Participants:
Series Code: ARSS
Program Code: ARSS190010S
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00:17 Well, here we are for a second dosage.
00:21 We want to finish our study of the first seal, the white horse. 00:25 And then we are going to take look at the red horse. 00:30 My goal is to finish our study of the red horse 00:32 in this second session. 00:34 And then this afternoon I'm hoping that we will be able to 00:37 do the third and fourth horse. 00:40 Because we have a lot to study. 00:42 We still have to study the entire interlude 00:44 of Revelation chapter 7. 00:46 And that's going to take us a while. 00:48 And then the fifth and sixth seals are particularly long. 00:53 So we're doing well. 00:55 But we want to make sure that we cover all of the material. 00:58 So let's have a Word of prayer, and then we'll finish 01:01 the first seal and get into the second. 01:03 Father in heaven, once again we begin this session 01:07 by pleading for the help of Your Holy Spirit. 01:10 Help us to rightfully divide the Word of truth. 01:13 And thank You for hearing us, 01:14 for we ask it in Jesus name, amen. 01:18 Okay, we're on page 146 of the syllabus. 01:22 And we are going to deal with the phrase 01:26 that the white horse goes out conquering and to conquer. 01:30 The horse and the rider. 01:32 The literal translation of the phrase, "overcoming 01:37 in order that he might..." 01:39 The literal translation of the phrase, "conquering 01:42 and to conquer," is really, "overcoming in order 01:44 that he might overcome." 01:47 And we must link this phrase with the messages 01:50 to the seven churches. 01:51 Have you noticed that with each church, 01:53 at the end it says, "he who overcomes"? 01:56 So the white horse are the overcomers, 02:00 in the churches specifically. 02:02 And of course, we're dealing with the first church 02:04 which is Ephesus, which is parallel to the first horse. 02:09 So the literal translation of the phrase 02:12 is, "overcoming in order that he might overcome." 02:15 We must link this phrase with the messages 02:18 to the seven churches, where at the end of 02:21 each message we find this dictum, "to him that overcomes." 02:26 We also have to link Revelation 5:5 02:30 where we are told that Jesus overcame. 02:34 And this is the conclusion. 02:36 As Jesus overcame while He was on earth, 02:39 and gained the victory in the end, so His church 02:43 must overcome during the period of the seven seals 02:47 and receive the crown of life at the end. 02:50 So Jesus on earth overcomes, 02:52 and gains the victory and goes to heaven, 02:56 God's people during the period of the seals overcome, 02:59 and then at the end they receive the reward like Jesus. 03:04 The Word for, "overcome," in Revelation 6:2 03:08 and in the context of the seven churches is the same. 03:12 Thus, the white horse represents God's faithful people 03:15 in the churches who overcome. 03:19 This indicates that the white horse represents 03:22 the faithful in the churches. 03:25 So the white horse symbolizes the apostolic church 03:30 that went worth under the guidance of the Holy Spirit 03:33 to defeat the kingdom of Satan 03:36 and to extend the kingdom of Jesus. 03:39 Acts 2:41 and Acts 4:4 exemplify these remarkable conquests. 03:45 You know, let's notice these verses that we find here 03:48 in Acts 2:41, 4:4, and 6:7 03:52 so you see the exponential growth of the church. 03:55 It says in Acts 2:41, this is on the day of Pentecost. 04:03 So the arrows caused an impact, didn't they. 04:12 So one baptism of three thousand people. 04:15 I would say that was a successful evangelistic 04:17 sermon by Peter. 04:20 Acts 4:4, just a little while later. 04:27 Notice once again the emphasis on the preaching of the Word. 04:29 That's the shooting of the arrows. 04:38 Wow! 04:39 So this is exponential growth. 04:42 And then Acts 6:7 doesn't even give us a number. 04:45 It simply says, "multiplied greatly." 05:00 So the church is conquering. 05:02 It's going out conquering and to conquer. 05:03 It is overcoming, in other words. 05:06 Let's notice the New Testament testimony about 05:09 how far the gospel reached. 05:12 God told, Jesus told the disciples to go to Jerusalem, 05:16 Judea, Samaria, and to the uttermost ends of the earth. 05:20 Did that happen in the first generation? Absolutely. 05:23 Colossians 1:6 and verse 23 states, "All over the world 05:31 this gospel is bearing fruit and growing, 05:34 just as it has been doing among you since the day 05:38 you heard it and understood God's grace in all its truth." 05:42 So notice, all over the world this gospel is bearing fruit, 05:46 says the apostle Paul. 05:48 And then in verse 23, "This is the gospel that you heard 05:53 and that has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven, 05:57 and of which I, Paul, have become a servant." 06:01 So notice once again, all over the world, 06:04 every creature under heaven. 06:06 And then Romans 1:8. 06:20 In Acts 17:6, you know, this is the complaint 06:24 that is launched against those who are preaching the gospel. 06:28 "But when they did not find them, they dragged Jason 06:32 and some brethren to the rulers of the city, crying out, 06:35 'These who have turned the world upside down 06:39 have come here too.'" 06:42 So it shows the tremendous conquest of the early church 06:46 just by reading the book of Acts. 06:49 Ellen White described it this way in, 06:51 Acts of the Apostles, page 593. 06:55 "The commission that Christ gave to the 06:58 disciples, they fulfilled. 07:01 As these messengers of the cross went forth..." 07:05 It's an interesting expression because it's 07:07 the white horse that went forth, right? 07:09 "...went forth to proclaim the gospel," 07:11 that is to shoot the arrows, "there was such a revelation 07:15 of the glory of God as had never before been witnessed 07:19 by mortal man. 07:21 By the cooperation of the divine Spirit, 07:23 the apostles did a work that shook the world. 07:27 To every nation was the gospel carried in a single generation." 07:34 Wow! It's amazing. 07:37 And it began in the upper room with 120. 07:41 120 active members. 07:44 Not bench warmers, not pew warmers. 07:47 Active members. 07:49 Now let's go to the next page which deals not only with 07:55 the white horse at the beginning of the Christian dispensation, 07:57 but also at the end. 07:59 During the Christian dispensation, 08:02 the faithful church fights a spiritual war against 08:07 spiritual enemies in the enemy's spiritual territory 08:12 with a spiritual armor and spiritual weapons. 08:15 Are you with me? 08:17 The purpose of the war is to conquer human hearts. 08:22 And you have texts for all of these. 08:23 We don't have time to read all the texts. 08:25 It involves God's people attempting to convince 08:29 the devil's soldiers to desert his army and join Christ's army. 08:34 So to speak, God's people proclaim that 08:37 if you want to be a winner, desert the devil's army 08:40 and come over to the Lord's side. 08:44 In other words, the idea is to say, 08:45 "You're with the losing army. 08:47 So just give up and come over here." 08:50 Revelation 19:11-21, which is the white horse at the end 08:54 of the book, describes the time when the sequence of the seals 08:58 reaches its climax. 08:59 See, there's a white horse at the beginning, 09:01 there's a white horse at the end. 09:03 When Jesus comes mounted on a white horse, 09:06 God will answer the pleas of all the martyrs 09:09 who cried out for justice. 09:11 Revelation 19:11 again brings to view a white horse 09:15 and a rider who makes war against Satan and his armies. 09:21 The rider no longer has a stephanos, 09:23 because that's the word, "crown," in Revelation 6, 09:26 but rather a diademata, which is the crown 09:33 that a king wears. 09:35 The crown of the victor has become the crown of the king. 09:40 Revelation 19:11-21... 09:43 See, the white horse at the end of the book 09:44 describes not only a spiritual war, it describes a literal war. 09:49 Jesus is coming to deliver His people from the death decree. 09:53 So Revelation 19:11-21 depicts a literal war. 09:57 It will be a war between Christ and the heavenly armies 09:59 and the kings, the beast, and the false prophet 10:02 and their armies. 10:03 After the latter rain has fallen and the loud cry proclaimed, 10:07 the whole world will be on one side 10:10 or on the other side of the conflict. 10:12 Two armies, in other words, with two generals. 10:15 Christ on one side and the devil on the other. 10:17 On God's side are those who follow the Lamb. 10:20 On the other side are those who follow the beast. 10:23 At this point, probation will close and Satan will have 10:27 full control of the finally impenitent. 10:31 Satan will influence his armies to implement a literal 10:34 death decree against God's people. 10:36 Jesus will then literally take the battlefield for His people 10:42 and will literally destroy their enemies. 10:44 Are you seeing the difference between the 10:46 literal and the symbolic? 10:49 Ellen White wrote, "Every form of evil 10:52 is to spring into intense activity. 10:55 Evil angels unite their powers with evil men..." 10:59 See, the devil also has his horse, doesn't he? 11:03 He has his people. 11:05 And he guides that horse. 11:07 "Evil angels unite their powers with evil men, 11:10 and as they have been in constant conflict and attained 11:13 an experience in the best modes of deception and battle, 11:17 and have been strengthening for centuries, 11:20 they will not yield the last great final contest 11:24 without a desperate struggle. 11:27 All the world will be..." What? 11:30 "...on one side or the other of the question. 11:34 The battle of Armageddon will be fought..." 11:37 Of course, the culmination of Armageddon is when 11:39 Jesus comes on the white horse to deliver His people. 11:42 "The battle of Armageddon will be fought, 11:45 and that day must find none of us sleeping. 11:49 Wide awake we must be, as wise virgins having oil 11:54 in our vessels with our lamps. 11:56 What is this? Grace. Grace." 12:00 And then from volume 8, Manuscript Releases, page 347, 12:04 "The power of the Holy Ghost must be upon us, 12:08 and the Captain of the Lord's host will stand at the head 12:12 of the angels of heaven to direct the battle." 12:16 That's the final culmination. 12:18 So if we've been faithful in fulfilling the commission 12:22 of God during this period, even if a death decree 12:26 is given against God's people, Jesus will come 12:28 to deliver His people literally from literal death, 12:32 from the literal death decree. 12:34 Okay, that's the first horse. 12:38 The white horse: victories of the apostolic church 12:42 through the direction of Jesus Christ. 12:45 And so, the church is growing exponentially. 12:49 And Satan is losing his subjects. 12:52 So now Satan says, "I have to do something about this, 12:56 because I'm losing all the subjects. 12:58 All of my soldiers are abandoning my army 13:02 and they're joining the army of the Lord. 13:04 I've got to take care of this." 13:06 So now you have the red horse. 13:09 Notice Revelation 6:3-4. 13:13 "When He opened the second seal, I heard the 13:16 second living creature saying, 'Come and see.' 13:19 Another horse, fiery red..." 13:22 It's not just red, it's fiery red. 13:25 "...went out. 13:26 And it was granted to the one who sat on it 13:29 to take peace from the earth, and that people should kill 13:33 one another; and there was given to him a great sword." 13:39 Now what does this horse represent? 13:42 Well, the meaning is at the top of the page. 13:44 The red horse represents the persecutions against the church 13:48 by the pagan Roman emperors until the Edict of Toleration 13:53 by Constantine in the year 313. 13:57 And by the way, the second horse is parallel 14:00 to the second church. 14:03 Just like the first church, Ephesus, is parallel to the 14:07 first horse, the white horse. 14:09 Because the seals and the churches run concurrently. 14:13 We don't have time to get into that. 14:15 I did a series in Oklahoma City last year on the seven churches. 14:20 There's 14 one hour presentations 14:23 on the seven churches. 14:24 And there I draw some of the parallels 14:26 with the period of the seals. 14:29 Now going a little bit further down, 14:31 as mentioned before, this is the period 14:33 of the church of Smyrna. 14:36 There is much death language in the message 14:40 to the church of Smyrna, which is the second church. 14:42 So you have the second seal, bloodshed, 14:46 and you have the second church, 14:48 the emphasis on death in the second church. 14:51 Notice all the emphasis on death. 14:54 First of all, bittersweet myrrh; the meaning of the name, Smyrna. 15:00 And in the Roman Empire, myrrh was used to embalm the dead. 15:05 Jesus presented Himself to the church of Smyrna 15:08 as the one who was dead and is alive forevermore. 15:12 Jesus encouraged the members of Smyrna to be faithful 15:15 unto death and promised the faithful that they would not 15:19 be hurt by the second death. 15:22 Are you with me? 15:24 So the second church is all about the death of God's people. 15:29 The ten days, because there's mentioned ten days of 15:32 persecution in connection with the church of Smyrna, 15:37 the ten days are Diocletian's persecutions 15:41 from 303-313. 15:44 We apply the year/day principle to the ten days 15:47 that are mentioned there. 15:49 Ellen White's comments on the second seal... 15:53 Where are her comments on the first seal, by the way? 15:56 Where are Ellen White's comments on the first seal? 16:00 The entire book, Acts of the Apostles. 16:03 The comments on the second seal are found in, 16:06 Great Controversy, pages 39-48, 16:08 right after the chapter on the destruction of Jerusalem. 16:14 And some people wonder, why did Ellen White begin, 16:16 The Great Controversy, with the chapter on 16:18 the destruction of Jerusalem? 16:20 I'll just throw this out, we'll study it next year. 16:22 So make sure you sign up for next year. 16:26 I believe that the first trumpet is the destruction of Jerusalem. 16:31 I believe when you study the symbols it becomes very clear 16:35 that the first trumpet is the destruction of Jerusalem. 16:37 So Ellen White begins, The Great Controversy, 16:39 with the first trumpet. 16:41 And her comments, going back to this, her comments 16:45 on the second horse, the red horse or the second seal, 16:50 are found in, Great Controversy, pages 39-48. 16:53 And the title of the chapter is, 16:55 Persecution in the First Centuries. 16:58 Interesting. 16:59 The title of the chapter fits the theme of the period. 17:03 Now Revelation 12:11 describes the faithfulness 17:06 of those who overcame. 17:09 In fact, 12:11 uses the word, "overcome." 17:13 It says, "They overcame by the blood of the Lamb 17:17 and by the word of their testimony, 17:19 and they did not love their lives even unto death." 17:24 Now let's talk about the color red. 17:27 In the Bible, the color red represents what? 17:31 Bloodshed. 17:32 Even the grape juice that we use at communion 17:35 represents the blood of Christ. 17:38 And you can read these texts. 17:40 I just put texts in parentheses, because if we read 17:43 all the texts, we wouldn't get beyond the third seal. 17:45 But you need to look these up. 17:47 Don't just take this syllabus and, you know, 17:50 file it away somewhere. 17:52 Make sure you look up all of the verses, because 17:55 there's a lot of corroboration 17:56 for the points that we're covering here. 17:58 So when the sword takes away peace from the earth, 18:02 the result is what? 18:04 War and bloodshed. 18:07 Now what does this sword do in the second seal? 18:12 It takes away peace from the earth. 18:14 The sword takes away peace from the earth. 18:16 Now what does the sword represent? 18:19 Well, the sword in the Bible represents the Word of God. 18:24 Notice Hebrews 4:12-13. 18:29 And I know what you're thinking. 18:30 You're saying, "Well, does the Bible take away peace?" 18:34 We're going to come to that. 18:36 Hebrews 4:12-13. 18:38 "For the Word of God is living and powerful..." 18:46 You see the principle that we're using? 18:48 Does the second seal explain what the sword means? 18:52 Does it say the sword means this? No, no. 18:55 So how do we determine it? 18:57 We go to other parallel passages that deal with the same subject. 19:19 Let me ask you, when we study the Scriptures, 19:21 you know, when we search the Scriptures, 19:23 and then the Scriptures start searching us. 19:27 So, you know, we start reading, for example, David. 19:30 You know, he committed this terrible act of 19:33 adultery and murder. 19:35 And Nathan comes to him with the Word of God and he says, 19:38 "You are that man." 19:39 Wow! 19:41 Suddenly David says, he kind of shakes and wakes up, 19:44 and he says, "That's me." 19:46 And so the Bible, when we read the Bible, 19:49 the Bible then starts reading us. 19:51 The Bible penetrates. 19:52 That's kind of like the arrows that we talked about 19:54 under the first seal. 19:56 Ephesians 6:17, the apostle Paul also 19:59 defined what the sword represents. 20:02 It says, "Take the helmet of salvation, and the sword 20:04 of the Spirit, which is the Word of God." 20:08 We also have a passage in the Old Testament. 20:11 Isaiah 49:2 20:14 Once again, the sword is related to what we speak, 20:18 to the mouth. 20:19 It says, "And He has made My mouth like..." What? 20:23 "...like a sharp sword; in the shadow of His hand 20:26 He has hidden Me, and made Me a polished shaft; 20:29 in His quiver He has hidden Me." 20:32 So it's interesting that he talks about a quiver 20:34 where arrows are, right? 20:36 So the sword represents the Word of God. 20:40 It comes forth from the mouth. 20:42 It's sharp, it penetrates. 20:44 It brings about change of life and conversion. 20:49 Correct? 20:51 So it brings peace, right? 20:53 Does the Bible bring peace? 20:55 Yeah, of course it brings peace. 20:57 Because it speaks of Jesus. 20:58 Notice Isaiah 9:6. 21:01 It says, "For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; 21:05 and the government will be upon His shoulder, 21:07 and His name will be called, Wonderful, Counselor 21:10 Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace." 21:15 So Jesus brings peace. 21:17 The Bible is a Revelation of Jesus. 21:20 Notice once again Romans 10:14-15. 21:23 The gospel that comes from the Bible brings peace. 21:26 So why does this sword bring war? 21:29 Why does this sword bring bloodshed? 21:31 We're coming to that in a moment. 21:33 Notice Romans 10:14-15. 21:47 So it's talking about preaching the Word, right? 21:59 Where do we get the gospel from? 22:02 What's the source? 22:04 The Word, right? 22:14 And then we have Ephesians 6:14-15. 22:18 Here, the apostle Paul speaks about beautiful feet. 22:23 Now I don't have beautiful physical feet. 22:26 But my feet are beautiful in the sense that 22:28 the apostle Paul says. 22:30 And yours, I'm sure, also. 22:44 Blessed are the feet of those who go to proclaim the gospel 22:48 from the Word of God. 22:50 So the preaching of the Word, the sword is the Word. 22:54 And when the sword is used and you preach, 22:57 it brings what? 22:59 It brings peace. 23:01 Well, wait a minute. 23:02 Under the second seal, the sword doesn't bring peace. 23:06 It brings bloodshed. 23:08 So how do we understand this? 23:10 Let's go to the bottom of page 153. 23:13 This big question at this point is this: 23:16 If the sword here is the Bible, why does it take away 23:20 peace from the earth? 23:21 The answer is simple. 23:23 When sinners heed the message of the Bible, 23:26 it brings personal peace. 23:29 However, when sinners reject the message of the Bible, 23:33 they rise to take away peace from those who proclaim it. 23:39 That is to say, the sword of the Spirit 23:42 brings in its train the sword of persecution 23:46 from those who reject it. 23:47 Are you catching the picture? 23:50 The conquest of the first horse led to persecution 23:53 under the second. 23:55 Why do you have persecution under the second? 23:57 Because the devil is worried after the first. 24:00 The devil says, "I'm losing my people. 24:03 The gospel is being preaching to the entire empire. 24:05 I've got to do something about this. 24:07 I've got to kill them." 24:10 The devil, deeply concerned about the many defections 24:14 from his army, launched a deadly persecution against 24:18 those who were conquering the subjects of his kingdom 24:21 through the preaching of the gospel. 24:25 Now the key text to understand how the sword takes away peace 24:30 and the relationship with the Bible which brings peace 24:33 is these verses that Jesus spoke in Matthew 10:34-39. 24:39 And this doesn't sound like Jesus. 24:43 "Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth. 24:46 I did not come to bring peace, but a sword." 24:50 Wow! 24:51 So He came to take away peace. 24:54 Does that sound like Jesus? 24:56 What did Jesus mean? Let's continue reading. 25:31 So in what sense does the Word bring peace 25:36 and in what sense does the Word take away peace? 25:39 Let me give you an illustration. 25:42 I had the privilege of teaching theology 25:44 in South America in Colombia for about six years. 25:49 It was some of the most fruitful time in my ministerial life. 25:54 Because when you teach, you have to do a lot of research. 25:57 And so it was a big blessing. 25:59 And I enjoy doing research as a result of teaching. 26:03 But anyway, I had a student there. 26:06 Unfortunately, she was killed in an auto accident 26:09 several years ago. 26:10 Her name, Josefina Mendez. 26:13 And one day I sat down and I started talking with her, 26:16 and she told me her story. 26:18 She said, "Pastor, I want to tell you 26:21 why I came to this school." 26:23 So then she told me that she had gone to an evangelistic 26:26 campaign where a Seventh-day Adventist minister was preaching 26:30 and she attended all of the meetings, 26:32 and she was convicted that this was the truth. 26:35 And so, she decided that she wanted to get baptized. 26:38 She wanted to become a Seventh-day Adventist. 26:39 So she went home, told her parents who were 26:42 staunch Roman Catholics that she had been 26:45 going to these meetings, and she had understood the truth, 26:49 and she wanted to be baptized and join the 26:51 Seventh-day Adventist Church. 26:53 Her parents said to her, "If you join that church, 26:56 you're not our daughter anymore. 26:59 We will totally disown you. 27:01 It's like you don't exist." 27:03 So the day of the baptism came and she had to make a decision 27:07 whether she was going to obey the convictions of her heart 27:12 based on what she had heard from the Word 27:14 through the impression of the Holy Spirit 27:16 or whether she was going to do what her parents said. 27:20 Well, bottom line, she decided that she would get baptized. 27:24 She told her parents, "I'm going to get baptized." 27:27 When she got home, all of her belonging were outside 27:29 the front door of her house. 27:31 And her mother and father were standing at the door 27:34 and they said, "Josefina, leave. 27:37 You're not our daughter anymore." 27:40 And that's how she ended up at the school. 27:41 Because she didn't have any place to go. 27:44 She later married a Seventh-day Adventist pastor. 27:48 One of the students there. 27:50 And they became workers in the cause, 27:52 very successful workers in the cause. 27:55 So did the Word bring peace to her? 27:59 Yeah, the Word brought peace. Of course it brought peace. 28:02 But also did it bring the sword? 28:06 Yes. 28:07 Because for those who are opposed to the Word, 28:11 they war against those who receive the peace of the Word. 28:15 I want you to notice that the sword also 28:18 represents something else. 28:20 In the Bible, the sword doesn't only represent the 28:22 Bible, it also represents the power of the state 28:26 to punish violations of civil law. 28:29 The punitive power of the state. 28:31 Notice Romans 13:1-5. 28:34 "Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities." 28:48 The authority is the government, right? 28:57 See, the civil rulers. 29:05 In other words, do you want to not fear the civil power? 29:34 The wicked emperors, in the next section here, 29:37 the wicked emperors and their subjects illegitimately 29:41 use the sword of the state against God's faithful people 29:46 for preaching the gospel of the Bible. 29:49 Preaching from God's sword, in other words. 29:52 The preaching of the gospel brings peace to the receivers, 29:55 but awakens war from the rejectors. 30:00 Is this point clear? 30:02 Now, Ellen White explained the relationship between the 30:05 first seal and the second seal in, Great Controversy, page 46. 30:10 She's commenting on the second seal. 30:12 She's not quoting the verses. 30:14 She doesn't quote Revelation 6:3-4. 30:20 So you say, "Well, Ellen White didn't have anything to say 30:23 about the second seal." 30:25 Yes, she did. 30:26 She just doesn't quote the verses. 30:28 Look at the sequence. 30:30 Look at the order of events. 30:33 You'll find next in, Great Controversy, 30:35 that Ellen White mentions Constantine 30:37 after the persecution of the first centuries. 30:40 That's the third horse. 30:42 Then she goes on to speak about the rise of the papacy. 30:45 The fourth horse. 30:47 Then she speaks about the martyrs. 30:49 That's the fifth seal. 30:51 Then she speaks about the signs in the heavens. 30:53 The sixth seal. 30:55 And then on page 641 she deals with the seventh seal. 31:01 So we have to look at the structure. 31:03 Don't only, don't look only at the tree. 31:06 Look at the forest. 31:08 Get the big picture of how all of the pieces fit together. 31:13 Notice Ellen White's description. 31:15 And I put some explanations in brackets. 31:17 "The gospel is a message of..." What? 31:21 "...peace. 31:22 Christianity is a system that, received and obeyed, 31:26 would spread..." What? 31:28 "...peace..." 31:29 That's the second seal. 31:32 "...harmony, and happiness throughout the earth. 31:35 The gospel presents to them principles of life 31:37 that are wholly at variance with their habits and desires..." 31:41 And what happens as a result? 31:43 "...and they rise in rebellion against it." 31:48 So does the gospel bring peace? 31:50 Yes. 31:51 But those who want to reject it, what do they do? 31:54 They rise against it with a sword. 31:57 "They hate the purity..." 31:59 That would be the first seal, right? 32:02 Right? 32:04 "They hate the purity that reveals and condemns their sins, 32:10 and they persecute and destroy..." 32:12 That's the second seal. 32:14 "...those who would urge upon them it's just and holy claims. 32:19 It is in this sense, because the exalted truths it brings 32:28 occasion hatred and strife, that the gospel is called..." What? 32:33 "...a sword." 32:34 The second seal. 32:36 So Ellen White has not even quoted Revelation 6:3-4. 32:41 She hasn't quoted them. 32:42 Is she discussing the second seal? 32:45 Yes she is, very clearly. 32:47 So are the seals events that transpire in order 32:51 throughout Christian history? 32:52 Yes. 32:54 Because you have the introductory vision, 32:56 you have the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, 32:58 then you have the church going conquering and to conquer, 33:01 and Satan's reaction is persecuting 33:03 the church as a result. 33:05 So basically you have the seals are all interconnected. 33:09 One event in the seals leads to the next event. 33:13 Now let's notice the next statement from Ellen White. 33:18 "The powers of earth and hell arrayed themselves..." 33:23 This is war language, right? 33:25 "...arrayed themselves against Christ in the 33:27 person of His followers. 33:28 Paganism foresaw that should the gospel triumph..." 33:33 In other words, should the gospel gain the victory. 33:35 What did the first horse go out to do? 33:38 Conquering and to conquer. 33:40 Gain the victory. 33:42 So, "Paganism foresaw that should the gospel triumph, 33:46 her temples and altars would be swept away; 33:48 therefore she summoned her..." What? 33:51 Is that war language? Yes. 33:53 "...her forces to destroy Christianity. 33:56 The fires of persecution..." 33:58 The second seal. 33:59 "...were kindled. 34:01 Christians were stripped of their possessions 34:03 and driven from their homes. 34:04 They 'endured a great fight of afflictions.' Hebrews 10:32. 34:10 They 'had trial of cruel mocking's and scourging's, 34:13 yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonments.' Hebrews 11:36. 34:18 Great numbers sealed their testimony with their blood." 34:23 What color? Red, yes. 34:26 "Noble and slave, rich and poor, learned and ignorant, 34:31 were alike slain without mercy." 34:36 Are you catching the picture? 34:39 Great Controversy, page 41. 34:40 This is the chapter on the persecution 34:43 in the early century. 34:44 She's commenting on the second seal. 34:45 Never quotes the verses. 34:48 And by the way, in, Acts of the Apostles, she never quotes 34:51 the verses that speak of the first seal either. 34:54 But you know it deals with the apostolic conquest 34:57 because of the terminology. 34:59 "In vain were Satan's efforts to destroy the church by violence." 35:05 That would be the red horse, right? 35:07 "The great controversy..." 35:09 There you have war language. 35:11 "...in which the disciples of Jesus yielded up their lives 35:14 did not cease when these faithful standard-bearers..." 35:18 Soldiers have standards, right? 35:21 "...standard-bearers fell at their post." 35:24 That's also war language. 35:26 "By defeat, they..." 35:29 Oh. "By defeat, they conquered." 35:31 There you have that key word. 35:35 "God's workmen were slain, but His work went steadily forward. 35:40 The gospel continued to spread and the number of 35:43 its adherents to increase." 35:46 Because the church is going out conquering and to conquer. 35:51 She continues on page 42. 35:53 "Thousands were imprisoned and slain, 35:55 but others sprung up to fill their places. 35:59 And those who were martyred for their faith 36:01 were secured to Christ and accounted of Him as..." 36:05 Excuse me? "...conquerors." 36:07 See, look in the writings of Ellen White for the keywords. 36:14 If the verses aren't there, look for the keywords. 36:17 The expressions that she uses. 36:20 So once again, there were "accounted of him as conquerors. 36:24 They had fought the..." What? 36:27 "...the good fight." There's war language again. 36:30 "...they were to receive..." What? 36:33 "...the crown of glory..." That's the victor's crown. 36:36 "...when Christ should come." 36:39 Now I read this other statement before, but let's read it again 36:43 because it's very significant. 36:46 It connects the first seal with the second seal. 36:49 "The early Christians were indeed..." What kind of people? 36:53 Today people say, "I don't want to be peculiar. 36:57 I don't want to stick out. 36:59 I don't want to be different." 37:01 It's called peer pressure. 37:03 The Adventist Church has fallen captive to peer pressure. 37:08 We want to be just like all of the other churches. 37:12 You don't want to use the word, peculiar. 37:17 But Ellen White says early Christians were peculiar. 37:21 "Their blameless deportment and unswerving faith 37:24 were a continual reproof that disturbed the sinners..." What? 37:29 "...peace." 37:30 So would the gospel have brought them peace? 37:33 Yes. But when the Word was preached, they were disturbed 37:37 and they lost their peace. 37:40 "Though few in numbers, without wealth, position, 37:43 or honorary titles, they were a terror," the disciples were, 37:47 "to evildoers wherever their character and 37:50 doctrines were known. 37:52 Therefore, the wicked..." What? 37:54 Here comes the second seal. 37:56 The consequence. 37:58 "Therefore, the wicked hated them, 38:00 even as ungodly Cain hated Abel. 38:04 For the same reason that Cain slew Abel 38:06 did those who sought to throw off the restraint 38:09 of the Holy Spirit put to death God's people." 38:11 That's the second seal, right? 38:14 "It was for the same reason that the Jews rejected 38:17 and crucified the Savior; because the purity 38:19 and holiness of His character was a constant rebuke 38:23 to their selfishness and corruption. 38:27 From the days of Christ until now, His faithful disciples 38:30 have excited the hatred and opposition of those who 38:34 love and follow the ways of sin." 38:39 Now this pattern of revival, preaching the gospel, 38:48 and persecution as a result is found many places 38:52 in the Bible. 38:54 And in the last part of this lesson, I have several examples 38:58 of this pattern that we have where the church goes out 39:01 conquering and to conquer, it's preaching the Word, 39:05 it's bringing peace to many people, 39:07 opposition arises, persecution arises. 39:10 Revival, persecution. 39:12 I have five illustrations from other places in Scripture 39:16 of this pattern. 39:19 And then I'm going to read one final statement 39:21 which is, why is the church not persecuted today? 39:27 The first pattern is in Ezekiel 36 to 38. 39:31 Ezekiel 36:26-27 speaks of a great revival 39:36 among God's people, Israel. 39:38 It says, "I will give you a new heart..." 39:57 And I'm not going to read Ezekiel 37:11-14, 40:01 but we're told that as a result of receiving the Spirit, 40:05 these valley of dead bones who had no Spirit 40:08 suddenly form bodies and they're filled with the Spirit. 40:15 And by the way, what do the dry bones represent 40:17 that the Spirit comes into? 40:20 They represent the house of Israel, God's people. 40:23 Now what happens when God's people, who are dead 40:27 in trespasses and sins, suddenly are converted 40:31 and they're filled with the Holy Spirit, 40:34 what is there going to be? 40:35 Opposition. 40:37 And so you go to chapter 38 of Ezekiel, 40:40 and here you have Gog and Magog attacking Israel. 40:44 The very next chapter. 40:46 Why would they be attacking Israel? 40:49 Because they've been filled with the Spirit. 40:51 Because they've resurrected to new life. 40:54 Now the opposition comes. 40:56 Let's read Ezekiel 38:18-23. 40:59 There's many connections here with the book of Revelation 41:01 which we don't have time to get into. 41:04 This is immediately after the people are revived 41:07 by the Holy Spirit. 41:36 Is there going to be such an earthquake when Jesus comes? 41:39 Yes. 41:41 "The mountains shall be thrown down..." 41:42 Is this going to happen when Jesus comes? Yes. 41:53 Does a sword come out of the mouth of Jesus when He 41:55 comes on the white horse at the end? 42:16 Is that referred to in the seventh plague? 42:19 Yes. 42:30 Why does this persecution come, in chapter 38? 42:34 Because Israel has been revived, in chapter 36 and 37. 42:39 That's the first example. 42:41 Why did persecution arise against the early church? 42:46 Because they had experienced revival and reformation. 42:50 Notice the second example from the book of Joel. 42:54 One of these days I'm going to do a series on Joel. 42:57 That is a tremendous book. 42:58 It has many parallels to the book of Revelation. 43:01 It says in Joel 2:28-32, 43:04 you have the outpouring of the Spirit. 43:30 You remember that this is quoted by Peter 43:32 on the day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit was poured out. 43:52 So you have this great revival. 43:54 The Holy Spirit is poured out upon all flesh. 43:57 And what is the result? 43:59 In the very next chapter, the nations gather 44:02 against God's people. 44:04 Notice Joel 3:9. 44:06 And you're going to see the parallels with Revelation 14. 44:10 We're going to come to that. That's the last illustration. 44:39 So there's two armies here. 44:40 There's the wicked, and God has His armies. 44:54 And now Revelation 14. 44:56 By the way, what happens locally to literal Israel 45:00 and the literal valley of Jehoshaphat, in Revelation 45:03 happens globally. 45:04 All nations of the world come and they gather 45:07 outside the city, which represents the church. 45:37 And what is God going to do? 45:40 Persecution. 45:41 They've gathered for war against God's people. 45:43 Is God going to defend His people? 45:45 Yes. 46:00 So once again, revival in chapter 2, the end of chapter 2. 46:04 And what is the very next scene? 46:07 Persecution. 46:09 And deliverance. 46:11 The third example has to do with the day of Pentecost. 46:15 After the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, 46:18 Peter and John brought healing to a paralytic. 46:23 After healing him, Peter presented a sermon 46:27 from God's Word at Solomon's Portico. 46:30 This grieved the religious leaders. 46:33 No peace with them. 46:34 This grieved the religious leaders, 46:36 but brought 5000 souls into the kingdom. 46:40 So were the religious leaders happy about that? 46:43 No. 46:45 Further preaching by Peter led to additional threats. 46:48 In Acts 5:12, further preaching led to imprisonment threats. 46:52 The Sanhedrin summoned Peter and John to trial again 46:56 where they spoke boldly. 46:57 Notice the number of times that it's emphasized that they spoke, 47:00 they spoke, they preached. 47:03 As a result, the leaders wanted to do what? 47:05 Kill them. 47:07 Did the sword bring peace to the religious leaders? 47:10 No. Would it have brought peace? 47:12 Yes. 47:14 As a result, the leaders wanted to kill them. 47:17 Then Gamaliel spoke some very wise words 47:19 where he used warfare terminology. 47:24 "And now I say to you, keep away from these men 47:27 and let them alone. 47:29 For if this plan or this work is of men, it will come to nothing. 47:35 But if it is of God, you cannot overthrow it. 47:40 Lest you even be found to fight against God." 47:44 Is that war terminology? 47:46 It most certainly is. 47:49 And after this, Peter and John were beaten. 47:52 And they said, "We consider it an honor 47:53 to suffer for the Name." 47:56 Are you seeing the pattern? 47:58 Revival, they receive the Spirit. 48:02 Immediately, what comes? They preach the Word, and what? 48:05 Persecution. 48:07 That's the third example. 48:08 The fourth example is the story of the stoning of Stephen. 48:12 The Sanhedrin arrested Stephen, God filled him with the Spirit. 48:17 You can read all these verses. 48:18 God filled him with the Spirit. 48:20 Stephen preached a powerful sermon describing the history 48:24 of Israel culminating with the coming of Jesus. 48:27 This enraged the leadership and they encouraged the mob 48:32 to stone the Lord's servant. 48:35 Seeing the pattern? 48:36 Revival, Holy Spirit, powerful preaching, persecution. 48:44 And then example number five. 48:47 This is in the future. 48:49 Immediately after the proclamation of the 48:51 three angels' messages, the world is going to be divided 48:55 into how many groups? 48:56 Two groups. 48:58 The wicked gather against God's people outside the Holy City. 49:00 The Holy City before the 1000 years is the church, 49:03 it represents the church. 49:05 However, the heavenly armies trample the winepress 49:08 and deliver God's people. 49:12 Have God's people been revived at this point? 49:14 Has the power of the latter rain fallen upon them. 49:18 Why are the wicked going to be enraged against God's people 49:22 at the end of time? 49:23 Because they've had revival. 49:26 And because of the revival, they're filled with the Spirit. 49:30 And because they're filled with the Spirit, 49:31 they proclaim the loud cry with power. 49:34 And that will awaken what? 49:36 Persecution. 49:37 And at the end, God will deliver His people from certain death. 49:42 It is significant that at the time of the apostle Paul, 49:45 the Roman Empire wielded the sword. 49:50 So it's interesting that it's talking about the persecutions 49:52 of Christians by the Roman Empire. 49:54 Notice that the Roman Empire had the sword. 49:58 The Roman Empire killed Peter by crucifixion, 50:03 Paul by decapitation, and James with the sword. 50:08 The slaying of James with the sword came immediately 50:11 after a description of the exponential 50:12 growth of the church. 50:14 You can read that in Acts. 50:16 Immediately after it speaks about the tremendous 50:18 growth of the church, James is killed with the sword. 50:22 Is there any relationship between the exponential growth 50:25 of the church and persecution? 50:27 Have you ever read in, The Great Controversy, 50:29 where Ellen White says that when the loud cry is proclaimed, 50:32 thousands upon thousands of ministers and members 50:35 of other churches are going to leave their churches 50:37 and join the remnant church? 50:39 Of course, that's going to make the clergy really happy. 50:44 It's going to infuriate the clergy. 50:46 And that's when the little time of trouble, persecution, comes. 50:49 So where is the key point here? 50:53 What is the key point here? 50:55 Why is there no persecution now? 50:59 Well, let's go in our syllabus to page 177. 51:04 Page 177. 51:07 By the way, we're not going to study the addendum. 51:10 Do you see the addendum there on page 161? 51:14 It's called, Chain Reaction. 51:16 We're not going to have time to study that, but you can read it. 51:19 Basically it shows that there are seven steps, 51:23 seven steps that eventually lead to persecution. 51:28 First of all, you have the conditions of the apostles 51:31 before the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. 51:33 They were fighting who was going to be the first, 51:35 and they were interested in, "What's in it for us," you know. 51:38 That's the first point. 51:41 But then what do they do? 51:42 They gather in the upper room. 51:44 They pray. 51:46 They settle their differences. 51:48 They lay all of their means at the foot of the Master. 51:52 In other words, they're emptied of self. 51:54 And then they receive the power of the Holy Spirit. 51:57 When they receive the power, 51:59 they preach the message with boldness. 52:02 And because they preach the message with boldness, 52:06 the church experiences exponential growth. 52:12 And Satan is losing his subjects. 52:14 And therefore, Satan causes persecution. 52:17 That is the sequence. 52:19 Now notice this statement from, Great Controversy, page 48, 52:25 on page 177 of your syllabus. 52:29 "There is another and more important question 52:31 that should engage the attention of the churches today. 52:36 The apostle Paul declares that 'all that will live godly 52:40 in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.'" 52:45 How many who live godly will suffer persecution? 52:49 Not some. All. 52:52 And you know, this time it might be psychological persecution. 52:57 Not necessarily physical persecution. 53:01 But there will be people who will oppose, right? 53:04 And she's quoting 2 Timothy 3:12. 53:08 Then she asks the question, "Why is it then that persecution 53:13 seems in a great degree to slumber?" 53:17 Why is there no persecution? 53:19 Well, because the Sunday law hasn't come yet. 53:23 Because the stars still need to fall, there's signs... 53:26 You know, the Pope needs to take the reins of civil power. 53:30 The United States has to join with the papacy. 53:32 That's why persecution hasn't come. 53:35 Well, why haven't all those things happened? 53:39 Notice, "The only reason..." 53:44 How many reasons are there why there's no persecution? 53:48 "The only reason is that the church has conformed to the 53:52 world's standard, and therefore awakens no opposition." 53:57 The devil has nothing to oppose. 54:01 Because the church has become like the world. 54:05 And then she continues, "The religion which is current 54:08 in our day is not of the pure and holy character 54:13 that marked the Christian faith in the days of 54:17 Christ and His apostles." 54:18 Is the church going to return 54:19 to the condition of the early church? 54:21 Yes it is. 54:24 Is it in that condition now? 54:27 Never has there been a period in the history of the 54:29 Adventist Church where we have so many divisions today. 54:31 We reflect the divisions in the political world in the church. 54:36 It's because the Holy Spirit is being withdrawn. 54:40 When the Holy Spirit is not in the heart, 54:43 the result is strife and fighting. 54:47 Like the disciples. They were all fighting. 54:49 Who's going to be the greatest 54:51 at the next constituency session? 54:55 "The religion which is current in our day is not of the 54:58 pure and holy character that marked the Christian faith 55:01 in the days of Christ and His apostles. 55:03 It is only because of the spirit of..." What? 55:06 "...compromise with sin, because of the great truths 55:11 of God's Word are so indifferently regarded, 55:16 because there is so little vital godliness in the church, 55:24 that Christianity is apparently so popular with the world." 55:30 And then she tells us how persecution will rise again. 55:36 "Let there be a revival of the faith and power 55:41 of the early church, and the spirit of persecution 55:46 will be revived, and fires of persecution will be rekindled." 55:56 By the way, on the next page, 55:59 even though this isn't from Ellen White... 56:02 Satan must know that the promised revival 56:06 is soon to occur because he is tearing the world apart 56:13 and he's tearing the church apart. 56:16 Further, he is causing a counterfeit revival 56:20 even in some Seventh-day Adventist churches, 56:27 with the objective of blaming a revived and reformed people 56:31 of the calamities that are falling upon the earth. 56:34 Just like Nero did. 56:37 So is the Christian world experiencing 56:41 a counterfeit revival these days? 56:44 Oh, signs and wonders, and jumping around, 56:48 and rolling in the aisles, and speaking in tongues. 56:52 And you know, "Contribute to my ministry 56:56 and you'll be very prosperous. 56:57 You know, you'll have lots of money that will come in." 57:00 You know, the so called prosperity gospel. 57:03 The Christian world more than ever really needs a revival 57:07 of primitive godliness. 57:08 The Adventist Church needs a revival of primitive godliness. 57:11 And that's what Elder Wilson has been emphasizing 57:14 all the time that he's been at the General Conference, 57:17 is the need for revival and reformation. 57:19 It will never come unless we do what the apostles did. 57:22 Gathered in the upper room, sat their agendas aside, 57:26 and said, "We need to receive the Holy Spirit. 57:29 We need to go out and proclaim the message 57:31 so that we can go home." 57:33 We've become too comfortable in this world. 57:36 And this world is not our home. 57:39 Our home is in heaven. 57:41 And we need to always remember that. 57:43 We might have a nice house, a nice car, 57:46 and money in the bank. 57:48 We are taking none of that to heaven. 57:51 Not a single bit of that are we taking to heaven. 57:54 So let's not focus on the things of this world, 57:56 but on the things of the world to come. 57:59 Some people say, "You're so heavenly minded, 58:01 you're no earthly good." 58:02 Well, it might be true that we're so earthly minded 58:04 we're no heavenly good. |
Revised 2022-02-15