The
Secret of the Seas
                                                                                          By Pastor F. M. Riley
                                                                                          July 24, 2018
     "And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for thee first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea."
                                                                                        Revelation 21:1
Introduction
     This Scripture text should be studied in context with the rest of the events prophesied to occur in the last four chapters of Revelation.  
     In 19:11-21, the seven year Tribulation period is brought to an end by the Second Coming of Christ.  The Lord defeats and destroys all the armies of the anti-christ which are gathered against Him, and also all of  the incorrigible wicked still on the earth.  This will cleanse the earth in preparation for the 1,000 year Millennial Kingdom of Christ mentioned in Revelation 20.  Christ's Millennial Kingdom is to be a Kingdom of righteousness and peace, therefore the cleansing just before His Kingdom is established.  But keep in mind, that believing people still living in their natural bodies will produce children, and sadly, even under the reign of Christ, all of their children will not receive Christ for salvation.  Some, by their own choice,  will remain spiritually "dead."  
     Then in chapter 20, following the Millennial Kingdom of the Lord,  the Great White Throne Judgment takes place, in which every unbelieving, Christ rejecting, incorrigible, soul who has ever lived in human history [20:12-13] will be judged and cast into "the lake of fire," 20:15.  Carefully notice that "death and hell" are also cast into that terrible, fiery, lake, bringing "death"  to an end for ever, and closing the gates of "hell," 21:4.        
     These two inspired chapters reveal a total cleansing of all  unbelieving, incorrigible, mankind from off the face of the earth.  It is then following the Great White Throne Judgment that John is shown "...a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea, 21:1.  In this Scripture, the Lord Himself is obviously placing emphasis on there being "no more sea."  Why?  Just keep reading.......
A Personal Note
       Many years ago I preached a revival effort in a church in the state of New York.  During the week I was there, the pastor and his wife graciously took me to the coast to view the Atlantic Ocean.  They offered to take me on a tour boat out onto the Atlantic.  I declined their offer, telling them their offer was appreciated, but that "pond" was just too big for me, and I had no desire to go out on it.  
     Then years later, while I was pastoring in the state of Washington, I was offered the opportunity to spend three days on the Pacific Ocean in a fine cabin cruiser owned by a wealthy Christian man.  Again, I declined the offer.  My wife and I did spend a night or two in a motel overlooking the Pacific, and we strolled along the beach looking for and picking up sea shells.  That was enjoyable, but I had no desire even then to go out on the Ocean.   
     Right to this present day I still have no such desire.  I am not criticizing or trying to offend  those who work and travel on the seas and oceans of the world.  I have people tell me from time to time about their wonderful cruise to Jamaica or Barbados or elsewhere. That is fine, and I am glad they enjoyed it, but it is still not for me!  Why?  
     My feelings are not based on any fear of the seas and oceans, for I know that my Lord God can protect me on the seas and oceans, just like He does on the land.  Praise the Lord!  
      So, if my phobia is not based on a fear of the seas and oceans, what is it based upon?   I'm so glad you asked!  Just read right on.......
The Symbolism of the Seas
     The seas are mentioned numerous times in God's inspired Word, and usually [but not always] in a negative sense.  Why is this?  It is because....
The Seas Symbolize the Masses of Mankind
    The Seas upon the earth symbolize the entire population of the earth, particularly all of mankind left behind on the earth following the rapture.   It is clearly stated in Revelation 17:15, ".....The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues."  
     This inspired statement makes it quite clear that all of unbelieving mankind left behind on the earth when the rapture occurs, will be like  a "sea of humanity."   Sadly, it is also stated in 13:7 that the anti-christ will be given "power....over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations."  So the anti-christ will be directing that "sea of humanity," for a time during the Tribulation period.   
     Have our readers ever noticed or thought about the parallel?   The Lord Jesus Christ, during His personal ministry, commanded the sea to be still, and it obeyed Him, Mark 4:39.  
     Now remember that the anti-christ desires to be like Christ, Isaiah 14:14, so he will emulate Christ by ruling over the entire "sea of humanity."
The Seas Symbolize the Unbelieving Wicked
  Then in Isaiah 57:20-21, the inspired Word says, "But the wicked are like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt.  
     There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked."
     See also Job 15:20, Proverbs 4:16, and Jude 13.
     We know, or should know, that for centuries mankind has been dumping waste into the seas of the earth.   This waste doesn't simply go away.  Rather, when the seas are moved by storms, this waste is washed up onto the beaches, contaminating the very sand of the beaches with impurities, poisons, and diseases of various kinds.  
     And yes, there is a parallel to this!  Today we see the "sea of humanity" troubled and restless.   All of the major cities on the earth today are experiencing protests, marches, demonstrations, and often riots, many times resulting in deaths.  And there is every "sign" that such actions are only going to get worse and worse, Matthew 24:7; 2 Timothy 3:13.   During these protests and demonstrations, the protestoirs are raging and roaring, just like the seas do in a storm.  And  irregardless of what is being protested, the "sea of humanity" can be observed casting up "mire and dirt" just like the seas upon the earth.   Is this parallel just "coincidence?"  I think not!  
The Seas Hide the Gates of Hell
   After 4,500 years since the flood in "the days of Noah, the seas are still the most mysterious places on the earth.  Mankind has explored most of the earth's surface, and also soared into the heavens above. But the depths of the sea remain virtually unexplored.  
      I am well aware that maps of the sea floors have been published. These maps were made using some type of radar to bounce signals off the floor of the seas.  These maps reveal what dangerous obstacles to ships and submarines, lie just beneath the surface.  But what really lies  in the depths of the seas remain unexplored and unknown.  Why?  
     Because of the extreme pressure of the water in the deep trenches in the seas and oceans.  The ship builders have not yet produced a submarine capable of standing up to the tremendous pressures at or near the bottom of the deep trenches in the sea.  Water has weight to it.  Can our readers even imagine how much weight is pressing down at the bottom of a six or seven mile deep trench in the ocean.  Until and unless mankind suceeds in inventing some sort of vessel which will stand up to the thousands or even millions of pounds of pressure, then the deep trenches of the seas cannot be explored by mankind.  So why am I emphasizing this?  
Because of the Journey of Jonah
      One man in human history has already been to the very bottom of the seas, and came back to tell about it.  His name was Jonah.  Read this little book in God's inspired Word for yourself.  Jonah is the fellow who was swallowed by a fish, Jonah 1:17.  Then what happened?
     Some commentators go to great length to explain how the Lord kept Jonah alive while in the belly of the fish.  My answer.....HOGWASH!  The Lord did no such thing!  How do I know?  Because the Lord, during His personal ministry, clearly stated, "For as Jo'nas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth," Matthew 12:40.  
     Now did the Lord die on Calvary's old rugged cross, or did He not?  Of course He did!  It is through His death, burial, and resurrection that those who will believe on Him are saved, John 3:16; Romans 5:8; 1 Peter 1:3.  Then since Jonah was a true type of Christ, as the Lord Himself pointed out, then Jonah died in the belly of the fish, and his soul went down into Sheol, while his body was preserved in the belly of the fish for "three days and three nights," Jonah 1:17.   
      Jonah himself agrees with this statement.  In Jonah 2:2 Jonah clearly stated, ".....out of the belly of hell [sheol] cried I, and Thou heardest my voice."  Then in verses 3 - 9,  Jonah went into a brief explanation of what he had experienced after being swallowed by the fish.   Study these Scriptures carefully.
     Jonah prayed to the Lord God ".....out of the belly of hell [sheol] cried I, and Thou heardest my voice," Jonah 2:2.  Sheol  was the place of departed spirits,  where the souls of all who died went preceding the resurrection of Christ.  
     Sheol was divided into at least two compartments, and perhaps even more.  One compartment was filled with burning fire and was spoken of by the Lord Himself as "torments," Luke 16:23.  The souls of all wicked unbelievers went there when they physically died.  This "prison" still exists today, and is commonly referred to as "Hell."  
     The other compartment in Sheol was "paradise," Luke 23:43.  The souls of all true believers  went there when they died, up until the resurrection of Christ.  When Christ Jesus arose from the dead, He released the believing "prisoners" being held there and moved Paradise to Heaven above, Ephesians 4:8-10.  Hallelujah!  What a Savior!  
     Now going back to Jonah's experience described in 2:2-10.  In 2:6 Jonah explicitly stated, "I went down to the bottom of the mountains [there are mountains beneath the seas]; the earth with her bars was about me for ever: yet hast thou brought up my life from corruption, O Lord my God."
     Dear readers, the "gates of Hell" are  located somewhere in the pitch blackness of the deep trenches at the bottom of the seas, Psalm 9:13; 107:15-18.   Just as New Jerusalem has "gates" in the wall of that beautiful celestial city above, even so there are "gates" opening up into hell below.  According to Jonah, there are "bars" set in the earth at the bottom of the mountains where the incorrigible, unbelieving, wicked enter into the gates of hell.
No More Sea
     At the beginning of the Eternal Age, the inspired Word clearly states that upon the new earth there will be "no more sea."  Why?  Because in the Eternal Age, there will be no more wickedness.  All sin, and all incorrigible sinners, will have been completely removed for time and for eternity.  The sea, as pointed out in this study, typifies the masses of unbelieving and unrepentant people living on the earth today.  There will be no such people during the future Eternal Age.  God's Kingdom will be a Kingdom of total righteousness and peace.  No sin will ever enter that Kingdom, as it entered into the Garden of Eden.  
Conclusion
     Now, by the grace of God in Christ, every reader presently has a choice between spending eternity with God and His people in Paradise above, or spending eternity in Hell beneath.  Your choice is activated by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation, or by your rejection of Christ as your Savior.  Choose carefully!  
     It is my fervent hope and prayer that every reader of this study has placed their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation and will meet me in New Jerusalem; Paradise above.  I am now very old, and will SOON be going there, either by death or by the glorious coming of our Lord to resurrect and rapture His people.  By God's grace, I have the sweet assurance that Heaven above will be my future "home."  Any reader who does not have such assurance, needs to seek the Lord in humble and sincere prayer right now to become your Savior.  The inspired Word of God explicitly says, "For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved," Romans 10:13, and "Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you," Matthew 7:7.  
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     Permission is granted to any true believer, or Bible believing Christian ministry to reproduce this study to share with others, or to quote from it in context as written.  
     My personal contact information:
POSTAL.......Pastor F. M. Riley, 14275 Co. Rd. 8120, Rolla, Missouri 65401
EMAIL..........francismriley34@gmail.com
PHONE........573-202-6493
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