A Study of The Book of Revelation, Part #2

Symbolism of the Bible

The agnostic philosopher spoke with great conviction about why he abandoned Christianity.  He based his distaste for the religion of Jesus Christ upon the message Jesus presented in John 6:55-56  For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him.  This as he intoned, clearly indicate that Jesus embraced cannibalism, Since this was an open forum bible study group, I expected him to be challenged but because of his standing in the group none was forthcoming. 

 Symbolism and/ or cliques exist in all language platforms.  They are the product of learned or inspired speakers who attempted to speak in a profound manner that provoked deep thought.  Symbols are used to insure that the intent of the message do not change from generation to generation.  The ancients used animals symbolically as a part of their language because it was looked upon as being able to stand the test of time.

Jesus spoke in a language filled with symbolism and parables. The listeners whose mind was not attuned properly had a problem understanding what he was talking about.  The agnostic philosopher may have wowed the crowd with his dissertation, but in reality he shows his inability to understand the word of God.  Many times Jesus would say, He that has ears to hear, let him hear.

Strangely enough, the Bible is not a book that everyone can readily understand.  It is puzzling to many and difficult to figure out.  Many are content to accept the interpretation of charlatans whose interest is not the edification of the church.  To understand the scripture we must come to the Bible with the right attitude and perspective, looking with profound respect and reverence to the Author behind its pages, willing to believe and follow what he says.

The keys to understanding the Bible and Biblical  prophecies  can be found in the Bible.   The first vital key to understanding His Word is prayer.  We should humbly ask God for his help.  A simple prayer for wisdom and understanding will open a window of knowledge that will astound the human mind. The book of Revelation is a book  of prophecy, yet it gives us many of the keys that unlock prophetic understanding because it faithfully follows the principle that the Bible interprets itself.

Since much of the Bible , especially the book of Revelation has been written in a symbolic form let us examine  the symbols and terminology of the Bible. Isaiah 28:10 “For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little:”   To quote one example, in Revelation 13 we find a bizarre beast coming out of the sea with ten horns. Do we make wild guesses as to what a beast is or what the meaning of the ten horns or the sea or water is? Absolutely not, let the Bible explain itself. A large amount of what we need to know can be found by referencing the book of Daniel. In fact two thirds of the book of Revelation can be found in the Old Testament and that is a very large key to finding our answers, “precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little.” Note the following three verses, which are significant to understanding many key Bible Prophecies, for instance the word “Beast” occurs more than 55 times in Revelation. This verse tells us the meaning of the waters or sea in this case.

Revelation 17:15 “And he saith unto me, The waters which you sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.” The next verse which was divinely given to Daniel, informs us very clearly what a beast is in Bible Prophecy. There is no need to guess, just let the Bible explain itself. Daniel 7:23 “Thus he said, The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth, which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces.”As for the meaning of the ten horns, again, just let the Bible explain itself.Daniel 7:24 “And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise: and another shall rise after them; and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings.”

Bible Numbers

Many of the numbers in the Bible have deeper prophetic significance. Both in the Old and New Testaments, the numbers reveal hidden concepts and meanings that commonly escape the casual reader. And throughout history, men with great minds, like Augustine, Isaac Newton, and Leonardo DI Vinci, showed more than just a passing curiosity regarding the importance of biblical numbers. Once more, Jesus said, “The very hairs of your head are numbered” Matthew 10:30. Obviously, Bible numbers should be carefully considered.

1 – represents absolute singleness and unity (Ephesians 4:4–6; John 17:21-22.) (We presume readers need no more than these two citations, as most of the biblical information regarding unity and singleness is common knowledge.)

2 – represents the truth of God's Word; for example, the law and prophets (John 1:45), two or three witnesses (2 Corinthians 13:1), and a sword with two edges (Hebrews 4:12). See Mark 6:7 and Revelation 11:3. It is also used 21 times in the books of Daniel and Revelation.

3 – represents the Godhead / Trinity. The angels cry “Holy” three times to the tribune God (Isaiah 6:3). See also Matthew 28:19 and 1John 5:7-8.

4 – represents universal truth, as in the four directions (north, south, east, west) and the four winds (Matthew 24:31; Revelation 7:1; 20:8). In acts 10:11, a sheet with four corners symbolizes the gospel going to all the gentiles.

5 – represents teaching. First, there are the five books of Moses. Second, Jesus taught about the five wise virgins and used five barley loaves used to feed the 5,000.

6 – represents the worship of man, and is the number of man, signifying his rebellion, imperfection, works, and disobedience. It is used 273 times in the Bible, including its derivatives (e.g, sixth) and another 91 times as “threescore” or “60.” Man was created on the sixth day (Genesis 1:26, 31). See also Exodus 31:15 and Daniel 3:1.This number is especially significant in the book Revelation, as “666” identifies the beast. “Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six” (Revelation 13:18).

7 – represents perfection, and is the sign of God, divine worship, completions, obedience, and rest. The “prince” of Bible numbers, it is used 562 times, including its derivatives (e.g., seventh, sevens). (See Genesis 2:1–4, Psalms 119:164 and Exodus 20:8–11 for just a few of the examples.)The number seven is also the most common in biblical prophecy, occurring 42 times in Daniel and Revelation alone. In Revelation there are seven churches, seven spirits, seven golden candlesticks, seven stars, seven lamps, seven seals, seven horns, seven eyes, seven angels, seven trumpets, seven thunders, seven thousand slain in a great earthquake, seven heads, seven crowns, seven last plagues, seven golden vials, seven mountains, and seven kings.

10 – represents law and restoration. Of course, this includes The Ten Commandments  found in Exodus 20. See also Matthew 25:1 (ten virgins); Luke 17:17 (ten lepers); Luke 15:8 (healing, ten silver coins).

12 – represents the church and God's authority. Jesus had 12 disciples, and there were 12 tribes of Israel. In Revelation 12:1, the 24 elders and 144,000 are multiples of 12. The New Jerusalem city has 12 foundations, 

12 gates 12 thousand furlongs, a tree with 12 kinds of fruit 12 times a year eaten by 12 times 12,000 or the 144,000. (See Revelation 21.)

40 – represents a generation and times of testing. It rained for 40 days during the flood. Moses spent 40 years in the desert, as did the children of Israel. Jesus fasted for 40 days. 

50 – represents power and celebration. The Jubilee came after the 49th year (Leviticus 25:10) and Pentecost occurred 50 days after Christ's resurrection (Acts 2).

70 – represents human leadership and judgment. Moses appointed 70 elders (Exodus 24:1); The Sanhedrin was made up of 70 men. Jesus chose 70 disciples (Luke 10:1). Jesus told Peter to forgive 70 times 7.Why cloak Bible prophecies in Symbols? And Jesus said, “To you it has been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest it is given in parables, that Seeing they may not see, And hearing they may not understand.” Luke 8:10. Many of the apocalyptic prophecies were given while the prophets were in a hostile foreign land. One reason God cloaked the prophecies in symbols was to protect the messages.

Next,  Animals and their parts.