| Ahasuerus But the queen Vashti refused to come at the king's commandment by his chamberlains; therefore was the king very wroth, and his anger burned in him. 1:12 A royal commandment ... [was then given] that Vashti come no more before king Ahasuerus; 1:19 Let the king give her royal estate unto another that is better than she ... let the maiden which pleaseth the king be queen instead of Vashti." 1:19; 2:4 |
The Lord And they all with one consent began to make excuse ... [saying] I cannot come ... Then the master of the house [became] angry. 14:18-21 For I say unto you, that none of those men which were bidden shall taste of my supper. 14:24 Bring in thither [in place of those bidden] the poor, and the maimed, and the halt, and the blind ... that my house may be filled." 14:21, 23 |
| The Apocalypse of . . . Esther?? continued |
The key to this episode is the identity of Vashti, the fallen queen. Who or what does she symbolize? Using the common method of letting the Bible interpret the Bible, we find in Revelation 17 and 18 a description of "the great whore ... arrayed in purple and scarlet color ... [who is] Babylon the Great, the Mother of Harlots." Rev. 17:1, 4, 5 She says of herself, "I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow ... [yet] in one hour is [her] judg-ment come." Rev. 18:7, 10 We have seen in chapters 1 and 2 that a woman symbolizes a religion, a belief system. Esther symbolically represents all or part of the true body of Christian believers, symbolized by the woman of Revelation 12.* (See page 33.) Vashti allegorically represents a counterfeit body of professing but false-hearted Christians, portrayed by the great whore of Revelation 17. Vashti was the recognized queen for quite some time: this indicates that a "queen of churches" either now exists, or shall come to power in the near future. This religion either now is, or shall become, recognized by the world as being "Christianity." Both Esther and Revelation, and also the parable in Luke, foretell the coming fall of this false church and its replacement by a chosen, virgin church symbolized by Esther. *Rev. 12:17 says the woman's "seed ... [are those who] have the testimony of Jesus." Some expositors say the woman is only the Hebrew Church, and the Great Whore is only the Roman Church. Even if so, they both had children that followed in their mothers' ways. Cf. Rev. 12:17 and 17:5. The woman of Rev. 12 cannot be pre-Christian Israel, because Rev. 4:1 says "these things ... must be hereafter" the time of John's visions, which took place in ca. 96 A.D. The identity of Mordecai may seem more obscure, yet when revealed tells much. Mordecai and Esther were first cousins, although he was older and raised her as "his own daughter." Est. 2:7 Who was elder to and raised up the Christian Church? It was the Jews, or more correctly, the nation of Israel. Mordecai represents in the End Times that part of the nation of Israel which accepts Christ. Some historical gleanings will shed more light on these identities. The progenitor of the nation of Israel was Shem, who was the birthright son of Noah;3 that is, he received the blessing for the firstborn. Of his brother Japheth, who represents Gentile Christians, it was foretold that he would "dwell in the tents of Shem" (Gen. 2:27): an allusion to his being included in the tabernacle / body of the church of Shem's descendants. (Note, for example, that Esther came to dwell in Mordecai's house.) Shem and Japheth were brothers, and so their descendants are first cousins, as were Mordecai and Esther. Israel inherited the birthright of Shem's Godly line. Therefore, the Gospel and other gifts of God came "to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile." Rom. 1:16; 2:9, 10 When Christ stated that he was "not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel" (Matt. 15:24), he did so because they were the first by birthright. Later on, the Gentiles were "grafted into the olive tree" of Israel (Rom. 11:16-20), beginning at the time when Jesus' Israelite disciples began to preach the Gospel to the Greeks and other peoples. This "grafting in" of the Gentiles is repre-sented in the adoption of Esther by Mordecai. Esther and the Rapture The story of Esther allegorically tells the sequence of events that lead to the long-awaited Rapture of the Church. This nearly 2000-year-old Christian belief that the saints of God will be taken up from Earth during the End Times can be found, for one example, in the following biblical passage: As we have born the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly... Behold I show you a mystery: we shall not all sleep [in death], but we shall all be changed; in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. 1 Corinthians 15:49, 51-53 Long-standing has been the argument among Christian theologians about when this Rapture is to take place: soon before, during, or soon after the reign of the predicted Antichrist. The evidence of prophecy here and to follow clearly supports the concept of the Rapture. As with much that is presented in this book, readers may find parts of the following interpretation acceptable to their personal beliefs, and yet disagree with other parts of it. Now to return to the story, and its allegorical correspondence in the latter days: |
Esther's Days Vashti the queen was summoned to show herself before the king and his guests in his royal house. Esther 1:10-11 She refused, and was stripped of her honor by the king's proclamation throughout his kingdom. 1:12-22 Other virgins were afterwards sought out to replace the fallen queen. 2:2-4 Esther was found fairest and most beloved "in the sight of all" in the palace, and was made queen by Ahasuerus. 2:15f. Continue Return to Index |
Latter Days The false Christian Church is summoned to show itself before the Lord and his heavenly host. Luke 4:17 The false Church is judged and cast down from its place of honor and respect. Luke 14:24; Rev. 17, 18 People of different Christian sects [?] are called in place of the fallen Church. Luke 14:21, 23 The elect of the Church are chosen and exalted by the Lord "before the [heavenly] throne." Rev. 7:9-17 |