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Readings in the Book of
The Revelation
As we read on now we need to remember that there are three aspects to a time prophecy – a local understanding, a long-term picture of events, and a final one-generation experience. Up till now we have been looking mostly at John’s experience and our own, but now we must also think in terms of 2,000 years of history to be able to better comprehend the future. (A wise man once said that if we would know the future we need to understand the past, for history simply repeats itself, IN PRINCIPLE. See note 1.) Please note that I’m not suggesting that these exact events will re-occur, but that SIMILAR problems as these will beset us, and because there is no explanations of these trumpet warnings we need to consult history for our answers.
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Revelation 8:
1 And when He [the Son of God] had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour [a short length of time].
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When the seventh seal was broken and the scroll was fully unrolled there was a shocked silence amongst the onlookers in heaven. No one had expected what they now saw! John and his fellow-Christians particularly found it hard to accept. What did they see?
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Revelation 8:
2 And I saw the seven angels which stood before God; and to them were given seven trumpets [instruments of warning, Numbers 10:2 etc.].
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They saw seven mighty angels being given trumpets with which to warn God’s people of terrible political events to come. The followers of God in that early time (100AD onwards) needed to know that the Spirit of God really has control of this world despite the events which were to happen, especially during the ten years from 303AD to 313AD when it appeared that their branch of the church could be wiped out completely. They were to suffer two centuries of direct persecution and then watch political and religious crises for the next three.
And we also need to know! Only as we trust Him completely will we be able to live through the times that lie ahead, for we too will face what appears to be complete extinction. Remember these words?
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Matthew 24:
4 And Jesus answered and said to them, “Take heed that no man deceive you.
5 For many shall come in My name, saying, ‘I am [of] Christ [Christian]’; and [they] shall deceive many [with their teachings]. 6 “And you shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that you be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. 7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places [all over the world there’ll be great political and natural disasters].
8 “All these are the beginning of sorrows [for the rejecters].
9 “Then shall they [the antichrists] deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and you shall be hated of all nations for My name's sake. 10 And then shall many [in the church] be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. 11 And many [more] false prophets [teachers] shall rise, and shall deceive many.
12 “And because iniquity shall abound [in the church], the love of many shall wax cold. 13 But he that shall endure to the end, the same shall be saved”.
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In another place He said:
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Matthew 10:
34 Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. 35 For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law [as they choose or reject Me]. 36 And a man's foes shall be they of his own household. [Consider “One will be taken and the other left!” Matthew 24:40-41.]
[Jesus seems to have based His words on an Old Testament statement.]
Micah 7:
5 Trust you not in a friend, put you not confidence in a guide [a leader]: keep the doors of your mouth from her that lies in your bosom. 6 For the son dishonours the father, the daughter rises up against her mother, the daughter in law against her mother in law; a man's enemies are the men of his own house.
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When this happens we will certainly need the experience mentioned next. To show it the Son of God changed His image from a Lamb to the High Priest.
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Revelation 8:
3 And another Angel came and stood at the altar [of prayer, in the sanctuary in heaven], having a golden censer; and there was given to Him much incense, that He should offer it with the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne. 4 And the smoke of the incense [representing the righteousness of Christ], which came with the prayers of the saints, ascended up before God out of the Angel's hand.
[This was the reality, the picture of which was shown by the high priest
on the Day of Atonement. See note 2.]
5 And the Angel took the censer, and filled it with fire of the altar, and cast [sent] it into the earth [for His people to imitate]: and there were voices [with a great show of approval], and thunderings, and lightnings, and an earthquake [heaven-quake?].
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Here we are shown a picture of the concern our High Priest feels. He cannot live our experiences for us, but He can show that He knows what they are about, and that He is pleading with His Father for us. (As He did for Peter, Luke 22:31-32.) Then He sends us the censer that we all may see that everything in obedience, in penitence, in praise and thanksgiving must be placed upon the glowing fire of His righteousness to a depth that has never been experienced before.
The religious services, the prayers, the praise, the penitent confession of sin ascend from us as incense to the heavenly sanctuary; but passing through our corrupt channels of humanity, they are so defiled that unless purified by Christ’s “blood” [the bullock’s blood], they can not be of value with God. They don’t ascend in spotless purity, and unless the Intercessor who is at God's right hand purifies all by His righteousness and presents them, they’re not acceptable to God. At that time all incense from our earthly tabernacles must be moist with the cleansing drops of the special “[bullock’s] blood” of Christ. At that time He will hold before the Father the censer of His own merits, in which there is no taint of earthly corruption. He will gather into this censer the prayers, the praise, and the confessions of His people, and with these He will put His own spotless righteousness. Then, perfumed with the merits of Christ's propitiation, the incense (our prayers) will come up before God wholly and entirely acceptable, although we won’t know it except by faith. Do you remember His comments on the widow story? Note 4, Luke 18:7-8.
But let’s get back to the future:
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Revelation 8:
6 And the seven angels which had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound.
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.
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Right after the acted-out message of faith and hope, the seven angels lifted up their trumpets, ready to blow one after the other. Because the main emphasis is for us who will live through the experiences they are warning about, we need to know what they are, but future events are going to be so bad that the LORD does not explain them in detail to us, merely expecting us to see from history what they might be like. I’ll share with you my knowledge of past events so that you may see the broad scope of what is going to happen.
But first, from my library:
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The power of the Holy Ghost must be upon us, and the Captain of the LORD's host will stand at the head of the angels of heaven to direct the battle. Solemn events before us are yet to transpire. Trumpet after trumpet is to be sounded, vial after vial poured out one after another upon the inhabitants of the earth. Scenes of stupendous interest are right upon us . . .
It is impossible to give any idea of the experience of the people of God who shall be alive upon the earth when celestial glory and a repetition of the persecutions of the past are blended. They will walk in the light proceeding from the throne of God. By means of the angels there will be constant communication between heaven and earth [at first]. And Satan, surrounded by evil angels, and claiming to be God, will work miracles of all kinds, to deceive, if possible, the very elect. God's people will not find their safety in working miracles, for Satan will counterfeit the miracles that will be wrought. God's tried and tested people will find their power in the sign spoken of in Exodus 31:12-18. They are to take their stand on the living word: “It is written”. This is the only foundation upon which they can stand securely.
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As we proceed we must remember that history books are written by the survivors, and are not necessarily accurate in detail, but we can glean enough from the stories of the past to get a glimpse of what it will be like in the future. Here’s what I see in it.
My history book tells me that the “hail and fire” that devoured “a third part of the trees” and “ALL the green grass” in the past probably occurred between 396AD and 418AD. This happened in the European part of the Roman Empire. The Goths, an east Germanic people originally from Scandinavia, moved into today’s Poland, spread into present-day Turkey, and often attacked the Empire during that period. Their most famous leader was Alaric who conquered the city of Rome in 410AD.
They eventually took up the Arian faith, which teaches that the Son of God came into existence after God, and is therefore, inferior to Him, a created Person, although divine. Later, when they divided into the Visi [western]goths and Ostro [eastern]goths they established themselves in Spain and Italy. The Ostrogoths are believed to have been one of the three “horns” plucked up by the roots by the “little horn” of the Papacy around 508AD. (Daniel 7:8.)
All this must have had a great impact on the Christians of those times. Occasionally they must have felt that their world was coming to an end and that the second coming could not be far off! But the end result was that around 538AD the bishop of Rome became the “father” (pope) of professed Christianity, and as such “saved” Europe from the “barbarians”.
But that was not all – there was more to come, for all those five centuries were turbulent ones in different areas!
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Revelation 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; 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.
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Political events now moved into the Mediterranean. From about 428AD to 468AD the Vandals from North Africa (they had originally come from the north down through Spain), began maritime attacks on the ships of Rome. There were all sorts of political “to-ings and fro-ings during this period but in time, they too, were “uprooted” by the Roman church because they were Arian and disapproved of the Catholic trinity. (I believe that the Vandals gave their name to modern-day desecrators because of their scorched-earth policies and senseless destruction.) They were the second of the three “horns” (out of ten) plucked up by the roots, which is why they no longer exist as a nation.
The Spirit of God uses the words “a third part” to explain that although multitudes would suffer and die in these trumpet times, the world would not come to an end. (The Roman Empire was first split into two parts by Diocletian, which became definite around 395AD, and occasionally there were even three emperors, so the people of the times didn’t find it hard to accept what the Spirit was illustrating. See notes 5 and 7.)
So it will be for us. There will be horrific things happening all around us (such as the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami in Asia and the New Orleans disaster of August 2005 and the “terrorist” attacks), but we must cling to the word of the Son of God that “the end is not yet”, in fact, they are only “the beginning of sorrows”. Matthew 24:6-8.
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Revelation 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; 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.
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By now we should be getting the picture. First the problems came from the north, then from the south, and now we are being told of invasions from the mountains of Europe, for the “fountains of waters” is in the high country. This imagery covers the whole of the western Roman world. This third “trumpet” was a very bad scourge in that “many men died”. My understanding of history is that it is the Huns under Attila that are being described here as they attempted to destroy the western part of the Roman Empire when the professed Christians turned away from God.
The allusion to “wormwood” is explained by an Old Testament prophet.
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Jeremiah 9:
13 And the LORD said, “Because they have forsaken My law which I set before them, and have not obeyed My voice, neither walked therein [so I could protect them]; 14 but have walked after the imagination of their own heart [chosen their own way], and [followed] after Baalim [gods of force], which their fathers taught them: 15 therefore thus said the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will feed them, even this people, with wormwood [bitter food], and give them water of gall to drink 16 I will scatter them also among the heathen, whom neither they nor their fathers have known: and I will send a sword after them, till I have consumed them”.
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Revelation 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.
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Although a complete collapse of law and order looked inevitable, the Spirit was able to assure His people that it would not – enough natural humans would survive for a recovery. What He meant by the sun, moon and stars were the officials of the various governments. From 476AD to 566AD the governments of Europe were rocked by the events of the fourth “trumpet”, and that, no doubt, is what is going to happen again, only this time to all the governments of the world. Out of utter political chaos the antichrist of that time (the one in place of) will arise and “save the world” again. (The 6th “head” of the beast will give way to the 7th in the United States, to be quickly followed by the 8th all over the world. Revelation 17:10-11.)
But all this was (and will be) only “the beginning of sorrows! (In John’s time there were at least 1260 years of religious troubles to come!) But we should note that the events of the future will NOT require five centuries to be fulfilled, nor 1260 years! See note 6.
I don’t know how or when these events will occur for us, but I believe I do have an understanding as to why.
As some of the members of the Laodicean branch of the church take advantage of the LORD’s offers and become Christians in heart, mind and body (true Sabbath-keeping), the devil will attempt to eliminate them. At first all he will be able to do is interfere with the general public of the nations, causing havoc and mayhem wherever he can. This in turn, will have an effect on the physical world. As this increases he will urge his religious followers to regard these events as “punishments” from an angry God and suggest methods to placate Him. Then, as the real Christians obey the Sunday laws that are passed (there’ll probably be four of them), Satan will step up his destructions! (But as apostasy in the church increases so he will be able to do more to Christ’s “bride”.) An extra religious law will then be voted in which the people of God cannot obey, for it will require them to give up the Sabbath.
It will be only a short step from that to get his people to blame the real Christians as being different (Sabbath-keepers) from the professed Christians (Sunday-keepers) and therefore they are the cause of the problems, and they will be classed as “outlaws” or “traitors” and condemned to death. See note 3, 1 Kings 18:17-18.
But we will see more on this later in The Revelation. Right now we are being advised that the last events will be even worse!
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Revelation 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 first four were bad enough, but next comes the really bad ones.]
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Bye for now, Ron
Some of the comments in these readings are adapted from books in my library. No recognition is given because they are not intended as authorities, but are used because they express my understanding clearly. All the ideas expressed in these readings, right or wrong, are my own.
Some of these readings are available at http://www.oocities.org/weprotest.geo/BibleReadings/books_index.html
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Ecclesiastes 1:
9 The thing that has been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun. 10 Is there any thing whereof it may be said, “See, this is new?” It has been already of old time, which was before us. Back
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Leviticus 16:
12 And he [the high priest] shall take a censer full of burning coals of fire from off the altar before the LORD, and his hands full of sweet incense beaten small, and bring it within the [second] veil: 13 and he shall put the incense upon the fire [in the censer] before the LORD, that the cloud of the incense may cover the Mercy Seat that is upon the testimony [The Ten Commandments], that he die not . . . 17 And there shall be no man in the tabernacle of the congregation [the first apartment] when he goes in to make an atonement in the holy place [the second apartment], until he come out, and have made an atonement for himself, and for his household, and for all the congregation of Israel. [For the last little while we will have to live without a Mediator.] Back
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1 Kings 18:
17 And it came to pass, when Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab said to him, “Are you he that troubles Israel?” 18 And he answered, “I have not troubled Israel; but you, and your father's house, in that you have forsaken the commandments of the LORD, and you have followed Baalim” [the gods of force and punishment]. Back
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Luke 18:
7 And shall not God avenge His own elect, which cry day and night to Him, though He bear long with them? [seems to delay] 8 I tell you that He will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man comes, shall He find faith [that can wait] on the earth? Back
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Empire
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The end of the Roman Empire is traditionally, if not strictly accurately, placed at 4 September AD 476, when the last emperor of the Western Roman Empire, Romulus Augustus, was deposed and not replaced. However, Diocletian, who retired in AD 305, was the last sole Emperor of an undivided Empire whose capital was the City of Rome. After the division of the Empire by Diocletian into East and West, each branch continued to style itself as "The Roman Empire." The Western Roman Empire declined and fell apart during the 5th and 6th centuries. The Eastern Roman Empire (which would later adopt Greek as its main language), known largely today as the Byzantine Empire, preserved Greco-Roman legal and cultural traditions along with Hellenic and Orthodox Christian elements for another millennium, until its eventual collapse at the hands of the Ottoman Empire in 1453. [We would call the Ottomans “Turks” or “Muslims” today.]
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http://www.truechurchofgod.info/id103.htm
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In the year 1449, at the death of the emperor of the Eastern Empire of Rome, that empire had dwindled almost to the very walls of the capital itself. And so certain did it seem that the capital itself must shortly fall, that the successor to the throne would not accept the place without the knowledge and permission of Amurath, the sultan of the Turks. And thus that empire at that time really passed under the control of the Turkish power; and all that remained to complete the blotting out of the empire in every respect, was the actual taking of the capital, which was accomplished by Mahomet II, May 29, 1453. Back
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Romans 9:
27 Esaias [Isaiah] also cries concerning Israel, “Though the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, a remnant shall be saved: 28 for He will finish the work, and cut it short in righteousness: because a short work will the LORD make upon the earth”. [Isaiah 10:21-23.] Back
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diocletian
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The question of imperial succession had never been solved in the Roman system; there was no clear principle of succession, which often led to civil wars. Earlier Emperors had preferred the system of adoption, under which they would adopt a son and heir. The military did not like the system of adoption and preferred biological succession, with the emperor's son being the rightful heir. The Senate believed they should have the right to elect a new emperor. Thus there were usually at least three, if not many more, rightful heirs of succession.
In order to solve the problem of succession, and to answer the question of who would be Emperor of the newly divided East and West, Diocletian created what has become known as the system of "Tetrarchy", or "rule of four", whereby a senior emperor would rule in the East and another senior emperor would rule the West, and each would have a junior emperor. Among the many titles traditionally bestowed on Roman emperors, the most important was that of Augustus and therefore only the two senior emperors took this title, with the junior emperors receiving the lesser title of Caesar. Diocletian intended that when the senior emperor retired or died, the Caesar would take his place and choose a new junior emperor Caesar, thus solving the problem of succession.
By 292, Diocletian had the system in place and chose the Eastern Empire for himself and gave Maximian the Western Empire. The imperial power was now divided between two people. The two men established separate capitals, neither of which was at Rome.* The ancient capital was too far removed from the places where the empire's fate was decided by force of arms. While improving the ability of the two emperors to rule the empire, the division of power further marginalized the Senate, which remained in Rome. In 293, Diocletian and Maximian each appointed a Caesar (Galerius and Constantius, respectively), formally adopting them as their heirs. However, these were not merely successors - each was given authority over roughly a quarter of the Empire . . .
In 305, Diocletian retired and Maximian was persuaded to do the same. The two Caesars became the senior emperors as designed, but when it came time to choose new Caesars, the military and Senate intervened and brought forward their own candidates. In 306, Constantine started a civil war in the west, which he won in 312. He took the eastern half from Licinius by 324 and ruled the entire empire until his death in 337. Power was fractured again under Constantine's sons. Though the throne was nominally unified under, among others, Julian, Valentinian I, and Theodosius I, by 395 the division between the eastern and western halves was permanent.
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* [They were Milan and Nicomedia (aka Constantinople). Although Rome ceased to be an operational capital, the 'Eternal City' continued to be nominal capital of the entire empire, not reduced to the status of a province but under its own, unique Prefect of the City (praefectus urbis, later copied in Constantinople).] Back
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