THE APOCALYPSE IN THE LIGHT OF THE TEMPLE THE APOCALYPSE IN THE LIGHT OF THE TEMPLE a new approach to the Book of Revelation by John and Gloria Ben-Daniel Beit Yochanan Jerusalem © 2003 by John and Gloria Ben-Daniel Beit Yochanan, P.O. Box 1106, Jerusalem 91000, Israel Further information can be obtained at www.newtorah.org All rights reserved. Published 2003 Printed in Israel ISBN 965–555–134–2 British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data. A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. The cover presents the text of Ap 10,8 – 11,5 in Hebrew. It has been adapted from the Hebrew-English Bible of the Bible Society in Israel. To “those who follow the Lamb wherever he may go” (Ap 14,4) CONTENTS PREFACE ix INTRODUCTION and plans of the Temple 3 PART I: THE HEAVENLY LITURGY 1. The Sanctuary of God 17 2. The Spirit of God 20 3. The Priest 24 4. The Sacrificial Victim 28 5. The Blood of the Victim 30 6. The Day of Atonement in the Ancient Temple 33 7. The Daily Morning Service in the Ancient Temple 38 8. The Liturgy in the Sanctuary of God 40 9. Discussion 43 i The beginning of the liturgy 43 ii The servicing of the lampstands 44 iii The Lamb taking the scroll 44 iv The breaking of the first four seals of the scroll 46 v The breaking of the fifth seal 46 vi The breaking of the sixth seal 47 vii The sealing of the 144,000 men 48 viii The offering of incense 49 ix Understanding the correct order 50 x The kindling of the offerings 51 xi The sounding of the seven trumpets 53 xii The pouring of the seven libation bowls 54 xiii The presentation of the offerings 55 xiv The conclusion of the liturgy 56 xv Analysing the role of the agents of iniquity 59 xvi The messianic banquet 68 10. Summary and Conclusions 71 11. Implications 74 i For the re-establishment of the ancient cult 74 vii Contents ii For the interpretation of the Apocalypse 75 iii For the interpretation of the ‘Millennium’ 76 PART II: THE ROLE OF PROPHET AND PROPHECY 1. Defining the Problem 83 2. The Preparation of the Prophet 88 3. The Measuring Rod 91 4. The Task of Measuring 96 5. The Place to be Measured 99 6. The Command to Measure 104 7. The Outcome of the Command 108 8. The Two Periods of Time 111 9. Conclusions and the Importance of the Little Scroll 119 PART III: THE FULFILMENT OF THE MYSTERY OF GOD 1. The Two Witnesses 127 2. The Eschatological Exodus 138 3. The Pseudo-messianic Reign 146 4. The Mystery of Iniquity 154 5. The New Temple of God on Mt. Zion 164 6. The Culmination of the Heavenly Liturgy 171 7. The Sign of the Presence of God 177 8. The Consecration of the New Temple 183 9. The Holy War 191 10. The New Heaven and the New Earth 200 11. The Eternal Marriage 206 12. Conclusions 212 APPENDIX: The literary structure of the Apocalypse and its 217 implications for the interpretation of the text. BIBLIOGRAPHY 227 INDEX OF REFERENCES 238 INDEX OF SUBJECTS 255 viii PREFACE Que nos trató de decir San Juan con todo esto? was the question which occurred to one of us after listening to a reading from the Apocalypse more than 20 years ago—what on earth was St. John trying to tell us with all this? The present work is an attempt to explain the answer that has emerged, little by little, from the study and contemplation of this sacred text. The writing was completed in two stages: the initial draft, which was written in Rome and Milan (1992–1994), was later revised and expanded in Jerusalem (2001– 2003). In these places and at all times, we have received help and encouragement from many generous and devoted persons, without whom this book would not yet have come to the light. Without mentioning any names, we remember them all with great affection, and thank them sincerely for their contribution. We also wish to express our thanks for the use of a number of libraries, especially the University Library in Cambridge, the library of the Gregorian University in Rome, and the libraries of the Hebrew University, the Ecole Biblique, the Studium Biblicum Franciscanum and the Caspari Centre in Jerusalem. Above all, we thank the Lord God for giving us the desire and the grace to come to know his Revelation. This book is sent out with the conviction that it offers a new way of ‘seeing’ the Revelation recorded by St. John in the Apocalypse—a way that leads to an understanding of its visions as a whole, and an awareness of the divine unity in which they were originally experienced. It is written for any reader with an active interest in the Scriptures, and no specialist knowledge is required. However, a prior acquaintance with the Apocalypse is indeed necessary, and can easily be obtained by reading the entire text (only 15–20 pages in length) at least once or twice before embarking on its interpretation ‘in the light of the Temple’. Since the findings of this work challenge modern views about the origin and significance of the Apocalypse, our book is ix Preface submitted to the Church with special concern for her approval: “For, of course, all that has been said about the manner of interpreting Scripture is ultimately subject to the judgement of the Church, which exercises the divinely conferred commission and ministry of watching over and interpreting the Word of God” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, no. 119, citing the conciliar document “Dei Verbum”, 12.3). The biblical quotations in this study have been translated by us from the original languages. For quotations from the New Testament we have used the ‘critical’ Greek text of Nestle-Aland, ‘Novum Testamentum Graece’, and for those of the Old Testament we have referred to the Masoretic Hebrew text reproduced in the Hebrew-English Bible of the Bible Society in Israel. The characteris- tic style of the Apocalypse in the original Greek text has been retained as far as possible, and can be recognized by frequent repetition of the conjunction ‘and’, as well as a strange mixing of past, present and future tenses. The numerous biblical references given in parentheses, but not quoted, indicate passages in Scripture that support the statements and assertions expressed in this investigation; there is no need to consult them except when it is desired to check the argument in view. On the other hand the reader is strongly recommended to look at the footnotes, as a lot of extra information and explanation has been placed there to avoid interrupting the flow and overcrowding the main body of this work. For the same reason, the footnotes also contain the unavoidable interaction with scholarly opinions and other interpretations of the Apocalypse. As shortened references have been used throughout the book, the reader is referred to the complete bibliography at the end for full details of cited works and other sources. The biblical abbreviations in this study are the same as those used in the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) of the Holy Bible, with the exception of the Books of Kings and Revelation (Apocalypse), where ‘Kings’ and ‘Rev’ have been replaced by ‘Kgs’ and ‘Ap’ respectively. x