There Will Be No More Sea
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We have stated previously that the last two chapters of Revelation are to be interpreted spiritually, and also literally to a certain extent.
As far as the physical oceans and seas of earth are concerned, they are useful for separating nations, for transportation, and as a source of food. Perhaps there will be no need in the new world for a separation of the nations, for transportation, or for food from the sea.
The seas often are places of danger, of violence. There will be neither danger nor violence in the new age. There will be no dark storms, no black violence of roaring waves to terrify the hearts of people.
There may be lakes and rivers, and perhaps actual oceans and seas—for these can be a blessing to people. It may be true that the marine life with which we are familiar, the fish, the porpoises, the whales, will exist in the seas and oceans of eternity. It is the writers’s conviction that all we have known and loved on the earth will be saved for our everlasting enjoyment. Only those elements that cause us to fear and that harm us will be removed.
The Kingdom of God is not found in removing man from earth or from the things of earth. The temporary pain and inconvenience the saints suffer is for the purpose of freeing us from Satan and from our self-will so we can enter fully into the Paradise of God.
The purpose of the Kingdom is not to cause people to suffer. The Kingdom of God is the coming of God into man and into his environment so that man will worship and serve God while enjoying all of the blessing of Paradise on the earth. This is the true Gospel of the Kingdom of God—that which Christ purchased for us by dying on the cross of Calvary.
Notice, however, that the Scripture does not state there will be no more seas, but no more "sea." There have been "seas" from the beginning (Genesis 1:10). If the Lord were referring primarily to the oceans of the earth He would have said, there were no more seas (plural). But since He has stated, "there was no more sea" we may look for spiritual significance.
From the spiritual point of view there will be no more "sea" of mankind from which Antichrist can arise (Revelation 13:1). There will be no more mass of people that can be swayed by Satan and evil people. Notice in the following verses the use of sea to denote people:
Then thou shalt see, and flow together, and thine heart shall fear, and be enlarged; because the abundance of the sea shall be converted unto thee, the forces of the Gentiles shall come unto thee. (Isaiah 60:5)
Then said he unto me, These waters issue out toward the east country, and go down into the desert, and go into the sea: which being brought forth into the sea, the waters shall be healed. (Ezekiel 47:8)
Every relationship will be triangular. Each individual will be related to another through God, as though God were at the apex of a triangle while the human relationship lay along the base. We shall not be related to one another along the base but up through the Apex (Christ) and down to the other individual. We will know one another in Christ and through Christ.
Every individual will be known to his Creator and will have some knowledge of his Creator. Christ will be the Center and Circumference of all persons and all things. The new world will be totally God-centered and filled with Christ. Every saved human being will have a portion of Christ in him, because the Kingdom of God, while it has an external dimension, is primarily an inner kingdom.
Satan’s way on the present earth is to remove the triangular relationship so that people are related directly to people without reference to God. The Laodicean churches will consist of people who are strongly related to other people. But Christ will not be included. The "believers" will talk about Christ but He will not be the One through whom they are related. The Laodicean "believers" will be part of the "sea" of mankind rather than part of Christ. They choose to be part of mankind rather than part of the Lampstand of God.
We notice this tendency today as churches stress togetherness. No amount of togetherness ever will create the Kingdom of God. In fact, there always is a danger in togetherness, in Christian people finding solace in other Christian people and in their church and religious exercises rather than in the Lord Himself. God does not approve of this. Such togetherness is characteristic of Antichrist and often leads to immorality.
God’s true saints are a delight to be near. They are loving, intelligent, sensitive people. Because there is light and glory resting on them they are attractive to people who enjoy them but who do not enjoy their God. Therefore God puts a wall around them. God wants such for Himself. They may minister to other people but they always are to return to their state of separation to God. In this way they are kept holy to the Lord. They no longer are part of the "sea."
The Creator’s name is Jealous. God works with individuals. He calls them to Himself and deals with them endlessly. He desires to be in all of their thoughts. He wants their undivided attention. He does not want them to find their solace, their strength, their help, their enjoyment, in other people—not until the Lord is totally satisfied they belong to Him and to Him alone. Then the Lord brings them into union with others as He alone determines, according to the predetermined eternal composition of the Kingdom of God.
A "sea" of people, an undifferentiated mass of human beings who have not been "spoken for" (Song of Solomon 8:8), is not at all to God’s liking.
Each human being is unique. God’s working always enhance our uniqueness. God enjoys bringing forth each flower in His garden. The new world will consist of unique worshipers of God, not of a sea of mankind that is tossed to and fro.
The closer we draw to Christ the more unique we become, the more our identity is enhanced and defined. Each member of the new Jerusalem maintains his identity but has lost his individuality. He forever is an integral part of God’s Being. He is one in Christ in God just as Christ is One in God. The names of God and of Christ are engraved in him. The name of the holy city is engraved in him. He no longer is an individual; he has been created part of God. So it is that we are becoming an eternal expression of God through Christ (John 17:21-23).
It is God’s will that the Life of Christ abide in every inhabitant of the new earth, whether the person is a member of the Wife of the Lamb or a citizen of one of the nations of saved peoples of the earth. There is to be no more "sea" of people who do not have the Life of Jesus in them.
Every human being on the earth or in the spirit realm abides in one of five spiritual states of being. The five spiritual states of being are as follows:
Zion
Jerusalem
the sea
death
Hell
Every human being is dwelling in one of these five spiritual states. He is abiding in Zion, or in Jerusalem, or in the sea, or in death, or in Hell.
To abide in Zion is to dwell in Christ as an overcomer. As we eat His flesh and drink His blood we dwell in Him and He in us. Of the multitudes who claim faith in Christ, only a handful, it appears, are dwelling in Him and He in them to the degree the Lord prefers. To be part of Jesus requires a close relationship with Him. To abide in Jesus is to live by Him as He lives by the Father, always striving to attain a more perfect union with Him. Those who live by Jesus as He lives by the Father constitute the firstfruits of the Church, the Body of Christ, the new Jerusalem.
The Christians who, through Christ, overcome Satan, the world, and their own sins and self-will, will be raised to meet Him at His coming. The overcomers are the pillars of the eternal Temple of God. They will receive back their bodies from the grave. They are the kings and priests of the Lord. This is the first resurrection (Revelation 20:4-6).
To abide in Jerusalem is to be part of the Church of Christ. Zion speaks of the Holy of Holies while Jerusalem is the Holy Place, as we understand the Scriptures. At first glance it may appear fanciful and unwise to divide the one seamless robe of Christ into two parts. But the types and teachings of the Scriptures that portray such a division are compelling.
We have only to think of Gideon’s three hundred; of the separation of the Ark from the remainder of the Tabernacle; of the three foremost mighty men of David; of the three who were with the Lord on the Mount of Transfiguration; of the 144,000 of Revelation, Chapter 14; to become aware that there is strong support in Scripture for various ranks among the Lord’s people. Jesus revealed to the Apostles that they would be judging Israel (Luke 22:30).
The Song of Solomon singles out "one" who is closest to the Lord’s heart:
There are threescore queens, and fourscore concubines, and virgins without number. My dove, my undefiled is but one; she is the only one of her mother, she is the choice one of her that bare her. The daughters saw her, and blessed her; yea, the queens and the concubines, and they praised her. (Song of Solomon 6:8,9)
The end of the new covenant is that "all shall know me, from the least to the greatest" (Hebrews 8:11). We understand from this that there indeed are least and greatest in the Kingdom of God, but every member of Israel will come to know Christ intimately.
Some believers, by election and by corresponding diligence in grasping that for which they have been grasped, become "pillars" in the eternal Temple of God. It seems likely that the "pillars" will be pillars throughout eternity (Revelation 3:12).
The Lord’s firstfruits, just as was true of Gideon’s army, come from Israel and remain part of Israel. Any believer can choose to live in Zion. But experience teaches us that the majority of Christians do not rise to the level of victory where they truly are overcoming the world, Satan, and their own sin and self-will. The "iron" and "fire" necessary to surmount the pressures of life appear to be lacking. The desperate earnestness, the willingness to be crucified personally in order that Christ may have His unhindered way in one’s life, are not always found in the believers. But apart from such earnestness and willingness it is impossible to "stand on the heights of Zion" (Revelation 14:1).
For those who are called to Zion, nothing short of perfect obedience and rest in the center of God’s will can suffice. (What scorching fires burn in the souls of "the only one of her mother"!) The remainder dwell in Jerusalem, and God loves them dearly. They are His family.
To abide in the sea is to be part of the mass of mankind. It often is true that the peoples of the nations hear Jesus gladly. While they may not be called to be part of Israel, there are many of them, nevertheless, who are God-fearing, upright people. Many members of the sea of mankind have not knowingly and willfully rejected God’s Christ. Neither have they destroyed their spiritual nature through excessive involvement in the world (although they do not have eternal life). They may inherit eternal life one day, depending on how they treat the Lord’s "brothers" (Matthew 25:40).
Part of the sea of mankind is wicked and will be judged and destroyed by the Lord. Antichrist will "rise up out of the sea" (Revelation 13:1). Although Antichrist will be among the fervent Christians at first, he will come out from among them because he never was of them. The "sea" always had been in his heart.
There will be "no more sea" in the eternal age (Revelation 21:1). Every inhabitant of the new earth will have a portion of Christ in him. God loves the peoples whom He has created. God loves the world but not the spirit of the present age.
In the Day of Judgment the sea is not thrown into the Lake of Fire; neither is it carried forward into the new heaven and earth. The members of the sea who are saved will become part of the Kingdom of God. While they are not pillars in the eternal Temple of God or members of the Wife of the Lamb, they nevertheless will have a portion in Christ.
As soon as God has brought forth the firstfruits of His people, the living waters will flow into the sea of mankind and it will live.
Then said he unto me, These waters issue out toward the east country, and go down into the desert, and go into the sea: which being brought forth into the sea, the waters shall be healed. (Ezekiel 47:8)
Ezekiel 47:8-12 describes the Kingdom revival, the time when the Glory of God will cover the earth as the waters cover the sea—when the waters of eternal life will flow from the personalities of those who have become the Throne of God and of the Lamb. The Spirit of God will come from the saints who have become part of the spiritual fulfillment of the feast of Tabernacles and will cover the dead sea of mankind with the knowledge of the Glory of the Lord.
God has divided the development of the Kingdom of God into three ages: the Church Age, the Kingdom Age, and the Eternal Age.
The Church Age commenced with the resurrection of Christ and will terminate with the return of the Lord to the earth. The Kingdom Age will commence with the return of the Lord to the earth and will terminate with the destruction of the present earth and heaven.
The Eternal Age will commence with the creation of the new heaven and earth and will never terminate.
Each of the three ages has a purpose.
The purpose of the Church Age is to call forth from among the ranks of mankind the members of the Church and to begin the work of perfecting them. Also, during the Church Age, the members of the Church are to bear witness to the world of the soon coming of the Kingdom of God to the earth.
The purpose of the Kingdom Age is to complete the perfecting of the Church, the Body of Christ, and to bring the life of God to the "sea" of mankind on the earth. The Kingdom Age is the period of worldwide revival.
During the Church Age there have been and yet will be revivals, but they are not to be compared in power and holiness with the Presence of the Spirit of God that will be on the earth during the Kingdom Age.
The main purpose of the Church Age is the development of the Body of Christ, not the reviving to any great extent of the dead sea of mankind. However, the witness that is to be borne to the nations during the Church Age is important in the plan of God because God requires a basis on which to judge the nations.
The purpose of the Eternal Age is to bring peace and joy to God and to His creatures forever.
For two thousand years the Christian churches, not understanding the plan of God, have striven to accomplish the work of the Kingdom Age during the Church Age. Ambitious men have taken the things of Christ and have attempted to build their own little kingdoms from among the members of the nations.
As we have stated, God has two principal purposes during the Church Age. The first is to build the Body of Christ. The second is to bear witness to the nations of the soon coming of the Kingdom of God. He who believes in the Lord Jesus and is baptized will be saved when the Kingdom comes. It can be seen from this that the greater part of the efforts of Christendom are misdirected. We are attempting to revive the sea of mankind. That will come later.
But the court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months. (Revelation 11:2)
"The court (representing that which is not consecrated to the Lord at this point) leave out, and measure (judge) it not." The task of today is the development of the Church, which is a valley of dry bones.
And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: (Ephesians 4:11-13)
The purpose of the Christian ministry is to build the saints into the one Body of Christ.
First God must build up the members of the Body of Christ, the Wife of the Lamb, and bring them into the waters of His Life. We enter the waters of salvation, then into the waters of sanctification, and then into the waters of consecration. Finally we arrive at the waters to swim in—the life wholly given to God (Ezekiel 47:3-5).
As soon as the victorious saints of the Church attain the waters to swim in, which is the fullness of eternal life, God will return them to the bank of the river as trees of life. Now it is time for the waters to pour forth from within them into the dead sea of mankind. This is the schedule of events of the Church Age as it moves toward the Kingdom Age.
The world is groaning in the chains of the servitude imposed on it by Satan. No release can come to the world until the sons of God have come to maturity (Romans 8:19).
There are three elements that will lift the curse from the sea and bring into view the Paradise of God. The three elements are the city, the tabernacle, and the wall. These are set forth in the last two chapters of the Book of Revelation. The city represents the government of God through His elect.
The tabernacle speaks of the abiding Presence of God and of His Christ.
The wall portrays resistance to uncleanness and rebellion, the separation of the holy from the unholy.
The coming of the sons of God to maturity means that the city, the tabernacle, and the wall have all been perfected in them (in the sons). The rule of God has been developed in them; the Father and the Son through the Spirit are dwelling in them; and they have the ability to distinguish good and evil and the strength through Christ to choose the good and reject the evil.
Release can come to the "sea" only through those who are the city, the tabernacle, and the wall.
We have mentioned previously that every human being abides in Zion or in Jerusalem or in the sea or in death or in Hell. It is of the utmost importance that every believer understand that physical death of itself does not change the state in which the Christian is living. One of the greatest confusions in current thinking is that worldly believers will become saints when they die because they have made the "correct" verbal profession concerning salvation. The state in which we are abiding in the world is the state in which we pass into the spirit realm. What we are, we are!
We can change from one state to another during our lifetime on the earth depending on how we respond to the knowledge of God that has been given to us.
Thus far we have discussed the inhabitants of Zion, of Jerusalem, and of the sea.
To abide in death is to have destroyed one’s spiritual life by involvement in the things and pleasures of the present world, or by rejecting or ignoring the light that God has entrusted to us.
But she that liveth in pleasure is dead while she liveth. (I Timothy 5:6)
Whoever lives in the flesh, indulging his bodily appetites, will slay his spiritual life. His thoughts, his time, his strength, his emotions, his motives, his desires, his speech, are wrapped up in the pleasures and things of the world. There is no light of God in such an individual whether or not he claims to be a Christian. He is dead spiritually.
For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. (Romans 8:13)
Those who have slain their spiritual life by their involvement in the things of the world are dead. They cannot see or feel God. They will not be any more dead when they die physically. Instead of passing into the place of rest where the members of the sea await the Day of Judgment, the dead will dwell in darkness—just as they do today. They will wander about aimlessly, their life on the earth having prepared them only for worldly pleasures and experiences.
The Christians who have spent their days in the pursuit of material riches will be distraught when they die. They will discover that they have killed the part of their personality that would have made it possible for them to rest in the spirit realm until the Day of Judgment.
Death and Hell always ride together (Revelation 6:8) and will be thrown into the Lake of Fire together. They are spirits.
Death separates the human from the Life of God. Hell brings torment. The rich man was spiritually dead because he was ignoring God, and was thrown into Hell because in his wickedness he neglected to assist the beggar, Lazarus. Living in spiritual death leads the individual into wickedness, into Hell, into the place of torment.
It is the wicked who experience Hell. They experience Hell while still alive on the earth and their physical death will increase their torment. Just as the dead will realize their deadness more fully when they die, so those who while on earth are abiding in Hell among the demons will experience greater torment when they die.
Judas Iscariot experienced Hell before he died. He rushed into the presence of the chief priests and elders and hurled down the money that had purchased the betrayal of the innocent Jesus. Judas made his confession before the rulers of Israel because he was in Hell, in torment. His state did not change when he died. No individual’s state changes when he dies. We are living in Zion, or in Jerusalem, or in the sea, or in death, or in Hell. Physical death does not change our spiritual state.
In the case of the spiritually dead and the wicked there may be substantial unclean spiritual involvement. Such may find that the bondages of lust or rebellion or pride or lying or stealing or violence or perversion or jealousy that they have permitted to rule their conduct are still part of their personality after they die. Those spirits may accompany them into the spirit realm. Physical death may not set us free from the demons we have embraced while living on the earth.
If we are living as part of Christ, our growth in the Lord will continue without interruption after we die. He who lives and believes in Jesus will never die. The Wife of the Lamb is destined to be without spot or wrinkle. The ministries of the Holy Spirit will continue without ceasing until we all come to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. Every member of God’s Israel will know the Lord, from the least to the greatest.
The greater part of the Body of Christ is in the spirit realm. Those of us on the earth are but a fraction of the Wife of the Lamb. The entire Body is being built up in the Head, Christ. All of the parts of the Body are contributing to perfecting the whole Body. It is our point of view that the process of completing and perfecting the Body of Christ has little to do with whether we are alive on the earth or in the spirit realm. It is one Body, one Church of the Firstborn, and it is growing in Christ. All of us will come to perfection together (Hebrews 12:23).
The revelation of Christ comes through the ministry on the earth but it always affects the entire Body. The Body will be perfect. The Wife of the Lamb will be perfect. What God begins He finishes. Christ not only is the Alpha, He also is the Omega. The work was finished in God’s vision from the creation of the world, and through Christ it will be brought to completion in living reality.
Our part is not to build the Church or to save the world. Our task is to cease from our own works and to enter that perfect plan of God that always is unfolding. The Divine plan is causing all things to work together for good to those who love God, who are called according to His purpose. The Word of God, the most powerful of all forces, always is bringing forth and always will continue to bring forth what God has spoken from the beginning. Let us learn to rest in, to work in, and to flow with the perfect flow of God’s wisdom and power.
Those who are part of Christ cannot be shaken or moved. They are eternal. But each saint must walk carefully and prayerfully. We are partakers of Christ only as we hold fast our confidence to the end. It always is possible to lose our inheritance through carelessness. We have a formidable enemy.
At the conclusion of the thousand-year Kingdom Age, the spirits of the last two states, death and Hell, will be thrown into the Lake of Fire; for they are enemies of God. The state of the sea will cease to be. All who are permitted to enter the new heaven and earth reign of Christ will be part of Him, although the extent to which each individual possesses Christ will vary from person to person.
And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. (Revelation 21:2)
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