Gary Burge wrote, “The New Testament has a distinctive understanding of time. There was a beginning (when God created the world), there is a middle (when Israel and the church participate in God’s efforts to reclaim his creation), and there will be an end (when all efforts will cease and God himself will bring the human story to completion). This idea of history is linear: there is a beginning and there is an end.[1]” The book of Revelation takes us to the end of history. D. A. Carson wrote a book titled How Long, O Lord? Reflections on Suffering and Evil (available in the church library). The Psalmist also asked How Long in Psalm 94:1-3,
1Lord, God of vengeance—
God of vengeance, shine!
2Rise up, Judge of the earth;
repay the proud what they deserve.
3Lord, how long will the wicked—
how long will the wicked celebrate?[2]
David asked How Long in Psalm 6:2-3,
2Be gracious to me, Lord, for I am weak;
heal me, Lord, for my bones are shaking;
3my whole being is shaken with terror.
And you, Lord—how long?
When the fifth seal is opened in Rev. 6:9-10 we again see the question asked of God but this time from Christians who have lost their lives because of their testimony,
9When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slaughtered because of the word of God and the testimony they had given., 10They cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, the one who is holy and true, how long until you judge those who live on the earth and avenge our blood?
We can identify with those asking this question and many books have been written and sold attempting to answer this question but neither the book of Revelation nor any other Scripture gives the answer. The book of Revelation instructs us to be faithful even unto death while we wait the consummation. There will be an end someday.
While the book of Revelation has only a few quotations from the Old Testament there are allusions to the Old Testament in much of the book. This week we read of the Trumpet judgments in chapter 8. Using the cross-references in your reference Bible see how many of the plagues God brought on Egypt in Exodus 7-11 are similar to the judgments found in Revelation 8.
Also, at the beginning of chapter 8 when the seventh seal was opened John reported that there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. The cross-references in the CSB reference Bible on the word silence refer to Hab 2:20; Zph 1:7; and Zch 2:13. Zephaniah 1:7 states, “Be silent in the presence of the Lord God,
for the day of the Lord is near.” Seeing the Old Testament background as informing our understanding of the book of Revelation is very important.
[1] Burge, Gary M. 2019. The New Testament in Seven Sentences: A Small Introduction to a Vast Topic. Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic: An Imprint of InterVarsity Press, 117.
[2] All Scripture references are from the Christian Standard Bible. 2020. Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
