“Inhabitants”
translates the Greek verb katoikeô, meaning, “to dwell, inhabit.”
In Revelation, it occurs only with negative connotations, and
almost exclusively to refer to the “inhabitants of the earth,”
a group always hostile to the “Lamb.” Its first use is in the “letter”
to the church at Pergamos:
- “And to the angel of the church in Pergamum write: These things declares he that has the sharp two-edged sword. I know where you dwell, even where Satan's throne is; and you are holding fast my name, and did not deny my faith, even in the days of Antipas my witness, my faithful one, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells.” – (Revelation 2:12-13).
Traditionally, “where Satan dwells” is applied either to the seat
of the Roman provincial government based in Pergamos, or to the temple there dedicated
to the veneration of the emperor. Either application may be correct. However,
there is something larger in view. “Dwell” is applied to Satan and to
the church in Pergamos, which certainly did not reside in the governor’s
residence, or in the temple dedicated to the emperor. Likewise,
‘Antipas,’ would not have been executed in either location. Most likely, he
died outside the city walls.
Members of the congregation dwelled in the city or its
nearby environs. Yet, the Risen Jesus assured them he was certainly aware that
they lived where “Satan dwells.” As will become clear, this statement
has a broader application.
Jesus promised the church at Philadelphia that he would
keep them “from the hour of trial, which is going to come upon the whole
habitable earth, to try the inhabitants of the earth.” Here, the
terms “whole habitable earth” and “inhabitants of the earth” are
applied to the same situation. Implicit is the wider geographical area that
will be affected by this “trial”; it will involve populations beyond the
confines of Philadelphia – (Revelation 3:10).
The term “inhabitants of the earth” is derived from a passage in the Book
of Daniel. After his downfall and restoration to the Babylonian throne,
Nebuchadnezzar declared:
- (Daniel 4:34-35) – “And at the end of the days I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted up my eyes to heaven, and my understanding returned to me, and I blessed the Most High, and I praised and honored him that lives forever, for his dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom from generation to generation; and all the INHABITANTS OF THE EARTH are reputed as nothing; and he does according to his will in the HOST OF HEAVEN, and among the INHABITANTS OF THE EARTH; and none can stay his hand or say unto him, What are you doing?”
Later,
when the “Lamb” opened the “fifth seal,” John saw the “souls
of them who had been slain for the testimony they held” underneath the “altar.”
The image was based on the altar of burnt offerings from Leviticus,
where the blood of sacrificial victims was poured out at its base. This is the
picture behind the martyred “souls” found at the base of the “altar.”
There, the martyrs pleaded for vindication against the “inhabitants of
the earth.” Here, the group is linked explicitly to the persecution of
believers – (Revelation 6:9-11).
After
the first four trumpets sounded, John saw an “eagle” pronouncing a
warning:
- “Woe, woe, woe, for the inhabitants of the earth, because of the other voices of the trumpet of the three angels, who are yet to sound!” – (Revelation 8:13).
The
first four trumpets unleashed “plagues” against the economical means of
the empire - seaborne commerce, fresh water sources, and the like. The last
three harmed the “inhabitants of the earth” themselves. “By
these three plagues was the third part of men killed.”
Nevertheless, they “repented not of their murders, nor of their
sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts.”
When
the “beast from the Abyss” killed the “two witnesses,”
the “inhabitants of the earth rejoiced over them
and made merry… for these two prophets tormented the inhabitants of
the earth.” While it was the “beast” who carried out
these violent acts, the “inhabitants of the earth” certainly took
pleasure in them.
In
chapter 12, after the “son” was caught up to the “Throne,” Satan
was expelled from heaven and “cast down to the earth.” While heaven “rejoiced,”
the “great voice in heaven” declared an ominous warning to the “inhabitants
of the earth”:
- “Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and you that tabernacle in them. Woe for the inhabitants of the earth and the sea: because the Devil is gone down to you, having great wrath, knowing that he hath but a short time.” – (Revelation 12:12).
In
this pronouncement, two groups are contrasted, which is indicated by the two verbs
used: “tabernacle” and “inhabit” (or “dwell”).
“Tabernacle” or “tent” indicates something temporary, such as a
“tent” pitched during a journey. “Inhabit” or “dwell” suggests
something more permanent. And note the expansion of the expression to the “inhabitants
of the earth and the sea.” Unless the passage is a warning to
sea creatures, the references are not geographical. Men reside on land, not in
the sea.
For the men who were “tabernacling in heaven,” the expulsion of the
Devil meant rejoicing. For the “inhabitants of the earth,” it meant
something far more ominous. The identity of the ones who were “tabernacling
in heaven” is provided by the context - the “brethren” who “overcame
the Dragon by the blood of the Lamb.”
Precisely
why the downfall of the “Dragon” meant “woe” to the “inhabitants
of the earth” is not stated, other than the warning that he was enraged and
had but a “short time” to vent his wrath. However, the target of his
rage was NOT the “inhabitants of the earth,” but
the “woman” and her “seed… they who have the testimony of
Jesus.” The last clause links the latter group to the martyrs “under
the altar” who had been slain on account of “their testimony.”
The
same two groups are found again in chapter 13, those who “tabernacle in
heaven” and the “inhabitants of the earth,” in the vision of the “beast from the sea”:
- (Revelation 13:4-10) – “And they rendered homage to the Dragon because he gave his authority to the beast; and they rendered homage to the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast, and who is able to war with him? And there was given to him a mouth speaking great things and slanders; and there was given to him authority to continue forty and two months. And he opened his mouth for slander against God, to slander his name, and his tabernacle, them that tabernacle in the heaven. And it was given him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them… And all the inhabitants of the earth will render homage to him, whose name has not been written in the book of life of the Lamb that hath been slain.”
The
rhetorical question, “Who is like him, and who can make war with him,”
is reminiscent of Nebuchadnezzar’s declaration - “He does according to
his will in the host of heaven, and among
the inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay his
hand or say to him, What are you doing?” As is
now clear, the source of the two contrasting groups, those who “tabernacle
in heaven” and the “inhabitants of the earth,” is the same passage
from Daniel.
The “slander” is directed against “them who tabernacle in heaven.” The reference is NOT spatial. It does not refer to a group of beings floating in the sky. Rather, the terms differentiate between the groups based on allegiance, either to the “Lamb” or to the “beast.” The followers of the “Lamb” have not taken up permanent residence in the present age, therefore, they are now “tabernacling.”
The
“slander” refers to accusations and charges brought against the saints
by the “accuser of the brethren” and his earthly servants in earthly
courts of law. A parallel is found in the letter to the church at Smyrna where
the congregation was “slandered” before local authorities by Jews from
the “synagogue of Satan.”
What
identifies a person as a member of the “inhabitants of the earth” is not
physical location, but whether his or her name is excluded from “the Lamb’s
book of life.” In other words, all who render homage to the “beast”:
- “And I saw another beast ascending from the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spoke like a Dragon. And he exercises all the authority of the first beast in his sight. And he makes the earth and its inhabitants render homage to the first beast, whose death-stroke was healed. And he does great signs, that he should even make fire to come down out of heaven upon the earth in the sight of men. And he deceives the inhabitants of the earth by the signs which it was given him to do in the sight of the beast; saying to the inhabitants of the earth, that they should make an image to the beast who had the stroke of the sword and lived.” – (Revelation 13:11-14).
The
second “beast,” the “false prophet,” ascended from the “earth”
to deceive the “earth and its inhabitants.” This demonstrates that,
in Revelation, “earth” means something beyond the physical
planet. Just as the “sea” and the “Abyss” are sources and realms
of evil, so, also, is the “earth.” This explains why the expulsion of
Satan from heaven meant “woe” to those “inhabiting the earth and the
sea.”
The
“false prophet” had two horns “like a lamb,” and performed the
same “signs” done previously by the “two witnesses.” He imitated
the “Lamb” and his “witnesses.” Similarly, the “first beast”
received the “stroke of death” but lived, a parody of the death and
resurrection of Jesus. This suggests that their deception was a counterfeit of
the true faith. In response, the “inhabitants of the earth” took
the “mark of the beast,” thus, sealing their fate.
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| Photo by T.H. Chia on Unsplash.com |
In chapter 14, an angel “flying in mid-heaven” proclaimed the everlasting gospel to the “inhabitants of the earth,” AND to “every nation and tribe and tongue and people”; thus, the “nations” and the “inhabitants of the earth” are not necessarily identical. The angel summoned them to “fear God and give him glory; for the hour of his judgment is come.” Rather than to the “beast,” they must “render homage to him that made the heaven and the earth and sea and fountains of waters.” Two more angels followed and pronounced judgment:
- “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great, that made all the nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication. And a third angel followed, saying with a great voice, If any man renders homage to the beast and his image, and receives a mark on his forehead, or upon his hand, he also shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is prepared unmixed in the cup of his anger; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb” - (Revelation 14:6-13).
“Babylon,
the Great Harlot” is described in detail in chapter 17. She was the one
with whom the “kings of the earth” and the “inhabitants
of the earth” committed “fornication.” As with the “nations,”
so, also, the “kings of the earth” are distinguished from the “inhabitants
of the earth,” though both groups were corrupted by “Babylon,” who
was drunk with the “blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs
of Jesus.”
The
“Great Harlot” was carried by the “beast” with “seven heads
and ten horns.” It “was and is not; and
is going to ascend from the Abyss,” references to
the previous slaying and “resurrection” of the “beast,” and to the
ascent of the “beast from the Abyss” to destroy the “two witnesses.”
Revelation is pulling together themes from the preceding visions.
The constant factor in each case is the hostility of the “inhabitants of the
earth” to the “Lamb,” and their preference for the “beast,”
his “name,” and his “mark”:
- “And the inhabitants of the earth shall wonder, whose name has not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast, how that he was, and is not, and shall come” – (Revelation 17:1-8).
Their
consistent refusal to render homage to the “Lamb” explains why their “name
was not written in the book of life.” At that time:
- “Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire, the second death. And if anyone was not found written in the book of life, he was cast into the lake of fire” – (Revelation 20:11-15).
Their
record also explains why the “inhabitants of the earth” were not found
in the “city of New Jerusalem.” In Revelation, at times, the
“nations” and the “kings of the earth” resisted the “Lamb.”
Nevertheless, both groups are found in the city, they are not without hope:
- “And the city has no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine upon it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the lamp thereof is the Lamb. And the nations shall walk amidst the light thereof: and the kings of the earth bring their glory into it” - (Revelation 21:23-24).
As a group, the “inhabitants of the
earth” are beyond redemption, not because God is powerless to save, but
because they refuse His every offer. No matter how many plagues He sends, they
refuse to repent. Like Pharaoh, they only harden their hearts.
They “fornicate” with “Babylon.” They celebrate the deaths of
God’s servants. Rather than follow the “Lamb,” they “render homage to
the beast,” and welcome its “mark.” They prefer the counterfeit
faith offered by the “beast” and “false prophet.” In short, their
names are excluded from the “book of life” due to their own decisions.
God’s condemnation of them is fully justified.