Segment VI
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William Miller
(1782-1849)
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Summary
Four key points need
to be emphasized as we conclude this
section on the breaking of the third
seal. First, a person cannot reach
the intended meaning of apocalyptic
prophecy without some understanding
of the five essential Bible
doctrines. This is because the
doctrines of soul sleep addresses the
two resurrections and the destruction
of the wicked at the end of the
thousand years. (Revelation 20)
Second, the doctrine of parallel
temples explains the need to cleanse
Heaven’s temple. (Leviticus 16;
Hebrews 8 and 9; Daniel 8:14) Third,
the doctrine of the Ten Commandments,
including the observance of
God’s seventh day Sabbath,
explains the coming persecution of
the saints, because a great
controversy will occur over
worshiping God after His judgments
begin to fall. (Revelation 8 and 13)
Last, the doctrine of salvation
through faith in Jesus, rather than
through “the church,”
explains why Jesus is going to tear
down the religious systems of the
world during the Great Tribulation so
that religious paradigms will not
obstruct His offer of salvation!
(Revelation 17)
History reveals that
the advancement of truth comes at a
high price, and majorities of people
are unwilling to pay the price. It is
much more comfortable to remain
within the social and religious
comforts of fellowship than to follow
the Spirit into the desert of
rejection where often, you are alone
with God. The Bible represents people
as sheep for good reason. They prefer
to flock together. They also tend to
follow the leader (political and
religious) without thinking or
thoroughly studying matters for
themselves. Consider the total sum of
religious thought that Hindus,
Moslems, Catholics, Jews,
Protestants, atheists and pagans
believe today. All of these different
ideas about God came from spiritual
leaders who are as blind as the lay
people they guide are. (Matthew
23:16)
Humanity’s
diversity in religious beliefs proves
that people are capable of believing
anything and everything. Our
diversity also proves that our
beliefs systems have nothing to do
with eternal truth. Even though
Catholics and Protestants insist
their views come directly from
Scripture, a cursory review of
Scripture can demonstrate otherwise.
Truth is not determined by a majority
vote or acceptance. Thoughtfully
consider these words: “Truth is
not what I believe. Truth is not
even, what I know. Truth is fact. I
may not believe it. I may not know
it. That does not change it. It is
nevertheless, waiting to be
discovered and believed. Truth does
not depend on the unsettled and
changing opinions of men. It was
truth before it was believed. It
remains truth whether it is believed
or not. Reason does not originate or
create it. It merely discovers it.
Consequently, reason is not a source.
Truth goes back beyond reason. Others
would have us believe that the church
is the source of authority,
particularly in matters of theology.
They are wrong. The church is the
product of truth. It does not
originate it. It came into being by
accepting divine revelation. It is
the source of that revelation. Truth
goes beyond the church, it is
antecedent to it.” (When a Man
Dies, Carlyle B. Haynes (1882-1958);
p.5)
The breaking of the
third seal occurred about 1844 and
with it, the five essential teachings
of Jesus have been rediscovered.
These five doctrines have been
understood for more than 160 years.
Recall for a moment, how the first
three seals fit together perfectly.
The doctrine of salvation through
faith in Jesus is the first essential
doctrine. It came first and caused
Protestants to separate theologically
from Catholicism. After the Catholic
Church’s power over Europe was
broken in 1798, Protestant
missionaries spread the good news of
salvation through faith in Jesus all
over the world. The breaking of the
second seal brought on a campaign to
translate and distribute the Bible,
because Jesus requires discipleship
from every soul who receives His
salvation. (John 15:14; Hebrews 5:9)
The widespread distribution of the
Bible afforded ordinary people the
privilege of discovering the
teachings of Jesus, and various
Protestants accepted and practiced
three essential truths during the
first part of the nineteenth century
– salvation through faith in
Jesus, souls sleep, and observing the
Ten Commandments. The breaking of the
third seal brought on a campaign to
inform the world that Jesus had begun
to cleanse Heaven’s temple, and
the doctrine of the Second Coming
became better understood. William
Miller, and later, Seventh-day
Adventists, became players in this
development. The end result is that
today, right now in fact, a great
stage for an upcoming drama has been
set. The five essential teachings of
Jesus are known and the book of
Daniel has been unsealed. Now that we
have the four rules of apocalyptic
interpretation and the five essential
teachings of Jesus, we have the tools
necessary to unlock the intended
meaning of Daniel and Revelation.
This is highly important because the
fourth seal will be broken next!
Before I, close this
section on the third seal, I must
point out an interesting parallel.
The first thing Jesus did after He
began His public ministry on Earth
was to cleanse the temple in
Jerusalem. “To those who sold
doves He said, ‘Get these out of
here! How dare you turn my
Father’s house into a
market!’…Then the Jews
demanded of him, ‘What
miraculous sign can you show us to
prove your authority to do all of
this?’ Jesus answered them,
‘Destroy this temple, and I will
raise it again in three days.’
The Jews replied, ‘It has taken
forty-six years to build this temple,
and you are going to raise it in
three days?’” (John
2:16-19) It is interesting to
discover that Jesus cleansed the
earthly temple after forty-six years
of construction, and it took
forty-six years from the time that
Jesus began breaking the seals in
1798 to begin cleansing Heaven’s
temple in 1844.
Three Campaigns
Underway
Now that we have
examined the first three seals,
consider for a moment how the first
three seals relate to the next three
seals. Look at the chart below and
notice that when the first seal was
broken, the Holy Spirit started a
campaign in 1798 that will climax at
the breaking of the sixth seal (the
Second Coming). When the second seal
was broken, the Holy Spirit started a
campaign around 1800 that will climax
after the breaking of the fifth seal
(the martyrdom of many saints because
of the Word of God). When the third
seal was broken, the Holy Spirit
started a process in 1844 (the
judgment of the dead) that will
climax after the fourth seal is
broken (the judgment of the living).
Notice how the first three seals
start campaigns that relate to the
next three seals during the Great
Tribulation!
Seal #4 – Pale
Horse – Coming Next – The
Authority of Jesus Revealed
“When the Lamb
opened the fourth seal, I heard the
voice of the fourth living creature
say, ‘Come! I looked, and there
before me was a pale horse! Its rider
was named Death, and Hades was
following close behind him. They
were given power over a fourth of the
earth to kill by sword, famine and
plague, and by the wild beasts of the
Earth.” (Revelation 6:7,8)
According to rule One
of apocalyptic prophecy, the breaking
of the fourth seal has to occur after
the breaking of the third seal in
1844. For reasons that will be
presented in our study on the
144,000, the breaking of the fourth
seal has been “on hold”
since 1994. This means the
commencement of the Great Tribulation
could begin any day.
When Jesus breaks the
fourth seal, the Holy Spirit will
depart Heaven’s temple on a
campaign of death and destruction.
The face of the fourth living
creature is that of an eagle.
(Revelation 4:7) This face represents
swift and deadly destruction. Notice
how parallel language was used in
Jeremiah’s day: “This is
what the Lord says: “Look! An
eagle is swooping down [for
destruction], spreading its wings
over Moab.” (Jeremiah 48:40,
insertion mine)
The mission of the
Holy Spirit is personified with the
name of “Death” in this
text. The grave (Greek: Hades)
follows “close behind”
because a fourth of Earth’s
population will die. There will be
death on a global scale not
experienced since the flood. The
final generation is about to see a
display of the sovereign authority of
Jesus Christ as the Holy Spirit
implements His command. The breaking
of fourth seal marks the sudden and
irreversible start of the Great
Tribulation. (Revelation 8:2-5;
Matthew 24:21; 1 Thessalonians 5:3;
Revelation 7:1-3)
Holy Spirit –
Agent of Wrath?
It may seem
contradictory at first that the Holy
Spirit should be an agent of death
and destruction since He is called
“The Comforter” in the KJV
or the “Counselor” in the
NIV. The problem with this definition
is that it provides a limited view of
the attributes of God. The Holy
Spirit is mentioned in the first and
last chapters of the Bible as a
separate and distinct member of the
Godhead. (Genesis 1:2; Revelation
22:17) The Holy Spirit is God.
(Matthew 28:19,20) He has the same
powers and prerogatives as the Father
and Son. (John 16) He is called
various names in the Bible such as
“The Spirit of Truth” (John
14:17), “The Spirit of
Grace” (Hebrews 10:29),
“The Spirit of the Lord”
(Ezekiel 11:5), and “Spirit of
God” (Romans 15:19). At times,
the Holy Spirit has enabled men to do
incredible things. For example,
Samson’s great strength came
from the power of the Holy Spirit. “The
Spirit of the Lord came upon him [Samson]
in power so that he tore the lion
apart with his bare hands as he might
have torn a young goat…”
(Judges 14:6) “Then the
Spirit of the Lord came upon him [Samson]
in power. He went down to
Ashkelon, struck down thirty of their
men, stripped them of their
belongings and gave their clothes to
those who had explained the
riddle….” (Judges
14:19)
Shortly after Jesus
ascended to Heaven, the Holy Spirit
killed a husband and wife in
Jerusalem for lying. This single
event imposed a great deal of respect
for the Holy Spirit among early
Christians. The death of Ananias and
his wife was similar to that of Uzzah
when he irreverently touched the Ark
of the Covenant and was struck dead.
(2 Samuel 6:7) Remember, the presence
of the Holy Spirit was prevalent in
the early church, and the killing of
Ananias and Sapphira elevated respect
for the honesty and integrity in a
dramatic way. Carefully review the
story: “Now a man named
Ananias, together with his wife
Sapphira, also sold a piece of
property. With his wife’s full
knowledge, he kept back part of the
money for himself, but brought the
rest and put it at the apostle’s
feet. Then Peter said, ‘Ananias,
how is it that Satan has so filled
your heart that you have lied to the
Holy Spirit and have kept for
yourself some of the money you
received for the land? Did not it
belong to you before it was sold? And
after it was sold, was not the money
at your disposal? What made you think
of doing such a thing? You have not
lied to men but to God [the Holy
Spirit].’ When Ananias heard
this, he fell down and died. And
great fear seized all who heard what
had happened. Then the young men came
forward, wrapped up his body, and
carried him out and buried him. About
three hours later, his wife came in,
not knowing what had happened. Peter
asked her, ‘Tell me, is this the
price you and Ananias got for the
land?’ ‘Yes, she said,
‘that is the price.’ Peter
said to her, ‘How could you
agree to test the Spirit of the Lord?
Look! The feet of the men who buried
your husband are at the door, and
they will carry you out also.’
At that moment, she fell down at his
feet and died. Then the young men
came in and, finding her dead,
carried her out and buried her beside
her husband. Great fear seized the
whole church and all who heard about
these events.” (Acts 5:1-11,
insertion mine)
A Great Awakening
When the fourth seal
is broken, a powerful campaign will
begin to reveal Jesus Christ to the
world. God’s awesome wrath will
stun Christians and non-Christians
alike. Christians will be overwhelmed
because today’s concept of
“Jesus” is grossly unlike
the real Jesus. His destructive
judgments will shatter the false
perceptions about Jesus that
Catholics and Protestants have
created. Non-Christians will also be
awestruck when they witness the wrath
of Jesus because there is no god that
can stop His power and authority!
It is interesting to notice how
Jesus’ wrath will rip up the
Earth and tear down billions of false
paradigms at the same time. The
net effect of God’s wrath is
that the world will be forced for a
short time to hear the testimony of
Jesus.
Jesus is waiting for
the appointed hour to arrive. Jesus
has given the people of Earth every
grace and opportunity, but the gospel
of Jesus is no longer going forward.
The population of Earth is
multiplying faster than the gospel
can be told. Moral degeneracy is
rampant. Religious bias is
impenetrable. Violence is everywhere.
When Jesus breaks the fourth seal, He
signals the end of His patience with
Earth’s rejection of
righteousness and truth. Earth’s
corporate cup of iniquity has
overflowed. The wrath of Jesus will
last 1,335 days and come in two
waves. The seven first plagues will
be accompanied with the offer of
salvation through faith in Jesus, but
the last seven plagues will not
contain mercy. God’s wrath will
accomplish a number of things that
His love and patience have not
achieved. The ears of the survivors
will be unplugged so they can hear
the truth about Jesus. The eyes of
the survivors will be opened because
the blinders of religion will be
removed. The clearest and brightest
presentation of truth ever told will
commence. The 144,000 will speak with
unvarnished clarity. Jesus has
carefully and deliberately designed
the course of events during the Great
Tribulation so that as many people as
possible can be saved. (2 Peter 3:9)
Given these facts, we can only begin
to appreciate the depth of man’s
arrogance and ignorance when wee see
the level of wrath Jesus must use to
get the attention and respect of the
human race.
The breaking of the
fourth seal marks the beginning of
the time of wrath. “He [Gabriel]
said: ‘I am going to tell you
what will happen later in the time of
wrath, because the vision concerns
the appointed time of the
end.’” (Daniel 8:19,
insertion and italics mine) The
appointed time of the end is called
“a time of wrath” because
everyone on earth will suffer wrath.
People who obey God will feel the
wrath of their government and people
who obey their government will feel
the wrath of God. Every nation will
reel from the execution of God’s
four deadly judgments – sword,
famine, plague and wild beasts. The
destruction of the fourth seal is
described in Revelation 8 as the
first four trumpets. Twenty-five
percent of Earth’s population
will perish over the course of a few
weeks. Currently, this means more
than 1.5 billion people are about to
perish because God’s wrath and
the religious systems of the world
say nothing about the opening of the
fourth seal. Why is this? The answer
is arrogance and ignorance.
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