Repetitions, abrupt transitions
and paradoxes in Revelation (the Parousia)

The greatest paradox in Revelation is three very different references to an anticipated unique event: Christ’s Parousia, i.e. his future ‘coming’ or appearance (14:1-20, 19:11-16).  According to the Gospels, at his trial Jesus said the Son-of-Man will be ‘coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory’ (Mt. 24:29-31).[1]  According to Luke, when the resurrected Jesus was outside Jerusalem with his apostles, ‘he (Jesus) was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. (…) suddenly two men in white robes stood by them (…saying) why do you stand looking up towards heaven? This Jesus, (…) will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven’ (Acts 1:9-11).  This describes how Christ will return: in a cloud like at the Ascension, perhaps near to Jerusalem.  This will be heralded by a trumpet (Mt. 24:31) and followed by judgement (Mt. 25:31-46, Jn. 5:22-30).

Revelation opens with John’s anticipation of Christ coming in the clouds (1:7) and this image is fulfilled when Christ the slain Lamb appears on Mt Zion (14:1-5; before Babylon falls at 14:8) and he is seen as one-like-a-son-of-man seated on a cloud when the earth is harvested (14:14-20).  The third reference to Christ’s appearance (19:11-16) is as the Rider on a white horse, who has a sharp sword coming out of his mouth (19:15-21).  He is a warrior anticipated as coming ‘like a thief’ (3:3, 16:15).  The warrior with whom John interacts in the vision (from 1:10) also has a sharp (double edged) sword coming out of his mouth (1:16, 2:12-16) and this indicates they are the same person (Christ).[2]  The Rider treads the wine-press full of God’s wrath and he triumphs in the Great Battle (19:11-21), after Babylon falls (at 16:17-21, 18:1-3).  The first image reflects Gospel expectations of the future appearance of Christ and the harvest,[3] and Mt Zion and the warrior/ Rider/ battle/ winepress motif are well established in the Hebrew Bible as eschatological symbols.[4]  From a theological point of view, any of the three choices for the Parousia could be argued because each one represents the different roles of Christ, as saviour, king and judge – so the Parousia will be something like the three parts.

The text and the proposed macrostructure indicates that the Lamb appears on Mt Zion (14:1-5), perhaps during the time of the fifth bowl (time-parallel 8b).  His appearance may trigger the preparations for war at the sixth bowl (time-parallel 9).  However, John is told that Christ will come at an unknown time ‘like a thief! Blessed is the one who stays awake’ (16:15a) so it is entirely possible, in the proposed macrostructure and in reality, that Christ will come at another time during the bowls (see Framework 4A.d).  The Rider appears after Babylon falls and evil forces re-group (at time-parallel 14), ready for the Great Battle (time-parallel 15).  How the appearances of Christ relate to one another is illustrated in the following diagrams (Figures 4 and 5).

[1] See also: Mt. 26:64, Mk. 13:24-27, Mk. 14:62, Lk. 21:25-28, Lk. 22:69. 

[2] The rider of the fourth seal is on a white horse (6:2) but he is not recorded as having a sword coming out of his mouth, so he is not Christ.  He may mimic the Rider, but he brings conquest and this may be an allusion to Roman conquests and the Roman occupation of Judea (see Section 2a).   

[3] Harvest: Mt. 13:36-43, Jn. 4:35-38.  Other references emphasise bringing people into the kingdom: Mt.9:37-38, Mk. 4:26-29, Lk. 10:2.

[4] There are over 100 references to praise or pleas for the salvation of Zion in the Psalms, and prophecies about the Jerusalem’s desolation and future redemption.  Representative of the eschaton, i.e. ‘last days’ or ‘end times’; for example, Is. 63:1-6, Lam.1:15, Joel 3:9-14.