8:1, 2 – “And when he opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour. And I saw the seven angels which stood before God; and to them were given trumpets.”

It will have been observed that while John’s Revelation appears to be one connected whole in which events seemingly follow one another consecutively; historically, this is really not so. The same period of church history is covered a number of times in the vision, but from differing viewpoints. Thus the churches of Rev 2 and 3 cover the full period of the church’s development, from Ephesus at the beginning of the Gospel age, through Laodicea at its close; but this same period is also covered by the seals we have subsequently brought to our attention (Rev. 6),

though the churches are not again mentioned. The sixth seal even brings us to the end of the Gospel age and the beginning of the Millennial age; yet the seventh seal not only reviews the period covered by all the preceding six seals, but goes beyond them, extending to the end of the Millennial age.

“Some seem to be under the impression that in view of the fact that the seventh seal is described as being opened after the first six, therefore the events of the seventh must necessarily follow those of the preceding six seals. The incorrectness of this reasoning, however, is discerned at once, when we bear in mind that the transactions and occurrences of the six seals bring us down to the introduction of the Millennial reign, while the nature and character of many of the events of the seventh seal are such that we must find their fulfillment somewhere during the reign of Satan and evil, and before the opening of the New Dispensation. In other words, the unavoidable conclusion is that the events under the seventh seal cover much the same period as the preceding six seals, namely the period of the Gospel Age, and that they have their fulfillment in the order given.” (The Revelation of Jesus Christ – Streeter, p. 362)

“The chief difference between the events portrayed under the symbols of the first six seals and those of the seventh is that under the seventh, the rise and activities of the anti-Christian systems, and the eventful career of the true Church are described more in detail. The six seals are more in the nature of a general outline or picture; the seventh sets forth many details, and is a more complete view, in which we have revealed to us the various activities of the Church, her triumphs and victories in giving her testimony to the Truth, and its effect upon the various systems of error. Several very prominent epochs are described, particularly those of the ‘time of the end’ and the ‘harvest’ period. It will, therefore, be seen that the fulfillment of the first recorded visions of chapter 8, which are stated to be under the seventh seal, are to be looked for at the beginning of the Gospel Age, and not its close.

“In view of all the facts and circumstances, the logical conclusion is that the breaking of this seventh seal by Christ, signified that He had disclosed to Him at this time all the various features of the Divine plans and purposes. The fulfillment of this scene in which the Lamb breaks the seventh seal must have occurred at or soon after His resurrection. The fact that on the occasion of His last conference with His disciples on the mountain in Galilee, just before His ascension, He told them that all authority and power was given to Him, implies also that a perfect understanding of all matters in connection with which that power was to be exercised, was committed to Him.” (The Revelation of Jesus Christ – Streeter, p. 363)

It is quite evident that Jehovah God himself, carried on a “heavenly,” i.e., a “kingdom of heaven” work upon this earth while Jesus was here among men. We are even told that Jesus commenced his ministry preaching, “Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (Matt. 4:17) Mark says he preached “the kingdom of God.” (Mark 1:15) In the name of Jesus, the disciples too, engaged in this work for Jehovah God, when they went forth to preach, “The kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (Matt. 10:7, 20)

In a sense, this “kingdom work” continued as long as Jesus was present among them. It ceased, however, when forty days after his death and resurrection, he left them, to ascend up on high to make intercession for them. At the time, he said unto them “… tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem until ye be endued with power from on high.” (Luke 24:49; Acts 1:4-9) The promise of the Father was in due time fulfilled, when the holy Spirit was poured out upon them ten days later. (Acts 2:1-4) Immediately, they continued the “kingdom work” by way of preaching! (Acts 2:6-17) Let it be carefully noted what it was that Peter preached about on this memorable occasion: it was the same as Jesus had preached – “Repent.” But Peter added this; “be baptized … in the name of Jesus Christ, for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the holy Spirit.” (Acts 2:38) Surely, that was “kingdom work.”

It seems to us, that the “silence in heaven” which followed the opening of the seventh seal, corresponds to this ten day period – when the “kingdom work” was suspended in obedience to Jesus’ enjoinment, “tarry – until” – between Jesus’ ascension, and the baptism of the holy Spirit at Pentecost. Since this “half an hour” is symbolic time, it is undoubtedly based on the Scriptural premise that a “day” stands for a year, i.e., 360 days! (Ezek. 4:6) Thus, an “hour” would be 1/24th of 360 days, or 15 days; and “half an hour” would be 7-1/2 days. The difference between 7-1/2 days and 10 days, we believe, is covered by the use of the word “about” in the text.

If this conjecture is correct, then the opening of the seventh seal begins at a point in historic time, immediately after Jesus, by his faithfulness unto death, had won the right to look upon the scroll and open the seals thereof, which was even before his ascension, and definitely before the sounding of the seven trumpets!

The “Silence in Heaven”

“The very fact that a half hour is mentioned implies that symbolic time is referred to.

“That while the expression, half an hour, would of itself refer to an exact definite period of time, yet the fact that the word ‘about’ is used, meaning ‘a little more or a little less,’ changes the complexion of the matter somewhat and leaves us to look for something that would be either a little more or a little less than a half hour of symbolic time. When symbolic time is employed in the Scriptures, a year of 360 days invariably is represented by a ‘day’, an hour being one twenty-fourth part of a day would therefore, represent fifteen days; a half hour would be seven and a half days; and ‘about’ a half hour would be either a little more or a little less than seven and a half days.” (The Revelation of Jesus Christ – Streeter, p. 364)

Anent: “The Silence in Heaven”

“Our Lord’s message to his disciples when leaving them was, that they should return from the Mount of Olives to Jerusalem and tarry there until endued with power from on high. To many the ten days of tarrying would be considered a serious waste of valuable consecrated time. Think of it! One hundred and twenty of the Lord’s consecrated people idle for ten days – not preaching, nor healing, nor engaging in any special religious work –neglecting business and money making, and all earthly interests as well. What were they doing? The record implies that their special employment during those ten days was prayer and supplication to God. What did they want? They already were in relationship to God through faith, and permitted to pray to him as their Father. They already knew of Jesus and had already been blessed by him in various ways, some of them having been his mouthpieces. Why tarry? Why pray? Why not get out at once into the vineyard and labor? If they had been left to guide their own steps, doubtless they would have been at work, but they were following their Master’s Word, remembering the testimony, ‘Obedience is better than sacrifice.’ They knew not what qualifications they needed for their future service. They were merely trusting all to their Lord and obediently waiting for the promised blessing and preparation.

“The necessity for their tarrying was threefold:
(1) They were incompetent for the work designed for them until empowered for it.
(2) They could not receive the blessed anointing until first the Redeemer had ascended into heaven, ‘There to appear in the presence of God on our behalf’ – on behalf of believers. Members of the fallen race, they had already been privileged, like their father Abraham, to return to favor with God as his friends, being ‘Justified by faith.’ They could, as justified ones, address him in prayer, ‘Our Father, which art in heaven.’ They were not enemies at heart, but loyal, even though, to use the Apostle’s language, they had been ‘enemies through wicked works,’ through inability to keep perfectly the divine law …
(3) These ten days of prayer were necessary also to fit and prepare the Lord’s disciples for the reception of the holy Spirit. The human mind resembles a room, the door of which must be opened before treasures can be put therein. The door in this picture would symbolize the will which must first give consent to whatever enters the mind, the heart, the life. Furthermore, a room that is already stocked and overcrowded has little space wherein to place new valuables – the old must be removed that place may be found for the new. Our hearts need to be emptied of their earthly hopes, aims and ambitions in order to make place for the new riches of God’s grace. The ten days were probably none too long for the testing of the faith and loving obedience and zeal for the Lord and his cause, which they had undertaken to serve. As they prayed and fasted and waited expectantly for the promised blessing from on high, doubtless worldly ambitions, hopes and aims dissolved and vanished from their hearts, leaving them ready for the blessing the Lord intended, and which he poured out.” (R4306:1-3)

Seals and Trumpets

The seven seals should not be confounded with the seven trumpets! It is only after the opening of the seventh seal that the seven trumpets begin to sound. (Rev. 8:1, 2)

“… the symbol merely shows in the midst of the throne ‘a Lamb, as it had been slain:’ how forceful the illustration to those whose eyes are anointed that they may discern its meaning. And now the symbolic panorama proceeds, and shows us the Lamb approaching Jehovah and receiving from him ‘the mystery of his will,’ the great plan of the ages, as mapped out in the divine purpose from before the foundation of the world. As soon as the ‘mystery of God’ was committed to ‘the Lamb of God,’ who had already fulfilled an important part of that plan by redeeming the world with his own precious blood, he receives homage, as it is written: ‘Him hath God highly exalted, and given him a name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow of things in heaven and things on earth,’ and ‘that all men should honor the Son even as they honor the Father’.

“Then came the opening of the seals: the disclosing of one after another of the various features connected with the divine purpose.¹ Each seal as it was loosed permitted the scroll as a whole to open a little wider, and a little wider, thus permitting ‘the mystery of God’ to be a little more clearly discerned. And so God’s people down through this Gospel age have been privileged to know something of the ‘secret of the Lord’; the divine plan. But not until the last seal was broken did the scroll fly wide open, permitting the ‘mystery of God’ to be fully disclosed; as it is written:

‘In the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound the mystery of God should be finished, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets.’ (Rev. 5:1; 10:7)” (R2208:6; 2209:1)

The Trumpets – Not Literal Trumpets

“… the seven trumpets of Revelation are symbolical and not literal – indeed … this entire book is a book of symbols, and that so far it has been symbolically fulfilled. Christian people in general understand that five of these trumpets have already ‘sounded’ and are in the past; – we would say six.” (R2992:5)

The “trumpets,” of course, are also symbolic.

“The seven trumpets of Revelation are all symbolic, and represent seven great periods of time and their events.… Suffice it here to say that we find ourselves today in the midst of the very events which mark the sounding of the seventh trumpet. The great voices, the increase of knowledge, the angry nations, etc., taken in connection with time-prophecies, establish this as a fact. Many events are yet to transpire before this seventh or last trumpet ceases to sound; as for instance, the rewarding of the saints and prophets, the resurrection of all the dead, etc. In fact, it covers the entire period of the Millennial reign of Christ, as indicated by the events which are to transpire under it. (Rev. 10:7; 11:15, 18)” (B148)

The “angels” referred to in connection with the seven trumpets, while seven in number, seem not to be the same as the seven special “angels” or messengers of the seven churches. Perhaps all that we can say about them is that:

“The ‘mighty angels,’ messengers, or agents of his (God’s) power, are various, and may properly be understood as applying to and including all the various agencies, animate and inanimate, which shall be used by our Lord in the overthrow of the evil systems of the present, and in the chastisement of evil doers.” (B151)

8:3-5 – “And another angel came and stood at the altar, having a golden censer; and there was given unto him much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne. And the smoke of the incense, which came with the prayers of the saints, ascended up before God out of the angel’s hand. And the angel took the censer, and filled it with fire of the altar, and cast it into the earth: and there were voices, and thunderings, and lightnings, and an earthquake.”

¹ The opening of the seals is undoubtedly to reflect for the Church, the progressive development of God’s plan. It is, however, not necessary to assume that Jesus himself had to wait for the respective periods to arrive for the unsealing of the “scroll.” As a partaker of the divine nature he was privileged to “see” (or know) what the opening of each seal would signify for the Church, from the beginning: for is this not what is implied in the introduction to the Revelation to John: “The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants, things which must surely come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John.” (Rev. 1:1) However, the revelation to the Church would only be made as it came due, as if these seals were not really “opened” until such specific times!

In the typical Tabernacle, the golden altar stood in front of the second vail (Exod. 30:6), in the Tabernacle of the Congregation (Lev. 4:7), just outside the Most Holy. It was there that the High Priest on Israel’s great Day of Atonement, offered his incense, before entering into the presence of God in the Most Holy, to there present the blood of atonement.

There is nothing in the account which even remotely suggests that the incense was offered in connection with the sacrifice of any other than the High Priest’s own bullock (Lev. 16:11-13); and at that time the incense was offered from the High Priest’s own copper censer. The Revelation scene, while featuring both the altar of burnt- offering (Rev. 8:5), and the altar of incense (Rev. 8:3), has the incense offered from a golden censer. It is quite evident, therefore, that these two pictures (Lev. 16:11-13 and Rev. 8:3-5) do not bear the relationship of type and antitype to each other!

Incense in Type of Leviticus 16 Offered but Once!

“Since there is nothing in the account of Leviticus that says that the incense was offered a second time, it is rather improbable that it was offered twice.

“… we might say that the incense which He (Christ) offered up, in a certain sense and to a certain degree, represented the whole church, which is his body; for in harmony with the divine intention, before the foundation of the world, he was to be the Forerunner, the Representative and the Advocate of those who would be accepted as his members. Hence in offering up his own perfections, he was offering up that which would, by imputation, be our perfection as his members.” (R4922:2)

It seems, though, that the Revelation scene is laid at the very beginning of the Gospel age; perhaps even in those 40 days which preceded Jesus’ ascension, and which ushered in the “silence in heaven about the space of half an hour.”

Christ Jesus – “The Angel” of Rev. 8:3-5

“We believe that it will be observed by the careful consecrated reader that we have set before us in this scene the most important matter connected with God’s great Plan of Salvation. Those familiar with the typical atonement day services of ancient Israel will recognize at once the very evident correspondence. In those typical services the High Priest alone was permitted to do what this angel is represented as doing. No imperfect human being or agency can possibly be represented by this angel with the censer. Indeed, it would be blasphemous to think of this angel and his work as representing any imperfect human being or agency. The High Priest in Israel’s arrangement represented Christ.” (The Revelation of Jesus Christ – Streeter, p. 367)

Jesus, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, had by faithfulness (obedience) unto death, won – as it were, for himself, the right to open the seals of the “book written within and on the backside” (Rev. 5:2, 7); i.e., he was found worthy to execute all the remainder of the plan of God. (R2208:5) One feature of this plan involved his intercession on behalf of those who were to be called to join their ship with him. As the “High Priest” of their order or profession (Heb. 3:1), he is here represented as “the angel” who “came and stood at the altar, having a golden censer,” and to whom “there was given” “much incense, that he should offer it with [add it to] the prayers of all saints, upon the golden altar” before the throne of God. (Rev. 8:3) The seven angels referred to in Rev. 8:2, are not the same as the special messengers to the seven churches; and it should be noted that, they did not prepare to sound their respective trumpets until after “the angel” had taken the golden censer filled with fire from the altar (of burnt-offering) and cast it upon the earth. (Rev. 5:5, 6)

Since “the angel” with the censer stood by the altar “before the vail,” we assume that, the time here is, as already suggested, that period of 40 days during which Jesus, the New Creature, though already in possession of his new (spiritual) body – the “golden censer,” but having not yet ascended up on high into the presence of God (in a sense he had not yet “passed beyond the second vail”) to make intercession for his disciples and the Church.

We are told that to this “angel” there was given much incense, for the specific purpose of offering it with the prayers of the saints. (Rev. 8:3) At this time, Jesus having made his own calling and election sure, was given back, as it were, the merits of the perfect man Christ Jesus, which he no longer needed for himself, and which he now, with the heavenly Father’s approval, might impute to the disciples and all the saints. The prayers of these saints, we understand, do not represent merely their audible prayers, but their hearts’ desires to live acceptable lives before God, which in their imperfect bodies they would find themselves unable to do. However, when these desires (prayers) are augmented by the imputed merits of the man Christ Jesus (the incense), through the intercession of their “high priest,” they do reach the very heart of God! Perhaps this is the reason why, in the Tabernacle type, the high priest’s offering of incense occurred just once, and that in connection with the sacrifice of the bullock, “for himself and his house.” (Lev. 16:11)

The fact that this “angel” took the golden censer and filled it with the fire of the altar (of burnt-offering), and then cast it upon the earth, after he had offered the “much incense” with the prayers of the saints, seems to signify that, those who of the earth are to share the divine nature – membership in the glorified Body of the Christ (the Church “beyond the vail”), would first have to share the identical trials and afflictions of Christ which were left behind for the body’s sake (Col. 1:24); for only if they “suffer with him” can they ever “reign with him.” (2 Tim. 2:12;

Rom. 8:17) This picture in the Revelation clearly sets forth that fact that Jesus could not offer the privilege of join their ship with him in the Kingdom – nor could he even succor them, his disciples, until he himself had been given his own glorified body (the golden censer); and the merit of the man Christ Jesus (the incense) to be used on their behalf. Thus does the “incense” to be added to our prayers, come, as it were, from the “hand” (Rev. 8:4) of our “High Priest,” making our sacrifices and consecrations acceptable to his God and Father.

The voices, the thunderings, lightnings, and the earthquake, which followed (Rev. 8:5) undoubtedly represent the events and controversies, etc., that marked the Church’s beginning. We suggest that the voices represent the Apostolic teachings – such as Jesus had prophetically referred to before his crucifixion (Matt. 18:18), and confirmed thereafter (John 20:23); the thunderings, such controversies as would quite naturally be associated with the transition from the old order to the new – from Moses to Christ – and among these thunderings were such as were precipitated by the Judaisers who continually plagued the Apostle Paul; the lightnings would represent the dissemination of the truth – perhaps more particularly its deeper aspects as were brought to light by Paul; and the earthquake may have reference to the earth-shaking doctrines that the Gentiles were also acceptable to the Lord God – Jehovah!

“Thunderings”

“The synagogue was crowded. (Acts 13:44) Multitudes of Gentiles were there in addition to the Proselytes. This was more than the Jews could bear. Their spiritual pride and exclusive bigotry was immediately aroused. They could not endure the notion of others being freely admitted to the same religious privileges with themselves. Instead of realizing their position in the world as the prophetic nation, for the good of the whole earth, they indulged the self-exalting opinion, that God’s highest blessings were only for themselves. Their oppressions and dispersions had not destroyed this deeply-rooted prejudice; but they rather found comfort under the yoke, in brooding over their religious isolation; and even in their remote and scattered settlements, they clung with utmost tenacity to the feeling of their exclusive nationality. Thus, in Pisidian Antioch, they who on one Sabbath had listened with breathless interest to the teachers who spoke to them of the promised Messiah, were on the next Sabbath filled with the most excited indignation, when they found that this Messiah was ‘a light to lighten the Gentiles,’ as well as ‘the glory of His people Israel.’ They made an uproar, and opposed the words of Paul with all manner of calumnious expressions, ‘contradicting and blaspheming’.” (The Life & The Epistle of Paul – Conybeare & Howson, p. 143)

8:6 – “And the seven angels which had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound.”

These seven angels, and their trumpets, represent circumstances or agencies, which in certain periods or epochs, will bring about the fulfillment of Jehovah’s purposes in the overthrow of all that is inimical to his perfect will; and the ultimate establishment of his own glorious kingdom in which truth and righteousness shall prevail. (2 Pet. 3:13; See B148; 151)

Angels = Agencies, etc.

“The ‘mighty angels’ or agents of his power are various, and may properly be understood as applying to and including all the various agencies, animate and inanimate, which shall be used of the Lord in the overthrow of the evil systems of the present, and in the chastisement of evil doers.” (B151)

8:7 – “The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth: and the third part of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up.”

Perhaps the first of the trumpets sounded immediately after Pentecost, when the disciples started again to preach the Gospel of the Kingdom; but now, under, and in the power, of the holy Spirit sent in Jesus’ name. The “seventy weeks” of special favor for Israel (Dan. 9:24-27) had not yet come to an end; it was still the “one week” (the seventieth), in which the covenant was to be confirmed with many. (Dan. 9:27) And so it was that the message of the Kingdom, for the time at least, was being directed to “the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” (Matt. 10:6; 15:24) Even Paul, though ordained a special minister to the Gentiles (Acts 9:23) began first to declare his message in the synagogues of his own people. Finding them unwilling to receive it, he took it to the Gentiles. (Acts 13:45-49)

The particular part of the message of truth (water) which became “hail,” (hard, cutting truth), and was accompanied with “fire” – (perhaps this has reference to lightning, which might very naturally accompany a hailstorm; if so, its significance here would be that of enlightenment, rather than destruction) – we believe, was that which declared that they, the Jews, had killed their Messiah (Acts 5:33; 7:54); and that Gentiles too, now were called to join their ship in Messiah’s Kingdom. (Acts 11:2) John says that the hail and the fire were mingled with blood. “Blood” in this sense is a strong symbolism for death. Does this possibly mean that Israel’s noblest (the trees), by virtue of their rejection of the Gospel message then proclaimed, were now cut-off from all the privileges previously extended to them, of join their ship in Messiah’s Kingdom; and, that less than forty years later, they as a nation (the grass), would suffer the baptism of fire (Matt. 3:11) which in A. D. 70 destroyed their national polity, when Titus destroyed the city of Jerusalem and its Temple? Thus was the judgment of God upon Israel reflected in the sounding of the first trumpet!

The Siege of Jerusalem

“… the Judeans, desperate in their death agonies, closed wildly with their assailants. The shouts of victory, the shrieks of despair, the fierce hissing of the flames, making the very earth tremble and the air vibrate, rose in one hideous din, which echoed from the tottering walls of the Sanctuary to the mountain heights of Judea. There were congregated clusters of trembling people from all the country round, who beheld in the ascending flames the sign that the glory of their nation Thad departed forever. Many of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, unwilling to outlive their beloved Temple, cast themselves headlong into the burning mass … they fell but an easier prey to the Romans, who slew some six thousand on the spot. The Temple was burned to the ground, and only a few smouldering ruins were left, rising like gigantic ghosts from the ashes … Titus ordered their instant execution, saying ‘Priests must fall with their Temple.’ The conquering legions raised their stan- dards in the midst of the ruins, sacrificed to their gods in the Holy Place, and saluted Titus as emperor.

“… the Judean warriors were exhausted by their superhuman resistance and by their long famine, and the Romans were at last able to scale the walls and to seize the fortress, a prelude to their spreading through the city, plundering the last of the wretched inhabitants. On the 8th of Elul, they set fire to all that remained of Jerusalem, the upper city known by the name of Zion. The walls were entirely leveled … Under the ruins of Jerusalem and her Temple lay buried the last remnant of Judea’s independence …” (The World’s Great Events, Vol. 1, p. 494-496 Heinrich Gras)

Another version:

“It was on the ninth of Ab that the defenders made their final stand. They made two last-ditch sorties, but both times they were driven back. Then a Roman soldier hurled a firebrand through the Golden Window of the Temple and the great wooden beams inside began to burn.

“At the sight of the burning Sanctuary the defenders were frantic. A desperate hand-to-hand struggle followed. Rather than fall into the hands of the Romans many chose to die in the flames. Thousands perished that day. The survivors who were identified by informers as rebels were promptly crucified. The flower of the country’s youth was sent to work in the Roman mines. Others were sold into slavery, including many women.

“Jerusalem was utterly destroyed. It was now a wilderness of burned houses and desolation. According to the Roman historian Tacitus, six hundred thousand Jews were killed or had died from starvation and disease during the siege of Jerusalem, which had lasted one year and a half. Almost the same number were led away as captives or slaves to Rome.” (Pictorial History of the Jewish People – Nathan Ausubel)

8:8, 9 – “And the second angel sounded, as it were a great mountain burning with fire was cast into the sea: and the third part of the sea became blood; And the third part of the creatures which were in the sea, and had life, died; and the third part of the ships were destroyed.”

The second trumpet sounded some little time after the first, when “as it were, a mountain burning with fire was cast into the sea …” This “mountain,” we believe, was ancient Rome – the fourth of the great universal empires of Daniel’s prophecy. (Dan. 2:40) It was “strong as iron,” and “cruel as the grave.” It was still very much intact when Jesus came to live here among men; and it was at the time the very stronghold of Paganism.

The followers of Jesus, by the Jews were regarded as heretics, and they would have stoned them all to death (Acts 7:57, 58; 8:1); but to the Romans, they were rank unbelievers – atheists, and they persecuted and tortured them to death.

“The charges brought against Christians were atheism and anarchy. Their rejection of the old gods seemed atheism; their refusal to join in emperor-worship appeared treasonable. Popular credulity, made possible by the degree to which the Christians held aloof from ordinary civil society, charged them with crimes as revolting as they were preposterous.” (A History of the Christian Church – Walker, p. 49)

“The punishment of those alleged to have been found guilty followed in the most ignominious manner, some being used for fighting with beasts, sewed up in skins, thrown to the dogs, others being crucified. On the occasion of the ghastly games in the Garden of Caligula, while Nero circled about as a charioteer, Christians flamed as torches, dressed in tow and pitch in the so-called tunica molesta attached by the neck to stakes of fir.” (History of the Christian Church – Moeller, Vol. 1, p. 78)

“Fire broke out in the imperial palace and Galerius blamed the Christians for the fire, and also charged them with a conspiracy against the life of the Emperor. A persecution then began to rage throughout the whole Roman empire.… All conceivable tortures and modes of death were practiced, and new and more horrible devices were invented from day to day.” (Church History, Kurtz, Vol. 1, p. 84)

Nor did the conversion (?) of Constantine the Great, really change matters much, for while he did influence the populace by his example, neither he, nor they, became true disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ. Concerning Constantine, the historian has this to say:

“When we strip away the tinsel with which Eusebius and similar writers have decked the character of this man, we are forced to believe that there was little grand or heroic about him except his military skill. He slew his father-in-law; and, in later days, meanly jealous of justly-won laurels, he hurried his eldest son, the gallant Crispus, from a gay feast in Rome to die by a secret and sudden death. Many of his strokes of policy were terrible blunders, full of future ruin; and his boasted profession of Christianity seems to have been scarcely better than a mere pretence, made to serve the aims of an unresting and unscrupulous ambition.” (The World’s Great Events, Vol. 2, p. 528 – W. F. Collier)

By moving his Capital to Byzantium (Constantinople) he weakened the empire, preparing, as it were, for the eventual exaltation of the bishop of Rome. There were other things, however, which fanned small fires already burning within the realm, into greater conflagrations: and these, together with the onslaughts of the Goths under Alaric in A.D. 410; the Huns under Attila in A.D. 452; and the Vandals under Genseric in A.D. 455; all helped to bring about the complete destruction of this most renowned division of the Roman Empire, when in A.D. 476, the last of its emperors was dethroned by Odoacer.

The Christianity of Constantine

“Whatever advantages might be derived from the acquisition of an Imperial proselyte, he was distinguished by the splendor of his purple, rather than by the superiority of wisdom or virtue, from the many thousands of his subjects who had embraced the doctrines of Christianity … the same year of his reign in which he convened the council of Nice was polluted by the execution, or rather murder, of his eldest son … The gratitude of the church has exalted the virtues and excused the failings of a generous patron, who seated Christianity on the throne of the Roman world.” (The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire – Gibbon, Vol. 1, p. 651 & 654; B290)

At the time when this “mountain” was cast into the sea, there were in the Roman Empire three different groups or classes of religious peoples: (1) the Christians; (2) the Jews; and (3) the Pagans. As the judgments of God associated with the sounding of the first trumpet affected only the Jews (the trees and grass); so the judgments associated with the sounding of the second trumpet affected only the “third part” of the Empire the Pagan (the sea, those therein, and the ships upon it).

John says, “the third part of the sea became blood.” This seems to signify that with the destruction of the Roman Empire as such, the pagan people virtually “died” as pagans, for John continues, “and the third [the pagan] part of the creatures which were in the sea, and Thad life, died.” They had life in the sense that they were sustained in their religious life, by the superstitions and tenets of Paganism. Yet, not only were the peoples as pagans thus figuratively “destroyed,” but the “ships” also, that sailed upon this “sea” – the pagan priests, as well as the rulers of the people. Thus were the judgments of God visited upon the Roman Empire, that had so cruelly mistreated the saints of the Most High God!

The Fall of the Roman Empire

“The throne of the persecuting Decius was filled by a succession of Christian and orthodox princes, who had extirpated the fabulous gods of antiquity: and the public devotion of the age was impatient to exalt the saints and martyrs of the catholic church on the altars of Diana and Hercules. The union of the Roman empire was dissolved; its genius was humbled in the dust; and armies of un- known barbarians issuing from the frozen regions of the North, had established their victorious reign over the fairest provinces of Europe and Africa.” (The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire – Gibbon, Vol. 1, p. 243, Modern Library Edition)

8:10, 11 – “And the third angel sounded, and there fell a great star from heaven, burning as it were a lamp, and it fell upon the third part of the rivers, and upon the foun- tains of waters. And the name of the star is called Worm- wood: and the third part of the waters became worm- wood; and many men died of the waters, because they were made bitter.”

The sounding of the third trumpet was identified with the exaltation of the bishop of Rome – the “man of sin.” (2 Thes. 2:3) Ever since the days of the Apostles there had been those in the church, who, while professing kinship unto Jesus, had a “form of godliness,” but lacked the power thereof in their lives. (2 Tim. 3:5; F248) In the ecclesiastical “heavens” of the time, some of these had exalted themselves to the position of “stars.”

“The stars as symbols represent the inspired teachers of the church – the apostles. The heavens … repre- sent the ecclesiastical powers of Christendom.” (D591) “… God has recognized or appointed twelve apostolic stars for the Church … from these the true light, which has blessed the true Church, has proceeded. But Papacy, assuming ecclesiastical lordship of earth, has placed or ‘ordained’ various stars, lights, ‘authorities,’ ‘Theologians,’ in her firmament; and the various Protestant denominations have done likewise, until the whole number is innumerable. But God, while providing helps, evangelists and teachers to his true Church has not ordained them with the authority of lights or stars …

“God’s people are during this age to be burning and shining lamps, and are not to put their lamps under a bushel, but to so shine as to glorify their Father in heaven. The word star (Greek: aster) is not used respecting any of the faithful (outside the apostles) in referring to them in this present life; but it is used with reference to those who depart from the truth, ‘vainly puffed up,’ aspiring to be considered authorities in the same sense as the apostles, and who are styled ‘Wandering stars,’ ‘false apostles.’ (2 Cor. 11:13; Rev. 2:2; Jude 13)” (D593)

There is, of course, a difference between “fixed stars,” and so-called “shooting stars” (meteors). The fixed stars can not be moved from their appointed places in the heavens; but it is different with meteors, which being attracted by the earth’s gravitational field, soon fall in upon it.

“Those inclined to quibble by urging that ‘the fixed stars did not fall’ are reminded that our Lord said nothing about fixed stars falling, and that fixed stars could not fall: their falling would prove that they were not fixed. The Scriptures do not distinguish between stars and meteors as is commonly done in our day.

“Shooting stars, and even meteoric showers are not uncommon every year, and some years more than others.” (D588)

Thus, the stars which are fixed in the Church’s firmament – the Apostles, are not, and never can be, moved or displaced; but it is different with the meteoric stars – the false apostles, false teachers, hireling shepherds, etc., which, being attracted by what the earth has to offer of glory, honor, pomp and circumstance, “fall” as it were, for it! This latter, is the story of Wormwood. The selfsame “inertia” which placed him in the earth’s celestial sphere, continued to drive him on until he fell a ready prey to the earth’s gravitational “pull.” In other words, his exaltation was also his downfall!

Wormwood

“It is our conviction that the Roman Catholic Bishop, the Pope, and his successors are represented by the notable ‘star’ of this third trumpet symbol. The Prophet Daniel was caused in prophetic vision to see the rise of this great ecclesiastical Bishop, the Pope.

“The fountain or source of all truth is the ransom sacrifice of Our Lord Jesus Christ. It is a positive fact that the so-called doctrine of the Mass has so polluted or poisoned this great fountain truth that it no longer has any effective power to cleanse the conscience of those who are deceived by it from dead works to serve the living God. ‘Christ’s continual sacrifice was not actually cancelled or abolished by Papacy, but it was set aside by a false doctrine advanced by that system – which gradually, but in the end fully and completely, set aside the merit of Christ’s sacrifice as a continual and ever-efficacious one. This false doctrine is known as the Mass, or Sacrifice of the Mass’.” (The Revelation of Jesus Christ – Streeter, Vol. 1, p. 398; C98)

“The ‘mystery of iniquity’ (2 Thes. 2:7) the desire to lord it over God’s heritage, began to work in the Church as early as the Apostle Paul’s day. This evil continued to develop amongst the elders or bishops of the Church for two centuries. It at last culminated in a rivalry between four prominent bishops (stars) in the Church – those of Rome, Constantinople, Antioch, and Alexandria. This contention for rulership was finally settled in 533 A.D. by a decree of Justinian, the emperor of Eastern Rome, declaring that the Bishop of Rome was the one to be recognized by all Christians, as the sole divinely appointed ruler in the Church.”(The Revelation of Jesus Christ – Streeter, Vol. 1, p. 401)

The Establishment of the Papacy

“These pleas for supremacy were not readily conceded, however. The spirit of rivalry was abroad, and other bishops in other large cities claimed supremacy also, some upon one and some upon another ground. It was not until A.D. 533 that the bishop of Rome was thus recognized by the emperor, Justinian I. This was in connection with a warm religious discussion in which the emperor took sides with the bishop of Rome, recognizing the Virgin Mary’s worthiness of adoration, and disputing with the Eutychians and Nestorians regarding distinctions and blendings of natures in our Lord Jesus. The emperor feared that the discussion might divide the church, and thus divide the empire which he was desirous of more firmly uniting; for even at that early day the nominal church and the empire were one and the same – ‘Christendom.’ And desiring to have some authority as a standard to settle the dispute, and to tell the people what to believe and what to disbelieve, and finding the bishop of Rome already the most popular of the claimants to primacy (popedom or headship), as well as the most ‘orthodox’ – the one most nearly in harmony with the emperor’s views on the questions – Justinian, by documents, not only condemned the doctrines of the Eutychians and Nestorians, but, addressing the bishop of Rome as the Head of all the holy churches, and of all the holy priests of God, thus acknowledged him, and desired to assist the Pope in putting down the heresy and in establishing the unity of the church.

“But even after being recognized as a ruler, a sacerdotal emperor, for the time it was of no special advantage to Papacy, beyond the empty name; for Justinian was far from Rome, and Italy in general, was under the sway of another kingdom – the Ostrogoths – who did not recognize the bishop of Rome as supreme pontiff; for they were mainly Arians in faith. Papacy, therefore, was exalted and advantaged in name only, by the emperor’s recognition, until the fall of the Ostrogothic Monarchy, when its exaltation became an actual fact. Indeed, as if by a preconcerted arrangement, the emperor at once (A.D. 534) sent Belisarius and an army into Italy, and in six years after the pope’s recognition by the emperor, the Ostrogothic power was vanquished, and their king Vitiges and the flower of his army were taken with other trophies to Justinian’s feet. This was in A.D. 539, which is therefore the point of time from which we should reckon the ‘Desolating Abomination set up.’ Papacy there had its small beginning.” (C70)

To the time of Constantinople the Great, the three major divisions of the Empire’s religious population, consisted of the Christians, the Jews, and the Pagans. This was now changed, inasmuch as the Pagan division, virtually dead, had been superseded by the pseudo-christian – the nominally Christian church; and this was now the “third part.”

When Wormwood fell in upon the earth, it was not the truly Christian “part” nor the Jewish “part” that was directly affected; but rather this nominally Christian sector of the populace: and its “rivers” (channels of the truth), its “fountains” (sources of the truth), in fact, all its “waters” (truth) became contaminated, so that “many men died” because of the bitterness (poisonousness) of tThese “waters.”

“The many men who died because of drinking the poisoned waters, represent the many who have been influenced to accept the teachings and claims of this great false church system, and who thus suffer spiritually, losing all appreciation of and desire for the pure truth that comes from the true fountain, the Word of God, and the unpolluted, divinely appointed channels, the Apostles and Prophets.” (The Revelation of Jesus Christ – Streeter, Vol. 1, p. 402)

Out of the pure fountain of truth – the Word of God, there flowed the refreshing, revitalizing water of life: the doctrine of the ransom sacrifice of Christ Jesus, which teaches that the blood of Jesus, shed on Calvary’s cross, is the only means whereby the sinner can be cleansed from sin, and brought back into favor and fellowship with God. Accordingly, the sacrifice of Jesus replaced yearly and daily sacrifices – the typical sacrifices of ancient Israel; and brought in a “once for all” full and complete redemption. Therefore, this sacrifice was never again to be repeated. (Heb. 10:1-10) The Papacy, however, in the so-called doctrine of the Mass, has polluted this great truth; and taken away from Christ, the effectiveness of his sacrifice (Dan. 8:11), substituting for it the daily sacrifices offered by its priests. The doctrine seems to have had some popularity before the Papacy came fully into power; but it was the Papacy that foisted it upon the church. Transubstantiation, which is but one feature of this doctrine, though practiced for centuries, became a dogma to this church by the decree of the 4th Lateran Council in A.D. 1215. The binding (blinding?) effect of the doctrine of the Mass upon all Christians was set forth by the Council of Trent which met from Dec. 13th, 1545 to December 4, 1563, as follows:

“If any one shall say that the Mass is only a service of praise and thanksgiving, or a bare commemoration of the sacrifice made on the Cross, and not (in itself) a propitiatory offering (i.e., a sacrifice which itself makes satisfaction for sins); or that it only benefits him who receives it, and ought not to be offered for the living and the dead, for sins, punishments, satisfactions, and other necessities: let him (who so denies the power of this sacrifice) be accursed.” (Concil Trid. Sess. 22, De Sacrificio Massae, Canon 3.)

And when the great fountainhead of the truth became thus contaminated, could it possibly have been otherwise than that the “rivers” and “waters” should likewise suffer?

May we not consider that this too, was a judgment of God visited upon the false church? As God turned the human race over to a reprobate mind because it refused to take him into its thoughts (Rom. 1:28); so too, he seems to have left the nominal church – the church which refused to receive the truth in the love of it – similarly, to its own devices (2 Thes. 2:7-10), and the papacy was one of these!

“So we see it today. Many are preaching themselves rather than preaching the Gospel, the good tidings of the Kingdom; they are attracting disciples after themselves and their denominations, rather than attracting them to and uniting them only with the Lord, as members of his body. They are seeking to be the heads of churches, instead of having all the members of the body looking directly to the Lord as the Head. From all such we should turn away – the true sheep should give them no encouragement in their wrong course. The Apostle Paul speaks of these as having a form of godliness but denying its power. (2 Tim. 3:5) They are great sticklers for days, forms, ceremonies, ecclesiastical authorities, etc., and are highly esteemed amongst men, but an abomination in the sight of the Lord, saith the Apostle. The true sheep must not only be careful to recognize the voice of the true Shepherd and to follow him…not to support, not to encourage those who are self seeking.”(F248)

Daniel’s Prophecy concerning the Papacy (Dan. 8:10-12)

“‘And it became great even unto [controlling] the host of heaven [the entire Church], and it caused some of the host and of the shining lights to fall to the earth, and trod them under foot. Yea, it magnified itself even up to the Prince of the host. [It assumed to itself honors and dignities, and applied to itself prophecies and titles, which belong to Christ Jesus, the true Chief or Prince or Head of the Church.] And it took away from him [Christ] the CONTINUAL SACRIFICE, and the BASE OF HIS SANCTUARY was overthrown. And the host [people] was given over to it against the continual sacrifice, through transgression; and it cast down truth to the ground, and its doings prospered.’” (C96)

The Continual Sacrifice vs. the Mass

“Christ’s continual sacrifice was not actually canceled or abolished by Papacy, but it was set aside by a false doctrine advanced by that system – which gradually, but in the end fully and completely, set aside the merit of Christ’s sacrifice as a continual and ever- efficacious one. This false doctrine is known as the Mass, or Sacrifice of the Mass.” (C98)

“Romanists claim that the Mass was instituted by Christ and the Apostles; but the earliest mention of it we have been able to find was at the Council of Constantinople, A.D. 381. However, the date of the introduction of this defiling error is not particularly referred to in the prophecy, except that by reason of this fundamental error Papacy became the ‘Abomination of Desolation,’ before it was, as such, ‘set up’ in power, which, we have seen, was in A.D. 539.” (C103)

The False Church – The Apostate Church

“… it is a mistake to suppose, as many do, that the Church at this time was a pure (virgin) church, suddenly lifted into dignity and power which became her snare. Quite the contrary is true … a great falling away had occurred, from primitive purity and simplicity and freedom into creed-bound, ambitious factions, whose errors and ceremonies, resembling those of the pagan philosophies, garnished with some truths and enforced and clinched with the doctrine of everlasting torment, had drawn into the church a vast horde, whose numbers and influence became valuable to Constantine and were respected and used accordingly. No such worldly man ever thought seriously of espousing the cause of the humble, Christ-like ‘little flock,’ – the truly consecrated Church, whose names are written in heaven. The popularity with his soldiers, mentioned by the historians, is very different from popularity with real soldiers of the cross.” (B291)

God’s Rejected Counsels … His Judgments! Wrath!

“God’s counsel to mankind has been continually rejected, except by the few; and … he permitted them to have their own way and to drop him and his counsels from their hearts. (Rom. 1:28) He then confined his special care to Abraham and his seed, who professed to desire his way and his service. Their hardness of heart as a people, and the insincerity of their hearts toward God, not only naturally prevented them from receiving Messiah, but just as naturally prepared them for and led them into the trouble which terminated their national existence.

“And so the light borne in the world during the Gospel age by the true Church of Christ (the class whose names are written in heaven) has borne witness to the civilized world of the difference between right and wrong, good and evil, and of the

coming time in which the one will be rewarded and the other punished. (John 16:8-11; Acts 24:25) This would have had a wide influence upon men had they heeded the Lord’s instruction, but wilful as ever, they have profited little by the advice of the Scriptures, and the trouble of the Day of the Lord will come as a consequence of the neglect. Again, it may be said to be the wrath of God inasmuch as it comes through disregard of his counsels, and as a reward of unrighteousness.” (A308)

As The Historian Sees It

“Through Charlemagne the tradition of the Roman Caesar was revived in Europe.… Official Christianity had long overlaid and accustomed itself to ignore those strange teachings of Jesus of Nazareth from which it had arisen. The Roman Church, clinging tenaciously to its possession of the title of Pontifex Maximus, had long since abandoned its appointed task of achieving the Kingdom of Heaven. It was preoccupied with the revival of Roman ascendancy on earth which it conceived of as its inheritance. It had become a political body, using the faith and needs of simple men to forward its schemes.” (H. G. Wells in The Outline of History, p. 619)

8:12, 13 – “And the fourth angel sounded, and the third part of the sun was smitten, and the third part of the moon, and the third part of the stars; so as the third part of them was darkened, and the day shone not for a third part of it, and the night likewise. And I beheld, and heard an angel flying through the midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice, Woe, woe, woe, to the inhabiters of the earth by reason of the other voices of the trumpet of the three angels, which are yet to sound!”

After the fall of the western Roman Empire, and with the exaltation of the bishop of Rome, we are ushered into what has universally been called, the “Dark Ages.” It is interesting to note that the events of this period do well accord with what is prophetically foretold in connection with the sounding forth of the fourth trumpet; viz., the partial eclipse of the light of the “sun,” “moon,” and the “stars.” (Rev. 8:12)

Aside from astronomical eclipses (when the light of the sun, or the moon, is cut-off by virtue of the occultation caused by some other celestial body), the darkening of the heavenly lights is generally occasioned by earth-born clouds. It is just such “earth-born” clouds that during these ages, as it were, have darkened the “sunlight” of the Gospel; the “moonlight” of the Law (its types and shadows, etc.,); and the “starlight” of the Apostles (their inspired writings and teachings); making the “day” quite dark, and the “night” darker.

Contrary to the love of God as manifested in Christ Jesus; contrary to the testimony of the Law and the Prophets; contrary to the teachings of Jesus and the Apostles, the bishop of Rome:

“… claimed to represent our Lord Jesus to the church and to the world. The pope sat upon a throne of glory and became an autocrat in power; commanding kings, and ruling as both a spiritual and temporal prince. The pagan doctrine of the immortality of the soul, combined with the idea, also imbibed from paganism, of the torture of the wicked after death, was made the basis of the doctrine of eternal torture of heretics and of the Purgatorial sufferings after death of practically all Catholics to fit them for heaven.

“It was claimed of the Papacy that the thousand years of Christ’s reign, the Millennium, promised in the Scriptures to follow Christ’s second advent, began in the year 800 A.D., under Pope Leo III, who claimed to be the representative of Christ, his vicegerent, to begin Christ’s reign in his stead. In that year the ‘Papal states’ were ceded to the church by Emperor Charlemagne …

“This Papal Millennium is known in history as the ‘Dark Ages.’ During that time many were the erroneous doctrines and practices brought in and forced upon the peoples of Europe by the Papacy. Their theory was that they might conquer the world. They endeavored to do this by force, which led to great persecutions, notable among them being the Inquisi- tion. During those dark centuries millions were tortured, exiled, and murdered in multitudinous ways, for refusing to bow to the mandates of the apostate church, under the leadership of popes, bishops and priests. Agents and spies were employed to apprehend and bring to punishment any who were found to express sentiments contrary to the Papal hierarchy, or who failed to bow in abject submission to their authority.

“Yea, these pseudo-apostles of God, as declared in the prophecy of Dan. 7:25, thought to ‘change times and laws.’ They presumed to have authority to alter the laws of God when it seemed advisable for them to do so. They sought to change the time for the reign of Christ.” (R5911:1-3)

In a sense, the Dark Ages ended when the power of the Papacy was broken – when the Papal “Millennium” came to a close in A.D. 1799: Napoleon had confiscated the territories once granted to the church and took the Pope, Pius VI, a captive to France, where the latter died. (See R5911:2, 3)

Almost immediately thereafter, “pestiferous Bible Societies” – so Rome called them – began springing up: the British and Foreign Bible Society was established in 1803; the New York Bible Society in 1804; the Berlin- Prussian Bible Society in 1805; the Philadelphia Bible Society in 1808; and the American Bible Society in 1817. (See C50)

¹One of the four “living ones” brought to our attention in the throne scene of Rev. 4:6, was “like a flying eagle.” (Rev. 4:7) As already set forth, the keen visioned, farsighted, flying eagle, is a most apt symbolism for the Wisdom of God, which is able to “see” the end from the beginning (Isa. 46:10); is able to foretell events long, long before they are due to happen. This is why our God is –

“… never confused, bewildered, perplexed, anxious or careworn, nor in the least fearful that his plans will miscarry or his purposes fail; because all power and wisdom inhere in him. The scope of his mighty intellect reaches to the utmost bounds of possibility, comprehends all causes and discerns with precision all effects; consequently he knows the end from the beginning, and that, not only upon philosophical principles, but also by intuition.” (R1832:6)

It is for this reason that we here suggest that the “eagle flying in the midst of heaven [the ecclesiastical or spiritual world]” (Rev. 8:13), is again a symbolism for the Wisdom of God! Yet not here, merely in the abstract sense, but rather in the concrete form – the now “liberated” Bible, whose strong, i.e., “loud voice,” of prophecy began foretelling the “woes” that were yet to fall upon “the inhabiters of the earth.”

Napoleon and the French Revolution

“Napoleon’s work, together with the French Revolution, broke the spell of religious superstition, humbled the pride of self-exalted religious lords, awakened the world to a fuller sense of the powers and prerogatives of manhood and broke the Papal dominion against which the religious Reformation had previously struck a death-blow, but which its after course had healed. (Rev. 13:3) The era closing with A.D. 1799, marked by Napoleon’s Egyptian campaign, sealed and defined the limit of Papal dominion over the nations. There, the time appointed (1260 years of power) having expired, the predicted judgment against that system began, which must finally ‘consume and destroy it unto the end.’ (Dan. 7:26)

“This date also clearly marks the beginning of a new era of liberty of thought, and the realization of individual rights and privileges, and has already been distinguished by its rapid strides of progress toward the full accomplishment of the work mapped out for this Time of the End. As a single illustration, notice the rise and work of the various Bible Societies – ‘pestiferous Bible Societies,’ Rome calls them, though it cannot now hinder them. And the sacred volume which once she confined in chains, kept covered in dead languages and forbade her deluded subjects to read, is now scattered by the million in every nation and language.” (C50)
Re: the three woes, see “The Ten Egyptian Plagues” page 165

¹The Sinaitic and Alexandrian MSS read “eagle” instead of “angel” in Rev. 8:13; and so it appears in the recensions of Griesbach, Lachmann, Tregelles, Tischendorf, Alford and Wordsworth.