Page 175 - Advanced Biblical Backgrounds Student Textbook

brought together in Messiah. They view it as a veiled message about the destruction of Rome and
Caesar. Depending on your view of the writing of Revelation, the Roman emperor was either Nero (AD
54-68), Galba (AD 68-69), Otho (part of AD 69), Aulus Vitellius (also part of AD 69), Vespasian (AD 69-79),
Titus (AD 79-81), or Domitian (AD 81-96). Some view the book as a sequential laying out of events, while
others view it as cyclical. Some view it as purely spiritual and others idealist. Rather than falling into the
trap of assuming it must be understood one way exclusively, it seems best to affirm that it is clearly
prophetic and regularly utilizes apocalyptic imagery.

Different types of Old Testament usage in Revelation as background:

There are multiple types of Old Testament usage in the book of Revelation. Some have pointed to
anywhere from 400 to over 500 instances of Old Testament usage in Revelation. Trying to understand
Revelation without understanding those references is difficult, it may be said to be like trying to
understand wedding customs in Southern Africa without any culture or history. You will understand
there is a wedding happening. You will be unlikely to understand the symbolism and imagery without
knowing the cultural background. In what follows we will summarize four ways in which the Old
Testament is used in Revelation. This list is not exhaustive. It could be expanded upon both in detail and
scope. The goal is to help you categorize how the Old Testament is being used as you read Revelation.

OT allusions in Revelation:

Some usages of the Old Testament (hereafter “OT”) in Revelation may be understood as allusions. An
allusion is a figure of speech that references an event, individual, thing, or a location. In this case we are
focusing on an event, individual, thing or location in the Old Testament that is referenced in Revelation.
An example of this would be the throne room of Heaven in Revelation 4-5. In Isaiah 6 Yahweh is
described as seated on the throne in Heaven. Another example of an OT allusion is the locust swarm in
Revelation 9:7-11. In Egypt locusts were a plague of judgement from God. In Joel 1 they represented
God’s judgment in an invading army before the ultimate Day of the Lord (1:4 and 1:15). It is also
understood as a form of judgment in 2 Chronicles 7:13-15. It is also a picture of being devoured Nahum
3:15. Sometimes the focus of the locust reference is the scale of the judgment. In certain cases in
Scripture it refers to large numbers as being “like locusts” or “like the locusts.”

Many other examples of allusions are found in Revelation. Gog and Magog are referenced in 20:9 which
is an allusion to Ezekiel 38:2. The river of life and the healing trees are mentioned in Revelation 22:1-3
and are an allusion from Ezekiel 47:1-12. Isaiah 11:1 and 11:10 promised a branch from the root of
Jesse. Revelation names Jesus as that branch/root in Revelation 5:5 and Revelation 22:16. The New
Jerusalem promised in Isaiah 65:18 is prophesied of in Revelation 3:12 and 21:1-2. This city is the same
New Jerusalem the author of Hebrews kept encouraging his listeners to seek (Hebrews 11:9, 11:16,
12:22, and 13:14).

Why does the author use allusions as he does? The first thing we must realize is that there may be
multiple reasons depending on which instance we are looking at. For example, he may want to
emphasize a theme from the OT and use it to explain his point. He may use a quote that is not in
context, but the concept applies to his point.

OT citations and quotes used in Revelation:
Revelation quotes and cites the OT writers frequently. A quote is a word for word recounting of what an
author has said. A citation is less of a word for word quote and can be a group of quotes that are
condensed together. Compare Psalm 2:8-9 and Revelation 2:26-27 below.

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