Change of Scene

Earlier, in the examination of Revelation 20, it was suggested that that chapter had four pictures of the Messianic Age. A look at verses 1, 4, 11, and 12, shows that each begins with the phrase, "And I saw... " This expression, and others like it such as "And I heard...... "And after these things...... etc., all mark natural divisions throughout the book of Revelation. Their occurrence indicates a jumping backward or forward in time. This and other structural elements so helpful in the interpretation of Revelation, become obvious as the book grows more and more familiar through study.

Transition to Another Salvation

Section III of Revelation (chapters 20-22) concludes the business of the Gospel Age and introduces the business of the Messianic Age: the blessing of all the families of the earth as was promised in the covenant with Abraham.

The new government (city) of Jesus and I-lis bride (Isaiah 9:6; Revelation 21:2) rules this mediatorial age among men (5:10; 21:3). The results will be glorious (21:4-7). The incorrigible will be destroyed ultimately (Acts 3:23; Revelation 20:7-9; 21:8, 27). The faithful will inherit the earth as promised (Matthew 5:5; Revelation 21:7). The whole world will gladly fall into line with this new life-giving arrangement (Isaiah 14:7; Revelation 21:24, 26).

The Church, who are the fountain and trees of this prophecy, will share life abundantly with all the willing. (Revelation 21:6; John 4:14; Revelation 22:1, 17; Isaiah 61:3; Revelation 22:2)

Consider for a moment some of the beautifw numerical symbolisms the Lord built into his description of the New Jerusalem, the new government for this earth.

This city is symbolically a cube, a Greek symbol for perfection (21:16). It has equal access from all directions (21:13). Because its gates have the names of the tribes of Israel (21:12), we see that access to life (22:14) is dependent on accepting the terms of the New Covenant which is made only with Israel and those who accept Israel's prominence. (Jeremiah 31:31; Acts 15:14-17; Zechariah 8:23; Isaiah 60:11, 12, 5)

A cube has twelve edges (21:14). Thus this symbolic city is founded or framed on the teachings of the twelve apostles (Matthew 18:18; Ephesians 2:20). Because each edge is 12,000 furlongs (21:16), the size of the "foundations" is 144,000 furlongs (twelve edges at 12,000 furlongs each), thus showing the entire Church of 144,000 (7:4; 14:1). The area of one side (12,000 x 12,000 = 144,000,000) is 1,000 times 144,000, indicating the Church (the 144,000) will be a wall of protection for the world for 1,000 years.

A furlong is one-eighth of a mile (5,280 divided by 8 = 660 feet). Therefore, one side of the "city" is 7,920,000 feet (12,000 furlongs x 660 feet). What an interesting correspondency with the earth itself which has a diameter of 7,920 miles! Is this saying that the new government forms a box which can perfectly hold the earth? that the Church is the protection and salvation of the earth? It is worthy of note that the city described in Ezekiel 48:16 measures 4,500 cubits square. This measurement seems to be based on the "great cubit" which is apparently a cubit plus one hand-breadth, or 1.76 feet. (See Ezekiel 41:8; 40:5; 43:13.) Ezekiel's city, then, also is earth-measured in that 4,500 cubits is 7,920 feet.

The area of the entire surface of the New Jerusalem (12,000 x 12,000 x 6 sides) is 864,000,000. This number is 1,000 times the diameter of the sun in miles (864,000 miles), thus seeming to say that the Church will "shine as the sun" for 1,000 years (Matthew 13:43).

Here we bring this brief booklet to a close. It is our prayer that it will open for many readers a door to fruitful study, appreciation, and application of the "mysteries" of Revelation.

Many things have been left unexplained. It needed to be thus. It was not intended that this be an exhaustive explanation. A skeleton for study has, however, here been provided so that the parts of Revelation not herein treated can be approached with a Scriptural logic and an historical basis. The interpretation of the smaller parts is not so difficult if they can be viewed consistently with the large picture.

Should the student desire to study the so-called "Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse" (6:2-8), it should now be helpful to know that these are part of the seven seals. Thus the first horse should have historical evidences found between the years 33 and 100, the second among 100 and 313, etc. Horses are symbols of doctrine. The changes of color show the deterioration of doctrine. First it was white -- pure. As the tares multiplied, it became red colored with the sin of harlotry. Next it turned to black the beginning of the Dark Ages, in which truth in doctrine was nearly obscured. Lastly it was "pale" -- dead, drained of all life during the constant ascendancy of the Roman counterfeit church. History will confirm the symbols.

Thus the wild, imaginative language of Revelation becomes a rational (though colorful) symbolic treatise on the history of the Christian age. Revelation becomes a book which the sincere and faithful Christian can honor. It can be defended before agnostic questioners who previously have heard only unrealistic and absurd interpretations guaranteed to bolster their agnosticism.

Following is an appendix which is a glossary of symbols and their suggested meanings for your further study and consideration. May God bless you in your search.

AIR: powers of spiritual control; demons

ALTAR: the condition of full dedication to God

AMEN: used as a noun to represent Jesus

ANGELS: messengers (spirit, human, inanimate objects, events)

ARK: the new covenant arrangement under Christ and His Church

ARMAGEDDON: condition of ripeness for destruction (pictured by this ancient battleground of the forces

of good and evil)

ASIA: mud, boggy; condition of being earthbound

BABYLON: primarily the Roman Church- extends to "daughter" denominations

BARLEY: basic Christian character truths

BEAST: a group of men (institution or government) with unholy characteristics

BEASTS (FOUR): God's four attributes: wisdom, justice, love, and power. Should be translated "living ones."

BED: A place of affliction

BEHEADED: having given up personal will to do God's will

BELLY: effects of having taken in and assimilated information

BIRD (UNCLEAN): demon, selfish profiteer, or person pushing personal ideologies

BITTER: difficult and painful

BLACK: devoid of light (truth)

BLOOD: life or its value; can mean death, as in blood spilled

BOOK: a plan with its information, or a record. (See also "little book.")

BOOK OF LIFE: the record of those found worthy of life (in either Gospel or Messianic Ages)

BOTTOMLESS PIT: condition of powerlessness or dormancy

BRIDE: The church of Christ; the 144,000.

BRIDEGROOM: Jesus

BRIDLES: a controlling element

BRIMSTONE: deadly poison (added to symbol of fire to show no way of escape)

CALF: justice (because the calf was the principal animal sacrificed to satisfy justice)

CAMP OF THE SAINTS: the Messianic Age's earthly government consisting of the faithful pre-Christ ancients

CANDLESTICKS: (7) churches (see also "two candlesticks")

CHAIN: connection of truths

CITY: government (religious or secular)

CLOTHING/CLOTHED: status; one's standing before God

CLOUDS: trouble or obscurity

COURT: the condition of justification

CROWN: authority (when from diadema), victory (when from stephanos)

CUP: experiences

DARKNESS: erroneous and superstitious teachings

DAY: a year; a period of time with certain characteristics

DAY AND NIGHT: in perpetuity

DEATH: loss of spiritual life; condition of being alive but not having received eternal life; loss of previous belief or condition; having sacrificed earthly life-rights

DENS: secret societies, hiding places, conditions of subterfuge

DEVIL: civil power or Rome (papal or pagan)

DEVOUR: see "eat"

DOGS: Gentiles; ultimately, anyone refusing to acknowledge Israel's place in God's plan

DOOR: opportunity; proximity

DRAGON: civil power or pagan Rome

DRAGON, SERPENT, DEVIL, SATAN (as 4-part name): civil power under control of personal devil

DUST: mouming

DWELL ON THE EARTH: having strong ties to earthly or worldly interests (i.e., the establishment)

EAGLE: wisdom; Bible

EARTH: society; the established way of doing things; the social order

EARTHQUAKE: revolution

EAT: absorb, appropriate, come into harmony with

EGYPT: type of Western, Christian world

ELDERS: Old Testament prophecies

EUPHRATES: people who support Babylon

EYES: foresight; wisdom

FACE: favor or displeasure

FALSE PROPHET: a confederation of Protestant denominations

FAMINE: lack of truth

FIG AND FIG TREE: Israel

FIRE: destruction or judgment

FIRSTFRUITS: products of the Gospel Age, i.e., the Church and great multitude

FLOOD: great amount of truths

FOREHEAD: the sum total of character

FORNICATION: a Christian dabbling in affairs of this earth, thus unfaithful to Jesus, the espoused bridegroom

FOUNTAINS: the Church (true or false) as a source of religious truths

FOUR: the component parts

FOWLS: discontents

FROGS: unclean and boastful

FURNACE: heated experiences for proving or judging

GARMENTS: justification

GIRDLE: representative of service or servitude

GLASS: purity; transparency; calmness

GOD: position of highest authority (including its counterfeits)

GOG & MAGOG: symbolism for a rebellious civil power at the end of both Gospel and Millennial Ages

GOLD(EN): of Divine things

GOSPEL: the totality of God's Word including its judgment message

GRAPES: evil fruitage

GRASS: humanity in general, or a specific segment of it; when green is specified, right-heartedness or justification is implied

GREEN: alive in spirit (in the sense of having inclinations toward righteousness); justified

-- H --

HAIL: hard truths

HAIR: wisdom, venerableness

HAND: works; cooperation; responsibility

HARP: harmonious set of doctrines

HARVEST: end period of the Gospel Age; beginning of the Messianic Age; results of prior activities

HEAD: place of ideas; forms of government

HEAT: adverse effects from enlightenment

HEAVEN: the religious world or its leadership

HELL: the condition of oblivion when men die, but from which there will be a release

HORNS: powers

HORSE: doctrine

HORSEMEN: followers or promoters of doctrines

HUNGER: lack of spiritual food

-- I --

IMAGE: federated Protestantism

INCENSE: prayers, sacrifices

IRON: strength

ISLAND: small nation or republic

ISRAEL: the people of God (i.e., the true Church)

JERUSALEM: the Millennial Divine government by the Church

JEWS: Christians

JEZEBEL: the Roman Church

JOHN: Church in the flesh

-- K --

KEYS: ability to control access

KILLED: discredited; having lost prior belief

KINGS OF THE EARTH: men of influence

KINGS OF THE EAST: probably the church who will shine as the sun

-- L --

LAKE OF FIRE: the second death: i.e., perpetuat extinction

LAMB: Jesus

LEAVES: professions

LEFT: position of disfavor

LIFE: justification; spiritual vitality

LIGHTNING: bright flashes of truth which tend to confuse rather than enlighten

LINEN: the righteousness of saints (or its counterfeit)

LION: power; Jesus

LITTLE BOOK: Daniel

LIVING SOUL: Christian

LOCUSTS: devouring force as a plague to false Christianity

LORD'S DAY: Millennial Age

-- M --

MAN (FACE OF): love

MANCHILD: man of sin; Papacy

MANNA (HIDDEN): immortality

MARK: indication of agreement or sympathy or cooperation

MARRIAGE: the uniting of Christ and His complete Church in the spirit realm

MEN: Christians, nominal or true

MERCHANTS: capitalists

MICHAEL: "One who as God" = Papacy

MILLSTONE: a place which prepared spiritual food

MONTH: 30 years (a day for a year)

MOON: Old Testament writings; Jewish Law

MORNING STAR: Jesus

MOUNTAIN: large kingdom

MOUTH: message

MURDERERS: character assassins

-- N --

NAKED: without justification

NAME: sum of character; reputation

NATIONS, KINDREDS, PEOPLE(S), & TONGUES (4-name entity): the "sea" class; people without strong roots or commitments to the present order of things

NEW JERUSALEM: the spiritual government of the peaceable kingdom: Christ's Church glorified

NICOLAITANS: people who lord it over others

-- O --

ODOURS: prayers

OIL: Holy spirit

OLIVE: Holy spirit

OLIVE TREES: see "two olive trees"

-- P --

PALMS: symbol of salvation

PEARL: character developed through trials

PILLAR: stalwart

PIT: see "BOTTOMLESS"

PLACES: conditions

PLAGUES: truths to weaken false Christianity

PRIEST: a mediator between God and men

PRISON: death or restraint

PURPLE: royalty (real or assumed)

-- R --

RAIMENT: justification or righteousness

RAIN: blessings of truth

RAINBOW: covenant

RED: sin

REED: standard of judgment

RIGHT: position of favor

RIVER(S): people who support something; source of refreshment

ROCKS: stable institutions

ROD: strong rule; a standard of measurement

-- S --

SACKCLOTH: mourning or humiliation

SAILORS: workmen

SAND OF THE SEA: those ultimately of the earthly kingdom

SAT: controlled

SATAN: Papacy--or civil government (each under the influence of the personal devil)

SCORPIONS: tormentings

SEA: restless humanity without strong ties to the social or religious order of things

SEA OF GLASS: pure water of God's truths for cleansing purposes

SEAL: events which reveal once they occur; guarantee

SEAT: center of power

SECOND DEATH: extinction from which there is no hope of return

SEVEN: a complete number with reference to spiritual things

SHIPMASTER: businessman

SHIPS: commerce

SICKLE: truths to do a separating work

SMOKE: remembrance, obscuration, or evidence

SODOM: type of Babylon

SONG: praise coming from harmonious truths

SORE: a perpetual, threatening problem

SOUL(S) (see "LIVING SOUL"): Saints who have died and await resurrection

SPIRITS: teachings

STARS: teachers (true or false)

STINGS: painful irritations due to unwanted truths

SUN: Gospel [improperly received, can bum: see 7:16; 16:8, 9]

SWORD: Bible; any cutting message

-- T --

TABERNACLE: dwelling place, i.e., presence; God's plan pictured by a building

TAIL: last part; a lying prophet (Isaiah 9:15)

TALENT: sum total of the Gospel

TEARS: disappointment

TEMPLE: God's plan, including the church itself, The Most Holy room of the Tabernacle

TEN: a complete number in reference to earthly or civil things

THIEF: quietly secretive and unexpected

THIRST: craving for truth which leads to life

THRONE: office of rulership including judgment

THUNDER(INGS): results of lightning; i.e., resulting activities or philosophies or controversies

TIME: (chronos) 360 years; a period of certain characteristics

TORMENTED: vexed to the point of great discomfort

TREE: important individuals or small nations or institutions

TREE OF LIFE: promise of continued existence

TRIBES OF ISRAEL: divisions of the glorified Church

TRUMPET: important and timely message

TWO CANDLESTICKS: Old and New Testament writings-as GIVERS OF LIGHT

TWO OLIVE TREES: Old and New Testament writings-as functions of the HOLY SPIRIT

TWO PROPHETS: Old and New Testament writings-as TEACHERS

TWO WITNESSES: Old and New Testament writings-as TESTIFIERS (in advance) of God's purposes

-- V --

VIALS: mechanisms to deliver plaguing truths

VINE OF THE EARTH: Babylon, the fruitage of Satan's planting

VIRGINS: true Church or great multitude; undefiled by illicit cooperation with the world and its ways

-- W --

WAR: a struggle or persecution

WATER: truth

WATERS: people/truths

WHITE: pure or justified

WHORE: a church which has compromised itself with politics and worldly involvement

WILDERNESS: condition of separation (in mind and attitude) from accepted standards of doctrine and practice

WIND: war

WINDS: powers of demonic control

WINE: gospel (pure or polluted); doctrine; experiences coming out of teachings

WINEPRESS: the last trouble of the harvest which squeezes life out of false religion

WITNESSES: see "TWO WITNESSES"

WOMAN: Church (true or false); covenant

WORMWOOD: Arius, as poisonous and bitter to the apostacy

-- Y --

(Volume I)
THE DIVINE PLAN OF THE AGES
A complete overview of God's intent for His creation. $2.00

(Volume III)
THE TIME IS AT HAND
A comprehensive look at Bible chronology and the subject of Jesus' second advent. $2.00

(Volume III)
THY KINGDOM COME
A close look at the prophecies of Daniel, particularly as related to the harvest period of the Gospel Age. $2.00

(Volume IV)
THE BATTLE OF ARMAGEDDON
An examination of the social, political, economic and religious forces which combine to bring an end to this age $2.00

(Volume V)
THE ATONEMENT BETWEEN GOD & MAN
One of the finest treatments of Scripture related to basic Christian doctrine. $2.00

(Vol. VI)
THE NEW CREATION
A Christian's handbook for personal living and church organization. $2.00