09/29/2025
Chapter 15 (excerpt): THE CENTRAL THEME OF REVELATION
THESIS: The central theme of Revelation is a story of two women—the harlot Babylon who is judged/divorced (Revelation 17:1, 5, 15; 18:9, 21; 19:2) and God’s new bride the New Jerusalem (Revelation 19:7; 21:2, 9). The faithless harlot is apostate Old Covenant Israel. The new bride is the Christian church.
WHEN WAS REVELATION WRITTEN? The evidence is strong that the book was written in the mid-60’s AD, prior to the fall of Jerusalem in AD 70. Here are some important clues, among many others: It was written during the tribulation (Revelation 1:9; 2:9), which Jesus time-restricted to his own generation (Matthew 24:9, 21, 29, 34). It was written while the temple was still standing (Revelation 11:1). It was written during the reign of Nero, the sixth emperor of Rome (Revelation 17:10 “now is”) who ruled from AD 54 to AD 68.
WHEN WAS REVELATION FULFILLED? Revelation is a timeless book with universal relevance (Revelation 5:9; 7:9; 10:11; 13:7; 14:6). But the book contains some 30 passages that demand the imminent, i.e. soon, fulfillment of its major theme. We see such statements as “must shortly take place,” “soon,” “near,” and “about to happen” (Revelation 1:1-3; 22:6-20; etc.). While many Christians read thousands of years later into these words, this does violence to the text. Words mean something and God repeatedly used intelligible words of imminent fulfillment that can be clearly understood—as long as your mind is not cluttered with futurist presuppositions. God can tell time. And He does not deceive.
MAJOR THEME. Scholars agree that the major theme of Revelation is the defeat of “Babylon,” but disagree on what Babylon represents. Babylon was an historic enemy of God’s people, and it is used symbolically in Revelation to represent Old Covenant Israel/Jerusalem who had become unfaithful. This is prominent in chapters 16-19. Jesus’ wrath, promised in Revelation (6:16), would come against “the great city Babylon” (Revelation 18:21-24) which is clearly identified as the “city where the Lord was slain” (Revelation 11:8-9). This unambiguously confirms that the Great Judgment was against Jerusalem. Jesus came IN JUDGMENT in AD 70 just as God “came down” in judgment in the Old Testament against his enemies. There is an abundance of additional proof that Israel/Jerusalem was the target of judgment:
Babylon is described as a harlot (Revelation 17:1, 15; 19:2). Throughout the Bible, when Israel was unfaithful, she is characterized as a harlot or adulterer (Deuteronomy 31:16-18; Isaiah 1:21; Jeremiah 2:20; 3:6-9; Ezekiel 6:8-9; 16:15, 26, 28; Hosea 1:2; 9:1). The harlot is adorned in purple and scarlet (Revelation 17:4), which are the colors of the ritual dress of the high priest and the colors that adorn the temple (Exodus 28:5-6; 39:1-2).
In Matthew 21:33-45 Jesus told the Jews that the kingdom would be taken from them and given to another group, obviously the Christian church. In Matthew 23:29-39 Jesus told the Jews of his day that THEY were the target of his wrath. The blood of all the prophets EVER IN HISTORY would be judged against THEM (not some future generation). This is an astounding prophecy which cannot legitimately be assigned to any other group of people. Revelation has several DIRECT REFERENCES to Matthew 23—Revelation 16:6; 17:6; 18:24; 19:2.
It is irrefutably clear that the wrath upon Jerusalem in Matthew 23 (and elsewhere) would be fulfilled in Jesus’ generation per Matthew 23:36. The Great Judgment of which the Bible frequently speaks was directed squarely at the generation of Jews living in the first century. While each person is judged when he dies per Hebrews 9:27, the overwhelming number of judgment passages in the New Testament are about AD 70.
God divorced old covenant Israel, taking on a new bride—the church. Most Christians will acknowledge that the church is the bride of Christ (John 3:29; 2 Corinthians 11:2; Ephesians 5:25-27, 32). If the church is already married, then the wedding ceremony happened in the past. The church was betrothed in AD 30 per Matthew 25:1-13—and married in AD 70 to the new bride—the New Jerusalem—of Revelation 19:7; 21:2, 9. That the church is the New Jerusalem is confirmed by her description as being built on the foundation of the twelve apostles. What else could be built on the foundation of the apostles?!
In summary, the central theme of Revelation is the coming judgment against Old Covenant Israel in AD 70, and the establishment of the New Covenant to its fullest. It is the same judgment—and predicted change of the covenants—spoken of throughout the Old and New Testaments (Deuteronomy 28:15-64; 32:5; Jeremiah 31:31; Daniel 9:26; Matthew 21:43; 22:7-8; Hebrews 8:13; etc.).
(This article is from Mr. Meek’s book Prophecy Primer, available at Amazon.)
