August 5, 2026 · David Farmer
To Be Known
““And there will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth distress of nations in perplexity because of the roaring of the sea and the waves, people fainting with fear and with foreboding of what is coming on the world. For the powers of the heavens will be shaken. And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. Now when these things begin to take place, straighten up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.””
Luke 21:25-28 →
## The Sea
Scripture sometimes uses the “sea” to refer to the earth’s peoples, like “a sea of faces”. This sense alludes to miscellaneous unnamed masses. I’ve heard preachers say there is no water in heaven (Revelation 21:1), but there will not be a “sea of faces”, because there are no unnamed people in heaven. Jesus knows every single one He saved by name. Consider that the basin for cleansing the priest before the Temple was called the “sea”. A priest had to take a ritual bath like a baptism before he could enter the Temple and come close to the presence of God. There will be no need for anyone in heaven to be cleansed further, so that sea is no more. It is the River of Life flowing from the Throne of God (Revelation 22:1), which has replaced the River of Fire which flowed from it when the books were opened (Daniel 7:9-10) at the White Throne Judgement. Just a curious side note for you: the Hebrew word for “heaven” is שמים (sha-mai-yeem). It happens to be a combination of ( שםsham) meaning “there” and ( מיםmai-yeem) meaning “water”.
## Distress of Nations
We know Jesus speaks in symbolism here. For why would the nations be in distress about the sea and its waves? Now if the sea is the peoples of earth, and they are roaring, how do we view this? In these days the people of earth are always roaring and warring. These are days we see the uproar of the nations and people making waves. People are
anything but peaceful or satisfied. And those who try to live a quiet lifestyle are usually living in fear and foreboding asking, “What in the world is going on in the world? People have lost their minds.” Friends, the world does seem to only get crazier and crazier and more and more dangerous to go out into. It is hardly recognizable as the same one I was born into 42 years ago.
## Self-Check
When the waves swell, what is solid in the world? When the sea roars in restlessness, what can we rest in? There are many unknowns in the world of man, but man is not one of them. God knows us all. There is no sea of faces in God’s Eyes. The Holy Spirit calls the name of every single one of us. But to have your name known by God, you must only call on the name of Jesus. And knowing Him, there is nothing to fear of roaring or warring.
## When Redemption Draws Near