Appendix E

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Revelation helps to solve the mystery

 

If the reader will consider the possibility that the scenes in Daniel 7:9 and Revelation 4 and 5 began in 1798, two things will make a lot of sense. First, just assume that Daniel and John saw the same service. John’s attention is focused on the book sealed with seven seals and the search for someone worthy to open the book. Daniel is focused on the persecution of the saints and the court scene. Now observe how these elements are directly connected! Daniel reveals the timing of the court (at the end of the 1,260 years). Daniel also tells us that after the court convenes, the books are opened and judgment begins. (But, Daniel doesn’t say how long after the court convenes that the books are opened.)

 

On the other hand, John reveals the test of worthiness that our High Priest must pass before He can officiate on behalf of human beings. And, we know from Leviticus 16 that the High Priest had to be found worthy before he could officiate on behalf of Israel only on the Day of Atonement. In short, we can therefore say that Jesus was determined worthy to receive the book sealed with seven seals when the court convened in 1798.

 

Now, three elements come together that confirm that Daniel and John saw the same scene.

 

1. Both prophets saw Jesus promoted and highly exalted like never before. Jesus was given sovereign power for the first time in Daniel 7:13,14, and John saw Jesus declared worthy to receive the book sealed with seven seals and the seven attributes of divine authority. (Revelation 5:7,12) Note: These powers had not been in Christ’s possession since the plan of salvation was implemented. We know from the Day of Atonement services, that worthiness of the High Priest was only an issue on the Day of Atonement.  (Leviticus 16:6, Hebrews 5:3; 7:27; 9:7) Therefore the worthiness of Jesus in Revelation 5 is directly connected to heaven’s judgment day whose services commenced in 1798. Because, after being found worthy to judge humanity in heaven’s Day of Judgment, Jesus opened the books and began to cleanse the sanctuary in 1844!
2. As the heavenly court room service progressed, John saw Jesus begin to open the seals. (More about them in a moment.) When the third seal was opened in 1844, the judgment of human beings began. In other words, Jesus had to be found worthy to officiate as the judge of humanity shortly before 1844.
3. Lastly, there is widely known historical evidence that demonstrates that the seven seals began opening shortly after 1798. In fact, the third seal opened right on time in 1844, and the fourth seal is about to open.

Summary

 

The seven seals bring the timing of these events into focus. They are progressive and additive in nature. Each broken seal reveals a brighter and clearer understanding of who Jesus really is and the powers that He has. The first seal reveals the salvation of Jesus. This stands in contrast to the salvation controlled by the Roman Catholic Church for 1,260 years. The opening of this seal brought a great spiritual revival to Europe and North America between 1798 and 1844. The second seal reveals the supremacy of the Bible, the Word of God, which was translated and distributed to the far corners of the earth. This stands in contrast to the ecclesiastical demands of the Church. And the formation of numerous Bible Societies between 1800 and 1844 confirm the operation of the second seal. The third seal reveals Christ’s ministry in heaven’s sanctuary. This stands in contrast to the vicarious ministry of human priests. The proclamation of the “judgment hour message” since 1844 confirms the operation of this seal. The fourth seal will reveal the authority of Jesus over all men. This seal is the next to open, perhaps in fall of 2011. The fifth seal reveals the faith of Jesus. The operation of this seal will be seen in those who die for their testimony. And the sixth seal physically reveals the King of Kings. With the opening of each seal, Jesus becomes brighter.

 

Lastly, the first six seals relate to each other in a special way. Think of the fist three seals as causes, and the next three seals are their effects. For example, the first seal describes the work of Jesus impressing upon man the need of salvation through Jesus and the sixth seal is the full realization of that salvation. The second seal describes the distribution of the Bible all over the world and the fifth seal culminates with martyrdom over Bible truth. Finally, the investigative judgment of the dead began in 1844 during the third seal will move to the living (in 2011) during the horrific destruction under the fourth seal.

 

The Four Rules of Apocalyptic Prophecy

 

1.     Each apocalyptic story is identified by the presence of a beginning point and ending point in time. Further, events within each story are given in chronological order.

 

2.     A prophecy or prophetic element is not fulfilled until all the specifications of the prophecy are met. This includes the chronology of the sequence.

 

3.     Students of prophecy cannot make up their own interpretation of symbols. If some portion of a prophecy is declared symbolic, the Bible must clearly interpret the meaning of the symbol with applicable scripture.

 

4.     The Jubilee calendar offers a simple solution to the problem of which prophecies are day/year and which are not. In essence, the calendar operates like this: if a prophetic time period falls within the time period of 70 Jubilees and that prophecy belongs to the family of the 17 apocalyptic prophecies found in Daniel and Revelation, it must be interpreted by the day/year principle. After the expiration of the Jubilee calendar, all prophetic time period are to be interpreted as literal time. Thus the 1,000 years of the millennium are literal years and not 1,000 years of day/years.    

 

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