The Rapture and the Church in Revelation, Part Five: Who are the Heaven-Dwellers?

This is part five in a series of articles examining pretribulationist arguments concerning the church in the book of Revelation as put forth by Dr. Robert Gromacki. See previous installments at the following links:

Part One: The Missing Church
Part Two: The Chronology of Revelation

Part Three: Who are the Twenty-four Elders?
Part Four: "Whoever has Ears to Hear..."

The “Heaven-Dwellers”

Gromacki writes:

The beast, that great political-military leader of the end time, will open his mouth “in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme His name, His tabernacle, and those who dwell in heaven” (Rev. 13:6 NKJV). Who are these heaven-dwellers? They are contrasted with earth-dwellers (12:12; 13:8, 14). The earth-dwellers are both human and unsaved. Thus the heaven-dwellers appear to be human and saved. The verb “dwell” (skenountas) is the same word used for Jesus Christ’s incarnation: “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:14 NKJV). A similar word (skenos) is used to describe the believer’s present body as a “tent” (2 Cor. 5:1, 4). The verb (“to dwell”) or the noun (“tent”) is never used of angelic activities or bodies.

Gromacki’s exegesis is another example of theological confirmation bias in operation.

Were the rapture not an issue here, I doubt that Gromacki would have any issue whatsoever with the concept that angels “dwell in heaven.” No, the Bible does not specifically use those words, but it is nonetheless clear in scripture that they come from heaven, that it is their home as much as Earth is humanity’s home. They are referred to a number of times in scripture as “the host of heaven” and “the heavenly host” (I Kings 22:19, II Chronicles 18:18, Luke 2:13). To argue that angels should not be considered “heaven-dwellers” is really rather extraordinary, and seems forced upon this passage as a means of creating another artificial comparison/contrast to support pretribulationism.

In fact, Gromacki is setting up a direct parallelism that is not supported by the text. Note how he does this:

“The earth-dwellers are both human and unsaved.” – So far, so good. This is a natural assumption from the text. Humans dwell on the earth and those who are blaspheming against heaven cannot be saved individuals.[1]

“Thus the heaven-dwellers appear to be human and saved.” – Here is the false comparison. Simply because we’re dealing with humans on earth, why should we automatically assume that we’re dealing with humans in heaven, especially given that they do not naturally dwell there? Gromacki makes this assumption because he believes that they have been transported there by a pretribulation rapture, but it’s important to note that the text neither states nor even implies such.

This is undoubtedly why Gromakci focuses on the Greek word translated as “dwell” (skenoo/skenountas). His comments indicate that he sees this word as implying a temporary state of affairs, as in the believer’s temporary mortal body and Christ’s temporarily dwelling among men.[2] Pretribulationists would see this as significant given that their theology places the church in heaven for a period of seven years, after which it returns to the earth with Christ. Thus, they would see the “tent” reference as an appropriate comparison to the church’s temporary stay in heaven during the Great Tribulation period.

Strong’s defines skenoo/skenountas as meaning: “to tent or encamp, i.e. (figuratively) to occupy (as a mansion) or (specially) to reside (as God did in the Tabernacle of old, a symbol of protection and communion):—dwell.” The term appears five times in the New Testament, once in the gospel of John (John 1:14, as Gromakci states), and four times in Revelation. Here are its occurrences in Revelation:

• “For this reason, they are before the throne of God; and they serve Him day and night in His temple; and He who sits on the throne will spread His tabernacle [dwelling] over them.” – Revelation 7:15. This is a reference to the great multitude that comes out of the Great Tribulation. The KJV and NKJV render “spread His tabernacle over them” as “dwell among them.” Other translations, including the NIV, NLT, and ESV render this as “shelter them” or “shelter them with his presence.” The context and various related passages make it clear that this dwelling, tabernacling, or sheltering will be a permanent state of affairs.

• “For this reason, rejoice O heavens and you who dwell in them. Woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, knowing that he has only a short time.” – Revelation 12:12. Most translations render skenoo/skenountas here as “dwell,” although the NET Bible renders it “reside.” The context is the aftermath of a war in heaven, in which John saw Satan and his angels defeated and cast down to the earth. John describes a proclamation coming out of heaven in celebration of the fact that Satan can no longer accuse the saints before God as he once did, and that the saints have overcome him. It is then that the call for rejoicing goes forth. This call makes much more sense in an angelic than human context here, as it was the angels who defeated Satan and his forces.

• “And he [the Beast] opened his mouth in blasphemies against God, to blaspheme His Name, and His Tabernacle, that is, those who dwell in heaven.” – Revelation 13:6. This is the verse Gromacki quoted.

• “And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, ‘Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them, and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.” – Revelation 21:3-4. As with Revelation 7:15, this tabernacling or dwelling of God among men is promised as a permanent state of affairs.

The uses of skenoo/skenountas in these examples (including from John 1),[3] strongly relate to the idea of dwelling in the manifest presence of God. In considering this, I’m reminded of what Jesus says in Matthew 18:10: “See that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that their angels in heaven continually see the face of My Father who is in heaven.” Here we have a contrast drawn between angels and men by Christ himself, and a corresponding reminder that angels are heavenly beings.

We see another particularly interesting reminder of this in Jude 1:6, where Jude refers to the judgment of angels: “And angels who did not keep their own domain, but abandoned their proper abode, He [God] has kept in eternal bonds under darkness for the judgment of the great day.” The word “abode” is translated from the Greek term oiketerion. Strong’s defines this word as meaning “a residence (literally or figuratively):—habitation, house.” Vines Expository Dictionary comments on it as follows: “a habitation” (from oiketer, “an inhabitant,” and oikos, “a dwelling”), is used in Jude 1:6, of the heavenly region appointed by God as the dwelling place of angels.” Here the Bible tells us plainly that angels are specifically appointed to live in the heavens. By this token, there is a substantial burden of proof required to argue that we should not naturally assume a reference to “heaven-dwellers” to mean humans, who were not created to live in heaven, rather than angels, who most certainly were created to live in heaven. In my opinion, Gromacki’s evidence does not meet that burden of proof.

Of further interest on this topic, the revelation makes numerous mentions to God, Christ, and the tabernacle of God coming to earth from heaven, but beyond the two witnesses being taken up following their resurrection (see Revelation 11:1-13), it says nothing whatsoever about humans going to heaven.[4] Note the following references:

• “Behold, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him…” – Revelation 1:7
• “I am coming quickly…” – Revelation 3:11
• “Behold, I am coming like a thief…” –Revelation 16:15
• “And I saw heaven opened, and, behold, a white horse, and He who sat upon it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war…and the armies which are in heaven…were following Him.” – Revelation 19:11, 14
• “And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God...And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, ‘Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them…” – Revelation 21:2-3
• “And, behold, I am coming quickly…” – Revelation 22:7
• “Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to render to every man according to what he has done.” – Revelation 22:12
• “He who testifies to these things says, ‘Yes, I am coming quickly.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.” – Revelation 22:20

These repeated references to God coming to dwell among men hearken back strongly to the kingdom preaching of Christ and his apostles, and in particular to the kingdom parables in the gospels. According to these consistent witnesses from scripture, the believer’s expectation is “the coming,” whereas pretribulationists have turned that expectation into “the going.”

For one last consideration on this subject of the “heaven-dwellers,” let’s take a look at the word translated “blaspheme” in Revelation 13:6, where we are told that the Beast blasphemes against them. In this instance, “blaspheme” is translated from the Greek word blasphemeo, which appears numerous times in scripture and, on a few occasions, is translated as “slandering,” “evil speaking,” “railing,” “hurling abuse,” and related terms. Strong’s defines as it as meaning: “to speak reproachfully, rail at, revile, calumniate, blaspheme, to be evil spoken of, reviled, railed at.” It is usually associated with evil speech directed toward God, but there are exceptions to this.

In II Peter 2:10-11, the apostle Peter provides us with some of the characteristics of those who will fall under God’s judgment:

“Daring, self-willed, they do not tremble when they revile [blasphemeo] angelic majesties, whereas angels who are greater in might and power do not bring a reviling [blasphemos] judgment against them before the Lord.”

Here is a clear witness from scripture that it is possible to “blaspheme” against angels. It is also possible to blaspheme (speak evil against) men, however, as II Peter 2:11 indicates in the above quotation,[5] so the use of the term does not rule out the presence of humans in heaven in the context of Revelation 13:7. That said, however, the Beast has more of an evident motive to blaspheme against angels than against humans.

Think back to the three angels that John sees flying in mid-heaven in Revelation 14:6-7, and 9-12. These angels proclaim the gospel, encourage the saints, and prophesy divine wrath against the Beast and his followers. They are openly challenging the Beast and proclaiming the message of God, thus furnishing the Beast with a tremendous incentive for blaspheming against them as he also rails against God. By contrast, if there are humans in heaven at this time, Revelation does not tell us of anything they might be doing that would draw the open ire of the Beast. In my view, this is yet more evidence that the “heaven-dwellers” are indeed angels and not human beings.

* All scriptures are taken from the NASB.
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[1] We should be careful to note here that, like other such references in scripture (see Luke 2:1), this does not literally refer to every single individual on planet Earth, but rather, to what is characteristic of the majority of people at the time. Even pretribulationists acknowledge that there will be saved individuals on earth at the time, although they insist that these people will not be part of the church.

[2] While it may seem that I’m nitpicking here, Gromacki’s reference to the incarnation is another example among several we’ve seen in this study as to his lack of careful exegesis. In the phrase, “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us,” the words that refer to the incarnation are “the Word became flesh,” and these are translated from the Greek words logos sarx ginomai. The phrase “and dwelt among us” does not refer to the incarnation; it refers to the posture Christ assumed with respect to humanity after his incarnation. He was “made flesh” and dwelt among beings of flesh. Thus, skenountas, “to dwell,” does not refer to the incarnation—the taking on of flesh—at all. Further, the incarnation does not help Gromacki’s case because it was not a temporary state of affairs. Scripture is clear that Christ continues in the flesh (see Luke 24:38-40, 1 John 4:2), although his is a glorified, immortal body.

[3] One of Christ’s titles is “Immanuel,” meaning “God with us.”

[4] John being “caught up” in Revelation 4 is not part of the revelation, and, as noted previously, likely did not take place physically. I’m talking about the revelation itself here, as opposed to the Book of Revelation.

[5] For another example, see Acts 6:11.