167 | TE011 | Transcending Eschatology | Part 11 | More Sets of 7

Transcend HumanTranscending Eschatology

Sep 4

Written By Daryl McMullen

Date: September 4, 2023

Welcome back to our series on Eschatology - the study of End Time events.

Let's dive in...

Episode 1: The Doomsday Clock - We discussed our social and cultural beliefs about the End of Time. Typically based on science and entertainment.
Episode 2: The Flip Side - We dove into End Time beliefs that are based on spiritual or religious belief systems. And we looked at some of the major world religions.
Episode 3: Carrying the Torch - We discussed the history and origins of Christian Eschatology - and how it can be traced all the way from Adam and Eve to us today.
Episode 4: Choosing Sides - We discussed the high level categories most Christians fall into when it comes to eschatology.
Episode 5: Making It Plain - We jumped in to Bible passages that talk about the End of Time. Plain language that makes it easy to understand.
Episode 6: The Left Bookend - We moved into the adult pool and walked through seven stories in the Book of Daniel. We then walked through the first piece of Apocalyptic Prophecy.
Episode 7: Expanding on the Statue - We looked at Daniel's 2nd and 3rd dreams and how they simply build on the first one. We also introduced prophetic math, and we discussed the 1,260 Day Prophecy and the 2,300 Day Prophecy.
Episode 8: Daniel's 70 Weeks - We looked at Daniel's dream in Chapters 9 and 10. We refer to this as the 70 Weeks Prophecy and it is a very important one. Not just because of the information presented - but because of the various interpretations we see coming out of it.
Episode 9: Daniel's Final Vision - We looked and the way all of Daniel's visions are connected and how they grow in complexity. We also discussed all relevant time periods discussed in the Book of Daniel.
Episode 10: The Right Bookend & The 7 Churches - We talked about the Right Bookend - the Book of Revelation, the prologue and the first set of 7s - the Letters to the 7 Churches.

Today, we discuss More Sets of 7...

Today's Topic: Transcending Eschatology | Part 11 | More Sets of 7

How Did 7 Become So Popular?
The 7 Seals & Trumpets
Decoding the Sets of 7

// CHAPTER 1: HOW DID 7 BECOME SO POPULAR?

I've mentioned before that the number 7 seems to be a popular number in the Book of Revelation. But it came by it honestly...

According to BibleStudyTools.com here is a little info on the number 7 in the Bible:

It appears over 700 times in the Bible

And in many different ways
For example - we're looking at sets of 7s in apocalyptic prophecy - which suggests the number is important
But even in Genesis 29 it describes how Jacob worked 7 years for Laban in order to marry one of his daughters. Then he had to work another 7 when Laban scammed him into marrying the wrong daughter
In the Book of Joshua we read about the Children of Israel marching on Jericho. God tells them to march around the city for 7 days. On the 7th day they were to march around the city 7 times. Then 7 priests were to blow 7 horns and the people were to shout - and the city would be theirs
There are important groups of people in the Bible like the 7 Deacons, the 7 Spirits of God, things like that
And then there are random verses like this one in Genesis where God says, "In 7 days I will send the rain..."
Why 7? Why didn't he chat with Noah 10 days before the rains came? Or a month before?
So we can see countless verses that start to build the case for 7 being an important number

In Biblical Numerology 7 is said to stand for "completeness" or "perfection" and scholars have also suggested the number represents "divine intervention" or "spiritual completeness"
Then the article goes on to explain how the Bible has been divided into 7 parts:

The Law
The Prophets
The Writings (Books like Psalms and Proverbs)
The Gospels and the Book of Acts
The General Letters
The Letters of Paul
The Book of Revelation

And finally - they suggest that the Bible was initially divided into 49 books (which is 7x7 obviously - for those of you that took math in elementary school)

However, this is something new to me - so take it for what it's worth...
In the Bible I grew up with - there have always been 66 books - 39 in the OT and 27 in the NT
Which is pretty cool as well - why?

Well, go with me on this one...
7 is the perfect number - meaning spiritually complete - or perfect
6 is the number of man - or humanity - humans were created on the 6th Day of creation
666 is the number of the Antichrist:

Any time you have three numbers repeating it suggests the next number will also be 6
The reason it stands for the Antichrist - is that it visually represents our attempts to be God - trying as hard as we can to become 7 - but never reaching it
This is Satan's main goal - to become God - or to be seen as God in the universe

So 66 Books in the Bible:

To me - following the same logic - the Bible is a Manmade collection of books trying as hard as it can to describe divine truth
But because it wasn't actually written by God - it is as close as we can get
It's the best we humans could do with the information God gave us through the writers of the Bible

Now - that is 100% the gospel according to Transcend Human. So shoot me an email if you disagree. I have thick skin...

So before we leave this section - let's talk about the number 7 from a less-than spiritual perspective.

According the thecoolist.com - in Numerology - this is what the number 7 represents:

This idea is similar in Vedic Numerology, Feng Shui and astrology
People with the number 7 are said to be:

Insightful
Intellectual
Searchers for deeper meaning
Truth seekers
Explorers
Spiritual
More psychic energy than those around them
Want to answer some of the most abstract questions in the world

Next it lists why the number is so special:

It represents the 7 heavens that correspond to the 7 classical planets
There are 7 notes in a scale
There are 7 prime colors in Newtons color sequence
Spiritually:

In Islam - parents name their babies on the 7th day
In Christianity - God created the Earth in 7 days

Now the article goes on and on with more info on the number - but I think we get the idea
Interesting right? That even pagan, astrological or cosmological understandings of the number 7 seem to match the Biblical use of the number

But that about wraps it up for the background on the number 7.

Last time we looked at 7 Churches - and the 7 Letters God wrote to those 7 Churches.

This week we look at two more sets of 7:

The 7 Seals
The 7 Trumpets

// CHAPTER 2: THE 7 SEALS & TRUMPETS

At the end of the letters to the churches we find ourselves in Heaven.

Chapter 4 opens with John looking up and seeing a door standing open in heaven.

He hears a voice that says, "Come up here, and I will show you what must happen after this."

John is taken to heaven in a dream that very moment. And this is what he sees:

A throne with someone sitting on it
This Being was as brilliant as gemstones
Around this Being were 24 Elders clothed in white with crowns on their heads
The throne was generating energy - manifesting thunder and lightning
In front of the throne there were 7 Torches burning brightly
And in front of the throne was a shiny sea of glass - like crystal
Also around the throne were 4 living beings covered with eyes in the front and the back
One looked like a lion, the next like an ox, the third had a human face and the fourth was like an eagle in flight
Each had 6 wings covered with eyes
And these 4 beings had one job - they kept repeating one phrase over and over day and night

“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God, the Almighty—the one who always was, who is, and who is still to come.”
And every time they said this - the 24 Elders would fall down and worship the Being on the throne and place their crowns at It's feet - joining in the chant

Then - Chapter 5 opens as John notices a scroll in the hand of the Being on the throne:

The scroll had writing inside and out and it had 7 Seals on it
An angel exclaimed, "Who is worthy to break the seals on this scroll and open it?"
When it appeared that no one was able to open the scroll John began to cry
Until one of the 24 Elders said, "Dude...cut it out! Look - the Lion of Judah is here and He can open it because He won the victory by dying on the cross. He alone can open the scroll."
At that point Jesus shows up and stands between the throne and the 4 living beings
John could tell He had been killed, but yet lived
He had 7 horns and 7 eyes - representing the 7 fold Spirit of God - that had been sent out into every part of the earth
Jesus took the scroll - and everyone in attendance sang a new song about Him, His worthiness and His ability to open the scroll
They were joined by thousands upon millions of angels - creating a mighty chorus
And then they stopped

Chapter 6 begins with Jesus taking the scroll and starting the process of opening each seal.

The First Seal:

When the first seal was opened, John explains, "I looked up and saw a white horse standing there. Its rider carried a bow, and a crown was placed on his head. He rode out to win many battles and gain the victory."

The Second Seal:

Next, John explains, "Then another horse appeared, a red one. Its rider was given a mighty sword and the authority to take peace from the earth. And there was war and slaughter everywhere."

The Third Seal:

John explains, "I looked up and saw a black horse, and its rider was holding a pair of scales in his hand. 6And I heard a voice from among the four living beings say, 'A loaf of wheat bread or three loaves of barley will cost a day’s pay. And don’t waste the olive oil and wine.'"

The Fourth Seal:

John explains, "I looked up and saw a horse whose color was pale green. Its rider was named Death, and his companion was the Grave. These two were given authority over one-fourth of the earth, to kill with the sword and famine and disease and wild animals."

The Fifth Seal:

John explains, "I saw under the altar the souls of all who had been martyred for the word of God and for being faithful in their testimony. They shouted to the Lord and said, “O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you judge the people who belong to this world and avenge our blood for what they have done to us?” Then a white robe was given to each of them. And they were told to rest a little longer until the full number of their brothers and sisters—their fellow servants of Jesus who were to be martyred—had joined them."

The Sixth Seal:

John explains, "There was a great earthquake. The sun became as dark as black cloth, and the moon became as red as blood. Then the stars of the sky fell to the earth like green figs falling from a tree shaken by a strong wind. The sky was rolled up like a scroll, and all of the mountains and islands were moved from their places. Then everyone—the kings of the earth, the rulers, the generals, the wealthy, the powerful, and every slave and free person—all hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains. And they cried to the mountains and the rocks, 'Fall on us and hide us from the face of the one who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb. For the great day of their wrath has come, and who is able to survive?'"

Then there is a break in the action - an Intermission of sorts - and John is shown a few things:

He sees four angels standing at the four corners of the earth - holding back the wind so it didn't blow on the earth
He realizes that they were holding back some really bad stuff so that people could be added to the Book of Life
He is shown that during this time people were receiving the Seal of God - the mark showing that they belonged to Him
Not because He owned them - but because they had the freedom to choose - and they chose Him during their life on earth
He sees that 12,000 were marked from each tribe of Israel - equaling 144,000
Next, John sees a massive crowd - too great to count - from every nation, tribe and language worshiping the Being on the throne
John asks who they are and he is told, "These are the ones who died in the great tribulation. They have washed their robes in the blood of the Lamb and made them white."

And with that - the show is over. John sees Jesus break the 7th Seal...

The Seventh Seal:

When the final seal was broken, John explains, "There was silence throughout heaven for about half an hour. I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and they were given seven trumpets. Then another angel with a gold incense burner came and stood at the altar. And a great amount of incense was given to him to mix with the prayers of God’s people as an offering on the gold altar before the throne. The smoke of the incense, mixed with the prayers of God’s holy people, ascended up to God from the altar where the angel had poured them out. Then the angel filled the incense burner with fire from the altar and threw it down upon the earth; and thunder crashed, lightning flashed, and there was a terrible earthquake

And with that, the 7 angels with the 7 trumpets step up and get ready to do their thing...

The First Trumpet:

The first angel blew his trumpet, and hail and fire mixed with blood were thrown down on the earth. One-third of the earth was set on fire, one-third of the trees were burned, and all the green grass was burned

The Second Trumpet:

Then the second angel blew his trumpet, and a great mountain of fire was thrown into the sea. One-third of the water in the sea became blood, one-third of all things living in the sea died, and one-third of all the ships on the sea were destroyed

The Third Trumpet:

Then the third angel blew his trumpet, and a great star fell from the sky, burning like a torch. It fell on one-third of the rivers and on the springs of water. The name of the star was Bitterness. It made one-third of the water bitter, and many people died from drinking the bitter water

The Fourth Trumpet:

Then the fourth angel blew his trumpet, and one-third of the sun was struck, and one-third of the moon, and one-third of the stars, and they became dark. And one-third of the day was dark, and also one-third of the night. Then I looked, and I heard a single eagle crying loudly as it flew through the air, 'Terror, terror, terror to all who belong to this world because of what will happen when the last three angels blow their trumpets.'"

The Fifth Trumpet:

Then the fifth angel blew his trumpet, and I saw a star that had fallen to earth from the sky, and he was given the key to the shaft of the bottomless pit. When he opened it, smoke poured out as though from a huge furnace, and the sunlight and air turned dark from the smoke. Then locusts came from the smoke and descended on the earth, and they were given power to sting like scorpions. They were told not to harm the grass or plants or trees, but only the people who did not have the seal of God on their foreheads. They were told not to kill them but to torture them for five months with pain like the pain of a scorpion sting. In those days people will seek death but will not find it. They will long to die, but death will flee from them! The locusts looked like horses prepared for battle. They had what looked like gold crowns on their heads, and their faces looked like human faces. They had hair like women’s hair and teeth like the teeth of a lion. They wore armor made of iron, and their wings roared like an army of chariots rushing into battle. They had tails that stung like scorpions, and for five months they had the power to torment people. Their king is the angel from the bottomless pit; his name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in Greek, Apollyon—the Destroyer. The first terror is past, but look, two more terrors are coming!

The Sixth Trumpet:

Then the sixth angel blew his trumpet, and I heard a voice speaking from the four horns of the gold altar that stands in the presence of God. And the voice said to the sixth angel who held the trumpet, “Release the four angels who are bound at the great Euphrates River.” Then the four angels who had been prepared for this hour and day and month and year were turned loose to kill one-third of all the people on earth. I heard the size of their army, which was 200 million mounted troops. And in my vision, I saw the horses and the riders sitting on them. The riders wore armor that was fiery red and dark blue and yellow. The horses had heads like lions, and fire and smoke and burning sulfur billowed from their mouths. One-third of all the people on earth were killed by these three plagues—by the fire and smoke and burning sulfur that came from the mouths of the horses. Their power was in their mouths and in their tails. For their tails had heads like snakes, with the power to injure people. But the people who did not die in these plagues still refused to repent of their evil deeds and turn to God. They continued to worship demons and idols made of gold, silver, bronze, stone, and wood—idols that can neither see nor hear nor walk! And they did not repent of their murders or their witchcraft or their sexual immorality or their thefts

Now - another interlude, or intermission before the final trumpet...

John is introduced to a small scroll and the two witnesses.

The Small Scroll:

Another angel came out of heaven with a small scroll
He stood with one foot in the sea and the other on land
And when the scroll was opened - the angel let out a great shout
And what came back were 7 thunders
John quickly tried to write down each of the 7 things he heard
But the angel said, "Nope - you don't get to document those things - they're secret...
The angel then swore an oath - that things would not be prolonged
God's plan must be fulfilled
John took the small scroll and ate it - because that what he was told to do
It was sweet in his mouth - but turned bitter in his stomach

The Two Witnesses:

Next John is introduced to the 2 Witnesses
He does some measuring, and some counting for some reason
Then he was told about the Two Witnesses and the difficulties they would face
This difficulty would last for 42 months, or 1260 days or 3.5 years
Sound familiar?
The people will do bad things to the Two Witnesses
But they will be punished
The Two Witnesses cannot be killed
After the time period God breathed life back into them and they were revived
They were taken to heaven in front of their enemies
Just as a massive earthquake killed over 7000 people - one tenth of the entire city

And just like that we are returned to our regularly scheduled event - the 7 Trumpets...

The Seventh Trumpet:

Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices shouting in heaven: “The world has now become the Kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will reign forever and ever.” The twenty-four elders sitting on their thrones before God fell with their faces to the ground and worshiped him. And they said, “We give thanks to you, Lord God, the Almighty, the one who is and who always was, for now you have assumed your great power and have begun to reign. The nations were filled with wrath, but now the time of your wrath has come. It is time to judge the dead and reward your servants the prophets, as well as your holy people, and all who fear your name, from the least to the greatest. It is time to destroy all who have caused destruction on the earth.” Then, in heaven, the Temple of God was opened and the Ark of his covenant could be seen inside the Temple. Lightning flashed, thunder crashed and roared, and there was an earthquake and a terrible hailstorm

And that's it my friends! 7 Seals. 7 Trumpets. And a couple interludes with confusing information.

Sound about right? This is definitely where apocalyptic prophecy starts to go crazy. Not for the faint of heart. It's easy to read stuff like this and have your eyes glaze over. Before you know it you've read 20 verses and aren't sure any of it makes sense. So you put it down. Right?

If you're like me - that's what you do. You read things like this and you just have to put it down - because it is so out there. How could we possibly make sense out of stuff like this?

// CHAPTER 3: DECODING THE SETS OF 7

So let's get the easy part out of the way...

As we said in the last episode - there's no reason to discuss the other interpretations of these prophecies:

Idealist: Believes Bible prophecy is nothing more than a work of fiction - so no need to talk about this
Preterist: Believes that all prophecy occurred before the death of Jesus and the destruction of the Temple in 70AD - so no real reason to discuss this interpretation
Futurist: Believes that everything we just talked about is going to happen in the future. And they believe it more literally than figuratively - or metaphorically. In other words - when the Bible talks about the Two Witnesses - these must be two people who experience persecution, and eventually die - only to be raised up again. And in the Fifth Trumpet when locust came from the smoke and stung the earth like scorpions - attempts are made to find a real life substitution for these locust. Like helicopter that can shoot lasers at the end of time - or something like that. So we won't spend a lot of time on the Futurist interpretation - but just know that all of these prophecies from here on out are in the future - and there has to be a literal interpretation for them
If you want more information on the Futurist View - I linked to a YouTube video in the show notes where Perry Stone does a good job describing the futurist view of the 7 Seals and how they play out after the rapture - during the first 3.5 years of the tribulation

So that leaves us with the Historicist interpretation again. Remember, the Historicist view of apocalyptic prophecy has been the common narrative for a very long time.

Beginning with Victorinus of Pettau began presenting this view back as early as 300AD. With others adding to his work in the 6th and 7th centuries.

Joachim of Floris wrote in the 10th century and his works not only corroborated the Historicist view - but also continued to suggest that the Papacy was the fulfillment of the Antichrist figure in prophecy.

Next came the Great Disappointment we talked about in 1844. Where the Millerites took the Historicist view a little too far - believing that the end of the 2,300 Year Prophecy was actually the end of the world.

When they woke up a few days later and realized their prediction hadn't come true - they went back to the Bible and continued to study the prophecies to see where they went wrong.

This led to a new element in prophecy called the "Investigative Judgment."

And it all hinged on this verse in Daniel 8:14:

"And he said unto me, Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed."

Miller believed this to mean the world would end. God would return and clean up the mess we made of earth. He thought the word "sanctuary" was being used symbolically for the word "earth" or "world."

So when the world didn't end - and they began to study the Bible again with new eyes - they discovered that the word "sanctuary" might actually be the right word. And might actually mean "sanctuary."

They found that there was an earthly sanctuary. The one the Israelites built and carried around with them in the wilderness. This eventually found a home in the temple in Jerusalem. But was destroyed in 70AD and has not existed since then.

But the Bible refers to these temples as copies, or shadows of the temple that is in heaven. There are passages where Jesus refers to the High Priests of those temples. The refers to Himself as the High Priest for us.

Here are just 3 of more than 20 references to this in the Bible:

Hebrews 9:24: "For Christ did not enter a holy place made with hands, a mere copy of the true one, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us;"

Hebrews 9:11: "But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things to come, He entered through the greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this creation;"

Hebrews 8:2: "...a minister in the sanctuary and in the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, not man."

Crazy right?

So Miller began to see that the world wasn't supposed to end, or be cleansed in 1844. Instead it had to do with the actual sanctuary that is in heaven. In 1844 Jesus entered the Most Holy place in the heavenly temple and began the work the High Priest did once a year.

Here on earth - this is called Yom Kippur:

Once a year the High Priest would enter the Holy of Holies - the innermost section of the temple
First, he would sprinkle the blood of a bull for himself and his family
Then he would sprinkle the blood from a goat for the people of Israel
Then he would offer incense over the Ark of the Covenant
History tells us that a cord was tied to the ankle of the High Priest just in case he did something wrong, or the sacrifices were not accepted by God and he was killed. This way they could pull him out without disturbing the Most Holy place any further

So if this is true - in 1844 Jesus entered the Most Holy place:

This has become known as the Investigative Judgment
Jesus didn't need to sprinkle blood on anything
He had already shed His blood on the cross
The simple fact that He was there brought with it the ability to save people from their sins
So Jesus was there and the books were opened
Every human being from the first people to those living at the end of time
At some point in there Jesus moved from the people who had died in the past to those living in the present and future
Each name, each case reviewed and if that person had accepted Jesus' gift - their name was moved to the Book of Life
For those of us living and those who will live - the same thing is true
God knows the beginning from the end
So he knows the steps He will take in each of our lives - and the choice we will make - either for Him or against Him
It is believed that this is going on right now
The Investigative Judgment began in 1844
When Jesus makes it through all of the names - the books will be shut and there will be no more second chances
At that time Jesus will rally the troops and make His way back to earth to rescue His children

Okay - that was a lot.

But I knew I had to throw the Investigative Judgment in there somewhere - and it just seemed to make sense in this episode.

So back to the 7 Seals and the 7 Trumpets.

There is a LOT to unpack with these two sets of 7 as well.

But we don't have time to get into the weeds. So similar to the 7 Churches - we're just going to high level it. Net it out.

That way we get the big picture - and we can always go back and study certain things in more detail if we choose.

So here we go.

We're going to start with the Onion Peel concept again.

Remember last time how the 7 Letters to the 7 Churches had layers of interpretation?

Each church represented a period of time
Each was written for the specific church in that day
Each was written for every church and every person until the end of time?

And remember in Daniel where each dream was different - but followed the same path?

Each dream talked about the progression of civilizations: Babylon, Media & Persia, Greece, Rome, Rome broken into 10 pieces and then God's Kingdom
In the first dream it was the beasts: The Lion, the Bear, the Leopard, the Terrible Beast
Next up was the dream with the Ram, the Goat, and the Little Horn
Each dream going back over the progression of civilizations - but adding a little each time
Each Onion Peel offering a little more information and fleshing out things that would happen in the future

And so it is with Revelation and the Sets of 7.

Very similar to the pattern in Daniel - the Sets of 7 are different ways of looking at the same periods of time - and things that will happen in the future.

While Futurists push all of this down to the End of Time and assume there will be literal fulfillments for all of it. Historicists look back and find that the majority of this information is in the past. When we look back we can see events that already fulfilled many of these prophecies.

And we find that each of the Sets of 7 are referring to similar time periods - just as they did in Daniel. Only each is coming from a lightly different perspective:

The 7 Churches: Encouragement and reproof for the Christian church throughout time
The 7 Seals: The experiences and worsening conditions for the Christian church throughout time
The 7 Trumpets: The judgments that God allowed to fall upon people due to the worsening conditions and human-kinds involvement

So let's start with the 7 Churches and the 7 Seals:

Ephesus: The Passionless Church

First century AD
First Seal/White Horse
This refers to the white purity of the original gospel message the church took to the world

Smyrna: The Persecuted Church

100-313AD
Or until Constantine
Second Seal/Red Horse
Nothing says persecution like red - during these years the church was persecuted
Rome sought to stamp out the early Christian church

Pergamos: The Popular Church

313-538AD
Or from Constantine to Justinian
Third Seal/Black Horse
This represents the dark days the church went through when popularity and inclusion led to the truth being challenged
Popular, pagan ways crept in and very few in the church held to the truth of the original gospel

Thyatira: The Compromising Church

538-1565AD
Middle Ages to the Reformation
Fourth Seal/Pale Horse
This horse represents the deepest depths people can go to spiritually
The rider of the horse is named "Death" and the grave follows him - pretty dark right?
This is the time period of Papal rule during the Dark Ages
The Catholic Church ruled both spiritually and politically - have ultimate power
Historians estimate that between 1/4 and 1/3 of Europe's population died, or was was killed during this time period

Sardis: The Dead Church

1565-1750AD
Post-Reformation
Fifth Seal/Martyr's Under the Altar
This seal refers to the time as the Dark Ages were coming to a close
Protestant reformers were speaking out and breaking away from the Catholic Church
But to remain in power - the church tortured, and killed many of these reformers

Philadelphia: The Missionary Church

1750-1844AD
Sixth Seal/Signs in the Heavens/The Great Awakening
Right after the Dark Ages - the prophecy suggests that as the church was going through an awakening, and beginning to understand prophecy more clearly - there would be some pretty significant signs in the natural world. Here are the proposed fulfillments of those prophecies:

A great earthquake: The Lisbon earthquake on November 1, 1755 - said to be one of the worst earthquakes of all time
The darkening of the sun: May 19, 1780 - called "The Dark Day" - no reason has been found for the sun going dark on this day in history
The blood moon: May 19, 1780 - immediately after the Dark Day - the moon appeared to be solid red
The falling of the stars: November 12-13, 1833 - the Leonid meteor shower - historians documented there as many as 2 million events per hour for 5-6 hours straight

Interesting right? That each of these took place and are documented in history - right when the Bible said they would happen? After the Dark Ages had passed

Laodicea: The Lukewarm Church

1844 to the End of Time
Sixth Seal/Christ's Return
So the Sixth Seal is said to cover both the Philadelphia and Laodicea time periods
Which makes anal retentive people like me a little nervous
But the closer I look - the more interesting this development becomes
Because the Sixth Seal explains two very important things:

The signs in the natural world
But also the craziness that will exist at the end of time for those who chose against God - people running around hiding from Him, looking for caves and calling for the rocks to fall on them. Not a pretty sight

But you can see how that impacts both of the final churches:

Those in the Church of Philadelphia saw the signs in the natural world
And we, in the Church of Laodicea, will see the coming of Jesus at the End of Time

The other cool thing is that in Revelation - there is an Interlude between the 6th and 7th Seals
Seventh Seal/Silence in Heaven

The Interlude almost suggests that there is something different coming
That the last seal is cut off from the rest
And sure enough - when it comes it is totally different
Instead of describing a period of time in history
It simply describes a condition - silence
There is silence in heaven because it has been vacated
Jesus and a mighty host of angels have made their way to earth
And then the 7th Seal hands things off to the 7 Trumpets
"I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and they were given seven trumpets."
And that's it - we roll into the 7 Trumpets - which are the judgments God allows to be poured out by one people group on another. Not things God caused to happen - but when God pulls back His protection - the world makes choices that can be disastrous

The 7 Trumpets:

The First Trumpet: 70AD

The destruction of Jerusalem
Judgment for not recognizing the Messiah - and eventually killing Him

The Second Trumpet: 378-476AD (Roughly)

The destruction of the Roman Empire
Judgment for their role in killing Jesus and attacking the Christians under their rulership

The Third Trumpet: 538AD (Middle Ages)

The Papacy takes control and injects new beliefs into the Christian tradition
This time period is really the battle between good and evil - truth and deception

The Fourth Trumpet: Up until 1798AD (Dark Ages)

The Papacy continues to control the church and adopts political control as well
This time period represents the utter depravity that occurs when the gospel is twisted and used as a weapon

The Fifth Trumpet: A 150 year time period between 1299-1449AD

The rise of Islam - and the mighty Muslim forces
Continued judgment on the Eastern Roman Empire

The Sixth Trumpet:

Possibly the rise of the Turks - and the final destruction of the Eastern Roman Empire
The final judgment against the Roman Empire - leading to the rise of the Ottoman Empire which ruled for over 390 years
And eventually they surrendered to the European nations in 1840
Which leaves us with the countries of Europe we know today

The Seventh Trumpet:

When the 7th Trumpet sounds - judgment is carried out on the entire world
God's plan is finally put in place and His work is finished
This is the eternal kingdom from Daniel's first dream - the rock cut out of the mountain with unseen hands that grew until it took over the entire world
God's Kingdom where will be no equal - nobody will challenge His rule

Now - that's it for the 7 Seals and the 7 Trumpets. But just so you know - the 7 Trumpets actually match up symbolically with the 7 Last Plagues (or Bowls as they are called).

But for now - I think we're good. When we get to those - we'll back up and see how they match up with the Trumpets...

So let's end with a couple things we learned about during the Interludes or Intermissions of the Seals and Trumpets. Now I'm not going to go into detail on how people came to these conclusions - I'm just going to explain each and you can do further research if you're interested:

The 144,000:

100% symbolic
The number 12 in prophecy typically describes perfect symmetry or spiritual completeness
There were 12 disciples
The measurements of the New Jerusalem are based on 12
Stuff like that
So taking 12,000 people from each of the 12 tribes of Israel is symbolic of the complete number of those who chose God over Satan
The 144,000 could be symbolic of the End Times church - those who go through the tribulation and militantly carry the truth in the face of adversity and competing global beliefs

The Great Multitude:

The entire group of people who chose God in the Great Controversy between God and Satan
This group could include the 144,000 or they could be distinct from each other
But it more likely represents everyone who makes it to heaven - including the symbolic 144,000

The Little Book:

The Book of Daniel
Remember our last episode on Daniel - he was told to shut up the book - for it is to be sealed until the end of days
Well - John is handed the Little Book and told to eat it
It tasted sweet - but became bitter in his stomach
This represents the Great Disappointment
The Book of Daniel was opened in the 1830s
And groups like the Millerites ate it up - thinking it meant the world was ending
However - it became bitter in their stomachs when they realized they were wrong about the interpretation

The Two Witnesses:

Futurists believe these to be two actual people living at the end of time
Historicists view the Two Witnesses as symbolic of the Old and New Testaments of the Bible
The symbolic language walks us through the history of the Bible:

How important they are because they hold the truth
How they were perverted during the Middle and Dark Ages
How they were used as a weapon to kill and destroy
How they were almost extinguished by France during the Enlightenment
And how they were revived - to continue on until the last days

Let's Land the Plane:

Another crazy episode. With a LOT of information to digest.

Just so you know - some of this stuff is up for interpretation even today.

The details I've given today aren't a hill I'm going to die on.

I'm not 100% sure in my own mind that a seal represents this specific time period. Or a trumpet is talking about a very specific Ottoman King.

But at the same time - I do believe in the overall structure.

I can see that the churches, seals and trumpets all cover time periods and try to tell the same story from different lenses.

And that's the hill I can die on. Not the details.

I hope you find this as fascinating as I do.

Next week we dive into:

The ultimate battle
The Beasts from the Land and Sea
And finally, the 3 Angel's Messages

Until then - have a great week- and as always, keep Transcending Human!

References:

Daryl McMullen

167 | TE011 | Transcending Eschatology | Part 11 | More Sets of 7

168 | TE012 | Transcending Eschatology | Part 12 | The Coming Global Crisis & A Final Warning

166 | TE010 | Transcending Eschatology | Part 10 | The Right Bookend & The 7 Churches

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