Before the Trumpets of Woes

Revelation 8-

VERSE 13. 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.

This angel is not one of the series of the seven trumpet angels, but simply one who announces that the three remaining trumpets are woe trumpets, on account of the more terrible events to transpire under their sounding. Thus the next, or fifth trumpet, is the first woe; the sixth trumpet, the second woe; and the seventh, the last one in this series of seven trumpets, is the third woe.

Excerpt from Daniel and Revelation- by Uriah Smith 1897

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And tomorrow we will begin the study of the last three trumpets- the woes.

By the grace of God may we find comprehension, enlightenment, and spiritual understanding.

I have a headache tonight so I won't expound further, God forgive my weakness.

The Fourth Angel Sounded- the Fourth Trumpet

Revelation 8-

VERSE 12. 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.

Excerpt from Daniel and Revelation by Uriah Smith 1897

We understand that this trumpet symbolizes the career of Odoacer, the barbarian monarch who was so intimately connected

p 488 -- with the downfall of Western Rome. The symbols sun, moon, and stars - for they are undoubtedly here used as symbols - evidently denote the great luminaries of the Roman government, - its emperors, senators, and consuls.

Bishop Newton remarks that the last emperor of Western Rome was Romulus, who in derision was called Augustulus, or the "diminutive Augustus." Western Rome fell A. D. 476.

Still, however, though the Roman sun was extinguished, its subordinate luminaries shone faintly while the senate and consuls continued. But after many civil reverses and changes of political fortune, at length, A. D. 566, the whole form of the ancient government was subverted, and Rome itself was reduced from being the empress of the world to a poor dukedom tributary to the Exarch of Ravenna.

Under the heading, "Extinction of the Western Empire, A. D. 476 or A. D. 479," Elder J. Litch (Prophetic Exposition, Vol. II, pp. 156-160) quotes from Mr. Keith as follows:  -    "The unfortunate Augustulus was made the instrument of his own disgrace; and he signified his resignation to the senate; and that assembly, in their last act of obedience to a Roman prince, still affected the spirit of freedom and the forms of the constitution. An epistle was addressed, by their unanimous decree, to the emperor Zeno, the son-in-law and successor of Leo, who had lately been restored, after a short rebellion, to the Byzantine throne. They solemnly 'disclaim the necessity or even the wish of continuing any longer the imperial succession in Italy; since in their opinion the majesty of a sole monarch is sufficient to pervade and to protect, at the same time, both the East and the West. In their own name, and in the name of the people, they consent that the seat of universal empire shall be transferred from Rome to Constantinople; and they basely renounce the right of choosing their master, the only vestige which yet remained of the authority which had given laws to the world.' 

"The power and glory of Rome as bearing rule over any nation, became extinct. The name alone remained to the queen of nations. Every token of royalty disappeared from the imperial city. She who had ruled over the nations sat in the

p 489 -- dust, like a second Babylon, and there was no throne where the Caesars had reigned. The last act of obedience to a Roman Prince which that once august assembly performed, was the acceptance of the resignation of the last emperor of the West, and the abolition of the imperial succession in Italy. The sun of Rome was smitten....

"A new conqueror of Italy, Theodoric, the Ostrogoth, speedily arose, who unscrupulously assumed the purple, and reigned by right of conquest. 'The royalty of Theodoric was proclaimed by the Goths (March 5, A. D. 493), with the tardy, reluctant, ambiguous consent of the emperor of the East.' The imperial Roman power, of which either Rome or Constantinople had been jointly or singly the seat, whether in the West or the East, was no longer recognized in Italy, and the third part of the sun was smitten, till it emitted no longer the faintest rays. The power of the Caesars was unknown in Italy; and a Gothic king reigned over Rome.

"But though the third part of the sun was smitten, and the Roman imperial power was at an end in the city of the Caesars, yet the moon and the stars still shone, or glimmered, for a little longer in the Western empire, even in the midst of Gothic darkness. The consulship and the senate ["the moon and the stars"] were not abolished by Theodoric. 'A Gothic historian applauds the consulship of Theodoric as the height of all temporal power and greatness;' - as the moon reigns by night, after the setting of the sun. And instead of abolishing that office, Theodoric himself 'congratulates those annual favorites of fortune, who, without the cares, enjoyed the splendor of the throne.'

"But in their prophetic order, the consulship and the senate of Rome met their fate, though they fell not by the hands of Vandals or of Goths. The next revolution in Italy was in subjection to Belisarius, the general of Justinian, emperor of the East. He did not spare what barbarians had hallowed. 'The Roman Consulship Extinguished by Justinian, A. D. 541,' is the title of the last paragraph of the fortieth chapter of Gibbon's History of the Decline and Fall of Rome. 'The succession of the consuls finally ceased in the thirteenth year

p 490 -- of Justinian, whose despotic temper might be gratified by the silent extinction of a title which admonished the Romans of their ancient freedom.'

The third part of the sun was smitten, and the third part of the moon, and the third part of the stars. In the political firmament of the ancient world, while under the reign of imperial Rome, the emperorship, the consulate, and the senate shone like the sun, the moon, and the stars. The history of their decline and fall is brought down till the two former were 'extinguished,' in reference to Rome and ltaly, which so long had ranked as the first of cities and of countries; and finally, as the fourth trumpet closes, we see the 'extinction of that illustrious assembly,' the Roman senate. The city that had ruled the world, as if in mockery of human greatness, was conquered by the eunuch Narses, the successor of Belisarius. He defeated the Goths (A. D. 552), achieved 'the conquest of Rome,' and the fate of the senate was sealed."

Elliott (Horae Apocalypticae, Vol. I, pp. 357-360) speaks of the fulfilment of this portion of the prophecy in the extinction of the Western empire, as follows: -           "Thus was the final catastrophe preparing, by which the Western emperors and empire were to become extinct. The glory of Rome had long departed; its provinces one after another had been rent from it; the territory still attached to it become like a desert; and its maritime possessions and its fleets and commerce been annihilated. Little remained to it but the vain titles and insignia of sovereignty. And now the time was come when these too were to be withdrawn. Some twenty years or more from the death of Attila, and much less from that of Genseric (who, ere his death, had indeed visited and ravaged the eternal city in one of his maritime marauding expeditions, and thus yet more prepared the coming consumination), about this time, I say, Odoacer, chief of the Heruli, - a barbarian remnant of the host of Attila, left on the Alpine frontiers of Italy, - interposed with his command that the name and the office of Roman emperor of the West, should be abolished. The authorities bowed in submission to him. The last phantom of an emperor - one whose name, Romulus Augustus, was singularly calculated to bring in contrast before the reflective

p 491 --

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p 492 -- mind the past glories of Rome and its present degradation - abdicated; and the senate sent away the imperial insignia to Constantinople, professing to the emperor of the East that one emperor was sufficient for the whole of the empire. Thus of the Roman imperial sun, that third which appertained to the Western empire was eclipsed, and shone no more. I say, Thatthird of its orb which appertained to the Western empire; for the Apocalyptic fraction is literally accurate. In the last arrangement between the two courts, the whole of the Illyrian third had been made over to the Eastern division. Thus in the West 'the extinction of the empire' had taken place; the night had fallen.

"Notwithstanding this, however, it must be borne in mind that the authority of the Roman name had not yet entirely ceased. The senate of Rome continued to assemble as usual. The consuls were appointed yearly, one by the Eastern emperor, one by Italy and Rome. Odoacer himself governed Italy under a title (that of patrician) conferred on him by the Eastern emperor. And as regarded the more distant Western provinces, or at least considerable districts in them, the tie which had united them to the Roman empire was not altogether severed. There was still a certain, though often faint, recognition of the supreme imperial authority. The moon and the stars might seem still to shine on the West with a dim reflected light. In the course of the events, however, which rapidly followed one on the other in the next half century, these, too, were extinguished. Theodoric, the Ostrogoth, on destroying the Heruli and their kingdom at Rome and Ravenna, ruled in Italy from A. D. 493 to 526 as an independent sovereign; and on Belisarius's and Narses's conquest of Italy from the Ostrogoths (a conquest preceded by wars and desolations in which Italy, and above all its seven-hilled city, were for a time almost made desert), the Roman senate was dissolved, the consulship abrogated. Moreover, as regards the barbaric princes of the Western provinces, their independence of the Roman imperial power became now more distinctly averred and understood. After above a century and a half of calamities unexampled almost, as Dr. Robertson most truly represents it, in the history of nations,

p 493 -- the statement of Jerome, - a statement couched under the very Apocalyptic figure of the text, but prematurely pronounced on the first taking of Rome by Alaric, - might be considered as at length accomplished: 'Clarissimum terrarumlumen extinctum est,' The world's glorious sun has been extinguished;' and that, too, which our own poet has expressed, still under the same beautifully appropriate Apocalyptic imagery, -

'She saw her glories star by star expire,'

till not even a single star remained, to glimmer on the vacant and dark night."

The fearful ravages of these barbarian hordes, who, under their bold but cruel and desperate leaders, devastated Rome, are vividly portrayed in the following spirited lines:        

"And then a deluge of wrath it came,

And the nations shook with dread;

And it swept the earth, till its fields were flame,

And piled with the mingled dead.

Kings were rolled in the wasteful flood,

With the low and crouching slave,

And together lay, in a shroud of blood,

The coward and the brave."

Fearful as were the calamities brought upon the empire by the first incursions of these barbarians, they were comparatively light as contrasted with the calamities which were to follow. They were but as the preliminary drops of a shower before the torrent which was soon to fall upon the Roman world. The three remaining trumpets are overshadowed with a cloud of woe, as set forth in the following verses.

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More history and it's NOT always easy to read history as such, at least not for me. I'm trying to comprehend how it all falls into place, as I'm sure whoever else may be reading this is doing.

Summing it up - Rome Fell.

Revelation 8:12 - 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.

Rome - the great empire was in its great decline.

History unfolding through time and it all connects.

May GOD help us to see! It's so easy to be blind, to not comprehend.

All by the love of our SAVIOR, JESUS CHRIST, OUR LORD.

Third Trumpet

Third Trumpet

(Excerpt from Daniel and Revelation by Uriah Smith 1897)

Revelation 8 -

VERSE 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.   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.

In the interpretation and application of this passage, we are brought to the third important event which resulted in the subversion of the Roman empire. And in finding a historical fulfilment of this third trumpet, we shall be indebted to the Notes of Dr. Albert Barnes for a few extracts. In explaining this scripture, it is necessary, as this commentator says, -       "That there should be some chieftain or warrior who

p 485 -- might be compared to a blazing meteor; whose course would be singularly brilliant; who would appear suddenly LIKE a blazing star, and then disappear like a star whose light was quenched in the waters.

That the desolating course of this meteor would be mainly on those portions of the world which abounded with springs of water and running streams; that an effect would be produced as if those streams and fountains were made bitter; that is, that many persons would perish, and that wide desolations would be caused in the vicinity of those rivers and streams, as if a bitter and baleful star should fall into the waters, and death should spread over lands adjacent to them, and watered by them." - Notes on Revelation 8.

It is here premised that this trumpet has allusion to the desolating wars and furious invasions of Attila against the Roman power, which he carried on at the head of his hordes of Huns.

Speaking of this warrior, particularly of his personal appearance, Mr. Barnes says: -    "In the manner of his appearance, he strongly resembled a brilliant meteor flashing in the sky. He came from the East gathering his Huns, and poured them down, as we shall see, with the rapidity of a flashing meteor, suddenly on the empire. He regarded himself also as devoted to Mars, the god of war, and was accustomed to array himself in a peculiarly brilliant manner, so that his appearance, in the language of his flatterers, was such as to dazzle the eyes of beholders."

In speaking of the locality of the events predicted by this trumpet, Mr. Barnes has this note:  -     "It is said particularly that the effect would be on 'the rivers' and on 'the fountains of waters.' If this has a literal application, or if, as was supposed in the case of the second trumpet, the language used was such as had reference to the portion of the empire that would be particularly affected by the hostile invasion, then we may suppose that this refers to those portions of the empire that abounded in rivers and streams, and more particularly those in which the rivers and streams had their origin; for the effect was permanently in the 'fountains of waters.' As a matter of fact, the principal operations of Attila were on the regions of the Alps, and on the portions

p 486 --

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p 487 -- of the empire whence the rivers flow down into Italy. The invasion of Attila is described by Mr. Gibbon in this general language:     'The whole breadth of Europe, as it extends above five hundred miles from the Euxine to the Adriatic, was at once invaded, and occupied, and desolated, by the myriads of barbarians whom Attila led into the field.'"

"And the Name of the Star is Called Wormwood [denoting the bitter consequences]."       These words - which are more intimately connected with the preceding verse, as even the punctuation in our version denotes - recall us for a moment to the character of Attila, to the misery of which he was the author or the instrument, and to the terror that was inspired by his name.

"'Total extirpation and erasure,' are terms which best denote the calamities he inflicted." He styled himself, "The Scourge of God."

"One of his lieutenants chastised and almost exterminated the Burgundians of the Rhine. They traversed, both in their march and in their return, the territories of the Franks; and they massacred their hostages as well as their captives. Two hundred young maidens were tortured with exquisite and unrelenting rage; their bodies were torn asunder by wild horses, or were crushed under the weight of rolling wagons; and their unburied limbs were abandoned on public roads, as a prey to dogs and vultures.

"It was the boast of Attila that the grass never grew on the spot which his horse had trod. The Western emperor with the senate and people of Rome, humbly and fearfully depreciated the wrath of Attila. And the concluding paragraph of the chapters which record his history, is entitled, 'Symptoms of the Decay and Ruin of the Roman Government.' 'The name of the star is called Wormwood.'" - Keith.

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' Attila was a leader of the Hunnic Empire, which stretched from the Ural River to the Rhine River and from the Danube River to the Baltic Sea.'

From <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attila>

You can read up on Attila on wikipedia. Truly he was a force to be reckoned with and a name many are still to this day familiar with in association with being a "bad" person. His name along with the name of other infamous conquerors if very familiar- Attila the Hun, Genghis Khan,  Nero. 

That we go through our history and can see the prophecy puzzle coming together is amazing!

We will continue this walk through history and prophecy and we will be amazed at where it brings us, amazed and perhaps awed by the majesty of our God who has given us prophecy so we can all be prepared, that we can all comprehend His truth through our SAVIOR, Jesus Christ, our Lord!

Amen!

First/Second Trumpets- Prophecy Fulfilled in History

First/Second Trumpets- Prophecy Fulfilled in History

Revelation 8

VERSE 6. And the seven angels which had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound.

The subject of the seven trumpets is here resumed, and occupies the remainder of this chapter and all of chapter 9. The seven angels prepare themselves to sound. Their sounding comes in as a complement to the prophecy of Daniel 2 and 7, commencing with the breaking up of the old Roman empire into its ten divisions, of which, in the first four trumpets, we have a description.

VERSE 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.

p 478 -- Mr. Keith has very justly remarked on the subject of this prophecy:      "None could elucidate the texts more clearly, or expound them more fully, than the task has been performed by Gibbon. The chapters of the skeptical philosopher that treat directly of the matter, need but a text to be prefixed, and a few unholy words to be blotted out, to form a series of expository lectures on the eighth and ninth chapters of Revelation."    "Little or nothing is left for the professed interpreter to do but to point to the pages of Gibbon."

The first sore and heavy judgment which fell on Western Rome in its downward course, was the war with the Goths under Alaric, who opened the way for later inroads. The death of Theodosius, the Roman emperor, occurred in January, 395, and before the end of the winter the Goths under Alaric were in arms against the empire.

The first invasion under Alaric ravaged Thrace, Macedonia, Attica, and the Peloponnesus, but did not reach the city of Rome. On his second invasion, however, the Gothic chieftain crossed the Alps and the Apennines and appeared before the walls of the "eternal city," which soon fell a prey to the fury of the barbarians. 

"Hail and fire mingled with blood" were cast upon the earth. The terrible effects of this Gothic invasion are represented as "hail," from the fact of the northern origin of the invaders; "fire," from the destruction by flame of both city and country; and "blood," from the terrible slaughter of the citizens of the empire by the bold and intrepid warriors.

The blast of the first trumpet has its location about the close of the fourth century and onward, and refers to these desolating invasions of the Roman empire under the Goths.

I know not how the history of the sounding of the first trumpet can be more impressively set forth than by presenting the graphic rehearsal of the facts which are stated in Gibbon's History, by Mr. Keith, in his Signs of the Times, Vol. I, pp. 221-233:  -    "Large extracts show how amply and well Gibbon has expounded his text in the history of the first trumpet, the first

p 479 -- storm that pervaded the Roman earth, and the first fall of Rome. To use his words in more direct comment, we read thus the sum of the matter:   'The Gothic nation was in arms at the first sound of the trumpet, and in the uncommon severity of the winter, they rolled their ponderous wagons over the broad and icy back of the river. The fertile fields of Phocis and Boeotia were crowded with a deluge of barbarians; the males were massacred; the females and cattle of the flaming villages were driven away. The deep and bloody traces of the march of the Goths could easily be discovered after several years. The whole territory of Attica was blasted by the baneful presence of Alaric. The most fortunate of the inhabitants of Corinth, Argos, and Sparta were saved by death from beholding the conflagration of their cities. In a season of such extreme heat that the beds of the rivers were dry, Alaric invaded the dominion of the West. A secluded "old man of Verona," the poet Claudian, pathetically lamented the fate of his contemporary trees, which must blaze in the conflagration of the whole country [note the words of the prophecy, - "The third part of the trees was burned up"]; and the emperor of the Romans fled before the king of the Goths.'

"A furious tempest was excited among the nations of Germany, from the northern extremity of which the barbarians marched almost to the gates of Rome. They achieved the destruction of the West. The dark cloud which was collected along the coasts of the Baltic, burst in thunder upon the banks of the upper Danube. The pastures of Gaul, in which flocks and herds grazed, and the banks of the Rhine, which were covered with elegant houses and well-cultivated farms, formed a scene of peace and plenty, which was suddenly changed into a desert, distinguished from the solitude of nature only by smoking ruins. Many cities were cruelly oppressed, or destroyed. Many thousands were inhumanly massacred; and the consuming flames of war spread over the greater part of the seventeen provinces of Gaul.

"Alaric again stretched his ravages over Italy. During four years the Goths ravaged and reigned over it without control. And in the pillage and fire of Rome, the streets of the

p 480 -- city were filled with dead bodies; the flames consumed many public and private buildings; and the ruins of a palace remained (after a century and a half) a stately monument of the Gothic conflagration. 

"The concluding sentence of the thirty-third chapter of Gibbon's History is of itself a clear and comprehensive commentary; for in winding up his own description of this brief but most eventful period, be concentrates, as in a parallel reading, the sum of the history and the substance of the prediction. But the words which precede it are not without their meaning:   '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' unknown barbarians, issuing from the frozen regions of the North, had established their victorious reign over the fairest provinces of Europe and Africa.'

"The last word, Africa, is the signal for the sounding of the second trumpet. The scene changes from the shores of the Baltic to the southern coast of the Mediterranean, or from the frozen regions of the North to the borders of burning Africa; and instead of a storm of hail being cast upon the earth, a burning mountain was cast into the sea."

VERSE 8. And the second angel sounded, and as it were a great mountain burning with fire was cast into the sea: and the third part of the sea became blood;   9.    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 Roman empire, after Constantine, was divided into three parts; and hence the frequent remark, "a third part of men," etc., in allusion to the third part of the empire which was under the scourge. This division of the Roman kingdom was made at the death of Constantine, among his three sons, Constantius, Constantine II, and Constans. Constantius possessed the East, and fixed his residence at Constantinople, the metropolis of the empire. Constantine the Second held Britain, Gaul, and Spain. Constans held Illyricum, Africa, and Italy. (See Sabine's Ecclesiastical History, p. 155.) Of this well-known

p 481 -- historical fact, Elliott, as quoted by Albert Barnes, in his notes on Rev. 12:4, says:       "Twice, at least, before the Roman empire became divided permanently into the two parts, the Eastern and the Western, there was a tripartite division of the empire. The first occurred A. D. 311, when it was divided between Constantine, Licinius, and Maximin; the other, A. D. 337, on the death of Constantine, when it was divided between his three sons, Constantine, Constans, and Constantius."

The history illustrative of the sounding of the second trumpet evidently relates to the invasion and conquest of Africa, and afterward of Italy, by the terrible Genseric. His conquests were for the most part NAVAL; and his triumphs were "as it were a great mountain burning with fire, cast into the sea." What figure would better, or even so well, illustrate the collision of navies, and the general havoc of war on the maritime coasts? In explaining this trumpet, we are to look for some events which will have a particular bearing on the commercial world. The symbol used naturally leads us to look for agitation and commotion. Nothing but a fierce maritime warfare would fulfil the prediction. If the sounding of the first four trumpets relates to four remarkable events which contributed to the downfall of the Roman empire, and the first trumpet refers to the ravages of the Goths under Alaric, in this we naturally look for the next succeeding act of invasion which shook the Roman power and conduced to its fall. The next great invasion was that of "the terrible Genseric," at the head of the Vandals. His career occurred during the years A. D. 428-468. This great Vandal chief had his headquarters in Africa. But as Gibbon states,       "The discovery and conquest of the black nations [in Africa], that might dwell beneath the torrid zone, could not tempt the rational ambition of Genseric; but he cast his eyes TOWARD THE SEA; he resolved to create a naval power, and his bold resolution was executed with steady and active perseverance."       From the port of Carthage he repeatedly made piratical sallies, and preyed on the Roman commerce, and waged war with that empire. To cope with this sea monarch, the Roman emperor, Majorian, made extensive naval preparations. Three hundred

p 482 -- long galleys, with an adequate proportion of transports and smaller vessels, were collected in the secure and capacious harbor of Cartagena, in Spain. But Genseric was saved from impending and inevitable ruin by the treachery of some powerful subjects, envious or apprehensive of their master's success. Guided by their secret intelligence, he surprised the unguarded fleet in the bay of Cartagena; many of the ships were sunk, taken, or burned, and the preparations of three years were destroyed in a single day.

Italy continued to be long afflicted by the incessant depredations of the Vandal pirates. In the spring of each year they equipped a formidable navy in the port of Carthage, and Genseric himself, though at a very advanced age, still commanded in person the most important expeditions.

The Vandals repeatedly visited the coasts of Spain, Liguria, Tuscany, Campania, Lucania, Bruttium, Apulia, Calabria, Venetia, Dalmatia, Epirus, Greece, and Sicily.

The celerity of their motion enabled them, almost at the same time, to threaten and to attack the most distant objects which attracted their desires; and as they always embarked a sufficient number of horses, they had no sooner landed than they swept the dismayed country with a body of light cavalry.

A last and desperate attempt to dispossess Genseric of the sovereignty of the seas, was made in the year 468 by Leo, the emperor of the East. Gibbon bears witness to this as follows:      "The whole expense of the African campaign amounted to the sum of one hundred and thirty thousand pounds of gold, - about five million two hundred thousand pounds sterling.... The fleet that sailed from Constantinople to Carthage consisted of eleven hundred and thirteen ships, and the number of soldiers and mariners exceeded one hundred thousand men ... The army of Heraclius and the fleet of Marcellinus either joined or seconded the imperial lieutenant.... The wind became favorable to the designs of Genseric. He manned his largest ships of war with the bravest of the Moors and Vandals, and they towed after them many large barks filled with combustible materials. In the obscurity of the night, these

p 483 --

(picture not included)

p 484 -- destructive vessels were impelled against the unguarded and unsuspecting fleet of the Romans, who were awakened by a sense of their instant danger. Their close and crowded order assisted the progress of the fire, which was communicated with rapid and irresistible violence; and the noise of the wind, the crackling of the flames, the dissonant cries of the soldiers and mariners, who could neither command nor obey, increased the horror of the nocturnal tumult. While they labored to extricate themselves from the fire-ships, and to save at least a part of the navy, the galleys of Genseric assaulted them with temperate and disciplined valor; and many of the Romans who escaped the fury of the flames, were destroyed or taken by the victorious Vandals.... After the failure of this great expedition, Genseric again became the tyrant of the sea; the coasts of Italy, Greece, and Asia were again exposed to his revenge and avarice; Tripoli and Sardinia returned to his obedience; he added Sicily to the number of his provinces; and before he died, in the fulness of years and of glory, he beheld the FINAL EXTINCTION of the empire of the West."   Gibbon, Vol. III, pp. 495-498.

Concerning the important part which this bold corsair acted in the downfall of Rome, Mr. Gibbon uses this significant language:       "Genseric, a name which, in the destruction of the Roman empire, has deserved an equal rank with the names of Alaric and Attila." 

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Remember- prophecy is but future's history.  We see the fulfillment of prophecies in history and while we might not want to delve so deeply into history to have the prophecy puzzle worked upon, we have to.  To comprehend what has been is to leave what will be. We are living right now in the time of prophecy as all of us have to some extent throughout time.

We've discussed before during this study on the book of Revelation that we are living in an enlightened age, a time when the books of prophecy were opened to comprehension.  None who read this can dispute the historical fact the we lived in a horse driven society for thousands of years and then suddenly we are living in the age of steam engines, in fuel propelled vehicles that quickly made horse travel obsolete. Then in a blink of an eye we are traveling the skies in balloons, planes, and rockets.  The unbelievable leaps and bounds of sudden knowledge in all thing is HISTORY.   The Bible prophecies predicted the increase in knowledge and it has come to pass and then some.  We can't dismiss history and its proper place in Biblical prophecy.   No, you may not find the history/prophecy studies interesting but they are truth, they are fact, they are necessary for our comprehension of future prophecy which hasn't unfolded as yet.

May God bless us as we study His truth!  May our spiritual eyes be fully opened. By the grace of God may we read and keep what we learn from this book so we may receive the blessings we need.

All through our Savior, our Lord Jesus Christ, now and forever!

Amen.

Revelation Chapter 8

 Revelation 8  (Excerpts from Daniel and Revelation- by Uriah Smith)

475 -- CHAPTER -- VIII -- The Seven Trumpets

We name as the subject of this chapter the seven trumpets, as these constitute the main theme of the chapter, although there are other matters introduced before the opening of that series of events. The first verse of this chapter relates to the events of the preceding chapters, and therefore should not have been separated from them by the division of the chapter.

VERSE 1. And when he had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour.

The series of seven seals is here resumed and concluded. The sixth chapter closed with the events of the sixth seal, and the eighth commences with the opening of the seventh seal; hence the seventh chapter stands parenthetically between the sixth and seventh seals, from which it appears that the sealing work of that chapter belongs to the sixth seal.

Silence in Heaven. - Concerning the cause of this silence, only conjecture can be offered, - a conjecture, however, which is supported by the events of the sixth seal. That seal does not bring us to the second advent, although it embraces events that transpire in close connection therewith. It introduces the fearful commotions of the elements, described as the rolling of the heavens together as a scroll, caused by the voice of God, the breaking up of the surface of the earth, and the confession on the part of the wicked that the great day of God's wrath is come. They are doubtless in momentary expectation of seeing

p 476 -- the King appear in, to them, unendurable glory. But the seal stops just short of that event. The personal appearing of Christ must therefore be allotted to the next seal. But when the Lord appears, he comes with all the holy angels with him. Matt. 25:31. And when all the heavenly harpers leave the courts above to come down with their divine Lord, as he descends to gather the fruit of his redeeming work, will there not be silence in heaven?

The length of this period of silence, if we consider it prophetic time, would be about seven days.

VERSE 2. And I saw the seven angels which stood before God; and to them were given seven trumpets.

This verse introduces a new and distinct series of events. In the seals we have had the history of the church during what is called the gospel dispensation. In the seven trumpets, now introduced, we have the principal political and warlike events which were to transpire during the same time.

VERSE 3. 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.   4.    And the smoke of the incense, which came with the prayers of the saints, ascended up before God out of the angel's hand.   5.   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. 

Having as it were, in verse 2, brought out the seven angels, and introduced them before us upon the stage of action, John, for a moment, in the three verses last quoted, directs attention to an entirely different scene. The angel which approaches the altar is not one of the seven trumpet angels. The altar is the altar of incense, which, in the earthly sanctuary, was placed in the first apartment. Here, then, is another proof that there exists in heaven a sanctuary with its corresponding vessels of service, of which the earthly was a figure, and that we are taken into that sanctuary by the visions of John. A work of ministration for all the saints in the sanctuary above is thus brought to view. Doubtless the entire work of mediation for the people of God during the gospel dispensation is here presented.

p 477 -- This is apparent from the fact that the angel offers his incense with the prayers of all saints. And that we are here carried forward to the end, is evident from the act of the angel in filling the censer with fire and casting it unto the earth; for his work is then done; no more prayers are to be offered up mingled with incense; and this symbolic act can have its application only at the time when the ministration of Christ in the sanctuary in behalf of mankind has forever ceased. And following the angel's act are voices, thunderings, lightnings, and an earthquake, - exactly such occurrences as we are elsewhere informed transpire at the close of human probation. (See Rev. 11:19; 16:17, 18.)

But why are these verses thus thrown in here?   Answer:   As a message of hope and comfort for the church. The seven angels with their warlike trumpets had been introduced; terrible scenes were to transpire under their sounding; but before they commence, the people of God are pointed to the work of mediation in their behalf above, and their source of help and strength during this time. Though they should be tossed like feathers upon the tumultuous waves of strife and war, they were to know that their great High Priest still ministered for them in the sanctuary in heaven, and that thither they could direct their prayers, and have them offered, with incense, to their Father in heaven. Thus could they gain strength and support in all their calamities.

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We will study this more in-depth tomorrow by the grace and mercy, the will of our God!

All through the love of our Savior, Jesus Christ, our LORD, now and forever!

Amen.

Faith through to the end.

Around the throne of God.

Revelation 7-

Verse 13 And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? And whence came they? 14 And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. 15 Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve Him day and night in His temple: and He that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them. 16 They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat. 17 For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead

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them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.

A Special Company.--

The questions put by one of the elders to John, "What are these which are arrayed in white robes? And when came they?" taken in connection with John's answer, "Sir, thou knowest," implying that John did not know, would seem to be devoid of point if they had reference to all the great multitude now before him. For John did know who they were and whence they came, inasmuch as he had just said that they were people--redeemed of course--out of all nations, kindreds, people, and tongues. John could have answered, These are the redeemed ones from all the nations of the earth. No company is brought to view to which special allusion would more naturally be made than the company spoken of in the first part of the chapter, the 144,000. John had indeed seen this company in their mortal state as they were receiving the seal of the living God amid the troublous scenes of the last days; but as they here stand among the redeemed throng, the transition is so great, and the condition in which they now appear so different, that he does not recognize them as the special company which he saw sealed upon the earth. To this company, the following specifications seem to be specially applicable.

Came Out of Great Tribulation.--

While it is true in some degree of all Christians that they "must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God" (Acts 14: 22), it is true of the 144,000 in a very special sense. They pass through the great time of trouble such as never was since there was a nation. (Daniel 12: 1.) They experience the mental anguish of the time of Jacob's trouble. (Jeremiah 30: 4-7.) They are to stand without a mediator through the terrible scenes of the seven last plagues, those exhibitions of God's unmingled wrath in the earth as we shall see in Revelation 15, 16. They pass through the most severe time of trouble the world has ever known, although they shall finally triumph and be delivered.

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Wear White Robes.--

They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. To the last generation the counsel is very emphatic on the subject of obtaining the white raiment. (3: 5, 18.)

The 144,000 refuse to violate the commandments of God. (Revelation 14: 1, 12.) It will be seen that they have rested their hope of life on the merits of the shed blood of their divine Redeemer, making Him their source of righteousness. There is peculiar force in saying of these that they have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

Called First Fruits.--Verse 15 describes the post of honor they occupy in the kingdom, and their nearness to God. In another place they are called "the first fruits unto God and the Lamb." Revelation 14: 4.

Shall Hunger No More.--In verse 16 it is said, "They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more." This shows that they have once suffered hunger and thirst. To what can this refer. As it doubtless has reference to some special experience, may it not refer to their trials in the time of trouble, more especially during the seven last plagues? In this time the righteous will be reduced to bread and water, and that "will be sure" (Isaiah 33: 16), enough for sustenance. Yet may it not be that when the pastures, with all fruits and vegetation, are dried up (Joel 1: 18-20), and the rivers and fountains are turned to blood (Revelation 16: 4-7), to reduce their connection with the earth and earthly things to the lowest limit, the saints who pass through that time will be brought occasionally to extreme degrees of hunger and thirst? But the kingdom once gained, "they shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more."

The prophet continues: "Neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat." The 144,000 live through the time when power is given unto the sun "to scorch men with fire." Revelation 16: 8, 9. Though they are shielded from the deadly effect which it has upon the wicked around them, we cannot suppose that their sensibilities will be so deadened that they will feel no unpleasant sensations from the terrific heat. No,

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as they enter the fields of the heavenly Canaan, they will be prepared to appreciate the divine assurance that the sun shall not injure them.

The Lamb Shall Lead Them.--

Another testimony concerning the same company, and applying at the same time, says, "These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever He goeth." Revelation 14: 4. Both expressions denote the state of intimate and divine companionship to which the blessed Redeemer admits them.

In the following beautiful passage the psalmist seems to allude to the same promise: "They shall be abundantly satisfied with the fatness of Thy house; and Thou shalt make them drink of the river of Thy pleasures." Psalm 36: 8. The phraseology of this promise to the 144,000 is also partly found in a glowing prophecy from the pen of Isaiah: "He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of His people shall He take away from off all the earth: for the Lord hath spoken it." Isaiah 25: 8.

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Once again we need to have our imaginations in play here because we NEED to imagine what it will be like for those who are truly Christ's living in the last days before His return.

Of course until we study more of the plagues we aren't going in depth but truthfully, it will be horrible. Satan will be attacking like he's never attacked before and we need our EYESALVE, our WHITE RAIMENT, and our GOLD TIRED IN FIRE all the things we've studied in the beginning of this book of Revelation. 

We will NOT be able to withstand the attacks headed our way without a complete surrender to Christ in ALL things, not just the things we think we can surrender. Christ must be our all in all and our dependence upon Him our everything!

We will experience so much that will leave us questioning life and Satan would have us LEAN to our OWN understanding and this is where we get all tripped up. We lean to our OWN ability to comprehend. We refuse to let go of the truth that we can't understand everything, that there isn't logical answers to everything we face beyond the fact God understands and that's ALL that matters. When our lives are in tatters, when sanity seems to be slipping away, when emotions are overwhelming we have to believe that our Savior will keep us wholly His. We don't have to understand how or why, we just don't, we have to have a faith no others have had to have, a faith that lives through the earth's worst time of trouble ever. A faith that we can only have through Christ, a total dependency upon Christ our Savior!

Amen!

Salvation to Our God!

Expounding on yesterday's study a bit--

Revelation 7- Verse 9 After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands; 10 and cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb. 11 And all the angels stood round about the throne, and about the elders and the four beasts, and fell before the throne on their faces, and worshipped God, 12 saying, Amen: Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honor, and power, and might, be unto our God for ever and ever. Amen.

After the sealing is accomplished, John beholds a countless multitude worshiping God in rapture before His throne. This vast throng is undoubtedly the saved out of every nation, kindred, tribe, and tongue raised from the dead at the second coming of Christ, showing that the sealing is the last work accomplished for the people of God prior to translation.

(Excerpt from Daniel and Revelation- by Uriah Smith)

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From the beginning, from Adam and Eve on down to whoever is the very last person saved before Christ returns, just how many people will belong to God is unknown.

If we stop and think about it a little bit we have to realize a few things.  The earth was created unpopulated. The earth was meant to be populated by the human creatures God created and God would rule the earth and His creatures would be its steward.  Man gave up his stewardship to the earth when he chose to stop obeying God and listen to the Devil. The Devil then took over stewardship of the earth.  Meanwhile, mankind began to populate the earth, then the flood came and still, mankind went on to populate the earth. It wasn't like it is now, mankind lived a lot longer then and they were a lot healthier as well. Sin hadn't degraded mankind as it has now. Over the next 6000 some years just how many people belonging to God, choosing God as their Creator, their redeemer have died in Him is unknown, but we can only imagine that there have been a lot.  There have been people who are truly God's, truly following the truth as He has revealed it throughout time.  Yes, Noah alone along with His family - eight people- only were following God at one point, but remember this--

Elijah -

1Ki 19:14  And he said, I have been very jealous for the LORD God of hosts: because the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away.

1Ki 19:15  And the LORD said unto him, Go, return on thy way to the wilderness of Damascus: and when thou comest, anoint Hazael to be king over Syria:

1Ki 19:16  And Jehu the son of Nimshi shalt thou anoint to be king over Israel: and Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abelmeholah shalt thou anoint to be prophet in thy room.

1Ki 19:17  And it shall come to pass, that him that escapeth the sword of Hazael shall Jehu slay: and him that escapeth from the sword of Jehu shall Elisha slay.

1Ki 19:18  Yet I have left me seven thousand in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal, and every mouth which hath not kissed him.

Elijah said he was the only one left-  yet God countered with-  'Yet I have left me seven thousand in Israel…' 

We might think we walk alone. We might believe that there have only been a few throughout each generation, but we don't really know, only God knows.  However, using our imagination isn't it easy to imagine that there will be so many people from every nation, kindred, and tongue that we can't count them easily? A great multitude, NO MAN can number, but God would know.  People from the beginning until thousands of years later, all the dead in God will be alive again. Every person that is sleeping death's sleep will be raised from the dead and given an immortal, incorruptible body. They will all stand before the throne of God and before the Lamb of God.

Imagine it…

'…clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands; 10 and cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb.'

Dead and risen or alive and taken- I long to be among those who are numbered as Christ's!

Please, by YOUR will Lord, and through YOU alone may we be YOURS!

All in YOUR love!

Amen!