Symbolical Language Is Common

Great Seal of the United States

The Great Seal of the United States is a round piece of metal cast on both sides.  It was first commissioned by Congress after the signing of the Declaration of Independence. The final design was approved on June 20, 1782.

The Secretary of State keeps it for use on official documents (but only if the President orders it.)  The front of the seal is the Bald Eagle, wings spread, with a shield of the US on his chest.  The shield has 13 red and white stripes and 13 stars in the glory above the eagle's head for the 13 original colonies. The shield stands on the eagle's chest with no support to represent that the US relies on itself, it's own virtue, for right and justice. The top of the shield is a horizontal blue stripe that represents Congress.  And in one of the eagle's talons he holds an olive branch with 13 leaves for peace.  In the other it clutches 13 arrows for war.  In the beak is a ribbon with the inscription, "E pluribus unum" meaning "From many, one." The motto has 13 letters also. This was to mean, from many states come one nation. The phrase dates back to St. Augustine in his Confessions (Book IV), c. 397-8. Above the eagle's head is a circular cloud filled with 13 5-pointed stars to mean "a glory" or breaking through a cloud.

Back of the Great Seal

The back of the seal has a 13 layer pyramid, once again to represent the 13 original colonies. The stone of the pyramid is to represent lasting strength. And on the bottom is MDCCLXXVI  for 1776 (The date of the Declaration of Independence.)  So what does that big eye on the pyramid mean?  It is to represent the all-seeing eye of Divine Providence. It is open to many, many other interpretations. Above the pyramid are the latin words "Annuit coeptis --" He [God] has favored our undertaking." And at the bottom of the pyramid are the words "Novus ordo seclorum - A new order of the ages [is created]."

Gaillard Hunt wrote The History of the Seal of the United States. It was first published in 1892. It is available as editable web page on Open Library.

I mention all this to emphasize that people of all ages and nations have made wide use of symbolism to portray who they are and what they represent. As we proceed further into our study of the Revelation of St. John it remains important to remember that the book is indeed a book filled with symbols. It is a huge mistake to attempt to give the symbols of Revelation literal meaning as so many still persist in doing. And remember that those symbols can only be understood by referring back to the many symbols of the Old Testament. 

Blendspace: 3D Common Symbols

Symbols are and always will be all around us. Some of them are so commonplace that we simply take them for granted. No one needs to interpret many of them. Consider, for example, the symbols next to this paragraph. They are so common that you know at once what they stand for and understand how you are to respond to them. Nevertheless, if you do indeed understand what these symbols point to, it is because you have been taught their meaning. 

The very language we use is symbolic. For instance you may assume that there is some kind of link between the English word 'dog' and the animals that term represents. However, the same set of animals is represented by a completely different word and sound. In French it is 'chien', in Spanish it is 'perro', in German it is 'Hund'. We simply learn to associate the opaque symbol (sound 'dog') with the four legged creature that wanders around our houses. 

I won't belabor the point. If you wish to explore the development of symbolical language there are many, many websites available, e.g. Symbols, Symbols, Symbols. 

As I have emphasized again and again, the symbols of the Book of Revelation come directly from the Bible. And the Bible interprets itself. And it is a book that proclaims the Gospel. Christ has come, as promised by the prophets, to bear the weight of all men's sins upon the cross of Calvary. He rose from the dead, ascended into heaven and now reigns on high over all things. Revelation is thus is a book of hope and comfort. As we continue we will see and hear again and again this message. Christ reigns. His conquest of the dark forces of evil is certain. When He returns we who trust in Him will reign with Him forever. Amen. Even so come Lord Jesus (Rev. 22:20). Amen. 

Essentially The Revelation Is a Book of Symbols.

The Seven Churches of Revelation, also known as The Seven Churches of the Apocalypse and The Seven Churches of Asia (referring to the Roman province of Asia, not the entire continent), are seven major churches of Early Christianity, as mentioned in the New Testament Book of Revelation.

We continue with our study of the Apocalypse or Revelation of John (the Apostle), written from the Greek island of Patmos in the Aegean Sea, off the coast of modern Turkey. John writes to

... the seven churches that are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before his throne, and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. - Rev 1:4-6 ESV

"Churches" in this context refers to the community or local congregations of Christians living in each city, and not merely to the building or buildings in which they gathered for worship. In fact, church buildings would not appear to any extent, until a couple hundred years later. John is instructed to write to seven of those Christian communities. There may well have been more. Seven here must be interpreted as a symbol for all churches.  Seven is an important symbolical number in the Bible denoting completion. Some examples:

• Gen. 1:31 - 2:3 - God completed His creation in six days and set the seventh day aside to rest. Thus seven became the number for completion. It still marks the completion of our week of days. 

• In Rev. 13:18 "the number of the beast" is called "the number of a man": 666. Man was created on the 6th day. If God's number is 7, then man's is 6, indicating clearly that man is not God. He was created by God on day 6. The number of man is written 3 times. The number 3, as we'll later learn, is also God's number, the number for the Trinity. In claiming 666 we will learn that the beast is claiming to be God and worthy of worship.  

• Series of sevens often appear in the Bible. So we find:

• Gen. 7:2 - 7 pairs of each clean animal enter the ark. 
• Exodus 25:37 - the Menorah, the tabernacle's lamp stand, has 7 stems
• Proverbs 6:16-19 - The LORD hates haughty eyes, a lying tongue, shedding of innocent blood, a heart devising wicked plans, feet that run to evil, a false witness and one who sows discord.
• Matt. 18:22 - wrongdoers are to be forgiven 70 X 7. 
• In the Revelation the number 7 is used more than 50 times. e.g. 7 letters to 7 churches in Asia and 7 spirits before God’s throne (Revelation 1:4), 7 golden lamp stands (Rev.1:12), 7 stars in Christ’s right hand (Rev. 1:16), 7 seals of God’s judgment (Rev. 5:1), 7 angels with 7 trumpets (Rev. 8:2), etc. 

So here in the beginning of The Revelation the number 7  represents completeness or totality: the 7 churches represent the completeness of the body of Christ, the 7 seals on the scroll represent the fulness of God’s punishment of a sinful earth, and so on.

Symbolical language is very important in the Bible. One study tells us that there are 1,670 symbols in the Bible. These include the rainbow (Gen. 9:13; Rev. 4:3), thunder, lightning, cloud and smoke (Rev. 4:5; 8:5; 11:19), trumpets (Exod. 19:19; Rev. 8:6), throne (Isa. 6:1; Rev. 4:2; 22:3), white hair (Dan. 7:9; Rev. 1:14), etc. Amazing Discoveries has created a Bible Symbols Chart that you may find helpful.

By the way, what do you think about when you see men like myself with white hair ? White is the symbol for purity (Rev. 12:9; 20:2) and for victory (Rev. 19:8; 3:5; 7:14). White hair in particular is apparently a symbol for experience and the consequent wisdom that comes from the same (Rev. 1:14). We are commanded to honor the old man with gray or white hair and consider it to be a crown of glory, glory gained by living a godly or righteous life (Prov.16:31). Obviously not all of us white-hairs have earned such honor, but many have, by God's grace.

What precisely is a symbol or symbolic speech? Webster's dictionary defines it this way: A form of speech that expresses an idea or emotion without use of words. A symbol represents or suggests something abstract, such as burning one’s draft card, bra, or flag, or picketing. So throughout the Revelation we will encounter symbolic speech and we must consequently be very careful never to interpret symbols literally. An obvious example of this is the number 144,000 (12x12x10x10x10). We'll want to explore that peculiar symbolical number later. But is it only symbolical?

The problem is how to decide if one should ever interpret the symbols of Revelation as literal rather than symbolical, pointing beyond the image to an abstract concept, like 144,000 (Rev. 7:1-4; 14:1-3). Jehovah's Witnesses, for instance, claim that 144,000 is the literal number of those who will reside in heaven. The rest will live forever on earth or be annihilated. We'll come back to interpreting that symbolical number later. For the moment I believe we need some guidance on principles of interpretation (sometimes called hermeneutics).

One basic hermeneutical rule is that Scripture interprets Scripture. So right at the start we read that the Revelation comes from God to Jesus. Jesus, in turn, is to show his servants what must happen soon . To do that our Lord sent his angel / messenger to signify or make known what must happen through symbols.

The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants—things which must shortly take place. And He sent and signified it by His angel to His servant John, - Rev 1:1 NKJV

The Greek word for signify here is sēmainō, a favorite verb used by John in his Gospel. So Jesus spoke about his being lifted up as the means by which he would draw all people to himself. John then writes, "He said this to show (or signify) by what kind of death he was going to die. - John 12:33 ESV. The snake lifted up on a pole was a sign of what would happen when Jesus was lifted up on a Roman cross. In its noun form that word is translated simply as sign. So when Jesus heals the son of an  official from Judea John calls it "the second sign that Jesus did when he had come from Judea to Galilee" (John 4:54). The healing was a sign pointing to Jesus as the Messiah.

So we hear from the outset that this is a book of signs or symbols that show us what must happen. Essentially the Revelation is a book of symbols. That is the primary way by which Jesus chose to communicate to us through His angel. If we are to interpret these symbols in some kind of literal manner, the Holy Spirit will make that clear as well. Otherwise we'll have to treat the various images as symbols or signs, not to be taken literally. If you'd like to read more about this process of interpretation or hermeneutics, read Roy Harrisville's article "A Primer on Lutheran Hermeneutics."

Grave Confusion About The Two Kingdoms

In my last post I promised to discuss why Lutherans—and millions of other Christians—are very wary of the way some widely read Bible interpreters use and confuse symbols, especially numbers in the Bible. This is why we approach Gematria and Keballah with great caution.

I refer you again to the 1989 Missouri Synod theologians' study of the end times for personal study. Here is a shortened list of the basic principles of interpretation (hermeneutics) they emphasize. In earlier postings I already emphasized the importance of seeing that most prophecy is poetry, with characteristic figures of speech and word pictures. I also emphasized the importance of remembering that the prophets spoke first to their original hearers in terms they could understand. Here now are six more principles.

1. An organic unity exists within and between the Old and New Testaments. We presuppose that God is the One Author of all Scripture. Remember earlier comments about how God's Word validates itself. 
2. This is also to say that the Scriptures themselves interpret  all prophecy. Symbols, word pictures and numbers are interpreted by Scripture passages that speak in plain, simple language about the same things. Where they are silent, we will remain silent as well. 
3. The material principle must ever be kept central. That means that the entire Scripture, Old and New Testaments, is about Christ. Their singular purpose is to lead men to turn from sin to faith in Christ. 
4. Christ is the New Israel, Israel reduced to one. Christ is the promised seed of Abraham in whom all nations are blessed. 
5. Old Testament prophecy is often typical or typological in nature. This is especially true when dealing with eschatological (end time) themes. A type is a person, institution, or event which prefigures and foreshadows a new and greater reality (the antitype). The antitype historically and theologically corresponds to, elucidates, fulfills, and eschatologically completes the type. The antitype is no mere repetition of the type but is always greater than its prefigurement.
6. Certain prophetic events in the near and in the distant future are telescoped into one picture, like how mountain peaks seen from a distance look much closer than they really are. 

F. F. Bruce pulled it all together as he wrote, 

"In Jesus the promise is confirmed, the covenant is renewed, the prophecies are fulfilled, the law is vindicated, salvation is brought near, sacred history has reached its climax the perfect sacrifice has been offered and accepted, the great priest over the household of God has taken his seat at God's right hand, the Prophet like Moses has been raised up, the Son of David reigns, the kingdom of God has been inaugurated, the Son of Man has received dominion from the Ancient of Days, the Servant of the Lord, having been smitten to death for his people's transgression and borne the sin of many, has accomplished the divine purpose, has seen the light after the travail of his soul and is now exalted and extolled and made very high" (The New Testament Development of Old Testament Themes, p. 21).

A word about type - antitype centered in and fulfilled in Christ. This is especially important as it relates to Israel of the Old Testament and the New Israel. Here many modern teachers create great anxiety and doubt by confusing the Law and the Gospel. By so doing they confuse the two Kingdoms over which Christ rules and how He rules over them. The Lutheran Defense of the Augsburg Confession, Article XVI, makes it very clear that Christ's true kingdom is spiritual; it is the knowledge of God in the heart, the fear of God and faith, the beginning of eternal righteousness and eternal life. In that spiritual kingdom he governs by His Word and by preaching. This is usually referred to as the kingdom of Christ's right hand.

He has another kingdom over which He rules. It is usually called the kingdom of Christ's left hand. It refers to the political, outward power exercised by civil government. Paul and others write of this.

"Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. . ." (Romans 13:1-7).

Old Testament Israel was a secular kingdom, a political entity. Christ as the LORD of the Old Testament (Philippians 2:1-11) ruled over it by the outward means of laws and rules. The Old Testament  rulers and kings of Israel were His instruments. By laws and promises, courts, armies and war, they preserved order, promoted prosperity and protected the people from their enemies.

Within that secular state Christ also ruled over His spiritual kingdom, His kingdom of true believers, by means of His Word.  In many different ways His prophets warned the people to turn from their godless and disobedient ways and put their faith and trust in their true LORD. Under the guidance of the Holy Spirit they always spoke of the Gospel and God's forgiveness. They frequently foretold Christ's coming in human flesh to rescue and redeem all mankind. The prophet Isaiah, for instance, spoke of those good tidings, this Good News, as he wrote about the Suffering Servant who would be cruelly beaten and disfigured even as he took upon Himself the pain and bore the suffering and affliction we have all deserved (Isaiah 52:7-53:12).

The Apostles clearly understood this. Matthew, for example, tells about the Holy Family fleeing into exile in Egypt in this manner:

So he (Joseph) got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, ¹⁵ where he stayed until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet: “Out of Egypt I called my son” (Matthew 2:15-16 and Hosea 11:1).

So Matthew makes it clear throughout his Gospel that Jesus is the New Israel, the Son of God, called out of Egypt again. In Christ a new, spiritual kingdom has begun. As Jesus stood accused before Pilate, representative of the secular, Roman authority, He openly acknowledged that he was the king of the Jews, the king of the New Israel. This was, however, a radically different type of kingdom (Matthew 27:11-14; John 18:28-19:16).

We could go into great detail about these matters. Suffice to say that so much of the confusion about the restoration of the secular state of Israel, conflict in the Middle East, the supposed promise of the rebuilding of the temple, the 1,000 year or millennial kingdom, etc. is all tangled up because of the confusion of these two kingdoms. More on that another day. For now, don't worry about trying to untangle everything that our LORD Jesus has planned, who or what is the antichrist, when Jesus will return and so forth. Much of that He has kept to Himself.

It is enough to know that He rose on the third day and is coming again to take His children to be with Him in glory (Romans 8:14-30). Be that today, in the year 2012 or 100 years from now, we who believe in Him are safe and secure.

More on this another day.