Category Archives: Revelation Class

Revelation 1 and Beholding Christ

Rev_1_-Beholding_Christ_in_Revelation  [This is the Word Document]

Beholding Christ in Revelation

 

1:1       Jesus receives from God to give to us

1:1       Jesus has angels

1:1       Jesus has servants

1:4       Jesus, by John, sends us Grace and Peace

1:5       Jesus is a Faithful Witness TIHI 3:14

1:5       Jesus is the First Begotten from the Dead

1:5       Jesus is the Prince of the Kings of the Earth

1:5       Jesus is the one that loved us

1:5       Jesus washed us from our sins in His own blood

1:6       Jesus made us Kings and Priests to His Father

1:6       Jesus is to receive glory and dominion for ever and ever

1:7       Jesus is coming with clouds

1:7       Jesus will be seen by every eye, including the eyes of his opponents

1:7       Jesus will be a cause of mourning for the world

1:8, 11             Jesus says “I am Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the Ending”

1:8       Jesus says “I am, I was, I am to come; I am the Almighty”

1:9       Jesus shares his kingdom with those that share his endurance

1:9       Jesus has a Testimony that caused Johns imprisonment

1:10     Jesus has a special day

1:10     Jesus has a voice like a trumpet

1:11, 12           Jesus cares for his scattered churches

1:13     Jesus dresses ‘to the foot’

1:13     Jesus dresses like a priest

1:13     Jesus bears the ephod with stones representing his people

1:13     Jesus is the Son of Man

1:13     Jesus is “in the midst” of his church – TIHI 2:1

1:14     Jesus’ head and hair are very white, reminding us of Is. 1:18

1:14     Jesus’ eyes are like a flame of fire – TIHI 2:18

1:15     Jesus’ feet are like still-burning brass – TIHI 2:18

1:15     Jesus’ voice is like the sound of many waters

1:16     Jesus holds his messengers in a position of honor – TIHI 2:1; 3:1

1:16     Jesus’ mouth issues a sharp two-edged sword

1:16     Jesus’ face shines like the noon-day summer sun

1:17     Jesus’ appearance is utterly overwhelming

1:17     Jesus stoops to touch and lift the overwhelmed

1:17     Jesus says “Fear Not, I am the First and the Last” – TIHI 2:8

1:18     Jesus says “I live, I died, Behold, I live for evermore.” – TIHI 2:8

1:18     Jesus says “I have the keys of hell and death.” – TIHI 3:7 [‘of David’]

1:19     Jesus reveals the present and the future

1:20     Jesus explains the symbols he introduces

2:2       Jesus recognizes virtues even in those that have lost their first love

2:2, 3   Jesus super-values work, hard work, for His sake and unfailing endurance

2:2       Jesus commends the exposing of false pretensions to inspiration

2:2       Jesus commends church discipline

2:4       Sustained love by his people is required and desired by Jesus

2:5       Jesus offers critically needed warnings to repent

2:5       Jesus threatens to remove an unrepentant church from its position as his church

2:6       Jesus hates the deeds of men that deny the Law of God

2:6       Jesus commends his church for hating those deeds also

2:7-etc Jesus speaks by the Spirit and says “Listen if you can”. He says this to every age.

2:7, 11 Jesus promises eternal life to the overcomers

2:9-etc Jesus knows our works. He reminds every age of this. 2:2, 9, 13, 19; 3:1, 8, 15

2:9       Jesus recognizes when His own are persecuted

2:9       Jesus recognizes the poverty of his faithful and commends their spiritual wealth

2:9       Jesus regards false profession as blasphemy

2:10     Jesus foretells some future suffering, but only to console his people by doing so

2:10     Jesus explains our suffering as a means of trying our faith

2:10     Jesus says “Fear not” future suffering; “Be faithful to death” and receive “life.”

2:12     Jesus can discern even the thoughts and intents of the heart

2:12     Jesus is able to cut away our false intents and evil thoughts

2:12     Jesus sends division into the world by means of the enmity in the gospel

2:12     Jesus uses the Word of God to do the work of fighting the enemy

2:13     Jesus commends faithfulness in those surrounded by unfaithfulness and evil

2:13     Jesus has tender regard for his faithful witness martyrs slain by Satan

2:14, 2 Jesus commends faithfulness before rebuking failures.

2:14, 20           Jesus rebukes the suffrage of false doctrines that corrupt his people

2:14, 20           Jesus rebukes the suffrage of false teachers that corrupt his people

2:15     Jesus rebukes the suffrage of those opposing Law and hates their doctrine

2:16, 21           Jesus gives time for repentance before sending the judgments in the Word

2:17     Jesus offers special knowledge of His character to overcomers

2:17     Jesus offers unique privileges of eternal growth to the overcomers.

2:18     Jesus is the Son of God

2:19     Jesus commends reformation in his people and notes the improved works

2:19     Jesus associates commendable reformation with love and faith and service

2:20     Jesus despises the type of authority represented by the life of Jezebel

2:22     Friendship with world-loving leaders is enmity with Jesus

2:23     Members that imitate the world-loving leaders will be destroyed by Jesus

2:23     In the Judgment all will know that Jesus searches motives and reads hearts

2:23     In the Judgment Jesus will reward all ‘according to their works.’

2:24-25            Jesus commends those that have resisted false doctrines and does not give them greater burdens than to hold their pure faith to the end

2:26-27            Jesus promises future civil authority to those that have overcome the temptation to unite with civil powers here.

2:28     Jesus promises Himself, through the teaching of His special messengers, to the overcomers

3:1       Jesus has the ‘seven spirits of God’ [Isaiah 11:2-3?]

3:1       Jesus recognizes and exposes to us the hollowness of our pretensions

3:2       Jesus says “Be watchful.”

3:2       Jesus says “Strengthen the remaining things that are ready to die.”

3:2       Jesus weighs his people and looks for whole-heartedness in our works

3:3       Jesus counsels us to remember His past teachings in our personal lives

3:3       Jesus reprimands us for losing ground and calls us to repent and come back up

3:4       Jesus promises the little faithful flock that they will walk with Him and that they are worthy.

3:5       Jesus promises white raiment to the overcomers

3:5       Jesus blots the names of the finally defeated ones from the book of life

3:5       Jesus will plead the case of victors before the Father and angels in the judgment

3:7       Jesus is Holy

3:7       Jesus is True

3:7       Jesus alone manages the doors to the sanctuary

3:7-8    Jesus sends desperately needed messages at just the right time

3:8       Jesus admits weak men, faithful to his Word and to his character, to the Most Holy Place where he is

3:8       Jesus reminds weak faithful men that no-one can keep them out of that place

3:9       Jesus will vindicate his faithful by showing his love to them before their oppressors

3:9       Jesus identifies false professions to Christianity as a ‘lie.’

3:10     Jesus recognizes those that have used their strength to stand firm during times of terrible trial. He will not permit them to be overborne by the final test. He will lay them safely in the grave to save them.

3:11     Jesus says “Behold! I come quickly!”

3:11     Jesus says “Hold fast what you have” for men will try to dissuade you

3:11     Jesus warns that our crowns may be taken from us by deceivers

3:12     Jesus promises the overcomers that they will with him minister, administer, and share his glory in his glorious place without end

3:14     Jesus is the Amen

3:14     Jesus wants us to think of his preeminent role as Creator

3:15     Jesus prefers faithfulness to disgust and disgust to ambivalence or indifference

3:16     Jesus will not stomach ambivalence or indifference for long; there is real danger

3:17     Jesus pities self-deluded Laodiceans and tells them the truth

3:18     Jesus is a heavenly salesman offering the best wares at unbeatable prices

3:18     Jesus offers love and faith to the destitute. The cost: Paying close attention to what he says and accepting his Testimony.

3:18     Jesus offers a lovely character to the unlovely doubters. The cost: Paying close attention to what he says and accepting his Testimony.

3:18     Jesus offers the Holy Spirit to the self-deluded. The cost: Paying close attention to what he says and accepting his Testimony.

3:19     Jesus loves his own enough to rebuke and chasten them

3:19     Jesus invites us to respond to his love to zealous labor in repentance

3:20     Jesus takes the initiative to win those that are paying him no attention

3:20     Jesus patiently waits for those that pay him no attention…but not forever

3:20     Jesus will come in to our experience when we (A) hear his voice to us in his Testimonies and (B) open our hearts by accepting and repenting

3:20     Jesus offers special experiences of fellowship to the door-openers

3:21     Jesus offers a place on his throne to the overcomers in the last age

 

5:5       Jesus is the Lion of the Tribe of Judah

5:5       Jesus is the Root of David

5:5       Jesus alone among men has prevailed to open the book of the prophetic history of the world

5:6       Jesus represents himself as a Lamb that has been slain and that has seven eyes and seven horns. The eyes represent the way he sees us in the world—by means of the Holy Spirit.

5:9       Jesus receives the worship of bowing angel priests

5:9       We are redeemed by Christ’s blood

5:9       Jesus has no racial prejudice

5:12     100,000,000+ angels ascribe great Worthiness to Jesus

5:12     Jesus deserves things that I need—power, wisdom, riches, strength, glory, honor, blessing.

5:13     Jesus is associated with He who sits on the throne by the intelligences of the universe

 

 

 

 

[122 items]

 

 

“Genuine faith in Jesus leads to denial of self; but however high the profession may be, if self is exalted and indulged, the faith of Jesus is not in the heart. The true Christian manifests by a life of daily consecration that he is bought with a price, and is not his own. He realizes that an infinite sacrifice has been made for him, and that his life is of inestimable value, through the merits of Jesus’ blood, intercession, and righteousness. But while he comprehends the exalted privileges of the sons of God, his soul is filled with humility. There is no boasting of holiness from the lips of those who walk in the shadow of Calvary’s cross. They feel that it was their sin which caused the agony that broke the heart of the Son of God, and their comeliness is turned to corruption. Those who live nearest to Jesus, feel most deeply their own unworthiness, and their only hope is in the merits of a crucified and risen Saviour. Like Moses, they have had a view of the awful majesty of holiness, and they see their own insufficiency in contrast with the purity and exalted loveliness of Jesus. “(RH, 1888.3.6)

 

“There is nothing true but God; for Christ, the revelation of God, is “the truth.” He is also the reality, the fullness, of everything that is, because he is the life – the whole of life. He is, and without him there is nothing. There is but one true God, and but one true love, “the love of God,” because “God is love.” So there is but one rightful Lord; but one faith – “the faith of Jesus;” and but one real hope – the hope of our calling in God. Eph. 4:4-7.”(RH, 1902.6.24)

 

“The grief and anger of the Jews because of the conversion of Paul knew no bounds. But he was firm as a rock, and flattered himself that when he related his wonderful experience to his friends, they would change their faith as he had done, and believe on Jesus. He had been strictly conscientious in his opposition to Christ and his followers, and when he was arrested and convicted of his sin, he immediately forsook his evil ways, and professed the faith of Jesus. He now fully believed that when his friends and former associates heard the circumstances of his marvelous conversion, and saw how changed he was from the proud Pharisee who persecuted and delivered unto death those who believed in Jesus as the Son of God, they would also become convicted of their error, and join the ranks of the believers.”(LP, 35)

 

I want to say a few words. God has left a few of the old pioneers who know something of the fanaticism which existed in the early days of this message. Here is Brother Prescott; he knows something about it. He is acquainted with phase after phase of the fanaticism that has taken place. Here is Brother Haskell. He knows something about it, and there are various ones of our older brethren who have passed over the ground, and they understand something of what we have had to meet and contend with. Then there is Brother Corliss; I speak of him because he knows something about fanaticism, not only in the early days, but in our later experience.

Let every one of us remember the men of gray hairs. Do not set them back in a corner, and say, We do not need you, because you are too old to be active workers. If on only one occasion these men of experience can stand and tell you what the right way is, it is worth to the cause of God more than you would pay a dozen laborers who have little or no experience in this work. God wants us to come to our senses. I thank God that there are a few who know what we have passed through in the beginning of the history of this work; God wants you to cherish them, and I want you to cherish them. God wants you to feel that it is a sacred duty to look after them, and not to ignore them or put them out of sight.

You may think that they have made mistakes. Have you made any? May God let His melting Spirit come into our hearts. May God come to us with His comforting power. What we want is not hearts of steel, but hearts of flesh. I hope that not a soul will go away from this meeting until he can say for himself, I know that I am Christ’s in God.

When persons are in our midst who are moved by the Spirit of God, through whom the great treasures of His word are unfolded to us, increasing in every phase, let us not take the position that we know all that is worth knowing, and what we do not know is not worth knowing, hindering the very ones who are digging for the truth as for hidden treasure. The word of God is opening more and more to us. Just as long as we live on the earth, we shall be able to find a whole treasure-house of beautiful things. Some will see beauty in one truth, some in another, and some will look at it in another way. We are not all constituted alike. But some think that what they have is all there is to acquire. They say of others, Do not let them come into our meetings; we do not want them here. They do not believe as we do. I wish to say. Hands off. Let God work through human instrumentalities according to His will.

Read the seventeenth chapter of John, and you will see that God has given us the privilege of being united in Christian love, brethren with brethren, all being bound together by the golden chain of love which has been let down from heaven to unite the believers. God wants you to be like himself. He wants to keep you unspotted from the world, to forgive your sins, and to draw you to himself, that you may step off the ladder into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.—RH 4-30-1901

 

“I call upon those who have been held at Battle Creek to gird on the armor. It is high time that they went forth into needy fields to labor for the Lord. It is not pleasing to God for them to stay in a place that has been worked over and over again, encouraging others to drift into Battle Creek to become unbelievers in the Testimonies God has given to his people, or perhaps infidels. Those who are fully established in the truth may gain a good education there, but there are others who go away infidels. By some, the truths that lie at the very foundation of our faith are being sacrificed.

Our Periodicals

God has given me light regarding our periodicals. What is it?–He has said that the dead are to speak. How?–Their works shall follow them. We are to repeat the words of the pioneers in our work, who knew what it cost to search for the truth as for hidden treasure, and who labored to lay the foundation of our work. They moved forward step by step under the influence of the Spirit of God. One by one these pioneers are passing away. The word given me is, Let that which these men have written in the past be reproduced. And in The Signs of the Times let not the articles be long or the print fine. Do not try to crowd everything into one number of the paper. Let the print be good, and let earnest, living experiences be put into the paper.

Not long ago I took up a copy of the Bible Echo. As I looked it through, I saw an article by Elder Haskell and one by Elder Corliss. As I laid the paper down, I said, These articles must be reproduced. There is truth and power in them. Men spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.

Let the truths that are the foundation of our faith be kept before the people. Some will depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils. They talk science, and the enemy comes in and gives them an abundance of science; but it is not the science of salvation. It is not the science of humility, of consecration, or of the sanctification of the Spirit. We are now to understand what the pillars of our faith are,–the truths that have made us as a people what we are, leading us on step by step.

Early Experiences

After the passing of the time in 1844 we searched for the truth as for hidden treasure. I met with the brethren, and we studied and prayed earnestly. Often we remained together until late at night, and sometimes through the entire night, praying for light and studying the Word. Again and again these brethren came together to study the Bible, in order that they might know its meaning, and be prepared to teach it with power. When they came to the point in their study where they said, “We can do nothing more,” the Spirit of the Lord would come upon me. I would be taken off in vision, and a clear explanation of the passages we had been studying would be given me, with instruction as to how we were to labor and teach effectively. Thus light was given that helped us to understand the scriptures in regard to Christ, his mission, and his priesthood. A line of truth extending from that time to the time when we shall enter the city of God, was made plain to me, and I gave to others the instruction that the Lord had given me.

During this whole time I could not understand the reasoning of the brethren. My mind was locked, as it were, and I could not comprehend the meaning of the scriptures we were studying. This was one of the greatest sorrows of my life. I was in this condition of mind until all the principal points of our faith were made clear to our minds, in harmony with the Word of God. The brethren knew that, when not in vision, I could not understand these matters, and they accepted, as light directly from heaven, the revelations given.

Many errors arose, and though I was then little more than a child, I was sent by the Lord from place to place to rebuke those who were holding these false doctrines. There were those who were in danger of going into fanaticism, and I was bidden in the name of the Lord to give them a warning from heaven.

 

“I call upon those who have been held at Battle Creek to gird on the armor. It is high time that they went forth into needy fields to labor for the Lord. It is not pleasing to God for them to stay in a place that has been worked over and over again, encouraging others to drift into Battle Creek to become unbelievers in the Testimonies God has given to his people, or perhaps infidels. Those who are fully established in the truth may gain a good education there, but there are others who go away infidels. By some, the truths that lie at the very foundation of our faith are being sacrificed.

God has given me light regarding our periodicals. What is it?–He has said that the dead are to speak. How?–Their works shall follow them. We are to repeat the words of the pioneers in our work, who knew what it cost to search for the truth as for hidden treasure, and who labored to lay the foundation of our work. They moved forward step by step under the influence of the Spirit of God. One by one these pioneers are passing away. The word given me is, Let that which these men have written in the past be reproduced. And in The Signs of the Times let not the articles be long or the print fine. Do not try to crowd everything into one number of the paper. Let the print be good, and let earnest, living experiences be put into the paper.

Not long ago I took up a copy of the Bible Echo. As I looked it through, I saw an article by Elder Haskell and one by Elder Corliss. As I laid the paper down, I said, These articles must be reproduced. There is truth and power in them. Men spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.

Let the truths that are the foundation of our faith be kept before the people. Some will depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils. They talk science, and the enemy comes in and gives them an abundance of science; but it is not the science of salvation. It is not the science of humility, of consecration, or of the sanctification of the Spirit. We are now to understand what the pillars of our faith are,–the truths that have made us as a people what we are, leading us on step by step.

Early Experiences

After the passing of the time in 1844 we searched for the truth as for hidden treasure. I met with the brethren, and we studied and prayed earnestly. Often we remained together until late at night, and sometimes through the entire night, praying for light and studying the Word. Again and again these brethren came together to study the Bible, in order that they might know its meaning, and be prepared to teach it with power. When they came to the point in their study where they said, “We can do nothing more,” the Spirit of the Lord would come upon me. I would be taken off in vision, and a clear explanation of the passages we had been studying would be given me, with instruction as to how we were to labor and teach effectively. Thus light was given that helped us to understand the scriptures in regard to Christ, his mission, and his priesthood. A line of truth extending from that time to the time when we shall enter the city of God, was made plain to me, and I gave to others the instruction that the Lord had given me.

During this whole time I could not understand the reasoning of the brethren. My mind was locked, as it were, and I could not comprehend the meaning of the scriptures we were studying. This was one of the greatest sorrows of my life. I was in this condition of mind until all the principal points of our faith were made clear to our minds, in harmony with the Word of God. The brethren knew that, when not in vision, I could not understand these matters, and they accepted, as light directly from heaven, the revelations given.

Many errors arose, and though I was then little more than a child, I was sent by the Lord from place to place to rebuke those who were holding these false doctrines. There were those who were in danger of going into fanaticism, and I was bidden in the name of the Lord to give them a warning from heaven.

We shall have to meet these same false doctrines again. There will be those who will claim to have visions. When God gives you clear evidence that the vision is from him, you may accept it, but do not accept it on any other evidence; for people are going to be led more and more astray in foreign countries and in America. The Lord wants his people to act like men and women of sense.” RH, 1905.5.25)

Revelation 2

HANDOUT ONE

EARLY CHRISTIAN CHURCH

 

History and the Truth

 

As a means of finding truth, history hobbles towards the mark. So many issues plague the accuracy of its stories. The perspectives of witnesses color their memory even in the immediate wake of an event. Remove some weeks or years further from the occasion and the color darkens, often to a hue that is nearly opaque.

 

Yet witnesses are the stars in the dim sky of historical detail. Most history is rather gathered by distant researchers that must rely on the words of the long-dead. The character of their sources, especially if that character is devious, may not appear to the sincere historian. And the character of the historian, especially if his desire for notoriety exceeds his desire for truth, can rarely be perceived even by his peers. Much less will it be discovered by the reader.

 

The authority granted to men with vast stores of knowledge and widely regarded as leading professors exceeds by a great span what the facts would suggest is their due. These men, like others, are dependant on their sources. The vastness of their acquirements is itself a delusion, for the field of history presented by even a single century, and even in a single continent, is far greater than a man could master in six hundred years of intense study. Though the professor knows more than others, he knows less than enough to be sure he is right.

 

And so the givens in history are overthrown first here, then there. Academia has no doubt that its past champions were mistaken and those newly honored have found at last the way things were. Academia has utterly overestimated its ability to teach history, and this is the real cause of its over-crediting of those it has raised. When it believes its doctors, it flatters itself. Dictators have often been deluded in the same way.

 

Revelation, relying neither on the ken of an authority, nor on the depth of historical researches, offers an unpolluted stream of historical facts. As history is great, and prophecy succinct, the words of prophets can not substitute for careful examination of the annals and chronologies of the past. But those inspired words may correct the research indeed.

 

The second chapter of John’s Revelation of Jesus Christ covers, in less than 800 words, the history of more than 800 years. What aspects of history receive attention? Those most vital. How much weight should be given to the significance of the shortest phrases? More than we are able to give.

 

The following short article neither exhausts the field of research in this chapter, nor claims to be an authority on the meaning of the various symbols employed. Rather, it presents a chewable portion in a form that lends itself to quizzing and testing.[1] It is written to compliment a history class. May its findings be meat indeed to those that are hungering.

 

An Overview

 

A brief overview of Revelation Two will give the reader a framework for organizing the details in the prophecy. Ephesus, the first church, is presented as having descended from a pure and loving church to a formal church, holding truth still in high esteem, but lacking its early devotion.

 

Smyrna follows with a revival of the church caused, in some ways, by persecution as a power to keep the insincere in the ranks of the unbelievers. When Rome changed its policy of persecution to toleration, and then quickly to state-support, the age of Smyrna gave way to Pergamos. The church lost its purity. Those looking for what the world had to offer the church, found it. Leaders taught the church to unite with the state and a rift arose between the faithful and the majority.

 

When the state submitted to the church, Pergamos was swallowed up by Thyatira. Darkness enveloped Europe. The prophecy seems to have anticipated the designation of “dark ages” by offering to Thyatira the blessing of the Morning Star.

 

Ephesus – Revelation 2:1-7

 

Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write “These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks; I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil:”

 

God has always worked through channels in communicating truth. His messages to His church are, everywhere in Revelation 2 and 3, directed to the “angels” of the churches. “Angel” is a transliteration from a similar sounding Greek word meaning messenger. Jesus “holds the seven stars” in His own hand. The messengers are supported. What about the church? Jesus walks among the candles.[2]

 

To neglect or despise those whom God has appointed to bear the responsibilities of leadership in connection with the advancement of the truth, is to reject the means that He has ordained for the help, encouragement, and strength of His people. For any worker in the Lord’s cause to pass these by, and to think that his light must come through no other channel than directly from God, is to place himself in a position where he is liable to be deceived by the enemy and overthrown. AA 164

 

Jesus reminds the church that He knows. “All things are naked and opened unto the eyes of Him with whom we have to do.” Hebrews 4:13.

 

And He knows when His church is persecuted. That they were is signified by the word “patience.” Enduring as good soldiers the ill treatment of the enemy, the early church was quietly commended by the words “I know.”

 

Jesus weaves into this introduction a reflection on the early church that they may have read first as praise. “And canst not bear them that are evil.” The early church was strong on church discipline. Open sinners were not tolerated. They church profited from Paul’s counsel to “put away from among yourselves that wicked person.” I Cor. 5:13. They sought out the Achans. To some degree, these things were right.

 

While the servants of God are in constant danger of indulging a zeal that is wholly human, and while great harm is done by those who seem to be in their element in censuring, reproving, and condemning their brethren, there is fully as great danger of going to the opposite extreme, and making the sum and substance of Christian duty consist in love.

The apostle Paul writes to his son Timothy, “Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long-suffering and doctrine.” This work is just as essential to the prosperity of the church as is the exercise of gentleness, forbearance and love. Those who are consecrated to God will be as faithful to reprove and rebuke sin with all long-suffering and doctrine, as to comfort and encourage the desponding, and strengthen the weak. All who love God will show their abhorrence of sin.  {ST, May 5, 1881 par. 16}

 

Those who occupy responsible positions as guardians of the people are false to their trust if they do not faithfully search out and reprove sin. Many dare not condemn iniquity, lest they shall thereby sacrifice position or popularity. And by some it is considered uncharitable to rebuke sin. The servant of God should never allow his own spirit to be mingled with the reproof which he is required to give; but he is under the most solemn obligation to present the Word of God, without fear or favor. {2BC 996.6}

 

But the faithfulness in reproving did not appear in such bright colors in the context of the rebuke that follows two sentences later. But before the correction, Jesus exposes one of the tricks of modern Catholicism. That He did it long ago ought to encourage us.

 

and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars: And hast borne, and hast patience, and for my name’s sake hast laboured, and hast not fainted.

 

The Roman argument runs thus: “You say you believe the Bible but not the church that gave you the Bible. You believe in prophets and their inspiration, but not the inspiration that works through the traditions and councils of the church. But how do you know which books belong in the Bible? There are many books that are not in your Bible. It was the Catholic Council of Nicea that determined which books were canonical. You, our Protestant brother, acknowledge the authority of the church by your very acceptance of the traditional canon. You are inconsistent, for you place implicit trust in the decision of that council, but not in the councils before or after it. You acknowledge the authority of the church in this instance and use that as an excuse for not acknowledging it in other instances.”

 

Must we admit the logic of this collection of thoughts? The whole of it hinges on the idea that the canon was determined by the Council of Nicea in the 4th century. The whole of the argument falls with this simple fact: The first century Christians knew who the real apostles were. That “tried them which say they are apostles, and are not” and found them to be liars. The Bible canon confirmed by the Council of Nicea denies in this message to the Ephesians that the proper Biblical writers were not identified until two hundred years after their death.

 

Adventist have a special insight into the fallacy of the papal pretension. It could be conceived that three hundred years from now academic leaders might be quibbling over whether or not Conflict and Courage was really written by Ellen White, or whether it was written some decades after her death by some one pretending to be her. But it would not follow that we questions about the same today. There is, in the Advenitst church, no significant question as to which items came from Ellen White’s pen.[3]

 

The simple answer to the argument is this: The Bible claims to be its own interpreter. It acknowledges that the early Christian church correctly identified false apostles. We believe the early church did this correctly because the Bible says that it did, and not because the Bible said that it always would. On the contrary, the very commendation of Ephesus for this point stands as evidence that a later age of the church would not be reliable in its decisions. The Bible, and the Bible only, is the source of our doctrine regarding the canon.

 

Nevertheless I have [somewhat] against thee, because thou hast left thy first love. Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.  

 

A few unfaithful members laid the foundation of the great apostasy. It fell to the larger and otherwise faithful members to prepare the ground for the growth of that apostasy. Heartless religion creates a void that must be filled.

 

If the Holy Spirit does not fill it, then forms and rites will supply His place. It was the loss of the early church’s first love that, according to the True Witness of Revelation Two, constituted its fall. Coldness of heart led to faulty religion. While the reverse may be the way that apostasy is perpetuated, this pattern describes the normal mode of apostasies origin.

 

The question “what if” baffles historians. It poses no difficulty for prophets. The message to Ephesus shows that a church may repent from its fall and “do the first works.” That should encourage the lukewarm church of today. And She might profit by the warning extended to the Ephesians. Their status as God’s church, as a candlestick in the sanctuary, might be revoked in the case of impenitence. This loss of God’s favor is threatened almost as a destiny. It would happen “except thou repent.”

 

An idea of the meaning of love could be extracted from the counsel to the church that had lost it. What were they to do to make that wrong right? “The first works.” Love as a statement of affection is often unaccompanied by “acts that prove it true.” The counsel of John, the writer of the Revelation, is to “love not in word, but in deed and in truth.”

 

The completeness of Christian character is attained when the impulse to help and bless others springs constantly from within. It is the atmosphere of this love surrounding the soul of the believer that makes him a savor of life unto life and enables God to bless his work. Supreme love for God and unselfish love for one another –this is the best gift that our heavenly Father can bestow. This love is not an impulse, but a divine principle, a permanent power. The unconsecrated heart cannot originate or produce it. Only in the heart where Jesus reigns is it found. {AA 551}

 

While a lack of heaven’s love was the great fault of Ephesus, the hate of the church for sin brought a praise. There is a place for hating deeds of certain men. God hates their deeds as well.

 

But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitanes, which I also hate. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God. 

 

The Nicolaitanes were an antinomian sect in the early church. Their views, like those of any group, can not be well summed up in a word. But this generalization characterizes them enough to understand the meaning of the phrase “deeds of the Nicolaitanes.”

 

Paul wrote that “I would not have known sin if the law had not said ‘thou shalt not covet.” Those who do not recognize law will naturally commit unlawful deeds. That God hates unlawful deeds is clear enough from the testimony of Enoch: “”Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints, to execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him.”

 

The early church had Nicolaitanes in their neighborhood, but they hated unlawful deeds. It remained for a later age to turn against the law of God.

 

Those in the early church that would overcome the loss of their first love were promised access to the tree of life. In this promise one may see an allusion to the glowing deception of natural immortality. God, by offering access to the tree of life, would lead the early church to recall that only those that eat from that tree will “live forever.” Gen. 3:22. The next message, so the Smyrnan church, reminds the church again that immortality does not belong naturally to the race. There the promise is:

 

He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death.

 

Smyrna – Revelation 2:8 to 11

 

The shortest of the messages to the churches was written to the brethren of the second age. Smyrna is not faulted. She was, in general, a pure church. Jesus introduces himself to the saints of that age as one that has faced the foe of death, has succumbed to a mortal wound, and has risen again.

 

And unto the angel of the church in Smyrna write; These things saith the first and the last, which was dead, and is alive. I know thy works, and tribulation, and poverty, (but thou art rich)

 

In works and tribulation, the persecuted church differed from the first church in magnitude. They are noted for their poverty. This brought a more severe judgement at the hand of an informed Roman court. Evils that would lead to the banishment of the rich led their poor neighbors to the scaffold. In the business of being rich “towards God” this church stands in double contrast to the church of the last age. Laodicea is rich in ways that do not matter, put poor in the matters of faith and love. Smyrna was poor in ways that matter to men only, and rich in the virtues that are of great price.

 

and [I know] the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews, and are not, but [are] the synagogue of Satan. 

 

Those looking for the Antichrist power of Bible prophecy have at times pointed their fingers at Islam. Even a few scholars within Adventism have done the same. But the True Witness communicated this startling truth to Smyrna: The church of Satan pretends to be Jewish. We are in the book of Revelation where symbols abound. The Jew of Revelation is that Israelite “indeed” as was Nathaniel under the fig tree. He is that man that has “circumcision of the heart, whose praise is not of men but of God.” He is a member of that group of faithful men of whom it can be truly said “and so all Israel shall be saved.” With his house of Israel the New Covenant has been made.

 

In simple terms, the church of Satan claims to be Christian. And that claim is blasphemy.

 

Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast [some] of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life. 

 

When we read that it is the Devil that casts some into prison, we read also that God allowed it for a purpose – “That ye may be tried.” This is the sense of a similar passage in Daniel that foretold a period of persecution. (See Daniel 11:33,35). The question of the trial was, “will you be faithful unto death.” Faithfulness is everywhere the Christian’s condition of salvation in the Bible.

 

Our trials are metered. So speaks Paul when he assures us that God will not allow “us to be tempted above what we are able, but will with the temptation make a way of escape that we may be able to bear it.” For the fourth century church the period of intense persecution was cut short by the terminal illness of the man that was behind it. While on his death bed he thought that perhaps the God of the Christians was punishing him for the ongoing persecution. He ordered an end to the persecution in his half of the empire. Two years later Constantine came to power and brought an end to it in the other half.

 

The ten years (under the figure of days) spanned from 303 to 313. This period, prophesied some 220 years before it came to be, stands as a monument to God’s foreknowledge. The years of persecution were followed by a remarkably different experience for the church. The Pergamos period was characterized by peace without and war within the confines of the church where once an inner peace and unity had braved foes without.

 

 

HANDOUT TWO

EARLY CHRISTIAN CHURCH

 

 

Pergamos – Revelation 2:12-17

 

And to the angel of the church in Pergamos write; These things saith he which hath the sharp sword with two edges; I know thy works and where thou dwellest, [even] where Satan’s seat [is]:

 

Jesus presents Himself in the character of one causing division to the church era inaugurated by Constantine. He came “not to send peace” to that body of professed followers who were themselves largely dwelling in the heartland of Satan’s kingdom.[4]

 

Remember that it was “Satan” that persecuted the church in Smyrna. The Roman emporers, from their seats of authority in Rome, ordered the inauguration and the cessation of the ten-year massacre. From these facts we can easily deduce “where Satan’s seat is.” In the areas near and around Rome we would look to find God’s true people during the fourth and fifth centuries.

 

Thou holdest fast my name, and hast not denied my faith, even in those days wherein Antipas [was] my faithful martyr, who was slain among you, where Satan dwelleth.

 

Antipas was a faithful martyr. One might infer here, as from I Corinthians 13, that unfaithful martyrs have bled in vain. Who was this Antipas? The compound word can be broken down into its parts—“anti” and “pas”. The latter is plural for pa, or father. The former means, as elsewhere, against.

 

Persecution after the time of Constantine targeted men that opposed the apostate church’s hierarchy. Where did this persecution rage? In the land where the hierarchy wielded the greatest power. In fulfillment of this prophecy noble reformers were martyred for their work in Italy. Bold above others, these included Arnold of Brescia who preached in Rome itself before sealing his testimony with blood.

 

The body of Christians that dwelled in Milan, Italy, maintained their independence for centuries before being overwhelmed. The faithful among them that survived retreated to the Italian Alps. Living among the valleys there they came to be known as vaudois, or Waldensians.

 

This prophecy of Pergamos identifies the Alpine churches as the church of Christ, the successor to the faithful Smyrnan church. Their very existence as an apostolic body silences the Roman argument that the Papal church alone can trace its history to the time of Peter, James, and John.

 

But I have a few things against thee, because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balac to cast a stumblingblock before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication.

 

The fourth century church suffered from doctrinal division. The effect of this division, over the course of two centuries, was a change in the church’s relation to the false doctrines. The false teacher were permitted to abide in Pergamos (v. 14) and permitted to teach in Thyatira (v. 20). See notes on Thyatira for the meaning of the remainder of the verse.

 

So hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitanes, which thing I hate.

 

The downward doctrinal progression appears also in a comparison of Ephesus to Pergamos. The first church hated the deeds of the Nicolaitanes. The third permitted them to teach. God, on the contrary did not change. He hated “the deeds” of the Nicolaitanes (v. 6) and their doctrines (v. 15).

 

The comparison of the verses yields a conclusion that the Nicolaitanes wicked, or lawless, deeds were, at the least, consistent with their teachings. Already in the fourth century teachers were arising to positions of trust in the diocese of Milan that challenged the validity of God’s law. Ambrose, faithful in many other ways, was among those that seemed to have lost a sense of the immutability of the Ten Commandments. He is credited with having said “when in Rome, do as the Romans” in reference to the observance of the first day of the week (a Roman practice) in place of the seventh (the habit of Milan).

 

Repent; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth.

 

Mark the word “them.” While false teachers had invaded the church, they were not identified with the church by Jesus. While the church was responsible to repent for having allowed them to teach, they were addressed as outside of the fold, as a “them” rather than a “you.” Paul makes this clear enough. “Mark those that cause divisions and offenses, contrary to the doctrine which you have learned…for they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus.” Romans 16:17-18.

 

He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna

 

Jesus identified his teachings as the living bread that comes down from heaven. Those that resisted the corruptions of their times would be blessed with spiritual insights into the meanings of the word of God, even into portions that were “hidden.” We find, in fulfillment of this promise, that the Waldensians were granted insights into that book that was to remain sealed for centuries more…the book of Daniel.

 

and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it

 

Such a name Jesus has (see Revelation 19:12). Names unknown to others must serve a purpose other than that of identification. They signify character. Where else in the Bible do we find a character written in stone? The Ten Commandments were just such a “name” as God offers to the overcomers in Pergamos. He will write his law in their hearts.

 

The promise to overcomers is nothing more or less than the New Covenant made with Israel. And who is this Israel that receives the New Covenant promise in Hebrews 8 and 10? The name Israel means “overcomer.” The Covenant is with those that win through Jesus.

 

Thyatira – Revelation 2:18-29

 

And unto the angel of the church in Thyatira write; These things saith the Son of God, who hath his eyes like unto a flame of fire, and his feet are like fine brass; 

 

The LORD is in his holy temple, the LORD’S throne is in heaven: his eyes behold, his eyelids try, the children of men. Ps. 11:4.

 

As the history of the church approached its lowest ebb, God warned the wicked and comforted the faithful with the assurance that He stood as witness. Justice would be meted out. Martyred men are represented in chapter six as claiming the promise in the eyes of fire. “How long, O Lord, Holy True, does thou not judge and avenge our blood?”

 

I know thy works, and charity, and service, and faith, and thy patience, and thy works; and the last to be more than the first.

 

As the Waldensian[5] movement grew in grace and in knowledge, their missionary zeal corresponded to their understanding. From the next verse (v. 20) we can date Thyatira from the sixth century. By the ninth century the church at the base of the Alps had been so far corrupted by her false teachers that the larger portion of her adherents submitted to the papal chair.

 

The minority, mentioned in Pergamos, retreated to the Alps. Rendered free from much of the corrupting element by the separation, the Waldensians were inspired with new life and began a zealous international missionary activity. The word “works” are mentioned twice, at the first and at the last, as an indication that God noticed the revival.

 

Notwithstanding I have a few things against thee, because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce my servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols.

 

Note the comparison:

 

Pergamos                                             Thyatira

“hast there them”                                                                “sufferest to teach”

that hold the doctrine of Balaam                     servants are seduced by Jezebel’s teaching

(Balaam was a prophet)                                    (Jezebel calls herself a prophetess)

Balaam taught Israel (from the outside)        Jezebel taught Israel (from the inside)

To eat food offered to idols                              To eat food offered to idols

To commit fornication                                       To commit fornication

 

The church did not go through a significant doctrinal change from Pergamos to Thyatira. In 538, when the state was placed under the power of the church by the victories of Justinian’s armies, the Roman power mounted the throne. This is the difference between Balaam and Jezebel. The former seduced the faithful from a retreat outside the camp.

 

God spoke in justice and fought against Balaam with the sword. He died at the hand of an avenging army. Joshua 13:22.

 

Jezebel, on the other hand, had married the king. For more on how her reign paralleled the 1260 days of papal supremacy, see the article “1260, 1290, and 1335.” Her authority carried civil power. And she claimed for her teachings that divine infallible authority, the kind possessed by prophets.

 

And I gave her space to repent of her fornication; and she repented not. Behold, I will cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation, except they repent of their deeds. And I will kill her children with death; and all the churches shall know that I am he which searcheth the reins and hearts: and I will give unto every one of you according to your works.

 

For a church that has dished out anathema’s almost innumerable, God’s threat carried a penalty related to the crime. “Her children” are manifestly “the churches” that have adopted her theories regarding religious coercion. They are part of the seed of the serpent, the synagogue of Satan, and they will be crushed in accord with the promise of Genesis 3.

 

Spiritual fornication, as evidenced from the life of Jezebel and various Old Testament prophecies, is the marriage of the church to the civil power. It is committed “with the kings of the earth” and the union brings forth illegitimate children. For more on this, see the Bible Study “Laws of Heredity.”

 

Neither Balaam nor Jezebel are presented as practicing the most open forms of idolatry. They taught the church to “eat food offered to idols.” New Testament treatment of this practice was condemned in Acts 15 by a vote of the world church. But Paul explained in I Corinthians 8 that idols are not really anything. Food offered to them is just food. If it is eaten unawares, it is as good as other food.

 

Why then was it condemned? Gray areas in doctrine and practice tend to corrupt the church. God bade the church stay away from them. Revelation 2 reveals that ignoring this counsel brought idolatry into the church.

 

In other words, idolatry entered in forms that seemed harmless. From meeting to pray at the graves of martyrs to honoring their memory with flowers, venerating the saints grew into a church tradition. Even today the church members of the Roman faith are not taught, not to worship idols, but to honor relics.

 

In Revelation 2 God reveals that he will punish all approaches to idolatry, however gray and unrebukable they may seem to Jezebel.

 

But unto you I say, and unto the rest in Thyatira, as many as have not this doctrine, and which have not known the depths of Satan, as they speak; I will put upon you none other burden. But that which ye have already hold fast till I come.

 

Not all the church of the plain adopted the innovations of the false teachers. God required nothing more of the faithful than that they keep the truth that had been delivered to them.

 

And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations: And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father.

 

Jesus here points to other saints than those appearing in the Catholic calendar.

 

“Let the high praises of God be in their mouth, and a twoedged sword in their hand; To execute vengeance upon the heathen, and punishments upon the people; To bind their kings with chains, and their nobles with fetters of iron; To execute upon them the judgment written: this honour have all his saints. Praise ye the LORD.” Ps. 149:6-9. For more on this passage, see the study “Church Fellowship.”

 

And I will give him the morning star.

 

On a personal level, the individual overcomers were offered a special experience with Jesus, Peter’s “day star” that would arise in Christian’s hearts. Historically, the Waldensian missionaries were cheered with the news that Wycliffe, Huss, Jerome, and the Moravians after them, were fighting the powers of darkness. The first of these, Wycliffe, has often been labeled “the Morning Star” of the Reformation.

 

His work preceded by two centuries that of the more famous reformers. The “morning star” refers, in popular astronomy, to the planet that reflects brightly the light of the son in those early morning hours when other stars are fading and the sun has not yet appeared.

 

Concluding Note:

 

These pages are nothing akin to an exhaustive study of Revelation 2. On the contrary, they focus uniquely on those points of historical application required for the class Early Christian Church.

For the Word Doc, click here: Rev_2_-_Ephesus_to_Thyatira


[1] it belongs to another class, Revelation, to give evidence for what this paper assumes, namely that the four churches in Revelation 2 cover a period of history spanning from the first Christians to the eve of the Reformation.

[2] The last verses in Revelation one explain that the candlesticks represent the churches.

[3] There is, on the other hand, debate as to the source of her material…whether it came from Inspiration, or was borrowed, etc. There is not nearly as much excuse for these questions as surface students would believe. I include in the term “surface student” a number of respected professors that have treated this subject with so little caution as to have been easily tricked by an enemy with a vested interest in undermining the Testimonies.

[4] God had promised at the very outset of the Great Controversy to place enmity between the seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent. God’s people were placed on the offensive in the conflict. We find Abraham called to leave the area of Shem’s descendants to resettle among the cursed children of Ham and Canaan. In like manner God called his faithful witnesses in early Christendom to plant their banner, not in some distant field far from the See of Rome, but under the nose of that power.

[5] I here use the name given later for the body that existed before. At this time, the sixth century, the Waldensians were not yet in the Alps, were not called Vaudois, and do not show up in history as a separate body except in their refusal to submit to the pope at Rome.

Revelation 3 and the Latter Rain

Honored with the Latter Rain

And Receiving a Larger Measure of the Spirit until Then

 

 

SECTION ONE — Causes and Reasons for Spiritual Renewal

 

Our tendency is to undervalue spiritual events and blessings. Consequently ceremonies are often used to solemnize moods and to focus participants on the value of the unseen. Baptism, communion and marriage are all familiar scenes of ritual intended to deepen a sense of significance.

 

The Bible gives abundant attention to a fourth ritual event—anointing. The head of the recipient is anointed with oil or with touch (the laying on of hands). These rites represent investiture, the granting of both responsibility and power to carry out the responsibility.

 

So Samuel anointed David “and the Spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day forward.” 1 Sa 16:13.  So, more than a thousand years later, the newly converted Saul was filled with the Spirit after waiting for the anointing from a church representative.

 

And Ananias went his way, and entered into the house; and putting his hands on him said, Brother Saul, the Lord, even Jesus, that appeared unto thee in the way as thou camest, hath sent me, that thou mightest receive thy sight, and be filled with the Holy Ghost. Ac 9:17 

 

We all need more efficiency in our work for the Savior. This is why the Spirit is given, so every man can profit more efficiently in God’s work. 1Co 12:7

 

The Spirit supplies the deficiency in the church between talent possessed and talent needed. The Spirit’s gifts range from ‘prophecy’ to ‘helps.’ The Spirit aids kings in their rule, as David above even before he took the throne. And the Spirit aids seamstresses (Ex 28:3, “I have filled with the Spirit of Wisdom”) and metal workers (“filled with the Spirit of God in wisdom . . . and in all manner of workmanship”) in their trade when the work of the church requires their skill.

 

Jesus anointed His chosen apostles at the Great Commission by the singular act of blowing on them. He communicated to them, by this gesture, that in the fact of their being sent rested the guarantee of the Spirit’s power. Jesus had been sent by the Father and this was why He received the Spirit.

 

Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you. And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost: John 20:21-22 

For he whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God: for God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto him. Joh 3:34 

 

The early church could not be satisfied to have believing converts if they were not gifted and ready for service. When Samaria “received the Word of God” amidst “signs and great miracles” two apostles were dispatched from Jerusalem that they might “receive the Holy Ghost.” They “prayed for them” and laid “their hands on them and they received the Holy Ghost.” Ac 8:5-17.

 

Though the Samarian believers differed individually from each other in their knowledge of truth and beauty of character, the Holy Spirit fell on “none of them” prior to the ritual hand-laying.  As if to emphasize the hollow character of membership without the Spirit’s power, the scripture says of the not-yet-gifted Samaritans “only they were baptized.” Ac 8:16.

 

Even the converted Saul, in becoming the Apostle Paul, had to wait (See Ac 9:17 above) for the laying on of hands before being filled with the Spirit.

 

The earnest disciples of John the Baptist, having forgotten (Ac 19:2) John’s testimony to the Spirit’s descent on Jesus, possessed a sincere love for truth. Yet they had not been filled with the power of that Spirit of whom they were ignorant. They were rebaptized and, in the same service, anointed with hands.

 

And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them; and they spake with tongues, and prophesied. Ac 19:6 

 

So when the Holy Spirit came upon missionaries in multi-lingual areas, they spoke with tongues. When the Spirit filled seamstresses they made Aaron’s garments. When the Spirit filled Bezaleel he became supremely skillful in metallurgy. When the Spirit filled boy David he became a gifted poet and king. When the Spirit came upon Samson he was able to escape impending destruction by super strength. The Spirit gives the very gifts needed by an individual to execute his responsibility.

 

Having the Spirit working inside us is not evidence that we have no need to be “filled.” Already-spiritual men are anointed to be granted an even greater measure of the Spirit as required by their greater responsibilities. Joshua was chosen for anointing because he was “a man in whom in the Spirit.” Nu 27:18. Then Moses “laid his hands” on him and he was filled with “the Spirit of Wisdom.” De 34:9.

 

The Greek equivalent of the Hebrew name “Joshua” is “Jesus.” In other words, the angel directed the virgin Mary to name her child Joshua. The Joshua under Moses represented Him in many ways. Not the least of these was the pattern of being full of the Spirit and then being anointed by the Spirit for greater gifts at the commencement of greater responsibilities. This happened to Jesus at His baptism.

 

Why was the Spirit poured out in rich currents into the life of Jesus at his baptism? He was being sent to preach the gospel and to do the sensitive work of winning souls. He was being called to preach to the meek and to bind up broken hearts. He was to set people free from their sins and from their ignorance.

 

The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; Isa 61:1

 

More than this, He was to teach about the fulfillment of prophecy and about the future judgment. He was to comfort those that were mourning over their own spiritual declension (symbolized by ashes under them) and mourning over the sins around them. He was to teach the connection between such heart-searching and receiving more of the Spirit, the “oil of joy.” The blessed fruits of the Spirit outpoured would turn the heaviness of self-searching into a covering of praise.

 

To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn; To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; Isa 61:2-3.

 

Jesus applied this passage to himself at the commencement of his ministry. Lu 4:18. As it came to be with Joshua and Jesus, so it can be with us generally. The Spirit is poured out in larger measure on those that already have the Spirit in smaller measure.

 

In other words, spiritual life must be cultivated if we expect to have the Spirit poured out on us in a special service.

 

Those that submit to adopt the Spirit’s values as their own are rewarded with power to live and spread those values. The Bible attributes the largeness of Jesus’ filling to the purity of his value system.

 

Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows. Heb 1:9  (Quoted from Ps 45:7)

 

Activities that tend to write scriptural values into the mind are helping do the very work the Spirit is appointed to do for us. Sensibly, they are connected in Scripture with the reception of the Spirit. Whether singing scripture and spiritual songs, whether giving thanks to God, or whether denying our desires and passions, our spiritual exercises bring spiritual maturity. And this means more of the Spirit.

 

When a man is reproved he faces an opportunity to welcome an outpouring of the Spirit. His part is to repent. In other words, when we are shown our sins we obey God by turning from them. You might say that the pattern is: be reproved; obey by repentance; receive the Holy Spirit as a gift from Jesus. The Spirit is given to those that obey Him. Ac 5:32.

 

Turn you at my reproof: behold, I will pour out my spirit unto you, I will make known my words unto you. Pr 1:23 

 

Conversion involves cooperation between humanity and Divinity. You could say, accurately, that God’s part is to give us a new heart, a new mind. Then again, you could say that our part is to cast away our sins and thereby “make a new heart.” God said it both ways through Ezekiel to express the reality of cooperation. Eze 11:19; 18:31. We could say “work out your own salvation” and we could say “it is God that works in you both to will and to do.”

 

Living in the Spirit and walking in the Spirit are not precisely the same thing. We are living in the Spirit when we are gifted with moral power at conversion. (Compare Eph 3:16-17 with Rom 8:1-4.) But the gift of conversion does not enslave our wills. It sets us free to start walking in the Spirit, to start denying our appetites and desires in favor of obedience to the Spirit. “Living” is the possession of power; “walking” is our use of the will.

 

If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Ga 5:25 

This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. Ga 5:16 

 

Just as submitting to correction leads to a greater filling with God’s Spirit, resisting correction leads to a deadening of the spiritual powers and, ultimately, to the departure of the Spirit from the life. We read of Saul, after his disobedience, “the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul.” 1 Sa 16:14. Thus he became an object lesson for all persons that resist God’s instruction. They resist the Spirit. They grieve the Spirit. They quench the Spirit.

 

Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do ye. Ac 7:51 

And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed . . . . Eph 4:30.

He therefore that despiseth, despiseth not man, but God, who hath also given unto us his holy Spirit. . . . Quench not the Spirit. 1Th 4:8; 5:19.

 

Nevertheless, those that partake in the self-affliction of the Day of Atonement can expect a special outpouring from Him that “is strong that executeth His word.” Joel 2:11. Joel’s prophecy connects God’s “great kindness” and “gracious” mercy as moving us to the required repentance. “Who knows,” Joel writes, whether our repentance will be sufficient to avert coming judgments on his people.

 

In his picture of the end-time outpouring, the individual work of soul-searching is followed by a spiritual gathering of the people and by intercession on the part of those that have put away their sins. They are praying for those that have not.

 

The pattern is that God calls us to heart-searching, moves us by his mercy; we respond with repentance and with coming together as a church. We respond with a mind-set of intercession. And He responds by a gracious outpouring of the Spirit’s power into the church.

 

     Therefore also now, saith the LORD, turn ye even to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning: And rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the LORD your God: for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil.  Who knoweth if he will return and repent, and leave a blessing behind him . . .

     Blow the trumpet in Zion, sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly: Gather the people, sanctify the [church] . . . Let the priests, the ministers of the LORD, weep between the porch and the altar, and let them say, “Spare thy people” . . .

     Then will the LORD be jealous for his land, and pity his people. . . .and he will cause to come down for you the rain, the former rain, and the latter rain in the first month.  . . . And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions: And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit. Joel 2:11-29.

 

Feeling a Need, a Thirst for the Spirit

 

When we humble our hearts, when we afflict our souls, we are rewarded for our thirst. A thirst for righteousness is rewarded with a filling. A thirst for the Spirit brings the needed refreshing.

 

Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled. Mt 5:6 

For I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground: I will pour my spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing upon thine offspring: Isa 44:3 

 

It is only natural that those that thirst for the Spirit’s power in their life will ask for the Spirit. This is the condition laid down by Jesus for receiving the bounty of the Spirit’s power. Whether we are asking for our own needs (Lu 11:13), for the needs of others (Eph 3:14-16), for the Latter rain (Zec 10:1), or for more boldness in our work (Ac 4:29-31), asking brings the power of the Spirit into our life. So it was for Elisha. 2Ki 2:9.

 

Summary

 

To this point we have seen that the Spirit is given for practical purposes. The Spirit gifts men wit the abilities they need to carry out their duties. But it is already-spiritual men that God choose to bear those responsibilities. The Spirit is poured on Spirit-led men.

 

These are men who hunger for righteousness and who ask for the Spirit. They intercede for their church. They respond with humility to God’s reproving. They depend on Christ’s graciousness and so are moved to humble their heart in soul-searching. These are the truths that are for the church at all times and in all ages.

 

End-Time Duties Demand and End-Time Out-Pouring

 

This study is abridged from a longer study that additionally explored the work of the Spirit in exalting Jesus as a “Prince and a Savior.” It considered the all-important topic of baptism by the Holy Spirit. There scripture shows the relation of the Spirit to assurance of salvation. And other truths regarding the reception of the Spirit are touched upon.

 

But here at GYC we will move directly to End-Time duties that demand and End-time gifting of the Spirit.

 

The prophecy of Isaiah 61:1-9 illustrates well the comprehensive nature of the blessings that come with the Spirit. From power in preaching, to beauty in character; from success in freeing captives to accuracy in speaking of prophetic fulfillments; from conviction attending our warnings of judgment to salve in our comforting of “those that mourn”, the gift of the anointing makes us like Jesus.

 

 

The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn; To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified. And they shall build the old wastes, they shall raise up the former desolations, and they shall repair the waste cities, the desolations of many generations. . . .

 

Notice as the prophecy continues how Christ is glorified by our spiritual growth as his “planting.” Consider how the Spirit’s power brings renewal of truths lost and healing of long-standing backsliding in the church. Observe how Spirit-filled men will become known as the Priests of the Lord and as “Ministers of our God.”

 

. . . But ye shall be named the Priests of the LORD: men shall call you the Ministers of our God: ye shall eat the riches of the Gentiles, and in their glory shall ye boast yourselves. . . . And their seed shall be known among the Gentiles, and their offspring among the people: all that see them shall acknowledge them, that they are the seed which the LORD hath blessed. Is 61:1-4, 6, 9.

 

Priests of the Lord and Ministers of our God

 

As Jesus stands in the Most Holy Place His work is focused on purifying the “sons of Levi.” Mal. 3:3. These are Seventh-day Adventists.

 

They are the men chosen, in place of the first-born, to be scattered among all nations as guides and shepherds. They are the “teaching” priests. Where they are absent or ignorant or delinquent even God’s people are “without law.” 2 Ch 15:3. They should “keep knowledge” and men should “seek the law at” their mouths. Mal. 2:7. Their cleansing changes everything for God’s people and brings a revival of primitive godliness “as in the days of old, as in former years.” Mal. 3:4.

 

And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the LORD an offering in righteousness. Mal 3:3.

For the priest’s lips should keep knowledge, and they should seek the law at his mouth: for he is the messenger of the LORD of hosts. Mal 2:7.

 

Christ’s work in heaven, sitting as a refiner and purifier of silver, corresponds to the work of the Spirit on earth during the same time. We “are washed,” “are sanctified,” in Christ’s name “by the Spirit.” We are thus “saved” “by the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost.” 1 Co 6:11; Tit 3:5.

 

And the need of God’s people to “keep knowledge” and to be a source of truth for the world corresponds to another special work of the Spirit.

 

But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you. Joh 14:26 

 

The Spirit of God “searches all things, yes, the deep things of God.” Only when we receive the Spirit “which is of God” may we “know the things that are freely given to us of God.” This is because truths we seek to understand “are spiritually discerned.” 1Co 2:10, 12, 14.

 

Again, the purification of the priests and their growth in knowledge compliment each other. When they repent under reproof they receive an outpouring of the Spirit that opens to them the meaning of God’s words. We read earlier in the study:

 

Turn you at my reproof: behold, I will pour out my spirit unto you, I will make known my words unto you. Pr 1:23.

 

Such revelations of truth belong, though largely unclaimed, to the remnant church. The Spirit has for us, as for the apostles, truths “in other ages not made known unto the sons of men.” “By the Spirit” these things may be “now revealed” through the work of prophets. Eph 3:5.

 

Simeon was an Adventist. “The same man was just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel.” “The Holy Ghost was upon him and it was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost that he should not see death before” he had witnessed the infant Messiah. Lu 2:25-26.

 

So Adventists today, waiting for Christ’s Coming and filled with the Holy Spirit, may expect revelations of future events. They may know what is coming.

 

Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.  Joh 16:13 

 

This two-fold work of teaching and purifying the sons of Levi is the focal point of Christ’s work during the Judgment. The tribe of Levi is to become a land of springs and rivers, a place where spiritual thirst may be quenched.

 

He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.  (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.) Jn 7:38-39 

 

The church as a collection of teaching priests becomes an epistle written by God to the world. Meditate on this in connection with the fact that Jesus was the Word of God in the flesh. Converts are letters “written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the Living God” “in fleshly tables of the heart.” 2Co 3:3. So the change in king Saul, when he was converted, astonished “all that knew him beforetime” and was perplexing to “one of the same place.” 1Sa 10:11, 12.

 

Power

Our commission as a church is to take the Three Angel’s Messages to the world with power. As modern Levites we need holiness of life (and so Christ purifies us) and thoroughness of knowledge (and so the Spirit teaches us).

 

Additionally we need power. Zech 4:6. And power comes through the Spirit. We need the powers of indwelling love and of a sound mind. We, as Levites, need power to show God’s people their transgressions. We need power added to our preaching so that we need not depend on fancy-speaking to convict hearts. All such power is available.

 

For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. 2Ti 1:7 

But truly I am full of power by the spirit of the LORD, and of judgment, and of might, to declare unto Jacob his transgression, and to Israel his sin. Mic 3:8 

And my speech and my preaching was not with [persuasive] words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power: 1Co 2:4 

And ye became followers of us, and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Ghost: For our gospel came not unto you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance; as ye know what manner of men we were among you for your sake. 1Th 1:5-6 

But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. Ac 1:8 

And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness. And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul: . . . And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all. Ac 4:29-33

 

Observe that the evangelist’s power of conviction is related to his holy living. The Thessalonians knew “what manner of men” the evangelists “were among” them for their “sake.” The Spirit uses the purity that He has worked into the lives of His witnesses.

 

Jesus had power that worked to spread His reputation far and wide when He entered His ministry.

 

And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee: and there went out a fame of him through all the region round about. Lu 4:14 

 

The power of the Spirit will attend those giving the last-day Elijah message. It will restore families and turn “the disobedient” to the “wisdom of the just.” It will prepare a people for the “great and dreadful day of the Lord.”

 

And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord. Lu 1:17 

Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD: And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse. Mal 4:5-6

 

The power of the Spirit in the life is like a clothing that covers, while changing, our weaknesses. The Spirit gives us power to overcome temptations that still mightily attract us. This is a covering[1]. The present weakness does not appear in our behavior. The marginal reading of three Old Testament passages even uses the word “clothed” for the filling of the Spirit. “Then the spirit [clothed] Amasai.” “But the Spirit of the LORD [clothed] Gideon.” “And the Spirit of God [clothed] Zechariah.” 1Ch 12:18; Jud 6:34; 2Ch 24:20.

 

God promises to give us “one heart.” He puts a “new Spirit” within us and removes our “stony heart.” We are moved to “cast away” all our “transgressions.” Eze 11:19; 18:31; 36:26. Thus we are “strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man.” Eph 3:16. This prepares us so “that Christ may dwell in our heart by faith.” In other words, the Spirit makes us inhabitable.

 

In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit. Eph 2:22 

 

God is not the only one that prefers the association of Spirit-modified persons. Almost everyone does initially. They are patient and hopeful, self-controlled and Christ-like. Gal 5:5, 22. Ro 15:13. They live to serve others rather than to serve their lusts and appetites. They are not bound to their passions.

 

This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would. Ga 5:16-17.

For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. Ro 8:13-14

 

They are joyful in the midst of troubles that cloud the brow of other men. Cheeriness characterizes Spirit-molded men.

 

But the Jews stirred up the devout and honorable women, and the chief men of the city, and raised persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and expelled them out of their coasts.  But they shook off the dust of their feet against them, and came unto Iconium.  And the disciples were filled with joy, and with the Holy Ghost. Ac 13:51-52

And ye became followers of us, and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Ghost: 1Th 1:6 

 

But the world does not prefer Spiritual association in the long-term. Holy living is a source of unpleasant conviction to the worldling. He will eventually retaliate.

 

But as then he that was born after the flesh persecuted him that was born after the Spirit, even so it is now. Ga 4:29 

 

Persecution against us demands fortitude within us. Such faithful keeping of our spiritual life also comes “by the Holy Ghost.” The Spirit-filled man is the faithful man.

 

That good thing which was committed unto thee keep by the Holy Ghost which dwelleth in us. 1Ti 1:14 

 

The connection between the Spirit’s filling and faithfulness is related to the sealing. Though this is a topic of another paper, we should note that the pouring out of God’s Spirit is the sealing process. Eph 1:13; 4:30; 2Co 1:22; 2Co 5:5; Ro 8:23. Our assurance that we are truly God’s comes by the gift of the Holy Spirit. By the Spirit we feel endeared to God and cry “Abba, Father.”

 

And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us. 1Jo 3:24

Hereby know we that we dwell in him, and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit.1Jo 4:13

For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: Ro 8:15-16.

 

Our calling and our qualifications differ markedly. Remember that the Spirit makes up the deficiency between talent possessed and talent needed. Especially when men are called to administration in God’s work are they gifted and taught by the Spirit with knowledge and wisdom to lead.

 

So the Spirit gave special instruction to David on how to rule “over men.” So Jesus was promised special wisdom to lead. So we noted earlier that Joshua was full of “wisdom” after being anointed to lead Israel. So Othniel (Jus 3:10) and Jephthah (Ju 11:29) were filled when called to judge the nation.

 

The Spirit of the LORD spake by me, and his word was in my tongue. . . The Rock of Israel spake to me, “He that ruleth over men must be just, ruling in the fear of God. 2Sa 23:2-3. 

And the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD; And shall make him of [sensitive] understanding in the fear of the LORD: and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears:  Is 11:2-3

 

This principle is most pronounced in the delegation of authority from the prophet Moses to 70 other men, 68 that responded to his directions and two that did not. They were gifted when they were called so that they could well bear their responsibility.

 

And I will come down and talk with thee there: and I will take of the spirit which is upon thee, and will put it upon them; and they shall bear the burden of the people with thee, that thou bear it not thyself alone. . . .And the LORD came down in a cloud, and spake unto him, and took of the spirit that was upon him, and gave it unto the seventy elders: and it came to pass, that, when the spirit rested upon them, they prophesied, and did not cease.  But there remained two of the men in the camp, the name of the one was Eldad, and the name of the other Medad: and the spirit rested upon them; and they were of them that were written, but went not out unto the tabernacle: and they prophesied in the camp. Nu 11:17; 25-26

 

There is much more that the Spirit does. The subject is worthy all the study that can be given to it. But my deadline for sending this in to GYC to print for the lectures is past and my time is out.

 

Final Summary

 

Jesus is today teaching and cleansing His tribe of teaching priests, the Seventh-day Adventists. Our duty to the world is larger than we can handle. We need the Spirit’s power and gifting to make up our deficiency. Such power comes to those that practice the Day of Atonement, cooperating with Christ’s work of purifying His kingdom of priests. Where you see the church rising to a higher level of holiness and to greater mastery of the truths for this time, there you can know that Jesus is working by His Spirit.

 

GYC has been one such place. In one such place and some time soon we will see an outpouring of the Spirit reminiscent of the books of Acts and Exodus. Men will be given the very gifts needed to accomplish the work assigned to them.

 

For more information like this and for an unabridged version, see www.bibledoc.org or write Eugene Prewitt at canvassing@canvassing.org.

 

Thank you for attending the seminar. Please address constructive help to the email address above.

 

Be faithful,

 

 

Eugene Prewitt

December 4, 2006

For the Word Document: Rev_3_-_Honored_with_the_Latter_Rain


[1] This is not the “white robe” of Christ’s perfect righteousness that is granted to men in the judgment. Rather, it is the garment of charity that is donned by Christians through the power of the Spirit in their life. See Colosians 3. Nor are these characteristics that we “put on” the righteousness that the Father observes when we pray “in Christ’s name.” These have no merit. Our prayers are answered as if the “pardon” written against our name were already confirmed in judgment. All merit comes from Christ’s life.

Revelation and the Laodicean Message

Laodicea

A Bible Study

 

 

 

There have always been messages that were more timely than others. Truth seems to come alive when its time has come. At its appointed moment, the currents of thought and politics in the world work together to make it most relevant. Or its revelations may describe so perfectly the condition of God’s people that the student’s mind finds itself flooded with a sense of its truthfulness.

 

Some messages have always been timely.

 

We must keep Jesus our pattern ever before us. This is and ever will be present truth. It was by beholding Jesus and appreciating the virtues of His character that John became one with his Master in spirit. With spiritual vision he saw Christ’s glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth; and he was changed from glory to glory into His likeness. – 1888 Materials, p. 135. Emphasis Supplied.

 

The message to the Laodiceans (Revelation 3:14-21) is speaking to men again, to a greater number of them, and with greater force. It spoke first with authority to a city in Asia Minor. Other churches that had an ear to hear were invited to listen for their own edification. In that sense it has pled with every generation. There has not yet been a period when Jesus failed to be knocking on the door of the heart of His professed followers. Even the liveliest of believers have experienced in themselves the truth that “as many as I love I rebuke and chasten.”

 

But the city of Laodicea received the message as one written especially to them. Their particular weaknesses and needs occasioned a special revelation from the Faithful and True Witness. We can only hope that their later pastors had reason to say (as Paul did of the repentant Corinthians) “For behold this selfsame thing, that ye sorrowed after a godly sort, what carefulness it wrought in you, yea, what clearing of yourselves, yea, what indignation, yea, what fear, yea, what vehement desire, yea, what zeal, yea what [discipline]! In all things you have approved yourselves to be clear in this matter.” 2 Corinthians 7:11.

 

If the reader doubts that the message of Revelation 3, written to the angel of the church of Laodicea, applies with particular force to the church at this time, we might offer two words of wisdom.

 

  1. The message is written to those that do not feel their need. Revelation 3:17. A brief exercise of our mental faculties would make it clear that men can not safely discount the message based on their feelings of security or assurance.
  2. Read on nonetheless, for the message concludes “He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.” It will edify the hearer in any age.

 

We might enter into a phrase-by-phrase exposition of the nine verses. But even if we succeeded in teaching only truth, we might change the meaning and force of the passage as a whole. The whole of it can be read easily in two minutes. Without a comment added, its greatest messages may be understood by the prayerful and earnest one. Read it carefully now.

 

And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God.

“I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot.

So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth. Because thou sayest, ‘I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing;’ and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:

I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.

As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent. Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.

To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches. Re 3:14-22.

 

Recognize the primary thrust of the True Witness. The condition of the Laodiceans, minutely pointed out in verse 17, it will be our first order of business to understand.

 

“Because thou sayest…and knowest not.”

 

This is a characteristic of men. Elihu accused Job of having “spoken without knowledge”[1] only to have the accusation turned on him by the All Knowing One. “Who is this that darkeneth counsel by words without knowledge?” Job 38:2.

 

Job, however, took the rebuke personally. He answered the question “Who is this” with the confession “therefore have I uttered that I understood not.” Job 42:3. It is dangerous to speak of those things that we do not understand. Timothy was warned that some had turned away from the faith. They were anxious to teach but were “understanding neither what they say, nor whereof they affirm.” I Tim 1:6-7.

 

Laodicea converses each weekend regarding salvation, assurance, and the gifts of grace. These topics are broached in Sabbath school with characteristic boldness. We, as members of the church, are looking forward to Christ’s coming. But we don’t understand.

 

Woe unto you that desire the day of the LORD! to what end is it for you? The day of the LORD is darkness, and not light. As if a man did flee from a lion, and a bear met him; or went into the house, and leaned his hand on the wall, and a serpent bit him.[2]

 

Amos uses metaphors familiar to us. The serpent, the lion, the comfort of getting home after danger. Perhaps we are not as mindful of the bear, that animal called by God to punish the mocking of his special messenger. Elisha’s deliverance from the irreverent youth by the attack of a she-bear harks forward to today. Adventists, waiting and hoping to go home to heaven, anxious to escape the roaring lion on their track, will find at last that they have been deceived by the serpent and that their treatment of Heaven’s prophet has not endeared them to Heaven.

 

We are represented by Amos as expecting great things from the Coming of Jesus. Our riches, whether or not they include material prosperity, include an assurance that all will be well with us in the end. Laodicea knows, in a superficial way, that her destiny depends on her love and her faith. She is aware that those with a faith/love relationship are the ones that are justified. But rather than being a source of worry, this thought comforts her from day to day. She is confident enough of her standing with God to speak of it.

 

“I am rich and increased with goods and have need of nothing “

 

There are certain conditions upon which we may expect that God will hear and answer our prayers. One of the first of these is that we feel our need of help from Him. He has promised, “I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground.” Isaiah 44:3. Those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, who long after God, may be sure that they will be filled. The heart must be open to the Spirit’s influence, or God’s blessing cannot be received.

Our great need is itself an argument and pleads most eloquently in our behalf. But the Lord is to be sought unto to do these things for us.[3]

 

Laodicea might be more conscious of her need if she understood the nature of faith and love. These, according to James and Paul, are the riches of the gospel. But James speaks of men who “say” they have faith, yet do not.  James 2:14-20. And John speaks of men who “say” they have love, but have it not. I Jn. 4:20.

 

It is interesting, in this context, to notice that faith in God’s truth and selfless love were the two significant virtues missing from the Laodicean church in Paul’s time.

 

For I would that ye knew what great conflict I have for you, and for them at Laodicea, and for as many as have not seen my face in the flesh. That their hearts might be comforted, being knit together in love, and unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the acknowledgement of the mystery of God, and of the Father, and of Christ; Col. 2:1-2

 

James speaks of those that are “rich in faith” and identifies them as the same class as those that “love” God.

 

Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith[4], and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him? Jas 2:5

 

Our God is spoken of as being, Himself, “rich in mercy.” This is shown by the “great love wherewith he loved us.” Eph 2:4. Faith and Love are combined in a number of other passages.[5] A working faith can never be separated from love, for “faith works by love.” Gal. 5:6. It would be appropriate in a study of Laodicea to take a moment to probe the meaning of these golden values. An understanding of faith and love might wake Laodicea to a hungering and thirsting after righteousness.

 

The Nature of Faith

 

“The just shall live by Faith.” “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.” “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.” “Let the Word of God dwell in you richly.” “A man is justified by faith.” “receive with meekness the engrafted Word which is able to save your soul.” “Whatsoever you ask in faith, believing, ye shall receive.” “If my word abides in you, ye shall ask what you will and it will be done unto you.”

 

Without taking further pangs to prove it, let me state that faith is living by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. Faith is a relationship with the Word. Faith submits to the Word. It lives and acts as if the Word itself has power to do the thing it promised.[6]

 

What does faith look like? That depends on the nature of the Word that faith is resting on at the moment. When faith comes to a warning, faith looks like preparation and “taking heed.” When faith comes to a rebuke, faith looks like confession and repentance. Faith lets the principle of the Word become the ruling power in the life. When faith comes to inspired history, it looks to the world to be akin to naiveté. It takes the Word at face value. Faith recognizes the creative power in the Word of God. When faith comes to a Calvary and lets the glory of that story move the will, faith looks like tears, penitence, humility, courage, and selfless love. When faith comes to a promise, it looks like “hope.” When it comes to a command, it looks like obedience. When confronted with a Counsel it looks very much like a desire to please God. When to an inspired hymn, faith may even look like music.[7]

 

This could be partially expressed as a graph.

 

The Nature of the Word                                                        The Appearance of Faith

A Warning                                                                                  Preparation

A Rebuke                                                                    Confession and Repentance

History                                                                                          Belief

A Promise                                                                                        Hope

A Command                                                                                 Obedience

Counsel                                                                               A Desire to Please

The Story of Calvary                                      Tears, Penitence, Humility, Courage, Selfless Love

A Spiritual Hymn                                                                         Spiritual Music

 

When the Bible asserts that we are saved “by hope” and justified by “works” and excused by our “thoughts” and condemned by “idle words”[8] the Book makes no contradiction with those statements that faith alone can save us. The repeated statements that we are judged according to our works and even the statement that we are justified by our “words” are only a development of the theme that man “shall live by every Word that proceeds from the mouth of God.”

 

The Word “every” must be allowed to have its meaning. Unbelief is selective. It may incorporate portions of the word, the promises and stories, while spurning the counsels and commands. It may acknowledge the laws and regulations while slighting the Sacrifice. Unbelief has never saved a soul and never will. So James says that a man may try to show his faith without works but that James will “show my faith by my works.”

 

Just as Laodicea has falsely supposed she had a great deal of faith, she has been misinformed regarding love and does not recognize her dearth of the treasure.

 

The Nature of Love

 

Love is a fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22). Unspiritual people do not love. “Everyone that loveth is born of God and knoweth God.” And those with Jesus in their hearts most certainly do exercise love. “That Christ may dwell  in your hearts, that you, being rooted and grounded in love may know.” “He that loveth not knoweth not God for God is love.” Love is so rare that its possession attracts the attention of the world. “By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.”

 

This is not to say that unconverted mothers do not love their children. Neither can we justly deny that an unconverted man may truly love his converted wife. But selective love is a mere reflection of the virtue itself. Jesus made this contrast in Matthew 5. He suggested to his audience that the love they showed their families and friends did not indicate any relationship to their “Father in Heaven.” If they would be His children they must love their enemies.

 

Loving our enemies does not change the fact that they are our enemies. Love is not an ecumenical cover-up of differences. Love is, on the contrary, selfless service. Service of others, at the expense of one’s own interests and comfort, will be an identifying mark of God’s last day people.

 

Love in the Last Days

 

The Bible makes a number of statements regarding the significance of love to end-time events. We observed earlier that the first century church of Laodicea (Col. 2:1-3) had a crying need to be “knit together” in love. This need, a characteristic also of the last day church, is signified in the term “lukewarm.” What is spiritual heat in this end-time context?

 

And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. Matt. 24:12-13.

 

Enduring love characterizes the finally saved. The cooling of this selfless principle characterizes the church in its Laodicean condition. But prophecy foretells more than a love that survives. Paul speaks of end-time love as one that thrives.

 

And the Lord make you to increase and abound in love one toward another, and toward all men, even as we do toward you: To the end he may stablish your hearts unblameable in holiness before God, even our Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his saints. I Thes. 2:12-13.

 

Our love, if we are to be found blameless at Christ’s coming, must be growing for our leaders, our fellow members, and for those that are “without.” If it is not growing, it will be dying.

 

Visit your neighbors in a friendly way, and become acquainted with them. . . . Those who do not take up this work, those who act with the indifference that some have manifested, will soon lose their first love, and will begin to censure, criticize, and condemn their own brethren.–{ChS 115.3}

 

What does love look like? That depends on the need of the one that is brought into our sphere of influence. In the home, love looks like a father cheerfully doing the dishes day after day. Love looks like disciplining oneself to keep tracts on hand to give away at gas-stations and super-markets. Putting the needs of others first, true love, may look like taking fewer pictures and giving a larger offering for Mission Extension. When a brother is found doing wrong, love looks like patience and correction. When a brother is in danger, love looks like a solemn warning and a helping hand. If your brother has done you wrong, love looks rather like faithful rebuke and attempted reconciliation than like gossip. Lest we miss this last point, Jesus used it as example of what His own Love means. He wrote to Laodicea:

 

“As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten.”

 

Hot or Cold

 

Somewhat selfless Christians make the universe confusing. The Lord of Glory, with sympathy for those whose destiny’s will be decided by the vacillating witness of the church, says that He is repulsed by half-measures in self denial.

 

His promise to “spew out” those that continued on with their mixture of self-interest and God-pleasing ought to lead our church to remember Jerusalem.

 

Do not resist Him

 

 

Do not resist Him

When He is calling

The peace we now have

May not always be

The HolyCity

God’s own Chosen

In His Favor

Thought she’d always be

 

When the walls were burning and

Lighting a million tear-stained face

And the cedars that were there

Were making mountains glow

All the soldiers had been told

“Do not destroy that place”

But the God of Heaven said

“It must be brought low”


And when Jesus tried to tell

The people of their danger

They reminded Him of what

it seemed had slipped His mind

But He said that to the faith

of Abram they were strangers

And it would not help them if

their blood was from his line

 

Do not resist Him

When He is calling

The peace you now have

May not always be

The HolyCity

God’s own Chosen

In His Favor

Thought she’d always be


Like a mother hen, He said

That he would have gathered them

If they would have come to Him

When the prophets called

But they all went their own way

To their chosen problems

And they left God no way

To save them from them all

 

Do not resist Him

When He is calling

The peace you now have

May not always be

The HolyCity

God’s own Chosen

In His Favor

Thought she’d always be

 

 

Jesus, John the Baptist, and Jeremiah all argued against the smug “we are the people” mentality.

 

To this point we have discussed Laodicea’s opinion of herself. She has thought, we have thought, that she was rich. Her misunderstanding of love and faith has led to this delusion. She has been lukewarm and cooling in her selflessness. This, in the face of a call to a growing and enduring love and a warning of dire consequences otherwise, has endangered her position as the chosen of God. She would rather not acknowledge this danger and so the True Witness finds other ways to “tell her.”

 

Wretched, Miserable, Poor, Blind, and Naked

 

The Greek word talaheeporos, translated “wretched,” is found in only one other passage in the scriptures. In Romans 7 Paul describes the experience of a man that is in bondage to the law of sin and death, a man that wants to do right but who finds another law bringing him “into captivity” to the law of sin.  This man, like all those that have not yet been “set free from the law of sin and death” (Rom. 8:2) cries out, “who shall deliver me from this body of death!” Wretched Laodicea does not know Jesus. She wants to do right but is unable.

 

Eleeinos, “miserable” in Revelation 3, is also found in just one other passage of scripture. Paul, in arguing the reality of a physical resurrection, describes the condition that we would all be in if there were no rising from the dead.

 

If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable. 1Co 15:19

 

If there was to be no resurrection, our Christian hope would be a delusion. The hope of most Laodiceans is also. Wretched and miserable, wanting to do right and hoping for heaven while captive to sin and doomed to death—This is our general condition.

 

The gold of Revelation 3, the gold of Scripture, is faith that works by love and purifies the soul. Laodicea is poor in the same sense that she is lukewarm.

 

Luke’s gospel presents “the poor” as the recipients of heaven’s choicest blessings. Jesus came to preach the gospel to “the poor.” He called “his disciples” “ye poor” and blessed them saying “yours is the kingdom of heaven.” The poor are to be invited to Christian feasts before friends and relatives.  And when the invitation to the Heavenly feast is refused by others the command is “go quickly” into the highways and call, among others, “the poor.” The Rich Ruler is invited to sell all he has and give to the poor. Sadly spurning the offer, his crown went to another. In the next chapter the Wealthy Zacchaeus is invited by the Spirit to do the same and volunteers his willingness to do it. Finally, it is the “poor widow” that out gives the wealthy in the book of Luke. Luke 4:18; 7:22; 6:20; 14:13,21; 18:22; 14:8; 21:2-3.

 

But our church is not “poor in Spirit” in the beatitudal sense that would bring the blessings of which Luke wrote. She is “proud, knowing nothing” of her condition, arguing “about questions and strifes of words, whereof cometh envy, strife, railings, evil surmisings,” 1 Tim 6:4. Her contentions do not tend to increase her affection and self-less disposition.

 

Spiritual blindness is not first mentioned in Revelation 3. The Pharisees were “blind leaders of the blind.” They were offended at Christ’s instruction in Matthew 15. When the disciples tried to apprise their master of how these leaders felt, Jesus said “let them alone. They be blind leaders of the blind, and both shall fall into a ditch.” They were making of none effect the Testimony of the Law of God (v. 6) and were shutting out the very light that might have saved them.

 

In chapter 23, Matthew records that Jesus spoke with great plainness to these men. He said “Ye blind guides” “fools and blind” “fools and blind” “Ye blind guides” “ye blind Pharisees.” v. 16, 17, 19, 24, 26. They missed the idea of true spirituality. Their religion was superficial. It was focussed on the largeness of the institutional offerings and ignorant of the smallness of institutional piety. But when certain Pharisees asked Jesus “are we blind also?” He answered almost cryptically.

 

And some of the Pharisees which were with him heard these words, and said unto him, Are we blind also? Jesus said unto them, If ye were blind, ye should have no sin: but now ye say, We see; therefore your sin remaineth. Joh 9:40-41

 

It was not Jesus that denied their blindness. They denied it in their hearts while asking about it with their lips and Jesus quoted to them their heart’s answer. This is precisely Laodicea’s problem. She may even come to Jesus and ask “am I blind?” But her question is unbelief. Jesus has already told her that she can not see and offered to heal her eyes. The question is a denial of the illness.

 

What a tragedy it is, for “wretched, miserable, poor, blind” persons are the very ones the gospel has been custom-made to help. It was, in fact, the call of the apostle Paul to open spiritual eyes to the light that they might receive “forgiveness of sins.”

 

To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me. Ac 26:18

 

The words we have studied thus far are all code for “unconverted.” Jesus has said to Laodicea, “you are unconverted, unconverted, unconverted, unconverted.” And He says it again with the word “naked.”

 

We are familiar with the idiom of wearing Christ’s righteousness. We think we are clothed. How embarrassing to find that we are not! Our confusion stems from our ignorance of Christ’s righteousness and of how to put it on. Jesus offers us “white raiment” and we will study that offer after considering His first proffered gift—Gold.

 

I Counsel Thee to Buy

 

The Heavenly Merchantman has presented His wares in the Old Testament as well. There we learn how one as poor as Laodicea may “buy” riches as Christ offers here.

 

Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread? and your labour for that which satisfieth not? Hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good. . . .Incline your ear, and come unto me: hear, and your soul shall live. Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near. Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. Is. 55:1-7

 

Isaiah does not say that listening carefully to God and forsaking our evil way is the cost of God’s blessings. His mercy is “without money and without price.” But these actions of our will are nonetheless the condition upon which we may “buy” and satisfy our soul hunger. This passage is too much for many persons. They can not see consistency in having conditions attached to a free gift. “If we have to buy it, it is not free. If it is free, we don’t have to buy it.” Let them argue with Jesus in Isaiah and Revelation. We only want to believe the marvelous offer and to seek the Lord “while He may be found.”

 

“Thou Mayest be Rich . . . be Clothed . . . and See”

 

Pause here and drink in the glory of the promise. From the wretched state we are in we are told in the plainest language, “there is hope!”

 

So we come to Jesus for the Gold of faith and love. How do buy them? By an ongoing act of the will. Faith and Love are fundamentally the very same thing. They are a choice on our part to let God’s creative Word live through us. Then we can choose to live by each portion of the Word that we find, to put the needs of even those we have never met before our own conveniences.

 

Everything here depends on the right action of the will. If we will “let the Word of God dwell in us richly” and “let love be without” falseness, God will “work in us both to will and to do of His Good pleasure.” These heavenly plants, faith and love, grow prodigiously when cared for by the constant exercise of the will. Our decisions to help others incline our wills even more in that same direction. Our choice to deny our desires so that we may live by a God-breathed principle makes us more like Him that spoke the principle.

 

And White Raiment

 

Perhaps the Clothing that Christians wear is one of the least understood aspects of Righteousness by Faith. In the minds of many this spiritual robe is about equivalent to having “pardon” written by our names in Heaven. But this is not the way Paul and John present it. Here we are given two reasons to buy and wear the garment. The first is to avoid nakedness itself. The second is to prevent the shame of that nakedness from being witnessed. This last point hints that this robe more than forgiveness. The world can see when we are “naked” and though we are unconscious of our exposure, it is shameful nonetheless. Paul speaks of what it means to put on the robe. He does not speak of covering filthy garments with clean ones, but of removing the first to make room for the second.

 

The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness . . . . But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof. Rom. 13:12,14.

 

That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness. Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour: for we are members one of another. Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath: Neither give place to the devil. Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth. Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying . . . Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you. Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children; And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour. Eph 4:22-5:2

 

But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth. Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds; And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him: Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is all, and in all. Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering; Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.  And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness. Col. 3:8-14.

 

This “true holiness” as it is called in Ephesians 4 stands very distinct from the sham righteousness that is called “Christ’s” by those that know Him not. What a light Laodicea would be in the world if she were stripped of her filthy rags and covered with Christ’s robe of lovely living.

 

The man in Matthew 22 that accepted the invitation to the wedding but failed to put on the wedding garment typifies Laodicea.  He thought that accepting the invitation was all that was required.

 

There are many who are represented by this man. They have accepted the invitation to the marriage supper, but have failed to comply with the conditions for entrance to the feast. They will not lay aside the garments of their own self-righteousness, and put on the robe prepared for them at an infinite price. They have accepted the theory of the truth, but they do not possess and cultivate the faith that works by love and purifies the soul. They do not appropriate the truth to their individual needs, and become partakers of the divine nature. They are not willing to have the earthliness removed from their character, in order that the heavenly graces may be imparted. They will be speechless before the King when he comes in to examine the guests, and asks them why they have not put on the righteousness of Christ.  {YI, October 28, 1897 par. 1}

 

And Eyesalve that thou Mayest See

 

We have observed already that blindness is lack of spiritual understanding. Paul expresses this thought in Ephesians in such a way as to make it clear that the Eyesalve is the work of the Holy Spirit.

 

That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him. The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints.” “That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God. Eph. 1:17-18; 3:16-19

 

Our need of the Holy Spirit, and the ability of that Spirit to bring us all that we need, these were the favorite themes of Jesus. A thorough study of the promise of the Spirit would dwarf our study of Revelation 3. We will notice here only a few important points.

 

First, a special outpouring of the Holy Spirit is promised to the church at the very time that Laodicea is counseled to receive it. The conditions of receiving that gift are few and simple.

 

Our faith, working by love, must bring obedience         Acts 5:32

We are to be asking for the gift                                         Lu 11:13; Zech 10:1

We must move forward to know God more and more                Hos 6:1-3

We must turn from our sins                                               Joel 2:12-23

 

 

As Many as I Love I Rebuke

 

The Love of Jesus would not be appreciated by many. Those that perceive revulsion in rebuke and condemnation in correction could not bear the searching Love of our Sin-Bearer. The church age that is warned of its lack of true love is given an illustration of the nature of that love in the love-inspired rebuke of the True Witness. Indeed, to refrain from giving needed instruction is a type of hatred.

 

Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thine heart: thou shalt in any wise rebuke thy neighbour, and not suffer sin upon him. Le 19:17

 

This is not to say that all rebuke is produced by selfless service. If some “preach Christ of contention” there can be no doubt that some rebuke “for strife and debate and to smite with the fist of wickedness.” But all the false-hearted instruction ever given will make true-hearted instruction less needed.

 

“Reproofs of instruction are the way of life.” Proverbs 6:23.

 

Not only does Jesus reprove, He also “chastens.” “Despise not the chastening of the Lord.” Job 5:17, Pr 3:11, He 12:5. This thrice repeated maxim reflects the deep-seated antipathy of men for having their wrong course pointed out. One of the most self-deceiving ways of despising reproof is to simply avoid hearing it. “For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.” Joh 3:20. That this is a danger for Laodicea is apparent in the Spirit’s admonition to “hear.” Rev 3:22.

 

Be Zealous and Repent

 

This passage is evidence enough that zeal and repentance are also functions of the will. We chose what we will dzaylohoe, Greek for “earnestly desire.” This is the sense of “be zealous.” And we chose from what and to Whom we will turn. This is repentance. But it is manifest in the words that some source of information must inform the soul what from what he is to zealously repent. Misguided zeal and undirected repentance can not be intended.

 

They zealously affect you, but not well . . . But it is good to be zealously affected always in a good thing, and not only when I am present with you. Ga 4:17-18.

 

The question, “repent of what?” is answered by the implications in the next verse.

 

Behold, I Stand at the Door and Knock

 

This is the last of the code-phrases for “unconverted.” Jesus dwells “in our hearts by faith.” But for unbelieving Laodicea He patiently waits at the door. The Prince of Peace is outside and so peace itself can not be inside.

 

The Saviour says, “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock; if any man hear My voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with Me.” Rev. 3:20. He is not repulsed by scorn or turned aside by threatening, but continually seeks the lost ones, saying, “How shall I give thee up?” Hosea 11:8. Although His love is driven back by the stubborn heart, He returns to plead with greater force, “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock.” The winning power of His love compels souls to come in. And to Christ they say, “Thy gentleness hath made me great.” Ps. 18:35.  {COL 235.2}

 

Two Conditions to Christ’s Entrance

 

“If any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.”

 

Deaf persons today often have doorbells that trigger lights in their house to blink on and off. Unless they are sleeping, this signal will alert them to the presence of a guest. Jesus presents the case to Laodicea as if it is not a matter to be assumed that she will “hear” his voice. If she does not hear his voice, she will not think to open the door. What is Jesus saying? He is saying “Repent.” Repent of what?

 

Yet the LORD testified against Israel, and against Judah, by all the prophets, and by all the seers, saying, Turn ye from your evil ways, and keep my commandments and my statutes, according to all the law which I commanded your fathers, and which I sent to you by my servants the prophets . 2Ki 17:13

 

The Testimony of Jesus is the Spirit of Prophecy. Prophets have, in whatever ages they were called, called the people to obey the various counsels and commandments of God. But those that will not read the testimony of the prophets will not hear the voice. The last day church not only keeps the commandments but has “the Testimony of Jesus.” Prophetic counsels have come to her as the voice of Jesus calling her to repent, to open the door of the heart by turning from her evil ways.

 

Those who will not read the Testimonies have neglected the first of the two conditions for special fellowship with Jesus in our day. For them the command to repent in verse 19 is a vague call, perhaps for someone else. They would rather excuse their wrong on the basis of their fallen nature and are not keen on reading testimonies that would make them feel the accountability that accompanies their depravity.

 

The second condition is to open the door. This is the only reasonable response to hearing the voice. But those that are unfamiliar with Jesus may not be comfortable opening a door to someone that demands so much. If they have not learned to recognize the love in His life-giving “reproofs of instruction” they will rise up against them. Rather than let the Guest in they will confound Him with an enemy and treat Him spitefully.

 

Said the angel: “God will bring His work closer and closer to test and prove every one of His people.” Some are willing to receive one point; but when God brings them to another testing point, they shrink from it and stand back, because they find that it strikes directly at some cherished idol. Here they have opportunity to see what is in their hearts that shuts out Jesus. They prize something higher than the truth, and their hearts are not prepared to receive Jesus. Individuals are tested and proved a length of time to see if they will sacrifice their idols and heed the counsel of the True Witness. . . . Those who come up to every point, and stand every test, and overcome, be the price what it may, have heeded the counsel of the True Witness, and they will receive the latter rain, and thus be fitted for translation.  {LHU 375.2}

 

I asked the meaning of the shaking I had seen and was shown that it would be caused by the straight testimony called forth by the counsel of the True Witness to the Laodiceans. This will have its effect upon the heart of the receiver, and will lead him to exalt the standard and pour forth the straight truth. Some will not bear this straight testimony. They will rise up against it, and this is what will cause a shaking among God’s people.  {EW 270.2}

I saw that the testimony of the True Witness has not been half heeded. The solemn testimony upon which the destiny of the church hangs has been lightly esteemed, if not entirely disregarded. This testimony must work deep repentance; all who truly receive it will obey it and be purified.  {EW 270.3}

 

This, then, is the end result of the message. It will purify some and harden the rest. Some have been frightened, almost as if the shaking will cause weak Christians to lose their way. But it is not weak Christians that refuse the voice of Jesus. It is false ones. Not the small grains of wheat, but the chaff will be blown away.

 

For, lo, I will command, and I will sift the house of Israel among all nations, like as corn is sifted in a sieve, yet shall not the least grain fall upon the earth. Amos 9:9.

 

I will Come in and Eat with Him

 

The food that Jesus offers is his truth. Prophets are represented as eating scrolls (Ez 2 and Re 10). Jeremiah wrote “Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart.” Jer 15:16. On the surface it might seem that all have access to this feast. But it is not so. They may eat the words alone. But if they would eat them with Jesus, they must open the door. And the words, without Jesus’ indwelling, will not be a true profit.

 

For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it. Heb 4:2

 

Does Revelation speak of any special meal of truth being made available to Christ’s followers? Any special Word from Him? Certainly. The Testimony of Jesus, as given to the RemnantChurch, not only invites the church to open her door but proffers a true abundance of good things for those that do invite Christ to enter.

 

To Sit with Me on My Throne

 

“This honor have all the saints..” Ps. 149:9. We then, a kingdom of priests here, will reign also as kings and priest above. The twenty-four elders already reign This way. Re. 5:10. Our destiny, to sit on an eternal throne, makes certain behavior’s unacceptable. “It is not for kings, O Lemuel, not for kings to drink wine . . . lest they drink and forget the law.” And regarding priests, “Do not drink wine nor strong drink, thou, nor thy sons with thee, when ye go into the tabernacle of the congregation, lest ye die: it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations: And that ye may put difference between holy and unholy, and between unclean and clean.” Le 10:9-10.

 

Our calling to being judges in the future sets us apart even today.

 

Even as I also Overcame

 

This study opened with a statement on one unchanging element of present truth. Beholding Jesus ever has been and ever will be current theology. In closing His message to the Laodiceans, Jesus presents His own life of self-denial and service as a model for those that would be overcomers. The most notable overcoming on Christ’s part was the defeat of his own inclination to escape the cross. “If it be possible,” he prayed in human weakness, “let this cup pass from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but Thy will be done.”

 

Not my will. That is the way that Christ overcame. “Even as I also” did, He invites, “you may also.”

 

Long afterward, when John had been brought into sympathy with Christ through the fellowship of His sufferings, the Lord Jesus revealed to him what is the condition of nearness to His kingdom. “To him that overcometh,” Christ said, “will I grant to sit with Me in My throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with My Father in His throne.” Revelation 3:21. The one who stands nearest to Christ will be he who has drunk most deeply of His spirit of self-sacrificing love,–love that “vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, . . . seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil” (1 Corinthians 13:4, 5),–love that moves the disciple, as it moved our Lord, to give all, to live and labor and sacrifice even unto death, for the saving of humanity.  {AA 543.2}

 

Amen.

 

—-

 

For the Word Doc click here: Rev_3_-_Laodicea



[1] Job 34:35

[2] Amos 5:18-19

[3] SC p. 95

[4] See 1Pe 1:7-8 for another correlation of “faith” with “gold”

[5] see the following passages:

Ga 5:6  For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love.

Ga 5:22  But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,

Eph 1:15  Wherefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus, and love unto all the saints,

Eph 3:17  That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love,

Eph 6:23  Peace be to the brethren, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Col 1:4  Since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus, and of the love which ye have to all the saints,

1Th 1:3  Remembering without ceasing your work of faith, and labour of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, in the sight of God and our Father;

1Th 5:8  But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation.

1Ti 1:14  And the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus.

[6] The author has written more fully on faith. Readers are invited to request the study from canvassing@canvassing.org

[7] Col 3:16  Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.

[8] See Ro 8:24; Ja 2:24; Ro 2:15; Mat 12:36

Revelation 3 and the Investigative Judgment

The Investigative Judgment

 

By Eugene Prewitt

 

Brief Idea: The Investigative Judgment doctrine derives soundly from scripture.

 

The Bible refers, in a number of passages, to a judgment. These passages do not all speak of the same event. The question raised by many scholars (in fulfillment of Daniel 12:10) is whether any of these amount to unambiguous evidence for the doctrine of the Investigative Judgment.

 

Here are some simple observations.

 

1. After the rise and fall of Babylon, Persia, Greece and Rome; after the rise of proto-European tribes, then the papacy with its blasphemy and persecution, we find a judgment opened in heaven that utilizes “the books.”

 

I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like the pure wool: his throne was like the fiery flame, and his wheels as burning fire. A fiery stream issued and came forth from before him: thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him: the judgment was set, and the books were opened. Dan 7:9-10.

 

After this judgment we find the papacy being destroyed by fire at the same time that its dominion comes to an end. The other nations, by way of contrast, continued to exist as non-superpower nations after their fall from world greatness. (Behold Iraq, Iran, and Greece in existence even today.)

 

Then we see again, in heaven, a transaction between the Father and the Son. The Son receives the kingdom of the whole earth which kingdom shall never be destroyed.

 

In point of time, this judgment looks like the one pointed out by Adventists. It is late in earth’s history, yet ends before the final climatic scenes.

 

2.  While probation still continues and before the gospel has been preached to every nation and people, an announcement about the arrival of the time of the judgment is made.

 

And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters. Re 14:6-7

 

This is followed by other warnings related to the mark of the beast and papal corruptions. God’s commandment-keeping people are pictured as faithfully enduring persecution. Then comes the Second Coming of Jesus under the symbol of two ripe-related harvests—first of the righteous, then of the wicked for destruction.

 

In point of time, the announcement “the hour of His judgment is come” is united with the final campaign to evangelize the world and precedes the most climatic events that, themselves, precede the Second Coming of Jesus.

 

3.  While probation lasts, and after some period of serious persecution of God’s people, the blood of the saints cries out for vengeance. The lives of the martyrs are represented as being “under the altar” in heaven. When they cry for vengeance they are told that they must rest a little longer until another wave of persecution should bring another wave of martyrs.

 

But, in the meantime, they are given white robes.

 

And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled. Re 6:

 

Their cry for vengeance is followed by the signs in the sun, moon, and stars, and then by the personal appearance of Jesus Christ.

 

In point of time, the giving of the white robes to the faithful martyrs follows the persecutions of the dark ages and precedes both the persecution of the last age and the second coming.

 

Common and Uncommon Elements

 

These three passages share two common elements. They each picture a judgment (or vindication) following papal activity and preceding the earth’s final events.

 

They each indicate that the judgment is an other-worldly event. In Daniel 7 it occurs before angels in heaven. In Revelation 6 the souls refer to those that dwell “on the earth.” In Revelation 14 the announcement presupposes that the beginning of the judgment is not readily apparent to those on earth.

 

Beyond this, each offers their own clues to how this judgment ties in with the broader picture of scripture. Daniel 7 ties the judgment to the idea of the heavenly books. The student of scripture finds, after a study of these books, that names can be “written,” names removed. Ex 32:32-34; De 29:20; Re 22:19; Lu 10:20.

 

Jesus connects the blotting out of names with a scene very similar to the judgment scene in Daniel 7. And more than this, He connects that judgment scene with the granting of white robes. This statement of Jesus, in this respect, reminds us of Revelation 6.

 

He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels. Re 3:5 

 

And this passage from the 5th church age, directing the church of that time to the future, reminds us of the name of the last church. Laodicea means “a people judged.”

 

Another passage that speaks of “blotting out” something from the books used in the judgment is found in Peter’s post-Pentecostal sermon. There the blotting out, in point of time, is future and coincides with an end-time pouring out of the Spirit’s power. This power, used to lighten the world with Christ’s glory, must precede the close of human probation. And it immediately precedes the sending of Jesus back to earth.

 

Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord; And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you: Acts 3:19-20.

 

This is the second passage that has connected the Judgment with a set time. The other was Revelation 14:7. This brings us to the question of the Adventist Great Disappointment. Many detractors from the doctrine of the Investigative Judgment suggest that its creation was part of an Adventist state of denial at the non-appearing of Christ in 1844.

 

Prophecies of the Great Disappointment

 

But Habakkuk 1-2, Hebrews 10, Malachi 3, and Revelation 10 all refer, prophetically, to that time of trial and misunderstanding. According to these four passages, the fulfillment of prophecy would appear to tarry, but it would not tarry, but men were still to keep waiting for Christ’s return. They would be seeking to see Him in the clouds, but He would rather come to His Temple.

 

They would need patience to inherit His Coming kingdom, but would be tempted to throw away their confidence. They would preach His Coming with great enthusiasm, but then would cease. Finally, they would be bidden to take up the work again. It would be like they loved the sweetness of their message until they understood it thoroughly, then it would be a bitter disappointment.

 

Each of these four passages throws additional light on the topic of the judgment in the heavens. There are also a number of parables that illustrate the truth. Solomon concludes his words of wisdom with a reference to that event.

 

Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil. Ec 12:13-14.

 

Paul preached that there was a day for this judgment. He connected it with the future justifying of those that were currently obeying the commandments.

 

. . . As many as have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law; (For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified. . . .) in the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel. Ro 2:12-16

 

Who will be blotted out of the book? Those that “sin” against the Lord. Ex 32:34. But doesn’t that include us all? Yes, human cases would be hopeless if the overcomers were not offered a “white robe”, a blotting out of their sins, prior to the final decision of their cases. This gift of a white robe is the future “shall be justified” of the current “doers of the Law.”

 

In both of these passages, Ec 12 and Romans 2, the judgment is made a motive for commandment keeping. This is also the case in the Three Angel’s messages. We glorify God by keeping the Law that is a transcript of His character. Compare Ecclesiastes 12 and Revelation 14. They differ primarily in that Solomon places the judgment future while Earth’s last warning places the judgment at present.

 

Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: . . . here are they that keep the commandments of God, Re 14:7, 12

Fear God, and keep his commandments: . . . For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil. Ec 12:13-14.

 

The Cleansing of the Sanctuary

 

We have observed already that, from the books of heaven, names may be removed and sins may be blotted out. Both of these processes cleanse the heavenly books in the heavenly sanctuary from the record of sin. As each case is decided, either a white robe is given or a name (and its record) are removed from the book of life.

 

In the antitypical Day of Atonement there was one more step in processing the sin problem after the cleansing of the sanctuary. There is one that has tempted and prodded, cajoled and trapped, bringing men into his ranks of sin slaves. He is, in this way, guilty for all the sins he has caused men to commit. He is not guilty in their stead. Only the innocent Jesus could bear their sins as a Substitute. But this wicked one is guilty in his own stead for his part in their falls. In the symbols this Azazel is blamed for the sins he has caused and led into the wilderness.

 

If we call Azazel a “scapegoat” we must clarify that Azazel is never an underling blamed to take heat off from a superior. A more backwards description of the relation of sin to Satan could hardly be imagined. Satan is the ultimately guilty one rather than the unfortunate last-stop for the passing of the “buck.”

 

If we ask, “How is this blaming of Satan related to the Judgment in heaven?” we need only note the observers of the judgment.

 

A fiery stream issued and came forth from before him: thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him: the judgment was set, and the books were opened. Dan 7:9-10.
He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels. Re 3:5 

 

Also I say unto you, Whosoever shall confess me before men, him shall the Son of man also confess before the angels of God: Lu 12:8 

 

The prominent place given to the angels, one-hundred million strong, reveals that the judgment scene is for them. God knows those that are His. The investigative judgment is for the angels. They are the ones that have an interest in the blame that belongs to their once-honored Lucifer. The relation of the angels to the judgment was woven into the sanctuary. Not only were two angels sculpted there in a position of reverence and interest in the Law and mercy, but the entire fabric of the inner curtains was woven with cherubim. Ex 26:31; 36:35.

 

The Relation of the Investigative Judgment to the Great White Throne Judgment

 

There is a judgment in the book of Revelation that seems, in some ways, similar to the one in Daniel 7. It is, however, different in a few other details: timing, location, and purpose.

 

And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. Re 20:11-15

 

When does this judgment happen? Very apparently it is finished after the 1000 years mentioned in the verses just before this. We can tell this by the statement “this is the second death.” It is also apparent by the fact that the lake of fire happens after the 1000 years as God breathes down fire on the armies that surround the HolyCity. (See Re 20:1-10). Also, notice in this judgment that there is no intercession by Jesus. And who are the witnesses of this judgment? Rather than the angels, this judgment serves those that are judged. They are resurrected to hear their cases decided and to be convinced of their wickedness.

 

During the 1000 years just ended there was a special judgment, for the benefit of the saints. This millennial investigation is the judgment alluded to by Paul in 1 Corinthians 6:3 and by John in Revelation 20:11. Then, after the 1000 years are over, the Great White Throne Judgment scene is finally fulfilled. There the dead are convinced that the judgments against them are just. Just as the wicked at Christ’s Coming are accused by Jesus for their wrong-doing, so will be the resurrected wicked after the thousand years.

 

And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints, To execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him. Jude 14-15

 

[It is a fact that Ellen White applies both Revelation 20:11-15 and Jude 14-15 to Christ’s Second Coming. And this is accurate in much the same way that Peter’s application of Joel 2 to the day of Pentecost is accurate. At Christ’s Coming all living nations are gathered before Him. He accuses the wicked of their neglect of the needy and of their lawlessness. Matthew 7:23; 25:40. He comes with all the “Holy Angels” with him. Matthew 25:31. All elements of Jude 14-15 fit the Second Coming perfectly well. But in a more thorough sense they apply to the post-Millennium judgment where “all that are ungodly” are judged and where Christ executes “judgment upon all.” Ellen White also plainly applies Revelation 20:11-15 to the post-Millennium execution of the wicked in the book The Great Controversy. See pp. 666.]

 

These two events of Christ on His throne judging resurrected persons happen, naturally, in conjunction with the two resurrections. Both are a fulfillment of:

 

But why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God. So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God. Ro 14:10-12.

 

But not all these knees bow simultaneously. These two resurrections are those mentioned in 1Cor 15:23-25. The saints, wicked survivors of the plagues, and special rebels will meet their destiny first. The wicked dead will meet it later. As it is written, all will share the same experience of giving account of themselves before God.

 

Some may wonder why we call attention to the judgment in heaven when our own turn at the bar of God is yet future. The answer is that men ought to learn of the judgment going on now while there is time to set their lives in order. To learn of the judgment then will be to learn of it far too late.

 

In conclusion, there is plenty of unambiguous evidence for a many-phased judgment of the human race. The books of record are intimately related to every phase of that judgment. Their contents are examined in heaven during the judgment for the angels. There sins and names are blotted out as destinies are forever fixed. Then the books are brought forth to convince the wicked inhabitants of earth of their lawlessness. Then the books are examined by the saints during the 1000 years. Finally, the wicked dead are resurrected to face the books. Then those whose names are not in the book of life are destroyed in the lack of fire.

 

Only the first phase of this judgment is coincident (happens at the same time) with human probation. Only that current phase is announced as a warning to the last generation to ready themselves for Christ’s coming. We ought to spread that warning while the cases of past generations are still being decided.

 

 

For the Word Doc, click here: Rev_3_-_The_Investigative_Judgment

Revelation 4 and 5 and the Sanctuary

Revelation 4-5

The Sanctuary in Revelation

Brief Idea:       The reality of a heavenly sanctuary is obvious in the book of Revelation. Understanding the sanctuary services is helpful to understanding the book of Revelation. The timing of various sections of Revelation becomes apparent via sanctuary items when the books of Daniel and Hebrews are well understood.

Correlations between the Earthly Sanctuary and Views of the Heavenly in Revelation

 

On Earth:         A Laver

In Heaven:       “before the throne there was a sea of glass” Re 4:6

 

On Earth:         A Candlestick

In Heaven:       “seven lamps of fire burning before the throne. . . the seven Spirits of God” Re 4:5

 

On Earth:         A Lamb Slain

In Heaven:       “a Lamb as it had been slain” Re 5:6

 

On Earth:         An Ark of the Covenant

In Heaven:       “in heaven . . . in the temple, the Ark of His Testament” Re 11:19; 15:5

 

On Earth:         A Curtain entrance into the Holy and Most Holy Places (oftentimes the curtain into the Holy Place is called a “door” Ex 33:9-10; 35:15-17; etc.)

In Heaven:       “a door” Re 3:8-9, 4:1 (See Ja 5:8-9)

 

On Earth:         An Altar of Incense and a Censer and Incense

In Heaven:       An “ altar, having a golden censer; and . . .much incense” Re 8:3

 

On Earth:         Angels in the art-work everywhere

In Heaven:       Angels in the temple, everywhere. Re 15:6, 7:11, etc.

 

On Earth:         Priests in the Holy Place; High Priest in both apartments

In Heaven:       Priests (Re 5:10) and persons in the temple (Re 11:1) and a High Priest. Re 1:13.

 

On Earth:         Table of Shewbread; Mercy Seat (seating the bread and the Shekina)

In Heaven:       The Throne of God; moving from the Holy to the Most Holy

 

On Earth:         Two golden angels looked down at the mercy seat and ark.

In Heaven:       Angels are observers of the MHP Judgment and of Christ’s intercession. Re 3:5

 

Holy Place Elements

            Lamp

            Incense

 

Most Holy Place

            Ark

            Angels Watching Mercy and Judgment

 

Timing Via the Sanctuary

 

4 BC to AD 31                          Courtyard

AD 31 to AD 1844                   Holy Place

AD 1844 to Close of Probation             Most Holy Place

COP to Second Coming    Holy Place

Discussion:

 

When is the book unsealed?

 

Thus the Jewish leaders made their choice. Their decision was registered in the book which John saw in the hand of Him that sat upon the throne, the book which no man could open. In all its vindictiveness this decision will appear before them in the day when this book is unsealed by the Lion of the tribe of Judah.  {COL 294.1}

What is in the book?

“And I saw in the right hand of Him that sat on the throne a book written within and on the backside, sealed with seven seals. And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, Who is worthy to open the book, and to loose the seals thereof? And no man in heaven, nor in earth, neither under the earth, was able to open the book, neither to look thereon” (Revelation 5:1-3).  {9MR 7.1}

There in His open hand lay the book, the roll of the history of God’s providences, the prophetic history of nations and the church. Herein was contained the divine utterances, His authority, His commandments, His laws, the whole symbolic counsel of the Eternal, and the history of all ruling powers in the nations. In symbolic language was contained in that roll the influence of every nation, tongue, and people from the beginning of earth’s history to its close.  {9MR 7.2}

Who are the Twenty-four Elders?

EC – Find out why Stephen Bohr believes what he does about this and explain his reasons in a short paper. Then react to it. Is he right?

 

Re 4:1  After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter. 2  And immediately I was in the spirit: and, behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne.

Key observations:

These are things which happened after the time of John, “hereafter.” Rev 4:1. Therefore this is not a picture of the beginning of Christ’s ministry in the heavenly sanctuary.

A throne is “set” and a Sovereign is seated.

Jesus was seated as Priest at his ascension. That was in the temple. This is the “throne of grace.” Heb 4:16.

Heb 8:1  Now of the things which we have spoken this is the sum: We have such an high priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens;

Heb 12:2  Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

 

By the time of Laodicea, the judgment age, Jesus has been seated on his “Father’s throne.” He offers a seat on this same throne to overcomers. As they will not sit there until after He returns, this must be the “throne of his glory,” the “Judgment seat.” Matt 19:28; Matt 25:31-32; Ro 14:10; 2Co 5:10.

Re 3:21  To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.

Re 11:15  And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever. . . . 18  And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth. 19  And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament: and there were lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake, and great hail.

Ps 122:3  Jerusalem is builded as a city that is compact together: 4  Whither the tribes go up, the tribes of the LORD, unto the testimony of Israel, to give thanks unto the name of the LORD. 5  For there are set thrones of judgment, the thrones of the house of David.

 

A “door” is “opened” in “heaven” – showing that the sanctuary in heaven has “doors.”

We have read about a door opening and another door closing in heaven already. (Re 3:7-8) The timing, the Philadelphia church age, corresponds well to the opening of the Investigative Judgment.

Christ is Worthy, Be Reverent

EC        Listen to the Sermon “Christ is Worthy, Be Reverent”

In Class Project:  On what basis does Revelation say that Jesus is worthy? (two answers).  What does He deserve? These things that He deserves are important to us and can be mentioned intelligently in our prayers:

How can students who are greatly in need of help be encouraged to press on in the right way? Only by treating them with the love that Christ revealed. You may say we should treat them as they deserve. What if Christ treated us thus? He, the Sinless One, was treated as we deserve, that we, fallen and sinful, might be treated as He deserved. Teachers, treat your unpromising students as you think they richly deserve, and you will cut them off from hope and spoil your influence. Will this pay? No, a hundred times, no. Bind the one who needs your help close to a loving, sympathizing heart, and you will save a soul from death and hide a multitude of sins.  {CT 267.4}

For the Word Doc, click here: Rev_4-5_-_Sanctuary_in_Revelation


Revelation 6 and the Seven Seals

Revelation 6

The Seals and the Saints

 

Brief Ideas: As Daniel 2 provided an outline of five world empires that were described again in chapter 7 and again in chapter 8, so Revelation 2-3 provided an outline of seven great ages of the church that are described again in Revelation 6-8.

 

The seals are chronological and focus rather on the time periods after the Four Horsemen, than on the Four Horsemen themselves.

 

Re 6:1 And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come and see.

 

Timing

 

The Seals describe processes rather than events. For that reason, though they are chronological, they overlap as indicated below: The overlapping of 5 and 6 could causes confusion if this is not understood.

 

1  ——————–

2  ———————–

3 —————————

4 ——————–

5 —————————

6 ——————-

7-

Parallels to the Churches

 

Church                                                            Seal                                         Other  

Ephesus                                                                   White Horse                                           Col 1:23

“thy works and they labour” –                                                “conquering”                                     “to every creature”

 

                Smyrna                                                                    Red Horse                                               2Ti 3:12

“ye shall have tribulation”                                      “they should kill one another”                 “all…shall suffer persecution”

 

Pergamos                                                                Black Horse                                             Amos 8:11

“I . . . will fight against them”               by sWord                 Judgment of Famine                         “I shall send a famine” of hearing truth

 

Thyatira                                                                   Pale Horse                                              Matt 15:13

“I . . . will kill her children with death”                  “Death, and hell followed . . .”               “Every plant . . . shall be” uprooted

 

Sardis                                                                      Souls Under Alter                                    Ro 12:19

“avenge our blood”                                 “vengeance is mine, I will repay”

“white raiment” “I will confess him”                    “white robes were given”

 

 

Spiritual Lessons from Seals One to Five

 

The Horse is a Domestic Beast. It may have a rider and may do his bidding. In this way it represents the visible church. In Revelation 6 the church is initially ridden by Lord Jesus (compare Re 19:11-13). When the church is compared to a horse, Jesus is the rider. When it is compared to a body, He is the head.

 

2Co 2:14  Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of his knowledge by us in every place.

 

Eph 4:15  But speaking the truth in love, [the church] may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:

 

Col 1:18  And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.

 

Does Jesus ride the second horse? Remember, that is Smyrna, the first church age without rebuke. Revelation 6 says:

 

And there went out another horse that was red: and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another: and there was given unto him a great sword.

 

And that reminds me of two passages:

 

Mt 10:34  Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword.

 

Joh 19:11  Jesus answered, Thou couldest have no power at all against me, except it were given thee from above: therefore he that delivered me unto thee hath the greater sin.

 

In these passages God’s power is delegated to a wicked Roman leader to enable him to kill even Jesus. And Jesus uses Satan’s enmity against Satan. Re 12:11.

 

Does Jesus ride the third horse? The rider has balances in his hand. This reminds me of another passage relating to ancient Babylon, and one related to the famine in the third seal.

 

Da 5:27  TEKEL; Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting.

 

Am 8:11  Behold, the days come, saith the Lord GOD, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD:

 

Jesus isn’t riding the fourth horse. And that makes me wonder if He is riding the second and the third. The rider of the fourth horse is “Death” and “Hell” follows “with him.” This reminds me of several passages.

 

Heb 2:14  Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil;

 

Mt 25:41  Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:

 

But also:

 

Re 1:18  I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.

 

Yet the fourth rider is given power to kill the fourth part of the earth. And the only church in the middle ages that was killing large number of people was the Roman church.

 

Is this the golden cup that is in the Lord’s hand? Jer 51:7. We will study more about this when we get to Revelation 18.

 

The Fifth Seal

 

Re 6:9  And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar  the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held: 10  And they cried with a loud voice, saying, ‘How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?’ 11  And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellow-servants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled.

 

Please don’t miss the importance of these verses to our end-time message. These verses parallel Revelation 3:5.

 

Re 3:5  He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.

 

Note that by the time of the fifth seal, of Sardis, that there are already souls that have been killed for the Word of God. Some of these died under the second seal, some under the third seal, some under the fourth.

 

Now they are dead. Their blood cries, like Abel’s, for vengeance from God’s throne. (See Heb 12:24).

 

But they don’t get the vengeance when they cry for it. Their murderers are not yet in hell. The “souls” of the martyrs are told to wait longer before vengeance comes. What do they do while they wait? “Rest.”

 

But while resting, what do they get? White robes. Now who gets white robes? “He that overcometh the same shall be clothed in white raiment.” So the martyrs are overcomers. And that reminds us again of Rev 12:11.

 

When do they get these white robes? Not when they died. Rather, at some time period during the fifth seal, and prior to the final persecution of the saints when “their fellow servants also and their brethren” “should be killed as they were”.

 

And this, as we will review when we study Revelation 14, a beautiful evidence in favor of the Adventist doctrine of the Investigative Judgment.

 

And when we face lethal persecution this passage will remind us of our “brethren” who have victoriously suffered death before us.

 

Patience as well as courage has its victories. By meekness under trial, no less than by boldness in enterprise, souls may be won to Christ. The Christian who manifests patience and cheerfulness under bereavement and suffering, who meets even death itself with the peace and calmness of an unwavering faith, may accomplish for the gospel more than he could have effected by a long life of faithful labor. Often when the servant of God is withdrawn from active duty, the mysterious providence which our shortsighted vision would lament is designed by God to accomplish a work that otherwise would never have been done.  {AA 465.1}

Let not the follower of Christ think, when he is no longer able to labor openly and actively for God and His truth, that he has no service to render, no reward to secure. Christ’s true witnesses are never laid aside. In health and sickness, in life and death, God uses them still. When through Satan’s malice the servants of Christ have been persecuted, their active labors hindered, when they have been cast into prison, or dragged to the scaffold or to the stake, it was that truth might gain a greater triumph. As these faithful ones sealed their testimony with their blood, souls hitherto in doubt and uncertainty were convinced of the faith of Christ and took their stand courageously for Him. From the ashes of the martyrs has sprung an abundant harvest for God.  {AA 465.2}

 

The Sixth Seal

 

Re 6:12  And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood; 13  And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind.

14  And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places. 15  And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; 16  And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: 17  For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?

 

The Signs and the Coming

 

Jesus intended that we would know when His coming was “nigh.” And how did He intend we would know? He intended that we would observe the “signs” that pointed to His soon return.

 

Matt 24:29  Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: 30  And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. 31  And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

32 ¶  Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh: 33  So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors.

 

So the connection between the first part of the 6th church age, the signs, and the last part, the Coming, are that the former alert us to the fact that the later event is “at the doors.”

 

The signs occurred, as Matthew 24 indicates, after the close of the tribulation. This is the same order observed in seals five and six. But the fifth seal extends beyond the persecution to the judgment that sets things right. The judgment of the fifth seal began, however, after the signs of the sixth seal. And this is just what was illustrated in the first part of this article. The seals are still chronological because they begin sequentially.

 

The Parenthesis

 

The sixth seal ends with a question, “who shall be able to stand?” And so important is that question, (though it will be asked far too late), that an entire chapter is devoted to the answer before we encounter the seventh seal.

 

Compare Revelation 7, Ezekiel 9, Malachi 3, and Psalms 24. Come prepared to morrow to well answer on a quiz this one question: According to these four chapters, who will be able to stand when Jesus appears?

For the Word Doc, click here: Rev_6_-_The_Seals_and_the_Saints

Revelation 7 and other Topics

Notes on Revelation 7

Miscellaneous Truths not Addressed in the Article on the Seal of God and the Mark of the Beast

 

Brief Idea: The Time of Trouble commences at the conclusion of the sealing. Spiritual Jews alone receive the Seal of God. They are God’s servants before they are sealed. Who will be Able to Stand? Those with Clean Hands and a Pure Heart who have been cleansed by Jesus.

 

Ps 24:3 Who may ascend into the hill of the LORD? Or who may stand in His holy place? 4  He who has clean hands and a pure heart, Who has not lifted up his soul to an idol, Nor sworn deceitfully. 5  He shall receive blessing from the LORD, And righteousness from the God of his salvation. 6  This is Jacob, the generation of those who seek Him, Who seek Your face. Selah (NKJV)

 

Mal 3:2  But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? for he is like a refiner’s fire, and like fullers’ soap: 3  And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the LORD an offering in righteousness.

 

Brief Idea: The metaphor of wind is used in a variety of  ways in scripture, often in the context of end-time prophecies. Two of the winds, trouble and heresy, contribute to the shaking.

 

Ec 11:4  He that observeth the wind shall not sow; and he that regardeth the clouds shall not reap.

 

Wind as a Metaphor – For 1. Heresy, for the 2. Spirit, for 3. Tribulation, 4. for our Sins, for 5. Political Unrest and War

 

Eph 4:14  That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;

 

Eze 37:9  Then said he unto me, Prophesy unto the wind, prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live. (Seee Joh 3:8; Ac 2:2)

 

Hos 8:2  Israel shall cry unto me, ‘My God, we know thee.’ 3  [but] Israel hath cast off the thing that is good: the enemy shall pursue him. . . . 5 . . . how long will it be ere they attain to innocency? . . . the calf of Samaria shall be broken in pieces. . . 7  For they have sown the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind:

 

Isa 64:6  But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.

 

Da 7:2  Daniel spake and said, I saw in my vision by night, and, behold, the four winds of the heaven strove upon the great sea. (See also 8:8 and 11:4)

 

(See Luke 8:23-25  and Jonah 1:4 for stories that makes good metaphors.)

 

Who Will Stand?

 

Mt 7:25  And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.

 

Mt 11:7  And as they departed, Jesus began to say unto the multitudes concerning John, What went ye out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken with the wind?

 

Jas 1:6  But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.

 

Isa 32:2  And a man shall be as an hiding place from the wind, and a covert from the tempest; as rivers of water in a dry place, as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land.

 

Ps 1:4  The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away.

 

Some Winds Will Purify

 

Lu 3:17  Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and will gather the wheat into his garner; but the chaff he will burn with fire unquenchable.

 

So 4:16  Awake, O north wind; and come, thou south; blow upon my garden, that the spices thereof may flow out. Let my beloved come into his garden, and eat his pleasant fruits.

 

Other Winds Will Only Punish

 

Jer 4:11  . . . A dry wind . . . toward the daughter of my people, not to fan, nor to cleanse, 12  Even a full wind from those places . . . now also will I give sentence against them. . . .Woe unto us! for we are spoiled. 14  O Jerusalem, wash thine heart from wickedness, that thou mayest be saved. How long shall thy vain thoughts lodge within thee? 15  For a voice declareth from Dan, and publisheth affliction from mount Ephraim. 16  Make ye mention to the nations; behold, publish against Jerusalem, that watchers . . . are they against her round about; because she hath been rebellious against me, saith the LORD.

 

Da 2:35  Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshingfloors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them: and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth.

 

Jer 13: 20  Lift up your eyes, and behold them that come from the north: where is the flock that was given thee, thy beautiful flock? 21  What wilt thou say when he shall punish thee? . . . 23  Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots? then may ye also do good, that are accustomed to do evil. 24  Therefore will I scatter them as the stubble that passeth away by the wind of the wilderness. 25  . . . because thou hast forgotten me, and trusted in falsehood.

 

Jer 22:21  I spake unto thee in thy prosperity; but thou saidst, I will not hear. This hath been thy manner from thy youth, that thou obeyedst not my voice. 22  The wind shall eat up all thy pastors, and thy lovers shall go into captivity: surely then shalt thou be ashamed and confounded for all thy wickedness.

 

Jer 51:1 Thus saith the LORD; Behold, I will raise up against Babylon, and against them that dwell in the midst of them that rise up against me, a destroying wind; 2  And will send unto Babylon fanners, that shall fan her, and shall empty her land: for in the day of trouble they shall be against her round about. . . . 5  For Israel hath not been forsaken, nor Judah of his God, of the LORD of hosts; though their land was filled with sin against the Holy One of Israel. 6  Flee out of the midst of Babylon, and deliver every man his soul: be not cut off in her iniquity; for this is the time of the LORD’S vengeance; he will render unto her a recompence.

 

Eze 13:10 Because, even because they have seduced my people, saying, Peace; and there was no peace; and one built up a wall, and, lo, others daubed it with untempered morter: 11  Say unto them which daub it with untempered morter, that it shall fall: there shall be an overflowing shower; and ye, O great hailstones, shall fall; and a stormy wind shall rend it. 12  Lo, when the wall is fallen, shall it not be said unto you, “Where is the daubing wherewith ye have daubed it?” 13  Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; I will even rend it with a stormy wind in my fury; and there shall be an overflowing shower in mine anger, and great hailstones in my fury to consume it. . . . 15  Thus will I accomplish my wrath upon the wall, and upon them that have daubed it with untempered morter, and will say unto you, The wall is no more, neither they that daubed it; 16  To wit, the prophets of Israel which prophesy concerning Jerusalem, and which see visions of peace for her, and there is no peace, saith the Lord GOD.

 

Brief Idea: The sealing message comes “from the east” – that is, it grows and increases in strength as a rising sun. And it irritates the papacy intensely. Dan. 11:44.

 

Dan 11:44  But tidings out of the east and out of the north shall trouble him: therefore he shall go forth with great fury to destroy, and utterly to make away many. 45  And he shall plant the tabernacles of his palace between the seas in the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and none shall help him. 1 And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.

 

Brief Idea: Ellen White saw the same kind of symbols that John and Ezekiel saw. (EW 92 and Rev 11:2-3; 12:1-17; EW 38.1-38.2 and Rev 7; EW 279.2 and Eze 9; Re 8:2-5;) This includes the phrase, “144,000 in number” found in Rev 7 and in EW 14 and thus mutes the argument that would prove the 144,000 to be literal from the words “in number.”

 

I also stated that “Satan appeared to be by the throne, trying to carry on the work of God.” I will give another sentence from the same page: “I turned to look at the company who were still bowed before the throne.” Now this praying company was in this mortal state, on the earth, yet represented to me as bowed before the throne. I never had the idea that these individuals were actually in the New Jerusalem. Neither did I ever think that any mortal could suppose that I believed that Satan was actually in the New Jerusalem. But did not John see the great red dragon in heaven? Certainly. “And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns.” Revelation 12:3. What a monster to be in heaven! Here seems to be as good a chance for ridicule as in the interpretation which some have placed upon my statements.  {EW 92.2}

 

Brief Idea: Dan is missing. Joseph is there twice (as Joseph and Manasseh) in such a way as to eliminate Ephraim. Dan was the back-biting tribe, Ephraim the idol-holding tribe. Joseph was faithful at all costs. Here are some key ideas for those that want to be part of the 144,000.

 

Ge 49:16  Dan shall judge his people, as one of the tribes of Israel.

Ge 49:17  Dan shall be a serpent by the way, an adder in the path, that biteth the horse heels, so that his rider shall fall backward.

Ho 4:17  Ephraim is joined to idols: let him alone.

 

Brief Idea: The Great Multitude clothed with “white robes” have been judged faithful (see the fifth seal) and are overcomers (See Rev 3:5 and “palms in their hands”). They have come through “great tribulation” as mentioned also in the fifth seal. And they worship God  “day and night” “in his temple.” The latter phrase, however, sounds like the 144,000.

 

And so men argue about whether the “great multitude” are all the saved, or only the 144,000, or those saved at the end of time aside from the 144,000.

 

Shame on us for arguing. The point of the passage is victory for those that are judged faithful, endure tribulation, and overcome at last. And as victory and faithfulness in tribulation is a trait of all three cases mentioned above, it may be useful to describe any of them.

 

Ellen White, like the book of Revelation, makes statements that could be taken either way, though her plainest statement makes the 144,000 distinct from the great multitude.

 

Nearest the throne are those who were once zealous in the cause of Satan, but who, plucked as brands from the burning, have followed their Saviour with deep, intense devotion. Next are those who perfected Christian characters in the midst of falsehood and infidelity, those who honored the law of God when the Christian world declared it void, and the millions, of all ages, who were martyred for their faith. And beyond is the “great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, . . . before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands.” Revelation 7:9. Their warfare is ended, their victory won. They have run the race and reached the prize. The palm branch in their hands is a symbol of their triumph, the white robe an emblem of the spotless righteousness of Christ which now is theirs.  {GC 665.2}

 

It is not wealth or intellect that gives happiness; it is true moral worth and a sense of duty performed. You may have the overcomer’s reward and stand before the throne of Christ to sing His praises in the day when He assembles His saints; but your robes must be cleansed in the blood of the Lamb, and charity must cover you as a garment, and you be found spotless and without blemish.  {4T 125.1}  John says: “After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands; and cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb.” {4T 125.2}

“Though the Lord be high, yet hath he respect unto the lowly: but the proud he knoweth afar off.” “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise” (Psalm 138:6; 51:17). Those who reveal the meek and lowly spirit of Christ are tenderly regarded by God. Nothing is unnoticed by Him. He marks their self-denial, their effort to uplift Christ before the world. Though these humble workers may be looked upon with scorn by the world, they are of great value in the sight of God. Not only the wise, the great, the beneficent, will gain a passport into the heavenly courts–not only the busy worker, full of zeal and restless activity. No; the pure in heart, in whose lips there is found no guile; the poor in spirit, who are actuated by the Spirit of an abiding Christ; the peacemaker, whose highest ambition is to do God’s will–these will gain an abundant entrance. They are God’s jewels, and will be among that number of whom John writes, “I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, . . . saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth” (Revelation 19:6). They have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. “Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple: and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them” (Revelation 7:15).  {TMK 123.3}

 

See also {BEcho, December 1, 1892 par. 7}

 

Mount Zion was just before us, and on the mount was a glorious temple, and about it were seven other mountains, on which grew roses and lilies. And I saw the little ones climb, or, if they chose, use their little wings and fly, to the top of the mountains and pluck the never-fading flowers. There were all kinds of trees around the temple to beautify the place: the box, the pine, the fir, the oil, the myrtle, the pomegranate, and the fig tree bowed down with the weight of its timely figs–these made the place all over glorious. And as we were about to enter the holy temple, Jesus raised His lovely voice and said, “Only the 144,000 enter this place,” and we shouted, “Alleluia.”  {EW 18.2}

This temple was supported by seven pillars, all of transparent gold, set with pearls most glorious. The wonderful things I there saw I cannot describe. Oh, that I could talk in the language of Canaan, then could I tell a little of the glory of the better world. I saw there tables of stone in which the names of the 144,000 were engraved in letters of gold. After we beheld the glory of the temple, we went out, and Jesus left us and went to the city. Soon we heard His lovely voice again, saying, “Come, My people, you have come out of great tribulation, and done My will; suffered for Me; come in to supper, for I will gird Myself, and serve you.” We shouted, “Alleluia! glory!” and entered into the city. And I saw a table of pure silver; it was many miles in length, yet our eyes could extend over it. I saw the fruit of the tree of life, the manna, almonds, figs, pomegranates, grapes, and many other kinds of fruit. I asked Jesus to let me eat of the fruit. He said, “Not now. Those who eat of the fruit of this land go back to earth no more. But in a little while, if faithful, you shall both eat of the fruit of the tree of life and drink of the water of the fountain.” And He said, “You must go back to the earth again and relate to others what I have revealed to you.” Then an angel bore me gently down to this dark world. Sometimes I think I can stay here no longer; all things of earth look so dreary. I feel very lonely here, for I have seen a better land. Oh, that I had wings like a dove, then would I fly away and be at rest! {EW 19.1}

 

Regarding New Light:   Be Ready for It

“There is no excuse for anyone in taking the position that there is no more truth to be revealed, and that all our expositions of Scripture are without an error. The fact that certain doctrines have been held as truth for many years by our people, is not a proof that our ideas are infallible. Age will not make error into truth, and truth can afford to be fair. No true doctrine will lose anything by close investigation.” Counsels to Writers and Editors, p. 35.

“. . .Great truths that have lain unheeded and unseen since the day of Pentecost, are to shine from God’s word in their native purity. To those who truly love God the Holy Spirit will reveal truths that have faded from the mind, and will also reveal truths that are entirely new. . . .” Review & Herald Aug. 17, 1897.

“Precious truths that have long been in obscurity are to be revealed in a light that will make manifest their sacred worth; for God will glorify His Word, that it may appear in a light in which we have never before beheld it.” Testimonies on Sabbath School Work, p. 62.

“…And no church can advance in holiness unless its members are earnestly seeking for truth as for hid treasure….” Great Controversy p. 522.

“In searching the Scriptures you are not to endeavor to interpret their utterances so as to agree with your preconceived ideas, but come as a learner to understand the foundation principles of the faith of Christ. With eager interest, with fervent prayer, come to the Word of God, that you may know what is truth, manifesting the same spirit as did Nathanael when he earnestly besought the Lord that he might know the truth.” Testimonies on Sabbath School Work pp. 62,63 [These five paragraphs cut and pasted from one source advocating one position related to the great multitude.]

Regarding new Light: Be Wary of It

 

I was shown the danger that will threaten the church, because here and there persons will be rising up, proclaiming that they have new light. They may be those who have been regarded as humble Christians, and very conscientious in all their doings, but they do not have a good conscience. Reason and common sense are laid aside, and they become fanatical. Religious fanatics will certainly appear among us, and they will cause much care and much grief to those who have the honor of the cause of God at heart. They will not consider it their duty to counsel with their brethren.  {GCB, October 1, 1896 par. 12}

 

We are to pray for divine enlightenment, but at the same time we should be careful how we receive everything termed new light. We must beware lest, under cover of searching for new truth, Satan shall divert our minds from Christ and the special truths for this time. I have been shown that it is the device of the enemy to lead minds to dwell upon some obscure or unimportant point, something that is not fully revealed or is not essential to our salvation. This is made the absorbing theme, the “present truth,” when all their investigations and suppositions only serve to make matters more obscure than before, and to confuse the minds of some who ought to be seeking for oneness through sanctification of the truth.–Letter 7, 1891.  {1SM 159.3}

For the Word Doc, click here: Rev_7_-_Other_Thoughts

Revelation 8 to 11 and the Seven Trumpets

Rev_8-11_-_Trumpets_from_the_early_90s  [This is the Word Document]

An Exposition of the Seven Trumpets

by Eugene Prewitt

 

Introduction

As a young Bible Student, I was fascinated by the discoveries I made while investigating the prophecies of Revelation. Chapters four through eleven especially gripped me. The scenes described were no doubt relevant to the end of the world. Here I read about an army of 200,000,000 soldiers; I discovered the horsemen of the apocalypse—five of them in the first four seals, and a host of others in chapter nine. I noticed with enthusiasm that our prophet, Ellen White, pinpointed the time of Revelation 8, verses 2–5 as the close of human probation. Her statements about the prophecy of Matthew 24 (see DA 628) gave me license to reapply and partially apply prophecy at will. By and by I began to jot down my conclusions.

The historical interpretation of the seals and trumpets appeared about as sound as a rowboat on the wild sea. I noticed that The Great Controversy referred to Litch’s thoughts as a “prediction”—not a prophecy (see GC 334–5). As I perused works prepared by such notables as Haskel and Smith, I felt righteously disgusted by the apparent use of an agnostic’s writings (those of Gibbon) as an inspired commentary on the trumpets. My quick mind constructed an imaginary visit to the study of Josiah Litch. I saw him pouring through history books, vainly looking for events to fit prophecies that described the future. And I saw God smiling on his efforts enough to help him find scattered events that could be stretched into fulfillments. I imagined Providence causing Josiah’s one concrete prediction to come true in order to establish faith in the day-for-a-year principle.

And I was wrong. Very, very wrong. I mistakenly attributed Litch’s findings to poor scriptural knowledge and study. The following is another commentary. Its general conclusions are much the same as those reached by our pioneers. Its difference lies in its attempt to show that the Bible is its own expositor and to supply the Bible knowledge that would make the commentaries of our pioneers credible to those inclined to scoff.

While that scriptural acumen was general in the church of the 1840’s, historical quotes supporting the Biblical account were in demand by those who couldn’t afford their own library. The pioneers wrote to supply the need. But as our grasp of present truth waned, texts that were once plain became mysterious to our people. This work is intended to fortify the pioneers’ labors by giving to modern Adventists what early Adventists use to have—a solid scriptural footing in prophetic interpretation.

Eugene Prewitt
March 4, 1995

For references to historical facts, see The Seer of Patmos, by Steven Haskel; The Seven Trumpets, by Josiah Litch; and Revelation, by Uriah Smith. References not available in those sources are quoted in the text. Revelation chapter eight begins with the opening of the seventh seal, a type of the Second Coming that follows immediately on the heals of the events of the sixth seal.

Finally, the book sealed in the fifth chapter of Revelation will open. On that day those that murdered our Saviour will see Him (Rev. 1:7) and “in all its vindictiveness [the decision to crucify Jesus] will appear before them.” COL 294. That book contains the record of sin, woe, mourning, and the prophetic history of the world. It was “the roll of the history of God’s providences, the prophetic history of nations and the church. Herein was contained the divine utterances, His authority, His commandments, His laws, the whole symbolic counsel of the Eternal, and the history of all ruling powers in the nations. In symbolic language was contained in that roll the influence of every nation, tongue, and people from the beginning of earth’s history to its close.” 20MR 197 (see Ez. 2:9–10, Rev. 5:1).

At the Second Coming, the ban on prophetic time imposed in 1844 is lifted (see notes on Rev. 10). God Himself proclaims a message of time—the hour of His coming (GC 641). The Thousand Years are ushered in by a seven-day trip to heaven. That is “about the space of half an hour” of prophetic time, where a day is counted for a year (See Ez. 4:6). Like the messages to the seven churches, the prophecy of the seven seals reaches to the end of time.

8:2 And I saw the seven angels which stood before God; and to them were given seven trumpets.

“And I saw” The common expression of John denoting a new line of prophecy. See the beginnings of chapters 14,15,18,20, and 21 for a few other examples.

8:3 And another angel came and stood at the altar, having a golden censer; and there was given unto him much incense, that he should offer [it] with the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne.

“Another angel”, Jesus (cf. EW 279–281), and not one of the first seven. He was “given” much incense. This signifies the opening of Christ’s ministration—the beginning of his work in the temple in AD 31. He here ministers for “all” saints—the symbol illustrating the entirety of Christ’s intercession, from His ascension to His coming. This work is done “before the throne”, in the presence of the Father. The “counsel of peace” is between them both (Zech. 6:13).

The Godhead here covenants to preserve the saints and to answer their prayers while the guilty inhabitants of the earth suffer the effects of Divine justice. Revelation presents Jesus, not only as the Lamb, but also as the Lion of the Tribe of Judah. It is a “revelation of the righteous judgment of God, who shall render. . .tribulation and anguish upon every soul of man that doeth evil,” and “glory, honour, and peace” to the righteous, see Rom. 2:3–9.

8:4 And the smoke of the incense, [which came] with the prayers of the saints, ascended up before God out of the angel’s hand.

The thought deserves more than passing notice. Our prayers, unmingled with the everlasting righteousness that was brought in at the cross (cf. Dan. 9:24) would not ascend at all. The incense is represented, not as coming from the censor, but from the hand of the Angel, for there, where nails pierced the Messiah, is the hiding of His power (Hab. 3:4). The blood of the covenant poured from those wounds, and the Messenger of the Covenant ever retains them as marks of His humiliation.

The Hebrew word translated “Messenger” (Mal. 3:1) is Malauk——translated “angel” 164 times. The Greek word in Revelation 8 translated “angel” literally means messenger. Like the Cherubim and Seraphim, Jesus, justly an “equal with God” (Phil. 2:6) is not ashamed to minister in our behalf or to call us brethren. In those capacities, He has taken the form of an angel. That humiliation, so far from demeaning the Deity, glorifies our God by revealing another aspect of His beautiful character.

8:5 And the angel took the censer, and filled it with fire of the altar, and cast [it] into the earth: and there were voices, and thunderings, and lightnings, and an earthquake.


Doubtless this represents the close of probation, when our High Priest has finished His work as intercessor. These wonderful events (lightnings, voices, etc.) naturally follow. One should note that these events takes place during the sounding of the seventh trumpet, as well as the seventh plague (Rev. 11:19; 16:18). Thus, the alert student would find that Revelation 8:5 is fulfilled, not as a precursor to the trumpets, but as part of their grand finale.

The figure above demonstrates the relation between Revelation 8:2–6 and 8:7–11:19. Both periods cover the same ground, excepting that the first period begins while the seven trumpets are preparing to sound—that is, before the first judgment began. Christ’s ministration ends during the sounding of the seventh trumpet.

PARENTHETICAL PROPHECIES

The interruption between verses two and six is in harmony with the general policy of Revelation. Spiritual works done in heaven or by heavenly agencies are revealed as parenthetical prophecies. These are incorporated into larger pictures of contemporary events, and often seem to interrupt the flow of that scene. Examples in prophecy include chapters seven and ten of Revelation, which interrupt the seals and the trumpets respectively.

For our benefit, the invisible or intangible scenes, such as Christ in the heavenly sanctuary, are inserted in such a way that we can find the time of their fulfillment. The first step is to find the fulfillment of the prophecy that surrounds the parenthetical revelation. The second step is to look for clues in the position of the parenthesis.

Accordingly, we look for Revelation seven to be contemporary with the sixth seal, Revelation ten to be contemporary with the sixth or seventh trumpet, and this prophecy to parallel the entire period of the trumpets. Rather than being included before or after one of them, it is introduced after all seven (8:2) and concluded before all seven (8:6); its conclusion is that of the seventh, and its beginning precedes the first in as much as Christ was interceding for the first saints before the book of Revelation was written.

8:6 And the seven angels which had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound.

We are brought back to our subject—the trumpets and the judgments associated with them. The second Commandment, removed from Catholic scriptures, forbade the introduction of idols into Christian worship. But the attempt to change the law changed neither of the principles found in it. God described himself as “visiting the iniquity of fathers upon the children. . . .and showing mercy unto thousands that love me and keep my commandments.” The mercy is illustrated above; the wrath incurred by the abomination is related below.

HOW TO FIND THE TIME

This is the first step in all prophetic interpretation. We know that the first trumpet did not fall before the time of John, for the Revelation declared that it was a revelation of things that must shortly come to pass, not that had already taken place. Revelation 10:6 tells us that the completion of the mystery of God takes place during the seventh trumpet, but apparently after it begins.

The mystery of God, in short, is the gospel of Divinity dwelling in sinful flesh. The outpouring of the Holy Spirit without measure during the time of the Latter Rain marks the consummation of that process for the 144,000 that have received the character of Christ in full. On the basis of these two hints, we look for the first six trumpets between the time of John and the close of probation.

The plagues mentioned in the seven trumpets are strangely reminiscent of those brought on Egypt (Ex. 7–12). Egypt, once favorable to the Church of God, never surrendered its paganism and thus became the instrument of persecution. When we look for a nation between the time of John and the close of probation that has drawn the Divine displeasure in a similar manner, we look no further than Rome.

And in looking for a time for its punishment, we need only look at how its demise has been described in previous prophecies. Both Daniel two and seven predicted the disintegration of Rome into ten kingdoms, and the last verse of Daniel nine predicted that a predetermined judgment was to be poured out upon the power that would destroy Jerusalem.

Every succeeding prophecy of Daniel devoted more time to that mystery of iniquity. As the revelation of Satan’s form of government, it had to be unmasked before the second coming (2 Thes. 2), and we could not expect Revelation to overlook its demise. Immediately after describing the triumphs and trials of the church of God, the fall of that empire is taken up.

The fall of Rome took place during the fourth and fifth centuries.

The previous points would be sufficient to launch us into our study. But to the student that retains confidence in the Spirit of Prophecy, we have another hint at the time. The fifth and sixth trumpets both contain time prophecies, and by that criterion alone must fall before 1844.

Without a chronological guide, prophetic interpreters could not even reasonably hope to escape the dangers of speculation in their expositions. The principles already given cause us to look to the fall and division of Rome for the fulfillment of the first trumpet. The Encyclopedia Britannica gives that fall three initial stages, and we are inclined to concur with that assessment.

“The Barbarian invasions were among the most momentous phenomena of the later empire. . . .The European provinces of the Roman Empire were subjected not only to innumerable small raids and plundering forays by land and sea, but also to three major waves of attack by the Germanic peoples of the North. The first of these major assaults came in 376 when the Visigoths, fleeing before the Huns, were permitted to cross the lower Danube. . .The second great intrusion of barbarians began on Dec. 31, 406 when the Vandals, the Suebi, and the non-Germanic Alani crossed the middle Rhine,. . .The last of the major barbarian invasions followed on the collapse of the empire of Attilla and his sons in 455.” Vol. 19, pg. 542, article “Roman History”, 1966. The primary events in each of these three waves of attack on Rome are outlined in the first three trumpets.

In the visions of the seven churches and the seven seals, the history of the Christian church was brought to the attention of all that had ears to listen. It is presented as a series of causes and effects. During the experience of the church of Pergamos, the history of the church became the history of the state as the two began forming bonds that would last for over a millennium. “Antipas,” the “faithful martyr” (Rev. 2:13), typified those that were protesting the papal usurpations. The word is a conjunction of the Greek words “against” and “fathers”. The church fathers that they were against were those who had just taken the title “pa”, as the supposed universal father. This spiritual fornication, despised not only by Antipas, but by God Himself, called forth the seven trumpets.

8:7 The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth: and the third part of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up.

Hail, frozen water that exercises destructive force, is a fit representative of those first responsible for fracturing the empire into tribes. Water, in general, represents people and the position or properties of the water points to the location of the people, (see “where the whore sitteth,” Rev. 17:15). The Visigoths, under Alaric, descended from the far north—their origin typified by the frozen state of the water, and their movement by its designation as “hail”—and cruelly burned the cities and slaughtered the inhabitants of Roman civilization. Thus, in the Roman mind, fire and blood were inseparably connected with the memory of those cold-hearted men.

Constantine divided his empire into three kingdoms, giving each to one of his three sons. The term “one third” is used throughout the prophecy in reference to this division. In cases where a catastrophe was received primarily by one of the sections rather than the whole, the fact is represented as a plague on one third of the ships, trees, stars, etc.

Alaric’s conquest fell on the “earth” as a unit. He killed the emperor of the East (Valens), sacked the capital of the middle empire (Rome), and settled in the West (Gaul) where he continued to make himself a professional pest.

The western division was ruled in generations following by the emperor in Rome, causing the central and western empires to be generally thought of as one. But, to avoid confusion and in harmony with the principle that designated the division of Greece into four parts despite their rapid consolidation, the prophecy maintains the fraction throughout chapters eight and nine.

Grass, representing men as very mortal (cf. Is. 37:27; 40:6–7; 1 Pt. 1:24), was destroyed in all three of the provinces, typified in the prophecy as “all the grass”. Jesus refereed to Israel as in a “green” tree while He was with them, and predicted the change that would come in the nation after His departure (Lk. 23:31; DA 794; AA 25). Trees, representing the more significant members of society, specifically rulers and teachers (See Dan. 4 for another example) are pictured as destroyed in only one third of the earth—that is, in Western Rome, where Aleric finally settled the Visigoths as an independent entity.

In Ez. 17:22-24 the children of Abraham are compared to a large green Cedar. The prophecy indicates that a tender twig would be cut from the Cedar and planted on a high mountain. Though drying quickly in the transplanting process, it would revive and grow to great heights while the cedar would perish.

Jesus, from a “root of David” and as a “branch out of dry ground”, would be set a light “on a hill-top” and would grow into a nation of kings and priests. The Christian body would flourish while the Jewish body withered.

In Ez. 20:47 and 21:3–4, trees are used to designate professed Christians, and the terms “green” and “dry” are used to differentiate between the righteous and the wicked. Jesus used this same comparison in Matthew seven. This distinction in the color of the foliage becomes more important in the fifth trumpet.

8:8 And the second angel sounded, and as it were a great mountain burning with fire was cast into the sea: and the third part of the sea became blood;

Referring to Babylon, God had said in the Old Testament—“Behold, I am against thee, O destroying mountain, saith the Lord, which destroyest all the earth: And I will stretch out my hand upon thee. . .and will make thee a burnt mountain.” Jer. 51:25–26. While looking for the second judgment on the Babylonian system that had recently made a mock conversion to Christianity, we also look for a catastrophe affecting, not the land of one third of the empire, but its sea.

See comments on verse nine for evidence that this sea is literally a body of water as opposed to a group of people. The next consequential series of battles waged against Rome did indeed come via the Mediterranean, generalled by Genseric. He seemed to sense his calling, and would tell his pilots to let the elements direct the ship to that coast against which God was angry. The Vandals under his direction separated yet another territory, Northern Africa, from the once mammoth empire. In the year 455, like Aleric in 410, Genseric sacked Rome itself. On this occasion the pillaging lasted fourteen days.

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.

The fact that there are creatures and ships in this sea alerts us the fact that it is literally water. Water turning to blood is mentioned twice elsewhere in the Bible, but symbolically in neither case (Ex. 7 and Rev. 16). Here “the sea” is used to typify that portion of the world’s oceans and seas that was claimed by the Roman power.

While most high-school history students have heard of the destruction of the Spanish Armada, a loss of about 51 ships in the 16th century, remarkably few have heard of Genseric. In one day his men destroyed over three hundred ships, the preparation of which had taken Western Rome three years.

Fearing his growing power, the empire united in secretly putting together another fleet of 1,113 ships prepared for battle. But by a cunning and daring move, Genseric ignited the entire fleet while they waited for his surrender, and sent thousands to their graves. The cost of the last fleet had been recorded at the time as 130,000 pounds of gold. The loss was equal to the entire navy, men and ships, of one of the three Roman divisions.

The word “creatures” literally means “created.” It is used of people, in James 1:18. The word denotes those who owed their existence to God and highlights the wickedness of their defiance of the fourth commandment.

8:10 And the third angel sounded, and there fell a great star from heaven, burning as it were a lamp, and it fell upon the third part of the rivers, and upon the fountains of waters;

Satan has been represented as a falling star, but his fall preceded the incident described here. The star falling, is a fit emblem of a pompous career ending in quick defeat. The first two trumpets gave an indication of the geographic sphere where we ought to look for their accomplishment. The work of the third judgment on Rome fell along the base of that stretch of mountains that, for much of Europe, indeed are the fountains of waters.

From the foot of the Alps most of the great rivers of the continent trace their head. This trumpet opens with the extinguishing of the star. Soon after Genseric initiated his conquest (406), Attilla was stayed in his course by his first defeat (451) in a lifetime of conquering. See notes on verse 11 for more on Attilla as the star spoken of here.

8:11 And the name of the star is called Wormwood: and the third part of the waters became wormwood; and many men died of the waters, because they were made bitter.

Another allusion is made here to God’s Old Testament predictions— “And the Lord saith, because they have forsaken my law, which I have set before them, and have not obeyed my voice, neither walked therein; But have walked after the imagination of their own heart, and after Balaam, which their fathers taught them. Therefore, thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold I will feed them, even this people, with wormwood, and give them water of gall to drink.” Jer. 9:13–15.

Just as Rome’s custom of honoring Sunday was gaining near universal honor, God sent a “minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil.” Rom. 13:4. Those in positions of civil trust are indeed “ministers of God”, albeit for wrath rather than salvation, and are justly denoted as “stars” (cf. Rev. 1:20; Hebrews 1:14). Like Necho, (cf. 2 Chron. 35:20–22), Attilla knew why he was ravaging the Roman populace. The “scourge of God” was a name he appropriated to himself, and inserted among his royal titles.

Not only the Huns, over which he was the king, but the Lombards, Heruli, Vandals, Suive, Bergundians, and Franks were moved out of their native lands by His will, and placed where they would make incessant gouges in the Roman territory. Each of those tribes eventually settled in Southern Europe after clearing their way by bloodshed.

Like the rivers from the Alps that carry the properties of the spring from which they issue, these tribes left a bitterness wherever their marauding bands embarked reminiscent of him (Attilla) who was the fountain of their pillaging. Attilla boasted that the grass never grew on the place where his horse trod. As might be expected of a falling star, Attilla’s reign was short. But his death, so far from bringing an end to the raids, is regarded even by secular authors as the beginning of the third wave of Barbarian invasions.

8:12 And the fourth angel sounded, and the third part of the sun was smitten, and the third part of the moon, and the third part of the stars; so as the third part of them was darkened, and the day shone not for a third part of it, and the night likewise.

The Republican government of Rome resembled, in several ways, the patriarchal government at the time of Isaac. A short review of that earlier period will throw light on the symbols of the fourth trumpet.

As the patriarch, Isaac was supreme ruler in his clan—an infant nation inherited from Abraham. As queen of the tribe, his wife was far from powerless. Each of the twelve sons was destined to head their own tribe, and each commanded their own servants and children. In a vision, Joseph saw the family government represented as the sun, moon, and stars. His brothers and his father understood the dream, and the implication that family government would bow to Joseph filled them with deadly indignation (Gen. 37:9–10).

Like the patriarchal government, the Roman hierarchy could be described by the luminous bodies of the day and night. In Rome, the emperor was the supreme Authority. During the noontime of the empire, the position of Caesar was filled by a powerful man. As the nation began to wane into its night, the political influence of the moon and stars came to light.

The Roman consuls were next only to the Roman emperors in their authority. And the members of the senate were signified by stars. The darkening of these bodies represented the end of their political power.

The Western empire again received the scourge as the forces of Odoacer made an end of Romulus’ career (476). After dethroning Romulus, the last emperor in the West, Odoacer made himself the first barbarian ruler in Italy. A few years later, western Rome lost even the dim independence of a ruling senate and consul, and made itself a willing vassal of Byzantium, the capital of the East.

Not for the entirety of the dark ages, but for a “third of the night”, the consulship was subdued. Little less than a century later a new consul (Clovis) of the west was named by Anastasius, emperor of the East. Having been converted earlier to Catholicism, he became her puppet, and prosecuted her wars.

8:13 And I beheld, and heard an angel flying through the midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice, Woe, woe, woe, to the inhabiters of the earth by reason of the other voices of the trumpet of the three angels, which are yet to sound!

The papacy dared to restart the Holy Roman Empire in the west. And it brought upon that same empire, by its blatant apostasy, the very worst judgments that Rome had ever received. The causes of the first four tragedies are found in the history of the church of Pergamos. We will examine those causes before perusing the study of the woes.

Pergamos represented the church at a time when false teachers, like Balaam two millenniums earlier, where uniting their interests with heads of state, typified by Balaac in Revelation two. These leaders taught the members to join them in this spiritual fornication. It was the use of the civil power, rather than gospel power, to accomplish the goals of the church, that was labeled national adultery in the Old Testament (see Ez. 16 for several examples).

The Christians of the fourth and fifth century were also taught to “eat things sacrificed unto idols”—to incorporate the customs, altars, ceremonies, and statues of their pagan ancestors into their “Christian” worship. The guilt Rome had accumulated in its purely pagan days combined with that of its later hypocrisy to fill its cup of iniquity to the brim. The first four trumpets were political judgments on a corrupt political system.

But the woes were reserved for Thyatira. There, the same doctrines were taught (Rev. 2:14,20), but no longer from fringe teachers. Jezebel represented the church that had been fully united with the state and that took it into her own hands to destroy the true teachers in Israel. Jeremiah, foretelling some of the curses that were to fall on Babylon, gave this as the ultimate cause—they were idolaters. See notes on 9:20. The papal system, as it progressed from a corrupt goal in Pergamos to an abominable reality in Thyatira (began 538), turned the trumpets into woes.

9:1 And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit.

Again, as in 8:11, a political head is represented as a star, or minister of wrath. The term “bottomless pit” is derived from a Greek word widely used in the Greek Scriptures to denote waste and baroness. During the millennium, it signifies the earth in its state of chaos. At creation, it referred to the disorganized surface of the earth, and is translated “deep” in the King James.

During the early middle ages, there was a vast area of waste that had made little political impact on Europe or the East. The deserts of Africa and Arabia, while they had seen their share of war, had never produced conquering armies. That is, until Mohammed. And, like the fallen Attilla before him, his impact on world history had only begun when he gave up the ghost. To recognize he had the “key” is a simple matter of observation. That wasteland is still controlled by that religion that he formed.

How the key was given to him is also a matter of interest. His political agenda would have ended with a bloody slaughter of himself and his troops if it had been met with the skilled and well equipped soldiers of either the Roman Empire to his north or the Persian empire to his east. But Heraclius of Rome and Khosrua of Persia decimated each others’ resources, leaving Khosrua with nothing and Heraclius with everything—saving the power to keep what he had just conquered. The swarms of Muslims soon overran and subjugated the provinces that had been under dispute.

9:2 And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit.

Just ask, “Where in the world has the light of Christianity met with the most determined resistance?” Those nations accepting the one God “Allah” have made little room for His gospel. And although the whole world will soon shine with the glory of the Lord, until this time a dense cloud has rested on the Islamic nations.

Perhaps the “sun” here, used in connection with the “air” rather than the “moon and stars” refers to the true Lord of Lords, the Sun of Righteousness. The religious character of the woes expands the horizon of the prophecy to show how Satan’s synagogue has, by both action and reaction, injured the kingdom of heaven. It was their idolatry that especially inflamed the fanaticism of the Saracen, building up a wall of prejudice which decades of Protestant evangelism have not succeeded in demolishing.

9:3 And there came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth: and unto them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power.

The characteristics of the Saracen bands are reflected well in the swarms of Locusts that plague that portion of the world. Showing up suddenly in mass, they destroy all vegetation on that ill-fated field where they next rest. But the Locusts do not generally hurt men. Here the parallel breaks down and John assures us that those represented here, in some ways, are more like scorpions. The fierce pride of the Arabians held dishonour as worse than death. Their passion for revenge is ably illustrated by the scorpion’s striking at its foe.

9:4 And it was commanded them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree; but only those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads.

Who issued the command is not revealed, but we know the One who gave the sea its boundaries and who has the heart of kings in His hand. The angel of destruction was not to pass over the threshold of the one having God’s seal. The promise of Ps. 91 was fulfilled for the scattered remnant—“A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand, but it shall not come nigh thee. Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked.”

The seal of God is a “sign of the righteousness” that is imputed to the true believer. Circumcision lost all significance as the sign when the body of those holding to it rejected the cardinal truth of the Kingdom—that Christ was the Messiah. Circumcision had been chosen to distinguish the depositories of truth from the rest of the world (Rom. 3:1). To obey was to admit the sovereignty of God.

Reason alone could not enforce the sign. To obey was to make a sacrifice—the seal could not be had by a mere intellectual assent to truth. When the Jews maintained the rite despite their national apostasy, another seal had to be appointed. One command of God stands out from rest as resting on faith in God’s word. Naturalistic morality alone would not lead men to keep it.

For centuries the seventh-day Sabbath signaled ecclesiastical independence from Rome, and even in the present its keepers alone demonstrate the Protestant ideals of Bible supremacy and Righteousness by Faith. While the papacy was thinking to change times and laws (Dan. 7:25), this Edenic institution remained the sign of allegiance to the government of heaven (Ez. 20:12, 20). As given in the fourth commandment, it settles the issue of God’s sovereignty on the basis of His creation and, like all good seals, verifies his Name, Title, and the extent of his Kingdom (cf. Ex. 20:8–11).[1]

Ethiopia contained a Sabbath keeping Christian community that has remained extant even to modern times. The Waldenses were still Sabbath Keepers while the Saracens made their ravages on Spain, Constantinople, and Alexandria. But neither of these primitive Christian bodies felt the thrills of terror that befell the bands of European crusaders.

While the first plagues on Egypt were felt universally, the later plagues made a distinction between those that served God and those that did not. A similar difference is found between the first and fifth trumpets. We find no record of Alaric respecting the more pure Christianity that still survived to a large extent in that Western empire where he settled.

History does reveal how the comparatively apostolic Celtic church (Sabbath Keepers in Britain and Northern Gaul) suffered under the hand of barbarian forces (see Truth Triumphant, B.J. Wilkinson, ch. 7,8, 11 and 12). For the significance of the “green trees”, see notes on 8:7.

9:5 And to them it was given that they should not kill them, but that they should be tormented five months: and their torment [was] as the torment of a scorpion, when he striketh a man.

They could not “Kill them.” That is, collectively, not individually. The Muslims extracted large numbers of casualties from the Roman legions, but during the allotted time they could neither bring an end to the Roman independence nor obliterate Roman defense.

There are two types of scorpions, those that emit poison similar to that of the wasp, and those that emit neurotoxins. The first class can not kill a man, and is apparently referred to. The damage done by the scorpion is entirely the work of its tail. See notes on 9:15 for the “five months” and notes on 9:19 for more on the tail of the scorpion.

9:6 And in those days shall men seek death, and shall not find it; and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them.

Strange the battles of the crusades where Pope and Sultan alike proclaimed everlasting life as the reward of dying in the holy war. Valor, not cowardice, was rewarded with promises of heaven. The verse may not imply attempted suicide, but, on the contrary, a carnal and groundless security in the face of a probable demise.

9:7 And the shapes of the locusts [were] like unto horses prepared unto battle; and on their heads [were] as it were crowns like gold, and their faces [were] as the faces of men.
9:8 And they had hair as the hair of women, and their teeth were as [the teeth] of lions.
9:9 And they had breastplates, as it were breastplates of iron; and the sound of their wings [was] as the sound of chariots of many horses running to battle.

A general description of the warriors will suffice. They were mounted on Arabian steeds and wore their peculiarly decorated turbans (like gold, not “of gold”). They grew their hair long, but had nothing like a feminine bearing. Their approach was marked by the sound of their running horses. In the days of Mohammed, the breastplate was used by his mounted warriors.

9:10 And they had tails like unto scorpions, and there were stings in their tails: and their power [was] to hurt men five months.

The repetition of the time period belays its importance to God’s purposes. The principle of a day representing a year had received much support among prophetic scholars, but had drawn strong criticism from deists, infidels, and agnostics. The fulfillment of this prophecy silenced many opponents. See notes on 9:15.

9:11 And they had a king over them, [which is] the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue [is] Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath [his] name Apollyon.

As often in prophecy, the name denotes the character rather than the title. Abaddon and Apollyon both mean “destruction”. The angel is the king, a conformation of our previous interpretation of the word. The successive Sultans are characterized by their reckless disregard for the life and culture of those they set out to conquer. The empire eventually formed of the Mohammedian host is mentioned here in direct correlation with the period of the five months of the previous verse. See notes on 9:15.

9:12 One woe is past; [and], behold, there come two woes more hereafter.

The contrast of this verse with that separating the second and third woes gives a hint at either immediate succession or substantial separation between the first and the second. On the basis of history and the contrast between verses 5 and 15, we accept the former view.

9:13 And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God,

The change in events marked on earth was not the result of generalship or politicking. It was ordered from heaven. The horns of the altar represent the books of record that have the ultimate power in this world—to decide a man’s destiny. There human history is recorded (cf. Job 19:23–25, Jer. 17:1) and there the blood of Christ is applied (Lev. 4:18,25,30). As divine judgments, the trumpets are also guided by the horns.

9:14 Saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates.

These ministers of wrath have been bound some time in the past, and that knowledge is presumed in the verse. It was the locusts of the fifth trumpet that were forbidden to destroy the Roman empire whilst engaged in its torment. Here they are freed.

The city of Babylon was located directly over the Euphrates, and would never have been defeated as long as that river had given the needed support. Now the Euphrates, representing that great body of people supporting the Holy Roman Empire (cf. Rev. 17:15) is no longer enabled to hold the Turkish power in check.

The four sultanies that bordered the actual river Euphrates (Baghdad, Damascus, Aleppo, and Iconium) gave their force to the accomplishing of the Sultan’s desire—the capture of Constantinople—the remaining capital of Rome.

9:15 And the four angels were loosed, which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to slay the third part of men.

Feudalism and its relation to Prophecy

The time periods introduced in the fifth trumpet can not be dwelt upon effectively until an understanding of medieval government has been presented. During the middle ages, feudal agreements and the relationships between lords and vassals dominated European politics. The system was one of strict hierarchy, and a brief study of it would enlighten the passages under study.

The lowest rung on the ladder was the peasant. He was allowed to use the land of his knighted lord in return for a portion of his produce. In more recent ages this was known as sharecropping. The knights themselves were vassals to their respective lords, the barons, and received common protection and the right to use the barons’ lands in return for providing a share of the necessary arms and men in time of war.

The nobles and barons were generally lords to many and vassals to few. A lord ruling a large territory and a number of barons could be known as a king. But even kings were often vassals of other kings or emperors. The vassal/lord relationship was entered into as an agreement. The vassal, once bound by his word, could not be considered independent and was a common criminal if he broke his vassal agreement. To put yourself under the authority or protection of another was to become, not his friend, but his servant.

The Time Periods

In the fifth trumpet, the Saracens are described as tormenting Eastern Rome for five months under a king, yet without bringing the nation into subjection. While Islam had made relentless combat since the time of Mohammed, the various tribes were not united under a single “king” until the time of Othman (Osman). He wielded them into the Ottoman empire. His first battle against Eastern Rome, the beginning of the torment, was made on July 27, 1299. One hundred and fifty years later (five prophetic months), in 1449, the Emperor of the East made himself, by the standards of his day, a vassal of the Sultan, his arch-enemy, by requesting his permission to ascend the throne.

The permission, crushing Roman independence by making the “Christian” emperor a vassal to a heathen, was granted. A new Sultan came to power two years later and actually made himself the master of Constantinople, making the old Roman capital into the Ottoman capital. This condition of Ottoman supremacy over Christian Europe was to last for the duration of the second time period of 391 years and fifteen days. The end of the first period marked the opening of the second. Combining the two into one makes a prophecy extending 541 years and fifteen days from the first attack by Othman.

Taking July 27, 1299 as the beginning, the period reaches to Aug. 11, 1840. On that day, by two distinct incidents, the Sultan lost that independence that he had taken from “Christian” Europe in the same way that he had procured it from them—by making himself a virtual vassal of the European nations.

On that day Mohammed Ali, the pasha of Egypt and the Sultan’s rebellious vassal, received a communication delivered by the Sultan himself. That document placed the European powers over the Sultan as his protectors against the aggressions of the pasha. That took place in Alexandria. Meanwhile, on the same day in Constantinople, the weak and fearful Sultan himself accepted a message from the European powers. They had leagued for his protection, but he was to remain a political outsider on the plans to save his kingdom. His acceptance of those terms ended the glory of Ottoman independence.

Both communications effectively put the reigns of Turkish power and authority into the hands of those European powers. Either of these would have sufficed to fulfill the prophecy, and from that time the Ottoman empire “reigned” (as a European of the dark ages would consider) by mere sufferance on the part of “Christian” nations.

This prophecy served the advent movement an invaluable service. Josiah Litch and William Miller, after careful study and prayerful consideration, came generally to the conclusions presented in the study thus far, but varying in several particulars. In 1838 William Miller had already been preaching for half a decade about the second coming, and his expectation that it would arrive by March, 1843. Brother Litch, during that year (1838) printed an exposition of the seven trumpets that predicted the fall of the Ottoman Empire as an independent Islamic state in the fall of 1840.

The infidels were elated. Confidently expecting the date to pass without significant event, they waited for the opportunity to lay the entire advent movement in the dust. The friends of Litch, even those convinced that he was right, were not inclined to make their beliefs known, harboring the fear of “what if.” But Litch was bold nonetheless.

What occurred next is an event unparalleled in modern history. An example of what most thought they could expect from Litch appears in the history of the Watchtower. Their relation to a time prophecy shifted as the date for its fulfillment neared. The date in parenthesis is that of the statement’s publication. (1892)—”The date of the close of that battle is definitely marked in scripture as October, 1914.” (1894)— There is no reason for changing the figures; they are God’s dates not ours; 1914 is not the date for the beginning, but for the end. (1905) A chart is made pointing to 1914 as the beginning of the millennial age. (1914) “Armageddon may begin next spring, yet it is purely speculation to attempt to say just when.” (Nov. 1914)— “We did not say positively that this would be the year.”

These statements are given for the purpose of comparison. The human heart that has knowingly stretched truth, or that has built a conclusion upon an unstable foundation will not shrink from defending that assertion. But when history threatens to say with certainty whether the assertion was true, that pride of opinion gives way to common sense, and the assertion is stated with increasing uncertainty.

When the date passes, the assertion is abandoned, and the man moves on looking for some other issue to catch his interest. But not so with Litch. In 1838 he pointed to 1840. Then he narrowed his prediction to the fall of that year. But just weeks before the time specified he made a change again. Did he prolong the time? Did he abandon his teaching? No! No, he pinpointed the date of the expected event as August 11.

When August 11 came, the infidels made their yell of victory. News was slow, and for several days the fate of the advent movement was in doubt. Litch’s reputation, at the least, hung in the balance. But then, two weeks later, the news arrived— “At the very time specified, Turkey, through her ambassadors, had accepted the protection of the allied powers of Europe, and thus placed herself under the control of Christian nations. The event exactly fulfilled the prediction.” Great Controversy, pg. 335.

Ellen White referred to it as “another remarkable fulfillment of prophecy.” Ibid. When Litch republished his work on the trumpets with notes on how the final prediction had been fulfilled, he added that over one thousand ex-infidels had written to tell him how his willingness to venture something on his understanding of scripture had led them to investigate the Bible and to renounce their unbelief. The day-for-a-year principle was established as beyond question for as long as the memory of the fulfillment would linger, and many were lead to study the scriptures regarding the Second Advent. Their experience was prophesied in Revelation chapter 10.

9:16 And the number of the army of the horsemen [were] two hundred thousand thousand: and I heard the number of them.

John did not estimate or attempt to count, but heard the number—200,000,000. Here is another striking evidence that the period referred to is not literal time. No nation has ever commanded such an army. In America it would take every able-bodied male born from 1860 to the present to make the ranks. But during the 391 years of the Ottoman empires’ final independence, that figure, nearly impossible to verify, is matched by reasonable estimation.

9:17 And thus I saw the horses in the vision, and them that sat on them, having breastplates of fire, and of jacinth, and brimstone: and the heads of the horses [were] as the heads of lions; and out of their mouths issued fire and smoke and brimstone.

While the Turks remained mounted, the invention of gunpowder for ever changed the appearance of their cavalries. Muskets fired from horseback were the most effective modes of self- preservation that they had yet known. Blue (jacinth) smoke and sulfurous vapors issued from their “fire sticks”. The breastplate, the emblem of self-preservation, is a fit symbol of that weapon that allowed battles to be waged at a distance.

The muskets served to save their lives. The fact that these colorful “breastplates” were not literally armor appears in the next verse. There the fire, blue smoke, and sulfur “issue” out of the mouths of the horses, apparently at the enemy. To quote a proverb, the best defense is a strong offense.

9:18 By these three was the third part of men killed, by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths.

Gunpowder, invented by the Latins, was the means of their own death and defeat. The knowledge of cannonry and musketeering was defected from the Roman forces to the Muslims. The treachery was an act of revenge for the ill-treatment the Romans gave one of their foreign workers, a forger of cannon.

9:19 For their power is in their mouth, and in their tails: for their tails [were] like unto serpents, and had heads, and with them they do hurt.

Very apparently, these are the same fighting forces represented in the fifth trumpet. See notes on 9:5 and 9:10. Isaiah says “The ancient and honorable, he is the head, and the prophet that teacheth lies, he is the tail,” 9:15. The arms of the Arabs were effective, but the sting in their tail, the false prophets that inspired their fanatical zeal, were no less so.

These teachers became the more necessary as Islam spread further west and violence was replaced by reasoning. The familiar shahada, “There is one God, Allah, and Mohammed is his prophet,” unites Muslims from around the world. Attributing the damage done by the Islamic faith to Mohammed is historical equity and justice.

9:20 And the rest of the men which were not killed by these plagues yet repented not of the works of their hands, that they should not worship devils, and idols of gold, and silver, and brass, and stone, and of wood: which neither can see, nor hear, nor walk:

Here the cause of the six preceding devastations, the story of the siege of Constantinople and of Rome thrice sacked, some two thousand ships and multiplied millions of men destroyed, is betrayed. As of old (cf. Amos 4), God sent judgments to awaken the sleeping souls of men to their great need.

The inability of their church-states to save them, the fallacy of the popes’ predictions of supernatural victory in the crusades, the singular vehemence of the barbarian assaults—each of these should have prompted men of note to ponder the rectitude of their course.

But despite sporadic outbreaks of iconoclasts, idolatry prevailed in both the east and the west. The adoration of statues (“things on the earth”) and saints (supposed to be “in the heavens above the earth”) led Rome to strike the second commandment from the Decalogue. When Israel turned to new gods, the idols of the neighboring nations, God affirmed that they were worshipping demons.

And again, when the professed Christians began giving homage to the rotting remains of those whom their spiritual forefathers had only counted as brethren, God reaffirmed the fact.

9:21 Neither repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts.

Idolatry can not abide alone. Men become like their gods, and the veneration of feeble fallible men brought the inevitable in its train—complete moral degradation in the hierarchy of the church (Rom. 1:22–25). By the time of the fifth trumpet, the papacy held the reigns of Rome. A few centuries later, the saying “All the seven deadly sins have worn the triple crown” became proverbial.

Revelation chapter 10

This chapter and the first portion of chapter 11 (verses 1 to 13) are not part of the trumpet narrative. But as mentioned in the notes on Revelation 8:5, the parenthetical prophecies are inserted where they are for a purpose. This chapter relates scenes largely invisible to the eyes of history. Located between the sixth and seventh trumpet, we expect its fulfillment to be contemporary with one or both of these.

Revelation 10:6 mentions the Divine oath that there would be “time no longer”, immediately followed by the prediction of a future event under the seventh trumpet. Here is a wealth of information. What kind of time would no longer be? The context itself declares that it is not the end of the world.

One might suppose that probationary time were referred to, but a Biblical understanding of the mystery of God that is yet to be fulfilled under the seventh trumpet would demonstrate that probation yet continues. Some other versions suggest the word “delay” for “time”, but the word used here is translated time in a number of other passages where its correctness could not be disputed.

The translators of other versions, realizing that the time could not be literal or probationary, gave their next best guess. But with such a solemn declaration, we would not expect God to leave us to suppose as to what kind of “time” He referred to in the prophecy. But what times have been referred to the context of the seven trumpets? Why, prophetic times have. Its most detailed fulfillments were found in the fifth and sixth trumpet. But after this solemn oath in Revelation 10:6, messages predicting events on the basis of definite time prophecies were no longer to test the church.

The fulfillment of the various time periods, and the preaching that accompanied that fulfillment, had its purpose. But time setting since the beginning of the Great Antitypical Day of Atonement has failed in every case where time has lasted long enough to prove its error.

The first verses in Revelation 11 conspicuously come before the sounding of the seventh trumpet, and if it were not so, we would be in perplexity, for they also contain time prophecies (cf. v. 3 and v. 9). But inspiration placed these pictures where there would be no excuse for the confusing of the facts—the last time prophecies were fulfilled before the sounding of the seventh trumpet, and the seventh trumpet is sounded before the close of probation. It is not within the scope of this paper to show that this declaration (the end of prophetic time) was made in 1844, but such the diligent Bible student will find on close examination.

11:14 The second woe is past; [and], behold, the third woe cometh quickly.

There was a period, short but ascertainable, between the end of the sixth trumpet and those events described in the first portion of the Revelation 11, and the sounding of the seventh trumpet.

11:15 And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become [the kingdoms] of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.

Revelation 10:7 highlights the fact that the seventh trumpet is not blown for a few minutes or hours. After it has blown for a period described as days, it is still just in its beginning. The fact that this voice is in heaven is proof enough that it is not spoken at the very moment of the seventh seal, a time when there is silence in heaven (Rev. 8:1) and while the heavenly host accompany Christ on His round trip to earth. That it is not spoken after the trip is assured from verses 17 and 18. This declaration immediately precedes its execution. The feudal kingdoms of this earth, for none of them are actually owned and each lord and king is subject to the Lord and King, need only the declaration of the true Possessor to forfeit the feudal agreement. The stewards have not been faithful, and their responsibility is removed, not by conquest, but by the simple Will of God.

11:16 And the four and twenty elders, which sat before God on their seats, fell upon their faces, and worshipped God,

Notice that these Holy beings, comfortably seated, did not hesitate to leave their seat and kneel, face to the ground, while in the act of Worshipping. Only Bereans (see Acts 17:10–11) should read the rest of this sentence, but the 24 elders are those that were raised at the special resurrection when our Saviour gave up His life at Golgotha.

11:17 Saying, We give thee thanks, O Lord God Almighty, which art, and wast, and art to come; because thou hast taken to thee thy great power, and hast reigned.
11:18 And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth.

What period is here portrayed? The nations have ceased fighting each other, and are experiencing the wrath of the Lamb in the seven last plagues. The time for the millennial investigative judgment, when we shall judge angels, has arrived, albeit the court is not yet in action. The culmination of that judgment will be execution of its verdicts—the reward of the earth to the meek, and of eternal destruction to the wicked.

11:19 And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament: and there were lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake, and great hail.

The timing of this event harmonizes chronologically with the statement of the 24 elders rather that with the final fulfillment of their prediction. Their statement is made as a prefix to the second coming, where we expect to see the Law of Jehovah, otherwise known as the “testimony”, revealed clearly to the world as the standard by which they are all to be judged in the millennium immediately following. No intercession continues to mix mercy with justice. The censor has been thrown down.

 

Time Line Emp. = Emperor

313 Constantine’s “conversion”, end of Persecution

321 1st Constantine’s Sunday Law

376 Visigoths permitted to cross lower Danube

395 Theodosius, Emp. of Rome, died

396 Visigoths overran Thrace, Macednonia, and Greece in East

406 2nd Vandals crossed the Rhine, began tormenting Gaul

410 Visigoths pillaged Rome. [later settled in Spain

428 Career of Genseric as Vandal leader begins

431 Vandals Straits of Gibraltar

451 3rd Huns stopped by Roman and German troops at Chalons 453 Attilla died

455 Vandals pillaged Rome, Remnants of Attilla’s empire begin new wave of destruction

468 Genseric’s forces destroy 1,113 Roman ships at Carthage

476 4th Western Rome Fell, last Emp. was Romulus, Odoacer became first Barbarian ruler of Italy.

(493–526) Theodoric, Odoacer’s successor and an Ostrogoth declared Royalty, with reluctant consent of the East

508 Clovis gave Western Rome to Pope

538 Belasarius defeats Ostrogoths at Rome

541 Roman Consulship ended by Justinian

552 Narses, Belasarius’ successor defeats Goths and Rome

628 Chosroes (Khosrau II), Emp. of Persia, murdered, 5th-a leaving Persian empire nearly powerless

624 Mohammed fights against Meca

632 Abu-bekr succeeds Mohammed

(610–641) Heraclius I, Emp. of Rome, weakens nation exponentially

669 Mohammed flees Meca

(1299–1346) Osman (Othman) Sultan and founder of Ottoman empire

1299 5th-b July 27, first attack of Osman against Romans

1449 6th January, Constantinople lost its independence to the Sultan of the Ottoman empire by an act of base submission on the part to the last Greek Emp.—Constantine

1451 Mohomet II becomes Sultan

1453 Constantinople violently taken after siege by Sultan

1840 August 11, Ottoman empire lost its independence

1843 Giving of first and second angel’s messages

1844 Declaration “time no longer” from Revelation 10.

Indefinite—7th angel began to sound, mystery of God is being finished.

Close of Probation

2nd Coming

Millenial Judgment for 1,000 years

Reward of Saints and Executive Judgment on wicked

SCRIPTURE INDEX

Mt. 24             Rev. 1:7           Ez. 2:9–10       Ez. 4:6             Rev. 5:1           Zech. 6:13
Rom. 2:3–9     Hab. 3:4          Dan. 9:24        Mal. 3:1           Phil. 2:6           Rev. 16:18
Dan. 2             Dan. 7             Amos 4            Ex. 7–12          2 Thes. 2          Rev. 2:13
Rev. 17:15       Ez. 20:47         Ez 21:3–4        Dan. 4             Is. 37:27          Is. 40:6–7
1 Pt. 1:24         Lk. 23:31         DA 794           Jer. 51:25–26   Jer. 9:13–15     2 Chron. 35:20–31
Rom. 13:4       Rev. 1:20         Gen. 37:9–10  Heb. 1:14        Ez 16               Rev. 2:14,20
Ps. 91              Rom. 3:1         Dan. 7:25        Lev. 4:18,25,30                       Job 19:23–25
Jer. 17:1           Ex. 20:8–11     Ez. 20:12,20    Rom. 1:22–25 Acts 17:10–11 DA 628
GC 334–5       COL 294         20MR 197       GC 641           EW 279–281   AA 25.

For a Word Doc, click here:


[1] January 24, 2005—in the ten years since this was written my understanding of the seal has grown considerably. See www.canvassing.org/docs and read the article “The Seal of God and the Mark of the Beast.”

Revelation 10 and the Seven Thunders

The Seven Thunders

 

Just before the Day of Atonement, on the new moon of the seventh month, there was a feast called “The Feast of Trumpets.” This feast represented the end-time movement that would announce the coming of the judgment, the “Advent Movement.”

 

It was a world-wide movement with prominent men on every inhabited continent (including Wolfe, Lacunza, Bengel, Miller, Irving, as some of the most prominent.)

 

What they were announcing was recently unsealed knowledge. Not until “the end” could the time prophecies of Daniel be understood. These had been sealed. And this is why, for example, that Paul could not speak “particularly” about the Most Holy Place ministry of Christ in Hebrews 9.

 

A prophecy about this Advent Movement is found in Revelation 10. There we find the book of Daniel, “a little book”, being unsealed. And when it is unsealed, “seven thunders” utter their “voices.”

 

We don’t normally associate “voices” with “thunders.”

 

But when we look at what happened after the book was unsealed in 1798, we find, indeed, that messages around the world announced the advent to be near. These “voices” gave a “loud cry” to get ready for Christ’s return.

 

John was going to write down what the voices cried, but was told not to. Those truths were to be “sealed up.” Of course, they wouldn’t be sealed forever. John was writing this long before 1798 and the messages of the messengers could not yet be revealed.

 

The next thing that happens in Revelation 10 is the 1844 declaration that “time will be no longer.”

 

And so we can confidently place the timing of the 7 Thunders as happening during the giving of the first and second angel’s messages, during the work of the Advent movement prior to 1844. This correlates precisely with the timing and content of the Feast of Trumpets. God foretold through the yearly feasts and again, through Revelation, that there would be a significant announcement of the coming Judgment.

 

What does Ellen White say about this passage? She mentioned the seven thunders one time during her life-time of writing, and that was in the year 1900.[1]

 

And what she said is exactly what we should have expected her to say even if she had not yet said it:

 

The special light given to John which was expressed in the seven thunders was a delineation of events which would transpire under the first and second angels’ messages. It was not best for the people to know these things, for their faith must necessarily be tested. In the order of God most wonderful and advanced truths would be proclaimed. The first and second angels’ messages were to be proclaimed, but no further light was to be revealed before these messages had done their specific work. This is represented by the angel standing with one foot on the sea, proclaiming with a most solemn oath that time should be no longer.

 

Some may wonder why I quote this paragraph first when it comes second in the original. The answer is that many persons, it seems, have been confused in their understanding of the verb tenses in the first of the two paragraphs. Here is the paragraph:

 

After these seven thunders uttered their voices, the injunction comes to John as to Daniel in regard to the little book: “Seal up those things which the seven thunders uttered.” These relate to future events which will be disclosed in their order. Daniel shall stand in his lot at the end of the days. John sees the little book unsealed. Then Daniel’s prophecies have their proper place in the first, second, and third angels’ messages to be given to the world. The unsealing of the little book was the message in relation to time. The books of Daniel and the Revelation are one. One is a prophecy, the other a revelation; one a book sealed, the other a book opened. John heard the mysteries which the thunders uttered, but he was commanded not to write them.

 

The confusing thing here, for some persons, is that Ellen White is writing the first paragraph, in terms of chronology, from the perspective of John.

 

The seven thunders were future to John, but not to us.

Daniel standing in his lot was future to John, but not to us.

John “sees” is present to John and is long past to us.

 

But the second paragraph, quoted already, clears this up nicely and leaves no ground for misunderstanding. Yet, if people do not read the other paragraph, or if they do not realize it is part of the same document, they might not get the help they need.

 

Still, if they had read Ellen White’s other statements on Daniel standing in his lot (or, on the timing of the first and second angel’s messages), they would not get so confused by the tenses.[2]

 

The time has come for Daniel to stand in his lot. The time has come for the light given him to go to the world as never before. If those for whom the Lord has done so much will walk in the light, their knowledge of Christ and the prophecies relating to Him will be greatly increased as they near the close of this earth’s history (MS 176, 1899).

 

Those who become confused in their understanding of the Word, who fail to see the meaning of antichrist, will surely place themselves on the side of antichrist. There is no time now for us to assimilate with the world. Daniel is standing in his lot and in his place. The prophecies of Daniel and of John are to be understood. They interpret each other. They give to the world truths which every one should understand. These prophecies are to be witnesses in the world. By their fulfillment in these last days they will explain themselves.  {7BC 949.6}

 

Daniel is today standing in his lot, and we are to give him place to speak to the people. Our message is to go forth as a lamp that burneth. {AUCR, March 11, 1907 par. 10}

 

Conclusion

 

The Seven Thunders have uttered their voices. The events of these last days have fulfilled them and explained them. They were prophecies of the events to take place during the mighty Advent Movement that while it announced the coming Judgment.  They were the fulfillment of the antitypical Feast of Trumpets, which sounded at the beginning of the “seventh month” just nine days before the Day of Atonement.

 

Should men understand the thunders today? Yes, indeed. We should know what happened during the giving the Advent Message. Daniel is standing in his lot and we should give him a chance to speak.

For a Word Doc, see: Rev_10 – The_Seven_Thunders



[1] The CD ROM shows eight hits for “seven thunders,” but all of these are from two paragraphs in this one manuscript that are quoted in several different books. These quotes are from MS 59, 1900.

[2] A similar use of tenses is found in the Great Controversy, p. 488, and is quoted widely in other books. There Ellen White speaks of the opening of the 1844 judgement with future tense verbs and speaks of that as the time when all of us, with Daniel, must stand in our lot during the judgement. Following that, she warns, we must meet the “Judge face to face.”