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Last week we saw
the opening of the seals of the book and we finished with the fourth
seal. The visions of the first four seals had something in common: at
the opening of each seal appeared a horse and rider and the
interpretation of each was centred on the colour of the horse. The first
horse was white and represented the spreading of the Gospel, the
evangelization of the Christian faith to the gentiles. The rider is the
personification of the Gospel preached through the mouths of the
Apostles and their successors. The second horse was red and represented
the persecution of the Gospel, the persecution of the church and the
bloody martyrdom of her saints through Satan and all those who became
his instruments by denying that Jesus Christ is God. The third horse was
black and represented mourning and misery as a result of a worldwide
famine unleashed on the unbelieving populations of the world as a
punishment. And lastly the fourth horse which was a pale colour
representing plagues and diseases and together with wars will claim the
death of a fourth of the world's population.
So today we
continue with the opening of the fifth seal:
"And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw
under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God,
and for the testimony which they held: And they cried with a loud voice,
saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge
our blood on them that dwell on the earth? And white robes were given
unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest
yet for a little season, until their fellowservants also and their
brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled."
The fifth
seals come as a kind of interlude, a rest from the tribulations that we
saw with the fourth seal and worse tribulations that we will see with
the opening of the sixth seal. Up until now the faithful reader will
have felt a sense of discouragement when he thinks of what awaits us,
but the fifth seal comes and offers hope and relief. It offers the
martyrs, those who suffered and sacrificed themselves for Christ and now
they ask something of Christ. But even though it serves as an
intermission, it is not totally unrelated to the previous seals, because
we saw the preaching of the Gospel and the persecutions and martyrdoms
that followed because of the Gospel and now we are told that this was
not in vain, the souls are not lost and have nothing to be afraid of
because they are in paradise. It echoes the beatitude:
"Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and
persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for
my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in
heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you."
(Matt.5:11-12) Martyrdom is a reality that concerns the Gospel and
comprises the identity of the Gospel. This means that any Gospel which
is not persecuted is not genuine. Persecution and Gospel live together,
any teaching that is persecuted is genuine and any teaching that creates
the impression that everything is wonderful is most likely false.
As we saw with the
second seal, persecution always follows the Gospel and as the Gospel
will be preached until the end of time, persecution will also exist
until the end of time. But as we approach closer to the end persecution
will be more intense and many more martyrdoms will occur. St. Cyril of
Jerusalem writes: "Who then is blessed? He who martyrs in piety for the
sake of Christ in those last days" He will be far greater than all the
early martyrs, because the old martyrs suffered at the hands of men, but
the latter martyrs will fight against the instruments of Satan and
against the antichrist himself who bears the face of Satan.
But let's
now see the text of the fifth seal; "I saw under
the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for
the testimony which they held." Here then we have a new element
in this descriptive image of heaven: the altar before the throne of God
and the creation of our altars that we have in our temples are based on
this heavenly prototype. A great significance is that when Moses was
called on Mt. Sinai to receive the Law, there God also gave him
instructions on how to build the tabernacle, how the ark should be of a
precise size in width, length and height, made of wood and plated with
gold inside and outside, further more the holy objects will be of such
and such a manner. God does not allow freedom of expression while
constructing these objects, Moses and his technicians are not to
guesstimate while building these holy items, simply because these will
be copies or replicas of heavenly realities. Every thing in the temple
of Solomon was made exactly according to the models given by God, and
this holds true also for the earthly altar that we have in our temple:
it is modelled after the heavenly altar.
So under
this altar St. John the Evangelist saw the souls of the martyrs. Thus we
see that all those who die in the present world live as souls in a
specific place. Now if they happen to be saved they live under the
heavenly altar. Now why under the altar? Initially the altar relates to
their sacrifice. In the Old Testament when animal sacrifices were
slaughtered on the altar, there was a ditch on the altar that allowed
the blood to flow to the base. Blood is the carrier or vehicle of life
and the soul is also called life and consequently as the blood was at
the lower place of the altar of the Old Testament that is why the souls
are also under the altar. Another point of view is that every faithful
is an offering - a person of sacrifice without literally having to give
his blood in martyrdom, but from the moment the person gives himself to
Christ he becomes a person of sacrifice. St Paul says:
"I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies
of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable
unto God." (Romans 12:1)
There is
also something else that we see in the life of the Church. When we
consecrate a church, we place in a hole in the centre of the altar a
silver box containing relics of the saints which is then sealed. This
means that the martyrs make up the base of the altar becoming a replica
of the heavenly altar. Here we don't have their souls but we have their
bones. Two weeks ago, when we saw the interpretation of the throne we
saw that God rests on the saints and the holy altar is also the throne
of God where during the sacrificial offering of the Divine Liturgy, God
rests on the relics of the saints who are under the Holy Altar. We can
see then that the Book of Revelation has contributed greatly to the
structure of our divine Orthodox worship. We have not put together a
form of worship made from our own imaginations: our worship is based on
Holy Scripture as well as Holy Tradition. If we were to closely analyse
the Book of Revelation in relation to our worship we will find an
astounding likeness.
Now under
the altar we have the souls of the martyrs, we don't have people but
souls only: their bodies have been left on earth. When a person dies the
soul is ripped from the body and according to scripture the soul is
carried by the angels to heaven. But here it is important to understand
why the martyrs are under the altar. They are not in the kingdom of God
but they are in paradise. The kingdom of God differs from paradise in
the sense that paradise is the place of souls while the kingdom of God
is reserved for the entire human being. When the resurrection of the
dead takes place and the bodies will be reunited to the souls then they
will enter the kingdom of God.
"And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How
long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on
them that dwell on the earth?"
The martyrs who
gave their life as a testimony of their faith in Christ now ask Christ
"how long will we have to wait until you judge and avenge our blood.
This shows us that when the souls leave this place they are not in a
deep state of sleep as some heretics teach, but are alive and have full
consciousness and remember everything they experienced while still in
the body. They cry out expressing their deep yearning for the fulfilment
of righteousness and they want justice to be rendered; they want good to
triumph over evil which will take place with the Second Coming of
Christ. But we need to clarify something here; the martyrs are not
looking for revenge: when they say how long until you avenge our blood,
they are not looking for revenge on the inhabitants of the earth. This
would be very strange since the martyrs while still in this world, while
being skinned, while having their tongues cut off and the eyes pulled
out and fried or boiled in caldrons, they were never cursing their
murderers but were often praying for them. They did not become angry or
indignant: they did not wish evil against their executioners. How then
is it possible for the same people who were found righteous to enter
paradise to seek revenge? Their cry is similar to that of the Psalmist:
"How long, O Lord, wilt thou forget me?"
(Psalm 12:1) It is not a request for revenge but a strong desire for the
fulfilment of the resurrection. Lord, they are saying, did you forget
about us? Did you not say in the Gospel of Luke:
"And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto
him, though he bear long with them? I tell you that he will avenge them
speedily." (Luke 18:7) The depth of their cry is not revenge but
the yearning of the resurrection from the dead and their reunion with
their lost body. The soul feels that her clothing is missing, her
residence, her house, her temple. The soul misses the body so that the
entire human existence can be whole again. The soul does not feel
content when the body is missing, she deeply misses and wants her other
half. So how long O Lord, until your Second Coming and the resurrection
of the dead and the reunion of our bodies and souls? It will be as long
as it is necessary for the fulfilment of his divine plan. Until the
fulfilment of time; until their fellowservants and brothers who are to
be killed as they have been was completed. But when this will be is only
known by God.
"And white robes were given unto every one of
them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little
season, until their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should
be killed as they were, should be fulfilled."
Here we see
that the prayer of the martyrs was heard by Christ and the answer came
in two parts: the first part with an action and the second offered
verbally. The first part was that they were each given a white robe. The
meaning of this robe is symbolic of their triumphant and blessedness.
The second part was that they were told to rest for a little while
longer. This means that paradise is a place of rest and is a foretaste
of the perfect rest that will be enjoyed in its fullness in the kingdom
of heaven. The martyrs are told to have a little patience, because they
express an impatience wanting to unite with their bodies. They are told
to wait a little season, in other words a short time, but how does one
measure time in eternity? Certainly any earthly time, even millions of
years is a little time compared to eternity. But here Christ is
reassuring them that the time is truly approaching, time is at hand.
From Abraham until the promise of the first coming of Christ there is a
period of about two thousand years, can we then calculate that a similar
period of time will pass for the Second Coming? If so then time is truly
at hand, but there is a difference between the two comings. For the
first coming prophecies were given that accurately pinpointed the time
when Christ would be born, but with the Second coming we have no dates
but only signs of the last times and the beginning of sorrows with no
indication when these sorrows will end. Certainly many of the signs
given point to our present age, in a way that they could not have been
understood in previous centuries, but if we think these are the last
days Christ has also told us that he will come in an hour that we think
not.
In any case
it will not be until the numbers of the martyrs have been fulfilled. St.
Paul said concerning the saints of the Old Testament:
"And these all, having obtained a good report
through faith, received not the promise: God having provided some better
thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect."
(Hebrews 11:29-40) This applies to the saints of the New Testament, they
will not be made perfect without us, they will not enter the kingdom of
heaven until everyone who is to be saved is accounted for.
Let's now
see the opening of the sixth seal. The reading is very long and is
divided into three parts with the last two parts in a form of an
interlude, that is a break from the main reading.
"And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal,
and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as
sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood; And the stars of heaven
fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when
she is shaken of a mighty wind. And the heaven departed as a scroll when
it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of
their places. And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the
rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman,
and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the
mountains; And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us
from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of
the Lamb: For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able
to stand?"
In you
remember last week I mentioned how the scriptures are interpreted
according to a chronological order, in other words they are given a
linear interpretation because they will only happen once or with a
circular interpretation because they are events that continually occur
throughout the history of the church. Here we have events that will only
happen once. There will be a great earthquake and the sun will become
black and the moon as blood and the stars will fall from heaven. These
are events borrowed from the prophets and from the Lord's words in the
Gospel concerning his second coming. The entire image shows a universal
upheaval and is not limited to the earthly arena, but it extends to
include the entire universe. The first element of this universal turmoil
is a great earthquake. It is obvious that this is not a normal or common
earthquake like the ones that shake the surface of the earth for a few
seconds and which are measured in strength according to the Richter
scale. This earthquake shakes and disturbs the entire universe with the
result of the complete loss of the sunlight and the falling of the
stars. The Lord expressed this reality as the prelude to his Second
Coming in the Gospel of Matthew: "Immediately
after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the
moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and
the powers of the heavens shall be shaken." (Matt. 24:29) So we
can see that the account in Matthew and the account in Revelation are
referring to the same event.
This event is
interpreted in two ways, in the literal or ontological view and with a
spiritual or allegorical view. But those who say that it is only
allegorical, the Apostle Peter in his second epistle comes and does away
with this theory and gives only a literal interpretation; he says:
"But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in
the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise,
and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the
works that are therein shall be burned up." (2 Peter 3:10) Peter
does not leave any room for an allegorical interpretation; he presents
it as a reality of the end of history. But the fathers give us two
explanations, but according to different times. The allegorical view
refers to the period before the antichrist and the literal and
ontological view to the period just after the antichrist. The
allegorical view suggests a great sociological change in the world
community, a change of ideas, a change of habits; we can say that the
changes of the 20th century were cataclysmic, earth shattering. The
mindset of people has been shaken, the gospel has been looked upon much
differently in the past few decades, we do not look at the gospel in the
same way we did in previous centuries; the rebellion and apostasy of our
times is totally unsurpassed. The generation that lived and understood
the two thousand year Gospel a certain way sees in amazement that the
people of the next generation see things altogether differently. This is
unprecedented in the history of Christianity.
Today we have a
total rejection of faith, a form of de-Christianisation; a kind of
earthquake that has shaken our social and ethical values. What other
century saw the acceptance of homosexuality by certain so-called church
leaders, what other century saw the legalization of abortion, and the
boasting about fornication and adultery? Homosexuality, fornication and
adultery have always existed but they never came out into the open to be
congratulated. Premarital sex never came out to boast. Today people
can't wait to boast about their premarital or extra marital escapades.
In previous centuries those who did these things did so secretly, they
were considered works of darkness. Homosexuals hold gay pride parades,
but a hundred years ago they lived in hiding. Our times present an
ethical earthquake of unprecedented proportions in the Christian world
among people who hold onto some form of Christianity, because we're not
talking about idolater: there was plenty of corruption in lands of
idolatry, Sodom and Gomorrah, the Roman Empire before it became
Christian etc. So this is the allegorical interpretation of the great
earthquake that will turn things upside down.
The second view is
the literal shaking of the heavenly powers and the falling of the stars.
But before we see this universal shaking of the heavens we need to say
something about the normal earthquakes which we are familiar with. The
Evangelists Matthew, Mark and Luke all note that at the end of times we
will have many earthquakes. Luke especially emphasises this when he
states there will be great earthquakes in various places. These
earthquakes differ from the earthquake mentioned with the sixth seal,
because they are earthquakes limited to some places on earth and are not
related to the heavenly bodies. Nevertheless they will be earthquakes of
great magnitude such as has not yet been experienced before. We have
always had earthquakes and our scientists can give us a scientific and
natural explanation why they happen, yet things we call natural are not
necessarily so. For example death can be given a scientific and natural
explanation: the human body ages, the vital functions weaken and death
naturally follows. This is how we look upon death, yet in spiritual
terms death is the result or consequence of sin. Death came into the
world with the fall of Adam and Eve. It is the result of disobedience so
it is not at all natural according to how God created Adam. Thus many
things we think of as natural are only natural on the surface, but
theologically they have another explanation. Earthquakes have a natural
explanation, but in theological terms the created world turns against
man because man sins against God. The earthquakes mentioned in the
Gospels will happen as a result of man's apostasy from God. Saying this,
the main reason for the earthquakes is not to bring destruction but to
shake the conscience of men. Here in Cyprus when we have earthquakes
people run out into the streets shouting audibly or inaudibly "Christ
save us, Mother of God save us." Even those who say they don't believe
in Christ, in fear for their lives will call upon him in times of
danger. Thus earthquakes and other catastrophes are instrumental in
shaking up people's consciences which therefore means that they are the
result of God's love: God's love that visits us under the form of
punishment to awaken us from the deep slumber of sin and apostasy and to
make people return back to him.
As already
mentioned the earthquake mentioned with the opening of the sixth seal is
very different from our earthly earthquakes. "the
heavenly powers were shaken and the sun became black as sackcloth of
hair, and the moon became as blood." Since the moon receives it
light from the sun, but the sun is darkened, the moon will be darkened
and appear like blood.
The world
has already had a foretaste of the sun becoming dark in broad daylight
and I do not mean the natural phenomenon of the eclipse of the sun by
the moon which lasts a few minutes. When Christ was crucified the sun
was darkened from the sixth hour, that is midday for three hours until
the ninth hour, the hour of his death. The account of the Crucifixion
does not allow for any metaphorical or allegorical interpretation. The
sun literally was darkened for three hours and this is seen as a partial
image, a foretaste of the things that will take place during the second
coming of Christ. In Exodus we are told that the sun was darkened for
three days as a sign of God's power against Egypt:
"And Moses stretched forth his hand toward heaven; and there was a thick
darkness in all the land of Egypt three days: They saw not one another,
neither rose any from his place for three days." (Exodus
10:22-23)
"And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, like
a fig tree that loses her unripe figs when shaken by the gusts of strong
winds."
It has been
suggested that the stars mentioned here are not the stars in the sky,
but important people. With an allegorical interpretation the verse is
borrowing from the astrological language that the powerful people of the
world are stars, the sky walkers of this world. This is a term we use in
our everyday language we call famous people stars. With this
interpretation the fall of the stars refers to the fall of great men,
they become darkened and defeated and fall to the earth. The stars can
also be the false gods of the world's various religions and even demons
because further down in Revelation we will see that the angels of heaven
are referred to as stars of heaven and when Satan fell from heaven we
are told that he took with him the third part of the stars of heaven,
and did cast them to the earth. (12:3-4)
Whether this
falling of the stars is allegorical or will happen in a physical form at
the glorious coming of Christ is known only by him who possesses the
mystical treasury of knowledge and wisdom. Meteor showers and shooting
stars have been known to fall in numbers. On November 13th, 1833 over
the eastern United States, the skies were lit up during the early hours
by thousands of shooting stars every minute for four hours. The people
then believed they were witnessing the prophecy of the falling stars and
that the end of the world was imminent.
Scientifically
if the earth was to be bombarded with fallen stars it would mean the end
of the world as we know it, especially as many stars are actually bigger
than the earth. In religious terms, let us not think that God cannot do
this. It is a vision of the time just before the Coming of Christ and he
has told us that the earth and heaven as we know it will be destroyed
and there will be a new earth and a new heaven.
"And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is
rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their
places."
Psalm 103
says "the one who stretches out the heavens like a
piece of leather." The KJV has as a curtain, but the Greek is
literally translated as a piece of leather. This is an image of a scroll
made of parchment, a long piece of leather skin stretched and rolled
onto two poles. The technical term is metaphorical, but the event is
real. Scrolls were often written on both sides and when the one side had
been read it would be turned inside out to be read on the other side.
The image we have here is that the sky will undergo an alteration, the
heavens will change, the earth will change and the whole universe will
change.
St. Peter
says that we will be: "Looking for and hasting
unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire
shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?
Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a
new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness." Isaiah also says:
"For, behold, I create new heavens and a new
earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind."
(Isaiah 65:17) Where will we be during this renewal of creation? Not on
earth. Paul tells us that: '"we which are alive
and remain shall be caught up in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the
air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord."
Towards the
end of the Book of Revelation the Lord says:
"Behold I make everything new." Why? Because everything has
become old from sin. The entire universe entered corruption when sin
entered this creation and now everything must become new. This doesn't
mean that everything will be lost. God created the universe out of
nothing, but what he created cannot return to nothing. Only the form of
the universe will change: the heavenly bodies will no longer be
revolving as they are now, they will be moved into a new form, a
necessary change because everything will become part of the kingdom of
God.
This world
has become violated because man has become old. Age is connected with
corruption; the world has become old because of death and corruption.
For this reason the form of the world as we know it was made temporary,
the shape of the earth, heaven and the heavenly bodies was not made
permanently. God foreknows all things and his will is that the form of
this world will come to an end and men will become renewed, they will
pass from corruption to incorruption and from now on men will live in a
new heaven and a new earth having full communion with God. Therefore the
destruction of the universe is not a punishment but the renewal of the
universe and when this happens Christ will come back to receive his own,
those who have resurrected unto life eternal. All these things that will
happen are lofty and grand, they show a very noble purpose in life and
what God has prepared for us from the very beginning.
"And the kings of the earth, and the great men,
and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every
bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks
of the mountains; And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and
hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the
wrath of the Lamb: For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall
be able to stand?"
What John is
describing here are the final moments of history, a little after the
antichrist. In the Gospels the Lord tells us the same event:
"And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the
moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with
perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; Men's hearts failing them for
fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth:
for the powers of heaven shall be shaken. And then shall they see the
Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory." (Luke
21:25-27) Men's hearts failing them from fear because of all the things
that will take place. But let's look at the verse from Revelation that
we just read. Here it notes seven categories of people, kings, great
men, rich men, chief captains, mighty men, slaves and free men. Today
most classes among people have been levelled out although there are
still some classes that still bring social division, but in previous
centuries these divisions were much more profound and you could
distinguish the classes by their appearance, by what they wore and how
well groomed they were. Today most people wear the same clothes with the
only difference being in the quality. Now when these phenomena take
place and everyone will escape to hide in the holes of the earth and in
the caves there will be no distinction between the classes; whatever
class they may have belonged to, they will all be levelled out through
fear. They will all run to the holes in the earth, and in these holes
the poor man will have equal place with the rich man.
The majority of
these people will be unrepentant sinners. Historically, the holes in the
earth, the caves and cracks in the mountains were the shelter of the
righteous escaping from the persecutions of the unrepentant sinners. St.
Paul writes about the saints: "Of whom the world
was not worthy: they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens
and caves of the earth." (Heb. 11:38) Even to this day holy men
escape to these uncivilized places, although not to escape persecution,
but to be alone in their thoughts with God without the distractions of
the world. Now though a great reversal takes place, it is the turn of
the sinners to seek shelter in the holes and caves of the earth. Isaiah
says: "Enter into the rock, and hide thee in the
dust, for fear of the LORD, and for the glory of his majesty. The lofty
looks of man shall be humbled, and the haughtiness of men shall be bowed
down, and the LORD alone shall be exalted in that day." (Isaiah
2:10-11)
But why will
all the unrepentant sinners try to hide in the cracks of the mountains?
The following lines give us the reason: "And they
said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face
of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: For
the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?"
They will try to hide from the face of God and from the wrath of
the Lamb, because the great day of his wrath is come. A lamb as we know
is meek, it does not become angry so how do we have the wrath of the
Lamb. This is because reference is being made to the Messiah who is not
only the saviour, but the righteous judge as well. In the Parable of the
Last Judgement, Christ tells as that at the end of time when he will
come back in glory, he will separate people like a shepherd separates
the sheep from the goats and the sheep on his right will enter with him
into his kingdom, but the goats on the left will be cast from him into
everlasting fire. Christ is both saviour and judge and people who think
only of sweet Jesus full of love and compassion and forgiveness and
refuse to think of Jesus the Judge are deluded. They sooth their
conscience with the sweet Jesus of love and make no effort to correct
their lives believing that the love of Jesus will accept them as they
are. But Christ is the one who presents himself as the Judge and he does
this to tell us to correct our lives so that he may find us acceptable,
not everyone he says who say Lord, Lord will be saved.
Thus people
will try to hide in the cracks of the earth and will say to the
mountains and rocks fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that
sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: For the great day of
his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand? The great day of his
wrath is of course the Second Coming of Christ when all men will be
judged according to their works and no hole in the earth or crack in the
mountain will be able to hide us from his presence.
As I
mentioned just before we saw the opening of the sixth seal, that it is
very long and is divided into three sections. I had hoped that we would
have finished all three sectioned and also the seventh seal today, but
the first part has taken up most of our time. We'll continue with the
second section and see if we can at least finish with this part.
"And after these things I saw four angels standing
on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth,
that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any
tree."
According to
the ancient perception the world was flat and square. The Holy
Scriptures use the perception of the people of the time in which the
books were written. How else would God communicate with the people of
that era when they had no knowledge that the earth is round without
corners. But in terms of understanding it makes no difference if the
world is round of square, standing on the four corners of the earth
expresses that it is a global event that concerns the entire earth.
According to scripture angels guard and protect the entire creation from
the destructive intensions of the devil. Here the angels are responsible
for the winds that blow on the earth and they are holding the winds back
not as a punishment, but for the good of the faithful of the earth. This
is told us in the verses:
"And I saw another angel ascending from the east,
having the seal of the living God: and he cried with a loud voice to the
four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea, Saying,
Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed
the servants of our God in their foreheads."
We are told that
the four angels holding back the winds are ready to bring destruction to
the earth. The angels are not evil, they serve God and they are doing
the will of God ready to punish the world for its apostasy from God.
However before they proceed another angel from the east, and the east
here signifies that the angel is good because east is the direction of
paradise, he cried out to them to wait until all the faithful have been
sealed with the seal of God on the foreheads. What is this seal? It was
an old custom to seal with a red hot iron a name or symbol on animals
and even servants to identify their ownership that they belong to a
particular owner. Something still done with certain animals. But here it
does not mean that we will be sealed on our foreheads with a red hot
iron. Our church has always sealed the faithful. This is done during
baptism when we are chrismated with the Holy Myron. As the priest
anoints us with the Myron in the form of a Cross, he says: the seal of
the gift of the Holy Spirit. So every faithful who becomes a member of
the Orthodox Church assumes this seal: the seal of the Holy Spirit which
means that God recognizes those sealed as his own. But the devil also
seals his own which we will see when we reach the relevant chapter. Now
what is the purpose of this seal? Not to spare us the suffering of
martyrdom because martyrdom will increase in those last days, the seal
is to protect the faithful from the delusions of the false Christs, the
false prophets and mainly from the antichrist who will then be deceiving
the entire globe.
John
continues: "And I heard the number of them which
were sealed: and there were sealed an hundred and forty and four
thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel."
The reading
continues mentioning each tribe of Israel and that of each tribe twelve
thousand were sealed. I won't read the verses, but what you need to know
is that they are not mentioned in the correct order and one tribe has
purposely been left out, for which there is an explanation.
So John
heard the number hundred and forty and four thousand. This number has
been the object of great abuse from heretics like the Jehovah Witnesses
and Pentecostals. The number is he result of multiplying 12 x 12
thousand and this is why the twelve tribes were specified. The question
arises; does this happen to be an exact number as the Jehovah Witnesses
claim? In other words will only 144,000 people be saved and make it to
heaven? Obviously not; this is a conventional of round number. This was
explained in a previous talk using the Parable of the ten virgins. The
Parable does not suggest that there were only ten virgins. The number is
a round figure which can be divided into two equal groups of five. A
round figure is used so that we do not start playing around with
percentages like 80% will be saved and the other 20% will be lost.
Likewise here the 144,000 is a figurative number resulting from
multiplying the twelve tribes by twelve. Furthermore in a few verses
down which we will see next week John adds: "After
this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of
all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the
throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in
their hands." So how can the 144.000 be counted but the multitude
before the throne can't be counted? We come across the number 144,000
three times in the Book of Revelation and they do not refer to the same
number of people. The next time we meet this number it refers to
virgins, in other words to people who have dedicated their lives to God
and remained virgins, thus a different category of people altogether.
The number therefore is symbolic or representative.
Now even
though the tribes of Israel are mentioned, the numbers do not refer to
the actual twelve tribes of Israel but to the new Israel which consists
of Jews and Gentiles and all those who believe in Christ all through the
ages. The twelve tribes are the twelve Apostles. Christ said to the
Apostles: "ye which have followed me, in the
regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory,
ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of
Israel." (Matt. 19:28) Christians are therefore the New Israel of
grace, the new people of God.
But this brings us to the question of why reference is made to the
twelve tribes of Israel? The catalogue of the tribes begins with Judah "Of
the tribe of Juda were sealed twelve thousand." But Judah was the
fourth son of Jacob and not the first; Reuben was the firstborn. So why
is Judah mentioned first; this should make us curious. No Jewish tribe
would allow another to supersede or take its rights especially as in the
40years in the wilderness the tribe of Reuben demanded this primacy. So
why is Judah mentioned first? Simply because here there is no intension
of adhering to the order of the twelve tribes which eliminates the
argument that this has to do with the twelve tribes of Israel. The tribe
of Judah is placed first because from this tribe will come fourth Jesus
Christ. So this number has to do with a new race, it refers to the race
of Christians.
Also in the
catalogue of the tribes, the tribe of Dan is not included and to fill
this place the tribe of Manasses is included. But Manasses was not a son
of Jacob, he was the son of Joseph. Joseph had two sons Manasses and
Ephraim and when Jacob came to bless his grandchildren, he crisscrossed
his hands. Manasses being the oldest was placed to his right and Ephraim
on his left. But Jacob crossed his hands and gave the blessing due to
the oldest to Ephraim the younger brother. So if Ephraim received the
blessing why is he not mentioned here instead of Manasses? Thus this
takes us another step further away from the idea that the tribes
mentioned here have to do with the Old Testament tribes of Israel. But
another point is why isn't the tribe of Dan mentioned here? It is not
mentioned here because the tribe of Dan would give birth to the
antichrist, while the tribe of Judah mentioned first will bring forth
Christ.
When Jacob
was blessing his twelve sons also prophesied. When he came to Dan he
told him that he would rule over the twelve tribes as though they were
one tribe. This was partially fulfilled during the time of the Judges
when from the tribe of Dan a Judge was appointed who ruled over all the
tribes as though they were one. But this was only a partial fulfilment
of the prophecy. A time will come when from the tribe of Dan a ruler
will emerge who will rule the all the nations as though they were one
nation and this new ruler is the antichrist who will govern the world as
one government. But we will say more on the antichrist and who he is
when we reach the relevant chapter.
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