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The Glory of Kings: A Festschrift for James B. Jordan
Fyodor Dostoevsky
(Christian Encounters Series)
Athanasius
(Foundations of Theological Exegesis and Christian Spirituality)
The Four: A Survey of the Gospels
Defending Constantine: The Twilight of an Empire and the Dawn of Christendom
From Behind the Veil: The Epistles of John
Deep Exegesis:The Mystery of Reading Scripture
1 & 2 Kings
Brazos Theological Commentary
The Promise Of His Appearing: An Exposition Of Second Peter
A Great Mystery: Fourteen Wedding Sermons
Deep Comedy: Trinity, Tragedy, And Hope In Western Literature
Miniatures & Morals: The Christian Novels of Jane Austen
The Priesthood of the Plebs: A Theology of Baptism
A Son To Me: An Exposition of 1 & 2 Samuel
From Silence to Song: The Davidic Liturgical Revolution
Ascent to Love: A Guide to Dante's Divine Comedy
Blessed Are the Hungry: Meditations on the Lord's Supper
A House For My Name: A Survey of the Old Testament
Heroes of the City of Man: A Christian Guide to Select Ancient Literature
Brightest Heaven of Invention: A Christian Guide To Six Shakespeare Plays
Wise Words: Family Stories That Bring the Proverbs to Life
The Kingdom and the Power: Rediscovering the Centrality of the Church
Bauckham notes that the census of the sealed in Revelation 7 hearkens back to the censuses of Israel in the Old Testament, which were typically of a military character. He concludes that the numbered and sealed are an arm, sealed like the soldiers of a Roman legion with the mark of their commander. Bauckham is wrong, I think, to identify the 144,000 with the “innumerable multitude,” but he is right to suggest that the sealed constitute an “army of martyrs.”
And this fits the pattern of the seals. The sealing of the 144,000 comes between the sixth and seventh seal. When the Lamb breaks the seventh seal, there is a fire thrown to earth in a Pentecostal event, and the trumpets begin to blare. We can understand this against the background of Old Testament events: Israel is numbered in the wilderness, fire falls to earth at Sinai on Pentecost, and then the trumpets of Jericho are blown, the trumpets that will bring down the city.
At some crucial points, the scene is twisted inside out: In Revelation, the numbered and sealed saints will be the ones slaughtered, whose blood brings the city to the ground.
posted by Peter J. Leithart on Thursday, April 28, 2011 at 9:41 am
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