The Revelation of John the Divine (Part 1)
The Revelation of John the Divine
Rev.2-3 describes seven churches, probably by the time of their appearance: 1) Ephesus, 2) Smyrna, 3) Pergamum, 4) Thyateira, 5) Sardis, 6) Philadelphia, 7) Laodicea. It is no coincidence that the story begins with them, since their description is the key to understanding Revelation as a whole. And just as the seven churches describe the entire history of the Church after Jesus Christ, so the story after their description covers the entire history of humankind after the first coming of the Savior.
The First Church in Ephesus (from the first Trinity Sunday — 100-110)
Rev.2:1-6 describes the Church in Ephesus. Rev.2:3 speaks about the difficulties in spreading Christianity: “I also know that you are enduring patiently and bearing up for the sake of my name, and that you have not grown weary.”
Rev.2:4 probably refers to the refusal to transfer estates in favor of Christian communities, which symbolized true brotherly love between members of the church: “But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first.”
The Nicolaitans mentioned in Rev.2:6 were heretics, representing the Gnostics branch and known for debauchery. The Holy apostles Peter and Judas also denounce them in their cathedral epistles (2Pet.2:1), (Jud.1:4). It was the proselyte of Antioch Nicholas who gove start to this heresy, who was one the first seven deacons of Jerusalem (Act.6:5) and fell away from the true faith. Most likely, the Nicolaitans should be understood as any heretics who distort the teaching of the Church.
The time when the Church in Ephesus will be destroyed is defined in the description of the next Church in Smyrna in Rev.2:9: “I know your affliction and your poverty, even though you are rich. I know the slander on the part of those who say that they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan.” Thus, the end of the Church in Ephesus and introduction of the Church in Smyrna are most likely related to the death of the last apostle John the Divine in around 100. Probably, many bishops were Jews at that time. The change of this situation during the Church in the Smyrna must have caused murmur among the Jews.
In this light, Timothy of Ephesus (died in 80) and Polycarp of Smyrna (died in 156) present among the apostolic men look very symbolic. Timothy – the son of a Jewish woman who converted to Christianity,and a Hellene man – was a disciple of the Apostle Paul and the first bishop of Ephesus and the brightest representative of the Church in Ephesus. Whereas the Church in Smyrna could begin with the ordination of Polycarp – a disciple of the Apostle John – as bishop of Smyrna in 110.
The Second Church in Smyrna (110-313)
The second Church in Smyrna is quite easy to identify in Rev.2:8-11 by the words in Rev.2:10: “Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Beware, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison so that you may be tested, and for ten days you will have affliction. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.” “Ten days” here are ten years of the Great Persecution of Christians under Diocletian in 303-313. Here again it confirms that a day in revelations is equal to an earthly year. The words "Be faithful until death" mean that these 10 years of persecution will be at the end of the Church in Smyrna.
The Third Church in Pergamum (313-1370)
Unlike the material poverty of the Church in Smyrna (“I know your affliction and your poverty, even though you are rich”) (Rev.2:9) the following Church in Pergamum is described Rev.2:12-17 as living “where Satan’s throne is.” Here we can see establishment of Christianity as the state religion under Constantine I the Great in 313-321. The words “where Satan’s throne is”, which originally referred to the capital of the Roman Empire (the second beast), should later be understood as the church accepting the functions of legitimizing the monarchs’ secular power in Europe.
Rev.2:13 speaks about Antipas: “Yet you are holding fast to my name, and you did not deny your faith in me even in the days of Antipas my witness, my faithful one, who was killed among you, where Satan lives.” Antipas, after whom the church got its name, was the bishop of Pergamum and was burned in a red-hot copper bull for his zealous confession of the Christian faith. This draws a certain analogy with the persecution of the Donatists in 316-321, who rejected the interference of secular authorities in the Church’s affairs and believed that the main sign of the true church was holiness through the individual perfection of its devotee. Thus, the Donatists showed themselves to be as zealous as Antipas.
В Rev.2:15 again mentions the Nicolaitans, as in the case of the first Church in Ephesus. It is important to note that there was not a single Ecumenical Council during the time of the previous Church in Smyrna, where issues of a doctrinal (dogmatic), ecclesiastical and political, judicial and disciplinary nature were discussed and solved, including any kind of heresy. Perhaps, in the case of the Church in Pergamum, the Nicolaitans can be understood as Catholics or a part of them who considered Christianity to be a tool for political or secular influence.
It is logical to assume that since the Church in Pergamum is “where Satan's throne is”, its end should be attributed to the time when it lost its functions of legitimizing secular power during the so-called “Renaissance humanism” and the “Reformation” that followed. The end of the Church in Pergamum can be precisely determined from the words in Rev.12:6: “And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, so that there she can be nourished for one thousand two hundred sixty days.”, where 1260 days (years) cover the Churches Smyrna and Pergamum, as we will show below. Thus, the end of the Church in Pergamum should be estimated at 1370 (110 + 1260).
The fourth Church in Thyateira (1370–1648)
Rev.2:18-29 describes the Church in Thyateira. The very first lines of Rev.2:19 praise it for its endurance: “I know your works—your love, faith, service, and patient endurance. I know that your last works are greater than the first.” The Church in Thyateira is the only one to have received this characteristic besides the first Church in Ephesus. It should still be noted that the Church in Ephesus have received this praise twice. From this we can make a conclusion about the role of the Church in Thyateira spreading Christianity in the new colonies and in the annexed territories.
This is also confirmed by the lines of Rev.2:26-28: “To everyone who conquers and continues to do my works to the end, I will give authority over the nations; to rule them with an iron rod, as when clay pots are shattered—even as I also received authority from my Father. To the one who conquers I will also give the morning star.” By the “last works”, which are “greater than the first”, we can understand the gradually reducing costs of colonial conquests against the background of increasing benefits from the enlightenment of new peoples.
Another, even clearer proof that the “patient endurance” in the holy scriptures is nothing but the spread of the gospel is the words by Jesus Christ himself: “But as for that in the good soil, these are the ones who, when they hear the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patient endurance.” (Lk.8:15).
The lines of Rev.2:20-24 describe the Reformation in England as the only country where it started from above and was caused by a woman: “But I have this against you: you tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophet and is teaching and beguiling my servants to practice fornication and to eat food sacrificed to idols. I gave her time to repent, but she refuses to repent of her fornication. Beware, I am throwing her on a bed, and those who commit adultery with her I am throwing into great distress, unless they repent of her doings; and I will strike her children dead. And all the churches will know that I am the one who searches minds and hearts, and I will give to each of you as your works deserve. But to the rest of you in Thyatira, who do not hold this teaching, who have not learned what some call ‘the deep things of Satan,’ to you I say, I do not lay on you any other burden.”
It is known that the daughter of the king of Sidon Jezebel married Ahab, the king of Israel, and lured him into worshipping the abominations of Sidon and Tyrian and caused the fall of the Israelites into idolatry. We can assume that it is Anne Boleyn who hides under the name Jezebel – the Queen of England from 1533 to 1536, the second wife of King Henry VIII Tudor. To marry her, Henry VIII broke ties with the Catholic Church in 1532. Anna and Jezebel also have a violent death in common: she was executed in 1536. Anna was a devout Christian in the new humanistic tradition of the Renaissance and had a certain influence on the king’s relations with the papacy.
The words “I gave her time to repent” should be understood as Henry VIII’s decision to restore relations with the Catholic Church and the ascension of Mary I Tudor (1516-1558) to the throne – she was the Queen of England since 1553 and the eldest daughter of Henry VIII from the “legitimate” marriage with Catherine of Aragon. Mary I Tudor was a devout Catholic, for which she received her nicknames Mary the Bloody (or Bloody Mary) and Mary the Catholic.
The words “but she refuses to repent of her fornication. Beware, I am throwing her on a bed, and those who commit adultery with her I am throwing into great distress, unless they repent of her doings; and I will strike her children dead” in this context should be understood as the ascension of Elizabeth I to the throne of England in 1558 – the youngest daughter of King Henry VIII and his second “illegal” wife Anne Boleyn, who finally approved the Reformation. The “great distress” here is the falling of Protestants and its other branches away from the grace of God.
The fifth Church in Sardis (1648–1897)
The year of emergence of the Church in Sardis is conventionally the year of signing the Peace of Westphalia (1648), which equalized the rights of Catholics and Protestants (Calvinists and Lutherans) and proclaimed the principle of religious tolerance, after which the religious factor no longer played a significant role in European politics. Thus, the threats given to Jezebel and her “children” in the description of the Church in Thyateira were finally fulfilled (Rev.2:23). We can clearly see the fact that God condemns “making kings” according to the principles of convenience, equating it with idolatry, from the words from the book of the prophet Hosea: “They made kings, but not through me; they set up princes, but without my knowledge. With their silver and gold they made idols for their own destruction.” (Hos.8:4).
The late XVII – early XVIII century will be marked by the coming of the third, the penultimate beast (the European Empire: England, France, Germany, and Russia). It is hard to determine the exact time when European World Empire appeared. We can talk about more or less exact time of appearance of one of the beast’s four heads – the Russian Empire.
Indeed, the rise of Russia and its formation as a world power takes place under Peter I – the last Russian tsar (since 1682) and the first Emperor of Russia (since 1721).
As for the Church, the main ambition of Peter I was its submission to the monarch. Peter perceived the clergy as “not the other state”, which must obey the general state laws “equally with other estates.’ Peter’s travels in the Protestant countries of Europe strengthened his views on the relationship between the state and the church. At his informal meetings with William of Orange in 1698, Peter attentively listened to his advice to make a Russian Church similar to an Anglican Church by declaring himself its head.
On January 24, 1701, the Monastery Order was restored. And on January 25, 1721, Peter signed a manifesto on establishing the Ecclesiastical College, which soon got its new name of the Most Holy Governing Synod.
By this time, all the beast’s heads had put the church at their service in one way or another.
In this context, the words in Rev.3:1 should be understood as a formal rise of the church with simultaneous spiritual decline: “I know your works; you have a name of being alive, but you are dead.”
In Rev.3:3, there is the only line when the word “thief” is used in relation to the churches: “Remember then what you received and heard; obey it, and repent. If you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come to you.” Thus, the end of the Church in Sardis will be sudden and unexpected by anyone and probably associated with the coming of the last beast.
The word “thief” and the words with a similar meaning can be found in only one more place of the Revelation, namely in Rev.:16:15: “See, I am coming like a thief! Blessed is the one who stays awake and is clothed, not going about naked and exposed to shame.” Hence it can be assumed that Rev.:16:15describes the events that took place at the time of the Church in Philadelphia.
The sixth Church in Philadelphia (1897–1985)
Rev.3:7-8 hints at the time the Church in Philadelphia appeared: “And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: These are the words of the holy one, the true one, who has the key of David, who opens and no one will shut, who shuts and no one opens: “I know your works. Look, I have set before you an open door, which no one is able to shut. I know that you have but little power, and yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name.”
Rev.15:4-5 says: “All nations will come and worship before you, for your judgments have been revealed.” After this I looked, and the temple of the tent of witness in heaven was opened.” From this we can assume that the Church in Philadelphia will replace the Church in Sardis together with “seven plagues, which are the last, for with them the wrath of God is ended.” Indeed, can one imagine a more sincere and brotherly love between the members of the Church in any period other than the famine and wars that began after the coming of the last beast in the late XIX – early XX century.
The appearance of the Church in Philadelphia can be conditionally attributed to the beginning of the reign of the first “feather” from 3Ezr.11:12 – McKinley in 1897, and the end – after 7 years, or the year 2556.75 from the book of the prophet Ezekiel, when Christians will be oppressed by Gog (State), exchanging the perishable wealth for imperishable: “Then those who live in the towns of Israel will go out and make fires of the weapons and burn them—bucklers and shields, bows and arrows, handpikes and spears—and they will make fires of them for seven years. They will not take wood from the field nor cut down any from the forests, because they will make fires with the weapons; and they will plunder those who plundered them, and pillage those who pillaged them,” says the Lord God.” (Ezek.39:9-10). See the interpretation of the Book of the Prophet Ezekiel below.
The seventh Church in Laodicea (from 1985)
From here we also conclude that the Church in Laodicea described in Rev.3:14-22 belongs to our time of the end. This is also indicated by Rev.3:17: “For you say, ‘I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing.” and Rev.3:18: “Therefore I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire so that you may be rich.” The same we can read in 3Ezr.16:22: “Indeed, provisions will be so cheap upon earth that people will imagine that peace is assured for them” and 3Ezr.16:74: “Then the tested quality of my elect shall be manifest, like gold that is tested by fire.”,which describe the very last days.
The words of Jesus Christ addressed to the Church in Laodicea is another proof of this: “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.” (Rev.3:20). What kind of “supper” is meant here? The only place in the Revelation where the “supper” is mentioned is the description of the fall of the Contemporary empire personified by the beast and the false prophet in 2023, as we will show further: “Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and with a loud voice he called to all the birds that fly in midheaven, “Come, gather for the great supper of God,” (Rev.19:17)… “And the beast was captured, and with it the false prophet who had performed in its presence the signs by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped its image. These two were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur.” (Rev.19:20).
Thus, it can be concluded that some Christians of the Church in Laodicea will expect the fall of the Contemporary Empire and the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.
Definitions of the Revelation of John the Divine
The “head”, “horn” and “beast” terms in the Revelation of John the Divine are similar to those in the books of Ezra and Daniel. At the same time, here we also find a few other key terms, and without defining them it is impossible to understand the Revelation.
Star, lampstand, spirit
Rev.1:20 clearly defined stars and lampstands: “As for the mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand, and the seven golden lampstands: the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.”
And Rev.4:5 defines the spirits of God, who are also the seven churches: “and in front of the throne burn seven flaming torches, which are the seven spirits of God.”
The moon and the sun
From the lines of Rev.12:1 we can understand what these are: “A great portent appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars.” and Rev.21:23-24: “And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God is its light, and its lamp is the Lamb. The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it.”
The wife here is the Church, the sun is the Word of the Father as a robe for the saints, and the moon is the saints who live on earth (“under their feet”) and reflect the sunlight. After the end, the luminaries will no longer be needed as intermediaries, since Jesus Christ himself will become the “lamp.”
Mountain
In Rev.17:9-10 we can read: “This calls for a mind that has wisdom: the seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman is seated; also, they are seven kings, of whom five have fallen, one is living, and the other has not yet come; and when he comes, he must remain only a little while.”
The mountain here is the head of the beast, which means a state, or a group of states united by the common interests (the center of power).
Smoke of the incense and smoke from the shaft
In Rev.8:4 we can read: “And the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, rose before God from the hand of the angel.”
Thus, the smoke of the incense is prayers ascending to God. On the other hand, the “smoke from the shaft” is either curses or prayers to false gods: “He opened the shaft of the bottomless pit, and from the shaft rose smoke like the smoke of a great furnace, and the sun and the air were darkened with the smoke from the shaft.” (Rev.9:2).
Horse
In the Revelation, horses are mentioned in regard to three main meanings: a white horse, a horse equipped for battle, and other horses (red, black, and pale).
The white horse is mentioned in the following lines:
In Rev.6.2: “I looked, and there was a white horse! Its rider had a bow; a crown was given to him, and he came out conquering and to conquer.”
In Rev.19:11: “Then I saw heaven opened, and there was a white horse! Its rider is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war.”
In Rev.19:14: “And the armies of heaven, wearing fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses.”
Hence, we can assume that the white horse is the Holy Spirit.
About horses equipped for battle, we read the following: “In appearance the locusts were like horses equipped for battle. On their heads were what looked like crowns of gold; their faces were like human faces,” (Rev.9:7) and “The number of the troops of cavalry was two hundred million; I heard their number. And this was how I saw the horses in my vision: the riders wore breastplates the color of fire and of sapphire and of sulfur; the heads of the horses were like lions' heads, and fire and smoke and sulfur came out of their mouths.” (Rev.9:16-17).
From the words “were like human faces”, “two hundred million” and “fire and smoke and sulfur came out of their mouths” we can assume that the horses equipped for battle are spirits of malice, demons uttering curses (smoke).
A more precise definition of the white, red, black, and pale horses we can find in the book of the prophet Zachariah: “Then I turned and raised my eyes and looked, and behold, four chariots were coming from between two mountains, and the mountains were mountains of bronze. With the first chariot were red horses, with the second chariot black horses, with the third chariot white horses, and with the fourth chariot dappled horses--strong steeds. Then I answered and said to the angel who talked with me, «What are these, my lord?» And the angel answered and said to me, «These are four spirits of heaven, who go out from their station before the Lord of all the earth. The one with the black horses is going to the north country, the white are going after them, and the dappled are going toward the south country.» Then the strong steeds went out, eager to go, that they might walk to and fro throughout the earth. And He said, «Go, walk to and fro throughout the earth.» So they walked to and fro throughout the earth. And He called to me, and spoke to me, saying, «See, those who go toward the north country have given rest to My Spirit in the north country.” (Zah.6:1-8).
That is, the horses “are the four winds of heaven going out, after presenting themselves before the Lord.” The white horse is the Holy Spirit. The red horse is the spirit of trial that comes to those who have heard the Word of God. The black horse is the spirit of zeal for the Lord our God. And the pale or dappled gray horse is the spirit of the “death” of those who refused the Word of God. The proof of this you can find in the paragraph “The General description of the plan of God” in the interpretation of chapters 6 and 7 of the Revelation.
In relation to the above-presented prophecy of Zachariah (Zah.6:1-8) this means the following. After the collapse of the Mongol Empire, or “a third kingdom of bronze” from Dan.2:39 (“I looked up and saw four chariots coming out from between two mountains—mountains of bronze” (Zah.6:1)), or with the coming of the European Empire, or “a fourth kingdom of iron” from Dan.2:40, the Word of God will be spread all over the earth: “Go, patrol the earth. So they patrolled the earth” (Zah.6:7). Moreover, the red horses will be the first to come, personifying the spirit of trial that comes to those who have heard the Word of God, then will be the black horses, or the spirit of zeal for the Lord our God, then the white horses, or the Holy Spirit to those who have accepted It, and then the pale horses, or the spirit of “death” for those who rejected the Word of God: “The first chariot had red horses, the second chariot black horses, the third chariot white horses, and the fourth chariot dappled gray horses” (Zah.6:2-3).
As the result, the Word of God will be accepted in the northern countries and rejected in the southern countries: “The one with the black horses is going to the north country, the white are going after them, and the dappled are going toward the south country.” (Zah.6.6), “Then he cried out to me, “Lo, those who go toward the north country have set my spirit at rest in the north country.” (Zah.6.8).
The holy city and the great city
In Rev.11, “the holy city” and “the great city” are opposed to each other: “But do not measure the court outside the temple; leave that out, for it is given over to the nations, and they will trample over the holy city for forty-two months.» (Rev.11:2), “And their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city that is prophetically called Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified.” (Rev.11:8).
Whereas in Rev.21:10 the characteristics “holy” and “great” are used together: “And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God.”
So, the holy city is not a place, but people going to salvation and seeking the glory of God, whereas the great city is people going to destruction and seeking human glory. After the Last Judgment, there will be only one city, and human glory will become the glory of God.
Beast as a contrast to animal
The beast in Revelation, just as in other prophetic books, is a kind of force that opposes itself to God. The beast from the bottomless pit, the sea, and the earth is described in detail below.
It is worth noting that Ezek.1:15-21 describes 4 wheels:
“As I looked at the living creatures, I saw a wheel on the earth beside the living creatures, one for each of the four of them.
As for the appearance of the wheels and their construction: their appearance was like the gleaming of beryl; and the four had the same form, their construction being something like a wheel within a wheel.
When they moved, they moved in any of the four directions without veering as they moved.
Their rims were tall and awesome, for the rims of all four were full of eyes all around.
When the living creatures moved, the wheels moved beside them; and when the living creatures rose from the earth, the wheels rose.
Wherever the spirit would go, they went, and the wheels rose along with them; for the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels.
When they moved, the others moved; when they stopped, the others stopped; and when they rose from the earth, the wheels rose along with them; for the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels.”
Here, the four wheels mean the principle of cosmology: the first wheel is the rotation of the Earth around its axis (maybe, this refers to each of the planets), the second is the rotation of the Earth around the Sun (or, respectively, the rotation of each planet around its star), the third is the rotation of the Sun as part of the galaxy (or each of the stars), and the fourth is the rotation of the galaxy as part of the universe (or each of the galaxies).
It looks like this in the picture: https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Метагалактика#/media/File:Observable_universe_logarithmic_illustration.png
In this case, it is easy to explain:
1. Why the “wheel is within a wheel”.
2. Why they moved “without veering”.
3. Why “the rims of all four were full of eyes all around”: the eyes are, perhaps, the light of planets or stars.
4. Why these wheels are under the Throne of God.
Thus, the beast is opposed to the animal. The animal (it means a domesticated animal) is subject to the owner’s will, i.e. the “spirit’s” or God’s. And the beast (it means a wild animal) is dangerous, unpredictable, and uncontrollable.
Thousand years and a day
Just as in the books of Ezra and Daniel, a day means an earthly year. The main confirmation of this is the words in Rev.2:10: “Beware, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison so that you may be tested, and for ten days you will have affliction.”,referring to the ten years of the Great Persecution of Christians under Diocletian in 303-313.
Thus, a month is 30 years, and a year is 365.25 years.
The only exception is “day and night”, which characterizes continuity: “For this reason they are before the throne of God, and worship him day and night within his temple, and the one who is seated on the throne will shelter them.” (Rev.7:15).
Besides the interpretation of the books of Ezra, Daniel and the Revelation of John the Divine, an indirect confirmation of the fact that a day is a year is the words of the apostle Peter in 2Pet.3:8: “But do not ignore this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like one day.”
From here we also get that the thousand years from Rev.20:4: “They came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years”, is a single pay promised by Jesus Christ in Mat.20:2: “Now when he had agreed with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard.” For those who are likened to “the first resurrection” (Rev.20:5), this “reign” will last 1,000 years, while for people on earth it may be 1 day.
Why does the reign of Christ last exactly 1,000 years, no more and no less? If we assume that the Resurrection of Jesus Christ was in the year 30 (according to the interpretation of the Book of Daniel by A.P. Lopukhin, chapter 9, Dan.9:27 “Jesus Christ died in 30 AD: that year, the 15th of Nisan, the day when the Jews ate Easter and on which Christ was crucified, was Friday”), and the Second Coming is expected in 2030, the period when people could be saved by believing in Jesus Christ, will last exactly 2,000 years. At the same time, for those who will be likened to the “first resurrection” (Rev.20:5) at the beginning of this period, this “reign” will last 2,000 years, while for those who likened at the end, it will be 1 day only. And on average, all those who were likened to the “first resurrection” (Rev.20:5) will reign 1,000 years. Someone may think it is unfair, because the single payment was promised (“a denarius a day” — Mat.20:2). But it seems that 1,000 years is an earthly estimation of the Heavenly Kingdom, where time may not matter at all, and the single payment is mainly that the death “has no power” over them: “Blessed and holy are those who share in the first resurrection. Over these the second death has no power.” (Rev.20:6)
Here we’d like to give two more proofs that a day in the prophetic books is equal to an earthly year.
The first can be found in the book of the prophet Isaiah: “And this shall be the sign for you: This year eat what grows of itself, and in the second year what springs from that; then in the third year sow, reap, plant vineyards, and eat their fruit. The surviving remnant of the house of Judah shall again take root downward, and bear fruit upward; for from Jerusalem a remnant shall go out, and from Mount Zion a band of survivors. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.” (Is.37:30-32).
“What grows of itself” and “what springs from that” this is seeds from the parable of the sower: “Hear then the parable of the sower. When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what is sown in the heart; this is what was sown on the path. As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; yet such a person has no root, but endures only for a while, and when trouble or persecution arises on account of the word, that person immediately falls away. As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the lure of wealth choke the word, and it yields nothing. But as for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.” (Mat.13:18-23).
Thus, since Jerusalem was sieged by Assyrian king Sennacherib in 701 BC, for one year, or for the first 365.25 years, the house of Judah will give extremely few people who “hear and understand the word” (“This year eat what grows of itself”), and even less during the next year (“in the second year what springs from that”), in the third year he harvest will be huge (“sow, reap, plant vineyards, and eat their fruit”). Of course, the reason for such a huge harvest is the preaching of Jesus Christ, as you can see from the words: “The surviving remnant of the house of Judah shall again take root downward, and bear fruit upward; for from Jerusalem a remnant shall go out, and from Mount Zion a band of survivors.” (Is.37-31).
Indeed, if we deduct 365.25 x 2 from 701 BC, we get the year 29-30, the year of the Resurrection of the Lord and the foundation of the Christian Church.
The second confirmation is found in the book of Ezekiel, where the Lord compares the day of the prophet’s lying on each side with the year of the iniquities of the “house of Israel” and the “house of Judah”:
“And you, O mortal, take a brick and set it before you. On it portray a city, Jerusalem; and put siegeworks against it, and build a siege wall against it, and cast up a ramp against it; set camps also against it, and plant battering rams against it all around. Then take an iron plate and place it as an iron wall between you and the city; set your face toward it, and let it be in a state of siege, and press the siege against it. This is a sign for the house of Israel. Then lie on your left side, and place the punishment of the house of Israel upon it; you shall bear their punishment for the number of the days that you lie there. For I assign to you a number of days, three hundred ninety days, equal to the number of the years of their punishment; and so you shall bear the punishment of the house of Israel.When you have completed these, you shall lie down a second time, but on your right side, and bear the punishment of the house of Judah; forty days I assign you, one day for each year.” (Ezek.4:1-6).
The Church Slavonic version translated from the LXX list speaks about 150 and 190 years instead of 390, which gives about 340 years (Ezek.4:4-5). 190 years refer to the iniquity of the northern kingdom of Israel for two of their iniquities (“двѣ́ непра́вды и́хъ”): falling away from the dynasty of David and creating an alternative cult of the golden calf (“И а́зъ да́хъ тебѣ́ двѣ́ непра́вды и́хъ въ число́ дні́й, въ де́вятьдесятъ и сто́ дні́й” (Ezek.4:5)). And 150 years belong to the iniquity of the southern kingdom of Judah for trusting in the king of Assyria instead of God (“да положи́ши непра́вды до́му Изра́илева на не́мъ, по числу́ дні́й пятьдеся́тъ и сто́” (Ezek.4:4)).
These 340 years include the period between the division of the kingdom of Israel of David and Solomon into the southern kingdom of Judah and the northern kingdom of Israel after the death of King Solomon in 928 BC and up to the siege of Jerusalem in 588 BC (928 – 588 = 340). And 40 years are the years that have passed since the Resurrection of the Lord and the foundation of the Christian Church in 30 up to the siege of Jerusalem by the Romans in 70. In the first case, it is the entire “house of Israel” that is punished (which usually refers to all believers in the Lord) for improper fulfillment of the Old Testament, which is meant by the words “lie on your left side.” In the second case, only ‘the house of Judah” is punished for rejecting the New Testament, which refers to the Jews by blood, as can be seen from the words “lie down a second time, but on your right side.”
In both cases, the siege resulted in the complete destruction of Jerusalem and the Jerusalem Temple.
Rev.2-3 describes seven churches, probably by the time of their appearance: 1) Ephesus, 2) Smyrna, 3) Pergamum, 4) Thyateira, 5) Sardis, 6) Philadelphia, 7) Laodicea. It is no coincidence that the story begins with them, since their description is the key to understanding Revelation as a whole. And just as the seven churches describe the entire history of the Church after Jesus Christ, so the story after their description covers the entire history of humankind after the first coming of the Savior.
The First Church in Ephesus (from the first Trinity Sunday — 100-110)
Rev.2:1-6 describes the Church in Ephesus. Rev.2:3 speaks about the difficulties in spreading Christianity: “I also know that you are enduring patiently and bearing up for the sake of my name, and that you have not grown weary.”
Rev.2:4 probably refers to the refusal to transfer estates in favor of Christian communities, which symbolized true brotherly love between members of the church: “But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first.”
The Nicolaitans mentioned in Rev.2:6 were heretics, representing the Gnostics branch and known for debauchery. The Holy apostles Peter and Judas also denounce them in their cathedral epistles (2Pet.2:1), (Jud.1:4). It was the proselyte of Antioch Nicholas who gove start to this heresy, who was one the first seven deacons of Jerusalem (Act.6:5) and fell away from the true faith. Most likely, the Nicolaitans should be understood as any heretics who distort the teaching of the Church.
The time when the Church in Ephesus will be destroyed is defined in the description of the next Church in Smyrna in Rev.2:9: “I know your affliction and your poverty, even though you are rich. I know the slander on the part of those who say that they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan.” Thus, the end of the Church in Ephesus and introduction of the Church in Smyrna are most likely related to the death of the last apostle John the Divine in around 100. Probably, many bishops were Jews at that time. The change of this situation during the Church in the Smyrna must have caused murmur among the Jews.
In this light, Timothy of Ephesus (died in 80) and Polycarp of Smyrna (died in 156) present among the apostolic men look very symbolic. Timothy – the son of a Jewish woman who converted to Christianity,and a Hellene man – was a disciple of the Apostle Paul and the first bishop of Ephesus and the brightest representative of the Church in Ephesus. Whereas the Church in Smyrna could begin with the ordination of Polycarp – a disciple of the Apostle John – as bishop of Smyrna in 110.
The Second Church in Smyrna (110-313)
The second Church in Smyrna is quite easy to identify in Rev.2:8-11 by the words in Rev.2:10: “Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Beware, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison so that you may be tested, and for ten days you will have affliction. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.” “Ten days” here are ten years of the Great Persecution of Christians under Diocletian in 303-313. Here again it confirms that a day in revelations is equal to an earthly year. The words "Be faithful until death" mean that these 10 years of persecution will be at the end of the Church in Smyrna.
The Third Church in Pergamum (313-1370)
Unlike the material poverty of the Church in Smyrna (“I know your affliction and your poverty, even though you are rich”) (Rev.2:9) the following Church in Pergamum is described Rev.2:12-17 as living “where Satan’s throne is.” Here we can see establishment of Christianity as the state religion under Constantine I the Great in 313-321. The words “where Satan’s throne is”, which originally referred to the capital of the Roman Empire (the second beast), should later be understood as the church accepting the functions of legitimizing the monarchs’ secular power in Europe.
Rev.2:13 speaks about Antipas: “Yet you are holding fast to my name, and you did not deny your faith in me even in the days of Antipas my witness, my faithful one, who was killed among you, where Satan lives.” Antipas, after whom the church got its name, was the bishop of Pergamum and was burned in a red-hot copper bull for his zealous confession of the Christian faith. This draws a certain analogy with the persecution of the Donatists in 316-321, who rejected the interference of secular authorities in the Church’s affairs and believed that the main sign of the true church was holiness through the individual perfection of its devotee. Thus, the Donatists showed themselves to be as zealous as Antipas.
В Rev.2:15 again mentions the Nicolaitans, as in the case of the first Church in Ephesus. It is important to note that there was not a single Ecumenical Council during the time of the previous Church in Smyrna, where issues of a doctrinal (dogmatic), ecclesiastical and political, judicial and disciplinary nature were discussed and solved, including any kind of heresy. Perhaps, in the case of the Church in Pergamum, the Nicolaitans can be understood as Catholics or a part of them who considered Christianity to be a tool for political or secular influence.
It is logical to assume that since the Church in Pergamum is “where Satan's throne is”, its end should be attributed to the time when it lost its functions of legitimizing secular power during the so-called “Renaissance humanism” and the “Reformation” that followed. The end of the Church in Pergamum can be precisely determined from the words in Rev.12:6: “And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, so that there she can be nourished for one thousand two hundred sixty days.”, where 1260 days (years) cover the Churches Smyrna and Pergamum, as we will show below. Thus, the end of the Church in Pergamum should be estimated at 1370 (110 + 1260).
The fourth Church in Thyateira (1370–1648)
Rev.2:18-29 describes the Church in Thyateira. The very first lines of Rev.2:19 praise it for its endurance: “I know your works—your love, faith, service, and patient endurance. I know that your last works are greater than the first.” The Church in Thyateira is the only one to have received this characteristic besides the first Church in Ephesus. It should still be noted that the Church in Ephesus have received this praise twice. From this we can make a conclusion about the role of the Church in Thyateira spreading Christianity in the new colonies and in the annexed territories.
This is also confirmed by the lines of Rev.2:26-28: “To everyone who conquers and continues to do my works to the end, I will give authority over the nations; to rule them with an iron rod, as when clay pots are shattered—even as I also received authority from my Father. To the one who conquers I will also give the morning star.” By the “last works”, which are “greater than the first”, we can understand the gradually reducing costs of colonial conquests against the background of increasing benefits from the enlightenment of new peoples.
Another, even clearer proof that the “patient endurance” in the holy scriptures is nothing but the spread of the gospel is the words by Jesus Christ himself: “But as for that in the good soil, these are the ones who, when they hear the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patient endurance.” (Lk.8:15).
The lines of Rev.2:20-24 describe the Reformation in England as the only country where it started from above and was caused by a woman: “But I have this against you: you tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophet and is teaching and beguiling my servants to practice fornication and to eat food sacrificed to idols. I gave her time to repent, but she refuses to repent of her fornication. Beware, I am throwing her on a bed, and those who commit adultery with her I am throwing into great distress, unless they repent of her doings; and I will strike her children dead. And all the churches will know that I am the one who searches minds and hearts, and I will give to each of you as your works deserve. But to the rest of you in Thyatira, who do not hold this teaching, who have not learned what some call ‘the deep things of Satan,’ to you I say, I do not lay on you any other burden.”
It is known that the daughter of the king of Sidon Jezebel married Ahab, the king of Israel, and lured him into worshipping the abominations of Sidon and Tyrian and caused the fall of the Israelites into idolatry. We can assume that it is Anne Boleyn who hides under the name Jezebel – the Queen of England from 1533 to 1536, the second wife of King Henry VIII Tudor. To marry her, Henry VIII broke ties with the Catholic Church in 1532. Anna and Jezebel also have a violent death in common: she was executed in 1536. Anna was a devout Christian in the new humanistic tradition of the Renaissance and had a certain influence on the king’s relations with the papacy.
The words “I gave her time to repent” should be understood as Henry VIII’s decision to restore relations with the Catholic Church and the ascension of Mary I Tudor (1516-1558) to the throne – she was the Queen of England since 1553 and the eldest daughter of Henry VIII from the “legitimate” marriage with Catherine of Aragon. Mary I Tudor was a devout Catholic, for which she received her nicknames Mary the Bloody (or Bloody Mary) and Mary the Catholic.
The words “but she refuses to repent of her fornication. Beware, I am throwing her on a bed, and those who commit adultery with her I am throwing into great distress, unless they repent of her doings; and I will strike her children dead” in this context should be understood as the ascension of Elizabeth I to the throne of England in 1558 – the youngest daughter of King Henry VIII and his second “illegal” wife Anne Boleyn, who finally approved the Reformation. The “great distress” here is the falling of Protestants and its other branches away from the grace of God.
The fifth Church in Sardis (1648–1897)
The year of emergence of the Church in Sardis is conventionally the year of signing the Peace of Westphalia (1648), which equalized the rights of Catholics and Protestants (Calvinists and Lutherans) and proclaimed the principle of religious tolerance, after which the religious factor no longer played a significant role in European politics. Thus, the threats given to Jezebel and her “children” in the description of the Church in Thyateira were finally fulfilled (Rev.2:23). We can clearly see the fact that God condemns “making kings” according to the principles of convenience, equating it with idolatry, from the words from the book of the prophet Hosea: “They made kings, but not through me; they set up princes, but without my knowledge. With their silver and gold they made idols for their own destruction.” (Hos.8:4).
The late XVII – early XVIII century will be marked by the coming of the third, the penultimate beast (the European Empire: England, France, Germany, and Russia). It is hard to determine the exact time when European World Empire appeared. We can talk about more or less exact time of appearance of one of the beast’s four heads – the Russian Empire.
Indeed, the rise of Russia and its formation as a world power takes place under Peter I – the last Russian tsar (since 1682) and the first Emperor of Russia (since 1721).
As for the Church, the main ambition of Peter I was its submission to the monarch. Peter perceived the clergy as “not the other state”, which must obey the general state laws “equally with other estates.’ Peter’s travels in the Protestant countries of Europe strengthened his views on the relationship between the state and the church. At his informal meetings with William of Orange in 1698, Peter attentively listened to his advice to make a Russian Church similar to an Anglican Church by declaring himself its head.
On January 24, 1701, the Monastery Order was restored. And on January 25, 1721, Peter signed a manifesto on establishing the Ecclesiastical College, which soon got its new name of the Most Holy Governing Synod.
By this time, all the beast’s heads had put the church at their service in one way or another.
In this context, the words in Rev.3:1 should be understood as a formal rise of the church with simultaneous spiritual decline: “I know your works; you have a name of being alive, but you are dead.”
In Rev.3:3, there is the only line when the word “thief” is used in relation to the churches: “Remember then what you received and heard; obey it, and repent. If you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come to you.” Thus, the end of the Church in Sardis will be sudden and unexpected by anyone and probably associated with the coming of the last beast.
The word “thief” and the words with a similar meaning can be found in only one more place of the Revelation, namely in Rev.:16:15: “See, I am coming like a thief! Blessed is the one who stays awake and is clothed, not going about naked and exposed to shame.” Hence it can be assumed that Rev.:16:15describes the events that took place at the time of the Church in Philadelphia.
The sixth Church in Philadelphia (1897–1985)
Rev.3:7-8 hints at the time the Church in Philadelphia appeared: “And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: These are the words of the holy one, the true one, who has the key of David, who opens and no one will shut, who shuts and no one opens: “I know your works. Look, I have set before you an open door, which no one is able to shut. I know that you have but little power, and yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name.”
Rev.15:4-5 says: “All nations will come and worship before you, for your judgments have been revealed.” After this I looked, and the temple of the tent of witness in heaven was opened.” From this we can assume that the Church in Philadelphia will replace the Church in Sardis together with “seven plagues, which are the last, for with them the wrath of God is ended.” Indeed, can one imagine a more sincere and brotherly love between the members of the Church in any period other than the famine and wars that began after the coming of the last beast in the late XIX – early XX century.
The appearance of the Church in Philadelphia can be conditionally attributed to the beginning of the reign of the first “feather” from 3Ezr.11:12 – McKinley in 1897, and the end – after 7 years, or the year 2556.75 from the book of the prophet Ezekiel, when Christians will be oppressed by Gog (State), exchanging the perishable wealth for imperishable: “Then those who live in the towns of Israel will go out and make fires of the weapons and burn them—bucklers and shields, bows and arrows, handpikes and spears—and they will make fires of them for seven years. They will not take wood from the field nor cut down any from the forests, because they will make fires with the weapons; and they will plunder those who plundered them, and pillage those who pillaged them,” says the Lord God.” (Ezek.39:9-10). See the interpretation of the Book of the Prophet Ezekiel below.
The seventh Church in Laodicea (from 1985)
From here we also conclude that the Church in Laodicea described in Rev.3:14-22 belongs to our time of the end. This is also indicated by Rev.3:17: “For you say, ‘I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing.” and Rev.3:18: “Therefore I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire so that you may be rich.” The same we can read in 3Ezr.16:22: “Indeed, provisions will be so cheap upon earth that people will imagine that peace is assured for them” and 3Ezr.16:74: “Then the tested quality of my elect shall be manifest, like gold that is tested by fire.”,which describe the very last days.
The words of Jesus Christ addressed to the Church in Laodicea is another proof of this: “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.” (Rev.3:20). What kind of “supper” is meant here? The only place in the Revelation where the “supper” is mentioned is the description of the fall of the Contemporary empire personified by the beast and the false prophet in 2023, as we will show further: “Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and with a loud voice he called to all the birds that fly in midheaven, “Come, gather for the great supper of God,” (Rev.19:17)… “And the beast was captured, and with it the false prophet who had performed in its presence the signs by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped its image. These two were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur.” (Rev.19:20).
Thus, it can be concluded that some Christians of the Church in Laodicea will expect the fall of the Contemporary Empire and the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.
Definitions of the Revelation of John the Divine
The “head”, “horn” and “beast” terms in the Revelation of John the Divine are similar to those in the books of Ezra and Daniel. At the same time, here we also find a few other key terms, and without defining them it is impossible to understand the Revelation.
Star, lampstand, spirit
Rev.1:20 clearly defined stars and lampstands: “As for the mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand, and the seven golden lampstands: the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.”
And Rev.4:5 defines the spirits of God, who are also the seven churches: “and in front of the throne burn seven flaming torches, which are the seven spirits of God.”
The moon and the sun
From the lines of Rev.12:1 we can understand what these are: “A great portent appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars.” and Rev.21:23-24: “And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God is its light, and its lamp is the Lamb. The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it.”
The wife here is the Church, the sun is the Word of the Father as a robe for the saints, and the moon is the saints who live on earth (“under their feet”) and reflect the sunlight. After the end, the luminaries will no longer be needed as intermediaries, since Jesus Christ himself will become the “lamp.”
Mountain
In Rev.17:9-10 we can read: “This calls for a mind that has wisdom: the seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman is seated; also, they are seven kings, of whom five have fallen, one is living, and the other has not yet come; and when he comes, he must remain only a little while.”
The mountain here is the head of the beast, which means a state, or a group of states united by the common interests (the center of power).
Smoke of the incense and smoke from the shaft
In Rev.8:4 we can read: “And the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, rose before God from the hand of the angel.”
Thus, the smoke of the incense is prayers ascending to God. On the other hand, the “smoke from the shaft” is either curses or prayers to false gods: “He opened the shaft of the bottomless pit, and from the shaft rose smoke like the smoke of a great furnace, and the sun and the air were darkened with the smoke from the shaft.” (Rev.9:2).
Horse
In the Revelation, horses are mentioned in regard to three main meanings: a white horse, a horse equipped for battle, and other horses (red, black, and pale).
The white horse is mentioned in the following lines:
In Rev.6.2: “I looked, and there was a white horse! Its rider had a bow; a crown was given to him, and he came out conquering and to conquer.”
In Rev.19:11: “Then I saw heaven opened, and there was a white horse! Its rider is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war.”
In Rev.19:14: “And the armies of heaven, wearing fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses.”
Hence, we can assume that the white horse is the Holy Spirit.
About horses equipped for battle, we read the following: “In appearance the locusts were like horses equipped for battle. On their heads were what looked like crowns of gold; their faces were like human faces,” (Rev.9:7) and “The number of the troops of cavalry was two hundred million; I heard their number. And this was how I saw the horses in my vision: the riders wore breastplates the color of fire and of sapphire and of sulfur; the heads of the horses were like lions' heads, and fire and smoke and sulfur came out of their mouths.” (Rev.9:16-17).
From the words “were like human faces”, “two hundred million” and “fire and smoke and sulfur came out of their mouths” we can assume that the horses equipped for battle are spirits of malice, demons uttering curses (smoke).
A more precise definition of the white, red, black, and pale horses we can find in the book of the prophet Zachariah: “Then I turned and raised my eyes and looked, and behold, four chariots were coming from between two mountains, and the mountains were mountains of bronze. With the first chariot were red horses, with the second chariot black horses, with the third chariot white horses, and with the fourth chariot dappled horses--strong steeds. Then I answered and said to the angel who talked with me, «What are these, my lord?» And the angel answered and said to me, «These are four spirits of heaven, who go out from their station before the Lord of all the earth. The one with the black horses is going to the north country, the white are going after them, and the dappled are going toward the south country.» Then the strong steeds went out, eager to go, that they might walk to and fro throughout the earth. And He said, «Go, walk to and fro throughout the earth.» So they walked to and fro throughout the earth. And He called to me, and spoke to me, saying, «See, those who go toward the north country have given rest to My Spirit in the north country.” (Zah.6:1-8).
That is, the horses “are the four winds of heaven going out, after presenting themselves before the Lord.” The white horse is the Holy Spirit. The red horse is the spirit of trial that comes to those who have heard the Word of God. The black horse is the spirit of zeal for the Lord our God. And the pale or dappled gray horse is the spirit of the “death” of those who refused the Word of God. The proof of this you can find in the paragraph “The General description of the plan of God” in the interpretation of chapters 6 and 7 of the Revelation.
In relation to the above-presented prophecy of Zachariah (Zah.6:1-8) this means the following. After the collapse of the Mongol Empire, or “a third kingdom of bronze” from Dan.2:39 (“I looked up and saw four chariots coming out from between two mountains—mountains of bronze” (Zah.6:1)), or with the coming of the European Empire, or “a fourth kingdom of iron” from Dan.2:40, the Word of God will be spread all over the earth: “Go, patrol the earth. So they patrolled the earth” (Zah.6:7). Moreover, the red horses will be the first to come, personifying the spirit of trial that comes to those who have heard the Word of God, then will be the black horses, or the spirit of zeal for the Lord our God, then the white horses, or the Holy Spirit to those who have accepted It, and then the pale horses, or the spirit of “death” for those who rejected the Word of God: “The first chariot had red horses, the second chariot black horses, the third chariot white horses, and the fourth chariot dappled gray horses” (Zah.6:2-3).
As the result, the Word of God will be accepted in the northern countries and rejected in the southern countries: “The one with the black horses is going to the north country, the white are going after them, and the dappled are going toward the south country.” (Zah.6.6), “Then he cried out to me, “Lo, those who go toward the north country have set my spirit at rest in the north country.” (Zah.6.8).
The holy city and the great city
In Rev.11, “the holy city” and “the great city” are opposed to each other: “But do not measure the court outside the temple; leave that out, for it is given over to the nations, and they will trample over the holy city for forty-two months.» (Rev.11:2), “And their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city that is prophetically called Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified.” (Rev.11:8).
Whereas in Rev.21:10 the characteristics “holy” and “great” are used together: “And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God.”
So, the holy city is not a place, but people going to salvation and seeking the glory of God, whereas the great city is people going to destruction and seeking human glory. After the Last Judgment, there will be only one city, and human glory will become the glory of God.
Beast as a contrast to animal
The beast in Revelation, just as in other prophetic books, is a kind of force that opposes itself to God. The beast from the bottomless pit, the sea, and the earth is described in detail below.
It is worth noting that Ezek.1:15-21 describes 4 wheels:
“As I looked at the living creatures, I saw a wheel on the earth beside the living creatures, one for each of the four of them.
As for the appearance of the wheels and their construction: their appearance was like the gleaming of beryl; and the four had the same form, their construction being something like a wheel within a wheel.
When they moved, they moved in any of the four directions without veering as they moved.
Their rims were tall and awesome, for the rims of all four were full of eyes all around.
When the living creatures moved, the wheels moved beside them; and when the living creatures rose from the earth, the wheels rose.
Wherever the spirit would go, they went, and the wheels rose along with them; for the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels.
When they moved, the others moved; when they stopped, the others stopped; and when they rose from the earth, the wheels rose along with them; for the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels.”
Here, the four wheels mean the principle of cosmology: the first wheel is the rotation of the Earth around its axis (maybe, this refers to each of the planets), the second is the rotation of the Earth around the Sun (or, respectively, the rotation of each planet around its star), the third is the rotation of the Sun as part of the galaxy (or each of the stars), and the fourth is the rotation of the galaxy as part of the universe (or each of the galaxies).
It looks like this in the picture: https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Метагалактика#/media/File:Observable_universe_logarithmic_illustration.png
In this case, it is easy to explain:
1. Why the “wheel is within a wheel”.
2. Why they moved “without veering”.
3. Why “the rims of all four were full of eyes all around”: the eyes are, perhaps, the light of planets or stars.
4. Why these wheels are under the Throne of God.
Thus, the beast is opposed to the animal. The animal (it means a domesticated animal) is subject to the owner’s will, i.e. the “spirit’s” or God’s. And the beast (it means a wild animal) is dangerous, unpredictable, and uncontrollable.
Thousand years and a day
Just as in the books of Ezra and Daniel, a day means an earthly year. The main confirmation of this is the words in Rev.2:10: “Beware, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison so that you may be tested, and for ten days you will have affliction.”,referring to the ten years of the Great Persecution of Christians under Diocletian in 303-313.
Thus, a month is 30 years, and a year is 365.25 years.
The only exception is “day and night”, which characterizes continuity: “For this reason they are before the throne of God, and worship him day and night within his temple, and the one who is seated on the throne will shelter them.” (Rev.7:15).
Besides the interpretation of the books of Ezra, Daniel and the Revelation of John the Divine, an indirect confirmation of the fact that a day is a year is the words of the apostle Peter in 2Pet.3:8: “But do not ignore this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like one day.”
From here we also get that the thousand years from Rev.20:4: “They came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years”, is a single pay promised by Jesus Christ in Mat.20:2: “Now when he had agreed with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard.” For those who are likened to “the first resurrection” (Rev.20:5), this “reign” will last 1,000 years, while for people on earth it may be 1 day.
Why does the reign of Christ last exactly 1,000 years, no more and no less? If we assume that the Resurrection of Jesus Christ was in the year 30 (according to the interpretation of the Book of Daniel by A.P. Lopukhin, chapter 9, Dan.9:27 “Jesus Christ died in 30 AD: that year, the 15th of Nisan, the day when the Jews ate Easter and on which Christ was crucified, was Friday”), and the Second Coming is expected in 2030, the period when people could be saved by believing in Jesus Christ, will last exactly 2,000 years. At the same time, for those who will be likened to the “first resurrection” (Rev.20:5) at the beginning of this period, this “reign” will last 2,000 years, while for those who likened at the end, it will be 1 day only. And on average, all those who were likened to the “first resurrection” (Rev.20:5) will reign 1,000 years. Someone may think it is unfair, because the single payment was promised (“a denarius a day” — Mat.20:2). But it seems that 1,000 years is an earthly estimation of the Heavenly Kingdom, where time may not matter at all, and the single payment is mainly that the death “has no power” over them: “Blessed and holy are those who share in the first resurrection. Over these the second death has no power.” (Rev.20:6)
Here we’d like to give two more proofs that a day in the prophetic books is equal to an earthly year.
The first can be found in the book of the prophet Isaiah: “And this shall be the sign for you: This year eat what grows of itself, and in the second year what springs from that; then in the third year sow, reap, plant vineyards, and eat their fruit. The surviving remnant of the house of Judah shall again take root downward, and bear fruit upward; for from Jerusalem a remnant shall go out, and from Mount Zion a band of survivors. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.” (Is.37:30-32).
“What grows of itself” and “what springs from that” this is seeds from the parable of the sower: “Hear then the parable of the sower. When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what is sown in the heart; this is what was sown on the path. As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; yet such a person has no root, but endures only for a while, and when trouble or persecution arises on account of the word, that person immediately falls away. As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the lure of wealth choke the word, and it yields nothing. But as for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.” (Mat.13:18-23).
Thus, since Jerusalem was sieged by Assyrian king Sennacherib in 701 BC, for one year, or for the first 365.25 years, the house of Judah will give extremely few people who “hear and understand the word” (“This year eat what grows of itself”), and even less during the next year (“in the second year what springs from that”), in the third year he harvest will be huge (“sow, reap, plant vineyards, and eat their fruit”). Of course, the reason for such a huge harvest is the preaching of Jesus Christ, as you can see from the words: “The surviving remnant of the house of Judah shall again take root downward, and bear fruit upward; for from Jerusalem a remnant shall go out, and from Mount Zion a band of survivors.” (Is.37-31).
Indeed, if we deduct 365.25 x 2 from 701 BC, we get the year 29-30, the year of the Resurrection of the Lord and the foundation of the Christian Church.
The second confirmation is found in the book of Ezekiel, where the Lord compares the day of the prophet’s lying on each side with the year of the iniquities of the “house of Israel” and the “house of Judah”:
“And you, O mortal, take a brick and set it before you. On it portray a city, Jerusalem; and put siegeworks against it, and build a siege wall against it, and cast up a ramp against it; set camps also against it, and plant battering rams against it all around. Then take an iron plate and place it as an iron wall between you and the city; set your face toward it, and let it be in a state of siege, and press the siege against it. This is a sign for the house of Israel. Then lie on your left side, and place the punishment of the house of Israel upon it; you shall bear their punishment for the number of the days that you lie there. For I assign to you a number of days, three hundred ninety days, equal to the number of the years of their punishment; and so you shall bear the punishment of the house of Israel.When you have completed these, you shall lie down a second time, but on your right side, and bear the punishment of the house of Judah; forty days I assign you, one day for each year.” (Ezek.4:1-6).
The Church Slavonic version translated from the LXX list speaks about 150 and 190 years instead of 390, which gives about 340 years (Ezek.4:4-5). 190 years refer to the iniquity of the northern kingdom of Israel for two of their iniquities (“двѣ́ непра́вды и́хъ”): falling away from the dynasty of David and creating an alternative cult of the golden calf (“И а́зъ да́хъ тебѣ́ двѣ́ непра́вды и́хъ въ число́ дні́й, въ де́вятьдесятъ и сто́ дні́й” (Ezek.4:5)). And 150 years belong to the iniquity of the southern kingdom of Judah for trusting in the king of Assyria instead of God (“да положи́ши непра́вды до́му Изра́илева на не́мъ, по числу́ дні́й пятьдеся́тъ и сто́” (Ezek.4:4)).
These 340 years include the period between the division of the kingdom of Israel of David and Solomon into the southern kingdom of Judah and the northern kingdom of Israel after the death of King Solomon in 928 BC and up to the siege of Jerusalem in 588 BC (928 – 588 = 340). And 40 years are the years that have passed since the Resurrection of the Lord and the foundation of the Christian Church in 30 up to the siege of Jerusalem by the Romans in 70. In the first case, it is the entire “house of Israel” that is punished (which usually refers to all believers in the Lord) for improper fulfillment of the Old Testament, which is meant by the words “lie on your left side.” In the second case, only ‘the house of Judah” is punished for rejecting the New Testament, which refers to the Jews by blood, as can be seen from the words “lie down a second time, but on your right side.”
In both cases, the siege resulted in the complete destruction of Jerusalem and the Jerusalem Temple.