Apocalypse. Interpretation of the XXI century. Valeriy Sterkh

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