Posted by Elana Janson on September 16, 2004 at 15:01:53:
The sounding of the sixth trumpet is the first of three sections that Revelation groups as the time of the “second woe”. The first trumpet is from Rev 9:13 to 9:21; the second section is Chapter 10, which deals with the “seven thunders” and the third section is Chapter 11:1-13. In Rev 11:14 we are told that the second woe is passed and that “the third woe cometh quickly”. Taking into account the way that Revelation seems to have brought its meaning together in the opening of the sixth seal and the symbolism of the sounding of the first five trumpets, it seems that events may follow quickly.
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.” As mentioned in the post “measure the altar”, the word “altar” links the time of the sounding of the sixth trumpet to the time 2002 to 2004, the time of the opening of the fifth seal (Rev 6:9-11) and the “little season”.
Rev 9:14 “Saying to the sixth angel, which had the trumpet, Loose the four angels that are bound in the great river Euphrates.”
Loose
In order to fully understand the “four angels” in relation to the word “loose” and all that Revelation wishes to reveal through the verses that these two words appear we have to carefully follow the sequence of the information in the verses.
Firstly: the word “loose” in the above verse (Rev 9:14) is repeated in Rev 20:1 “and after that he must be loosed a short season”. The repetition of the word ”loose”, confirms that the time that the “four angels” that are “bound in the great river Euphrates” is released, is also the time of the “short season”.
At this point we must return to the “four angels” mentioned in Rev 7:1: “And after these things, I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree.” In a previous post I said that the time of this verse is August 2003, the time before Rev 6:13, the time of “when she is shaken of a mighty wind”.
East
However, after the four angels hold back the winds of the earth, Rev 7:2-3 reveals “And I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God; and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom was given to hurt the earth and the sea, saying; Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads.” Through the words “from the east”, in this verse and “of the east” in Rev 16:12, Revelation links the time of this angel to the time of Rev 16:12, the time of the casting of the sixth bowl of wrath (vial). We know this through the repetition of the words “the east”.
In Rev 7:2, Revelation reveals that after the time that the angels are holding back the four winds, and before the earth and the sea will be hurt, the seal of the living God will be placed in the foreheads of the servants of our God.
Rev. 9:4 reveals that by the time the fifth trumpet is sounded the seal has been placed in the foreheads.
Note that the “four angels” hold back the four winds, and after the seals are placed in the foreheads, the four winds will blow. After the seals are placed in the foreheads, the earth, the sea and the trees will be “hurt”. The time that “four angels” no longer hold back the four winds, is the time that the winds will blow on the earth and the sea and the trees. It seems that we have reached that point in time.
Hurt
The word “hurt” has an extensive meaning in the final analysis of Revelation. This will be discussed in a separate post. For the moment it should be noted that the “earth”, “sea”, and “tree” that will be “hurt”, have three meanings. Firstly, they relate to the earth that is divided into three sections – therefore the entire earth (this was extensively explained in How near Armageddon). Secondly it relates to damage to the earth, the sea and trees – damage that is caused by hurricanes and typhoons (the four winds of the earth). Thirdly, “earth” and “sea” relate to the time that we see that which Revelation has revealed symbolically through the “beast out of the sea” and the “beast out of the earth” is going to be “hurt”.
Loose
We should now get back to the word ”loose”.
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.” The repetition of the words “four angels” in Rev 7:1 and Rev 9:14 and again in Rev 9:15 is of the greatest significance in the year 2004. The nations are experiencing in 2004 a most severe typhoon and hurricane season. At this point in time it is most unusual that three hurricanes of the size of Charley, Francis and Ivan, have hit land with devastating effect within the space a month. An above average number of 18 typhoons have developed over the oceans of the Far East this year and the last one, Songda, was one of the strongest typhoons since the meteorological agency started keeping records in 1972. Many of the typhoons developed in the northern areas.
Secondly, Revelation is linking the release of the four angels to the Euphrates River. This is of great significance in 2004, for it seems that in the time of war in the area Euphrates River, hurricanes and typhoons hurt the earth and the sea. [I should explain the meaning of “to slay a third part of men”. In How near Armageddon it was shown how Revelation is understood through the division of the globe in “thirds”. Therefore “Euphrates River” is the midpoint between East and West. Therefore “to slay the third part of men” has the meaning of war (“to slay”), in the middle section of the earth (“third part”) in the time that the “beast out of the earth”, that incorporates “the number of man” (“of men”).]
Through the words of Rev 9:15 “hour, and a day and a month an a year”, Revelation seems to substantiate that August 2003 brings us to the time of the end of the time measures relating to the opening of the sixth seal and the angels sounding the first four trumpets.
How do we know this? In a previous post, The Sixth Seal, I showed that Rev 6:12-14 could be linked to the time August to December 2003. I mentioned that as a result of man’s scientific progress the hour, the day, the month and the year could be calculated that Mars would be at its closest point to the earth. It could also be calculated that Mars would in 287 years be once again at that position. This was of significance in the understanding of the time measures of Revelation for this time span of 287 years is the length of a “day” in my understanding of the total time measurement of Revelation.
This discovery of the length of a “day” in the opening of the sixth seal is confirmed through the use of the word “day” in Rev 6:17: ”For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?” I mentioned in a previous post that it seems that August 2003, when Mars was at its nearest point to the earth, is the end of the time of “three days and a half”.
The opening of the seventh seal, is understood through the time measure “hour”: Rev 8:1 “there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour”; and the sounding of the fifth trumpet, the time, “month” in “5 months” (Rev 9:5 and 10). Therefore where Revelation 9:15 says “And the four angels were loosed, which were prepared for an hour, and a day and a month and a year” indicates that the four angels of Revelation that measured time through history had now completed their task and were “loosed”. We have, therefore, reached the end points of four angels that measured time. This is later confirmed in Rev 10:6 “that there should be time no longer”.
It should be noted that in Rev 8:5 “filled it with fire of the altar, and cast it to the earth”. The time of “altar” seems to indicate the beginning of the time that the “earth” is “hurt”.
The verses Rev 9:16 to 21, have bearing on the time measures of Revelation, and show symbolically the lead up to the present day situation. These symbols were explained in How near Armageddon. The purpose of the posts in this Forum at the present time is to show how Revelation is bringing it’s meaning together in 2004. It should be noted that in Rev 9:20-21, it is said that up to a certain point, mankind will be oblivious to the fact that factors like tornadoes and hurricanes have bearing on an end time. The nations have been mislead and are unaware that the ‘plagues’, which can take the form of illness or numerous other kinds of ‘hurt’, that come upon the nations at this time and the time to come, have bearing on a time of judgement and the Return. Rev 9:20-21 “And the rest of men that were not killed by these plagues yet repented not of the works of their hands, that they should not worship devils, and idols of gold, and silver, and brass, and stone and of wood: which neither can see, nor hear, nor walk. Neither repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor their fornication, nor their thefts.
Second woe
It is in the linking of the sounding of the sixth trumpet to the sixth bowl of wrath through the words “the great river Euphrates” that we find the meaning of what is meant by the “second woe”. As mentioned in the sounding of the fifth trumpet in a previous post the word “woe” relates to laws of men coming in the way of the laws of God. To understand this we have to go to the words of Jesus Christ. Mat 18:7 “Woe unto the world”. The three woes relate to the entire earth. Mat 23:13 “Woe unto you scribes and Pharisees”. The scribes of the time copied the written law, but they also wrote down rules made by authorities, which made up what was called the oral law. They had in this much room for the hypocrisy for which Jesus Christ denounced them in company with the Pharisees. “Woe” holds the meaning of falseness or an inaccuracy in the law of men. Mat 23:24 “woe you blind guides”. The laws of men are misleading.
The word “woe” is used extensively in Scripture to warn wrongdoers, but the verse that pertains to Revelation, I believe to be the verse Hebrews10: 16: “I will put my laws into their hearts”. It is the use of the words “into their hearts” that appears in this verse and in the verse Rev 18:17 “ For God has put it in their hearts to fulfil his will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled.” Because we know history we can understand the great predicaments that the nations would find themselves in the controversies between the Christian State and the Christian Church, the tremendous loss of life in religious wars, and the great difficulties facing the missionaries and true witnesses in the spread of the faith to the ends of the earth. God allowed the rule of kings to be replaced by the rule of men and religious freedom to be put in place for they provided for a time of peace that Christianity could spread to the ends of the earth. The laws of men and freedom could be interpreted both as promoting the laws of Scripture (God has put it in their hearts) or contrary to the laws of Scripture (to give their kingdom to the beast). Ultimately the extravagancies of man and uncontrolled freedom come to an end when ‘the words of God’ are fulfilled.
So how does this all pertain to the time of the sounding of the sixth trumpet, the sixth bowl of wrath? In the time that the nations can see numerous hurricanes and typhoons, it is the time that the waters of the Euphrates River are literally drying up, because of past political strife and great modern irrigation and power schemes. It is figuratively the time that the “living waters” are also drying up all over the world. However, the factor that seems to override all others is what is meant by Rev 16:13 “And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet.” (Readers should refer back to the Q&A section of this website and read Q&A XII, that deals with the “three unclean spirits like frogs”.)
The meaning of “frogs” is derived from the analysis of Rev 13:15 “And he had the power to give life”. These words in total analysis of the “beast out of the earth” relates to the time 1952 –1953, which was the time that a species, frogs, could be cloned for the first time. I believe that the above verse (Rev 16:13) wishes to reveal that in 2004 the influence of the “dragon” (out of the mouth of the dragon), the influence of the beasts of Revelation (out of the mouth of the beast), had succeeded in influencing man to place the needs of humanity before the law of God (out of the mouth of the false prophet). This meaning of the false prophet is derived from Rev 13:18 “count the number of the beast”. These words mean that the knowledge of the time measures of Revelation reveal the meaning of the beast out of the earth. The ‘false prophet’ is a concept that developed through centuries. It is discovered through the word “wisdom” in Rev 13:18; “Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the numnber of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is six hundred threescore and six.” “False prophet” is linked to the year 1266 that is the first year of the time measurement of 666 years in Revelation. That is the time 1266 to 1932. “Wisdom” relates to man’s thinking and philosophy throughout that time. It is linked to the year 1266, the time that Thomas Aquinas was writing the Summa Theologica. It was at that time that man’s outlook began to focus more on humanity than on spiritual matters. This outlook would culminate in 2004 in the acceptance of a law to allow cloning.
Now we must bring all this knowledge together to see what is being revealed. In 2004 the United Kingdom has passed a law (woe) to allow human embryos for cloning for therapeutic purposes. Why do I believe that Revelation is indicating that this is against the law of God? It is because I believe that Scripture regards an embryo as the start of a life. A life may not be used as a tool. Revelation wishes to reveal that this law is the result of an accumulation of wrongdoing through the ages - in the politics of the nations, in the exploration of the seas and the elements of the earth, as well as philosophies of men that would ultimately exclude the truths of Scripture (out of the mouth of the dragon, out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet). Particularly the promiscuousness of the latter half of the twentieth century, which made man blind to the sanctity of marriage and the gift of life.
The words “false prophet” are used in Rev 16:13, for it is the time of a turning away from the faith (This meaning comes from Acts 13:8 where the ‘false prophet’ turned the deputy away from the faith. The deputy wished to hear the word of God from Saul and Barnabas). In 2004 the turning away from the faith has reached proportions that that will lead the nations to a final battle. Rev 16:14 “For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.”
Chapter ten, in the book Revelation, is also part of the “second woe”. This chapter deals with “another mighty angel” (Rev 10:1), who has in his hand a “little book”. Now that we can understand Revelation we can know why he has a “little book” in his hand. This book is the book Revelation. The reason that this chapter it is placed in this position in Revelation is to show that at the time of the second woe, after the time that the four angels are “loosed”, the book Revelation will be opened and its symbolism will have bearing on what is taking place on earth. This chapter will be discussed in detail in a following post.
Chapter 11:1-13 is also part of the second woe. It is a complex chapter and certain sections, have been highlighted in this Forum. Its various aspects relate to history and have bearing on the time 2002 to 2004. The second woe is not yet passed and before that time there is “a great earthquake” (Rev 11:13). The seventh angel has not yet sounded. We do know that the third woe “comes quickly” (Rev 11:14) after the second woe has passed.
To be continued