In Genesis 1:27 and 31 we read that God made man in His own image and that it was good. In the next chapter (verses 16&17) we read that God gave man the law he was to live by in Eden and the cosequences of breaking that law. Later (in the 7th verse of the 4th chapter) we see that God created man with the ability to overcome evil and a free choice to decide to do good or evil. The next chapter (chapter 5) speaks of Enoch’s victory over sin and his reward.
In the beginning the human race knew and understood God’s law and the consequences of transgression. When Adam and Eve sinned the Lord personally told them of their punishment that they were to bear. He could have told Adam to inform Eve of her punishment, but He chose not to do this. He personally told Adam what punishment applied to him and to Eve what punishment applied to her. Even the serpent was personally addressed as to its punishment. The Lord personally spoke with Cain to show him his evil tendencies harbored within his heart. He did not choose Abel to go give Cain this message. Yet with generations of accumulated sin the hearts of the people became more and more hardened. Thus, when God decided to destroy the world with a flood, He told Noah of His plans, yet Noah was to tell the people. Throughout Bible history God had given His law and told of the consequences of transgressing that law to a stubborn and impenitent world. It was not to be proclaimed to only one nation or only one church. Though God endeavored to use man as a messenger of His law, we read in the Bible that the servant who knows his master’s will but does it not, will receive many stripes.
In the words of John the Revelator, banished to the Isle of Patmos for the testimony of God’s word, are the last words of the Bible. To John were shown in visions and symbols the events that would take place in the future. The Jewish nation was rejected of the Lord for they did not study the prophecies of their day and knew not the time of their visitation. In the sad history of Israel, we read a warning for us. On page 119 of the Testimonies to Ministers the Holy Spirit reminds us to dig deeper into the word of God. Why? Is it possible that God has hidden the truth so pertinent to our salvation so deeply that we cannot attain it? Or is it that the shepherds of the flock have hidden these truths with darkness? The book of Revelation has become the book of Concealment to us.
Many of the prophecies in Revelation have already been fulfilled, yet some will be fulfilled again. We are now in the closing events of this earth’s history. If we continue as we have in the past, our destruction will be much worse than that of Jerusalem for we had its history in writing as a warning yet rejected it. Were we to truly dig into God’s word we would find that all three Seventh Day Adventist (SDA) churches have covered with darkness the following 6 chapters of Revelation: chapters 8, 9, 13, 16, 17 and 18. In chapters 8 and 9 are portrayed 7 angels seen by John as standing before God and there was given them 7 trumpets. In his book, Daniel and Revelation, Uriah Smith claims that these trumpets inform us of war and politics in the world. All three SDA churches have accepted this view as Bible truth. They have also agreed with him as concerns Rev. 13:1-10. This, they believe, applies to the Catholics and verses 11-18 to the Protestants. Also they believe that the 16th and 17th chapters are for the world and the Catholics and the 18th chapter is for the Protestants. Thus we have neatly relegated away the very light that is to help us understand the third angel’s message more clearly. Had we rightly understood these 7 trumpets, we would rightly understand the 7 plagues - the cup of God’s wrath mentioned in the message of the third angel (Rev. 14:10). If we do not understand the 7 last plagues, the cup of the wrath of God unmixed with mercy mentioned in the third angel’s message, God cannot pour upon us the latter rain enabling us to give the Loud Cry of the third angel. We must be able to bring before the people two distinct roads, one of following God in the path of obedience and the other of man (whether in ecclesiastical or civil form) clearly outlining the consequences of disobedience found in the 16th chapter of Revelation.
Presently all three SDA churches teach that the 7 last plagues will be fulfilled literally. They claim that those who receive the mark of the beast and worship its image will suffer from gaping sores similar to some forms of cancer pervasive in todays’ society. In the 2nd plague, they say that the sea will become as the blood of a dead man and every living thing in the sea will literally die. Here we err for we do not take into consideration the explanation found in Rev. 17:15. If we study Rev. 18:8 more deeply we would see that the plagues will be poured out upon Babylon. If the plagues are literal, then we would need a literal Babylon also.
The 3rd plague speaks of the rivers and streams. I know these rivers are those mentioned in Rev. 17:1 on which the woman sits, but I well remember that upon taking baptismal classes in the SDA Reform Movement church, our teacher said to us, „imagine going to the drinking fountain and drinking pure water and then the unbeliever behind you steps up to the same fountain and blood comes out of the fountain for him“.
The 4th plague affects the sun (Rev. 16:8&9). If this too is literal and if it lasted, say, 24 hours or so, the whole world would feel it.
The 5th plague will be poured out on the throne of the beast or (as we have been taught) Rome, where the Pope presides. Let us ask ourselves when the Pope first became a beast. Perhaps in 538 AD as some have tought when the Pope proclaimed himself as the head of the church. Others might say it happened in 321 AD when the man of sin sat in the church of God as described by the Apostle Paul in II Thess. 2:3&4. If either of the above answers are true, that the Pope did sit in the church of God, and we read in Test. to Ministers p. 116-118 that history will be repeated and that the old controversy will come to a new life, we should be encouraged to study anew the MYSTERY OF INIQUITY. We read there that the church will once more prophesy in sackcloth (see also 4T p. 594 and Rev. 11:3). We know that the Pope sat in the church of God as the head of Christ’s church. In order to better understand this concept, let me say that he was the President of the General Conference or number one man. If we believe that the church will once more prophesy in sackcloth, then we must also believe that the man of sin will once more sit IN THE CHURCH OF GOD. We all believe that the Catholic church is no longer the church of God. Surely, we must see that the persecution must begin from the SDA church.
The 6th plague is poured out on the great River Euphrates (Rev. 16:12). All SDA’s believe Uriah Smith’s interpretation that the Euphrates River in this case is not literal but symbolic. They believe that it represents Turkey. It is indeed inconsistent and inconceivable that the first 5 plagues are literal yet the 6th is symbolic as Uriah Smith maintains. Can we picture literal angels bearing literal cups of wrath causing literal sores, etc., yet along comes the sixth with a symbolic cup?
In order to better understand the 7 plagues, we need to return to the 8th and 9th chapters of Revelation and compare verse with verse and the events occurring during the 7 trumpets with the events occurring during the 7 plagues. Before we do this, however, we need to understand that from 1844, we have been living in the time of the 7th trumpet. This means that the foregoing 6 trumpets have passed. In Rev. 11:15-19, we read what happened in the time of the 7th trump. Here we can see if the angels with the 7 trumpets inform us of war and politics as Uriah Smith claims or if they sounded in God’s church.
When the 7th angel blew his trumpet there were voices saying, ‘the kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord and His Christ’. In Early Writings in the 2nd paragraph of the chapter entitled, End of the 2300 days, we read, „Then He raised His right arm and we heard His lovely voice saying, ‘Wait here: I am going to my Father TO RECEIVE THE KINGDOM; keep your garments spotless, and in a little while I will return from the wedding and receive you unto Myself”. When Christ went into the Most Holy Place in 1844, twenty-four elders praised God and on the earth the 1st angel’s message was still being proclaimed, ‘Fear God and give glory to Him for the hour of His judgement is come’, (Rev. 11:16&17 and Rev. 14:6&7). In the Great Controversy Sr. White described the Investigative Judgement that began in 1844. Judgement began on the dead and would soon start on the living. In Rev. 11:18 we read, „and thy wrath is come and the time of the dead that they should be judged“.
In the 7th trumpet (Rev. 11:19), we read that during the time of that trump, the ark of the testament was seen in the temple of God in heaven. In GC (1884 edition) p. 273 we see that as God showed Moses a portrayal of the temple above (the Holy and Most Holy place), and Moses was to build a replica so that God may dwell among them, so Sr. White was shown the same and she also was to share it with spiritual Israel. Please read the chapter entitled ‘The Open and Shut Door’ in the book EW for more details. By this also we see that the 7th trumpet began in 1844. Thus we see that nearly all the events mentioned in the 7th trumpet were proclaimed by Sr. White within the church. The 7th trumpet sounded in her lifetime and continues today among God’s people.
It is not difficult to understand the symbology of the 7 trumpets and 7 plagues if we compare verse with verse. As seen earlier, we live in the time of the 7th trumpet from 1844. Therefore 6 trumpets have already been fulfilled. For instance, in the 2nd trumpet we read (Rev. 8:8) that a third part of the sea BECAME BLOOD. In Rev. 16:3, we read „And the 2nd angel poured out his vial upon the SEA; and it became as the BLOOD OF A DEAD MAN“. In Rev. 8:10&11 we read that the 3rd angel sounded, and the third part of the rivers and fountains of waters became wormwood. In the 16th chapter of Rev. verse 4 we read that the 3rd angel poured out his vial upon the rivers and fountains of waters; and they BECAME BLOOD. In Rev. 8:12 we read that the 4th angel sounded his trumpet, and the third part of the SUN, moon and stars were stricken and darkened. We also read that in the 7 plagues the 4th angel poured out his vial upon the SUN.
Thus, when we read of the 7 trumpets, we see considerable similarity with the 7 plagues. For this reason some believe that the two will occur simultaneously, using the quotation from 7BC p. 982 as ‘proof’. There we read, „trumpet after trumpet is to be sounded, vial after vial poured out one after another upon the inhabitants of the earth“. Let us take a closer look at this quotation. Trumpets were used in the time of physical Israel. The believers of those days learned to discern between one trump and another. Some signaled a forward march, others told them to stop. Trumpets signaled their feast days, and those same trumpets blew at the fall of Jericho. In the New Testament the Apostle Paul teaches us to give the trumpet a certain sound (1 Corinth. 14:8).
If we had a right understanding of the 7 plagues, we would understand correctly the words in 7BC p. 982. Likewise, those who do not or will not understand Rev. 18 will also not understand the quote in 7BC. In GC under the title ‘Loud Cry’ or ‘Final Warning’, we read, „In amazement they hear the testimony that Babylon is the church, fallen because of her errors and sins, because of her rejection of the truth sent to her from Heaven. … The popular ministry, like the Pharisees of old, are filled with anger as their authority is questioned; they denounce the message as of Satan, and stir up the sin-loving multitudes to revile and persecute those who proclaim it“. Here we see that those who bear the message of Rev. 18 will be persecuted. In Rev. 18:6 we see that at the voice, „Reward her even as she rewarded you, and double unto her double according to her works: in the cup which she hath filled fill to her double“, the persecuted believers will, at God’s command pour out the 7 plagues. As Moses poured out the plagues upon Egypt, as Joshua stopped the sun and moon in the sky, as the prophet Elijah stopped the rain from falling upon the land of Israel, so the believers of our day will, with the same power pour out the 7 last plagues upon the Babylon of Rev. 18. None yet know the exact words God will give to His believers or the place He will send them to proclaim (or trump) these words. That will be according to the deeds of Babylon prior to and during the 7 last plagues. The chosen messengers (human beings symbolized by angels) will bear and proclaim those words that God will give them. They will sound the trump but the message (unlike that of the 7 trumpets) will not be mixed with mercy. The words that God will give His servants will only be words of wrath. Hence the words, „trumpet after trumpet and vial after vial will be poured out upon the inhabitants of the earth“.
Now let us see how Uriah Smith interprets these 7 angels that sound the trumpets. He says that the hail mentioned in the 1st trumpet sybolizes a people from the north. The fire mixed with blood, he claims, are mentioned because this people from the north killed and pillaged wherever they went. This would mean that the ice is symbolic, but the fire and blood mentioned in Rev. 8:7 is literal. In the 2nd trumpet he claims that the mountain burning with fire represents Gaiseric, the great leader that led in the war against Rome. He claims that the third of the sea became blood because the battle was waged at sea. This would mean that the burning mountain represents one man, but the sea and the blood are literal. In the 3rd trumpet (Rev. 8:10), Uriah Smith claims that the great star fell out of heaven represented Atilla the Hun.
The sun, moon and stars, he claims, represented the glory of the Roman Empire which was extinguished. THE BIBLE NEVER PORTRAYED AN UNBELIEVER NO MATTER HOW LOFTY IN POSITION OR WEALTH, AS THE SUN, MOON OR STARS. I say again with surety that in all of Bible history, the Holy Spirit has never portrayed worldly warriors, leaders or politicians as the sun, moon and stars.
The smoke mentioned in the 5th trumpet (Rev. 9:2), Uriah Smith claims, represent the Turkish religion while the smoke mentioned in the 6th trumpet (Rev. 9:17), is literal for the Turks used weapons of fire which emitted smoke. Thus, according to his interpretation, the smoke in the 5th trumpet is symbolic and the smoke in the 6th trumpet is literal. In the 6th trumpet John heard the number of the army of the horsemen as two hundred thousand thousand. We see that they were well-armed. Here Uriah Smith says that this number is not important. In his book (Daniel and the Revelation) p. 509, he writes of this number, „and it is not at all essential“. This he wrote because he could not find any country in all of human history whose army was so great a number.
Thus has Uriah Smith covered with darkness all 7 angels that John saw standing before God having the 7 trumpets. All 3 SDA organizations have accepted this book of his as Bible truth, while standing before the pulpit saying, ‘the Bible and the Bible only’. This they do all the while rejecting the Bible which is self-explanatory if only we would compare verse with verse. I would ask the teachers of Israel; how is it that the hail mentioned in the 1st trumpet represents a people from the north but the hail in the 7th plague (Rev. 16:21) is literal hail and that over 50 lbs each? The ships mentioned in the 2nd trumpet we are told are literal ships for it was a naval battle. This means that the sea also was a literal sea and not as John wrote in Rev. 17:15. What then can we say of the ships mentioned in Rev. 18:17? I have searched the 1884 edition of the GC and cannot find anywhere the fall of the Turkish empire on August 11, 1840, yet the later editions of the GC show it written in a manner similar to that of Daniel and the Revelation. I can easily believe that Uriah Smith himself added that statement in the later editions of the book. This is because he compared Bible to earthly history. Yet we know that in the time of the 7th trumpet, since 1844, we have been through two world wars and especially in the 2nd world war many thousands died in the seas and the oceans yet we find nothing about a third of the waters becoming blood as we do in the 2nd trumpet.
Nearly every word found in the 7 trumpets can be found elsewhere in the Bible. In the time of physical Israel, God’s messengers were called prophets and later angels. In Malachi 3:1 we see that John the Baptist was called an angel and Jesus said that he was the greatest prophet born of a woman. In Mal. 2:7 we read that the priests were called angels also. John 10:34&35 even calls them gods for the word of God was in them. Yet in Psalms chapt. 82 we read that though they are called gods they shall die like men if they sin. In Revelation we see that God’s messengers are portrayed to John as angels. In Rev. 1:20 the leadership of the church is portrayed as stars. Sr. White also says that those stars that shone most brightly and that we so admired would be extinguished. God had said to Abraham that his descendents would be as the stars of the sky. Joseph dreamed that the sun, moon and stars were bowing to him and Jacob saw the clear meaning of this. John saw a woman, the church, dressed as the sun and the moon was under her feet and on her head a wreath of 12 stars, similar to Joseph’s dream. In the Song of Solomon 6:9 the pure church is represented similarly to that of Rev. 12:1. The Bible portrays people as grass (Isaiah 40:6). In Matt. 7:19 people are portrayed as a tree (also in Psalms 1:3). In Rev. 17:15 the Holy Spirit portrays people as waters. All the above quotes contain words found in the 7 trumpets. If some words are not clear in one place of the Bible, we need to find another quote that we understand containing the same word or phrase of a verse that has already been fulfilled. Thus, one verse or part of Bible explains another. Both physical and spiritual Israel had faithful watchmen that gave the trumpet a certain sound and warned them of what was to come. We need therefore to bring about a change in our understanding of the 7 trumpets. They do not belong in worldly political fields but in the 7 periods of time in the christian era.
For those of us who wish to know what the locusts of the 5th trumpet represent, we have only to look at Nahum 3:17 to see that there were many locusts in the time of the dark ages (the religious leadership of that day or Catholic priesthood that became Satan’s tool). They devastated entire nations as locusts would the countryside. Only by placing the 7 trumpets in the 7 churches where they belong and studying the symbology to see how it was fulfilled will we understand the plagues which must be interwoven into the message of the third angel (Deut. 30:19).
When explaining the third angel’s message to others, we try to clarify what the image of the beast is and the mark of the beast. We try in simple terms to explain the symbology of bowing to the beast and what it means. Certainly no one saw a real angel flying in the midst of heaven. So also concerning the 7 plagues. We do not believe that the angel with the vial is literal, yet we claim that the sores are literal. Let us look at Rev. 13:3 and Nahum 3:19 along with Isaiah 51:9. We will see that in each of these verses the word ‘wound’ or ‘sore’ was never literal, yet the verses were fulfilled. Why is it then that we expect literal sores in the 1st plague? Why is it that we expect God to send us the latter rain so that we may proclaim the third angel’s message fearlessly not having studied the issue fully? We stand before God without excuse for we have the Bible and the spirit of prophecy at our disposal.
The 1st seal and 1st trumpet belong in the 1st church (Ephesus). The 2nd seal and 2nd trumpet belong in the 2nd church (Smyrna), etc. Today we live in the 7th church (Laodicea), the 7th trumpet but the 6th seal. The 7th seal (Rev. 8:1) is still future. Have you wondered why the stars actually did fall on Nov. 12, 1833 just as Wm. Miller began to preach? Perhaps we have often wondered at the falling of the stars just as the disciples wondered at the dried-up fig tree seeing nothing beyond. God wanted to teach us lessons through nature. Nearly all visions and dreams given by God to His chosen servants contain occurrences found in nature. God gives His messages using wild beasts, lambs, trees and grass, rivers and fountains of waters. He presented angels carrying vials of wrath. Christ Himself used similar methods. He spoke of wheat and tares, of vineyards and leaven, of salt also yet all these things had their meaning.
I do not wish to explain the plagues and the trumpets one by one. Let those who wish to have a part in the Loud Cry of the third angel well gird up the loins of their minds and compare verse with verse. Let them turn to God and He will guide them.
Let us examine Rev. 9:14 a little closer. Four angels were bound in that river. The 6th trumpeter was told to loose them and this was done. In Rev. 20:2 we read that Satan will be bound for a thousand years, and we understand what this means. He will not be able to do as he has always done (tempt others to sin) but will have to remain in a certain place. In Rev. 9:11 we see that the Bible still calls Satan and his host angels. Thus we can see that these 4 angels are not those mentioned in Rev. 7:1. When these were loosed, John heard the number of their well-armed host - two hundred thousand thousand. These 4 angels were bound from one European reformation until the next reformation which was in Wm. Miller’s day. Let us figure going backwards in time from 1833 until we go back 391 years and 15 days to see what we arrive at. The two hundred thousand thousand is the number of the enemy. If you will recall when Christ was on this earth and healed the demoniac, He asked him what his name was. The demoniac replied, ‘Legion: for we are many’. While living in Chicago I asked my daughter to divide two hundred thousand thousand by one hundred forty four thousand. Try it yourself and you will see how many evil angels will be surrounding each and every one of God’s people – and all in the form of friends, relatives and family. Christ Himself said that the father would rise up against the son and the son against the father.
The River Euphrates is mentioned in the 6th trumpet and in the 6th plague. God had chosen to show to John a great river that John himself knew and was familiar with. He did not show him the Mississippi River but one that John could readily recognize as a very great river. All SDA’s see this river as representing the Turkish nation because the river flows through that country. If this is true, then in order to be consistent, we will have to leave the 7 churches in Asia and not believe that they in reality represent 7 periods of time. The Euphrates River represents a large people on this earth. Turkey is no more than a small dot on the surface of the earth. Turkey will not be a large nation during the time of the 6th plague. Yet we read that the 6th angel poured out his vial on the great River Euphrates and her waters were dried up. No other country figures more prominently in present history than the United States. It is this great people that the River Euphrates represents. In Rev. 13:11-18 we see a description of the two-horned beast an we all believe it represents America. A young continent that sprung out of the earth, this two-horned beast will issue the decree that all who will not bow down and worship the image to the beast should be killed. By this we see that America will lead out in this action and the other countries will follow. Presently, the American Constitution guarantees freedom of religion but in the time we will see that the harlot (apostatized SDA church) will also sit on this great water. Just as Pilat delivered the innocent one to be killed at the demand of the Jewish leadership, so this country will deliver the innocent to be killed at the demand of the SDA leadership. The great water stands as a bulwark now and the constitution guarantees all religious freedom but when her waters dry up this bulwark will be removed and there will be a time of trouble such as never was since there was a nation on the earth. This does not mean, as some might think, that the entire population of the US will disappear, but that this continent will prepare the way for Armageddon. The word ‘Armageddon’ is mentioned only once in the entire Bible and that in the 6th plague. I would like to leave it there where the Holy Spirit has placed it. Armageddon is not a worldly war but the largest and last war between good end evil. It begins with the decree to kill the believers and when the wicked go forth to fulfill this decree the believers will find themselves on the battlefield of Armageddon. This also was Jacob’s trouble for his brother led an army to kill him.
Uriah Smith claims that Armageddon is a worldly war in the middle east. Some even say it will take place after the millenium, when Satan will marshall the armies of the whole world to try to take over the New Jerusalem. Yet this too is not the truth. The state of the believers in the 6th plague will be indescribable. They will be delivered to death. It will apear to them that God has left them in the hands of Satan to be tormented and finally killed by him. A terrible state of fear will engulf them. To claim that this will be the state of the delivered ones of God in the New Jerusalem when Satan tries to surround the city is indeed irrational. The believers will know that when Satan’s host surrounds the city, fire will descend out of heaven on the wicked and each will suffer according to the judgement meted out by them. I cannot believe that after a thousand years, those abiding in the New Jerusalem will endure the fear and battle and terrible agony of Jacob’s trouble. The great trouble such as never was, will exist only until the end of the 6the plague.
All who believe that Armageddon will continue until after the millenium do not understand the beginning of the 7th plague (Rev. 16:17). In the 6th plague we read about two kinds of people – those that are filled with the spirits of devils and those blessed ones that keep their garments (character) clean. In the beginning of the 7th plague, at the sound of the great voice out of heaven saying, ‘It is done’, the battle between good and evil is finished, and the Lord delivers His people from the battlefield of Armageddon. On that battlefield, the believers had drained their cup to the dregs and have been prepared for heaven. God pronounces the covenant with them and claims them as His sons and daughters. From that time until the appearance of the Son of Man in the clouds of heaven, Sr. White writes that the wicked once again sought to lay hold on the saints but they raised their hands in the name of God and they fell helplessly to the ground. Then and not until then does the image of Dan. 2:34 and 35 topple to the ground and that at the raising of the hands of the people of God in the name of God. Many times I have seen portrayals of the scenario by various artists and the rock is always shown as dark and shapeless yet it is a white rock, perfectly square and smooth as glass. Christ comes for those who have gained the victory over the beast, its mark, image and number. Those 144 000 make up this rock. It is a number of symmetry and perfection as are the sides of the rock. This is how prophecy has portrayed the 144 000 after the partial resurrection and at the beginning of the 7th plague.
I firmly believe that the battle of Armageddon starts with the decree to kill God’s people. This also is Jacob’s trouble when we see that his own brother sought to slay him. Thus, I would like to repeat that America represents the great River Euphrates (a great people on the earth). This great nation will ‘dry up’ in a sense that the way for Christ and His angels might be prepared. Armageddon is also portrayed as the valley of Jehoshaphat where it seemed that God’s people would soon be destroyed by the wicked, yet the Lord delivered them in a miraculous manner. If anyone brings forth a quote stating that Armageddon will continue after the millennium, I would firmly believe that such quote is a product of Uriah Smith. He has ever portrayed Armageddon as a world war in the middle east and since even after the millenium the wicked will seek to make war upon Jerusalem, one would not need much persuasion to believe in his book (Daniel and the Revelation). We have had two world wars, yet neither was Armageddon. In these worldly wars there were wicked on both sides but in the battle of Armageddon the wicked will be on one side and the people of God on the other.
Not until the 7th plague will the wicked perceive that they have been misled of their leaders. Then those weapons that were once used against God’s people will be turned against their own leaders. Yet the 7th plague is not Armageddon for Armageddon is a spiritual battle. The strictest laws will be enacted in an attempt to force God’s people to break His law. Yet they will be delivered at the sound of the voice, ‘ It is done’. So we see that Armageddon is the final struggle between good and evil, between God’s law and man’s law. Such battles will not take place after the millenium. No one in the New Jerusalem will experience pangs of guilt or will wonder whether their sins have been forgiven or not. As the army of the wicked one begins to surround the city of Jerusalem, in a panoramic view, the coronation of the Son of God will take place. The rays of light from the throne of God will spill out far beyond the walls of Jerusalem to the whole world, and the wicked will halt as if paralyzed. We thus see that the River Euphrates plays no great role in the scene.
When through your own studies you find that the great River Euphrates mentioned in the 6th plague represents America, then the 6th trumpet will be easier to understand. Any reasonable mind would find it inconsistent to see the River Euphrates as America in the 6th plague and as Turkey in the 6th trumpet. Perhaps after leafing through these papers, you would come to the conclusion that this information is not pertinent to our salvation just as Uriah Smith wrote that the two hundred thousand thousand is not important. Some have already told me that studying the 7 last plagues is not important to our salvation because they occur after the close of probation. If this is true, then Noah did not have to warn the world of the coming flood. And who is to say but that deeper study into the 7 plagues and 7 trumpets will not reveal further light?
Of the trumpets we see that it is almost always a third that was destroyed and always in a different manner. We know that Satan brought down a third of the angels as fallen stars. They are Satan’s well- organized host and are divided into squadrons, each having its own commander. These four commanders were bound on American soil until the first angel’s message began to sound. Upon release each summoned his host, and John heard the number of them as a warning to us.
Why were they tied? Satan well knew that the Protestants had among them heresies like the immortality of the soul and the thousand-year reign upon the earth. They had taken these heresies with them when they left the Catholics. Yet even though they cherished these beliefs, Satan could not touch them until the light of the first angel’s message shone on their pathway. The message of the hour of judgement, if received, would have opened their eyes to these cherished heresies. Yet Satan himself had prepared these two traps and when the 6th angel (Wm. Miller) blew the trumpet in the great River Euphrates (America), Satan and all his army began a full-scale war against the message from heaven. He worked through the Protestant leadership. As Satan will be bound for a thousand years so that he cannot deceive anyone, so these four commanders were bound. Even though the believers had heretofore spoken heresies from the pulpit, they were still God’s people. Yet when they wilfully rejected the truth of the 6th trumpet, they became slaves of the prince of darkness.
Have you ever wondered who those people were in Rev. 9:20,21 that were not killed as the third were yet repented not? Have you ever wondered which is the 8th beast that is of the 7 (Rev. 17:11)? Could it be that these are the 50 000 that were not destroyed because they rejected their cherished heresies, yet they were not fully converted for they fell away after the disappointment? Could it be that those 50 000 were better able to serve Satan than those that were killed in the Protestant churches? All those who consider themselves fully awakened and have separated completely from the organized SDA church should carefully consider the above.
Perhaps some would ask why then there is not any killing in the 7th trumpet (Rev. 11:15-19). Such will find an answer in the 9th chapter of Ezekiel.
Also in the 7th trumpet we read, „…and to destroy them that destroy the earth,“ (Rev. 11:18). Rev. 14:19 and 20 also portrays this destruction. Thus we see that a killing will also take place in the last period of this earth’s history.
Perhaps you have wondered why in the 2nd trumpet the sea became blood but in the 2nd plague it became as the blood of a dead man (Rev. 8:8 and Rev. 16:3). Perhaps some would ask what the difference is between ‘sea’ and ‘the fountains of waters’. If we accept the Bible explanation that waters represent peoples (Rev. 17:15), then we need to look at nature to underastand the difference between fountains and rivers on one hand and seas on the other hand. Rivers flow quickly in one direction then the sea, although it has more subtle currents basically remains static. In the sea, large fish abound that eat the smaller fish which must escape to save its life. This also is true of the seas and fountains of waters symbolically portrayed in the Bible. All nature has its lessons. We find that even on dry land large birds of prey feed on the smaller birds. The prophet Daniel saw 4 great beasts coming out of the sea and each beast destroyed the former and weaker beast. Yet with so many warnings in nature and the Bible itself we find that the people generally wish in some way to be connected with great men of this earth or great men or leaders of organizations thereby hoping to someday become great themselves. Nature studies prove, however, that when a tree tries to grow in the shadow of a larger tree, it becomes stunted.
I would like to present a question for your consideration. We read in the visions of Daniel that the 4 beasts mentioned above coming out of the sea represent worldly leaders and kingdoms. These rulers arose from among the people or, as put in Bible terminology, out of the sea. I would like to ask all SDA’s whether these symbols represent world rulers exclusively or whether church rulers can be included in the prophecy. What is the difference between Dan. 5:19 and Matt. 23:30 thru 39? In GC we read (p. 291) that in 1844 God tested the faith of His people as the Israelites were tested when crossing the Red Sea. In 1844 who represented the waters of the Red Sea? Was it the worldly rulers or was it the apostate church of God?
Now that we know a little more about the seas and waters of the Bible let us repeat the question above. Why is it that in the 2nd trumpet one third of the sea became blood yet in the 2nd plague the whole sea became as the blood of a dead man? Simply because in the trumpets God’s warnings were mingled with mercy but in the time of the plagues, when judgement on the living will have been finished, there is no mercy and the whole sea is blood. We can understand that the branches of the tree that bore no fruit had already been cut, and they whithered as did the branches of the cursed fig tree of long ago. In other words, all professed people of God who failed the test and had not on the wedding garments when the king entered the wedding hall or Most Holy Place will be dead at the time of the plagues. Thus the sea would be as the blood of a dead man.
Rivers and fountains of waters each represent smaller groups each with its own leadership going its own way. These rivers or these people on whom the 3rd angel will pour out his vial of God’s wrath are not clean fountains welling with truth and life but man made rivers. There are many on the earth today just as there are many groups of people differing in beliefs and each races on its own direction.
In the 4th trumpet and 4th plague we see represented the main leaders od God’s church. Just as Jacob was to shine as the sun in his surroundings, so the main leaders of God’s church are to shine in the church. But when they receive false teachings as was the case in the time of the trump of the 4th angel, then it becomes darkened along with the moon and stars. Yet why is it that the 4th plague predicts the sun burning men with fire? How will this prophecy be fulfilled? Will it be literal as was shown to Joel when the seed whithered under the clods of dirt? Are the sheep starving for spiritual food or literal food? We should read the first chapter of Joel carefully to decide. Is this chapter speaking of the 4th plague as our leaders have taught us or is God trying to portray the condition of His people prior to the close of probation? Read carefully Joel 1:14 and you will see that this condition prevailed before Christ’s first coming and will also prevail before His second coming. Joel 1:6 depicts a people without number whose teeth are the teeth of a lion yet John the Revelator heard the number of them. Perhaps the 2nd chapter of Joel will resolve the issue for you.
How then will the leadership burn the people? The Pope of that day (or president of the General Conference of that day) in the heat of his anger sent his representatives to Wittenberg to curse and condemn the reformer. In the heat of his anger others were set on fire and were driven to perform the grossest of injustices to their fellow men. This sun (SDA leadership) will force all who have bowed down to them to do a similar work but in a different manner. All who have bowed down to the image of the beast will be tormented by the vials of God’s wrath. The creator of the universe has never used force to compel men to keep His law, and He is angered when man uses deceit or force to accomplish his end. Thus the 5th plague will be poured out on the seat of the beast. We have always believed this to be the Pope of the Vatican. But the Pope of today is not in Rome anymore. He is sitting in the church of God. Upon that seat of the beast will God’s wrath be poured out. Why will they gnaw their tongues for pain? Because they will not be able to prove and justify their stand in the highest courts of the land. Then will that woman sit on the great River Euphrates. Just as the worldly rulers of the dark ages placed themselves under the authority of the papacy in order to escape condemnation by the church of that day, so will the River Euphrates place itself under the power of the church in order to maintain credibility with the people. This is why the 6th angel will pour out his vial on the great River Euphrates and under pressure from the Pope of that day will issue the command to kill all who will not bow down and worship the laws of church and land. Some might wonder who these 3 unclean spirits like frogs are. John did not distinguish between the frogs so they all looked alike. These are the 3 SDA churches existing on the earth today. They will remain separate until the end just as the Protestant and Catholic churches do. The dragon is Satan. The beast is the spirit of persecution for whoever persecutes is the beast. We say that the Pope is the beast for under his reign the believers were persecuted. Who then is the false prophet? This too is easy to understand if we read Isaiah 9:14&15. Also in the 6th trumpet (Rev. 9:19) are mentioned tails. This means false prophets that teach lies. These 3 unclean spirits like frogs are the spirits of devils that go out to the kings of this earth to gather them together to the battle of that great day of God Almighty. Which is the day of God? It is the beginning of the outpouring of the 7th vial. Then a great voice is heard out of the temple of heaven from the throne saying ‘It is done’. Then God will glorify Himself with deliverance from the battlefield of Armageddon. Suddenly, the earthly laws will be changed as in the time of Esther. Then is the great day of God Almighty when He shows His power not only before the leaders of the church but before the leaders of the whole world similar to the time of Jehoshaphat (II Chron. 20:29 and Isaiah 51:22&23). That cup of great fear the believers had emptied will now be taken from them and given refilled to their enemies.
I have one more question concerning the 7th plague (Rev. 16:17 thru 21 and 1884 GC p. 452 thru 455). We see that the figures presented to John on Patmos and those presented to Sr. White are in fact visions. Some claim that Sr. White explained the 7 plagues but she relayed them in the same light as did John on Patmost. She simply described what she saw but she did not explain the vision. Concerning the 7th plague, do you think that the water will really boil and cast out stones? Perhaps these waters are people who in their wrath at being deceived of their leaders will cast them out as happened in the time of the French Revolution. Until then they had gloated over and ridiculed those humble believers who cried to God day and night. Yet suddenly the situation has changed, and the weapons intended to kill the believers are now turned upon those who deceived them. Not until now do they see that the God of Israel was with His people and that it was Him whom they had fought against. The appearance of Christ in the clouds of heaven will be to the joy of the believers but to the fear of the unbelievers.
If we have studied well Rev. 18:2&3 about the habitation of devils, we will easily understand that from that very habitation come the 3 unclean spirits like frogs to deceive the kings of the earth and to gather them together to the battle of that great day of God Almighty. In the 6th plague all 3 SDA churches will unite against those who refuse to bow down and receive their mark. In the 7th plague the great city Babylon was divided into 3 parts, the deceived against the deceivers (leadership). The cities of the nations are all remaining church organizations.
I realize that many people will reject the above. Some have suggested that soon I will say that even Christ’s coming will not be literal. What can I say to this exept to repeat what angels told the disciples at Christ’s ascension, ‘this same Jesus would return as you have seen Him go’.
Who has even seen 7 literal angels with literal trumpets? Who has seen an angel come down from heaven with great power and light? Who has seen a beast with 7 heads and 10 horns? Who has seen a woman sitting on a beast and having in her hand a cup of the blood of the saints? Who has seen a real mark of the seal of God on one’s forehead? Why do we say that the Pope is the beast and tell others the interpretation of the number 666 and the image and mark? Thus we see that almost none of the visions have been fulfilled in a literal manner, yet spiritual eyes have seen a fulfillment. Why then do we insist on believing that the 7 plagues will be fulfilled literally? They are either all literal or all sybolic. In spite of this, I know that many will continue to believe as before – that the first 5 plagues are literal and the 6th is symbolic, that the water will really boil as though in a pot and spew forth stones. If it is true that every mountain will flee away (as in Rev. 16:20), how is it then that the Mount of Olives will standing as Christ descends after the millenium? Haven’t we all had times in our lives when trials and doubts loom above us as mountains? Yet there are times when the sun shines through and the mountains don’t seem too tall. The believers on the battlefield of Armageddon will have a similar experience. Will they not seem surrounded by insurmountable obstacles at every step? Yet at the sound of God’s voice, these mountains will disappear, and their eyes will turn to the east in search of that cloud about the size of a man’s hand. In Rev. 17:9 we read that the 7 heads on the beast are 7 hills on which the woman sits. At the sound od God’s voice these mountains also disappear before the eyes of the believers during the 7th plague.
Some might say that prophecy was literally fulfilled in the falling of the stars and darkening of the sun and moon and in the Lisbon earthquake. However, in these 7 seals of the 6th chapter of Rev. is depicted the condition of God’s church in the 7 periods of time in the christian era. Is it possible that the stars fell and the sun was darkened and there was a shaking in the time of the 6th seal in God’s church? If God’s people needed a good shaking, would not God show that to His servants by literally shaking up a people? Let us look at Amos 9:9. Those of you who grew up on farms years ago might recall placing the seed in a sieve in order to shake it. In reality the sieve under the seed is shaken and that shakes the seed also so that the seed remains within the sieve but the chaff is shaken out. Thus God shakes the earth in order to cleanse the seed. Has not God used simple lessons found in nature all around us to teach us great truths? I know that in Christ’s day many passed by the cursed fig tree not perceiving that it symbolized the Jewish nation. So christians looking at the falling of the stars did not understand that it symbolized them.
Let me say in the end that if the Lord sees fit to use symbols in nature during the 7 last plagues and give us a literal sign He will do so and that only to remind the believers of the closeness of the hour. On the other hand, there might not be any physical signs at all even in the 7th plague. All who have rejected the last warning of mercy will eat and drink and build and plant as in the days of Noah. Even those 7 days while Noah was in the ark and door was closed, the wicked were ridiculing the faithful few. Will it not be so at Christ’s coming (Matt. 24:37 thru 39)?
In the 1884 GC Sr. White writes (p. 357), „ If we turn from the testimony of God’s word, and accept false doctrines because our fathers taught them, we fall under the condemnation pronounced upon Babylon; we are drinking of the wine of her abominations.“ Now let each of us ask ourselves ‘how long have I been drinking of this poison wine and giving it to others to drink’? Are we to repent for our actions or is it simply enough to rationalize that the Lord will wink at our ignorance and leave the organized church? We see in the past that it did not help those 50 000 who left their organized churches yet were not fully repentent. They could not honestly repent for they did not believe in the 1st and 2nd angels’ messages with all their heart. They, like the Protestant churches, were surrounded by well-armed host of 200 million who killed a third and took the rest as slaves. After Oct. 22nd, 1844, these 50 000 were the greatest enemies of those who embraced the message with all their heart and repented. When they repented, they received spotless garments (as in Zech. 3:1 thru 10). They became pillars in the church for they repented once more when by faith they entered into the Most Holy place after 1844 (Rev. 3:12). We cannot forget for one moment that those 4 commanders are still loose now in the time of the 7th trumpet. In 1888 the believers were surrounded by this large army, and they are still to be found at the side of the true believer. When Satan will be bound during the millenium, then his host also will be bound. Yet after the millenium he will be loosed with his army and commanders for a little while.
When the voice of the 2nd angel was heard announcing the fall of Babylon (church authority), the true believers accepted it and left the fallen churches. Yet with them came many insincere souls just as the mixed multitude left with the Israelites. The history of the believers during the 1st and 2nd angels’ messages and the midnight cry is faithfully written down for our study. Likewise, the fall of the Protestant church is written as a lesson to all SDA churches and groups. The sincere believers rejected all the false teachings that the light of the 1st angel showed them. Not untill they accepted the 2nd angel’s message could they have part in the midnight cry (Behold the Bridegroom cometh, go ye out to meet Him). Only those who received the 1st angel’s message could receive the 2nd angel’s message.
As we have seen in the preceding pages, many false teachings have crept in among us since 1844. God, seeing the end from the beginning, has ordained that the angel from Rev. 18 come down and reveal the poison wine with its light. The immortality of the soul and the thousand-year reign on the earth has long been rejected by God’s people even before 1844. But the light of the 4th angel uncovers the false teachings that have crept in among us since 1844 (please read Early Writings chapter entitled ‘The Loud Cry’). We SDAs are more liable than those who stood at the pulpits and promoted the belief of the immortality of the soul and the thousand-year reign. This we would see if we had carefully read the 2nd angel’s message (Rev. 14:8) and compared with Rev. 18:2,3.
As we see that only those who rejected the false teachings under the 1st angel’s message could receive the 2nd angel’s message and be fitted to carry the midnight cry, so it is among us today. Only those who accept the light of the angel from Rev. 18:1 thru 3 will be able to have part in the Loud Cry of the 3rd angel or the other voice from heaven (Rev. 18:4). Each of us must study the prophecies for ourselves for in God’s word is life. Then we would see that the false teachings we cherished have been uncovered by the light of the angel from Rev. 18.
Also, if we would compare Rev. 14:9 thru 11 with Rev. 16:2 we would see that the 7 plagues must be preached in connection with the 3rd angel’s message.
Every ray of new light found in the Bible by God’s people causes a shaking. This every student of the Bible can clearly see when he reads Rev. 11:11 thru 13. When the Bible was once more placed before the people and they better understood the fulfillment of the prophecies of Daniel and the Revelation being fulfilled in their day, it was then that the earth shook. Which earth? The earth under the city. Which city? The holy city that was trodden underfoot for 42 months (Rev. 11:2 and Rev. 11:13). To John the Revelator was shown an earthquake when God’s word once more shone bright. Thus it is when the light of Rev. 18 shines before the believers and profession christians in God’s church, there is a shaking.
The above pages simply point to a new direction in the study the word of God that we might live for God’s word is spirit and life. Since 1844 Satan has worked as never before and has succeeded in blinding the eyes of those at the head of the work (in the holy city) and a great change has been wrought concerning our message of salvation. The book of Uriah Smith I have labeled the ‘bottomless pit’ and know that many will hate me for that yet to a few it will prove a blessing. L.G.