the 7th Trumpet the end of the age has arrived. This will be followed by the pouring out of the cups of wrath (in chapter 16). The church has already gone to be with the Lord. All that will be saved have been saved. There is nothing but wrath for those remaining on the earth.

The voices in verses 17-18 are presumed to be from all of heaven’s inhabitants. They rejoice that the world is now under the total control of the Lord. The past tense is again used because the event is so certain that it can be spoken of as past. (Image right above is “An angel blows the ‘last trumpet'”, as in 1 Corinthians 15:52, stained glass window from Langenzenn, Germany, 19th century; Wikipedia.)

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vs. 16 And the twenty-four elders who sit on their thrones before God fell on their faces and worshiped God… .

The beings that sit on these thrones are obviously an angelic order involved in the worship of God in heaven and are involved in the fulfilling of his purposes on the earth. The number twenty-four is suggestive of the twenty-four courses of priests in I Chronicles 24. Many commentators think that the elders represent the elect of all ages. Just as the courses of Priests represented the totality of the Priesthood, the twenty-four elders represent the totality of the elect of all ages. Some of the elect have already died and are already there in heaven. Some are still unborn, but these angels represent them all. (Image above right is St. John on Patmos by Limbourg brothers public domain.)

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vs. 17 saying, “We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty, who is and who was, for you have taken your great power and begun to reign.

Note the part of the phrase “and is to come” is dropped from the description of the Triune God. This is because He has already come at this point in the Revelation!

The ESV translates the phrase, “You have begun to reign.” The 24 elders assume their usual position prostrate before God. Note that the tense of the word “reign” is past tense (aorist). This is taken as an ingressive aorist—begin to reign. God is said to have “taken his great power” (dunameis from which we derive our English word “dynamite”). He has assumed what was his by right. He was King all along. The only difference is that now he enforces his reign over every living being. Before he permitted some to rebel. Now he no longer allows  rebellion. He is absolute King. The reign is said to begin with the sounding of the 7th trumpet.

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vs. 18 The nations raged, but your wrath came, and the time for the dead to be judged, and for rewarding your servants, the prophets and saints, and those who fear your name, both small and great, and for destroying the destroyers of the earth.”

The Four and Twenty Elders circa 1803-5 William Blake

The time (kairos) for the Last Judgment has arrived. Kairos is “opportune time” versus “chronological time.” As a great friend of mine used to say, “The Lord is always on time. He is not early, but He is never late!” This is the meaning of kairos. The prayers of the martyrs have long been on the incense altar of heaven awaiting answer, but now they are given God’s full attention!

The Lord will reward his servants, and punish those who have rebelled against him. It is interesting that the rebellious are said to be those who are destroying the earth. Those who are wicked and break God’s holy laws are the ones who bring the calamities on the earth! 

“When the judgment day arrives, then the full meaning of Psalm 2:7ff., and of Daniel 7:14 (cf. Luke 1:33) is going to be revealed.” (see Hendriksen, pp. 132-133, below.)

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vs. 19 Then God’s temple in heaven was opened, and the ark of his covenant was seen within his temple. There were flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, an earthquake, and heavy hail.

The Temple in Heaven is the sanctuary (naos) in heaven. (pictured above from image adapted Wikipedia Commons.) It is the place where God and his angelic hosts and his people dwell.

The Ark in the vision John sees is a symbol of God’s covenant faithfulness. All of the wrath and Judgment that comes out of heaven is righteous. It comes as a result of the activity of God himself. It seems now to us as if he has forgotten his promises. Men go free for their  crimes. Not so! God will avenge his people at the end.

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Chart Applying the Truths of Chapter 11 to Our lives

Next time, we will move into the last half of the book. We will begin with Chapter Twelve.

Notes
(Commentaries on which I rely without direct quotation) 

Beale, G. K. (2015). Revelation: a Shorter Commentary. Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. Kindle Edition.

ESV. (2001). Accessed 24 June 2020 from https://www.biblegateway.com

Hendriksen, William. More Than Conquerors: An Interpretation of the Book of Revelation. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Publishing Group. Kindle Edition. (p. 125).

Johnson, A. F. (1982). Revelation in Expositor’s Bible Commentary, ed. Gaebelein. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

Johnson, D. E. (2001). Triumph of the Lamb: A Commentary on Revelation. Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishers. Kindle Edition.

Kenner, C. (2000). The NIV Application Commentary: Revelation. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Academic.

Morris, Leon. (1987). Revelation in Tyndale New Testament Commentary on the New Testament. Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.

WikiMedia Commons for Images

© 2020 C. Richard Barbare All Rights Reserved

Revelation 11

11 But after the three and a half days a breath of life from God entered them, and they stood up on their feet, and great fear fell on those who saw them. 12 Then they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, “Come up here!” And they went up to heaven in a cloud, and their enemies watched them. 13 And at that hour there was a great earthquake, and a tenth of the city fell. Seven thousand people were killed in the earthquake, and the rest were terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven.

14 The second woe has passed; behold, the third woe is soon to come.

Image above — Jesus’ ascension to Heaven depicted by John Singleton Copley in Ascension (1775) Wikimedia Commons

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We still need to remember that we are dealing with apocalyptic literature. We are not reading a newspaper account of the end of this age. Rest assured we are dealing with the Second Coming of Christ for his saints who have been slain on the earth for their testimony for Him. There will be some Christians who are alive at this point. The outward expression of Christianity—the Church—has been destroyed by the ungodly. Some pockets of believers still remain.

This is no secret rapture! Those who killed them will see them rise. Christians may be killed in ignominy, but they will rise in glory to meet their Lord! As in a battle, the dead are often not given a proper burial.

Gettysburg, Pennsylvania graves pictured above. Unfinished Confederate shallow graves near the center of the battlefield. image from https://www.pinterest.com/manuelfocus/civil-war/

Note the little mentioned verses from Matthew’s Gospel Chapter 27—

51 And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split. 52 The tombs also were opened. And many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised, 53 and coming out of the tombs after his resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many. [ESV; emphasis mine.]

It is my opinion that this passage in Revelation 11 is echoing our Lord’s ministry, death, resurrection and ascension. (1) Our Lord witnessed as Messiah ≈ 3½ Years; (2) He was crucified in ignominy; (3) those who did it thought they finally had done with Him for good; (4) He lay in the tomb ≈ 3½ days; (5) Many Old Testament saints were raised and came out of their tombs and appeared to many in the city when He was raised; and (6) He ascended in a cloud to His Father in heaven. (see Beale, p. 229, below.)

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As I have stated in previous posts—

Chapter 11 gives us a view into what God’s people will be experiencing as they witness to the Gospel of Christ between His Resurrection-Ascension and Second Coming.

In the section of Revelation 11 for this post we are at the end of the age as far as the church is concerned. (More will follow for the wicked.) 

IV. Christ will return and resurrect his faithful and vindicate those who have been faithful witnesses to His Gospel.

vs. 11 But after the three and a half days a breath of life from God entered them, and they stood up on their feet, and great fear fell on those who saw them.

The tense of the verb is significant. It shifts with this verse to the past (aorist) tense to indicate that the events are so certain that he can speak of them as if they are already in the past.

Quentin Metsys the Younger ” The Valley of Dry Bones Lives” (ca. 1543 – 1589) Public Domain image from Wikimedia Commons

It seems John may have in mind Ezekiel’s “Valley of Dry Bones” (see Ezekiel 37:1-14). Like the saints who were raised when Jesus was and went into the city, the ungodly recognize Christians that are raised at the Second Coming of Christ. Just when the world thinks the church is dead and they are rid of its testimony, the church is resurrected. This will be the case at the end of the age.

vs. 12 Then they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, “Come up here!” And they went up to heaven in a cloud, and their enemies watched them. Left Gustave Dore’s engraving of Elijah going to heaven in the clouds (II Kings 2:1-12). 

The martyrs go the same way their Lord did—they ascend in a cloud. (cf. Acts 1:9 And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight.) John uses the definite article in referring to the cloud. It seems to confirm the premise that the church’s history is to match its Lord’s—(1) A period of testimony (2) Followed by a period of seeming defeat; (3) Followed by resurrection and ascension. This would have given great assurance to the early church as they suffered for the Lord. They were a minority wondering if what they were doing counts for eternity. In this vision they see it does!

The volcanic earthquake that destroyed Pompeii and Herculaneum was well know in the Mediterranean world.

vs. 13 And at that hour there was a great earthquake, and a tenth of the city fell. Seven thousand people were killed in the earthquake, and the rest were terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven.

Calamity interrupts the celebration, making sure it is short lived. The Greek reads, “At that [very] hour… .” The resurrection of the church is followed by cataclysmic occurrences. The irrefutable testimony and the judgments force men to acknowledge that God has done it. It does not bring about the repentance of the remaining ones, however.

This is the first tremor of the cosmic shaking that will remove move the first heavens and earth (cf. 20:11; 21:1), the great quake that we have seen in the vision of the sixth seal (6:12-17) and will see again when the seventh bowl is poured out, shattering the “great city” Babylon into three pieces, causing the cities of the Gentiles to fall, and removing moving islands and mountains (16:17-21). (see Johnson, D, E. below).

The number of people affected—7,000—is approximately 1/10th of the population of ancient Jerusalem. Since Jerusalem is a symbol of worldwide opposition to God, this verse refers to a portion of the world and its population being destroyed by the cataclysmic judgments inflicted at the resurrection of the church. “This is not the end, but it is the beginning of the end.” (paraphrase of Winston Churchill’s famous quotation.)

vs. 14 The second woe has passed; behold, the third woe is soon to come.

The Woes — In 8:13 we were told that the last three trumpets were so terrible that they are called woes. Two have occurred in chapter 9. Now we are told that the third is about to occur. With the Third Woe, we are brought to the end of the age in another of the cycles of Revelations judgments. We have called this method of interpretation progressive parallelism, after William Hendriksen (1939).

Notes
(Commentaries on which I rely without direct quotation) 

Beale, G. K. (2015). Revelation: a Shorter Commentary. Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. Kindle Edition.

ESV. (2001). Accessed 24 June 2020 from https://www.biblegateway.com

Hendriksen, William. More Than Conquerors: An Interpretation of the Book of Revelation. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Publishing Group. Kindle Edition. (p. 125).

Johnson, A. F. (1982). Revelation in Expositor’s Bible Commentary, ed. Gaebelein. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

Johnson, D. E. (2001). Triumph of the Lamb: A Commentary on Revelation. Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishers. Kindle Edition.

Kenner, C. (2000). The NIV Application Commentary: Revelation. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Academic.

Morris, Leon. (1987). Revelation in Tyndale New Testament Commentary on the New Testament. Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.

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