The Seven Churches, Seals, & Trumpets

Sep 15

Written By Gabriel Taylor

The Seven Churches, Seals, & Trumpets

INTRODUCTION – 7 CHURCHES

Jesus introduces Himself.

All 7

“I know thy works…”

All 7

Jesus gives a rebuke.

Ephesus
Pergamos
Thyatira
Sardis
Laodicea

Jesus commands to repent and the consequence for not repenting.

Ephesus
Pergamos
Sardis
Laodicea

Jesus gives approbation/admonition.

Ephesus
Smyrna
Thyatira
Sardis
Philadelphia

“He that hath an ear…”

All 7

“To him that overcometh…”

All 7

AN OVERVIEW OF THE SEVEN SEALS

The seven churches, the seven seals, and the seven trumpets all cover the same time period, just with a different emphasis for each category. It is also quite interesting to note that there are three categories here, each with seven periods of time. Without further ado, it is time to start digging into the Word of God.

First, let us study the purpose of the book of the Seven Seals. We first find this book mention in Revelation 5:1. God the Father is sitting on His throne, with the sealed book in His hands. An angel is then heard in Heaven asking who is worthy to not only open the book, but to loose the seals. But no man was found able to open the book, or even to look at it. The word for look also literally means to "to know by experience, understand, to consider, to weigh carefully, examine, take heed."

This is important, because, as we will soon see, the book of the seven seals has to do with our salvation, and the execution thereof. Therefore, only the One who has successfully paid the price for our sins can open the book and its seals. But because John saw that no one was worthy, he wept. But then, one of the elders told him not to weep, because Jesus, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has been found worthy.

And how has He been found worthy? Revelation 5:5 says He prevailed. This word literally means "to conquer, to subdue, overcome, prevail, get the victory." Jesus became a man, but not just a man, He became a baby. He grew up as you and I do. He learned to walk, talk, and be obedient. He lived a sinless life, relying on the Father to do so, to show us that it is possible to do the same. We are to rely on His power to save, and to keep us from falling. And He made certain the redemption of the saints when He died on the cross. What a Savior!

“But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement.” (Romans 5:8-11, King James Version).

In ancient Israelite culture, if someone fell on hard times, they could sell their property. At the year of jubilee, the Law of God bound the buyer to return it. But it was possible for a return to the original owner to be made before the year of Jubilee. However, the redemption of the property could be negotiated only by the nearest of kin, or the nearest relative. We see this illustrated in the book of Ruth, when Boaz wanted to redeem Naomi's property, but had to give the one nearer of kin the opportunity first.

This is also what happened in Genesis. When Adam sinned, he forfeited, one could even say he sold, his rightful authority over this planet to Satan. But before the fallen pair were evicted, God gave the promise of redemption. Eventually, this planet would be redeemed, and the ransom price was nothing less than the life of the Son of God Himself. This is what the sealed book of Revelation 5 and 6 points to.

However, any time a person wanted to redeem property, he not only had to go to the person he sold it to, but they both had to go to the proper authorities who would then act as judge in the case. The claims must be thoroughly investigated to see if this person was indeed worthy and the rightful owner, or heir, of the property.

And that leads us to the Investigative Judgment. Before Jesus can return, He must investigate the claims of all who name His Name. He is going through the books of Heaven, erasing some names from the Book of Life, and adding other names to it. This is the antitypical, or the prophetic reality, of the ancient Israelite Day of Atonement. This is why we must examine ourselves to see if we really are Christians, and if not, repentance is imperative.

"Christ Himself will decide who are worthy to dwell with the family of heaven. He will judge every man according to his words and his works." — (Christ's Object Lessons, page 74, Ellen G. White.)

"The Ancient of Days is God the Father...It is He, the source of all being, and the fountain of all law, that is to preside in the judgment...Attended by heavenly angels, our great High Priest enters the holy of holies, and there appears in the presence of God, to engage in the last acts of His ministration in behalf of man,—to perform the work of investigative judgment." — (The Great Controversy, pages 479, 480.

"Because He is the Son of man." "Because He has tasted the very dregs of human affliction and temptation, and understands the frailties and sins of men; because in our behalf He has victoriously withstood the temptations of Satan, and will deal justly and tenderly with the souls that His own blood has been poured out to save,—because of this, the Son of man is appointed to execute the judgment." — (The Desire of Ages, page 210, Ellen G. White.)

AN OVERVIEW OF THE SEVEN CHURCHES

We see in the introduction to the church of Ephesus something very important, even vital, to our faith as God’s people. Jesus Christ, our Messiah and Savior, is seen as walking among the seven golden candlesticks. Revelation 2:1. In Revelation 1:20, we see that Jesus Himself specifies that the seven candlesticks are the seven churches, and the seven stars also mentioned, are the angels of the seven churches.

“Christ is spoken of as walking in the midst of the golden candlesticks. Thus is symbolized His relation to the churches. He is in constant communication with His people. He knows their true state. He observes their order, their piety, their devotion. Although He is high priest and mediator in the sanctuary above, yet He is represented as walking up and down in the midst of His churches on the earth. With untiring wakefulness and unremitting vigilance, He watches to see whether the light of any of His sentinels is burning dim or going out. If the candlesticks were left to mere human care, the flickering flame would languish and die; but He is the true watchman in the Lord’s house, the true warden of the temple courts. His continued care and sustaining grace are the source of life and light.” – (Acts of the Apostles, page 586.)

“Christ is represented as holding the seven stars in His right hand. This assures us that no church faithful to its trust need fear coming to nought, for not a star that has the protection of Omnipotence can be plucked out of the hand of Christ.” – (Acts of the Apostles, page 586.)

The seven churches not only existed literally at the time of John, but they also represent different periods of Church history. For example, the time period of Ephesus lasted until about 100 AD, while the church of Laodicea began in the 1840s and will continue until the end of time on this earth. In each period of church history, God had already prepared a message for them, including us today. But also, each period of church history can represent different aspects of the Christian walk with God.

Many people leave their first love, as did Ephesus, and God, in His infinite and tenderest mercy, sends them warnings. Many today are Laodicean, and feel no need of a Savior. Still others have compromised their faith, as did Pergamos and Thyatira. But none who desire genuine repentance need fear, for the promise is that God will not cast anyone out who comes to Him. John 6:37.

AN OVERVIEW OF THE SEVEN TRUMPETS

Trumpets in the Bible represent judgment, or loud warning that God is approaching. In fact, ancient Israel had a Feast of Trumpets. This was 10 days before the Day of Atonement. This feast of trumpets was also to remind the people that the day of judgment was coming up, and they needed to prepare for it.

Indeed, in our day, the judgments of God will soon fall on the earth. Some already have. But until the close of probation, these judgments will be mixed with mercy, to give sinners opportunity to repent. But once the door of probation closes, judgment will be poured out, undiluted with mercy, and the wicked will blaspheme God, according to Revelation 16.

EPHESUS, THE WHITE HORSE, & THE FIRST TRUMPET

In the ancient city of Ephesus, the pagan worship of the goddess Diana was quite popular. Silversmiths made money by making idols of her and selling them to the people. But then the apostle Paul came along and began preaching Christ. This preaching, with the power of the Holy Spirit, opened the eyes of many of the Ephesians and revealed to them their greatest need, a Savior. They saw that only by Jesus could they have their heart longings satisfied.

And so Christianity grew. It grew to the point that even the Jewish religious leaders had to admit the world was turned upside down. This was the era of Christianity of such purity that the church has really not known as a whole since. But even in this day, compromise began to find its way into the church. Unity became disunity. The church at Ephesus was an apt portrayal of the church as a whole during the first century after Christ.

Professor Walter Veith of Amazing Discoveries points out in this article:

“Paul beseeches the Ephesian Christians to live worthy of their calling to serve God (Ephesians 4:1-2). He explains to them afresh what it means to have put on Christ (Ephesians 4:17-24). His warning to "grieve not the holy Spirit" (Ephesians 4:30) is an indication of the intensity of the battle for the soul. Paul calls the Ephesians back to unity (Ephesians 4:3-6), and admonishes them not to sin but to walk in love and the light of the Gospel (Ephesians 4:26).”

Because of these falls from grace, Jesus found it necessary to send them a straight-forward and stern rebuke. But even with this, He commended what they were doing right, and gave them a promise of reward should the choose to repent. God never sends rebukes without also sending it in His love and without offers of redemption.

Ephesus was commended for having a hatred of hypocrisy, and a passion for spreading the Gospel. They were also commended for hating the deeds of the Nicolaitans. But they had left their first love. False teachers began coming in and urging heresies onto the genuine believers, and many were deceived by them. By the time John received the vision of the Revelation, the apostle Paul had been dead for some time. And he, through the Holy Spirit, had prophesied that “grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them.” (Acts 20:29-30, King James Version.)

What is the doctrine of the Nicolaitans? Jesus mentions in the letters to two of the churches that He hates their deeds, and also their doctrines. Revelation 2:6 (deeds) to the Ephesians, and Revelation 2:15 (doctrines) to Pergamos.

The Adam Clarke Commentary says:

“The Nicolaitanes taught the community of wives, that adultery and fornication were things indifferent, that eating meats offered to idols was quite lawful; and mixed several pagan rites with the Christian ceremonies.”

The Prophet of the Lord, Ellen G. White, says:

Is it [our sin] the sin of the Nicolaitans, turning the grace of God into lasciviousness (The Review and Herald, June 7, 1887)?

The doctrine is now largely taught that the gospel of Christ has made the law of God of no effect; that by “believing” we are released from the necessity of being doers of the Word. But this is the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which Christ so unsparingly condemned (The Signs of the Times, January 2, 1912).

We see this deadly deception being preached and accepted by most of Christianity today. The vast majority of Christians have accepted the teaching that the death of Jesus on the cross somehow has changed the law of God and has released us from obedience to God’s requirements. But if the law of God could be changed, then the death of Jesus was not necessary, and was completely in vain.

What does the Bible say about God’s Law? Here are just a few verses:

The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple. The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes. The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring for ever: the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb. (Psalm 19:7-10.)

Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. (Jude 1:21.)

For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous. (1 John 5:3.)

And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. (1 John 2:3-4.)

To Ephesus, Jesus promised that the overcomers would we able to eat of the tree of life, in the middle of the paradise of God. This is a promise of eternal life. The tree of life was what prolonged the lives of Adam and Eve for so long. Even after they were expelled from Eden and had not eaten this fruit ever again, it still prolonged their lives considerably. Eating of this tree in Heaven is a demonstration of our acknowledgement that we are dependent upon God for life, and everything else.

What happened to the Ephesian church in reality, happened to the Christian church as a whole in prophetic reality in the first century. The first century church began to lose its first love. They still had a regard and passionate love for the truth, and a hatred for lawlessness, but they could not hope to enter Heaven if they did not repent from falling away from Christ. Without love, spreading the Gospel will not work.

Correspondingly, the first seal is about the purity and righteousness of the first century Church, while she spread the Gospel. The first seal reads:

"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. And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer." (Revelation 6:1-2.)

Now, it is obvious we are dealing with symbolic language, therefore, we must uncover what these symbols mean. Borrowing from the Amazing Discoveries article on Bible prophecy symbols we know that:

Bow – Success in battle against evil – Psalms 7:11,12; Psalms 45:4,5
Horse – Strength & Power in Battle Special representatives/angel – Job 39:19, Psalms 147:10, Proverbs 21:31; Exodus 15:21; Isaiah 43:17; Jeremiah 8:6; Zechariah 1:8-10; 6:1-8
White (Color) – Purity – Revelation 12:9; 20:2
Crowns – Kingship, victory – 1 Chronicles 20:2; 2 Kings 11:12; Ezekiel 21:26,27; James 1:12; 2 Timothy 4:7,8; 1 Corinthians 9:25

As stated earlier, the seven churches, seals, and trumpets all cover the same time periods of Christian history. In this first seal, we see a picture of the victories gained by the first century church in the spread of the Gospel. Paul said the Gospel was preached to the world in his lifetime. The Jewish leaders said the Christians had turned the world upside down. Indeed, given the speed of the Gospel going forth, and the amount of conversions, these symbols in the first seal are an apt description of the first century church.

The Bride of Christ was indeed pure, though also defective as the message of the first church describes. Still, defective though she was, she loved her divine Husband. But as some marriages go, the wife begins to grow restless. She takes her eyes off of her House-band, and begins to cast desiring gazes upon another lover.

But our focus turns now towards the first trumpet, and from God’s Church, to the enemies of His Church. In the Bible, trumpets are used as a symbol of, and to warn of judgment. (Exodus 19:16-17; Joshua 6:4-5; Joel 2:1.) In fact, the Feast of Trumpets came 10 days before the Day of Atonement. To warn of judgment, means to call to repentance. God is not willing that any should perish, so He sends calls for repentance coupled with His warnings of judgment.

There is some debate over what the first trumpet means. But first, let’s take a look at the verse itself:

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. (Revelation 8:7.)

Now there is some obvious symbolism here. Hail, fire, and blood do not literally mix together in nature. So what do these symbols mean? Even though hail and fire don’t mix in nature, this was sent as a plague on Egypt. You can read about this in Exodus 9:18-33. Other texts that talk about hail as a judgment: Isaiah 28:2, 17; Job 38:22, 23; Haggai 2:17; Revelation 16:21.

But what about fire? Doesn’t that symbolize the Holy Spirit? It depends on the context. In Acts on the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit was revealed in the form of fire. But here in Revelation 8, fire does not refer to the Him. In this case, fire also refers to judgment. Here are just a few texts that deal with fire as judgment: Isaiah 29:6; Isaiah 66:16; Jeremiah 15:14; Jeremiah 17:27; Ezekiel 28:18. And there are more. Ezekiel 38:22 also refers to both hail and fire as judgments.

Blood was forbidden by God for His people to consume because it is life. Disease is also transmitted through blood. Even today, if there is a blood spill, you clean it up with caution, in order to avoid diseases that could be in the blood. This is why it is not a good idea to eat meat at all anymore. Without blood, you cannot live. Genesis 9:4; Deuteronomy 12:23; Leviticus 17:10, 14; Acts 15:20, 29. Blood in the first trumpet symbolizes loss of life. In the first trumpet, there was indeed tremendous loss of life. Soldiers had to climb over heaps of dead bodies in order to continue killing more people.

How about the trees and the green grass? Both represent people. Isaiah 40:6; 1 Peter 1:24-25 refer to people as grass. Matthew 21:18-22 and Luke 13:6-9 refer to Israel as a fig tree that was fruitless. In Matthew 21, Jesus cursed the fruitless fig tree, as a symbol of what would happen to Israel if they did not bear fruit. Jeremiah 11:16, Hosea 14:6, and Romans 11 refer to God’s people as an olive tree. So grass and trees represent people. Since both symbols are used, trees likely represent leaders.

But what could the first trumpet be referring to? There is some debate to this, but I believe it refers to none other than the destruction of Jerusalem. If the principle holds true, that the seven churches, seals, and trumpets all cover the same basic timeline, then we must look for something that happened in the first century of Church history. This is the same time period covered by the symbolic church of Ephesus, and the White Horse, the first seal.

At this point, Israel was no longer God’s people, according to the 490 year prophecy of Daniel 9. Having rejected Christ, both at Calvary, and at & for the final time at the stoning of Stephen, they had become the enemies of God. They had aligned themselves with Rome. The irony of this alignment, was that Romans armies were the ones that destroyed Jerusalem. God had no choice but to withdraw His protection from the nation that had rejected Him. That allowed Rome to come in and punish Israel.

The Jews had professed to be the chosen people of God. They claimed to be the true church, if you will. And as such, judgment must begin at them. Indeed, “judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?” (1 Peter 4:17.) God also said, “and begin at my sanctuary.” (Ezekiel 9:6.) Because the Jews had rejected Jesus, as was already stated, God was left with no choice but to send judgments on them.

Jesus Himself warned of these judgments in Matthew 24. He said things like, “There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.” (Matthew 24:2.) He then went on to prophesy things that would happen throughout the centuries, and on to the end of time. Some of these things happened during, and as the judgments prophesied by the Seven Trumpets. In Luke, Jesus is quoted as saying it this way:

And when ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh. Then let them which are in Judaea flee to the mountains; and let them which are in the midst of it depart out; and let not them that are in the countries enter thereinto. For these be the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled. (Luke 21:20-22.)

And indeed, Jerusalem, and the Jewish nation, was judged, just as Jesus said, both in the Gospels and in Revelation 8. These trumpets were calls for repentance not only to the ancient people, but to us today. God does not want to destroy us, so He sends us calls to repent. That’s what the judgments are for, is to warn of things to come, so that we have time to make Jesus our refuge.

SMYRNA, THE RED HORSE, AND THE SECOND TRUMPET

Smyrna was the church that, prophetically speaking, lasted from the early 100s AD, to the early 300s AD. It has no rebuke, only blessings and promise of reward. It is also known as the persecuted church. It is interesting to note, that the name of Smyrna, means, myrrh, or sweet fragrance. Indeed, this church was like a sweet smelling fragrance to her Savior and God. Persecution often cleanses out the hypocrites and leaves the genuine, sweet savor of a Christian.

Jesus introduces Himself to this church as the First and the Last, the one who was dead, and is alive. I find it fascinating that He brings His own death and resurrection to view. I think He did so in order to encourage the people in this church and time period of Christian history. This church was going to go through some incredibly rough persecution. More on that in a bit.

By introducing Himself as the First and the Last, Jesus is clearly identifying Himself as God. He is the Son of God, but He is every bit as much God, as God the Father is. There are people who claim that Jesus is not God, or that Jesus was created at some point in the past. Even the Jehovah’s Witnesses claim that Jesus is not God. But is this the case? Observe the following texts, and you will see Jesus is not only fully God, but He is the Creator, He was never created, and He is the God of the Old Testament. To claim Jesus is anything less is to say that He cannot be God, and if He is not God, He cannot be our Savior. But these texts make it plain that Jesus is fully God, the Creator, not the created.

Isaiah 44:6

Thus saith the LORD the King of Israel, and his redeemer the LORD of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God.

Isaiah 48:12

Hearken unto me, O Jacob and Israel, my called; I am he; I am the first, I also am the last.

Exodus 3:14

And God said unto Moses, I Am That I Am: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I Am hath sent me unto you.

John 8:58

Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.

Revelation 1:11

Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: and, What thou seest, write in a book, and send it unto the seven churches which are in Asia; unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea.

Revelation 1:17

And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last:

Revelation 2:8

And unto the angel of the church in Smyrna write; These things saith the first and the last, which was dead, and is alive;

Revelation 22:13

I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.

“It becomes every one to understand the Word of God. Men may present the theories of the truth, but unless they apply themselves to understand the truth, digging for it as for hid treasure, unless, by earnest research, under the discipline of the Holy Spirit, they understand the truth for themselves, it can never save them.

“When the students of prophecy shall set their hearts to know the truths of Revelation, they will realize what an importance is attached to this search. Christ Jesus is the Alpha and the Omega, the Genesis of the Old Testament, and the Revelation of the New. Both meet together in Christ. Adam and God are reconciled by the obedience of the second Adam, who accomplished the work of overcoming the temptations of Satan and redeeming Adam’s disgraceful failure and fall. The two Adams will meet in Paradise and embrace each other, while the dragon, the beast, and the false prophet, and all who have refused the opportunities and privileges given to them at such an infinite cost, and have not returned to their loyalty, will be shut out of Paradise.” (Ms33-1897, Ellen G. White.)

Jesus also introduced Himself as He who was dead and is alive, as was already stated. He likely did so to give hope to the church of this historic time period, because of they persecution they were going to go through. He wanted to remind them that because He conquered sin and death, and was resurrected, that they too would be resurrected if they were faithful to and in Him.

Jesus lives, and because He lives, we shall live also. From grateful hearts, from lips touched with holy fire, let the glad song ring out, Christ is risen! He lives to make intercession for us. Grasp this hope, and it will hold the soul like a sure, tried anchor. Believe, and thou shalt see the glory of God. – (The Desire of Ages, page 794.)

The resurrection and ascension of our Lord is a sure evidence of the triumph of the saints of God over death and the grave, and a pledge that heaven is open to those who wash their robes of character and make them white in the blood of the Lamb. Jesus ascended to the Father as a representative of the human race, and God will bring those who reflect His image to behold and share with Him His glory. – (Christian Experience and Teachings of Ellen G. White, 234.)

Christ the first fruits represented the great spiritual harvest to be gathered for the kingdom of God. His resurrection is the type and pledge of the resurrection of all the righteous dead. “For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with Him.” 1 Thessalonians 4:14. c (The Desire of Ages, page 785.)

Ministering angels are round about us giving us to drink of the water of life to refresh our souls in the closing scenes of life. There is a pledge from Him who is the resurrection and the life, that those who sleep in Jesus will Christ bring with Him from the grave. The trump will sound, the dead will awaken to life, to die no more. The eternal morning has come to them, for there will be no night in the city of God.— (Heaven 41.)

Jesus also says to Smyrna, “I know thy works.” He says this to every church. He knows intimately what they went through, what we go through today. He knows our trials, our questionable traits of character, etc.. The Lord knows each of us as much as if we were the only one alive. He also knew the tribulation and troubles they would go through. Under this prophetic time period, the church suffered times of persecution from various Roman emperors.

Jesus also knew their poverty, but He called them rich. They likely were did not have a lot of money as a church, but they had Jesus, which made them the wealthiest people in the world. God never promised us an easy life full of money, but He did promise us Himself. After all, as Jesus said, what profit will it do us, if we gain the world, but lose our salvation?

But there is a second group that contrasts with the people of God in Revelation 2:9. Jesus first commends the Smyrna Christians, and then contrasts them with the synagogue of Satan. This sounds similar to the commendation give to Ephesus when Jesus mentions that they have tried certain people, and found them to be false apostles. There have always ever only been two groups, and it started with Cain and Abel. These two brothers symbolize the entire history of humanity after the fall in Eden. Cain represents those who hate and fight against God and His 10 Commandment Law. Abel, however, represents those who love God, and are striving to be overcomers.

Christ speaks of the church over which Satan presides as the synagogue of Satan. Its members are the children of disobedience. They are those who choose to sin, who labor to make void the holy law of God. It is Satan’s work to mingle evil with good, and to remove the distinction between good and evil. Christ would have a church that labors to separate the evil from the good, whose members will not willingly tolerate wrong-doing, but will expel it from the heart and life (The Review and Herald, December 4, 1900).

The Great Controversy is here pictured in the church at and of Smyrna. It has always been about God’s Law. Satan’s argument in Heaven was that he could be righteous without God’s Law. He wanted to "sit in the sides of the north." (Isaiah 14:13.) On the north side of the Sanctuary was the table of shewbread. This represented the Word of God. He wanted control of the Word of God, and claimed that angels could trust their own hearts in order to be holy, instead of God and His Law. People who claim the Law has been done away with, who claim that grace gives us a license to sin, they are of the synagogue of Satan.

When we compare Revelation 2:9 with the above quote in The Review and Herald, there seems to be a connection between blasphemy and disobedience. Perhaps it could be said that those who are working the make void the Ten Commandments are committing blasphemy by doing so. The Bible defines blasphemy as claiming to be God and claiming to forgive sins, but these are not the only Biblical definitions.

For example, in Titus 2:3-5, Paul is speaking about how the role of women. In verse 5, the apostle connects the fulfilling of these roles, one of which is obedience to their husbands, as preventing the Word of God from being blasphemed. So, perhaps, disobedience is a form of blasphemy against God. In Matthew 12:31, Jesus is speaking about the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. And what is that? It is resisting the Holy Spirit to the point that we can no longer repent. In other words, it is continually disobeying and resisting God to the point of no return.

These false Jews/false Christians were going to heap fierce persecution upon the church. Many would be martyred for the sake of the Gospel. But even still, Jesus says, even commands, do not fear. In fact, the Greek of this phrase could be literally translated as, “Do not fear, not even one man, woman, or thing, that you are about to suffer.” And how could they obey this command? Only by keeping the eyes upon Jesus, and their faith in Him.

Jesus goes on to tell them what the devil is going to do to some of them. Jesus never promised us an easy ride. He is honest in telling us what is going to happen. He tells them that Satan is going to throw some of them into prison, and this will be a test of their faith. Jesus also tells them they will have tribulation for ten days. More on that in a bit. But in spite of these coming persecutions, Jesus commands them not to fear, and to be faithful unto death. The reward will be the crown of life placed upon their heads by none other than Jesus Himself.

This is also a message to us in these last days. God’s last day church is going to have the same character as the prophetic time period of the church of Smyrna. We will not make it through the time of trouble if we do not have this character, which is also the character of Jesus. We will be persecuted, slandered, and some will be martyred. Some of us will flee safely to the mountains. But others will be cast into prison, and our faith, no matter where we are, will indeed be tried. Be “thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.” (Revelation 2:10.)

As for the tribulation for ten days, there is a bit of debate as to the meaning. In prophetic symbolism, a prophetic day is a literal year. Though they had already been experiencing persecution under different emperors of Rome, the worst came under the emperor Diocletian, from 303 AD to 313 AD. But the edict of Milan in 313 effectively ended the prophetic time period of the church of Smyrna. And as a result of the loss of persecution, the church, in time, began to compromise. But more on that when we get to the church of Pergamos.

The promise given to the church of Smyrna was that they would not be hurt by the second death. They might die the first death, which in the eyes of God, is really just a sleep. We see this illustrated in John 11 when Jesus describes Lazarus and being asleep after he died. Again, this is a promise of eternal life. What could be better than living forever with Jesus?

For now, let us examine church history from the perspective of the second seal, the red horse.

“And when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second beast say, Come and see. 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.” (Revelation 6:3-4.)

The red horse is the big symbol of the second seal. Red is the color of sin, corruption, and war in Bible symbolism. (Isaiah 1:18, Revelation 17:1-4, Nahum 2:3, and Revelation 6:4.) As we have already discovered, horses are symbols of strength and power in battle in the Bible. They could also have been looked at as an indicator, or symbol of a nation’s strength. The red horse still covers the church, but from a different point of view.

Some say the red horse is the persecuting church. But if we follow the principle that the Churches, Seals, and Trumpets follow the same time periods of history, then the red horse cannot be the church of the dark ages. During the two centuries that covered the church of Smyrna, the church was not a persecuting power. It was, however, the persecuted Bride of Christ. It was still a pure church. Smyrna had no rebukes given to it. Even Ephesus can’t claim that one. Only Philadelphia of all the Seven can stand with Smyrna as having no rebuke. But more on Philadelphia quite a bit later in this study.

Pagan Rome was at this time period persecuting the church, off and on until about 180 AD. This seal says that power was given to the red horse to take peace from the earth. And indeed, once the Pax Romana was over, the persecution really kicked into gear. A sword was given to the rider of this horse, which is also a symbol of war. As was stated a few paragraphs ago, Diocletian really intensified the persecution, which is why Jesus said they would have trouble for 10 days, or 10 literal years. So this seal is really packed with symbols of war against God’s people.

The phrase, “that they should kill one another,” suggests strife, possible internally so, of the Roman empire. Also, in the third century, the 200s AD, the Roman empire was having problems on at least a couple of different fronts, the north and the east. An online article by Pat Southern, on the BBC website has this to say:

“Under pressure on two frontiers, the Romans started to squabble among themselves. Civilians distrusted their own armies and the soldiers distrusted some of their commanders - even the emperor to whom they had sworn allegiance. So they proclaimed new emperors.”

In this time period of the third century, the Roman army was apparently setting up and removing emperors at will. At one point, the army from varoius locations declared many different emperors. Southern goes on to say this:

“Some of these emperors survived for only a few months, despatched by rival armies or even by the troops who had recently proclaimed them. To be declared emperor once marked the apogee of a man's career. In the third century it was a death sentence.” (Emphasis my own.)

Southern goes on to describe how Valerian and Gallienus were declared joint emperors, father and son, and that it seemed possible to establish some kind of security. But less than 10 years after their appointment to rulership, it did not work.

It is clear that God is who He says He is. Fulfilled prophecy is what sets Him apart from all false gods. The Bible can be trusted! Let us trust God with all our hearts. He sent Jesus to die for us, and now He calls us to repentance, which He will give to us when we gaze at the cross. Speaking of repentance, let us now turn our attention to the third trumpet.

“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; 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.” (Revelation 8:8-9.)

As has been the case before in this study, let us uncover what these symbols mean:

Mountains – Kingdoms – Isaiah 2:2, 3; Jeremiah 17:3; 31:23; 51:24, 25; Ezekiel 17:22, 23; Daniel 2:35, 44, 45
Fire – Judgments – Isaiah 29:6; Isaiah 66:16; Jeremiah 15:14; Jeremiah 17:27; Ezekiel 28:18; Ezekiel 38:22
Sea – Populated areas of people – Revelation 17:15
Blood – Life – Genesis 9:4; Deuteronomy 12:23; Leviticus 17:10, 14; Acts 15:20, 29.
A Third – Apostasy -- Revelation 12
Creatures who had life – Those who heard the Gospel – Matthew 28:18-20; Colossians 1:13

Since mountains in the Bible represent kingdoms, and this one is on fire, this is either a kingdom falling apart, or being invaded, or even perhaps both. Now then, if we stick to the principle of these three groups of seven covering the same basic time periods, perhaps with some overlap, then we can see this burning mountain as Rome.

As discussed in the previous trumpet, Rome was God’s instrument in punishing Israel, who had ceased being God’s people, and had become His enemy. But as Paul had said, “the gospel…was preached to every creature which is under heaven…” (Colossians 1:23.) Therefore, Rome had an opportunity to become a legitimate part of God’s people. I say legitimate because Rome had become an illegitimate part of the church later on, hence the existence of the Vatican.

But Rome had rejected the Gospel. Even the emperor Nero heard the Gospel. There were Christians at every level of society. But Rome as a whole, just like Israel, had rejected Jesus. Therefore, it was, after a time, Rome’s turn to be punished. God always gives us time to repent, because God is love. Thus, as mentioned in the BBC article earlier, Rome began having some infighting.

They also were experiencing attacks from the European tribes, like the Vandals and the Visigoths. In an article you can read here, we find some information. In 395, the emperor Theodosius I divided the empire into two parts, giving them to his two sons to rule. However, they didn't exactly get along. Alaric of the Visigoths took advantage of this. In fact, History.com lists attacks by 4 different European barbaric tribes: the Gauls, the Visigoths, the Vandals, and the Ostragoths. We owe our modern word Vandalism, to the Vandals. The Vandals had attacked Rome in 455 AD and took everything of value. Rome indeed was punished.

But this leads us to a crucial point in Bible prophecy. In Paul’s day, the Thessalonians apparently had a misunderstanding. They thought Jesus was going to come in their day. But Paul had to make it clear that something had to happen first. Let’s read from Paul’s letter to them:

Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand. Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God. Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things? And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time. For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way. 8 And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness. (2 Thessalonians 2:1-12, King James Version.)

Notice what the apostle said here. The son of perdition, the man of sin, the lawless one, will show himself before the Second Coming. He also said that something was standing in the way of this son of perdition. That something was Rome, and later, that included the barbarian tribes. When Rome as an empire imploded on itself, and when the three barbaric tribes that opposed the Papacy were destroyed (by said Papacy), then the Pope seized control of the empire. That is when the Man of Sin revealed himself.

And the same thing is happening in our modern world. Revelation 13 predicts that the Vatican will once again seize control of the governments of the world. However, Protestantism and secular governments are currently standing in the way. This is why Pope Francis has been working, almost feverishly and with great speed, to unite all religions, and to make friends with all the worldly governments. Most of Protestantism has been removed out of his way, but there are still some things that are preventing him from taking control of the world. However, when the crisis hits, the world will look to him for leadership. And he will gladly take demonic control.

PERGAMOS, THE BLACK HORSE, AND THE THIRD TRUMPET

Pergamos is the age where we find the church beginning to compromise. As Pastor Ivor Myers said, Rome stretched its hand out to the church and said, “Will you marry me?” Remember what we said earlier, about the church? This is where she started casting her eyes on other potential lovers outside of Jesus. You see, what began happening was, Satan realized his tactic of brutal persecution was not working. So, through Rome, he disguised himself and proposed to the church, and compromised with her. Thus we begin entering into a dark age of the world.

To the church at Pergamos, Jesus introduces Himself as He “which hath the sharp sword with two edges…” (Revelation 2:12.) What is this sharp sword? Let us read two passages that clarify this:

And he hath made my mouth like a sharp sword; in the shadow of his hand hath he hid me, and made me a polished shaft; in his quiver hath he hid me; (Isaiah 49:2.)

For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. (Hebrews 4:12.)

We commonly understand that the Bible is the Sword of God mentioned here in Hebrews 4. However, Isaiah 49 gives us another angle to look at. This chapter, the first half anyway, is a Messianic prophecy. Verse 2 says the mouth of the Messiah is a sharp sword. But let’s take this a step further. John 1:1-3 calls Jesus the Word. Jesus and the Word of God are synonymous. But why would Jesus be a sharp sword? It is because when the Gospel is preached, it cuts to the heart. It reveals the hidden motives behind our actions.

Let’s face it. We’re all selfish by nature. As soon as Adam and Eve sinned, this became human nature. And until we truly accept Jesus, this is who we are. The Gospel reveals this. Jesus said He came to bring a sword. Matthew 10:34. This is only because that when the Gospel is shared, some will accept it, and some will not. Those who do not often persecute, to some degree, those who do accept Jesus. But when we truly follow Jesus, He is still a sharp sword, but this is a blessing. He cuts away our sinful nature, until we reflect His image perfectly. This is called sanctification. And it is a blessing, though it may not always seem as such.

The next thing that Jesus says, is, “I know thy works, and where thou dwellest, even where Satan’s seat is…” (Revelation 2:13.) Because Pergamos was situated in what is modern day Turkey, some Christians today think that is where the antichrist is, or will be. However, the Bible gives us all the information we need to know about who the antichrist is in the following chapters of the Bible: Daniel 7, 8, and 11; Revelation 11, 13, and 17. When we compile all these identifying factors from these chapters, it becomes clear that the antichrist is the Roman Catholic Papacy, or the Vatican. For an in depth study on that, please visit this study called, “Who is the Antichrist?” by Amazing Facts, as well as this one by the same ministry, called, “The Mark of the Beast.”

And indeed, when we are talking about the symbolic, historical time period of the church of Pergamos, I believe that the seat of Satan mentioned by Jesus is none other than the papal seat and papal power at Rome. How do we know this, though? This is the time period of Christianity where the church began compromising. It was not yet in complete apostasy. That came at 538 AD. Remember in the second trumpet where we talked about the man of sin. In this section of church history, there was still something standing in the way of papal dominance over Europe. Though the church began compromising, the papacy could not yet seize control because of that road block in their way. For prophetic Pergamos, the time period we are talking about is 313 AD to 538 AD.

However, even though there was major compromise happening, there were still those who held fast to Jesus, who did not accept the spiritual adultery that was happening. Jesus says they were holding fast to His name and had not denied His faith. In the Bible names represent character. They were holding onto the righteous loveliness of Jesus’ character. But what is the faith of Jesus? We find clues in the following verses:

“I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.” (Galatians 2:20.)

“For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.” (Romans 1:17.)

“But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith.” (Galatians 3:11.)

“Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him.” (Hebrews 10:38.)

“Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith.” (Habakkuk 2:4.)

“Then answered Jesus and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise...I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me.” (John 5:19 & 30.)

“Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, To the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen.” (Jude 1:24-25.)

“And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.” (Revelation 12:17.)

The Pen of Inspiration:

“‘The faith of Jesus.’ It is talked of, but not understood. What constitutes the faith of Jesus, that belongs to the third angel’s message? Jesus becoming our sin-bearer that he might become our sin-pardoning Saviour. He was treated as we deserve to be treated. He came to our world and took our sins that we might take his righteousness. And faith in the ability of Christ to save us amply and fully and entirely is the faith of Jesus.” (Selected Messages, Vol. 3, page 172.3, Ellen G. White.)

Allowing Jesus to live His righteous life in us is the faith of Jesus. Allowing Him to sanctify us, believing in Him as our sin-pardoning Saviour, believing He can keep us from falling, this is the faith of Jesus. This is the kind of faith Jesus had in His Father during His earthly life and ministry. And this is exactly the faith that we need in order to make it through life in general, but especially the time of trouble that is about to hit the world, and even most Christians, as an overwhelming surprise.

They held fast their faith in Jesus even in the days, Jesus says, “wherein Antipas was my faithful martyr, who was slain among you, where Satan dwelleth.” (Revelation 2:13.) Some say Antipas was an actual historical figure, while others say there was no historical Antipas. When you look at the Greek word for Antipas, we find that it comes from two different root words: anti, meaning, “opposite to, in place of, or against,” and pater, meaning, “father.” If Antipas was a real person, we know almost nothing, if anything at all, about him.

Given the period of church history that we are talking about, it is highly possible that this name of Antipas is symbolic. We see the same concept of a symbolic name (Jezebel) being used in the letter to Thyatira. Around this historical period, a group of people known as the early church fathers arose. Remember, this was the period when compromise was fast gaining control of the church. Anyone who stood up against this compromise was likely severely persecuted and possible even martyred. Hence, why Jesus referred to these people who did not give up their faith, even when faced with martyrdom.

Next, we get to the rebuke that Jesus gives to Pergamos. The rebuke is two-fold: there were those during this time period that held the doctrine of Balaam (the deception that it was ok to eat things sacrificed to idols, and to commit sexual sin), and there were also those who held to the doctrine of the Nicolaitans (the deception that the 10 Commandments are not binding.)

We will get to the doctrine of the Nicolaitans in a bit. But first, more specifically than already mention, what is the doctrine of Balaam? We find in Numbers 22-25 the story of Balaam, or, more accurately, how the king of Moab wanted to curse and destroy the children of Israel, which he hired Balaam to help with. Balaam at one point was a faithful prophet of God. But he apostatized, and gave into covetousness. How do we know this? Because when Balac offered riches and honor to Balaam, this apostate basically said, “Where do I sign?”

He tried cursing Israel 3 times, but each time he blessed them instead. At this point, Israel was faithful to God, and therefore Balaam could not succeed against them. When that didn’t work, Balaam went back to Balac with a plan to induce Israel to sin. Balaam knew that if he could entice Israel into sin, God could not protect them. And that is exactly what happened. Numbers 25 begins with Israel bowing down to the idols of Moab, eating things sacrificed to these idols, and committing sexual sin with the people of Moab. This is similar to the doctrine of the Nicolaitans.

This idea that the law has somehow been set aside by the death of Jesus on the cross is the doctrine of the Nicolaitans. What is the doctrine of the Nicolaitans? Jesus mentions in the letters to two of the churches that He hates their deeds, and also their doctrines. Revelation 2:6 (deeds) to the Ephesians, and Revelation 2:15 (doctrines) to Pergamos.

The Adam Clarke Commentary says:

The Prophet of the Lord, Ellen G. White, says:

Is it [our sin] the sin of the Nicolaitans, turning the grace of God into lasciviousness (The Review and Herald, June 7, 1887)?

What does the Bible say about God’s Law? Here are just a few verses:

Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. (Jude 1:21.)

For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous. (1 John 5:3.)

And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. (1 John 2:3-4.)

God’s Ten Commandment Law being written on our hearts has been the basis of every single covenant God has made with humanity. And every single covenant, as we have seen, has been salvation by grace. Nothing less, nothing more. God is Love, and He never changes. Therefore, to conclude this study, it has ALWAYS been salvation by grace.

And in symbol, this is what happened during the prophetic time period of Pergamos. The church was compromising and eventually began committing spiritual adultery against God, casting aside His law and Calvary, replacing them with things like paying penance in order to have your sins forgiven.

Naturally, Jesus warned them to repent. He is not willing that any should perish. But again, He never forces us. He says, “Repent; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth.” (Revelation 2:16.) As we have already discovered, the Bible is represented by a sword. The papal church never repented, and eventually Jesus sent the Protestant Reformers who exposed many of the church sins by using the Word of God. The Amazing Discoveries Commentary on Revelation says it this way:

“As the centuries progressed and the church did not repent, the Lord sent reformers with cutting Bible truths—the two-edged sword (Hosea 6:5) that exposed the false teachings and errors being taught in the fallen church.”

Every church in the prophecy of the Seven Churches is commanded to hear what the Spirit has to say to it. Each church is also given a promise that begins with, “To him that overcometh…” God never sends rebukes, and warnings of judgment, without offers of mercy and salvation, unless it is after the close of probation, as described in Revelation 16. There were only two churches that did not have a rebuke given to them.

For Pergamos, that promise given to the overcomers is to be able to eat of the hidden manna, and he will be given a white stone by Jesus, that has the name of the overcomer written into it, “which no man knoweth, saving he that receiveth it.” (Revelation 2:17.) The hidden manna could be referring to the manna in the Ark of the Covenant, or referring to spiritual and eternal life in Christ. The name means character. We see this all over the Bible. No one will ever fully understand the experience of another that helps shape their character. White also symbolizes innocence, and holiness, which will characterize every single saved person in Heaven.

The corresponding seal to the church of Pergamos is the third seal, the black horse, a fitting symbol for the church in this period. Let us read the third seal:

“And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand. And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine.” (Revelation 6:5-6.)

Here is a quick list of what these symbols mean:

Black – Corruption, moral darkness, apostasy, immorality – Exodus 10:21-23; Jeremiah 4:20-28; 8:21; Acts 26:18; John 12:35; Joel 2:1-10.
Horse – Strength & Power in Battle Special representatives/angel – Job 39:19, Psalms 147:10, Proverbs 21:31; Exodus 15:21; Isaiah 43:17; Jeremiah 8:6; Zechariah 1:8-10; 6:1-8
Balances – Judgment, deception in sales – Job 31:6; Psalm 62:9; Proverbs 11:1; Proverbs 16:11; Micah 6:11.
Wheat and Barley, or Bread – The Bible, and Jesus – John 6:35, 51, 52, 63
Oil – The Holy Spirit – Zechariah 4:2-6; Revelation 4:5
Wine – The blood of Jesus – Matthew 26:28; Mark 14:24; Luke 22:20

The black horse and its rider symbolize the apostasy of the church during this time. The closer we get to the dark ages starting, the more black and wicked we see that the apostate church is becoming, thanks to the papacy. During this time, the church began making merchandise of the Gospel and they continued this practice all through the dark ages. The fact that a horse is still used to symbolize the apostate church in this seal refers to their success in turning the Gospel into big business. They perverted it into the get rich quick scheme of the dark ages.

The balances also refer to their deception in selling false doctrines. Balances can refer to judgment, but I’m not sure they do in the context of the third seal. For example, balances were used to refer to the wicked king of Daniel 5 being judged and found wanting. God unsparingly condemned the use of false balances, and thus condemned the churches making sells of false doctrine.

Wheat and barley are what is used to make bread(s). Bread symbolizes both the Bible, and Jesus. This part of the third seal hearkens back to Daniel 8:10-14. For the sake of brevity, we will only refer to the passage, without quoting it. This passage in Daniel 8 and the one here in Revelation 6 refer to how the papacy perverted beautiful truth, and made merchandise of it. But scarce and expensive though it was, it was still available to those who wanted it and were willing to sacrifice for it.

For example, instead of going directly to Jesus for the forgiveness of sins (1 Timothy 2:5), the Vatican teaches that we must go to a sinful human priest for confession and forgiveness. Instead of trusting in the blood of Jesus for forgiveness (Ephesians 2:8-10), they teach salvation by works. Instead of Righteousness by Faith (Galatians 2:20; Romans 1:17; Galatians 3:11; Hebrews 10:38; Habakkuk 2:4; John 5:19 & 30; Jude 1:24-25; Revelation 12:17; Revelation 14:12), and instead of teaching that Calvary was a sufficient sacrifice to forgive any sin, they teach that the Cross was actually not enough; that upon death, at least some go to purgatory to have the remainder of their sins burned away before they can enter Heaven.

Instead of the beautiful and Biblical practice of Communion (1 Corinthians 11), they teach transubstantiation. Instead of teaching the truth that the dead sleep until they are woken up for their final reward (John 11:14; Acts 2:29 & 34, etc..), the papacy teaches that immediately upon death, you go to either an eternally burning hell, to heaven, or to purgatory. Thus a famine for the Word of God was experienced by the masses for well over 1,000 years.

But the command is given not to hurt the oil and the wine. As already mentioned, these are symbols of the Holy Spirit, and the blood of Jesus, respectively. No matter how much the church tried, they could not destroy the truth. The could hide it, they could come up with perverted deceptions that seemed to be truth, but they could not destroy them. No matter how hard Satan tried, he could not do away with the Holy Spirit, neither the truth of salvation.

The third trumpet gives us this same picture of the sinful perverting of the truth practiced by the Vatican.

“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; 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.” (Revelation 8:10-11.)

A star is symbolic of angels and leaders. (Revelation 1:16, 20; 12:4, 7-9; 22:16; Genesis 37:9-10; Job 38:7.) It could be that this star is symbolic of Satan. After all, Jesus Himself cast Satan out of Heaven, and in His incarnation, Jesus referenced back to when He saw the arch deceive fall from Heaven. It is interesting that it says it was burning as if it was a lamp. Psalm 119:105 refers to the Word of God as a lamp. Satan wanted to sit on the sides of the north in the Heavenly Temple, where the table of showbread is, which also symbolizes the Word of God.

Satan wanted to have control over the Words of God. He wanted God’s power, and when he saw that persecution through pagan Rome was not working, he infiltrated the church and got her to compromise. This birthed the Vatican. This star that fell from Heaven fell upon the third part of the rivers and the waters. Remember earlier how we said that a third part represents apostasy. We see that concept here.

Water is symbolic in the Bible of groups and populations of people. See Revelation 17. When people saw what the papacy was propagating, the people became bitter and descended further and further into spiritual dearth. The name of this star was called Wormwood, a plant that was poisonous, at least in the right dosage and amounts. This is a fitting symbol of Satan. He was and still is bitter about being cast out of Heaven. The Bible goes onto say that a third part of the waters became wormwood, and many died because they were made bitter. Indeed, when the people became bitter because of what they thought they had to do for salvation, many gave up and died spiritually.

Now, because of Pagan and Papal Rome’s sins, God was left with no choice but to allow judgments to come upon the kingdom. Amazing Discoveries talks about the judgment aspect of this trumpet this way:

“The “great star” that fell “from heaven” is symbolic of a great leader. Revelation 1:20; 22:16; Genesis 37:9-10. Wormwood is a bitter medicinal plant, poisonous in large or concentrated doses. The leader that appeared as a sudden blazing star bringing such bitterness upon Rome was Attila, ruler of the Huns. Called “The Scourge of God,” Attila, with his hordes of barbarian horsemen, raped, murdered and turned city after city into smoldering ruins without mercy. Revelation correctly portrays this invasion as a most bitter judgment.”

THYATIRA, THE PALE HORSE, AND THE FOURTH TRUMPET

This is the first church that Jesus introduces Himself to as the Son of God, and with a couple of characteristics that we find in Revelation 1:14-15. One of these is that His eyes were like a flame of fire. The other are that his feet are like fine brass. Nothing is in the Bible by accident, so what do these descriptions of Jesus mean? In the Bible feet refer to your walk, which in turn, refers, in the Greek, to your life journey. Jesus here has feet likened to fine brass. Perhaps this refers to the spotless righteousness of our Lord. As for the eyes:

“Yet a little while, and He that is to come will come and will not tarry. His eyes as a flame of fire penetrate into the fast-closed dungeons and hunt out the hidden ones, for their names are written in the Lamb’s book of life. These eyes of the Saviour are above us, around us, noting every difficulty, discerning every danger; and there is no place where His eyes cannot penetrate, no sorrows and sufferings of His people where the sympathy of Christ does not reach....” (That I May Know Him, p. 360, Ellen G. White)

Again, Jesus says that He knows their works. He lists five things: charity, service, faith, patience, and works. Even though this is the church of the dark ages, where it was largely apostate and nothing more than baptized paganism, God still had His faithful people. These would be the ones who showed faith, love, and patience. But in spite of her rebellion against God, the catholic church is known for hospitals and orphanages and in these things has done service for God.

But especially with this church, Jesus gives a rather stern rebuke. The rebuke itself is four verses long, Revelation 2:20-23. Jesus first rebukes them for allowing a symbolic Jezebel to operate as desired. At this point in Catholic church history, the church was teeming with corruption. But what does this have to do with Jezebel? Well, we know that since Jezebel was long dead by this point, the reference to her has to be symbolic. So whatever was going on in the church, had to be strikingly similar to how the real Jezebel operated while she was queen of ancient Israel.

1 Kings 16:31 refers to Ahab taking Jezebel as his wife was a sin. And indeed it was, because Ahab was intermarrying with a pagan nation. A result of this marriage was Ahab serving and worshipping the false god Baal. 1 Kings 18:13 references Jezebel slaying the prophets of God, and 1 Kings 19:1-2 quotes Jezebel as threatening the life of the prophet Elijah.

In 1 Kings 21, we find the story of how Ahab wanted a vineyard, but they land owner refused to sell it. When Jezebel found out, she had the land owner murdered so that Ahab could have said vineyard. Now, the sins of Ahab and Jezebel were such that judgment was coming upon them. The Lord sent a message saying that dogs would eat Jezebel, and that dogs and birds would eat those of the house of Ahab. In fact, we read in the same chapter, concerning their sins:

“But there was none like unto Ahab, which did sell himself to work wickedness in the sight of the Lord, whom Jezebel his wife stirred up.” (1 Kings 21:25.)

And finally, in 2 Kings 9:30-37, we find the story of Jehu, when he commanded that Jezebel be thrown out of the window. She died upon contact with the ground, and when they went to find her body to bury her, they found only her skull, feet, and the palms of her hands. The Word of the Lord against Jezebel had come true. The dogs had indeed eaten her to an unrecognizable point.

But, what does this have to do with Medieval Catholicism? Just as Jezebel enticed Israel to the worship of a false and perverted God, so did the Papacy induce the inhabitants of Europe into many pagan customs that had been fused with Christianity. The result was a works based religion, deep superstition, and gross corruption. At one point, in the later 1300s and early 1400s, even three popes were at war with each other. In a church uncontrolled by God, the evil was aptly compared to that of the evil caused and committed by Jezebel in ancient Israel.

Just as Jezebel called herself a prophet, and seduced Israel, so did the Catholic Church. Even today, the Catholic Church claims to be the only true church, outside of which, they say, is no salvation. The Catholic Church, and more specifically, the Vatican, has taught her adherents that it is ok to commit spiritual fornication, and that eating foods sacrificed to idols was no longer wrong. For example, in the Catholic version of the Ten Commandments, the Second Commandment forbidding idol worship is gone. Their churches are grossly decorated with idols and dead body parts to worship.

Jesus goes on to say that He gave her space to repent of her fornication, but she refused. This fornication was not only idol worship, but also in a unification of church and state. The Papacy boasts infallibility, as well as the fact that they never change. Therefore, as a natural result, when joining with the state powers, spiritual fornication, persecution of those who protest Catholicism naturally results. Being that God is love, this is why the Vatican was given time to repent. Remember, God wants everybody to be saved but He will not force the will.

As part of the rebuke, Jesus gives them a warning of what will come upon them if they do not repent. Just as He gave Sodom and the other four cities of the plain a chance to repent, so He did the same with the Vatican and her corrupt priests and adherents. In fact, the warning given is rather severe. God tries to bring people to repentance in the ways He knows will work, if they respond to the invitation. And sometimes, Jesus has to speak harshly, because He knows that is the only thing that has a chance of working. He did this with the religious leaders of Israel during His earthly ministry.

“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.” (Revelation 2:22-23.)

Who are they that committed adultery with this symbolic Jezebel, the Papacy? Revelation 17:2 tells us it is the kings of the earth. Not only have they done this, but they have made the inhabitants of the world drunk with their wine, or false doctrine. Look around at the world today. The same exact thing is happening, just as Revelation 13 prophesied it would.

Jesus said He will cast the Vatican into a bed, some translations say a sickbed, and the kings of the earth into great tribulation. Perhaps the three pope schism was a prophetic fulfillment of this. Another fulfillment is perhaps when Napoleon sent his army to capture the pope in 1798. Indeed, there was upheaval, disease, various fulfillment of these prophecies about the symbolic Jezebel and the kings of the earth.

Not only these, but there were major happenings that brought great change. These included things like the Great Famine and the Black Death, both in the first half of the 1300s. There were also revolts, civil wars, including infighting in France many different times, as well as wars between nations. Indeed, because of the refusal to repent, these judgments had to happen. Remember, Revelation was written at the end of the first century, and these things happened over 1,000 years later. The Bible can be trusted.

Then Jesus says something interesting: “And I will kill her children with death…” (Revelation 2:23.) He is continuing the symbolism of Jezebel here. And again, if we hearken back to the literal story of Ahab and Jezebel, part of God’s judgment was to destroy the house of Ahab. You can read that in 2 Kings 9. None of Ahab’s seventy sons were left alive. Jezebel herself met a gruesome end. Even Ahab died in battle. He tried to thwart God’s judgment against him by disguising himself. The Bible says, "there was none like unto Ahab, which did sell himself to work wickedness in the sight of the Lord, whom Jezebel his wife stirred up." (1 Kings 21:25.) God's judgment against Ahab and his house was just and fair.

The picture here in Revelation 2:23 seems to be, at least one interpretation, that of complete destruction. Just as the house of Ahab had no survivors to carry on the throne of Israel, so the Vatican will meet such destruction that no survivors will be left, and no memory of it will continue on. Another interpretation is put forth saying that perhaps the meaning here is that Jesus would kill her children with pestilence. Either one works, for the plagues and pestilences that struck medieval Europe, as well as the fact that all sin and sinners will soon be destroyed, without even a memory of them to go on.

But Jesus gives another reason for this destruction. The destruction will be so complete that even those who buy into the Vatican deception, the children of Jezebel, will be destroyed. But, other than her sins, why? Jesus says this:

“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.” (Revelation 2:23.)

Let’s dive into the Greek a little bit. The word for search, here, means to examine, or investigate. So here we see yet another picture, of many, of the investigative judgment. The word for reins, is actually the word for kidney. This was apparently the seat of the emotions. It also means, inmost thoughts, feelings, purposes, the inmost mind. Jesus also searches and investigates the heart.

You see, despite all the hospitals and orphanages that have been put in place by the Roman Catholic Church, God searches the hidden motives. That is the picture we have here In Revelation 2:23. No doubt, there were sincere Christians working in these institutions, and there still are sincere Christ followers in them. However, the Vatican is what we are referring to here, and her corrupt servants.

Roman Catholicism is a very works based religion. Therefore, in that kind of religion, it’s not so much about the motive as it is about the action. But with the true religion of Jesus, it is about the motive. We are saved by grace, not works. Therefore, as a result of being saved by grace, good works flow out of us naturally, prompted out of love for Jesus, who saved us, and love for our lost fellow humans, who need to be saved. This is why in the judgment, it will not matter for the Vatican how many good works they did. It is our motive that determines if our actions are worth anything in the sight of God. Observe what Ezekiel says:

"Again, When a righteous man doth turn from his righteousness, and commit iniquity, and I lay a stumbling-block before him, he shall die: because thou hast not given him warning, he shall die in his sin, and his righteousness which he hath done shall not be remembered; but his blood will I require at thine hand." (Ezekiel 3:20.)

But then Jesus switches audiences here. He is talking to the same time period of the Church, but different people. You see, God has always had a faithful remnant, even in the worst times of apostasy. During the medieval age, this included people like the Waldensians, John Huss, Jerome, Martin Luther, etc..

There were those who refused to accept the pagan doctrines of the papacy. They refused to participate in works of unbiblical penance. They refused to be dragged to the depths of Satan’s pits of sin. Therefore, Jesus promises them that they will have “none other burden.” (Revelation 2:24.) They were faithful to the truth that they knew, and therefore were not going to be burdened with the same things that the Vatican was judged with, and will be judged with again.

But Jesus does tell them to hold fast onto hat they already have till He comes. In fact, this word for hold fast, is a command in the Greek. It’s a fun word to say. Transliterated, it is Krateo. See? I told you it was a fun word to say. Literally, it means things like, "to continue to hold, to retain, seize, lay hand on, obtain, use strength, get possession of, take hold of, hold in the hand, etc.." The word, grammatically, is an Aorist Active Imperative. In other words, continue holding fast the truth and the faith given you of God. And God gives us the same charge today. Continue to hold fast the truth and faith He gives you. And when He gives you more truth, live it in His grace and strength. Exercise your faith, and it will grow.

Now we get to the best part of each church: the promise given it by Jesus Himself. It is interesting to note that even though Thyatira is the church that sunk deepest into apostasy, it is given a promise that is three verses long. It is the only church like this, that has a promise longer than one verse. The deeper we are in apostasy, the more God tries to show us His love in order to win us back to Himself.

"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. And I will give him the morning star." (Revelation 2:26-28.)

The beauty of this promise is amazing, especially verse 28. The fascinating thing here is that the first two verbs, overcome and keep, both of them are Present Active Participles. This means they are an ongoing action in the present tense and time. This is another blow to the doctrine of Calvinism. Overcoming sin and obedience to God, in other words, sanctification, is an on-going process. It’s not once saved, always saved. We are not instantly sanctified, and should we choose to do so, we can choose to stop the sanctification process, thus forfeiting and losing our salvation.

Remember, the word keep in this verse also means “to guard…by keeping the eye upon…” We are to overcome, and keep (guard, attend to carefully…) the works of Christ. But what are the works of Christ? Jesus did many different works. He healed the sick. He taught the people. He fed the hungry. He calmed the storms. He expelled demons from their prisoners whom they had taken captive. The apostles, after Pentecost, through faith in Christ, healed the sick and cast out demons.

But what was the one overall work of Christ, the one work that all these other works resulted from? Jesus came to reveal the Father. We see this in John 14, and other passages, when Jesus lovingly rebuked Philip for asking to physically see the Father. Consider the following passages:

"All things are delivered unto me of my Father: and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him." (Matthew 11:27.)

"Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Show us the Father?" (John 14:9.)

"God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds; Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high:" (Hebrews 1:1-3.)

The Pen of Inspiration puts it this way:

“The last message of mercy to be given to the world is a revelation of His (The Father) character of love.” – (Last Day Events, page 200, Ellen G. White.)

You see, this is what Jesus is telling us in Revelation 2:26. We are to reveal the character of God to the world. Remember, God is love. 1 John 4:8 & 16. That fact is so vitally important the God tells us this twice in the same chapter. And beloved, we are rapidly approaching that last message of mercy. As soon as the Holy Spirit falls on God’s people in the power of the Latter Rain, is when this last message will be given. Hold fast family. We are almost home.

But we haven’t even gotten to the promise part. We’ve just talked about the conditions of it. Every promise of God is conditional upon obedience to Him because we love Him. He says that He will give the overcomers power over the nations. What is this referring to? What is this, “power over the nations?” Let’s cross reference this with another verse:

"And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years." (Revelation 20:4.)

Now let's compare and contrast a few words found in Revelation 2:26 and Revelation 20:4. The word for power in the former verse, can mean “one who possesses authority, a ruler, a human magistrate.” It also means “the power of judicial decisions, or authority to manage domestic affairs.” This is judgment language! Compare that with the latter verse, where judgment is given unto the saints during the thousand years, and we have a complete picture.

You see, what is going on now is the antitypical, or prophetic day of atonement. Compare Daniel 8:14 and Leviticus 16. But when the time of trouble starts, the Investigative Judgment will be done and over with. This isn’t because God doesn’t know who will be saved and lost. This is for the angels and the unfallen worlds, so that they can understand why people are saved or lost. At the end of the Investigative Judgment, the angels and unfallen worlds will say, "Great and marvellous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints." (Revelation 15:3.)

When Jesus comes, and takes us to the New Jerusalem for the duration of the millennium, then begins our turn to examine the judgment books that cover the lives of the wicked. We will understand why they were lost. I’ve heard it said this way: There will be three surprises in Heaven: 1. You’re there. 2. Who else is there. And 3. Who is not there. We will work in tandem with Jesus, and under His divine authority to determine an appropriate length of time each wicked person will suffer in the lake of fire. And at the end of this 1,000 years of judgment, we will bow down and say, "Great and marvellous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints." (Revelation 15:3.)

Then the righteous are taken by Jesus to reclaim this earth as their eternal abode. Jesus touches the Mount of Olives with His foot, and it splits open to form a great valley. (Zechariah 14.) The wicked are resurrected, and Satan goes about deceiving them again, and organizing them for an attack against the city and its God and inhabitants. Then, in the middle of this event, the books are opened and the wicked get their chance to read the judgment books written about them. This is so that they can understand why they were lost. At the end of this, the wicked (including Satan himself) will say in their turn, along with the angels and the righteous, "Great and marvellous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints." (Revelation 15:3.)

It will be seen that God’s dealing with us through the past 6,000 years was fair and just; that the devil’s lies about the Godhead are untrue deception of the worst kind. Indeed, just and true are the ways of God. After the wicked admit this, they are consumed, along with their demonic arch general, in a lake of fire. They become ashes. They do NOT burn forever. Burning forever is the privilege of the righteous. Consider the following references, which we will not quote for the sake of brevity. You have a Bible and/or the internet. Look them up.

Malachi 4:1-3; Nahum 1:9; Obadiah 1:16; Isaiah 33:14-15; Hebrews 12:29

As we move on to Revelation 2:27, we see this judgment language continued. Jesus is continuing to describe the overcomer. He says that he will rule the nations with a rod of iron. This phrase is found three times in Revelation, at least two of them in some kind of a description of judgment. In Revelation 19:15, it is connected with smiting the nations with a sharp sword. Remember that the Bible is a sword. In John 12:48, Jesus said His Word will judge in the last day.

Not only will the nations be ruled with a rod of iron, but they will be shattered into pieces as a broken vessel of pottery. This is a reference back to Isaiah 30:14. Revelation draws heavily from the Old Testament. Therefore, to understand Revelation, we must use the Old Testament to do so. In Isaiah 30, Israel is rebuked, severely so, for wanting the prophets to stop giving them truth. They wanted smooth prophesies of success and wealth, not of coming punishment for their sins. They wanted God to leave them alone in their pursuit of sin.

Therefore, God sends them this rebuke, and a warning of what will happen because of this persistence in sin. How many of us, if only by our actions, are telling God to leave us alone so we can pursue our sin? But in Isaiah 30:14 we see God uses this picture of broken pottery to illustrate the totality of the judgment coming upon Israel, should they not repent. The potters vessel, God says, would be so broken into so many small pieces, that it will be entirely useless. The vessel would be broken to the point that not even a piece can be used to take fire from the hearth, or to get a drink of water.

And indeed, Israel persisted in their rebellion, and to this day, they are wanders among the nations. They rejected Jesus one final time in 34 AD, and as a result, have suffered many things, because they did not make God their trust, but instead chose ceaser, thus forfeiting their right and place as God’s chosen people. Now the people of Israel can be saved as individuals; it has always been this way. But as a nation, they gave that privilege up nearly 2,000 years ago.

And just as Israel received a thorough judgment, so the wicked at the final phase of the judgment will receive their just punishment that will be so thorough, there will not be any of them left to remind of sin or to revive sin. The only reminder of sin will be the scars that Jesus still has from the experience of the cross.

But now we are getting to the best part of the promise. Jesus says in Revelation 2:28, “I will give him the morning star.” What is this morning star? In Revelation 22:16 Jesus is again speaking and He identifies Himself as the morning star. What better gift is there? In John 17:3, Jesus defines eternal life as knowing both Him and the Father (and we do this through the Holy Bible and the Holy Spirit.) So far each promise of the first four churches has something to do with eternal life. Jesus has given Himself to humanity by cords that will never be broken, and when the Great Controversy comes to a head at the Second Coming, Jesus will then be physically present with His people for eternity.

"He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches." (Revelation 2:29.)

Then we move on to the fourth seal of Revelation 6, and if the pattern holds, we should see the same history covered here as we saw in the prophetic period of Thyatira. Let’s read the Fourth Seal:

"And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see. And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth." (Revelation 6:7-8.)

Once again, we have a horse, but this time it’s pale in color. His ride was named death, and hell followed him. The focus of this seal seems to be the persecuting aspect of this time period. This is when the church reached full apostasy. At this point, those who disagreed with the established church, the Roman Catholic Church, were deemed heretics and were disposed of whenever possible.

The Bible was forbidden to be owned during this time. Anybody caught with one could've faced death. Part of keeping the people in this darkness was a moral and intellectual decline. When people have no standard to compare their life to, they sink lower and lower into depravity. As for intellectual, the Bible is the best educational book on the planet. Because Bible study was forbidden, science was making almost no progress, and when plagues hit, nobody knew the counsel God had already given in His Word in order to fight the plagues.

The Amazing Discoveries Revelation 6 Commentary says this:

"Ezekiel 14:21 lists war, famine, pestilence, and wild beasts as judgments on apostasy from God. Whenever the Church takes up the sword to coerce the conscience, a famine of God’s Word results. Pure Bible truth is replaced with the pestilence of heresy, opening the way for persecutors (wild beasts) to punish and chastise the Church, and multitudes perish."

The church killed anywhere between 50,000,000 to 150,000,000 people during this time period. Many people hungered for the real Word of God and at great cost to themselves secured what they could. Countless others perished in the deception that the church taught as truth.

But then we turn our attention to the fourth trumpet. What can this trumpet teach us about what was going on during this time period?

"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." (Revelation 8:12.)

What does it mean for the sun, moon, and stars to darken and stop shining? Remember, this is the same time period of Thyatira. This is the same history where the church suppressed the truth in order to rule the nations and to make money. In several places in the Bible, we see that Jesus is described as the Light. He is the Light of the world. We see this in passages like Malachi 4:2, John 1, and 2 Peter 1:19.

During the Dark Ages, the church distorted who Jesus is, and what the truth is. This is why we see these celestial bodies growing dark. We also get distorted pictures of who God is and manipulated interpretations of Bible prophecy because of the Dark Ages. Each of the Protestant Reformers began identifying the Papacy as the antichrist of Bible prophecy. Naturally, this brought a lot of heat to the church. Therefore, the Jesuits came up with a plan. In Daniel 7, it says that antichrist would think to changes times. This plan by the Jesuits included putting a different interpretation on Bible prophecy to take the heat off the papacy.

Because of this, we have the false doctrines of futurism and preterism to deal with today. Futurism is the interpretive principle that places the fulfillment of Bible prophecy way in the future, while preterism places it way in the past. For example, futurism teaches that the antichrist has not come yet, while preterism teaches that the antichrist came way in the past. Professor Walter Veith, quoted in an article on Futurism and Preterism, explains it this way:

"To counter the stand of the Reformers, the Catholic Church launched the counter-reformation spearheaded by the Jesuit Order. The doctrines of Preterism and Futurism, published by Alcasar and Ribera, two Jesuit priests, in 1585, redefined the reformation position on the Antichrist and shifted the emphasis away from the papacy to the Greek king Antiochus Epiphanus IV and to some tyrant who would persecute the Jews some time in the future."

SARDIS, THE FIFTH SEAL, AND THE FIFTH TRUMPET

Sardis is the church of the Protestant Reformation. This time period likely started around 1517 and continued on to the late 1700s. Here Jesus introduces Himself as the one who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. The seven stars, according to Revelation 1:20, are the seven angels of the seven churches. But what are the seven spirits of God?

In Revelation 5:6, John sees Jesus represented as a Lamb having been slain, that had seven horns and seven eyes, “which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth.” Revelation 4:5 refers to the seven Spirits of God as “seven lamps of fire burning before the throne.” Daniel 7 and 8 talk about horns representing kingdoms, or power. Matthew 13:10-17 and 1 John 2:11 talk about eyes representing spiritual discernment. And Psalm 119:105 calls God’s Word, the Bible, a lamp to our feet.

These symbols together could likely be talking about the deity of Jesus. He is the same kind of being that the Father is. Both are uncreated. Both are omniscient. Both and omnipotent. He guides us through His Word and the ministry of the Holy Spirit, the Third Person of the Godhead.

After the introduction, Jesus specifies that He knows their works, and essentially goes right into a rebuke. They have a reputation for being alive, but are not. Now how could the church of the Protestant Reformation have a reputation for being alive, but be dead? I mean, this is the Reformation, after all. We will get to that shortly. Let us check out a couple of other translations to get a good picture of this verse of Revelation 3:1.

“You are known for being alive, but you are dead.” (Names of God Bible.)

“you are supposed to be alive, but [in reality] you are dead.” (AMPC Bible.)

The Protestant Reformation was indeed a great time in Christian History. It was a time of doctrinal brilliance, when the Bible shone with a luster that had not been seen in centuries. But there was a problem. When the reformers died, their followers refused to advance in the truth. The followers of Wesley wouldn’t advance in truth when Huss came along, or when Luther came on the scene. And this of course led to the announcement of Revelation 14:8 in the mid 1800s when Protestant America rejected the message of the Millerite movement.

Then Jesus gives them His counsel. They are told to be watchful and strengthen that which is ready to die. Be and strengthen are both imperatives in the Greek. Watchful is actually its own verb that is a present active participle, which is a continuous action. It literally means to keep awake, as well as watch, and be vigilant. Many had fallen into a spiritual sleep in this period of time, and Jesus is telling them to wake up and be watchful. To this church could easily be given the counsel:

“If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.” (2 Chronicles 7:14, King James Version.)

Their works did not correspond with their profession, and as such, Jesus said He did not find their works perfect before God. To be a protestant is a high calling. To be such in today’s world is to follow all the light that you have. And if that means you have heard of the Seventh-day Adventist Protestant truth, it is your duty to start by investigating to see if it is true. Then once you have found it to be true, it becomes your duty to live that truth. To claim to be such means to say that you will live in all the truth that God has been pleased to give us. But during the time of the reformation, followers of the reformers only advanced so far, and would not go beyond the discoveries of their founders.

"So call to mind the lessons you received and heard; continually lay them to heart and obey them, and repent. In case you will not rouse yourselves and keep awake and watch, I will come upon you like a thief, and you will not know or suspect at what hour I will come." (Revelation 3:3, AMPC.)

"Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee." (Revelation 3:3, King James Version.)

In the KJV right above, the three bold words are all imperatives, or commands. God had been pleased to give many forgotten truths back to those who would receive them during the Protestant Reformation. But many had either forgotten what they had learned, or refused to accept new light. Also, toward the end of the 1,260 year time prophecy, persecution began slowing down. There may have been many nominal Christians in the various Protestant churches at this time because of this.

Jesus commanded them to remember, hold fast, and repent. When people veer off to the left or the right, remembering where they have fallen from is a necessary step to coming back to Christ. But there were some who had not completely cast away their faith, and others who were still as faithful as could be. This word for hold fast, is the same word used in the story of the rich young ruler in Matthew 19. It is the same word that means, “to guard…by keeping the eye upon…” Revival means putting the eyes back on Jesus and keeping them there.

But not only that, revival means repentance. We cannot have revival when we are still living in sin, even seemingly minor ones, like eating and drinking unhealthy. The word for repent in this verse literally means "to think differently, reconsider: repent," as well as "to change one's mind, i.e. to repent...to change one's mind for better, heartily to amend with abhorrence of one's past sins." The sin in the church of Sardis was not accepting the truth as it was being revealed.

The warning is that Jesus would come as a thief if they refused to watch. To anyone who is not genuinely watching for the return of the Savior, Jesus will come as a thief in the night. It will be totally unexpected. Those who know the signs, know that His approach is near, even at the door. Those who are lukewarm and remain unrepentant will be surprised when that day comes.

But after this warning, Jesus commends those who did not give up their faith and/or reject the truth that God was bringing through each successive reformer. There were those who “have not defiled their garments.” (Revelation 3:4.) Garments in the Bible refer to righteousness. Jesus goes on to say they will walk with Him in white, the symbol of purity and righteousness. They are worthy, He says. They are worthy, because they have made Him their foundation and Savior, the best in everything.

Once again, we arrive at the promise. Jesus says that those who overcome will be clothed in white clothing, symbolizing His perfect and spotless righteousness. But not only this, Jesus specifically says the names of the overcomers will not be blotted out of the Book of Life. These names, Jesus will confess in the presence of His Father and in the presence of the angels of Heaven. This is Investigative Judgment language.

Those who are found by investigation to be overcomers will be allowed in Heaven. This investigation is not for God, because He already knows who will accept Him and who won’t; who is a genuine Christian, and who is a fake one. But the angels don’t know. The unfallen worlds don’t know. So God is giving them the chance to look into His record keeping and decide for themselves if God is just, love, and faithful. And as always,

"He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches." (Revelation 3:6.)

But now we switch gears a little bit. Moving on to the fifth seal, we see an interesting word picture. When the fifth seal was open, John the Revelator saw the souls of the martyrs underneath an altar, crying to God for their blood to be avenged. Now we must remember that this is Revelation, and thus a highly symbolic book. John here is not conflicting with what the rest of the Bible says on the state of the dead. We know this is a vision, and thus these souls are not literally under an altar crying out for vengeance.

For those who don’t know the truth about death, study the following verses:

Genesis 3:4; Job 4:17; Ezekiel 18:20; 1 Timothy 6:15-16; Genesis 2:7; Ecclesiastes 12:7; John 11:11-14; Psalm 13:3; Daniel 12:2; Psalm 6:5; Psalm 115:17; Psalm 146:3-4; Ecclesiastes 9:5-6, 10; Job 7:9-10; Job 21:32; John 5:28-29; John 20:17.

The focus of Sardis was on the Protestant movement, whereas this seal is focusing on the martyred people of the church. God does not keep literal souls under an altar. During this period of the Dark Ages, anywhere between 50,000,000 to 150,000,000 were put to death by order of the Vatican and the Roman Catholic Church.

In this seal, the souls are pictured as crying out, “How long before our blood is avenged?” We see again white robes here given to the faithful. And even in this symbolic representation, we see a hint of the truth about death. They are told to rest a little longer, until the rest of the martyrs were killed also. The Medieval period was not yet over, and thus the martyrs were not yet all killed. But also, in the time of trouble that is soon coming upon the world, there will be more martyrs until the close of probation. God allows this in order to win even more people to Himself.

To help us understand the New Testament book of Revelation, it helps to return to the Old Testament and study the passages that Revelation pulls from. Much of Revelation is quotes from the Old Testament. So if anyone tells you that the Old Testament no longer matters, or isn’t really part of the Bible, run away from them because they are false teachers, whether they realize it or not.

In Revelation 9:1-11 we find the fifth trumpet described. What is interesting is that the last three trumpets are also referred to as woes. It is the same word that Jesus used in Matthew in reference to certain cities, as well as the religious leaders. According to Strong’s Concordance, it is “a primary exclamation of grief.” And indeed, this fifth trumpet is a judgment that called forth expressions of grief from those whom it was directed against.

We see in Isaiah 5 and Joel 1 similar language that was used referring to judgments against those who professed to be God’s people, but were actually the enemies of God’s true people. For example, Nebuchadnezzar was used by God to punish apostate Israel. In Isaiah 5, we see the language of horses and lions as part of these judgments against fallen Israel, similar to what we see in Revelation 9, when Islam was used as a judgment against the Vatican.

Reading this trumpet, it seems like a military attack by one nation against another. Remember, these judgments are judgments against the enemies of God’s people. The enemy of God’s true people during the time frame of this trumpet is the Roman Catholic Papacy. This covers the same period as the fifth church and fifth seal; so we are talking about the Dark Ages here.

But who is the military power that came against the Vatican during these dark centuries? When we look at history, what, or who, is the power that became large enough and strong enough to contend with the Vatican? The answer, of course, is Islam and its leader, Muhammad. Revelation 9:1-2 mentions a star that fell from heaven that unlocked and opened a bottomless pit, from which smoke issued forth. This was such a copious amount of smoke that the sun and air were darkened because of it.

Now, stars can represent angels or leaders. (Study Revelation 1:16, 20; 12:4, 7-9; Job 38:7.) Therefore, it makes sense that this star in the fifth trumpet represents Muhammad, the supposed prophet of Islam. This religion originated around the year 612 AD. Within 20 years, Muhammad had united the Arabian peninsula under the banner of this religion. As smoke from a fire spreads rapidly, so did the religion of Islam spread rapidly.

In any nation that came under the control of Islam, the truth of God’s Word and Christianity was darkened. The symbols of the sun and air are representing Jesus and the Holy Spirit. However, even though Islam may have hampered the spread of God’s truth, Islam and God’s true people had a common enemy. There is an old phrase that goes something like this: “The enemy of my enemy is my friend.” And this was indeed true in the case of Islam and Protestant Christianity. Revelation 9:4 really brings this out.

“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.”

Some say that this means that the Islamic armies agreed not to kill their enemies as long as they agreed to pay tribute. I think it also refers to the fact that Islam and Protestant Christianity had a common enemy, that being the Vatican, or the Papacy. Islam viewed Catholics as idolaters, as did Protestant Christians. In fact, protection was offered to Luther and his followers for this reason. Nebuchadnezzar was also used to protect God’s faithful people, such as Daniel and his friends.

One reason for the Islamic attacks against the papacy was because God was giving Protestantism time to flourish and grow. The Vatican wanted nothing more, and still desires nothing more, than to see Protestant Christianity be destroyed. This is why the Jesuit order was founded. They will work by any means necessary to crush Protestantism. But Islam came on the scene, and diverted the attention of the Papacy, so that they could not focus 100% on their goal.

This is a rather potent judgment. God describes the Islamic armies in this fifth trumpet as incredibly powerful. And indeed they were. They are described as lions, and having breastplates of iron, and with the power of horses. Indeed, the Islamic armies relied heavily on horses in their cavalry. The Bible also tells us they had power to hurt men and torment them for five months. Amazing Discoveries, in their commentary on Daniel 9, puts it this way:

"The “locusts” are given power to “torment” like the sting of a “scorpion” for 5 months, or 150 literal years. Starting in 1299 at the Battle of Bapheum the Turkish Muslims began a persistent assault on the eastern Roman Empire. In 1449, after 150 years of conflict, the Eastern Roman, or Byzantine, Empire became a vassal state, subordinate to the Ottoman Empire. At that time Constantine XI needed the permission and backing of the Ottoman Empire to outmaneuver the other claimant to the throne, so as to become emperor. During this time period the Byzantine Empire was “tormented” by the Ottoman Empire but not yet destroyed."

The torment is said in Revelation 9:5 to be as when a scorpion strikes a man. The Bible says men would seek death but would not find it. This is an apt description. One of the scorpions native to the middle east is called the deathstalker. It’s venom is incredibly painful, but doesn’t generally kill a healthy adult. Consider the following quotes about this amazing creation:

" Its venom is a powerful mixture of neurotoxins, with a low lethal dose. While a sting from this scorpion is extraordinarily painful, it normally would not kill a healthy adult human."

"Envenomation by the deathstalker is considered a medical emergency even with antivenom treatment, as its venom is unusually resistant to treatment and typically requires large doses of antivenom."

This is the kind of thing that increases my faith in the Bible, beloved. God knows what He is talking about. He gave us all of this prophecy with the perfect details and descriptions because He knows what will increase our faith in Him, His love, and His power to save. We serve an incredible God, folks.

PHILADELPHIA, THE SIXTH SEAL, AND THE SIXTH TRUMPET

Philadelphia is our next period of church history to study. This church time frame was from the mid-1700s to about the mid-1800s. This is the church time period that came directly after that of the Protestant reformation. The name Philadelphia means brotherly love. And of course, the first thing we will study is how Jesus introduces Himself. These introductions of Jesus are incredibly important. They help us better understand our beloved Savior.

The first thing that Jesus says about Himself is that He is holy and true. This is very likely yet another reference to the fact that Jesus is God. He is the Holy One of Israel. He is the bright and morning star. He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. He is the great I AM that appeared to Moses. We can compare this text of Revelation 3:7 to Isaiah 45:5-6 and Isaiah 46:9, and we get a bigger picture of the fact that Jesus is most definitely, not only the Son of God, but God in every sense of the word.

Then Jesus says He is the one has the key of David, the one that opens and no man shuts, and shuts, and no man opens. This is a reference back to Isaiah 22:20-22. In this prophecy, Jesus is referred to by the name Eliakim. You can find about 14 references to the name of Eliakim in the Old Testament. David was the greatest king in the history of literal Israel. He was known as a man after God’s own heart.

The key of David seems to be referring to the authority of Christ to open and shut the doors of the Heavenly Sanctuary. What are keys for? To open and lock doors. Because Jesus had conquered in our behalf, and formed a perfect character in our behalf; because He died and resurrected as the perfect sacrificial Lamb, he had the authority to continue His ministry for us. We see a reference to this in the Great Commission of Matthew 28.

At each successive stage of Earth’s history, Jesus has had different sections of His ministry to us. For example, from Adam to Calvary, God could be communed with in the system of the shadows and sacrifices, what was known as the Ceremonial Law. Once Jesus died on the cross, that system of types and shadows was to cease. God could no longer be found and communed with in that way, because type had met antitype.

From the ascension of Jesus to October 22, 1844, Jesus was in the Holy Place of the Heavenly Temple. How do we know He was in the Holy Place, and He didn’t go straight to the Most Holy Place? After all, didn’t Stephen see Jesus at the throne of the Father when he was being stoned? Remember, God’s throne has wheels. (Daniel 7:9). He doesn’t have to stay in the Most Holy Place. Hebrews 9:11-12 & 24 tell us that when Jesus ascended, He went into the Holy Place of the Heavenly Temple, not made with human hands. (This is why I don’t like modern translations of the Bible, because they get this part wrong by saying Jesus entered the Most Holy Place at His ascension, and that is simply not true. I cross reference other versions, but I don’t read them or study them like I do the KJV, which is the most reliable version.)

When we get to the prophetic time period of Philadelphia, Jesus is getting read to move to the Most Holy Place to start the antitypical Day of Atonement, what we commonly refer to as the Investigative Judgment. But how do we know that in 1844, Jesus moved to the Most Holy Place? How do we know this happened during the time frame of Philadelphia? How do we know that the doors spoken of in Revelation 3:7-8 refer to the doors of the Holy Place and the Most Holy Place? We will answer these questions now using the Bible.

Remember, the prophetic chunk of time that is the church of Philadelphia is from the mid-1700s to the mid-1800s. What event happened during this time that involved doors? Jesus moved from the Holy Place to the Most Holy Place. But again, how do we know this? We need to go back and study a prophecy found in Daniel 8:14 and 9:24-27. These two passages talk about different sections of the same time prophecy. Daniel 8:14 talks about the big picture of the 2,300 day prophecy. Now we know from Ezekiel 4:6 and Numbers 14:34 that a day in Bible prophecy represents a literal year. Therefore, this time prophecy is 2,300 literal years.

Daniel 9:24-27 helps break it down a bit. The Jews were given 70 prophetic weeks, or 490 literal years, to get their act together. (Verse 24). Verse 25 goes on to tell us what the starting point of this prophecy is. Since the 70 week is simply a smaller chunk of the larger 2,300 days, the starting point is the same. When the command went forth to rebuild Jerusalem, this time prophecy began its countdown. You can find the command written about in Ezra 7.

The 490 years is broken into even smaller chunks. The first smaller chunk is 7 weeks, or 49 literal years. The command to rebuild Jerusalem was given in the fall of 457 BC. 49 years later, in the year 408 BC, the rebuilding of Jerusalem was complete. But that leaves us with more time to explain. The Bible gives us another chunk of 62 prophetic weeks, or 434 literal years. This takes us all the way to the year 27 AD. The Bible says the Messiah would come and be anointed that year. And indeed, history verifies this.

Verse 27 of Daniel 9 tells us about the final prophetic week of this 70 week prophecy. This final week, or 7 years, of this chunk of the prophecy began when Jesus was anointed and baptized in 27 AD. This is when He began His earthly ministry. The Bible says that in the midst of this time period, he would cause the sacrifice and oblation to cease, because He would be cut off, or killed. And sure enough, in 31 AD, Jesus was crucified and died for us.

After He resurrected and returned to Heaven, the apostles pursued their commission of going first to the Jews. The Jews still had 3 and a half years to get their act together. Even though they had crucified the Son of God, they were given still a little more time to choose to remain the chosen people if they wanted to. But when they stoned Stephen in the year 34 AD, that marked the end of the 490 years, the Jews had rejected Jesus as a nation once and for all, and they were no longer the chosen people.

But this leaves us with a hefty chunk of the 2,300 years left to explain. We are left with 1,810 years of the 2,300 year time prophecy. This culminated in the year 1844, on October 22. As Daniel 8:14 says, this was when the Sanctuary in Heaven, specifically the Most Holy Place, would be cleansed. Jesus entered the Most Holy Place on October 22, 1844, in the Heavenly Temple to begin the work of the Investigative Judgment.

This is why Jesus refers to Himself as the one who opens and no man shuts, and shuts, and no man opens. In Revelation 3:8, Jesus tells us that He set before the church an open door that no man can shut. Now, based on what we just studied from Hebrews and Daniel, we know that in 1844, Jesus ceased the Holy Place segment of His ministry, and moved to the Most Holy Place to begin His ministry of judgment there. This is what Revelation 3:7-8 is talking about with the doors. The door to the Holy Place was shut, and the door to the Most Holy Place was opened, and no man could change that.

Now then, before this change of ministry in Heaven took place, God raised up the Millerite movement. This was the antitypical, prophetic fulfillment of the Feast of Trumpets, whose purpose was to announce to coming Day of Atonement. During these years of preaching, many people had to leave their chosen church and join the Millerites, because they believed the message, and their church rejected it. This is why we see the announcement of the Second Angel in Revelation 14:8.

Jesus specifically pointed out the fact that the people who went through this still had a little strength, they kept His Word, and did not deny His name, or His character. Because of this, we read in Revelation 3:9, that Jesus will make those who rejected the message, those of the synagogue of Satan who claimed to be real Christians but were indeed fake; Jesus will make these people worship before the feet of those who truly loved Jesus, so that the rebellious rejecters of His grace would know that Jesus truly loved these people and raised up this movement.

This is such an encouragement, and it should be an encouragement to the entirety of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. The world does not take us seriously. Most of Christianity does not take us seriously, if they even know about us. We have been preaching and teaching the fulfillment of Bible prophecy, and most reject it because they don’t see how it’s possible in this nation of boasted religious freedom. But Jesus will make the world to know that He Himself has called us and chosen us to be His people, the ones He has chosen to take the Gospel to the world. He will make the world to know that He has loved us.

Jesus goes on to say in Revelation 3:10, that because they have kept the word of His patience, He will save them from the hour of temptation which is coming on the whole earth. There seems to be some discussion on whether it means they will be saved from having to experience the time of trouble at all, or whether they will just be kept safe through it. Biblically, we know that a time of trouble is coming on the world, that the world is not expecting. (Daniel 12:2, and Revelation 13).

I believe that because this is the church of Philadelphia, and that because it is not the last of the seven churches, that Jesus is saying that they will not have to experience the time of trouble at all. I like the way this version puts it:

“Because you have guarded and kept My word of patient endurance [have held fast the lesson of My patience with the expectant endurance that I give you], I also will keep you [safe] from the hour of trial (testing) which is coming on the whole world to try those who dwell upon the earth.” (Revelation 3:10, AMPC.)

In Revelation 3:11, Jesus repeats the injunction to Philadelphia that He gave to the remnant faithful in Thyatira in Revelation 2:25. Jesus commands them to hold fast what they have, so that no one takes their crown. It’s the same word in both cases. The definition of the word gives the impression of holding onto tightly, and continuing to hold. Indeed, salvation is a daily process. Daily conversion is necessary. It’s not one and done. It’s not once saved always saved. In fact, the word is a Present Active Imperative, which means this is an action that is constantly being repeated, and Jesus Himself is commanding this constant repetition.

And now we get to one of my favorite parts of the churches: the promise. God’s promises are better than any human promises. Our promises are as ropes of sand, whereas God’s promises never fail, and He has never broken a promise. We find the promise to Philadelphia in Revelation 3:12.

"Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name." (Revelation 3:12.)

This word for overcoming is a Present Active Participle, again telling us this is repetitive action. Only those who are making overcoming a constant goal and reality through faith in Christ will obtain the final victory. It doesn’t say he who overcomes once and is therefore saved forever. It says He who is overcoming as a daily, time after time process until sanctification is complete. And that won’t happen till the close of probation.

In fact, this same word for overcome is used in the letters to every single church. In every single case, it is a Present Active Participle. I encourage you to verify this for yourself. Go to www.blueletterbible.org and see for yourself. The definition for this word overcome includes: "to conquer, to carry off the victory (used of Christians, that hold fast their faith even unto death against the power of their foes, and temptations and persecutions; when one is arraigned or goes to law, to win the case, maintain one's cause), to subdue, overcome, prevail, get the victory."

This again gives us a picture of the Investigative Judgment, consistent with the rest of the letter to this church. We are all being arraigned, or summoned, before the throne and judgment seat. We are not physically present there, nor can we be, else we’d be instantly destroyed in the presence of Infinite Holiness because we are still sinners. However, we are written about in Heaven. Heaven keeps written records on the lives of everyone who has ever lived on this planet.

I once heard it said Jesus is written about here, but is in Heaven. We are here on earth, but we are written about in Heaven. And so in the sense of the written record of our lives, the good, the bad, and the ugly, we are summoned before the throne of God, and the judgment seat of Christ. Everyone who has ever professed Christ is closely investigated, as if there were never another soul that has ever lived.

In ancient Israel, while this process was going on during the typical, or symbolic, Day of Atonement, what were the people supposed to be doing, while the priest was cleansing the Sanctuary? Leviticus 16:29 says the people of Israel were to afflict their souls. Leviticus 23:27-29 tells us the same thing, but adds that those who do not afflict their souls will be cut off from Israel. Why the severity of this command? Those who do not afflict their souls today, who do not plead for the victory and cooperate with God in the work of overcoming, these people will be eternally cut off from God’s last day saved people.

But let’s get back to the promise. Jesus promises that those who overcome will be made pillars in the temple of God. Pillars indicate permanence. Those who overcome until the close of probation, are made eternally secure from sin and Satan. They will no more struggle with the fallen fleshly nature. They will never have to worry about not being in the presence of God. But wait, there’s more!

Jesus also promises to write three names on these overcomers: the name of God, the name of the New Jerusalem, and the new name of Jesus. Names of people represent character, and who you are related or married to. If we fast-forward to Revelation 14:1, we see the 144,000 with the Lamb, Jesus, on Mount Zion, “having his Father’s name written in their foreheads.” Those who will be saved must have the character of Jesus and the Father written as their own complete character. Consider the following solemn quotes on this point:

There are some who seem to be always seeking for the heavenly pearl. But they do not make an entire surrender of their wrong habits. They do not die to self that Christ may live in them. Therefore they do not find the precious pearl. They have not overcome unholy ambition and their love for worldly attractions. They do not take up the cross and follow Christ in the path of self-denial and sacrifice. Almost Christians, yet not fully Christians, they seem near the kingdom of heaven, but they cannot enter there. Almost but not wholly saved, means to be not almost but wholly lost. – (Christ’s Object Lessons, page 118, Ellen G. White, emphasis added.)

The fountain of the heart must be purified before the streams can become pure. He who is trying to reach heaven by his own works in keeping the law is attempting an impossibility. There is no safety for one who has merely a legal religion, a form of godliness. The Christian’s life is not a modification or improvement of the old, but a transformation of nature. There is a death to self and sin, and a new life altogether. This change can be brought about only by the effectual working of the Holy Spirit. – (The Desire of Ages, page 172, Ellen G. White, emphasis added.)

Next, Jesus says He will write on His people the name of the New Jerusalem. This likely means that the person bearing the name of this glorious city has become a citizen of said city, and they have the right to live there. It’s kind of like your birth certificate, or passport. Whatever country is listed on there under the right spot is your place of citizenship.

Many times in the Bible, we see God work in patterns of three. This is no exception. Not only do the overcomers have the name of God the Father written on them, as well as the name of the New Jerusalem, but Jesus says He will write on them His new name. But what is this new name? Jesus had to come and live as a human as part of the plan of salvation. He had to develop a perfect character as a human. As God, He was already perfect. But God and human are not the same.

As God, He couldn’t sympathize with human weakness. But as the incarnate Christ, He could and did live as one of us. Hebrews 2:14-18 talks about how Jesus took on Himself our sinful nature. Now, that does not mean He was a sinner. He was not a sinner. But He knows what it’s like to live with the fallen nature. Read this passage in Hebrews and you will see what I am talking about.

Because Jesus lived as a human, He was able to prove that, with divine help, it is possible for mankind to live a sinless life of perfect obedience to the Ten Commandments. Because He lived as a human and did this for us, He wrought out a perfect character as a human that He can give to us. This is the robe of righteousness the Bible talks about. Before the cross, God had no robe of righteousness that He could give to humanity. But because of Jesus, and His life as one of us, God now has a robe of righteousness in stock that He can give us. I believe this is what Revelation 3:12 is talking about.

Then we switch gears to the sixth seal. This is partially fulfilled, and part of it is yet future. In Revelation 6:12-13, we have three major signs in nature that the Second Coming is near. It speaks of an earthquake, the sun darkening and the moon becoming blood, and also a major falling of stars. Remember, if Philadelphia was the church from the mid-1700s to the mid-1800s, the sixth seal will cover a very similar time frame. Given the language of the seal, and we’ll see why here shortly, I believe the sixth seal covers the time from the mid-1700s to the Second Coming of Jesus.

Therefore, we need to look for the three major natural signs of the Second Coming within this time frame. They have all happened already, well over 150 years ago, even as far as over 200 years ago for the first sign. This first sign was the earthquake. This was known as the Lisbon Earthquake. The devastation was absolutely terrible. The effects were felt across a span of 4,000,000 square miles.

In the book, The Great Controversy, pages 304-305, Ellen G. White describes it this way:

These signs were witnessed before the opening of the nineteenth century. In fulfillment of this prophecy there occurred, in the year 1755, the most terrible earthquake that has ever been recorded. Though commonly known as the earthquake of Lisbon, it extended to the greater part of Europe, Africa, and America. It was felt in Greenland, in the West Indies, in the island of Madeira, in Norway and Sweden, Great Britain and Ireland. It pervaded an extent of not less than four million square miles. In Africa the shock was almost as severe as in Europe. A great part of Algiers was destroyed; and a short distance from Morocco, a village containing eight or ten thousand inhabitants was swallowed up. A vast wave swept over the coast of Spain and Africa engulfing cities and causing great destruction.

It was in Spain and Portugal that the shock manifested its extreme violence. At Cadiz the inflowing wave was said to be sixty feet high. Mountains, “some of the largest in Portugal, were impetuously shaken, as it were, from their very foundations, and some of them opened at their summits, which were split and rent in a wonderful manner, huge masses of them being thrown down into the adjacent valleys. Flames are related to have issued from these mountains.”—Sir Charles Lyell, Principles of Geology, page 495.

At Lisbon “a sound of thunder was heard underground, and immediately afterwards a violent shock threw down the greater part of that city. In the course of about six minutes sixty thousand persons perished. The sea first retired, and laid the bar dry; it then rolled in, rising fifty feet or more above its ordinary level.” “Among other extraordinary events related to have occurred at Lisbon during the catastrophe, was the subsidence of a new quay, built entirely of marble, at an immense expense. A great concourse of people had collected there for safety, as a spot where they might be beyond the reach of falling ruins; but suddenly the quay sank down with all the people on it, and not one of the dead bodies ever floated to the surface.”—Ibid., page 495.

“The shock” of the earthquake “was instantly followed by the fall of every church and convent, almost all the large public buildings, and more than one fourth of the houses. In about two hours after the shock, fires broke out in different quarters, and raged with such violence for the space of nearly three days, that the city was completely desolated. The earthquake happened on a holyday, when the churches and convents were full of people, very few of whom escaped.”—Encyclopedia Americana, art. “Lisbon,” note (ed. 1831). “The terror of the people was beyond description. Nobody wept; it was beyond tears. They ran hither and thither, delirious with horror and astonishment, beating their faces and breasts, crying, ‘Misericordia! the world’s at an end!’ Mothers forgot their children, and ran about loaded with crucifixed images. Unfortunately, many ran to the churches for protection; but in vain was the sacrament exposed; in vain did the poor creatures embrace the altars; images, priests, and people were buried in one common ruin.” It has been estimated that ninety thousand persons lost their lives on that fatal day.

The next sign that the Bible gives us was that the sun would become black, and the moon would become as blood. The prophet Joel foretold this in Joel 2:31, and Jesus Himself prophesied this in Mark 13:24. In fact, Jesus gave us a little more detail as to when it would happen, and how we know that this was fulfilled on May 19, 1780. Jesus said after the that tribulation, referring to the persecution of the dark ages. The 1,260 days ended in 1798. Persecution ceased to a great extent over 20 years before that. And sure enough, it happened exactly as Jesus had said both in His own words, and through the prophets.

At around 9 AM on My 19, 1780, the sky grew dark, eventually to the point of total darkness. Then, when the moon finally came out several hours later, it had the appearance of blood. People were fearful, and many preached that this was a fulfillment of Bible prophecy. This is written about in the book, The Great Controversy as well, right after the lengthy quote we just read. I find this next quote very interesting:

“May 19, 1780, stands in history as “The Dark Day.” Since the time of Moses no period of darkness of equal density, extent, and duration, has ever been recorded. The description of this event, as given by eyewitnesses, is but an echo of the words of the Lord, recorded by the prophet Joel, twenty-five hundred years previous to their fulfillment: “The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and terrible day of the Lord come.” Joel 2:31.” (The Great Controversy, page 308, Ellen G. White.)

There is one more sign to discuss from Revelation 6:12-13. We are told that the stars of heaven would fall, “even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind.” This gives us the idea that it would be such a star show such as to take everyone’s breath away. Again I quote from the book, The Great Controversy, because the servant of the Lord just describes it so well.

“In 1833, two years after Miller began to present in public the evidences of Christ’s soon coming, the last of the signs appeared which were promised by the Saviour as tokens of His second advent. Said Jesus: “The stars shall fall from heaven.” Matthew 24:29. And John in the Revelation declared, as he beheld in vision the scenes that should herald the day of God: “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.” Revelation 6:13. This prophecy received a striking and impressive fulfillment in the great meteoric shower of November 13, 1833. That was the most extensive and wonderful display of falling stars which has ever been recorded; “the whole firmament, over all the United States, being then, for hours, in fiery commotion! No celestial phenomenon has ever occurred in this country, since its first settlement, which was viewed with such intense admiration by one class in the community, or with so much dread and alarm by another.” “Its sublimity and awful beauty still linger in many minds.... Never did rain fall much thicker than the meteors fell toward the earth; east, west, north, and south, it was the same. In a word, the whole heavens seemed in motion.... The display, as described in Professor Silliman’s Journal, was seen all over North America.... From two o’clock until broad daylight, the sky being perfectly serene and cloudless, an incessant play of dazzlingly brilliant luminosities was kept up in the whole heavens.”—R. M. Devens, American Progress; or, The Great Events of the Greatest Century, ch. 28, pars. 1-5.

“No language, indeed, can come up to the splendor of that magnificent display; ... no one who did not witness it can form an adequate conception of its glory. It seemed as if the whole starry heavens had congregated at one point near the zenith, and were simultaneously shooting forth, with the velocity of lightning, to every part of the horizon; and yet they were not exhausted—thousands swiftly followed in the tracks of thousands, as if created for the occasion.”—F. Reed, in the Christian Advocate and Journal, Dec. 13, 1833. “A more correct picture of a fig tree casting its figs when blown by a mighty wind, it was not possible to behold.”—“The Old Countryman,” in Portland Evening Advertiser, November 26, 1833.” (The Great Controversy, page 333, Ellen G. White.)

The remainder of the sixth seal is yet future. Those events will transpire at the Second Coming of our glorious Savior, Jesus Christ. The heavens will be rolled back as a scroll. Mountains and islands will disappear. Every lost man will try to hid in caves and the mountainous rocky places, crying for these very rocks and mountains to fall on them, because they would rather die, than to behold the one they have rejected.

“The Lion of Judah, so terrible to the rejectors of His grace, will be the Lamb of God to the obedient and faithful. The pillar of fire that speaks terror and wrath to the transgressor of God’s law is a token of light and mercy and deliverance to those who have kept His commandments. The arm strong to smite the rebellious will be strong to deliver the loyal. Everyone who is faithful will be saved. “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.” Matthew 24:31.” (Acts of the Apostles, page 589, Ellen G. White.)

Now we will turn our attention to the sixth trumpet. This is also known as the second woe. The first thing we read in this trumpet is about a voice that says to the sixth angel to loose the four angels which are bound in the Euphrates river. In Revelation 7, we see four angels which are holding back the winds of strife at the four corners of the world. But here in Revelation 9, what we see seems to be localized.

The next thing we see is a time prophecy, of “an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for the slay the third part of men.” (Revelation 9:15.) Now, given that this is a prophecy using symbolism, the angels very well could represent men. In the Bible, angels could be angels, or they could be messengers of some sort. Consider the following passages: Daniel 8:16; 9:21; Luke 1:19,26; Hebrews 1:14.

Also, remember that the Bible says these angels were bound. This is the same word in Revelation 20:2 where the devil is bound for a thousand years. The devil is bound by a chain of circumstances. It is very likely the same in the sixth trumpet. These angels, some say, represent the four sultans of the Turkish Ottoman Empire; Aleppo, Iconium, Damascus, and Baghdad. Others view these angels as destructive forces used to judge the western world.

In either view, these symbolic angels were being held in check until God saw fit to have them released in order to enact judgment upon those who still clung to papal falsehoods, including the papacy itself. But judgments also have another purpose. They are not only used to punish, but also to call people to repentance. God tells us what is going to happen, because He wants us to repent and be saved.

Now, back to the time prophecy of Revelation 9:15: “an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for the slay the third part of men.” Let’s break this down. A year in the Jewish calendar is 360 days. A month is 30 days. A day is, well, one day. And an hour is 15 days. Remember, a day in Bible prophecy equals a year. See these texts to verify: Ezekiel 4:6 and Numbers 14:34.

Therefore, the total here is for 391 years. The beginning of this time prophecy is in the same verse as the length of it. When the angels were loosed, this time prophecy began. At the beginning of the sixth trumpet, and the end of the fifth trumpet, we can begin counting the time here. The fifth trumpet ended in 1449. Count forward 391 years, and that takes us to 1840.

What happened when this time prophecy ended? Josiah Litch wrote about this. He predicted the Ottoman empire would fall on August 11, 1840. We find this enumerated upon on page 334-335 of the book we have previously quoted from, The Great Controversy. At the exact time predicted, the Ottoman empire accepted the protection of European nations, and thus effectively ceased as an independent nation, exactly fulfilling the time prophecy of Daniel 9.

Many take the numerical size of the army of horseman in Revelation 9:16 to be a literal number, but given that Revelation is a highly symbolic book, this is not the case. We are not to look for a mass army in the last days that will come from some country to conquer another.

Verses 17-19 go on to describe what this symbolic army is like. It is symbolic of a nation. The main colors of the Turkish uniform were red, blue, and yellow; fire, smoke and jacinth, and brimstone. They were a powerful army, being described with characteristics of lions, fire, brimstone, and serpents.

But even still, the Bible goes on to say that the men that this judgment was pronounced upon did not repent. This group of judged people were guilty of idol worship, murder, sorcery, fornication, and theft. The papacy and papal Europe suffered greatly because of the sins of the Vatican. Many lives were lost in wars fought because of the Vatican.

The Vatican has killed literally tens of millions of people with the sword and torturers, and therefore had similar punishments inflicted upon them and their faithful corrupt adherents. “He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity: he that killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints.” (Revelation 13:10, KJV.) On their website, Amazing Discoveries quotes the following quote:

After all these judgements the rest of the men “represented not.” God’s object in sending these judgements were not only to punish but also to call Papal dominated Europe to repentance. The rest of the men are said to worship “idols.” At this time the Western Church worshiped images of “saints.” “The men” also did no repent of “their murders,” the Christians slaughtered for their belief in Bible truth; their “fornication,” a symbol of doctrinal impurity, or of their “thefts,” the usurping of God’s authority.

LAODICEA, THE SEVENTH SEAL, AND THE SEVENTH TRUMPET

The letter to the church at Laodicea is the only one of the seven that does not have a commendation. It is a lukewarm church. Jesus introduces Himself to this church as the Amen, as well as a couple of other things. Amen is often understood as simply being the end of a prayer, or a way to say, “So be it.” But Jesus used it in the Gospels in a way to add more emphasis to what He was saying. When He said things such as, “Verily, Verily,” the word He used was Amen. The Word of Jesus has power, and His Word, the Bible, is the final authority for our lives.

He also introduces Himself as the faithful and true witness. Jesus came to this earth, born of a woman, to show us what the Father is like. After 4,000 years of sin, humanity had distorted pictures of who God the Father is. Part of the mission of Jesus was to dispel these deceptions. He is the faithful and true witness of who the Godhead is, and of the fact that God is love. 1 John 4:8.

He also introduces Himself as one other thing to the Laodiceans. The KJV says, “the beginning of the creation of God…” Some likely take this to mean that Jesus is created. Hogwash. Jesus is not a created being. Colossians 1;16-17says that all things were created by Jesus, and that He “is before all things, and by hi all things consist.” John 1:3 says that all things were made by Jesus. Nothing can create itself. Therefore, Jesus is not created.

So what does this part of the introduction mean? If Jesus is not created, what does this phrase mean? The word for creation means just that. However, the word for beginning means something else. It means "chief...magistrate." Jesus is the ruler of all creation, the creator of all creation. He is not created. If He was created, then by virtue of that, He would not be God. But the Bible tells us very clearly that Jesus is both uncreated and God.

Then Jesus goes into the works. Laodicea is in such bad condition that it has no commendation. In fact, Jesus is rather stern with them; to the point that most Christians today would tell Him that He’s not being very Christ-like. Let us remember, this is the period of church history that spans from the mid-1800s to the Second Coming of Jesus. In other words, this is us, folks.

Jesus tells us that our works stink, in the common vernacular. We are neither cold, nor hot. We are lukewarm. Jesus wishes we were one or the other. If we are cold, dead to spiritual things, He can move upon us to try and heat us up. If we are hot, zealous for Him, He can use us to further His Cause and Kingdom. But if we are lukewarm, what can He do for us? If we think we are Christians, but we act just like the world, if we are lukewarm, then we have no sense of our need for Jesus. This is why His rebuke to us is so pointed.

Consider the following solemn quotes from the Pen of Inspiration:

But if Christians are such in name only, they are like the salt that has lost its savor. They have no influence for good in the world. Through their misrepresentation of God they are worse than unbelievers. (The Desire of Ages, page 306, Ellen G. White.)

While I write, my heart is deeply moved. Brethren and sisters, will you heed the words of God? I must tell you that the reason for your lack of power is your lack of love for God, for your brethren, and for the souls ready to perish. Many professing Christians are in a worse spiritual condition than are worldlings; for unbelievers make no pretensions to godliness and piety. You have had an abundance of light, line upon line, precept upon precept; and yet you do not practice the virtues of Christ. Your words and actions put Him to open shame. Will you make a through reform? (Ms46-1902.32, Ellen G. White.)

Halfhearted Christians are worse than infidels; for their deceptive words and noncommittal position lead many astray. The infidel shows his colors. The lukewarm Christian deceives both parties. He is neither a good worldling nor a good Christian. Satan uses him to do a work that no one else can do. (Our High Calling, page 348, Ellen G. White.)

“In the broad road all are occupied with their persons, their dress, and the pleasures in the way. They indulge freely in hilarity and glee, and think not of their journey’s end, of the certain destruction at the end of the path. Every day they approach nearer their destruction; yet they madly rush on faster and faster. Oh, how dreadful this looked to me!

‘I saw many traveling in this broad road who had written upon them, ‘Dead to the world. The end of all things is at hand. Be ye also ready.’ They looked just like all the vain ones around them, except a shade of sadness which I noticed upon their countenances. Their conversation was just like that of the gay, thoughtless ones around them; but they would occasionally point with great satisfaction to the letters on their garments, calling for the others to have the same upon theirs. They were in the broad way, yet they professed to be of that number who were traveling the narrow way. Those around them would say, ‘There is no distinction between us. We are all alike; we dress and talk and act alike.’ ...

“I was shown the conformity of some professed Sabbath-keepers to the world. Oh, I saw that it is a disgrace to their profession, a disgrace to the cause of God. They give the lie to their profession. They think they are not like the world, but they are so near like them in dress, in conversation, and actions, that there is no distinction. I saw them decorating their poor mortal bodies, which are liable at any moment to be touched by the finger of God, and laid upon a bed of anguish. Oh, then, as they approach their last change, mortal anguish racks their frames, and the great inquiry then is, ‘Am I prepared to die? prepared to appear before God in judgment, and pass the grand review?’

“Ask them then how they feel about decorating their bodies, and if they have any sense of what it is to be prepared to appear before God, they will tell you that if they could take back and live over the past, they would correct their lives, shun the follies of the world, its vanity, its pride, and would adorn the body with modest apparel, and set an example to all around them. They would live to the glory of God.

“Why is it so hard to lead a self-denying, humble life? Because professed Christians are not dead to the world. It is easy living after we are dead. But many are longing for the leeks and onions of Egypt. They have a disposition to dress and act as much like the world as possible, and yet go to heaven. Such climb up some other way. They do not enter through the strait gate and narrow way....

“Such will have no excuse. Many dress like the world to have an influence. But here they make a sad and fatal mistake. If they would have a true and saving influence, let them live out their profession, show their faith by their righteous works, and make the distinction great between the Christian and the world. I saw that the words, the dress, and actions should tell for God. Then a holy influence will be shed upon all, and all will take knowledge of them that they have been with Jesus. Unbelievers will see that the truth we profess has a holy influence, and that faith in Christ’s coming affects the character of the man or woman. If any wish to have their influence tell in favor of the truth, let them live it out, and thus imitate the humble Pattern.” – (Messages to Young People, page 126 – 128, Ellen G. White.)

Are we starting to see how serious this problem of being lukewarm is? Jesus goes on to say that since we are neither hot, nor cold, but instead, we are lukewarm, He will spue us out of His mouth. Now, the phrase in the Greek is more telling than the English translation here. The word for, “I will,” literally means "to intend, be about to be..." The word for spue means to vomit, or throw up. We are so lukewarm, and we have no clue about it. And Jesus is standing over us saying, “Look guys! I want to save you, but you have no clue that you even need me. You think you’re doing fine, but you’re in terrible condition. So because you don’t realize your horrible condition, I am about to vomit you out of my mouth. You’ve left me no choice!”

Jesus describes us in Revelation 3:17. We think we’re rich, that we have all we need and don’t need anything else. Jesus tells us we’re poor, and not rich. He says we wretched, miserable, blind, naked, and poor. Our condition is absolutely terrible. And we have no clue about it. What does Jesus have to do to wake us up from our spiritual slumber and lethargy? What does He have to do to break our hold on the world? Somehow, we must realize our need for Him. Only the soul that realizes its need for Christ can have Christ.

Let’s take a closer look at what these words mean that Jesus describes us with. To be wretched in the Greek means to be miserable or wretched, enduring troubles. The word for miserable means either miserable, or pitiable. The word for poor literally means to be a beggar, or a pauper, reduced to beggary, helpless, powerless, lowly, afflicted, destitute of Christian virtues and eternal riches. Blind means to be either physically OR mentally blind. The word for naked means unclad, without clothing, naked, nude, ill clad.

Wretched. We think we’re doing fine. Or we may know we’re not, but we’re putting on a hypocritical show to try and convince everyone else we are fine and dandy. This makes us miserable. The word also means pitiable. Jesus pities us. He loves us and wants to save us, but He can’t if we refuse to admit to our condition. Being wretched and miserable makes us poor. Because of being wretched and miserable, we are reduced to beggary. We lack those Christian virtues that every true follower of Jesus should have. We are helpless and powerless. This is, of course, our natural condition before truly accepting Jesus as our Savior.

But not only these things. Because we are wretched, which leads to being miserable, then both of these lead to being poor, all three of these lead to being blind. We have lived a lie for so long, that we begin to believe it, and we become blind to reality. We become blind to God’s love for us and His desire to save us. Pitiable indeed, is our condition. Naturally, all this leads to being naked. Not physically, of course, at least not usually. But spiritually naked.

We lack the righteousness of Christ. This is represented in the Bible as Christ’s robe of righteousness that He weaved for us by living a perfect life and becoming our sacrifice. In Matthew 22, Jesus tells the parable of the King’s Son. In this parable, the King sends messengers to many people declaring that His Son is about to get married and they are invited! But one by one, they all make excuses.

What are these excuses? Well, let’s put a modern spin on them, shall we? You can read the originals in Matthew 22. Today it would sound something like these:

I can’t, Lord. I finally got my Instagram follower count up high, and I can’t leave them now.
I can’t, Lord. I finally got promoted (or a good job, or even just a job) and it requires me to work on the Sabbath.
I can’t, Lord. I finally have a good paying job and tithing just doesn’t fit into my best life now.

In the latter part of this parable, is the part about the wedding garment, which represents Christ’s robe of righteousness. When the banquet hall was finally furnished with guests, the King came in to inspect His guests. In fact, the word used for when the King came to see these guests, literally means to look closely. Then He spots someone without a wedding garment. You see, this King was so kind and generous, that He provided a wedding garment for everyone.

Indeed, He had to. His guests were all those who were the rejects of society, those who couldn’t afford proper clothing to attend a wedding in. But even though the King provided these garments, there was still one who didn’t put it on. When He confronted the man on this issue, the man was speechless. He had no excuse. Likewise, if we do not accept Christ’s free robe of righteousness, we will have no excuse.

But in keeping with the character of Jesus and the Godhead, He never gives us a rebuke or warning without giving us encouragement and a rescue plan. Revelation 3:18-21 is absolutely beautiful. It all is, but it really brings out the beauty of God because of what we just mentioned. Remember that God never gives a warning without giving us a way to escape out of our sin. So what is the remedy that Jesus follows the rebuke with?

“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.” (Revelation 3:18-21, KJV.)

Jesus counsels us to buy gold, and white raiment, and to anoint our eyes with eyesalve. But what do these things mean? Gold, in the Bible, is connected with faith. Consider 1 Peter 1:7 and Galatians 5:6. White is the color of purity, and white raiment is representative of righteousness by faith in Christ. Consider Revelation 3:5; 7:14; 12:9; 19:8; 20:2. See also the parable of the wedding garment in Matthew 22:1-14 and Luke 14:15-24. See also our discussion of the parable above.

But how do we buy these things when we are destitute? How do we buy from Jesus when we have no merits of our own, and it is impossible to produce our own merits worthy of anything from Jesus?

“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.” (Isaiah 55:1.)

Of ourselves, we have no possible way to buy these things that Jesus wants us to buy. However, Jesus offers them to us without money and without price. Salvation is a completely free gift. It requires a full surrender, but there is nothing we can do to earn it.

But Jesus goes on to say that we also need to anoint our eyes with eyesalve so that we can see. But what does that mean? What is the eyesalve? The eyesalve represents the Holy Spirit. Consider Ephesians 1:12-19; Psalms 119:18; I John 2: 20,27; John 16:7-13. He is the only way we can have our eyes opened to our true condition. And it is only by seeing our true condition, that we will see our need for Jesus.

When Jesus tells us to anoint our eyes, it is actually a command in the Greek. And literally, in the Greek, it means "to rub in, anoint, to rub in, besmear..." This is not a take a pill and move on kind of thing. This is an intensive treatment. Truly, our rescue from sin is intensive. It required the death of the only divine Son of God.

“He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth. He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken.” (Isaiah 53:3-8.)

This is a rather harsh rebuke from none other than God the Son, Jesus Christ. But, it is because He loves us. “As many as I love,” He says, “I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.” (Revelation 3:19.) Let’s take a closer look at these words in verse 19 in the Greek.

The word for love is actually phileo, which literally means, “to be a friend to, have affection for, to treat affectionately or kindly, to befriend…” Abraham was called the friend of God in the Bible in James 2:23 and a couple of other places. God spoke with Moses as one speaks with a friend. Exodus 33:11. God not only loves us, but He wants to be our friend.

Therefore, He rebukes us sometimes, and chastens us sometimes, in order to sanctify us so that we can one day stand in His presence, sinless as He is, as His friends. This word (phileo) is also a Present Active in the Greek, which means it’s on-going. But it’s also a subjunctive, meaning that God can only be our friend by our own permission.

The Greek word for rebuke in this verse, means, “correct, admonish, convict, convince, tell a fault, reprove, chasten, punish, call to account, show one his fault, by conviction to bring to the light, to expose..." It is a Present Active Indicative, which, again, means an on-going deal. God had to rebuke ancient Israel time after time. And He does the same with many of us today. But remember, He does so because He loves us, because He wants to correct and sanctify us.

Jesus also chastens us because He loves us. This word for chasten in the Greek means, "to chastise, (of a father punishing his son), to train up a child, educate, discipline (by punishment), instruct, learn, teach." When God punishes us, it isn’t arbitrary. It is for a reason. Punishments and judgments from God are meant to rouse us to the fact that we have wandered away from Him, and that we need to return to Him.

What does Jesus want us to do next? He says to be zealous and to repent. To be zealous is an imperative in the Greek, or a command. It means "to burn with zeal, to desire earnestly, pursue, to desire one earnestly, to strive after, busy one's self about him, to exert one's self for one (that he may not be torn from me), to have warmth of feeling for or against…"

Remember, Jesus wants us to be hot. He can also work with cold, because He can try and heat you up. But He can’t work with lukewarm, because lukewarm people don’t realize their true condition. We must be zealous, because if we are not, we will certainly fail of reaching eternal life. We must seek God, because our lives depend on it.

Repent, Jesus says. "To change one's mind, to change one's mind for better, heartily to amend with abhorrence of one's past sins, to think differently, reconsider (morally): repent.)" This word is also an imperative. Repentance does not simply mean asking for forgiveness, although that is part of it. It is a complete 180. We ask God for the grace and strength to hate the sin that we love. We can only overcome by the blood of the Lamb, and the word of our testimony, not by works. Revelation 12:11.

And of course, we can’t forget the promise to this church. Even though this Laodicea is really in terrible condition, Jesus still gives promise to the overcomers. In the Greek, to overcome in this text is a Present Active Participle. It is a lifelong process, not a one and done like once saved always saved teaches. The word in the Greek means to conquer, or carry off the victory, subdue, or prevail." The overcomers are promised to be able to sit with Christ on His throne, as He sits with His Father on His throne.

After this pointed message, we turn our attention to the seventh seal. It is only one verse long. It says that there was silence in heaven for about a half hour. We find this in Revelation 8:1. This would be symbolic of about one weeks’ time. Now, when we couple this with the seventh trumpet, we will understand why. The seventh trumpet describes the Second Coming of Jesus. Matthew 25:31 tells us that at the Second Coming, ALL of the angels of Heaven will be with Jesus. Only God the Father will be in Heaven. This is why there is silence in Heaven for a symbolic half hour, or one literal week.

But let’s talk about the seventh trumpet. Remember, each corresponding Church, Seal, and Trumpet cover the same basic timelines. We find this trumpet in Revelation 11:14-19. This is also known as the third woe. But why would the Second Coming be a woe? It is such to the wicked. They will be crying to be hidden under the mountains and rocks, just to avoid Jesus.

When the seventh angel blows the seventh trumpet, the announcement is made in Heaven that the kingdoms of earth have become those of God and Jesus, and they will reign forever. Then the twenty-four elders fell on their faces and worshipped and praised God.

They go on to say that the nations were angry, and it is time to judge the dead: the wicked with punishment, and the righteous with everlasting life. Indeed, when Jesus returns, the living wicked will perish at the brightness of His Coming. The wicked dead remain dead. However, the righteous dead will be resurrected, and long with the righteous living, will be taken to Heaven with Jesus.

This trumpet closes with a view of the Temple of God in Heaven being opened, and the ark of His testament was seen. How could God’s Law be changed, when it is the foundation of His government? This is what the ark of His testament tells us. The Ten Commandments are contained in the ark. God’s throne is the mercy seat above the ark. Therefore, His Ten Commandment Law is the foundation of His government, and the very character of who He is.

The Second Coming will be the most eventful event that this world will have ever witnessed since the fall. Mountains and islands will completely disappear. Jeremiah 4:23-29 tells us that the earth will be returned to a similar state as it was before it was created. See Genesis 1.

Indeed friends, Jesus is coming soon. May we all be ready.

Gabriel Taylor

The Seven Churches, Seals, & Trumpets

The Advent Truth

PO Box 861
Queen City, TX 75572

The Seven Churches, Seals, & Trumpets

The Sabbath and the Three Angel’s Message

The Advent Truth

PO Box 861 Queen City, TX 75572

PO Box 861
Queen City, TX 75572