Prophecies of Revelation: Part 2
“Your way, O God, is in the sanctuary; Who is so great a God as our God?"
Psalms 77:13
Background on part 1: In the first article (which you can read here), we learned that God wants us to read and understand the Book of Revelation. Also, we learned that it's a key to open up the meaning of the prophecies — in the Bible. Now that we have the key, we can start our tour of Revelation.
Taking a Tour
Have you ever been on a tour? I don’t know about you, but I enjoy touring historic sites and ancient wonders. Well, a few years ago my wife and I visited Jamestown, California, and toured Railtown 1897 State Historic Park. At the start of our tour, we were greeted by a man dressed in overalls wearing a striped railroad engineer hat with a train whistle around his neck. He first took us to the old train station and explained the history. Next we toured some old passenger cars. After that we stopped at the train yard. Then we saw the working round house. Of course all this would not be complete without a ride on a vintage steam engine through the country side.
When I study Revelation, it reminds me of that tour. Except, instead of touring an old railway town, we are following John as he tours the heavenly sanctuary!
John wasn’t the only one that saw the heavenly sanctuary. God showed Moses the heavenly sanctuary on Mt. Sinai and told Moses to “see to it that you make [the sanctuary] according to the pattern which was shown you on the mountain” (Exodus 25:40.) Paul tells us in Hebrews 8:5 that the earthly sanctuary was a “copy and shadow of the heavenly.” So the earthly sanctuary that Moses built, with the seven branched candlestick, table of shewbread, altar of incense, and ark of the covenant, was a small scale replica of what was in heaven. So, the more we study and learn about the earthly sanctuary, the more we will understand the heavenly one, and also the book of Revelation. Just as Moses' sanctuary had a holy and most holy place, we see two separate places in Revelation. John then tours each piece of furniture in the two compartments, and with each piece of furniture there is a group of seven.
Just as I was greeted by a train conductor at the start of my tour, John is greeted by his tour guide. Jesus himself (Revelation 1:13). After describing what Christ looked like, John tells about his first stop on the heavenly tour — the seven golden lampstands (Chapters 1-3), representing the seven churches (Revelation 1:20). The number seven represents completeness. This refers to Christ’s complete church, from the days of John to the second coming of Christ. Each church represents the Christian church during successive periods of time over the past 2000 years. The church in John’s day was represented by the first church, Ephesus. We are living in the time of the last church, Laodicea. The letters to each church are/were meant to commend, warn and strengthen Christ’s followers.
The next stop on John’s heavenly tour is the table of shewbread (Revelation 4-7). This is God’s throne in the holy place. In Moses sanctuary, the table of shewbread was on the north side of the sanctuary and directly across from the candlestick. On top of it were two stacks of bread. In Revelation 4:5, we find God’s throne across from the candlesticks. Isaiah 14:13 also tells us that God’s throne is on the side of the North. Jesus is also called “the bread that came down from heaven” (John 6:41). The two stacks of bread on the table of shewbread, represent God the Father and the Son, sitting side by side on their throne. Hebrews 10:12 tells us that when Jesus returned to heaven from His mission here on earth, He sat down next to His Father. Revelation 5 describes this big event — the lamb that was slain returning to His heavenly throne. John then sees another group of seven — seven seals being opened, representing the work of God’s Word throughout history — from the time of John until the return of Christ.
After the table of shewbread, we head to the altar of incense (Revelation 8:2-3). There we hear seven trumpets. These represent God’s judgments/warnings from the time of John until the return of Christ, in response to the prayers of the saints.
After the seven trumpets, another door is opened and John enters the most holy place (Revelation 11:19). There John sees the ark of the covenant and gets a brief overview of the fall of Satan (Revelation 12). The remaining ten chapters of Revelation cover the final scenes of earth’s history. Like with the other pieces of furniture, John also sees a group of seven at the ark of the covenant — seven bowls. These represent the seven last plagues — God’s final judgments to come upon the world (Revelation 15-16). Then John sees Satan and sin destroyed and a new heaven and new earth created.
Call to Action: Come!
Finally, the tour comes to a close. Jesus, our tour guide, gives his final speech, reminding us that He is “coming quickly” and pronouncing a blessing on those who keep His commandments, and imploring people to come! Will you come? Will you “take the water of life freely” (Revelation 22:17)? If so, you too “may have right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city” (Revelation 22:14).
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
