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Series Code: RST
Program Code: RST000002S
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00:06 [brooding music]
00:13 - All right. We are going to continue on page 13 00:17 of our study notes. The subtitle is, "The Relationship 00:22 Between the Seals and the Trumpets." We can do 00:28 this pretty quickly. On the left-hand column, 00:30 you have the seals; on the right-hand column, 00:32 you have the trumpets. They follow the same 00:35 basic pattern, and also time frame. You notice 00:40 on the left-hand side, the first four horses- 00:44 the right-hand side, the first four trumpets. 00:46 Then, you have the fifth and sixth seals on the 00:50 left-hand side, and then the fifth and sixth trumpets... 00:54 And the fifth and sixth trumpets-remember this- 00:57 are the first and second trumpet woes. There are 01:00 three woes. So in other words, the fifth trumpet 01:03 is the first woe, the sixth trumpet is the 01:06 second woe, and the seventh trumpet is the 01:10 third woe. We'll come back to that a little bit 01:12 later on. And then, interestingly enough, 01:15 in the seals after the fifth and sixth seals, 01:18 you have an interlude. Revelation 7: "the sealing 01:21 of the 144,000." So, it interrupts the flow. 01:25 And then, after the fifth and sixth trumpets, 01:27 you also have an interlude. That interlude is in Revelation 01:31 10 and 11. Revelation 10 has the little book episode, 01:36 which takes place in 1844, and Revelation 01:39 11 deals with, primarily, the French Revolution. 01:42 So, you have an interlude after the fifth and sixth, 01:46 both in the seals and in the trumpets. And 01:49 then, you have the seventh seal, which is silence in 01:53 heaven for the space of about half an hour. 01:57 We dealt with that in the seals, but I might 01:59 just mention that the silence in heaven is 02:04 clearly defined by Ellen White in the book Great 02:06 Controversy. She says, "As Jesus is descending 02:09 from heaven, the righteous cry out, 'Who shall be able 02:14 to stand?'" And then Ellen White says that 02:17 there's a period of terrible silence in heaven. And then, 02:21 the voice is heard, "My grace is sufficient 02:24 for you." So, the silence in heaven is the second 02:27 coming of Christ. And, the seventh trumpet is 02:31 also what? It's also the second coming of Christ 02:34 and Jesus' taking over the kingdoms of the world. 02:38 So, do you see the parallel? Between the seals and 02:42 the trumpets? Now, let's notice at the top of page 02:46 14, in the historical half of Revelation, 02:50 which is Revelation 1 through 11, the sixth 02:53 item in each series deals with the beginning 02:57 of an investigative judgment in 1844. 03:00 In other words, churches, seals, trumpets-when you 03:03 get to #6, it describes the beginning of the 03:06 judgment in 1844. And here you have sub points: 03:11 "The sixth church,"-if you read-"the Church 03:14 of Philadelphia, God places before the Church 03:17 of Philadelphia an open door." Where does that 03:19 open door lead to? It leads to the most holy 03:23 place of the heavenly sanctuary. The sixth 03:26 seal- you have signs in the heavens and on 03:30 earth: a great earthquake, you have signs in the sun, 03:33 moon, and stars... Those signs are actually an 03:36 announcement that the judgment is about to begin 03:39 in 1844. You would have to go to the study notes 03:44 on the seals to get a full picture of that. 03:48 And then the sixth trumpet is the little book episode, 03:51 which deals, once again, with what? With 1844. 03:56 The little book is opened, and time will be no longer- 04:00 there's no more prophetic time because 1844 is the 04:02 last date that you have on God's prophetic calendar. 04:05 So basically, when you get to #6 in the series 04:10 of the churches, seals, and trumpets, it always 04:13 deals with the beginning of the heavenly judgment 04:16 in 1844. Now, there's a very important link 04:21 between Revelation chapter 9 verse 14 and 16, which 04:25 is the sixth trumpet, and Revelation 7:1-3, 04:30 which is a parenthesis in the sixth seal. You 04:34 say, "Well, what is the relationship or the link 04:36 between Revelation 9:14 & 16, which is the sixth trumpet, 04:41 and Revelation 7:1-3, which is a parenthesis in 04:46 the sixth seal?" In both, there is a binding and 04:49 loosing relating to four angels. We're gonna study 04:53 this. Just keep this in mind for now. We're introducing 04:55 these things; we're gonna come back and study 04:58 them more fully later on. In both of these 05:01 passages, you have a binding and loosing 05:03 relating to four angels. And also, in both of them, 05:08 there is a numbering of people. That makes us 05:12 see that there's a link between Revelation 7:1-3, 05:16 which is a parenthesis in the sixth seal, and 05:19 Revelation 9:14 & 16, which is describing the 05:23 sixth trumpet. Revelation 7:1-3 describes the 05:28 numbering of God's people, while Revelation 9:14-16 05:33 describes the numbering of their evil counterparts. 05:38 Revelation 9:16 and 7:4 are the o- this is also 05:43 another link-are the only places in Revelation where 05:47 you have the expression, "And I heard the number." 05:51 So, there's a link between the sealing in Revelation 05:54 7 and the numbering that we have in the sixth 05:58 trumpet in Revelation chapter 9. Is that clear? 06:03 Yes? [Yes.] Good. [chuckles] If the door of probation 06:07 is open during the period of the sixth trumpet and 06:10 closes when the seventh is about to sound, then 06:13 the sixth trumpet is the exact historical counterpart 06:16 of Revelation 7:1-8, which describes the sealing. 06:22 Now, let's take a look at the relationship between 06:25 the trumpets and the plagues. There are seven 06:28 trumpets, and then in Revelation 16 you have 06:32 seven plagues. What relationship is there 06:33 between them? Well, when you look at the seven trumpets 06:36 and the seven plagues, you'll notice that they 06:38 afflict the same things. The first trumpet and the 06:42 first plague afflict the earth. The second trumpet 06:45 and plague afflict the sea. The third trumpet and plague 06:49 affect the rivers and fountains of waters. 06:52 The fourth trumpet and plague afflict heavenly 06:55 bodies. The fifth trumpet and plague, the heavenly 06:58 bodies, are darkened. The sixth trumpet and 07:01 plague, there's a mention of the Euphrates. That's 07:05 very significant. And the seventh trumpet and 07:08 plague, you have in both of them a possessing of 07:11 the kingdom. So, is there a certain relationship 07:15 between the trumpets and the plagues? Absolutely, 07:18 because they afflict the identical things. 07:21 Now, let's take a look more closely at this. 07:25 The evidence seems to indicate that the trumpets 07:30 represent preliminary and partial judgments 07:34 that fell upon the oppressors of God's people beginning 07:38 with the destruction of Jerusalem. Did the Jews 07:42 oppress the Christians? Did they condemn Christ 07:47 to the cross? [Yes.] Absolutely. So, this 07:51 is important. The trumpets are partial and preliminary 07:55 judgments that fall on the oppressors of God's 07:58 people, and the first trumpet would be the 08:00 destruction of Jerusalem, and the ending with the 08:05 setting up of Christ's everlasting kingdom 08:07 after God's people are persecuted in the end 08:10 time. The fact that the trumpets fall only on 08:14 thirds-and we'll study this more fully as we 08:16 go along-the fact that the trumpets only fall 08:19 on thirds, and not on the totality, indicates that 08:25 the trumpet judgments are what? Preliminary and 08:28 partial. The trumpet series indicates that 08:32 repentance during the blowing of the trumpets 08:35 is possible. Is repentance possible when the plagues 08:38 are falling? No. The plagues fall after the 08:41 close of probation. So, is the door of probation 08:45 open during the trumpets? Absolutely! We'll see that 08:48 very clearly. We'll continue here. The plagues, on 08:52 the other hand, describe final and total judgments 08:56 of God upon end-time Babylon after the close 09:01 of probation. We can see the irrevocable 09:04 nature of the plagues by the use of the expression, 09:08 "In them, the wrath of God is complete." That's 09:12 in Revelation chapter 15 and verse 1, by 09:14 the way, that expression. So, does that sound pretty 09:17 definitive? "In them, the wrath of God is 09:20 complete"? Or full, is a better translation. 09:23 Each plague is God's judgment upon some 09:26 particular sin that Babylon has committed. The plagues 09:31 are retributive in character and not remedial. 09:36 Repentance is not possible once the plagues begin 09:41 to fall. A careful study of the trumpets and 09:44 the plagues reveals that the trumpet judgments 09:48 foreshadow the plague judgments. In other words, 09:51 the trumpets are the type, and the plagues 09:55 are the antitype-a broader judgment. In other words, 10:00 the trumpets describe local judgments, whereas 10:03 the plagues describe global judgments. 10:06 That is to say the trumpets are the type, and the 10:09 plagues are the antitype. This is the reason for 10:12 the following statement by Ellen White. This one 10:14 statement is taken by individuals to say that 10:18 the trumpets are future. And Ellen White doesn't 10:22 even mention seven trumpets; she says, 10:24 "Trumpet after trumpet will sound, and plague 10:26 after plague will fall." Notice the statement: 10:29 "The Battle of Armageddon will be fought, and that 10:32 day must find none of us sleeping. Wide awake 10:35 we must be, as wise virgins having oil in 10:38 their vessels with their lamps. The power of the 10:40 Holy Ghost must be upon us, and the captain of 10:43 the Lord's host will stand at the head of the angels 10:45 of heaven to direct the battle. Solemn events 10:52 before us are yet to transpire. Trumpet after 10:55 trumpet is to be sounded. Vial after vial, poured 11:00 out, one after another upon the inhabitants 11:03 of the earth." Now, when we get to the 11:06 meaning of blowing the trumpet, we'll understand 11:09 what Ellen White is referring to. The blowing 11:11 of the trumpet is the announcement of a 11:13 judgment. Now, let's take a look at the meaning 11:15 of the trumpets. Trumpets are used in many contexts 11:20 in the Old and New Testaments. They are used in the 11:23 context of worship, in the context of the sanctuary, 11:28 in the context of judgment- I would suggest that you 11:30 look up in the concordance the word 'trumpet'. It'll 11:33 be an eye-opening experience. There's a lot of information 11:36 on that. In the case of Revelation's seven 11:39 trumpets, it is clear as we will see that 11:44 the trumpets bear a relationship with the 11:46 idea of what? Judgment. The trumpets are God's 11:50 judgments. The purpose of the feast of trumpets 11:55 was to announce the upcoming Day of Atonement. 11:58 The trumpets that the priests blew-and this is 12:02 a very important context- as they surrounded Jericho... 12:05 What was the purpose of the blowing of those 12:08 trumpets? To announce the doom of what? The 12:12 doom of Jericho! That God was gonna come 12:15 in judgment to punish Jericho. Our study will 12:19 reveal that the blowing of each of the seven 12:21 trumpets brings a judgment against those who have 12:25 oppressed God's people. Now, here is the key 12:28 text to interpret what the blowing of the trumpets 12:32 represents of the seven trumpets: Numbers 10, 12:36 verses 8 and 9. "The sons of Aaron, the priests, 12:42 shall blow the trumpets. And these shall be to 12:46 you as an ordinance forever throughout your 12:49 generations. When you go to war, in your land 12:53 against the enemy who"- what?-"who oppresses 12:57 you, then you shall sound an alarm with the"- 13:01 what?-"with the trumpets." And what will happen 13:04 when the trumpet sounds? Oh! What's gonna happen 13:09 with those who oppress God's people? It says, 13:12 "And you will be"-what?- "remembered before the 13:15 Lord your God, and you will be"-what?-"saved 13:19 from your enemies." Would that be the 13:22 proper context for the trumpets? Yes, because 13:24 the trumpets are describing God's judgments that are 13:27 falling upon those who have oppressed His people. 13:31 These verses indicate that the priests blew the trumpets 13:36 so that God would remember His covenant and save 13:39 Israel from their enemies. The trumpets answer the 13:43 pleas of God's people that God's people utter 13:47 in the seals. You remember the sixth seal that the 13:50 martyrs are crying out onto the altar as they- 13:52 "Until when, O Lord, do you not judge and 13:54 avenge our blood upon those who are shedding 13:57 our blood on the earth?" Remember that? So, 13:59 the trumpets are God's answer to the pleas 14:02 of His people, because they are being oppressed. 14:05 When the wicked oppress God's people, their pleas 14:08 ascend to God-and what does God do? He remembers 14:13 His covenant and sends judgments upon their 14:16 oppressors. In a moment, we're gonna take a look 14:18 at Exodus. The trumpets are God's response to 14:21 the powers that have oppressed and persecuted 14:25 His people. God hears their pleas and answers 14:28 them. Now, we have a very important point in the next 14:33 paragraph. We can better understand the pleas of 14:35 God's people in the context of the Imprecatory 14:38 Psalms. Do you remember that David, many times, 14:41 says, "Destroy my enemies!" He's speaking about 14:44 God intervening to deal with his enemies. Those 14:48 are the Imprecatory Psalms! In these Psalms, 14:50 God's people cry out to God to be faithful 14:53 to His covenant and to deliver them from their 14:57 enemies. In parallel fashion, the seven last 15:00 plagues will have the same moral reason. 15:04 Why does God pour out the seven last plagues? 15:07 Each one has a moral reason. You know why? 15:11 Why does the sun scorch all of the vegetation of the 15:14 earth? Well, because people have worshiped 15:16 on the day of the sun. Why do the waters 15:19 become like blood-the drinking waters? Well, 15:21 Revelation explains this: because they've shed 15:23 your blood, God is giving them blood to drink. 15:27 Serious! Why do the waters of the Euphrates dry up? 15:32 The Euphrates represents multitudes, nations, 15:34 tongues, and peoples, upon which Babylon sits! 15:38 The harlot sits. What has she used her peoples 15:40 for? To persecute God's people! But the waters 15:44 are gonna dry up. What does that mean? That 15:46 God is gonna judge Babylon, he's gonna lead these 15:49 people to withdraw their support from Babylon. 15:51 Are you with me or not? So in other words, 15:53 each plague is a response of God to the oppression 15:57 of His people. So, in parallel fashion, the 16:02 seven last plagues will have the same moral 16:03 reason. God will punish the wicked for oppressing 16:07 His people. Each of the plagues will be a punishment 16:10 of God upon Babylon for some particular sin that 16:13 Babylon has committed against God and His people. 16:17 Now, frequently, God's voice is depicted as the 16:22 sound of a what? As the sound of a trumpet. 16:25 In other words, God is speaking through the 16:28 trumpets, isn't He? Now, we have as examples 16:31 Hebrews chapter 12 verse 19, 1 Corinthians 15:51 & 52, 16:38 "The trumpet will sound and the dead will be raised 16:40 incorruptible," 1 Thessalonians 4:16 & 17, where it says 16:45 the Lord will descend with a shout, with a 16:47 voice of the archangel and with the what? 16:49 With the trumpet of God. And then you have Revelation 16:52 1 verse 10 where it says that when Jesus speaks 16:55 in Revelation 1 verse 10, it sounds like a what? 16:57 It sounds like a trumpet. So, what are the trumpets? 17:01 The trumpets are God's response, God's audible 17:05 response upon the wicked, for oppressing His people. 17:10 Now, Revelation 8-we're at the top of page 17- 17:14 Revelation 8 verses 2-5 seems to refer to two 17:19 distinct altars. The first altar is the Altar of 17:23 Sacrifice. That's where- remember the martyrs? 17:25 They're "crying out until when, Lord; don't you 17:27 judge and avenge our blood upon those who 17:30 are shedding our blood and mistreating us?" 17:33 So, they're actually praying on earth from 17:37 the Altar of Sacrifice. But let's notice the 17:40 next point. That is, the pleas of God's people 17:43 at the Altar of Sacrifice ascend to heaven where 17:47 Jesus ministers where? He ministers at the 17:52 Altar of Incense, right? He receives the prayers 17:55 of His saints at the Altar of Incense. He 17:57 mingles the prayers of His people with the merits 18:00 of His blood-that's the incense. It is in this 18:03 context that we must understand the Imprecatory 18:06 Psalms, which are the Psalms where David 18:09 cries out for justice and God utters His voice 18:12 and provides the justice that David cries out for. 18:16 Four illustrations will help us understand the 18:19 relationship between the oppression of God's 18:23 people by the wicked and God's response. 18:27 What would happen if God didn't respond? It would 18:30 make God look pretty bad, wouldn't it? What are the 18:33 four illustrations? Jesus is the head, 18:37 and what is the church? His body. So let me ask 18:40 you: whoever touches the body, touches what? 18:42 The head! Actually, it's the head that 18:45 feels it. Somebody pricks you with a needle, it's 18:48 your head that feels it. [chuckles] Right? Yeah! 18:56 So, whoever touches your wife is touching whom? 19:02 Is touching the husband; you better believe it. 19:04 So, what does the husband do? If somebody's mistreating 19:06 the wife and she's crying out, what does the husband do? 19:10 "Well, take care of yourself; I'm outta here." [laughter] 19:13 No! The husband says, "Hey, wait a minute!" 19:15 [laughter continues] "Don't you mess with my wife!" 19:18 See? You mess with the head, the head says, 19:21 "Hey, don't mess with my body." Messes with 19:25 the wife, which is the church, Jesus says, 19:29 "Hey! Don't mess with my wife!" Whoever touches 19:33 the sheep touches what? You have David as an 19:36 example. What happened when a bear and a lion 19:38 came against a sheep in David's flock? David 19:42 said, "Hoo, I'm outta here!" Are you kidding? 19:44 He would get up and he would tear the lion and 19:47 the bear apart! Because whoever touched his sheep 19:51 touched him. Are you understanding this a 19:53 little better through these illustrations? 19:55 And in antiquity, lesser kings made covenants 19:58 with greater kings-vassals with sovereigns. The 20:04 trade-off was that if the lesser king promised 20:08 loyalty to the greater king, the greater king 20:11 promised to protect the lesser king. In other words, 20:15 the sovereign would actually protect the 20:18 vassal. Who is the King of Kings? Jesus! And 20:22 what are we? We are vassals of Jesus! 20:25 So, what happens when the wicked come against Christ's 20:28 people? He says, "Hey! They've made a covenant 20:30 with Me!" And so He intervenes to deliver them. 20:35 The Exodus pattern in Scripture illustrates the 20:41 relationship between God and His people. 20:44 The Egyptians oppressed Israel. And what did they 20:47 do when the Egyptians oppressed His people? 20:51 They cried out for God to be what? Faithful! 20:55 To His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. 20:58 What did God do in answer? God, in answer, remembered 21:02 His covenant. And what did He do? He poured 21:04 out plagues upon Egypt. Are you seeing the 21:08 connection with the trumpets here? Let's read Exodus 2:23-25. 21:13 Exodus 2:23-25. "Now, it happened in the process 21:18 of time that the king of Egypt died. Then, 21:21 the children of Israel"- what?-"groaned because 21:25 of the bondage, and they"- what?-"cried out! And 21:29 their cry came up to God because of the bondage." 21:33 So what did God do? "God heard their groaning." 21:38 And what did He do? He remembered His what? 21:41 Ah, God remembered His covenant with Abraham, 21:45 with Isaac, and with Jacob. "And God looked 21:48 upon the children of Israel, and God acknowledged 21:51 them." And so, what does God do with the oppressors 21:54 of His people? He pours out plagues upon them. 21:59 Are you understanding the connection with the 22:00 trumpets and what happened in Egypt? Now, there's a 22:04 similar pattern in the seven trumpets. We're at the 22:06 bottom of page 17. God's people cry out to God for 22:10 justice and vengeance from the Altar of Sacrifice on 22:14 the earth. That's Revelation 6:9-11. "God heeds their 22:19 prayer at the Altar of Incense in heaven and 22:22 pours out preliminary judgments against those 22:25 who are oppressing His people." This is much more 22:29 meaningful than just thinking that the first 22:33 four trumpets deal with the barbarian invasions, 22:36 purely political events. The book of Revelation 22:40 is about the relationship between God and His people! 22:43 And God intervening to deliver His people. Not 22:46 about mere political events. While God pours 22:50 out these trumpet judgments, there is mercy. However, 22:55 when probation closes, God will send greater 22:58 scourges, which are the seven last plagues, 23:02 and there will be no opportunity for repentance. 23:07 So far so good? Now, let's look at the chart 23:11 at the top of page 18. This will give you the 23:14 general overview of all the trumpets. And so, 23:19 let's take a look at it so that you're able to 23:23 put the historical context in your mind before we 23:26 actually go into studying each individual trumpet. 23:30 The left-hand side of the chart, you have 23:33 Revelation 8:3 & 4. You have this altar in heaven, 23:39 incense is being offered, and what are God's people 23:42 doing on earth? See at the top-the top line is 23:45 heaven; the bottom line is earth. What are God's 23:47 people doing on earth? They're praying on earth. 23:51 And what's happening with their prayers? Their prayers 23:54 are ascending to heaven, and Jesus is mingling 23:57 the prayers with what? He's mingling the prayers 24:01 of His people with His merits. We're gonna 24:04 talk in a few moments about what the incense 24:06 represents. Does Jesus answer the prayers of 24:10 His people? Yes, He does. The first trumpet is the 24:15 fall of Jerusalem. We're gonna go through each 24:19 one of the trumpets to prove this. The second 24:21 trumpet is the fall of Rome. Yes, the barbarian 24:25 invasions; there is one of them that has to do 24:27 with the barbarian invasions. God punishes Rome because 24:30 Rome has what? Has martyred His people. The third 24:34 trumpet is the defilement of the church, which is 24:38 parallel to the time of Constantine-when 24:42 apostasy entered between 313 and 538. The fourth 24:47 trumpet is the period of papal dominion, the 24:51 1,260 years of papal supremacy. The fifth 24:55 trumpet is the French Revolution. We'll see 24:57 this very clearly. The French Revolution is 25:00 a watershed event in Bible prophecy. The sixth 25:04 trumpet is a gathering of the righteous and 25:08 the wicked. God gathers the righteous; Satan gathers 25:11 the wicked from 1844 to the close of probation. 25:16 And you'll notice under this, Revelation 9:13-20, 25:20 which is the sixth trumpet, describes Satan's gathering 25:24 the wicked. Revelation 10:1 through 11:1 describes 25:28 God's gathering of the righteous. And then, 25:32 the seventh trumpet, shortly before the 25:35 seventh trumpet, you actually have the close 25:38 of probation, and then Jesus comes to take 25:41 over the kingdoms of the world. This is represented 25:46 by, you'll notice at the extreme right-hand- 25:48 at the top, Revelation 8 verse 5, what happens 25:51 with the censer? Once you get to the seventh 25:55 trumpet, the censer is what? Thrown down. 25:59 It means that there is no longer any what? 26:02 No longer any intercession. Is that clear in your mind? 26:06 Does it make sense? You know, it's parallel to 26:09 everything else that we study in Bible prophecy. 26:11 In Daniel and Revelation. Now, let's go to the 26:15 timeline of the trumpets. We're on page 18 of our 26:18 study notes. The first six trumpets describe 26:23 events during probationary time, and probation closes 26:27 when the seventh trumpet is about to sound. So, 26:31 keep this in mind: first six trumpets, probation 26:34 is open, right? The seventh trumpet is 26:37 about to sound, and probation closes. 26:40 Probation closes shortly before the seventh trumpet 26:43 blows. Notice there's a period of time between 26:45 when the trumpet is about to blow and when the 26:51 trumpet actually blows. When the seventh trumpet 26:55 blows, Jesus will take over the kingdoms of 26:58 the world. This means that the blowing of the previous 27:01 six trumpets took place during what? During 27:05 probationary time! I mean, it's just a very logical 27:08 conclusion. Earlier in Revelation, God described 27:12 Himself-this is an important point-as 27:15 the One who was and is and is to come. You can 27:19 find that in Revelation 1 verse 8 at the beginning 27:21 of the book. But when you get to Revelation 27:25 at the end of 17 where you have the seventh trumpet, 27:28 it says God is spoken of as the One who is 27:32 and who was and who has taken His great power 27:36 and begun to reign. So in other words, 27:40 Revelation 1 verse 8 is pointing to the future: 27:42 "He was and is, but He is to come." When you get 27:46 to the seventh trumpet, yes, He is and was, but 27:49 He has taken over the kingdom. Clearly, there 27:53 is a time interval between when the mystery of God 27:57 is finished and the seventh trumpet is about to sound, 28:01 and the moment when Jesus takes over the kingdoms 28:04 of the world at the sound of the seventh trumpet. 28:07 The finishing of the mystery of God has to 28:10 do with the end of the gospel proclamation. 28:14 In other words, when Revelation 10 verse 7 28:16 says the mystery of God was finished, it's 28:18 talking about the close of probation when preaching 28:21 will no longer bring anyone over to the 28:24 Lord's side. Now, the sixth trumpet-this is 28:28 the bottom of page 18- the sixth trumpet mentions 28:30 the Golden Altar. This indicates that there 28:35 in the sixth trumpet, there's still intercession going 28:38 on, right? Absolutely! There's the Golden Altar of Incense. 28:44 Furthermore, the interlude between the sixth and 28:47 the seventh trumpets indicates that the proclamation 28:51 of the gospel is still transpiring, so probation 28:55 must still be open. So, here's the key point 28:57 of all of this. Is probation still open during the 29:00 period of the sixth trumpet? Yes. When does probation 29:06 end? When the seventh trumpet is about to sound. 29:11 So, probation will close, and then there's a period 29:14 between when the seventh trumpet is about to sound 29:17 and when the seventh trumpet actually sounds. 29:20 That's the period between the close of probation 29:21 and when Jesus comes at His second coming. Are 29:24 you with me or not? Now, how do we know that the 29:28 sixth trumpet is describing events during probationary 29:32 time? It's very simple! If the church must... 29:35 Remember that after the Great Disappointment, 29:37 God said, "You must prophesy again"? 29:40 This is taking place during the sixth trumpet? 29:42 Well, what good would it do to prophesy again 29:44 if probation is closed? Furthermore, Revelation 29:50 11:13 tells us that people can still repent and give 29:54 glory to God under the sixth trumpet. The remnant 29:58 feared God and gave glory to Him is what it says there. 30:01 This links with the first angel's message of 30:04 Revelation 14:6 & 7. So, my question is, 30:08 is probation still open during the first six 30:11 trumpets? Yes. When does probation close? When the 30:17 seventh trumpet is about to sound. Not when it sounds; 30:20 when it's about to sound. And then, Jesus takes over 30:23 the kingdom when the seventh trumpet sounds. 30:26 So, is there a period between when it is 30:29 about to sound and when it actually sounds? Yes. 30:32 That's the period of the seven last plagues. Okay? 30:37 That's the period of the Great Tribulation, 30:38 the period of time of trouble. Is there gonna 30:42 be a period between when probation closes and when 30:44 Jesus actually comes? Yes. It's called the time 30:49 of trouble, right? You just have to read the 30:52 chapter in Great Controversy, "The Time of Trouble"- 30:55 towards the end of the book. Now, we're gonna 30:57 skip the next section on page 19, because we 31:01 already dealt with that. So, let's go to page 20. 31:05 Let's go to page 20 and deal with inauguration 31:10 and consummation, two views of the censer. 31:14 We dealt with this briefly in our first session, 31:18 but now we want to unpack it further. 31:21 Let's go to Revelation chapter 8 and verse 2. 31:24 Revelation 8 verse 1 is the conclusion to the 31:26 seals. You understand that, right? The half hour 31:28 of silence in heaven? So, really, there are 31:31 places in the book of Revelation where the 31:33 chapter is divided in the wrong place. For 31:37 example, Revelation chapter 21 verse 1 belongs to chapter 31:41 20. I'm not gonna get into all of this. If you 31:44 go through the material on the seals, you'll 31:46 see this. Also, Revelation chapter 11 verse 1 belongs 31:50 with chapter 10. Revelation chapter 7 verses 1-8 31:56 belongs with chapter 6- chapter 7. And, 32:02 in this case, Revelation chapter 8 verse 1 belongs 32:06 with chapter 7, because it deals with the seven 32:10 seals. So, why do you begin chapter 8 of 32:14 Revelation with the seventh seal when the sixth seal 32:19 is in chapter 7? Are you with me or not? So, 32:23 let's go then to inauguration and the consummation, 32:25 two views of the censer. Revelation 8 verse 2 32:29 is the introductory verse. "And I saw the seven 32:32 angels who stand before God, and to them were 32:35 given seven trumpets." So, here's the announcement 32:37 that now, John is going to write about the seven 32:40 trumpets. Then, you have Revelation 8:3 & 4. 32:44 This is the first view of the altar. The altar 32:48 is interceding. The censer is interceding. Let's read 32:53 verses 3 and 4. 32:55 [reads the text on-screen] 33:14 Is probation open during verses 3 and 4? [Yes.] 33:19 How do we know that? Well, because God's 33:23 people are praying! And Jesus is mingling 33:28 their prayers with the incense. So, probation 33:31 is open during verses 3 and 4. But then, 33:36 we have a second view of the censer of the altar. 33:40 It says in verse 5, "Then the angel took the censer, 33:45 filled it with"-what?-"with fire from the altar." And 33:50 what did he do with it? "And threw it to the 33:53 earth." And what is the result when he throws 33:58 the fire of the censer to the earth? There were 34:02 what? "...Noises, thunderings, lightning's, 34:06 and an earthquake." So, is that clear in your mind? 34:13 So, there's a second view of the censer. 34:15 First view, the angel, Jesus-and the ministry 34:21 of the angels is connected with the ministry of Jesus- 34:24 they're presenting the prayers of the saints 34:26 to Jesus, Jesus is mingling the prayers with the 34:29 incense of His merits, and God is hearing the 34:33 pleas of His people. But then suddenly, 34:36 the censer that is interceding now is 34:39 thrown down, and intercession ends. Now, what background 34:45 do we need to have from the Bible to understand the 34:48 meaning of a throwing down of the censer? 34:51 Well, let's go to an Old Testament background. 34:54 The book of Ezekiel contains the Old Testament background 34:57 to the introductory vision of the trumpets. The man 35:00 clothed in linen takes coals from between the 35:05 cherubim and scatters them over the city, 35:08 and what is that a sign of? Taking the coals of 35:12 fire and throwing them over the city? It represents 35:15 that probation is closed for the city. This is parallel 35:19 to the angel of fire who pours out God's 35:22 wrath into the winepress of His fury. We'll come 35:25 back to that in a moment, but let's read Ezekiel 10 35:28 verses 1 and 2. By the way, let me give you 35:33 a little bit of background before we read Ezekiel 35:35 chapter 10. In Ezekiel chapter 1, God is coming 35:40 on a cloud to Jerusalem to judge Jerusalem for 35:47 the apostasy and for the sins that are being committed 35:51 in the city. You can find a list of those sins in 35:54 Ezekiel chapter 8. In Ezekiel chapter 8, 35:57 they're called abominations. The greatest abomination 36:00 is that they're worshiping the sun. That's in Ezekiel 36:04 chapter 8 and verse 16. Then in chapter 9, God 36:07 says, "I'm gonna destroy Jerusalem. But before I 36:11 destroy Jerusalem, there needs to be a sealing first." 36:15 And so, in chapter 9, those who are faithful 36:18 in the city are sealed on their foreheads with 36:22 the sign of protection so that when the city 36:24 is destroyed, those who have the seal will not 36:27 be destroyed. Are you with me? And then in 36:31 chapter 10, you have these two verses that 36:35 we wanna read now. 36:36 [reads the text on-screen] 37:09 And if you go to chapter 11, you'll find that the 37:11 Shekinah that was in the temple now leaves the 37:16 temple and it sits for a few moments on the 37:19 Mount of Olives, and then departs to heaven; 37:23 the city is forsaken. The city's gonna be 37:27 destroyed. So, what is the casting down of the 37:30 coals of fire over the city? It represents that 37:32 God is gonna come and what? God is gonna come in 37:35 judgment against apostate Jerusalem. Are you following 37:39 me or not? This is the background. Now, let's 37:41 go to Revelation 14:17-19 where it speaks about 37:48 the wicked and the judgment that will fall upon the wicked- 37:52 upon Babylon. First of all, you have the judgment 37:57 of the harvest of the earth in Revelation chapter 37:59 14. Three angels' messages are proclaimed, and then 38:03 after the third angel's message is proclaimed 38:05 then you have Jesus sitting on a cloud with 38:07 a sickle in His hand. First, He's gonna harvest 38:10 what? The grapes, or is He gonna harvest 38:12 the harvest of the earth? First, He's gonna reap 38:16 the harvest of the earth! What does the harvest 38:18 of the earth represent? His faithful people. 38:22 What does He do after He harvests the harvest 38:25 of the earth? Now, He is gonna harvest the 38:28 what? The grapes of the earth. What do the 38:30 grapes of the earth represent? They represent 38:33 the wicked. And now notice the terminology 38:35 that is used here in Revelation 14:17-19. 38:40 These are the people who did not accept 38:41 the three angels' message. It says, "Then another 38:44 angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, he also 38:47 having a sharp sickle. And another angel came 38:50 out from the altar." From where? (x2) "From the 38:55 altar who had power over the"-what?-"over the 38:59 fire." Any relationship with what we find in 39:03 the trumpets? Absolutely! What is he gonna do with 39:06 the fire? It says, "Who had power over the fire, and he 39:10 cried with a loud voice to him who had the sharp 39:14 sickle, saying, 'Thrust in your sharp sickle 39:16 and gather the clusters of the earth, for her 39:19 grapes are fully ripe. So the angel thrust his 39:23 sickle into the earth and gathered the vine 39:25 of the earth, and threw it into the great winepress 39:29 of the wrath of God." So, what is this angel 39:33 gonna do with the fire? He's gonna pour it out 39:37 upon those who are in the winepress, which 39:40 represents who? The wicked. And if you 39:44 continue reading there in Revelation chapter 14, 39:46 you'll find that the wicked are gathered 39:48 around the city, the Holy City, which before the 39:51 millennium represents the church. And what 39:55 do they come there for? On vacation, right? No! 40:00 They've come because they wanna destroy 40:01 the church! They wanna destroy those who are 40:04 in the Holy City, the spiritual city on earth, 40:06 which is a reflection of the literal heavenly 40:09 city! And then it says, "But then, horses will 40:13 come, and they will trample the winepress." Trample 40:17 the wicked. How do you explain that? The horses, 40:20 you know, they're gonna have blood up to their 40:22 bridles. That's a symbolic description. Well, you 40:25 have to go to Revelation 19 to understand it. 40:28 Revelation 19: it says there's a great warrior 40:31 sitting on a white horse, and the armies of heaven 40:34 are sitting on white horses behind him, and he's coming 40:37 to trample the winepress, and his garments are 40:40 tainted in blood! He's coming to trample upon 40:44 the wicked who have trampled against his 40:46 people. Are you with me?! And so, you have to look 40:49 at all of Revelation in order to understand 40:52 what this is talking about. So, let's go 40:54 to the middle of page 21. This introductory scene 40:58 in Revelation 8 provides two points of reference. 41:03 What Jesus is doing when the trumpets begin to sound 41:08 and what will happen when the seventh trumpet ends 41:12 its sounding? That is to say, the ministration 41:15 of the censer and its throwing down do not 41:18 take place in immediate succession. Is that clear? 41:22 Remember the introductory scenes. They give you the 41:26 beginning and the ending point. There is a long 41:31 time interval in between. Some have seen the 41:35 casting down of the censer as a symbol of the 41:38 outpouring of the Holy Spirit under the Pentecost- 41:41 the tongues of fire on the Day of Pentecost. 41:44 This view, however, is untenable, because on 41:47 the Day of Pentecost Jesus began to offer 41:50 the prayers of the saints mingled with the merits 41:52 of His perfect life. He did not cast down 41:54 the censer. When the angel throws down the 41:59 censer-this is an important point-there is thunder, 42:02 lightning, voices, and an earthquake. Now, 42:09 that is pointing to something that's gonna 42:10 happen during the seventh plague, because throwing 42:13 down that censer has to do with the close of 42:16 probation, and these events that are being 42:19 described here-thunder, lightning, voices, and 42:21 earthquake-must take place at that time. 42:24 Now, let's go to Revelation chapter 16. Revelation 16- 42:29 the seventh plague. Revelation 16 and verses 42:33 17 through 21. Revelation 16:17-21. 42:42 [reads the text on-screen] 42:51 And what happens when He says, "It is done"? 42:54 The seventh plague, which is the finishing of the 42:56 wrath of God after the close of probation-what 42:59 is there? The same things that are mentioned in the 43:03 introductory vision to the seven trumpets. 43:07 Notice what it says in verse 18. "And there were 43:10 noises and"-what?-" and thunderings and"-what?- 43:14 "and lightning's; and there was a great earthquake." 43:19 Is that the same point to which the introductory 43:23 vision is pointing? Absolutely. So, let's continue on the 43:29 next page. Ellen White describes the censer 43:33 when the trumpets actually... This passage that you're 43:39 gonna find here is describing the intercession of Jesus 43:42 in the Most Holy Place beginning in 1844. 43:48 I'll explain a little bit more as we move along. 43:50 Let's read from Christian Experience & Teachings, 43:55 pg. 91. Here, Ellen White- this is happening in 1844. 44:00 She's going in vision to the Most Holy Place 44:02 of the heavenly sanctuary. "In the Holiest, I saw an 44:05 ark. On the top inside of it was purest gold. 44:09 On each end of the ark was a lovely cherub 44:11 with its wings spread all over it. Their faces were 44:15 turned toward each other, and they looked downward. 44:19 Between the angels was a"-what?-"a golden 44:22 censer. Above the ark, where the angels stood, 44:26 was in exceeding bright glory that appeared like 44:29 a throne where God dwelt. Jesus stood by the ark 44:32 as the saints' prayers came up to Him." So, 44:37 is the first part of the introductory vision still 44:40 occurring in 1844 when Ellen White enters the 44:42 Most Holy Place? Yes. "The incense in the censer 44:46 would smoke, and He would offer up their 44:49 prayers with the smoke of the incense to His Father." 44:53 So, Ellen White is describing what Jesus is doing 44:56 beginning in 1844. Is Jesus still interceding? 45:00 Is He still mingling the prayers of His 45:02 saints with the incense? Yes. Where was Jesus 45:06 before 1844, mingling the prayers of His saints 45:10 with the incense? Where was He? He was doing the 45:14 same thing, where? In the Holy Place. Let's notice 45:17 the next statement. The Faith I Live By, pg. 202. 45:22 "In the Holy Places of the sanctuary in heaven 45:24 are represented by the two apartments in the 45:26 sanctuary on earth. As envisioned, the apostle 45:29 John was granted a view of the temple of God in 45:33 heaven. He beheld there seven lamps of fire, 45:35 burning before the throne. He saw an angel having 45:38 a golden censer, and there was given unto 45:41 him much incense that he should offer it with 45:43 the prayers of all the saints up on the Golden Altar, which 45:46 was before the throne." Here, the prophet was 45:49 permitted to behold the what? The first apartment 45:52 of the sanctuary in heaven, and he saw there seven 45:55 lamps of fire and the Golden Altar represented 45:57 by the Golden Candlestick and the Altar of Incense 46:00 in the sanctuary on earth. Now, let's read this 46:05 beautiful statement from this book, In Heavenly Places, 46:10 pg. 79. "Christ proclaims Himself our"-what?- 46:15 "our Intercessor. He would have us know 46:18 that He has graciously engaged to be our 46:21 Substitute. He places His merit in the"-what?- 46:26 "in the Golden Censer to offer up with the 46:29 prayers of His saints so that the prayers of 46:32 His dear children may be mingled with the 46:34 fragrant merit of Christ as they ascend to the Father 46:38 in the cloud of incense." So, was Jesus offering 46:43 the incense with the prayers before 1844? 46:47 [Yes.] Was He offering the incense with the 46:50 prayers after 1844? [Yes.] Was He doing it in the 46:54 same apartment? [No.] No. He was doing it in 46:57 a different apartment. You see, Jesus did not 47:00 cease the function of the Holy Place when He 47:03 entered the most Holy Place; He just took on 47:05 another function, which is the function of the 47:08 judgment. Because if He had ceased His work of 47:10 the Holy Place, we would all be lost after 1844. 47:15 So, He continues interceding, but He does it where? 47:19 In the Most Holy Place. That's why Ellen White 47:21 sees the censer in the Most Holy Place, even 47:24 though the censer had to do with the altar in 47:26 the Holy Place. Are you with me or not? Now, 47:28 let's go to the next section. "The High 47:31 Priest offered only holy fire on the Golden Altar 47:35 of Incense. The High Priest alone burned incense 47:37 on the Golden Altar. The Golden Altar of 47:41 Incense was nearest to"- what?-"to the Ark of 47:44 the Covenant that represents the throne of God." 47:48 And here comes a very important point: "In 47:52 fact, the orientation of the Altar of Incense 47:56 was toward the"-what?- "toward the mercy seat 47:58 in the Most Holy Place, even while the priest 48:02 offered the incense in the Holy Place. Notably, 48:05 the book of Hebrews places the censer and 48:07 the incense"-where?- "in the most Holy Place." 48:11 Why? Well, because Jesus ministers the 48:14 incense in both departments! The fire is a symbol of 48:18 the Holy Spirit, and the incense represents 48:21 the prayers of the saints mingled with the merits 48:25 of Jesus. And now, here comes a couple very 48:29 important points. What were embroidered on 48:33 the veil that divided the Holy from the 48:35 Most Holy Place? Angels ascending and descending 48:38 on the veil. What did that represent? It 48:41 represents the fact that the angels take the prayers 48:44 of God's people to Jesus, and they bring back the 48:48 answers of Jesus to us! Perfect example is what 48:53 we find in Daniel chapter 9, the lesson study that 48:56 we had this last Sabbath. You know Gabriel is what? 49:01 He's praying! He's saying, "I want to understand 49:02 the 2,300 days! How is it that you're gonna 49:05 extend the 70 years to 2,300 years?" And so, 49:09 what does God tell? He says, "Gabriel! 49:12 Go down-an answer." Daniel's prayer. 49:19 So, let's continue here. Angels are embroidered, 49:24 which represents that our prayers are taken 49:26 to the presence of God, and the angels bring back 49:29 answers to us. Now, also, you remember what is 49:34 called Jacob's Ladder. It was the Lord's ladder 49:38 shown to Jacob. And Noah's Ark was the Lord's 49:42 ark, not Noah's ark. And Solomon's Temple 49:45 was God's temple! You know, let's not give 49:48 glory to Solomon and to Noah. [laughs] 49:53 And to Jacob. What did Jacob see in his dream? 50:00 He saw a ladder! Its base was on earth! 50:06 And it's top reached to heaven. What was on the 50:09 ladder? The angels were ascending and descending 50:14 up on the ladder! What is represented by the 50:18 angels on the veil? Taking our prayers and 50:21 bringing back answers from God. Beautiful 50:25 symbolism. By the way, do the angels have any 50:28 role in taking our prayers to Jesus and bringing back 50:31 answers? No, it's the next statement on page 50:35 23. "Angels offer the smoke of the fragrant 50:39 incense for the praying saints." So, the angels 50:44 have a very important role. Now, let's pursue 50:47 this a little bit further. Luke 1 verses 8 through 10. 50:53 Here, we find that Zacharias, the father of John the 50:56 Baptist, it was his turn to offer incense in 50:59 the Holy Place of the sanctuary. Let's 51:01 read about it in verse 8. "So it was that while 51:04 he was serving as a priest before God in 51:06 the order of his division according to the custom 51:09 of the priesthood, his lot," that is, Zacharias' 51:12 lot, "failed to burn incense when he went 51:17 into the temple of the Lord. And the whole 51:20 multitude of the people were praying outside 51:22 at the Altar of Incense." So, here you have the people 51:25 praying, and Zacharias is offering the incense. 51:31 Just like we find in chapter 8. What does 51:34 the incense represent? The incense does not 51:37 represent prayer. The incense is related to 51:41 prayer, but the incense is not prayer. Notice 51:44 how it's related to prayer in Psalm 141 51:48 and verse 2. "Let my prayer be set before 51:53 you as incense, the lifting up of my hands 51:56 as the evening sacrifice." So, it gives the impression 51:59 that the prayer is the incense. But when we 52:01 read in Revelation chapter 8, we find that the 52:05 prayers of the saints were mingled with the 52:07 incense. Correct? Now, notice this beautiful 52:12 statement from the Spirit of Prophecy. "The prayer 52:15 and praise and confession of God's people ascend 52:19 as sacrifices to the heavenly sanctuary. 52:22 However, they ascend not in spotless purity, 52:26 passing through the corrupt channels of 52:28 humanity, they are so defiled that unless purified 52:32 by the righteousness of the Great High Priest, 52:34 they are not acceptable by God." Wow. "Christ 52:40 gathers into the censer the prayers, the praise, 52:44 and the sacrifices of His people. And with 52:47 these, He puts the merits of His spotless righteousness. 52:52 Then, perfumed with the incense of Christ's 52:55 propitiation, our prayers, wholly and entirely 52:59 acceptable, rise before God, and gracious answers 53:04 are returned. Wow. And you know, by the perfect 53:11 life of Jesus and by His death on the cross, 53:16 there's an inexhaustible fund in the bank of 53:19 heaven for salvation. Notice this beautiful 53:23 statement that we find here. Sons & Daughters 53:26 of God, pg. 22. I love this statement. "Christ 53:31 has pledged Himself to be our Substitute and 53:33 surety, and He neglects no one." There is an 53:37 inexhaustible fund. What does inexhaustible 53:41 mean? It's limitless. "There is an inexhaustible 53:46 fund of perfect obedience"- whose perfect obedience? 53:50 That of Jesus!-"accruing from His obedience in 53:54 heaven. His merits, His self-denial and self-sacrifice, 53:59 are treasured up as incense to be offered 54:03 up with the prayers of His people." Beautiful! 54:07 "As the sinners' sincere, humble prayers ascend 54:11 to the throne of God, Christ mingles with them. 54:14 The merits of His own life of perfect obedience, 54:18 our prayers are made fragrant by this incense. 54:22 Christ has pledged Himself to intercede in our behalf, 54:26 and the Father always hears His Son." How 54:31 frequently does Jesus intercede for us? 54:36 Patriarchs & Prophets, pg. 348, "The fire upon this 54:41 altar was kindled by God Himself and was 54:44 sacredly cherished. Day and night, the 54:48 holy incense diffused its fragrance throughout 54:51 the sacred apartments, and without fire around 54:55 the tabernacle." And of course, we find in Hebrews 55:00 that it says that Jesus always lives to intercede 55:05 for us. That's why the Altar of Incense was 55:08 called the Continual Altar of Incense. The 55:13 showbread was called the Continual Altar of 55:15 the Showbread, and the candlestick was called 55:19 the Continual Lamps, because the lamps 55:22 burned continually. There was always a supply 55:25 of bread, and there was always the intercessory 55:28 work of the priest. Now, what about the throwing 55:31 down of the censer? Did Ellen White have anything 55:33 to say about the moment when the censer was 55:35 thrown down? Yes, she did! Notice this last 55:38 statement-Early Writings, 279 and 280-"I saw angels 55:43 hurrying to and fro in heaven, an angel with 55:47 a writer's inkhorn by his side." This is a 55:50 reference to Ezekiel 9, by the way. "Return 55:53 from the earth and report it to Jesus that His work 55:55 was done and the saints were numbered and"- 55:58 what?-"and sealed. Then I saw Jesus, who had 56:02 been ministering before the ark containing the 56:04 Ten Commandments. So, what had He have been 56:07 doing before this? Ministering. When did He begin ministering? 56:11 When He went to heaven! He began His work in 56:14 the Holy Place. What does He do now? "Then I saw 56:18 Jesus, who had been ministering before the 56:20 ark containing the Ten Commandments, do"-what? 56:23 -"throw down the censer." What does throwing down 56:25 the censer mean? It means that intercession 56:28 has ceased. She continues, "He raised His hands, 56:33 and with a loud voice said, 'It is done!' Then all the 56:36 angelic hosts laid off their crowns as Jesus 56:39 made the solemn declaration: 'He that is unjust, 56:42 let him be unjust still. He which is filthy, 56:45 let him be filthy still. He that is righteous, 56:47 let him be righteous still. And he that is 56:49 holy, let him be holy still.'" And you'll 56:53 notice that in this quotation, Ellen White 56:55 is alluding to Ezekiel 9:2 & 3, Revelation 16:17 where 57:00 we read about the signs, the earthquake, and the 57:03 thundering and the lightning, and she's also quoting 57:06 Revelation chapter 22 verse 11. In other words, 57:10 all these verses are describing what will 57:12 occur when what? When probation closes. So, is 57:18 this clear? Do you understand how important it is to 57:21 understand the introductory part of the seven trumpets? 57:26 It gives you the starting point, and it gives you 57:29 the ending point, and the trumpets are all of 57:32 the events in between. So, where are we now 57:36 in the course of history? We are now well advanced 57:39 in the sixth trumpet. And the next event is 57:44 when the mystery of God is finished when the 57:46 seventh trumpet is about to sound, and then Jesus 57:49 will take over the kingdoms of the world. |
Revised 2020-07-08