Participants: Stephen Bohr
Series Code: ASTPP
Program Code: ASTPP000028
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00:15 Well, it's nice to have you back.
00:17 We have some exciting things to study in this session. 00:21 We're going to begin by taking a look at 00:24 principle number thirteen. 00:26 Seems like yesterday that we started principle number one. 00:29 But we're already on thirteen. 00:31 We have number fourteen, and then we'll be finished. 00:34 Now let's go in our syllabus to page 33. 00:38 And we're going to work through this material. 00:41 I am only going to choose a few examples from the list 00:45 that we have under point number thirteen. 00:48 Because obviously, we don't have time to cover 00:50 all of these examples. 00:53 It would take us a full week session just to 00:55 go through all of these examples. 00:57 So let's begin at the top of the page, page 33. 01:02 And the principle is that all the books of the Bible 01:05 meet and end in Revelation. 01:09 The book of Revelation is the grand finale 01:14 of the redemption story. 01:17 For example, let's take a look at Genesis 3:15 01:22 and its relationship to Revelation chapter 12. 01:26 We did a little bit of this this morning. 01:29 Do we have the same elements in Revelation chapter 12 01:33 as we have in Genesis 3:15? 01:35 Yes we do. 01:36 It is the fulfillment of Genesis 3:15. 01:39 What do we have in Genesis 3:15? 01:42 We have a woman, right? 01:44 Is there a woman in Revelation 12? 01:46 Absolutely. 01:47 Then we have a seed that the woman has in her womb. 01:52 Is that in Genesis 3:15? 01:54 Absolutely. 01:55 In the third place, we have a serpent that wants 01:57 to devour the Child. 01:59 Do we find that in Genesis 3:15? 02:02 Yes, enmity between the woman and the serpent, 02:07 and the serpent and the seed of the woman. 02:10 And then in the fourth place, we have enmity. 02:12 Is there enmity in Genesis 3:15? 02:14 Absolutely. 02:15 So the same four elements that we find in Genesis 3:15 02:19 are found in Revelation chapter 12. 02:21 In other words, Revelation chapter 12, 02:23 the first few verses is the fulfillment of Genesis 3:15. 02:28 Because there is where the dragon, or the ancient 02:31 serpent also called, attacks the Child to try and kill the Child. 02:37 But the Child escapes from his hands. 02:39 So this shows that Genesis is to be understood 02:44 in the context of the book of Revelation. 02:47 You know, another example, and we'll give more examples 02:49 as we go along, is the three angels' messages of 02:53 Revelation chapter 14. 02:55 You know, that is foreshadowed in the book of Genesis. 02:59 Before the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, 03:03 how many angels were sent to Abraham? 03:05 Three. 03:07 And if you look at their messages, you'll find 03:11 that they're in the same order as the messages of 03:14 Revelation chapter 14. 03:16 And so, what I'm saying is that what you find in Genesis 03:20 foreshadows what you have in the book of Revelation. 03:23 Now let's go to our next paragraph. 03:25 Revelation is a Hebrew book written in Greek. 03:31 Now you say, "How's that?" 03:33 A Hebrew book. 03:34 In other words, its background is the Old Testament. 03:37 But it is written in the Greek language. 03:40 It is saturated with Old Testament allusions. 03:44 In fact, there are more than 1000, some people say 2000, 03:49 allusions to the Old Testament in the book of Revelation. 03:53 These references include words, concepts, phrases, 04:01 sentences, verses, and sometimes the thematic order of 04:07 entire chapters from the Old Testament. 04:11 It must be born in mind that the Jewish language 04:14 is spiritualized and applied to the Christian church. 04:18 We've already studied that. 04:20 Revelation is a book for the church. 04:22 That's why it begins with messages to the seven churches. 04:26 It is not for literal Israel. 04:29 Revelation keeps the same Old Testament 04:32 terminology, but gives the language a spiritual, 04:36 not a literal, significance. 04:38 Are you understanding that point? 04:40 That is, Revelation still says, "Babylon." 04:44 But we are to understand that Babylon is not that 04:47 place where Saddam Hussein use to live. 04:49 Babylon is a global system. 04:52 "Israel;" Revelation uses the name. 04:57 But we are to understand that name applies to the 05:00 Christian church, and it's worldwide. 05:03 In other words, even though the terminology 05:06 from the Old Testament is conserved, 05:09 still it is spiritualized and globalized 05:13 in the book of Revelation. 05:15 Now let's continue here. 05:17 Revelation is like a gigantic jigsaw puzzle 05:22 which has thousands of pieces. 05:25 When these pieces are properly assembled, 05:28 there is a beautiful mosaic of truth. 05:32 It is like a majestic symphony which unites the entire Bible 05:37 in a beautiful musical masterpiece. 05:41 Ellen White has said in, Acts of the Apostles, page 585, 05:46 "In the Revelation, all the books of the Bible 05:50 meet and end. 05:52 Here is the complement of the book of Daniel. 05:55 One is a prophecy; the other, a revelation." 05:59 So that's an audacious statement. 06:02 "In Revelation, all the books of the Bible meet and end." 06:06 There is no book of the Bible that is not related 06:08 somehow to the book of Revelation. 06:11 It is important to remember that the book of Revelation 06:16 sometimes takes a solitary symbol from the Old Testament 06:21 to encourage us to study the entire context 06:24 where that symbol appears. 06:26 We've dealt with that before. 06:28 Thus, if we find Elijah terminology in Revelation, 06:32 we are to study the entire story of Elijah. 06:35 If Balaam is mentioned, we must study the entire 06:39 story of Balaam. 06:42 Now we have a few examples here, preliminary examples, 06:46 about the relationship between the Bible 06:50 and the book of Revelation. 06:52 You know, really, the Bible is what you call, an inclusio. 06:58 Because you have in Genesis 1 to 3 07:02 Eden created and Eden lost. 07:06 At the end of Revelation 20 to 22, 07:09 you have Eden restored and Eden regained. 07:13 And in between, you have everything that happened 07:16 to regain what was lost. 07:19 And so Revelation 21 and 22 and Genesis 1 to 3 07:25 are thematically related. 07:27 Because both of them have Eden, both of them have a 07:30 river of life, both of them have a tree of life. 07:33 They're very intimately related. 07:36 Now what about Revelation 14 verse 7, where it says, 07:40 "Fear God and give glory to Him, for the hour of His 07:43 judgment has come." 07:45 You know, there's a text in the Old Testament 07:48 that is very similar to this one and helps us understand 07:51 this particular verse. 07:53 It's found in the book of Ecclesiastes chapter 12 07:58 and verse 13. 08:00 And you're going to notice immediately the similarity. 08:05 Here, the wise man Solomon says this. 08:08 "Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: 08:12 Fear God and keep His commandments, 08:17 for this is man's all. 08:20 For God will bring every work into..." What? 08:24 "...into judgment." 08:25 And then it says, "...and every secret thing, 08:27 whether it be good or whether it be evil." 08:30 Is there any relationship between that verse 08:32 and Revelation 14 verses 6 and 7? 08:35 Of course. 08:37 Revelation 14 says, "Fear God, give glory to Him, 08:42 for the hour of His judgment is come." 08:45 Ecclesiastes says, "Fear God and keep His commandments, 08:50 because God is going to bring every work into judgment." 08:53 And so, we know where the terminology comes from 08:57 in Revelation 14 verse 6 and verse 7. 09:00 A source would be Ecclesiastes chapter 12 and verse 13. 09:06 Now notice Revelation chapter 7 and verse 1. 09:09 Revelation chapter 7 and verse 1. 09:12 Here we find an interesting description that includes 09:17 an interesting symbol. 09:18 It says there in Revelation 7 and verse 1, 09:21 "After these things I saw four angels standing 09:24 at the four corners of the earth, 09:25 holding the four winds of the earth, 09:28 that the wind should not blow on the earth, 09:30 on the sea, or on any..." What? 09:34 "...or on any tree." 09:36 So the question is, is the wind here literal wind? 09:42 Are we dealing with literal wind? 09:45 No, we're not dealing with literal wind. 09:47 Is the sea literal? 09:50 No. 09:51 Are the trees literal? 09:53 No. 09:54 We have to find out what trees represent. 09:57 We have to find out what the sea represents. 10:00 And we have to understand what the earth represents. 10:03 Does the book of Revelation explain those symbols? 10:06 Yes it does. 10:08 There's a beast that rises from the sea. 10:10 There's a beast that rises from the earth. 10:12 And what is meant by trees? 10:14 We go to other text in the Old Testament 10:17 to find out what is meant by a tree, symbolically. 10:21 Now, let's examine this by going to a couple of text, 10:27 and then we'll read a statement from the spirit of prophecy. 10:30 Go with me to Psalm 92 and verses 12 through 14. 10:35 Psalm 92 and verses 12 through 14. 10:39 And you're going to notice here what is symbolized 10:42 by a tree, specifically. 10:45 Once again, Psalm 92 and verses 12 through 14. 10:50 It says here, "The righteous shall flourish like a palm tree, 10:57 he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon. 11:00 Those who are planted in the house of the Lord 11:03 shall flourish in the courts of our God. 11:07 They shall still bear fruit in old age; 11:10 they shall be fresh and flourishing, 11:12 to declare that the Lord is upright; 11:15 He is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in Him." 11:20 So what is represented by a tree here in Psalm 92? 11:25 It represents the righteous who flourish like a tree. 11:29 We also read earlier in this course Psalm 1 where it 11:34 speaks about a tree planted next to rivers of waters. 11:38 And the tree does not wither, it bears its fruit in season. 11:41 So when you find this in Revelation chapter 7 verse 1, 11:45 are you going to try and find some literal tree somewhere 11:49 that this applies to? 11:50 Of course not. 11:52 Are you going to find some literal sea? 11:53 Well is this the Pacific, the Atlantic, 11:55 or is it the Mediterranean? 11:57 No, it's not talking about that. 11:59 What about the earth? 12:01 Well, the earth represents the new world. 12:04 The sea represents the old world. 12:05 The trees represent God's people. 12:09 Now notice this statement from Ellen White 12:12 that we find in, Patriarchs and Prophets, page 450. 12:16 Patriarchs and Prophets, 450. 12:19 She says, "Above all other trees the cedar of Lebanon," 12:23 which is mentioned here in Psalm 92, 12:25 "is distinguished for its strength, its firmness, 12:29 its undecaying vigor; and this is used as a symbol 12:35 of those whose life is 'hid with Christ in God.' 12:38 Says the Scripture, 'The righteous...shall 12:41 grow like a cedar.' 12:43 The divine hand has exalted the cedar as king over the forest. 12:48 'The fir trees were not like his boughs, and the chestnut trees 12:52 were not like his branches;' 12:54 nor any tree in the garden of God. 12:57 The cedar is repeatedly employed as an emblem of royalty, 13:02 and it is used in Scripture to represent the righteous 13:07 shows how Heaven regards those who do the will of God." 13:13 And so we know what the cedar represents in Scripture, 13:17 what a tree represents in Scripture. 13:19 Now some people have literalized the trumpets. 13:22 And they try to find a place where, you know, 13:25 the wind doesn't blow on the trees. 13:27 And they try to literalize it also in the series on the seals. 13:31 And it's useless to do that. 13:33 Because we have noticed that in the study of prophecy, 13:36 you're not dealing with literal things. 13:38 You're dealing with symbols. 13:40 And so if you're going to be consistent, 13:42 you have to interpret the symbols all the way through. 13:45 In the churches, in the seals, in the trumpets, etc. 13:48 Is that point clear? 13:49 Very, very important. 13:51 Now what I want to do is take a few additional examples 13:55 from the list that you have beginning on page 34. 13:58 And I'm going to pick and choose here. 14:01 And we're going to go through them and I'm just going to 14:03 mention a few ideas about each of these symbols 14:07 that come from elsewhere in Scripture. 14:10 The first one I want us to notice is 14:12 Revelation 14 verse 20. 14:15 That's a little ways down on page 34 of your syllabus. 14:19 You see that, Revelation 14 verse 20? 14:22 Now it speaks there of the winepress. 14:26 The winepress. 14:28 So what does the winepress represent? 14:32 The winepress represents the wicked. 14:34 Now there's a text that we did not read 14:37 from the Old Testament. 14:39 And so we want to read it now in the context of the winepress. 14:43 Go with me to Isaiah 63 and verses 1 through 5. 14:48 Isaiah 63 verses 1 through 5. 14:51 Do you remember that we mentioned in our previous class 14:55 that Jesus comes clothed with a garment dipped in blood 15:00 because He's coming to trample the winepress, right? 15:03 He's coming to trample the wicked. 15:05 Now notice Isaiah 63 and verses 1 through 5. 15:10 "Who is this who comes from Edom, 15:13 with dyed garments from Bozrah, 15:17 this One who is glorious in His apparel, 15:20 traveling in the greatness of His strength? 15:23 'I who speak in righteousness, mighty to save.'" 15:27 And now notice the question. 15:29 "Why is Your apparel red..." 15:32 Is the apparel of Jesus red in Revelation 19? 15:35 Yes. 15:37 "Why is Your apparel red, 15:38 and Your garments like one who treads in the winepress?" 15:44 Aah. 15:45 Does it help to use the Old Testament? 15:47 Absolutely. 15:49 Here comes the answer. 15:50 "I have trodden the winepress alone; 15:54 and from the peoples, no one was with Me. 15:57 For I have trodden them in My anger, 16:00 and trampled them in My fury; 16:03 their blood is sprinkled upon My garments, 16:07 and I have stained all My robes." 16:10 So when Jesus is portrayed in Revelation 19 16:13 as His garments dipped in blood, it's because 16:16 He's trampled upon what? 16:17 He's trampled upon the winepress. 16:19 Now we're not to understand this as something mean spirited. 16:22 You know, Jesus is just going to come 16:24 and He's going to stomp on the wicked. No. 16:26 It needs to be understood in the context 16:28 of the covenant, once again. 16:30 Those who have made a covenant relationship with Jesus Christ, 16:33 in the crisis will be protected. 16:35 Those who have chosen to be independent of Jesus Christ 16:38 have chosen destruction. 16:40 They have not chosen salvation. 16:42 And so this passage from Isaiah 63 helps us interpret 16:47 Revelation 19 that speaks about the winepress. 16:50 The blood in which Jesus comes stained is not 16:54 His own saving blood. 16:56 It is what? 16:57 It is the blood of the enemies of His kingdom. 17:01 Now notice the next symbol here in the list. 17:04 Revelation 14 verse 8. 17:06 Babylon. 17:08 Where would you have to go to interpret Babylon? 17:11 Well, you go to a concordance. 17:13 And what does the concordance help you do? 17:16 Where is the first place that you find the word, "Babylon?" 17:20 In Genesis 11. 17:21 Would you have to study the entire story of Genesis 11 17:25 in order to make sense out of what Babylon is? 17:27 Of course, yeah. 17:28 Genesis 11 is invaluable in interpreting what Babylon is. 17:33 That's where the name begins. 17:34 It means, confusion. 17:36 He called the name of that place what? 17:38 Babel. Or confusion. 17:40 And the builder of Babel was a man named Nimrod. 17:44 His name means, rebellion. 17:47 Does that start to portray a picture? 17:49 What did Nimrod want to do? 17:51 You read, Patriarchs and Prophets. 17:53 He wanted to establish a global empire independent of God. 17:59 Is that the idea in these last days of earth's history? 18:02 It's called, globalism. 18:05 It's the idea of the whole world coming together 18:08 and eliminating wars and establishing a universal 18:11 capital from which the whole world will be ruled or governed. 18:16 That's nothing new in Revelation. 18:18 When you go to Genesis 11, the pattern becomes 18:21 absolutely clear. 18:24 So in order to understand Babylon, we have to go 18:26 back to Genesis 11. 18:28 Where else do we have to go? 18:29 Well, we have to go also to Nebuchadnezzar's Babylon, right? 18:33 We have to go, for example, to Daniel chapter 5. 18:36 In Daniel chapter 5, you remember that Belshazzar 18:39 was celebrating this banquet. 18:41 The enemy had the city surrounded. 18:43 And Babylon was sitting on the river Euphrates. 18:46 And he's celebrating this party because he feels 18:49 that Babylon is invincible because it sits on this river. 18:52 And there's plenty of water. 18:53 It can produce agricultural products because 18:58 they can irrigate with the river. 18:59 And they have these three huge walls that surround the city. 19:02 They have gates that go to the bottom of the river. 19:05 The city is absolutely invincible. 19:07 But the interesting thing is that Cyrus 19:10 comes from the north and from the east. 19:14 And he dries up the river Euphrates. 19:17 And they had left the gates open that night, 19:19 according to the Greek historians. 19:22 And so Cyrus went through the dry riverbed, 19:27 and the city of Babylon fell. 19:28 Does that help us understand Revelation 17? 19:31 Of course. And 16 as well. 19:34 The drying up of the Euphrates is the signal 19:36 that Babylon is going to fall. 19:38 And so in Revelation, we have the same terminology. 19:42 But you're not dealing with literal things, 19:44 you are dealing with symbols. 19:47 What does Babylon represent? 19:50 It's a harlot system. The harlot is Babylon. 19:53 Is it a global system? 19:56 Yes, she's seated on many waters. 19:58 What are the many waters? 20:00 Multitudes, nations, tongues, and peoples. 20:03 They are spiritual waters. 20:04 She is a spiritual harlot. She is a spiritual city. 20:08 Now what is the drying up of the Euphrates? 20:11 If the Euphrates represents multitudes, nations, 20:13 tongues, and peoples, and that marked the end 20:17 of Old Testament Babylon, literal Babylon, 20:19 it must be that at some point the multitudes, nations, 20:22 tongues, and peoples are going to withdraw their support. 20:25 They're going to dry up on the harlot. 20:28 Are you with me? 20:29 So is it helpful to go to Genesis 11 and to go to 20:33 Daniel chapter 5 and Jeremiah 50 and 51? 20:36 It's indispensible. 20:38 There's no way you can understand 20:39 Babylon in Revelation unless you understand 20:42 Babylon in Genesis, Jeremiah 50 and 51, 20:46 Daniel 5, and other places where it appears. 20:50 Revelation 3 verse 7 is an interesting text. 20:53 Just a little bit further down. 20:55 Revelation 3 verse 7. 20:57 It speaks about the key of David. 21:02 And the key of David is going to be used to open a door 21:09 before the church of Philadelphia. 21:11 Do you know which period of church history Philadelphia is? 21:15 It's the Millerite movement. 21:17 That's Philadelphia. 21:19 In the flow of church history. 21:21 And so, before Philadelphia is placed, what? 21:25 An open door. 21:27 And the door is opened with a key. 21:29 And it says there that no one can shut one door 21:34 that is open, and nobody can open a door that was shut. 21:39 Now the question is, which is the door that is open 21:43 before the church of Philadelphia? 21:46 It has to be the door to the Most Holy Place. 21:49 Because in the Sanctuary there were three doors. 21:52 There was the door that led from the camp to the court. 21:55 There was the door that led from the court to the Holy Place. 21:59 And there was the door that led from the Holy to the Most Holy. 22:03 Now could this door in Revelation 3 verse 7 22:06 be the door that leads from the camp to the court? 22:10 No, when did Jesus enter that door? 22:13 He entered that door when He came to die on the cross, right? 22:21 Now, is that the period of the sixth church? 22:24 Are you kidding? 22:25 The sixth church is towards the end of church history. 22:28 So it can't be the first door. 22:30 How about the second door, the door between the 22:33 court and the Holy Place? 22:35 That can't be either. 22:36 When did Jesus enter that door? 22:38 He entered that door when He ascended to heaven 22:41 to begin His intercession. 22:42 So it can't be the second door. 22:44 So how many doors does that leave? 22:46 It only leaves one. 22:47 The door to the Most Holy Place. 22:49 So you know that the church of Philadelphia, 22:54 Revelation 3 verse 7, deals with the Most Holy Place message. 22:58 And if you want more on this, you've got to get my book, 23:01 Worship at Satan's Throne, where I deal with 23:04 Revelation 3 verse 7. 23:05 It's an eye opening book. 23:06 It's very, very important for what's happening in the 23:09 Adventist church right now in the area of worship and music, 23:14 and all of these things that are happening in the church. 23:17 We already noticed that Revelation 20:1-3 23:21 that speaks about the millennium, 23:23 we need to go to several passages in the Old Testament. 23:26 We have to go to Leviticus 16, don't we? 23:29 The scapegoat ceremony? 23:30 We have to do back to Jeremiah chapter 4, right? 23:33 Where it says that Jeremiah heard the sound of the trumpet, 23:36 then he saw war. 23:38 And then he says, "I looked at the earth and it was 23:40 without form and void." 23:41 You have to go back there. 23:43 You have to go back to Isaiah 24 where it speaks about 23:45 the earth being empty and being waste. 23:48 And so you have to go back to these Old Testament 23:52 context in order to fully understand the meaning 23:55 of the millennium in the book of Revelation. 23:58 Now what about Gog and Magog? 24:00 Revelation chapter 20 verses 8 and 9. 24:03 Folks, Gog and Magog are the central theme 24:07 of Ezekiel 38 and 39. 24:10 Now I wish we had time to go into those two chapters. 24:14 Because they foreshadow what we find 24:16 in the book of Revelation. 24:17 Do you know, most Futurists these days 24:20 believe that Gog and Magog represents Russia 24:25 that is going to come against the Holy Land. 24:28 That's what they believe. 24:29 But the interesting thing is, when you go to the book of 24:32 Revelation, it says that Gog and Magog comes from the 24:37 four corners of the earth. 24:40 It globalizes Gog and Magog. 24:43 And lo and behold, Gog and Magog is not Russia 24:46 before the thousand years. 24:48 Gog and Magog are spoken of after the thousand years. 24:52 And so, if you go back to the root prophecy, 24:56 you are protected from making big mistakes 24:59 in your interpretation of Bible prophecy. 25:01 Notice a little bit further down, 25:03 Revelation 13 verse 18. 25:05 Remember the number of the beast is 666? 25:09 Now let's go in our Bibles to 1 Kings chapter 10 and verse 14. 25:14 1 Kings chapter 10 and verse 14. 25:19 And notice something very interesting that we find 25:22 in this particular verse. 25:25 It's speaking about Solomon, 25:27 and the great wealth of Solomon. 25:31 It says there, "The weight of gold that came to Solomon yearly 25:38 was six hundred and sixty-six talents of gold." 25:44 And then if you keep on reading the following verses, 25:48 and chapter 11 the first few verses, 25:51 you're going to find that Solomon comes to depend 25:56 on his riches and he fornicates with women from other nations. 26:02 Is that true of the power whose number is 666 26:06 in the book of Revelation? 26:07 It's the same context, folks. 26:09 So does it help to study the apostasy of Solomon 26:14 in order to understand the end time apostasy 26:16 within the church? 26:17 It most certainly does. 26:19 And so we need to go to where the number 666 is found. 26:24 And incidentally, we also, during our class, 26:27 spoke about Daniel 3 and verse 1. 26:30 Remember the dimensions of the image? 26:33 60 by 6, and the total is 360. 26:38 And the summary number of 360, you know, 26:43 if you add 1 through 36, the total is what? 26:47 666. We spoke about that. 26:50 Now what about Revelation 12 and verse 9? 26:52 A little bit further down. 26:54 The ancient serpent. 26:56 Why do you suppose it's called, the ancient serpent? 27:00 What is it hinting at? 27:03 It's saying, "Hey, if you want to understand this serpent here, 27:06 you have to go back to Genesis." 27:08 That's why it's called, the ancient serpent. 27:10 In other words, to understand Revelation chapter 12, 27:13 the devil in chapter 12, you have to go back 27:16 and understand the way that he worked in the book of Genesis. 27:20 You know, Revelation 14 verses 14 to 20, 27:23 we didn't have time to study this particular prophecy 27:26 in detail, but that totally comes from Joel 2 and Joel 3. 27:30 The idea of the winepress outside the city, 27:34 the nations gathering to destroy Jerusalem, 27:37 and God rebuking the nations. 27:39 Everything is there in the book of Joel, Joel 2 and Joel 3. 27:43 Revelation 12 verse 14, the eagle's wings. 27:47 You know, if you go to the Old Testament, 27:49 you're going to find that it represents God's salvation. 27:52 God rescuing His people from slavery. 27:55 Notice Exodus, let's read that, Exodus chapter 19 and verse 4. 28:00 Exodus 19 and verse 4. 28:03 God is speaking about what He did for Israel 28:06 when He took them out of Egypt. 28:07 He says, "You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, 28:10 how I bore you on..." What? 28:13 "...on eagles' wings..." 28:15 In other words, "I took you away from Pharaoh." 28:18 "...and brought you to Myself." 28:21 So in other words, He rescued Israel from slavery, 28:24 from slavery to Pharaoh, and he brought him to Himself. 28:29 Now Revelation 13:1-10, which is the next to the last item 28:33 that we have here, it comes from Daniel chapter 7, right? 28:37 Because the beast rules for 42 months, 28:40 it commits blasphemy, it persecutes the saints 28:43 of the Most High. 28:45 Identical things that the little horn did in chapter 7. 28:47 So we know that the beast is the same as the little horn 28:50 when you go back to the root prophecy in Daniel chapter 7. 28:54 You know, the two olive trees in Revelation 11 verse 4. 28:58 Very clearly, they come from Zechariah chapter 4 29:01 verses 1 to 6. 29:02 So if you want to understand the two olive trees 29:05 in Revelation 11, you have to go back to the root prophecy 29:08 which is found in Zechariah chapter 4 29:11 and verses 1 through 6. 29:14 Where do we get the little book episode of Revelation chapter 10 29:20 that we studied in our class yesterday? 29:23 Well, this idea of eating a book and having it be 29:27 sweet in the mouth and the need to proclaim the 29:29 contents of the book is found in Ezekiel 3. 29:33 Let's go there just for a moment. 29:34 We read it yesterday, but let's take a look at it again. 29:37 Ezekiel chapter 3 and verses 1 through 4. 29:41 Immediately you're going to see the connection. 29:43 It says there in verse 1, "Moreover He said to me, 29:47 'Son of man, eat what you find; 29:49 eat this scroll, and go, speak to the house of Israel.'" 29:53 So he's suppose to eat it, and then what? 29:56 Speak the message. 29:58 "So I opened my mouth, and He caused me to eat that scroll. 30:02 And He said to me, 'Son of man, feed your belly, 30:05 and fill your stomach with this scroll that I give you.' 30:08 So I ate, and it was in my mouth like..." What? 30:11 "...like honey in sweetness. 30:13 Then He said to me, 'Son of man, go to the house of Israel 30:17 and speak with My words to them.'" 30:19 So what does it mean to eat the scroll? 30:21 It means you assimilate the message, 30:23 and then what do you do? 30:24 And then you go and you speak the message to others. 30:28 That helps us understand the context 30:30 of Revelation chapter 10. 30:32 Now what about the two-edged sword that comes out of 30:35 the mouth of the one who is seated on the white horse? 30:39 Well, let's go in our Bibles to Hebrews chapter 4 30:42 verses 12 and 13. 30:44 Hebrews chapter 4 verses 12 and 13 30:47 gives us what this means. 30:49 See, if you go to Revelation 19, you're going to imagine that 30:52 when Jesus comes, He's seated on a white horse 30:55 and He has a great big sword coming out of His mouth. 30:57 Well, this is symbolic language. 31:00 The horse represents He's coming as a King, as a conqueror. 31:03 And the sword is symbolic. 31:05 What does the sword symbolize? 31:07 Notice what we find in Hebrews 4 verses 12 and 13. 31:12 "For the word of God is living and powerful, 31:19 and sharper than any two-edged sword..." 31:22 So what is it when Jesus comes that comes out of His mouth? 31:25 His what? 31:27 His sharp word, is what's coming out. 31:30 "...piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, 31:33 and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of 31:36 the thoughts and intents of the heart. 31:39 And there is no creature hidden from His sight, 31:42 but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him 31:45 to whom we must give an account." 31:48 So do you see how important it is to go to other text 31:53 in the Bible to understand what the sword represents? 31:56 Now a little bit further down on page 35, 31:59 the Book of Life. 32:01 What does the Book of Life contain? 32:04 Folks, the Book of Life contains names. 32:07 The books contain the record of the life. 32:11 Now, the Book contains names, and those names are placed there 32:16 as people accept Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. 32:20 In other words, when a person is baptized, their name 32:23 in chronological order is placed in the Book of Life. 32:28 And then later on, their life is examined in the judgment. 32:31 And if it is seen that that persons acceptance of Christ 32:35 was sincere and true, then their name is left 32:39 in the Book of Life. 32:40 So in other words, names are written in the Book of Life 32:44 chronologically according to when people accept 32:47 Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. 32:49 That helps us understand why Ellen White says 32:52 that the judgment in 1844 began with those who first 32:56 lived upon the earth. 32:58 It's not in alphabetical order. 33:00 Praise the Lord for that. 33:01 You know, it's in chronological order. 33:05 Let me ask you, did Adam repent of his sin? 33:09 Of course he did. 33:10 Did he receive Christ as his Savior? 33:12 Yes, he sacrificed a lamb indicating that he repented 33:15 of his sin and he recognized that the Messiah was going to 33:18 save him from his sin. 33:19 And so he was the first one written in the Book of Life. 33:23 Are you following me or not? 33:25 So it is names that are written in the Book of Life. 33:28 And you have several text there. 33:30 You remember Daniel 12 verse 1. 33:32 Who are the ones who are going to be delivered 33:34 from the end time tribulation? 33:36 "Your people shall be delivered, everyone who is found 33:39 written in the Book," whose name is in the Book. 33:42 Isaiah 4 verses 2 and 3 has the same thing. 33:46 You remember when Moses, this is Exodus 32 verse 32, 33:50 when Moses interceded for Israel, he said, 33:52 "If you can't save this people, erase me from Your Book. 33:56 Eradicate me from Your Book. 33:58 Take my name out." 33:59 You know, Philippians 4 verse 3, the apostle Paul mentions 34:03 several of his fellow laborers whose names are written 34:06 in the book of Life. 34:08 So in other words, the Book of Life contains names. 34:11 And as you examine all of these text on the Book of Life, 34:15 you'll be able to gain a complete picture of what 34:18 is involved in the Book of Life. 34:22 Now we'll take maybe one or two more, 34:25 and then we need to move on. 34:26 Revelation chapter 12 and verse 7. 34:30 Michael. 34:32 Are there any other text in Scripture 34:34 that refer to Michael? 34:36 Absolutely. 34:37 Would it be helpful to go to those? 34:39 Incidentally, you know something very interesting? 34:41 The name Michael always appears in the context of Jesus 34:45 being in conflict with the devil. 34:49 Always. 34:51 And the name means, who is like God. 34:55 His name is a challenge. 34:58 And so, when Jesus is in controversy with the devil, 35:02 He says, "I am Michael, who is like God." 35:06 And of course, what can the devil answer? 35:09 He can't answer anything. 35:10 Because he knows that no one is like God. 35:13 So it's a beautiful name that is a challenge. 35:16 Now, let's just go to two more. 35:19 One is Revelation 13 verse 14 where it speaks about 35:23 the image, whoever doesn't worship the image 35:25 that was raised by the beast should be killed. 35:27 Where do we need to go to understand that? 35:30 We have to go to Daniel 3. 35:32 Because that's the background. 35:33 Is Babylon the power in Daniel 3? 35:36 Yes. Is Babylon the power in Revelation 13? 35:39 Yes. 35:40 The power in Revelation 13, is that a beast? 35:43 Yes. 35:44 In Daniel 3, was Nebuchadnezzar a beast for a while? 35:47 Absolutely. 35:48 Did Nebuchadnezzar command everyone to worship the image? 35:51 Is that true of Revelation 13? 35:53 Whoever didn't worship the image should be killed. 35:56 Absolutely. 35:57 So you know that in order to understand Revelation 13, 36:00 you have to go back to the historical root story 36:04 that we find in the Old Testament. 36:06 Now the final one that I want to take a look at 36:08 is about the half hour of silence. 36:12 Have you ever heard about that time, 36:13 Revelation chapter 8 and verse 1? 36:15 It's actually the seventh seal of Revelation. 36:20 Now, what is represented by this almost half an hour of silence? 36:25 It says, "about half an hour." 36:27 It doesn't say half hour. It says, "about half an hour." 36:30 What is represented by that? 36:32 You know, does it really represent the entire period 36:36 of the second coming of Christ from the time that Jesus 36:38 leaves heaven till the time that He arrives? 36:40 You know, I use to believe that until I started studying 36:43 this more carefully. 36:45 And I found this statement from the spirit of prophecy 36:47 that is very, very helpful. 36:49 Let's go to Revelation chapter 6 36:54 and let's read verses 14 through 17. 36:58 Revelation chapter 6 and verses 14 through 17. 37:04 This is describing the second coming. 37:06 It says, "Then the sky receded as a scroll when it is 37:09 rolled up, and every mountain and island was 37:12 moved out of its place. 37:14 And the kings of the earth, the great men, the rich men, 37:16 the commanders, the mighty men, every slave and every free man, 37:20 hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains, 37:23 and said to the mountains and rocks, 'Fall on us 37:26 and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne 37:30 and from the wrath of the Lamb. 37:32 For the great day of His wrath has come, 37:34 and who is able to stand?'" 37:38 So you notice that it ends with a question. 37:41 "Who is able to stand?" 37:43 Now the question is, who are able to stand? 37:46 Well, you need to go to the next chapter. 37:49 What does the next chapter contain? 37:51 It contains the 144,000 being sealed. 37:54 Are those the ones who are going to be alive when Jesus comes? 37:57 Will they be able to stand? 38:00 Absolutely. 38:02 Now I want to read you this statement from, 38:04 Great Controversy, 641. 38:05 Notice where Ellen White locates this period of silence. 38:12 I'm reading from, Great Controversy, page 641. 38:15 "Before His presence, 'all faces are turned into paleness;' 38:22 upon the rejecters of God's mercy falls the 38:26 terror of eternal despair. 38:29 'The heart melteth, and the knees smite together,' 38:32 'and the faces of them all gather blackness.'" 38:36 Now listen carefully. 38:38 "The righteous cry with trembling, 38:41 'Who shall be able to stand?'" 38:46 Did you catch that? "Who shall be able..." 38:48 Is that the question that appears 38:49 at the end of Revelation 6? 38:51 Yes. "Who shall be able to stand?" 38:53 And now notice. 38:57 "The righteous cry with trembling, 38:59 'Who shall be able to stand?' 39:01 The angels' song is hushed, and there is a period 39:04 of awful silence." 39:09 What is the seventh seal? 39:12 A period of silence in heaven. 39:15 This is the period of silence. 39:18 And then notice, "The angels' song is hushed, and there is 39:22 a period of awful silence." 39:25 A period. 39:26 How much would that period be? 39:28 About a half hour. 39:29 Because the next seal is the seventh seal. 39:32 See? 39:34 The question is asked in the sixth seal, 39:36 "Who shall be able to stand." 39:38 The seventh seal is silence. 39:41 So here you have the people crying out, 39:43 "Who shall be able to stand?" 39:45 And the next seal is silence. 39:48 So it continues saying, "Then the righteous are lighted up..." 39:53 Excuse me, "Then the voice of Jesus is heard, saying, 39:55 'My grace is sufficient for you.' 39:58 The faces of the righteous are lighted up, 40:00 and joy fills every heart. 40:02 And the angels strike a note higher, and sing again, 40:06 as they draw still nearer to the earth." 40:10 So the question is, is it helpful for us 40:14 to go to other passages in Scripture 40:17 in order to understand what we find in the book of Revelation? 40:21 It is extremely important. 40:24 It is vitally important to do so. 40:27 And you have many other examples in your syllabus. 40:30 I just gave you a little sampling. 40:31 Now I want to give you an example that is 40:34 a little bit larger. 40:36 And that is the twenty-four elders. 40:40 And what we're going to do now is we're going to transition, 40:43 we're going to transition into our next principle. 40:46 And that is, how do we use the writings of Ellen White 40:51 in relationship to our study of Bible prophecy? 40:55 Now at the top of the page, the handout that you have, 40:59 there are some suggestions as to how to search for 41:03 prophetic fulfillments in the commentary that Ellen White 41:06 gives of those prophetic fulfillments. 41:09 Point number one, look in the Ellen White Scripture index 41:15 to see if she has any comments on that particular verse 41:18 or passage that you are studying. 41:21 You know that there's a CD-ROM right? 41:23 And there's a place where you can click where it says, 41:26 Scripture References. 41:28 And you can find there a list of the verses 41:33 that Ellen White has quotations on. 41:35 So you want to do that. 41:37 After you've searched for verses that Ellen White 41:40 might have used in her writings, then you do a word search... 41:45 Not a text search, but a word search. 41:48 ...to see if she alludes to the language of the particular 41:52 verse or passage that you are studying. 41:54 So first you do the text, and then you look and see, 41:58 you know, you can punch in several words, 42:00 to see if she uses those combinations of words. 42:04 The next point. 42:06 If she does not quote the particular verses you are 42:08 studying, check and see if she quotes any verses 42:12 in the surrounding context of the verses or passage. 42:17 In other words, if she doesn't quote the verse, 42:19 you look at if she quotes verses that come before or after 42:23 the passage that you're studying. 42:25 Because if she quotes the verses that come before or after, 42:29 you might be able to find the context. 42:32 And we're going to see that when we take a look at 42:34 Daniel 11 tomorrow. 42:36 Finally, look for thematic parallels between the 42:41 Bible passage and Ellen White's writings. 42:43 In other words, look at the sequence of events 42:46 to see if the sequence that Ellen White presents 42:49 is similar to the sequence that we find in the passage 42:53 that you are studying. 42:55 Now let's take the twenty-four elders as an example. 42:59 How many times does Ellen White mention 43:02 twenty-four elders in her writings? 43:06 Zero. 43:10 So if you punch in, "twenty-four elders," 43:12 in the writings of Ellen White, you will find nothing. 43:16 So the conclusion is, Ellen White had nothing to say 43:19 about the twenty-four elders. 43:23 If you made that conclusion, you would be wrong. 43:25 And you would be missing out on something great. 43:29 Because Ellen White does have some very clear comments 43:32 on the twenty-four elders. 43:34 But you're not suppose to look only for twenty-four elders. 43:37 You're suppose to go to the Scripture index 43:39 to see if any of the verses in the surrounding context 43:43 are quoted by Ellen White. 43:44 Not the ones that say, "twenty-four elders," 43:46 but the verses that surround that. 43:49 And then you're suppose to go and see if you can find 43:52 some of the terminology that you find in 43:58 the context of the elders to see if Ellen White 44:00 uses that terminology. 44:02 And then look at the structure, the sequence of what 44:06 the Bible says about the twenty-four elders, 44:08 to see if Ellen White has a similar sequence. 44:10 Are you following me? 44:12 Now, you have in your material what I believe to be 44:17 Ellen White's clear interpretation of 44:19 who the twenty-four elders are. 44:21 The traditional view in the Adventist church 44:23 is that the twenty-four elders represent those who resurrected 44:26 with Christ, and they were taken to heaven with Christ 44:30 as the firstfruits of the great harvest of souls that would 44:34 come forth from the grave when Jesus comes for the second time. 44:38 As I've studied, I've discovered that, really, that is not 44:42 the correct interpretation. 44:45 And you're going to notice here the reason why. 44:49 In the last three pages of, The Desire of Ages, 44:52 pages 833-835, Ellen White describes the expectancy 44:58 of the heavenly beings as they anticipate 45:00 the ascension of Jesus. 45:02 In other words, she's commenting on Revelation 4. 45:05 There's a throne there. 45:07 There's one seated on the throne. 45:09 There's a rainbow over the throne. 45:12 Present there are four living creatures. 45:15 Present there are twenty-four elders. 45:18 And before the throne are the seven lamps of fire, 45:21 representing the Holy Spirit. 45:22 If you read the biblical passage, those are the 45:25 beings that are present there in Revelation 4. 45:28 But in Revelation 4, Jesus isn't there. 45:33 And the angelic hosts are not there. 45:35 And so you ask the question, you say, 45:37 "Why in Revelation 4 do you have the living creatures, 45:41 you have the twenty-four elders, you have a symbol for the 45:44 Holy Spirit, you have the Father sitting on the throne, 45:46 but Jesus isn't there and the angels aren't there. 45:49 And the reason is very simple. 45:51 A group of angels have gone to the gates of the city 45:55 to anticipate the arrival of Christ, 45:57 and other angels have come to earth to pick Him up. 46:01 And so in chapter 4, they're preparing the heavenly 46:03 throne room for the arrival of Jesus. 46:06 That's why Jesus isn't there. 46:09 And that's why the angelic hosts are not there. 46:11 Because some of them are there at the entrance to the city, 46:15 and then there are others who came to pick Jesus up 46:19 to take Him to heaven. 46:20 Was Jesus caught up in a cloud when He went to heaven? 46:23 He most certainly was. 46:24 Now, let's continue here. 46:26 They're anticipating the arrival of Jesus in heaven. 46:29 Now I'm going to read the statement from, Desire of Ages. 46:32 It's a long statement. 46:34 And I've added explanations in brackets. 46:38 Those are my words, not Ellen White's words. 46:41 Listen to what she says. 46:44 "All heaven was waiting to welcome the Saviour 46:47 to the celestial courts. 46:48 As He ascended, He led the way, 46:52 and the multitude of captives..." 46:56 So Jesus is ascending, and the captives are 46:58 coming with Him, right? 47:00 But the problem is, in Revelation chapter 4 47:03 the twenty-four elders were already there 47:04 before Jesus got there. 47:08 Are you with me? 47:11 Now she continues saying, "All heaven was waiting 47:13 to welcome the Saviour to the celestial courts. 47:16 As He ascended, He led the way, 47:19 and the multitude of captives set free at His 47:22 resurrection followed. 47:24 The heavenly host, with shouts and acclamations of praise 47:27 and celestial song, attended the joyous train." 47:30 So is the heavenly host with Him? 47:32 Absolutely. 47:33 "As they drew near to the city of God, 47:35 the challenge is given by the escorting angels, 47:38 'Lift up your heads, O ye gates; 47:39 and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors; 47:42 and the King of glory shall come in.' 47:44 Joyfully the waiting sentinels respond..." 47:47 See, there's some inside too, right? 47:49 "...the waiting sentinels inside respond, 47:52 'Who is this King of glory?' 47:54 This they say, not because they know not who He is, 47:57 but because they would hear the answer of exalted praise, 48:00 'The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle! 48:02 Lift up your heads, O ye gates; 48:04 Even lift them up, ye everlasting doors; 48:07 And the King of glory shall come in.' 48:09 Again is heard the challenge, 'Who is this King of glory?' 48:12 For the angels never weary of hearing His name exalted. 48:16 The escorting angels make reply, 48:18 'The Lord of hosts; He is the King of glory.' 48:22 Then the portals of the city of God are opened wide, 48:25 and the angelic throng sweep through the gates amid 48:30 a burst of rapturous music." 48:33 And now notice, this is very interesting. 48:36 "There is the throne..." 48:40 Is there a throne in Revelation 4? 48:42 Revelation 4:2. 48:43 "...and around it the rainbow of promise." 48:47 Does Revelation 4 have a rainbow over the throne? 48:49 Revelation 4 verse 3. 48:51 "There are cherubim and seraphim." 48:56 Do you know, Revelation mentions the seraphim. 48:58 Because it says that the angels have six wings. 49:02 So, "There are cherubim and seraphim." 49:05 And then she uses three parallel phrases. 49:08 She uses three parallel phrases. 49:11 And some people have said, "Well, these are each 49:13 a different group." 49:14 But they're not. 49:16 They're the same group described in three different ways. 49:18 She says, "The commanders of the angel hosts, the sons of God, 49:23 the representatives of the unfallen worlds, are assembled." 49:27 Who would those be? 49:29 The twenty-four elders. 49:31 Because already she's spoken about the throne. 49:35 And of course, there's One sitting on the throne. 49:37 She's spoken about the cherubim and seraphim. 49:39 Those are the four living creatures, clearly. 49:42 So what is the only group that remains to be identified? 49:46 The twenty-four elders. 49:48 So she's saying that the twenty-four elders are the 49:50 commanders of the angel hosts, the sons of God, 49:53 the representatives of the unfallen worlds. 49:57 Then she explains. 49:58 "The heavenly council before which Lucifer had accused 50:01 God and His Son, the representatives of those 50:03 sinless realms over which Satan had thought to establish 50:07 his dominion, all are there to..." What? 50:10 "...to welcome the Redeemer. 50:12 They are eager to celebrate His triumph 50:14 and to glorify their King." 50:18 Now notice. 50:19 By the way, does Jesus present Himself in chapter 5? 50:24 How does He present Himself? 50:26 As the Lamb as though He had been slain. 50:30 Are the angels there too? 50:32 Ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands. 50:36 They were missing in chapter 4, but they are there in chapter 5. 50:39 Why are they in chapter 5? 50:42 Because they ascended with Jesus. 50:44 Now notice. 50:45 "But He waves them back. 50:47 Not yet. 50:48 He cannot now receive the coronet of glory 50:51 and the royal robe. 50:52 He enters into the presence of His Father." 50:55 Ah, we know who's the one seated on the throne now. 50:58 "He enters into the presence of His Father. 51:01 He points to His wounded head, the pierced side, 51:04 the marred feet; 51:05 He lifts His hands, bearing the print of the nails." 51:07 How is he presenting Himself? 51:08 As a Lamb as though it had been slain. 51:12 That's the terminology in Revelation. 51:14 It's not Ellen White's terminology. 51:16 Is she commenting on Revelation 4 and 5? 51:18 She most certainly is. 51:20 Now notice. 51:21 She continues saying, "He points to the tokens of His triumph; 51:25 He presents to God the wave sheaf, those raised with Him 51:29 as representatives of that great multitude who shall come forth 51:31 from the grave at His second coming. 51:35 He approaches the Father..." 51:38 That's the one who is seated on the throne. 51:39 "...with whom there is joy over one sinner that repents; 51:42 who rejoices over one with singing. 51:44 Before the foundations of the earth were laid, 51:46 the Father and the Son had united in a covenant 51:48 to redeem man if he should be overcome by Satan. 51:52 This pledge Christ has fulfilled." 51:55 Well, we need to go up a little bit. 51:57 "They had clasped Their hands in a solemn pledge 51:59 that Christ should become the surety for the human race. 52:03 This pledge Christ has fulfilled. 52:05 When upon the cross He cried out, 'It is finished,' 52:07 He addressed the Father. 52:08 The compact had been fully carried out. 52:11 Now He declares, 'Father, it is finished. 52:13 I have done Thy will, O My God. 52:15 I have completed the work of redemption. 52:17 If Thy justice is satisfied, "I will that they also, 52:21 whom Thou hast given Me, be with Me where I am."'" 52:26 So Jesus is saying, "I need to know if My sacrifice 52:28 is sufficient to bring My people home." 52:31 "The voice of God is heard proclaiming 52:33 that justice is satisfied. 52:35 Satan is vanquished. 52:36 Christ's toiling, struggling ones on earth 52:39 are 'accepted in the Beloved.' 52:41 Before the heavenly angels..." 52:43 Now notice. 52:44 "Before the heavenly angels and the representatives 52:47 of the unfallen worlds..." 52:49 Are they two different groups? 52:50 Absolutely. 52:52 "...they are declared justified. 52:54 Where He is, there His church shall be. 52:57 'Mercy and truth are met together; 52:58 righteousness and peace have kissed each other.' 53:01 The Father's arms encircle His Son, and the word is given, 53:04 'Let all the angels of God worship Him.'" 53:06 And now you say, "How do you know that... 53:09 How did you find this out?" 53:10 Because Ellen White quotes verses that come afterwards. 53:16 She quotes Revelation 5:12-13. 53:20 And so if she quotes Revelation 5:12-13, 53:23 then I need to read what comes before. 53:27 Are you understanding? 53:30 "With joy unutterable, rulers and principalities and powers 53:33 acknowledge the supremacy of the Prince of life. 53:36 The angel host prostrate themselves before Him, 53:39 while the glad shout fills all the courts of heaven, 53:41 'Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, 53:44 and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honor, 53:46 and glory, and blessing.' 53:47 Revelation 5 verse 12. 53:49 Songs of triumph mingle with the music from angel harps, 53:53 till heaven seems to overflow with joy and praise. 53:56 Love has conquered. The lost is found. 53:58 Heaven rings with voices in lofty strains proclaiming, 54:01 'Blessing, and honor, and glory, and power, 54:05 be unto Him that sitteth upon the throne, 54:07 and unto the Lamb forever and ever.' 54:09 Revelation 5 and verse 13." 54:14 So are we on the right track? 54:15 She does quote verses. 54:17 She doesn't say, "Twenty-four elders," 54:20 but she quotes verses. 54:21 And you can work your way backwards 54:24 to find out how she understood the twenty-four elders. 54:28 Now some people say, "Oh Pastor Bohr, 54:31 but you're wrong, because the expression, 54:33 'sons of God,' 'representatives of the unfallen worlds,' 54:37 and, 'the commanders of the angel host,' 54:40 those are three different groups." 54:42 No they're not. 54:43 That is a common way of Ellen White expressing things. 54:47 Emphasizing the same thing three times. 54:49 Let me give you here three examples. 54:53 In the middle of the page, Christian Service, page 42. 54:57 "Revival signifies a renewal of spiritual life, 55:02 a quickening of the powers of mind and heart, 55:06 a resurrection from spiritual death." 55:08 Are those three phrases the same thing? 55:11 Yes they are. 55:12 Notice another one. 55:14 3 Selected Messages, page 392. 55:16 She says, "There will be a universal bond of union, 55:20 one great harmony, 55:21 a confederacy of Satan's forces." 55:24 Is that the same thing in different words? 55:26 Absolutely. 55:28 And then we have in, Desire of Ages, page 530, 55:30 she says, "In Christ is life; 55:33 original, unborrowed, underived." 55:36 It is a common way of Ellen White writing. 55:39 So you're not dealing with three separate groups. 55:41 You are dealing with one specific group. 55:45 So the question is, who are the twenty-four elders? 55:47 Does Ellen White have anything to say about the 55:49 twenty-four elders? 55:51 Yes she does. 55:53 Would you know it if you looked for the expression? 55:56 No. 55:58 Would you know it if you looked for verses where the 56:00 twenty-four elders appear? 56:01 No, you wouldn't know it. 56:02 And so you say, "Well, Ellen White doesn't have anything 56:06 to say about the twenty-four elders." 56:07 Yes she does. 56:09 What you do is you look if she quotes any verses 56:12 either before or after. 56:13 And then you work your way backwards 56:16 or you work your way forwards. 56:18 Because she's using those text in context. 56:21 And you know that what comes before 56:23 is connected with that quote. 56:25 Are you with me? 56:27 And we're going to find this time and again 56:29 in the writings of Ellen G. White 56:31 where she doesn't seem to refer to anything. 56:34 Like, for example, tomorrow afternoon we're going to 56:36 talk about Daniel 11:40-45. 56:40 Not once does Ellen White quote those verses. 56:42 She doesn't even use the language from those verses. 56:45 And so people say, "Ellen White had nothing to say 56:48 about Daniel 11:40-45." 56:50 But you know what's interesting? 56:51 She does have something to say about 56:53 Daniel chapter 12 and verse 1. 56:55 The very next verse. 56:57 And so we're going to work our way backwards. 57:00 And we're going to see that with the reference point of 57:02 Daniel 12 verse 1, we can find in her writings 57:06 what she had to say about what comes before 57:09 Daniel chapter 12 and verse 1. 57:11 We're going to do the same thing in our next session together 57:14 when we study about the battle of Armageddon. 57:17 You see, she doesn't use in, Great Controversy, 57:20 the word, "Armageddon." 57:22 So some people say, you know, "Ellen White didn't have 57:23 anything to say in Revelation about Armageddon." 57:26 Don't fool yourself. 57:28 She had a lot to say about Armageddon. 57:30 But she just doesn't use the word. 57:32 Don't necessarily look for the word. 57:34 Don't necessarily look for the text. 57:36 Look for the structure. 57:38 Look for where she quotes surrounding verses 57:41 and uses similar terminology. |
Revised 2015-08-25