Participants:
Series Code: RST
Program Code: RST000006S
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00:15 Well, welcome back.
00:17 In this session we are going to conclude 00:20 our study of the third trumpet. 00:22 And then in our two sessions this afternoon 00:25 I'm hoping to be able to finish the fourth trumpet. 00:28 So we have our work cut out for us. 00:32 We're going to study the second half of the third trumpet 00:34 and we will begin on page 80 of your study notes. 00:40 Page 80. 00:41 And I'd like to just mention for those who are watching 00:43 the live stream, we have several people online 00:46 that have gotten the study notes. 00:49 If there's anybody watching who has not gotten the study notes, 00:53 I would encourage you to contact Secrets Unsealed 00:56 and make a request to get the study notes, 00:59 because it will be very helpful as you watch 01:02 these presentations, to actually be able to read the material 01:07 and go through it more carefully. 01:09 So basically we have been studying the third trumpet. 01:15 And in Revelation 8:10, I had said verse 8, but verse 10, 01:21 let's read again the third trumpet. 01:25 "Then the third angel sounded: 01:27 And a great star fell from heaven, burning like a torch; 01:32 and it fell on a third of the rivers 01:34 and the springs of water." 01:35 Now we've already studied about the great star 01:39 falling from heaven like a torch. 01:43 And we noticed that in its primary sense, the star 01:47 or the torch represents whom? 01:50 Satan. 01:52 But in a secondary sense it represents those whom 01:57 Satan uses to plant heresy within the church. 02:02 False doctrine in the church. 02:04 So now we want to take a look at the meaning of the 02:08 rivers and springs of water, and the wormwood 02:12 that makes the waters bitter. 02:14 So let's go to page 80, right in the middle of the page, 02:19 "The act of falling represents apostasy." 02:23 Now the star falls. 02:25 The lamp falls. 02:27 So what does the Bible mean when it speaks about falling? 02:31 It actually means apostasy. 02:33 Let's notice several Bible verses. 02:36 Isaiah 14:12 02:39 Speaking about Lucifer, the star of the morning, it says, 02:43 "How you are..." What? 02:45 "...fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! 02:49 How you are cut down to the ground, 02:52 you who weaken the nations!" 02:54 So what does the fact that there's 02:58 downward movement represent? 03:00 It represents the fact that Lucifer apostatized, right? 03:05 He went astray from the truth. 03:06 There's no truth in him, Jesus said in John chapter 8. 03:10 Now notice Revelation 2:5. 03:14 Here Jesus is speaking to the church of Ephesus. 03:17 And notice the meaning of, "falling," here. 03:20 It says in Revelation 2:5... 03:27 So the church of Ephesus was already going astray. 03:38 Ah, your lampstand. 03:43 So many were already falling away 03:45 even in the church of Ephesus. 03:48 In Romans 11:11, the apostle Paul is referring to 03:53 the Jewish nation, and he says... 04:11 So did the Jewish nation fall? 04:14 Yes it did. 04:16 And what was God's purpose? 04:18 God's purpose was to provoke them to jealousy 04:20 when they saw the growth of the gospel among the Gentiles 04:23 and that they would come back to where God wanted them to be. 04:28 We're all acquainted with 1 Corinthians 10:12. 04:32 It says, "Therefore, let him who thinks he stands 04:35 take heed, lest he..." What? "...fall." 04:38 And if you read the previous verses, it's talking about 04:41 apostasies within Israel. 04:43 At the golden calf, and right before they entered 04:46 the land of Canaan. 04:47 So the apostle Paul uses those stories of apostasy of Israel 04:51 to warn Christians, saying, "Therefore, let him who thinks 04:54 he stands take heed, lest he fall." 04:57 Hebrews 4:11 05:00 This book is dealing with Jews who are going through 05:02 all kinds of trials and tribulations, 05:04 and they're about to give up the Christian message 05:07 that they've accepted. 05:08 And notice what it says there. 05:10 "Let us, therefore, be diligent to enter that rest..." 05:21 So, "to fall," means to disobey, it means to be in apostasy. 05:26 You know, when it comes to Babylon, it also means 05:29 that Babylon apostatized. 05:31 Revelation 14:8, the second angel's message, 05:35 "And another angel followed, saying..." 05:42 That, by the way, means that it's really fallen. 05:45 So what does the word, "fallen," mean there 05:48 that's repeated twice? 05:49 It means that Babylon has what? 05:51 Apostatized. 05:53 And then you have Revelation 18:2. 05:56 The basic same idea is repeated, only it's worse 05:59 because this is talking about the end time Babylon. 06:02 It says, "After these things I saw another angel 06:04 coming down from heaven, having great authority, 06:08 and the earth was illuminated with his glory." 06:19 Really fallen? 06:21 You better believe it. Notice the description. 06:35 It bears repeating that it is impossible to fall 06:39 unless the person has stood first. 06:42 Because the person who is fallen, who was born fallen, 06:45 ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, 06:47 you know, you can't say that they fell. 06:50 So in order to fall, you have to be standing before that. 06:55 This means that the church during this period 06:58 originally what? 06:59 Stood in the truth. 07:02 But, like Lucifer, she then fell into apostasy. 07:08 So when the star falls, or the lamp falls, 07:12 it falls where? 07:14 It falls into the rivers and the springs of water. 07:18 And what happens as a result? 07:20 As a result, the springs of water are poisoned. 07:24 They become bitter. 07:26 And when people drink, what happens with them? 07:29 They die. 07:31 So let's talk about the rivers and springs of water. 07:35 The fountains of waters in the third trumpet 07:38 are different from the raging waters of the sea 07:42 in the second trumpet. 07:43 You under the contrast there? 07:46 The fountains of waters are the life-giving waters 07:50 that refresh, restore, and perpetuate 07:55 physical and spiritual life. 07:58 To us in the western world, waters do not mean much, 08:02 as in Israel. 08:05 We just turn on the faucet, and water flows. 08:09 However, in Israel water was a precious commodity. 08:14 The scarcity of which represented death, 08:18 and its presence represented life. 08:23 So let's read several verses here that speak about 08:26 the fountains of waters. 08:28 What happens when there's an abundance 08:30 of fountains of fresh water, sweet water? 08:34 Psalm 23:2-3, verses very well known. 08:52 By the way, the word, "soul," there is, "nephesh." 08:54 It's life. 08:55 He restores my life. 09:02 Deuteronomy 8:7-10 09:03 This is a powerful passage. 09:42 What a picture, huh! 09:44 And it's all due to what? 09:45 "...brooks of water, of fountains and springs, 09:49 that flow out of valleys and hills." 09:52 In other words, the waters are life-giving. 09:55 They bring about fruitfulness and prosperity and life. 10:00 Revelation 7:17 10:03 Speaking about those who go through the great tribulation 10:06 at the end of time and come out of the tribulation 10:09 and are standing there before the throne of God at the end. 10:37 Revelation 21:6 and also 22:17. 10:54 So what does the fresh water represent? 10:57 It's the life-giving waters that produce prosperity 11:00 and fruitfulness. 11:02 Notice Psalm 1:3. 11:04 It speaks about trees that are planted next to living waters. 11:09 It says there, speaking about a righteous person... 11:27 Now the fresh waters also represent the teachings 11:30 of those who are wise. 11:31 It says in Proverbs 13:14, "The law of the wise is a..." What? 11:45 The fear of the Lord is also a fountain of life, 11:49 as we find here in Proverbs 14:27. 12:02 Now in Exodus 17:1-8 and Numbers 20:8-11 12:08 we have the story of the water that came forth from the rock. 12:12 Now I have an entire presentation on this particular 12:16 subject, but I want to summarize because it's 12:19 very much related to what we're talking about. 12:22 You'll remember that in Exodus 17 the people were 12:24 thirsty and they were complaining because 12:26 they didn't have any water. 12:28 So God told Moses, "Moses, take your rod, 12:32 strike the rock, and the rock will give waters, 12:35 fresh waters for everyone to drink 12:38 so that they don't die of thirst." 12:40 So what did Moses do? 12:42 He obeyed the Lord. 12:43 Struck the rock. 12:45 Waters came forth from the rock, and the people drank. 12:48 What does the rock represent? 12:50 Christ. 12:52 What does striking the rock represent? 12:54 It means that Jesus fell under the judgment of the Father 12:57 for our sins. 12:58 And what happened as a result? 13:00 Jesus was able to send what? 13:03 The Holy Spirit. 13:05 Life-giving Holy Spirit. 13:07 The second time God told Moses, this is in Numbers chapter 20, 13:12 He told him to speak to the rock 13:15 and the rock would give its waters. 13:16 But Moses lost his temper, he struck the rock twice, 13:22 and he ruined the symbol that God wanted to teach. 13:26 And that is that Christ was going to be stricken with 13:29 the rod of God's judgment only once, not twice. 13:32 That all we need to do today to get the Holy Spirit 13:35 is not for Jesus to die again, 13:37 but to ask Him for the Holy Spirit. 13:42 Now what does this have to do with what we're talking about? 13:46 We need to go to the New Testament to understand it. 13:50 Remember the story of the Samaritan woman? 13:53 Jesus is sitting there at Jacob's well, 13:56 and the Samaritan woman comes to draw water. 13:59 And Jesus says, "Give me water to drink." 14:02 And she says, "How is it that You a Jew asks a Samaritan," 14:05 a woman at that, "for water?" 14:08 And then Jesus has a conversation with her, 14:11 and He says, "You know, if you drink the water 14:13 that I have to give, you would never thirst again." 14:16 Now let's pick up the conversation in John 4:13-14. 14:23 "Jesus answered and said to her, 14:25 'Whoever drinks of this water...'" 14:27 That is, from Jacob's well. "...will thirst again." 14:37 Now here's an important detail. 14:50 So what happens? 14:51 You drink the water and you become a fountain of water. 14:56 You receive the Spirit, and then you share 14:59 that Spirit to other people. 15:02 Are you understanding what this is saying? 15:04 Now what is the water here? What does the water represent? 15:08 We have to go to John 7:37-39. 15:12 The bottom of page 83. 15:15 Page 83 in our manual. 15:20 It says in John 7:37-39... 15:22 Here, Jesus is at the feast of tabernacles. 15:25 There was a water ceremony at the feast of tabernacles. 15:28 And Jesus is going to say something revolutionary. 15:31 "On the last day, that great day of the feast..." 15:42 So who is the rock? 15:44 Jesus. He says, "I'm the rock. 15:45 Come to Me and drink." 15:48 What is it that we're going to drink? 15:58 Out of whose heart will flow rivers of living water? 16:02 Out of us. 16:05 So He says to the Samaritan woman 16:07 that she would become a fountain of living water? 16:10 And by the way, she did. 16:11 She went back to Sychar where she lived, 16:13 she witnessed about Christ and brought the whole town 16:15 to hear the words of Jesus. 16:17 So what happens? 16:19 When we receive the Holy Spirit, then we are witnesses. 16:23 We become fountains of water to others. 16:26 Are you understanding what I'm saying? 16:28 Now, how does this apply to what we are talking about? 16:33 When God's people receive the Holy Spirit, 16:37 God's people then become fountains of waters 16:40 to bless other people. 16:41 You know, I'll use this illustration. 16:45 You know, you have the Son. 16:46 Jesus said, "I am the light of the world." 16:48 But He also said, "Ye are the light of the world." 16:52 So you go out some night and you see a beautiful full moon, 16:54 and you say, "Oh, that moon, that silvery moon; 16:57 it's so romantic, it's so beautiful. 16:59 Look at the beautiful light there on the moon." 17:03 But you know, the moon is an ugly heavenly body. 17:08 It's full of craters. Right? 17:10 So it's ugly. 17:11 How does it become beautiful? 17:14 When the light of the sun shines on it. 17:16 So what we need to say is, "How beautiful the sun is tonight." 17:21 Because the glory of the moon is the glory of the sun. 17:23 Jesus is the original spring of water; 17:27 and when we drink, we become springs of water. 17:30 It's like the sun shines on the moon, and the moon 17:33 reflects the light of the sun to the world. 17:36 Now let's go to page 84. 17:39 When we drink the living waters, we become fountains of water. 17:44 The springs of water represent what? 17:46 The pure gospel of Jesus that flows through His people 17:51 by the power of whom? 17:53 Of the Holy Spirit to bless the world with life everlasting. 17:59 Let's read some statements from Ellen White. 18:02 This one is from Manuscript 33, April 27, 1903. 18:08 "The people of God, His chosen kingdom, 18:12 are not as a stagnant pool. 18:15 They are as a..." What? "...river, constantly flowing, 18:22 and as it advances, becoming deeper and wider, until its..." 18:25 What kind of waters? 18:27 "...its life-giving waters are spread over all the earth. 18:32 Whenever the gospel of God is received..." 18:34 See, we have to receive it first. 18:36 "...its grace heals the maladies that sin has produced. 18:40 The Sun of Righteousness arises with healing in His beams. 18:44 Light, strength, and refreshing come from the Lord, 18:49 and the good fruit borne bears witness to 18:52 a work of righteousness." 18:54 In another statement, Prophets and Kings, page 233, 18:58 this is a beautiful statement. 19:00 Page 233 and 234. 19:02 "The heart that receives the Word of God 19:05 is not a pool that..." What? 19:07 "..evaporates, not like a broken cistern that loses its treasure. 19:13 It is like the mountain stream, fed by unfailing springs, 19:19 whose cool, sparkling waters leap from rock to rock, 19:24 refreshing the weary, the thirsty, and the heavy-laden." 19:28 That's what happens when people receive the Word of God 19:31 through the power of the Holy Spirit. 19:32 They become a blessing to others. 19:35 She continues writing, "It is like a river 19:38 constantly flowing, and as it advances, 19:42 becoming deeper and wider, until its life-giving waters 19:46 are spread over all the earth. 19:48 The stream that goes singing on its way leaves behind 19:52 its gift of verdure and fruitfulness. 19:56 The grass on its banks is a fresher green, 19:59 the trees have a richer verdure, the flowers are more abundant. 20:03 When the earth lies bare and brown under the 20:06 summer's scorching heat, a line of verdure 20:09 marks the river's course." 20:11 And now she draws the comparison. 20:14 "So it is with the true child of God." 20:17 Everything she's described about the living waters 20:20 and making everything green and fruitful, 20:22 now she says, "I'm going to apply the lesson." 20:25 "So it is with the true child of God. 20:27 The religion of Christ reveals itself as a vitalizing, 20:31 pervading principle, a living, working, spiritual energy. 20:36 When the heart is opened to the heavenly influence 20:38 of truth and love, these principles will..." What? 20:42 "...will flow forth again like streams in the desert, 20:47 causing fruitfulness to appear where now 20:50 are barrenness and dearth." 20:52 Here's another one, Prophets and Kings, page 231. 20:57 Remember when Elisha poured salt into a spring that was polluted? 21:02 Here, Ellen White is going to describe this. 21:04 "In casting salt..." 21:06 By the way, who is the salt? 21:08 What does the salt represent? 21:11 Us. 21:14 So it's the same as, you know, drinking the water 21:16 we become springs of water. 21:18 Polluted waters are made delicious by the salt 21:23 that is put in. 21:25 Is that the case of God's people? 21:26 Do we make the life of people happier and more prosperous 21:30 and more blessed and more live-giving? 21:33 Absolutely. 21:34 So she wrote, "In casting salt into the bitter spring..." 21:39 Interesting. Bitter spring. 21:41 The star causes the waters to be what? 21:43 Bitter. 21:45 How can the waters become not bitter? 21:47 By God's people sharing the Word through the 21:49 power of the Holy Spirit. 21:51 "...Elisha taught the same spiritual lesson imparted 21:53 centuries later by the Savior to His disciples when He declared, 21:57 'Ye are the salt of the earth.' 21:59 The salt mingling with the polluted spring purified 22:03 its waters and brought life and blessing 22:06 where before had been blighting and death. 22:09 When God compares His children to salt, 22:12 He would teach them that His purpose in making them 22:15 the subjects of His grace is that they may become..." What? 22:19 "...agents in the saving others." 22:23 So do you understand what the springs and rivers represent 22:26 in the third trumpet? 22:30 You know, we allow the Bible to interpret itself, right? 22:33 Or else you have to find some place on earth 22:36 where a third of the lakes and the oceans became bitter 22:41 when a star fell into it, you know. 22:44 It's not talking about meteorites and asteroids. 22:48 We have to interpret Scripture applying the same principles 22:52 that we apply universally to every passage, 22:55 including the trumpets. 22:57 Now, when the star falls in the waters and makes them bitter. 23:03 So let's take a look at the word, "wormwood." 23:05 Because the word, "wormwood," is used. 23:08 Let's go to Deuteronomy 29:17-18. 23:13 What happened if Israel, according to God, apostatized 23:18 from the straight and narrow way? 23:21 God warned them in Deuteronomy 29:17-18 23:24 what would happen if they apostatized. 23:27 It says there, "...and you saw their abominations..." 23:30 That is, of the pagan nations. 23:32 "...and their idols which were among them: 23:35 wood and stone and silver and gold, 23:38 so that there may not be among you man or woman 23:43 or family or tribe whose heart..." What? 23:46 ~ Turns away. - Is that apostasy? 23:49 "...whose heart turns away today from the LORD our God, 23:52 to go and serve the gods of these nations, 23:55 and that there may not be among you 23:57 a root bearing..." What? "...bitterness or wormwood." 24:04 What is it that causes the water to become bitter and wormwood? 24:10 It is turning away from the Lord; apostasy. 24:14 Is this what happened with the fallen star 24:16 under the third trumpet? 24:17 Absolutely. 24:19 Notice Amos 5:7. 24:22 "You who turn justice to..." What? "...wormwood." 24:26 See, when you turn justice to wormwood, 24:31 when you cease to be just, in other words, 24:33 or righteous, the result is wormwood. 24:43 Notice Amos 6:12-13. Amos 6:12-13. 24:49 It says there, "Do horses run on rocks? 24:52 Does one plow there with oxen..." 25:04 So what happens when people turn away from justice 25:08 and people turn away from the fruit of righteousness? 25:11 They become what? Gall and wormwood. 25:15 Notice Jeremiah 23:15-16. 25:20 When false prophets speak in the name of God, 25:23 the result is what? 25:25 Wormwood and gall. 25:26 Let me ask you, did the papacy claim 25:28 to speak in the name of God when it originated the apostasy? 25:32 It certainly did. Let's notice this. 25:35 "Therefore thus says the LORD of hosts concerning the prophets: 25:39 'Behold, I will feed them with...'" What? 25:43 "...wormwood, and make them drink the water of gall." 25:47 He's speaking about the false prophets. 25:49 "For," that means, because, 25:51 "from the prophets of Jerusalem..." 25:54 What has gone out? 25:55 "'...profaneness has gone out into all the land.' 25:59 Thus says the LORD of hosts, 'Do not listen to the words of 26:02 the prophets who prophesy to you. 26:05 They make you worthless; they speak a vision 26:08 of their own heart, not from the mouth of the LORD.'" 26:14 Powerful verses, aren't they, 26:16 for interpreting the third trumpet? 26:18 Jeremiah 23:36 26:21 "And the oracle of the LORD you shall mention no more. 26:24 For every man's word will be his oracle, 26:27 for you have perverted the words of the living God, 26:30 the LORD of hosts, our God." 26:35 Jeremiah 9:13-15 26:39 "And the LORD said, 'Because they have 26:41 forsaken My law...'" 26:42 Notice, forsaken. It's talking about apostasy. 26:45 "...which I set before them, and have not obeyed My voice..." 26:48 See, it has to do with disobedience. 26:50 "'...nor walked according to it, 26:52 but they have walked according to the dictates 26:54 of their own hearts and after the Baals, 26:58 which their fathers taught them,' 27:00 therefore thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, 27:03 'behold, I will feed them, this people, with...'" What? 27:07 "...with wormwood, and give them water of gall to drink." 27:13 So when Israel forsook the law of the Lord, disobeyed God, 27:16 and walked in their own hearts, according to their own hearts, 27:20 the Lord fed them wormwood and gall to drink. 27:24 So when are the waters fresh and life-giving? 27:29 It's when the truth is taught. 27:30 When the fear of the Lord is taught. 27:33 When there is righteousness that is taught. 27:35 When do the waters become gall and wormwood? 27:38 It's when false doctrines and apostasy and idolatry 27:43 come in among God's people. 27:46 Proverbs 5:3-5 and verse 15 is very interesting. 27:50 It's speaking literally, but it has a symbolic 27:53 application as well. 28:02 In other words, it sounds pretty good, right? 28:28 In other words, don't drink from the harlot. 28:31 Drink from your own well. 28:32 Life-giving waters. 28:34 Now let me ask you, does the Bible compare 28:39 the apostate papal church with the harlot? 28:44 Yes. The fourth church is Thyatira. 28:48 Jezebel is the main person there. 28:51 Did Israel drink the waters of Jezebel? 28:55 She most certainly did. And what did it lead to? 28:58 It led to apostasy. 29:00 By the way, in Revelation 17 do you have a harlot woman 29:04 who is seated on many waters? 29:06 Absolutely. 29:07 What is she teaching people? 29:09 Oh, she has a cup full of wine. 29:11 What does the wine represent? 29:13 The wine represents her false doctrines. 29:16 Now let's notice the defiled waters. 29:20 This is on page 87. 29:23 The rivers and springs of water must have been what? 29:27 Clean before the fall of the star defiled them. 29:30 Right? 29:32 Because the star falls, and then they're defiled. 29:33 Which means that before the star fell, the waters were what? 29:37 The waters were pure and clean. 29:40 This is another indication that the third trumpet's 29:43 theme is what? 29:46 Apostasy in the church. 29:48 Are you following the argument? 29:50 When the star falls, it pollutes the fountains of water, 29:55 that had been clean, with wormwood and bitterness, 29:59 And what is the result? 30:01 Many people die. 30:03 And of course, we're not only talking about dying spiritually, 30:06 we're talking about all the martyrs who were killed 30:09 by this system. 30:11 If the pure spring waters represent the Word of God 30:15 imparted to man through the instrumentality of the 30:19 Holy Spirit, then the defiling of the waters 30:22 would mean the corruption of what? 30:24 The corruption of God's Word proclaimed by individuals 30:28 that pollute the waters. 30:32 By speaking about a falling star and the poisoning of the 30:36 fresh spring waters, God through John is showing 30:40 that the third trumpet is dealing with apostasy. 30:44 Both the falling star and wormwood refer directly 30:48 to apostasy, so the third trumpet must center on apostasy. 30:54 Is this precisely what we noticed in 2 Thessalonians 2 30:58 in our last session? 31:00 The apostasy, which means to go astray. 31:03 It is used in secular literature at that time 31:06 to describe a boat that is going away from the port 31:11 because it's not well anchored. 31:14 Now the waters represent the Holy Spirit 31:17 flowing from Jesus through His church to the world. 31:23 However, when a false gospel defiled the living waters 31:27 preached by the fallen teachers of the papal church, 31:30 the result is that people began to what? 31:33 To die spiritually. 31:35 Let's notice Proverbs 25:25-26. 31:41 A man who gives into idolatry becomes a polluted spring. 31:44 It says, "As cold water to a weary soul, 31:48 so is good news from a far country. 31:51 A righteous man who falters before the wicked..." 31:55 What does it means, "A Righteous man 31:56 faltering before the wicked"? 31:59 Speaking about a righteous man who becomes what? 32:02 Apostate. 32:10 Why? Because instead of sharing the pure gospel, 32:14 they start sharing what? 32:15 Heresies and false teachings. 32:18 Jeremiah 2:13 32:20 "For My people have committed two evils," God says. 32:23 "They have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters, 32:28 and hewn themselves..." What? 32:30 "...cisterns, broken cisterns that can hold no water." 32:37 Jeremiah 6:7 32:51 Because Jerusalem is in apostasy. 33:11 Does that speak about bitterness that comes as a result of 33:16 drinking polluted waters? 33:18 Absolutely. 33:19 Now the New Testament has an interesting story. 33:22 The story of Simon Magus. 33:24 Remember that he tried to buy the Holy Spirit? 33:26 He said to Peter, "Why don't you sell me some of that Holy Spirit 33:28 so that I can perform some of those miracles." 33:30 Well notice what Acts 8:21-23 says. 33:34 "But Peter said to him, 'Your money perish with you, 33:37 because you thought that the gift of God 33:39 could be purchased with money!'" 33:41 If it's a gift, you can't purchase it. Hello! 33:44 "You have neither part nor portion in this matter, 33:47 for your heart is not right in the sight of God." 34:07 What is it that poisoned and made Simon Magus bitter? 34:13 It was the fact that he wanted to do something that the Bible 34:16 does not allow; and that is purchasing the Holy Spirit. 34:20 2 Kings 2:19-22 is a story of Elisha. 34:27 And I'm going to then read a statement from the 34:28 writings of Ellen White. 34:31 "Then the men of the city said to Elisha..." 34:50 Is salt a cleansing agent? 34:54 Salt is a powerful cleansing agent, folks. 34:58 Literally speaking. 35:00 Not only symbolically speaking, but literally speaking. 35:39 Ellen White adds this beautiful comment about how 35:43 polluted waters can be made pure. 35:46 Can pure waters be made impure? 35:49 ~ Yes. - How? 35:52 By individuals, false prophets, false teachers, 35:55 teaching doctrines that are not in the Bible. 35:58 How can those polluted waters become pure? 36:02 Well, by pouring the Word of God through God's people 36:07 who are salt of the earth with the true teachings of the Bible. 36:11 Notice this statement, Prophets and Kings, page 231, 232. 36:16 "In casting salt into the bitter spring, 36:19 Elisha taught the same spiritual lesson imparted centuries later 36:24 by the Saviour to His disciples when He declared, 36:27 'Ye are the salt of the earth.' 36:29 The salt mingling with the polluted spring 36:33 purified its waters and brought life and blessing 36:36 where before there had been blighting and death. 36:41 When God compares His children to salt, 36:44 He would teach them that His purpose in making them 36:47 the subjects of His grace is that they may become 36:51 agents in saving others. 36:53 The object of God in choosing a people before all the world 36:57 was not only that He might adopt them as His sons and daughters, 37:02 but that through them the world might receive the 37:05 grace that bringeth salvation. 37:08 When the Lord chose Abraham, it was not simply 37:11 to be the special friend of God, but to be a medium 37:16 of the peculiar privileges the Lord desired 37:19 to bestow upon the nations." 37:23 Powerful description, isn't it? 37:26 Now 2 Peter 2:18-22 describes a group of individuals 37:34 who were in deep apostasy. 37:36 And I want you to notice the metaphors that are used 37:39 to describe them. 37:41 2 Peter 2:18 says... 37:59 Does it have anything to do with speaking, 38:01 the fact that you have a dry well? 38:03 Absolutely. 38:12 So what do they do? 38:14 They pollute those who receive the message? 38:32 So this is talking about people who have embraced the message. 38:47 Is that apostasy? Yes. 39:16 And this whole passage is talking about individuals 39:18 who embrace the truth and then they apostatize. 39:21 They are like wells without water. 39:23 Or another way of stating it is, they are springs of water 39:27 that become defiled and bitter. 39:32 Now I want you to notice here a statement by Edwin Thiele. 39:38 You're probably wondering, well who is Edwin Thiele? 39:42 Well, Edwin Thiele was my father's theology professor... 39:49 ...when my dad went to Emmanuel Adventist College. 39:55 It's just called today, Andrews University. 39:59 And he wrote a very famous book, 40:02 The Mysterious Numbers of the Hebrew Kings. 40:05 He was a renowned Old Testament scholar. 40:08 My dad says that he sat in class and he put 40:10 all the students to sleep. 40:11 He was, you know, not a real dynamic teacher, 40:16 but he was a tremendous scholar. 40:18 And in the scholarly world his work on the Hebrew kings, 40:22 you know, coordinating the description given in Chronicles 40:27 and Kings, the dates of the different kings, etc., 40:29 because there appears to be discrepancies, 40:31 it's still recognized in the scholarly world 40:33 as the standard in the field. 40:36 And he wrote this about the third trumpet. 40:41 This is on page 90. 40:43 "Here a remarkable revolutionary transformation is depicted. 40:49 The once pure, life-giving fountains become contaminated 40:55 and corrupt as the death-star Wormwood falls upon them, 41:01 and henceforth men die rather than live as they partake 41:06 of the polluted waters. 41:08 The pure church is a clear stream 41:12 and a life-giving fountain. 41:15 When the enemy enters the church, it becomes corrupt. 41:20 Henceforth it is a scourge rather than a blessing to men." 41:26 In other words, the waters become what? 41:27 Bitter. 41:29 And instead of people living, they what? 41:31 They die. 41:32 "Satan rather than Christ is in control, 41:36 and the church is to take complete control, 41:41 a savor of death unto death instead of life unto life." 41:49 Good description, isn't it, of the third trumpet. 41:53 Now Ellen White also had some very interesting statements 41:57 to make about the corrupted springs of water. 42:02 And I'm going to read several of these, because 42:04 we might be able to read them all, in fact. 42:06 And I'll stop at places. 42:09 She wrote, this is page 90 of your study notes, 42:12 "The world needs evidences of sincere Christianity." 42:16 What are the evidences of sincere Christianity? 42:20 How do people see sincere Christianity? 42:23 In people. 42:25 In believers. 42:27 "The poison of sin is at work at the heart of society. 42:34 Cities and towns are steeped in sin and moral corruption." 42:38 What is happening with cities and town? 42:39 They're steeped with what? 42:41 With sin and moral corruption. 42:44 "The world is full of sickness, suffering, and iniquity." 42:47 Are the waters bitter? 42:49 Oh yeah. 42:51 "Nigh and afar off are souls in poverty and distress, 42:55 weighed down with a sense of guilt and perishing 42:58 for want of a saving influence." 43:01 Now notice. 43:03 The gospel of truth is kept ever before them, 43:07 yet they perish because the example of those who should 43:11 be a savor of life to them is a savor of death." 43:15 Wow! 43:19 Is it a serious thing for believers to pollute the waters? 43:24 She continues, "Their souls drink in..." What? 43:28 "...bitterness because the springs are..." What? 43:32 "...poisoned, when they should be like a well of water 43:35 springing up unto everlasting life." 43:38 What a powerful statement. 43:41 That's in, Prophets and Kings, page 232. 43:43 Great Controversy, page 567, "In unfolding the sins 43:49 of his life to a priest..." 43:50 This is speaking about the confessional. 43:52 "...an erring, sinful mortal, and too often corrupted 43:57 with wine and licentiousness, his standard of character," 44:01 the person who confesses, "their standard of character 44:04 is lowered, and he is..." What? 44:07 "...defiled in consequence. 44:09 His thought of God is degraded to the likeness 44:12 of fallen humanity, for the priest stands 44:15 as a representative of God. 44:17 This degrading confession of man to man is..." What? 44:23 "...the secret spring..." 44:25 What kind of spring? 44:26 Nice, fresh, life-giving waters, right? 44:29 Wrong. 44:31 It says, "This degrading confession of man to man 44:34 is the secret spring from which has flowed 44:38 much of the evil that is..." What? 44:41 "...defiling the world and fitting it 44:44 for the final destruction." 44:45 Because if you think that you can get off the hook 44:47 just by confessing your sin to a priest, 44:49 there's no incentive to overcome sin. 44:54 Notice, Desire of Ages, page 478. 44:57 "The priests and rulers, the scribes and Pharisees..." 45:00 Of course, they taught the truth, didn't they? 45:02 Aaahh. 45:04 They had all kinds of traditions that were contrary to Scripture. 45:07 "The priests and rulers, the scribes and Pharisees, 45:10 destroyed the living pastures and defiled the wellsprings 45:15 of the water of life." 45:19 And then we have, Early Writings, page 311. 45:22 "Satan was seeking to corrupt the doctrines of the Bible. 45:26 I saw that at last the standard was lowered..." 45:30 This is speaking about the church transitioning now 45:33 into the times of Constantine. 45:35 "I saw that at last the standard was lowered, 45:38 and that the heathen were doing..." What? 45:41 "...uniting with the Christians. 45:43 Although these worshipers of idols professed to be converted, 45:47 they brought their idolatry with them into the church, 45:52 only changing the objects of their worship 45:55 to images of saints, and even of Christ and of Mary His mother. 46:00 As the followers of Christ gradually united with them..." 46:04 What happened with the Christian religion? 46:07 "...the Christian religion became corrupted 46:10 and the church lost its purity and power." 46:13 Will false teachings defile and pollute the church 46:17 and make the waters of the church bitter? 46:20 Yes. 46:22 Here's another statement. 46:23 Counsels on Education, page 100. 46:27 "The Bible is the great educator; 46:30 for it is not possible prayerfully to study its pages 46:34 without having the intellect disciplined, ennobled..." 46:38 What's the next word? 46:40 "...purified and refined. 46:44 "Those who claim to be Christians, 46:47 who profess to believe the truth, and yet drink..." Where? 46:52 "...at the polluted fountains of infidelity, 46:55 and by precept and example draw others away from the cold, 47:00 snow-waters of Lebanon, are fools, though they 47:04 profess themselves to be wise." 47:06 Powerful statements from the spirit of prophecy 47:09 telling us what the wellsprings of waters, 47:11 the fresh waters represent. 47:16 She continues writing in, 47:19 Counsels to Teachers, page 358-359, 47:24 "A succession of showers from the living waters has come 47:28 to you at Battle Creek. 47:30 Each shower was a consecrated inflowing of divine influence, 47:36 but you did not recognize it as such. 47:39 Instead of drinking copiously of the streams of salvation 47:44 so freely offered through the influence of the Holy Spirit, 47:48 you turned to satisfy your soul thirst with the 47:51 polluted waters of human science." 47:54 You know, around the turn of the 20th century, 47:57 the 19th century, Battle Creek College 48:01 actually was closed for three years. 48:04 Because they were teaching all kinds of false doctrines. 48:08 And Ellen White, in fact, said don't send your 48:10 kids to Battle Creek. 48:12 And Ellen White is describing here this very thing. 48:17 She's talking to teachers, and she's saying that 48:20 the waters become polluted when individuals 48:24 put human science before putting the Word of God. 48:30 Do you know that there are many Christians today 48:32 who are embracing the theory of evolution? 48:36 Did you know that Francis I is an evolutionist? 48:39 That John Paul II was an evolutionist? 48:42 That they believe in the Big Bang 48:45 that happened supposedly 13.8 billion years ago? 48:49 You know, none of us were around. 48:52 And it would be 13.8 billion years before we would 48:56 come around, of course, if we believed the Big Bang theory. 48:59 And there are many liberal Protestant scholars who believe 49:03 that God used evolution as His method of creation. 49:07 And they say it's because all of the different 49:09 disciplines of science have proven that evolution is true. 49:14 So what do you do? 49:15 You embrace what the experts are saying, 49:19 you embrace the polluted springs, 49:22 or do you simply accept what the Bible says? 49:25 You simply accept that God created this world 49:28 in six days and He rested on the seventh day. 49:31 We have faith in the Word of God. 49:33 But when we accept the deductions of human science 49:39 in place of the Word of God, the waters are polluted. 49:43 Now notice the next statement, 7 Testimonies, page 204-205. 49:49 "We cannot be complete in Christ and yet be ready 49:52 to grasp those things that come from..." Whom? 49:57 "...from the so-called great men of the earth, 50:01 and place their wisdom before the wisdom of the 50:04 greatest Teacher the world has ever known. 50:08 To seek knowledge from such sources is represented 50:12 in the word as seeking to drink from..." Where? 50:15 "...from broken cisterns that can hold no water. 50:19 Let the truth of God be the subject 50:22 for contemplation and meditation. 50:25 Read the Bible and regard it as the voice of God 50:29 speaking directly to you. 50:31 Then will you find inspiration and that wisdom 50:35 which is divine." 50:39 One final statement from Ellen White and then we'll 50:41 bring this to a conclusion by reading 50:43 from Jon Paulien. 50:46 In 5 Testimonies, page 519, we have these words. 50:51 "It seems wonderfully strange to me, considering all I have 50:55 written in regard to the reading of exciting stories..." 50:59 She might have written, "watching exciting 51:01 television stories," too. 51:03 "...to see a recommendation from your pen to read 51:07 Robinson Crusoe, Uncle Tom's Cabin, and Aesop's Fables. 51:13 My brother, you made a mistake in writing that article. 51:17 If these books are among those that you have for sale, 51:21 I beg of you never to offer them again to our youth." 51:25 Hmm. 51:28 Wow! 51:30 Let me ask you, what would be better, 51:31 spending an hour reading your Bible or spending an hour 51:34 reading Robinson Crusoe? 51:37 You know, Robinson Crusoe is an interesting story. 51:40 As is Tom Sawyer. 51:43 And Huckleberry Finn, you know. 51:44 Those are interesting stories. 51:46 But once you've read the stories, 51:48 how has that edified you spiritually? 51:52 Not much. 51:54 Ellen White continues writing, 51:56 "It is your duty to call their attention..." 51:59 The attention of the youth to what? 52:01 "...to the Bible. 52:03 Do not become their tempter by offering to them attractive 52:10 storybooks which will..." What? 52:13 "...divert their minds from the study of the Scriptures. 52:17 We must ourselves be drinking..." What? 52:20 "...the water of life, or else we will be constantly 52:24 hewing out for ourselves broken cisterns 52:27 which can hold no water." 52:31 Do you think we've had enough statements to understand 52:33 what the rivers and springs of water represent? 52:36 I think so. 52:38 Have we had enough texts to interpret what the 52:40 star represents, the fallen star? 52:42 What it means to fall? 52:44 What the lamp is that defiles the waters? 52:47 I think the Bible and the spirit of prophecy explain this 52:50 with luxury of details. 52:52 The third trumpet, no doubt, is the time when the church 52:56 begins embracing apostasy. 52:59 Which will become full blown, as we'll notice 53:02 this afternoon, during the period of the fourth trumpet. 53:06 Now Jon Paulien who teaches now, I think, at Loma Linda, 53:11 for many years he taught at the seminary at Andrews, 53:14 had a very interesting comment summarizing 53:19 what we find in the third trumpet. 53:21 So I'm going to read that because it's 53:22 very well expressed. 53:24 "There are really three objects of judgment 53:27 in the third trumpet: the star, the springs and rivers, 53:34 and the people who drink the water." 53:36 So those are the three main elements that we find 53:39 in the third trumpet. 53:40 "...the star, the springs and rivers, 53:43 and the people who drink the water." 53:46 In a sense, each phrase of this three-fold judgment 53:50 is the catalyst for the next. 53:54 It is because the star falls that the rivers and springs 53:59 are turned into wormwood." 54:02 Is that correct? 54:03 The star falls, which is a torch... 54:06 We've already studied about the torch. 54:09 "It is because the star falls that the rivers and springs 54:12 are turned into wormwood." 54:13 In other words, the waters become bitter. 54:16 "The bitterness of these waters leads, in turn, to..." What? 54:20 "...to the death of those who drink the water." 54:25 So when apostasy enters the church, 54:28 when false doctrines enter the church, 54:31 it doesn't lead to spiritual life. 54:34 It leads to spiritual death. 54:35 Why do you suppose Christianity is so dead these days? 54:39 So devoid of spirituality? 54:43 Where people think, "Yeah, you know, 54:45 I can be gay and still be living in harmony with God's will. 54:50 And we can accept multiple genders, not only two, 54:53 but multiple genders." 54:55 "We can embrace evolution, you know, and kind of 54:57 accommodate the Bible to the theory of evolution." 55:01 You know, what happens with the church 55:04 when you have that way of thinking? 55:06 The church loses its savor. 55:09 The salt loses its savor. 55:11 It is no good but to be trampled by men. 55:14 You know, it reminds me of the story of Lot's wife. 55:20 You know, could God have caused her to have a heart attack? 55:25 Well, of course. 55:26 Why would He turn her into a pillar of salt? 55:29 Because Jesus later on said, when salt loses its savor, 55:33 it's no good but to be trampled by men. 55:37 She had lost her savor. 55:38 Was she part of God's chosen people? 55:41 Yes. But what did Sodom and Gomorrah do to her? 55:45 They polluted her. 55:47 Such that she came out of Sodom, 55:50 but Sodom did not come out of her. 55:53 And as a result of drinking of the polluted waters 55:57 of Sodom, what did it lead to? 56:00 It led to her pollution, and ultimately to her death. 56:07 Let's finish this statement. 56:09 "One would think..." 56:10 He's going to relate now the first and second trumpet 56:13 with the third. 56:14 "One would think that the removal of Rome and Judaism..." 56:19 The first trumpet was the removal of Judaism, right? 56:22 The second trumpet was the removal of the Roman Empire. 56:25 "One would think that the removal of Rome and Judaism 56:29 as effective opponents of the church would open the way 56:33 for the church's advancement and growth." 56:36 In other words, if you remove the Jewish nation 56:38 and you remove the Roman Empire, now there's great room 56:41 for the growth of the church. 56:44 "However, John does not think in such terms. 56:50 He warns, instead, that the removal of the church's enemies 56:55 only diverts Satan's mode of attack." 57:00 And you know, this reminds me of the story of Balaam. 57:03 The church of Pergamum in Revelation, 57:05 the doctrine of Balaam is mentioned. 57:08 You know, Balak wanted Balaam to curse Israel. 57:14 He couldn't because Israel was in a good 57:16 relationship with the Lord. 57:18 So Balaam says, "But if I can entice them into idolatry, 57:22 they'll be destroyed." 57:24 And they were. 57:26 Satan tried to destroy the church through persecution 57:29 in the church of Smyrna. 57:31 It's didn't work because they were in a good 57:34 relationship with the Lord. 57:35 So Satan says, "I can't destroy them through persecution." 57:39 But then you have the third church, Pergamum, 57:41 he says, "What I will do is, I'll poison the waters. 57:45 And that way, the church will die spiritually." 57:49 Is that exactly what happened? 57:51 That is precisely what happened. 57:54 And so, we've studied the third trumpet. 57:57 This afternoon we will study the fourth trumpet. |
Revised 2020-07-28