CHERUBIM: See Four Living Creatures.

CITY: Rev17:18, 21:9-10. Rev 17:18 says that the great prostitute, mystery Babylon, is a great city that rules over the kings or nations of the world. The Bible often refers to the church as a city, as the dwelling place of God, Rev 21:9-10, Gal 4:26-31, Heb 12:22-24, Eph 2:19-21, Isa 60:14, 62:12. Thus the city which Babylon represents may also be a spiritual city, a group of people who all belong to the same false religion, and the spiritual dwelling place of Satan. Likewise, the Holy City, the new Jerusalem seen coming down from heaven in Rev 21:2-3, 9 is said to represent the bride of Christ and be the dwelling place of God. It seems that the new Jerusalem is said to be the bride because it is the place that the bride will dwell with Jesus, with God, through all of eternity after the final judgment. See Marriage Supper of the Lamb.

CLOTHES: Rev 3:4, 16:15, 19:8. Righteousness, or righteous acts, is repeated several times in the Bible as clothing we need to wear. It means to be free from the guilt of sin. Those who are followers of Jesus are free from the guilt of sin because Jesus died for forgiveness of their sins. When we accept Jesus as our Savior, he washes us clean with his blood; his blood is sprinkled on our spirit and it is thereafter seen by God as being pure and free from sin, as long as we continue in Jesus. We are then free to come into the presence of God so he sends his Spirit to dwell in us. There are also several related items that we are told to wear in various places in the Bible, including the Lord Jesus Christ, salvation, love, faith, the gospel, the Word, etc. We must be wearing the proper clothes when Jesus returns for us at the rapture if we do not want to be left behind; we must be saved, be believers, followers of Jesus. See the table in the commentary on Revelation chapter 16 for much more detail and a listing of the scriptures.

CROWN: Rev 6:2, 4:4. In Rev 6 the rider on the white horse is given a crown, a stephanos, or victor’s crown. This crown is described in 2 Tim 2:5 and 1 Cor 9:24-25. It is the crown given to the one who achieves victory through Jesus. It is an everlasting crown. The one who achieves victory through Jesus is seen as pure, represented as white in Rev 7:14, 22:14. That may be why the rider is on a “white” horse and possesses a victor’s crown. This first rider on the white horse begins the process whereby Jesus and his faithful followers achieve the ultimate victory. In Zech 6, which describes the four chariots pulled by the four different colored horses, we see Jews who had been exiled returning to their homeland with precious materials with which a crown could be made. The crown was made and placed upon the head of the high priest, Joshua (Hebrew for the Greek word Jesus). Could this passage mean that those returning to Israel in the end times will be the means through which Jesus is able to return to Israel and be crowned King of Kings forever? It is a beautiful model of what we understand will happen. Zech 6:9-15 describes Joshua being crowned and sitting in majesty on the throne in Jerusalem as both king and priest. Verse 12 tells us very plainly that this represents the one called the Branch, or Jesus. Crowns can also represent rewards.