Apocalypse. Interpretation of the XXI century

Chapter 1:3. The third vision of God’s glory

Then John saw:

And I saw in the right hand of him that sat on the throne a book written within and on the backside, sealed with seven seals. And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, Who is worthy to open the book, and to loose the seals thereof? And no man in heaven, nor in earth, neither under the earth, was able to open the book, neither to look thereon. And I wept much, because no man was found worthy to open and to read the book, neither to look thereon. And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof. And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth. And he came and took the book out of the right hand of him that sat upon the throne. And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints. And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; and hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth. And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the beasts and the elders: and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands; saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing. And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever. And the four beasts said, Amen. And the four and twenty elders fell down and worshipped him that liveth for ever and ever (Rev 5:1—14).

A scroll of a book sealed with seven seals is the book of life. Inside the scroll are the names of those who will be saved at the end of time, and outside are the names of sinners:

And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works (Rev 20:12).

And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire (Rev 20:15).

And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him [beast, antichrist], whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world (Rev 13:8).

He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels (Rev 3:5).

And I intreat thee also, true yokefellow, help those women which laboured with me in the gospel, with Clement also, and with other my fellowlabourers, whose names are in the book of life (Php 4:3).

And there shall in no wise enter into it [new Jerusalem] any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb’s book of life (Rev 21:27).

And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book (Rev 22:19).

Without opening the book of life, no one can be saved and attain eternity. That’s why John wept so much about the fact that no one was worthy to open and read this book, or even to look into it. But he was comforted by an elder who said that Jesus, the lion from the tribe of Judah, the root of David, the One who was victorious [over death], Christ, the Lamb of God, who made an atonement for us by dying on the cross, is able to open this book and remove its seven seals. For he was slain, and by his blood redeemed us to God out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; and made us kings and priests to our God; and we shall reign on earth.

In this vision, Christ is revealed as the Lamb, as though slain, with seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits [Archangels] of God, sent to the whole earth. The slain Lamb stands for the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross:

The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world (Jn 1:29).

And looking upon Jesus as he walked, he saith, Behold the Lamb of God! (Jn 1:36).

Chapter 1:4. The Book of Heaven

After a series of visions, the apostle was given the Book of Heaven:

And I saw another mighty angel come down from heaven, clothed with a cloud: and a rainbow was upon his head, and his face was as it were the sun, and his feet as pillars of fire: and he had in his hand a little book open: and he set his right foot upon the sea, and his left foot on the earth, and cried with a loud voice, as when a lion roareth: and when he had cried, seven thunders uttered their voices… And the voice which I heard from heaven spake unto me again, and said, Go and take the little book which is open in the hand of the angel which standeth upon the sea and upon the earth. And I went unto the angel, and said unto him, Give me the little book. And he said unto me, Take it, and eat it up; and it shall make thy belly bitter, but it shall be in thy mouth sweet as honey. And I took the little book out of the angel’s hand, and ate it up; and it was in my mouth sweet as honey: and as soon as I had eaten it, my belly was bitter. And he said unto me, Thou must prophesy again before many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings (Rev 10:1—3, 8—11).

The open book is the Apocalypse.

The sweetness of the book is the sweetness of the Revelation concerning the salvation of those who believe in Jesus Christ. The bitterness of the book is the bitterness of the Revelation concerning the doom of unbelievers.

The ancient prophets also received their prophecies by symbolically eating the scroll:

Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by thy name, O LORD God of hosts (Jer 15:16).

And when I looked, behold, an hand was sent unto me; and, lo, a roll of a book was therein; and he spread it before me; and it was written within and without: and there was written therein lamentations, and mourning, and woe. Moreover he said unto me, Son of man, eat that thou findest; eat this roll, and go speak unto the house of Israel. So I opened my mouth, and he caused me to eat that roll. And he said unto me, Son of man, cause thy belly to eat, and fill thy bowels with this roll that I give thee. Then did I eat it; and it was in my mouth as honey for sweetness (Ezek 2:9—3:3).

The Apocalypse was sent from heaven and must be preserved in its original form:

I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star. And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely. For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: and if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book (Rev 22:16—19).

The Church faithfully kept the Revelation of John intact, and it has reached our day in its original form. Those who tried to distort the text of the Book of Heaven have received their due punishment.

In the middle of the 20th century, the Dead Sea scrolls containing the sacred books of the Essenes were discovered near the Dead Sea. Among all the others, they found a scroll containing the Apocalypse of Essenes, which had a significant amount of deviations from the original. As punishment for their presumption, the Lord wiped out the community of the Essenes from the face of the earth.

Part 2. The three beasts

Chapter 2:1. The removal of the first four seals: Come and see

The opening of the book of life, sealed with seven seals, will reveal the names of those who will be saved in the last days. But before this happens, all the seals must be removed. The removal of each seal from the book of life signifies a certain milestone in the history of the world, which must occur prior to these events. Let us read about the removal of the first four seals:

And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come and see. And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer. And when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second beast say, Come and see. And there went out another horse that was red: and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another: and there was given unto him a great sword. And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand. And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine. And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see. And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth (Rev 6:1—8).

The rider on a white horse is a symbol of the Christian monarch. He holds the spiritual bow to defeat the enemies of the Church, and God granted him the crown of absolute authority.

The removal of the first seal pertains to a prophecy concerning the Roman Emperor Constantine the Great (4th century). When Constantine was a pagan, he saw a miraculous sign in the form of a cross in heaven, just before entering an important battle, and heard a voice saying: “With this you shall win”. Constantine commanded that the sign of the cross be depicted on all the banners of his army, and he rode out victorious, ready to win. His army won the battle, and since then Constantine put his faith in Jesus Christ and stopped persecuting Christians. Later he became the first Orthodox Christian monarch. After the fall of Byzantium, the Eastern Roman Empire, Russia assumed the role of the world Orthodox Christian monarchy. This tradition was interrupted only with the collapse of the Russian Empire following the February coup and the subsequent events.

The rider on the red horse is the symbol of the first Antichrist, who is identified in the Apocalypse as the Beast rising out of the sea (Rev 13:1). He came to plunge the world into fratricidal wars, and he was given a great spiritual word-sword – an abominable slander against God.

The removal of the second seal pertains to a prophecy about the communist dictator Vladimir Ulyanov-Lenin, who usurped power in Russia after the October Revolution.

The rider on the black horse represents the second Antichrist, identified in the Apocalypse as the Beast rising out of the earth (Rev 13:11). He came to bring hunger and persecutions to the Church.

The removal of the third seal contains a prophecy concerning the second communist dictator Joseph Dzhugashvili-Stalin, who came to power after the death of the first one.

The rider on the pale horse is the symbol of the third Antichrist, identified in the Apocalypse as the Beast rising out of the bottomless pit (Rev 11:7). He must come and bring great tribulations.

The removal of the fourth seal contains a prophecy of the coming of the false messiah, who is the man of sin [and] the son of perdition; who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God (2 Thess 2:3—4).

Excursus 2:1. The Antichrists

The word “Antichrist” means “the enemy of Christ”. This is how John referred to all the non-Christians who deny Jesus Christ, the Son of God and Savior, who died and rose again for our salvation:

For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist (2 Jn 1:7).

Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: and every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world. Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world. They are of the world: therefore speak they of the world, and the world heareth them. We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error (1 Jn 4:1—6).

Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time. They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us. But ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things. I have not written unto you because ye know not the truth, but because ye know it, and that no lie is of the truth. Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son. Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father: (but) he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also. Let that therefore abide in you, which ye have heard from the beginning. If that which ye have heard from the beginning shall remain in you, ye also shall continue in the Son, and in the Father. And this is the promise that he hath promised us, even eternal life. These things have I written unto you concerning them that seduce you. But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him. And now, little children, abide in him; that, when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming. If ye know that he is righteous, ye know that every one that doeth righteousness is born of him (1 Jn 2:18—29).

From among the antichrists, the Holy Scriptures single out the three greatest sinners, the three beasts who are allowed to inflict the most damage on the Church, and many believers will suffer martyrdom at their hands.

In Christian theology, special attention is given to the last beast, typically referred to as the Antichrist. Although the world knows about the misfortunes that the Beast from the bottomless pit will bring, people will still accept him, and the Church will again be persecuted. The reason for this is the spiritual blindness of those lost in false teachings.

The blind world will not recognize the Antichrist. This is what happened with the first two beasts, and this is what will happen in the last days when the third beast is revealed.

Chapter 2:2 The woman clothed with the sun and the royal child

The birth of the Orthodox Christian monarchy was not easy:

And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars: and she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered. And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads. And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born. And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne. And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days. And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, and prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night. And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death. Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time. And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth, he persecuted the woman which brought forth the man child. And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent. And the serpent cast out of his mouth water as a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away of the flood. And the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed up the flood which the dragon cast out of his mouth. And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ (Rev 12:1—17).

The Holy Church is represented here as Queen. The Church is clothed in Christ, the Sun of the righteous. The pillar of the Church is the Most Holy Mother of God, who is like unto the Moon, and the Church is crowned with the twelve Apostles who are like stars.

For several centuries, the Church was constantly persecuted by Christ-haters. Many believers were exiled, many were killed, others were tortured, humiliated, and oppressed.

After long labor pains, the Church gives birth to a baby, the Orthodox Christian monarch, the head of the Christian Empire, who is to rule over all nations.

The Roman emperor Constantine put an end to the persecutions of the Church. Later, Constantine himself was baptized. Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire, and the Church found protection under the wings of the double-headed imperial eagle:

I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure: calling a ravenous bird from the east, the man that executeth my counsel from a far country: yea, I have spoken it, I will also bring it to pass; I have purposed it, I will also do it (Is 46:9—11).

After that, the great dragon, the ancient serpent, called the Devil and Satan (Rev 12:9), began to plot against the Church and the Roman Empire, setting up against them the numerous pagan hordes which rushed in like a mighty river. The Roman Empire fell, but by that time the Church had spread so wide that it remained safe and well. For, as the Lord said, the gates of hell will not prevail against it (Mt 16:18).

After the fall of Byzantium (the Eastern Roman Empire) the Russian Empire became the main stronghold of Orthodox Christianity. The rage of the Red Dragon turned against Russia. At the beginning of the 20th century, the blood-thirsty beast of the revolution tore the country apart. Then, the words of the Lord came true:

And when ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars, be ye not troubled: for such things must needs be; but the end shall not be yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be earthquakes in divers places, and there shall be famines and troubles: these are the beginnings of sorrows (Mk 13:7—8; compare Mt 24:6—8).

The Russian Emperor Nicholas II was dethroned and executed. Troubles swept over the Church again:

And her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne. And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days (Rev 12:5—6).

And the dragon was infuriated seeing the Church unbroken and the believers keeping the commandments of God and having the testimony of Jesus Christ.