Revelation Class: OHC

Eugene Prewitt

Ouachita Hills College

Revelation 10 and Prophesies of the Disappointment

Our Father in heaven, I ask that as we study that you would teach us the meaning of Revelation, that you would help us to understand.

And I ask for this gift in the name of Jesus.

Turn your Bibles to Revelation chapter 10 and looking at verse 1.

Revelation chapter 10 and looking at verse 1.

You might remember from 2 periods ago that Revelation 10 is in between trumpets number 6 and 7.

That is the fifth and sixth trumpets were in Revelation 9.

We went over them briefly, and The seventh trumpet begins in Revelation 11.

And I saw another mighty angel come down from heaven, clothed with a cloud, and a rainbow was upon his head, and his face as it were the sun, and his feet as pillars of fire." If you try to think of a being that has rainbows around him, Feet like burnished brass, described like the sun that comes with clouds, sometimes referred to as an angel.

These are all familiar metaphors in Revelation 10 verse 1.

And he had in his hand a little book open.

That's so interesting, this term, a little book.

Is there any little book that would be noticeable if it was open?

The book of Daniel would be noticeable if it was open.

Why would it be noticeable if it was open?

Because it was clothed by a being that looked very much like this in Daniel chapter 12.

And here the being comes with the book being opened, and he set his right foot upon the sea and his left foot upon the earth.

And he cried with a loud voice as when a lion roars." Is Jesus described anywhere else in the book of Revelation with the symbol of a lion?

And when he had cried, listen, 7 thunders uttered their voices.

And when do we hear about these 7 thunders again?

It's at the end of verse 4, let's read about it.

And when the 7 thunders had uttered their voices, I was about to write, and I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, seal up those things which the 7 thunders uttered and write them not.

So here we have a little book open, which we've suggested to you is the book of Daniel.

Now what if we wanted more evidence than my suggestion that it was the Book of Daniel?

We could go and realize that the Book of Daniel is gonna be opened in 1798, that's from studying Daniel 12, and then find that the sixth trumpet was fulfilled in 1840.

So we'd get an idea that here is a book that is notably open just a few years after the opening of the book of Daniel, and is Daniel a little book?

And Daniel is a little book that's of the same subject materials as the book of Revelation.

And that would be enough circumstantial evidence to identify the little book open as the book of Daniel.

What about the things written by these 7 thunders.

What's apparent in the context is that there are some things that are to be understood at 1 point of Earth's history and not at an earlier point.

The Book of Daniel, was it to be understood in Daniel's time?

But it was to be understood at some point in the future that would be similar to or parallel to the timing of the sixth trumpet.

But even when that little book would be opened, would there still be some things that wouldn't be understood yet?

You know, even in the 1840s, there were some things that were not yet to be understood.

Let me see if I can say this thought to you again from your knowledge of Adventist history.

But did they understand what you understand about the 2300 days?

Were there still some things that were hidden even at the point that the book of Daniel was opened?

And the answer is there were some things and John was not given permission to write them.

If John didn't write them, then how in the world would we ever learn what they are?

Has there been any prophets since the time of 1840?

And if she had it, we wouldn't have had much of an idea to have any idea how to understand them.

What she said about them is that these 7 thunders represented the events to transpire under the giving of the first and second angels messages.

Yes, the 7 thunders were a delineation of events to transpire under the giving of the first and second angels' messages.

That's what she says, let me interpret it for you.

These 7 trumpets revealed the events leading up to and then the great disappointment.

So that even after the book of Daniel was opened, there were still some things that were hidden by the decision of God.

Now this is particularly interesting to Adventist because there are some people that really fault Ellen White Because in early writing she describes how God covered up a mistake in the figures of the prophetic chart.

I'd like you to know that it's nothing more or less than we're talking about in Revelation 10.

Where there's some things that God said not to reveal?

Some things that he was, John was willing to write, but he was forbidden to write?

That's God covering with his hand, if I can use a metaphor, things that could have been understood, and saying not yet are these things to be understood?

And since you're looking at it, would you just read it for a direct quote?

The special life given to John, which was expressed in the seventh under, was a delineation of events which would transpire under the first and second angels' messages.

It was not best for the people to know these things for their faith must necessarily be tested.

In the order of God, most wonderful and advanced truths would be proclaimed.

The first and second angels' messages were to be proclaimed but no further light was to be revealed before these messages had done their specific work.

This is represented by the angel standing with 1 foot on the seat, proclaiming with a most solemn hope that time should be no longer.

All right, so that's what I tried to say to you, and there it is, you heard it.

There are people today who are trying to place the 7 thunders in the future.

And you should just know that that's just another form of futurism like we described in our last class period.

And the angel which I saw stand upon the sea and upon the earth lifted up his hands to heaven and swear by him that lives forever and ever.

Now listen, if you've had any doubt about who this angel is, have doubt no longer.

Because we're told not to swear by heaven because it is God's throne, not to swear by the earth because it is his footstool, not to swear by ourselves because we can't make ourselves taller, not by our head, we can't even turn 1 hair white or black, then can angels swear by those things?

Then who alone can swear by the throne of God?

And swear by him that lives forever and ever who created heaven and the things that are therein and the earth and the things that are therein and the sea and the things that are therein, that there should be time no longer.

During the time of the Sixth Trumpet, the 1840s for example, during the time after the book of Daniel's unsealed in the early 1800s, what particular truth about God is being called to the attention of the world?

God's role as creator is emphasized in particular at that point of Earth's history.

The Trumpets and Islam

Today we're talking about the 7 trumpets and their relation to Islam.

You may be aware that 1 of the most significant obstacles to Christ's second coming being soon is the billion Muslims of the world.

In other words, what are the 2 objects that Christ's coming is hinged on in Scripture?

1 is this gospel going to every kindred and nation, tongue, and people.

And the other is the ripening of God's people.

The first 1 of those involves reaching Islam.

And to get to my main point before I prove it, the 7 trumpets of Revelation 8 through 11 provide a very useful tool in reaching the Muslim mind.

In 1 hour we can only get through so much of the 7 trumpets, but I want to just help you observe some things to begin with.

First of all, notice verse 2, Revelation 8 verse 2, And I saw, it's a typical phrase used in Revelation to introduce a new line of prophecy.

That is, Revelation 8 verse 1 could have gone or should have gone with the section called the 7 seals.

Revelation 8 verse 2 introduces a new section, the 7 trumpets.

Verse 3, And I saw another angel, that's besides the 7 with the trumpets, I saw another angel having a golden censer, came and stood at the altar.

He was given much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all the saints upon the golden altar, which was before the throne." I'm just going to tell you for the sake of time that this angel is Jesus.

He offers them up before the throne to His Father.

And what are the prayers mixed with in this passage?

That is the incense, the fragrance of the merits of Christ's life mixed with our prayers.

Maybe you recall, I think it was in this class, when we studied Revelation 4 and 5, we noted that there are beings there, the 24 elders, that have vials full of the prayers.

That's what they do in the book of Daniels, that's what they do in the book of Revelation, that's what they do elsewhere in the Bible.

He mixes them with His righteousness and offers them up.

Can you notice or can you see in verse 3 that this is the inception or the beginning of Christ's ministry in the heavenly sanctuary?

What phrase in that verse gives you a hint that this is the beginning?

That is, before it's given to him, he doesn't have it.

Then it says that he should offer it with the prayers of, what is the word?

Here we have the work of Jesus beginning and all the prayers of saints are going to be mixed with his righteousness.

Verse 4 and the smoke of the incense with the prayers of the saints ascended before God from the angels, What does it say?

You might remember in the Old Testament, maybe you've read it there, but it describes about...

It describes Jesus, and it describes beams coming out of His hands.

And then it says, there is the hiding of His...

It says, there is the hiding of His power.

That is, the power of His atonement is in the sacrifice that was made.

The scars or the emblems of that sacrifice is made.

Here the incense is ascending from the hands of the angel up before God.

Verse 5, Then the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar.

This is then, or in other words, afterwards.

Then he takes coals from off the altar, he puts them into the censer and he throws it to the earth and there were noises, thunderings, lightnings and an earthquake.

You might remember that we noticed this phrase earlier and we said Revelation 5, that this marks the end of earth's history.

In Revelation 5, Revelation 11, Revelation 8 here, Revelation 16, Revelation 19.

Here you have the very last thing in Earth's history, I really would like to spend more time with you on these 6 verses, but I'm just going to tell you what they mean and leave it to you to read that handout for those who are listening to an audio verse to find it on the website.

These 6 verses are a parenthetical prophecy about Christ ministering the heavenly sanctuary.

They're placed in such a way that we can know when they happen.

They happen during the same period of time as the 7 trumpets.

That is, the 7 trumpets are introduced, then we have Christ's ministry presented, including its close with the throwing down of the censer.

And then we have the thunder and lightning and earthquake that mark the end of the 7 last plagues.

And then we have the 7 trumpets introduced again.

Let me draw that as a little graph for those of you who are visual oriented.

Revelation 8 verses 2 through 6, it's really 5 verses.

When I talk about parenthetical prophecies, I'm talking about a prophecy of something that can't be seen.

Have we spoken about this in this class, Pentecostal prophecies?

I'm speaking about prophecy of something that can't be seen.

Something like Christ's intercession or something like the, well I'm thinking now the sealing process.

The sealing process is going on here on earth but we can't see it.

The opening up of the book of Daniel happens here on earth, but we can't see it.

They aren't really political events, but we can find out when in earth's history they happen by where these prophecies are found when they're injected in the middle of prophecies about otherwise historical events.

So we have the 7 seals, 1 through 7, and in between 6 and 7 we have the parenthetical prophecy of the sealing.

That tells me that the sealing is going to be in Earth's history contemporary with the last events, with the Second Coming.

We have the Revelation 10 is the Advent movement.

It's found between the sixth and the seventh trumpet.

That tells me that the advent movement or that picture of the opening of the book of Daniel is gonna happen in the time frame of the sixth or seventh trumpet.

And here in Revelation chapter 8, we have the 7 trumpets introduced in verse 2, and then they're mentioned again in verse 6, and in the verses in between we have the picture of Christ's ministration in the heavenly sanctuary is intercession.

And at the very end of the picture of intercession is an element that's the very same as the end of the seventh trumpet.

So that by comparing those 2 elements, they end the same and they start the same, we can know that when does Christ's ministration occur?

It's parallel in time to the pouring out of the 7 trumpets.

I feel like that was more complex than I intended it to be And I guess I'm just going to try to show you 1 more moment in Scripture and then go on because this isn't the main point for today.

But look at Revelation chapter 8 and look at verse 1, excuse me, verse 2.

And I saw the 7 angels who stand before God, and to them were given 7 trumpets." Look at verse 6.

So the 7 angels who had the 7 trumpets prepared themselves to sound.

They're introduced in verse 2, they're introduced in verse 6.

And there were noises, thunderings, and an earthquake.

Then the seventh angel sounded, and there were loud voices in heaven, and look down to verse 19, then the temple of God was opened in heaven, and the ark of his covenant was seen in his temple, and there were lightnings, noises, thunderings, and an earthquake, and it adds great hail.

These 2 observations, when you put them together, say that Christ's intercession starts with the 7 trumpets.

You have the 7 seals in verse 2 and in verse 6.

And his intercession ends with the lightnings and thunder and earthquakes of verse 6 and of 11-19.

If they start the same time and they end the same time, they cover the same period of time.

It might not be clear but it's not worth 1 minute longer than I've given it.

Notice in Revelation chapter 8 verse 7, The first angel sounded, and hail and fire followed, mingled with blood.

Notice verse 8, And the second angel sounded, and something like a great mountain burning with fire was thrown into the sea.

And notice verse 10, And the third angel sounded, and a great star fell from heaven.

Series

Revelation Class: OHC

Revelation 10 and Prophesies of the Disappointment

Transcript

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