THE laver in the tabernacle was a large vase or vessel of brass, filled with water, wherewith the priests used to wash their hands and feet on entering the sanctuary. (Ex. 30:17-2117And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, 18Thou shalt also make a laver of brass, and his foot also of brass, to wash withal: and thou shalt put it between the tabernacle of the congregation and the altar, and thou shalt put water therein. 19For Aaron and his sons shall wash their hands and their feet thereat: 20When they go into the tabernacle of the congregation, they shall wash with water, that they die not; or when they come near to the altar to minister, to burn offering made by fire unto the Lord: 21So they shall wash their hands and their feet, that they die not: and it shall be a statute for ever to them, even to him and to his seed throughout their generations. (Exodus 30:17‑21).) This, afterward, when Solomon's temple was built, was exchanged for the molten sea (1 Kings 7:2323And he made a molten sea, ten cubits from the one brim to the other: it was round all about, and his height was five cubits: and a line of thirty cubits did compass it round about. (1 Kings 7:23)), or, as it is otherwise termed, "the brazen sea, that was in the house of the Lord." (2 Kings 25:1313And the pillars of brass that were in the house of the Lord, and the bases, and the brazen sea that was in the house of the Lord, did the Chaldees break in pieces, and carried the brass of them to Babylon. (2 Kings 25:13).) Now observe, this vessel, without water in it, could not be termed a sea; mid again, the water of course needed a vessel to hold it: these two, the vessel and the water, were indispensable one to the other; and when taken together they constituted what we read of as the MOLTEN or BRASEN SEA. Now this helps US to understand the symbol of "THE SEA OF GLASS LIKE UNTO CRYSTAL" before the throne of God in the heavenly vision in Rev. 4 This was not, we believe, as is commonly thought, a solid surface of crystal or glass, but, just as the BRASEN SEA was simply a vessel of brass filled with water, so by analogy this SEA OF GLASS was a reservoir or vessel of glass, with water therein, which we are to conceive as outspread like a lake before the throne of God in the heavens. Observe, if this sea be thought of as solid, then the idea of the HOLY GHOST, THE SPIRIT OF GOD, which living water so expressively shows, is entirely lost (see John 7:37-3937In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. 38He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. 39(But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.) (John 7:37‑39)). The "pure river of water of life" in the New Jerusalem, we are to conceive as a river in its natural state; not petrified water, but as liquid, living, and flowing. There it is the symbol of the HOLY GHOST IN THE CHURCH, which the golden city expresses; here it shows forth the same blessed Spirit in connection with THE MARTYRED REMNANT OF ISRAEL, after they have been translated to heaven; as it is written,
"I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire: and them that had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name, stand on the sea of glass, having the harps of God. And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb," &c. Rev. 15:2, 32And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire: and them that had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name, stand on the sea of glass, having the harps of God. 3And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvellous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints. (Revelation 15:2‑3)
What a symbol, what a picture this is! here, like the priests of old in the temple, having passed through the water, having washed their hands and their feet in this heavenly laver; having done with sin and defilement forever; these blessed ones stand on this sea, whether on its edge or its surface, with their harps and their songs, unblemished and perfect, in the presence of Him whom they love, or rather who loves them with a love which He Himself, and He only, can fathom. The water, and at the same time the fire mingled therewith, have both done their work. The water has cleansed them; the fire (another symbol of the Spirit) has consumed all that was of the old nature within them. These are they, as we have seen, who have gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name; and hence, like the host of Israel by the Red Sea after having been delivered from Pharaoh, they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and with it they mingle the song of the Lamb; one showing that they are among the elect seed of Abraham; the other, that they are such as through faith in the Lamb, who previous to this, in chapter vi., had opened the seven-sealed book, have stood in the trial, have laid down their lives for the faith; thereby gaining a nobler victory by far than if they had been rescued from martyrdom.
And here let me add another thought on this subject. It is this—that while a LAVER OF BRASS may have suited the sanctuary on earth, it would be out of place altogether in a heavenly scene, such as this vision presents. Hence, the laver here shown is of "GLASS LIKE UNTO CRYSTAL," of a material so exquisitely clear and pellucid that the eye cannot distinguish the vessel from the pure lymph within it. Transparent they both of them are; and equally so—they seem but as one. So is it with the blessed Lord, whom we believe the crystal-like laver shows forth; and the Holy Ghost, which the living water expresses, seeing that the Spirit is given to Him for the use of His people, He being the receptacle and depository thereof.
In a word, what we here see, as we take it, is Christ and the Spirit of God; which, though personally and individually distinct from each other, at the same time are ONE, one both in nature and in the blessed Godhead; one also in wisdom, in counsel, in action, in the ministration of blessing to those to whom, as we here see, it has been given to celebrate with their harps and their songs the victory which has been gained for them over the enemy.
And here let me add that it is, I believe, a mistake to suppose that there is any resemblance between the sea of glass and the Red Sea, which opened at the bidding of Moses to let Israel through. The triumphant songs of these harpers, like those of their fathers of old after their deliverance from Egypt, as well as the allusion to Moses, has, it is likely, suggested this thought: but if what I have said at the outset, as to the analogy between the sea of glass in this vision and the brazen sea in the house of the Lord, be correct, there is no foundation for such an idea.
Again, I would say in conclusion that the idea of fire here referring to affliction seems equally groundless. The word of the Psalmist, "We went through fire and through water, but thou broughtest us out into a wealthy place" (Psa. 66:1212Thou hast caused men to ride over our heads; we went through fire and through water: but thou broughtest us out into a wealthy place. (Psalm 66:12)), has perhaps led to this thought. But if the sea is to be viewed as a laver, it is surely more consistent to regard the firer equally with the water mingled therewith, as expressing the Spirit of God; and those who stand on the sea as saints who have been finally cleansed, who have been "baptized with the Holy Ghost and with fire.”