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Signs of the Times: The Seven Seals of Revelation

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Seventh-Day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Thursday, January 8, 1880

FromThe Review and Herald, Vol. 55, No. 2

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Signs of the Times: The Seven Seals of Revelation

By James White

SIGNS OF THE TIMES.—No. 2.

BY ELD. JAMES WHITE.
TEXT.—Can ye not discern the signs of the times? Matt. 16:3.
8. The seven seals of the sixth chapter of Revelation. John saw a book in the right hand of Him that sat on the throne, sealed with seven seals. Books in the days of the prophet, before the art of printing and binding was discovered, were rolls of parchment. “The usual books of the ancients were not like ours, but were volumes, or long pieces of parchment, rolled upon a long stick as we frequently roll silks. Such was this represented which was sealed with seven seals. Not as if the apostle saw all the seals at once; for there were seven volumes wrapped up one within another, each of which was sealed; so that upon opening and unrolling the first, the second appeared to be sealed up till that was opened, and so on to the seventh.”—Wesley.
“It appeared as a roll, consisting of several parchments, according to the custom of those times; and though it was supposed to be written within, yet nothing could be read till the seals were loosed. It was afterward found to contain seven parchments, or small volumes, each of which was separately sealed; but if all the seals had been on the outside, nothing could have been read till they had all been loosed; whereas the loosing of each seal was followed by some discovery of the contents of the roll. Yet the appearance on the outside seems to have indicated that it consisted of seven, or at least of several parts.”—Scott.
Here we have a figure of the nature of prophecy, and a special symbol of the prophetic history of the Christian church. The book of Revelation relates to the fourth universal empire, and particularly to that portion of the Christian age that was future when the book was given. He, alone, who sees the end from the beginning, could survey the future of the church and present her history to the prophet in seven distinct periods, illustrated by the seven seals. Therefore the Revelation was a sealed book when given to John, to be opened and understood as fulfilled. Of the number seven, Dr. Adam Clarke says:—
“The priest in his consecration was to abide seven days and nights at the door of the tabernacle, keeping the Lord’s watch. The number seven is what is called among the Hebrews a number of perfection; and it is often used to denote the completion, accomplishment, fullness, or perfection, of a thing, as this period contained the whole course of that time in which God created the world, and appointed the day of rest. As this act of consecration lasted seven days, it signified a perfect consecration; and intimated to the priest that his whole body and soul, his time and talents, should be devoted to the service of God and his people.”
“SEVEN. The way in which this number comes before us on many occasions in Scripture is very remarkable, and suggests that it must have had some hidden or typical significance. The present constitution of nature is recorded to have been made in six days, followed by a seventh day, in which God rested, and which he blessed and sanctified forever. Gen. 2:2, 3.
“The division of time into weeks of seven days each originated in this great event; and the hallowing of the Sabbath in the fourth commandment finds its reason herein: ‘For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day; wherefore, the Lord blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it.’ Ex. 20:11. In the patriarchal history, as well as in the Mosaic legislation, the recurrence of the number seven and its combinations is very frequent. Even in the later Old-Testament history this number is met with too often for it to be always accidental. The repetition of the same number and of its multiples in the New Testament has also been observed. Seven has been called the symbol of perfection and the symbol of rest. But whether this is certainly correct or not, we may safely say with Mr. Wemyss: ‘Jacob’s seven years’ service to Laban; Pharaoh’s seven fat oxen and seven lean ones; the seven branches of the golden candlestick; the seven trumpets, and the seven priests who sounded them; the seven days’ siege of Jericho; the seven churches, seven spirits, seven stars, seven seals, seven vials, and many others, sufficiently prove the importance of this sacred number.’—Key to Symbolical Language of Scripture. Jews, Pagans, and Christians have vied with each other in attempts to prove the mysterious character of this number. The estimation in which it was held, on account of its singularly sacred character, may explain its adoption as a sort of representative number. Of this last use of the term seven, instances occur in the following texts: Lev. 25:4; 1 Sam. 2:5; Ps. 12:6; 79:12; Prov. 26:16; Isa. 4:1; Matt. 18:21, 22; Luke 17:4.”—Cassell’s Bible Dictionary, vol. i.
We briefly call attention to the events under each of the seven seals in their order.
(1.) The opening of the first seal reveals a white horse, whose rider had a bow and a crown as he went forth conquering and to conquer. This is a fit emblem of the triumphs of the gospel in the first centuries of this dispensation, the whiteness of the horse denoting the purity of faith in that age.
(2.) At the opening of the second seal, there appeared a red horse. If the whiteness of the first horse denoted the purity of the gospel in the first period, the redness of the second horse may denote that in the second period the original purity of the church began to be corrupted. The mystery of iniquity was at work in Paul’s day. Errors began to arise, and the love of the world came in at an early date, which ripened into a state of things in Constantine’s time, A. D. 323, described by Dr. Rice thus: “It represents a secular period, or union of church and State. Constantine aided the clergy, and put them under obligations to him. Mosheim says of this period, ‘There was continual war and trouble.’”
(3.) The opening of the third seal presented a black horse, and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand. The work of corruption in the church progressed rapidly. The black horse, the very opposite of the first, represents a period of great darkness and moral corruption. By the events of the second seal, the way was fully opened for that state of things to be brought about which is here presented. The time that intervened between the reign of Constantine and the establishment of the papacy in A. D. 538, may be justly noted as the time when the darkest errors and grossest superstitions sprung up in the church.
“The balances denoted that religion and civil power would be united in the person who would administer the executive power in the government, and that he would claim the judicial authority both in church and State. This was true among the Roman emperors from the days of Constantine until the reign of Justinian, when he gave the same judicial power to the bishop of Rome.”—Miller’s Lectures, p. 181.
(4.) When the fourth seal was opened, there appeared a pale horse, and his name that sat on him was called Death, and Hell followed with him. The color of this horse, which is pale or yellowish, like that seen in blighted or sickly plants, denotes the condition of things in the church when the papacy bore its unrestrained and persecuting rule, commencing about A. D. 538, and extending to the time when the reformers had exposed the corruptions of the papal system. During that period fifty millions of martyrs lost their lives by the very instrumentalities named in the prophetic description of that period.
(5.) The events to transpire under the fifth seal are, the crying of the martyrs for vengeance, and giving to them white robes. This represents the work of the reformers, and covers the period of the great reformation. In reference to the souls under the altar, Dr. Clarke says: “A symbolical vision was exhibited in which he saw an altar. And under it the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God—martyred for their attachment to Christianity—are represented as being newly slain, as victims to idolatry and superstition. The altar is upon earth, not in Heaven.”
A. Barnes makes the following remarks in reference to this subject:—
“We are not to suppose that this literally occurred, and that John actually saw the souls of the martyrs beneath the altars—for the whole representation is symbolical; nor are we to suppose that the injured and the wronged in Heaven actually pray for vengeance on those who wronged them, or that the redeemed in Heaven will continue to pray with reference to things on the earth; but it may be fairly inferred from this that there will be as real a remembrance of the wrongs of the persecuted, the injured, and the oppressed, as if such prayer were offered there; and that the oppressor has as much to dread from the divine vengeance as if those whom he has injured should cry in Heaven to the God who hears prayer, and who takes vengeance. The wrongs done to the children of God, to the orphan, the widow, the down-trodden, to the slave and the outcast, will be as certainly remembered in Heaven as if they who are wronged should plead for vengeance there; for every act of injustice and oppression goes to Heaven and pleads for vengeance. Every persecutor should dread the death of the persecuted as if he went to Heaven to plead against him; every cruel master should dread the death of his slave that is crushed by wrongs; every seducer should dread the death and the cries of his victim; every one who does wrong in any way should remember that the sufferings of the injured cry to Heaven with a martyr’s pleadings, saying, ‘How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood?’” For a full exposition of this subject, read Thoughts on the Revelation, by Elder U. Smith. Address, REVIEW AND HERALD, Battle Creek, Mich.
(6.) “And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood; and the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig-tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind; and the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places. And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bond man, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains, and said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of Him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb; for the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?”
Such are the solemn and sublime scenes that transpire under the sixth seal. And a thought well calculated to awaken in every heart an intense interest in divine things, is the consideration that we are now living amid the momentous events of this seal.
Between the fifth and sixth seals there seems to be a sudden and entire change in the language, from the highly figurative to the strictly literal. Whatever may be the cause of this change, the change itself cannot well be denied. By no principle of interpretation can the language of the preceding seals be made to be literal; nor can the language of this any more easily be made to be figurative.
The first event under this seal, perhaps the one which marks its opening, is a great earthquake. As the more probable fulfillment of this prediction, we refer to the great earthquake of Nov. 1, 1755. Of this earthquake, Sears in his “Wonders of the World,” pp. 50, 58, 381, says:—
“The great earthquake of Nov. 1, 1755, extended over a tract of at least 4,000,000 of square miles. Its effects were even extended to the waters in many places where the shocks were not perceptible. It pervaded the greater portion of Europe, Africa, and America; but its extreme violence was exercised on the southwestern part of the former. In Africa this earthquake was felt almost as severely as it had been in Europe. A great part of Algiers was destroyed. Many houses were thrown down at Fez and Mequinez, and multitudes were buried beneath the ruins. Similar effects were realized at Morocco. Its effects were likewise felt at Tangiers, at Tetuan, at Funchal in the island of Madeira. It is probable that all Africa was shaken. At the north it extended to Norway and Sweden. Germany, Holland, France, Great Britain, and Ireland were all more or less agitated by the same great commotion of the elements. Lisbon (Portugal), previous to the earthquake in 1755, contained 150,000 inhabitants. Mr. Barrett says that 90,000 persons are supposed to have been lost on that fatal day.”
On page 200 of the same work, we again read: “The terror of the people was beyond description. Nobody wept—it was beyond tears—they ran hither and thither, delirious with horror and astonishment, beating their faces and breasts, crying, ‘Misericordia, the world’s at an end!’ Mothers forgot their children, and ran about loaded with crucified images. Unfortunately many ran to the churches for protection; but in vain was the sacrament exposed; in vain did the poor creatures embrace the altars; images, priests, and people were buried in one common ruin.”
The Encyclopedia Americana states that this earthquake extended also to Greenland; and of its effects upon the city of Lisbon, further says: “The city then contained about 150,000 inhabitants. The shock was instantly followed by the fall of every church and convent, almost all the large public buildings, and more than one-fourth of the houses. In about two hours after the shock, fires broke out in different quarters, and raged with such violence, for the space of nearly three days, that the city was completely desolated. The earthquake happened on a holy-day, when the churches and convents were full of people, very few of whom escaped.”
The events which follow the great earthquake under the sixth seal are the special signs, in the sun, moon, and stars, of the second coming of Christ. The dark day and dark night of 1780 is described in these words: “The sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood.” The moon that was full the day before, appeared through the darkness of the night like a ball of blood. This was the appearance as presented to the prophet. Christ, speaking of these signs, says, “The sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light.” The Concord [N. H.] People speaks of the dark day, May 19, 1780, thus:—
“It was not the blackness of a storm-cloud, such as sometimes with a frightful agitation breaks over a single city; it was the silent spreading of the pall cloth over the earth by strong, invisible hands.”
“The dark day, May 19, 1780, so called on account of a remarkable darkness on that day, extending over all New England. In some places persons could not see to read common print in the open air for several hours together. The true cause of this remarkable phenomenon is not known.”—Webster’s Dictionary, edition for 1869.
The prophetic description of the falling of the stars met a literal fulfillment in the meteoric shower of Nov. 13, 1833, which was unlike any other on record in appearance, extent, and magnitude. The falling stars is the last special sign upon which believers base their faith in the near second advent. The departing of the atmospheric heaven is after the close of probation. This seems evident from the fact that the affrighted multitudes in despair of the mercy of the Lord, direct their cries to mountains and rocks to fall on them and hide them from the face of Him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb.
While the book of Daniel has to do with four universal monarchies, Babylon, Persia, Grecia, and Rome, and its several chains of prophecy bring us, with wonderful definiteness, to the day of God, the second coming of Christ, and the last Judgment, the book of Revelation pertains to the fourth, Rome, and its several lines of prophecy bring us down, with the same minuteness, to the same point, and open before us the naked glare of eternal scenes.
9. The seven churches. The messages to the seven churches of the second and third chapters of Revelation are prophetic, and are addressed to the Christians of the seven periods of the Christian age. The following are some of our reasons for taking this position, which differs from the popular view that these addresses are a simple narrative of facts as they existed in seven of the churches in Asia, in John’s day:—
(1.) The entire book of Revelation is addressed to the seven churches. “I, Jesus, have sent mine angel to testify these things in the churches.” “What thou seest, write in a book, and send it unto the seven churches.” Chaps. 1:3, 11, 19; 22:16, 18, 19.
(2.) Most of the book relates to events then in the future, with which the Christians of John’s day had no connection whatever.
(3.) The seven addresses of the second and third chapters of Revelation were no more applicable to the Christians in Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamos, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea, than to the other churches in Asia Minor, or those of any other country.
(4.) The grand design of the book of Revelation is to foretell future events, with which the church should be connected in the Christian age. “The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to show unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass.” Chap. 1:1. In a few instances, past and present events are mentioned in this book, as in chap. 12:1–5, but in all such cases the past and present are alluded to only to introduce future events, which in every case are the burden of the prophecy.
(5.) The seven addresses to the churches do have a fitness to seven periods of the Christian age, while the harmony of revelation and reason forbid the application of some portions of the seven addresses to the Christians of John’s day.
The view that the seven messages are prophetic has prevailed extensively among Biblical expositors of the past, but has been rejected by those who have received the modern doctrine of the temporal millennium, which makes the last state of the church the most glorious, and not properly described by the address to the church of the Laodiceans.
We give the extracts that follow, from Newton, Scott, and Henry, as proof that many able expositors of the past have held that the seven churches of Asia represent seven periods and states of the Christian church. Benson quotes Bishop Newton as saying: “Many contend, and among them such learned men as More and Vitringa, that the seven epistles are prophetical of so many successive periods and states of the church, from the beginning to the conclusion of all. But there are in these epistles several innate characters, which are peculiar to the church of that age, and cannot be so well applied to the church of any other age. Besides other arguments, there is also this plain reason: The last state of the church is described in this very book as the most glorious of all, but in the last state in these epistles, that of Laodicea, the church is represented as wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked.”
The Comprehensive Commentary says: “Many expositors have imagined that these epistles to the seven churches were mystical prophecies of seven distinct periods, into which the whole term, from the apostles’ days to the end of the world, would be divided. . . . It cannot be conceived, if the concluding part of this book itself be recollected, that the last period of the church will be worse than any that has gone before, as the Laodicean church was far more corrupt than any of the rest.”—Scott.
“An opinion has been held by some commentators of note, which may be given in the words of Vitringa: ‘That under this emblematical representation of the seven churches of Asia, the Holy Spirit has delineated seven different states of the Christian church, which would appear in succession, extending to the coming of our Lord, and the consummation of all things. That this is given in descriptions taken from the names, states, and conditions of these churches, so that they might behold themselves, and learn both their good qualities and their defects, and what admonitions and exhortations were suitable for them.’ Vitringa has given a summary of the arguments which may be alleged in favor of this interpretation. Some of them are ingenious, but they are not now considered sufficient to support such a theory. Gill is one of the principal of the English commentators who adopt this view, that ‘they are prophetical of the churches of Christ, in the several periods of time, until he appears again.’”—Henry.
We suggest, however, that the message to the last of the seven churches is in harmony with Paul’s description of the last day: “This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts, ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.” 2 Tim. 3:1–7.
It is not our design to give an exposition of the subject of the seven churches. That is given in Thoughts on the Revelation, to which we invite the attention of the reader. As our object, in the small space we shall occupy, is to show the signs of the times in the fulfillment of prophecy, we shall, in rapidly tracing the events of this prophecy, briefly notice each of the seven churches.
(1.) Ephesus signifies “desirable,” which well represents the first Christians who had received the doctrine of Christ in its purity. They enjoyed the benefits and blessings of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. They were noted for works, labor, and patience. In faithfulness to those pure principles taught by Jesus Christ, they could not bear those who were evil, and they tried false apostles, and searched out their true character. If the work of trying false apostles belonged to any one congregation of Christians, that at Jerusalem was the very one. Acts 15. Paul also writes to the Corinthians respecting false apostles. 2 Cor. 11:13. We would here suggest that the angels, or messengers, of the churches, may represent Christ’s true ministers, through whom he speaks to his people during the several periods of the Christian age.
(2.) Smyrna signifies “myrrh,” denoting that the church in this age would be a sweet-smelling savor to God, while passing through the fiery ordeal of persecution which has always served to keep out pride, popularity, and self-dependence, the bane of true faith, piety, and devotion. This state reached down to Constantine, covering much of the period called the ten persecutions. See Buck’s Theological Dictionary, pp. 332, 333.
(3.) Pergamos signifies “height, elevation.” This period reached from Constantine, about 323, down to the rise of antichrist, about 538. During this period the church became exalted, having her worldly policy, and, like the church of this day, attending to the ceremonies and forms of religion, and neglecting inward piety, the graces of the Spirit, and the life and power of the religion of Jesus. Here was the falling away mentioned by Paul. 2 Thess. 2:3.
(4.) Thyatira signifies “sweet savor of labor,” or “sacrifice and contrition,” which seems descriptive of the church of Jesus Christ during the 1260 years of papal persecution. This age of dreadful cruelty, and martyrdom of the true church, improved her real condition. “I know thy works, and charity, and thy patience, and thy works; and the last to be more than the first.” How necessary to the purity and prosperity of the church, has been persecution and affliction! and how corrupting and destructive to holiness has been worldly prosperity!
“Jezebel, is a figurative name, alluding to Ahab’s wife, who slew the prophets of the Lord, led her husband into idolatry, and fed the prophets of Baal at her own table. A more striking figure could not have been used to denote the papal abominations. See 1 Kings 18, 19, 21. It is very evident from history, as well as from this verse, that the church of Christ did suffer some of the papal monks to preach and teach among them. See the History of the Waldenses.”—Wm. Miller’s Lectures, p. 142.
(5.) Sardis signifies “song of joy,” or “that which remains.” If we are correct in the application of the first four churches, then Sardis represents the popular churches for nearly a century past. This church has a name to live, but is dead. Look at the exalted position and name which these churches have had among the nations of the earth. Look at their high-sounding titles, and the applause they receive from what is called the world. They bear the name of the church of Jesus Christ, and have the credit of doing much for the world. But they are dead to the pure principles of the gospel, and to good works as taught by Christ and his first ministers.
During this period of the church the message of the second coming of Christ is proclaimed, and the duty to watch for that event is enjoined. Those who do not watch will be overtaken by Christ’s coming as by a thief, verse 3, while those who do watch are not in darkness, that that day should overtake them as a thief. 1 Thess. 5:4.
There are a few names even in Sardis, which have not defiled their garments. These come out of the different branches of Babylon, and unite upon the glorious theme of the second advent of Christ, leaving their denominational tenets behind, and form the church of brotherly love.
(6.) Philadelphia signifies “brotherly love,” and expresses the position and spirit of those who received the advent message up to the autumn of 1844. As they came out of the sectarian churches, they left party names and party feelings behind, and every heart beat in unison as they gave the alarm, pointing to the coming of the Son of man as the consummation of the true believer’s hope. Selfishness and covetousness were laid aside, and a spirit of consecration and sacrifice was cherished. The Spirit of God was with every true believer, and his praise on every tongue. Those who were not in that movement know nothing of the deep searching of heart, consecration of all to God, peace, joy in the Holy Spirit, and pure, fervent love for each other, which true believers then enjoyed.
The Son of God is the rightful heir to the throne of David, and is about to take to himself his great power, and reign, hence is here represented as having the key of David—key, a figure of power. The throne of David, or of Christ, on which he is to reign, is in the capital of his kingdom, the New Jerusalem now above. The opening and shutting, mentioned in the address to this church, can refer only to the change of ministration from the holy to the most holy of the heavenly sanctuary, at the end of the 2300 days, in 1844. It was then that the ministration in the holy place closed, and the ministration in the most holy for the forgiveness of sins, and to cleanse the sanctuary, was opened by Him that hath the key of David.
“Behold, I set before thee an open door.” Compare this with Rev. 11:19. We can apply texts of this class to no other events than to Christ’s entering the most holy in 1844, and opening his ministration there, where is the ark of ten commandments; hence, since that time, the Sabbath, with the whole law of God, has been present truth in a special sense.
Compare with the above texts, Dan. 7:13, 14; Ps. 2:8, 9; Rev. 11:15; Matt. 25:10. That Christ receives the kingdom, takes the throne of David, before his second advent, is plainly taught. This union is represented by the marriage of Matt. 25:10, and is called “the marriage of the Lamb.” Rev. 19:7. Since 1844 has been the patient, waiting, watching time. “Here is the patience of the saints; here are they that keep the commandments of God.” Rev. 14:12. “Let your loins be girded about, and your lights burning; and ye yourselves like unto men that wait for their lord, when he will return from the wedding.” Luke 12:35, 36.
Those who keep the word of Christ’s patience, will be kept from the hour of temptation which is to try all the world. Those who now live in patient, faithful obedience to the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus Christ, will be kept in the dreadful deciding hour before us. Rev. 13:15–17.
The personal appearing of Jesus Christ is also expressed in this address, Behold, I come quickly! This shows the application of the testimony to the church in Philadelphia, to that period when Christ’s second advent may be scripturally looked for, and shows the absurdity of that theory which makes the seven addresses to the churches, narratives of matters of fact which occurred, or were to occur, in seven of the churches of Asia Minor, in John’s day. There are no such expressions in connection with the first three churches, from the fact that they did not reach down near the end.
In this address the overcomer has the promise of being made a pillar in the temple of God, to go no more out, which here must mean the church, 2 Cor. 6:16, where he is established in the truth, and finally sealed. And let it be distinctly under- stood that these are all marked direct for the New Jerusalem above, and not for Old Jerusalem where our age-to-come friends think of going. God save us from that mark. These have written upon them, God, New Jerusalem, because they are the property of God, purchased by the blood of his dear Son, to be taken to the New Jerusalem. How glorious the promise, “I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is New Jerusalem, which cometh down out of Heaven from my God, and I will write upon him my new name.”
(7.) Laodicea signifies “the judging of the people,” or according to Cruden, “a just people,” and fitly represents believers in the last message in the great day of atonement, or judgment of the house of God, while the just and holy law of God is taken as their rule of life. They are described as being neither hot nor cold. As a body they have not that zeal, devotion, and those good works which are taught in the Scriptures, and yet their efforts to keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus are such that they cannot be said to be cold. They say they are rich and increased in goods, and have need of nothing. They say this, because they believe their condition in spiritual things, and their standing before God, is such. But they are under a most terrible deception, as shown by the declaration, “and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked.” The words, “and knowest not,” vindicate them from all charge of hypocrisy. They honestly think their condition very good, when it is very bad. This is a period of dreadful deception in spiritual things, hence pointed testimony is called for to arouse the deceived to their real danger. The very climax of deception, in which Satan may most exult, is a spirit of fear for the result of the plain and pointed testimony.
The people, and especially unconsecrated professors, love smooth things. They love to be deceived. “A wonderful and horrible thing is committed in the land; the prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests bear rule by their means, and my people love to have it so; and what will ye do in the end thereof?” Jer. 5:30, 31. The true Witness counsels the people of God at this time to buy of him tried gold, which may represent true faith; white raiment, which may represent grace from him to enable his people to live a spotless life; and to anoint their eyes that they may see, which may represent the influence of the Holy Spirit upon the mind, which will remove the dreadful deception upon it, so that they may correctly understand their true position and duty at this time.
He stands at the door of the heart, knocking for admission; but spiritual blindness on the part of the lukewarm shuts him out. He pleads for admission, and promises those who will hear his voice, and open the door, that he will come in and sup with them, and they with him. In this appeal, the Son of God uses most touching figures, which illustrate his matchless love for his people who are thrown upon the deceptive perils of the last days, and then closes his special message to them with a soul-inspiring promise of the highest exaltation: “To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.”
In this appeal, the true Witness sets forth, first, the terrible deception of the lukewarm; second, their danger, and fate if they thus remain; third, the requisite zeal in repentance; fourth, his willingness to impart to them great blessings; and fifth, points them, on condition that they overcome, to a seat with him on his throne in the kingdom. This is enough! O God, let thy Holy Spirit strike this message home to the heart of every Laodicean.
The seventh is the last church. The number seven represents fullness, perfection, completion. There will be no eighth church to come out of the seventh, as taught by some restless fanatics. The seventh church now existing, keeping the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus, will be purified and prepared to meet the Lord at his coming.
10. The Seven Trumpets. Political events are fitly symbolized by trumpets, the chosen heralds of war and revolution. The seven trumpets of Rev. 8, 9, and 11, bring to view the great political events in the decline and fall of the Roman Empire, and reach over past the destruction of all earthly kingdoms, and of sin and sinners, to the time when Christ shall be the great King, and his dominion shall embrace all the earth.
The first trumpet was fulfilled in the first invasion of the Roman Empire by the Goths under Alaric, commencing A. D. 395. The second trumpet points to the terrible infliction of disaster upon the empire by the piratical Vandals under Genseric, 428–468.
Attila and his warlike Huns responded to the call of the third trumpet. Under the fourth trumpet, the Ostrogoths, Theodoric and Odoacer, raised their thrones on the now extinguished Western Empire. A third part of the luminaries in the Roman political heavens was now darkened.
The ninth chapter of Revelation is devoted in equal portions to the fifth and sixth trumpets, fulfilled respectively by the Saracens and Turks. These trumpets bring to view the scourge of Christendom by the Mohammedans. These are woe trumpets. The prophetic periods of the fifth trumpet ended in 1449; that of the sixth, August 11, 1840. The second woe was then past, “and behold,” said the prophet, “the third woe cometh quickly.” Rev. 11:14.
The startling events to occur under the sounding of the seventh angel are given in these words: “And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth.” Verse 18. The seventh trumpet, though the last of the seven, is not the “last trump” that will rouse the dead and change the living righteous “in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye.”
The seventh trumpet, like the six that precede it, covers a period of time, and under its sounding a series of events occur. Mark the difference: The work of the last trump will be accomplished “in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye;” 1 Cor. 15:52; that of the seventh angel covers a period of prophetic days: “But in the days [years] of the voice of the seventh angel.” Rev. 10:7. The last three of the seven are woe trumpets. The seventh is the third woe covering all remaining woes, reaching to the execution of the last Judgment, when sin and sinners will cease to exist. We briefly notice the events under the sounding of the seventh angel in their order.
(1.) The anger of the nations. The spirit of war and bloodshed has existed since the days of Cain, who slew his brother. The increase of wars constitutes a sign of the end. These are to increase in violence and extent until the nations shall be angry.
(2.) The wrath of God in the seven last plagues. “And I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvelous, seven angels having the seven last plagues; for in them is filled up the wrath of God.” Rev. 15:1. For a description of these plagues, read the sixteenth chapter.
(3.) The time of the Judgment, which embraces two resurrections, one thousand years apart. Rev. 20:5, 6. The great day of the Lord is not less than one thousand years, and reference may be made to it by the apostle when he states that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. 2 Pet. 3:7, 8.
(4.) The reward of the saints in full will be given at the close of the seventh millennium. They will have the gift of immortality at the second coming of Christ, and will inherit the city of God during the period between the two resurrections; but their entire reward of an immortal inheritance will not be theirs until the wicked shall be destroyed from the earth at the second death, and the new earth shall appear as their eternal inheritance. Then shall the King say to those on his right hand, “Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” Matt. 25:34.
(5.) In connection with the final and complete reward of the just, will the destruction of the unjust take place. Sin and sinners will be destroyed, and the righteous will be rewarded and eternally saved.
11. The gospel of the kingdom. In answer to the question of his disciples, “What shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?” Jesus said to them, “And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.” Matt. 24:14. This is the first sign of the second coming of Christ, and the end of the world, mentioned by our Lord. It was given in answer to the question, “What shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?” Verse 3. But this text is supposed by many to teach that all men will be converted. What then? The end? No, not for one thousand years at least, in which all will know the Lord from the least to the greatest. And some hold that the one thousand years of Rev. 20 are prophetic, each day in the year representing a year, making three hundred and sixty-five thousand years, during which time all men will be holy and happy.
But the text does not intimate that all men will be converted. It does not say that any one will be converted as the result of preaching this gospel of the kingdom. It does not even state that all will hear this gospel. And we find it far from intimating that the world will be converted, and remain so a thousand years, or three hundred and sixty-five thousand years, before the end.
Many who hold the doctrine of the world’s conversion, and a thousand years, or three hundred and sixty-five thousand years, of peace and holiness before the end, assert that nothing can be known of the period of the second advent. But would they not know when their supposed millennium, whether it be literal time, or prophetic, had commenced? Certainly they would. If those enjoying the millennium could not tell when it commenced, it would hardly be worth having. But if they could tell when it commenced, and most certainly they could, then they could tell when it would close, and bring the end.
If we understand the phrase, “this gospel of the kingdom,” to be the gospel, in the common acceptance of the word, is not the work very nearly accomplished? J. Litch, in his Prophetic Expositions, page 147, under the heading, “Signs of the Times,” says:—
“Rev. J. O. Choules, author of a voluminous work, a History of Missions, from the apostolic age down to the present day, being asked, last May (1842), if he knew of any nation which never had received the gospel, replied that he did not; but he thought the promise implied something more than its being barely preached in each nation. The same question was proposed to Rev. Mr. Janes, general financial agent of the American Bible Society, and nearly the same answer was elicited. Dr. Nathan Bangs, for many years at the head of the Methodist missionary operations, was asked the question last July, and after reflecting some time, replied that he believed there was a tribe, somewhere upon the northwest coast of North America, to whom it has never been preached.”
But if the term, “this gospel of the kingdom,” be understood as applying to the proclamation of, or to that portion of the gospel which relates to, the coming and kingdom of Christ, the fulfillment is equally evident. And it seems necessary to so understand the passage, as it was spoken in answer to the question, “What shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?” Campbell’s translation of this verse decidedly favors our view of this subject: “And this good tidings of the reign shall be published through all the world, for the information of all nations, and then shall come the end.” Whiting’s version also gives the same idea: “And this good news of the kingdom will be preached in all the world, for a testimony to all nations, and then will the end come.”
J. Litch, in his lecture on the twenty-fourth chapter of Matthew, given in the Advent Herald for Nov. 23, 1850, says: “The great American movement on this subject, and the diffusion of information with regard to it within the last ten years, are too well known to need extended remarks in this place. Neither labor nor sacrifice was regarded in the wide and rapid extension of the good news of the kingdom, as far as the English language could make it known. It was sent to the four quarters of the globe, and to the islands of the sea, upon the wings of all the winds.”
E. R. Pinney, in his exposition of the same chapter, says: “As early as 1842, second-advent publications had been sent to every missionary station in Europe, Asia, Africa, and America, both sides of the Rocky Mountains.”
F. G. Brown, in an article in the Midnight Cry for Feb. 15, 1844, speaking of Eld. Hutchinson’s work, says: “Bro. H. occupies the most favorable position for distributing the light throughout the British Possessions and Europe. Having a large acquaintance in Europe, and as papers can be sent from the Canadas thither free of postage, he has embraced every opportunity of sending large supplies by each returning steamship. He has forwarded them to the Canadas, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland, England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, France, Germany, Constantinople, and Rome.”
The “Voice of the Church,” by D. T. Taylor, speaks as follows concerning the wide diffusion of the Advent sentiment: “In Wirtemberg there is a Christian colony numbering hundreds, who look for the speedy advent of Christ; also another of like belief on the shores of the Caspian; the Molokanes, a large body of dissenters from the Russian Greek church, residing on the shores of the Baltic—a very pious people, of whom it is said, ‘Taking the Bible alone for their creed, the norm of their faith is simply the Holy Scriptures’—are characterized by the ‘expectation of Christ’s immediate and visible reign upon earth.’ In Russia, the doctrine of Christ’s coming and reign is preached to some extent, and received by many of the lower class. It has been extensively agitated in Germany, particularly in the south part among the Moravians. In Norway, charts and books on the Advent have been circulated extensively, and the doctrine received by many. Among the Tartars in Tartary, there prevails an expectation of Christ’s advent about this time. English and American publications on this doctrine have been sent to Holland, Germany, India, Ireland, Constantinople, Rome, and to nearly every missionary station on the globe. At the Turks Islands, it has been received to some extent among the Wesleyans. Mr. Fox, a Scottish missionary to the Teloogoo people, was a believer in Christ’s soon coming. James Mac Gregor Bertram, a Scottish missionary of the Baptist order, at St. Helena, has sounded the cry extensively on that island, making many converts and pre-millennialists; he has also preached it at South Africa, at the missionary stations there. David N. Lord informs us that a large proportion of the missionaries who have gone from Great Britain to make known the gospel to the heathen, and who are now laboring in Asia and Africa, are millenarians; and Joseph Wolfe, D. D., according to his journals, between the years 1821 and 1845, proclaimed the Lord’s speedy advent, in Palestine, Egypt, on the shores of the Red Sea, Mesopotamia, the Crimea, Persia, Georgia, Arabia, throughout the Ottoman Empire, in Greece, Turkistan, Bokara, Afghanistan, Hindustan, Cashmere, Thibet, in Holland, Scotland, and Ireland, at Constantinople, Jerusalem, St. Helena, also on shipboard in the Mediterranean, and at New York City, to all denominations. He declares he has preached among Jews, Turks, Mohammedans, Parsees, Hindoos, Chaldeans, Yezidis, Syrians, Sabeans, to Pachas, Sheiks, Shahs, the kings of Orenths and Bokhara, the queen of Greece, etc.; and of his extraordinary labors the Investigator says: ‘No individual has, perhaps, given greater publicity to the doctrine of the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, than has this well-known missionary to the world. Wherever he goes, he proclaims the approaching advent of the Messiah in glory.’ pp. 342–344.
If it be asked if the news that such a truth is preached is a sufficient proclamation to fulfill the prophecy; Rev. 14:6, 7; Matt. 24:14; the answer is, if it was sufficient in the days of the apostles, it is now. That it was then, is clear from Acts 19:8–10, where Paul preached or taught in Ephesus two years, so that all they in Asia, both Jews and Greeks, heard the word of the Lord Jesus. They could not all have heard a sermon, but they heard the sound of the gospel. In this sense, I have no doubt but the gospel of the kingdom is preached in all the world.
We still wait for the approaching end. And when the purpose of God in the proclamation of the coming reign of Christ shall be accomplished, then will the end come.