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In America

Laws establishing reverence for Sunday will be enforced in America. (Most states already have laws regarding the sanctity of Sunday observance on their legislative books. However, these laws are not uniformly enforced at this time.) At first, Sunday laws will be defended in the name of economic necessity, but as time progresses, the cry, “We have forgotten God,” will be loudly proclaimed as the reason for the trumpets. The irony of this matter is man’s solution to the trumpets will be opposite to the gospel invitation! At the very time the gospel is proclaiming, “Worship the Creator on His holy day,” men will be making laws respecting a day of worship contrary to God’s law! Because the majority of people in America think Sunday is the Lord’s Day, laws will be respecting the sacredness of Sunday. Thus, reverence for Sunday will appear to be a reasonable solution to the problem. It is interesting to note that today, very few people actually feel Sunday is all that sacred and thus keep the day holy. The trumpets will change this attitude overnight!

 The centerpiece of Revelation’s story for America is that Sunday is not, nor has it ever been, the Lord’s Day. There is no support for the sacredness of Sunday, Monday, Tuesday or any other day in the Bible except the seventh day. Even more, there is no commandment explaining how another day is to be kept if it is indeed a day of worship.

When laws are made respecting Sunday as a day of worship, a number of dissidents will arise. Some will argue the loss of “constitutional rights” and others will intellectually argue for “freedom of worship.” However, neither of these groups will be able to hold back the tide of religious zeal.

Another group will argue that the trumpets have a specific purpose. The purpose is to call attention to the worship of the Creator of earth on His holy Sabbath, the seventh day of the week. The resulting controversy that attends the issue of worship will totally eclipse all other controversies in America such as abortion, human rights and environmental problems. (These current controversies are nothing compared to the coming controversy surrounding the gospel!) As a result of the trumpets, America will experience economic, religious and civil anarchy. Under the guise of patriotism, America will repudiate its Bill of Rights!

 As the controversy matures, the issues become clearly stated. By the time the fourth trumpet occurs, survival will be the all-consuming issue before every mind. All over the world, the story of Revelation will be told. Americans will hear why the seven first plagues are falling and why they should obey the Law of God. They will hear the first angel’s message that says, “Worship the Creator according to His holy law.” All will be invited to receive the everlasting gospel and live by faith. The clarity of Revelation’s story and the power of the Holy Spirit will attend these presentations. The Bible and the Holy Spirit will witness to every man, woman and child. The gospel will reach 300 million Americans in a very short period of time.

America chooses the lamblike beast

In spite of the unmistakable evidence provided from scripture and the power attending the first angel’s message, America will continue her downward course. She will make more laws regarding the sanctity of Sunday and increase the penalties for disobedience.

Satan personally arrives upon earth during the fifth trumpet claiming to be God. Most Americans (and the world) will ultimately accept this villain of mankind as the true God. The great American motto, “In God we Trust,” will be dedicated tot eh lamblike beast.

Satan knows all about Revelation’s story. His greatest thrill will be to deceive people at a time when the truth was never so clear. His goal is simple. He wants to destroy the world before Jesus returns. Over a hundred years ago, a great author summed up the devil’s plans saying, “The first day will be extolled, and the Protestant world will receive this spurious Sabbath as genuine. Through the nonobservance of the Sabbath that God instituted, I will bring His law into contempt… Thus, the world will become mine. I will be ruler of the earth, the prince of the world. I will so control the minds under my power that God’s Sabbath shall be a special object of contempt. A sign? I will make the observance of the seventh day a sign of disloyalty to the authorities of earth. Human laws will be made so stringent that men and woman will not dare to observe the seventh day Sabbath. For fear of wanting food and clothing, they will join with the world in transgressing God’s law. The earth will be wholly under my dominion.” Ellen G. White, Prophets and Kings, page 184.

The wrath of God – full strength

By the time probation closes, every person on earth will have heard the arguments of the everlasting gospel and made a decision. The people of earth will stand in two camps: those obeying Jesus and those obeying Satan. Those obeying Satan have put their faith in him, and they will join with Satan in warring upon those that refuse to go along. Those receiving the mark of the beast rejected the clearest presentations of Bible truth. These will their backs upon God’s mercy. Even worse, these people will passionately work to destroy the saints and covet the commendation of the devil!

Even though Satan and Babylon conquer, the world (Revelation 13:7) John saw the victory of the saints over Satan and his followers. “And I saw what looked like a sea of glass mixed with fire and, standing beside the sea, those who had been victorious over the beast and his image and over the number of his name. They held harps given them by God and sang a song of Moses the servant of God and the song of the Lamb…” (Revelation 15:2,3) In losing, they win! Jesus said, “Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whosoever loses his life fro my sake will find it.” (Matthew 10:39)

The seven last plagues

The seven last plagues fall upon all who receive the mark of the beast. The seven last plagues will be horrible reward for the wicked. They will be rewarded for their cruelty to God’s people. The seven last plagues contain the wrath of God-full strength. In brief, the plagues are:

1.      Terrible sores

2.      Sea turns to blood

3.      Springs of water turn to blood

4.      Sun scorches people with fire

5.      Satan’s kingdom plunged into darkness

6.      Armageddon

7.      Second coming / Great fiery hail stones

These plagues do not affect God’s people. “A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you. You will only observe with your eyes the punishment of the wicked.” (Psalms 91:7,8) These plagues are beyond the comprehension of man for the world has never seen the wrath of God-full strength! In fact, Daniel says it will be a time of trouble as never before! (Daniel 12:1)

Interesting points

Three points need to be made:

1. Many of the seven last plagues parallel the destruction caused by the seven trumpets. As the first four trumpets affected one-third of the entire earth, the seven last plagues affect the entire world!
2. Notice the parallel. The fifth trumpet marks the arrival of Satan and the fifth plague marks the “unmasking” of Satan! Satan, prior to the fifth plague, blames the trumpets and the first four last-plagues upon the saints and their “rebellious” behavior. When Jesus pours out the fifth plague, the world sees that this creature claiming to be God is not God-for God would not destroy His own throne! See Revelation 16:10,11. The light of truth shines. The religious and political leaders of the world recognize they have been following a demon. This realization starts a domino-like collapse of Babylon. John says, “The beast (Babylon) and the ten horns you saw will hate the prostitute (World Congress). They will bring her to ruin and leave her naked; they will eat her flesh and burn her with fire.” (Revelation 17:16)
3. To maintain control of what is left, Satan rallies the world one last time by sending his evil angels throughout the earth in a great deceptive ploy to destroy the saints, who allegedly “put the curse upon his throne.” Satan entices the kings of the earth to unite in a universal death decree. John says of Satan’s representatives,  “They are the spirits of demons performing miraculous signs, and they go out to the kings of the whole world, to gather them for the battle on the great day of God Almighty… Then they gathered the kings together to the place that in Hebrew is called Armageddon.” (Revelation 16:14,16)
   
   
   

Armageddon

The battle called Armageddon is the sixth plague. John warns us that Satan’s demons will deceive the world into unity for the final desolation of the saints through a universal death decree. Daniel also saw the intended destruction of the saints. (Daniel 12: 11) The kings of the earth agree on the simultaneous destruction of those worshiping on Saturday and gather to the place that in Hebrew is called, “Armageddon.”

Remember, in Revelation 9 the name of the angel king from the Abyss meant “destroyer” both in Greek and in Hebrew. See Revelation 9:11. Just as this title describes Satan, the Greek equivalents of Armageddon come from two words, “har megido” and are translated-Armageddon. These two words mean “the mountain of God”, or “the place of God.”

The world under Satan’s leadership reaches the height of rebellion against God and His saints during the fifth plague, for the entire world is agreed upon the simultaneous destruction of the very people Jesus is coming to save. This is the final straw. Now the wrath of Jesus knows no restriction. The world is planning to destroy the “apple of His eye.” Rebellion has brought the world to “the mountain of God.” Now the world will know, as in Elijah’s day on Mount Carmel, who is the true God. The world will see Him and face His true wrath. John says,   “The seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air, and out of the temple came a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘It is done.’ Then there came flashes of lightening, rumblings, peals of thunder and a severe earthquake. No earthquake like it has ever occurred since man has been on earth, so tremendous was the quake. The great city split into three parts, and the cities of the nations collapsed. God remembered Babylon the Great and gave her the cup filled with the wine of the fury of his wrath. Every island fled away and the mountains could not be found. From the sky huge hailstones of about a hundred pounds each fell upon man. And they cursed God on account of the plague of hail, because the plague was so terrible.” (Revelation 16:17-21)

John also says that the people of earth cry out: “They called …to the mountains and the rocks, ‘Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! For the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?’” (Revelation 6:16,17)

Paul tells us the splendor of Christ’s coming destroys all the living. “And then the lawless one (the man of sin) will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will overthrow with the breath of his mouth and destroy by the splendor of his coming.” (2 Thessalonians 2:8)

Zephaniah says, “Neither their silver nor their gold will be able to save them on the day of the Lord’s wrath. In the fire of his jealously the whole world will be consumed, for he will make a sudden end of all who live in the earth.” (Zephaniah 1:18)

The earth is left desolate

The hail that falls upon the earth at the second coming is like the fiery hailstones that fell upon the earth during the first trumpet. The basic difference between them is size and the amount of devastation. The hail of the first trumpet burns up 1/3 of the earth (grass, trees, etc.) while the hail of the seventh plague burns Babylon up. John says that the beast (Babylon, having seven heads and 10 horns) and the False Prophet (Babylon’s eighth king, its lamblike leader-the devil) are destroyed by this fire at the second coming. “…The two of them were thrown alive into the fiery lake of burning sulfur. The rest of them were killed with the sword that comes out of the mouth of the rider on the horse, and all the birds gorged themselves on their flesh.” (Revelation 19:20,21)

The rider on the horse is King Jesus. John says, “I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and makes war. His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns… On his robe and on his thigh he has the name written: King of Kings and Lord of Lords.” (Revelation 19:11-16) At this time, the conquering that Jesus set out to do with the opening of the first seal is finally completed!

The saints taken to heaven

 The second coming will be a scene beyond expression. As Jesus draws near the earth, the righteous dead are resurrected to behold Jesus. Paul says, “For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air…” (1 Thessalonians 4:16,17)

It is important to note that Jesus does not stand upon the earth at the second coming. The saints meet Him in the air! They return with Jesus to heaven for one thousand years. John says of the righteous dead, “They came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years. The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended.” (Revelation 20:4,5)

What do the saints do for a thousand years? John says, “I saw thrones on which were seated those who had been given authority to judge… they will be priests for God and of Christ and will reign with him for a thousand years.” (Revelation 20:4,6)

For one thousand years, the saints will open the books and review the judgment process of God. They will be fully satisfied with the eternal decision of each person. No doubts will remain as to the fairness and judgment of Jesus for each person. Meanwhile, the earth is desolate. The wicked are dead and Satan and his angels are put back into the Abyss where they wait for divine justice.

Satan lives on

If Satan is the False Prophet mentioned in Revelation 19, and the False Prophet is burned up at the second coming, how can he remain alive during the millennium? The answer is that Satan (like Jesus) is not limited to the body of a man. Remember, Satan was allowed out of the Abyss (or spirit world) during the fifth trumpet. He takes the form of a man, but Satan is still an angel. At the second coming, Satan’s apparition of a man claiming to be God is destroyed, but the evil angel king and his demons remain alive until the end of the thousand years. At the time of the second coming, John says, “And I saw an angel coming down out of heaven, having the key to the Abyss and holding in his hand a great chain. He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil, or Satan, and bound him for a thousand years. He threw him into the Abyss, and locked and sealed it over him, to keep him from deceiving the nations any more until the thousand years were ended. After that, he must be set free for a short time.” (Revelation 20:1-3)

The saints returned to earth

When the thousand years of research into God’s character are finished, the New Jerusalem and the saints return to earth with Jesus. The second resurrection now takes place. The first resurrection took place at the second coming, and the second resurrection occurs a thousand years later. Jesus said, “Blessed and holy are those who have part in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them…” (Revelation 20:6)

The Bible is very clear that there are two resurrections: one to eternal life and one to eternal death. Jesus said, “Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice and come out – those who have done good will rise to live, and those who have done evil will rise to be condemned.” (John 5:28,29)

After the wicked are resurrected at the end of the thousand years, Satan is released from the Abyss (spirit world) for a short time. He immediately stirs the vast multitude into rebellion. He convinces the numberless crowd that Jesus intends to do them great harm. He incites a dramatic uprising to destroy the New Jerusalem and the saints that have come down to earth. (Revelation 20:7-10)

As the wicked rush with rage upon the holy city, Jesus speaks. The multitude stop in their tracks. Silence falls upon the breathless mob for about half an hour. (Revelation 8:1) Jesus, as King of Kings and Lord of Lords, speaks. The anger and rebellion of the numberless mob dissipates. As lightening pierces darkness, the wicked realize they stand before their Maker. He is not a tyrant. He is not angry. He speaks with great authority.

Jesus explains the plan of salvation to the waiting multitude. As the wicked behold the love of God, each person understands the economy of salvation. Each person’s life is presented from the open books of record. The wicked see their deeds just as God saw their deeds. There is no room for excuses or self-justification. There is no place to run. He who sees the hearts and reads the motives presents each life record of sin and rebellion for what is really is with unvarnished clarity. The wicked know they are condemned. They now know who Jesus is, why He died on Calvary and why they cannot be saved. The wicked clearly see that they are outside the gates of the holy city because they chose evil rather than righteousness.

At the end of this revelation, every knee bows before Jesus with deepest emotion. The wicked bow before the justice of Jesus and the righteous bow before the mercy of Jesus. Jesus said, “Before me every knee will bow; by me every tongue will swear. They will say of me, ‘In the Lord alone are righteousness and strength.’ All who have raged against him will come to him and be put to shame. But ion the Lord all descendants of Israel will be found righteous and will exult.” (Isaiah 45:23-25)

Every knee will bow before Jesus. Those who bow in faith before the close of probation will be saved. Those who bow after the close of probation will be lost. In both cases, all creatures will recognize that, “In the Lord alone are righteousness and strength.”

Notes

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