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[ Additional material added October 16, 2009]

Rev 6:12  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;
Rev 6:13  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.
Rev 6:14  And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.
Rev 6:15  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;
Rev 6:16  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:

Introduction

Last week we saw that all the symbols of this sixth seal, herald “the great day of His wrath.”

Rev 6:17  For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?

So the book in the right hand of Him that sat on the throne, is the revelation of Jesus Christ, and the revelation of Jesus Christ is the revelation of the great day of His wrath, and the great day of His wrath includes seven trumpet judgments, culminating in the seven last plagues and the lake of fire. The realization of the magnitude of this revelation prompts us all to ask, “Who shall be able to stand?” Our study today will be centered around finding the Biblical understanding and meaning of all the symbols of the principalities and powers which dominate the heavens and the earth of our old man, “the first man Adam.”

What do all these symbols mean?

1) What is a great earthquake?

We already know that the “earth” is Bible speak for God’s own people in rebellion against Him and His Word.

Jer 22:1  Thus saith the LORD; Go down to the house of the king of Judah, and speak there this word,
Jer 22:2  And say, Hear the word of the LORD, O king of Judah, that sittest upon the throne of David, thou, and thy servants, and thy people that enter in by these gates:
Jer 22:5  But if ye will not hear these words, I swear by myself, saith the LORD, that this house shall become a desolation.

Jer 22:29  O earth, earth, earth, hear the word of the LORD.

What does Christ say of “those Jews which believed in Him?” What does Christ tell us of the multitudes who believe in Him to this very day?

Joh 8:31  Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;
Joh 8:32  And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

What is “the Truth” concerning the multitudes who have come to Christ, as a whole?

Joh 8:43  Why do ye not understand my speech? even because ye cannot hear my word.

“If you will not hear these words… this house shall become a desolation… You cannot hear my word.” That is the meaning of the “earth” and that is what we are told experiences “a great earthquake… in the great day of God’s wrath.

2) What is the sun?

We already know that the sun is Bible- speak for “the Sun of righteousness.”

Mal 4:2  But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall.

So the sun is the doctrine and words of Christ. The darkening of the sun, or the sun becoming black as sackcloth of hair, is the blotting out of truth by “tribulation or persecution,” and by the multitude of lies, which dominate our flesh, our beast , our false prophet, and our Babylon.

Mat 13:21  Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended.

3) What is the moon?

We already know that “the moon” is “the lesser light, to rule the night.” The moon  has no light within or of itself, but it is given to reflect a certain amount of the light from the sun, so that it is said to “rule the night.”

 Gen 1:16  And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also. 
Psa 136:9  The moon and stars to rule by night: for his mercy endureth for ever.
Mat 23:1  Then spake Jesus to the multitude, and to his disciples,
Mat 23:2  Saying, The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat:
Mat 23:3  All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye after their works: for they say, and do not.
Mat 23:4  For they bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers.
Mat 23:5  But all their works they do for to be seen of men: they make broad their phylacteries, and enlarge the borders of their garments,
Mat 23:6  And love the uppermost rooms at feasts, and the chief seats in the synagogues,
Mat 23:7  And greetings in the markets, and to be called of men, Rabbi, Rabbi.

That is “the moon that rules the night.” The “moon” wants to appear as light, but it has no light within it. It has no real light of its own, as does Christ when He is within.

And there is this:

Joh 3:19  And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.
2Co 4:6  For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
2Co 4:7  But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.

We are all ruled by the moon, and we are all “of our father the devil,” before we become “children of light… sons of our Father which is in heaven.”

Joh 8:44  Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.
Eph 2:2  Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:
Eph 2:3  Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.

Eph 5:8  For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light:

1Th 5:5  Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness.

4) What is the meaning of the moon becoming blood?

We already know that blood is where the “nephesh,” meaning ‘the creature’ dwells. The life is not in the blood. “It is the spirit that gives life.” The spirit is not in the blood, but the nephesh which is sustained by the spirit, is in the blood.

Gen 9:4  But flesh with the life [ Hebrew, nephesh, soul] thereof, [ which is] the blood thereof, shall ye not eat.
Joh 6:63  It is the spirit that giveth life; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I have spoken unto you are spirit, and are life.(ASV).

The verse in Gen 9 above, tells us that “the soul, or ‘nephesh’ is in the blood.” It does not say the life is in the blood.  The point being that a  “living soul” is also a dying soul, whereas a life giving spirit is not subject to death.

Eze 18:4  Behold, all souls [ nephesh] are mine; as the soul [ mephesh] of the father, so also the soul [ mephesh] of the son is mine: the soul [ nephesh] that sinneth, it shall die.
1Co 15:45  And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening [ Greek, life giving] spirit.

When both the sun and the moon are unable to give their light, then indeed the Son of God, who is also the Sun of righteousness, has been slain and “the moon has become as blood.” Peter knew the meaning of this phrase, and he tells us as much in his words on the day of Pentecost. Peter knew that his forsaking of and his denial of Christ, along with all the disciples, made him complicit in Christ’s death. Peter knew that in his unconverted state the blood of our Lord was upon his hands and that “the sun had been turned into darkness, and the moon [ had] become as blood,” ushering in the day of God’s wrath and the beginning of His judgment upon our sinful flesh.

1Pe 4:17  For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?
Act 2:14  But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and said unto them, Ye men of Judaea, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and hearken to my words:
Act 2:16  But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel;
Act 2:19  And I will shew wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke:
Act 2:20  The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come:

These six seals are but the beginning of the judgment of God upon our flesh. There are yet seven trumpet judgments, which culminate in the seven last plagues, and those are all yet to come.

5) What are the stars of heaven?

We already know that “the stars of heaven” are God’s angels, or messengers, for either good or evil, sent into the heavens of our hearts and minds, working all things after the counsel of His own will” (Eph 1:11).

Rev 1:20  The mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches: and the seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches.
Rev 9:1  And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit.
Rev 9:2  And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit.
Eph 1:11  In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:

So “The Sun of Righteousness” is darkened by an angel, ” a star that “falls from heaven unto the earth.” This “star” is given the key to the bottomless pit. This is an evil messenger, “an evil spirit from the Lord,” sent to trouble us.

1Sa 16:14  But the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD troubled him.
1Sa 16:15  And Saul’s servants said unto him, Behold now, an evil spirit from God troubleth thee.

6) What is the meaning of a fig tree with “untimely figs?”

We already know that the negative meaning of a fig tree, just as the word ‘earth,’ is but another type of God’s own people Israel, physical or spiritual, who turn their back on the Word of God. “Untimely figs,” like a woman with child, is immature fruit, which will never be brought to term, and must therefore be destroyed.

Hos 9:10  I found Israel like grapes in the wilderness; I saw your fathers as the firstripe in the fig tree at her first time: but they went to Baalpeor, and separated themselves unto that shame; and their abominations were according as they loved.
Mat 24:19  And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days!

There will be no “untimely figs” in the kingdom of heaven, and God will have no sucklings in His kingdom. All to whom it is given to be in that blessed and holy first resurrections will be “of full age.”

Gal 4:1  Now I say, That the heir, as long as he is a child [ Greek, nepios, a baby], differeth nothing from a servant, though he be lord of all;
1Co 3:1  And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ.
1Co 3:2  I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able [ to bear it], neither yet now are ye able.
1Co 3:3  For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?
Heb 5:12  For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which [ be] the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat.
Heb 5:13  For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe.
Heb 5:14  But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.

7) What is the mighty wind?

While this word is not the Greek word ‘pneuma,’ it is nevertheless, a symbol of the spirit of God, through which He operates to produce both good and evil. Here is how Paul uses this Greek word ‘anemos,’ Strong’s number G417.

Eph 4:14  That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;
Eph 4:15  But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:

The spiritual opposite of being “tossed to and fro, and carried about by every wind of doctrine,” is “speaking the Truth in love,” which ‘love’ is defined as “keeping God’s commandments” (1Jn 5:2-3). One is a good and truthful “wind” while the other is “every wind of doctrine.”
For those with “eyes that see” Christ used the word “wind” in the very same way:

Mat 7:24  Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:
Mat 7:25  And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.
Mat 7:26  And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand:
Mat 7:27  And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.

It was the same plural “winds” that blew and beat upon both houses, and it is the same “winds” which proved what was the foundation of each. We all first build on the sand, and we are all “tossed to and fro by every wind of doctrine,”  and our spiritual house experiences a “great fall” before we are given to build upon the rock. Both houses are tried by the “truth in love,”  Word of God, and both house are tried by “every wind of doctrine.” Both houses are made manifest for their occupants and the foundation on which the house has been built. The one house will fall and be destroyed, while the other house and its occupant “abideth ever.”

Joh 8:35  And the servant abideth not in the house for ever: but the Son abideth ever.

It is the winds of millions of false doctrines which will beat upon the house of God and prove whether it is built upon the rock of the sayings of Christ, and a desire to obey God, or whether it is built upon a desire to be seen of men and received of men. Our persecutions come from “they of your own [ spiritual] household,” and they come “because of the word.” That is the meaning of “The winds beat upon that house…”

Mat 10:36  And a man’s foes shall be they of his own household.
Mat 13:21  Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended.

But the wind of Christ, “speaking Truth in love” is the foundation of rock.

Mat 7:24  Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:
Mat 7:25  And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.

8) What are the heavens as a scroll rolled together?

We already know that God dwells in His people, and that the heavens into which Christ entered to cleanse them, is the hearts and the minds of His people.

Psa 123:1 <A Song of degrees.> Unto thee lift I up mine eyes, O thou that dwellest in the heavens.

This is those heavens where God dwells:

1Co 3:16  Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?
1Co 3:17  If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.

But our heavens are in need of being cleansed, simply because we have all been “children of disobedience,” and as the beast which we are by nature, we have all “defiled the temple of God,” and as unbelievers, we have incurred the wrath of God. Therefore the “man of sin within us must be destroyed by the brightness of His coming into the heavens of our hearts and minds.

2Th 2:3  Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day [“the Lord’s day, Rev 1: 10] shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;
2Th 2:4  Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; s o that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.
2Th 2:5  Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things?
2Th 2:6  And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time.
2Th 2:7  For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way.
2Th 2:8  And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:
Heb 9:23  It was therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with these; but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.
Heb 9:24  For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us:

So our hearts and our minds are the heavens which had to be cleansed by “better sacrifices than the blood of bulls and goats, and into which Christ is entering and is destroying the man of sin who was sitting on His throne in our hearts. This is called “the great day of His wrath” in the prophets, and this is how that great day is described:

Isa 34:1  Come near, ye nations, to hear; and hearken, ye people: let the earth hear, and all that is therein; the world, and all things that come forth of it.
Isa 34:2  For the indignation of the LORD is upon all nations, and his fury upon all their armies: he hath utterly destroyed them, he hath delivered them to the slaughter.
Isa 34:3  Their slain also shall be cast out, and their stink shall come up out of their carcases, and the mountains shall be melted with their blood.
Isa 34:4  And all the host of heaven shall be dissolved, and the heavens shall be rolled together as a scroll: and all their host shall fall down, as the leaf falleth off from the vine, and as a falling fig from the fig tree.
Isa 34:8  For it is the day of the LORD’S vengeance, and the year of recompences for the controversy of Zion.

But why are our heavens likened to “a scroll when it is rolled together?”

Rev 6:14  And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.
Rev 6:17  For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?

This is but the sixth seal and we are told, “the great day of His wrath is come.” What do “the heavens” have to do with “the day of God’s wrath?” The answer to that question is found in these verses:

Heb 1:10  And, Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands:
Heb 1:11  They shall perish; but thou remainest; and they all shall wax old as doth a garment;
Heb 1:12  And as a vesture shalt thou fold them up, and they shall be changed: but thou art the same, and thy years shall not fail.

The “folding up of a vesture,” and “a scroll when it is rolled together,” both signify “they shall perish, but you remain…” Our old heavens will perish in “the great day of God’s wrath”, but as is always the case “he himself shall be saved yet so as by fire.” Look at these three verses.

1Co 3:13  Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is.
1Co 3:14  If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward.
1Co 3:15  If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.

and this:

2Pe 3:10  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.
2Pe 3:11  Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness,
2Pe 3:12  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?

“The heavens being on fire shall be dissolved… the heavens shall pass away…” That is the fate of our old defiled heavens and our old defiled temple of God. 

Rev 6:14  And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places. 

9) What is “every mountain and island?”

As is always the case, we are never left to guess what is a mountain or an island. We are plainly told what are these two symbols, and what we learn is that these are but two more symbols of the old Adam, that man of sin who sets himself up as God and is sitting upon the throne of God within each of us. We are all beasts and upon the beast we all are, are seven mountains, and we are told what are those seven mountains:

Rev 17:8  The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is.
Rev 17:9  And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth.
Rev 17:10  And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, [ and] the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space.

There is the scriptural definition of a ‘mountain’ in scripture. It is a kingdom with a king, and in the “signified” revelation of Jesus Christ, the phrase ‘seven mountains,’ and ‘seven kings’ simply means a complete beast with complete dominion of his kingdom. Here is just how complete that dominion is.

2Th 2:3  Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come [ the day of the Lord], except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;
2Th 2:4  Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.

Dan 4:30  The king spake, and said, Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for the house of the kingdom by the might of my power, and for the honour of my majesty?

So mountains, in scripture are kingdoms with kings, and an island is but a lower mountain which may be detached from the main body of that kingdom, but it is still just a mountain which protrudes up out of the sea. Islands are merely lesser kingdoms with lesser kings.

Eze 27:35  All the inhabitants of the isles shall be astonished at thee, and their kings shall be sore afraid, they shall be troubled in their countenance.

But these are one and all within and upon a single beast, which beast we all are, and which beast is an necessary part of the revelation of Jesus Christ just as surely as the first Adam precedes the second, and just as surely are the natural man must precede the spiritual man.

Rev 13:1  And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy.
1Co 15:45  And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.
1Co 15:46  Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual.

“Afterward that which is spiritual,” proves that the revelation of Jesus Christ is all within, and that it includes the first man Adam.

It is within these “seven heads,” which we are later told are “seven kings,” that all of these many symbols of the many pulls which dominate our flesh reside. The false doctrines of Babylon, which dominate the heavens of our minds, also reside within us all. Together they bear the rule over our earth and our heavens; over our flesh and over our minds.

10) What are the “mountains and the rocks?”

Rev 6:15  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;
Rev 6:16  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:

Those “mountains and the rocks” are where the beast and the false prophet place their confidence. These “mountains and rocks” are all false doctrines of  Babylon which are based upon Babylon’s defiled use of the very vessels of the temple which, were carried away with God’s people into Babylon. Because this is true, Babylon is found drinking out of the vessels of the Lord’s temple when her doom is written upon the walls of her king’s palace.

Dan 5:1  Belshazzar the king made a great feast to a thousand of his lords, and drank wine before the thousand.
Dan 5:2  Belshazzar, whiles he tasted the wine, commanded to bring the golden and silver vessels which his father Nebuchadnezzar had taken out of the temple which was in Jerusalem; that the king, and his princes, his wives, and his concubines, might drink therein.
Dan 5:3  Then they brought the golden vessels that were taken out of the temple of the house of God which was at Jerusalem; and the king, and his princes, his wives, and his concubines, drank in them.
Dan 5:5  In the same hour came forth fingers of a man’s hand, and wrote over against the candlestick upon the plaister of the wall of the king’s palace: and the king saw the part of the hand that wrote.

Belshazzar knew all that the God of Daniel had done to his father, Nebuchadnezzar, nevertheless, Belshazzar refused to learn from his father’s mistakes.

Dan 5:22  And thou his son, O Belshazzar, hast not humbled thine heart, though thou knewest all this;
Dan 5:23  But hast lifted up thyself against the Lord of heaven; and they have brought the vessels of his house before thee, and thou, and thy lords, thy wives, and thy concubines, have drunk wine in them; and thou hast praised the gods of silver, and gold, of brass, iron, wood, and stone, which see not, nor hear, nor know: and the God in whose hand thy breath is, and whose are all thy ways, hast thou not glorified:

We live by every word of God. So we are both Nebuchadnezzar and Belshazzar in our own appointed time. The doctrines and words of Christ in us, are in the hands of both the Philistines and later the Babylonians. In such uncircumcised hands, the doctrines and words of Christ becomes a curse instead of a blessing. The Philistines, and later the Babylonians, both took possession of the things of the temple of God, just as they even now use the words of Christ to their own hurt and destruction. We have all done so. Both the Philistines and the Babylonians within us have reveled in that fact. But the very things we think will prove our domination over the words of the children of God are the perverted words of God which we think will prove to be our salvation. Instead those words and doctrines become a two edged sword and turn upon us and fall upon us, and crush us to powder and destroy us and all of our false doctrines. This is what the vessels of the temple, the truths of the Bible, have become in our uncircumcised hands. The things of the temple will destroy even Israel itself when Israel turns against the doctrines of her own God:

1Sa 4:3  And when the people were come into the camp, the elders of Israel said, Wherefore hath the LORD smitten us to day before the Philistines? Let us fetch the ark of the covenant of the LORD out of Shiloh unto us, that, when it cometh among us, it may save us out of the hand of our enemies.
1Sa 4:4  So the people sent to Shiloh, that they might bring from thence the ark of the covenant of the LORD of hosts, which dwelleth between the cherubims: and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God.
1Sa 4:5  And when the ark of the covenant of the LORD came into the camp, all Israel shouted with a great shout, so that the earth rang again.
1Sa 4:6  And when the Philistines heard the noise of the shout, they said, What meaneth the noise of this great shout in the camp of the Hebrews? And they understood that the ark of the LORD was come into the camp.
1Sa 4:7  And the Philistines were afraid, for they said, God is come into the camp. And they said, Woe unto us! for there hath not been such a thing heretofore.
1Sa 4:8  Woe unto us! who shall deliver us out of the hand of these mighty Gods? these [ are] the Gods that smote the Egyptians with all the plagues in the wilderness.
1Sa 4:9  Be strong, and quit yourselves like men, O ye Philistines, that ye be not servants unto the Hebrews, as they have been to you: quit yourselves like men, and fight.
1Sa 4:10  And the Philistines fought, and Israel was smitten, and they fled every man into his tent: and there was a very great slaughter; for there fell of Israel thirty thousand footmen.
1Sa 4:11  And the ark of God was taken; and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were slain.

It is not a mere coincidence that there are seven categories of our old man mentioned in verse 15. “And 1) the kings of the earth, and 2) the great men, and 3) the rich men, and 4) the chief captains, and 5) the mighty men, and 6) every bondman, and 7) every free man…” This is a complete verbal and spiritual type of all of the principalities and functionaries within the kingdom of darkness which is within us all by nature, and by virtue of being the natural sons of the first Adam. They are one and all doomed to destruction by “the brightness of His coming,” and they all cry out to the mountains and rocks to fall on them and to save them from “Him [ who now] sits on the throne.
Here is the corroborating verses to verses 15-16.

2Co 5:17  Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

1) The kings of the earth, and 2) the great men, and 3) the rich men, and 4) the chief captains, and 5) the mighty men, and 6) every bondman, and 7) every free man…” are the “old things [ which] are passed away.” They are all replaced by the “new creature… the new man.”

1Co 15:47  The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven.
1Co 15:48  As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly.
1Co 15:49  And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.
1Co 15:50  Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.

Unless and until we dispense with this outward, apocalyptic, futuristic view of this “revelation of Jesus Christ,” and “the sayings of the prophecy of this book,” we will never experience the “edification, exhortation or comfort that is “the things written therein.”  “Edification, exhortation, and comfort” are the “mountains and rocks falling on us” and destroying our old man, with all of his old ways and his false doctrines. “Edification, exhortation, and comfort” is what this and all prophecy is intended to accomplish. Here are but a couple of the verses which say so.

1Co 14:3  But he that prophesieth speaketh unto men to edification, and exhortation, and comfort.
Rom 15:4  For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.

Whenever we once get past the terror of the flesh, and it’s preordained destruction, then even this next verse becomes words of comfort to the mind of the spirit.

Rev 6:17  For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?

These are words which have proceeded out of the mouth of God, and we will live by them. To the new man, this is a “wonderful work of God to the children of men.” To the old man, our flesh, these are the dire words of the destruction of that old man.

Psa 107:25  For he [“the Lord,” verse 24] commandeth, and raiseth the stormy wind, which lifteth up the waves thereof.
Psa 107:26  They mount up to the heaven, they go down again to the depths: their soul is melted because of trouble.
Psa 107:27  They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, and are at their wits’ end.
Psa 107:28  Then they cry unto the LORD in their trouble, and he bringeth them out of their distresses.
Psa 107:29  He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still.
Psa 107:30  Then are they glad because they be quiet; so he bringeth them unto their desired haven.
Psa 107:31  Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!

That is the meaning of “the terror of the Lord.” It is only a terror to the rebellious, doomed, old man, the man of sin, the beast within. It is all within.

Job 31:23  For destruction from God was a terror to me, and by reason of his highness I could not endure.
Lev 26:15  And if ye shall despise my statutes, or if your soul abhor my judgments, so that ye will not do all my commandments, but that ye break my covenant:
Lev 26:16  I also will do this unto you; I will even appoint over you terror, consumption, and the burning ague, that shall consume the eyes, and cause sorrow of heart: and ye shall sow your seed in vain, for your enemies shall eat it.
Lev 26:17  And I will set my face against you, and ye shall be slain before your enemies: they that hate you shall reign over you; and ye shall flee when none pursueth you.
Lev 26:18  And if ye will not yet for all this hearken unto me, then I will punish you seven times more for your sins.

‘Punishments’ are judgments upon our ungodliness and unrighteousnesses. This “seven times more” is the three- step process of seven seals, seven trumpets and seven plagues which make up the terror of and the wrath of the Lord upon our rebellious, corruptible flesh, as revealed in the revelation of Jesus Christ. It is all to be found hidden and sealed with seven seals from the eyes of those whose names are not yet written in the book of the life of the Lamb.

Summary

Our old man sees God as an unloving, terrible, and uncaring monster, bent on mayhem and destruction. But the mind of the spirit sees all things, from the most noble to the chief of sinners, as all being the works of a loving God who is using evil and terror as the foil against which to display His love.

2Co 5:11  Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men; but we are made manifest unto God; and I trust also are made manifest in your consciences.

God reveals Himself to us in accord with what is in our own hearts.

Psa 18:26  With the pure thou wilt shew thyself pure; and with the froward thou wilt shew thyself froward.

The “wicked and slothful servant” demonstrates this principle for us:

Mat 25:24  Then he which had received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew thee that thou art an hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown, and gathering where thou hast not strawed:
Mat 25:25  And I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth: lo, there thou hast that is thine.
Mat 25:26  His lord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I have not strawed:

The Lord had clearly “sowed” at least one talent in this man’s life. Our Lord is not a hard man to those who do not see Him as such, But that is exactly what He is to those who see Him as a monster who does not care for the state of His creation and who see Him as a “hard man.” This, on the other hand, is the Truth of God’s love and care for all men when it is eventually given them to see it as such:

Zec 2:8  For thus saith the LORD of hosts; After the glory hath he sent me unto the nations which spoiled you: for he that toucheth you toucheth the apple of his eye.
1Pe 5:6  Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time:
1Pe 5:7  Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.

That is what Paul is speaking about when he talks of “knowing the terror of the Lord.” The “terror of the Lord” does not make His elect afraid at all. It is rather “edification, exhortation, and comfort” to them.

Job 33:7  Behold, my terror shall not make thee afraid, neither shall my hand be heavy upon thee.
Psa 91:5  Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day;

But our old man will not see it that way:

Isa 10:33  Behold, the Lord, the LORD of hosts, shall lop the bough with terror: and the high ones of stature shall be hewn down, and the haughty shall be humbled.

This too, is within us all, and it is all His work. We are all high and haughty in our own appointed time.

Job 12:16  With him is strength and wisdom: the deceived and the deceiver are his.

We have seen in this study what are the Biblical interpretations of all the symbols of the powers and principalities that rule our heavens and our earth, before the brightness of His coming and before we see what is entailed in the revelation of Jesus Christ. We have seen that 1) the great earthquake, 2) the sun, 3) the moon, 4) the moon becoming as blood, 5) the stars of the heavens, 6) a fig tree with untimely figs, 7) the mighty wind, 8) the heavens as a scroll rolled together, 9) every mountain and island and 10) the mountains and the rocks, are all symbols of the powers and principalities which are shaken and destroyed at the coming of the great day of God’s wrath. That day of God’s wrath is our day of judgment which is even now upon the house of God (1Pe 4:17). This sounds dire to the ears of our old man and to the ministers who are still in Babylon. But the mind of the spirit considers it a blessing to be counted worthy to suffer with our Lord, and die daily as He increases and we decrease.

1Pe 3:14  But and if ye suffer for righteousness’ sake, happy [ are ye]: and be not afraid of their terror, neither be troubled;
1Pe 4:12  Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you:
1Pe 4:13  But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.
1Pe 4:14  If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified.

We will now go on into an even deeper understanding of this revelation as we begin to see what is the meaning of the seven trumpets which are our final seventh seal. But before we find out what is hidden behind that seventh seal, we are given to know what is the outcome of this entire revelation. What we will see is that there are yet two more harvests to be experienced, as the Lord goes about His work of being the propitiation, “not for our sins only, but for the sins of the whole world” (1Jn 2:2).
Those two harvests are presented to us first, just as the sweet smelling burnt offering is presented to us before the sin and trespass offerings. These two harvests represent the salvation of all men. The first is symbolized by twelve thousand from each of the twelve tribes of Israel. They are a mere 144,000 and they are called “the firstfruits unto God.” But the firstfruits are not the last fruits. These are followed by another harvest which is said to be “a great multitude which no man could  number. That is the subject of Rev 7 which we will, Lord willing, cover in our next study.