SATAN, HIS FALL TO EARTH: Rev 8:10, 9:1, and 12:3-4, 12. Satan is expelled from heaven during the third judgment while his angels seem to be expelled a short time later in the fourth judgment. They will no longer have access to heaven and will be filled with fury. Satan’s original fall was a fall from God’s government in heaven, Isa 14, Ezek 28. He apparently lost his free access to God at the time that he fell into sin.

SATAN: THE SERPENT, DRAGON & DEVIL: Rev 12:3, 20:2. Satan is described in Rev 20:2 as being the dragon, the serpent and the devil and in Rev 12:3 as the red dragon. He also is referred to by several other names in the Bible.

SCALES: Rev 6:5. The rider on the black horse in Rev 6:5 has a pair of scales with which to measure out food which will be rationed because it is in such short supply. Famine will be one of the judgments placed upon the earth by God during the tribulation. The scales imply the rationing of food and other essentials of life.

SCARLET BEAST: Rev 17:3. A beast which the great prostitute, mystery Babylon, rides in Rev 17:3. It seems that the scarlet beast represents both the allied empire of the antichrist and the antichrist or beast who leads the empire. Also see Beast, the First and Beast out of the Sea.

SCROLL: Rev 5:1. This is the famous seven sealed scroll. Only the Lamb was found worthy to open the scroll. It describes God’s plan for mankind and for angels beginning with the outpouring of the wrath of God and lasting into eternity.

SCROLL; SMALL OPEN SCROLL HELD BY ANGEL: Rev10:2. I suspect that the small open scroll that the angel was holding contains the description of the seven judgments and their interpretation.

SECOND DEATH: See hell, Hades for definition.

SEA OF GLASS: Rev 4:6, 15:2. A sea of glass, clear as crystal, surrounding the throne of God is mentioned both in Rev 4:6 and 15:2. The throne is right in the middle of what looks like a sea of glass. We are not told that it is glass but that it looks like glass. This may just be describing the scene as John saw it, it may again be symbolic or it may be both. If it is symbolic we may be seeing a great multitude of humanity who had been refined by fire (Rev 15:2) and washed as pure as crystal. The word sea as used in Dan 7:3 and explained in Dan 7:17 referred to the nations of the earth. It is also used this way in Isa 60:5. It might also be said to refer to a great mass of humanity. Let’s pull a few strings and see if we might get a few additional clues as to what the sea of glass which surrounds the throne of God might be. In Rev 21:2-3 we see that the New Jerusalem is described as being prepared like a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. We also see that the dwelling place of God is now with men. In Rev 21:9-11 we see that the New Jerusalem is actually the bride of Christ and that God now lives in that new city, the bride. God now lives within man. In verse 11 we see that the city, the bride, shone with the brilliance of God appearing as a precious jewel, as clear as crystal. Next we notice in the description of the new city, the bride, that the great street that runs through the city is said to be pure gold, like transparent glass, Rev 21:21. In Rev 22:1-2 we see that the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flows from the throne of God down the great street of the city. We also see Jesus, the Tree of Life, standing on both sides of the river. In John 7:39 we see that streams of living water refers to the Holy Spirit. Thus we see that the Holy Spirit runs through the new city, the bride, and that Jesus is there providing whatever is needed for eternal life. This is also described in Ezek 47:1-12 and Zech 14:8. If we try to put all of this together we see that several things are described as being as clear as crystal including (1) the sea of glass surrounding the throne of God, (2) the New Jerusalem representing the bride of Christ, and (3) the river of the water of life that flows from the throne of God and runs down the street of the New Jerusalem, the bride. We also see several things looking like glass or jewels including, (1) the sea of glass, (2) the new city, the bride, and (3) the street that runs through the city through which the river of the water of life flows. We basically have the same list repeated twice. We also know that a sea represents a mass of humanity and a river represents the Holy Spirit. If we put all of this together it seems that the sea of glass that surrounds the throne of God, the dwelling place of God, is the New Jerusalem or the bride of Christ with the Holy Spirit running through it and being permanently sustained by the tree of life, Jesus. Wow!! It seems that the sea of glass is the redeemed bride of Christ in heaven. So we see that the bride of Christ is already in heaven in chapter 4 before the seven sealed scroll is opened. Thank God for that. The rapture has already taken place. See Ex 24:9-10 for another possible reference to the sea of glass.

SEALED: Rev 7:3-4, 14:1. The servants of God and the 144,000 were said to be sealed during the tribulation period. This provided supernatural protection for them from the wrath. It also refers to being given the Holy Spirit to indwell the believer, as a guarantee of an inheritance of eternal life, Eph 1:13, 4:30. When we are sealed we receive an inscription marking us as belonging to Jesus. This inscription is described in Isa 62:12, “The redeemed of the Lord, the holy people, the city no longer deserted.” The city is the bride of Christ, the New Jerusalem, Rev 21:9-10, Heb 12:22-24, Rev 3:12. Ezek 9:3-5 describes a seal being placed on the forehead of those doing God’s will to protect them from wrath. We see in Rev 14:1 that the 144,000 had the names of Jesus and the Father written on their foreheads. We believe and our great hope is that we as believers will be protected “from” the wrath by being raptured to heaven before it begins. Those being sealed in Rev 7:3-4 were not believers when the rapture took place and the tribulation began (on the same day). However, they quickly became believers when they properly interpreted what had happened and was happening to them and to the world. As they became believers they were sealed. Many of the new believers were Jews.

SECOND COMING OF CHRIST: Rev 17:14, 19:7-20:6, Matt 24:29-31, 2 Thess 1:5-10, Zech 12:9, 14:1-8, Hosea 5:14-6:3. It’s interesting that both the Rapture and the Second Coming are “rescue” events. It seems that the Tribulation period both begins and ends with a great rescue by Jesus Christ. The Tribulation begins with Jesus rescuing his bride, the church, just before the great wrath of the Tribulation period begins, and it ends with him rescuing the recently converted Jewish nation just as they are about to be completely destroyed near the end of the great wrath. This great rescue of the Jewish nation is referred to as the Second Coming. Just as the First Coming was to the Jewish nation so is the Second Coming to the Jewish nation. The Bible is literally filled with passages describing the Second Coming. Hosea 5:14-6:3 says that the Jews finally acknowledge Jesus, pray for him to come and rescue them from the tribulation, and he waits until the third day to come back to rescue them. At the second Coming Jesus comes in great power and glory, defeats Satan and his cohorts the antichrist and false prophet, rescues the believers left on earth, judges the peoples of earth at the sheep/goat judgment, restores the earth to a near paradise condition, and ushers in his millennial reign on earth as King of kings and Lord of lords.

SERAPHIM: see Four Living Creatures, Cherubim, Seraphim

SERPENT: Rev 12:14. See Satan.

SEVEN CHURCHES: Rev 1:4, 20, and chs 2&3. Seven literal New Testament churches; which may also figuratively represent both the evolutionary church movement of the last 2000 years and also the various churches existing in the Day of the Lord, the period just before and during the return of Jesus. They present a pattern of the churches that have existed throughout church history and that certainly exist today.

SEVEN EYES: See Seven Spirits of God

SEVEN GOLDEN LAMPSTANDS, SEVEN LAMPSTANDS: Rev 1:20. The seven churches, Rev 1:20. Each lampstand stands for one church. They are to provide the light of Christ for the whole world. The picture being painted in Zech chapter 4 is of one lampstand surrounded by two olive trees. This chapter is looking ahead to and discussing “that day,” or the Second Coming. The lampstand is flanked by the two olive trees, which seem to represent Israel and Judah (see Jer 11:14-17), who provide the fruit from which the oil is made to keep the fires of the seven lamps in the lampstand burning, Rev 21:12. The lampstand here has seven lights or seven eyes. We see in Rev 4:5 that the seven lamps blazing before God were the Holy Spirit. Since the seven lamps are in the golden lampstand the symbology seems to represent the Spirit being in the church or in the believers. It is the Holy Spirit who provides the oil, the mechanism, the inspiration for the lampstand, the church, to be the light of Christ in and to the world. Remember, this chapter is looking ahead to “that day.” In Zech 4 we may be seeing Israel and the church standing together in heaven in “that day.” The picture of the lampstand in Zech 4 may also represent the seven nations which were originally in the holy land when Israel conquered it. This is sometimes used to represent all of the gentile nations on earth. See Lampstand for a more complete discussion of the symbology represented by the lampstand and the olive trees. Also see the model presented in Zech 3:8-4:4 at the end of this dictionary for much more detail concerning olive trees and lampstands.

SEVEN HORNS: Rev 5:6. See Seven Spirits of God.

SEVEN SPIRITS OF GOD, SEVEN EYES, SEVEN HORNS: Rev 1:4-5, 4:5, 5:6. In Rev 1:4-5 we see that the letter to the seven churches is from God the Father, Jesus the Son and from the seven spirits before the throne. If this letter is from the Father and the Son then it must also be from the Holy Spirit. To think otherwise would be contrary to what we know about the triune nature of God. The question then would be, “why is the Holy Spirit referred to as the seven spirits before the throne?” Let’s see what else we can learn about the “seven spirits of God.” In Rev 4:5, we see “seven lamps blazing before the throne of God,” and that they were the “seven spirits of God.” In Rev 5:6, we see that Jesus had “seven eyes” and “seven horns” which were the “seven spirits of God sent out into the world.” In Zech 3:9, we see that there were “seven eyes in the capstone,” which figuratively means that Jesus has “seven eyes,” or from Rev 5:6 “seven spirits of God sent out into the world.” Who did Jesus say he would send to believers all over world in John 14:15-21? The counselor, the Holy Spirit. But why is the Spirit referred to as the “seven spirits of God?” Seven is a number that stands for perfection or completeness in the Bible. That may be the reason, or perhaps it is the fact that there are seven continents on the earth and the Holy Spirit was sent to all of them. It may also refer to the fact that there were seven gentile tribes in the Promised Land when the Jews were first allowed to go there, and thus they may refer to all gentiles. We see that the Spirit is Jesus living in us and he is the eyes of Jesus in the world. Also, we saw in the discussion of the seven golden lampstands above that there are seven lamps in the golden lampstand and the symbology seems to represent the Spirit being in the church or in the believers. The fact that the Holy Spirit is referred to as the seven spirits of God may reflect the fact that he is in all seven churches. Others have suggested that it refers to the characteristics of the Holy Spirit, perhaps reflecting Isa 11:2. Isa 11:2 is sometimes referred to as describing the sevenfold Spirit of God. They are six channels described through which a person can become a believer and thus receive the Spirit. They are the Spirits of wisdom, understanding, counsel, power, knowledge and fear of the Lord. These six describe how the Spirit works while the seventh aspect of the Spirit is who he is; he is the third person in the Godhead. I suspect that this is the best answer. The Spirit is one in person, but works in seven different ways to reach individuals with the truth and salvation provided only by belief in Jesus. The seven horns in Rev 5:6 may also be referring to the seven spirits of God. In Rev 4:1 John says that the voice speaking to him from heaven sounded like a trumpet. A trumpet was a ram’s horn. The ram caught in the thicket in the story of the sacrifice of Isaac resulted in a substitute sacrifice for Isaac. Thus the trumpet speaks to us of Jesus’ sacrifice for us. Let us quickly summarize and reach a conclusion about what the seven eyes and seven horns of Jesus are. A lampstand has seven candles within it to provide light. The lampstand is representative of the church. Thus the church has seven candles within it. When these candles are lit and burning they represent the work of Jesus within the world through his Spirit being within believers. But what powers these candles that they may do the work of Jesus within the world? The power for lighting and keeping the candles burning comes from oil; oil made from the crushed olive, the fruit of the olive tree representing the Jewish nation. Jesus is the crushed olive, crushed for our sins in order to redeem us. The finished work of Jesus allows believers to do his work in the world. Jesus’ Spirit is the oil that powers the lamps. Again, there are seven lamps in the lampstand, the church. As these lamps burn in individual believers they provide the light of Jesus for a dark world. They are also the eyes and voice, or horns, of Jesus throughout the world. This light, this voice and these eyes of Jesus in the world are provided through the seven spirits of God, the seven ways that the Spirit works through believers. As Rev 5:6 says the seven eyes and seven voices, or horns, of Jesus are the seven spirits of God sent into all the earth. See the discussion at the end of this dictionary concerning the symbology of the lampstands and olive trees for additional discussion of this topic.

SEVEN THUNDERS: Rev 10:2. We see in Rev 10:2 that the angel was holding a small open scroll. He gives a loud shout and when he does “the seven thunders spoke,” and a voice from heaven says “Seal up what the seven thunders have said and do not write it down.” Before we can figure this out we must determine who the seven thunders are. First, we know from Jn 12:28-29 that when God spoke from heaven and a crowd heard it, many thought it had thundered. We also see the voice of the Lord being described as “thunder” in Ps 29:3 and in verses 4-9 we see seven characteristics ascribed to the thunder or voice of the Lord. The voice of the Lord is described as majestic, powerful and capable of breaking the strongest of manmade institutions. In Rev 10:4 we see that John hears the voice of the seven thunders speaking. When he does, a voice from heaven tells him that he should not write down what they had said, but instead to seal it up. We saw above in the description of the Seven Spirits of God that they were the Holy Spirit and that they were described as the eyes of Jesus in the world. This may be saying that the Holy Spirit provides perfect eyes for Jesus in the world. Likewise the Seven Thunders may be the voice of Jesus, speaking through the Holy Spirit. Thus we may be seeing that the Holy Spirit is the eyes, ears, and voice of Jesus in the world. Also, the world is illuminated by Jesus through the Holy Spirit, as the seven lamps. Thus it seems logical that the seven thunders are the voice of Jesus in the world speaking through the Holy Spirit.

SEVEN STARS: Rev 1:20. The angels of the seven churches, Rev 1:20. Also see Stars.

SHEEP-GOAT JUDGMENT: See Judgment, Sheep-goat.

SMOKE: Rev 15:8. Smoke in the Bible often refers to the Holy Spirit. We know that the Holy Spirit was the Shekinah Glory in the Israelites wilderness experience, and was referred to as a cloud. The Shekinah glory was to the temple in the Old Testament as the Holy Spirit is to the believer in the New Testament. Smoke may also refer to other kinds of spirits, such as the evil spirits who emerge from the Abyss and are seem as smoke in Rev 9:2-3. Thus we have now seen both the Holy Spirit and evil spirits both referred to symbolically as smoke and as water.

SMOKE FROM THE ABYSS: See Abyss, Smoke from the

SOUL: A soul is defined as a living person, meaning a spirit inhabiting a body, Gen 2:7, Job 34:14-15, 32:8, Ps 104:29-30. When a believer dies we understand that his spirit departs from his soul and goes to heaven, Eccl 12:7. The body returns to dust and the soul no longer exists or is “asleep. The spirit however lives on after it emerges from the dead body. We see several times in Revelation that souls are seen in heaven. That implies that the spirit had been reunited with its body to again produce a living soul. This is called a resurrection in the Bible. We understand that there are resurrections at the raptures of believers and also at the judgment of unbelievers. Resurrected or glorified bodies are created by God and reunited with spirits at the resurrection events. Rev 20:1-6 implies that there are two resurrections. The first resurrection is the resurrection of believers and it occurs in at least four phases, at the beginning, middle and end of the tribulation period and at the end of the millennium. The resurrection & rapture at the beginning of the tribulation period is the general rapture of the church, the mid-tribulation resurrection & rapture is the rapture of the 144,000 and the two witnesses, and the tribulation ending resurrection is the resurrection of the dead tribulation saints, those who died after the mid-tribulation rapture but before the end of the tribulation. There would not need to be a rapture at the end of the tribulation because Jesus is already on earth. Thus there would just be a resurrection event. There also must be a resurrection at the end of the millennium of those who died during the millennium as believers in Jesus. Thus we see the first resurrection, the resurrection of believers, occurring in stages. In contrast, the second resurrection is the resurrection of the unbelievers of all ages at the end of the millennium, at which time they stand before the Great White Throne. All unbelievers of all ages are resurrected at the same event. Those in the first resurrection will live forever as resurrected souls while those in the second resurrection face the second death of their soul in the lake of fire.

STARS: Rev 2:28, 8:10, 9:1, 12:1. Stars are often symbolic language used for angels in the Bible. Examples are in Isa 14:12 where Satan is referred to as the morning star; Isa 14:13 where Satan indicated that he was going to assume a place in heaven above the other angels, which are referred to as stars; Job 38:7 where the angels (Hebrew word meaning “sons of God” here) were called morning stars and were described as being present and singing for joy as God was creating the universe; Rev 2:28 which says that Jesus will deliver the morning star, meaning Satan, over to God the Father for judgment, after the Second Coming, and Rev 8:10 and 9:1 where a star, referring to Satan, is thrown out of heaven and down to earth. Stars are also used symbolically for the sons of Judah or Israel in Gen 37:9-10.

SUN, MOON AND STARS: Rev 6:12-13, 8:12, 12:4, Matt 24:29, Isa 13:9-13, 34:4, 2 Kings 23:5, Jer 8:2. When Revelation speaks of the sun, moon and stars turning dark or falling to earth it may be speaking of either Satan and his angels or the heavenly bodies. Rev 6:12-13 speaks of the sun and moon turning dark and the stars falling to earth. Rev 8:12 speaks of one third of the sun, moon and stars turning dark. Rev 12:4 speaks of one third of the stars being swept out of the sky and flung to earth. When it speaks of one third of them turning dark it could mean that they are obscured by a heavy cloud cover and not visible from one third of the earth or it could refer to the fact that one third of the angels turned to the darkness represented by Satan and chose to follow him. When Revelation speaks of one third of the stars falling to earth it cannot be speaking of the literal stars in heaven since their massive size, tremendous heat and distance from earth make this out of the question. The one third of the stars falling to earth must represent the angels (often called stars as noted in the article above on stars) who chose to follow Satan being thrown out of heaven and down to earth. The star being hurled to earth in the third trumpet judgment in Rev 8:10 most likely is Satan. We see in the fifth trumpet judgment in Rev 9:1 that this star was given the key to the Abyss to release the evil angels being held there upon the earth. So obviously this star is an angel and most likely Satan himself.

SWORD: Rev 6:4. A means by which the second judgment is administered. Swords are used symbolically in several ways in the Bible. Following is a discussion of some of these symbolic representations. (1) Job chapter 5 speaks to this, especially starting with verse 19. It speaks of God saving the righteous from the sword and from seven calamities. They are rescued from them. (A prophecy of the rapture.) Job 19:25-29 speaks of the Second Coming and those who die by the sword. It says that wrath will bring punishment by the sword. This passage also tells us that Job knew that he would be resurrected, again have a soul and live upon the earth. Job 20 also speaks of the wrath that will come upon the wicked, those who have evil spirits (serpents) within them, and the fact that they will have to give up their worldly wealth. (2) Ps 57:4 refers to the tongue as a sharp sword. In Rev 13:5-6 we see that the antichrist was a great orator. Prov 25:18 says that a liar is a sword; this also certainly speaks to the antichrist. This fits with 2 Thess 2:9-12 and Matt 24:24 which say that God sends a powerful delusion that keeps those who have not accepted Jesus from seeing and believing the truth. Zech 11:17 may be speaking of the antichrist who will be wounded by the sword. It also says that he is a shepherd who deserts the flock, which may mean that he is a Christian who deserts Christ. (3) In Matt 10:34 Jesus says that he did not come to bring peace, but to bring a sword. Here the sword seems to mean that his Word will cause families to split, nations to split, people will become enemies because of belief in him. This is certainly happening today. In Luke 22:36 Jesus told the disciples that they needed to keep a sword with them for protection as they went out into the world. Jesus is described in Rev 1, 2 and 19 as having a sharp two-edged sword which came out of his mouth and with which he struck down the nations. Isa 11:4 says that Jesus will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked. The rod can be either a shepherds staff or scepter, which is a sign of authority. Heb 4:12 says that the word is quick, powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword; it can even divide the soul and spirit, and discern the real intent of the heart. In Gen 3:24 a fiery sword was what God used to keep man from being able to come into the presence of the tree of life (Jesus Christ). Eph 6:17 refers to the Word as the sword of the Spirit. Taken together these last two scriptures may be telling us that the Word is the sword that keeps people out of heaven. However, it is also the only way into heaven. Jesus is the Word. His Word gives us the knowledge that is required for us to be saved so that we can get into heaven, Rom 10:1-4. Without that knowledge it is impossible to get into heaven. What does all of this discussion of the sword mean? I’m not sure, but all of it may apply in some way as we alluded to above. The bottom line is that in Rev 19:11-21 Jesus conquers all of his adversaries including Satan, the antichrist and the false prophet using simply the words coming out of his mouth. It seems that he speaks and it happens. It also seems that the sword here is the Word and the words of Jesus. In Ezek 14:21 God says he will send against Israel his four plagues of sword, famine, beasts and plague. These same four plagues are mentioned in the fourth judgment in Rev 6:8. In Ezek 38:21 God says he will summon a sword against the enemies of Israel in the tribulation judgments. The language here is the same as that used in Revelation for the second judgment. Mentioned in both are two specific things, the sword and men slaying each other. In Ezek the use of the sword produces plagues and bloodshed along with torrents of rain, hailstones, and fire and burning sulfur falling down upon Israel’s enemies, producing great bloodshed. In the first two Revelation judgments we see fire mixed with blood, hailstones and a large space body, likely an asteroid, falling from the heavens upon the enemies of Israel. The sword of God thus seems to be those things which produce these effects. It sounds like nuclear warheads and an asteroid falling from the sky are the sword used by God in this instance. There also seems to be an army invading Israel in Ezek 38.