The Trinity Doctrine in the Book of Revelation

Purpose

Most Christians believe that the Father, Son, and Spirit are three distinct Persons, meaning three distinct minds. However, perhaps unbeknown to many, most denominations formally subscribe to the Roman doctrine of God, namely, that the Father, Son, and Spirit are a single Being with a single mind, will, and consciousness. Scholars who explain this view avoid the term “Person” but describe the Father, Son, and Spirit as three modes or ways God exists. In this view, since the Son of God is also the “Almighty” uncaused Cause of all creation, He cannot become a human being, and He cannot and did not die. Only His human nature died. (See here) The purpose of this article is to determine which view of the Trinity the Book of Revelation presents. 

God

Revelation consistently distinguishes between God and Jesus, meaning that Jesus is not God. 

The title “God” appears about 100 times in Revelation. In most instances, nobody else is mentioned in the context, so it is not immediately clear whether “God” refers to the Father, to the Son, or to both (e.g., Rev 14:19). However, 17 instances mention both the Father and the Son. In these instances, “God” always refers to the Father alone. Revelation NEVER refers to Jesus as “God. In other words, in the way that Revelation uses the title “God,” the Son is NOT God. God is one Person, and Jesus is somebody else. For example:

“The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him” (Rev 1:1). [Show More]

Therefore, when the angel instructs John to “worship God” (Rev 19:10; 22:9), and when God’s end-time people are commanded to worship “God” (Rev 14:7), it is a command to worship the Father.

Titles

Revelation’s titles for the Father describe Him as transcendent over the Son. 

Revelation uses certain titles for the Father alone, such as:

    • He “Who Was and Who Is and Who Is to Come” (Rev 4:8),
    • “The Almighty” (Rev 4:8),
    • “Him who sits on the throne” (Rev 4:9), and
    • “Him who lives forever and ever” (Rev 4:9).

Revelation 4 uses all four of these titles to describe the Being on the throne. Since Jesus enters the throne room only in the next chapter (Rev 5:5-6), the Being on the throne is the Father, and these titles describe Him. The following analysis shows that, wherever Revelation uses these titles, they always describe the Father, never the Son:

Throne

The Father alone is “Him who sits on the throne.”

Revelation 4 may be called the throne room chapter because the word “throne” appears at least 10 times in that one chapter alone. [Show More]

God is introduced as the “One sitting on the throne” (Rev 4:2). There-after, subsequent chapters often refer to Him as “Him who sits on the throne” (Rev 4:9, 10; 5:1, 7, 13; 6:16). For the following reasons, the “One sitting on the throne” always describes the Father alone and never to the Son:

1) Since Jesus is absent from Revelation 4 and only enters the throne room in Revelation 5:6, the “One sitting on the throne” in that chapter is the Father.

2) The “One sitting on the throne” is also called “God” (Rev 4:8, 11; 19:4), and, as shown above, Revelation uses the title “God” only for the Father.

3) Several verses make an explicit distinction between “Him who sits on the throne” and Christ. For example:

“The Lamb” (Jesus) “came and took the book out of the right hand of Him who sat on the throne” (Rev 5:6-7). [Show More]

Therefore, saying that beings are before “the throne” (e.g., 7:11; 20:12) means that they are before the Father.

The Son sits on the Father’s throne, meaning that God shares His authority with Him.

The Lamb also sits on the throne. For example:

John saw “a river of the water of life …
coming from the throne of God
and of the Lamb” (Rev 22:1). [Show More]

Nevertheless, it remains the Father’s throne, for Jesus said: “I … sat down with My Father on His throne” (Rev 3:21). [Show More]

Humans may also sit with Jesus on His throne: “He who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit down with Me on My throne” (Rev 3:21).

This is not a literal throne. A throne symbolizes authority. Since it is the Father’s throne, He is the Supreme Ruler of all creation. Christ and the overcomers will also sit on God’s throne, meaning that God will share His authority with them (Matt 28:18; Phil 2:9-11): They will rule with God. However, since Jesus is contrasted with “Him who sits on the throne” (Rev 5:7; 12:5), the Father will always remain the ultimate Ruler.

Lives Forever

The Father alone is “Him who lives forever.” 

This title appears four times in Revelation:

It appears twice in chapter 4 (Rev 4:9-10), where Jesus is not present and, therefore, describes the Father.

Revelation 15:7 identifies this Being as “God” and, as discussed, Revelation uses the title “God” only for the Father.

The fourth instance (Rev 10:6) identifies “Him who lives forever” as the Creator, which, according to Revelation 4:11, is the Father:

“Swore by Him who lives forever and ever,
who created heaven … and the earth … and the sea“
(Rev 10:6). [Show More]

All four instances, therefore, identify the One “who lives forever and ever” as the Father. Paul also stated that the Father “alone possesses immortality” (1 Tim 6:16). The immortality of all other beings, including the Son depends on the Father’s immortality. He, alone, has inherent (essential) immortality.

While Jesus was dead (Rev 1:18), the Father “lives forever and ever,” which implies that He never was dead and will never die. This makes a huge distinction between God and Jesus.

Is / Was / Will Come

The Father alone is He “Who Is and who Was and is To come.” 

1) He is the one sitting on the throne (Rev 4:8), who has been interpreted above as the Father.

2) He is also called “God” (Rev 1:8; 11:17), a title Revelation reserves for the Father alone. [Show More]

3) In the opening verses of the book, John mentions the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit together. In these verses, John describes the Father as, “Him who is and who was and who is to come” (Rev 1:4-5):

“From Him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne, 5 and from Jesus Christ” (Rev 1:4-5). [Show More]

This title may be related to Exodus 3:14, where YHVH (Yahweh or Jehovah) identified Himself as “I AM WHO I AM.” Both titles may be understood to mean the One who exists without cause. [Show More]

Almighty

The Father alone is “the Almighty.”

This title appears 17 times in the Old Testament (OT), once in the New Testament outside Revelation in a quote from the OT (2 Cor 6:18), and 9 times in Revelation. Therefore, if we want to understand what this term means for the church, we need to study it in Revelation.

In Revelation, “the Almighty” is identified as “God” and as Him “who is and who was and who is to come.” For example:

“The war of the great day of God, the Almighty” (Rev 16:14).

“Holy, Holy, Holy is The Lord God, The Almighty, Who Was and Who Is and Who Is To Come” (Rev 4:8; cf. 1:8).

“We give You thanks, O Lord God, the Almighty, who are and who were” (Rev 11:16-17; cf. 15:2-3; 16:7, 14; 19:6, 13-15; 21:22).

Since, as discussed above, both the titles “God” and “who is and who was and who is to come” refer to the Father alone, the Father alone is the “Almighty.” Revelation never uses the title “Almighty” for Jesus. On the contrary, it makes an explicit distinction between Christ and “the Almighty:”

“His name is called The Word of God. … and He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty” (Rev 19:13-15).

“I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb are its temple” (Rev 21:22). 

Therefore, Jesus is not the Almighty; only the Father is. See here for a more detailed discussion of the title “Almighty.”

Creator

The Father is the Creator. 

Elsewhere in the New Testament, we read that God created all things “THROUGH” His Son. For example:

“There is but one God, the Father, FROM WHOM are all things and we exist for Him; and one Lord, Jesus Christ, BY WHOM are all things, and we exist through Him” (1 Cor 8:6). [Show More]

The Son, therefore, was God’s agent through whom God created all things. Similarly, in Revelation, the beings in the heavenly throne room worship the “One sitting on the throne” (the Father) because He has “created all things” (Rev 4:11). Later, “Him who lives forever and ever,” already identified as the Father, is also identified as the Creator (Rev 10:6). Therefore, the Father alone is the uncaused Cause of all things. When God’s end-time people are warned to worship the Creator (Rev 14:7); it is a command to worship the Father.

Subordinate

Jesus is subordinate to the Father. 

For example:

1) As stated, Revelation refers to the Father alone as “God,” “the Almighty,” “Him who sits on the throne,” and as the Creator. These titles mean that the Father is the ultimate Ruler.

2) Jesus received the Book of Revelation from God (Rev 1:1). When He was on earth, Jesus similarly said that the Father gave Him “what to say” (John 12:49). Revelation 1:1 shows that 60 years after His resurrection and ascension, Jesus still received the words of this prophecy from God. [Show More]

3) God is also Jesus’ God. After His resurrection, Jesus said, “I ascend to My Father and your Father, and My God and your God” (John 20:17). Sixty years later, Jesus still referred to the Father as His God: “He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God” (Rev 3:12, 13; cf. 3:2). John, in the introduction of the book, in which he interprets some of the things in the visions, similarly described the Father as Jesus’ God: “His God and Father” (Rev 1:6). [Show More]

See here for evidence that the Son is subordinate to the Father in the entire New Testament. Similarly, the seven Spirits are before God’s throne, in apparent subordination (Rev 1:4; 4:5).

Worship

The Father alone is worshiped. The Son is never worshiped.

The Father is worshiped. For example:

“Worship Him who lives forever and ever” (Rev 4:10).

“O Lord God, the Almighty … all the nations will come and worship before you” (Rev 15:3-4).

“Worshiped God who sits on the throne” (Rev 19:4).

“Worship God” (Rev 19:10).

The Son is never worshiped. In a number of places, both the Father and Son are mentioned, but only the Father is worshiped (Rev 5:13-14; 7:10-11; 11:15-16):

5:14 does not say who is worshiped, but the parallels to the similar instances (7:10-11; 11:15-16) imply that the Father alone is worshiped. Furthermore, in some translations of 5:14, they worship “Him who lives forever and ever” (e.g., KJV), a phrase that always refers to the Father. (See here for a more detailed discussion of this verse.)

Trinity Doctrine

In the Trinity doctrine, the Son cannot die, but Jesus said He was dead.

In the version of the Trinity doctrine taught by the Roman Church, the Son does not exist as a distinct entity because the Father, Son, and Spirit are a single Being with a single mind, will, and consciousness. Therefore, the Son cannot become a human being. Furthermore, since God is immortal, the Son cannot die. In this version of the Trinity doctrine, only the human nature of the Son died. In contrast, Jesus said, “I was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore” (Rev 1:17; 2:8). The God of the Roman Trinity doctrine can never say that He was dead because He cannot die. [Show More]

If we accept that the seven Spirits refer to the Holy Spirit, John did refer to the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (Rev 1:4). However, in the Book of Revelation, there is no sign of the teaching that the Father, Son, and Spirit are a single Being with a single mind.

With God

The Son has many divine attributes but He is not God Almighty. 

Revelation also shows that God and His unique Son belong together. For example:

Jesus is the Judge because the Father has given all judgment to the Son (John 5:22). We also see evidence of this in Revelation. [Show More]

Jesus will resurrect God’s people (John 6:40). Similarly, in Revelation, He says: “I have the keys of death and of Hades” (Rev 1:17)

He received from the Father authority over the nations (Rev 2:26-27).

Both the Father and the Son are the temple and the light of the New Jerusalem (Rev 21:22-23). [Show More]

Both are “first and the last,” “the beginning and the end” (Rev 1:17; 2:8; 21:5-6), meaning that both always existed and will always exist. [Show More]

The saved belong to both God and Christ (Rev 14:4; 20:6). [Show More]

They are praised together (Rev 5:13-14) and share a single throne (Rev 22:1, 3). 

These verses imply an extremely close relationship between God and His Son. Elsewhere in the Bible, we often read that the Son is at the right hand of God, which puts Jesus with God but also subordinate to Him. People who regard Jesus as God Almighty tend to focus on texts that show His divinity and ignore the evidence of His subordination. They seem to forget that He is the divine Son of God. God brought Him forth in an indescribable manner to share some of God’s divine attributes. But His divine attributes and closeness to God do not mean that He is God Himself

Holy Spirit

Revelation says little about the Spirit, who seems to be subordinate to God. 

The debate among Christians is not whether the Spirit is divine but whether He is a distinct Person, meaning a distinct consciousness, mind, and will. Right at the beginning of the letter, in John’s own introduction of the visions, he mentions the Spirit with the Father and the Son (Rev 1:4, 5), implying that the Spirit is a distinct Person.

However, we do not hear much about the Spirit in the visions. The Spirit of God is never praised or worshiped and never sits on a throne. The Spirit is described as seven Spirits “before the throne” (Rev 4:5), as the seven eyes of the Lamb, and as “sent out into all the earth” (Rev 5:6; cf. Rev 3:1), indicating subordination to the One on the throne and perhaps also subordination to the Son.

On the other hand, each of the letters to the seven churches ends with the words, “Let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches” (Rev 2:7, 11, etc.). When John receives a new vision, he says, “I was in the Spirit” (Rev 4:2; cf. Rev 17:3; 21:10; 22:17). Therefore, this entire vision of Revelation seems to be the work of the Holy Spirit (Rev 14:13; 19:10).

Who is the Son?

So, if the Bible refers to the Father alone as God, and if the Son is distinct from and subordinate to God, but also belongs with God, who is the Son? Perhaps it will be arrogant to attempt to explain things humans are unable to explain.

God is like the sun, and the Son is like the rays of the sun.

I like Tertullian’s analogy in which he compared God to the sun and His Son to the rays of the sun. In that metaphor, the Father is the Source of all things, and the Son is the link between God and the created universe. Just like the rays of the sun bring us warmth and life from the sun, the Son is the Means through whom God gives us everything we need, including creation, knowledge of God, a Savior, redemption, restoration, and eternal life. However, the analogy seems to say that the Son is part of the Father, which was what Tertullian believed. (See here) But Revelation seems to present the Father and Son as two distinct Beings.

The Son has always existed.

Since the Son is “the Beginning of the creation of God” (Rev 3:14) and “the first and the last” (Rev 1:17; 2:8), the Son has always existed, that is, for as long as the creation has existed. However, the creation did not cause itself. The energy and intelligence that brought the creation into being came from beyond this universe. That incomprehensible Reality is God. Compared to God, this universe is like nothing. Therefore, to say that the Son has existed as long as the universe does not mean that He is equal to God.

Everything that God does in and for the creation, He does “through” the Son.

Like the rays of the Sun bring life and earth to the earth:

God created all things through him (Col 1:16; John 1:2; 1 Cor 8:6).

God saved the world through the Son (John 3:17; 1 John 4:9 Rom. 5:9; Heb 7:24-25).

Through Him, the Father reconciled all things to Himself (Col 1:19-20), disarmed the rulers and authorities (Col 2:15), and rendered powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil (Heb 2:14).

Through Him, we have access to the Father (Eph 2:18), and through Him, we give thanks to God the Father (Phil 2:11; Heb 13:15).

Conclusion

In the Trinity doctrine, Jesus is God Almighty, the uncaused Cause of all creation, but Revelation describes the Father alone as Immortal, God, Almighty, Creator, and Ruler of heaven and earth, indicating that the Son is subordinate to the Father. He has many divine attributes, but He is not God Almighty. Similar to the analogy of the sun and its rays, the Father is the Source, and the Son is the Means through Whom God gives the creation everything it needs.


Overview

Revelation consistently distinguishes between God and Jesus, meaning that Jesus is not God. Therefore, when God’s end-time people are commanded to worship “God,” it is a command to worship the Father.

In Revelation, the Father alone is “Him who sits on the throne.” The Son sits on the Father’s throne, but it remains the Father’s throne, symbolizing that God will share His authority with His Son.

The Father alone is “Him who lives forever.” He “alone possesses immortality,” namely, inherent immortality. While Jesus “was dead” (Rev 1:18), the Father “lives forever and ever,” which implies that He never was dead and will never die.

In Revelation, the Father alone is He “Who Is and Who Was and is To come.” This title may be related to Yahweh’s statement, “I AM WHO I AM.”

The title “Almighty” appears 9 times in Revelation. It always describes the Father, never the Son. On the contrary, Revelation makes an explicit distinction between “the Almighty” and Christ (e.g., Rev 21:22). 

In Revelation, the Father alone is the Creator. Therefore, when God’s end-time people are commanded to worship the Creator (Rev 14:7), it is a command to worship the Father.

Revelation’s titles for the Father describe Him as transcendent over the Son. Similarly, Jesus described the Father as His God (Rev 3:2, 12).

In Revelation, the Father alone is worshiped. Some argue that Jesus is worshiped in Revelation 5, but this is not so.

In the Trinity doctrine, the Father, Son, and Spirit are a single Being with a single mind, will, and consciousness. Therefore, the Son does not exist as a distinct entity and cannot die. In contrast, Jesus said, “I was dead” (Rev 1:17).

Christ has many divine attributes. He is the Judge, will resurrect God’s people, and has authority over the nations. Both He and the Father are the temple and the light of the New Jerusalem and “the first and the last.” They are praised together and share a single throne, meaning they will rule together. He is the divine Son of God, but His divine attributes do not mean that He is God Himself. 

Revelation does not mention the Spirit much. The Spirit of God is never praised or worshiped and never sits on a throne. The Spirit is described as seven Spirits “before the throne,” implying subordination to the One on the throne.

In conclusion, while the Trinity doctrine describes Jesus as God Almighty, Revelation describes the Father alone as Immortal, God, Almighty, Creator, and Ruler of heaven and earth, meaning that the Son is subordinate to the Father.


Other Articles

The Seventh Plague culminates in the return of Christ.

THE SEVENTH PLAGUE

16:17  Then the seventh angel
poured out his bowl upon the air,
and a loud voice came out of the temple
from the throne, saying, “It is done.”

16:18 And there were flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder; and there was a great earthquake, such as there had not been since man came to be upon the earth, so great an earthquake was it, and so mighty.

16:19 The great city was split into three parts,
and the cities of the nations fell.
Babylon the great was remembered before God,
to give her the cup of the wine of His fierce wrath.
20 And every island fled away,
and the mountains were not found.

16:21 And huge hailstones,
about one hundred pounds each,
came down from heaven upon men;
and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail,
because its plague was extremely severe.  (NASB)

That Babylon “was remembered before God” does not mean that God forgot and now remembers. “Remember” means to act. For instance, God “remembered” his covenant with Abraham when the Israelites were in slavery in Egypt (Exo 2:24; cf. Gen 8:1 and 19:29).

The cup” which God gives to Babylon is a common Biblical expression denoting suffering and judgments meted out (Psa 11:6; 75:8; Isa 51:17, 22, 23; Jer 25:15-17, 28; 49:12; Matt 26:39).

According to verse 17, God’s throne is in the temple. The Greek word used for the temple in this verse (naou) describes the inner sanctuary. Elsewhere, it is stated that the temple is in heaven (Rev 11:19; 16:17).

THE EARTHQUAKE AND HAIL ARE NOT LITERAL.

For the following reasons, the (1) lightning and (2) sounds (or voices), (3) thunder, (4) a great earthquake, and (5) huge hailstones in this plague are not literal:

(A) Elsewhere in Revelation, this group of five is symbolic:

REVELATION 4; THE THRONE ROOM

The first time that we read about this group is in the description of the temple in heaven in Revelation 4. There we only read about the first three, namely “lightning, sounds and thunder” which came “out from the throne” (Rev 4:5). For the following reasons, it is proposed that these three represent the activities, discussions, decisions, and instructions emanating from the throne in heaven:

      • Lightning, sounds and thunder” happen in the air during a thunderstorm.
      • The four living beings that are “in the centre and around the throne” (Rev 4:6) run “to and fro like bolts of lightning” (Ezek 1:14), and their voices sound like thunder (Rev 6:1).

REVELATION 8; TRUMPETS

The next time that we find this group is in the introduction to the seven trumpets, where fire is thrown down from heaven on the earth and there “thunder and sounds and flashes of lightning and an earthquake” (Rev 8:5). This, therefore, adds an earthquake to the previous three.  

REVELATION 11:19

This group also appears in Rev 11:19. In this verse, “the temple of God which is in heaven was opened, and the ark of His covenant appeared in His temple.” Then all five follow. In other words, hail is added to the four in Rev 8:5.

Since every main part of Revelation begins in the temple in heaven, we assume that this verse introduces the main section of Revelation contained in chapters 12 to 14.

THE EARTHQUAKE AND HAIL SYMBOLIZE EARTHLY CONSEQUENCES.

If the lightning, sounds, and thunder symbolize what happen in heaven, for the following reasons, it is proposed that the earthquake and hail symbolize the consequences on earth:

(1) Earthquakes do not happen in the air. They destroy things on earth.

(2) In Rev 8:5 the group of four is mentioned after fire has been thrown on the earth. Subsequently, fire (Rev 8:8; 9:17; 11:3-5), burning (Rev 8:7, 10), and smoke (Rev 9:2-5) are mentioned often in the trumpets. Therefore, it is proposed that the earthquake (Rev 8:5) is a summary description of the trumpet plagues.

(3) Revelation 11:19 has a similar connection to the next three chapters: While this verse, which is the introduction to Revelation 12-14, reveals the ark of the covenant (a box which housed the Ten Commandments), Revelation 12-14 contains frequent veiled references to the Ten Commandments (Rev 12:17; 14:12; 13:6, 15, 16; 14:1, 7; 15:5). For that reason, it is proposed that the earthquake and hail in Rev 11:19 is a summary description of the events of Rev 12-14.

In summary, these five manifestations are high-level descriptions of activities in heaven, followed by events on earth. The same then applies in the seventh plague.

(B) Babylon is destroyed by ten kings.

In Rev 16:18-19, a great earthquake splits “the great city … into three parts.” Rev 16:19 continues that God gave Babylon “the cup of the wine of His fierce wrath.” The “great city” is the same as Babylon (Rev 17:18; 3, 5). Revelation 17 elaborates on the seventh plague (Rev 17:1) and, in that chapter, Babylon is destroyed by “the ten horns” (Rev 17:16) which symbolize “ten kings” who receive “receive authority as kings with the beast for one hour” (Rev 17:12). In other words, while Babylon is destroyed by an earthquake in the seventh plague, she is destroyed by the kings of the world according to Rev 17. This is another indication that the earthquake is symbolic.

(C) A literal reading does not make sense.

Read literally, this earthquake is so huge that “every island fled away, and the mountains were not found” (Rev 16:20). Given that the sea has already turned to blood (Rev 16:3), such a worldwide earthquake would cause tsunamis of blood that bury all islands, and therefore also all coastal regions.

A literal earthquake of this magnitude would kill all people on earth, but according to Rev 16:21, people continue to blaspheme God, indicating that the earth is still populated.

Furthermore, according to Rev 16:19, this earthquake splits the great city into three parts. A literal earthquake of this magnitude would not do this to a literal city. It would completely destroy all cities.

(D) Babylon is not a literal city.

In the seventh plague, as result of the huge earthquake, the great city Babylon splits into three parts (Rev 16:19). This symbolizes that the coalition of the evil trinity (Rev 16:13) breaks up. Babylon, therefore, is symbolic. 

A previous article concluded that Babylon, in Revelation (Rev 17:5, 18), is a symbol of the false religious system that has corrupted mankind for thousands of years. Since Babylon is not literal and since she is destroyed by an earthquake, the earthquake is also not literal.

(E) The plagues use literal historical events as symbols.

The plagues use literal historical events as symbols for end-time events. For example, the first five plagues use literal events from Israel’s liberation from Egypt as symbols. The last two plagues – the drying up of the great river Euphrates and the fall of Babylon (Rev 16:12, 19) – similarly use actual events from Israel’s liberation from ancient Babylon as symbols for the liberation of God’s people from this earth. This symbolic context requires us to interpret the earthquake and hail also as symbols.

In conclusion, the lightning, sounds, thunder, earthquake, and huge hail are not literal but symbolic of massive destruction. Just as a literal earthquake leaves a literal city in ruins, so a figurative earthquake brings ruin and desolation to the symbolic “great Babylon.

OTHER PLAGUES ARE ALSO NOT LITERAL.

One can take nearly any portion of Revelation and try to read it literally, and it would not make sense.  Consider the following examples from the plagues:

(1) After all waters turns to blood (Rev 16:3-4), there still is water in the Euphrates (Rev 16:12).

(2) Why would a river be a barrier to an army, given modern war technology (Rev 16:12)?

(3) After all people with the mark of the beast suffer malignant sores (Rev 16:2), all waters turn to blood (Rev 16:3-4), the sun scorches people with fire (Rev 16:8), where would literal kings get the resources to assemble an army for war (Rev 16:14, 16)?  Under such circumstances, people will die in their billions, and the rest would just be trying to survive, perhaps for another day.

(4) How do literal spirits of demons, that look like frogs, come out of the mouth of the dragon, beast, and false prophet, if the dragon is Satan (Rev 12:9), the beast is the church of the middle ages and the false prophet symbolizes end-time false Christianity (cf. Rev 13:11)? And why do the three only have one mouth (16:14)?

(5) How could all armies of the world gather in a single literal place on earth (Rev 16:16)?  And how do they get to this place if the oceans have turned to blood, on which no ship can travel?

(6) Taken literally, why would God’s people be warned to watch their clothes, so that they do not walk about naked (Rev 16:15)?

Given these insurmountable obstacles, a literal consequently completely misses the mark.

To say that these plagues are symbolic does not mean they have no meaning. They represent real devastations. To determine what they mean requires a careful study of the symbols in their immediate and wider context.

BABYLON IS DESTROYED
BY THE KINGS OF THE WORLD.

The purpose of Rev 17-18 is to explain “the judgment of the great harlot” (Rev 17:2). The harlot is Babylon (Rev 17:5). In this explanation we see that the seven heads of the beast (Rev 17:3) symbolize seven phases of the beast (Rev 17:9-10). The beast itself is also a final and eighth phase (Rev 17:11).

That explanation also refers to ten horns of the beast (Rev 17:3). They all grow out of the seventh head (cf. Rev 17:10, 12). These ten horns, therefore, are the eighth phase. Consequently, the “ten kings … receive authority as kings with the beast for one hour” (Rev 17:12). This confederacy of kings is the same as the end-time coalition of kings at Armageddon (Rev 16:14, 16).

These ten kings “and the beast … will hate the harlot … and will burn her up with fire” (Rev 17:16). Therefore, when God gives Babylon “the cup of the wine of His fierce wrath” (Rev 16:19), it is at the hands of the kings of the world. In other words, the worldwide religiopolitical anti-God coalition fights among themselves. As Revelation states, “The great city (Babylon) was split into three parts” (Rev 16:19).

THE SEVENTH PLAGUE
ENDS WITH CHRIST’S RETURN.

The sixth plague ends with the kings of the world gathered together at Armageddon (Rev 16:16) “for the war of the great day of God” (Rev 16:14). Logically, the seventh plague must be that war but we do not read about a war in the seventh plague. Rather, we read about the infighting in the evil confederation, causing Babylon to split into three parts (Rev 16:19). The seventh plague then ends with the people (the kings and their armies) cursing God.

But, while the kings and their armies are gathered in the sixth plague, at Christ’s return they are seen gathered (Rev 19:19) and all the cursing people “were killed with the sword” from Jesus’ mouth (Rev 19:21).

Therefore, the war at Armageddon is the return of Christ (Rev 19:11-21). It was previously shown that Rev 17-18 interrupts the seventh plague and that Rev 19 continues where the seventh plague has left off (cf. Rev 16:19; 19:2). Rev 19 then ends with Christ’s return (Rev 19:11-).

THE ROAD TO ARMAGEDDON

After that point in time, God unleashes the plagues. God’s people are being persecuted, but the plagues selectively target the persecutors of God’s people (Rev 16:2, 6, 10). However, the people of the world are so hardened that they are unable to repent. It is not that God does not want to save them:

‘As I live!’ declares the Lord GOD, ‘I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn back, turn back from your evil ways! (Ezek 33:11).

However, the wicked are beyond the point of return and continue to blaspheme God (Rev 16:9, 11, 21) and to persecute His people. But support for their religion wanes, depicted by the symbol of the Euphrates drying up, because they now realize that it is false.

But then Satan strikes back with a renewed attack, using his supernatural forces to unite the kings of the earth behind him. False Christianity joins forces with Satanism. Previously, Satan created false religion by corrupting true religion. Consequently, the people did not know that they were really following Satan. But now they know. Knowingly, they join forces against God, determined to exterminate all His followers on earth.

It is in this context that the seventh plague (Armageddon) brings an end to Babylon (Satanism at this stage), the Beast and the False Prophet.

FINAL CONCLUSIONS

(A) This plague, and the plagues in general, are symbols and must not be interpreted literally.

(B) When Babylon is destroyed in the seventh plague, the Beast and the False Prophet are also destroyed.

(C) The entire Revelation 19, including the killing of the people of the world (Rev 19:21), is part of the seventh plague.

Next: Purpose of the Plagues

AVAILABLE ARTICLES ON REVELATION

INTRODUCTORY

Why is the title of this website Revelation BY Jesus Christ?
Every main part of Revelation begins in the temple in heaven.
Are events described in chronological sequence?
Is a consistently literal interpretation appropriate?
Does Revelation present Jesus as God?
God’s throne – the center of the universe.

SEVEN SEALS

Revelation 4
Revelation 4:1-8 – Verse-by-verse

The 24 elders are human beings that rule under God.
Revelation 4:8-11 – Worship in God’s presence
Revelation 5
Revelation 5 is Christ’s enthronement after His ascension.
The sealed book is the Lamb’s Book of Life.
Why can God not explain His judgments?
Revelation 5 verse by verse
The Sixth Seal concludes with Christ’s Return.
Does the seventh seal include the seven trumpets?
Seven seals explained
Introduction to the Seven Seals – What book is this?

BABYLON

Babylon; the mother of harlots – main article
Babylon’s merchants are her false prophets.
Babylon is not the reconstructed ancient city of Babylon.
Babylon is the driving force behind the beast.

SEVEN-HEADED BEASTS

The Seven-Headed Beasts of Revelation identified
The three beasts are three of the seven heads.
The Seven Heads identified

REVELATION 13

13:1-2 – The Beast relates to Daniel 7.
13:3-4 – The fatal wound
The beast of Revelation is the Mainstream Church of Christendom.

SEVEN PLAGUES

The Plagues of Revelation – 16 articles

For general discussions of theology, I recommend Graham Maxwell, who you will find on the Pineknoll website.