Good evening and welcome to EBible Fellowship's Bible study in the Book of Revelation. Tonight is study #13 of Revelation, chapter 8, and we are going to be reading Revelation 8:9:
And the third part of the creatures which were in the sea, and had life, died; and the third part of the ships were destroyed.
We saw in our last study how God is emphasizing the “third part” in this chapter and that is because He is letting it be known that His judgment is upon the corporate church where the “third part” (the elect) were to be found for almost 2,000 years (for exactly 1,955 years, from 33 A.D. to 1988). The true believers identified with the “third part,” so the churches have taken on that definition, as God is describing His wrath that was falling upon them in the time that judgment began at the house of God.
“And the third part of the creatures which were in the sea, and had life, died.” We also discussed this in our last study and we saw how “fish” are the predominant creature found in the “sea” and fish point to men; the sea itself are likened to the wicked. Here, these creatures that had life and die typify those within the churches and congregations that “have a name that they live,” but they never truly became saved. So when God’s judgment comes upon them, it is as though they died. Of course, they never had eternal life, as none that have eternal life can ever lose it. But in their association with the Word of God (and the Word of God itself is related to life), it was as if they “had life,” but they have “died,” once God removed His spirit and removed all the blessing involved with His Word being in the midst of the congregations.
Now it says in the last part of Revelation 8:9:
…and the third part of the ships were destroyed.
Here, we will take a look at the word “ship,” and if you have listened to our studies previously, you know that “ships” in the Bible typify the churches. We are not surprised at this “figure” that God is applying to the churches and we are not surprised that it is found here in this chapter that describes the wrath of God upon the churches. The “ship” oftentimes in the Bible will typify the corporate church. For instance, we find in Matthew 13 that Jesus does something interesting, as He is going to begin speaking many parables. We read in Matthew 13:2:
And great multitudes were gathered together unto him, so that he went into a ship, and sat; and the whole multitude stood on the shore. And he spake many things unto them in parables&hellip
It is interesting that Jesus decided to enter into a ship and sit down to teach the people there. Of course, it was a wise thing. Those were days in which they had no microphones or voice amplification and no means of broadcasting sound to a great many people, but if you went into a ship, it would keep the people at a certain distance and the sound would carry very well. It was a smart thing for them to do in order for the multitude to hear the Words of the Lord Jesus Christ.
But, spiritually, what does it mean that Jesus entered into a ship and sat and began to speak in parables? We can see that this fits very well with the idea of the Lord Jesus Christ being in the “midst” of the congregations as the Light of the Gospel and His Word being in the midst of the congregations; we cannot separate Christ from the Word, as He is the “Word made flesh.” From that vantage point of being in the midst of the congregations, He taught. There is no denying that. For many centuries, the nations of the world heard the Gospel as the Gospel went forth from the churches of the world. The churches were established in just about every nation and from that position in villages and cities and states and countries of the world, God taught the people. He taught and He saved the “firstfruits” from all of these nations; they were gathered in the churches. The churches were once used of God to accomplish His purpose. They were rightfully instituted; God was the one that established them and used them to the degree that He determined to do so.
We also find this same picture in Luke 5:3:
And he entered into one of the ships, which was Simon's, and prayed him that he would thrust out a little from the land. And he sat down, and taught the people out of the ship.
Of course, to “sit” means to rule. Christ was the ruler of the churches and Satan was doing his best to infiltrate the congregations to usurp the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ because he (Satan) desired to take his seat as “the man of sin.” Is that not interesting how God puts that in 2nd Thessalonians 2, a passage describing the loosing of Satan at the time of the end and his assault against the churches, going into the temple of God “shewing himself that he is God,” and taking his seat there? And why not, because God had left at that point left the churches and He had departed out of the midst. He no longer was “seated” there and that left it available to Satan as the “beast” who was loosed for the purpose of bringing destruction upon the churches. But, here, we see that Christ sat down in the “ship,” typifying His rule within the churches and congregations during the time of the church age.
Let us go to James, chapter 3, where God gives us an interesting passage in this little Epistle. He will instruct us about our own tongue. We read in James 3:1-6:
My brethren, be not many masters&hellip
(And “masters” would be “teachers.”)
… knowing that we shall receive the greater condemnation. For in many things we offend all. If any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man, and able also to bridle the whole body. Behold, we put bits in the horses' mouths, that they may obey us; and we turn about their whole body. Behold also the ships, which though they be so great, and are driven of fierce winds, yet are they turned about with a very small helm, whithersoever the governor listeth. Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth! And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell.
Why does God tell us these things? One reason is that He wants to us to be careful of what we say; He wants us to guard our mouths and be careful of things we say because it can get us in big trouble. This is an obvious truth that we have probably experience ourselves and we have seen others get in big trouble because of their “mouths.” They cannot keep quiet and they say things they should not say, and in a way they should not say them. It brings grief and trouble into their lives and the lives of others, so we can certainly learn that we need to be careful to “think before we speak.” It is even better to pray before we speak because we are asking God to help us. Sometimes even our thinking is off and we think something would be a good thing to say and then we find out, “Oh, that was pretty stupid and look at all the trouble that has risen up because of it.” Yet, if we would have prayed and thought and then spoken, it is as God tells us to be “slow to speak, slow to wrath.” We should never do what the world recommends and the world has the idea that it is a good thing (and something that will help a young boy or girl) by not inhibiting their speech; just let them talk and say whatever pops into their minds and encourage them to just speak – just talk. No wonder we have a world full of so many people that say so many evil and awful things that are hurtful. Many of them were never taught by their parents to watch what they say because words can injure. Be careful and make sure what you are saying is in accordance with the Word of God. That is not taught today. That idea would contradict the teachings of psychologists or psychiatrists that do no want people to have any inhibitions. Of course, that means that sin just runs wild. If you do not put any restrictions on your mouth, then you just have a mouth that gushes out evil things. God would not have His people to speak that way.
So, yes, we can learn that lesson, but, here, God is also making a tie-in between bits in horse’s mouths or the helm of a ship with the “tongue” amongst our members. The tongue directs the course of our body, just as the bit in the horse’s mouth can turn the horse. With a little helm you can steer a big ship. There are some enormous vessels that are turned by a little helm. It is a little instrument and, yet, due to its positioning and the way the ship is designed, it sets the course and is able to turn the ship on an established course to get the ship to its destination. That is the picture that God is giving us here and it fits very well with the ship as a representation of the churches and congregations of the world.
Who sets the course for the churches and for the various denominations? Who sets the course and destination? They would all say, “God does. The Word of God does.” That is true in theory and at the beginning, but who keeps the ship (the congregation) on course when sail has been set for that heavenly shore? Every church would tell you, “Come, and enter into our congregation. This is our destination to the Promised Land. Set sail with us and we will safely guide you on board this vessel to that glorious shore! We will sail smoothly through the rough seas of this life and we will bring you to your heavenly home.” That is what every church says and they say that the Bible is their guide and they are following it, but what happens is that the church’s confessions and creeds begin to influence the direction and course of the ship.
Then individual pastors and individual elders and deacons (the authorities within the church) begin to set the course of the ship with their teachings within each congregation. For instance, as a particular pastor is deceived into thinking we are saved by our own will through “accepting Christ,” and claiming you have to make a decision for Him, then that pastor is going to begin to teach his flock, “Here is how you get to heaven.” In other words, he is saying, “This is the way the ship will go. This is how you get on board and you will reach the kingdom of God. You must accept Him.”
And, immediately, that “little member,” the tongue, and the one doing the teaching and preaching in the congregation can be likened to that little member that is within the whole of the body which is (supposedly) the body of Christ; and it is like the helm of the ship that is turning the congregation away from their destination. It is turning from the true kingdom of God and the destination has changed. There are just so many ways that “little member” can set on fire the entire congregation and bring them to “hell,” to the grave and to destruction, as they follow him, thinking that it is a nice, peaceful voyage to the glorious kingdom of heaven. Yet, they do not know they are not going to the kingdom of heaven at all.
As a matter of fact, the way God pictures the end of the church age is not by a ship that safely travels and reaches its destination, but by “shipwreck.” We read in 1st Timothy, chapter 1, an unusual statement. It is unusual until we realize that it fits the whole idea of a church being likened to a ship. It says in 1st Timothy 1:19-20:
Holding faith, and a good conscience; which some having put away concerning faith have made shipwreck: Of whom is Hymenaeus and Alexander; whom I have delivered unto Satan, that they may learn not to blaspheme.
What very curious Scripture God is giving here. He is relating “faith” with “shipwreck.” Then He speaks of two men who He has delivered to Satan that they may learn not to blaspheme. Once we realize that God is using these two men as a figure of the corporate church and that their “faith” (or the ruination of faith) means destruction. It means you do not have Christ with you any more and you do not have the salvation of God when “faith” is made shipwreck.
Shipwreck is also tied to being delivered unto Satan – exactly what God did at the time of the end, at the end of the church age when He loosed Satan and delivered over to him the churches and congregations in all the world, due to their apostasy and lack of faithfulness to His Word. He delivered, in a sense, Hymenaeus and Alexander over to the devil and the devil then took his seat as the “man of sin” in the temple (or in the church or in the ship). Where Christ once sat, Satan sat and this caused the ship to be “made shipwreck.”
There is no way when your ship is shipwrecked that you will make it to your destination. God describes, in detail, this situation (and it is a true historical account of a shipwreck) in the Book of Acts. This is the Bible and we wonder why God is going into such detail concerning this particular ship and the fact that it was “made shipwreck.” Why does He tell us, for instance, the number of individuals that were on board the ship? We read in Acts 27:37-44:
And we were in all in the ship two hundred threescore and sixteen souls.
That is 276 and that turns out to be 12 x 23 and “23” is the number of judgment, especially involving the Great Tribulation, as the Great Tribulation worked out to be an exact 23 years. And even within that 23-year period, the first part was comprised of 2,300 “evening mornings” that were particularly grievous. The number “23” represents God’s judgment on the churches because it was simultaneous with the Great Tribulation.
Then it says in Acts 27:38:
And when they had eaten enough, they lightened the ship, and cast out the wheat into the sea. And when it was day, they knew not the land: but they discovered a certain creek with a shore, into the which they were minded, if it were possible, to thrust in the ship. And when they had taken up the anchors, they committed themselves unto the sea, and loosed the rudder bands, and hoised up the mainsail to the wind, and made toward shore. And falling into a place where two seas met, they ran the ship aground; and the forepart stuck fast, and remained unmoveable, but the hinder part was broken with the violence of the waves. And the soldiers' counsel was to kill the prisoners, lest any of them should swim out, and escape. But the centurion, willing to save Paul, kept them from their purpose; and commanded that they which could swim should cast *themselves* first into the sea and get to land: And the rest, some on boards, and some on broken pieces of the ship. And so it came to pass, that they escaped all safe to land.
These 276 souls picture God’s elect that were once found within the churches and congregations. But once the ship is “made shipwreck” (faith is made shipwreck and the church is delivered over to Satan) and it is no longer seaworthy, it cannot take its passengers any further; there is no sailing in that ship any longer, bound for the kingdom of heaven. Now God has His people get out of the ship and go to the shore. And that is exactly what happened when the Lord ended the church age and opened up His people’s eyes to that truth; He revealed from His Word that the church age was over and He was no longer present in the congregations. It was time, therefore, for His people to get out of the churches and depart out of the congregations and “flee to the mountains,” because the abomination of desolation was standing in the Holy place.
Just look at the churches and their condition. Look at the terrible apostasy. Look at the failure of the churches to uphold the Word of God on point, after point, of doctrine. God’s people needed to get out of there for their own good, as they would never have made it to the heavenly shore by sailing in a vessel that was not “seaworthy” any longer. It is destroyed. It is shipwrecked. It was given to the devil to do with as he pleased for the 23 years of the Great Tribulation. God’s people left the churches and went into the world and began to serve and worship God there, fellowshipping with Him as individuals with the Word of God alone. They were no longer gathering in churches and congregations. This was a huge shift and a huge change that the people of God were now experiencing because God formerly had His people within the churches; they had been found within these “ships.” Christ Himself taught from this ship, but now the ship was ruined and the command was to leave and to flee.
That is why God is saying in our verse, in Revelation 8:9: “And the third part of the ships were destroyed.” The New Testament churches are destroyed. They are no longer able to accomplish the task of safely sailing the dangerous seas of this world and, therefore, the churches were “made shipwreck.”