SIMILIES IN EPHESIANS 5

In attempting to follow the logic in this chapter, it is helpful to trace the various similies indicated by the tenfold repetition of the word “as.” In that manner one can recognize that there are two major subsections, the second one is similarly divided into two parts, each organized a little differently.

Introduction: Walking wisely (5:1-20)

                                        Ephesians 5:1-20 (Walking in the Light)

A Be imitators of God as beloved children (5:1)

B. Live                         as children of light (5:8)

C. Live not as unwise, but as wise (5:15)

500. Specific examples of wise and unwise living (5:16-20)

In these verses we see a straightforward progression of thought in which first believers are called children A, followed by further clarification in B as to what kind of children they are. And since “light” is a metaphorical term, it is next explained as being wise in C. And if any further doubt is in the mind of the reader at this point, Paul in D provides concrete examples of what he is talking about. This logical exposition approaches the way we would attempt to explain a concept to someone else today, but you may be surprised to learn that it is actually fairly rare in biblical writings. Much more common are the sorts of arrangements we see in the next two sub-sections of Ephesians 5.

2 The image of a fragrant offering also appears in II Corinthians 2:15-16 and Philippians 4:18.

4. Hoehner: “Paul was not intimating that humor itself is sin, but that it is wrong when it is used to destroy or tear down others.”

8. Maclean notes that darkness and light are used as “apocalyptic imagery for the domains of the hostile spiritual powers and of God and Christ.”

11-12. An anonymous contributor to Dictionary of Biblical Imagery says that “darkness keeps some very bad company, made all the more devious by virtue of the concealment of evil activity from ordinary view.”

14. The source of this quotation is unknown. Metzger attributes it to an early Christian hymn based on Isaiah 60:1.

15-17. Banks says,that “there is a need to avoid ways of using time that divert us from our main priorities. We should identify when and where evil is active, how it seeks to tempt us, and what we can do to defend ourselves. This entails 'redeeming' time that would otherwise be spent unfruitfully (Eph. 5:15-17). This is a call not to busyness, as some modern translations suggest.., but to a judicious use of time, one that 'seeks first the kingdom of God' rather than an anxious quest for material security (Matt. 6:33).”

18. Duff: “Almost all negative texts regarding alcohol warn against its abuse and condemn drunkenness (e.g., Isa. 28:1; Eph. 5:18). One NT passage, however, speaks of abstaining from wine in order to prevent a brother or sister from stumbling (Rom 14:21)..”

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Introduction: Be subject to one another (5:21)

                                          Ephesians 5:22-24 (Instructions to Wives)

A. Wives, be subject to your husbands (5:22a)

        B. as you are to the Lord (5:22b)

                C. Husband is the head of the wife (5:23a)

                C'.as Christ is the head of the church (5:23b)

        B'. as the church is subject to Christ, (5:24a)

A'. wives ought to be (subject) to their husband (5:24b)

Now we come to a much more common arrangement of ideas, at least in biblical terms. Note how these three verses present teachings in a mirror-image manner (technically called a chiasm) so that they present three teachings which are then repeated in reverse order, ending up where they started.

21. “The biblical text...speaks first of mutual subordination (5.21), never of submission, and only of married persons. It controls and qualifies the husband's headship by making it clear that only an unselfish and self-giving love characterizes such a 'head.'” (M; Barth)

22-24. Hoehner states, “'As to the Lord' does not mean that a wife is to submit to her husband in the same way she submits to the Lord, but rather that her submission to her husband is her service rendered 'to the Lord' (cf. Col. 3:18).”

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                                        Ephesians 5:25-33 (Instructions to Husbands)

    A. Husbands, Love your wives (5:25a)

            B. as Christ loved the church (5:25b)

    A'. Husbands, love your wives (5:28a)

            B'.as you do your own bodies (5:28b)

   A''. One cares for his body (5:29a)

            B''. as Christ does for the church (5:29b)

    A'''. Each one love his wife

            B'''.as himself (5:33)

Now finally in the last sub-section we see a prime example of another common way biblical writers express themselves, in parallel statements which are organized in the same manner and ring all the changes to reinforce each thought with another similar one.

25-27. “The lyric language of 5:25-27 (sometimes thought to come from a baptismal hymn) brings Christ and the church into the relationship of husband and wife, so that respectively the subjection and the love are given a uniquely Christian stamp.” (R.E. Brown)

25. “Baptism is compared to the Jewish custom of a bride's prenuptial bath.” (Maclean) The annotation in the Jerusalem Bible adds, “As applied mystically to the Church, Christ washes his bride himself in the bath of baptism, and makes her immaculate...”

26. “The marriage metaphor in Eph 5 is...a mixed one; for the duty of presenting the bride to the bridegroom would normally be that of the bridegroom's friend. Cf. II Cor 11:2, where Paul regards himself in this light. Here Christ is both the one who presents and the one who receives.” (Payne)

28-30 “Weddings are public professions of loyal devotion. The first joyful profession is given by Adam before God to Eve (Gen 2:22-24); his commitment resounds in Paul's command that husbands love their wives as themselves (Eph 5:28-30). The promised union of Adam and Eve as 'one flesh' before God is echoed and imitated in every wedding by these mutual professions.”(DBI)

31-32. “Verse 31 is a free rendering of Genesis 2:24, indicating that the bond between husband and wife is greater than that between parent and child. The greatness of the mystery refers to the two becoming one flesh. But then Paul returned to mention the wonderful bond between Christ and the church, which illustrates the love of a husband for his wife.” (Hoehner)

33. Keener: “Because Paul's instructions specifically address institutions as they existed in Paul's day, interpreters of Paul who do not insist on reinstituting slavery or the monarchy should not insist on patriarchal marriages which subordinate wives, either. Indeed, given Paul's weak definition of the wife's submission as 'respect'.., it appears that Paul advocated her submission in only a limited manner even for his own social situation.”.

DOES GOD EVER REPENT?

I know that it sounds almost heretical to even suggest such an idea. However, if one reads the Old Testament carefully, especially in the King James Version, it soon becomes obvious that indeed He does repent (nacham in Hebrew). But the story is really not so clear since that same verb is used of God repenting almost twenty times vs. the six times it is said that He doesn't repent. This certainly sounds like a blatant contradiction, but appearances can be deceiving, as many Bible scholars are quick to point out.

Murray puts it this way: “In the AV (i.e. King James Version) the terms 'repent' and 'repentance' are seldom used in the Old Testament with reference to men...As translations of the root naham, they are applied most frequently to God...The negative with reference to God also appears with equal emphasis...The term used most frequently to denote human repentance is not naham, but sub, which means to turn or return and applied to turning from sin to God. When repentance is predicated of God,either in the direction of judgment or mercy, there is reference to the change that takes place in His relations to men. God is immutable in His being, perfections, and purposes. But He changes His relationship and attitude, in judgment upon sin from complacency to wrath, in mercy from wrath to favor and blessing.”

Vine says, “ In the O.T., repentance with reference to sin is not so prominent as that change of mind or purpose, out of pity for those who have been affected by one's actions, or in whom the results of the action have not fulfilled expectations, a repentance attributed both to God and to man, e.g. Gen. 6:6; Ex. 32:14 (that this does not imply anything contrary to God's immutability, but that the aspect of His mind is changed toward an object that has itself changed...”

Soza puts it this way: “God repented of his creation, responding to the sinful actions of human beings by sending a flood. This can pose a problem in English terminology because of the rather restricted use of 'repent' as meaning solely to turn from sin. However, the Hebrew can be understood as 'to be sorry' or 'to change one's mind.' There is certainly an emotional dimension of remorse that connotes a grieving in changing one's mind. Yet in some sense, in 'repenting' in this context, the creator God became the destroying God. His repentance is expressed in an action opposite to the action he had become pained over.”

Kaiser elaborates in some detail on this seeming quandary: “Many have taken offense because Genesis 6:6 said, 'The LORD was grieved [repented] that he had made man on the earth.' How could God appear to regret having made a decision once it was made?...Interestingly enough, Numbers 23:19 represents repentance as an impossibility for God...But lest this be thought to be an obvious contradiction, we must call the reader's attention to another place in the Old Testament where in the scope of one and the same chapter both affirmations are made about God...The chapter is 1 Samuel 15 [compare vv. 11 and 29]...The basic idea is that God can and does change in his actions and emotions towards men so as not to change in his basic character. God's repentance does not prove him to be fickle, mutable, and variable in his nature or purpose...God's repentance, then, is a form of anthropomorphism that dares to picture the God-man relationship in terms of our everyday lives...To deny any humanness to God would be to underinterpret these figures of speech; but to reduce God to the common failures and quirks of human inconsistency would be to overinterpret these anthropopathisms. The exalted state of God also embraces within himself a variety of emotions including regret, grief, and change in response (repentance) to mortals when they have changed against his divine purpose or nature.”

Finally, I will not even attempt to capture all that David Noel Freedman says on the subject of God repenting in his 30-page essay included in the compilation of his writings found in Divine Commitment and Human Obligation: Volume 1. He systematically investigates all those instances in the Bible in which God changes His mind. It will suffice for the purposes of the present post to say that Freedman's study is prefaced by the following words: “Throughout and in every case, it should be understood that the divine repentance is real, that the meaning and value of the story depend on the transaction between God and prophet or God and people; and that if it is not real on the part of God (i.e. that he does not and cannot change his mind), then the story is a charade without significance. Admittedly we are using a metaphor, involving stories and persons that include God and humans; but within the metaphor – and we believe that nobody can get closer to the reality behind the metaphor – we must be faithful to the data. Once it is understood that Yahweh enters into the drama as fully and wholeheartedly as the other participants, then we can proceed with the analysis.”

I will close with one warning here. For some, the Bible passages demonstrating God's “repentance” have led them to embrace what has been labeled Open Theism. This is the theology that describes God experiencing time alongside humanity, adapting, and genuinely "learning" as events unfold. Most Bible scholars and theologians would rightly label this concept as a heresy or near-heresy.

JONAH AS A DOVE

One of the many problematic issues regarding the book of Jonah is whether the prophet's name, which means 'dove' in Hebrew, has any symbolic significance. It is certainly related to the overall question as to the genre of the book. Is it to be understood as straightforward history, an extended allegory, or perhaps something in between? Thus, if it is completely historical, then it is doubtful that the name Jonah's parents happened to give him at birth has any further significance. On the other hand, if the whole book is fictional, then we should consider every detail in it to be of importance to the meaning intended by the author.

Commentators are quite divided on this issue, with the more conservative ones tending to be skeptical of any underlying feature of this reluctant prophet's name. You can see this in the quotes below:

Stuart: “Jonah's name means 'dove' or 'pigeon' in Hebrew, one of many biblical names taken from animals and not symbolic in any way of Jonah's character.” And Stuart reiterates this opinion in another of his writings when he states that “there is no evidence whatever that this name bears any special significance in the book (e.g. allegorical), any more than...Simon Peter's father (Jonah) does in Matt. 16:17.”

Bullock states, “The OT has several examples of allegory. All of them are rather brief and contain clear evidence that they are allegories. Those who propound this interpretation of Jonah make the point that his name means 'dove,' a word that later (much later!) became the symbol for Israel. So Jonah becomes the figure to represent Israel, and the fish becomes the world power (Babylon) that swallowed up Israel,..However,no OT allegory is written so straightforwardly as historical narrative as Jonah.”

Then there is Leslie Allen, who appears to hedge his bets somewhat in allowing the presence of some symbolic significance in Jonah 1:1, but he draws the line at the name 'Jonah' itself. “'Jonah' means 'dove' in Hebrew, a symbol for Israel. He is son of truth, faithfulness (Heb. 'emet), satirically an orthodox son of the faith...In any event, it is doubtful whether 'dove' is a symbolic name for Israel in the OT. If Amittai had been intended as allegorical, the author missed a golden opportunity to reveal that fact...It is best to confine the definition of the literary form of the book to that of a parable with certain allegorical features.”

On the other hand, additional authors coming from both conservative and liberal viewpoints have no problem at all with seeing symbolic meaning to Jonah's name, that of his father, and the events in the narrative as well:

“Jonah's name means 'dove,' It is a name for someone you love...We must not forget that through all his troubles and failings, flight and disobedience, Jonah is the beloved of God...Jonah is also a sign of peace, like the dove who comes back to Noah with an olive branch...When the Holy Spirit descends upon the Lord Jesus coming up from the waters of baptism, it takes the form of a dove as a reminder of this Noachic sign of peace on earth to the one in whom God is well pleased...Jonah the dove stands midway between these two signs, both of which signify a renewal of the earth protected from destructive waters:...Despite himself, Jonah becomes a sign of peace to those voyaging on dangerous waters and to those within the evil city who one might have thought, had no prospect but destruction on the last day...Despite appearances, the book of Jonah – this book of the dove – is in the end a comedy of peace, like the history of the world. The name 'Amittai' is related to the word 'amen' and means 'truth.' So Jonah is the dove of truth, sign of a love that is not just warm and soft like a dove, but also faithful and reliable as a rock, founded on the truth. One could hardly choose a better name for a prophet of the LORD than 'Jonah son of Amittai.” (Cary)

Kiuchi: “The name of the prophet Jonah (yona ben amittay) has often been associated with the message of the book of Jonah. It is suggested that yona (dove) symbolizes Israel and amittay means truth or faithfulness, and that this gives an ironic significance to the message of the book. However, there is strong opposition to this approach..While it seems a litle far-fetched to assume that yona in the book of Jonah symbolizes Israel, it is not entirely unlikely that the dove as the symbol of loveliness and gracefulness is in the consciousness of the author, given the presence of rich irony in the book.”

Sasson reviews several interpretations of verse 1:1 as well as offering his own reading: “Although 'Dove' is a perfectly legitimate choice for Hebrew parents to bestow upon a male son...many scholars have sought symbolic or even esoteric reasons for its assignment to a prophet. For example, Koenig...finds it significant that the Northern Kingdom prophet Hosea twice alludes to a 'dove' that runs to and from Assyria (Nineveh): 7:11, 'Ephrayin [Israel] is becoming a silly, aimless dove: its people appeal to Egypt, but run to Assyria.' The simile is completed in 11:11, with the return of the dove from Assyria.”

Lastly are some comments from Ackerman: “'Jonah son of Amittai' (1:1) is surely a reference to the eighth-century Northern Kingdom prophet briefly described in 2 Kings 14:25 as a popular prophet who, in the context of the Israelite king's sin, proclaims divine mercy and support for that kingdom. The name means 'Dove son of truth,' and the dove has two major characteristics in the Hebrew Bible: it is easily put to flight and seeks secure refuge in the mountains (Ezek. 7:16, Ps. 55:6-8), and it moans and laments when in distress (Nahum 2:7; Isaiah 38:14, 59:11). Will these characteristics, we wonder, also apply to our hero? And what meaning will the story give to 'son of truth'?” The answer to the first question is apparently yes, and ultimately Ackerman concludes that this book is best characterized as a satire.

The Genre of Jonah

As you can see from the above comments, much depends on the literary genre of this book. And here most modern scholars are agreed that it is meant to be taken not as historical fact, at least not in all its unrealistic details, but as another some sort of book. But, unfortunately, there is no strong consensus as to exactly into what form of literature to place it:

Crenshaw: “The choice of this prophet as the target of didactic satire is doubly appropriate, first because he proclaimed nationalistic oracles on behalf of Israel and second because his name means 'dove [of faithfulness or truthfulness].' The author wrote a short parable characterized by fantastic events to poke fun indirectly at a little man whose inner thoughts remain virtually hidden.”

Patterson states, “While whole books can be analyzed in terms of satire (e.g., Amos, Jonah), satire is found within other genres such as lament or woe (e.g. Ezek. 19:1-14; 24:3-5).”

Woodard asks, “Is satire the only, even the primary genre present? Commentators who answer in the affirmative offer many valuable insights, but the thesis of the discussion that follows is that the book more thoroughly resembles another genre, Hebrew tragedy. The text of Jonah, examined on its own terms and in relation to various earlier sources known to its author, is a tragic narrative, the structured plot enlivening Jonah's character in a way that satire never could...The latter is said to pervade the Jonah story highlighting the seemingly outlandish events and Jonah's ridiculous actions. This reading with its impressive display of rhetorical analysis, proceeds as follows. Jonah, so of 'truth' ('Amittai'), wishes to avoid truth at all costs – including the loss of his own life.” But Woodard argues instead that Jonah contains “the six phases of OT tragedy – dilemma, choice, catastrophe, suffering, perception or realization of one's error, and death.” One could certainly argue against those last two elements being present in the story.     

Childs recognizes the quandary regarding the exact genre of the book as he says, “The effort to specify the literary genre of the book of Jonah has been characterized as a fable, didactic novel, prophetic legend, and parable. Others have described the book as a midrash or even an allegory...In the end, many commentators opt for a mixed genre with the presence of many eclectic elements.” He concludes that it should be considered as “a parable-like story.” And so the controversy continues.

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"HOPE" IN THE BIBLE

Sometimes the definition of a word such as “hope” can best be comprehended by a real example. Taking one out of the Old Testament,we should think of Jeremiah. He has often been characterized as a weeping or grieving prophet, but the utter despair of his situation actually lay behind all his actions and teachings. Recall that he was a prophet to the Jews for forty years, during which time God told him to do things which made him ridiculous in the eyes of the people; he was not allowed to marry; his life was threatened; he was imprisoned; all his writings were destroyed; he was called an enemy of the people for his teachings; he paid to purchase a plot of land that he knew he would soon lose; and finally he was carried away against his will, and died in a foreign land. Nonetheless, he continued to preach a message of hope to the people.

As an aside, the word “hope” appears exactly eight times in Jeremiah, a number symbolically indicating in the Bible a surfeit, “more than sufficient to meet the need, or a brand new beginning.”

Psalms 39:7-8

Jacobson: “The two terms for hope, qawa and tohelet, technically refer to 'waiting' and 'expecting,' which can be understood as two of the components of hope. To hope is first of all to wait, in the full sense of waiting. That is, to wait is to be stuck in the present moment without something or someone that one desires. But to wait is also to linger in the expectation that the something or someone will show up. This is the sense of qawa, especially as it is used in the Psalter.”

Psalms 71:5

“The pleas of vv. 2 and 4 give way [in vv. 3, 7-8] to a testimony of lifelong relationship. Each line except v. 7a contains the word you, telling over and over of a life of faith. God is this one's hope and trust and has been so since birth (v. 6). The poem stresses how this one has always had God as a constant (v. 3) place of safety (vv. 3-7), and the response is to be an example (v. 7) and to praise (v. 8). This section reminds all of God's sustaining grace, but as the next section opens, it also serves as a reminder to God to act again as God has acted in the past.” (Tanner)

Psalm 78:7

“Aseph called the people to hear his instruction about the Lord's deeds...that He would make known to his generation. These had been handed down from earlier generations as God had commanded. The LORD planned this so that the nation might trust Him and obey the Law (v. 7), not stumbling in unbelief and rebellion like their unfaithful forefathers (v. 8).” (Ross)

Psalm 146:5-7

As deClaisse-Walford points out, verse 5 begins with the wisdom word content ('asre), the same word with which Psalm opens and Psalm 2 closes. The word 'asre occurs eleven times in Book Five of the Psalter, almost half of all its occurrences in the Psalter...Content is the one whose help ('ezer) is the God of Jacob. “That last line stands in a parallel relationship with 5b: “whose hope is the LORD their God.”

Acts 23:6

Trenchard states: “The hope in the resurrection of the dead was not a theological sophism but the essence of the gospel. Paul stirred into life something real in some of his old companions [the Pharisees] when he reminded them that their most treasured possession was the messianic hope and the doctrine of the resurrection. This was true OT succession, and not the sterile formalism of the Sadducees and the legalists...”

Acts 26:6

This verse continues the thought of the above passage as Paul describes his early upbringing and points out the “absurd feature of the present dispute [with the Jews] that he was being prosecuted for his proclamation of this very hope – and prosecuted by Jews, of all people! But this hope was the hope that God would keep the promise which He made to the fathers of the nation long ago; it was the hope which gave life and meaning and purpose to the ordinances of divine worship, faithfully maintained by all twelve tribes of Israel generation after generation – the hope that God would one day come down to deliver His people as He had done when they were slaves in Egypt...” (Bruce)

Romans 5:1-5 “We are justified by faith and have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ (v. 1)...we boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God (v. 2)...character produces hope (v. 4) and hope does not disappoint us, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that was given us (v. 5).” Notice how the three members of the Trinity are woven into the concepts of faith, hope and love. This is but the first of a number of occurrences of that triad of characteristics in the New Testament.

Romans 8:24-25

The thought is not that he [Paul] will attain to the future salvation by the instrumentality of hope. And neither is the thought that the salvation in the believer's possession came to be his by the instrumentality of hope...'In hope' refers to the fact that the salvation bestowed in the past, the salvation now in possession, is characterized by hope. Hope is an ingredient inseparable from the salvation possessed; in that sense it is salvation conditioned by and oriented to hope. Hope is imbued with that same confidence which characterizes faith (cf. Heb. 11:1). As faith is contrasted with sight (II Cor. 5:7), so is hope, and hope is not dimmed although its object is not present to sense or attained in experience.”(Murray)

Romans 12:3-11

This appeal by Paul to believers begins with telling them “to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned them.” In v. 6 he reiterates that this is is a gift they have received from Him “in proportion to their faith.” We also have a two-fold mention of love in verses 9 and 10, first directed to what is good and secondly directed toward one another. The third member of the triad appears in v. 12 where they are told to rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, and persevere in in prayer. Those last two verbs are closely related to hope and can be said to arise out of it.

I Corinthians 13:13

Fee explains that “these words [i.e. faith, hope and love] embrace the whole of Christian existence, as believers live out the life of the Spirit in the present age awaiting the consummation. They have 'faith' toward God, that is, they trust him to forgive and accept them through Christ.., they trust in his goodness and mercies. They also have 'hope' for the future, which has been guaranteed for them through Christ.Through his resurrection and the gift of the Spirit, they have become a thoroughly future-oriented people...They are on their way 'home,' destined for an existence in the presence of God that is 'face to face.'”

Galatians 5:5-6

“For through the Spirit, by faith, we eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness. For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision not uncircumcision counts for anything; the only thing that counts is [faith working] through love.” Here Paul utilizes the most commonly recognized order of these three: faith-hope-love.

Colossians 1:1-8

This compact and organized passage begins with God and Christ (v. 1), repeats these two persons of the Trinity in the same order in vv. 6-7, and finishes with addition of the Spirit. At the same time, the other familiar triad appears as part of the following phrases: “your faith in Christ Jesus” (4a), “love that you have for all the saints (4b), “the hope laid up for you in heaven. You heard of this hope before” (5), “Epaphras, our beloved fellow servant” (7a), “He is a faithful minister of Christ” (7b), and “your love in the Spirit” (8).

I Timothy 6:11

Paul tells Timothy to pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. After faith and love we might expect to read 'hope,' but get endurance (hupomeno) instead. Vine notes that this word in Matthew 10:22; 24:13; Mark 13:13 is followed by the phrase 'unto the end.' Thus we can say that it alludes to the hope of heaven for those who persevere.

Titus 2:2

“Tell the older men to be temperate, serious, prudent, and sound in faith, in love, and in endurance.” That the last item in the list is equivalent to or arises from the hope of salvation is indicated by a consideration of 2:13, where Paul says, “...we wait for the blessed hope and manifestation of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Hebrews 10:22-24

Kittredge says, “For Hebrews, faith undergirds hope (see 2.6; 6.11,18; 7:19).” To this we could add: “and results in love.”

Ellingworth states that the “present passage becomes increasingly forward-looking, so that faith and hope are closely related, like faith and confession...”

Hebrews 11:1-12:6

Hebrews 11 is the great dissertation on faith and in the first verse it is coupled with hope: “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” And this main theme continues into the following chapter, ending problematically at 12:6, which mentions the Lord's love for us. This is the same order we also noted in Hebrews 10:22-24 above.

I Peter 1

In this chapter, faith appears in verses 7, 9, and 21a and belief in 8; the theme of hope of eternal life runs throughout the chapter; and in v. 22 we finally are reminded of love.

And as Keener puts it, “Because the English word 'hope' is ambiguous, we might better render the underlying Greek term as 'expectation'...Believers' hope of future inheritance in Christ (1:4; 3:9) is secure because it is grounded in the already fulfilled resurrection of Christ (1:3, 21; 3:21) and believers' consequent experience of new birth (1:3, 23). This hope is also associated with eschatological glory (1:7; 2:12; 4:13; 5:1,4,10) and described as ultimate salvation (1:5,9,10; 2:2). Embracing such an expectation should affect how believers live (3:9; 4:7).”

 

ECCLESIASTES 8: COMMENTS FROM JACQUES ELLUL

Jacques Ellul WAs a Christian author that most of you have probably never heard of before. He was a leader in the French resistance during WWII and later a professor of history and sociology who died in 1994. Some terms that he used to describe himself or that others have attached to him include: Bible commentator, Calvinist, philosopher, existentialist, socialist, anarchist, and universalist. That last term means that he believed everyone would be saved in the end..

Despite his lack of solid evangelical credentials, or perhaps because of that fact, several of his books are definitely worth considering just to gain a different slant on things. Most of his writings in one way or another warn the reader against the evils of political power, economic power, materialism, technology, nationalism and scientism. And thus, Ellul is probably best known for his sociological and theological writings such as The Technological Bluff, The Subversion of Christianity, and Money & Power.

But I have personally gotten the most out of his Bible commentaries, the most prominent of which are The Meaning of the City and Apocalypse. That is not to say that I agree with everything he says, but he always has a unique slant on every text that he tackles. One of his lesser known works is a commentary on the Book of Ecclesiastes titled Reason for Being, and below are some miscellaneous quotations in it relating to the eighth chapter of Ecclesiastes.

Ecclesiastes 8:1 – “Qohelet [i.e. The Teacher] shows us wisdom as the search for an explanation...(8:1). This view is utterly modern, since it has nothing to do with metaphysics or rhetoric. Rather, the idea of explanation suggests 'scientific' rigor and precision. After all, the term 'explanation' covers both of science's early objectives: the why and the how.”

We can see that same “scientific” approach even better in the earlier chapters of the book where the author sets out to “consider” and “test” one aspect of life after the other in an attempt to find out something he can state for sure. But he always ends up in a state of frustration, uncertainty and confusion. We are reminded somewhat of Job, who tried his best to do the same regarding his personal situation, but had to throw it all in God's lap in the end for an (at least partial) insight into His ways.

Ecclesiastes 8:5 – “Since life is fragile and finite, marked by death, respect it all the more by adopting modest and humble rules of behavior. 'The one who observes the precept knows nothing evil, and the heart of the sage knows time and judgment' (8:5). Accept that there are rules to follow, and when you obey God's commands, you will keep from committing any evil deed.”

“Qohelet does not refer to the Torah here, but I believe he has precepts based on it in mind. To live your life well, you need to observe certain times...and make certain necessary judgments and assessments. These things make life possible. Qohelet goes no further; for example, he does not say that life is marvelous. On the contrary, everything he teaches us points to the opposite! But he states that if we observe the Law, the times for things, and make certain judgments, we can live, and life is not so bad. But we must never claim to go beyond this humble possibility,”

Of course, Qohelet is writing strictly from an Old Testament perspective without the clear teachings in the New Testament regarding the possibility of a better life beyond this one.

Ecclesiastes 8:5b-6 – “I find three simple remarks necessary if we are to understand the meaning of 'judgment' in the texts we want to examine and such an introduction was necessary for the reader to understand why I place judgment within the gift of God. One of the texts concerning judgment does not refer to God: 'The heart of the sage knows time and judgment. Indeed, there is a time and a judgment for everything. For a person's evil is heavy upon him'. Thus there is not only a time for each thing, but also a judgment. In this text the judgment seems not to involve God, but rather the sage's capacity to bring judgment to bear on things.”

Ecclesiastes 8:12 – “Qohelet assures us that happiness will come to those who experience this fear of God: 'I myself know...that there will be happiness for those who fear God because they experience fear before him' (8:12) Thus the very fact that one is filled with this fear produces happiness. I do not believe a reward is involved; the meaning is not 'If you fear God, he will make you happy.' I believe Qohelet has sufficiently demonstrated the opposite! Rather, the person who fears God experiences happiness because this fear itself is the presence of God. For the person who experiences it, this fear gives assurance of the Lord's presence...Those who tremble in God's presence are in his presence. But their trembling stems from their 'fear' as much as from their emotion, 'enthusiasm,' bedazzlement, or fullness. They tremble at the approach of God. Here we see extreme joy and happiness – in the recognition of one's helplessness and unworthiness...”

Again, Ellul's interpretation reminds me powerfully of the passage at the end of Job where our protagonist says to God, “I had heard of thee by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees thee; therefore I despise myself, and repent in dust and ashes.” (Job 42:5-6)

Ecclesiastes 8:12b-13 – “Now we come up against a new obstacle: Qohelet presents the mechanism of retribution that Job criticized so much and rejected: 'Although I know that there will be happiness for those who fear God, because they fear before him. And there will be no happiness for the wicked person; like a shadow, he will not prolong his days, because he does not fear before God.' (8:12b-13). This is absolutely staggering! This man who questions everything, this antiestablishment person who goes to the bottom of things, now comes up with a platitude that flies in the face of reality. Qohelet must have known how Job protested, yet he offers precisely the arguments of Job's friends.”

Rather than falling back on what some commentators do (namely, assuming that a pious editor has added these words), Ellul responds that Qohelet “calls himself into question, and in an act typical of faith, he proclaims the opposite of what the evidence seems to show. Our experience indicates that the unjust reigns and lives on, and that the good person fails to be recognized. Faith rears up in the face of this evidence and declares: 'True, that is how things are, but I know...' making its appeal to another dimension – something qualitative and not observable. As I have often emphasized, faith like this, that stands in the face of all the evidence to the contrary is the very essence of hope.”

Ecclesiastes 8:14 – “Qohelet is not a book on morality! Although he declares certain situations 'evil,' our author says almost nothing about 'good.' ...All we see in Qohelet is that doing good, being just, etc., are useless and have no meaning in the long run.” After quoting 8:14, Ellul continues: “Of course Qohelet does not approve of the situation. He does not even state objectively 'that is how things are.' No, he finds in such events an evidence of vanity. This vanity takes many forms and turns up everywhere. The passage just quoted points to one of them: just and unjust people are treated in the same way. There is no justice – no reward we can expect if we do good and act justly. Everything is inverted, perverted, or muddled by the enormous effect of vanity.”

Concerning this 'vanity' with which we are surrounded here on earth, Ellul concludes, “Certainly Qohelet does not tell us we must not do good: just that we must not expect anything from it or be shocked by the triumph of the evil person and the defeat of the just person. We must not have blind faith in some triumphant future for humanity...This lesson on vanity does not constitute pessimism, but rather a warning. Qohelet shows us the reality of what surrounds us so we will not take it seriously, so we will not believe it. We must not attach our love, our truth, or our person to this reality. Do not devote yourself to all this, since that would amount to chasing after wind!”

The above message is a good one for some of the liberal mainline churches to keep in mind. Just manning a soup kitchen for the poor may be a good work for a Christian. Just don't expect that it will automatically give you any sort of lasting satisfaction, recognition here on earth, or save the world. Instead, you may be cursed by even those you are attempting to serve.

Ecclesiastes 8:15 – “Each happy day should move us to give thanks. This is what Qohelet says, repeating it like a refrain – at least as often as 'All is vanity': 'I praised joy!...And this accompanies a person in his work during all the days of his life that God has given him under the sun' (8:15). This passage brings out an attitude found frequently in the Old Testament and repeated in the New, but abandoned by theologians...Rather than saying bluntly 'this is a gift from God, Qohelet suggests 'I see [or I know] this to be a gift from God.' I believe we should understand in this same sense the texts where he makes such a statement directly...This basic understanding moves us from an ontological to an existential approach. Qohelet does not say that things 'are,' but that he sees or conceives them in a certain way. He interprets them...For the believer, the result is a confession of faith.”

Ecclesiastes 8:17a – “Fundamental reality, the relationship between the Creator and the world, remains unknowable and impenetrable. We can only 'know' that a given action of God exists – no more...Reality is as unknowable as the future, because of God's omnipotence. 'A person cannot manage to arrive at what God does..he seeks and seeks, but he does not understand' (8:17a)'. These words do not constitute a condemnation of trying and wanting to understand. But first we must realize that if God the Wholly Other, does things, we cannot expect to fathom them.

Ecclesiastes 8:17 – And as a fitting ending to this particular post, here is more of what Ellul has to say regarding the whole of verse 17: “Wisdom seems ultimately impossible: 'I saw...that a person cannot discover the work that is done under the sun, since he tires in the search and fails to find anything. And even if the sage says he knows, he cannot find.' As for us moderns, we have discovered a great many things. But, as we have already seen, the horizon continually moves farther from us. In this connection, Qohelet seems to posit a kind of absolute: no matter what he does, he cannot find the ultimate secret, the key that would enable him to understand everything. As little as I know, what strikes me most is that the further we advance, the more everything we know becomes complex and elusive.”

I remember when I was in high school and really thought that I knew everything there was to know in the Bible since I had literally attended church from the time I was a week old. Then as I began reading the Bible for myself, I realized that all our pastors tended to stick to a very narrow scope of Scripture passages and ignore those which might tend to confuse the congregation. There were huge chunks of material that I didn't even know were in the Bible. Then years later, when I was sure I knew everything there was to know in Scripture, I began purchasing and reading scholarly Bible commentaries and realized that there were many more nuances and ways of interpreting the Bible than I knew ever existed. That was over 50 years ago and I am still learning more every day.

I shouldn't have been surprised at that revelation, since my own chosen profession was chemical research, and I realized soon enough that every time a scholar solved one research problem, it generally brought up ten more questions that also needed pinning down or even opened up a whole new field of research for investigation. That fact, of course, guaranteed a certain amount of job security for a researcher, but on the other hand it could be frustrating for those who dearly desire to see the eventual end of the process.

As Paul writes in I Corinthians 13:12, “ For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall understand fully, even as I have been fully understood.” (RSV)

ECCLESIASTES 8: VERSE-BY-VERSE COMMENTS

Mainstream commentators on this chapter have brought out a number of useful perspectives on the Teacher's words. Below is a sampling of such insights:

Ecclesiastes 8:1 Several scholars note that there is some controversy as to whether this verse rightly begins Chapter 8 or concludes Ecclesiastes 7, but as David Moore concludes, “This verse could easily serve as a wrap-up to chapter 7 or as an introduction to this chapter. In either case, it reminds us of the benefits that people derive from living wisely.”.

Seow: “The precise meaning of the Hebrew peset is uncertain. It occurs only here in the Biblical Hebrew.” But there are similar words in the Apocrypha, Syriac, Aramaic, and the Dead Sea texts which lead one to feel that 'solution' is the best interpretation.

Ecclesiastes 8:2-9 “The wise man will have a wholesome respect for the absolute power of the monarch, and will conduct himself with discretion in his relations with him. The king has the power of life and death, which ordinary people do not. It is implied that the wise man belongs to the upper classes, with access to the court.” (Scott)

2. The textual note to RSV explains that the Hebrew text here begins with “I keep” vs. the wording as a command (“Keep”) most translations employ.

The Jerusalem Bible adds: “The king wields a sacred authority. The 'oath of God' may be the promise given by God to the king, 2 S 9; Ps 89, or else the oath sworn to God either by the king or by his subjects.”

3. “RSV interprets the verse as simple advice to the courtier to waste no time in carrying out the king's commands even when the errand is an unpleasant one. This, however, involves a somewhat strained interpretation of 'go from his presence'. Of the alternative interpretations, that which takes the verse to be a warning against conspiracy is perhaps the most probable: 'Do not be in a hurry to desert him and involve yourself in a plot which is bound to fail, since he will get his own way' (cf. Prov. 20:2; 24:21-22; 25:2).” (Whybray)

4. Kostenberger says in relation to John 6:30, “'What are you going to perform?' represents a common OT expression of incredulity (cf. Job 9:12; Eccles. 8:4; Isa. 45:9...”

5,7. “The word for 'misery' (ra'ah) is related to the word for 'harm' (ra) in verse 5. This misery comes because people are ignorant of 'what will happen' and 'when it will happen'.” (Glenn)

6. Fleming: “Perhaps the verse means that although troubles and failures are inevitable, there is sure to be a loophole somewhere so that a wise man will find his way out. More likely, however, it connects with the following verse and has to do with man's ignorance of the future.”

8. “It is wrong to claim...that the Bible discourages us from viewing time in cyclic terms; instead it offers the possibility of investing such earthly time with a transcendent and even divine perspective and significance. It is a mark of human wisdom to 'know the time' for performing a human act (Eccles 8:5) and to be among those who know the times (Esther 1:13).” (Dictionary of Biblical Imagery)

Regarding the phrase 'no substitution,' (mislahat bammilhama), Seow says that it “is difficult to interpret. Most commentators take it to mean that there is no exemption or discharge from war.” In this particular case he feels it means: “Each person must face the day of death personally.”

8-9. Glenn says, “The reason for such misery is the inescapable consequences of wickedness that arise from such ignorance; just as no man can control the wind (cf. Prov 27:16), postpone the day of his death, or be discharged while in the midst of battle, so no man can escape the consequences of his wickedness. The first three clauses in Ecclesiastes 8:8 are parallel in Hebrew and are comparative to the last clause.”

9. Hendry wisely states that “an authoritarian order of society may be irrational and even evil (v. 9b); nevertheless loyalty to it is preferable to insurrection. Cf. Rom; 13. This is hardly an acceptable doctrine nowadays; yet it is a profound challenge to those who identify change with progress. The idea of reform was no doubt strange to the mind of the writer, who construes criticism of authority as simple insurrection. But his reflections are no less applicable to it....It is a fact that reforms which are designed to remove one evil often put others in its place.”

Ecclesiastes 8:10-15 “Since a man therefore cannot count on his virtue being recompensed, he must find his only compensation for life's struggle in the daily enjoyment of living.” (Scott)

10. Scott also points out that there has been the suggestion that 'the sacred place' is an euphemism for 'the unclean place', i.e. the cemetery.

The note in JB states, “The whole verse is obscure and has been corrected here [to read 'And then I see the wicked brought to burial and people come from the Temple to honor them in the city for having been the men they were.'] following the Greek, cf. Jb 21:27-34. Other translations 'Then, too, I have seen the wicked carried to the grave; they used to go forth from the holy place and were honored in the city' or 'Then, too, I have seen the wicked approaching and entering but they went away from the Holy Place; while those who had done good were forgotten in the city'.”

11. “My interpretation of the difficult preceding verse indicated that the absence of retribution was at the heart of Qohelet's frustration. He now formulates the problem and states why it is a problem. In this verse, Qohelet asserts that when there is no apparent punishment for evil, then it will flourish. If people do not observe negative consequences for bad actions, they will be encouraged to do even more evil.” (Longman)

12-13. Oswalt: “...God will bring all people into judgment (Eccles 3:17; 5:6; 8:12-13; 11:9 12:14). Judgment according to what standard? The answer is supplied in Ecclesiastes 12:13: judgment will be according to the commands of God that have been revealed. Given that fact, we are not surprised at the repeated injunction to 'fear God' (Eccles 3:14; 5:7; 8:12; 12:13).”

13. “Evening shadows may...represent the peaceful end of the righteous (Eccles 8:13) or even a time for romantic repose (Song 2:17.” (DBI)

14. Walton says regarding this verse, “In the book of Ecclesiastes Qohelet holds the retribution principle at arm's length, but he does hold it...He labels the experiences that contradict the retribution principle as meaningless (Eccles 8:14), but despite those contradictions he advises that it will go better for those who fear God (Eccles 8:12-13).”

15. Other places where eating and drinking are commended by the author include Ecclesiastes 2:24-25; 3:13; 5:18; and 9:7.

Ecclesiastes 8:16-17 “Qoheleth returns to the theme of the impenetrable mystery which surrounds man's life, since God has kept its meaning hidden from him..., and the fate of all living creatures is the same death (...viii 8). (Scott)

Moore says, “The closing two verses of this chapter continue with Solomon's graphic realism. Life is far too complex for any human to figure out how all its parts fit together. The most insightful people will continue to be mystified by much that life offers. The mystery of God's revelation reminds us of our rightful place in relation to it.”

 

ECCLESIASTES 8: STRUCTURAL ANALYSIS

This interesting chapter was chosen quite randomly to see what different perspectives could be brought to bear on it. Besides this post on how the chapter is organized, subsequent postings will treat it in two additional ways.

Structure

One must start first with an overview of how the whole book is organized. The arrangement shown in Figure 1 above has much to recommend itself and is defended in my post titled “Is There Any Organization to Ecclesiastes?” But, of course, there are many alternative ways of viewing it.

Figure 1: Overall Structure of Ecclesiastes

A. Prologue (1:1-11)

    B. The ultimate futility of pursuing wisdom (1:12-2:11)

        C. The common fate of the wise man and fool (2:12-26)

            D. God’s time for everything, including judgment (3:1-22)

                E. Enjoyment of work better than pursuit of riches (4:1-5:20)

-----------------------------

                E'. Prosperity and adversity both come from God (6:1-7:14)

            D'. God’s time for everything, including judgment (7:15-8:17)

        C'. The common fate of the righteous and the wicked (9:1-10)

    B'. Live wisely but realize that success is uncertain (9:11-11:10)

A'. Epilogue (12:1-14)

Concentrating on Chapter 8 only, we note the following parallels which pair up D with that portion of D'.

    The majority of the references to “matter” appear in D and D' (see especially 3:1 and 8:6).

    The thought in 3:11 is parallel to the teachings in 7:27-28 and 8:17.

    The phrase “there is nothing better” appears in 3:12; 3:22 and 8:15.

    The Teacher observes examples of oppression in 3:16 and 8:9.

    Childs sees a similar eschatological motif in 3:17 and 8:11-12.

Zeroing in on our chapter in question, one should keep in mind the astute comment of Fredericks: “No structural outline for the entire book has demanded significant support from critics, though many outlines have been offered.” And the same is certainly true of this one chapter.

Thus, looking first at the scope of the literary unit only, we have the NIV, Whybray, and Scott attaching 8:1 to the ending of Chapter 7 as well as disagreement as to where the section's conclusion is located. J.S. Wright believes that from 8:8 to 9:3 constitutes a discrete literary unit, and Scott includes the last two verses of Ecclesiastes 8 in with 9:1-12.

Just about the only point of agreement between the above options is that v. 1 serves as an introduction to the chapter while vv. 16-17 constitute the conclusion. This view is actually strongly suggested by the following parallel words and phrases found in both those passages:

    “the wise man” / “those who are wise”

    “know” / “claim to know but they cannot find it out”

    “wisdom” / “wisdom”

    “one's face” / “one's eyes

Then, even among those who treat chapter 8 as a complete unit, there is disagreement as to its internal divisions. Several sources locate one major break of thought in this chapter, but there is little agreement between them as to exactly where that is located:

    J.S. Wright: after v. 7

    Dorsey: after v. 8

    Glenn, Fleming, and Scott: after v. 9

    The Message: after v. 13

Most others propose multiple sub-sections within the bulk of Ecclesiastes 8:

    NIV                  2-4; 5-8; 9-10; 11-13;       14-15.

    Living Bible    2-7; 8;    9-13;                   14; 15

    The Message   2-7; 8;    9; 10; 11; 12-13; 14; 15

    TEV                2-8;        9-10; 11-14;              15

    RSV, NRSV    2-9             10-13              14-15

    JB                    2-9;           10-14;                   15

    Whybray         2-9;           10-15

    Hendry            2-9;           10; 11-15

Note the reasonable agreement here with those who see only one break in the chapter and locate it after either verses 7 (2 votes), 8 (4 votes), or 9 (6 votes). In addition, five of the above sources feel that v. 14 begins a new thought.

The section divisions in Figure 2 below are those determined by RSV and NRSV.

                                           Figure 2: Structure of Ecclesiastes 8

        1. Introduction (v. 1)

                2. Dealing with Authorities (vv. 2-9)

                2'. Fate of the Wicked (vv. 10-13)

                2''.Fate of and Advice for the Wise (vv. 14-15)

        1'. Conclusion (vv. 16-17)

The parallels between 1 and 1' have already been enumerated above. But, as you can see, it is much more controversial as to the internal breaks between sub-units, especially since Bible scholars and lay readers alike tend to look only for basic changes of thought or topic in the text to indicate at what point a new literary unit begins. Such a method is usually far too subjective a criteria to be safely relied on when taken alone.

The above is why the identification of the opening (v. 1) and closing literary unit (vv. 16-17) is relatively easy to determine since there are the four verbal agreements given above to help confirm them as a matched pair. But in the absence of such obvious confirmation (as in the remainder ot chapter 8), one person's opinion is just about as good as another's. So below is a rough compilation of verbal or near verbal parallels arranged in order of their appearance in the text:

wise man (1a)

            who knows? (1b)

wisdom (1c)

                        God (2)

                                    evil (3)

                                                power (4)

            not know (5a)

                                    evil time (5b)    

            do not know (7)

                                                power (8a)

                                    wickedness (8b)

                                                         I saw (9a)

                                                                applying my mind (9b)

                            done under the sun (9c)

                                    evil (9d)

                                                       I saw (9e)

                                                power (10a)

                                                                        this is vanity (10b)

                                    evil deed (11b)

                                    do evil (11c, 12a)

            know (12b)

                        God (12c)

                                                                                    their days (13)

                                                                         this is vanity (14a)

                                        done on earth (14b)

                                   deeds of the wicked (14c)

                            under the sun (15a)

                                                                                    the days of life (15b)

                            under the sun (15c)

                                                                I applied my mind (16a)

            to know (16b)

wisdom (16c)

                    to see (16d)

                            what is done on earth (16e)

                    he sees not (16f)

                    I saw (17a)

                            done under the sun (17b)

While the above analysis certainly does not immediately lend itself to an exact breakdown of the sub-sections in Ecclesiastes 8, just glancing at it reveals that it builds to a peak somewhere in the vicinity of vv. 13-15 with the repetition of references to the days of one's life. In addition, there appears to be a parallel pattern with “under the sun...on earth...under the sun” in both 9c-15a and 15c-17b, suggesting a major break somewhere in v. 15. Another piece of data leading to the same basic conclusion of a two-part construction is the fact that all references to evil, wickedness, vanity and power are located in the first half of the chapter.

I am afraid that in this particular chapter, trying to go to the next step of breaking it down further into precisely delineated sub-sections which are exactly parallel to one another both verbally and in thought would be going beyond what the evidence demands. However, in many other instances in the Bible, such a procedure is very helpful in understanding now the inspired authors organized their thoughts.

 

REVELATION 14:8

There are several questions and insights which this single verse brings up.

Two Implications

A few scholars have pointed out how the symbology in this verse indicates dual meanings. Thus, the following citations:

Morris: “The reason for her [i.e. Babylon's] fall is her bad influence She made all the nations drink of the wine of her fornication (again in xviii, 3). John is combining two thoughts: first, that Babylon makes the nations drink the wine of her impurity, i.e. she corrupts them with her evil ways, and second that this impurity brings down upon it the wrath of God (cf. Je. xxv. 15), 'The nations having drunk the wine of her fornication have really therein drunk the wine of the wrath of God' (Charles).”

John Phillips states, “If the first proclamation [Rev. 14:6-7] was good news, the second was great news...This is the first mention of Babylon in the Apocalypse, but it is by no means the last. It gathers up into itself, in one brief preliminary statement, all that is later unfolded in chapter seventeen and eighteen. This proclamation anticipates the complete collapse of the political, economic, and religious system of the beast. This note is sounded here in view of the warning that follows, for those alive on the earth at this time will have a dire choice before them. That choice is the subject of the third proclamation [Rev. 14:9-12]. This second proclamation puts things into perspective and thus helps them decide. The triumph of Babylon will be brief.”

Porter: “In Revelation 14:8 and Revelation 18:3, in two similar passages, an angel proclaims that Babylon the whore, a personification of Rome, has fallen. She is the one who made the nations drink the wine of the passion (thymos) of her immorality. There is the possibility that thymos here should be interpreted anger or wrath, in light of Babylon's destructive and bloodthirsty purposes.”

Society set free from God is its own worst enemy...This pictures Rome the prostitute seducing the world by the intoxicating influence of her corrupt practices. The other concept is that of the cup of God's wrath as divine punishment (a figure used elsewhere in Rev. 14:10; 16:19; 19:15). By joining the two symbols, the angel may be pointing out that the heady potion of Rome's seductive practices inevitably involves the wrath of God.” (Mounce)

Figurative Language

Almost all commentators agree that the Book of Revelation is filled with non-literal language containing many figures of speech and symbols.

Hendricksen, speaking from an amillennialist perspective, says, “Chapter 13 shows us the agents, instruments, or tools which the dragon uses in his attack upon the church...The first is satan's hand. The second is the devil's mind. The first represents the persecuting power of satan operating in and through the nations of this world and their governments. The second symbolizes the false religions and philosophies of this world...In 14:8 a third agent is mentioned, namely, Babylon, the harlot. So, in all, three agents are employed by satan in his attack upon the earth. They are: antichristian persecution, antichristian religion, and antichristian seduction.”

Ford states that 'wine' in this verse “indicates the intoxicating influence of Babylon's vices. The same concept appears in Jer 51:7,8, which refers to Babylon as 'a golden cup in the Lord's hand' that has intoxicated the earth and driven the nations mad.”

“A second angel now appears...and announces the fall of Babylon the Great. The introduction of this symbolic reference without explanation assumes that the readers would understand the allusion. The ancient Mesopotamian city of Babylon had become the political and religious capital of a world empire, renowned for its luxury and moral corruption. Above all it was the great enemy of the people of God...It is a symbol of the spirit of godlessness which in every age lures men away from the worship of the Creator. It is the final manifestation of secular humanism in its attempt to destroy the remaining vestiges of true religion. (Mounce)

D.R. Wright states, “The Revelation of John makes frequent use of the language of prostitution and fornication, sometimes literally (Rev 9:21) but more often figuratively of idolatry and the excesses of debauched luxury (Rev 14:8, 17:1-5, 18:3, 19:2)...In these later chapters pagan, Christian-persecuting Rome seems to embody these forces of evil, but the letters to the Asian churches in Revelation 2-3 reveal subtler internal threats.”

The footnote to the Jerusalem Bible states: “The 'wine of anger' is a familiar image, cf. Is 51:17+, for the divine anger to which Babylon (Rome) has exposed all nations by making them worship her idols.”

“To drink from a cup handed to you by the Lord means accepting your lot, a metaphor frequently used in prophetic writings to describe the bitter end of the wicked. The cup, described as containing divine judgment and wrath, is one from which they have no choice but to drink.” (Dictionary of Biblical Imagery)

“Images of prostitution are completed by judgment. In Revelation's judgment, prostitution again assumes figurative force. Babylon, the city of godlessness, decadence, materialism and ruthless power, is pictured as the Great Whore 'which made all nations drink the maddening wine of her adulteries' (Rev 14:8 NIV).” (DBI)

“Revelation...depicts the Christian community as a temple (naos, Rev 3:12; 11:1-2) and as a city (polis, Rev 3:12; 11:3; 20:9; 21:2,22; 22:19) – a city that is opposed by another city, the embodiment of evil (Rev 11:8; 14:8; 16:19).” (Giles)

The True Identity of Babylon

There is reasonable agreement between most theological branches of Christianity concerning this issue:

Ruiz: “Babylon is a symbolic name for Rome (2 Esd 3:1-2). The association of the two is based on the destruction of Jerusalem by Babylon in 586 BCE and by Rome in 70 CE.”

Beasley-Murray: “In the latter chapters of the book Rome is called 'Babylon' (see Rev 14:8; 16:19; 17:5; 18:2,10,21). The most probable reason for giving the name Babylon to Rome was that as Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, had destroyed Jerusalem in 586 B.C. so Rome had done in recent times...This symbolic name [i.e. 'Babylon'] for Rome appears in 1 Pet. 5:13, the Sibylline Oracles 5:143, 159 and 2 Baruch 11:1.”

Metzger calls this verse “an anticipation of ch. 18” which he labels as “Dirge over the fallen city (Rome).”

Payne's historical premillennial view is expressed in his interpretation of Rev. 14:8. “After the eschatological material of vv. 1-7, this verse appears to involve a reversion to the conditions of John's day...Fulfillment...the fall of the Roman empire, A.D. 476...”

“The theme of great Babylon's downfall is continued [from 14:18], but is now presented in terms of the destruction of a great mercantile city. In John's day Rome was the center of world commerce...and what is here portrayed is not merely the doom of an ancient city, but the sure collapse of all human organization, commercial and otherwise, that leaves God out of its reckoning.” (Bruce)

“While the image of Babylon in the Revelation may not be exhausted by the exclusive application to Rome, there is much about the imperial capital that well fits the apocalyptic denunciation.” (Rapske)

Beagley presents the arguments pro and con regarding the identity of Babylon – either Rome or Jerusalem. He remains undecided as to which city is intended.

Arnold says, “While there is much in the Apocalypse that has the historical city of Rome in view, there appears to be the anticipation of judgment on a future city (or, possibly, some future manifestation symbolized by the city) that possesses all the ungodly and evil characteristics of ancient Rome and Babylon.”

Although most of the above opinions center in one way or another on the Roman Empire of the past which indeed fell as predicted in Revelation, there is one outlier. Thus, Walvoord, speaking from a dispensational viewpoint (which always insists on taking Scripture in a strictly literal manner even when it makes little sense to do so) disputes whether this identification is fully justified. He concludes “that it is Babylon itself, located on the Euphrates River, which in the end time will be converted into a ship-bearing river. When all the evidence is studied, the conclusion seems to point to Babylon being rebuilt as the capital of the world empire in the end time rather than to Rome in Italy. Bible expositors, however, continue to be divided on this question.” Notice that even he hedges his bets in that last statement.