| (Copyright 2023) by James Lloyd (Medford, Oregon) |
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| Regarding the truth of prophetic metaphor, perhaps the most basic example of the phenomenon is the Sand and Sea, In this setting we see the Antichrist beast of Revelation rises up out of the sea – whereas the False Prophet beast rises up out of the ground, or the land: “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 I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon” (Revelation 13:1, 12). Although most prophecy figures have addressed the two beasts (usually in a misguided attempt to link them to some earthly leader), it’s rare to find a commentator that notes the decidedly different settings of the earth and the oceans. The student of prophecy is even more unlikely to encounter anyone who makes the connection between the two sets of images in Daniel chapters 2 and 7, which make the same distinction. Unfortunately, the False Prophets of our time continue to assert the century’s old error which posits the four beast kingdoms represented in Nebuchadnezzar’s statue/dream on dry land, are the same four kingdoms that rise up out of the sea in Daniel’s vision. Most Christians are familiar with Daniel 2’s statue with the head of gold, arms of silver, brass belly, and iron legs, as the text tells us these are the kingdoms of Babylon, Persia, Greece and Rome. The central point is the imagery is clearly constructed on dry land, as the related story of the statue was attended by large masses of Babylonian subjects (see Daniel 3 for details). The parallel vision in Daniel 7 plainly states the four beasts in the image “came up out of the sea” (Daniel 7:4) – and since the very same identifying attributes of the foursome (a lion, bear, leopard, and unique fourth beast) are assimilated into Revelation’s beast that rises “up out of the sea” (Revelation 13:1), it’s obvious they are connected. Conversely, the statue prophecy, connects to the second beast of Revelation who comes up from the ground: “And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon” (Revelation 13:11). To reiterate this unusual connection, the land based prophecy featuring the Old Testament kingdoms, imaged as a statue on dry land, connects to the False Prophet figure who comes up out of the earth, and the sea based prophecy featuring the New Testament era kingdoms, imaged as a beast coming up out of the sea, connects to the Antichrist figure who comes up out of the sea. Further, the land based kingdoms represented by the statue dream are the first set of kingdoms in Daniel, but they connect to the second beast in Revelation. Meanwhile the sea based kingdoms represented by the beasts are the second set of kingdoms in Daniel, but they connect to the first beast in Revelation – thus the timelines create an invisible cross which occurs between the two testaments. The LORD consistently utilized this allegorical motif as a way of urging us to follow His Spiritual leadership into the realm of the unseen. As far back as Israel in Egypt, we see a vivid example of the people the LORD has chosen being confronted with the necessity of journeying through the sea, in order to escape the certain death implicit in the will of Pharaoh, and his earthly Egyptian army, which was pursuing them. Not only do we see the sea as the metaphor representing the realm of the Spirit, we see the only way to survive in the Spiritual realm is to be in favor with the LORD of glory. In this regard, Pharaoh and the Egyptian chariots (which traverse the land), was actually inside the Red Sea at the same time as the Israelites; but even before the walls of water collapsed on the pursuing Egyptians, the LORD “troubled” those who had entered in to the realm of the Spirit (allegorically within the Red Sea) without His blessing, by miraculously disabling their ability to move their vehicles. In short, He caused the wheels to fall off of the chariots. “And the Egyptians pursued and went in after them to the midst of the sea, even all Pharaoh’s horses, his chariots, and his horsemen. And it came to pass, in the morning watch the Lord…troubled the host of the Egyptians and took off their chariot wheels…” (Exodus 14:23-35). It’s important to remind the reader that because we recognize the allegorical aspects of this amazing account, does not mean we reject the literal historicity of the episode. Indeed, every account in Scripture that is presented as historical, came to pass to help us recognize the truth concerning the eternal kingdom of God. In fact, in a chapter describing the very events of the Exodus just recounted, the Apostle Paul says precisely the same thing. “Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come” (I Corinthians 10:11). One of the more interesting aspects of the allegorical dimension, wherein the transition from the “sand” and into the “sea” occurs, is the idea of the involuntary nature of the pattern. This addresses the fact that every single one of us will ultimately move from this sphere of existence – the dimension of physical flesh and blood – into the Spiritual realm. Just as Israel had nowhere else to go, except into the “sea” as the Death inhabiting Pharaoh bore down on them, “Death” is stalking every one of us. “And the Lord said unto Moses…speak unto the children of Israel, that they go forwards: But lift thou up thy rod, and stretch out thine hand over the sea, and divide it: and the children of Israel shall go on dry ground through the midst of the sea. And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the Lord caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night, and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided” (Exodus 14:15, 21). Most of us don’t make the connection, but JESUS CHRIST has been calling each of us further and further into His kingdom – even as the analogy of the sea as a figure of the Spiritual realm is also featured in many, many other metaphoric laden examples. The reader will remember Jesus dispatched the disciples to cross over a waterway, and indicated He would meet them on the other side. “And straightway Jesus constrained his disciples to get into a ship, and to go before him unto the other side” (Matthew 14:22). Just like His original disciples, Christ has promised to receive each of us when we reach the other side, where we hope to hear the words “Well done, thou good and faithful servant” (Matthew 25:21). —————————————————————————————————– See James Lloyd’s other articles at: Lloyd, James – Church of God, Bismarck (church-of-god-bismarck.org) Reprinted with permission from: Christian Media Network http://www.christianmedianetwork.com/ —————————————————————————————————– |
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