The Sea of Glass
“Also before the throne there is as it were a sea of glass, like crystal.” (Revelation 4:6, RSV)
In the Holy Scriptures the sea often symbolizes the asses, peoples, multitudes and nations. The Bible says that the sea is the gathering of waters (Genesis 1:10). The signification of the waters is given to us in Revelation in this way: “The waters you saw … are peoples, multitudes, nations and languages” (Rev. 17:15). The sea, and the waters in plural, have similar meanings.
The sea in our text was not a real one, but an appearance of sea. The sea of glass was like crystal in its clearness. It was before the throne, consequently under its sway. The vision of the sea must refer to a period of time before the establishment of the Kingdom, because when the new heaven and the new earth are established the sea will be no more (Rev. 21:1).
Contrary to the sea of glass mentioned in Revelation 15:2, this sea is not mingled with fire but is clear as crystal, nevertheless both appeared to be a sea of glass. They are therefore symbolic. Also, though the sea of glass of our text is clear as crystal, it is different from the river of the water of life, bright as crystal (Rev. 22:1), because it is a sea, not a river.
GOD IS SOVEREIGN
The sea was before the throne, said John. Has God been exercising His rule on men since the beginning? The prophet Daniel gives us the answer: “The Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will” (Dan. 4:32, RSV). Although He allowed Lucifer to become the god of this world, God did not entirely forsake His sway on the earth. God has full control over the human affairs and allows Lucifer or Satan to act only to some extent. Therefore, God who created all things and is the owner of everything rules over the sea – over peoples, multitudes, nations and languages. God is sovereign over the kingdoms of men.
We remember what the prophet Daniel said to Nebuchadnezzar: “The God of heaven has given you dominion and power and might and glory; in your hands he has placed mankind and the beasts of the field and the birds of the air. Wherever they live, he has made you ruler over them all” (2:36). Paul said in Romans 13:1: “Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God” (RSV). God permits the kingdoms to act according to their wishes, but He has set limits on them. He does not permit them to counteract His purposes or plan.
Nevertheless, these kingdoms are not kingdoms of God. They are kingdoms of this world (Rev. 11:15), more or less under the power or dominion of the prince of this world, Satan (John 12:31; Matthew 4:8). However Satan is not a king, but a prince, and he rules over these kingdoms illegally. He has usurped power.
God instituted the governing authorities in the sense that He permits them to exist. He also gave them a lease of power. But these governing authorities are destined to destruction. “In the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed, nor shall its sovereignty be left to another people. It shall break in pieces all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, and it shall stand for ever” (Daniel 2:44, RSV). Now the lease of power has expired and the process of destruction has begun. The Kingdom of God will replace these kingdoms and the will of God will be done on earth as it is done in heaven (Matthew 6:10).
MESSIAH’S REIGN OVER THE NATIONS
The throne seen by John represented, secondarily, the throne of Christ during the second presence. Thus we may expect the Lord to reign on the sea of glass in some way. We are not going to examine the reign of Christ in detail now. For the time being we recall what brother Russell wrote in his foreword to Volume III: “Messiah’s Kingdom has various stages of inauguration” (page iii [Ciii]). We will merely examine the general aspects of Messiah’s reign.
Before proceeding to this examination, we would like to call attention to the fact that the reign of Christ does not begin after the time of trouble, after the destruction of the present order of things. We find a great number of texts in the Bible which say to us that the reign of Christ begins before the time of trouble. We are going to quote several of them.
- “And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat upon it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them” (Revelation 20: 11, ASV)
- “See I have set you this day over nations and over kingdoms, to pluck up and to break down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant.” (Jeremiah 1:10, RSV)
- “The Lord reigns … fire goes before him and consumes his foes on every side. His lightning lights up the world; the earth sees and trembles. The mountains melt like wax before the Lord, before the Lord of all the earth.” (Psalms 97:1, 3-5, NIV)
- “In the time of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will crush all those kingdoms and bring them to an end, but it will itself endure for ever.” (Daniel 2:44, NIV)
- “I will shake the heavens and the earth; and I will overthrow the throne of kingdoms; and I will destroy the strength of the kingdoms of the nations.” (Haggai 2:21, 22, ASV)
- “This is what the Lord says to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I take hold of to subdue nations before him and to strip kings of their armour.” (Isaiah 45:1, NIV).
See also Revelation 2:27, 19:11-16, 11:17,18, Daniel 12:1, Psalms 45:4, 6, 149:8, 9. Christ reigns before the establishment of his Kingdom, because the overthrow of the earthly kingdoms is the result of his reign. Treating of the reign of Christ, brother Russell wrote: “We are told, prophetically, that the reign begins before the time of trouble” (Vol. IV, page 622 [D622]).
THE FIRST PROCLAMATION
The first proclamation of the reign of Christ after his return seems to be found in Revelation 11:15. “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ and he will reign for ever and ever” Previously the kingdoms of the world were under the princeship of Satan. This text seems to signify that Satan has been deposed of his princeship. He has been “cast ouC'(John 12:31). He is no more recognized as “the prince of this world,” although he continued influencing the world. The binding of Satan has begun and is the result of deposition (Revelation 20:1, 2). The Lord Jesus was already “the prince of the kings of the earth” (Revelation 1:5) at his resurrection, and when He came down from heaven He came therefore as a legitimate king of the earth. He came to take his great power and simultaneously to take away the power from Satan. This transfer is gradual and is shown figuratively in Exodus 4:3, 4, when Moses, who typified Christ, caught the serpent which became a rod in his hand. The rod symbolizes power or authority.
When He raised up his Church in 1878, Christ became King of kings and Lord of lords (Revelation 19:16). He was set King upon the holy hill of Zion (Psalm 2:6). The last members of Christ’s body, who bring good news and proclaim salvation, say now to Zion: “Your God reigns!” (Isaiah 52:7).
When the lease of power given to the Gentiles expired in 1914, the Lord Jesus deposed the kings of the earth of their kingship. He dethroned several kings during the first World War and many others later on. Today very few are left and most of them have no authority.
The Bible says: “The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until he comes to whom it belongs” (Genesis 49:10, RSV). This verse seems to mean that the scepter or right to rule was never taken away from Judah and when Christ came He received the scepter because He was descended from Judah and had a right to it. The scepter or right to rule was given to Christ at his resurrection, when He said “All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth” (Matthew 28:18. See Vol. II, pg. 86.) Nevertheless, He used this power at his second coming. He used it to bind Satan and to raise up the sleeping saints. He also used this power to “overthrow the throne of kingdoms” (Haggai 2:21) at the expiration of the Gentile Times – that is to say, at the end of the interregnum.
The interregnum being finished, the crown taken away from Zedekiah was given to Christ. We read in the prophecy of Ezekiel: “Remove the diadem, and take off the crown … I will overturn, overturn, overturn it [the kingdom]: and it [the kingdom] shall be no more, until he come whose right it is [to reign], and I will give it [the crown] him” (21:26, 27, KJV).
We think that the crown was given to Christ at the expiration of the Gentile Times because the scepter or right to rule was given to Him at his resurrection. (See Vol. II, page 86.) It follows that Christ is King of Israel and has begun reigning over this nation. We differentiate between the reign and the kingdom. The reign of Christ over Israel begins before the time of Jacob’s trouble. We read in Ezekiel 20:33: “As I live, says the Lord God, I will reign over you with a strong hand, with arm outstretched and wrath outpoured” (NEB).
Incidentally, we point out that the Lord Jesus is not hindered in his activity because the Church is not yet complete. (See R5632, section 1.)
In view of these facts, “the earthly phase of the Kingdom of God when set up will be Israelitish” (Vol. IV, page 624 [D624]).
The Kingdom of God will begin with the nation of Israel. “To the Jew first” (Romans 2:10). All the peoples will have to become converted to the God of Jacob. The prophecy of Isaiah 2:2, 3 explains this conversion. In Volume IV, page 628, this prophecy is quoted and paraphrased as follows:
“It shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain [kingdom] of the Lord’s house shall be established in the top of the mountains [as a Kingdom overtopping or overruling all kingdoms], and shall be exalted above the hills [the highest peaks]; and all nations shall flow unto it. And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain [Kingdom] of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths.”
On page 642 we read: “The Kingdom of God will spread or increase, in its various parts or divisions, as do earthly governments, until it shall become ‘a great mountain [kingdom] and fill the whole earth’ (Daniel 2:35).” [D642]
The sea of glass, which represents peoples, multitudes, nations and languages, would concern the period of time when Christ reigns before the establishment of his Kingdom and when lightnings, thunderings and, voices were proceeding out of the throne (Revelation 4:5). But in the first place the sea of glass would represent the peoples under the sway of God Himself, as we explained earlier.
God said: “Heaven is my throne and the earth is my footstool” (Isaiah 66:1), and respecting the nations David said: “For dominion belongs to the LORD, and he rules over the nations (Psalm 22:28). See also 2 Chronicles 20:6, Psalms 95:3, Daniel 4:32, 1 Timothy 1:17. For God, the sea is like glass, as clear as crystal. God sees everything and nothing can escape His sight. “Before him no creature is hidden, but all are open and laid bare to the eyes of him with whom we have to dd’ (Hebrews 4:13).
– Antoine Papajak, entered into rest September 14, 1995