Part 3
Another expression which brethren sometimes misunderstand is “the world”. We are so used to seeing maps of “the world” that we usually assume that “the world” is identical with “the earth”. However as we have already said the ancients did not visualize the world as a sphere, and we will only mislead ourselves if we apply modern ideas to ancient writing.
World
From Young’s Concordance, we see that in the Old Testament “world” is used to translate “eretz” (land) 4 times, “olam” meaning a very long period of time or “age”, twice, and two other related words three times, but thirty-five times it represents the Hebrew word tebel, which Young says means “fruit-bearing or habitable part of the world”. We find then that “world” in the Old Testament has a different meaning from the same word as used in the New Testament. Here it is used 32 times to translate the Greek word “aion” which means an era, or period of time, or an age ; and 187 by “kosmos” which Young says means “arrangement, beauty, world” and which Liddell and Scott say means “order”.
Thus in the Old Testament, —”world” almost always means the inhabited world, or by metonymy, the inhabitants of that world : whereas in the New Testament, it means an age or dispensation ; or else an order of things.
If we speak of the Mosaic world, then in the Old Testament sense, it means the Mosaic Age, that is, the period from the Exodus to Christ ; in the New Testament sense, the Mosaic World refers to the political and religious set-up which prevailed during that period.
In Matt. 24. 3 the “end of the world” means the end of the Mosaic Order—which we consider took place with the destruction of the temple by the Romans in A.D. 68-70. Or again, in John 18. 36, when Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world”, He did not mean “My kingdom is not of this earth”, but “it is not of this order of things”, that is, the human state of organisation.
While “world” is not necessarily identical with “heavens and earth”, the N.T. use of the word can include them.
Noah’s World
In speaking of the “three heavens” in our last article, we followed in general the explanation put forward by Bro. F. G. Jannaway 80 years ago—the three stages of the Hebrew Commonwealth—first the Mosaic, second the Millenial, and third the Post-Millenial. But Peter speaks of the world (heavens and earth)1 of Noah’s day perishing by water, and by contrast he says that the heavens and earth of his day were reserved for a fiery judgment, and are to be replaced by another heavens and earth. Thus it could be that the pre-deluge world was the first heavens and earth ; the present the second ; and those of the millenium will be the third.
Be that as it may, it is clear that Noah’s world which perished in the water was not the literal earth itself but the people and order of things upon it.
The End Of The World
As we have already indicated, the “end of the world” never means the end or destruction of this planet upon which we live. Jesus was crucified “in” the end of the (Jewish) world”2 ; had he been like an ordinary priest, the same verse says, he must often “have suffered since the foundation of the kosmos” i.e. the inception of the Law of Moses.
Mountain
We could imagine that an outstanding person or group of persons, or nation, could be figuratively represented as a mountain. However such use is rare. Babylon3 is described as a “destroying mountain” although it was essentially a city on a plain. A vague similarity to this figurative idea of a mountain is to be seen in the “stone cut out without hands”, which Nebuchadnezzar saw become a great mountain filling the whole earth4. This figurative interpretation of political mountains is adopted by Bro. (Dr.) Thomas in connection with mountains moved by earthquakes in the Revelation5.
Rivers
If we agree that a river is the portion of the earth’s surface which is in motion, travelling from one point to another, we logically reach the view that figuratively rivers could represent armies, which are bodies of people moving about from one country to another ; and their destructive effects can well be likened to a flood. Egypt is spoken of in this way6, “Egypt riseth up like a flood and his waters are moved like rivers”. Again7, “Thou camest forth with thy rivers” ; which of course could not possibly be literal because the literal rivers did not leave the country and flood over other countries. Israel was never destroyed by flooding of literal rivers, but was continually over-run by foreign armies. Hence8 : Israel is “the land the rivers have spoiled”.
However, we find that Dr. Thomas interprets “rivers” in the Revelation as representing—not armies as such—but the armies of the countries through which the particular river runs. Thus the great “River Euphrates” is used in this way9. The drying up of the River Euphrates (sixth vial) is understood to signify the slow diminution of the military strength of the Turkish Empire, which 130 years ago controlled the lands through which it ran.
Likewise the “rivers and fountains of waters” of the third vial10 and the third trumpet11 is interpreted by Dr. Thomas as being the countries around the Alps—Switzerland and northern Italy, where the principal rivers of Europe have their source.
The Sea
Going back to the question of the Heavens and Earth, we will realize that the surface of the earth is partly land, partly water. We naturally wonder what part of the figurative earth could be figuratively represented by the sea-that is, assuming that it is indeed used as a figure. It is generally accepted that sea represents that portion of the human “earth” which is in a continual state of motion-the unsettled, industrial, often rebellious lower orders. We read,12 “The wicked are like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt.” But the accepted interpretation is that the sea represents not essentially the wicked, but the potentially or actively rebellious. Jude13 likewise, speaking of certain wicked people, uses a remarkable variety of metaphors, including “Raging waves of the sea foaming out their own shame”.
lt must be admitted that there is little basic evidence in the Scripture that “sea” implies rebellious, unsettled people. However, it is interesting to note (irrespective of interpretation) that one of the signs of Christ’s coming will be “the sea and the waves roaring”14 ; during the millenium the sea will be smooth as glass15 and after the millenium, when God dwells among men, there will be “no more sea”16.
Islands
An island is an upstanding piece of earth surrounded by sea ; it is in fact a special kind of mountain. In John’s vision17, islands and mountains alike were moved by two earthquakes ; but the precise interpretation is not important to our present explanation.
Earthquakes
Earthquakes are mentioned five times in the Revelation, so this figure is relatively important. It is easily understood that an earthquake means a violent upheaval or shaking of the earth ; we have heard it said that -earthquake” means a revolution ; but this is an over-simplification. A revolution can be represented as an earthquake, but there can be other upheavals to which the term can be applied. The French Revolution18 was an “earthquake”19 but the war which resulted in Constantine’s becoming Emperor of Rome is also represented by an earthquake” though it was not an uprising of the masses.
Figurative or LITERAL?
We must not jump to the conclusion that every time we meet one of the foregoing expressions in prophecy it must be taken to by symbolic. Careful consideration must be given to each case ; for example, the prophesies of Jesus in Luke 21 contain much that can only be literal, and some that could be either literal or figurative. Many brethren object to an interpretation in which figurative and literal things are mixed together. Perhaps here we might point out that the use of symbolic language was quite common in ancient times. The earliest form of writing consisted of pictures. It was easy to make a crude representation of a horse or a snake, but it was not possible to draw individual men or countries that would be recognized. Hence symbols were used to represent these. Thus today a lion represents Britain, a kangaroo is recognized as Australia, a bear is Russia and eagles represent Germany and the United States. So the older kings had their private symbols, many of which are found on the foundation stones and gate posts of the old buildings that archaeologists have dug up. For example, the rulers of Egypt who harrassed and weakened the Canaanites during the forty years that Israel was in Sinai, were represented by a hornet20. The Emperor Tiberius in Paul’s day was known as the lion21. Daniel was specifically told that certain animals which he saw in a vision22 were representative of kings and their kingdoms.
Mixed Literal And Figurative
We have referred to the objection to the interpretations which are partly literal, partly figurative. We therefore point out that Dr. Thomas interprets portions of the Revelation in a manner which can be described only as partly figurative. For example, we have said that the “sea” is taken to mean the subordinate section of the populace ; rivers are armies on the march ; and so on. But these can be used by another figure of speech called metonymy which is frequently used in the Scriptures. In this the container is put for that which is contained, or vice versa. That which causes us to sin, or comes as a result of sin, is called “sin”23 : the expression -there is death in the pot”24 means something which will cause death. So also in cricket terminology we say, “England is batting” when we mean a team representing England. In this way Dr. Thomas interprets some expressions as meaning the countries or people of the countries. Thus the earth25 is understood as the mainland of Europe in the Trumpets and the Vials ; the “sea” is used in connection with naval warfare in the countries bordering the sea26 ; Rivers and fountains of water are the Alpine regions of Europe27. In the fourth trumpet and vial, Dr. Thomas reverts to the full figurative which is seen as representing the military powers28. The fifth trumpet and vial are almost fully figurative29. The sixth (as we have already pointed out) in each case uses the Euphrates as representing the empire controlling it30. Dr. Thomas, not foreseeing the advent of aviation, had difficulty in interpreting the seventh vial, which was poured out into the airs31 ; but we in our day have no difficulty in seeing that just as the second vial poured into the sea was followed by naval warfare, so the seventh vial poured into the air means aerial warfare. This pouring out began when aeroplanes were first used by the Italians attacking the Arabs of Tripoli in 1911.
Reference
| 1—2 Peter 3.6 | 17—Rev. 6.14; 16.20 |
| 2—Heb. 9.26 | 18—Rev. 11.13 |
| 3—Jer. 51.25 | 19—Rev. 6.12 |
| 4—Dan. 2.5 | 20—Ex.23.28; Deut. 7.20;Jos. 24.12-see Garstang’s “Joshua and Judges”. |
| 5—Rev. 6.14; 16.20 | 21—II Tim. 4.17 Josephus Antiq XVII-V1 |
| 6—Jer. 46.8 | 22-Dan. 7.17 |
| 7—Ezek. 32.2 | 23—The golden calf-Deut. 9.21 |
| 8—Isa. 18.2 | 24—II Ki. 4.46 |
| 9—Rev. 16.12 | 25—Rev. 8.7; 16.2 |
| 10—Rev. 16.4 | 26—Rev. 8.8; 16.3 |
| 11—Rev. 8.10 | 27—Rev. 8.10; 16.4 |
| 12—Isa. 57.20 | 28—Rev. 8.12; 16.8 |
| 13—Jude 12 and 13 | 29—Rev. 9.1 ; 16.10 |
| 14—Luke 21.25 | 30—Rev. 9.14; 16.12 |
| 15—Rev. 4.6 ; 15.2 | 31—Rev. 16.17 |
| 16—Rev. 21.1 |
Daniel The Prophet – (Part 3)