Is Revelation anti-Semitic?

In the beginning the book of Revelation could not have been anti-Semitic; a man of the Jewish faith wrote it. This is apparent from the text of the book itself. On the surface, there are many quotes from the Hebrew scriptures and allusions to Jewish narratives. The book also contains passages, such as Revelation 1 and 8, that show a clear understanding of Jewish ceremonial traditions. 

Who was the author of Revelation?

Three very popular and many more individualistic options exist as to the author of Revelation.

(1) The first idea, shared by the earliest Christian writers Justin Martyr (c90-165) and Irenaeus (125-202), was that John the Apostle of Jesus wrote the book. Later authors questioned this idea, such as Dionysius of Alexandria (190-264) and Eusebius (260-339), who wrote there was another John the Elder in Ephesus.

(2) This idea led some people to believe John Mark, who accompanied Paul on missionary journeys, authored the text.

(3) Some scholars argue that another person, someone more undefined, possibly even a gentile named John the Elder, wrote the Apocalypse.

Once when I was discussing the term “Judean” that appears in both Revelation 2:9 and 3:9 with a scholar, he challenged my opinion that John the Apostle wrote the book of Revelation. I replied, “Do you realize that your view on the authorship of the Book of Revelation affects the understanding of the term Judean?” If John the Apostle, who was born in Galilee, wrote the book, the term Judean implied Jews who lived in the more southerly Judea. If it was John Mark, who was of the diaspora, the term Judean could be used against Jews who lived in both Judea and Galilee. If the author was the gentile John the Elder it could be an anti-Semitic term applied to all Jews. 

What does John mean by “The Synagogue of Satan?”

The interpretation offered for the words that appear in both Revelation 2:9 and 3:9 by most of the professors, teachers, and speakers offers a totally anti-Semitic explanation for the words, “those who say they are Jews (Judeans) but are not.” Some people explain this phrase relates to Jewish attacks on members of the church (both verbal and also physically abusive). The Apostle Paul writes how he experienced such attacks personally. This interpretation would encourage antisemitism.

Other teachers explain Revelation 2:9 and 3:9 speak of troubles experienced when Jewish and Gentile believers parted ways. A few interpreters explain some Jews were attempting to insert Gnosticism into the young Christian congregations. 

Commentators who are sympathetic to the Jews try to sidestep the these verses by saying John was writing about heretics in general, not just Jews; and that the term synagogue means assemblies in general, not just churches.

How did the Judeans become part of this Assembly of Disbelief?

I saw something else in these verses (this appears in my book and in another blog). John wrote the Apocalypse after the destruction of Jerusalem to reveal why God would allow the demolition. Judeans (yes, many times exiles forced from their homes in Judea) lost faith in a God that would allow the destruction of their homeland and slandered this God of Israel. Conflicted trauma or tribulation internally imprisoned such Judeans because the Temple with its altar lay in ruins. The Yom Kippur offering could not be made by a non-existent High Priest for the atonement of exiled Israel. These hurting people are like some of the Hebrew slaves who lived at the time of the Exodus and refused to mark their door frames with blood, denying the prediction of Moses that an Angel of Death would come to Egypt.

John’s intended response was possibly that members of the community of faith pray that these hurt and confused Judeans could overcome the traumatic changes in life and understand God still provides for their atonement and care. When these Judeans, who had the ground of the Holy Land pulled out from under their feet, receive the message and respond (as in a season of Elul) the binding chains of tribulation and fear fell away. When disoriented Judeans understand the offering Jesus made on the cross it enabled the name of God to be written above the pillars of their doors so the Angel of Death would pass over. These new believers would bow down and worship and learn how much God loves them. Such people will partake of the Tree of Life and avoid the second death. 

Who are the 144,000 Jews of Revelation seven?

Many premillennial ministers teach that the 144,000 sealed believers are Jewish evangelists who preach on the earth to their own kind that they missed the rapture because of their reject of the gospel and continued unbelief. These same ministers then take the words, “After this I looked, and behold” (Rv 7:9) to separate the Jewish believers from the multitude of Gentile believers that angels sweep up by the rapture into the clouds and away from the tribulation (not mentioned in this Bible passage, but to the premillennial advocates it sounds good). The story often woven in this explanation tells how the Gentiles can look down from the clouds and see the tribulation of the Jewish evangelists and the horrible tortures and deaths of Jews and other non-believers that remain on earth.

The best interpretation of this text places Jewish and Gentile believers together in the heavenly courts of God after death to sing praise before the throne of God (Revelation 4-5) with the angels and 24 elders. My book, “John’s Apocalypse: A Jewish Idea” explains the background of the number 144,000 and how it connects to the clean robes in the message of the Apocalypse.

Who are the 144,000 Jews of Revelation fourteen?

This is where the blog becomes very difficult, because sometimes I read that these 144,000 believers are Gentiles that have receive all the biblical promises formerly given to Israel because of Jewish unbelief. The Bible does not say this, and the idea is totally antisemitic!

This passage is the chiasmic mirror of Revelation seven and reinforces the concept that the Jews (144,000) and other believers will sing a “New Song.” The mention of “who have not defiled themselves with women,” and “no lies” connects this verse to the mention of clean robes (Rv 7) and the explanation found in my book on the 144,000 Jews. Read Numbers 31 and “John’s Apocalypse: A Jewish Idea” to understand.

Did John intend for his book to be antisemitic?

The answer is clearly no, because the text and the author of Revelation are so Jewish. John would have to hate himself to include the meanings some attach to the text. After the Apostle’s death, when the gentile population of the church overwhelmed the original Jewish culture, new ideas arose that changed the original purpose for writing Revelation. Generations of writers have shaped the Apocalypse according to their world without really exploring the culture and environment that existed during the early years of the Jewish movement that became Christianity. My goal in writing books is to understand the first century Jewish roots of our faith.