My Vision on The Seven Trumpets of Revelation 8 and 9

As Counterfeited by Satan

(The Great Time of Trouble, Part 1)

The Vials of God’s Wrath Will Be Poured Out

SEVEN TRUMPETS FUTURE: Some think the Seven Trumpets were only historically fulfilled. Not so.

“Solemn events before us are yet to transpire. Trumpet after trumpet is to be sounded; vial after vial poured out one after another upon the inhabitants of the earth.”—Selected Messages 3:426 (1890). {LDE 238.1}

“The world is soon to be left by the angel of mercy and the seven last plagues are to be poured out.... The bolts of God’s wrath are soon to fall, and when He shall begin to punish the transgressors there will be no period of respite until the end.”—Testimonies to Ministers and Gospel Workers, 182 (1894). {LDE 238.2}

Click to go to our Home Page

 


In the deep hours of the night on April 12, 2018, I was given an important vision in answer to many questionings I had concerning the Seven Trumpets. Issues associated with the Seven Trumpets have baffled men from the time they were first entered into the Canon of Scripture. Praise be to our precious Lord and Saviour, we now have the mysteries associated with the trumpets solved for us.

I had wondered about the Trumpets occurring before the close of probation, because Ellen White said that the four winds would be held until Jesus’ work is done in the Sanctuary, and that Jesus would not leave the Sanctuary until EVERY CASE was decided. These facts preclude a fulfillment of the trumpets by God, until Christ’s work is finished in the Sanctuary. But I was still in a quandary, because in my vision of 2015, I was shown a panorama of what appeared to be some of the seven trumpets being fulfilled before the Sunday Law and during it.

At the same time, I was puzzled by the sixth seal whereby the four winds are released. How can the first five trumpets occur before the four winds are released in the sixth trumpet? Thus, the Bible “appeared” to be contradictory as well. But I knew that in God’s time He would furnish the correct understanding to these problems that plagued my mind.

I asked my angel why he did not give me this full testimony at the time of my 2015 vision, and he told me that it was delayed so that false elements on the part of others involving the Trumpets, would have time to germinate and then be exposed for what they are, and that now the time is ripe for God’s people to understand the truth about the Trumpets. I refer to some who are teaching that the trumpets cause the Will Ross statement to be fulfilled as the literal fulfillment of Ezekiel 9 BEFORE the National Sunday Law is legislated. I was shown that is not true, nor is the Will Ross statement a valid statement by Ellen G. White.

Once again, I was shown that Ezekiel 9 occurs at the end of the 1260 days reign of the antichrist pope. I was shown that the trumpets as counterfeited by Satan, have absolutely nothing to do with the literal fulfillment of Ezekiel 9.

 I am overwhelmingly thankful for this explanation of the riddles associated with this issue, which I knew were incomplete in my 2015 vision, as I was told then that more would be forthcoming, but not when it would come.

I forgot all about the “apparent contradictions,” and that I was told more was to come. But recently some Adventists have agitated this issue. So, I began to study this issue again.  God graciously gave me this response which explains an “apparent” contradiction between some of Ellen White’s statements. What are the “apparent” contradictions?  In Scripture, the four winds aren’t loosed until the 6th trumpet, yet there are 5 trumpets loosed before the four winds are loosed in the 6th Trumpet. An “apparent” contradiction in the Spirit of Prophecy is Ellen White’s statements that Jesus will not leave the most holy place until EVERY CASE is decided, and that the four winds will not blow until He leaves the Sanctuary. What appeared to be as “apparent contradictions,” were not contradictions at all when all of the facts are finally known.

"At the commencement of the holy Sabbath, January 5, 1849, we engaged in prayer with Brother Belden’s family at Rocky Hill, Connecticut, and the Holy Ghost fell upon us. I was taken off in vision to the most holy place, where I saw Jesus still interceding for Israel. On the bottom of His garment was a bell and a pomegranate, a bell and a pomegranate. Then I saw that Jesus would not leave the most holy place until every case was decided either for salvation or destruction, and that the wrath of God could not come until Jesus had finished His work in the most holy place, laid off His priestly attire, and clothed Himself with the garments of vengeance."{CET 100.1}

Every case involves more than just the 144,000.

“I saw that the four angels would hold the four winds until Jesus’ work was done in the sanctuary, and then will come the seven last plagues. These plagues enraged the wicked against the righteous; they thought that we had brought the judgments of God upon them, and that if they could rid the earth of us, the plagues would then be stayed. A decree went forth to slay the saints, which caused them to cry day and night for deliverance. This was the time of Jacob’s trouble.1 Then all the saints cried out with anguish of spirit, and were delivered by the voice of God. The one hundred and forty-four thousand triumphed. Their faces were lighted up with the glory of God.” {CET 100.3}

I prayed for an answer to this riddle, and God so graciously answered my prayer. This problem existed in my vision on the Trumpets in 2015. I was bewildered by it, but I faithfully wrote exactly what I was shown and forgot about it.

The four winds are held until Jesus’ work is done in the sanctuary. But Satan will have to counterfeit them in order for him to come as Christ, before Christ comes. This is the answer to the riddle. This is the answer to all “apparent contradictions,” and outstanding questions I had on the Seven Trumpets.

In my vision on Rabbi Jonathan Cahn, The Seven Trumpets, The Seven Thunders, and The Seven Last Plagues, I stated:

I was shown that any extension of God’s 42 month timetable (Revelation 13:1-5 AFTER THE WOUND IS HEALED), would have to precede the Sunday Law legislation, and that the pre-Sunday Law judgments will not be of 3 ½ years duration. Thus, Satan’s 7 year Tribulation will fail. But some judgments relative to the Seven Trumpets will occur before the Sunday Law. 

In my first vision, I was shown a panorama of events that “appeared” just as the seven trumpets are described, However, I said in my 2015 vision: Probation closes and all the saints are sealed. The four angels are not loosed until all the saints are sealed and probation has closed says Ellen White.

Many thought I was contradicting myself, because I said some of the trumpets would be fulfilled before the Sunday Law, while at the same time I stated that the four angels are not loosed until all the saints are sealed and probation is closed. I saw the “apparent contradiction,” but I wrote exactly what I was shown, trusting God to solve the problem. Does God allow such stumbling blocks for those who do not believe in His appointed agencies? Oh yes! The Bible is full of them. Ellen White said that the Bible, and her writings have “apparent” contradictions.  http://www.tecmalta.org/tft112.htm

Satan’s Counterfeit of the Seven Trumpets

The Lord showed me in this vision that Satan is forced to counterfeit the seven Trumpets in order for him to personate the second coming of Christ. I knew in my 2015 vision that Ellen White said all would be sealed before the wrath of God came in the sixth trumpet. But I did not know at that time that Satan would counterfeit the first five trumpets before the close of probation. The Lord told me there would be more later. I trusted that He would explain the “apparent contradiction” between what Ellen White stated, and “trumpets occurring before the Sunday law,” and the loosening of the Four Winds. That is what I am now relating in this vision; that Satan would counterfeit the first five trumpets. I will be demonstrating how he will do that in the forthcoming publication of another vision the Lord gave me entitled A Call to a Solemn Assembly.

Satan has convinced the Evangelical world via the Scofield Bible, that at Christ’s second coming, He will reign on this earth for the millennium. I was shown that in his effort to deceive the Evangelicals, Satan will have to counterfeit the Seven Trumpets as best he can.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/19306718-the-scofield-bible

I was shown that Satan will employ his counterfeit of the Seven Trumpets for the following reasons:

1.    Because the Evangelicals will expect the trumpets to be fulfilled before Jesus comes, Satan has to counterfeit the trumpets in order to make them appear to be fulfilled before he personaltes Christ’s coming.

2.    Satan will blame the calamities involved with the counterfeit trumpets on the desecration of Sunday in order to get a Sunday Law.

3.    Satan will blame the judgments of his false flag trumpets on God’s people, in order to persecute them.

4.    Because some confuse the trumpets with the 7 last plagues, many who believe in the rapture will take the mark, thinking they were not saved because they are experiencing the plagues. Jesus said: My people perish for a lack of knowledge, and this is a striking case in point.

I was shown that in order for Satan to set up his government here on earth when he personates the second coming of Christ on day 1261 after the National Sunday Law is legislated, he will have to counterfeit a tribulation period, with the false one coming before the sixth trumpet when the four winds are loosed by God. For the above stated reasons, Satan has to counterfeit a modicum of the first five of the Seven Trumpets. Those are the “same judgments relative to the Seven Trumpets” that I saw occurring before the National Sunday Law and during it in my vision on the Trumpets in 2015.

"When men reject a plain “Thus saith the Lord,” let men [who are] shepherds of the flock beware, for Satan is ready to fill the earth with his counterfeits in every place possible. He is doing this now." {Ms153-1906.12}

“So far as his power extends, he will perform actual miracles. Says the Scripture: “He ... deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do,” not merely those which he pretends to do. Something more than mere impostures is brought to view in this scripture. But there is a limit beyond which Satan cannot go, and here he calls deception to his aid and counterfeits the work which he has not power actually to perform. In the last days he will appear in such a manner as to make men believe him to be Christ come the second time into the world. He will indeed transform himself into an angel of light.”{Mar 207.3}

“He will come personating Jesus Christ, working mighty miracles; and men will fall down and worship him as Jesus Christ. We shall be commanded to worship this being, whom the world will glorify as Christ.” {Mar 207.4}

I repeat for important emphasis: Satan is forced counterfeit a modicum of the seven trumpets in order to personate the second coming of Jesus Christ, or no one would believe he is Christ. His counterfeit has to take place before the sixth trumpet, which is when God lets the four winds loose. Of course, Satan’s false teaching on a seven year tribulation time will not occur. Christ’s coming soon after the first 42 months of the pope’s reign (Rev. 13:5), will truncate Satan’s teaching of a 7-year tribulation.

Major Spirit of Prophecy Statements That Contradict a Releasing of the Four Winds Until Every Case is Decided

I am compelled to repeat that the following statements by Ellen White, along with the sixth trumpet, prevent a releasing of the four winds BY GOD, before probations closes. Then, the four angels release the four winds and the trumpets are released in quick succession. Ellen White clearly states that the four winds are not released until Jesus’ work is done in the Sanctuary, and EVERY CASE is decided either for salvation or destruction. In the Bible’s stating of the Trumpets, the four winds are not released until the sixth trumpet.

"At the commencement of the holy Sabbath, January 5, 1849, we engaged in prayer with Brother Belden’s family at Rocky Hill, Connecticut, and the Holy Ghost fell upon us. I was taken off in vision to the most holy place, where I saw Jesus still interceding for Israel. On the bottom of His garment was a bell and a pomegranate, a bell and a pomegranate. Then I saw that Jesus would not leave the most holy place until every case was decided either for salvation or destruction, and that the wrath of God could not come until Jesus had finished His work in the most holy place, laid off His priestly attire, and clothed Himself with the garments of vengeance."{CET 100.1}

Every case involves more than the saints pertaining to the 144,000. Ellen White saw that Jesus will not leave the most holy place until EVERY CASE is decided either for salvation or for destruction.

“I saw that the four angels would hold the four winds until Jesus’ work was done in the sanctuary, and then will come the seven last plagues. These plagues enraged the wicked against the righteous; they thought that we had brought the judgments of God upon them, and that if they could rid the earth of us, the plagues would then be stayed. A decree went forth to slay the saints, which caused them to cry day and night for deliverance. This was the time of Jacob’s trouble.1 Then all the saints cried out with anguish of spirit, and were delivered by the voice of God. The one hundred and forty-four thousand triumphed. Their faces were lighted up with the glory of God.” {CET 100.3}

According to Ellen White, the four winds are held until Jesus’ work is done in the Sanctuary. That is when probation closes. Also, the sixth Trumpet says that the four angels don’t loose the four winds until that trumpet, while the first five are apparently being released before the sixth. This was a riddle to me as well.

Rev 9:13   And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God, 

Rev 9:14   Saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates. 

Rev 9:15   And the four angels were loosed, which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to slay the third part of men

What the Four Winds Represent

I have the original edition of the SDA Bible Commentary, which was written by the last stalwart SDA leaders before the introduction of apostasy by the leaders in 1955, and one of the authors was M. L. Andreasen, one of the finest Christians and best theologians the church has ever had. The first edition was published in 1953. Those “men of experience,” said that the destructive forces the four angels are holding in check, are the malicious designs of Satan.

 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seventh-day_Adventist_Commentary_Reference_Series

Here is what SDA leaders then wrote about the four winds in the 1953 edition of the SDA Bible Commentary:

“Viewed in the light of the great controversy between Christ and Satan, these destructive forces represent the efforts of Satan to spread ruin and destruction everywhere. In symbolic vision John saw four angels; actually, many angels are employed in the task of holding in check the designs of the enemy. These angels belt “the world. . . . They are keeping the armies of Satan at bay till the sealing of God’s people shall be accomplished. . . . They are given the work of keeping back the raging power of him who has come down like a roaring lion, seeking whom he many devour (EGW Supplementary Material on ch. 5:11). When the work of sealing is completed, then God will say to the angels, “’No longer combat Satan in his efforts to destroy. Let him work out his malignity upon the children of disobedience; for the cup of their iniquity is full’” (EGW Review and Herald, Sep. 17, 1901; cf 6T 408).

“When the four angels finally let go and cease holding in check the malicious designs of Satan and ‘the fierce winds of human passion, all the elements of strife will be let loose. The whole world will be involved in ruin more terrible than that which came upon Jerusalem of old” (GC 614). SDA Bible Commentary, Chapter 7, p. 781.

Four Winds About to Blow, But Didn’t—They Are Held

“I asked my accompanying angel the meaning of what I heard, and what the four angels were about to do. He said to me that it was God that restrained the powers, and that He gave His angels charge over things on the earth; that the four angels had power from God to hold the four winds, and that they were about to let them go; but while their hands were loosening, and the four winds were about to blow, the merciful eye of Jesus gazed on the remnant that were not sealed, and He raised His hands to the Father and pleaded with Him that He had spilled His blood for them. Then another angel was commissioned to fly swiftly to the four angels and bid them hold, until the servants of God were sealed with the seal of the living God in their foreheads. {EW 38.2}

Some interpret the above statement to mean that since the four angels were ABOUT TO let loose the four winds, that they were somewhat loosed, but the four angels were only ABOUT TO let them loose when they were stopped by Christ. They are not loosed by God until the sixth seal, which occurs after probation closes, for God does not kill the lost people until their probation is over. And since the trumpets are not loosed until the time of the sixth seal, that is when they all are released by God—AFTER EVERY CASE HAS BEEN DECIDED AND PROBATION CLOSES. But Satan must, and will, counterfeit a modicum of the first five trumpets before he personates the second coming of Christ.

 “When He leaves the sanctuary, darkness covers the inhabitants of the earth. In that fearful time the righteous must live in the sight of a holy God without an intercessor. The restraint which has been upon the wicked is removed, and Satan has entire control of the finally impenitent. God’s long-suffering has ended. The world has rejected His mercy, despised His love, and trampled upon His law. The wicked have passed the boundary of their probation; the Spirit of God, persistently resisted, has been at last withdrawn. Unsheltered by divine grace, they have no protection from the wicked one. Satan will then plunge the inhabitants of the earth into one great, final trouble. As the angels of God cease to hold in check the fierce winds of human passion, all the elements of strife will be let loose. The whole world will be involved in ruin more terrible than that which came upon Jerusalem of old.” {GC 614.1}

“A single angel destroyed all the first-born of the Egyptians and filled the land with mourning. When David offended against God by numbering the people, one angel caused that terrible destruction by which his sin was punished. The same destructive power exercised by holy angels when God commands, will be exercised by evil angels when He permits. There are forces now ready, and only waiting the divine permission, to spread desolation everywhere. {GC 614.2}

“Those who honor the law of God have been accused of bringing judgments upon the world, and they will be regarded as the cause of the fearful convulsions of nature and the strife and bloodshed among men that are filling the earth with woe. The power attending the last warning has enraged the wicked; their anger is kindled against all who have received the message, and Satan will excite to still greater intensity the spirit of hatred and persecution.” {GC 614.3}

 

Rev 9:13  And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God, 

 

Rev 9:14   Saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates. 

 

Rev 9:15   And the four angels were loosed, which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to slay the third part of men.

 

Rev 8:10  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 fountains of waters; 

 

Rev 8:11   And the name of the star is called Wormwood: and the third part of the waters became wormwood; and many men died of the waters, because they were made bitter. 

 

Rev 9:1  And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit. 

 

Rev 9:2   And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit. 

 

Obadiah 1:4 Though you exalt yourself as the eagle, and though you set your nest among the stars, there will I bring you down, said the LORD.

 

Rev 17:8   The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is.

 

BOTTOMLESS PIT

 

Rev 9:1 And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit.

Rev 9:2 And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit.

Rev 9:11 And they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon.

Rev 11:7 And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them.

Rev 17:8 The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is.

Rev 20:1 And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.

Rev 20:3 And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.

 

WORMWOOD

 

Deu 29:18 Lest there should be among you man, or woman, or family, or tribe, whose heart turneth away this day from the LORD our God, to go and serve the gods of these nations; lest there should be among you a root that beareth gall and wormwood;

Pro 5:4 But her end is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two-edged sword.

Jer 9:15 Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will feed them, even this people, with wormwood, and give them water of gall to drink.

Jer 23:15 Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts concerning the prophets; Behold, I will feed them with wormwood, and make them drink the water of gall: for from the prophets of Jerusalem is profaneness gone forth into all the land.

Lam 3:15 He hath filled me with bitterness, he hath made me drunken with wormwood.

Lam 3:19 Remembering mine affliction and my misery, the wormwood and the gall.

Amo 5:7 Ye who turn judgment to wormwood, and leave off righteousness in the earth,

Rev 8:11 And the name of the star is called Wormwood: and the third part of the waters became wormwood; and many men died of the waters, because they were made bitter.

Ellen White on Wormwood

"Thus it was with Israel. Those who might have stood as spiritual leaders among the nations, having set aside the statutes of God, fell a helpless prey to the evil passions of the human heart. Their times were marked by oppression, gross injustice, luxury and extravagance, riotous feasting and drunkenness, licentiousness and debauchery. “They hate him that rebuketh in the gate,” Amos declared, “and they abhor him that speaketh uprightly.” “They afflict the just, they take a bribe, and they turn aside the poor in the gate from their right.” Amos 5:10, 12. These transgressors “sold the righteous for silver, and the poor for a pair of shoes.” {RH January 29, 1914, par. 13}

“Ye ... turn judgment to wormwood, and leave off righteousness in the earth,” the prophet declared. Amos 5:7. “Ye have turned judgment into gall, and the fruit of righteousness into hemlock: ye which rejoice in a thing of naught.” Amos 6:12, 13. Filled with indignation, the prophet addressed them as those who “cause the seat of violence to come near; that lie upon beds of ivory, and stretch themselves upon their couches, ... that drink wine in bowls, and ... are not grieved for the affliction of Joseph.” Amos 6:3-6. {RH January 29, 1914, par. 14}

“Who is the wise man that may understand this? and who is he to whom the mouth of the Lord hath spoken, that he may declare it, for what the land perisheth and is burned to like a wilderness, that none passeth through. And the Lord saith, Because they have forsaken my law, which I set before them, and have not obeyed my voice, neither therein; but have walked after the imagination of their own heart, and after Baalim, which their fathers taught them. Therefore thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I will feed them, even this people, with wormwood, and give them water of gall to drink.” “Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches: But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the Lord which exercise loving-kindness, judgment, righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the Lord.” [Jeremiah 9:12-15, 23, 24.] {Ms71-1896.15}

“Ye ... turn judgment to wormwood, and leave off righteousness in the earth,” the prophet declared. Amos 5:7. “Ye have turned judgment into gall, and the fruit of righteousness into hemlock: ye which rejoice in a thing of naught.” Amos 6:12, 13. Filled with indignation, the prophet addressed them as those who “cause the seat of violence to come near; that lie upon beds of ivory, and stretch themselves upon their couches, ... that drink wine in bowls, and ... are not grieved for the affliction of Joseph.” Amos 6:3-6. {RH January 29, 1914, par. 14}

"Neither with you only do I make this covenant and this oath; but with him that standeth here with us this day before the Lord our God, and also with him that is not here with us this day; (for ye know how we have dwelt in the land of Egypt; and how we came through the nations which ye passed by; and ye have seen their abominations and their idols, wood and stone, silver and gold, which were among them;) lest there should be among you man, or women, or family, or tribe, whose heart turneth away this day from the Lord our God, to go and serve the gods of these nations; lest there should be among you a root that beareth gall and wormwood; and it come to pass when he heareth the words of this curse, that he bless himself in his heart, saying, I shall have peace, though I walk in the imagination of mine heart, to add drunkenness to thirst; and the Lord will not spare him, but then the anger of the Lord and his jealousy shall smoke against that man, and all the curses that are written in this book shall lie against him, and the Lord shall blot out his name from under heaven ... so that the generation to come of your children, that shall rise up after you, and the stranger that shall come from a far land, shall say, when they see the plagues of that land, ... which the Lord hath laid upon it. ..." {Ms33-1900.40}

“Wherefore hath the Lord done this unto this land? what meaneth the heat of this great anger? Then men shall say, Because they have forsaken the covenant of the Lord God of their fathers, which he made with them when he brought them out of the land of Egypt; for they went and served other gods, and worshiped them, gods whom they knew not, and whom he had not given them: and the anger of the Lord was kindled against this land, to bring upon it all the curses that are written in this book.” [Deuteronomy 29:10-20, 22, 24-27.] {Ms33-1900.41}

The Four Winds

Chapter 14—The Sealing

"At the commencement of the holy Sabbath, January 5, 1849, we engaged in prayer with Brother Belden’s family at Rocky Hill, Connecticut, and the Holy Ghost fell upon us. I was taken off in vision to the most holy place, where I saw Jesus still interceding for Israel. On the bottom of His garment was a bell and a pomegranate, a bell and a pomegranate. Then I saw that Jesus would not leave the most holy place until every case was decided either for salvation or destruction, and that the wrath of God could not come until Jesus had finished His work in the most holy place, laid off His priestly attire, and clothed Himself with the garments of vengeance."{CET 100.1}

Then Jesus will step out from between the Father and men, and God will keep silence no longer, but pour out His wrath on those who have rejected His truth. I saw that the anger of the nations, the wrath of God, and the time to judge the dead, were separate and distinct, one following the other; also that Michael had not stood up, and that the time of trouble, such as never was, had not yet commenced. The nations are now getting angry, but when our High Priest has finished His work in the sanctuary, He will stand up, put on the garments of vengeance, and then the seven last plagues will be poured out. {CET 100.2}

I saw that the four angels would hold the four winds until Jesus’ work was done in the sanctuary, and then will come the seven last plagues. These plagues enraged the wicked against the righteous; they thought that we had brought the judgments of God upon them, and that if they could rid the earth of us, the plagues would then be stayed. A decree went forth to slay the saints, which caused them to cry day and night for deliverance. This was the time of Jacob’s trouble.1 Then all the saints cried out with anguish of spirit, and were delivered by the voice of God. The one hundred and forty-four thousand triumphed. Their faces were lighted up with the glory of God. {CET 100.3}

Then I was shown a company who were howling in agony. On their garments was written in large characters, “Thou art weighed in the balance, and found wanting.” I asked who this company were. The angel said, “These are they who once kept the Sabbath, and have given it up.” I heard them cry with a loud voice, “We have believed in Thy coming, and taught it with energy.” And while they were speaking, their eyes would fall upon their garments and see the writing, and then they would wail aloud. I saw that they had drunk of the deep waters, and fouled the residue with their feet,—trodden the Sabbath underfoot,—and that was why they were weighed in the balance and found wanting. {CET 101.1}

Then my attending angel directed me to the city again, where I saw four angels winging their way to the gate of the city. They were just presenting the golden card to the angel at the gate, when I saw another angel flying swiftly from the direction of the most excellent glory, and crying with a loud voice to the other angels, and waving something up and down in his hand. I asked my attending angel for an explanation of what I saw. He told me that I could see no more then, but he would shortly show me what those things that I then saw meant. {CET 101.2}

Sabbath afternoon one of our number was sick, and requested prayers that he might be healed. We all united in applying to the Physician who never lost a case, and while healing power came down, and the sick was healed, the Spirit fell upon me, and I was taken off in vision. {CET 101.3}

I saw four angels who had a work to do on the earth, and were on their way to accomplish it. Jesus was clothed with priestly garments. He gazed in pity on the remnant, then raised His hands, and with a voice of deep pity cried, “My blood, Father, My blood! My blood! My blood!” Then I saw an exceeding bright light come from God, who sat upon the great white throne, and was shed all about Jesus. Then I saw an angel fly with a commission from Jesus, swiftly flying to the four angels who had a work to do in the earth, and waving something up and down in his hand, and crying with a loud voice, “Hold! hold! hold! hold! until the servants of God are sealed in their foreheads.” {CET 102.1}

“I asked my accompanying angel the meaning of what I heard, and what the four angels were about to do. He said to me that it was God that restrained the powers, and that He gave His angels charge over things on the earth; that the four angels had power from God to hold the four winds, and that they were about to let them go; but while their hands were loosening, and the four winds were about to blow, the merciful eye of Jesus gazed on the remnant that were not sealed, and He raised His hands to the Father, and pleaded with Him that He had spilled His blood for them. Then another angel was commissioned to fly swiftly to the four angels, and bid them hold, until the servants of God were sealed with the seal of the living God in their foreheads.” {CET 102.2}

“The Saviour gives signs of His coming, and more than this, He fixes the time when the first of these signs shall appear: “Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: and then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And He shall send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.” {DA 631.2}

“At the close of the great papal persecution, Christ declared, the sun should be darkened, and the moon should not give her light. Next, the stars should fall from heaven. And He says, “Learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh: so likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that He is near, even at the doors.” Matthew 24:32, 33, margin.” {DA 632.1}

Christ has given signs of His coming. He declares that we may know when He is near, even at the doors. He says of those who see these signs, “This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.” These signs have appeared. Now we know of a surety that the Lord’s coming is at hand. “Heaven and earth shall pass away,” He says, “but My words shall not pass away.” {DA 632.2}

Restraining Spirit of God Being Withdrawn

I was shown that some will misinterpret events that are due to the withdrawal of the Spirit of God from the world as the loosening of the four winds. Ellen White saw judgments by God that He designs to awaken folk. But these are not the trumpets.

“The restraining Spirit of God is even now being withdrawn from the world. Hurricanes, storms, tempests, fire and flood, disasters by sea and land, follow each other in quick succession. Science seeks to explain all these. The signs thickening around us, telling of the near approach of the Son of God, are attributed to any other than the true cause. Men cannot discern the sentinel angels restraining the four winds that they shall not blow until the servants of God are sealed; but when God shall bid His angels loose the winds, there shall be such a scene of strife as no pen can picture.”—Testimonies for the Church 6:408. {ChS 52.1}

“The days in which we live are solemn and important. The Spirit of God is gradually but surely being withdrawn from the earth. Plagues and judgments are already falling upon the despisers of the grace of God. The calamities by land and sea, the unsettled state of society, the alarms of war, are portentous. They forecast approaching events of the greatest magnitude. The agencies of evil are combining their forces, and consolidating. They are strengthening for the last great crisis. Great changes are soon to take place in our world, and the final movements will be rapid ones.—Testimonies for the Church 9:11. {ChS 52.2}

Judgments to Arouse to a Sense of Danger

“The time is at hand when there will be sorrow in the world that no human balm can heal. The Spirit of God is being withdrawn. Disasters by sea and by land follow one another in quick succession. How frequently we hear of earthquakes and tornadoes, of destruction by fire and flood, with great loss of life and property! Apparently these calamities are capricious outbreaks of disorganized, unregulated forces of nature, wholly beyond the control of man; but in them all, God’s purpose may be read. They are among the agencies by which He seeks to arouse men and women to a sense of their danger.”Prophets and Kings, 277. {ChS 52.3}

“The Saviour gives signs of His coming, and more than this, He fixes the time when the first of these signs shall appear: “Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: and then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And He shall send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.” {DA 631.2}

“At the close of the great papal persecution, Christ declared, the sun should be darkened, and the moon should not give her light. Next, the stars should fall from heaven. And He says, “Learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh: so likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that He is near, even at the doors.” Matthew 24:32, 33, margin.

As men depart further and further from God, Satan is permitted to have power over the children of disobedience. He hurls destruction among men. There is calamity by land and sea. Property and life are destroyed by fire and flood. Satan resolves to charge this upon those who refuse to bow to the idol which he has set up. His agents point to Seventh-day Adventists as the cause of the trouble. “These people stand out in defiance of law,” they say. “They desecrate Sunday. Were they compelled to obey the law for Sunday observance, there would be a cessation of these terrible judgments.”{Mar 176.2}

 

“Calamities will come—calamities most awful, most unexpected; and these destructions will follow one after another. If there will be a heeding of the warnings that God has given, and if churches will repent, returning to their allegiance, then other cities may be spared for a time. But if men who have been deceived continue in the same way in which they have been walking, disregarding the law of God and presenting falsehoods before the people, God allows them to suffer calamity, that their senses may be awakened.” {Mar 176.3}

Maranatha, p. 176.4 (EGW)

 

“The judgments will be according to the wickedness of the people and the light of truth that they have had. If they have had the truth, according to that light will be the punishment.” {Mar 176.4}

 

“Satan puts his interpretation upon events, and they [leading men] think, as he would have them, that the calamities which fill the land are a result of Sunday-breaking. Thinking to appease the wrath of God, these influential men make laws enforcing Sunday observance. They think that by exalting this false rest-day higher, and still higher, compelling obedience to the Sunday law, the spurious sabbath, they are doing God service. Those who honor God by observing the true Sabbath are looked upon as disloyal to God, when it is really those who thus regard them who are themselves disloyal, because they are trampling under foot the Sabbath originated in Eden.” {Mar 176.5}

 

At first, penalties for disobeying the National/Universal Sunday Law will involve fines and imprisonment (for a third violation). At the end of the 1260 days, the penalty is exalted higher to include a no buy/sell law, and a death decree for all who will not take the mark after a 30 day warning period, which Satan announces when he comes out of the bottomeless pit on day 1261, and personates the second coming of Christ.

 

“The earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof; because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant. Isaiah 24:5.” {Mar 216.1}

 

“The people of the United States have been a favored people; but when they restrict religious liberty, surrender Protestantism, and give countenance to popery, the measure of their guilt will be full, and “national apostasy” will be registered in the books of heaven. The result of this apostasy will be national ruin.” {Mar 216.2}

 

“By the decree enforcing the institution of the papacy in violation of the law of God, our nation will disconnect herself fully from righteousness. When Protestantism shall stretch her hand across the gulf to grasp the hand of the Roman power, when she shall reach over the abyss to clasp hands with spiritualism, when, under the influence of this threefold union, our country shall repudiate every principle of its Constitution as a Protestant and republican government, and shall make provision for the propagation of papal falsehoods and delusions, then we may know that the time has come for the marvelous working of Satan and that the end is near.” {Mar 216.3}

 

“Through spiritualism, Satan appears as a benefactor of the race, healing the diseases of the people, and professing to present a new and more exalted system of religious faith; but at the same time he works as a destroyer....” {Mar 216.4}

 

“While appearing to the children of men as a great physician who can heal all their maladies, he will bring disease and disaster, until populous cities are reduced to ruin and desolation....”{Mar 216.5}

 

“And then the great deceiver will persuade men that those who serve God are causing these evils.” {Mar 216.6}

“As men depart further and further from God, Satan is permitted to have power over the children of disobedience. He hurls destruction among men. There is calamity by land and sea. Property and life are destroyed by fire and flood. Satan resolves to charge this upon those who refuse to bow to the idol which he has set up. His agents point to Seventh-day Adventists as the cause of the trouble. “These people stand out in defiance of law,” they say. “They desecrate Sunday. Were they compelled to obey the law for Sunday observance, there would be a cessation of these terrible judgments.” {Mar 216.7}

“Four mighty angels hold back the powers of this earth till the servants of God are sealed in their foreheads. The nations of the world are eager for conflict, but they are held in check by the angels. When this restraining power is removed there will come a time of trouble and anguish. Deadly instruments of warfare will be invented. Vessels with their living cargo will be entombed in the great deep. All who have not the spirit of truth will unite under the leadership of Satanic agencies, but they are to be kept under control till the time shall come for the great battle of Armageddon.—The S.D.A. Bible Commentary 7:967 (1900). {LDE 238.3}

In the Name of the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob,

Ronald William Beaulieu

Addendum:

There is a limit beyond which Satan cannot go, and here he calls deception to his aid and counterfeits the work which he has not power actually to perform. In the last days he will appear in such a manner as to make men believe him to be Christ come the second time into the world. He will indeed transform himself into an angel of light. But while he will bear the appearance of Christ in every particular, so far as mere appearance goes, it will deceive none but those who, like Pharaoh, are seeking to resist the truth.—Testimonies for the Church 5:698 (1889). {LDE 163.1}

As the crowning act in the great drama of deception, Satan himself will personate Christ. The church has long professed to look to the Saviour’s advent as the consummation of her hopes. Now the great deceiver will make it appear that Christ has come. In different parts of the earth, Satan will manifest himself among men as a majestic being of dazzling brightness, resembling the description of the Son of God given by John in the Revelation. (Revelation 1:13-15). The glory that surrounds him is unsurpassed by anything that mortal eyes have yet beheld. The shout of triumph rings out upon the air: “Christ has come! Christ has come!” {LDE 163.2}

The people prostrate themselves in adoration before him, while he lifts up his hands and pronounces a blessing upon them, as Christ blessed His disciples when He was upon the earth. His voice is soft and subdued, yet full of melody. In gentle, compassionate tones he presents some of the same gracious, heavenly truths which the Saviour uttered; he heals the diseases of the people, and then, in his assumed character of Christ, he claims to have changed the Sabbath to Sunday, and commands all to hallow the day which he has blessed.—The Great Controversy, 624 (1911). {LDE 163.3}

Satan Pretends to Answer the Saints’ Prayers

Satan sees that he is about to lose his case. He cannot sweep in the whole world. He makes one last desperate effort to overcome the faithful by deception. He does this in personating Christ. He clothes himself with the garments of royalty which have been accurately described in the vision of John. He has power to do this. He will appear to his deluded followers, the Christian world who received not the love of the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness (transgression of the law), as Christ coming the second time. {LDE 164.1}

He proclaims himself Christ, and he is believed to be Christ, a beautiful, majestic being clothed with majesty and, with soft voice and pleasant words, with glory unsurpassed by anything their mortal eyes had yet beheld. Then his deceived, deluded followers set up a shout of victory, “Christ has come the second time! Christ has come! He has lifted up His hands just as He did when He was upon the earth, and blessed us.”... {LDE 164.2}

The saints look on with amazement. Will they also be deceived? Will they worship Satan? Angels of God are about them. A clear, firm, musical voice is heard, “Look up.” {LDE 164.3}

Probation Closes When the Sealing Is Finished

Just before we entered it [the time of trouble], we all received the seal of the living God. Then I saw the four angels cease to hold the four winds. And I saw famine, pestilence and sword, nation rose against nation, and the whole world was in confusion.—The S.D.A. Bible Commentary 7:968 (1846). {LDE 228.4}

I saw angels hurrying to and fro in heaven. An angel with a writer’s inkhorn by his side returned from the earth and reported to Jesus that his work was done, and the saints were numbered and sealed. Then I saw Jesus, who had been ministering before the ark containing the ten commandments, throw down the censer. He raised His hands, and with a loud voice said, “It is done.“—Early Writings, 279 (1858). {LDE 229.1}

Only a moment of time, as it were, yet remains. But while already nation is rising against nation and kingdom against kingdom, there is not now a general engagement. As yet the four winds are held until the servants of God shall be sealed in their foreheads. Then the powers of earth will marshal their forces for the last great battle.—Testimonies for the Church 6:14 (1900). {LDE 229.2}

An angel returning from the earth announces that his work is done; the final test has been brought upon the world, and all who have proved themselves loyal to the divine precepts have received “the seal of the living God.” Then Jesus ceases His intercession in the sanctuary above. He lifts His hands, and with a loud voice says, “It is done.”—The Great Controversy, 613 (1911). {LDE 229.3}

Probation Will End Suddenly, Unexpectedly

When Jesus ceases to plead for man, the cases of all are forever decided.... Probation closes; Christ’s intercessions cease in heaven. This time finally comes suddenly upon all, and those who have neglected to purify their souls by obeying the truth are found sleeping.—Testimonies for the Church 2:191 (1868). {LDE 229.4}

When probation ends, it will come suddenly, unexpectedly—at a time when we are least expecting it. But we can have a clean record in heaven today, and know that God accepts us.—The S.D.A. Bible Commentary 7:989 (1906). {LDE 230.1}

When the work of the investigative judgment closes, the destiny of all will have been decided for life or death. Probation is ended a short time before the appearing of the Lord in the clouds of heaven.... {LDE 230.2}

Before the Flood, after Noah entered the ark, God shut him in, and shut the ungodly out; but for seven days the people, knowing not that their doom was fixed, continued their careless, pleasure-loving life, and mocked the warnings of impending judgment. “So,” says the Saviour, “shall also the coming of the Son of man be” (Matthew 24:39). Silently, unnoticed as the midnight thief, will come the decisive hour which marks the fixing of every man’s destiny, the final withdrawal of mercy’s offer to guilty men.... {LDE 230.3}

While the man of business is absorbed in the pursuit of gain, while the pleasure lover is seeking indulgence, while the daughter of fashion is arranging her adornments—it may be in that hour the Judge of all the earth will pronounce the sentence: “Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting” (Daniel 5:27).—The Great Controversy, 490, 491 (1911). {LDE 230.4}

Human Activity After Probation’s Close

The righteous and the wicked will still be living upon the earth in their mortal state—men will be planting and building, eating and drinking, all unconscious that the final, irrevocable decision has been pronounced in the sanctuary above.—The Great Controversy, 491 (1911). {LDE 231.1}

When the irrevocable decision of the sanctuary has been pronounced, and the destiny of the world has been forever fixed, the inhabitants of the earth will know it not. The forms of religion will be continued by a people from whom the Spirit of God has been finally withdrawn, and the Satanic zeal with which the prince of evil will inspire them for the accomplishment of his malignant designs, will bear the semblance of zeal for God.—The Great Controversy, 615 (1911). {LDE 231.2}

The wheat and tares “grow together until the harvest.” In the discharge of life’s duties the righteous will to the last be brought in contact with the ungodly. The children of light are scattered among the children of darkness, that the contrast may be seen by all.—Testimonies for the Church 5:100 (1882). {LDE 231.3}

Christ declared that when He comes some of His waiting people will be engaged in business transactions. Some will be sowing in the field, others reaping and gathering in the harvest, and others grinding at the mill.—Manuscript 26, 1901. {LDE 231.4}

Unbelief and Forbidden Pleasures Continue

Skepticism and that which is called science has to a large degree undermined the faith of the Christian world in their Bibles. Error and fables are gladly accepted, that they may pursue the path of self-indulgence and not be alarmed, for they are striving not to retain God in their knowledge. They say, “Tomorrow will be as this day and much more abundant.” But in the midst of their unbelief and Godless pleasure the shout of the archangel and the trump of God is heard.... {LDE 232.1}

When everything in our world is busy activity, immersed in selfish ambition for gain, Jesus comes as a thief.—Manuscript 15b, 1886. {LDE 232.2}

When the professed people of God are uniting with the world, living as they live, and joining with them in forbidden pleasure; when the luxury of the world becomes the luxury of the church; when the marriage bells are chiming, and all are looking forward to many years of worldly prosperity—then, suddenly as the lightning flashes from the heavens, will come the end of their bright visions and delusive hopes.—The Great Controversy, 338, 339 (1911). {LDE 232.3}