The Preterist Connection of Revelation 19 & Revelation 20 imagery: Bar Kochba Revolt

              The Preterist Connection of Revelation 19 & Revelation 20 imagery: Bar Kochba Revolt

 REVELATION 19 THEMES

·         Jesus as the Greater Joshua going to war with Apostate Jerusalem/Spiritual Canaanites to claim the New Jerusalem / Promise Land. Compare the Old Covenant Israel’s Land Allotment with New Covenant Israel’s Land Allotment. See Joshua 13-21; Ezekiel 45,47,48.

 Jesus as the Greater Solomon (resurrected/ascended Christ imagery). Solomon the Man of Peace is a “resurrected” King David who starts off his new Kingdom by killing off his enemies and exiling one of them: Adonijah killed ( 1 Kings 2:25), Joab killed (1 Kings 2:34), Shimei killed(1 Kings 2:46), Abiathar exiled (1 Kings 2:26-27). Likewise, Christ tosses the Beast and False Prophet into the Lake of Fire and then exiles Satan into the Abyss. Also, Satan is used as scapegoat imagery/Azazel. 

       Jesus as the Greater Jehu in 2 Kings 9-10. He rides his (cloud) chariot of war and sentences the Wicked Jezebel and her allies to death. In addition, he slaughters the Baal worshipers at their Temple. Jehu purges the land of Baal worship. Similarly, Jesus wipes out the followers of the Old Covenant cult system- the Whore of Babylon. The Whore of Babylon is "stoned" (catapults), set on fire, and torn down. Leviticus 14:43-46, 21:9. He purges the land for New Covenant Israel.

 

 

REVELATION 20 THEMES

Once Jesus (The Greater Joshua/Solomon) conquers the Promise Land and distributes the New Covenant Land Allotment, the New Covenant Israel rebuilds their city.

New Covenant Israel will “rebuild” the ancient ruins of Old Jerusalem like the exiles from Babylon rebuilding Jerusalem (Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther).

Isaiah 49:8, 52:9, 61:4, 65:1-25, Isaiah 58:12, Ezekiel 36:33, Amos 9:14-15, Jeremiah 30:18-20, Zechariah 8:1-8.

NOTE: This doesn’t mean that they are building it into New Jerusalem. It’s a symbol of rebuilding civilization and daily life.

 

New Covenant Israel will never be defeated.

Isaiah 41:11, 54:14-17, Zechariah 12:1-9.

 

New Covenant Israel will never be uprooted from the Promise Land (New Jerusalem)

Psalm 125:1, Proverbs 2:22, 10:30, Jeremiah 31:40



New Covenant Israel imitates Old Covenant Israel’s Path of Salvation.

New Covenant Israel will leave Apostate Jerusalem (Spiritual Egypt) and be nourished in the wilderness: Revelation 12:1-6, 13-16.

New Covenant Israel will not go hungry and will be protected from the sun. Compare Exodus 13:21 with Isaiah 4:5-6, 49:10, Revelation 7:15-17, 21:4.

New Covenant Israel will inherit the Promise Land/New Jerusalem. This is offensive to the Old Covenant Jews. They now see their unclean enemies; the Gentiles take their home as well as receive God’s glory and blessings. New Covenant Israel will collect the plunder/spoils from the war (Zechariah 14:14)

 

 

Why Consider a Bar Kokhba Revolt Fulfillment for Rev 20:7-15

1.      The imagery described above about Jesus as the new Joshua/Solomon/Jehu. Rev 20:1-6 is 70 AD; 20:7-15 is the Bar Kokhba revolt to 135AD. Old Covenant Israel (Gog of Magog) attempts to reclaim and uproot New Covenant Israel from the Promise Land, but fails.

 

2.      There are no textual indicators to suggest Rev 20 is going back to 26-66AD/30AD-70AD.

 

3.      The Greek Word Phylake (Rev 20:7) means a physical, literal imprisonment based on its context-SHUT/SEALED. It’s used in the same way in Rev 18:2, 2:10; Matthew 14:10; Acts 12:5. John the Baptist and Peter’s respective imprisonments. This is problematic for a physical Satan (High Priest) and Spiritual Satan. Neither of them was tossed into a prison between 26-66AD/30AD-70AD.

 

4.      Parallelism of the FirstFruits for Rev 20. The First Fruits of the Egyptian Exodus didn't "transport" immediately to the Earthly Promise Land. Similarly, the First Fruits in Matthew 27:51-53 didn't "transport" to Heaven-The Spiritual Promise Land. There is no evidence of the First Fruits going to Heaven before 70AD. I believe that the First Fruits were supernaturally preserved until after the destruction of Jerusalem in 70AD-Matthew 16:28. Therefore, a 26-66AD/30AD-70AD interpretation doesn’t work.

 

5.      Matthew 19:28 states that the Saints can only judge AT THE TIME OF THE NEW WORLD, which occurred in 70AD. Not any time before that.

 

 

6.      All throughout Revelation, Apostate Jerusalem is never referred to as the Beloved City. It is called the Great City. Even Peter calls it Babylon in 1 Peter 5:13. There is no proof of a positive reputation until AFTER its destruction. It is when the New Jerusalem comes down from Heaven to Earth where the promise of the New Name is presented as stated in Rev 2:17, 3:12; Ish1:21, 26, 62:3-5, 12.

 

7.      “This Generation” is a qualitative description of character (crooked/twisted), not alluding to a quantitative description of 40 years. Deu 32:5; Ps 71:18, 78:8; Matt17:17, Mar 9:19; Luk 9:41; Acts 2:40; Phil 2:3. After 40 years, a DISTINCTION was made between the True Jews (Heaven) and False Jews (Hades at that time)-Malachi 3:18. After70AD, a New Covenant recipient was considered a True Jew in the Bible and Old Covenant Israel was considered a Gentile. After the 2nd revolt, the remaining False Jews (Gentiles) and those who were in Hades already were tossed into the Lake of Fire.

 

 

8.      It doesn’t diminish, change, or negate the benefits of what the Saints received in 70AD. The STING OF DEATH was removed in 70AD for the Saint while Hadean death was destroyed in 135AD along with Gog of Magog-Old Covenant Israel-The False Jews.

 

9.       There is a 40 year gap (30-70AD) for the salvation process, yet it is considered ONE event. Likewise, we should consider a 65 year gap (70AD-135AD) for the resurrection as ONE event. 70 AD-135 AD is 65. 65 years is an Old Covenant Hope that fell short from the 70 years back into the Promise Land. New Covenant Israel reached the 70 years and was successful.

 

 

10.  The Martyrs in Rev 20 are the Martyrs are from The Great Tribulation. They are the direct focus of the chapter, not the Martyrs from 26-33AD. Compare Revelation 7:13-17 with Rev 20, we can see that these Martyrs were the ones who were killed during the Great Tribulation. Not during Jesus' ministry.

 

 

11.  Some may be thrown off by the transition of Rev 20:9-15 to 21:1-2. A similar example can be found in Rev 8. Rev 8 ends with the Seventh Seal opening up with the beginning of the Seven Trumpets. In Revelation 8:6-11:19, we see the imagery of the Seven Trumpets explained in further detail to the reader. Likewise, we see this with Rev 20. The Beloved City is introduced in Rev 20:9-15 then explained in further detail in Revelation 21-22 to the reader.

 

12.  The 1,000 years/Millennium are "dead" years. All parties affected by them are in a dead realm: Saints in Heaven, Wicked in Hades, and Satan in the Abyss. Nothing about the living audience is directly affected by the 1,000 years. A lot of people forget that the NT has been influenced by the Greek culture. In Roman -Greco literature, 1,000 years meant a transition in the eternal state. Virgil, Plato, and the Orphics are known for associating 1,000 years with Greek reincarnation in their respective literary works. See Kurt Simmons’ article on Preterist Central.com called Revelation’s Millennia and Greco-Roman Notions of Hades.


13.  Isaiah 24:21-23 allows for a gap of time between both resurrections.

 

14.  Lazarus and the Rich man. The Rich man is not in the Lake of Fire. At that time, He was in Hades waiting to be tossed into the Lake of Fire.

 

15.  Daniel 12:7 talks about the shattering of the POWER of the Holy People in 70AD. Not the actual shattering of the Jews until 135AD-the 2nd revolt.


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