Words and Phrases

THE SEA continued

Rev. 13:1 – This chapter (among other things) traces the beginnings of the “Holy Roman Church.” We see that it comes OUT OF THE SEA. The apostate church (unlike the two-horned beast of Verse 11) was born in the restless period during which Rome lost its paganism as we saw in Rev. 8:8. The great mountain of Rev. 8:8 was thrown into the sea and OUT OF the sea came its replacement, the ten-horned beast.

Rev. 14:7 – This is the first entire chapter to treat the Harvest period exclusively. The message of the angel (Verse 6) seems to be – Stop worshipping religious powers, society, the liberty of the masses, or the earthly sources of religious information; WORSHIP GOD.

IF heaven, earth, sea, and springs are here symbols, the last sentence interprets them. It is quite possible, however, (and even likely) that these words are not here symbols but literalisms: Worship the God who made all you see. In either case, the angel is rebuking CREATURE WORSHIP and admonishing its replacement with CREATOR WORSHIP.

Rev. 15:2 – If the symbol of sea here remains consistent and is not a reference to the temple laver as a type, we see conditions at the beginning of the harvest period symbolized. The sea (masses) is still smooth; its soon-to-come upheavals have not begun. BUT the elements are present within it which will shortly cause it to erupt into the storms Jesus predicted (Luke 21:25). It has within it “fire” elements — perhaps the philosophies whose eventual effect is the disruption of all which has held society together in the past centuries. These might be Darwinism, Communism, Existentialism, Higher Criticism, etc. The saints, however, stand above all of this knowing the PLAN (Harps) and not concerned with the worries which rest beneath the surface of the masses.

Rev. 16:3 – This second plague affects the sea class. It destroys the Christian profession of sea-class individuals just as the emperor’s conversion (Rev. 8:9) destroyed the pagan profession of the Roman pagan sea. This probably refers to the loss of Christianity as a vital force in Eastern Europe after the Communist revolution took over.

Rev. 18:17 – This chapter details the gradual dissolution of the unity between Babylon (church) and her supporters (state, commerce, etc.) during the 20th century. Those who made their livelihood from this system, shipmasters (profiteers), passengers and sailors (laborers, and those “going along for the ride“), by LIVING OFF THEIR bilking or defrauding of the poor masses (sea), mourn the passing of the old order.

Rev. 18:19 same lesson.

Rev. 18:21 – The heretofore-cheated sea will swallow up its previous landlord even as it swallowed up Rome (Rev. 8:8) but with much greater violence and with a welcome permanence!

Rev. 20:13 – At first glance this verse seems to have something wrong with it!

Is it not sufficient that death and hell give up their dead?

After all, where else can the dead be?

Why, for instance, does it not say that the earth gives up its dead?

Look closely: heaven and earth can’t give up their dead because they ARE NO MORE (Rev. 20:11.) By the time the kingdom is in full sway, all who were in power in religious places (heaven) and in civil places (earth) will have lost their positions. There will be a new heaven and earth (a new order of things). But the sea will yet remain.

Poor rootless humanity will all be standing there ready to get their roots – a permanent place in the new society. They are yet “dead” — in need of following The Christ to life. The sea will GIVE UP ITS DEAD BY CONVERTING THEM (See Isa 60:5.) It would probably have been enough to say that death and hell give up their dead, but apparently the Lord wanted us to realize that we should have followed THREE entities prophetically through the Revelation: Earth and Heaven (Rev. 20:11) AND Sea (Rev. 20:13). Remember that the sea SERVED the Lord from the beginning of the age — Rev. 4:6 (IF, indeed, Rev. 4:6 is NOT a reference to the laver).

Rev. 21:1 – Once the sea (class) has served the Lord, He does away with it — He no longer wants anyone to be rootless! He has, during the age, taken His Church and Great Multitude from this class; He has used it to swallow up Babylon and Pagan Rome; He has symbolized His temporary favor toward it by having the angel (Rev. 10:2) place his RIGHT foot on it. But now He converts it to be part of His NEW EARTH.

STABILITY AT LAST!