The Absent Church?

Revelation is a message to the Church concerned with its real-life situation as it bears witness in a hostile world – Revelation 4:1-3.

After Jesus dictated his letters to the “Seven Assemblies of Asia,” John saw an “open door in Heaven,” and he heard the voice from his first vision summoning him to “come up here.” Next, he was standing before the “Throne sitting in Heaven.” Does this image symbolize the physical removal of the Church from the Earth before the subsequent visions of the Book, the so-called ‘Rapture of the Saints’?

The term “assembly” or ‘ekklésia’ does not appear again until the concluding section of the Book of Revelation. Several popular interpretations assume the omission of this word and the image of John rising to Heaven point to the physical removal of the Church before the series of Seals, Trumpets, and Bowls begin - (Revelation 4:1-3).

[Photo by Jacob Mejicanos on Unsplash]

The absence of the term ‘church’ or “assembly” in chapters 4 through 21 does not prove these congregations have been removed from the Earth, or any later church or churches, for that matter. This popular interpretation is an ‘argument from silence’ (argumentum silento), an assumption based on what the passage does not say, and it ignores the other terms applied to the one people of God in Revelation.

This view overlooks the literary links between the Seven Letters to the “Assemblies of Asia” and the other visions of Revelation. In its entirety, the Book is addressed to the “Servants of God” identified as the “Seven Assemblies of Asia,” and John describes himself as a “fellow participant” with those congregations in the “Tribulation, Kingdom, and Endurance in Jesus” – (Revelation 1:1-9).

Rather than avoiding persecution, the churches are called to endure whatever comes, including martyrdom. By doing so, they “overcome” and inherit the promises given to the one who “overcomes” - (Revelation 2:7, 2:11, 2:17, 2:26-28, 3:5, 3:21).

For example, the “Innumerable Multitude” in Chapter 7 is composed of men from every nation redeemed by the “blood of the Lamb,” just as were the "overcoming" saints in the “Assemblies of Asia.” Rather than escaping any tribulation, John saw this “multitude” exiting the “Great Tribulation” and consequently standing victorious “before the Lamb” - (Revelation 1:5-6, 5:6-12, 7:9-17, 20:4-6).

ENDURANCE

The churches of Asia are called to “overcome” by persevering through trials and tribulations, a challenge epitomized by the faithful endurance of the followers of the “Lamb” elsewhere in the Book. Enduring faithfully is the definition of the “perseverance of the saints” - (Revelation 1:1, 1:18, 2:8-13, 3:21, 5:5, 12:11, 13:7-10, 14:12-13).

Following the expulsion of Satan from Heaven, a voice declared that the “brethren overcame” him by the “blood of the Lamb, by their word of testimony, and because they loved not their life unto death.” This passage depicts the willingness of these saints to suffer martyrdom. Already, “Antipas, my Faithful Witness” has been killed for his “Testimony” in Pergamos - (Revelation 2:13).

Enraged at his ouster, the Devil “departed to make war with the Rest of her Seed,” those “who have the Testimony of Jesus.” This group represents faithful saints purchased by the blood of Jesus. Surely, they were members of the church against which the “gates of Hell would not prevail”!

Those who have the “Testimony Jesus” endure persecution by the “Dragon” and his agents. They constitute a single group in the Book.  Collectively, they symbolize the Church fulfilling its role as the “Witness of Jesus.”

In Chapter 13, the “Beast from the Sea” is authorized to wage “war against the Saints and to overcome them.” This group of martyrs is identified as those who “keep the Faith of Jesus.” In Chapter 17, John saw “Babylon drunk with the blood of the Saints and the Witnesses of Jesus” - (Revelation 12:9-17, 13:1-10, 14:12, 17:1-6).

The Book is addressed to seven first-century congregations. They do not disappear from the scene in Chapter 4. Throughout Revelation, the group identified as “saints” consists of men from every nation redeemed by the “blood of the Lamb,” including the “Seven Assemblies of Asia,” the “Servants of God.”

Rather than avoid martyrdom, the overcoming “saints” persevere in persecution, thereby, qualifying to reign with Jesus in the same way that he did, by laying down their lives for the Gospel – “Just as I also overcame and sat down with my Father in his throne” – (Revelation 3:21).

Reading the later doctrine of the ‘Rapture’ into the fourth chapter of Revelation deviates from its theology and historical perspective. Nowhere does it state that John represents the church or that his visionary visit to heaven signifies a permanent change in his or the church’s location.

Nor was his “ascent” to the “Throne in Heaven” the only change in John’s location. In Chapter 17, he was whisked by an angel to the “Wilderness” where he saw “Babylon” portrayed as the “Great Harlot.” Since she was full of the “abominations of the earth,” he was no longer “in Heaven” before the Throne.

In Chapter 21, John was transported by the same angel to a “high mountain” where he saw “New Jerusalem descending to the Earth,” which means he was on the Earth, at least, at that moment – (Revelation 17:1-3, 21:1-9).

The picture in Chapter 4 is straightforward. John was summoned to “come up here” where he saw a vision of the “Throne,” the “Sealed Scroll,” and the “Slain Lamb,” things and events that are pivotal to understanding all the Book’s visions.

The removal of the Church so its members may avoid tribulation is not mentioned in its fourth chapter, or anywhere else in Revelation. The Book is about persevering through difficult times, not avoiding them. Like Jesus, his church is called to be his “Faithful Witness” in the world (“Jesus Christ, the Faithful Witness” – Revelation 1:5).

The suggestion that John’s ascent symbolizes the ‘Rapture,’ the removal of the church from the Earth, is contrary to the Book’s tenor and teachings, and it requires us to force later ideas into the passage, assumptions found nowhere else in the Book of Revelation.

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SEE ALSO:

• The Throne - (The vision of the “Throne” is the theological center of the Book of Revelation and sets the stage for the visions that follow it)

• Tribulation, Kingdom, Endurance - (John identified himself as a fellow participant with the Assemblies in the tribulation and kingdom and endurance in Jesus)

• Faithful until Death - (The church of Smyrna is only one of two of the seven Asian churches that received no correction, the other being Philadelphia)