Logos Bible Software posted a few more free and nearly free books the month of May. First, authors Robert Kugler and Patrick Hartin, An Introduction to the Bible (Eerdmans, 2009) is free. Dale Allison said this introduction to the Bible is “comprehensive, thoroughly informed, and lavishly illustrated volume, produced by the collaboration of two experts — one Protestant, one Catholic — achieves that to which it aspires: it is clarity itself. This is the perfect introduction for undergraduates.”
Jerome Neyrey, The Gospel of John in Cultural and Rhetorical Perspective ($2.99). Neyrey reads John through the lens of ancient rhetoric and cultural anthropology. This is the method developed in the volume of essays he edited, The Social World of Luke – Acts: Models for Interpretation (1991).
Judith Kovacs, 1 Corinthians: Interpreted by Early Christian Commentators ($5.99). The The Church’s Bible is a commentary series baed on Early Christian Medieval Commentators. Kovacs draws commentary from Augustine, Irenaeus, Gregory of Nyssa, Athanasius, Origen, John Chrysostom, and others.
Alan Fitzgerald, editor, Augustine Through the Ages: An Encyclopedia. The hardback version of this 900+ page encyclopedia on Augustine retails for $100, but it is only $9.99 in the logos Library for this month.
You need to have Logos Bible Software to use these resources. As always, there are less expensive paths to upgrading that will keep you from mortgaging your home. At the very least, download the free Logos Basic or the $79 Logos 8 Fundamentals. Use the coupon code PARTNEROFFER8 to save 30% on base packages. You can also read these books via the free iOS app.
When the mighty angel speaks, his words are like the roar of a lion, and he is answered by “the seven thunders.” The angel speaks, and John hears the response from the seven thunders, but he is forbidden to write these words. Why are the words of this mighty not recorded? Possibly this means the angel’s words were unintelligible (2 Cor 12:4; Betz, TDNT 9:296).
The “roar” of the Lord is a somewhat common motif in the Old Testament. Just prior to Moses receiving the Law at Mount Sinai, the people gathered around the foot of the mountain. They witnessed thunders (plural) and lightning as well as a “very loud trumpet blast” (Exodus 19:16). Later Rabbinic literature interpreted these thunders as the voice of God. The voice was so loud all the people of the world heard the voice, and “God’s voice split up into 70 voices acc. to the 70 languages of the earth, so that each people could hear it in its own tongue” (Betz, TDNT, 9: 288). Psalm 29:3-9 is a seven-fold description of God’s voice as thunder, although the word “voice” is not there seven times. There is a rabbinic tradition that the voice of God was heard, as seen through thunders on Mt. Sinai (Exod. Rab. 28:6, cf. 5:9.
Since the lion of Judah appears in Revelation 5:5, perhaps a voice like thunder is drawn from the metaphor of the thunderous voice of a lion. For example, Amos 1:2 begins with the words, “The LORD roars from Zion and thunders from Jerusalem.” Joe alludes to this text: The Lord “will roar from Zion and thunder from Jerusalem” (3:16). The voice of God as thunder is common in other apocalyptic literature as well, “the One who thunders on high” (Sibylline Oracles 5.302). In 4 Ezra 16.10, the Lord is like a hungry lion who thunders and terrifies everyone.
Aune suggests thunder is a common “metaphor for articulate speech by supernatural beings” in both Jewish apocalyptic and Greek magical papyri (2:560). In Sibylline Oracles 5.344–345, “It will be possible to hear a heavenly crash of thunder, the voice of God throughout broad heaven above.” The “voice of the thunder” and the light of the lightning” are kept in the heavens (1 Enoch 69.23). In 2 Enoch 39.7, Enoch claims he has “heard the LORD speaking like loud thunder.” In the mystical visions of 3 Enoch, the writer “saw thunders and voices roaring in the midst of flames of fire” (3 Enoch 42.5)
In an example of a heavenly tour, Enoch is shown the secrets of the thunders:
1 Enoch 59:1-3 In those days, my eyes saw the mysteries of lightnings, and of lights, and their judgments; they flash lights for a blessing or a curse, according to the will of the Lord of the Spirits. 2 And there I (also) saw the secrets of the thunder and the secrets of (how when) it resounds in the heights of heaven its voice is heard (in) the earthly dwellings. He showed me whether the sound of the thunder is for peace and blessing or for a curse, according to the word of the Lord of the Spirits. 3 After that, all the mysteries of the lights and lightnings were shown to me (that) they glow with light for blessing and for contentment.
John prepared to write the content of the words spoken by the thunders, but a “voice from heaven” prevented him. He is told to seal up the vision and not write it down. In Daniel 12:9, Daniel could not understand the angel’s explanation of his vision, and he is told, “The words are to remain secret and sealed until the time of the end.” On the other hand, Enoch was permitted to write down “the rumble of the thunder and the lightning” (2 Enoch 40.9).
Keeping secrets is common in Jewish apocalyptic literature. In 1 Enoch 49, for example, Enoch is shown “all the secrets in heaven.” The reason for this, as Aune suggests, is that the visionary alone knows the secrets. This makes him wise and different than the reader. It was a mark of authenticity to hold back a little revelation from the readers. If you gave up everything, then perhaps you are not a real prophet.
What did the seven thunders say? Bousset suggested John was given another series of plague judgments like the seals, trumpets, and bowls and that he was told not to record this series (cited by Aune 2:5620). This is certainly possible, and if so, it indicates that there will be more judgments during the tribulation than could expected after reading Revelation. Leviticus 26 has four seven-fold plagues as a part of the curses and blessings in Leviticus (26:18, 21, 23, and 27). This would mean there were four sets of seven judgments. One set was set aside. Caird suggested that John is told not to record the visions’ content because God will cancel these judgments out of his grace and mercy (Caird, 126-127). But as Beale points out, “seal up” does not have the same sense as “cancel” (Beale 535).
The identity of the Angel in Revelation 10:1-4 is a problem for interpreters. The mighty angel in Revelation 10 alludes to several passages in the Old Testament that describe angelic beings.
John does not name this angelic being, although some speculate the angel is Gabriel, primarily because the name Gabriel means “mighty one” (גִּבּוֹר gibbôr; Charles 1:258-259). It is not necessary to make the connection to Gabriel, although there are certainly parallels in Revelation 10 to Daniel. Gabriel is mentioned twice in Daniel. Both times, he delivers a message to Daniel from God. Gabriel also appears twice in Luke in a similar role, announcing to Mary she is pregnant.
The physical description of the Angel in Revelation 10:1-4 evokes a theophany from the Hebrew Bible.
The angel is “robed in a cloud.” A cloud is often associated with the glory of God. The image of a cloud appears in Revelation as a description of heaven (11:12) and the place where “something like a son of man” sits before he comes as judge, a reference to Jesus Christ (14:14-16). In Exodus 14:19, the angel of God traveled in front and behind Israel’s army along with a “pillar of cloud.” When Solomon installed the Ark of the Covenant in the Temple, the place was filled with a cloud, representing the glory of God (1 Kings 8:10; 2 Chron 5:14). Ezekiel sees this cloud depart the Temple before the Temple is destroyed (Ezek 10:4-5). At the transfiguration, Jesus is covered in a bright cloud (Matt 17:5).
Angelic beings clothed in a cloud are rare in apocalyptic literature. In 3 Enoch, God’s glory is associated with clouds. For example, “the clouds that encircle the throne of glory” (3 Enoch 22C.4) and describing the throne room, “those who say “Blessed” are encircled by bright clouds” (34:2). In Fourth Ezra’s Eagle vision, the “spread his wings over all the earth, and all the winds of heaven blew upon him, and the clouds were gathered about him” (4 Ezra 11.2). In the Testament of Abraham 15 (A), the angel Michael demonstrates his power to Abraham by enveloping him in a cloud. In Mark 16:5, the angel who greeted the women at the empty tomb was wrapped in white robes
The angel has a “rainbow above his head.” Like a cloud, rainbows are also associated with the glory of God, although the two places in scripture where a rainbow is associated with God it is a description of his throne or location. Aune takes ἶρις as a halo of light (2:557). The image is drawn from Ezekiel’s throne room vision in which he sees something “like the appearance of a rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day, so was the radiance around him” (Ezek 1:28). Revelation 4:3 alluded to Ezekiel’s vision, “a rainbow, resembling an emerald, encircled the throne.”
The angel’s face is “like the sun.” Revelation 1:6 Jesus is described as having a face shining like the sun, a possible allusion to the angelic being in Daniel 10:6. However, the angelic being in Daniel has a face like lightning and his eyes were like flaming torches. Both Moses (Exod 34:30) and Jesus are described as having radiant faces; at the Transfiguration, Jesus’s face “shone like the sun” (Matt 17:2)
“His legs were like fiery pillars.” This is literally feet (πούς). Most modern translations translate the word as legs since it is odd to describe feet as pillars. Aune gives several examples of feet for legs in contemporary Greek (Revelation, 2:548-549). The cherubim in Ezekiel 1:7 have straight legs like “burnished bronze.”
The angel is standing with one foot on land and one foot on the sea. This is important because the beasts in Revelation 13 come from both the land and the sea. God is demonstrating his sovereignty over both. This also corresponds to his oath in verse 6, swearing by both the land and the sea.
David Aune suggests this angelic being has some similarity to the Colossus of Rhodes (2:556-557). The Colossus was a 105-foot-tall bronze statue that was built about 280 B.C. It was placed in a promontory overlooking the harbor at Rhodes and was known as one of the “seven wonders” of the ancient world. The statue was of Helios, a sun god that was worshiped primarily in Rhodes (which is an island, 420 square miles, with three city-states named after the three sons of Helios.)
The image of a “halo/rainbow” and “fire” evokes the memory of this well-known statue. It is possible that the statue had this right-handed lifted towards heaven, as the angel in this passage does. The Colossus was destroyed by an earthquake in 224 B.C. It broke off at the knees, and although it was looted for bronze, pieces were still visible during the first century. The fact the Colossus was destroyed some 275 years prior to the writing of Revelation creates a problem for Aune’s suggestion the great wonder of the world influenced this description.
Rather than the Colossus of Rhodes, the image of a mighty angel is drawn from Old Testament descriptions of God’s glory, his throne room, and other mighty angels. In fact, as Greg Beale suggests, “may be more than an angel” and that John’s use of this imagery is “Christological, if not divine” (Revelation, 522, 524). The description of the mighty angel in Revelation 10 reads the mighty angels in the Old Testament through the lens of Jesus.
In his preface Marvin Sweeny explains the need for a new textbook on Jewish mysticism. Since he began teaching both undergraduate and graduate courses, his only choices for textbooks were Gershom Scholem’s Major Trends in Jewish Mysticism (1941) and William Kaufman’s Journeys: An Introductory Guide to Jewish Mysticism (1980). Both volumes begin their survey with rabbinic literature. Sweeney could find nothing which included mysticism from the Ancient Near East, the Hebrew Bible, Qumran and Jewish apocalyptic texts. In addition, Sweeney gives a greater place in his volume to Jewish liturgical and theurgical practices, as well as textual interpretations of earlier mystical works. As he says in his introduction, later mystics built on their predecessors in order to “resolve ongoing problems left open by earlier movements and texts” (7).
The first chapter describes visionary experiences in the Ancient Near East. By surveying Egyptian, Canaanite and Babylonian texts which depict “seeing and hearing the gods” Sweeney argues Ancient Near Eastern had a wide variety of ways of expressing human experience of the gods through dreams, visionary experience, and divine interaction. These were powerful experiences, but ultimately “undependable, self-interested, and frequently amoral.”
Chapters 2-4 survey visionary and dream experiences in the Pentateuch, Former Prophets and Psalms, and Latter Prophets (pp. 50-166). He collects every example of someone “seeing and hearing G-d” through visions and dreams in the canonical Hebrew Bible. Although these experiences often have tangible elements, “YHWH is experienced in the world by divine acts of mercy and justice the stand as the basis of the covenant between YHWH and Israel” (p. 81). For example, the Pentateuch describes YHWH’s enthronement in the tabernacle though the pillar of cloud and fire, but more importantly the Pentateuch “presents a creation narrative modeled on those of the Ancient Near East in which YHWH puts his creation in order, and establishes YHWH’s own people, Israel, in the midst of that creation, and establishes a sanctuary to honor YHWH as the creator” (p. 85). Isaiah’s temple vision (Isa 6:1-13) and Ezekiel’s throne room vision (Ezek 1-3) are foundational for Heikhalot literature (temple visions) and Merkavah literature (throne visions).
Jewish apocalyptic literature serves as the transition from the Hebrew Bible to the Heikhalot literature. (ch. 5). He begins with a survey of “proto-apocalyptic” such as Isaiah 24-27, 34-35, 56-66, Ezekiel 1; 8-11, 37, 38-39; 40-48; Joel and Zechariah 9-14. Wisdom literature is important for the development of Jewish mysticism, especially Job, Proverbs, and Song of Solomon. He then briefly discusses two major Second Temple apocalyptic texts 1 Enoch and Daniel (which uses “the setting the Babylonian exile to address issues relevant to the outbreak of the Hasmonean revolt against Seleucid Syria” (p. 189). In his brief survey of the Judean Wilderness Scrolls, Sweeny highlights the Songs of the Sabbath Sacrifice as “anticipating later heikhalot compositions” (p. 194). Finally, he briefly introduces three late first century C.E. texts, Revelation, 4 Ezra and 2 Baruch. Although a Christian text, Revelation includes a heavenly ascent, throne room visions, and abundant allusions to the Exodus narrative. Both 4 Ezra and 2 Baruch call on Jews to “observe divine Torah” in response to the destruction of the Jerusalem Temple. This, Sweeny suggests, “constitutes the foundational viewpoint of rabbinic Judaism: to sanctify Jewish life and the world of creation by adhering to the divine Torah in preparation for the time when God would bring about the restoration” as promised in Ezekiel 40-48, Isaiah 40-66, Jeremiah 30-33, and Zechariah 9-14 (p. 206).
Chapter 6 introduces the Heikhalot and Merkavah literature. After the failure of the Bar-Khokba revolt and the development of Oral Torah, rabbis sought to place limits on study of mysticism. Sweeney cites a parable which illustrates the dangers of mystical study (b.Hag. 14b). Four rabbis entered the Garden (Pardes, paradise), but only Akiva left unhurt. “Entering Pardes” refers to the proper study of the Torah. Only Akiva understood his own knowledge and succeeded in mystical study (p. 216). These experiences of these four are developed in the Heikhalot and Merkavah literature.
Sweeney surveys four texts in this chapter. First, Ma’aseh Merkavah is the most basic account of the four rabbis who ascended to Pardes. The book focuses on the hymns and prayers a mystic must employ in order to undertake ascent the seventh level of heaven. Second, Heikhalot Rabbati describes the ascent of R. Nehunyah ben Haqanah to the throne of G-d in the seventh heaven narrated by R. Ishmael ben Elisha. R. Ishmael was one of the key Tannaitic sages, one of the most prominent rabbis of his day and one the Ten Martyrs. The book anticipates a time when the Torah will be “fully understood and applied to the sanctification of the world of creation” (p. 222). Third, one of the oldest heikhalot texts, Heikhalot Zutari (Lesser Places) begins with the parable of the four rabbis attempting to enter Pardes in order to “specify the experience of the prospective mystics” (p. 231). The book refers to Metatron, the powerful angel of the presence who sits on the throne of G-d in the seventh heaven when Go-d is not present. The name may be derived from the Greek meta, with, and thronos, throne, but Sweeny suggests it is related to the Aramaic mattara’, “keeper of the watch” (p. 238). Finally, in this chapter, Sweeney introduces Sefer Heikhalot (Third Enoch). The book seems to be a response to the story of the four who entered Pardes but focuses on the visualizations of Metatron.
Chapter 7 surveys the transition from Heikhalot to early Kabbalistic literature. Kabbalah means tradition or “that which is received” and the study of this literature became a major Jewish mystical movement in the mid-twelfth century. Since Heikhalot literature assumes the transcendent nature of G-d who is approached by the mystic through liturgical prayer and theurgic practice, and Torah study, the Kabbalistic literature began to consider the immanent presence of G-d in the world of creation. After an introduction to the development of Jewish life in the Middle Ages, Sweeney introduces several early Kabbalistic texts.
First, Shiur Qomah “is easily one of the most problematic, controversial, and misunderstood writings in all of Jewish tradition” (p. 255). The name of the books means “The Measure of G-d’s Body,” a fair description of the contents of the book G-d’s height is given and 2,300,000,000 parasangs and the crown on his head is an additional 600,000 parasangs. A parasang is 30 stadia, or about 3.5 miles. G-d’s height is therefore more than 80 billion miles and an additional 2.1 million miles for his crown. The point here is that “the divine presence is beyond human capacity to comprehend in any meaningful way” (p. 263). Second, Sefer Yetzirah, the “Book of Formation,” focuses on language has the means by which G-d manifests himself in creation and the creative power of human speech. The book observes that G-d spoke ten times in Genesis 1 and then uses several other numerical observations to outline the Ten Sefirot and describes their role in creation. Third, Sefer Habahir, the “Book of Brilliance” is the first major Kabbalistic work (p. 271). The name derives from Job 37:21, the sun is “brilliant (bahir) in the clouds.” Sweeney suggests the development of the Ten Sefirot in the book is dependent on gnosticism and is highly intertextual. The book is a synthesis of earlier Jewish texts with gnostic ideas to explain how an ultimately transcendent being can be fully present in a finite earthly world. He concludes the chapter with a brief survey of other key movements and figures in the period (The Hasidei Ashkenaz, Isaac the Blind, and Abraham Abulafia).
Chapter 8 focuses on the most well-known kabalistic texts, The Zohar. The name Zohar means splendor or brilliance and is likely drawn from Ezekiel’s description of a human-like figure show lifted the prophet up and transported him to Jerusalem to witness the fall of the city (Ezek 8:2). The book is a mystical comment on the Torah revealing the hidden meaning of the text. Like earlier kabalistic texts, the primary concern of the text is how the infinite character of God is manifested as a divine presence in a finite world (p. 289). The book therefore discussed the Sefirot, God’s shekhinah, his glory dwelling in the world (using sexual language), the nature of creation and the origin of evil and demons.
The final two chapters treat more recent forms of Jewish mysticism. In Chapter 9 Sweeney discusses Lurianic Kabbalah, a popular movement prompting Jews to adopt kabalistic spiritual practices and study in anticipation of the messianic age when the Messiah would appear, the temple would be reestablished, and the world of creation would be completed” (p. 325). After a short review of the Spanish expulsion of Jews in 1492, Sweeny describes the activity of Jewish mystics who gathered in in Safed, a small town in the upper Galilean hills. R. Luria (1534-1572) studied under kabbalist Moses Cordovero (1522-1570) and became the principle kabbalist teacher in Safed after Cordovero’s death. Luranic kabbalah has three basic principles. First, the Tzimtzym is the contraction of the infinite God into the finite world. Second, Luria’s idea of the Abba (father) and Imma (mother), two aspects of God. When they are united, they form the third basic principle, the Zeir Anin, the “Impatient One.” Each of these three principles are tied to aspects of the Ten Sefirot. Luria also believed in the transmigration of the soul: a tzaddik (righteous person) could embody a past tzaddik. Luria thought he was the embodiment of R. Shimon bar Yohai, for example. This form of mysticism had an influence on Shabbetai Zevi (1626-1676), a failed messiah who converted to Islam in 1666. Many of his followers continued to believe he was the messiah long after his death (the Dönmeh).
Chapter 10 concludes with an introduction to Hasidism, the modern manifestation of Jewish mysticism. He is quick to point out modern Hasidism as nothing to do with the earlier movement. In this chapter, Sweeney describes the earlier mystical and pietistic movement led by Baal Shem Tov (1700-1760) in the early eighteenth century and his follower Shneur Zalman (1745-1831). Zalman was the founder of the Schneersohn family line and the founder of Habad Hasidism (p. 379). Habad theology is rooted in the idea God is the only reality in the universe and all other realities are illusions. The chapter traces several movements which developed from this eighteenth century origin, including Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook (1865-1935) and the Lubavitcher Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson (1902-1994).
Conclusion. For each mystical text surveyed in chapter 6-10 Sweeney provides a footnote to sources for reading the text and key studies. He only rarely uses long quotations from the texts, preferring to summarize the esoteric content for the reader. Although I would usually prefer to read selections from the original texts, the esoteric nature of this literature makes me appreciate his careful summaries. Still, a second volume collecting example readings for each chapter would be useful, especially when this book is used in a classroom setting.
NB: Spelling and use of YHWH and G-d conforms to Sweeney’s text. Thanks to Eerdmans for kindly providing me with a review copy of this book. This did not influence my thoughts regarding the work.
After the devastation of the first six of the trumpets, the people of the earth do not repent of their idolatry (Revelation 9:20-21). This description of idolatry is consistent with the Old Testament, idols are things crafted by men that cannot do anything (Ps 115:5-7; 1 Cor 10:20). Standing on the foundation of texts like Deuteronomy 32:17, Revelation 9:20 says the worship of idols is the worship of demons. This is certainly the same view of idolatry as other Second Temple Jewish literature:
1 Enoch 99.6–7 “Again I swear to you, you sinners, for sin has been prepared for the day of unceasing blood. 7 (And those) who worship stones, and those who carve images of gold and of silver and of wood and of clay, and those who worship evil spirits and demons, and all kinds of idols not according to knowledge, they shall get no manner of help in them.
Testament of Judah 23.1 “My grief is great, my children, on account of the licentiousness and witchcraft and idolatry that you practice contrary to the kingship, following ventriloquists, omen dispensers, and demons of deceit.
The people of the earth do not repent of any of their offenses: murders, magic arts, sexual immorality, and thefts.” Three of these four are in the ten commandments (murder, adultery, and theft). The fourth, “magical arts” is sometimes translated “sorcery” (φάρμακον). Although this particular offense seems out of place alongside three of the Ten Commandments, the related φάρμακος describes the Egyptian magicians in the Septuagint (Exod 7:11; 9:11). Sorcerers or magicians are among those consigned to the Lake of Fire in Revelation 21:8 and 22:15.
The Old Testament often associated sorcery and idolatry. For example, 2 Kings 9:22, Jehu says there can be no peace in Israel because of the many “the whorings and the sorceries of your mother Jezebel.” Magicians are associated with sexual immorality in some Second Temple literature. For example, in the Testament of Reuben 4.9 Egyptian woman used magicians and potions for him to entrap Joseph sexually.
In the Temple Scroll idolatry and magic are abominations which will result in exile:
11Q19 Col. lx:17-20 Among you there should not be found anyone who makes his son or his daughter pass 18 through fire, anyone who practices divination, astrologers, sorcerers, wizards, anyone who performs incantations, anyone who consults a spirit 19 or oracles or anyone who questions the dead; because all those who do these things are an abomination to me. 20 And owing to these abominations I shall dispossess them before you.
I suggest the immediate context of idolatry and sexual immorality is participation in festivals and banquets honoring Roman gods, perhaps even the imperial cult. The letters to the seven churches often warned believers to repent (2:5 (2x); 2:16; 2:21, 22; 3:3; 3:19). In the case of Thyatira (2:18-28), the use of Jezebel clearly associates idolatry and immorality, as in 2 Kings 9:22, “the whorings and the sorceries of your mother Jezebel.”
That the people of the earth refuse to repent after the sixth trumpet is consistent with the sixth seal. Rather than repent, the people of the earth call on the rocks and mountains to hide them from the wrath of the Lamb. Greg Beale draws a parallel to the conclusion of the plagues in Egypt, God hardened the heart of Pharaoh (Revelation, 517). He argues there is a “theological purpose” to these warnings, God is providing sufficient opportunities for repentance so that he may demonstrate his sovereignty and justice when he finally judges those who are not sealed by God when the seventh trumpet sounds (11:18).
Like the plagues on the Egyptians in Exodus, the plagues in Revelation 7-9 are not evangelistic. They are fair warnings by the sovereign God that final judgment is coming soon even if the ones who are warned are have no interested in repenting.
Logos Bible Software posted a few more free and nearly free books the month of May. First, authors Robert Kugler and Patrick Hartin, An Introduction to the Bible (Eerdmans, 2009) is free. Dale Allison said this introduction to the Bible is “comprehensive, thoroughly informed, and lavishly illustrated volume, produced by the collaboration of two experts — one Protestant, one Catholic — achieves that to which it aspires: it is clarity itself. This is the perfect introduction for undergraduates.”
The “roar” of the Lord is a somewhat common motif in the Old Testament. Just prior to Moses receiving the Law at Mount Sinai, the people gathered around the foot of the mountain. They witnessed thunders (plural) and lightning as well as a “very loud trumpet blast” (Exodus 19:16). Later Rabbinic literature interpreted these thunders as the voice of God. The voice was so loud all the people of the world heard the voice, and “God’s voice split up into 70 voices acc. to the 70 languages of the earth, so that each people could hear it in its own tongue” (Betz, TDNT, 9: 288). Psalm 29:3-9 is a seven-fold description of God’s voice as thunder, although the word “voice” is not there seven times. There is a rabbinic tradition that the voice of God was heard, as seen through thunders on Mt. Sinai (Exod. Rab. 28:6, cf. 5:9.
After the devastation of the first six of the trumpets, the people of the earth do not repent of their idolatry (Revelation 9:20-21). This description of idolatry is consistent with the Old Testament, idols are things crafted by men that cannot do anything (Ps 115:5-7; 1 Cor 10:20). Standing on the foundation of texts like Deuteronomy 32:17, Revelation 9:20 says the worship of idols is the worship of demons. This is certainly the same view of idolatry as other Second Temple Jewish literature: