He Shall Have Dominion

eighty-two times in Revelation’s twenty-two chapters. This word has two
basic meanings: (1) the “earth,” indicating the entire globe, or at least the
“known world”; and (2) “land,” referring to a particular portion of the
earth, such as the “land of Israel” (Mt 2:20–21) or the “land of Judah” (Mt
2:6). It seems that in Revelation it generally refers to “the Land,” i. e., the
famous and beloved Promised Land (cp., Dt 1:21–22; 4:1, 5, 40; 28:8; Jos
1:2, 6, 11; Jer 3:18; Eze 8:12; 11:17; 12:19, 22; 13:9), “the land of Israel
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(Eze 7:2).
Several reasons justifying such a translation include: (1) The very
Jewish nature of Revelation suggests its plausibility. The lexical and
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syntactical peculiarities of Revelation are extremely Hebraic. (2) The
term first appears in the theme verse in Revelation 1:7, where it must
mean the Promised Land (see previous argument). (3) Later uses strongly
suggest a Palestinian reference. John sometimes sets it over against the
“world” (Rev 3:10) or “every nation” (Rev 11:9,10; 13:7, 8; 14:6). (4) In
Revelation the devastation on the “land” awaits the sealing of 144,000
Jews representing all twelve tribes (cf. Rev 7:1, 4–8; 14:3).
I will now provide an overview of Revelation’s dramatic flow. 19
The Preparation for Covenantal Judgment
The first part of this divine word (Rev 1–5) prepares John and his
audience for the terrifying judgments to follow. Despite the turmoil
Christ appears among the seven churches as their Defender (Rev 1:12ff).
He knows their tribulation and will cut it short (Rev 2–3; especially: 2:10;
3:10; 6:10).
17. “Palestine was to the Rabbis simply ‘the land’, all other countries being
summed up under the designation of ‘outside the land.’” Edersheim, Sketches of
Jewish Social Life, 14. In the Mishnah at Kelim 1:6 we read: “There are ten degrees
of holiness. The Land of Israel is holier than any other land.” The Babylonian
Talmud comments: “It has been taught on Tannaite authority: B. R. Simeon b.
Yohai says, ‘Three good gifts did the Holy One, blessed be he, give to Israel, and
all of them he gave only through suffering. C. These are they: Torah, the Land of
Israel, and the world to come’” (Berakhot 1, III.12 A).
18. See Charles, Revelation, 1:cxvii–clix; Aune, Revelation, 1:clx–ccvi.
19. For the question regarding symbolic v. literal interpretation, see: Gentry,
The Book of Revelation Made Easy, ch. 1. John specifically declares that this book —
featuring a seven-headed dragon (12:3), a seven-headed beast (13:1; 17:3), lionheaded
horses (9:17), and a 1500 mile high city (21:16) — was “signified”
(esemanen) to John (1:1).