Most prophetic scriptures have different layers of meanings and applications. Obviously there are some interpretations that are faulty and are easily discredited by a thorough examination, allowing the scripture to interpret itself. It is acceptable to explore fresh prophetic understanding, as long as it is scripturally sound and does not insist on being the only true interpretation.

In Genesis, we discover the first mention of all truth in miniature form by which all further truth is subsequently unfolded. The great themes of the Bible, such as the tree of life, the tree of knowledge of good and evil, the garden of Eden, Adam, Eve, and Babel, are first recorded in Genesis. In principle, these same themes are developed throughout the entire Bible.  All of these themes are seen in their matured and enlarged form in the book of Revelation. So all spiritual truth is planted in Genesis, but is  harvested in Revelation. What God speaks in Genesis is consummated in Revelation. 

John the Apostle was an old man when he wrote the book of Revelation. He had followed Jesus since he was 16 or 17 years old. Now banished, he wrote this book to seven churches on the mainland in Asia over which he had been the overseer. The Roman emperor, Domitian, was a fanatic about "emperor worship," which declared him as lord and king. When John refused to bow to the emperor, he was exiled to Patmos, a small rock island in the Mediterranean, where he worked in the marble mines. He lived on bread and water and slept on the ground.

Pressure was on the Christians who refused to bow before the emperor. They would often pay with their lives, but they had faced that issue when they surrendered their lives to the Lord Jesus. They lost their jobs, were exiled, persecuted, or executed. Often they lived in caves on the outskirts of town. Many were brutally murdered as a result of their Christianity.

"The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show His servants -- things which must shortly take place. And He sent and signified it by His angel to His servant John, who bore witness to the word of God, and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, and to all things that he saw. Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written in it; for the time is near." (Rev. 1:1-3)

We need to see the book in light of the people to whom it was originally written. Under the persecution they were suffering, they were not concerned with future prophecy. They needed the comfort of the Holy Spirit. If a book is to bless them, then it must meet them in their pain and despair.

There is also a unique promise attached to this book in chapter 1, verse 3: whoever reads it will be blessed. This suddenly takes it out of the context of the first century. Here is an open-ended blessing, so anyone in any century who reads it will be blessed. This book, then, is not speaking about certain events at a certain time in history; rather, it is a revelation of Jesus that ministers life and blessing and hope wherever we are in history.

God used signs and symbols to communicate His message to John. ". . . And He sent and SIGNified it by His angel to His servant John." (Rev. 1:1) Signify means to make it known by signs, symbols, or tokens. Because of this, we must surround ourselves with caution when we approach this book to avoid fanciful and soulish interpretations. What John sees, with brief glimpses into the unseen world, is indescribable. It requires the kind of language he is using. And he is writing it down as fast as he can, using symbols. So when we see a dragon, we know it does not mean a dragon. It is a symbol for something else.

The code that interprets the meaning of the symbols must be simple enough for the newest Christian, yet so that the most righteous pagan does not know what it is talking about. Believers are fascinated by Revelation, but the world cannot understand the book. They are not meant to -- it is reserved for Jesus’ people.

It is the last book in the Bible not because it was written last. Other New Testament books were written later. God put 65 books before Revelation, and you will never understand it until you have read all the other books. Almost every verse of the Revelation has a direct or implied reference to another part of the Bible. From those other parts you have the key to unlock the symbols and meaning in the Revelation.

Revelation means the unveiling, the drawing aside of the curtains. It is the unveiling of Jesus Christ to me: what He did, who He is now, and all He has in store for the future. The greatest thing we know about Christ is that His death accomplished everything there was to do – He put away sin, defeated the adversary (devil), and rose again, carrying His Church into the heavenly places to fulfill His purposes to "restore ALL things" (Acts 3:21). Revelation is built on His finished work. In that sense, it unfolds history and interprets what is happening today in light of the end.

Seven visions are given to John:

All the while John is writing as fast as he can. Because the action moved and changed around him so quickly, John had to keep looking so that he would not miss anything. What appeared to John was a picture, and then it was gone; another picture, and then it was gone; again another picture, and it was gone -- seven pictures in all. He wrote down the main idea, the theme, of each picture (vision). Knowing this, we must not look at this book with a 'magnifying glass' and scrutinize every detail. Find out what the pictures (visions) mean and don’t be particularly concerned with all the details.

All the visions run parallel to each other; they are not in chronological order. Each vision begins with what Jesus did on the cross, and then shows who He is now and what He is doing to bring about His purposes, and all He has in store for the future. Each has a different view of what has happened historically, what is happening now, and what will be happening because of what Jesus accomplished at Calvary. They are like layers of the same message that are splashed across the ages from Calvary to the ‘grand finale’ of God’s purposes.

"For God has allowed us to know the secret of His plan, and it is this: He purposed long ago in His sovereign will that all human history should be consummated in Christ, that everything that exists in heaven or earth should find its perfection and fulfillment in Him. In Christ we have been given an inheritance since we were destined for this, by the One who works out all His purposes according to the design of His own will" (Eph. 1:10,11).

DEVIL

GOD

Dragon (adversary, i.e., devil/satan - The Lie)

Father

Prostitution:

          Beast (world government)

          Harlot (counterfeit religion)

Marriage:

          Lamb (Jesus)

          Bride (True Church)

False prophet glorifies the beast

Fullness of Holy Spirit (7 Spirits of God) glorifies Jesus 

Harlot & Babylon=the adversary's religious system (Rev. 17)

Bride & New Jerusalem=True Church, i.e., the Corporate Christ (Rev. 21)

Wilderness=deadness

High mountain=abundant LIFE

NUMBERS:

Numbers mean something in the Bible, and particularly in the book of Revelation. They are ideas, not facts and figures. Because of this, it is vital that we understand what they mean. Without the symbolic understanding of numbers, we will misinterpret whole passages in this book.

NAMES:

Rev. 7:4-10 mentions 144,000 of all the tribes of Israel who are sealed, and then lists the individual tribes. It is important to examine this list because the whole gospel is found in the 12 sons of Jacob. Notice that verse 4 says that they were sealed. Ephesians 1:13 declares that believers are "sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise." Because numbers are ideas, and because of the particular order of the tribes listed, let’s find out who these people are.

From the above study on numbers, we have already established that 144,000 means humanity from all ages fully redeemed. The order of the tribes is also symbolic. That is why they are in a different order from any other listing in scripture, and why certain names excluded and others are included. The list confirms the meaning of the number 144,000.

WHY ARE THE 144,000 NOT JEWS?

• Reuben, the first born, is not listed first.

• Ephraim, the second most important tribe next to Judah, is left out.

• Dan is left out.

• Levi is included. The priestly tribe is never included in a list of the 12 tribes.

• Joseph is included. The tribe of Joseph was divided into two tribes, Ephraim and Mannesseh; therefore, Joseph is never mentioned in a list of the 12 tribes.

• Rom.2:28-29 defines a true Jew, "...he is a Jew which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the Spirit and NOT in the letter..."

WHOLE GOSPEL FOUND IN THIS LIST OF THE TRIBES (the order is important):

After discovering the meaning of the symbolic language used in the number 144,000 and the names/order of the tribes, we can see that this people truly is the complete humanity from all ages fully redeemed.

MARK OF THE BEAST   

The scriptures reveal two natures: the Adam/beast nature and the nature of Christ. Originally Adam was clothed with the glory of God (Ps.8:5), befitting his nature as he was made in the image and likeness of God. After his rebellion, he was clothed with the skins of a beast, befitting his new beast-nature (the sin nature). One of the definitions of sin is ‘missing the mark’ of manifesting the glory (or nature) of God (Rom.3:23).

There are many today who are fearful of a certain mark mentioned in Rev. 13:16, the mark of the beast, number 666. Since this is a book of symbols that represent something else, I personally am not fretting too much about bar-coding or chip implants. Our concern needs to be the spiritual. Are we living our lives, buying and selling, trafficking in the ways of the world with the mark of the beast/Adam nature in our foreheads (our mind/thinking) and our right hands (the way we live/the strength of the flesh)? The word mark used in that scripture in Greek is charagma, meaning a scratch or etching, a stamp as a badge of servitude; its root word is charax, also the root word for character. I believe this mark to be an outward manifestation of the inward character of the Adam/beast nature. I propose to you that there are already many today who bear the ‘mark of the beast’/Adam nature in their foreheads and right hand -- these are those who still believe The Lie.

Believers are to be marked with a different name or nature on our foreheads (mind/our thinking, Rom. 12:2). We can read of this in Ex.28:36-38 ". . .you shall make a plate of pure gold and engrave on it, like the engravings of a signet, holiness to the LORD. . . It shall be upon Aaron’s forehead, that Aaron may take upon himself and bear any iniquity. . . it shall always be upon his forehead, that they may be accepted before the Lord. . ." We are priests of the Most High; the pure gold of the plate is symbolic of divine nature; the engraving of a signet refers to ownership and authority; and the Word engraved upon our minds – holiness or set apart for God.

The sealing of the 144,000 (humanity from all ages fully redeemed) gives another picture of this in Rev.7:3. Consider also Rev.3:12, "He who overcomes. . . I will write on him the name of My God, and the name of the city of My God, the new Jerusalem. . ."; Rev.21:2,9-10 ". . . I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem descending out of heaven from God (remember, you must be born from above), all arrayed like a Bride . . . I will show you the Bride, the Lamb’s wife. Then in the Spirit He carried me away to a great high mountain, and showed me that great city the holy Jerusalem descending out of heaven from God. . ." (note that new Jerusalem is the Bride). Rev.14:1 ". . .and with Him a hundred forty and four thousand, having His Father’s  name written in their foreheads." The new Jerusalem has 12 gates which are 12 pearls, 12 angels (messengers), 12 tribes on the gates, 12 foundation stones with the names of 12 apostles, its length and width are 12,000 furlongs, the walls are 144 (12X12) cubits high. . . are we beginning to get the idea this might be symbolic (see numbers chart)?

This 144,000 is a symbolic number representing the the complete Church (not  the Christian religious system) – the ekklesia (called out ones) in divine order -- marked or sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, the Perfect Man of Eph. 4:13, the new Jerusalem descending out of heaven from God, the Corporate Christ with Jesus as the Head and believers as the Body, manifesting the nature of God – the image and the likeness of God fully restored, operating in the fullness of the Spirit.

This is the mark to be concerned with! Didn’t Jesus say that we would do greater works? 

ONE THOUSAND YEAR REIGN

". . . they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. . ." Rev. 20:4-6

In our study we have repeatedly underscored that numbers are symbolic, so the "thousand year reign" is no different. One thousand is 10x10x10 – three tens. Three represents God manifested as the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Ten means wholeness or completeness. Three tens symbolize all that God is – all of His power, glory, wisdom, His total capacity with no limitations. With means union or completeness, and Christ means anointed or anointed one. Here we see  all that God is through His Body on this earth. Those who have the mark of God will be saturated with the totality of God (His complete anointing), and will rule and reign on this earth. (See Eph. 1:23; 4:13-16; Rev. 5:10;12:5)

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REVELATION 4, by Doug Fortune

"After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up here, and I will show you things which must be hereafter" (Rev. 4:1).

Our context is actually found in Rev.1:1 as we read of the REVELATION of Jesus Christ, or Christ revealing Himself . . . and revealing Himself in the midst of the sevenfold candlestick which is the Church (Rev. 1:13, 20). The candlestick is also generally symbolic of the illuminating ministry of the Holy Spirit as He illuminates ". . . the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment" (John 16:8). Then for the next couple chapters we see this illumination found in words like these, "Nevertheless I have somewhat against you . . ." (Rev.2:4, 14, 20). I believe that the Father generally gives us an uncomfortably realistic vision of who we are in Adam before He gives us a vision of who we are in Christ. "As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten; be zealous therefore, and repent" (Rev. 3:19). The call to repentance usually begins with godly sorrow over sin. Sorrow, though, is not the summation of repentance, for repentance is to ‘think differently’ or to think with the mind of Christ, to understand that the Kingdom of heaven is ‘at hand’, or accessible now.

Having been given a vision of who we are in Adam, and before He gives us a vision of who we are in Christ, He tells us about our new dwelling place: "To him that overcomes will I grant to sit with me in My throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with My Father in His throne" (Rev. 3:21). As overcomers, our dwelling place is IN Christ seated at the right hand of the Father in heavenly places. "Even when we were dead in sins, [He] made us alive together with Christ, (by grace you have been saved); and Has [past tense] raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places IN Christ Jesus" (Eph. 2:5,6). Next we see "a door standing open in heaven" (Rev. 4:1). We know that Jesus Christ is the door, "Then  Jesus said to them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep" (John 10:7), and the only way to enter the Kingdom is through the door. What we are entering into is the ". . . new and living way which He has consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, His flesh"(Heb.10:20).

Now the stage is set for the prophetic trumpet call to the church, "Come up here!" Mind you, I’m not talking about "I’ll fly away, O glory", but rather a call to rise to a higher realm . . . to raise our perspective and vision to where we ARE seated in Christ. And what was the first thing John saw when he came up higher? A throne – where we are seated in Christ.

From this higher ‘Throne’ perspective, the Voice tells John, "I will show you things which must be hereafter."  Unfortunately, the word translated as ‘hereafter’ is two words in Greek, meta tauta. Meta denotes accompaniment or being amid, and occupies an intermediate position between the Greek ek (denoting origin, the point whence action or motion proceeds) and eis (indicating the point reached or entered). Tauta simply means these things. Translated literally, the Voice is saying, "I will show you what needs to occur in the midst of, or accompanying these things." This unfortunate insertion of the thought of ‘hereafter" by the translators tends to make us want to place this off in the future, when in reality it means NOW for every believer of all times.

John is being shown things which must be in the midst presently. In other words, God’s stated eternal purpose is that which must be. The word translated as ‘must be’ is dei in Greek, meaning necessary (as binding); it is the active present tense of deo – meaning to bind. Deo is the word used in Matt.16:19, ". . . whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." So to put all this together, John is being shown a vision of what MUST BE, or what is bound in heaven, in order that we may grasp that vision and bind it (bring it to manifest) in the earth by our words and our lifestyle!

Before we concentrate on the four living creatures, notice verse two, ". . . One sat on the Throne." The word One is probably in italics in your Bible; that’s because it is not found in the original text. Once again, an unfortunate insertion by translators because Rev. 3:21 has already told us that the overcomers are sitting with Jesus Christ in His Throne.

In regards to those living creatures, remember that we are to bring this vision to manifest, to bind it in the earth. Obviously, God does not want four-headed creatures roaming the earth crying ‘Holy, Holy, Holy’. . . we can safely assume that this is symbolic, especially considering the entire book of the Revelation was signified (communicated in signs, symbols and types) by the angel to John (Rev.1:1).

First let us note where these living creatures are: ". . . and in the midst of the Throne, and round about the Throne, were four beasts full of eyes before and behind" (Rev. 4:6). Yes, they were in and about the Throne. Keep in mind that a Throne is not necessarily a literal ‘chair’, but rather a ‘seat of authority’. We can also read of these living creatures in Ezekiel chapter one, ". . . out of the midst thereof came the likeness of four living creatures. And their appearance was the likeness of a man" (Ezek.1:5). The word ‘likeness’ has to do with character or nature, so we see that these living creatures had the nature of a man and they were in the Throne. It goes on to describe their faces, which, of course, have to do with likeness, character, nature. "But we all, with unveiled face beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord" (2 Cor.3:18). It doesn’t take a great theologian to figure out that these ‘living creatures’ are a symbolic picture of the New (creature) Creation Man who has entered into the new and living way of Life in and emanating from the Throne. (Yes, they are also pictures of Jesus Christ, as portrayed in the four gospels, but what is true of the Head is also true of the Body).

There are a myriad of possible interpretations to these faces, but I find their placement of particular interest, ". . . they each had the face of a man in front, and they four had the face of a lion on the right side, and they four had the face of an ox on the left side, they four also had the face of an eagle at the back side of their heads" (Ezek 1:10). Man is opposite the eagle – the New Creation Man walks the dust of the earth and is a steward of the earth, yet he is not bound by it. He possesses the superior vision of the eagle (our text says he has eyes in front and back) and a higher vantage point than just the natural realm. His mentality is not ‘get me off the planet, I want my mansion in the sky’. Rather, he is very aware of and ruling in the natural realm, yet with a Life originating and emanating from the Spiritual realm. He is both man AND eagle.

The ox is opposite the lion – the New Creation Man is certainly the obedient servant walking in humility, yet he roars from Zion in worship warfare and rules as a King in the earth. He has the heart of a servant, yet like a lion, he seizes that which must be, that which is bound in the spiritual realm and brings it to bear in the natural realm. He is both ox AND lion.

At this point you might be thinking that if this is indeed a picture of us, then the only person capable of this would be a schizophrenic with a multiple personality disorder (sorry, that’s my attempt at humor!). We must realize though, that the New Creation Man is CORPORATE. There were four living creatures, symbolic of the four corners of the earth, every tongue and tribe and nation -- the totality of the Body of Christ. It takes many members to make up a healthy Body, "For as the body is one, and has many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ . . . For the body is not one member, but many" (1 Cor.12:12,14).

We will also notice that the living creatures had six wings (six is the number of man). Once again this emphasizes the truth that although we are stewards of this earthly, natural realm of man, we are not bound to it, for we ". . . shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint" (Isaiah 40:31).

Notice also the continual spoken declaration of these worshiping living creatures, ". . . they rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come" (Rev.4:8). I believe we can also get a glimpse of the same scene through the eyes of Isaiah in chapter six, ". . . each one had six wings . . . and one cried to another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts: the whole earth is full of His glory" (Is.6:23). Once again we see worship and the prophetic declaration, "The WHOLE earth IS FULL of His glory!" Only from the perspective of being IN the Throne can we see and decree God’s eternal purpose, which is "The WHOLE earth IS FULL of His glory!" Or said another way, "Making known to us the mystery of His will - of His plan, of His purpose. And it is this: In accordance with His good pleasure which He had previously purposed and set forth in Him, He planned for the maturity of the times and the climax of the ages to unify all things and head them up and consummate them in Christ, both things in heaven and things on the earth"(Eph.1:9-10)

Let us repent (think differently) of the earthly, soulish perspective of judging after the sight of our eyes, and declaring with our mouths the exploits of the enemy . . . "Things are so bad and getting worse, the enemy is coming in like a flood, evacuate us off the planet O God, beam us up quickly (Scotty)!" It is from the Throne perspective that Christ is able to reveal Himself to the world through the New Creation Man. This is the call of the Spirit today, ‘Come up higher!’ From a ‘Throne perspective’ let us call forth the purposes of God (that which MUST BE) over individuals, churches, cities, and nations . . . call forth the New Creation Man from the far corners of the earth to manifest Christ’s glory, Christ’s nature, the FACE of the man, eagle, ox and lion.

Come up higher, my friend, and let us declare "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty; who has come, who is coming, who is yet to come, for the whole earth is full of His glory, His nature!" -- end quote from Doug Fortune 

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REVELATION  20, by Tony Salmon

Revelation 20 starts out with these words, “And I saw an ANGEL come down from HEAVEN having the KEY to the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.”

The Greek word used for angel is aggelos and simply means messenger.  This can be any kind of messenger from an actual angelic being to a person sent to deliver a message from our Father.  The messenger of Revelation 20 has a KEY.  Keys are used to lock and unlock things.  Metaphorically, a key is an ANSWER or REMEDY to a problem or situation.  “I found the key to success.”  “I found the key to healthier living.”  “I have the keys (understanding) of the Kingdom.”  In this case the key that the angel brings locks away an old paradigm or way of thinking and unlocks a new paradigm.  It locks up earthly thinking that contains the curse and releases HEAVENLY thinking, the mind of Christ.  This key is said to be of the abyss or bottomless pit.  The bottomless pit is the old mind, carnal thinking, or unregenerate soul.  This pit or trap is bottomless because wrong thinking keeps giving birth to more wrong thinking, and wicked thoughts keep giving birth to thoughts more wicked than the ones before.  The wicked thoughts I am referring to are lies that keep us in lower realms by convincing us that we are alienated from Father’s love and not worthy to receive that love and experience the oneness with our Father that He desires for us.  These thoughts give birth to a false belief system about ourselves and how Father views us.   This opens a whole world of negative emotions that have a downward pull deeper into the hole called the abyss or bottomless pit. 

Genesis chapter six shows the condition of man’s heart in the days of Noah.  It states that “...every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.”  “Evil continually” simply means that man’s thoughts kept spiraling downward to thoughts more and more evil than the thoughts before.  The Hebrew word for evil is ra and basically means sorrow or misery.  Noah’s generation lived out of their natural, earthly existence rather than their higher, heavenly or spiritual existence.  Since they did not retain God in their consciousness they were unaware that they were spiritual beings, actual creations of light created in the image of the Father.  Now we can see that destroying them was an act of mercy.  Father literally “put them out of their misery” by ending their natural existence.  Like putting a log on the fire, Father destroyed their physical bodies so that their true selves, the energy or spirit-bodies, could be released from the physical bodies and carnal minds that were causing them problems.  

In all truth, Noah’s generation (gene-ration) was born for the purpose of showing us the truth that on the cross, Jesus destroyed the old creation and birthed a brand new creation from His side that was pierced by a Roman spear.  Noah’s generation, like you and me, were walking out a plan, an agreement made with the Father before they born into this world of time and space.  They were born to show us a picture of Father WASHING AWAY the old creation and bringing forth a brand new creation that thinks with the new mind.  The mind of Christ does not contain The Lie that we are separated from our Father, fallen from Him, or that He is angry with us.  Jesus was crucified in the place of the skull to end our old way of thinking.  

At the cross Jesus destroyed the ENMITY that existed in the mind of man.  Enmity is simply hostility or hatred.  Father was never hostile toward us and He certainly never hated us.  This He cannot do!  WE were the ones who were hostile; we were the ones who hated Him.  Jesus’ death was to satisfy our wrath because we were the ones who were angry.  Calvary was our opportunity to pour our hatred and wrath upon Him.  Father’s heart was expressed to man in that His love for us did not fail as we poured our cruel hatred upon Him at Calvary.  He loved us still and He healed our wounds with His, taking our pain upon Himself. Noah’s name means rest.  He builds an ark, which is a type of Jesus.  He pitches it inside and out.  The word pitch means to cover or to make an ATONEMENT.  Eight souls enter the ark.  The number eight is new beginnings or a new creation.  After the new creation is taken into the ark Father simply washes away the old creation.  As the waters recede the ark rests upon a mountain in Ararat.  Ararat means the curse is reversed.  Out from the wounded side of Christ, the door on the side of the ark, emerges eight souls, a God-man species that has never before been witnessed on the earth.  

So far we have established that the bottomless pit of Revelation 20:1 is the old mind or paradigm.  In Revelation 20:2-3 the angel takes the serpent, who is identified as the devil or Satan (The Lie), and binds him with a chain and locks him up in the bottomless pit for a thousand years. . . 

The scriptures teach that a Day with the Lord is a thousand years and a thousand years are as a Day.  From a spiritual standpoint this speaks of a people who have entered the third feast, the Feast of Tabernacles, and have entered Father’s Sabbath rest.  Those who enter His rest cease from their works and enter into the full provision of the cross.  They recognize the work was completed on Calvary and they live their lives AS the new creation man.  They are able to do this because they BELIEVE that Jesus died AS them and put away their old nature.  They no longer accept the illusion that they are separated from Father or alienated from His love.  Their identity is fully IN Christ and Christ IS their identity.  The cross ended the enmity and all alienation.  

Here’s my point:  When we are walking in the truth - the Day of the Lord expressed as a thousand year period - Satan (The Lie) is locked up and sealed in the bottomless pit of the old mind.  Satan (The Lie) lives in the old paradigm, and when we are not thinking according to the rules of the old paradigm, we are completely free of his influence and false accusations and all of the lower, tormenting thoughts that go along with these lies.  This passage of scripture says that Satan deceives the nations.  That means he LIES to them about their true existence.  At the cross, Jesus drew all humanity inside of Him and reconciled ALL back to the Father.  YOU are the righteousness of God in Christ.  YOU are a vessel and creation of light.  YOU are a spirit-being.  All of heaven, all spiritual beings everywhere and in every realm view you as a perfect spiritual creation.  There is only one place on earth where the truth about you is doubted, debated, questioned, and misunderstood, and that place is in the old mind, the abyss - the bottomless pit.  

Revelation 20:3 says that Satan deceives the nations no more until the thousand years are expired.  What does that mean?  As long as we are walking in the Day of the Lord, Satan (The Lie) is bound; once we step out of His Day, Satan is free to operate in our heavens.  He is free to deceive us, accuse us with the law of Moses, and to torment us UNTIL we see that we have slipped into a lower realm and move back into Father’s Day, Father’s rest, the finished work of the cross.  When we think with the old mind, we descend from the most holy place of Tabernacles into the lower, dark realm of duality or Pentecost - the holy place that is governed by the law of Moses.  We forget our identity in Christ, which causes us to live as if we were in Adam.  Our failures are based on a mistaken identity.  We think we are Adam so we act like Adam.  To sin means to miss the mark.  The mark or bull's-eye  IS Christ.  The moment we take our eye off of who He is in us and who we are in Him, we begin to descend into the realm of duality.  

This scripture states that Satan is loosed for a “little season.”  This means that he is free to cause conflict or war in our heavens only until we see that we have descended into the wrong realm.  Pain in our physical bodies is an indicator that something is wrong.  If I place my hand on a hot stove it only stays there for a little season because the intense pain declares to me that my hand is in a place where it is not intended to be.  Tormenting thoughts should be an indicator that we are in the wrong realm and we should ascend back to the higher realm as quickly as we remove our hand from a hot stove.  

“And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them…” (Rev. 20:4).  The ones sitting on these thrones are overcomers who recognize that they are seated with Christ in a heavenly realm that is far above the influence of the old mind.  They are REIGNING with Christ over every thought pattern that once gave them trouble and kept them paralyzed in the earth realm, making it impossible to fulfill destiny.  They are seated WITH Him and Ephesians 1:21 shows that He is seated FAR ABOVE all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named.  A principality can be a mindset, an old way of thinking that dominates us and brings us into the bondage of fear.  All lower thoughts have their roots in a false identity.  We imagine we are separate from our Father, alienated from and unworthy of His love.  These lies open the door to the bottomless pit.  The picture of the overcomers sitting upon thrones simply means that they think His thoughts rather than their own...they think with the mind of Christ instead of with the old mind.   

Judgment was given to the ones seated upon the thrones.  The word judgment carries negative connotations only because we have viewed judgment through the law of Moses and we have filtered it through the old paradigm, the old mind.  Judgment is a wonderful thing when viewed from the heavens.  These overcomers seated on thrones are able to JUDGE or DISCERN between heavenly thoughts and earthly thoughts, Father’s thoughts and their thoughts.  They are able to judge all negativity and remove it from their heavens.   

Let’s examine another side of judgment.  To judge something is simply to take a wrong and make it right.  We find that which is broken and fix it; we find that which is torn and mend it; we find that which is wounded and heal it.  These overcomers seated on thrones are part of a king-priest ministry, the Melchisedec order.  As a Melchisedec Priesthood we have the right to bless rather than to curse, heal rather than wound, restore rather than destroy.  We have the right to literally remove the curse from the earth by touching and healing creation and speaking forth a word of life that will cause all of the cosmos to come into harmony with the will of its Creator.   

At the same time that John sees the overcomers sitting on thrones, he also sees the souls (minds) of them that were BEHEADED for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God.  Duality is expressed in this scripture as two completely different heads - the head of Christ and the head of Adam.  Two completely different heads means that they are two completely different paradigms, each with its own rules and point of reference.  Just as it is impossible for the head of Christ to think the thoughts of Adam,  it is impossible for the head of Adam to think the thoughts of Christ.  Trying to think with both heads brings about a war in our heavens described in Revelation as the battle of Armageddon.  

What gives the overcomers the ability to sit upon the thrones is that the old head has been removed by the sword of the living word of God within.  The living word is not the same as the written word.  In Pentecost the written word was esteemed as the word of God, but in Tabernacles what Father SPEAKS WITHIN US IS HIS WORD.  In Tabernacles the written word becomes a confirmer to what Father speaks within us.  Learning to hear Father’s Voice is the key to having the old head removed.  Father’s Voice within will melt the heart and cause us to realize that we have full acceptance by Him and are loved beyond measure and without limitation.  It can be quite a surprise to hear His Voice and find that He does not think even one negative or judgmental thought toward us.  He is not like an earthly father; He is not in any way disappointed with us, nor will He ever be!   

We see a picture of the old head being removed when John the Baptist was in prison.  He begins to doubt and sends word to Jesus saying, “Are you the one that was to come or should we look for another?”  Jesus sends a word of comfort to John saying that the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor.  Soon after John hears the soothing words of Jesus his head was removed with a sword showing us that hearing His Voice destroys the mind that contains the curse.   

After the souls are beheaded for the witness of Jesus, this scripture declares that they did not worship the beast or his image and that they did not receive his mark upon their foreheads nor in their hands.  The beast is simply the BEASTLY NATURE OF ADAM.  Adam’s head or mind is MARKED or CURSED with wrong thinking and a false identity.  In the sweat of Adam’s face, he eats bread and thorns and thistles as the fruit of his labor.  Sweat, thorns, and thistles are all types of the curse.  If we live in Adam’s world, we experience his curse.  The greater reality is that at the very moment Adam fell, the Lamb of God was slain, immediately removing the curse and restoring all creation.  Four thousand years later, Jesus comes and sweats great drops of blood from His brow in the Garden of Gethsemane.  He was taking the curse from us and putting it upon Himself.  He later takes our crown of thorns and allows Roman soldiers to beat the thorns INTO His head.  He took all of the thoughts of our troubled soul and destroyed them, fully removing the curse from our psyche.   

Revelation 20:4 ends like this, "...and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years."  With the old head removed, we find that we are in THE DAY OF THE LORD, which is expressed in this scripture as a thousand years.  The overcomers on the thrones are reigning WITH Christ over all the tormenting thoughts that once brought them pain and sorrow.  For them the curse has been removed.  They are right now living in the Kingdom Age, and in that heavenly dimension all the rules have changed.  They think with the mind of Christ that does not contain the curse.  The mind of Christ is a new paradigm because the rules that governed the old mind are not in any way a part of the new mind.  The new mind has no curse, no Mosaic law, no guilt, shame, condemnation, weakness, sorrow, depression, death, or discouragement.  These former things pass away once we begin to think with the mind of Christ.   

The city of God lies foursquare; the mind of Christ lies foursquare.  They are one and the same.  The Feast of Tabernacles is celebrated behind the veil in the most holy place, which is the only court in the Tabernacle of Moses that was foursquare.  The dimensions of the most holy place were 10 cubits x 10 cubits x 10 cubits, which is 10 to the third power or 1000 SQUARE CUBITS!  This means that we have entered His Day, represented by 1000 square cubits, and that His Day has entered our thinking!  The veil that DIVIDES is nothing more than the illusion of separation based on lies spoken to us by religion.  Now the veil is removed, the old head removed, and the light of Christ is shining in a once dark soul that thought it was alienated from the love and life of the Father. -- end quote Tony Salmon

CONCLUSION

The Book of the Revelation of Jesus Christ is not only the revealing of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, our Messiah, but also unfolds the bringing forth of the revelation of Jesus Christ in the Bride of Christ, hence all of humanity. It is a highly symbolic letter originally written to the persecuted Church in Asia Minor in the first century A.D., not a narrative (story that has a time line framework). However, every vision is intended to bless every Christian in every age who reads this book. In each of the seven visions, we see  what Jesus did, who He is now, and all He has in store for the future.