Participants:
Series Code: ARSS
Program Code: ARSS190009S
|
00:16 Well, good morning everyone.
00:18 Welcome to Anchor. 00:21 This is day number three. 00:23 We're on a roll here. This is half way today. 00:27 Because we have 24 presentations and today we will do 4 more, 00:32 which will give us 12 and we'll be half way. 00:36 Today we are going to study some introductory matters, 00:39 and then we're going to go to study the first seal. 00:43 So I'm hoping that in this session we will be able to 00:46 do the introductory matters and also the first seal. 00:49 But if we are not able to finish the first seal, 00:51 we'll do it the second session. 00:53 But we want to begin with prayer, as we always do. 00:56 So let's bow our heads reverently for prayer. 00:59 Father in heaven, we thank You for the privilege 01:02 of beginning this new day. 01:04 Thank You, Lord, for Your many blessings. 01:06 Thank You because You give us life this day. 01:09 Thank You for Your Word. 01:11 We ask that Your Holy Spirit will be present 01:13 to give us understanding into the depths of this wonderful 01:17 book, the book of Revelation. 01:19 We place ourselves in Your hands, 01:22 pleading for Your presence. 01:23 And we thank You for being with us, 01:25 because we ask it in Jesus name, amen. 01:30 Okay, we're going to page 111, skipping a few things here 01:34 that we've basically covered before. 01:38 But I want to deal with the subtitle, 01:41 Ellen White and the Seven Seals, on page 111 of your syllabus. 01:47 And I want to remind those who are watching the live stream 01:51 and watching on our SumTV channels that you can 01:57 also get a syllabus from us after the class ends. 02:02 Or you can access it online and you can download it if you wish, 02:07 but it will be available after the class is over. 02:11 So anyway, if you want a hard copy, you can contact us 02:15 and get information about how you can get a hard copy 02:18 like the one that all the students have here. 02:21 So let's go to the section, Ellen White and the Seven Seals. 02:26 And I'm going to go through this carefully because it 02:28 deals with some very important matters. 02:31 At first sight, Ellen White has little to say about the 02:37 first four seals and the seventh seal. 02:41 In fact, as far as I know, she never quotes Revelation 8:1, 02:45 which is the seventh seal. 02:47 However, don't be fooled. 02:50 Though she does not have much to say in terms of quantity, 02:54 she does have several qualitative statements 02:58 that help us know when the seals are fulfilled 03:02 in the course of history. 03:05 Ellen White also has some significant statements 03:08 besides a statement on the first seal, the second seal, 03:13 and the third seal, at least hints, 03:16 she has several statements on the fifth seal 03:21 and she has many, many statements on the sixth seal. 03:26 So it's very important for us to realize that Ellen White 03:30 does have quite a bit to say about the seals, 03:32 even though many times she doesn't quote the verses, 03:35 she is dealing with the events that fulfill the seals. 03:40 Now let's go to the bottom of the page. 03:43 In, Desire of Ages, pages 833-835, 03:46 which is the last chapter of, Desire of Ages, 03:49 Ellen White explains the introductory 03:52 vision to the seals. 03:53 That's Revelation 4 and 5. 03:55 We dedicated a significant amount of time to study 03:59 the introductory vision. 04:00 In other words, Jesus ascending to heaven 04:02 and being installed as the High Priest and sitting on the throne 04:05 as the King of the kingdom of grace. 04:08 And then this applies to Christ's inauguration as 04:11 High Priest upon His ascension. 04:15 This means that the introductory vision gives us 04:19 the crucial historical starting point for the seals. 04:23 Are you with me or not? 04:25 So this gives us the beginning point. 04:27 The last chapter of, Desire of Ages, 04:30 is Ellen White's commentary on the introductory vision 04:34 right before the first seal, which is the white horse. 04:38 Then in, The Great Controversy, page 641, 04:42 Ellen White places the seventh seal 04:45 in the context of the second coming. 04:48 Now she doesn't quote Revelation 8:1, 04:50 but we're going to go through a method where we can 04:53 determine where Ellen White is commenting on 04:57 Bible passages even though she doesn't particularly 05:00 mention the verses. 05:04 So we have the starting point which is the introductory vision 05:08 in the last chapter of, Desire of Ages. 05:10 And then you have the seventh seal 05:13 in, Great Controversy, page 641. 05:16 So where would you expect to find the fulfillment 05:18 of the other seals, seal number one through seal number six? 05:23 It must be between the last chapter of, Desire of Ages, 05:26 and, Great Controversy, page 641. 05:29 Are you with me or not? 05:31 As we shall see, several times Ellen White applies the 05:36 expression of the first seal, "conquering and to conquer," 05:41 to the gospel conquest of the early church. 05:45 By the way, we're going to notice something 05:47 very interesting in a moment. 05:48 So the first seal would be the apostolic church 05:51 going out conquering and to conquer. 05:54 With regard to the second seal, Ellen White has a clear 05:58 statement on the meaning of the sword. 06:01 The second rider has a sword in his hand 06:04 that takes away peace from the earth. 06:06 Ellen White has a significant statement 06:08 on when that is fulfilled. 06:11 And then she applies it to the persecutions 06:14 that the early church, the persecutions that they suffered 06:17 at the hands of the Roman Empire. 06:20 Concerning the third seal, Ellen White has a clear statement 06:23 about the oil and the wine. 06:25 Because oil and wine are mentioned in the third seal. 06:29 Furthermore, we shall see in the course of our study 06:32 that Ellen White had several clear statements 06:34 about the fifth and sixth seals. 06:37 Later on in the book, Great Controversy, I might say. 06:40 Regarding the seventh seal, she does not quote 06:43 Revelation 8:1, but clearly alludes to it. 06:49 Now the next paragraph is extremely important. 06:52 The best commentary on the introductory vision to the seals 06:58 is the last chapter of, The Desire of Ages. 07:02 The title is, To My Father and Your Father. 07:05 Speaking to the disciples. 07:07 The first two chapters of the book, Acts of the Apostles, 07:10 explain the enthronement of Jesus in heaven 07:13 on the day of Pentecost. 07:15 So we have to link, Acts of the Apostles, 07:19 the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, that's when the seven 07:22 spirits are sent to the earth that we studied about. 07:26 And then Ellen White, in the book, The Great Controversy, 07:30 expounds upon the seven seals in their proper order, 07:34 culminating on page 641 with the seventh seal. 07:39 So the last chapter of, Desire of Ages, actually has the 07:42 introductory vision, Revelation 4 and 5. 07:46 The book, Acts of the Apostles, has the enthronement of Christ 07:50 when He arrives in heaven and the description of the first 07:53 seal, the conquest of the early church. 07:56 And then the book, Great Controversy, 07:58 has the comments on the second seal through the seventh seal, 08:04 culminating in, Great Controversy, page 641. 08:07 Are you with me or not? 08:09 So what is the best commentary on the seals? 08:11 If I ask you, what is the best commentary that has ever 08:13 been written on the seals? 08:17 The last chapter of, Desire of Ages, 08:20 the book, Acts of the Apostles, 08:22 and the book, Great Controversy. 08:24 And somebody asked yesterday about what would be a good 08:27 commentary on the book of Revelation. 08:29 Well, I gave you the non-inspired commentaries, 08:32 but the best commentary on Revelation 08:34 is the book, Great Controversy. 08:37 I don't know whether you've noticed, Ellen White 08:39 follows the exact order of the book of Revelation 08:43 from beginning to end. 08:45 She begins with the persecutions in the early centuries, 08:51 and then she moves on to speak about the papacy, 08:55 then she speaks about the Millerites, 1844. 08:58 Before that, she speaks about the French Revolution. 09:00 That's Revelation 11. 09:02 Then she speaks about the three angels' messages. 09:05 Then she deals with the final controversy. 09:07 Then she deals with the second coming. 09:09 Then she deals with what happens during the millennium. 09:12 And then the desolation of the earth. 09:14 And then what happens after the millennium. 09:16 She's following the exact order of the book of Revelation. 09:20 It's the best commentary on the book of Revelation, 09:23 is the book, Great Controversy. 09:26 But the problem is, Ellen White many times does not quote 09:31 the verses that she's commenting on. 09:35 We had an example of that in the introductory vision. 09:38 You know, you read Revelation 4 and 5, 09:40 it says there in the throne room are the 24 elders, 09:44 and the four living creatures that have four faces, and so on, 09:48 and you have the seven spirits, 09:50 and you have one sitting on the throne who is not identified, 09:53 and then you have a lamb as though it had been slain. 09:56 You have all of these symbols. 09:58 But Ellen White, in her explanation, 10:00 she says the Father is on the throne. 10:03 She's interpreting who the person is. 10:06 "The Father is on the throne." 10:07 She says there are cherubim and seraphim. 10:10 The four living creatures. 10:11 She doesn't say four living creatures. 10:13 She never quotes the verses. 10:14 Then she says there also are present the representatives 10:17 of the worlds that never sinned. 10:19 That would be the 24 elders. 10:22 And then in, Acts of the Apostles, she speaks about 10:25 the sending of the Holy Spirit to the earth on the 10:28 day of Pentecost. 10:30 But you would never know that she's commenting 10:32 on Revelation 4 by reading what she's written because 10:37 she doesn't quote Revelation 4. 10:40 However, there is a hint. 10:42 At the end of the chapter, the last chapter of, Desire of Ages, 10:50 she quotes Revelation 5:12-13. 10:57 So if she's commenting at the very end of the chapter 11:00 Revelation 5:12-13, where would you expect to find her 11:04 commentary on Revelation 4? 11:08 In the previous pages, right? 11:11 So we have to be good detectives. 11:14 We have to look for clues. 11:16 You know, not everything is there on the surface. 11:18 We have to think, we have to look at the structure. 11:21 What comes before, what comes after, what order things are in. 11:25 Let me give you one other example of how, 11:30 you know, we need to look and read Ellen White 11:34 when many times she doesn't quote verses specifically, 11:38 although she's commenting on what the verses are saying. 11:43 And this is not directly related to the seals, 11:46 but it's another illustration of how we need to read, 11:49 The Great Controversy. 11:50 Ellen White, in the chapter on, The Time of Trouble, 11:54 she comments on the 144,000. 11:58 And she comments on the first four plagues 12:03 of Revelation 16. 12:05 So in the chapter on, The Time of Trouble, 12:07 she comments on the first four plagues. 12:10 Very brief, less than one page, 12:12 she comments on the first four plagues. 12:15 But we don't find any verse where she comments on 12:18 the fifth plague. 12:20 Or the sixth plague. 12:22 The drying up of the Euphrates. 12:24 And so you say, "Well, Ellen White, you know, she had 12:27 something to say about the first four, but she had 12:29 nothing to say about plagues number 5 and 6. 12:34 She did, but she doesn't quote the verses. 12:38 Now let's notice this. 12:40 I know you don't have a copy of, The Great Controversy, 12:43 but I'm going to show you how important it is to just, 12:49 you know, try to read between the lines what verses 12:52 Ellen White is commenting on even though she does not 12:55 quote the verses specifically. 12:58 I'm going to the chapter, God's People Delivered. 13:01 It's the first page of, God's People Delivered. 13:05 It's, Great Controversy, page 635. 13:08 In the previous chapter she commented on the 13:11 the first four plagues. 13:13 You know. 13:14 And then after that she doesn't quote about 13:18 the fifth or sixth plagues. 13:19 But what is the fifth plague? It's the plague of darkness. 13:23 What is the sixth plague? 13:25 It's the drying up of the river Euphrates. 13:28 And the seventh plague is the voice in heaven 13:30 that causes the earthquake, lightning, thundering, so on. 13:34 So notice, Great Controversy, page 635. 13:39 I'm only going to read at the bottom of the page. 13:43 "With shouts of triumph, jeering, and imprecation, 13:47 throngs of evil men are about to rush upon their prey..." 13:53 What is it that rushes? 13:56 Water rushes. 14:00 What does the waters represent? 14:04 What do they represent? 14:05 Multitudes, nations, tongues, and peoples 14:08 that are inimical to the people of God. 14:10 So they're about to rush upon their prey, 14:13 "...when, lo, a dense blackness deeper than the darkness 14:17 of the night falls upon the earth." 14:20 Plague number 5, the darkness. 14:24 Doesn't quote the verse, 14:26 but she speaks of the darkness. 14:29 After she says that a deep darkness, "deeper than the 14:35 darkness of the night falls upon the earth. 14:37 Then a rainbow shining with the glory from the throne of God 14:40 spans the heavens and seems to encircle each praying company." 14:43 Now listen to this. 14:44 "The angry multitudes are suddenly arrested." 14:49 What happens with the rushing waters? 14:51 They're arrested. 14:53 What is that? 14:54 The drying up of the Euphrates. 14:57 Are you following me or not? 15:00 But she doesn't quote the verses. 15:01 So you say she doesn't have anything to say. 15:03 Yes she does. 15:05 So that's how we have to read, Great Controversy, 15:09 Acts of the Apostles. 15:10 We have to look where Ellen White is commenting 15:13 on Bible verses even though she doesn't quote them. 15:15 And then I want you to notice, 15:18 and this is where I got this clue, 15:20 "The multitudes are suddenly arrested. 15:22 Their mocking cries die away. 15:24 The objects of their murderous rage are forgotten. 15:27 With fearful foreboding they gaze upon the symbol of 15:31 God's covenant and long to be shielded 15:34 from its overpowering brightness." 15:36 And then here's the clue that I saw that helped me understand 15:41 that the arresting of the multitudes is the drying up 15:45 of the waters and the darkness deeper than the darkness of 15:48 midnight is the fifth plague. 15:51 At the end of page 636 Ellen White quotes the seventh plague. 16:02 Let me just read that. 16:05 "The streams cease to flow. 16:07 Dark heavy clouds come up and clash against each other. 16:10 In the midst of the angry heavens is one clear 16:12 space of indescribable glory, whence comes the voice of God 16:17 like the sound of many waters, saying, 'It is done.' 16:20 Revelation 16:17." 16:22 The seventh plague. 16:24 And then she says, "That voice shakes 16:28 the heavens and the earth. 16:30 There is a mighty earthquake 'such as was not since 16:35 men were upon the earth, 16:37 so mighty an earthquake and so great.'" 16:40 Verses 17 and 18 of the seventh plague. 16:45 And then she goes on a little bit further down 16:47 to speak about the hailstones and the weight of the hailstones 16:50 about the weight of a talent. 16:52 Verses 19 and 21. 16:53 So she's commenting on the seventh plague. 16:56 So where would you expect to find her commentary 16:58 on the fifth and sixth? 17:03 So in the chapter, The Time of Trouble, 17:05 she's commenting on the first four plagues. 17:09 Then the darkness deeper than the darkness of the night. 17:12 Doesn't quote the verses. 17:14 Then the multitudes that want to rush upon 17:17 God's people are arrested. 17:18 That's the drying up of the Euphrates. 17:20 And then she quotes the verses having to do with 17:22 the seventh plague. 17:25 Are you following the method? 17:27 But for this, you know, we have to dedicate time 17:31 and we have to, you know, look at the sequence of things. 17:36 Not only just look at what we're reading at any given moment. 17:40 We need to look at what comes before, what comes after 17:43 the specific context in which passages 17:46 or verses are found. 17:49 Now with that in mind, let's go to page 121. 17:55 And we're going to notice here a summary of the introductory 18:01 vision and the seven seals. 18:03 A summary of the introductory vision and of the seven seals. 18:10 Now the first paragraph, we don't have time to do this, 18:12 but there's a striking parallel between Matthew 24 18:15 and the seven seals. 18:17 You'll find many, many parallels. 18:18 The sequence is basically the same sequence as the seals. 18:24 The seals are parallel in many ways to Matthew 24. 18:28 This indicates that the seals describe, in symbolic language, 18:32 events that occur during the Christian era because the events 18:36 in Matthew 24 are in chronological order. 18:40 We don't have time to get into that, but I did a series 18:43 on Matthew 24. 18:44 It's the most popular series that Secrets Unsealed has. 18:48 And it was 14 presentations studying the whole of Matthew 24 18:54 as well as the parallel passages in Mark 13 and Luke 21. 18:58 You can, you know, you can download that for free 19:01 or you can get a hard copy here if you wish. 19:04 But we don't have time to do the Matthew 24 19:06 parallel with the seals as well. 19:08 We just don't have enough sessions. 19:11 The seven churches, the next paragraph, 19:13 the seven churches are a description of the internal 19:15 condition of the church from apostolic times 19:18 until the second coming. 19:20 Even though the seals cover the same historical period 19:24 as the churches, the emphasis is different. 19:28 In other words, the time period is the same, but the 19:30 emphasis is different between the churches and the seals. 19:34 While in the churches the emphasis falls upon the internal 19:38 condition of the church in different periods of history, 19:42 the seals describe the external forces that affect the church 19:46 during the same periods. 19:49 Now let's look at the chronological flow 19:52 then of the seals. 19:54 And let me just ask you this question. 19:56 This is the quiz question for today. 20:00 How many times in, Great Controversy, does Ellen White 20:03 mention the barbarian invasions? 20:11 This much. 20:15 So why do we have four trumpets for the barbarian invasions 20:20 if they are so significant? 20:22 You know, we're going to study the trumpets next year, 20:25 Lord willing. 20:27 If we're still here, if the time of trouble hasn't come. 20:30 And things are moving very fast. 20:32 But, you know, Ellen White does not see any significance 20:38 to Islam in the end time. 20:41 She has the one comment on 1840. 20:43 Yes, in, Great Controversy. 20:45 But that's practically the lone statement that Ellen White has 20:49 on the Muslims. 20:52 Interesting. 20:53 You know, they called it the Turk back then. 20:57 So anyway, that's just a little side light. 21:01 Let's look at the sequence. 21:03 First, the Father sits alone on His throne in the 21:06 Holy Place of the heavenly throne room. 21:08 That's Revelation 4, right? 21:10 Yeah? 21:13 Then the cloud catches Jesus up to the 21:15 Father's throne in the Holy Place. 21:19 And you have Acts 1:9-11, Desire of Ages, pages 830-833, 21:23 Acts of the Apostles, pages 30-34. 21:26 Then the Father anoints the War Hero as Priest and King 21:31 in the Holy Place, and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit 21:35 on the day of Pentecost announces this 21:37 heavenly event on earth. 21:41 Correct? 21:43 The seven spirits are what? 21:45 They are there in chapter 4, 21:47 and in chapter 5 they are sent to the earth. 21:52 And then we have the seals, 21:54 the breaking of the seals after that. 21:59 The breaking of the seals, in other words, describe events 22:01 that transpire between the moment that Jesus began His work 22:05 in the Holy place and when finally He opens the scroll 22:09 to reveal who will inherit what Adam lost. 22:13 Does that make sense? 22:16 The seven seals are simply the span between the inauguration 22:21 and the consummation. 22:23 The events in between. 22:25 That's historicism. 22:29 If Adventists ever get rid of historicism, 22:31 we have no reason to exist. 22:34 Because our origins are based on a historicist understanding, 22:38 for example, of Revelation 10. 22:42 So if we discard the method, we discard the message. 22:46 Because the message is based on the method. 22:50 And there are many scholars these days that are questioning 22:52 the historicist method of interpreting prophecy. 22:55 Notable scholars. 22:57 It's dangerous ground to get rid of the method, 23:01 because if you have the wrong method, 23:04 you're going to reach the wrong conclusions. 23:07 Now the first seal... 23:09 This is just so you can get an overview 23:11 of what we're going to study. 23:12 The first seal describes the conquests 23:16 of the apostolic church. 23:18 And that's found in, Acts of the Apostles, pages 47-602. 23:24 The second seal, the red horse, is the description of the 23:29 persecutions against Christians by the Roman emperors, 23:33 the early Roman emperors of the Christian age. 23:38 By persecution Satan attempts to eradicate God's faithful people. 23:43 So Satan's first method, the red horse, red is symbolic of blood. 23:48 Satan tries to get rid of the church by persecution. 23:52 The third seal is a black horse. 23:55 Satan changes his strategy from persecution to infiltration. 24:01 His philosophy was this: if you cannot fight them, join them. 24:06 Christianity merges with paganism and the darkness 24:10 of apostasy enters the church during 24:12 the period of Constantine. 24:16 Great Controversy, pages 49-60. 24:19 See, Ellen White is following the order. 24:22 The fourth seal, the pale horse, it's the horse of death. 24:30 The famine of the third horse is going to lead to death 24:33 in the fourth horse. 24:35 The apostasy in the church intensifies 24:37 under the fourth horse and leads to the emergence of papal Rome 24:42 who persecutes and kills God's people for 1260 years. 24:47 In other words, there's lots of martyrs during that period. 24:51 So then we come to the fifth seal. 24:53 Are you seeing that there's a sequence here? 24:56 These are not just separate disconnected events. 24:59 The conquest of the early church leads Satan to say, 25:03 "I've got to get rid of this through persecution." 25:06 But when he persecutes the church, it grows all the more. 25:08 So he says, "I've got to change my method." 25:09 So you have the black horse. 25:11 He infiltrates the church with apostasy. 25:14 And then the papacy becomes a persecutor 25:16 and kills the martyrs. 25:18 So under the fifth seal, the martyrs are crying out 25:20 and saying, "Hey, we're on the right side 25:24 and the papacy is on the wrong side, 25:25 and we're being killed." 25:27 And they're crying out from under the altar. 25:28 Are you with me or not? 25:31 Those who pagan and papal Rome slew cry out for justice. 25:36 By the way, the judgment of Daniel 7, 25:40 the purpose of the judgement of Daniel 7 is to reverse 25:44 the unjust earthly judgments. 25:47 You know, there's this big debate about Daniel chapter 7. 25:50 We use it to speak about the investigative judgment 25:54 of all those who profess Jesus Christ. 25:58 But Desmond Ford who passed away recently 26:00 says the central theme of Daniel 7 is not upon 26:04 God's people, it's upon the punishment of the little horn. 26:09 But when you read the chapter carefully, 26:11 the little horn, it says in Daniel 7, prospered. 26:15 Things went well. 26:17 The saints were given into his hand for 1260 years; 26:20 times, times, and the dividing of time. 26:23 So in other words, the papacy prevailed and the saints lost. 26:30 Was that just? 26:32 No. 26:33 Earthly courts condemned God's people. 26:36 So what does God do in the investigative judgment? 26:40 What He does, He revokes the judgments of the earthly courts 26:45 and He rewards the saints of the Most High. 26:48 So the central theme is not the punishment 26:50 of the little horn for persecuting the saints, 26:53 it's vindicating the saints who were persecuted by the papacy. 26:57 And that's clear. 26:59 Because Jesus goes before the Father, 27:01 before the Ancient of Days, clearly it says in Daniel 7, 27:05 Jesus goes to receive the kingdom. 27:08 And then the kingdom is given to the saints of the Most High 27:12 and to Jesus. 27:13 So those who were persecuted and killed, 27:19 now the heavenly judgment reverses the judgments, 27:22 the unjust judgments on earth and rewards 27:26 the saints of the Most High. 27:28 So the central theme of Daniel 7 is not the punishment 27:31 of the little horn. 27:32 The central theme is the rewarding of God's people that 27:35 have been mistreated by the little horn. 27:38 Are you following me or not? 27:40 Now let's continue here then the fifth seal. 27:43 Those whom pagan and papal Rome slew cry out for Justice. 27:48 And I have in parentheses, the judgment in Daniel 7 27:51 reverses the sentences in the earthly tribunals. 27:55 In answer to their pleas, what does God do 27:57 when the martyrs under the altar are crying out? 28:00 What does God do? 28:02 He gives them a white robe. 28:05 Well, they're dead. 28:07 It means that they're saved, right? 28:09 Because they have the righteousness of Christ. 28:11 And what does He tell them? 28:13 He says, rest a little while 28:18 until the rest of the martyrs are killed. 28:22 And then he'll be rewarded with the rest of the martyrs. 28:25 Does this give us the idea that the same power that persecuted 28:28 in the past is going to persecute again in the future? 28:32 Hmm. 28:35 The sixth seal. 28:37 Signs in the sun, moon, and the stars, and a great earthquake. 28:42 The sixth seal has two parts, we're going to notice. 28:46 And the two parts are separated by a long period of time. 28:50 The first part of the sixth seal is Revelation 6:12-13. 28:55 And the significant thing is, you know, Ellen White, 28:57 this is so interesting, Ellen White quotes Revelation 6:12-13. 29:05 And then 200 pages later in, Great Controversy, 29:09 she quotes Revelation 6:14-17. 29:14 Why would she do that? 29:16 Because there's a time gap, there's all sorts of events 29:20 that transpire between the first part of the sixth seal 29:24 and the last part of the sixth seal. 29:26 The last part of the sixth seal is the second coming of Christ. 29:31 So let's go through this. 29:33 The fulfillment of the first part of the sixth seal, 29:35 Revelation 6:12-13, occurs between 1755 and 1833. 29:42 The second part of the sixth seal, Revelation 6:14-17, 29:46 will occur at the second coming. 29:49 And then in between that you have Revelation 7:1-8. 29:52 It describes the period between the first and the second 29:55 part of the sixth seal. 29:58 The sealing. 30:00 And then, of course, you have the seventh seal, 30:03 which is silence in heaven for about half an hour. 30:06 And I don't believe we apply the year/day principal there. 30:10 Because after the close of probation, the time periods 30:15 are to be understood literally. 30:17 And we'll come back to that later. 30:20 So under the seventh seal, there is a period of awful silence 30:23 during the second coming of Christ when the redeemed 30:27 cry out, "Who shall be able to stand?" 30:30 Ellen White says that when Jesus is coming, 30:33 He hasn't arrived at the earth yet, the saints cry out, 30:38 "Who shall be able to stand?" 30:41 That's the last part of the sixth seal, right? 30:44 And then Ellen White says that there's an awful period of 30:47 silence in heaven. 30:50 And then after the awful period of silence, 30:52 which is the seventh seal, a voice is heard saying, 30:56 "My grace is sufficient for you." 31:00 That is the seventh seal. 31:03 And we're going to study all of these things. 31:05 I just want you to get the overview now. 31:09 And finally, the last paragraph, when the seventh seal is 31:11 broken, God will take His people to heaven. 31:16 For how long? 31:17 For a thousand years. 31:20 They will be able to do what? 31:22 To examine the contents of the scroll. 31:26 What does the scroll contain? 31:28 We studied this. What does the scroll contain? 31:31 The whole history of the world, 31:33 and the decisions that each person made 31:35 within the history of the world 31:37 that determines their salvation or their perdition. 31:40 Remember the case of the religious leaders that said, 31:44 "Release unto us Barabbas." 31:46 Ellen White says that their act was written in the book. 31:49 Are they going to see that event and why they're lost? Yes. 31:53 So the book reveals why people are saved 31:55 and why people are lost. 31:57 Let me ask you, after the millennium, is there going to be 31:59 a great panoramic view where the wicked are going to see 32:02 why they were lost? 32:04 That's the final unfurling of the scroll. 32:08 It's after the millennium. 32:10 But God's people will examine the contents 32:11 during the millennium. 32:13 Are you with me or not? 32:15 After the millennium, God will open the scroll 32:18 and reveal its contents to the lost outside the Holy City, 32:22 and then God will create a new heavens and a new earth 32:28 where righteousness dwells. 32:31 So that basically is an overview of the seals. 32:34 Is that clear? 32:36 Sequence clear? 32:37 Okay, now we're going to study specifically the events 32:42 in more detail. 32:43 So let's go to page 139. 32:46 We've got about 25 minutes. 32:48 I don't know if we'll be able to finish the first seal, 32:50 but we'll give it a shot. 32:53 Revelation 6:1-2 32:58 That's page 139 in the syllabus. 33:01 "Now I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals; 33:05 and I heard one of the four living creatures saying with 33:08 a voice like thunder, 'Come and see.' 33:11 And I looked, and behold, a white horse." 33:16 That's the reason why Steve Wohlberg called his ministry 33:20 White Horse Media. 33:22 I like that name. 33:24 Isn't that a nice name for a ministry? 33:27 So it says, "And I looked, and behold, a white horse. 33:31 He who sat on it had a bow; 33:34 and a crown was given to him, 33:37 and he went out conquering and to conquer." 33:42 Now there are several symbols in these verses. 33:45 First, there is a white horse. 33:48 Secondly, there is a rider on the white horse. 33:51 Third, the rider has a crown on his head. 33:55 Fourth, he has a bow in his hand. 33:59 If he's going to conquer, you know, the bow definitely is 34:03 an item of war of that time. 34:06 And with the crown and the bow, he goes out conquering 34:10 and to conquer. 34:13 So let's notice, first of all, what is meant by the 34:17 white horse and its rider. 34:18 How do we determine what is meant by the 34:20 white horse and the rider? 34:24 Does Revelation 6:1-2 explain what the horse and rider are? 34:30 No. So how can we ever decipher it? 34:34 We allow Scripture to interpret Scripture. 34:40 You say, why do we do that? 34:42 Let me ask you, who inspired Scripture? 34:45 The Holy Spirit. 34:47 Did the Holy Spirit put everything in Scripture 34:49 that we need to understand Scripture? 34:53 Or did He miss something where we can't explain something 34:57 because He forgot to put something in there that explains 34:59 what we're reading? 35:01 No. 35:02 The Holy Spirit placed in Scripture everything we need 35:06 to understand Scripture. 35:09 So when you find a symbol that is not explained, 35:11 you go to other places in the Bible that explains the symbol. 35:15 It's that simple. It's not rocket science. 35:18 And there are people in the Adventist church, 35:20 scholars today, that are questioning the principle 35:24 of sola scriptura, or the principle of 35:26 Scripture as its own interpreter. 35:28 They say, "Well, you know, you have to stay 35:31 within the passage itself. 35:32 You know, this is the proof text method." 35:36 So what they do is they speak negatively if this method 35:40 of allowing Scripture to interpret Scripture. 35:42 Because they say that's the proof, you find all these verses 35:45 as proof texts. 35:48 Well, maybe they are proof texts. 35:50 They prove that we're right, huh? 35:54 Now notice Zechariah 10:3-6. 35:57 Zechariah is a very prophetic book with lots of symbols. 36:01 It's one of the most difficult books to understand 36:03 in the whole Bible, Zechariah. 36:07 But you'll notice in Zechariah 10:3-6 36:11 that God's people, Judah, are compared to a conquering horse. 36:18 And I'm going to read the verses. 36:20 God is speaking. 36:41 So what does the horse represent in this passage? 36:45 Judah. 36:48 And who is riding the horse? 36:52 The Lord is riding the horse. 36:56 So once again it says, "...and will make them," 37:00 that is Judah, "as His royal horse in the battle." 37:06 So is there going to be conquering and to conquer? 37:08 Absolutely. 37:17 Is there a bow in the first seal? 37:20 Yes. 37:28 "Ruler." Interesting. 37:30 Does the rider have a crown? 37:32 Yes. 37:38 Is this a conquering horse? 37:40 Oh yes it is. 37:50 Ah, who's riding the horse? 37:53 His people are the horse. 37:55 Let me ask you, does the horse guide the rider 37:58 or does the rider guide the horse? 38:01 Well, sometimes the horse does, if it's a rebellious horse. 38:05 But normally it would be the rider that guides the horse. 38:10 So notice, once again it says, "They shall fight because 38:12 the Lord is with them." 38:19 See, the horse represents God's people. 38:36 Now notice what Ellen White has to say where she explains 38:40 what the horse represents. 38:43 This is Review and Herald, July 10, 1900. 38:48 "God desired His people to go forth 38:53 conquering and to conquer." 38:56 So what does the horse represent? 38:59 His people. 39:01 In another statement, Prophets and Kings, page 725, 39:06 this is speaking about the final conquering, 39:09 when the loud cry is proclaimed. 39:12 "Clad in the armor of Christ's righteousness, 39:16 the church is to enter upon her final conflict. 39:20 Fair as the moon, clear as the sun, 39:25 and terrible as an army with banners, 39:28 she," that is the church, "is to go forth into 39:31 all the world..." Doing what? 39:34 "...conquering and to conquer." 39:37 So what does the white horse represent? 39:40 It represents the church. 39:42 Defeating the enemies of the church. 39:44 Conquering and to conquer. 39:47 Ellen White also described Jesus as the rider on the white horse. 39:52 It is the rider who guides the horse, 39:55 not the horse that guides the rider. 39:58 That is, the rider of the horse symbolizes Jesus 40:01 and the horse itself represents His people. 40:06 Notice volume 4 of the, Bible Commentary, page 1146. 40:10 "The issue of the battle does not rest upon 40:12 the strength of mortal man. 40:15 'The Lord shall go forth as a might man, 40:18 He shall stir up jealousy like a man of war. 40:22 He shall cry, yea, roar; 40:25 He shall prevail against His enemies.' 40:29 In the power of Him who rides forth conquering and to conquer, 40:35 weak finite man may gain the victory." 40:39 So who is the rider? 40:41 The rider is Jesus. 40:43 And who is the horse? 40:46 Ah, the horse is the church. 40:49 Colporteur Ministry, page 155. 40:52 "God's workers must gain a far deeper experience. 40:57 If they will surrender all to Him, 40:59 He will work mightily for them. 41:03 They will plant the standard of truth upon fortresses 41:06 till then held by Satan, and with shouts of victory 41:10 take possession of them. 41:12 They bear the scars of battle, but there comes to them 41:16 the comforting message that the Lord will..." What? 41:20 "...will lead them..." See, the horse. 41:22 "...will lead them on conquering and to conquer." 41:28 And then you have, Christian Service, page 166. 41:32 Christ identifies His interests with the interests 41:37 of His faithful people; 41:38 He suffers in the person of His saints. 41:41 And whoever touches His chosen ones, touches Him." 41:46 In other words, there's a close intimate relationship between 41:49 the rider and the horse. 41:51 You know, just not anybody can ride a horse. 41:54 There's a rapport between the horse and the rider. 41:59 Notice, In Heavenly Places, page 313. 42:02 "The world today is in a crying need of a revelation 42:07 of Christ Jesus..." How? 42:10 "...in the person of His saints. 42:14 God desires that His people shall stand before the world..." 42:18 What kind of what? 42:20 "...a holy people." 42:21 What color is the horse? 42:24 What does white represent? 42:26 We'll come back to this in a moment. 42:29 So once again, "God desires that His people shall stand 42:32 before the world a holy people. 42:34 Why? 42:35 Because there is a world to be saved by the light..." 42:39 By the way, light is white, right? 42:40 We studied that yesterday. 42:42 "...of the gospel truth; and as the message of truth 42:46 that is to call men out of darkness into God's marvelous 42:50 light is given by the church, the lives of its members, 42:55 sanctified by the Spirit of truth, are to bear witness 42:58 to the verity of the messages proclaimed." 43:01 So we've interpreted what the rider represents 43:05 and what the horse represents. 43:06 The horse represents the church, and the rider that guides 43:10 the horse is Jesus Christ going out conquering 43:15 and to conquer. 43:18 The bottom of page 141. 43:21 Scripture uses different symbols to illustrate 43:23 the intimate relationship between Jesus and His people. 43:27 Whoever touches His people touches whom? 43:31 Touches the Lord. 43:33 And you know, I have illustrations here. 43:37 Whoever touches the head touches what? 43:40 Touches the body, touches the head, right? 43:44 For example, when somebody pricks you with a needle, 43:47 does the head feel it? 43:49 Yeah, it's the head that feels it, by the way, folks. 43:52 You say, "Oh, my hand felt it." 43:54 Yeah, but it's being processed by the brain. 43:57 So whoever hurts the body of Christ hurts Christ. 44:02 Whoever messes with the shepherd, 44:06 or with the sheep, is messing with whom? 44:10 With the shepherd. 44:12 Whoever messes with the bride is messing with the husband. 44:20 And Jesus, as the sovereign Commander, 44:24 whoever messes with His armies is messing with the Commander. 44:30 Revelation 19 describes the time when the church militant 44:35 will become the church triumphant 44:38 when the spiritual victories of Christ through the church 44:41 during the Christian dispensation become the 44:44 literal victory of Jesus and His church at the second coming. 44:48 Because at the end of the book, we find the white horse again. 44:53 And the rider on the horse. 44:57 Revelation 19:11-12 describes that. 45:17 So at this point the church militant, the church that is 45:21 described in the first seal now is the church victorious. 45:26 Because Jesus is coming on a white horse 45:28 with the armies of heaven to deliver His people 45:31 from literal death at the hands of their enemies. 45:34 Now let's talk about the color white. 45:37 The horse is white. 45:40 Futurists and dispensationalists believe that the white horse 45:44 symbolizes a future antichrist 45:47 that will pass himself off as Christ. 45:52 They say, see, he's going to pass himself out as white, 45:55 but he's really the antichrist. 45:57 The problem with this is it doesn't fit 46:00 with the book of Revelation. 46:01 I have this quotation from George Eldon Ladd 46:04 who was a scholar, a very good scholar, 46:07 not an Adventist, but he wrote about the 46:09 color white in Revelation. 46:11 And I read, it's from a book that he wrote. 46:16 I didn't provide the reference here, 46:18 but I can get that for you. 46:20 "In the Revelation, white is always a symbol of Christ, 46:25 or of something associated with Christ, 46:28 or of spiritual victory." 46:30 Like the great multitude who are clothed in white robes. 46:34 "Thus the exalted Christ has white hair, white as wool; 46:40 the faithful will receive a white stone with a new name 46:43 written on it; they are to wear white garments; 46:47 the 24 elders are clad in white; the martyrs are given white 46:51 robes, as is the great numberless throng; 46:55 the Son of Man is seen on a white cloud; 46:57 He returns on a white horse accompanied by the 47:00 armies of heaven who are clad in white and ride white horses; 47:04 in the final judgment, God is seated on a great white throne." 47:08 So how can you say that the white horse of the first seal 47:12 represents the antichrist. 47:14 In Revelation, the color white is always identified 47:18 with Christ and with the followers of Christ. 47:21 Now why white? 47:23 Why is the horse white? The horse represents the church. 47:26 Why would the horse be white? 47:29 Because in Scripture, white represents what? 47:33 It represents purity. 47:35 And you have several verses here that we're not going to read. 47:40 Was the apostolic church a pure church 47:43 in doctrine and lifestyle? 47:46 We're going to read in a moment a quotation from Ellen White. 47:49 Yes, it was a pure church in doctrine and in lifestyle. 47:55 Now here comes another important point. 47:57 However, white is also the color of what? 48:01 It's the color of light. 48:03 And light symbolizes what? 48:06 The Word of God. 48:08 "Your Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path." 48:15 And light is white. 48:18 So white would also represent the witness of the church 48:24 through the Word. 48:27 So white is also the color of light. 48:30 And light symbolizes the Word of God. 48:32 And you can look up the verses. 48:35 During the white horse period the church is pure, 48:39 and it is the what? 48:42 The light of the world. 48:45 Are you following the argument? 48:46 It's the light of the world. 48:49 In obedience to the rider's command, 48:51 the earliest church, that is the horse, witnessed where? 48:57 In Jerusalem, in Judea, in Samaria, 49:02 and unto the uttermost ends of the earth. 49:05 The church won victory after victory 49:09 and the gospel went to the entire Roman Empire 49:13 in a single generation. 49:16 Was the apostolic church a conquering church? 49:20 Was it a pure church? 49:22 It was certainly a pure church. 49:24 Did it shed light, which is the Word of God? 49:29 Absolutely. 49:31 Did it take away subjects from Satan's kingdoms? 49:34 By the thousands. 49:37 Now the white horse stands in contrast to the 49:39 black horse of darkness. 49:43 We're going to see that black and darkness 49:46 are used synonymously. 49:48 In other words, the black horse is the horse of darkness. 49:51 When darkness comes into the church. 49:54 When the church loses its purity of doctrine and lifestyle 49:57 it becomes what? 50:00 It becomes a black horse. 50:03 Now Ellen White describes the early church. 50:06 "The early Christians were indeed a peculiar people. 50:11 Their blameless deportment and unswerving faith 50:17 were a continued reproof that disturbed the sinner's peace." 50:22 So, do you have a fight going on here? 50:25 Oh, you have a real struggle. 50:29 Though few in numbers, without wealth, position, 50:35 or honorary titles, they were a terror to evildoers 50:40 wherever their character and doctrines were known." 50:46 So it wasn't only doctrines, it was their lifestyle. 50:50 "Therefore, they were hated by the wicked, 50:53 even as the ungodly Cain hated Abel. 50:56 For the same reason that Cain slew Abel 50:58 did those who sought to throw off the restraint 51:02 of the Holy Spirit put to death God's people. 51:06 It was for the same reason that the Jews rejected 51:09 and crucified the Savior; because the..." What? 51:13 "...the purity and holiness of His character..." 51:16 See, that's the color white. 51:17 "...because the purity and holiness of His character 51:20 was a constant rebuke to their selfishness and corruption. 51:26 From the days of Christ until now, His faithful disciples 51:29 have excited the hatred and opposition of those who 51:32 love and follow the ways of sin." 51:35 So do you see the number of times Ellen White 51:37 in this statement emphasizes the purity of the early church, 51:40 of their lifestyle, of their doctrine, 51:42 the fact that they witnessed? 51:44 See, this is all related to the symbols in the first horse. 51:49 Now what does the bow represent? 51:52 Well, in ancient times what weapons were used? 51:55 Well, they used the sword, but they also used what? 51:58 The bow. 52:00 2 Kings 13:17 shows us that the bow represents 52:07 God's deliverance in battle. 52:09 The bow and arrows. 52:11 In, Acts of the Apostles, page 45, you find the commentary 52:15 of Ellen White on the bow. 52:17 "The arguments of the apostles alone, though clear and 52:20 convincing, would not have removed the prejudice 52:23 that had withstood so much evidence. 52:26 However, the Holy Spirit sent the arguments home 52:30 to hearts with divine power. 52:33 The words of the apostles..." 52:36 And I have in brackets here, now that the seven spirits 52:40 had been sent into all the earth, the apostles shoot 52:43 the arrows, and the Spirit through the ministration 52:45 of the angels guides them to the heart. 52:48 "The words of the apostles were as..." What? 52:52 "...sharp arrows of the Almighty, convicting men 52:56 of their terrible guilt in rejecting and crucifying 52:59 the Lord of glory." 53:00 So the church is going out to conquer with the bow. 53:04 And what do the arrows represent? 53:07 They represent the Holy Spirit guiding the arrows to the heart 53:11 to bring about conversions. 53:14 Desire of Ages, page 104. 53:16 "God does not send messengers to flatter the sinner. 53:20 He delivers no message of peace to lull the unsanctified 53:24 into fatal security. 53:26 He lays heavy burdens upon the conscience of the wrongdoer 53:30 and pierces the soul with arrows of conviction." 53:36 Gospel Workers, pages 150-151. 53:39 "The words of Christ were as..." What? 53:42 "...sharp arrows..." 53:44 Did the apostles shoot arrows? 53:47 Oh yeah, they shot arrows. Symbolically. 53:51 And who directed the arrows to the heart? 53:54 Ah, the Holy Spirit. 53:55 The seven spirits that were sent to the earth. 53:58 "The words of Christ were as sharp arrows 54:00 which went to the mark and wounded 54:02 the hearts of His hearers. 54:03 Every time He addresses the people, whether His audience 54:05 was large or small, His words took saving effect 54:08 upon the soul of someone." 54:10 And then comes this beautiful statement. 54:11 Christ Object Lessons, page 158. 54:14 "The Pharisee felt no conviction of sin. 54:17 The Holy Spirit could not work with him. 54:19 His soul was encased in a self-righteous armor 54:22 which the arrows of God, barbed and true-aimed 54:27 by angel hands, failed to penetrate." 54:32 So are you catching the picture about what the 54:34 first seal is all about? 54:37 The church is going out conquering and to conquer. 54:39 Jesus is guiding the church. 54:41 You know, arrows are being shot. Souls are being converted. 54:48 So let's take a look at the crown. 54:50 Because the rider has a crown. 54:53 The word of crown here is stephanos. 54:56 With few exceptions, like we noticed yesterday, 54:58 the stephanos crown is the one that is given to a victor. 55:03 For example, it was given to victors in the Olympic games 55:07 in the times of the Roman Empire. 55:10 Revelation 2:10 55:13 We're going to read several verses now. 55:15 Probably some of them we'll have to read in the next session. 55:18 But we're going to see that the crown involves a struggle, 55:23 fighting, going out conquering and to conquer, 55:25 and getting a crown because victory is being gained. 55:30 Revelation 2:10, which we're going to take a look at later. 55:46 See, once again, faithfulness in the battle. 55:53 James 1:12 55:55 "Blessed is the man who endures temptations." 55:57 See, once again, there's the trial, the battle. 56:09 2 Timothy 4:7-8 56:11 Had the apostle Paul gained the victory? 56:14 Oh yeah. 56:15 He's about to be beheaded, and he says, 56:17 "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, 56:20 I have kept the faith. 56:22 Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness 56:26 which the Lord, the righteous Judge, 56:27 will give me on that Day; and not to me only, 56:31 but also to all who have loved His appearing." 56:35 And then you have this passage in 1 Corinthians 9:24-27 56:41 where the apostle Paul uses the example of the Olympic games. 57:24 So what does a crown represent? 57:27 It represents victory in battle. 57:30 It represents victory in trials. 57:34 Is that true of the apostolic church? 57:36 Did they gain victory after victory? Yes. 57:39 Now in our next class we're going to finish 57:42 our study of the first horse, and then we're going to 57:45 get into the second horse. 57:46 We're going to look at the phrase, 57:48 conquering and to conquer. 57:51 We've put all of the symbols together, 57:53 we have one thing that we still need to study. 57:55 What does it mean that the early church 57:57 went out conquering and to conquer? 58:00 That will be the study for our next lesson. |
Revised 2022-02-14