"Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men,” is how we find it described in the King James Bible. It is significant to note, however, that the verb ‘is’ does not appear in the Greek text. A more literal translation would be, “Behold the tabernacle of God with men!” That is, the tabernacle of God is with men — behold it! The tabernacle of God with men is the holy city, New Jerusalem! The tabernacle of God with men is the bride of the Lamb! Look at the bride! Fasten your eyes upon the holy city! Behold the tabernacle of God with men! By the time we reach this chapter of the Revelation every spiritual mind has figured out that the tabernacle of God is not a tent in the wilderness, nor a temple on mount Moriah, nor a literal city floating down out of space and setting down somewhere in the Middle East, but the tabernacle of God is a spiritual people that has been built up a spiritual house, made of living stones, fitly framed together and compacted by every part, raised up in the earth to be an habitation of God through the Spirit."
Much more in the link:
https://www.godfire.net/eby/Rev/rev235.html
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TWO WOMEN — TWO CITIES
"In our previous studies on this subject we have seen that in John’s visions in the book of Revelation two women and two cities are clearly presented. One of the women is a pure virgin, clothed with the resplendent glory of Christ (Rev. 12:1-6). The other woman is a harlot, gaudily attired with scarlet and purple, and decked with gold, precious stones, and pearls. One of the cities is the holy city, New Jerusalem. The other is called Mystery Babylon the Great. In the symbolism of prophecy a “woman” signifies a church and a “city” signifies a religious or spiritual government. Thus, the virgin woman represents the true church, the bride of Christ, and the harlot woman represents the false church, the fallen, corrupt, apostate church systems of man. The “holy city, New Jerusalem” is the symbol used to represent the established rule and government of God composed of the perfected and holy bride of Christ and the overcoming sons of God. The city is the woman, the bride of Christ, whereas the throne in the midst of the city signifies the manchild, the sons of God who rule the nations with a rod of iron (Rev. 12:1-5). But as with Adam and Eve in the beginning, it is a joint dominion. “Mystery Babylon” can be nothing else but a church which is also a religious government over men’s lives, a great ecclesiastical kingdom, backed by the power and influence of the world — the carnal church systems of man exalted to power and dominion in the earth. This is why God will judge, throw down, and utterly destroy the Great Babylon; and this is why God is building up His holy city. the pure bride of Christ and the holy sons of God, New Jerusalem, to shine with His scintillating light of life to lighten all peoples and all nations, filling the whole earth with His glory!"
Much more in the link:
"There is really nothing complicated about the new heavens and the new earth. To aid our understanding of this beautiful truth let us learn a lesson from the symbolisms of the book of Revelation. The key to this understanding is the word “sea.” As soon as John sees the new heaven and the new earth he immediately notes that “there was no more sea.” Again and again throughout the book of Revelation we have shown that the word “sea” is not used in the literal sense of the vast oceans of earth, but in a figurative and symbolic way. The vast majority of the events in the Revelation take place in one of three dimensions: HEAVEN, EARTH, and SEA. These three realms, of course, represent three dimensions of life within each of us, three states of being, life-styles, levels of consciousness, spheres of existence, and realms of experience. There is a “heaven” realm within our spirit, an “earth” realm within our soul, and a “sea” realm within our body. The highest of these realms is heaven — where God dwells in our spirit. Earth is the in-between realm, a dimension that at its highest touches heaven, and at its lowest kisses the sea. That is the soul which lies between the spirit and the body. It can yield to the spirit above to become heavenly, or to the sea (body realm, flesh nature) to become sensual and devilish."
"The lowest of these three realms is the sea. Throughout the scriptures the sea is a type of the inner storms and turbulent nature of the Adamic man. The prophet Isaiah penned these inspired words: “The wicked are like the troubled sea, which cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt. There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked” (Isa. 57:20-21). Jude also described wicked men when he said, “These are raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame” (Jude 13). No one can dispute the fact that it is this restless, turbulent, raging, evil heart of the fleshly man, with the passions and lusts and the motions of sin that lurk in the body with its lower nature, that inspires every evil and devilish perversion, and has filled the world with ever increasing confusion, faithlessness, immorality, falsehood, fraud, hatred, violence, greed, cruelty, strife, wars, bloodshed, and every wicked work. It is more than a raging sea of evil — it is a virtual tsunami of self-destruction!"
Much more in the link:
"Truly the Lord is speaking in symbolic language of great spiritual realities fulfilled within His people!"
"Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness. Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of Him in peace, without spot, and blameless" (II Pet. 3:13-14). It will be a wonderful day when all the Lord’s people understand the great truth that there is even now a new heaven and a new earth wherein dwelleth righteousness. "We look for it!" Peter says. Since you are looking for it — now give diligence to be found in Him in peace, without spot, and blameless. In other words — BECOME WHAT YOU ARE LOOKING FOR! When you are at peace, without spot, and blameless, you have then discovered within yourself the new heavens and the new earth…the ones wherein dwelleth righteousness! "We look for it!" Peter says. Since you are looking for it — now give diligence to be found in Him in peace, without spot, and blameless. In other words — BECOME WHAT YOU ARE LOOKING FOR! When you are at peace, without spot, and blameless, you have then discovered within yourself the new heavens and the new earth…the ones wherein dwelleth righteousness! This new heaven is the heaven of our regenerated spirit wherein God dwells, and this new earth is the earth of our transformed mind and soul by which we are able to demonstrate through our body in our everyday living, what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. Oh, yes!"
"If ye know that He is righteous, ye know that everyone that doeth righteousness is born of Him. Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as He is righteous" (I Jn. 2:29; 3:7). Can any doubt it — there is the NEW EARTH wherein dwelleth righteousness! Paul speaks the same truth this way, "For the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: that the righteousness of the law might be FULFILLED IN US, WHO WALK NOT AFTER THE FLESH, BUT AFTER THE SPIRIT" (Rom. 8:2-4). It is the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus that makes us free from the law of sin and death. That is the new administration of the new heavens and the new earth!"
Much more in the link:
https://www.godfire.net/eby/Rev/rev232.html
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"Children in school learn what we call definitions. A definition is an explanatory statement which tells us exactly what a certain thing is, as "an island is a tract of land completely surrounded by water." God also gives us definitions in His Word. We could cite hundreds of examples! He tells us exactly what certain things are. And in the passage quoted above God tells us exactly what the second death is. "And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. THIS IS THE SECOND DEATH." Now let me make this a little plainer. Definitions of men can be given backward. For instance, the definition, "An island is a tract of land completely surrounded by water," can be given thus: "A tract of land completely surrounded by water is an island." This is but another way of stating the same fact. It does not, in any way, change the meaning."
"Now let us try this on the definition of the second death. The Bible states it thus: "Death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death." Now let us turn this statement around for clarity. "The second death is death and hell cast into the lake of fire." Therefore we have exactly the same meaning either way it is stated. What is the second death? IT IS THE FIRST DEATH AND HELL CAST INTO THE LAKE OF FIRE! This fact is very important. Most Christians and nearly all preachers read the Word of God very superficially. They read and suppose that the second death is men being tortured forever in the lake of fire. Yet there is absolutely nothing in this passage about men! The verse that follows the one we are considering speaks of men being cast into the lake of fire. But not this one! It is the state of death and the condition of hell that are cast into the lake of fire. The second death is not men cast into the lake of fire, or men tormented or tortured forever. That’s not in the Book! The Holy Spirit has made it very simple and plain. The second death is the first death and hell cast into the lake of fire. That is the Holy Spirit’s definition, not mine."
Muxh more in the link:
https://www.godfire.net/eby/Rev/rev231.html
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"I feel a great urgency about this message because the vision tells us that not only are the “books” opened, but also the other book, THE BOOK OF LIFE. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire — for further purging and purification. I want to help you grasp why you are here — you are being prepared to reveal the invisible God to the visible creation! Dear reader of these lines, you are not just anybody. You came out from God. There is a strange and wonderful statement in Hebrews 10:7. “Lo, I come (in the VOLUME OF THE BOOK it is written of me) to do Thy will, O God.” These words are attributed to Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God. This is, however, a quotation from Psalm 40:7. Therefore, the “volume of the book” referred to was written before the Psalms! The five books of Moses were written before any others, except, perhaps, the book of Job; and in these earliest books of the Bible Moses pled for God to have mercy upon the children of Israel, “and if not, blot me out of THY BOOK which Thou hast written” (Ex. 32:32). These words speak of a book written by God Himself which was older than Genesis or any of the other books of Moses. God wrote the law of His life in His Christ (Head and body) long before the Bible was written! The scripture indicates that the revelation Jesus was sent to bring to pass on earth was fully recorded in the “Volume of the Book” long before Jesus ever started to walk out His script in the earth realm. The nature of God written in the Christ, the Logos, the Word, which was in the beginning with God, was the heavenly reality of that Book of Life that would be written and opened on earth. Do you not get the connection between the Word and the Volume of the Book? That’s what a book is — it is a word! And it is the Book of Life, for of the Word John says, “In Him was Life; and the life was the light of men” (Jn. 1:1,4). And then John tells us that “THE WORD was made flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory…” (Jn. 1:14). By revelation of the Spirit John is telling us that the Word was made manifest FOR ALL THE WORLD TO READ. This Word, this Holy Record of the Life of God, was not written upon stone, nor papyrus, nor golden parchment, but THE WORD was MADE FLESH TO DWELL AMONG MEN AND BE READ BY THEM! Unlike any other book in the world, this “Book” was alive and the title of this Book was JESUS!"
Much more in the link:
"The whole purpose of the great white throne judgment is to clear away all the old religious heavens that have ruled us, and the earth of the flesh and the works of the flesh that have bound us, to make way for God’s new order — the new heaven and earth of CHRIST’S KINGDOM. I do not say that even that heaven and earth are an eternal order, for Paul tells us of a reality beyond all this: “Then cometh the end, when He shall have DELIVERED UP THE KINGDOM to God, even the Father; when He shall have put down all rule and all authority and power…and when all things shall have been subdued unto Him, then shall the Son also Himself be subject unto Him that put all things under Him, THAT GOD MAY BE A-L-L I-N A-L-L!” (I Cor. 15:24,28). That is certainly beyond the new heaven and the new earth of the kingdom of Christ! We experience these things more and more in our lives as we walk with the Lord. This is the ongoing process by which Christ is “making everything new.” By it He transforms us into a new creation in which God can live, work, express, and manifest Himself in the totality of His life, glory, and power. When our old earth and heavens flee from before the Lord’s face, when we allow no room for them in our experience, God’s judging and refining has at last destroyed all carnality, sinfulness, religiosity, and all immature spirituality from our lives."
Much more in the link:
"There must therefore be no lack of either righteousness on the one hand, or mercy on the other, for the integrity and maintenance of the throne of God. Now we may see why the adversary ever seeks to drag his victims before the throne as criminals. Men fear the great white throne of God because the adversary sows into their minds the spirit of condemnation, magnifying man’s sin, accentuating his unworthiness, and distorting the great Judge’s character by amplifying and exaggerating God’s wrath without counter-balancing his wrath with His mercy! Nowhere does scripture state that God’s throne is upheld by wrath, harshness, exactitude, or implacableness — to the contrary, it is upholden only by mercy! If there is an inability to show mercy — I speak with all reverence — God’s very throne is of no value to Him. If He is powerless to save those He loves, and wills to bless, of what good is His throne or His judgment? It lacks power — strength to carry out His will, and he is no longer supreme. Can you not see Satan’s attack upon God’s throne of judgment? He misrepresents it, distorts it, deforms it, perverts it, by robbing it of its MERCY!
Much more in the link:
"One thing many of God’s people have failed to realize is that not only is Satan a great deceiver, but he himself is totally deceived! To my mind, this is a self-evident truth. He would not be trying to overthrow God and His kingdom if he did not somehow believe that he could. He is deceived by the very lies which he tells, by the very deception which he propagates. Christ is the creator of the world, of the whole vast universe, and is its present ruler. The scriptures make this very plain. The inspired apostle Paul tells us that all world rulers are “God’s ministers,” and that there is “NO POWER but of God” (Rom. 13:1-6). The great prophet Daniel declared, “The most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever He will, and setteth up over it the basest of men” (Dan. 4:17,25). And Satan also serves. The only power Satan has is that measure of power which God has appointed to him. I’m sure it is with him as it was with the wicked men who crucified the Lord — “they know not what they do.” That is deception!"
"The only other reference in the Bible to Gog and Magog is found in the thirty-eighth and thirty-ninth chapters of Ezekiel. This use of the term by John is rooted in the Old Testament passage. One will have to admit that this is a rather strange battle which Ezekiel described in his vision. Israel is pictured at peace and dwelling in security in her land, with no attempt made to defend herself against the enemy which suddenly and powerfully sweeps down upon her. Without a struggle, as soon as the enemy marches into the land, he is smitten with a catastrophic judgment directly from God. The rest of the vision tells of a glorious celebration of victory on the part of the people of Israel. We must keep in mind that in both passages the language is highly figurative and symbolic, and it can only be interpreted in that light. The fact is, history records no battle in the history of Israel that answers to the one described in Ezekiel’s vision. Nor can we conceive of it as taking place in a literal way in our day or at some future time, for, you see, all the invading army comes riding upon horses, a great company having bucklers and shields, bows and arrows, and all of them handling swords. In addition to this all their weapons are made of wood, and there are so many of them that no man of Israel needs to cut any fire wood for seven years while they use these weapons for fire wood! It certainly doesn’t sound like modern warfare, does it?"
"If John’s vision is symbolic, then so also is Ezekiel’s. The only difference is that John’s version is a little more complete and is given to us in the fuller light of New Testament revelation. In both instances most of our struggles of the Lord’s people are already over, and they are dwelling in a sense of peace and security. There is no struggle at all. In John’s vision this is due to the fact that they have already overcome the beast, the false prophet, Mystery Babylon, and now Satan himself has been bound in the abyss. Ah, there is peace and security! But suddenly the old devil is brought out of his pit where he has been placed. He is turned loose in their midst and there is unleashed upon them an awful attack of the adversary! He gathers all his forces and rants and raves against the redeemed of God. But before he is able to harm a hair on the head of one saint, at once the fiery judgment of God falls upon all the enemies and the devil who leads them. This, my beloved, is no literal warfare fought with conventional weapons — this is the final battle of our spiritual warfare; this is the climax of the most magnificent celebration of victory!"
Much more in the link:
Traveling from Colorado to Kentucky, first night in WaKeeney, good times
"Priesthood is the Spirit of the High Priest. Jesus lives, and Jesus loves us, and has Himself cleansed us in His own blood. He bestows upon us the disposition of priesthood by His indwelling life. His indwelling is but the first step, then follows the inworking by which we become that which He is. The spirit of priesthood is love. Love is the queen of all the graces of the Christ life. Love is the passion of self-giving. It never stops to ask what it can afford, or what it may expect to receive in return; but it is ever shedding its heart’s blood. It will pine to death if it cannot give. The love of Christ which went out so tenderly to those who walked and talked with Him when He was upon earth, is no less far-reaching and all-powerful to usward. It is this fathomless love of Christ which conquers; and His all-conquering, boundless love, is the banner unfurled in the lives of His Kingdom Priests. O precious love divine, higher than the heavens, deeper than the abyss, broader than all the ages of time! O mighty love that reached through countless ages and brought Christ down from the bosom of the Father to redeem creation; which brought Him to the cross; which brought Him to the tomb; which brought Him forth and raised Him up to the right hand of God, as the High Priest of the heavens who ever liveth to make intercession for us; which is come again in us and is now shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost!
Much more in the link:
https://www.godfire.net/eby/Rev/rev226.html
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"All who judge must be possessed of that same anointing of the seven spirits of God that rests upon the firstborn Son of God. "These things saith He that hath the seven spirits of God" (Rev. 3:1). Isaiah enumerates the seven spirits thus, "And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and fear of the Lord" (Isa. 11:2). Thank God! The very thought of a universe governed by the sons of God who are filled with the seven-fold intensified Spirit of the Lord leaves me absolutely breathless! Words become totally inadequate and human ability to articulate the wonder of such a thing fails completely. Our faltering minds cannot fully appreciate nor comprehend the wonder of Enoch’s prophecy: "Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of His saints, to execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him" (Jude 14-15)."
"There are several points of interest in the passage just quoted. "Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of His saints." The original would be better expressed, "The Lord cometh IN holy myriads of Himself." He comes in that people who are bone of His bone, flesh of His flesh, spirit of His spirit, mind of His mind; the extension and projection of all HE IS — HIMSELF CREATURES. "To execute judgment upon all." To execute means to carry out, to fulfill, to pursue to the end. Holy myriads of Himself shall carry out judgment upon all, and pursue it unto the end, until the full fruit and effect of that judgment shall be manifested in all. "And to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds…" To convince means to convict, reprove, and fully persuade all the ungodly of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against the Lord. This is conviction, my friend, HOLY GHOST CONVICTION that must be ministered into the minds and hearts of men before they will submit so that the cleansing process can begin in them. I have seen it many times, when Holy Ghost conviction came upon men and women with the hardest of hearts and the most wicked life-styles, they were utterly broken before the Lord, weeping as it were buckets of tears, repenting, and being washed and cleansed from all their rebellion and sinfulness. Hallelujah! What a judgment! And it is no longer upon one here and there, a few who encounter the Lord in His movings, but now Jude says when the Lord comes in those holy myriads of Himself the judgment shall be UPON ALL! Thus the Lord comes in His holy ones to bring an ending to the long reign of sin, darkness, and death, praise His wonderful name!
Much more in the link:
"This is awesome! After Satan has been bound in the bottomless pit, and the seal is set upon him, then the overcomers appear as "souls" who "live" and "reign" as kings and judges, but — they have been BEHEADED! All the garbage that the church systems have taught are a stench in the nostrils of God, and in my nostrils as well. They tell us that if you miss the "rapture" you can be saved, but you’re going to have to be beheaded. It never ceases to amaze me how shallow and spiritually stupid so-called teachers of the Word can be! In all their carnal-minded literalism they completely miss the truth! You see, if missing the "rapture" means you must face beheading, and if being beheaded then uniquely qualifies you to sit on the throne and reign with Christ for a thousand years, then being so carnal that you miss the "rapture" actually ends up exalting you to a higher position in the kingdom of Christ than those spiritual saints who were translated! Not very sound reasoning, is it?"
Much more in the link:
"What does this wonderful truth mean to us? Where and when and how have we escaped the corruption that is in the world? Ah, my beloved, corruption is the process of dissolution that leads to death, the downward spiral by which all things in the universe are being reduced to a worse state or inferior condition. All organisms age and grow old. All food spoils. All mountains erode. All mechanical things wear out. All societies break down in moral decay. Every kingdom and empire weakens and finally collapses. Every spiritual movement, historical and current, eventually stagnates and goes into apostasy. Evil men and seducers wax worse and worse. Suns and stars burn out and self-destruct. There is a universal law of corruption, the bondage that enslaves every visible and invisible thing in the cosmos. The movement is always down, down, down!"
"And that’s how it was in my life until that blessed day when Christ appeared and I was born again by the incorruptible seed of the word of God that liveth and abideth forever. A divine and incorruptible life was raised up from Christ within my spirit and injected into my soul and in that wonderful moment old things passed away and all things became new. By that heavenly and divine intervention my course was changed, my direction reversed, my movement turned up-side-down. Instead of continuing the downward journey, I commenced an upward climb. And now I can truthfully and joyfully testify — I am no longer getting worse — I AM GETTING BETTER! Oh, yes! I AM GETTING BETTER! I am now learning of Christ. I am growing up into Him in all things. I am renouncing the hidden things of darkness. I am putting on the mind of Christ. I am receiving His chastisements and experiencing His dealings. I am submitting my will more and more to His. I am tasting the powers of the world to come. I am apprehending His righteousness, peace, and joy. I am eating His flesh and drinking His blood. I am overcoming sins, weaknesses, unbelief, problems, fears, and obstacles of every kind. I am putting off the old man, and putting on the new man. Daily, continually, progressively, unceasingly, from glory to glory, I AM BEING CHANGED! No longer am I being reduced to a worse state and an inferior condition — I am now being transformed by the renewing of my mind into a better state, into a superior condition! I have escaped the irresistible downward plunge — I have thus escaped CORRUPTION! I am now incorruptible — on my way up instead of down! Is my soul fully resurrected, raised up into His perfection, standing up again in the full power of HIS LIFE? I cannot confess today that the work is complete, but there is no doubt about it, my soul is in the process of RESURRECTION!"
Much more in the link:
"Now the spirit must woo the soul, and raise it up into life in union with the spirit. If you can receive it — THIS IS THE FIRST RESURRECTION!"
Much more in the link:
"Of the dragon, the ancient serpent, it is expressly said that he is Satan. And he was now bound by the angel for a thousand years. Let us place this picture before us vividly, for John says he saw it; we therefore can also form a living mental image of the same. Therefore, right before his eyes, while John was viewing the picture, the dragon, namely the devil, was actually being bound by the angel with the chain, so that he could neither stir nor move. This John sees! The fact that the dragon was bound a thousand years could naturally only be communicated to John as information revealed within himself by the Spirit; for the picture did not last a thousand years. I have experienced the same thing when the Lord has spoken to me in a dream or a vision and I simply knew or inherently understood something about the vision that was not communicated to me by anything I saw in the scenes shown me. If we ask — Was Satan actually being bound at the precise moment in which John saw this? Our answer is — No! For John was not being shown a one-time event to transpire in the spirit-realm, either past or future, but he was shown a great spiritual reality to be experienced in all of the Lord’s people as they walk in the spirit and grow up into Christ. It was just a symbolic picture of that. And the thing that matters concerning the picture, in so far as it is a revelation of God’s working within us, is not just the binding itself, but the binding for a thousand years! The deep mystery is that this reveals to us not only the fact of Satan being totally bound in the abyss of our earth, within our heart, but also the HOW of that binding!"
Much more in the link:
https://www.godfire.net/eby/rev219.html
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"While the day of the Lord certainly has a chronological reality to it, the day of the Lord is first and foremost a state of being, a state of illumination, understanding, knowledge, consciousness, and experience. The day of the Lord is the garden of Eden, it’s the sabbath of God, it’s the cessation of the flesh, and the strivings, desires, and anxieties of the carnal mind. It’s the ceasing of trying by soulish strength to think up and work up the nature, will, ways, and purposes of God, and it’s entering instead into the power of His life, light, and glory. It’s the discovering and unveiling of the Christ within! That’s what John discovered in Revelation 20:1-6. He discovered the Most Holy Place. There is a people on the earth today that is beginning to experience the reality and fulfillment of all that the prophets prophesied of through the ages. The third day, the third feast of Israel, and the third realm in God are all pre-figured by the Most Holy Place in the tabernacle of Moses with its dimensions of ten cubits wide, ten cubits long, and ten cubits high — one thousand cubits square! Those dimensions correspond precisely with the “thousand years” of John’s vision, for one thousand is a figure composed of 10 X 10 X 10. Beyond the veil, in the Most Holy Place, the one thousand cubits point to the one thousand years of the reign of God’s elect upon the thrones of judgment. Both measurements are symbolisms representing the reign of Christ and all the holy sons of God in the power of the kingdom of God and the brightness of the day of the Lord!"
Much more in the link:
https://www.godfire.net/eby/rev218.html
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"The very fact that God states that the serpent was now to crawl upon his belly, which obviously he had not done before, reveals that there was a descending from one realm to another, from a greater to a lesser, from a higher and more mobile to a lower and more confined. Moving on his belly limits the sphere of the serpent’s activity, now he can only creep along the ground. Previously he had access to loftier realms, his sphere of activity extended to higher domains — exalted realms of pure spirit expression — but he is now lowered to the dust-realm, into the world of the natural man, confined to the earthly and sensual, and restricted to action upon and expression through THE MAN OF DUST, as the Lord pronounced to Adam in that same encounter, “In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for DUST THOU ART, AND UNTO DUST SHALT THOU RETURN” (Gen. 3:19). And to the serpent he said, “And dust (the fleshly, carnal nature of man) shalt thou eat all the days of thy life” (Gen. 3:14). Truly this accounts for the words of the apostle, “And you hath He quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins: wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, THE S-P-I-R-I-T THAT NOW WORKETH I-N THE CHILDREN OF DISOBEDIENCE” (Eph. 2:2)."
"Ah, yes, this evil spirit is IN MAN! When the ancient serpent was lowered into the dust realm, to crawl upon his belly and eat (find his satisfaction and fulfillment in) dust, man became the base of operation for his activity. I do not hesitate to tell you, my beloved, that you will find Satan operative in NO OTHER REALM in the whole universe! You do not meet the devil in rocks, trees, mountains, rivers, clouds, fish, birds, animals, nor on far-away planets, in distant galaxies, in flying saucers, nor in any other object or location outside of man. Can we not see that under the curse God limited Satan to the dust of the earth, to the realm of the first Adam, the natural man, the carnal mind — the man of dust! “The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven” (I Cor. 15:47)."
Much more in the link:
https://www.godfire.net/eby/rev217.html
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"As we approach chapter twenty of the Revelation there are four primary scenes presented in the chapter. As the curtain rings up, the first scene is the chaining of the dragon. “And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years. And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him…” (Rev. 20:1-3). In the vision John sees an angel descending out of the heaven with a great chain in one hand and the keys of the abyss in the other. He lays hold on the dragon, fetters him, throws him as it were bodily into the pit, clamps down the lid, seals it shut, and shut it remains for a thousand years. The question follows — is John seeing and portraying literal fact or is it a spiritual truth stated figuratively in the form of a drama?"
Much more in the link:
https://www.godfire.net/eby/rev216.html
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"As we walk through the wilderness of the world there are two entities that we meet — two adversaries that confront us on every hand — the beast and the false prophet. We first meet them in chapter thirteen of the Revelation. Individually and inwardly, the beast is the bestial nature of the natural man of flesh. Corporately, the beast is the monster out of the sea of humanity with its ten horns and seven heads — the whole bestial world system of man, invented and produced out of the bestial nature of man. This includes all human governments and institutions of every kind, commercial, educational, philosophical, medical, social, military, etc. It is the dragon in man who gives the beast out of the sea of humanity his seat and great authority
Much more in the link:
"The fallacious nature of these far-fetched and sensational expectations concerning the conflict on this fearful field, is exposed immediately by the verses we have studied already from chapter nineteen, which almost all Bible students overlook. The battle is not an earthly battle at all! It is a spiritual battle fought with the spiritual weapon of the Living Word of God! The horses are symbols, the white garments are symbols, the blood splattered on Christ’s garment is a symbol, the sword out of Christ’s mouth is a symbol, the winepress is a symbol — therefore, can we not see that the angel standing in the sun is likewise a symbol, the scavenger birds of heaven are symbols, and the flesh of all the men they consume is also a symbol!"
Much more in the link:
"All this shall be accomplished by the sword of Him that rideth on the white horse, because the Word of God is LIVING, AND POWERFUL, AND SHARPER THAN ANY TWO-EDGED SWORD! “These things saith He which hath the sharp sword with two edges…” (Rev. 2:12). Do you know what it means that it is a two-edged sword? In the first century there were three primary swords that armies used when they went into combat. There was one sword that was a big, heavy, cumbersome thing, you could only use it with two hands, and you usually rested it on your shoulders, for it was that heavy. You went into combat and you would swing at the enemy with that sword with both hands, you could almost club them to death with it, it was so heavy, and it would cut right through the metal of their armor. The problem with that was, in the first place, it was so heavy that it got you tired; secondly, if you took a swipe at somebody and missed, you were very vulnerable to a counter attack."
"There was a second kind of sword, the kind we usually think of, a sword with a point at the front and one side of it had a sharp edge. You would take that into battle and try to whack the enemy with that one side, pull it back, and try to strike them again. Then someone thought of the idea of sharpening both sides — it was as revolutionary in the days of Rome as the atomic bomb was for us. When a legion went into combat with a sword that had a blade on both sides they had an incredible advantage — the soldier could cut from all directions, forward and backward. Now that’s what the writer to the Hebrews had in mind when He wrote about the Word of God being living, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword of man. The Word of God is alive! The Word of God is powerful! The Word of God is sharp! How effective it is! Without the Word of the Lord man is like a blind man in a dark room looking for a black cat that isn’t there. Man’s sword is a sword of death. It kills. But God’s sword is living — it cuts away and kills what needs to be killed in order to make alive. It is a living sword — yea, a life-giving sword! Isn’t it wonderful!"
Much more spiritual interpretation in the link:
"When the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in chapter nineteen He does not come alone. Long millenniums ago Enoch prophesied of this appearing of the promised One, saying, “Behold the Lord cometh WITH TEN THOUSANDS OF HIS SAINTS (or, holy myriads of Himself) to execute judgment upon all, and to convince all…” (Jude 14,15). John with wonder beheld the scene and wrote, “The armies, the ones in heaven, were following Him upon white horses.” Christ Jesus is the Head and the Leader as He goes before; His holy ones follow in His train, for as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God; and these are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever He goeth. Can you not see the mystery? They are represented as armies! They come forth as a body of Warriors! He has many under His command! The armies of the heavenlies are His, and He does battle with them, by them, through them, and as them, even “the called, the chosen, and faithful.” There is no infantry. There really is no cavalry, for all the horses are white, signifying that every one who follows Him is of exalted rank. It is an army of princes, a host of mighty dignities, for He rides as “King of kings, and Lord of lords!” He is the Leader, yet as He is, so are we! It is the corporate Christ! It is one new man, one glorious Head and body! It is not Christ and us — it is simply Christ! “For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ” (I Cor. 12:12). Moreover, they have no weapons, except the sharp two-edged sword that proceeds out of HIS MOUTH, which is the Living Word of God! His Word is our Word, and we have no Word except that which He is and which we are! This is no earthly warfare, as the carnal-minded literalists purport. Oh, no! With the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God, one can wage only SPIRITUAL WARFARE!
More spiritual warfare in the link:
"The apostle John gives us the answer: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. ALL THINGS WERE MADE BY HIM; AND WITHOUT HIM WAS NOT ANYTHING MADE THAT WAS MADE. IN HIM WAS LIFE; AND THE LIFE WAS THE LIGHT OF MEN.” Oh, yes! The “first cause” is said to be “the Word.” “And God said, Let there be…and there was.”
The link goes deep on logos: