Parallel Accounts

[Marcus O'Reillius]

You must "rightly divide" the Word, is a phrase oft heard, but how?

One old story telling technique is parallelism, where a broad overview is given, and then a detailed account which focuses on a section of the story of utmost importance.

The Bible contains several instances of parallel account construction in its various chapters. First and foremost is the book of Revelation. Parallel construction makes the reading hard when it is not recognized because the action, read from the beginning of the book to the end, is thoroughly mixed up with repeated events: like the multiple repetitions of one half of the one 'seven' in its various depictions being not twice, which would account for both, but five times.

Before looking at Revelation though, parallel construction is used right from the very beginning: Genesis.

In the Genesis account, there are two "creation" accounts. Scholars note the first as the "E" account for the use of Elohim, the plural of God found in chapters 1:1-2:3. Then quite abruptly, there is a "second" creation account Scholars call the "J" account for the personal name of God used in the Hebrew, "Yahweh" which is transliterated to "Jehovah".

In the first account, we get a broad overview of the entire creation account, all seven days. Noteworthy in this chronology, the seventh day has no end stated within the text.
In the second account, we get a personal interaction between Yahweh and Adam which sets up the whole reason of sin, death, Satan, the relationship between God and Man, the relationship between Adam and Eve, and their role within the world, now spoiled by sin.

The second account is fully set up as the creation account in 2:4. This second account then starts with a break for the first. It is interesting to note that while there is not "yet" any plant or shrub, these are qualified by being "of the field" which suggests cultivation. It does not preclude any plant because at the same time, God plants a garden rather than creates a garden. Likewise, from the first account, animals fill the sea and land before the creation of man, thus, while omitted from the first account, plant life would be necessarily in place prior to the establishment of man. So "of the field" becomes an important distinction; the two creation accounts do not conflict with each other.

Meanwhile, the second account repeats 1:24 in the second chapter and expands upon it. That is the purpose of the second, parallel account: to bring out essential information while setting that first in the broad scheme of things.

Parallel accounts can be viewed like this where a single verse like 1:24 is expanded to a whole new story.

 

[Marcus O'Reillius]

In the book of Revelation, a broad overview can be found in chapters 4 through 11 when John is taken up to Heaven and witnesses the saga of the Scroll with its seven Seals, which when all broken, revealed seven Trumpets of God's Wrath. A sidebar account within this broad overview can be discerned during the interlude when the seventh Trumpet sounds in chapter 10 when John is told not to write. This important fact establishes that John had a writing "kit" as portrayed in another prophetic vision from Ezekiel in chapter 9 of his book. This sidebar account of the Temple and the Two Witnesses stretches from 11:1 to 11:13.

At the end of the sidebar account beginning in 11:14, the action refers to the second Woe as having happened and transits to the third Woe which is summed up without any detail which John is faithful not to record as ordered.

At the end of the Seal/Scroll chronology of chapters 4-11 (exclusive) with chapter 11, the end of God's Wrath is evident with a great earthquake. It is suggested by me, that this earthquake levels mountain ranges and also levels those mountains from the ocean floor which result in islands. This is an important distinction going into the Millennium which completely changes the climate of arid and wet areas by mechanical lifting and also establishes rain patterns by obedience to the Lord.

So the end of chapter 11, the focus is the culmination of God's Wrath, which is the whole theme of the Seal/Scroll chronology, and its placement in time at the end of the one 'seven'.

In chapter 12, a new figure is introduced: the woman clothed in the sun, moon, and stars. This description identifies her from Genesis 37:9-11 as Israel, the woman God loved as per Ezekiel 16:6-14. She becomes the focal point for the next few verses. Also, the time shifts from conclusion of the one 'seven' to the time of Jesus' birth.

This is an important point in recognizing parallel accounts: a shift in both scene and focus.

The account of the woman Israel ends up in Rev 12:6 with the third mention of one half of the one 'seven' (the previous two are included within the sidebar account of Rev 11:1-13).

Likewise, in Rev 12:7, the focus now changes to the serpent, Satan. Many varied commentaries and opinions abound about when this occurs. However, using John 20:17 with Jesus' Resurrection, He had not yet been to the Father. So in death, which He said to the thief on His right was Paradise, was not with the Father. (This is an important clue for the source for the resurrection of the Dead in Christ in eschatology.) However, in Zechariah 3:1-8 we do see what this meeting might be like!

In Zechariah 3:1-8, Jesus is on trial. (Joshua is an English transliteration from Yeshua; Iesous is a Greek transliteration from Yeshua: Jesus is the English transliteration from the Greek transliteration of Yeshua: Iesous. Therefore, Joshua from the Hebrew is the same as Jesus from the Greek.) Present is His accuser: Satan. In the trial, Satan is doubly rebuked. May I remind you that in a Court, the Judge determines judgment, and has the power to enforce his sentence in that room through the Sheriff's office with the Bailiff. The Judge has the authority within his Court to imprison or remove persons. May I suggest that being doubly rebuked results in Satan's expulsion from Heaven as seen in Rev 12:7.

Theologically, there is no place for our accuser with the Risen Lord before the Father. Likewise, in describing the Temple of God in Revelation chapters 4 and 5, Satan is nowhere to be found.

Thus while the focus changes from the woman Israel to the serpent Satan, the scene can also be said to shift from the earth in the future to Heaven in the past. In the regard of a "short time", how long is two thousand years to an eternal being? In support of a short time being a long time by our perspective, as soon as he is thrown down, active persecution of Israel begins through the Romans with overwhelming suppression of Israel's first and second revolts in the first and second centuries A.D.

This marks a second parallel account which culminates with the same half of the one 'seven' as concluded the parallel account of the woman Israel. Thus, both twin accounts of Revelation chapter 12 are about the same length of time, going from within 30 years of each other with aspects of Jesus' first Advent to one of two halves (the second) of the one 'seven' which is still to come.

Moving forward in the book of Revelation, chapter 13 shifts its focus to the beast of a nation/beast of a man. The scene shifts as well from an ongoing condition in one half to the inception of both beasts before the first half of the one 'seven' which in Rev 13:14-15 culminates with the midpoint abomination of the one 'seven' (Daniel 9:27) being revealed as a talking image of the beast of a man.

Revelation chapters 13 through 16, inclusive, thus offer the detailed parallel account to the Seal/Scroll chronology of chapters 4-11 (exclusive).

This detailed parallel account to the broad overview also culminates in with the earth-changing earthquake.
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By looking at shifts in both scene and focus, linear narratives can be discerned within the book of Revelation. It is my hope, that this tool might aid the student of eschatology in making sense of the Book of Revelation.