Good evening and welcome to EBible Fellowship's Bible study in the Book of Revelation.  Tonight is study #53 of Revelation, chapter 14 and we are looking at Revelation 14:20:

And the winepress was trodden without the city, and blood came out of the winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs.

We have been looking at this verse for the last few studies and we have tried to look at everything the Bible has to say as we go, verse by verse, through the Book of Revelation.

We wonder what the “1,600 furlongs” represents.  First of all, what is a “furlong” and why does God speak of 1,600 of them?  In order to discover the meaning of a word in the Bible, we have to follow the Biblical methodology of comparing Scripture with Scripture, as we look up the word and see where and how it is used elsewhere in the Bible.

The word “furlongs” is the Greek word “stadion,” which is Strong’s #4712.  It is a very interesting word.  It is only found six times in the New Testament and five times it is translated as “furlong” and one time it is translated as “race,” and I want to look at every place we find this word.

Let us go to Luke 24:13:

And, behold, two of them went that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was from Jerusalem about threescore furlongs.

Threescore furlongs would be sixty furlongs.  These are two disciples of the Lord that are walking to the village Emmaus after Christ had gone to the cross.  As they talked together, it says in Luke 24:14-15:

And they talked together of all these things which had happened. And it came to pass, that, while they communed together and reasoned, Jesus himself drew near, and went with them.

They, perhaps, were traveling to their hometown of Emmaus, which was sixty furlongs from Jerusalem.  As they do so, the Lord appeared to them (which was after His resurrection) and it is a wonderful historical account of their conversation with Him and how the Lord opened their eyes that they might understand the Scriptures.  But the word we are interesting in is “furlongs.”  In this case, it is threescore furlongs, or sixty furlongs, and in this case it is the distance from Jerusalem to Emmaus.

Another place we find the word “furlongs” is in John 6:19:

So when they had rowed about five and twenty or thirty furlongs, they see Jesus walking on the sea, and drawing nigh unto the ship: and they were afraid.

Again, the word “furlongs” has to do with distance from the point when they began to row to about “five and twenty or thirty furlongs.”  God would have known exactly how far they rowed, so why would He say, “about five and twenty or thirty furlongs”?  The reason is that He wanted to give us both numbers because they have spiritual meaning.  The number “25” is “5 x 5” and the number “30” could be broken down as “3 x 10” or “2 x 5 x 3,” or something like that, so the particular number of “25” or of “30” would have application in the spiritual meaning of what the Lord is saying and, once again, “furlongs” is a distance; they had begun to row and they had only gone 25 or 30 furlongs when they encountered the Lord Jesus Christ walking on the sea.  So this is now two times the Lord appeared in association with “furlongs.”  The first time was with the disciples on the road to Emmaus and the second time was with the disciples rowing in the ship.  In both cases, they encounter Christ as they travel a distance that is given in “furlongs.”

Also, referring to the account of the death of Lazarus, it says in John 11:17-20:

Then when Jesus came, he found that he had lain in the grave four days already. Now Bethany was nigh unto Jerusalem, about fifteen furlongs off: And many of the Jews came to Martha and Mary, to comfort them concerning their brother. Then Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, went and met him: but Mary sat still in the house.

This is the grand event, the time when the Lord would raise Lazarus from the dead.  He is going to do this in Bethany, which was close to Jerusalem, “about fifteen furlongs off.”  We can see how that would have been much closer than Emmaus, which was sixty furlongs.  Keep in mind that the Jews of that day would have lived in various cities round about Jerusalem and they would have often gone to the holy city, which was the central place of worship, and God had commanded that during the feasts the Jews were to come to Jerusalem.  So it would be common for them to walk there, as it was not a far distance and people were accustomed to it.  Today we do not walk that often because we have cars and other modes of transportation, but back then they did much more walking and Bethany was fairly close to Jerusalem.  Notice, again, that we are given “fifteen furlongs” as the distance between Jerusalem and Bethany and, in the context, Martha meets Jesus.  So this is now three times in the context of “furlongs” that a disciple encounters Jesus. 

The fourth time we find “furlongs” is in Revelation, chapter 21.  Revelation 21 is the glorious chapter in which God describes heavenly Jerusalem, the city of God, which is comprised of all those God has saved.  So when we read about this glorious new Jerusalem, it is really describing aspects of God’s salvation program or the elect themselves.  It says in Revelation 21:14-16:

And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. And he that talked with me had a golden reed to measure the city, and the gates thereof, and the wall thereof. And the city lieth foursquare, and the length is as large as the breadth: and he measured the city with the reed, twelve thousand furlongs. The length and the breadth and the height of it are equal.

The city of God, which identifies with all whom God has saved, is measured to be “twelve thousand furlongs.”  The number “12,000” would point to the complete fullness of God’s elect, as “10” denotes “completeness” and “12” denotes “fullness,” so it is the complete fullness of everyone whose names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.  Once again, we see that the word “furlongs” is really a very important word when it comes to the key parts of God’s overall salvation program in regard to the Lord Jesus Christ and Jerusalem (the distance from Emmaus to Jerusalem or from Bethany to Jerusalem).  The exception is the account of when the disciples were on the sea, where it was the distance they rowed before they encountered the Lord.  And here in Revelation 21, the new Jerusalem is measured as “twelve thousand furlongs,” so “furlongs” have much to do with God’s overall salvation plan, as Jerusalem pictures those He has saved. 

So this is now four times “furlongs” is mentioned and the fifth time is in the last part of our verse in Revelation 14:20:

… and blood came out of the winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs.

So this is a distance that the blood traveled from the winepress unto the “horse bridles.”  And this is now five times this word is translated as “furlongs,” as we try to understand what it means here in our verse.  What could be at the end of the flow of the blood at the end of 1,600 furlongs? 

If you have been listening to EBible Fellowship’s Bible studies and our teaching, you realize we have been looking at the “1,600 furlongs” as “1,600 days,” as Judgment Day is the time of harvest and the time when the Lord Jesus began to tread the winepress.  It began on May 21, 2011 and 1,600 days later is October 7, 2015, which happens to be the last day of harvest and it is also the Feast of Tabernacles in the Hebrew seventh month of that year.  There is a strong likelihood that this is the date for the completion of Judgment Day, as 1,600 days added to 8,400 days equals “10,000 days,” so October 7, 2015 would also be the 10,000^th day of judgment since judgment began at the house of God on May 21, 1988.  It would be a perfect day for God to complete the judgment that He began on the churches and transitioned to the world on May 21, 2011.  Then the overall judgment on all the wicked – within and without the churches – would be complete.  Once He completes that judgment, He destroys the world and recreates a new heaven and new earth.  It would be the time that new Jerusalem comes down from heaven, descending from God, and the beginning of eternity future for God’s people, when time is no more and we enter into eternity future.  That would be the point of meeting Christ and the point of coming into new Jerusalem and the “furlongs” would be the distance from the beginning of Judgment Day until we enter into the new heaven and new earth and we meet God face to face.

Let us look at one other place where the word “furlongs” is found in the New Testament.  Again, this is the Greek word “stadion” and it is found 1Corinthians, chapter 9, in an interesting context.  It says in 1Corinthians 9:24-27:

Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain. And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible. I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air: But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.

This completes 1Corinthians, chapter 9.  Where is the Greek word “stadion” that is translated as “furlongs” everywhere else?  It is found in verse 24: “Know ye not that they which run in a race,” and our word is translated here as “race,” but it should be translated as “furlong.”  So it would say, “Know ye not that they which run in a furlong run all, but one receiveth the prize?”  Here, God is indicating that a “furlong” can be viewed as a race.  Even the Greek word “stadion,” which is translated as “furlongs” is the word from which we get the English word “stadium.”  In stadiums we have athletic events and there are races that are run (or other sports) and people fill the stadium to view the competition of the Olympics, for instance, and to see the athletes compete for the crown.  Who will win the gold (medal) or who will come away with the silver or the bronze?   Our word “stadium” is taken from the Greek word “stadion” and we can see that it has a lot to do with running, as a lot of events have to do with running.  In fact, just about all of the sports involve some running, like basketball, football or baseball.  There are some exceptions, but most involve running: “Know ye not that they which run in a furlong, run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run that ye may obtain.”  So the Word of God is giving us direction that we should run in the furlong.  And why run?  It is in order to obtain the prize.  And what is the prize?  It says in 1Corinthians 9:25:

And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things…

This is very true of athletes in the world.  We have all heard the stories of how they deprive themselves of certain foods, sweets and other things.  They are very disciplined and they train, and train, and train, to keep their physical bodies under because they want to master their event; they want the gold medal.  They want to be the winner and the one that takes home first prize.  So God is using that illustration and, apparently, not much has changed.  It is an ancient illustration because these things were written in the first century AD, but it is still very appropriate in our modern day.  It seems modern mankind is even more determined to win the prize, to the point where they can be deceitful and they will take steroids or other illegal helps.  In their incredible desire and lust to obtain the prize, they will do whatever it takes.  God is pointing to them and He says, “And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things.”  They do not smoke, drink or overeat and they are really are in control of their bodies. 

It goes on to explain why they do it, in 1Corinthians 9:25:

… Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown…

It is true.  The “MVP Award” or the championship title or the gold medal is a temporal thing; people even forget after a few years.  People, for the most part, do not remember who won the gold medal thirty years ago.  It is something that fades away like all the glory of this world; the Bible speaks of it like “the flower of the grass,” because it is here today, but tomorrow it is gone.  So mankind puts forth a mighty effort and they go all out to win the prize to achieve the exultation of the victory and to be lifted up by their peers to stand on the platform, but it is a “corruptible crown.”  It will eventually lose its luster.  The Super Bowl ring will be stolen.  It will all be gone from them in time.  Time will ruin their crown, so it is a “corruptible crown” and, ultimately, death will come and they cannot take their gold medal with them into the grave.  They are going to “nothing,” if they did not become saved.  It was just a temporary exultation and a temporal thing.

But God goes on to say in 1Corinthians 9:25:

… but we an incorruptible.

Now God is speaking of the elect.  He is making a comparison.  On the one hand, look at the world and look at their “competition” and what they are willing to do to obtain an earthly prize, which is a far lesser prize.  It is not worthy to be compared, as God makes the comparison between the temporal and the eternal, in 2Corinthians 4:17-18:

For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.

Eternal things are “a far more exceeding eternal weight of glory.”  If it would be a great and wonderful thing to win the gold medal in pole vaulting or in the 100-yard dash, then how much more glorious is it to win eternal things?  We could not come up with a number to express how much more glorious it is to be a child of God and to be given the gift of eternal life and to be given the prize that lies at the end of God’s plan for this world.  It is right there in the distance and we are commanded by God to run and to go forth for that prize.  Remember what is said in Philippians 3:10-14:

That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death; If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead. Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus. Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

Here is the prize in front of us and not too far away.  God has saved all of His people at this point and now, as the expression says, you must “go for it.”  You must “press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.”  Run the race.  Run the furlong that is set before you and run it in such a way, in the spiritual realm, that you determine to be the one that receives the prize, because it is a “far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory” that awaits you at the finish line.   The crown that will be placed upon your head is not just for a day when everyone rises, claps and cheers your name for that day or a week or a month.  It will not just be the glory of a few years that some will respect you as the gold medal winner of the Olympics, but it is a glory that will never fade away.   It is a glory that is eternal and it will continue on for evermore into the eternal future that is in front of you and all the people of God.